Ship Rules

7/28/2019 Ship Rules

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Sailing rules

Wind Speed

Wind DirectionMovement

Damaging Ships

FIRE!!1Sinking Ships

Repairing Ships

Armor PlatingBoarding an Enemy Ship

Crew Level

Siege Weapons

Wind Speed

The wind speed is randomly determined once every other hour. If the speed of the wind changes, it can onlymove two steps away from its current position in a single check. Therefore, a Moderate wind can only increase

to Heavy or Severe, or decrease to Light or Calm. A Light wind can increase to Moderate or Heavy, or down to

Calm, and so on.

In the case of a battle situation that lasts long enough, the wind speed is determined every 30 minutes.

d% Wind Condition Speed Multiplier

01 05 Calm (0 mph) x0*

06 56 Light (1-10 mph) x1*

57 75 Moderate (11-20 mph) x1.5*

76 88 Heavy (21-30 mph) x2 *

89 96 Severe (31-50 mph) Can't Sail*; halves range of direct weapons (bombard, etc)

97 99 Windstorm (51-74 mph) As Severe; damages masts; moderate risk to crew

100 Hurricane (75-150 mph) As Severe; can break masts; high risk to crew

*Boats with a Rowing Speed may row

Wind Direction

The direction the wind is blowing is randomly determined by rolling a d8, with 1 meaning that the wind isblowing Directly North, 2 meaning North-East, and so on clockwise around a compass.

The direction of the wind is determined every 6 hours for long voyages, and every 10 rounds (1 minute) in a

battle situation.In battle, the wind may only change two increments away from its current direction. When

rolled, a North wind (blowing to the North) may only change to a NE, E, NW, or W wind.

The wind direction has an effect on the speed of ships with sails. Imagine a circle, with North at the top and

South at the bottom. If the wind is blowing South, ships which are moving in any Southern variant (SE, SW, S)


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receive a bonus to their base sailing speed of +10 ft. Sailing directly East or directly West does not affect the

speed of this ship. However, traveling against the wind slows a ship's base sailing speed down by -10 ft. Under a

South wind, any ship traveling a Northern variant direction (NW, NE) is penalized. A sailing ship cannot sail

directly towards the direction wind is coming from (in this case, directly North).

To reiterate, as the direction of the wind changes, the Wind Direction modifier changes with it.

Movement

Every round in combat, a ship can perform two move actions. However, unlike a Player Character, any move

action can only be performed once a round. Therefore, a ship cannot move twice, and cannot turn twice, and so

forth. However, it can move and then turn, or turn and then move.

A sailing ship's movement speed is its base sailing speed (as listed in Ship Classes) +/ Wind Direction Bonus,

multiplied by the Wind Speed multiplier in the above chart. So a ship with a move speed of 40 ft, sailing West in

a South wind, would move 60 ft per round in a Moderate wind, and 80 ft a round in a Heavy wind. If it were tochange direction and head directly South, that same ship would then move 50 ft in a light wind (10 + 40 = 50),

and 75 ft in a moderate wind, and so forth.

A row ship is not subject to the vagaries of wind direction and speed. Because of this, their speed is always the

same, regardless of direction. At the captain's orders, a crew may row at twice the listed speed for a number of

rounds equal to 1 + Crew Level. This is useful for attempting boarding actions, or for reaching a good speed toram another ship. After rowing at double speed, the crew can only row at normal speed for 10 rounds after,

during which time they regain their strength.

In the case of ships with multiple movement types, it requires at least one full-round action to switch betweenthe types. Only one method of movement may be used at a time.

From a full stop, an order to move a ship requires a full round to fulfill. If ordered to move forward, the crewwill jump to action, and the ship will begin moving at the beginning of its next round. To stop, the order is given

to the crew as usual, but the ship will still coast for a number of rounds equal to its current speed divided by 10,

rounded up. If a ship receives the order to stop while moving at 30ft, it will coast for three more rounds at thatspeed before coming to a complete stop. 20ft and 15ft will coast for 2, 10ft and 5ft for 1.

Dropping an anchor is a move action. When the anchor is dropped while the ship is in motion, the ship willcontinue to move normally for the following round, then come to a sudden stop. Anyone who is not on or below

deck (so anyone in the rigging/masts/crow's nest) must make a DC10 Balance check or fall prone in a randomly-

determined square adjacent to their current square. If this means falling from a height, it is calculated as normal.

Weighing anchor is a full-round action. It takes a crew the full 6 seconds to withdraw the anchor from the sea

flooran impressive achievement that still leaves the ship unable to move forward during that round.

Turning the ship is a move action, so it may be done before or after the ship has moved forward in a round.

Different ships have different degrees that they may turn in a given round, as determined by their ship type.While stopped by an anchor, Smallships may turn 1.5x their turn degrees;Medium ships turn as normal;Largeships turn at 0.5x their turn degrees.


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Damaging ships

Ships are divided into 10x10x10 ft sections. Each section has a separate AC and hit points pool, but the hardness

of an unmodified wooden hull section is always 10.

Once a section is 75% damaged, people within and without can attack each other normally, though it still

provides cover.

As sections of a ship are destroyed, it becomes less stable and thus harder to control. Once of the hull sections

of a ship are destroyed (excluding the rigging/masts, which are separate), its base speed is cut in half. Once ofthe hull sections are destroyed, its speed drops to 5 feet, regardless of bonuses provided from wind or rowing. If

of the hull sections are destroyed, the ship cannot move on its own power.

If the bow (front-most) section of the ship is destroyed, it looses its ability to ram other ships and survive; this

means if they lose the bow and ram into another ship, it will deal damage, but leave the ramming ship in the

middle of sinking. If the stern (rear-most) section of the ship is destroyed, a d% is rolled. On a result of 01 50,

the ship can no longer be steered, and is locked into its current direction; 51 100 means that the ship can onlyturn at half its normal degrees in any given situation.

Once the rigging on a ship has been reduced to 50% of its full normal hit points, consider the Wind Categoryone less for that ship (Heavy becomes Moderate, Light becomes Calm, so on). Essentially, damaged sails and

rigging are less efficient at harnessing winds. If a crew were to intentionally damage the rigging to 50%, the

wind category would still drop; they could sail during Severe winds as if they were Heavy instead, but such anaction still leaves the rigging damaged until it can be repaired. Once reduced to 25%, consider the Wind

Category two less for that ship.

NOTE: Individual masts and sets of sails/rigging on the same ship have separate AC and HP, but for the purposeof Wind Category, add the max HP of each sail/rigging set together and use that number for the above

percentage count. While these masts are separate, they perform a function together and are thus all responsible

for reduction in efficiency. Completely destroying a mast also completely destroys the associated rigging/sails.

Ramming another ship is often a last-ditch attempt at victory which can leave both ships in serious trouble. Each

ship has a listed ram damage, like a Corvette's 1d4. Every 10 ft per round a ship moves adds 1 more die to thelisted die type. So a Corvette moving 10 ft/round deals 1d4 damage. If it were moving 40 ft/round, it would deal

4d4 damage. If a Destroyer (with its base ram listed at 4d10) is moving 20 ft/round, it would deal 5d10, and at

30ft/round, it would deal 6d10.

When a ship rams into something, not only does it deal the given damage, but it takes the same damage. So if a

ship deals 4d6 damage when ramming another, and the roll comes up at 20 damage, both ships have 20 damage

applied to the sections hit. This is subject to hardness, as usual.

Once one ship rams into another, both ships are stopped, except as noted below. Anyone who is not on or below

deck (so anyone in the rigging/masts/crow's nest) must make a DC15 Balance check or fall prone in a randomly-determined square adjacent to their current square. If this means falling from a height, it is calculated as normal.

If two ships are moving relatively the same direction, and one wishes to ram into the other, the speed of thedefending ship is subtracted from the speed of the attacking ship to determine the number of ram dice applied in

damage. Both ships lose 20 ft of base speed, but are still moving.


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If two ships ram into one another front-to-front, their speeds are added together, and then both deal damage to

the others at this number of ram dice.

FIRE!!1

Wooden ships are not floating tinderboxes. Fires can and do destroy ships, but it usually takes more than a singleflaming sphere to start an unstoppable fire. When a flammable part of a ship is exposed to an effect that can start

a fire (a fire spell of the right type, alchemists fire, etc.), make a fire check. This is an unmodified d20 roll; the

DC is determined as shown below. Spells that cause an instantaneous blast of fire usually dont catch inanimateobjects on fire, whereas fire spells that burn for multiple rounds are more likely to start a shipboard fire.

DC Cause of Fire

5 Struck by flaming arrows

8 Struck by alchemists fire

15 Struck by Firespout

10 + spell level Attacked by ongoing fire spell or effect

Save DC Attacked by monster with a fire aura, breath weapon, or similar fire ability

If the affected ship equals or betters the DC, it is not set on fire by the attack. Ships prepared for battle (sails and

lines wet down, buckets of sand and water close at hand, decanter of endless water) gain a +4 bonus on thischeck. If the check is lower than the DC, the ship has caught on fire. When a ship catches fire, half of the

squares exposed to the attack (minimum 1 square) ignite. A burning square is on fire, dealing 2d6 points of

damage per round to that hull section (ignoring hardness) and dealing the same damage to any character whoenters the square. Each round that the fire burns, roll d%: 0151, the fire burns as normal; 5299, the fire

spreads to 1 adjacent square.

Sinking ships

If a ship has a section of hull destroyed (not rigging/mast), it begins to rapidly take on water. Unless the ship canbe repaired quickly, or dry-docked, it will sink in a matter of minutes.

Ship category Minutes to Sink Windstorm +

Small 10 1 minute

Medium 25 2 minutes

Large 40 5 minutes

The number of minutes a ship stays afloat once a section has been totally destroyed is determined by its size

category, as seen in the table above. This time is reduced by 5 minutes once a second section is destroyed, and isfurther reduced by 5 for every destroyed section thereafter. This penalty stacks: therefore, if a small ship has

been sinking for 2 minutes (of 10), and then a second section is destroyed on it, the time reduction is removed

from the time remaining (10 2 = 8; then, 8 5 = 3). However, all ships will always remain afloat for at least 30

seconds (5 rounds), regardless of destroyed sections. A damaged ship caught in Windstorm or worse weathersinks much quicker than in calmer seas.


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Repairing ships

If a damaged ship can make it (or be transported by any means) to a port, drydock, or any other haven where

repairs can be carried out, the following rules dictate the time and cost of the repairs.

Damaged sections can be fully repaired at a rate of 1-per-day in a normal port, or 4-per-day in a drydock or

similar superior facility. The cost of repairing each damaged section is 1/8 th the full cost of the ship (including

the price of plating per section, as below), divided by the total number of sections (and rounded up to the nearestgp). Thus, if there are 4 sections in a ship that originally cost 8,000 gp, then the cost to repair each damaged

section would be 250 gp. This number represents the cost of raw materials and wages required to repair the

section.

Destroyed sections can be fully repaired at a rate of 1-per-2 days in a normal port, or 2-per-day in a drydock or

similar superior facility. The cost of repairing each damaged section is 1/3 th the full cost of the ship (including

the price of plating per section, as below), divided by the total number of sections (and rounded up to the nearestgp). Using the example above, the cost to repair each destroyed section would be 667 gp. This number

represents the cost of the raw materials and wages required to repair the section.

Armor Plating

A ship can be equipped with different materials as plating on each 10-foot section (except rigging) to increase

these sections' Hit Points and Hardness. A ship may only have one type of plating applied to it. The hardness is

added to the inherent 10/- hardness that ship hulls have, and the HP added is added to each individual section.

Note that the price per section must be included in the overall base price for the purposes of repairing a damagedor destroyed section. This price increase may be left off, but the ship's section stats will revert to default and

new plating will have to be purchased and applied later.

Material HP added Hardness added Price* Weight*

Adamantine 30 15 5000 gp 5k lbs

Mithral 20 10 3500 gp 2k lbs

Darkwood 10 7 2000 gp 250 lbs

Iron 20 7 1000 gp 4k lbs

Wood** 10 3 200 gp 500 lbs

*Per sections of ship

**Many ships keep pre-made 10x10 sections of wood stacked in the hull in case of emergencies. If a hullsection is destroyed, a wooden replacement can be erected within approximately 5 minutes if at least 4 crew

members are available. This replacement section is weak and easily destroyed, but it will keep the ship from

sinking before it can reach port. Ships generally keep enough sections to replace 25% of their hull.

Boarding an Enemy Ship

Sometimes sinking a ship is not the ultimate goal. In many cases, capturing a ship is a more profitable endeavor;


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or you may simply wish to fight hand-to-hand with hostile crews to even the odds. Whatever the reason,

boarding an enemy ship (or being boarded) may happen whenever ships are within 50ft of one another.

The attacking ship must cast lines at the defender. The crew rolls 1d20 + any Crew-Level modifier, vs DC10 + 2per 10 ft apart the ships are. If this attack roll fails, the crew spends the rest of the round retrieving the ropes and

must wait for the following round to try again. If this attack roll succeeds, enough hooked lines have reached the

target to make grappling viable.

If the attack roll is successful, both ships make a grapple check. This grapple is not the same as a character

grapple. Rather, it is 1d20 + the number of crewmen available* + any Crew-Level modifier. If the defender'scheck is higher, the grapple fails and the whole process must begin again. However, if the attacker's check is

higher, the two ships move closer to one another by 10 ft. Therefore, if the grapple started while the ships were

50 ft away, a successful attack brings them to 40 ft away. The grapple check is repeated each round until eitherthe defender wins a round, or the ships are close enough for one to board the other (generally, a crew will refuse

to board until the ships are touching, but some daring crews have been known to attempt crossing between ships

much earlier by whatever means they have).

If a captain is confident that he can repel the invaders, he can elect to allow a boarding attempt to succeed

automatically. It will still require one round per 10 ft for the attacker to reel closer.

Once a ship has been boarded, combat continues as normal.

*The number of crewmen available is the base number of crew, minus any losses they have taken, divided bythe number of boarding attempts currently in place. If a ship is currently beset by 2 boarders when a third

attacks, only 1/3 of the crew is going to be available to repel them.

Crew Level

As a crew experiences more combat together, they begin to excel at it. Terrifying moments of combat andvictory have hardened them into a more able and competent group than a fresh crew straight out of port. When a

ship and her crew survive a conflict, they gain valuable experience, which eventually leads to increased abilities

such as a quicker ship speed, better aim for weaponry, and greater success at boarding attempts.

Crew Level XP needed General Bonus Special Bonus

1 1000 +1 Quick Training

2 3000 +2 +5 base speed

3 6000 +3 Quick Reload

4 10000 +4 +10 base speed

5 15000 +5 Frightful Boarding

The crew and the captain are connected by a bond of trust. Part of what enables a crew to excel is their trust in

the captain and adherence to his orders. When the captain of a ship is incapacitated, a crew's level is temporarily

reduced by 1 until he returns to command. If the captain is killed, or permanently surrenders command for anyreason, the reduction in level is permanent.


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Once a new captain assumes command, the crew may begin gaining XP again. For one month after command is

changed, or until a new level is achieved, the crew gains only XP. It takes time for a crew and a captain to get

a rhythm. However, during this time they are also immune to both temporary and permanent level loss; they

have no bond with the captain, and thus cannot suffer from losing him.

The General Bonus applies anytime the crew must roll a die (such as attack and damage rolls, or grapple

attempts), and also to a number of other ship systems: crew AC, double rowing rounds, balance checks, siegeweapon rolls, and so on.

Quick Training means that any new crew members added to a leveled crew are quickly brought up into thebrotherhood. Within a week on board the ship, new crew match the same level as their fellow sailors.

The base speed increases do not stack, they overlap. Therefore, a level 4 crew moves +10 ft, not +15. This basespeed increase applies to all methods of movement, sail, oar, or mechanical, and it is included before any other

relevant modifiers; in essence, an experienced crew can get more out of a ship.

When they have enough experience with siege weaponry, a crew becomes familiar with using them swiftly. Acrew who has earned the Quick Reload may reload siege weapons with fewer rounds between shots. They may

reduced the required full-round reload actions by a number equal to their crew level (up to 5 rounds less

however, one full round is required to reload any siege weapon). In essence, they can cut corners to get results.However, doing so introduces the chance of catastrophic failure. Each round they reduce the reload by adds a

15% chance of jamming or otherwise damaging the siege weapon. Therefore, if they reduce it by one round,

they roll a d%. If the result is less than 15, the siege weapon is jammed or damaged, and cannot be used againuntil fixed. If they reduce it by three rounds, they must roll a result lower than 45, and so on. Note: this is a roll

that does not receive the Crew Level general modifier. When jammed or damaged in this manner, it requires 2

minutes to repair or clean it sufficiently for use again. Also note: they cannot reduce the time required to aim or

fire a siege weapon.

Frightful boarding at level 5 is a simple but powerful bonus. Whenever the ship is engaged in a boarding action,

either as attacker or defender, frightful boarding means that the crew number is doubled for the rolls. They havebecome an almost legendary crew, and are thus more capable at overwhelming other ships.

Siege Weapons

Item Cost Damage Critical Range Crew Type Mount

Catapult, medium 800 gp 6d6 250 ft (100 ft min) 4 Indirect Medium

Catapult, small 550 gp 4d6 150 ft (50 ft min) 2 Indirect Small

Ballista 500 gp 3d8 19-20 120 ft 1 Direct Small

Cannon, large 8,000 gp 3d10+25 200 8 Direct Large

Cannon, medium 4,500 gp 2d10+20 150 4 Direct Medium

Cannon, small 2,000 gp 1d10+15 100 2 Direct Small

Firespout 4,000 gp 5d6 fire 30 5 Direct Small

Ram See text


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Ballista: as listed in the DMG pg 99, ballista is a Huge heavy crossbow fixed in place. The ballista is a direct-

fire weapon; due to its size a Medium creature takes a 4 penalty on attack rolls when firing a ballista, and aSmall creature takes a 6 penalty. The ballista takes up a space 5 feet across and weighs 400 pounds.

Reload: It takes a typical crew two full rounds to load or reload a ballista, a full round to aim and a full

round to fire it. Normal rate of fire is one shot per 4 rounds.

Catapult, medium: A heavy catapult is a massive engine capable of throwing rocks or heavy objects with great

force. Because the catapult throws its payload in a high arc, it can hit squares out of its line of sight. To fire amedium catapult, the crew chief makes a special check against the target ship's Touch AC, using only his base

attack bonus, Intelligence modifier, range increment penalty, and the appropriate modifiers from the Table

below. If the check succeeds, the catapult stone hist the square the catapult was aimed at, dealing the indicateddamage to any object or character in the square. Characters who succeed on a DC 15 Reflex save take half

damage. Once a catapult stone hits a square, subsequent shots hit the same square unless the catapult is reaimed

or moved, or the target moves. Because the catapult throws its stone in a high arc, it cannot strike a target within

100 feetthe range is simply too close. The medium catapult takes up a space 15 feet across and weights 1,800pounds.

Reload: It takes a typical crew three full rounds to reload the medium catapult, and two to aim. One to

fire. Normal rate of fire is one shot per six rounds.

Catapult, small: This is the light catapult described in theDungeon Masters Guide. A catapult is an indirect-

fire weapon that uses a tension device to throw a heavy stone hundreds of feet. It functions the same as themedium catapult above. Because the catapult throws its stone in a high arc, it cannot strike a target within 100

feetthe range is simply too close. The catapult takes up a space 10 feet across and weighs 1,000 pounds.

Reload: It takes a typical crew two full rounds to reload the small catapult, and one to aim. One to fire.

Normal rate of fire is one shot per four rounds.

Indirect-fire Modifiers

CONDITION MODIFIER

Wind changes directions between shots -5

Attacking ship is moving -1 per 10ft of speed

Defending ship is moving -1 per 10 ft of speed

Cannon, large: The large cannon is a long, thin metal barrel designed to fire round stone cannonballs with a

modest charge of powder. It is a direct-fire weapon; due to its size, a Medium creature takes a -8 penalty on

attack rolls when firing a large cannon, and a small creature takes a -10 penalty. It takes up a 10x5 foot spaceand weighs 2,000 pounds.

Reload: It takes a typical crew eight full rounds to clean and reload a large cannon. Then one round to

aim, and one more to fire. Normal rate of fire is one shot per ten rounds (1 minute).

Cannon, medium: The medium cannon is a long, thin metal barrel designed to fire round stone cannonballs

with a modest charge of powder. It is a direct-fire weapon; due to its size, a Medium creature takes a -6 penalty

on attack rolls when firing a large cannon, and a small creature takes a -8 penalty. It takes up a 10x5 foot spaceand weighs 1,000 pounds.


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Reload: It takes a typical crew five full rounds to clean and reload a medium cannon. Then one round to

aim, and one more to fire. Normal rate of fire is one shot per seven rounds.

Cannon, small: The small cannon is a long, thin metal barrel designed to fire round stone cannonballs withsmall charges of powder. It is a direct-fire weapon; due to its size, a Medium creature takes a -4 penalty on

attack rolls when firing a large cannon, and a small creature takes a -6 penalty. It takes up a 5x5 foot space and

weighs 500 pounds.Reload: It takes a typical crew three full rounds to clean and reload a large cannon. Then one round to

aim, and one more to fire. Normal rate of fire is one shot per five rounds.

Firespout: The firespout is a device that spews a great gout of alchemists fire on a nearby enemy ship. It

consists of a long copper tube mounted in a turret, with a large bellows and a reservoir for its highly flammable

fuel. When you fire the firespout, you create a 30-foot-long line of alchemists fire in a line towards your target.To use a firespout, you must bring your ship within 30 feet of the enemy. If you succeed on the attack roll, you

strike the enemy ship with your alchemists fire; on a failure, you miss. The alchemists fire deals 5d6 points of

fire damage in a 30-foot line; DC 15 Reflex save for half. On the round following, all targets within the radius

take 3d6 points of fire damage; DC 15 Reflex save negates. A ship (or similar wooden structure) struck by afirespout might catch on fire. Creatures who fail their Reflex saves against a firespout catch fire; see Catching

on Fire on page 303 of theDungeon Masters Guide. A firespout takes up a space 10 feet across and weighs

1,500 pounds. A firespout is fueled by a special metal canister which costs 700 gp; one canister allows a singlefirespout to fire twice before reloading.

Reload: Each shot from a firespout is a full round action; afterwords, it takes a typical crew eight full

rounds to swap canisters.

Ram: A ram is a long metal sheathe fitted over the stern of a ship to protect it from damage when the ship

collides with a target in a ramming action. It does not provide a damage bonus, but it does halve the damage

normally taken from the action. Otherwise, it provides no benefits.Cost is determined by the size of the ship the ram is designed for. A small ship ram costs 775 gp, a

medium ship ram costs 1500 gp, and a large ship ram costs 3750 gp.

Documents

Ship Rules