Combat on Water

Vessels

Large Galley

Oared Movement

Speed	Inches per turn
Slow	10
Cruise	15
Fast	25

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	20	25
Broad Reaching	15	20
Beam Reaching	10	15

Small Galley

Oared Movement

Speed	Inches per turn
Slow	15
Cruise	20
Fast	30

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	25	30
Broad Reaching	20	25
Beam Reaching	15	20

Longship

Oared Movement

Speed	Inches per turn
Slow	12
Cruise	18
Fast	25

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	30	35
Broad Reaching	25	30
Beam Reaching	20	25

Large Merchant Ship

No Oared Movement

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	20	30
Broad Reaching	18	27
Beam Reaching	15	24
Beating	10	20

Small Merchant Ship

No Oared Movement

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	25	35
Broad Reaching	22	32
Beam Reaching	20	30
Beating	15	25

Sailed Warship

No Oared Movement

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	25	35
Broad Reaching	22	32
Beam Reaching	20	30
Beating	15	25

Boat

Oared Movement

Speed	Inches per turn
Slow	10
Cruise	15
Fast	20

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	15	20
Broad Reaching	12	17
Beam Reaching	10	15
Beating	5	10

Raft

Oared Movement

Speed	Inches per turn
Cruise	15

Sailed Movement

Point of Sail	Inches per Turn in Light Breeze	Inches per Turn in Strong Breeze
Running	10	15
Broad Reaching	6	10

Movement

Movement is in inches.

Oared Movement

Oared Movement is at one of three speeds: Slow, Cruise, or Fast.

This requires a crew of well rested rowers.

A rested crew has a fatigue factor of 30.

Each turn of movement uses fatigue factor depending on the speed travelled.

A turn of rest replenishes 1 Fatigue Factor.

Oared movement in the same direction as a current is increased by 5 inches.

Oared movement in the opposite direction of a current is reduced by 5 inches.

Rowing backwards speed is halved.

Increasing rowing speed must be incremental. The following table shows the possible speed changes:

Sailed Movement

Any wind less than a light breeze is considered calm weather.

Sailed movement is not possible in calm weather, a storm, or a gale.

When sailing in a river the base movement listed in the vessels table is halved.

Wind

Wind Speed is determined by rolling 2d6 on the following table.

Move the below Galley related rules to the Galley section?

Galleys in a Strong breeze have a 10% chance per turn of shipping water.

If water is shipped the galley loses 25% of its speed.

If a galley ever loses 75% of its speed from shipping water it will sink.

Wind Direction is determined by rolling 1d8 on the following table.

Turning

For every 10 inches moved, an oared ship being rowed may turn up to 45 degrees.

For every 12 inches of sailed movement, a vessel may turn up to 30 degrees.

Open Seas

Galleys may not operate on the open seas.

Playing Area

1:1200 scale models should be used with a playing area 6 feet square.

Combat involving boarding and melee require maps of the vessels decks at the scale of individual units.

Written Orders

Each side writes down their orders for movement and gives them to the referee to carry out.

Orders need to include the direction, and distance.

Missile fire is at the end of a turn.

Units in melee cannot fire missiles.

Missile Fire

All missile fire is as normal. Detail here

Vessel Hit Points

Move these to each Vessel

Large ships = 16 + 2d4.

Small ships = 7 + 2d4.

Boat = 3.

Ramming

A ship must be equipped with a ram in order to be able to ram into another vessel.

1. The ramming ship must have its mast lowered (a.k.a stepped).

2. A ramming ship must be moving at it’s Fast speed.

3. A ramming ship must immediately back oars after striking.

4. The rammed ship suffers the following:

   • 1d6 * 10 percent of it’s total health in damage.

   • 25% chance that it will have a hole below the water line. and sink in 3d6 turns unless it’s crew patch the hole in that time.

   • Patching a hole below the waterline requires 5 turns of work by ten people, and there is a 25% chance the job will not hold, requiring another five turns to replace.

   • A vessel rammed in the side loses 20% of its crew, 15% must be rowers if the ship is oared.

   • A vessel rammed astern or bow on loses 5% of its crew, none of whom will be rowers.

5. Ramming does not affect grappling.

Shearing Oars

If a vessel passes alongside another vessel which has oars, the oars will be sheared off. This will kill 50% of the rowers on that side of the ship.

If the vessel shearing the oars is also a rowed ship, it is assumed that it’s oars are shipped before making contact. If the oars of the attacking ship are not shipped, then it’s oars are sheared as above.

A ship with sheared oars will cannot move for three turns, and can only move at half speed.

If a rowed vessel has it’s oars sheared on both sides then it can no longer move.

Grappling

Vessels within 1 inch of each other can attempt to grapple.

It requires only one person to grapple or cut a grapple.

Each vessel has a 20% chance of successfully grappling.

Grappled ships cannot move.

There is a 20% chance that a grapple can be cut.

Each vessel can make three grappling attempts per turn.

Each vessel can make three attempts to cut a grapple per turn.

Once grappled, vessels may be boarded.

Boarding

To board a vessel from another they must be grappled.

The deck maps of the grappled vessels are then placed next to each other with the side that are connected adjacent.

For every three feet of deck space parallel to the ship to be boarded, one person per turn can board.

People swimming next to a grappled vessel can climb the sides and board.

Once boarders are on the enemy ship, melee combat takes place.

Melee

Melee is the same as normal except as detailed in this section.

Units move towards an objective only when their leader or one of their lieutenants is able to exercise command control.

Those units not under command control will collect obvious loot, or retreat if they are normal humans.

Units can be forced back. If they have no space to retreat they are either forced overboard, forced off the deck they are on, fall from the rigging, or surrender if none of those are possible. What is being forced back?

If a unit falls, or is struck by a falling unit they must roll 1d6 on the following table to see if they take any damage:

If they fail to save then they take damage depending on the surface they land on, or are already on in the case they are struck by the faller.

Landing on a hard surface

1d6 damage for every 10 feet fallen.

Landing on water or similarly yielding surface

1d6 for every 20 feet fallen.

When a giant attacks a door on a standard ship it will cost them half their turns movement to break it.

It takes 10 normal humans one turn to break down a door on a standard ship.

Cutting rigging is easy for anyone with a battle axe and a strong back.

A giant can tear rigging apart like it was string.

It takes a normal human with a sword three turns to cut a piece of rigging, or an anchor rope.

It takes a giant one turn to tear apart a piece of rigging, or an anchor rope.

Command Control

It is necessary that a leader or one of their lieutenants be nearby to issue orders to units involved in shipboard melees. The range of command control is the Charisma rating as a radius in inches. A leader may have two lieutenants to aid him in command, but a lieutenant has a range equal to his leader’s one inch.

Leaders involved in melee have their command control range halved.

Personnel beyond the range of the leader’s or lieutenants’ command control will not respond.

Lieutenants must be within command control range of the leader to pass on orders, or themselves respond.

Creatures and unintelligent creatures do not have command control problems, and they will act according to what is going on around them.

Leaders in plain view above their subordinates will add 1 inch to their command control range radius for every 10 feet they are above them. Thus a leader on a stern castle would be 20 feet higher than the deck, and they would add 2 inches to their range of command control.

Units engaged in melee will only respond to commands when a roll of 1 to 4 is made on 1d6. This will be checked each turn.

Orders can be given to be carried out a number of turns later. This gives a greater chance for Units in melee to respond.

Swimming

Units in armour that enter water have a chance of drowning.

Those in Chain mail armour must shed their armour or they will drown.

Those in Plate armour cannot remove it once they are in the water. They will always drown.

*Only if thrown overboard.

If in a storm there is a 50% chance that any person in the water will drown. Roll for this possibility each turn.

Assume that 50% of all sailors can swim.

Swimming speed is 3 inches per turn.

People swimming can swim to any ship they can reach to be picked up.

To be picked up the vessel must be moving at “slow” speed if it is oared, or under 15 inches per turn if sailed.

Only daggers or wooden weapons (which are buoyant) can be carried when swimming.

Buoyant weapons are: wooden club, quarter staff, spear.

Ship Capture

A ship is captured when all of its crew surrender, are dead, or are overboard.

Crews

Each vessel has a certain number and type of crew members. Depending on the crew members and vessel type, certain actions can be taken.

Crew Numbers

Split this table into individual vessel rules?

Crew Tasks

Rowing

If there are fewer rowers than required for the type of vessel, reduce the speed proportionately, rounding down.

Stepping or Unstepping Masts

This is done only on Galleys and Longships. It takes ten crew and three turns.

Making and Taking In Sail

To do this rowed ships need three crew, other vessels need six crew.