The Age of Sailing Ships - Rules for Pirates!
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:18 pm
Age of Sailing Ships!
For my Demon Isles Campaign, I will be making quite a bit of use of Sailing Ships, and hopefully a few ship fights. I don’t want a tactical game though, I want to use what is already there in the rule for OVA to make it flow. While everything I am about to say (I think) could be pieced together from the rules, I wanted to expand just a little bit (think of them like the helpful gray boxes in the main text of the book) to make sure everyone in my game is on the same page. I wanted to start simple, so the rules are simple. I would of course be interested in any and all feedback.
Sailing Ships
Sailing Ships are Vehicles (Mecha). You can take that ability to have your very own. Here are a few basics to remember about ships though (some are new rules):
Abilities are not cumulative You can choose which you want to use, but in general, you don’t add your abilities to the ship’s abilities.
For the sake of flavor all ship attacks must be built using the power move - this is done mostly because I think it would neat to have to spend ship “endurance” ie. The crew and the stores to get into combat. The only exception to this is probably if you are going to ram something. Also it helps customize the ships, if you have a ship that is very easy to sail, and has a well stocked crew, then you take vitality for your ship. If you have a ship that has a very large store of cannon and powder, then you take endurance battery for your power moves.
Modifiers – Just a few modifiers and things to think of when running with ships, if the ship doesn’t have an alternative means other than sails, the GM might give you a -1 or -2 modifer because of the wind. This usually only happens when it is important to think about, such as a pirate ambush specifically coming at you so that in order to get away you have tack against the wind, but they don’t.
Again most skills that your character’s have will impact the ship in any way (except for maybe pilot). Instead, if you have some characters on the ship directing the attack, and they seem to be very good, give the ship a +1 modifier. For example, if Gomez “Monkey Paw” has Hobby: Ships Cannons +4, and the ship itself only has Combat Skill +2, then perhaps when firing cannons, you give it a +1 if Gomez spends his action directing the attack.
Boarding/Being Boarded – Goes to personal scale again, however, the ship being boarded takes a -1 penalty to all actions since the crew is significantly distracted. (lots of folks with guns and sabers on the decks).
Scale – I don’t want to turn this in to a tactical game, but remember when dealing with ships there is Ship Scale and People Scale. While it may be possible for something like a power attack or really good shot to disable a ship, or for cannon to take out a person, it is recommended not to get too hung up on scale on scale to scale tables for damage and such. Instead, just change the difficulty numbers, to damage a ship for example set the DN as nigh impossible as the defense roll. For shooting cannons at people, just use the normal damage, and assume that it is not the cannon ball hitting the person but the wreckage around it. If you really, really want a scale, I would use a simple 10 to 1 for a ship.
Sailing Ships and Combat
This is what most folks are interested in. Like the Main OVA, there is no combat grid. There is also no movement, there is just normal or ranged. Ranged represents really, really far away, while normal is anything from close-up and personal (boarding) to close enough to shoot normal cannons.
You roll initiative like normal. However it will be the ship’s quickness, and/or modified by the crew. If you have a fast and efficient crew that are healthy and rested it might give you a +1, if you have a crew full of scurvy with half the crew below decks sick, you might get a -1.
Combat works like normal, usually one action per turn, although you can always use the different combat moves. Ships have agile and quick just like people. Even moves like counterattack, which represent trying to get a better shot off first but leaving you exposed. For defense and attack, the GM may decide that having a good helmsman is worth something, in that case he may allow you to add the ability, usually though if it is good for one it is good for the other, so the opponents will generally do that as well.
Defense represents getting your ship out of the way, or changing direction to throw off the other ship’s measurements for powder and trajectory. In some cases the GM may throw a wind modifier at you (like in the ambush situation above).
The only really important new aspect is the getting away one. As an action you can try to get away. That is move out range of the attack. You make pilot plus either agile or quick vs. the other ships pilot or agile plus quick. Choose which ever makes the most sense, in the open seas it might be quick, near the shore line where maneuvering is more important it might be agile. If the ship trying to get away is higher, then you are now one range further away. Continue the chase if you want until it gets obvious that the ship has gotten away.
Important note: if you want to get away/chase and fire that is two actions since the crews attention is split.
There you have it, the simple ship rules.
Alternate Rules – Note these deviate significantly from OVA’s combat system. But simulate the actual way naval combat use to work, which was a lot of maneuvering into position, and then just pounding away at each other broadsides until one guy was done. Ships start combat beyond ranged usually (because of the sighting distances, fog or something similar would change that). Both ships can maneuver as per the getting away above. Once you are close enough to attack, you simply make an attack roll against a DN set by the GM (rather than a defense roll). Generally:
Larger Ship v. Smaller Ship 6
Smaller Ship v. Larger 2
Similar size ships 4
In this system most ships won't have a defense, only a combat skill and power move for attacking. The actual clumsy, slow, agile, quick, would just affect movement and positioning.
Generally the first one to get a shot off is going to be the one to win in this scenario (which was typical back in the day). Personally I am going to be using the first set of rules I came up with, they seem more cinematic and flashy.
Special Abilities & Crew
Generally in this campaign when making up a ship, you should also make up a crew using the extra’s rules. If your character is a captain, make sure you take Position of Power Ability our you will have to convince your crew what to do. There are a few abilities you can make to your crew that might impact the ship. The obvious one that springs to mind are motivations and hatreds that might give you a modifier. For example, a crew that is pirate hunters, might have Special Ability (Pirate Hunters) +1, giving that ship plus one die to all actions when facing off with Pirates. Another weakness might be Hatred Pirates -1. The captain is going to have a hard time keeping the crew from wanting to go after a pirate ship.
Example Ship – The Direwolf, Solar Pirate Hunting Schooner +3 Ship
Abilities
Agile +2
Combat Skill +3
Quick +1
Power Move +2
Firepots (Continued Damage, Activation, 10 Endurance, DT 5, Affinity Fire)
Cannon Barrage (10 Endurance, DT 5)
Weaknesses
Fragile -1
Special Weakness -1 (Fire)
Code of Conduct (Must defend the coasts of Princeton) -2
Speacial Weakness -1 Affected By Wind
CrewCombat Skill +2, Defense +1, Hobby (sailing) +2, Special Ability (Pirate Hunters – gives ship bonus) +1, Hatred Pirates -2, Servitude -3 Captain of the Ship
The Demon’s Lash +4 Ship
Agile +2
Combat Skill +3
Defense +2
Quick +3
Power Move +1
Hell’s Breath Broadsides (Extra Damage x3, Extra Knockback, Must be side to side with other ship, 30 Endurance, DT 7)
Succubus Snare Chain Shot (Reduced Damagex2, Speacial Perk: -1 to Get Away Rolls, DT 2, 10 Endurance)
Demon’s Shreeder Grapeshot (Low Penetration, Special Perk: Damages Crew instead of ship, 10 endurance, DT 4)
Devil’s Chance (Ranged, 15 Endurance, DT 4)
Vitality +1
Weaknesses
Size -1 (Smaller Two Mast Ship)
Trigger (Quickness and Agility only work in Coastal Waters) -2
Frail -1
Wanted -3 (Ship is recognizable and will be attacked on sight by authorities)
Special Weakness Affected by Wind -1
[EDIT - I found that most of the time trying to build ships was really tough to get any kind of abilities into them, because most if not all the weaknesses are personailty based. The first two ships I mentioned are really the smaller most combat type of ships, so they needed some extra umph for agility and quickness.
That is why I added Special Weakness Affected by the Wind - this modifer tells a GM how important it is for the ship to be sailing with the wind in the correct direction. Huge galleons will have a -3, while smaller sleeker lanten sailing ships (much easier to tack) will have a -1. It affects most if not all the abilites as the GM deems the sutuation. Some ships might be galleys and not have this weakness as all. [EDIT]
For my Demon Isles Campaign, I will be making quite a bit of use of Sailing Ships, and hopefully a few ship fights. I don’t want a tactical game though, I want to use what is already there in the rule for OVA to make it flow. While everything I am about to say (I think) could be pieced together from the rules, I wanted to expand just a little bit (think of them like the helpful gray boxes in the main text of the book) to make sure everyone in my game is on the same page. I wanted to start simple, so the rules are simple. I would of course be interested in any and all feedback.
Sailing Ships
Sailing Ships are Vehicles (Mecha). You can take that ability to have your very own. Here are a few basics to remember about ships though (some are new rules):
Abilities are not cumulative You can choose which you want to use, but in general, you don’t add your abilities to the ship’s abilities.
For the sake of flavor all ship attacks must be built using the power move - this is done mostly because I think it would neat to have to spend ship “endurance” ie. The crew and the stores to get into combat. The only exception to this is probably if you are going to ram something. Also it helps customize the ships, if you have a ship that is very easy to sail, and has a well stocked crew, then you take vitality for your ship. If you have a ship that has a very large store of cannon and powder, then you take endurance battery for your power moves.
Modifiers – Just a few modifiers and things to think of when running with ships, if the ship doesn’t have an alternative means other than sails, the GM might give you a -1 or -2 modifer because of the wind. This usually only happens when it is important to think about, such as a pirate ambush specifically coming at you so that in order to get away you have tack against the wind, but they don’t.
Again most skills that your character’s have will impact the ship in any way (except for maybe pilot). Instead, if you have some characters on the ship directing the attack, and they seem to be very good, give the ship a +1 modifier. For example, if Gomez “Monkey Paw” has Hobby: Ships Cannons +4, and the ship itself only has Combat Skill +2, then perhaps when firing cannons, you give it a +1 if Gomez spends his action directing the attack.
Boarding/Being Boarded – Goes to personal scale again, however, the ship being boarded takes a -1 penalty to all actions since the crew is significantly distracted. (lots of folks with guns and sabers on the decks).
Scale – I don’t want to turn this in to a tactical game, but remember when dealing with ships there is Ship Scale and People Scale. While it may be possible for something like a power attack or really good shot to disable a ship, or for cannon to take out a person, it is recommended not to get too hung up on scale on scale to scale tables for damage and such. Instead, just change the difficulty numbers, to damage a ship for example set the DN as nigh impossible as the defense roll. For shooting cannons at people, just use the normal damage, and assume that it is not the cannon ball hitting the person but the wreckage around it. If you really, really want a scale, I would use a simple 10 to 1 for a ship.
Sailing Ships and Combat
This is what most folks are interested in. Like the Main OVA, there is no combat grid. There is also no movement, there is just normal or ranged. Ranged represents really, really far away, while normal is anything from close-up and personal (boarding) to close enough to shoot normal cannons.
You roll initiative like normal. However it will be the ship’s quickness, and/or modified by the crew. If you have a fast and efficient crew that are healthy and rested it might give you a +1, if you have a crew full of scurvy with half the crew below decks sick, you might get a -1.
Combat works like normal, usually one action per turn, although you can always use the different combat moves. Ships have agile and quick just like people. Even moves like counterattack, which represent trying to get a better shot off first but leaving you exposed. For defense and attack, the GM may decide that having a good helmsman is worth something, in that case he may allow you to add the ability, usually though if it is good for one it is good for the other, so the opponents will generally do that as well.
Defense represents getting your ship out of the way, or changing direction to throw off the other ship’s measurements for powder and trajectory. In some cases the GM may throw a wind modifier at you (like in the ambush situation above).
The only really important new aspect is the getting away one. As an action you can try to get away. That is move out range of the attack. You make pilot plus either agile or quick vs. the other ships pilot or agile plus quick. Choose which ever makes the most sense, in the open seas it might be quick, near the shore line where maneuvering is more important it might be agile. If the ship trying to get away is higher, then you are now one range further away. Continue the chase if you want until it gets obvious that the ship has gotten away.
Important note: if you want to get away/chase and fire that is two actions since the crews attention is split.
There you have it, the simple ship rules.
Alternate Rules – Note these deviate significantly from OVA’s combat system. But simulate the actual way naval combat use to work, which was a lot of maneuvering into position, and then just pounding away at each other broadsides until one guy was done. Ships start combat beyond ranged usually (because of the sighting distances, fog or something similar would change that). Both ships can maneuver as per the getting away above. Once you are close enough to attack, you simply make an attack roll against a DN set by the GM (rather than a defense roll). Generally:
Larger Ship v. Smaller Ship 6
Smaller Ship v. Larger 2
Similar size ships 4
In this system most ships won't have a defense, only a combat skill and power move for attacking. The actual clumsy, slow, agile, quick, would just affect movement and positioning.
Generally the first one to get a shot off is going to be the one to win in this scenario (which was typical back in the day). Personally I am going to be using the first set of rules I came up with, they seem more cinematic and flashy.
Special Abilities & Crew
Generally in this campaign when making up a ship, you should also make up a crew using the extra’s rules. If your character is a captain, make sure you take Position of Power Ability our you will have to convince your crew what to do. There are a few abilities you can make to your crew that might impact the ship. The obvious one that springs to mind are motivations and hatreds that might give you a modifier. For example, a crew that is pirate hunters, might have Special Ability (Pirate Hunters) +1, giving that ship plus one die to all actions when facing off with Pirates. Another weakness might be Hatred Pirates -1. The captain is going to have a hard time keeping the crew from wanting to go after a pirate ship.
Example Ship – The Direwolf, Solar Pirate Hunting Schooner +3 Ship
Abilities
Agile +2
Combat Skill +3
Quick +1
Power Move +2
Firepots (Continued Damage, Activation, 10 Endurance, DT 5, Affinity Fire)
Cannon Barrage (10 Endurance, DT 5)
Weaknesses
Fragile -1
Special Weakness -1 (Fire)
Code of Conduct (Must defend the coasts of Princeton) -2
Speacial Weakness -1 Affected By Wind
CrewCombat Skill +2, Defense +1, Hobby (sailing) +2, Special Ability (Pirate Hunters – gives ship bonus) +1, Hatred Pirates -2, Servitude -3 Captain of the Ship
The Demon’s Lash +4 Ship
Agile +2
Combat Skill +3
Defense +2
Quick +3
Power Move +1
Hell’s Breath Broadsides (Extra Damage x3, Extra Knockback, Must be side to side with other ship, 30 Endurance, DT 7)
Succubus Snare Chain Shot (Reduced Damagex2, Speacial Perk: -1 to Get Away Rolls, DT 2, 10 Endurance)
Demon’s Shreeder Grapeshot (Low Penetration, Special Perk: Damages Crew instead of ship, 10 endurance, DT 4)
Devil’s Chance (Ranged, 15 Endurance, DT 4)
Vitality +1
Weaknesses
Size -1 (Smaller Two Mast Ship)
Trigger (Quickness and Agility only work in Coastal Waters) -2
Frail -1
Wanted -3 (Ship is recognizable and will be attacked on sight by authorities)
Special Weakness Affected by Wind -1
[EDIT - I found that most of the time trying to build ships was really tough to get any kind of abilities into them, because most if not all the weaknesses are personailty based. The first two ships I mentioned are really the smaller most combat type of ships, so they needed some extra umph for agility and quickness.
That is why I added Special Weakness Affected by the Wind - this modifer tells a GM how important it is for the ship to be sailing with the wind in the correct direction. Huge galleons will have a -3, while smaller sleeker lanten sailing ships (much easier to tack) will have a -1. It affects most if not all the abilites as the GM deems the sutuation. Some ships might be galleys and not have this weakness as all. [EDIT]