This seems like a great place to put information about ships for reference in general. These are very simplified rules on ship combat that we'll use in the campaign. These
rules are universally applicable for all ships; there is variance
depending on the power system used for a particular ship as detailed
further below. Movement there are two scales of movement: Cruise speed = overland movement, defined by miles per hour dictated by the power system used tactical speed = about 500 feet per round for all power systems (to keep it simple) Maneuverability
is not a factor for the sake of simplicity, and relative position is
intentionally ambiguous because tracking moving objects in various
directions is incredibly not-fun. Distance Distance during tactical speed is measured in 5 tiers adjacent = not necessarily touching, but close enough to ram, tether, or board. close range = within 500 feet long range = 500 - 1000 feet far range = 1000 - 1500 feet out of range = beyond 1500 feet or outside of weapon range. whichever is closer. Ship Actions The core of resolving ship maneuvering is a skill check. The type of checks needed depends on the type of power systems used There are two types of checks. 1. resolving DM tasks generally something like maneuvering through
tight confines, avoiding an obstacle, navigating a storm, or not
crashing, anything that fits more along "man vs nature" The default
skill is Navigation, but there are multiple alternate skills that can be
used. see power systems below. 2. Opposing other ships when conflicting ships interact, opposed rolls resolve actions. actions may only target a single ship in relation to your own. Each
ship declares a desired maneuver and the actions are resolved
simultaneously. If all ships choose the same action, no rolls are
necessary. in instances where there are more than 2 ships and various
maneuvers are selected; corresponding actions resolve without rolls, but
any unmatched maneuvers require opposed die rolls. whichever roll
wins, that ship gets to execute the declared maneuver against the target
ship. Those that lost the roll do not get to perform their desired maneuver against the target ship; their status remains "unchanged" Maneuvers close in - changes tiers towards Adjacent by 1 tier. If BOTH ships choose to close in, no check needed. gain distance - changes tiers towards Out of Range by 1 tier. if BOTH ships choose to gain distance, no check needed. evade
- once out of range of conflicting ships, 3 successful rolls will
remove the ship from conflict. if BOTH ships choose to evade, no checks
needed. ram - ships must be adjacent to ram. if BOTH ships choose to ram, no checks needed see weapons below. attack - a ship's weapons and crew can take offensive actions other ships as often as a normal combat allows; see weapons below. if a ship is NOT in attack maneuver, all offensive action by ship crew is at disadvantage. If BOTH ships are in attack, all offensive action are at advantage. Ship Damage when
a ship takes damage, it is assigned a cumulative skill penalty with
each hit. For example; your ship is hit for 3 points of damage... all
maneuvers related to the ship will now have a -3 penalty to the roll
until the ship is repaired. There is no limit to how penalized a ship
can get, but if during a skill check the pilot rolls a cumulative
negative result, the ship becomes disabled. If another character wishes
to recover the ship's functions, that character's applicable skill
bonus must be greater than the penalty assigned to the ship to be able
to succeed. . Repair without magic, ships need
resources to be repaired. Assuming appropriate materials are available,
a ship can be repaired at the rate of 1 HP per day. Special: porting the ship at a properly equipped shipyard can restore 1d4 HP per day. Weapons there are 3 types of weapons: direct fire (balistas, cannons), indirect fire (catapult), melee (ram). attacking creatures catapults
and balistas require the barrage (int) skill vs target AC. a hit
will cause 2d20 hp of damage to characters and creatures. rams do not target individuals attacking ships catapults and balistas cause 1point against ships and structures. rams cause various damage depending on the type below. without
player involvement, a ship will fire a volley of weapons that are
within range at a single target. randomly determine how many applicable
weapons will hit. (at long range, 2 balistas and 2 catapults can do a
potential 1d4 HP total per round) when a player controls a catapult
or balista, a barrage skill check vs target navigation skill check
determines if the weapon deals 1HP of damage to the target ship. 3 basic weapons. 1. catapults = operate within far range or long range tiers 2. balistas = operate within long range, short range and adjacent tiers 3. Rams = must be adjacent to use. there are 3 types of rams 1. blunt rams - cause d4 damage. Ships remain adjacent. This action may be repeated each round. special: Ships without a blunt ram may do so but take d4 damage as well in the process. 2. piercing rams - cause d2 damage and locks the ships together.
they may not disengage unless both choose the Gain Distance maneuver.
doing so leaves the ships adjacent 3. grappling rams - cause 0 damage and locks the ships together.
ships may not disengage unless grappler chooses the Gain Distance
maneuver. Doing so leaves the ships adjacent. special; if
piercing or grappling rams are destroyed through crew actions on deck,
the ships automatically disengage and remain adjacent. Power systems These ideas borrow from eberron, spelljammer, and throwing in my own ideas on top of it. Necrodrives--
this device deals exhaustion to living creatures to create a
connection between the physical world and the spirit world. When
anchored to a craft, this connection creates momentum that can be harvested to "push" a ship through physical space. --the
drive is controlled by a Control Disk that causes one level of exhaustion to the
wielder upon activation. The ship will remain aloft but unmoving
without a controller present as long as the necrodrive core remains
fixed to the vessel. --if the core is breached it will continuously
pour necrotic discharge into the physical world from the spirit world
until the necrodrive core is destroyed --trolls or other
highly-regenerative creatures are required to feed lifeforce to the
necrodrive core... anything less sustainable will be consumed too quickly to effectively power the drive unless there is a continuous stream of new victims fed into the core. elemental helms--this
device anchors an elemental to a vessel. The process requires a bonding
ritual that can be permanent or temporary . Successfully bonding an
elemental to a helm causes the elemental to "possess" the vessel like a
demon would possess an unsuspecting high school student. --generally speaking; the greater the elemental, the bigger the vessel controlled, the more difficult the bonding ritual becomes --elementals
are capable of self-piloting a vehicle at disadvantage, though a
helmsman will be able to coax the ship to perform wthout penlty by means of navigation, persuasion, intimidate, or other skill checks. --controlling
the ship requires communication with the elemental and either a
navigation, sleight of hand, or other skill checks. --elementals left unattended can become "wild" through neglect much the same way a domesticated animalwill lose it's training. --no
concetration is necessary to control an elemental helm if properly
trained... short and long rest is possible while in communication with
the elemental bonded to the helm. --ships have different cruise speed and eccentricities depending on the elemental being bonded air helms --cruise speeds are 40 miles per hour on a vessel with sail rigging.. no rigging = 20 miles per hour --special: air helms gain advantage on evasion if ships' crew focuses on ship rigging fire helms --cruise speeds are 30 miles per hour on a vessel regardless of rigging. --special: fire helms will catch flammable material on fire. Ships cannot be wooden. water helms --cruise speeds are 20 miles per hour regardless of rigging: on water cruise speed is 40 miles per hour. --special: water helms can allow submersion in water safely for air breathers indefinitely, keeping the ship dry. Other
type of ships, power systems, and weapons exist in the multiverse. As
the team encounters them, this information will be expanded. I'm sure there is some alarm that a ship can only tolerate 10points of damage before being downed. You should
be alarmed. combat over ground is dangerous enough, but in open sky
with nothing but ether below... a wrecked ship normally means Gone
Forever. Culturally, attacks on ships is normally a means to pressure a surrender or at least boarding.
Ships are expensive and difficult to produce. capturing them is far
more valuable than destroying them under normal circumstances, even
during war. I'm sure y'all will exploit that.