How To: Ship-to-Ship Combat, Round Six

By now, we've seen what combat on the high seas is like. I find the rules to be simple enough to understand, with enough flexibility to make combat feel real; giving combatants a chance to affect the outcome based on decisions they make, instead of just relying on die rolls. I think I will run one last round as we have been, and then the next round, I will automatically move the ships within range for a grapple attempt so that we can move on to boarding actions.

Entering This Round
Boarding is just what Captain B has in mind, urging his crew to accelerate and close the distance. At 405' out and closing under Full Sail, Ship B moves at 9.6 knots but is suffering a -2 to maneuverability due to the sail position. Captain A could soon find himself in a desperate way. Targeting Crew B with his ship's cannons, he holds position, cruising at 10 knots. The daring sailing action by Ship B in the previous round has forced an Advantage Check this round.

The Advantage
Due to the sail change in the previous round by Ship B, an Advantage Check must be made. Ship B is suffering a -2 maneuverability due to the Full Sails.

• Captain A will roll 1d20 + 7 (+5 Profession: Sailor, +2 synergy bonus for Profession: Tactics)
• Captain B will roll 1d20 + 6 (+8 Profession: Sailor, -2 maneuverability penalty for Full Sails)
• Captain A rolls a 16, for a 23 total
• Captain B rolls a 2, for an 8 total

Advantage Results: Captain A wins the Advantage

Non-Advantaged Ship Declares Heading and Speed
Captain B must declare, being the non-advantaged Captain. He orders his crew to increase speed by 10' (the maximum increase for a sailboat) to 106' and continue to close.

Heading Declaration: Close on Ship A
Speed Declaration: Increase to 10.6 knots

Advantaged Ship Declares Heading and Speed
Captain A has his gunners working full tilt and the cannon fire is deafening. Smoke and pieces of debris are sailing off the bow of Ship B. It may not be a brilliant strategy, but Captain A knows he is outgunned and outmanned. He must even the odds before the inevitable.

Heading Declaration: Hold Position
Speed Declaration: Steady at 10 knots

Movement
Consulting the movement rules, Ship B closes by half the current speed, which is 53'. The two ships continue to inch closer across the open seas, now only 352' away.

Non-Advantaged Ship Performs Special Maneuvers, if any
Captain B goes for broke! Under orders, the Master of the Tops and her topsmen tie up all available sheet and go to Extra Sails!

Special Maneuver: Raise sails to Extra. Maneuverability is now penalized by -5, but speed is increased by 50% of normal. Ship B normally moves 130' as it's top speed, however winds can only support up to 100'. The 50% is applied to the possible max speed, so 100' + 50% = 150'. Also, the current speed is increased by 50%. Ship B is moving at 106', so by adding 50%, the total would be 106' + 53' = 159'. This is above the maximum, so the speed is set to the modified maximum of 150'! The ship rises up out of the water, skimming along. The sails are bulging!

This will force an Advantage Check next round, due to the Sail Change.

Advantaged Ship Performs Special Maneuvers, if any
Captain A lowers his spyglass in awe. Captain B means business! Captain A looks back quickly toward his Master Gunner.

Special Maneuver: Broadside cannons fire! (No target!)

Advantaged Ship Attacks
Ship A is in a stronger position; under complete control of the winds and waves with broadside cannons aimed squarely on the wild Ship B. The eight cannons fire on Ship B.

• Ship A will roll 1d20+7 (+4 ranged attack, +3 volley fire)
• Ship A needs a 12 to hit Ship B (10 AC, +2 to Ship B's AC due to targeting of crew)
• SPECIAL NOTE: For the demo purposes, I am forcing a critical hit here to demonstrate how that works.
• Ship A rolls a 20! A critical threat!
• Ship A checks for a critical hit and rolls a 16! A critical hit!

Advantaged Attack: A critical hit!

Refer to Damage, Critical for information on how to apply Critical Damage. The attacking Captain can either apply the critical damage multiplier to the die roll (prior to multiplying the result for the Volley Fire rules) OR the attacking captain may choose to roll randomly on the Damage, Critical chart.

Captain A decides to let fate decide how his broadside cannons did in damaging Ship B. He rolls on the Damage, Critical table.

• Captain A rolls 1d6 and gets a 6. Consulting the chart, this is a Deck hit! Another roll is needed to determine the deck.
• Captain A rolls 1d6 and gets a 2. Consulting the subchart entry, this is the Quarter Deck.

Critical Damage Results: The Quarterdeck takes damage, which by the rules immediately reduces speed and maximum speed by 10%! This reduces Ship B down to 135' or 13.5 knots.
Taking a Critical Hit means that one Hole in the ship is taken. This is recorded on the sheet.
Damage is still rolled as usual on the ship.

• Ship A rolls 3d6 x 5, for a total of 35 points of damage.
• Ship B reduces the damage by the hardness of 5 and records 30 points of damage.

Because Ship B took at least one point of damage, Collateral Damage to the crew is rolled.

• Ship A rolls 1d6 for 5 points of damage to the crew.

Because Ship B was holed, it must make a Sinking Check. A sinking check, by the rules found under Damage, Holed is made by the Captain. It is a Profession(sailor) check, modified by the Ship's Hardness. The DC is 15, +5 for each hole after the first. Once a ship is reduced to 0 Hit Points or has failed a sinking check, it begins to sink. This is not a maneuverability check, so the penalty for the Extra Sail does not apply.

• Captain B will roll 1d20 + 13 (+8 Profession: sailor, +5 for Ship B hardness)
• Ship B rolls a 1, for a 14 total!

Ship B has failed a sinking check! A solid volley of cannon fire has punched a hole in the hull, and critically damaged the quarter deck! The GM rolls on the Sinking chart to see how long it will take for the ship to sink.

• The GM rolls 1d10 for an 8 total, then refers to the Sinking chart.

According to the chart, an 8 means the Ship breaks up. Pieces will submerge in 2d10 rounds.

• The GM rolls 2d10 for a 10 total.

Ship B will sink in 10 rounds!

Non-Advantaged Ship Attacks
Ship B is not able to attack; there are no forward facing weapons. It no longer can win advantage checks, maneuver, or perform any other actions that the DM deems impossible due to the sinking.

End of Round Six
Captain A has scored a lucky critical hit upon the enemy. The tables have turned. Ship B is going down, but no faster or slower then expected. There may be time for Ship A to claim valuables from the enemy. At this point, the GM may wish to make a Loyalty check for the crew of Ship B.

The Current Stats
Ship A
740 HP, Holding at 352', moving under Plain Sail at 10 knots. Crew: 191 HP.

Ship B
628 HP, Sinking in 10 rounds at 352'. Automatically lose any Advantage Check. Crew: 268 HP.

GM Notes
That was a very lucky hit, indeed. With a +13 and needing only a 15, I rolled a 1. The high roll on the sinking chart was rather disastrous, too. Unfortunate, indeed, but this is the risk taken on the high seas. Most critical hits will not be so devastating.

Next round, Ship A will close and we will test the boarding actions.