What do I need to know about boats? [Archive] - Wizards Community

What do I need to know about boats? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
KnH
10-03-07, 11:04 AM I'm thinking about trying to run a short, open ended game involving pirates at sea. It will probably only run for about 5-10 sessions, so it needs to be relatively simple. However, while I have a reasonable grasp of the rules normally, I'm not as sure about aquatic campaigns.

So, I'm asking here: What do I need to know to run naval campaigns?

Theres the obvious- swimming rules, ship movement and statistics, ship to ship combat, fighting in enclosed quarters.

But, theres almost certainly going to be rules, scenarios and so on I haven't thought about. So, what are the things I'm unlikely to think about that are likely to come up? What books should I read, and what should I keep bookmarked?

Is there anything I'm going to need to change from the normal rules? Would it be better if I implemented some sort of class defense so they don't need armour as much?

Thanks for any help.
heffroncm
10-03-07, 12:46 PM Pick up Stormwrack. Has everything you need.
FoulQ
10-03-07, 11:25 PM Lucky you, I actually run a pirates campaign, and really, there is nothing I need to say, other than GET STORMWRACK.

Also if you don't like the way ships fight in stormwrack, look at the way they do in arms & equipment guide, though personally I prefer the stormwrack way, and this is after running 20+ sessions of a pirates campaign.

Plus, you should decide if Knowledge (Geo) is worth it, because if you need to navigate it will become integral. I think it is worth it. Navigation can be tedious though, it all depends on the type of players everyone is. Also, if you are planning on using Knowledge (Geo) for navigation, you will probably want to roll the weather ahead of time and figure out what all the different types of weather do ahead of time, this can really be a pain to have to look up in the middle of a session.

As far as I know, you won't need to change anything from the normal rules. Ships have hardness and so forth like most hard objects, and they are sunk by sinking sections of the ship. Different ships have different amount of sections (the bigger the ship the more sections). Once a certain amount of sections (determined by the type of boat) is reduced to 0 hp, the ship starts to sink.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
KnH 10-03-07, 11:04 AM	I'm thinking about trying to run a short, open ended game involving pirates at sea. It will probably only run for about 5-10 sessions, so it needs to be relatively simple. However, while I have a reasonable grasp of the rules normally, I'm not as sure about aquatic campaigns. So, I'm asking here: What do I need to know to run naval campaigns? Theres the obvious- swimming rules, ship movement and statistics, ship to ship combat, fighting in enclosed quarters. But, theres almost certainly going to be rules, scenarios and so on I haven't thought about. So, what are the things I'm unlikely to think about that are likely to come up? What books should I read, and what should I keep bookmarked? Is there anything I'm going to need to change from the normal rules? Would it be better if I implemented some sort of class defense so they don't need armour as much? Thanks for any help.
heffroncm 10-03-07, 12:46 PM	Pick up Stormwrack. Has everything you need.
FoulQ 10-03-07, 11:25 PM	Lucky you, I actually run a pirates campaign, and really, there is nothing I need to say, other than GET STORMWRACK. Also if you don't like the way ships fight in stormwrack, look at the way they do in arms & equipment guide, though personally I prefer the stormwrack way, and this is after running 20+ sessions of a pirates campaign. Plus, you should decide if Knowledge (Geo) is worth it, because if you need to navigate it will become integral. I think it is worth it. Navigation can be tedious though, it all depends on the type of players everyone is. Also, if you are planning on using Knowledge (Geo) for navigation, you will probably want to roll the weather ahead of time and figure out what all the different types of weather do ahead of time, this can really be a pain to have to look up in the middle of a session. As far as I know, you won't need to change anything from the normal rules. Ships have hardness and so forth like most hard objects, and they are sunk by sinking sections of the ship. Different ships have different amount of sections (the bigger the ship the more sections). Once a certain amount of sections (determined by the type of boat) is reduced to 0 hp, the ship starts to sink.