Ship Statistics

Ship statistics are adapted from 5e monsters, but they have been mutated to be more applicable for inanimate vehicles. Some stats, like Constitution, represent a ship's physical construction, while others represent the crew's skill (like Charisma).

• Strength. The potency of a ship's attacks. This could represent the size of its siege weapons or the precise aim of a well trained crew. Uses: damage roll modifier.
• Dexterity. How maneuverable a ship. Smaller ships are more dexterous. Uses: initiative modifier, "Coming About" action.
• Constitution. Construction quality and fortitude of a ship. Uses: hit point calculation.
• Charisma. Represents the quality of the crew and their leadership. Henceforth referred to as Skill. Uses: To Hit, "Full Sail" action.
• AC. Represents the resilience of the ship's hull or its small size and agility.
• Speed. The number of 50ft spaces the ship can move a turn with favorable winds. Also the maximum number of 50 mile spaces a ship can travel a day. See the section on Wind and Movement.
• Hit Points and Formula. The amount of damage a ship can take before it is Derelict. This number is scaled down by a factor 1:5 when compared to creature-scale encounters. See the section on Dice and Scaling.
• Crew. The minimum number of crew needed to operate the ship without being Stressed. Crew numbers are not tracked for the purposes of ship combat but can be used for boarding, Mob Combat, and roleplaying.
• Max Crew. The maximum number of crew and passengers this ship can carry comfortably on long voyages. Most ships can carry double this number on short voyages such as raids or refugee operations.
• Cargo. The number of cargo "slots" the ship has, ranging from 0-6. Cargo can be assigned as Supplies or Trade Cargo. See Naval Logistics.

Size

Ships have their own scale separate from creatures. Uses: hit point calculation, ramming.

Ship Sizes

Dice and Scaling

The dice rolls and statistics in this supplement are scaled by a factor of 1:5 when compared to creature scale combat. For example, a ship that has 10hp and deals 1d6 damage would have 50hp if attacked by a creature, and it would deal 1d6 x 5 damage. Any damage dealt to ships by creatures should be rounded down to the nearest 5, or you can track exact ship hit points by multiplying their base value by five. A fireball spell could hypothetically sink a rowboat or canoe in one shot, but a 1st Rate Ship of the Line could have 1,000hp!

Ship-to-ship combat uses the ship's stat block at this 1:5 scale. For character-scale play — when a PC personally fires a cannon as an action — use the Artillery Firearms rules instead (Long Nine for chase guns, Broadsider for broadside cannons).

Skill and Ability Test Difficulty

The default difficulty for skill and ability checks during ship combat is DC12. Checks are rolled by the acting Captain unless another character is at a corresponding Action Station. The DM can modify the DC based on conditions like rough seas, weather, surprise, terrain, or a crew that is inexperienced, wounded, or frightened.

Tags

• #System

References

• 5e - Supplemental - Limithron's Guide to Naval Combat.pdf