Ship Shape

This week we continue our exploration of vehicle combat in the Tome of Whispers. So far we've looked at a general overview of the mode and how characters fit into the crew roles that make the mode function. Today we'll discuss the ships themselves, and what makes them tick. Before we go deeper, it's important to remember that, while the terminology is heavily nautical in theme, vehicle combat rules apply equally well for land ships, airships, and even spaceships.

Hull Sections & Facing

Unlike standard combat and army combat, directional facing is important to keep track of for vehicle combat. The laws of momentum ensure that a ship wants to continue traveling in a straight line unless it is forced to alter course. When using a ship, the direction of the forward bow indicates the ship's current direction. If the pilot wants to execute a turn before entering the next hex, they must attempt a check. The difficulty of this check is based on the size of the ship and the sharpness of the turn. Turning the bow one hex face port or starboard is pretty easy, but turning two hex faces is harder, and pulling a U-turn is the hardest.

The direction of the forward bow is also important for when the ship takes damage. Ships are objects and take dents, but are very complicated structures and just one set of dents is insufficient. Instead, a ship is broken up into hull sections and systems. The hull sections correspond to the sides of the hex that the ship occupies. The hex facing the ship is heading toward is the forward bow. Then there's the port and starboard bows corresponding to the adjacent faces. The facing opposite the forward bow is the stern, and the faces adjacent to the stern correspond to the port and starboard stern. Ship systems do not correspond to hex faces, but instead represent critical tools like propulsion and steering.

Each hull section and system takes dents independently, and must be repaired separately. The number of dents a hull section or system can take is based on its material hardness, as with other items, but attacks against a ship using siege weapons or damage dealt by environmental hazards deal dents directly. A hazard like an iceberg might deal damage to a random hull section, but attacks always damage a specific hull section based on the direction the attack is coming from. If a cannon shoots from 60 degrees, it's going to hit the starboard bow. A clever pilot can stretch a ship's longevity by keeping different hull sections facing the enemy whenever possible.

Size & Level

The difficulty of crew checks are either based on the ship's level or its size. For maneuvering, it's the size. For repairs, it's the whole level. A ship's level is largely based on how complicated it is. Different propulsion systems add differently to the overall level. A galley or horsepower ship doesn't have much to add, but sails are higher level technology, and magical or technological engines add a lot. The type of ship also makes a difference. A land or sea vessel doesn't add much to the ship's level, but a submersible or airship does, and a spaceship adds a great deal. A ship's level also includes its size, so bigger ships are naturally harder to use.

The ship's size is based on its length and number of decks. There are certain length thresholds that correspond to a base size. A very short ship like a canoe might have a base size of 0, but a ship as long as the hex itself has a base size of 7. All ships are assumed to have one deck. Any other decks add directly to a ship's base size. So a 24m ship with three decks would have a size of 2+2, for a total of 4. Turning this ship is going to be harder for a pilot than turning a smaller ship, but not as hard as an even bigger behemoth.

A ship's size also influences its armor class, but inversely. Bigger ships are easier to hit than small ones, and a ship's AC is 20 minus its total size. Of course, this AC only applies if the pilot is not taking evasive action. A pilot that takes evasive action sets the DC to hit the ship based on their own skill instead of using the ship's AC. But a pilot has to choose between turning and taking evasive action while resolving given hex, so the AC will still be used fairly frequently.

Propulsion

How a ship moves depends on its style of propulsion. The most simple method is horsepower, which involves the ship being pulled by one or more beasts of burden. A galley ship is also fairly simple, with crew assigned to use oars to push the ship along. Both of these methods require the ship's boatswain to set the speed, though a boatswain must also maintain speed on a galley ship to prevent the rowers from slowing down from exhaustion. A ship with either or these propulsion types can precisely modulate its speed from round to round

Sailing ships are a bit more complicated. Ships with sails have a total number of sails, and it is up to the boatswain to decide how many of them are unfurled together. Each sail provides a fixed amount of speed based on the current strength of the wind. A sailing ship can only modulate its speed by furling or unfurling sails, and is at the mercy of wind conditions. But sails do not get tired like beasts of burden or rowers and can go very fast in a favorable wind.

Engines are the easiest to use, but the most complicated to construct and maintain. If you have engines, whether magical or technological, all you have to do is have an engineer set the speed and it will keep going as long as it has fuel, charge, or magical power. Engines can also precisely modulate their speed, do not get tired, and do not really care about the strength and direction of wind. Of course, magical engines require special and unique enchantments and technological engines might be anachronistic for the setting.

Crew & Cargo

Each ship has a crew capacity and a cargo capacity. The crew capacity is listed as a range. The minimum number, or the "skeleton crew" is the minimum number of crew that is required for the ship to function. This might be as low as 1 for a simple ship like a kayak, or it might be dozens for a big ship. Each ship also has a maximum crew size. More crew than this upper limit either do not fit on the ship at all, or just get in the way. Characters may make up just a small fraction of the actual crew on a ship, but any crew that are not player characters or specific NPCs are treated as generic crewmates. These crewmates can be very helpful, however, so a large crew can help overcome the extra challenge that comes with using a high-level ship.

A ship's cargo capacity is listed in bulk and/or passengers. Passengers are not crew, but can possibly join the crew in an emergency as long as the ship is not already at its max crew size. Bulk capacity translates directly into item bulk, but bulk cargo space can also be used for passengers even on a ship that is not necessarily intended to carry them. Creatures have a bulk based on their size category, but they also need space to move around. Unless a trip is very short, the bulk required to transport a creature is much larger than the bulk it would be to pick them up and carry them. Ships tend to be very efficient at carrying bulk, however. Even small ships might have a cargo capacity of 50 bulk or more, but very big ships might have a bulk capacity in the thousands.

Offenses & Defenses

Aside from its innate hardness and maneuverability, ships are not required to have offensive or defensive systems. Many ships do, however, especially if they are intended to see combat. Offenses might include siege weapons like cannons or ballistae, but could also be boarding planks or a reinforced bow to prevent taking damage from ramming a target ship. Defenses might be as simple as hull plating or reinforcement, but could also include magical or technological shields that either deflect attacks or absorb dents directly before the hull does. Each ship's specific loadout is unique.

---

There are a lot of different possibilities for ships, but most of the time a group only needs to worry about running the one specific ship they have. This specificity helps ensure that these rules don't get overwhelming. Not every group in every campaign will have access to a ship, but a group that has its own ship has a potent tool that will be both fun to use and a memorable experience. So far our exploration of military combat has looked at armies and vehicles. Next time we'll see what happens when you put them together, so stay tuned!