Scalding
First Post
I made a map of an "astral" schooner. I'm no artist, and I used Paint of all things, but I couldn't find an appropriate map and I wanted something I could print out without using up too much ink. I put "astral" in quotes because aside from the requirements of my setting, it may just as well be a normal seagoing schooner.
The schooner listed in the book is 10 squares long by 4 squares wide. I'm assuming that's the deck area, and we're not talking about the bowspirit. Anyway, it says it can carry 50 medium humanoids or up to 50 tons of cargo. That's a pretty impressive load for a single-deck, 50' long ship. I assume the book means a single deck because other ships listed (e.g. in the Adventurer's Vault) specify the number of decks and their purpose. So I made some modifications; it's still 10 by 4, simply because that fits nicely on a single sheet, but it's two decks, with the lower deck being 8 by 3.
The main deck of the schooner shows the three masts and rigging points, several boxes for stowing rope and chain up fore, a cargo hatch, two vent domes, and four barrels. There's a 5' raised section toward the rear that has a door to a stairway going down to the lower deck. Adjoining that is a stairway to a platform which has the ship's wheel. I've moved the location of the ship's wheel to someplace where players will expect it; facing forward with a nearly clear line of sight fore. Most of the pictures I found of ships of swashbuckling eras had the wheel centered and facing aft, which probably was necessary for the mechanical operation of the rudder but looks wrong.
The lower deck shows how cramped it would be on such a ship. Each square is 5 feet, which is the "playing grid", but people really take up about two feet most of the time. Now remember, this ship's supposed to require a captain and six crew minimum to maintain optimal running. That means it'd probably need at least fourteen but more likely about 20 crew for full-time running. The ship could theoretically hold 50 people, but it'd be uncomfortably tight all the time. There are hammocks in berths all around the outside edge. The berths are only about two feet deep, so the hammocks are aligned vertically, not horizontally as pictured. Since that's only 14 hammocks, either people sleep in shifts or some sleep on the floor or wherever. There are 4 storage lockers located around the hammocks. The captain's cabin is aft, which is totally luxurious compared to where everyone else sleeps. It's got a bed the size of a modern twin, a dresser, chest, and desk.
The galley is starboard aft, and is little more than a cutting board, space for provisions and knives. There are two, 6 foot long tables that are 18 inches deep for crew to sit at when eating, that's space for 6 at a time. There's also a circular table that 5 crew can sit at to play cards or eat, but it's really crowded. One of the tables has an 8 inch metal pipe running vertically floor to ceiling through it, which makes the one dining space a little more cramped than the rest. It's the pipe connecting the ship's wheel to the rudder, so a pretty necessary piece of equipment that can't be moved. All the passageways below decks are about 30 inches wide, and any adjoining open space is filled with barrels or gear.
In the middle of the hold, steep stairways lead to two interesting platforms, with magical circles inscribed on them. Barrels are stored under the platforms, and could be stored on them if needed. In battle, however, these platforms are very important. A boarding action would occur on the main deck, and melee fighters would engage the enemy. Spellcasters however would go below decks and onto these platforms, where they could see out the vent domes and cast with a great deal of protection. If the battle progresses below decks, they've probably already lost.
The schooner listed in the book is 10 squares long by 4 squares wide. I'm assuming that's the deck area, and we're not talking about the bowspirit. Anyway, it says it can carry 50 medium humanoids or up to 50 tons of cargo. That's a pretty impressive load for a single-deck, 50' long ship. I assume the book means a single deck because other ships listed (e.g. in the Adventurer's Vault) specify the number of decks and their purpose. So I made some modifications; it's still 10 by 4, simply because that fits nicely on a single sheet, but it's two decks, with the lower deck being 8 by 3.
The main deck of the schooner shows the three masts and rigging points, several boxes for stowing rope and chain up fore, a cargo hatch, two vent domes, and four barrels. There's a 5' raised section toward the rear that has a door to a stairway going down to the lower deck. Adjoining that is a stairway to a platform which has the ship's wheel. I've moved the location of the ship's wheel to someplace where players will expect it; facing forward with a nearly clear line of sight fore. Most of the pictures I found of ships of swashbuckling eras had the wheel centered and facing aft, which probably was necessary for the mechanical operation of the rudder but looks wrong.
The lower deck shows how cramped it would be on such a ship. Each square is 5 feet, which is the "playing grid", but people really take up about two feet most of the time. Now remember, this ship's supposed to require a captain and six crew minimum to maintain optimal running. That means it'd probably need at least fourteen but more likely about 20 crew for full-time running. The ship could theoretically hold 50 people, but it'd be uncomfortably tight all the time. There are hammocks in berths all around the outside edge. The berths are only about two feet deep, so the hammocks are aligned vertically, not horizontally as pictured. Since that's only 14 hammocks, either people sleep in shifts or some sleep on the floor or wherever. There are 4 storage lockers located around the hammocks. The captain's cabin is aft, which is totally luxurious compared to where everyone else sleeps. It's got a bed the size of a modern twin, a dresser, chest, and desk.
The galley is starboard aft, and is little more than a cutting board, space for provisions and knives. There are two, 6 foot long tables that are 18 inches deep for crew to sit at when eating, that's space for 6 at a time. There's also a circular table that 5 crew can sit at to play cards or eat, but it's really crowded. One of the tables has an 8 inch metal pipe running vertically floor to ceiling through it, which makes the one dining space a little more cramped than the rest. It's the pipe connecting the ship's wheel to the rudder, so a pretty necessary piece of equipment that can't be moved. All the passageways below decks are about 30 inches wide, and any adjoining open space is filled with barrels or gear.
In the middle of the hold, steep stairways lead to two interesting platforms, with magical circles inscribed on them. Barrels are stored under the platforms, and could be stored on them if needed. In battle, however, these platforms are very important. A boarding action would occur on the main deck, and melee fighters would engage the enemy. Spellcasters however would go below decks and onto these platforms, where they could see out the vent domes and cast with a great deal of protection. If the battle progresses below decks, they've probably already lost.
