"Lose 'em!" How?

[roguerouge]

You're in a vessel. Two ships sighted off the starboard bow. Big ships. You can't take 'em. How do you lose them? Let's say they start on the open ocean, but that we're not restricted to just open ocean if the scenario takes longer than a few hours.

 

[Stoat]

Profession (Sailor).

Someone on your ship makes either (1) a series of checks opposed by someone on the pursuing ship, or (2) a series of checks against a static DC determined by the DM. Every success increases the distance between you and the pursuers. Every failure decreases the distance.

 

[Cadfan]

You're in a vessel. Two ships sighted off the starboard bow. Big ships. You can't take 'em. How do you lose them? Let's say they start on the open ocean, but that we're not restricted to just open ocean if the scenario takes longer than a few hours.

I'm pretty sure that on the ocean your ship is either faster than theirs, or slower. No real middle ground or room for chance.

 

[Bluenose]

Different ships have different capabilities, so a faster ship won't have the same problems as a slower one. A lot will depend how complex you want things to get.

 

[roguerouge]

I want something dramatic and something that tests the skills of the player (imagination) and the skills of the characters, but still stays true to the realities of naval chases.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

Fireball their sails.

AR

 

[DeusExMachina]

Well, they are bigger ships and if you're not restricted to just open ocean, you can have the players try to navigate a treacherous strait or shoals in order to have the bigger ships strand or hit the rocks or force them to take the long way round. Perception and maybe nature might help to spot rocks and shoals as they navigate the dangerous areas, endurance to hold and manipulate the rudder/wheel steady while going through areas with lots of undercurrents, etc...

Maybe the captain has some old sea mage's ritual lying around. It can give the ship a nice boost in speed if done well, but roll badly on the ritual perform check and chaotic winds are let lose, trapping all ships in a dangerous storm...

 

[Warehouse23]

I'd say make a dash for the shore, and hope that there's Clashing Rocks (TM) to race through (Sailing skill challenge), Harpies on the cliffs that will prey on all ships alike (but they don't have adventurers aboard!), or Merrow pirates basking on the rocks.

Dreying around on the open sea is going to make for a boring encounter. Think of the encounter as something more like the Asteroid Field scene in Star Wars, and you'll get an idea of how to spice it up.

 

[frankthedm]

Make break for bad terrain. A bigger ship will have a rougher time than a smaller vessel in reef or rock choked areas. Especially if the bottom of their ship sits lower in the water. Bonus point if you trap their ship.

If you have inside info about any nearby monsters, try and direct the critters at the enemy vessel.

Stir up a nest of killer seabirds and then hide below deck. Hopefully they will make a beeline for the big ship and make a meal of it's low level crew.

Lure the bigger ship over the leviathan's lair.

 

[Krensky]

A lot depends on the relative qualities of the ships. What's their draft, how fleet are they, what's the wind like, what sort of rig do they have, etc.

If the closing vessels can't sail as fast (due to design, rig, sail plan, etc) then you may be able to out run them. If they can't sail as close to the wind, you may be able to out sail them.

A lot also depends on the geometry of the encounter. If they are downwind from you, you will generally have more options and better chances of either avoiding action or engaging on your terms. The opposite usually applies if they are upwind. The wind is probably the single biggest factor in naval engagements between sailing vessels.