D&D 5E Naval Combat? :)

[Pickles III]

Lanefan, in 5e spells are fairly short range.

3e had 800-ft. fireballs. In 5e the range is, what, 150 ft.? Cannons can fire 600 ft. easily.

Which does not really deal with gunpowder less settings. Fireball certainly scuppered my seafaring campaign as I could not see any good defence against it. I invented an expensive ritual that warships had cast on them to give resistance to the crew & ship. Maybe it should have been Immunity to Fire? though the Invoker player might have been (more) sad.
Merchantmen would not really need/benefit from it as they would be juicy targets for boarding anyway as Lanefan points out.

Still Greek Fire did dominate Mediterranean Naval warfare for a few hundred years so it was an issue then too.

 

[Lanefan]

Lanefan, in 5e spells are fairly short range.

3e had 800-ft. fireballs. In 5e the range is, what, 150 ft.? Cannons can fire 600 ft. easily.

Yes, but if you're level enough to cast Fireball you're level enough to cast Fly, after which range becomes rather irrelevant. And if that 150' is straight up above the target, not much return fire is going to get to you with enough oomph left to cause any trouble.

Lan-"a character in my game took on himself the nickname 'Boatbane' after on numerous occasions doing just this"-efan

 

[Derren]

Yes, but if you're level enough to cast Fireball you're level enough to cast Fly, after which range becomes rather irrelevant. And if that 150' is straight up above the target, not much return fire is going to get to you with enough oomph left to cause any trouble.

Lan-"a character in my game took on himself the nickname 'Boatbane' after on numerous occasions doing just this"-efan

And how did he manage to not be ripped to shreds by grape/canister (alternatively arrows) before getting into range?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Arrows or bolts might be a problem, but most cannon wouldn't be mounted in such a way as to be able to track a target overhead. And those that are probably wouldn't be able to track something as small and agile as a flying spellcaster.

 

[Derren]

Arrows or bolts might be a problem, but most cannon wouldn't be mounted in such a way as to be able to track a target overhead. And those that are probably wouldn't be able to track something as small and agile as a flying spellcaster.

Except that the spellcaster has to gain altitude first and cannons can be aimed quite a lot upwards, enough to get him during takeoff. So to be safe from them he has to take a very long detour during which he can be attacked the whole time by sharpshooters. Then there are also swivel guns and with canister you do not need to track the spellcaster all that much.

And those are only the regular weapons from a world where flying spellcasters didn't exists. In a world in which they do you would have additional weapons against them (like some light mortar/carronade hybrid).

 

[Lanefan]

And how did he manage to not be ripped to shreds by grape/canister (alternatively arrows) before getting into range?

You're assuming the target vessels were armed. But, if they were, he had a device of invisibility...

And, as [MENTION=19675]Dannyalcatraz[/MENTION] points out, hitting a small fast-ish target with a cannon or ballista is much harder than hitting a big slow-ish target such as another ship.

Lan-"the Dwarven word for 'boat' in my game is the same as the Dwarven word for 'vomit'"-efan

 

[Derren]

hitting a small fast-ish target with a cannon or ballista is much harder than hitting a big slow-ish target such as another ship.

With cannister that is not much of a problem as long as you have several guns. Of course when you rule that a hit by several cannister balls does not kill him (likely with the D&D HP mechanic) then of course you should also rule that a fireball will only slightly singe a ship.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

As I recall, the Fly spell gives you the best aerial maneuverability in the game. Good luck hitting that wizard even with grape/canister shot...especially if he attacks down the ship's center line or is flying low in a massed naval combat scenario (where misses might take out your allies).

And what if he's also using Protection from Normal Missiles?

Or uses Water Breathing to come up from below and just fireball the ship at the waterline near the gunpowder hold...

 

[Ahrimon]

Yes, but if you're level enough to cast Fireball you're level enough to cast Fly, after which range becomes rather irrelevant. And if that 150' is straight up above the target, not much return fire is going to get to you with enough oomph left to cause any trouble.

Lan-"a character in my game took on himself the nickname 'Boatbane' after on numerous occasions doing just this"-efan

That's why you wait until they're 150' up and half way between the ships when your own wizard casts dispel magic. =)