Combat on a ship at sea... how?

[just__al]

Forgive my ignorance... ship's draft

Never mind...

In nautical parlance, draft or draught is the clearance required to safely pass.

A quay's draft is the available depth of water at low tide.

Vessels also have a draft, which is the depth below water's surface of the lowest part when fully-laden. It determines the minimum depth of water that the vessel may pass through. Riverboats are often purposely designed with a shallow draft to avoid sandbars and other obstacles. As such, a vessel's draft must be lower than the draft of any quay it wishes to berth at.

Related to the normal draft, is air draft which is the clearance required for a vessel above the water -- this is typically quoted for bridges over waterways as well as any other restricitons such as power lines or tunnels.

 

[just__al]

also take note, ship dimensions. I had done a bit of research for my seafaring campaign. I had look up the sizes of scores of ships.

the main details I found was (that I then made formulas in a spreadsheet):
a ship is 4-6 times longer than it is wide
The ship height (not counting masts) was about 2/3 it's width
The ship's draft was about 1/2 it's height (actually varies based on load, but for simplification).
Divide the ship's height by 6, and that's about how many decks you'll have.

What all this math means, is that a 100 foot ship, has a height of 16 feet, or so, with a draft of 8'. That means the badguys only gotta climb 8 feet to get over the rail.

Hey, cause I'm lazy, can you post the spreadsheet...

 

[Whisper72]

Sorry, the game rules don't support that.

Yeah, and? As DM I MAKE the rules...

 

[Whisper72]

I was under the impression that bodies don't start floating until they've been waterlogged for a few days, or something like that. When you're unconscious you don't just start floating (otherwise drowning would probably be a lot less common because there'd be a chance you'd float to the surface with your face up).

This is true for HUMAN bodies. Fish however can be 'fished' using dynamite. So maybe, just maybe, Sahuagin, merfolk etc. have body weight/volume ratio's more akin to fish than to humans. So the fishmen may come floating to the surface earlier... Just a thought... In any case, it is up to the DM whether to play things out this way or another...

 

[Janx]

I've posted my spreadsheet unde Enworld's downloads section. It is waiting to be approved. Look for something that starts with "Janx" and you'll find it

 

[Henrix]

Some thoughts on a well-planned sahuagin attack on a ship:

1. The sahuagin have no need for a floating ship. Let them make a hole in the bottom, a loud satisfying crunch is good for the human morale. At least it will distract some landlubbers who have to take care of matters - some quick reparing and a lot of bailing to do.
2. Fog cloud and obscuring mist are excellent low-level spells. Use them to aid the sahuagin climb aboard. Both are on the water domain list.
3. Sahuagin spellcasters and missile troops can distract those leaning over the side looking down. Perhaps they can even draw them down using whips or throwing nets.

 

[Whisper72]

I've posted my spreadsheet unde Enworld's downloads section. It is waiting to be approved. Look for something that starts with "Janx" and you'll find it

Cool! Thanx Janx!

 

[Hand of Evil]

Ships roll or crash on to waves, spashing crew and deck with water and like a dolphin a Sahuagin should be able to lanuch themselves from the water onto the deck of the ship. Even if the ship is at rest I think they would be able to get a good distance out of the water onto the side of a ship.

Also, people on boats do not look over the sides of them, they look to the horizon, plus hulls have a curve to them creating a blind spot. Sit at a desk and look across it, where do you see the floor? Where do you have to be to see the floor directly below the desk? Now, ask the question, if you were on a ship, where falling overboard is possible, would you be leaning over the rail to look down?

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

This is true for HUMAN bodies. Fish however can be 'fished' using dynamite. So maybe, just maybe, Sahuagin, merfolk etc. have body weight/volume ratio's more akin to fish than to humans.

I love the idea of dynamiting Sahuagin - I'm going to have to figure out a way to work that into a game...!

 

[Hand of Evil]

I love the idea of dynamiting Sahuagin - I'm going to have to figure out a way to work that into a game...!

Remember what is good for the goose...Sahuagin could make use of mines and now what we know about methane pockets being released from the ocean floor and the possiblity of them sinking ships, they could have a very effective weapon.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s218210.htm