Defending a ship

[Wolfspider]

I can't imagine anyone swimming with a great axe in the first place.

Not to mention getting enough purchase and leverage WHILE SWIMMING to actually use it effectively. (Not to mention the fact that the ship would be moving during this attempt, as others have mentioned.)

Although I'm not an expert in marine biology, but I've read that sharks often follow ships in hope of an easy meal. I'd think that once the chum hit the water there would be sharks there pretty darn quick to investigate.

 

[Palantir]

w/o my PHB, mind...

A Man O' War can certainly be turned by a timely Gust of Wind. When a ship is at anchor (or disabled), the wind naturally turns the boat so that it is facing into the wind. A quick thinking spellcaster can hit the stern of the ship with a GoW and turn it, but there should be a modifier for firing with the cannons, as the ship will start turning again once the gust is over, settling back to facing the prevailing wind. Also, don't forget that, if the ship was blocking a narrow strait, chances are it will run aground (again, pushed by wind or current) before the crew can effect repairs.

This is also assuming the sails were doused for the night. If the sails are unfurled, all bets are off. This also assumes that the caster can direct a GoW that precisely. I don't remember off-hand.

Enjoy!
Mark

 

[Storminator]

2nd level cleric spell Make Whole, means your warship is not crippled at all. A rather nasty surprise for the party.

Other than that, your Man O' War is going to be hurting. With some control wind spells and stting the sails right you should get some maneuverability, but you should lose a couple of catagories. And your captain will likely be loathe to move his ship (except to drydock for repairs!) seeing how he won't be able to move it back very well.

PS

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Can a ship travel without a rudder?

Only in a straight line, unless they have oars in which they can turn by use of oars; however, as others have noted, the rudder could easily be fixed by use of a Make Whole spell (Cleric 2nd level), or even just the old-fashioned way, by sending some workers into the water to fix it - though that might take some time (30 minutes? an hour?).

I would imagine that the theocracy could be presumed to keep several Make Whole scrolls on a ship for critical repairs, as well as spare sails.

 

[Pielorinho]

Given that the Theocracy has faced the PCs only once, and that the warship was at rest (it was guarding a channel, right?), and that the PCs used some pretty clever tactics, I'd let them savor their triumph.

The clerics on-board might repair the rudder, but their ship will still be badly damaged. As the party flees, the cleric might use the gust of wind trick to turn the ship around, so that they can fire their cannons; but without their sails (and even if the sails were furled, the ropes woudl probably be burnt away), they won't be able to give a good chase.

So I see the scene this way: the PCs zip their ship out through the channel, confident that the warship is crippled. It's not: it begins to turn, and the players say, "Oh, crap!"

As it turns, several arrowhawks begin winging their way toward the PCs' ship, summoned by the clerics. They get in close, and a nice little combat ensues. While the combat happens, a couple water elementals start rocking the boat from underneath -- require balance checks for everyone on deck, and maybe their own rudder will crack under the strain. Certainly the creaking and groaning of the ship's timbers should scare them. Meanwhile, the warship is still turning.

The combat ends; the water elementals are either defeated or their summoning ends. And the warship gets off one volley of cannonfire, at max-range.

And then the PCs are free.

Basically, I'd go for an exciting combat here, aiming for a "skin of our teeth" victory feel. Make it clear that had they not attacked the warship, they wouldn't have won; but also don't just hand them the victory.

Next time, of course, won't be so easy....

Daniel

 

[Tzarevitch]

Also, just because "official policy" disallows the Theocracy from hiring Wizards, this doesn't mean that there aren't secret Wizards who are being paid "under the table" to help protect their navy...

They don't need to hire wizards. Groups of clerics are more than capable of taking out most threats. With the right collection of spells.

Honestly, one of the most devastating things against ships in 2e was a cleric with warp wood and blade barrier. Blade barrier shreds sails and rigging and becomes a blender to crewmen. You can protect against fires with simple magic, there is no protection against blade barrier except to avoid the effect in the first place.

Tzarevitch

 

[Draxus the Tainted]

I dunno if anyone said anything like this above because I was to lazy to read all the posts, but anyways...

An Improved Invisible Deepwood Sniper with True Seeing stuck in the Crow's Nest!

Imagine the look on their face when they are hundred's of feet away and start getting shot with arrows. And when the Invisible wizard comes flying accross, put an arrow between his eyes!

 

[Nail]

Given that the Theocracy has faced the PCs only once, and that the warship was at rest (it was guarding a channel, right?), and that the PCs used some pretty clever tactics, I'd let them savor their triumph....

Next time, of course, won't be so easy....

Pielorinho's got it right on th' head: let 'em have this one. The point is: They got through because of surprise and a bit o' luck. The Man-o-war (for some bizarre reason) was unprepared for sneak attacks. (Why? Well, yer th' DM...it's yer own fault...jus' don't let th' PC know that. "Explain it" somehow.)

<Nail tries to reconcile "blockade duty" with "unprepared for blockade runners"...........and fails. >

Next time, they will be prepared. ....right?

 

[Bob Aberton]

Technically, yes, the ship COULD turn just by using its sails...

If the wind was blowing in the right direction, and they set their sails right while at anchor, then they could turn the ship enough to bring their cannons to bear.

Its called "backing sail," and its an emergency maneuver used when a sailboat has lost the use of its rudder, so the sailboat can retain the ability to steer somewhat. It's become somewhat obsolete with the use of engines, but its still a handy trick to know when your boat's rudder's been smashed (or hacked apart by an axe-wielding rogue )...

 

[Radiating Gnome]

Pielorinho's got it right on th' head: let 'em have this one. The point is: They got through because of surprise and a bit o' luck.

Hear, hear. A little surprise -- if based on not suspecting such a powerful opponent more than anything else -- can go a long way the first time around, but once the warship has it's act together -- which may only be ten minutes from when the PCs sailed by -- things will be very different.

I would start with rogues, spies and agents, myself. That's what I tend to do to my players. They just lost their flying ship to a band of bandits lead by a spymaster . . . and they don't even know it yet, for sure, they just heard the fighting in the distance as the guard they left on their ship tried to fight off the bandits.

Remeber this axiom: the longer they get away with something, the bigger the payback is in the end.

-rg