"Lose 'em!" How?

[knightofround]

Another applying magic to reality option could be if you have access to an illusionist, you can make an illusuory wind appear on the water several meters out. The two big ships would make adjustments to compensate for the coming wind change, but as long as you know its just an illusion you can sail through it just fine. By the time the big ships hit the illusory patch it would be too late, and they would lose kilometers trying to come about.

The nifty thing about this is that its an incredibly easy illusion to creature, you just have to reverse the little ripples ontop of the pre-existing waves that are a weathervane for wind changes.

 

[roguerouge]

What technologic period are these ships emulating? A sloop-of-war is more of a catch all for small ships then an actual description, but generally speaking a frigate with the weather might be able to run her down, but a ship of the line won't without extraordinary luck.

Uhhh... okay. My player's the sailor, not me. Basically, we're dealing with the era where hand guns are re-filled with powder every shot and are pretty rare (captains have the one or two on ship for boarding actions). Cannons haven't been invented; navies would use catapults and wands to get that effect. So your really massive ships of the line haven't been invented 'cause there's no need for banks of heavy cannons.

The pursuers definitely should have some shot to catch their quarry.

 

[roguerouge]

Leaving aside the conventional naval options which others have well covered, what unconventional options do you have available? Especially in 3.xe D&D, what spellcasters do you have?

Bard 7/Rogue 1 who tends to focus on buffs and enchantments. I've never seen her use an illusion. Her first mate and cohort is a Sorcerer 4/Expert 1, with access to:

0: Read Magic, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Amanuensis (copies 1 nonmagical text), Prestidigitation, Caltrops .
1: Magic Missile (2d4+2), Identify, Benign Transposition (switch 2 allies, 130’ range)
2: Malevolent Miasma (”You click the stones together in your hand and a grey fog, tinged with darker malevolent streaks, springs up in the midst of your enemies”—1d4 nonlethal damage/level (max 5d4), 15’ radius burst at close range, poison immunity or Fort save negates)

 

[Krensky]

Uhhh... okay. My player's the sailor, not me. Basically, we're dealing with the era where hand guns are re-filled with powder every shot and are pretty rare (captains have the one or two on ship for boarding actions). Cannons haven't been invented; navies would use catapults and wands to get that effect. So your really massive ships of the line haven't been invented 'cause there's no need for banks of heavy cannons.

The pursuers definitely should have some shot to catch their quarry.

Well, it sounds like you're describing the early medieval period there, which means both the players ship and the closing vessels are either cogs, hulks, longships, or galleys. Catapults can't be used on a sailing ship due to the rigging, and aren't really useful anyway since they have a fixed range. In period, naval battles consisted or archers firing arrows at the enemy from the forecastle and sterncastle (they were actual wooden castles in this period), followed by boarding actions.

 

[Shroomy]

One word: "Druid."

Seriously, banks of fog, gusts of wind, etc., etc.

 

[justanobody]

Lose em in the shallows or strand them on a reef.

turn and run towards them as if you were going to braodside them and as you both dodge make sure you are at their backs and fire into them to make them confused and start to run away behind them.

 

[howandwhy99]

1. Let the captain deal with it. Just do what he tells us.
2. One of us is the captain, but we don't want to play a sailing game and just want to lose these guys. We say how and the DM has us roll to determine success.
3. (my favorite) We bust out Wooden Ships, Iron Men and play it as a role-playing game with our group goal initially to escape two following ships.