D&D 5E Naval Combat? :)

[Tony Vargas]

Another thing to keep in mind is in many instances the goal was not to sink the opposing ship but to disable it so it had to surrender, so it could be claimed as a prize and sold; or repaired and put into service under a different flag.

Very true. It was even pretty hard to sink a ship of the day, even if you did punch a lot of holes in it and it took on water. Fire or an exploding magazine would be more likely to result in destruction.

This means Fireball, for all its spectacular appeal, is probably a bad idea.

Especially if you're a privateer or pirate! OTOH, tactics included the fireship, which was intended to destroy the enemy vessel (and itself).

 

[Lanefan]

OTOH, tactics included the fireship, which was intended to destroy the enemy vessel (and itself).

Those were mostly for blockade running/breaking, weren't they; or attacks against ships at anchor? Not sure how often fireships were used in open-sea battles in the age of sail, though I could see it in the age of oars when ramming was more of a thing.

Lan-"too bad Appendix N in the 1e DMG doesn't include any Hornblower or Bolitho selections"-efan

 

[LegionError121]

What I believe I'm going to do is give the players choice as to how they deal with ships

My Idea would be to give sea vehicles their own stats and levels based on their destructive potential, craftmanship, size and how use to PC's are to using a certain type or individual boat In other words, Levels reflect on how much of a risk it is to fight them rather than just a complete reflection of how many ships an enemy has grinded through

As for Ship specific weapons, I would like everything a ship could use to be classed as an Imporived weapon and that what happens to the ship isn't determined by the overall hp but on whether it gets blown to bits or not It's ok to have a lot of holes in your ship so long as it isn't sinking However, players would recieve debuffs or be limited in some way based on damage, for example, if there's a hole in the deck, that would be classed as Dangeous terrain or become an obstackle that would have to be jumped over

And at the core of it, it'll be like having a level 1 character fighting another level 1 character so you'll just be trying to shoot the enemy and you'll be checking to see if things hit or if said bolder yo have catapulted has managed to smash through wood

Last of all is the subject of loot I've decided that if you completely destroy the enemy ship and it sinks, it would up to you if you want to try and recover some of it If loot gets burned up because some wizard likes fireballs, tough. If you're diving down for gold, you would have to make a Strength + Dex check vs the weight of yourself and the thing you are trying to pull out of the water of course water currents and your ability to swim would also come into this

 

[Tony Vargas]

Those were mostly for blockade running/breaking, weren't they; or attacks against ships at anchor? Not sure how often fireships were used in open-sea battles in the age of sail.

I believe they were used in pitched battles, but yes, most notoriously in attacks on ships at anchor (ships at anchor could also be subject to a cutting-out expedition, and in essence, stolen). Point being, there are times you might be OK with destroying the enemy's very valuable ships rather than trying to capture them. In that case, bring on the fireballs.

But, they certainly weren't used in the kind of smaller open-sea battle that'd be most entertaining to play through in a D&D campaign. Like a Frigate-on-Frigate action or defending a convoy from pirates ...or engaging in piracy...

 

[Derren]

I believe they were used in pitched battles, but yes, most notoriously in attacks on ships at anchor (ships at anchor could also be subject to a cutting-out expedition, and in essence, stolen). Point being, there are times you might be OK with destroying the enemy's very valuable ships rather than trying to capture them. In that case, bring on the fireballs.

But, they certainly weren't used in the kind of smaller open-sea battle that'd be most entertaining to play through in a D&D campaign. Like a Frigate-on-Frigate action or defending a convoy from pirates ...or engaging in piracy...

Fire ships were either used against ships in port, either to burn them directly if you were lucky or to drive the ships out or at sea to break up the enemies line or force it into a specific direction. The chance to actually catch an enemy ship with them on open sea was pretty slim.

Thing about pirates, they usually did not attack defended targets unless they had a overwhelming force. Usually they took out lone merchant ships or ran when faced opposition. (Also don't confuse pirates with privateers. The latter one being the more numerous and usually much longer lived).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Hey, cut him some slack. And don't assume. Maybe the OP is looking to have a character that specializes in throwing oranges at his enemy...

NAVEL COMBAT!

[video=youtube;F_wY6cYGXp4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_wY6cYGXp4&sns=em[/video]

 

[MiraMels]

I played in a swashbuckling game that took place almost entirely at sea. Our ship was our home.

Ship to ship combat was heavily abstracted. Group and individual ability checks were used to set the initial conditions for a boarding action. We basically moved to boarding actions as quickly as possible.

That said, wow do ships make incredibly dense and interesting environments for combat.

 

[Ath'kethin]

While we are talking about ships, has anyone found any good rules for prosthesis, grafts, and the like?

My pirates need something more than just hooks and peg legs.

There's a section on Illithid grafts in Volo's Guide. You could start there and riff on those ideas.

 

[RangerWickett]

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.

 

[Corwin]

Something else that just occurred to me. If the OP is interested in a swashbuckly character, its possible that means a sea-faring, ship based campaign. If that's the case, citrus is extremely important. Wouldn't want the crew to get scurvy.