Need help with Nautical stuff

[garrowolf]

I am working on the Nautical skill for my Nexus D20 game and I need some ideas. Are there some games that cover this well. I am talking ancient ships all the way up to Age of Sail and some modern stuff (though some of the modern stuff would be covered under Operations which covers sensors, communications equipment, weapon systems, anything that is push button controlled).

Any ideas?

 

[Hussar]

Are you fixed on using the d20 system? If so, I would suggest:

Broadsides!! (Living Imagination) - very, very well researched and detailed book. Bit too detailed sometimes and the mechanics can drag.
Corsair - I haven't used these rules, but, I've heard very good things about them.
Seas of Blood (Mongoose) - Decent rules.

I had 2 issues with the d20 rules (at least as far as D&D was concerned) when trying this. First, ship combat usually features a larger number of combatants than D&D works well with but not enough to break out mass combat rules. Two sailing ships means probably about 50-100 combatants (give or take) and that's a difficult number to work with.

I'd honestly probably take a look at some of the Savage Worlds stuff for this if I did it again. Their small scale mass combat rules should do the trick.

The second issue, again, as far as D&D is concerned, is the magic system. It totally dominates naval campaigns. Whether it's a Lyre of Building to make your ship impervious to damage, or wands of Extended Fireball to let you nail enemy ships at long catapult ranges, the magic system can really be a pain here.

I'm not familiar with Nexus d20, so, this might not be an issue.

 

[Rel]

I've run a lot of games centered around ships in some fashion. The number one thing that I can pass on is that Abstraction Is Your Friend.

The last thing you probably want to try and do is run a "realistic" sea battle in anything like the age of sail. They were typically long and inconclusive or very lopsided and anticlimactic.

Basically it all comes down to ship speed. The faster ship can either offer battle or sail away. The slower ship has little choice in the matter.

Your best bet is to move pretty quickly to the fun part where the boarding action takes place and most RPGs shine. You can still include lots of fun nautical components like battle in the rigging and making them make Acrobatics or Athletics type rolls to deal with the rolling deck of the ship.

 

[garrowolf]

OKay I've got the basics for a Nautical skill with a few feats. Now I need some tricks and special abilities (not magical - just cinematic) relating to actually using a ship. Any ideas?

 

[Rel]

OKay I've got the basics for a Nautical skill with a few feats. Now I need some tricks and special abilities (not magical - just cinematic) relating to actually using a ship. Any ideas?

I'm not sure if this would really be what you're after, but it seems like this might be a situation where a sort of "Deck of Awesomeness" mechanic might work well. Make a set of index cards with cinematic stuff in there and let players draw from it once in while (once per combat? each time a Natural 20 gets rolled? whenever they spend an Action Point?). The deck could include stuff like:

Swing From the Rigging: A PC may move from anywhere on the top deck of the ship to anyplace else on the top deck of the ship (or another ship if one is deemed close enough by the GM).

Club Hauling: The ship may suddenly and dramatically change direction, provided that the Captain is willing to sacrifice an anchor.

Run Along the Railing: A PC may do a full Move along one side of the ship. While doing so they may attack up to three foes or cut all ropes currently binding that ship to another object (like a dock or grappled ship).

Sneak Through the Bilge: A PC belowdecks can move to any other place below decks by using a hidden hatch that leads to the bilge. When they emerge they may attack anyone there that round as though Sneak Attacking. They now need a bath however.


I'm sure that you could think of many more. Also, if you can come up with enough of them, I recommend putting two such stunts on each card and letting the player pick one or the other. That way you can put divergent stunts such that one is more likely to apply in any given situation.

 

[Hussar]

Rel - I like that idea. Adds a nice feature to the combat without getting bogged down in mechanics.

Depending on how cinematic you want to get, maybe just let the players draw a hand before combat starts and let them play the cards as they see fit.

 

[TarionzCousin]

All you need to do is play one game of Wooden Ships & Iron Men. After 4 hours of trying (and failing) to maneuver without the wind, you'll learn what's really the most critical thing about naval battles.

Hint: it's the wind.

 

[Diamond Cross]

You can use rules from Privateers and Gentlemen from Fantasy Games Unlimited.

Privateers and Gentlemen Fantasy Games Unlimited