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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bob Aberton" data-source="post: 1143486" data-attributes="member: 1518">Actually, most ships could and did carry a blacksmith - the forge was fireproofed much the same way that the galley stove was. Crew positions depend on what kind of ship it was.  On a small merchantman (for example, the brig PILGRIM in Two Years Before the Mast), there might be only 8-16 crewmen, a cook, sailmaker, and carpenter, and two officers - the first and second mates - in addition to the captain.  In this case, the sailing-master(navigator)'s responsibilities would fall under the first mate's duties, the boatswain's responsibilities would fall under the second mate's duties, and the captain would also act as surgeon.In most merchantmen, too, there would be a supercargo - a clerk, usually a direct employee of the owners, who would take care of the cargo (loading, transferring, unloading, selling, etc.) and the ship's accounts.  He would also keep a close eye on the captain for his employers.A whaling vessel would have three harpooners, whose only duty was to steer the whaleboats and harpoon the whales.A navy ship would have a huge number of positions, kindly listed by Wilphe.A ship in a fantasy world would probably also have a Ship's Mage (maybe even a Mage's Mate) and probably a Chaplain (cleric, of course) as a matter of course.To add to Stormrunner's list of common shipboard tools that could be used as weapons, I would add:Capstan bar - An oak or elm bar about 5 feet long, which was inserted into slots in the capstan and used as a lever to turn the capstan.  Treat as a quarterstaff, probably.Loggerhead - An iron bar with a cannonball welded on the end.  The head of the loggerhead was heated red hot and plunged into a tar bucket to melt the tar (in order to avoid having to use a fire and risk spilling hot tar all over the ship).  Treat as a light mace.  Incidentally, this is where the phrase "at loggerheads" comes from, as sailors would occasionally settle their differences with loggerheads.Harpoon - Many ships (even ships not engaged in whaling) carried these for the purpose of harpooning fish and dolphins to liven up a diet of "salt horse."  Treat as a polearm with the ability to make trip attacks.   -2 to attacks, though, I'd say, because the harpoon isn't balanced as a fighting weapon.Caulking mallet - A wooden mallet used with caulking irons to drive oakum into the seams of a ship.  Treat as a light hammer, perhaps?</blockquote>

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