Main thing about ship combat that needs to be addressed is Action economy.
Even if loading a balista or mangonel should last several rounds, it should not be longer than one Action.
preferably done by a sidekick for you.
Losing any more time is simply not fun;
So what is your action? Loading weapon.
10mins later; what is you action? Loading weapon
10mins later; what is you action? Loading weapon
10mins later; what is you action? Loading weapon
10mins later; roll 1d20+X. Missed. wow, that was fun 40mins. I'm out of here
Main thing about ship combat that needs to be addressed is Action economy.
Even if loading a balista or mangonel should last several rounds, it should not be longer than one Action.
preferably done by a sidekick for you.
Losing any more time is simply not fun;
So what is your action? Loading weapon.
10mins later; what is you action? Loading weapon
10mins later; what is you action? Loading weapon
10mins later; what is you action? Loading weapon
10mins later; roll 1d20+X. Missed. wow, that was fun 40mins. I'm out of here
Take a page from wargaming and treat indirect-fire siege weapons as scattering AoE. Pick the target spot. Roll 1d8 for the direction (four cardinal directions and four intercardinal directions) and a 1d4 or 1d6 for distance in 5ft squares. Anyone in the initial target spot and anyone in the path of the missile's scatter is subject to an AoE at the listed damage unless they make a DEX save for half. Make the size of the AoE based on the siege weapon used. A ballista or cannonball will not scatter, it will continue in a straight line...but it will AoE where it impacts and along its trajectory. But any of the catapults will definitely scatter. The AoE can be described as a combo of the flying debris and the missile itself.
THIS! Thank you! Was trying to think of a system that is: 1) pretty simple; 2) approximates situations that already exist in 5e; 3) has an element of randomness to it ("targeting" a single individual with what is basically a catapult hurt my skullmeat, and I'm not even that wedded to realism).
I would allow siege weapons to target people; however, the aren't designed for this purpose so I might make the shot with disadvantage or allow the people a DEX to take half damage (ship or adjacent target might still take damage).
I would do both. Seige weapons are effectively AoE attacks. So Disadvantage on the attack roll to hit a specific part of the ship (this could include where the Captain is standing). And then any creatures in that 5 or 10 foot square would get a dex saving throw to half the damage. Zero damage if they have a reaction and chose to use it to move out of the AoE.
To me, that keeps it simple, plus it allows it to have meaningful effects. i.e. even if I don't hit the captain, I've forced him to use his reaction and move away from the helm etc.
They dealt with that here, and I don't have a problem with how that part works. (Even if it's silly that it can be done in six seconds. Who cares? The game works with it, which is my top priority).
I would do both. Seige weapons are effectively AoE attacks. So Disadvantage on the attack roll to hit a specific part of the ship (this could include where the Captain is standing). And then any creatures in that 5 or 10 foot square would get a dex saving throw to half the damage. Zero damage if they have a reaction and chose to use it to move out of the AoE.
To me, that keeps it simple, plus it allows it to have meaningful effects. i.e. even if I don't hit the captain, I've forced him to use his reaction and move away from the helm etc.
That's pretty good stuff. I'll probably use that. I think I will arbitrarily add that it can only be done at normal range to avoid long-range disadvantage stacking to a wash. I'll just say that siege weapons can only target huge or bigger targets at long range.
This is the entire ship-to-ship combat "system" in 5E Spelljammer...
Ship-to-Ship Combat
The following rules are designed to make ship-to-ship combat simple yet exciting.
Starting Distance
At the start of an engagement, the DM decides how far a ship is from its enemies. Three possibilities are provided in the Starting Encounter Distance table. The shorter the distance, the less time crews have to load weapons and make other preparations.
Starting Encounter Distance
Distance | Notes
250 feet | Long range for ballistae, mangonels, shortbows, longbows, light crossbows, and heavy crossbows
500 feet | Long range for longbows and mangonels; beyond the range of ballistae and crossbows
1,000 feet | Beyond the range of most ranged weapons
Initiative
The Dungeon Master’s Guide presents a variant rule called side initiative, which is ideal for ship-to-ship engagements, since it saves you the trouble of tracking initiative for individual creatures aboard each ship.
Moving and Steering a Ship
A spelljammer can use a ship’s spelljamming helm to move and steer the ship without expending their own actions or movement. On their turn, the spelljammer determines how far the ship moves (up to its maximum speed) and decides whether to approach another ship or put more distance between the two.
On its turn, a ship can be turned and reoriented so that all its weapons can aim and fire at any target within range, regardless of where they’re situated on the deck.
Boarding
When one ship moves to within 5 feet of another ship, the spelljammer or pilot of the moving ship can maneuver it alongside the other ship, enabling creatures to move safely from one ship’s deck to the other ship’s deck until one of the ships pulls away from the other.
A ship that has enough movement can pull alongside another vessel, deploy a boarding party, and then move away, provided the members of the boarding party took the Ready action to position themselves so they can move onto the other vessel when it’s close enough.
There's a lot that's not covered by this. The above "system" is non-existent by D&D standards. And I say that as someone who's more than comfortable playing games where the entire game system fits on one side of a 3x5 card.
You could take a page from Classic Traveller and port in one of their battle systems.
THE FREE-FORM SYSTEM
The free-form system of mission resolution is best used to resolve larger conflicts involving player characters. No precise rules can, or should, be given here, as much of the realism of the system derives from the on-the-spot interaction between the referee and the players.
This is the entire ship-to-ship combat "system" in 5E Spelljammer...
Ship-to-Ship Combat
The following rules are designed to make ship-to-ship combat simple yet exciting.
Starting Distance
At the start of an engagement, the DM decides how far a ship is from its enemies. Three possibilities are provided in the Starting Encounter Distance table. The shorter the distance, the less time crews have to load weapons and make other preparations.
Starting Encounter Distance
Distance | Notes
250 feet | Long range for ballistae, mangonels, shortbows, longbows, light crossbows, and heavy crossbows
500 feet | Long range for longbows and mangonels; beyond the range of ballistae and crossbows
1,000 feet | Beyond the range of most ranged weapons
Initiative
The Dungeon Master’s Guide presents a variant rule called side initiative, which is ideal for ship-to-ship engagements, since it saves you the trouble of tracking initiative for individual creatures aboard each ship.
Moving and Steering a Ship
A spelljammer can use a ship’s spelljamming helm to move and steer the ship without expending their own actions or movement. On their turn, the spelljammer determines how far the ship moves (up to its maximum speed) and decides whether to approach another ship or put more distance between the two.
On its turn, a ship can be turned and reoriented so that all its weapons can aim and fire at any target within range, regardless of where they’re situated on the deck.
Boarding
When one ship moves to within 5 feet of another ship, the spelljammer or pilot of the moving ship can maneuver it alongside the other ship, enabling creatures to move safely from one ship’s deck to the other ship’s deck until one of the ships pulls away from the other.
A ship that has enough movement can pull alongside another vessel, deploy a boarding party, and then move away, provided the members of the boarding party took the Ready action to position themselves so they can move onto the other vessel when it’s close enough.
There's a lot that's not covered by this. The above "system" is non-existent by D&D standards. And I say that as someone who's more than comfortable playing games where the entire game system fits on one side of a 3x5 card.
You could take a page from Classic Traveller and port in one of their battle systems.
THE FREE-FORM SYSTEM
The free-form system of mission resolution is best used to resolve larger conflicts involving player characters. No precise rules can, or should, be given here, as much of the realism of the system derives from the on-the-spot interaction between the referee and the players.
Odd. I've literally now run combats using the rules from the set RAW with zero issues. The rules are perfectly functional as-is. You may not like their lack of complexity or verisimitude, but they do, in fact, work. And work well.
That's pretty good stuff. I'll probably use that. I think I will arbitrarily add that it can only be done at normal range to avoid long-range disadvantage stacking to a wash. I'll just say that siege weapons can only target huge or bigger targets at long range.
I like that 'addition'. Makes good sense, keeps things simple. Only thing to come up with is the DCs, which I think should be weapon dependent or damage dice dependent? Like DC=8+<#of weapon damage dice>or?
