Shipstyle - This merely indicates the style or design of the ship in question.
Cost In Gold - This is the price of acquiring the ocean vessel in question. Be the purchase for a new ship built to its specifications or for a used ship, the price remains the same. Most purchasing sailors prefer to purchase vessels that are used however, for their histories can often make or break the reputation of its success. New Ships are also prone to lenghty break in periods.
Speed/Turn - Speed and turning is what decides how often a ship is able to present its broadside to its enemies and fire a side of cannons upon them. The larger , deeper and more fortified the ship, the slower it can manoever in combat. Speed is indicated by attacks per round and below can be found the breakdown.
1 - One single side of cannons per round
3/2 - One attack the first round, two the second, one the third, etc. etc.
2 - Two attacks per round.
Cannons - This indicates how many cannons the ship in question is able to fire on one side when it has come broadside with the enemy. Double the amount to see your full cannon power, but realize in combat you can only present one side to the enemy unless you skirt between two ships.. which of course is suicide.
Endurance - Endurance also called float points, simply put is how much of a pounding your ship can endure and still remain seaworthy. A single point below your total and your ship begins to sink. This cannot be prepared at sea. The following chart indicates different levels of catastrophe when taking on damage. Every point taken below your maximum is also cannons lost as well, thus if you have taken ten points of damage more than your endurance allowance, you lose ten cannons if you continue to fight.
1 Point Below Maximum Damage - Ship losses half of its speed and can no longer manoever. 20 Points Below Maximum Damage - Ship losses half speed and will sink.. period.
Crewmen - This merely indicates the maximum number of sailors that may inhabit the ship at one moment. There are no bunks for any others.
Shiptype - This indicates the power source of the ship in question
Ship Style-Cost In Gold-Speed/Turn-Cannons-Endurance-Crewman-ShipType
BattleBarge-**** -1-42-250-90
Sail Grand Galleon-25000-3/2-28-140-65
Sail War Galleon-25000-3/2-26-130-65
Sail Galleon-18000-3/2-24-120-65
Sail Large Frigate-15000-3/2-24- 110-60
Sail Frigate-14000-3/2-22-100-60
Sail Clipper-18000-2-10 -70- 60
Sail Carrack-14000-3/2-16-90-50
Sail Caravel- 12000-3/2-15-85-50
Sail Viking Longship-5000-3/2-8-30-40
Oar/Sail Small Caravel-10000-2-12-75-45
Sail Large Sloop-9000-2-10-70-35
Sail River Sloop-8000-2-10 -60- 35
Oar/Sail Small Sloop-6000-2-8-50-25
Sail Dory-500-2-1-10-5-Oar
*** Indicates a ship that is not attainable by purchase, only by war.
Initiating an Attack Upon an enemy Vessel
For any naval vessel to attack another vessel, the first protocol of that action is to first identify the origin or "colors" of the ship in question. This protocol is considered honorable, and no military vessel will attack an enemy vessel unless it is clearly flying its war colors. Even if the said ship is within disputed waters. The only exception to firing upon a ship without colors is if that ship refuses a hail to explain its presence and continues to engage in what is clearly questionable activities.
A simple initiative role is taken at the beginning of each and every round of combat. The reason for this, is, unlike on land which is steady, an attack by ship is a delicate procedure marking the use of sail trimming, rudder use, and of course the waves which create friction upon their hulls, thus some rounds you may not always be the first to fire. Ship Captains should bear this in mind ESPECIALLY when attacking a ship that is clearly their superior in the ways of firepower. In combat, one bad initiative can spell doom for a smaller ship if they are already badly damaged. Initiative is indicated by rolling 1d6, the highest roller striking first for that combat round.
The winner of initiative always fires the first vollet of cannons. If a ship is cable of more than one shot per round, they must hold their second attack until their enemy has taken their shots. The reason for this is simply, it takes a considerable amount of time for a ship to turn from one broadside to the other in order to focus its fire power upon their target. Thus a ship with two attacks in one round fires first.. the receives fire, then fires once more. Once a captain feels he is very close to victory, he may choose to limit the number of cannons he is firing per round, this is usually done by a Captain that wishes to board the enemy ship or claim the ship as the spoils of war. A ship that is sinking will drag down a ship that grapples to its side.
To successfully grapple and board the ship of an enemy, you must first bring their ship to their maximum Endurance points. Remember, if you have done more than twenty points more damage than their total, The ship is sinking and unsafe to board. So make sure to taper off your cannons as you sense victory near if there is anything of value on the enemy craft that you wish to recover intact. Once you have boarded a craft, face to face combat ensues if an official surrender has not been declared. This is actually a rariety in seaborne combat. Very few captains of a victorius battle wish to risk personal death at the hands of an already defeated captain and thus wait until surrender.
The Captain can, at any time during a battle drop his colors and negotiate a surrender. This is not considered dishonorable at anytime, especially if a Captain has no valuable cargo worth defending until he can scuttle his ship to avoid having the enemy capture it. Once a ship drops its colors, the two captains then negotiate the terms of the surrender until the victor is satisfied. It is considered utterly dishonorable to fire after a surrender, and offenders often find themselves forever marred for doing such. Due to contrary belief, Captains will rarely, if ever leave enemies to die if they can be saved.
It is considered the duty of all sailors after combat to take the time to rescue wounded and overboard sailors, be them friendly or enemy from the waters. To leave even the enemy to die in the ocean is considered honorless and often will cost the captain the respect of his crew as well as the mercy of future enemies. All enemy soldiers pulled from the water are considered prisoners unless the Captain states otherwise.
All Rules and Regulations Created, Structured and Enforced by the Royal Fleets Naval Admiral, Captain Logan Smythe.
Kingdom Rules
Fallan Darkswift, Queen of Caldemon
