Nautical Nonsense

[Merik Derath]

Alas, I lack the funds to be privy to information conscerning naval combat from a D&D tome of knowledge.  Hark and forsooth!...

'Kay, enough of that.  Anyway, I'm looking to run some naval combat in my campaign (seeing as how the PCs just "acquired" a ship) so I was wondering if anyone had some quick fix suggestions for shipfights?  I've given ships an AC, HP, Initiative, Damages, and Manueverability (manoueverability? manooverability?) but I feel like I need a little more than that.  
This probably sounds like a rudimentary question, but I'm only a Lv1 DM.  Any time taken to help would be vastly appreciated.

[the_taken]

Give them a decent damage reduction. Arrows will do squat against a ship unless millions cover one side, or eneough to tear up the sail. You might want to look up the Dragonstar Campaing Setting's suppliment on space ships for some inspiration.

You will need:

A full AC, similar to an armored creature's AC*An evasive AC, or Touch AC*Hardness, and bypasses. Essentialy DR*speed*maneuverability*A ship's initiative should probably be idetical to the captains. A captain that thinks faster on his feat can issue commands sooner, and in turn, the ship will do the same.

Veheicals have no HP. Instead, randomly determin the effects on the ship has depending on the attack.

All attacks that deal less than 30pts of one type of damage have no effect. Even if it's possible to gain extra damage from enhancements, such as Flameburst, those effects are superficial to a large objects such as a boat.

1d20 - Fire and Acid Attacks:Fireball spell, a black dragon's breath weapon

1-5 = No effect. It glanced the hull. New layer of paint is recomended.*6-10 = Minor damage. +1 on all further effect rolls. A lvl 1 protion of the crew is affected*11-13 = Major damage. +3 on all further effect rolls. A lvl 2 protion of the crew is affected*14-16 = Damage to the sail. The vessel no longer functions under the power of the wind. Mechanical substitute required. Consider a 6-10 if no sail is present. A lvl 1 portion of the crew is affected.*17-18 = Movement damage. A tear in the hull causes the ship to drop one manuaverability catagory and reduces it's maximum speed by 15ft. A lvl 1 portion of the crew is affected. If the ship is imobalized by having it's speed reduced, consider this a roll of 22-25.*18-21 = The crew is directly hit. A lvl 3 portion of the crew is affected.*22-25 = Weather thru a chain reaction of explosives, or a weakened plank giving out, the ship is damaged in such a fashion that it cannot remain afloat. It sinks in 3d6+10 rounds unless major repairs can be magicaly performed. A lvl 3 portion of the crew is affected.*26-29 = The fire/acid effects cuts the ship through the hull beneath the waves. Water pours in, and the ship sinks quickly in 1d6 rounds. A lvl 3 porion of the crew is affected*30+ = The vessel is completely obliterated, and sinks imediately. A lvl 4 portion of the crew is affected.

That's just an example. Make up you own rules to suit your table.

[Raelifin]

My suggestion is to not worry about ship stats. Unless you have kraken battles or full broadside attacks to worry about, I'd focus more on having it be a mobile "base."

If you know what you'll throw at it, you can plan accordingly. So what are you planning on having these PCs face?
Oh, and you can never go wrong with taking the basic rules for objects and appling them to the ship. If it's a solid craft of huge size. You've got an AC of 1, a hardness of 5 and lets say 60 hp before a hull breach.

[Stargate525]

Veheicals have no HP. Instead, randomly determin the effects on the ship has depending on the attack.

I disagree with this. I divide the ship into ten foot sections, each with their own individual AC (for use only if people are aiming for that particular part) and HP. This allows people to concentrate their attacks on one section for a faster hull breach.

I don't rememeber the exact numbers, but I think a section with under 50% HP got 1 point, and one destroyed got 3. Keep a running tab of this, and when this number hits half of the total (1 point per 10 foot section), the ship begins to sink.

[the_taken]

As long as the system does what it's supposed to do, it's good. My system makes boats a little fragile. A few great hits and it's all over. *GLUB GLUB GLUB*

I actualy use Raelifin's system. No stats, 'cause it's a moving base.

[Merik Derath]

At first I was considering them fighting a pirate vessel on their trip, but I decided to have the pirates attack the port the PCs are at instead...but, initially I was planning on having a ship vs. ship battle, and eventually wanted to have a kraken attack one of their vessels.  
But, the things you guys have mentioned were a big help.  A couple minor modifications, and I think I've got my idea...thanks for the help, guys.

[Túrin]

A captain that thinks faster on his feat

And his feet, too... :P
Túrin

[the_taken]

A captain that thinks faster on his feat

And his feet, too... :P
Túrin

Don't tell my english teachers.

[Xathan]

The best way to handle nautical combat is the whole "They have no stats" way Rael mentioned - in combat, the ship takes damage at the speed of plot. When doing combat between ships where it matters, I just add percent of damage done to the ship as opposed to actual HP - when the ship hits 75% damaged it is disabled and begins to sink, and when it hits 100* damage it goes underwater.