Ships in Combat

Ships in Combat

 

Whether sailing to war or hunting notorious pirates, ships make deadly weapons and dramatic battlefields. This section provides guidance on using ships in combat.

 

Ships and Initiative

 

A ship rolls initiative using its Dexterity, and it uses its crew’s quality score as a modifier to that roll.

 

On a ship’s turn, the captain decides which of the ship’s actions to use.

 

Special Officer Actions

 

During an encounter, the captain, first mate, and bosun each have access to two special action options: Take Aim and Full Speed Ahead, both detailed below.

 

Take Aim

As an action, the captain, first mate, or bosun directs the crew’s firing, aiding in aiming one of the ship’s weapons. Select one of the ship’s weapons that is within 10 feet of the officer. It gains advantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of the ship’s next turn.

 

Full Speed Ahead

As an action while on deck, the captain, first mate, or bosun can exhort the crew to work harder and drive the ship forward faster. Roll a d6 and multiply the result by 5. Apply the total as a bonus to the ship’s speed until the end of the ship’s next turn. If the ship is already benefiting from this action’s bonus, don’t add the bonuses together; the higher bonus applies.

 

Crew in Combat

 

Managing a ship’s entire crew in combat can prove cumbersome, especially as larger ships often host dozens of sailors. Typically the crew is too busy managing the ship to do anything else during combat. Don’t worry about tracking their specific positions unless you want to add that complexity. You can assume that the crew is evenly divided among the upper two decks of a ship.

 

Crew Casualties

Slaying a ship’s crew reduces the number of actions most ships can take, making the crew a tempting target in combat. Resolve individual attacks as normal, using the guidelines for resolving many, identical attacks at once from the Dungeon Master’s Guide as needed.

 

In the case of spells that cover an area, such as fireball or lightning bolt, you might track the exact location of the spell and crew to determine how many sailors it affects. Alternatively, you can roll 1d6 per level of the spell. The total of the dice is the number of crew members caught in the spell’s area.

 

Crashing a Ship

 

If a ship moves into the space occupied by a creature or an object, the ship might crash. A ship avoids crashing if the creature or object is at least two sizes smaller than it.

 

When a ship crashes, it must immediately make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes damage to its hull based on the size of the creature or object it crashed into, as shown on the Crash Damage table. It also stops moving if the object or creature is one size smaller than it or larger. Otherwise the ship continues moving and the creature or object collided with moves to the nearest unoccupied space that isn’t in the ship’s path. At the DM’s discretion, an object that is forced to move but is fixed in place is instead destroyed.

 

A creature struck by a ship must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + the ship’s Strength modifier, taking damage based on the ship’s size (as shown on the Crash Damage table) on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

 
  • Crash Damage
  • Size Bludgeoning Damage
  • Small 1d6
  • Medium 1d10
  • Large 4d10
  • Huge 8d10
  • Gargantuan 16d10

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