Ships - rules

Owning a Ship

If you purchase a ship, you have unlocked an exciting new venue for adventure and signed up for a mountain of logistical challenges. Keeping a ship functioning requires a tremendous amount of work.
The rules use a downtime activity—managing a ship—to abstractly represent the effort needed to keep a ship functioning, its supplies stocked, and its crew paid.
See the Dungeon Master's Guide and Xanathar's Guide to Everything for more information on downtime activities.

Downtime: Managing a Ship

By hiring a competent captain and crew and putting them to work hauling cargo or otherwise offering their services, you can make it possible for a ship to remain in good repair and even generate a profit for you between adventures.
Managing a ship is a downtime activity that requires time and effort to recruit an officer and crew. The ship is available for use when needed. Otherwise, the ship hauls passengers and cargo to cover the costs of maintaining the ship and paying the crew.

Resources

It takes one week to recruit a crew and 100 + 4d6 gp to cover the costs of recruitment and supplies. Once you have paid these costs, you have a captain and a crew to maintain the ship.

Resolution

Once you have a working ship, it turns a small profit each month. At the end of every four weeks, you earn 5d20 gp.

Complications

A ship owner runs the risk of foul weather, a bad trade deal, or a mutiny. When rolling to determine your profit, if any of the d20 rolls are a 1, roll on the Ship Ownership Complications table (or the DM may create a suitable complication).
Ship Ownership Complications d6 Complication 1 Your crew makes a bad bargain. You see no profit this month. 2 Your ship and crew have been pressed into military service to hunt pirates for 1d4 months. 3 A temple related to the sea or trade has accused your crew of disrespecting the gods, and no one will do business with your ship and crew. You lose 5d20 gp per month for 1d6 months or until the temple is mollified. 4 Your ship and crew go missing and must be rescued from their captors. 5 Your crew mutinies and is on the run from you. 6 Your crew is caught smuggling illegal goods. They are imprisoned, and your ship impounded.

Ship Crew

A ship requires a number of able-bodied sailors to crew it, as specified in its stat block. A crew's skill, experience, morale, and health are defined by its quality score. A crew starts with a quality score of +4, and that score varies over time, going as low as -10 and as high as +10. It decreases as a crew takes casualties, suffers hardship, or endures poor health. It increases if the crew enjoys high morale, has good health care, and receives clear, fair leadership.
A typical crew member uses the commoner stat block in the Monster Manual.

Loyalty and Quality

When dealing with an individual member of the crew, you might find it useful to use the optional loyalty rule from chapter 4 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. To convert a quality score to an individual's loyalty score, add 10 to the crew's quality score.

Mutiny

A poorly led or mistreated crew might turn against its officers. Once per day, if a crew's quality score is lower than 0, the captain must make a Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check modified by the crew's quality score. If the check total is between 1 and 9, the crew's quality score decreases by 1.
If the check total is 0 or lower, the crew mutinies. They become hostile to the officers and might attempt to kill them, imprison them, or throw them overboard. The crew can be cowed into obedience through violence, combat, or offers of treasure and other rewards. When the DM ends the mutiny, the crew's quality score increases by 1d4.

Shore Leave

Life aboard a ship is a constant wear on the crew. Spending time in port allows the crew to relax and regain its composure.
If a crew's quality score is 3 or lower, the score increases by 1 for each day the crew spends in port or ashore.

Ship Stat Blocks

To aid in running adventures where ships engage in combat, undertake precise navigation, or face situations where their various capabilities become relevant, the following section presents new rules and stat blocks for a spectrum of vessels.

Basic Statistics

A ship stat block has three main parts: basic statistics, components, and action options. Ships can't take any actions on their own. Without effort from its crew, a ship might drift on the water, come to a stop, or careen out of control.

Size

Most ships are Large, Huge, or Gargantuan. A ship's size category is determined by its length or width, whichever is longer. For instance, a ship that is 10 feet long and 20 feet wide would use the size category that has a 20-foot width, which means the ship is Gargantuan.

Space

A ship doesn't have a square space unless its stat block specifies otherwise. For example, a ship that is 20 feet long and 10 feet wide occupies a 20-by-10-foot space.
A ship can't move into a space that is too small to accommodate it. If it tries to do so, it crashes, as described in the "Crashing a Ship" section.

Capacity

A ship's stat block indicates how many creatures and how much cargo it can carry. Creatures include both the crew of the vessel and any passengers who might ride along. Passengers don't generally engage in running a ship, but they also don't need to be mere bystanders. Seasick merchants and marines thoroughly capable of facing menaces from the deep both count as passengers.
Cargo capacity notes the maximum amount of cargo a ship can carry. A vessel can't move—or might even start taking on water—if its cargo exceeds this capacity.

Travel Pace

A ship's travel pace determines how far the vessel can move per hour and per day. A ship's movement-related components (described later in the stat block) determine how far the vessel can move each round.

Ability Scores

A ship has the six ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) and the corresponding modifiers.
The Strength of a ship expresses its size and weight. Dexterity represents a ship's ease of handling. A ship's Constitution covers its durability and the quality of its construction. Ships usually have a score of 0 in Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
If a ship has a 0 in a score, it automatically fails any ability check or saving throw that uses that score.

Сила - характеризует скорость и грузоподъемность корабля.
Ловкость - маневренность и легкость управления.
Телосложение - прочность и качество конструкции.

Vulnerabilities, Resistances, and Immunities

A ship's vulnerabilities, resistances, and immunities apply to all its components, unless otherwise noted in the stat block.
Ships are typically immune to poison and psychic damage. Ships are also usually immune to the following conditions: blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, incapacitated, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, stunned, and unconscious.

Actions

This part of the stat block specifies what the ship can do on its turn, using its special actions rather than the actions used by creatures. It even relies on its actions to move; it doesn't have a move otherwise. The ship's captain decides which actions to use. A given action can be chosen only once during a turn.

Components

A ship is composed of different components, each of which comprises multiple objects:
Hull. A ship's hull is its basic frame, on which the other components are mounted.
Control. A control component is used to steer a ship.
Movement. A movement component is the element of the ship that enables it to move, such as a set of sails or oars, and has a specific speed.
Weapon. A ship capable of being used in combat has one or more weapon components, each of which is operated separately.
A ship's component might have special rules, as described in the stat block.

Armor Class

A component has an Armor Class. Its AC reflects the materials used to construct it and any defensive plating used to augment its toughness.

Hit Points

A ship component is destroyed and becomes unusable when it drops to 0 hit points. A ship is wrecked if its hull is destroyed.
A ship doesn't have Hit Dice.

Damage Threshold

If a ship component has a damage threshold, that threshold appears after its hit points. A component has immunity to all damage unless it takes an amount of damage that equals or exceeds its threshold, in which case it takes damage as normal. Damage that fails to bypass the threshold is considered superficial and doesn't reduce the component's hit points.

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

Travel at Sea

GoS p199 It's not just pirates and sea monsters that make journeys on the sea so treacherous. Foul weather, nautical accidents, infested food, illness, and worse all conspire to send even the most capable crews to watery graves. The following rules help adjudicate travel at sea, specifically voyages of an hour or more. This material builds on the travel rules in the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Travel Pace

Ships travel at a speed given in their stat blocks. Unlike with land travel, ships can't choose to move at a faster pace, though they can choose to go slower.
If a ship's mode of movement takes damage, it might be slowed. For every decrease of 10 feet in speed, reduce the ship's travel pace by 1 mile per hour and 24 miles per day.

Activity While Traveling

The activities available to a ship's crew and passengers are a bit different from the options available to a group traveling by land. Refer to "Activity While Traveling" in chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook for more information on some of the topics discussed below.
A number of activities are restricted to certain officers, unless the DM rules otherwise. For example, a DM might allow a bard to engage in the Raise Morale activity by playing bawdy songs on deck to lift the crew's spirits.
The party's pace has no effect on the activities they can engage in while traveling by ship.

Draw a Map

A ship's captain often undertakes this activity, producing a map of the ship's progress and helps the crew get back on course if they get lost. No ability check is required.

Forage

The character casts fishing lines, keeping an eye out for sources of food, making a Wisdom (Survival) check when the DM calls for it.

Raise Morale (First Mate Only)

The first mate can manage the crew's time to grant extended breaks, provide instruction, and generally improve the quality of life on the ship. Once every 24 hours, if the crew's quality score is 3 or lower, the first mate can make a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. On a successful check, the crew's quality score increases by 1.

Navigate (Quartermaster Only)

The quartermaster can try to prevent the ship from becoming lost, making a Wisdom (Survival) check when the DM calls for it. (See "Becoming Lost" in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide for more information.)

Noticing Threats

Use the passive Wisdom (Perception) score of the player characters or the crew to determine whether anyone on the ship notices a hidden threat. The crew has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score equal to 10 + the crew's quality score. The DM might decide that a threat can be noticed only by characters in a specific area of the ship. For example, only characters below deck might have a chance to hear or spot a creature hiding on board.

Repair (Bosun Only)

At the end of the day, the ship's bosun can make a Strength check using carpenter's tools. On a 15 or higher, each damaged component regains hit points equal to 1d6 + the crew's quality score (minimum of 1 hit point). A component other than the hull that had 0 hit points becomes functional again.

Stealth (Captain Only)

The ship's captain can engage in this activity only if the weather conditions restrict visibility, such as in heavy fog. The ship makes a Dexterity check with a bonus equal to the crew's quality score to determine if it can hide.

Hazards

Sea travel is an innately dangerous proposition. A storm on land might bog down a caravan, delaying its trip by a few days, while at sea a storm can split a ship in two and send everyone aboard to their doom. The close quarters of life aboard a ship leads to short tempers and brawls, while a few rats that sneak aboard can spread disease and spoil supplies. This section presents a variety of common hazards sailors might face on the sea.

Group Checks

To determine how a ship fares against these hazards, each threat requires the ship's officers and crew to make a special group check (see chapter 7 of the Player's Handbook for how group checks work). The description of a hazard specifies which officers can roll to contribute to the group check. That description also states what ability check an officer makes. Even if the officers make different ability checks, their successes and failures contribute to the one group check.
Additionally, all the non-officer members of the crew make a single check, a d20 roll modified by the crew's quality. The success or failure of all these checks—both the officers and the crew—determines the result of the group check.
While each hazard lists the officers assigned to participate in a group check, anyone can attempt an officer's check in a pinch, with two exceptions: First, only the captain can make checks associated with the captain's role; no one else can take the captain's place. Second, only one character can attempt an officer's check; they can't receive help.
Once all the checks related to the group check have been rolled, the ship's success or failure is determined. Hazards offer four levels of success or failure determined by the results of the ship's group check. A total success or a total failure occurs when every roll in the group check is a success or a failure, respectively.

Determining Hazards

Traveling by sea is an innately dangerous proposition. When running an ocean adventure, you can select hazards based on the needs of your campaign or generate them randomly.
To determine hazards at random, roll a d20 at the start of each day of an ocean voyage. On a 20, the ship faces a hazard that day. Use the following two tables to determine the nature of the hazard and the DC of the threat it presents. Specifics corresponding to each of these DC levels are detailed along with each of the following hazards.
Hazard Type d20 Hazard Type 1-3 Crew conflict 4-6 Fire 7-9 Fog 10-12 Infestation 13-20 Storm Hazard DC d20 Hazard DC 1-9 10 10-17 15 18-19 20 20 25 Crew Conflict Sailors can be a rough-and-tumble bunch, and cramming them into a ship's confined quarters leads to inevitable rivalries, feuds, and petty crimes. If resentments among the crew grow too strong, the officers must step in and set things right, lest they risk mutiny or worse.
Each day a ship spends dealing with a crew conflict requires those aboard to make a group check. The check's DC is randomly determined or chosen from the Crew Conflicts DCs table. The captain, first mate, and cook each make an ability check, as shown on the Crew Conflict Checks table. This check takes the place of any other activities that the officer might undertake that day, representing their contribution to placating the crew. If no one makes the check for a particular officer, a failure is contributed toward the group check.
Even though the crew is causing trouble, some members help the officers, and thus the crew still contributes a roll to the group check. Roll a d20 for the crew, using its quality score as a modifier to the roll, and compare that check to the DC.
Determine how many of the group's checks succeeded—the officers' and the crew's—then consult the Crew Conflict Check Results table.
Crew Conflict DCs DC Description 10 Minor scuffle or petty theft 15 Brawl involving several people, theft of a valuable 20 Large brawl resulting in several injuries, theft of a prized item 25 Murder, serious brawl involving most of the crew Crew Conflict Checks Officer Check Captain Charisma (Intimidation) First mate Charisma (Intimidation) Cook Intelligence (brewer's supplies) Crew Conflict Check Results Result Effect Total Success The crew's quality score increases by 1 for 1d4 days and the hazard ends. Success The hazard ends. Failure The crew's quality score decreases by 1. Total Failure The crew's quality score decreases by 1, and the crew immediately mutinies. Fire A fire at sea can turn a ship into a burned-out hulk, its crew slain or forced overboard.
If a fire erupts aboard a ship, its officers and crew must make a group check to coordinate efforts to extinguish it. The check's DC is randomly determined or chosen from the Fire DCs table. The group check represents 5 minutes of work. The captain, first mate, bosun, and surgeon each make an ability check, as shown on the Fire Checks table. If no one makes the check for a particular officer, a failure is contributed toward the group check. Also, roll a d20 for the crew, using its quality score as a modifier to the roll, and compare that check to the DC.
Determine how many of the group's checks succeeded—the officers' and the crew's—then consult the Fire Check Results table.
Fire DCs DC Description 10 Small, contained fire, equivalent to an oil lantern 15 Dangerous flame, equivalent to a large campfire, or multiple, smaller fires ignited at once 20 Intense fire with significant chance to spread, equivalent to a bonfire 25 Sudden, pervasive flames, such as from igniting a hold filled with flammable cargo Fire Checks Officer Check Captain Intelligence (water vehicles) First mate Charisma (Intimidation) Bosun Strength (carpenter's tools) Surgeon Intelligence (Medicine) Fire Check Results Result Effect Total Success The fire is extinguished with nothing beyond cosmetic damage. Success The fire is extinguished, but the hull and 1d3 other random components take 6d6 fire damage. Failure The hull and 1d3 other random components take 6d6 fire damage, and the fire continues. Make another set of checks. Total Failure The crew's quality score decreases by 1 due to injuries, while the hull and 1d3 other random components take 6d6 fire damage. The fire continues. Make another set of checks. Fog Fog on land is usually an inconvenience, but at sea it can prove disastrous. Decreased visibility makes navigation more difficult and can cause a vessel to crash.
A group check determines how the officers and crew manage through one day of fog. The check's DC is randomly determined or chosen from the Fog DCs table. The captain and quartermaster each make an ability check, as shown on the Fog Checks table. If no one makes the check for a particular officer, a failure is contributed toward the group check. Also, roll a d20 for the crew, using its quality score as a modifier to the roll, and compare that check to the DC.
Determine how many of the group's checks succeeded—the officers' and the crew's—then consult the Fog Check Results table.
Fog DCs DC Description 10 Light fog 15 Moderate fog 20 Heavy fog 25 Very heavy fog Fog Checks Officer Check Captain Intelligence (water vehicles) Quartermaster Wisdom (Nature) Fog Check Results Result Effect Total Success The fog has no effect on navigation, and the crew's quality increases by 1 for 1d3 days. Success The fog has no effect on navigation. Failure The fog slows the ship, reducing its travel pace and speed by half for the day. Total Failure The fog slows the ship and disorients the crew, reducing the vessel's travel pace and speed by half for the day and causing it to move in a random direction. Infestation Provisioning a sea journey is challenging, particularly when allocating what to pack for the voyage. A rat infestation or an outbreak of even a minor illness can spell disaster at sea. This type of hazard covers illnesses, infestations, spoiled supplies, and other troubles that wear away a crew's health.
Each day a ship spends dealing with an infestation requires those aboard to make a group check. The check's DC is randomly determined or chosen from the Infestation DCs table. The captain, first mate, surgeon, and cook each make an ability check, as shown on the Infestation Checks table. This check takes the place of any other activities that the officer might undertake that day. If no one makes the check for a particular officer, a failure is contributed toward the group check. Also, roll a d20 for the crew, using its quality score as a modifier to the roll, and compare that check to the DC.
Determine how many of the group's checks succeeded—the officers' and the crew's—then consult the Infestation Check Results table.
Infestation DCs DC Description 10 Minor bug or rat infestation, common cold 15 Persistent bug or rat infestation, stomach ailment or typical flu 20 Serious bug or rat infestation, contagious flu or spoiled food 25 Overwhelming bug or rat infestation, lethal plague Infestation Checks Officer Check Captain Intelligence (water vehicles) First mate Charisma (Persuasion) Surgeon Intelligence (Medicine) Cook Constitution (cook's utensils) Infestation Check Results Result Effect Total Success The crew's quality score increases by 1 for 1d4 days, and the hazard ends. Success The hazard ends. Failure The crew's quality score decreases by 1. Total Failure The crew's quality score decreases by 1, and the distraction caused by the crisis forces the ship to move at half speed that day. Storm Winds and towering waves toss ships like bath toys. Snowstorms batter vessels venturing too far north. Hurricanes consume whole armadas. More common and deadlier than most sea monsters, storms claim more ships than any other threat on the high seas.
Each day a ship spends involved in a storm requires those aboard to make a group check. The check's DC is randomly determined or chosen from the Storm DCs table. The captain, first mate, bosun, and quartermaster each make an ability check, as shown on the Storm Checks table. This check takes the place of any other activities that the officer might undertake that day, representing their contribution to keeping the ship afloat. If no one makes the check for a particular officer, a failure is contributed toward the group check. Also, roll a d20 for the crew, using its quality score as a modifier to the roll, and compare that check to the DC.
Determine how many of the group's checks succeeded—the officers' and the crew's—then consult the Storm Check Results table.
Storm DCs DC Description 10 Heavy gale 15 Strong storm 20 Typical hurricane 25 Overwhelming hurricane Storm Checks Officer Check Captain Intelligence (water vehicles) First mate Charisma (Intimidation) Bosun Strength (carpenter's tools) Quartermaster Wisdom (Nature) Storm Check Results Result Effect Total Success The ship survives unscathed. The crew's quality score increases by 1 for 1d4 days. Success The ship survives unscathed. Failure The ship's components each take 4d10 bludgeoning damage. The crew's quality score decreases by 1. The ship struggles, moving at half speed that day. Total Failure The ship's components each take 10d10 bludgeoning damage. The crew's quality score decreases by 2, and 10 percent of the crew is washed overboard and lost. The ship is blown off course and struggles to recover its bearings, moving in a random direction.