Ship Positions & NPC Archive

Role: Captain

CAPTAIN: Directly commands the officers, controls the ship.

Crew: can command up to 20 crewmen, just like a mate. these are in addition to the officers.
Boon: charisma (i’ll also allow wisdom) to loyalty, charisma to ship initiative (i’ll also allow wisdom or profession sailor)
Vacancy: -4 to attack rolls & will saving throws, crew surrenders at 25% casualties unless there are other circumstances

NAVAL ACTIONS

General Orders (Captain): The Captain is in charge, and so while Mates and the Navigator direct their crewmen, the Captain directs up to 20 Mates. It is the Captain who decides on the specific course to sail, the tactical moves, and when to ram the enemy. She places great trust in her officers, often giving them leeway in making follow-up decisions as needed. For example, a Captain is probably not going to micro-manage the Fire Chief as he extinguishes fires; she’s going to trust him to make the best decisions to accomplish the task.

Inspiration (Captain): As detailed under “Loyalty Score” above, a ship’s Captain (or other officer in charge if the Captain is dead or otherwise incapacitated) can give a rousing speech to inspire the crew during combat. This special action occurs on the Captain’s Naval Initiative.

Scuttle Ship (Captain): Scuttling the ship is a special task that is not undertaken lightly. When the decision is made, the Captain directly commands the crew to damage the ship in such a way as to cause the most significant damage. Typically, this task is as simple as going to the ship’s hold and punching holes into the Hull Locations. A scuttled ship takes on 5,000 pounds of water per round, just as if the Below the Waterline Location was reduced to 0 hit points.

Surrender (Captain): When defeat is imminent, the Captain can order surrender. When this order is given, the ship’s flag is taken down (known as “striking colors” in naval parlance) and crewmen lay down arms. This action is an exception to the rule that only 20 crewmen can be directly commanded.

Take Unawares (Captain): During combat, a Captain tries to get the upper hand on the opposing Captain through the deft sailing of her ship. To catch the opposing Captain unaware requires the two ships’ Captains make opposed Profession (sailor) checks. The defending Captain gains a +10 circumstance bonus to this check, to simulate just how difficult it is to pull off this maneuver. Success prepares the ship to execute a Special Attack (see Special Attacks, below, for more detail). If, at the very beginning of an encounter, one Captain is somehow unaware of the enemy ship, the attacking Captain automatically succeeds on the Take Unawares check and no opposed roll is required.

Broadside: To make a broadside attack, you move your ship parallel to the enemy ship and within the first range increment of your weapons, and then fire all your side mounted cannons at once. In addition to the damage dealt to Locations and crew, all enemy crew members in any Location that took damage must make a Fortitude saving throw against a DC of 10 plus the number of cannons fired. On a failed saving throw, the crewmember is stunned for 1 round — effectively, the number of available crewmen is reduced for one round. (Remember to only roll once and apply the resulting save to each classification of crew.)

Crossing the Boards: Similar to a ram (see below), crossing the boards allows one ship to effectively grapple another and allow a boarding party to cross. To perform a crossing the boards attack, the Navigator targets the enemy’s bowsprit (or bow, if it doesn’t have a bowsprit) with his own ship’s bowsprit. The Navigator makes a combat maneuver check to grapple, using his base attack bonus and the ship’s Strength modifier.

A Mate can assist the maneuver by ordering crewmen to use grappling hooks and standard ropes to secure the two ships together as they cross. For every 5 grappling hooks used by the Mate, the Navigator gains a +1 bonus on his CMB (up to a maximum of +4).

In addition, the larger ship (determined by the number of Hull Locations) gets a bonus to its CMB equal to half the difference of the number of Hull Locations. For example, if a ship with 20 Hull Locations attempts to grapple a ship with 15 Hull Locations, the larger ship gains a +2 size bonus to its CMB and CMD checks. If successful, both ships are temporarily disabled; they each drift, moving at one-quarter the slowest ship’s speed. The ships remain grappled so long as their bows are crossed, and while crossing the boards remains effective, crewmembers from either ship can cross to the other. The grappled ship can attempt to break free on its Captain’s Naval Initiative.

Crossing the T: Similar to a broadside attack, this attack instead occurs perpendicular to the enemy ship, and focuses fire on the prow or stern. Your side-mounted cannons each try to attack the Locations in either the front or rear of your enemy. Split the damage evenly among all the Locations hit (for example, if the enemy ship is 2 hull locations wide and 2 hull locations high, split the damage across all 4 locations). If the combined attacks inflict at least 500 points of total damage and this damage is at least half the maximum hit points of all the prow or stern Locations, the attack decreases the maneuverability rating of your enemy’s ship by one level, to a minimum of Clumsy. If, instead, the damage inflicted is at least 75% of the maximum, your enemy’s maneuverability drops to Clumsy regardless of what it was previously. Finally, if the damage you inflict destroys the Locations entirely, your enemy’s ship is stalled; it cannot move nor turn. If the combined damage of all your successful attacks was less than 500, apply the damage normally.

Fire as She Bears: You maneuver and get one Location on the enemy ship in line with your cannon. Each gun fires as it draws level, unleashing a veritable torrent of cannonballs upon that single Location. Add together all the damage dealt to that Location, and apply the Location’s hardness only once. In effect, this Special Attack combines your cannon fire into one attack on one Location.

Ram Attack: Sometimes, the Captain decides the best course of action is to intentionally sail his ship into the enemy’s ship. He may choose this action, for example, when the enemy has sustained heavy damage while his ship is relatively unscathed. In order to make a ram attack, your ship must move at least 8 squares in a straight line. Up to 6 of those squares of movement can occur in the previous round — essentially, the Captain can choose to make a ram attack over 2 rounds if he doesn’t have enough movement available in one round.

The Captain targets a specific Hull Location on the enemy ship. His ship collides with this Location, inflicting 4d8 + the ship’s Strength modifier to that Location, and half this amount of damage to all neighboring Locations. In addition, any Hull Locations at the front of the ramming Captain’s ship also takes half the total damage, unless the ship was equipped with a ram. A ram attack ignores up to 10 points of hardness on the Hull Location it strikes. Damage suffered applies equally to the Hull Location and the Below the Waterline Location; that is, if the damage inflicted is 35 points, this amount of damage is applied to both the struck Hull Location as well as the Below the Waterline Location

Lead a Boarding Party (Mate or Captain): A grappled ship can be boarded. A Mate (or sometimes, the Captain directly) takes a band of 20 marines to the enemy ship, where they engage the enemy’s crew in hand-to-hand combat. Allow the Mate in charge of the boarding party to make an appropriate check (Intimidate, inspire courage, Diplomacy, and so forth). The check should be determined by the Mate’s personality and actions — the famed pirate Blackbeard was known to set his beard on fire, for example, intimidating the enemy crew. A successful check during the Mate’s Naval Initiative grants his crew a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls, or inflicts a –1 morale penalty to enemy crew’s attack and damage rolls, accordingly. This bonus lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Mate’s character level. The Mate makes this special Naval Action at the start of the boarding action; if he fails his check he cannot try again during that combat.

Position Your Crew (Any): During the course of a battle, you need to move crewmen from one Location on a ship to another. Between rounds, the Captain can automatically shuffle crewmen about as needed. But if you need five sailors up in the rigging right now, it requires an officer to take control and make it happen. As discussed, during his Naval Initiative, any officer can order up to 20 crewmen to follow him to a specific destination on the ship; once they arrive, the officer can then command them to take any appropriate actions. For example, a Mate on the gun deck can order 5 marines to follow him to the ship’s rigging, then order them to lower the main sail to aid the Navigator in accomplishing a task. Once these marines leave their starting location, they’re no longer available to the gunnery sergeant in that location.

February 13th, 2023 February 13th, 2023

Role: Mate

MATES: Command up to 20 crewmen for whatever has to get done. No limit to number of mates, but they're last priority for PC rolls, and shouldn't make an NPC a Mate unless it's absolutely necessary.

Crew: can command up to 20 crewmen. Two Mates can fill the same role, but they do not get more crewmen.
Boon: All mates add their int, wisdom, or charisma score to the ship initiative. Crew gets bonuses on specific actions.
Vacancy: no mate = twice as many crew to do anything that isn't firing a cannon.
Special: If at least half the crewmen commanded by a Mate possess 3 or more ranks in Profession (sailor), the Mate gains a +1 circumstance bonus to all his ship-based actions. If at least half the crewmen commanded by a Mate possess 6 or more ranks in Profession (sailor), the bonus increases to +2. If at least half possess 10 or more ranks in Profession (sailor) — a truly legendary crew — the bonus increases to +4.

Away Team: Mate leading a boarding mission grants his crewmen benefits. All away team crewmen (not officers/pcs) gain a +3 bonus when flanking an enemy, instead of +2. They also receive a +2 morale bonus on saving throws.

Combat: if a Mate commanding crewmen in hand-to-hand combat aboard his own ship has Improved Initiative, all his crew get a +2 initiative bonus. This bonus does not stack with improved initiative (the mate doesn't get the bonus, just the crew.) All crew fighting off a boarding party gain a +1 morale bonus to attack/damage rolls.

Firemaster: mate specializing in onboard fire gains +2 to reflex to extinguish fires. only a nat 1 inflicts damage on crewmen for unsuccessful check. (normally, failure by 5 or more inflicts damage.

Gunnery: Mate applies any cannon-specific feats to crewmen (not officers/pcs). these include weapon focus, weapon spec, exotic weapon spec, naval gunnery, and storm-tossed gunnery.

Rowing: increase maneuverability of an oar-powered ship manned by his own crewmen by one category (DC 20 sailor). Lasts for one round, 3/day.

Sailing: can direct five crewmen to raise/lower sails in one round, rather than 2 (DC 20 sailor).

Temporary Captain: Mate, navigator, or chaplain can step into the captain's role should the captain fall in battle. Mandatory ship-based action to make impassioned speech (sailor check vs loyalty score). If successful, becomes new captain in eyes of crew, and all who heard the speech get +2 morale to saves, attacks, damage, and skills for rounds equal to the new captain's charisma mod (minimum 1)

Lead a Boarding Party (Mate or Captain): A grappled ship can be boarded. A Mate (or sometimes, the Captain directly) takes a band of 20 marines to the enemy ship, where they engage the enemy’s crew in hand-to-hand combat. Allow the Mate in charge of the boarding party to make an appropriate check (Intimidate, inspire courage, Diplomacy, and so forth). The check should be determined by the Mate’s personality and actions — the famed pirate Blackbeard was known to set his beard on fire, for example, intimidating the enemy crew. A successful check during the Mate’s Naval Initiative grants his crew a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls, or inflicts a –1 morale penalty to enemy crew’s attack and damage rolls, accordingly. This bonus lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Mate’s character level. The Mate makes this special Naval Action at the start of the boarding action; if he fails his check he cannot try again during that combat.

Extinguish Fires (Mate): The Fire Chief is a Mate specifically assigned to the task of extinguishing fires aboard the ship. Fires aboard ship are almost as dangerous as holes in a Hull Location, and this Mate’s sole job is to lead crewmen into those Locations and extinguish the fires. Extinguishing a fire requires the Mate to attempt a DC 20 Reflex saving throw. If his saving throw is successful, the Mate and his crew extinguish the fire in 5 rounds. For every 5 points by which he beats the DC, he reduces the number of necessary rounds by 1, to a minimum of 2. Damage from the fire affects the Location each round the fire burns. For example, if the Mate rolls a 31 for his Reflex saving throw, the amount of time necessary to extinguish the fire in that Location is 3 rounds. Magic can greatly aid this task. Failure on the Reflex saving throw indicates that the Mate and his crew fail to make any progress; failure by more than 5 (including rolls of a natural 1) indicates that the Mate and his crew failed to extinguish the fire and also take 2d6 points of fire damage in the process.

Fire the Cannon (Mate): On the Mate’s command, the crew assigned to a cannon can fire the weapon. The Mate decides upon the target (Hull Location, Rigging Location, or crew in a specific Location). For each cannon under his command, the Mate rolls an attack roll and adds his base attack modifier plus any appropriate modifiers (including range increment penalties and his Dexterity modifier). Any weapon-specific feats the Mate possesses that apply to cannons (such as Exotic Weapon Proficiency and Weapon Focus) as well as ranged attack-specific feats (such as Point-Blank Shot or Far Shot) are included in the attack, even though the Mate isn’t directly firing the weapon. The number of cannons a Mate can command is limited by the number of crewmen he commands (max 20) and the number of crewmen needed to man the particular cannon (round down). Regardless of this value, a Mate can only command cannons to which he has line of sight, and the crew of those cannons must also have line of sight back to the Mate. For example, if a ship has two gun decks in one Hull Location, it will need at least two different Mates to operate the cannons — one on each deck, plus an additional Mate if the number of crewmen needed for the cannons on either deck exceeds 20.

Grapple a Ship (Mate): Any ship within 50 feet of your ship can be grappled. Doing so requires the use of grappling hooks and ropes long enough to reach from your ship to the enemy ship. The Mate commands the crew and makes the necessary CMB checks against the target ship’s CMD. A successful check secures the enemy ship, preventing it from tasks such as turning or fleeing without first breaking the grapple. To simplify the task, use the standard grapple rules and assume that all the ropes, hooks, and so forth are being used (and defended against) in the most proficient way possible. A grappled ship can be boarded by the attacking vessel.

Reload a Cannon (Mate): Reloading a cannon often requires more than one round’s worth of ship-based actions. The times given in the table in the “Equipping Your Ship” section assumes a full complement of crew available to perform the necessary tasks. For each missing crewman, extend the time by one round.

Repairs (Mate): The mate and his crew are tasked with making emergency repairs to the ship. The Mate makes a Knowledge (engineering) or appropriate Craft check (such as Craft [carpentry] or Craft [shipbuilding]), and the result determines how long it takes him and his crew to make the minimum repairs. A DC 15 allows the repairs to be made in 2 rounds, restoring 5d6 hp to the Location being repaired. For every 5 points by which he beats the DC, he and his crew repair an additional 1d6 points of damage, to a maximum total of 10d6 or half the Location’s maximum, whichever is less. In order to make the check, the Mate and his crewmen require appropriate materials and tools. Hit points restored in this manner are temporary and only last for 24 hours before needing follow up work — work that can be done on a less stringent deadline. It often makes sense for PCs with access to magic that allows water breathing as well as increased mobility underwater to take this naval action.

Water Bailing (Mate): When a ship starts to take on water, a Mate and her crewmen are dispatched below deck to begin bailing. The worst case scenario requires several Mates and their associated crewmen forming a “bucket brigade” either up to a higher deck and over the side, or through a porthole. Magic is a welcome aid in this task, as is a pump. A well-trained crew forming a bucket brigade can bail 500 gallons a minute — hardly enough to make a difference, but maybe enough to buy the repair crew a bit of time.

Position Your Crew (Any): During the course of a battle, you need to move crewmen from one Location on a ship to another. Between rounds, the Captain can automatically shuffle crewmen about as needed. But if you need five sailors up in the rigging right now, it requires an officer to take control and make it happen. As discussed, during his Naval Initiative, any officer can order up to 20 crewmen to follow him to a specific destination on the ship; once they arrive, the officer can then command them to take any appropriate actions. For example, a Mate on the gun deck can order 5 marines to follow him to the ship’s rigging, then order them to lower the main sail to aid the Navigator in accomplishing a task. Once these marines leave their starting location, they’re no longer available to the gunnery sergeant in that location.

February 13th, 2023 February 13th, 2023

Role: Navigator

NAVIGATOR: PC who is responsible for the sails and rigging, Knowledge (geography) or Survival to avoid getting lost, at start of combat, makes a sailor/survival check to use the weather gauge

Crew: can command up to 20 crewmen, like a mate
Boon: Wisdom or Intelligence to loyalty, ship initiative
Vacancy: automatically become lost (Survival DC 15 to escape), cannot use weather gauge, if no navigator at start of naval engagement, the ship cannot claim gauge

Naval Actions

Ship’s Movement (Navigator): Movement for the ship, including all Naval Tactics such as sharp turns or sudden stops, occurs on the Navigator’s command. She commands, directly or indirectly, all crewmen responsible for the sails and navigation. Her battle commands include tasks such as raising or lowering sails to affect the ship’s speed, turning the rudder, and similar functions (see Naval Tactics, above for further details).

Position Your Crew (Any): During the course of a battle, you need to move crewmen from one Location on a ship to another. Between rounds, the Captain can automatically shuffle crewmen about as needed. But if you need five sailors up in the rigging right now, it requires an officer to take control and make it happen. As discussed, during his Naval Initiative, any officer can order up to 20 crewmen to follow him to a specific destination on the ship; once they arrive, the officer can then command them to take any appropriate actions. For example, a Mate on the gun deck can order 5 marines to follow him to the ship’s rigging, then order them to lower the main sail to aid the Navigator in accomplishing a task. Once these marines leave their starting location, they’re no longer available to the gunnery sergeant in that location.

February 13th, 2023 February 13th, 2023

Role: Surgeon

SURGEON: Keeps injured crewmen alive and if possible get them back into battle. their crewmen often are medics.

Crew: can command up to 20 crewmen, like a mate. These crew move around the ship freely.
Boon: wisdom or int to loyalty, ship initiative
Vacancy: only 5% of casualties recover after the battle. Ships without surgeons are susceptible to disease/illness, causing 1/6 crewmen to be incapacitated (treat as 0hp) per week

Stabilize: stabilize the injured on Naval Action (DC 15 heal), if successful that crewmen cannot fight again that day but will live. For every two crewman under him, he can stabilize one more crewman (so 11 with a full crew of 20). need not be present as long as two of his crewmen are in that Location. (aka: 1 heal check = his crew's effectiveness anywhere on the ship). Stabilized crewmen are unavailable for other officers during the battle, but will recover. Injured crewman must be treated within 5 rounds or else he dies (they follow normal NPC rules, officers/pcs do the 'three consecutive saves')

Patch Up: In addition to stabilize, each round the surgeon can do a DC 25 heal check as a standard action, if he and his crew are actively treating the injured. If successful, one injured crewman fully recovers immediately and can return to battle. for every 5 points that DC was beat, one more crewman can return to battle. This only applies to crewmen.

Assessment: Standard action, assess crewmen of enemy. Must have line of sight to ship. DC 30 perception, and if successful, gain an understanding of the enemy (via death/stabilize) and can accurately say how officers are out of commission. GM says +/-1 in regards to the officers, unless he beats a DC 40, in which case he gets the exact number.

Post-Battle Recovery: after battle, special heal check. Result is 10+% of 'deceased' crew that don't actually die. aka: recoverable even though they didn't make their saves. requires 1 hour from the surgeon and his crew, must have at least 4 crewmembers to do it. make 1 check for the entire ship.

Naval Actions

Position Your Crew (Any): During the course of a battle, you need to move crewmen from one Location on a ship to another. Between rounds, the Captain can automatically shuffle crewmen about as needed. But if you need five sailors up in the rigging right now, it requires an officer to take control and make it happen. As discussed, during his Naval Initiative, any officer can order up to 20 crewmen to follow him to a specific destination on the ship; once they arrive, the officer can then command them to take any appropriate actions. For example, a Mate on the gun deck can order 5 marines to follow him to the ship’s rigging, then order them to lower the main sail to aid the Navigator in accomplishing a task. Once these marines leave their starting location, they’re no longer available to the gunnery sergeant in that location.

February 13th, 2023 February 13th, 2023

Role: Chaplain

CHAPLAIN: The cleric, responsible for spiritual well-being. A PC serving in this role may fill one other officer role, however, this does not grant them extra crewmen. AKA: it doesn’t do much in battle but important for loyalty, so a PC can also take this one as a secondary role.

Crew: can command up to 20 crewmen, like a mate.
Boon: wisdom or charisma to loyalty, crew must share alignment, deity, or alignment of chaplain's deity.
Vacancy: -2 to loyalty

Naval Actions

Position Your Crew (Any): During the course of a battle, you need to move crewmen from one Location on a ship to another. Between rounds, the Captain can automatically shuffle crewmen about as needed. But if you need five sailors up in the rigging right now, it requires an officer to take control and make it happen. As discussed, during his Naval Initiative, any officer can order up to 20 crewmen to follow him to a specific destination on the ship; once they arrive, the officer can then command them to take any appropriate actions. For example, a Mate on the gun deck can order 5 marines to follow him to the ship’s rigging, then order them to lower the main sail to aid the Navigator in accomplishing a task. Once these marines leave their starting location, they’re no longer available to the gunnery sergeant in that location.

February 13th, 2023 February 13th, 2023

Role: Engineer

ENGINEER: Not applicable unless ya'll somehow get a hold of a steam/coal/alchemical engine and attach it to the ship. They are in charge specifically of this secondary speed source, and qualify as a type of Mate.

Naval Actions

Position Your Crew (Any): During the course of a battle, you need to move crewmen from one Location on a ship to another. Between rounds, the Captain can automatically shuffle crewmen about as needed. But if you need five sailors up in the rigging right now, it requires an officer to take control and make it happen. As discussed, during his Naval Initiative, any officer can order up to 20 crewmen to follow him to a specific destination on the ship; once they arrive, the officer can then command them to take any appropriate actions. For example, a Mate on the gun deck can order 5 marines to follow him to the ship’s rigging, then order them to lower the main sail to aid the Navigator in accomplishing a task. Once these marines leave their starting location, they’re no longer available to the gunnery sergeant in that location.

February 13th, 2023 February 13th, 2023

Roles: CUSTOM

With permission, I will allow the PCs to use these maneuvers/custom roles (If they aren’t equatable to role from Razor Coast, then i’ll consider them as a Mate, as far as ship modifiers go), or to take any of the traits from here if their role doesn’t have many combat uses (chaplain, navigator). If there is a similar trait in Razor coast, then go with that (or convince me).

These are sourced from here https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p54b?Naval-Combat-For-a-Whole-Party

Pilot (Navigator/Captain) - Much as in the basic rules, the pilot's initiative determines when that ship acts. The pilot rolls against all other pilots in the combat to determine who has the Upper Hand each round. The pilot should be the PC with the highest Profession (Sailor).

Evasive Maneuvers The pilot makes an opposed Profession (Sailor) check against the other pilots in the combat. A success grants the ship a +4 to its AC and saves for the next round, but a -8 to the Master at Arms for any siege weapon attacks. For each 5 that the pilot beats her opponents she may increase this bonus by +2.

Make Way The pilot makes an opposed Profession (sailor) check against the other pilots in the combats. Success allows them one of the following effects:

Enemy Pilot is -4 on Profession (Sailor) checks for a round
Enemy Ship is -4 on AC and saves for a round
Enemy Siege Gunners are -4 on attacks for a round

Shantyman (First Mate?) - A role for a bard. Alternatively a role for a Bosun or First Mate. This person is leading the crew in songs, or cheering them on, and generally trying to raise their morale. They should be someone with a high Charisma since they will mainly use Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Perform.

Boost Morale the Shantyman makes a Diplomacy or Perform check DC 15 + 2x(current Morale +1). See how to calculate Morale in Boarding Rules below. A success raises the Morale of the crew by 1 for the remainder of the encounter. Alternately Intimidate can be used in place of Diplomacy or Perform, but after the encounter the crew's Morale drops by an additional 1.
Mock Enemies the Shantyman can make an Intimidate of Perform check DC 15 + 2x(enemy's current morale) to lower the Morale of an enemy crew by 1 for the remainder of the encounter. Alternately Diplomacy can be used if the Shantyman offers bribes (which must be given in the event of victory).
Sea Chanty the Shantyman can sing songs which aid timing and cooperation among the crew resulting in +2 to all other roles in any of their skill checks.
Bloodthirsty Ballad the Shantyman can get the crew riled up for battle with a successful Perform check DC 15 + 2x(enemy's current morale), providing a +1 bonus to their attack and defense stats.

Master at Arms (First Mate?) - Or Master Gunner, or Siege Engineer etc... This is a role for the person in charge of the all the siege engines on a ship. They do not actually fire the weapons (they have crew for that), but they rely on the Profession (siege engineer) skill to be successful.

Load/Aim/Fire the basic job of the Master at Arms is to decide where and when to fire all the weapons on the ship, and at what. For the most part this just involves following the rules of Siege Engines as in the Skull & Shackles Guide and below. How many crew are on each engine? How many rounds does it take to load, to aim etc...? The Master at Arms can coach all the weapon crews simultaneously assuming there are enough crew to man each weapon. The Master at Arms then rolls a Profession (siege engineer) check DC10 to give each weapon crew a +2 bonus on their attack (as Aid Another). Calculate a basic crew's attack with the following modifiers:
- Base Attack = +2
- Untrained with Siege Weapon = -4
- Range increments = -2 per increment beyond first
- Pilot's "Evasive Maneuvers" Action = -8
- Enemy Pilot's "Make Way" Action = -4
- Captain's "Take Cover", "Fix It", or "Grapple" Actions = -4
Steady...Steady The Master at Arms may spend an extra round coaching her weapon crews on their aim. With a successful Profession (siege engineer) check DC20 the Master at Arms may have each siege weapon that fires in that round deal Triple damage against structures on its next attack, if it hits, instead of double.
Make Her Bleed if the Master at Arms has his crews target a part of the ship that they previously damaged she may make a Profession (siege engineer) check DC20 to have each siege weapon that fires in that round deal Triple damage against structures on its next attack, if it hits, instead of double. This stacks with "Steady...Steady" so it is possible to deal up to quadruple damage against structures with an extra round of aiming and two DC20 Profession (siege engineer) checks against a previously damaged part of an enemy ship.

Note from creator: “The first rule change I made is to declare that all damage against structures and vehicles by Siege Engines and Special Ammunition for Siege Engines is doubled. Their base damage is simply way too low to be any threat. I also gave the Master at Arms several ways to increase the damage as you've seen above.”

February 13th, 2023 February 13th, 2023

Crew Loyalty

MODIFIERS

Captain + Wis or Cha modifier
Chaplain +Wis or Cha modifier
Navigator + Int or Wis modifier
Surgeon + Int or Wis modifier
At least 50% of crew are followers gained from Leadership feat +2
At least 75% of crew are followers gained from Leadership feat +4
At least 95% of crew are followers gained from Leadership feat +6
Pay +2 (double pay) / +4 (quadruple pay) / –2 (half pay) / –6 (no pay)
Rations (food and rum) +2 (double rations) / –2 (half rations) / –6 (no rations)
Time at sea –1 for each month without landfall
Charmed +10 vs. Mutiny
Dominated +15 vs. Mutiny
Battles within last month +2 per victory / –2 per defeat
Captain is dead or captured and no new leader has stepped forward –2

CHECK DCs

Avoid mutiny per week 10 (can take 10)
Fight a monster with a CR five or greater than the highest level possessed by an officer (25)
Saving throw vs. fear or charm effect 10 + normal DC
Prevent rout / surrender at 50% casualties (35)
Prevent rout / surrender at 75% casualties (40)
Inspire courage +1 (25)
Inspire courage +2 (35)
Inspire courage +3 (45)
Don't need to make per week checks unless the modifier is in the negative

If a crew mutinies, 50% of the crew plus 5% per point of negative Loyalty modifier rise up against the Captain. For example, if a ship has a –5 Loyalty modifier, 75% of the crew mutiny. Each NPC leader rolls a d% and if their roll is below this mutiny percentage they join the mutiny. Treat the mutinous crew as hostile towards the Captain.

Leadership Feat: A Captain (or other officer) who uses the Leadership feat to recruit the crew gains a bonus on Loyalty checks based upon how many crew members are followers. On the contrary, slaves, impressed commoners, and indentured servants turned into crew often attempt to escape or mutiny as soon as they can.

Inspiration: A Captain may, as a full-round action, make an impassioned speech to inspire her crew. This ability functions as the bard’s inspire courage ability, but the bonus from the Loyalty check does not stack with the bard’s ability. The inspiration bonus lasts as long as the Captain can continue to spend a move action each round; if the Captain cannot — or chooses not to — the effect ends immediately.

Rout: A crew will normally surrender if reduced to 50% or less of their starting number during a battle. A Captain of a ship with a high Loyalty modifier can exhort her crew to continue the fight despite their losses. A Captain must roll again once casualties reach 75%

Improve Saves: A Captain of a ship with a high Loyalty modifier can assist her crew to shake off fear or charm effects. The Captain makes a Loyalty check against a DC of 10 plus the effect’s original DC. If her Loyalty check is successful all friendly targets within 60 feet that can see and hear the Captain immediately receive a new saving throw with a +10 morale bonus. If the Captain beats the DC of this check by more than 10 points, the effect is ended instead of granting new saves.

February 13th, 2023

Crew Recruitment

To recruit: Diplomacy check to gather information or a Profession (sailor) check, whichever is higher. If the Captain has the Leadership feat, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus on this check. If the Captain has earned great renown for his work, he gains a bonus from +1 to +4 (GM’s discretion)

A successful DC 10 check allows the Captain to recruit 11–20% (1d10+10) of the number of crew he seeks. A DC 18 check allows the Captain to recruit 41–50% (1d10+40). A DC 25 check allows the recruiting of 81-90% (1d10+80) of the crew. A check of 30 or higher allows the Captain to find all the crewmen he seeks (up to the maximum allowed for the town).

Note, however, that just because the Captain can find the number of crewmen he seeks doesn’t mean he finds the exact sailor he needs. Normally 31-50% (1d20+30) of potential recruits will be no more skilled than a seaman. Regardless of the number of crewmen recruited, this check represents one day’s work by the Captain and his Mates. Should the Captain or his Mates seek to press crewmen (kidnap them) rather than actively recruit, the Captain makes either an Intimidate or Profession (sailor) check. The check DCs are the same as above, except press ganging a crew results in 61–80% (1d20+60) of the recruits being no better than landsman.

If you’re tricking the crew into joining, then it’s a Bluff check. Each officer role can command up to 20 crew (if there is less than 20 crewmembers, then divide them evenly between the PCs).

Each crew member requires 600 lbs. of weight capacity on board a ship to represent their weight and personal effects, and costs 5 sp per day to feed (aka: upkeep). Extra or reduced rations affect the crew’s Loyalty.

Technically, you don’t pay your crew - they receive a portion of the Plunder when it is sold, so each time you sell a point of plunder, they get paid. So in other words, i’m not dealing with it. As far as loyalty goes, if you want to double pay them, then you subtract 2 points each time you sell plunder (keep the normal price rate for one), and if you want to under pay them (at risk of loyalty loss), then you receive a 150% turnout from selling plunder. No payment equates to heavy loyalty loss at 200% gp turnout from plunder. The normal payment rate I’m just gunna skirt under the rug.

Sometimes, an officer needs to take crewmen to a specific Location to perform some task. Spending 3 rounds moving across the decks of a ship is boring, and not a series of actions anybody is particularly interested in taking. To help keep the action flowing, officers (and crewmen accompanying them) can take special movement on their Naval Initiative, at the end of which they can perform a Naval Action.

Determine the officer’s maximum running distance, keeping in mind that this can be affected by wearing medium or heavy armor, carrying a medium or heavy load, or possessing the Run feat. Divide this maximum running distance by 20 to determine the number of Locations an officer and her crew can move through during the officer’s Naval Initiative. To accomplish this, the officer must make a DC 20 Profession (sailor) check.

Crew who survive a battle gain XP as normal. Determine the encounter levels of all battles, and assign XP to the crew. When a crewmember gains a new level, his or her pay — and rank — should increase accordingly. In addition, a higher level crew is more adroit at accomplishing the tasks needed on a ship. If at least half the crewmen commanded by a Mate possess 3 or more ranks in Profession (sailor), the Mate gains a +1 circumstance bonus to all his ship-based actions. If at least half the crewmen commanded by a Mate possess 6 or more ranks in Profession (sailor), the bonus increases to +2. If at least half possess 10 or more ranks in Profession (sailor) — a truly legendary crew — the bonus increases to +4.

Crew as a whole should level up every 13 battles which involve the whole ship (so minor/major events where they might get involved, as well as times we raid other ships, even if we don’t have the crew on the initiative count). It doesn’t matter if we recruited more and they’re at lower levels, everyone levels up.

Crew HP (matters more in cannon battles): Tracking hit points for a large number of NPCs is, quite frankly, a hassle. Instead treat crewmen as a binary switch: either dead or alive. Table 20: Crew Types in Chapter 3: The Crew includes basic statistics you can use to determine if your enemy’s attacks hit your crewmen, and if it kills them. For example, if you have 20 marines stationed on a gun deck and enemy cannon blast that deck for 11 hp of damage, don’t bother tracking that your 20 marines only have 1 hp remaining. They’re alive, and that’s what matters. Assume they get some healing or replacements arrive and relieve them. If, next round, the same Location receives 22 damage from flaming cannonballs, then you can mark off all the marines in that Location as casualties — and you’ll need replacements, or you won’t be able to fire the cannons!

CREWMAN PAY/DAY SPECIAL AVG.HP AVG.AC AVG.SAVES
Landsman 1 sp — 4 11 0 / 1 / 0
Seaman 3 sp +4 Profession (sailor) 8 12 1 / 4 / 1
Marine 3 sp +1 BAB, 1 useful combat feat 12 14 4 / 1 / 0
Seaman 1 gp +5 Profession (sailor) 20 13 2 / 5 / 2 able
Veteran 1 gp +3 BAB, 2 useful combat feats 27 15 5 / 2 / 1
Corsair/Buccaneer 2 gp +7 Profession (sailor), 1 useful combat feat 30 17 3 / 7 / 2

You can't take more than 1/3rd of a town's population without the locals attacking. Townsfolk are landsman.
You can recruit from captured sailors.

February 13th, 2023

Crew Morale

The source material also includes Crew Morale, some of which could be implemented or combined with Loyalty if so desired (some of it is the same, and thus again, i’ll default to Razor Coast. But could still be useful.):

“I wanted a way for the crew to simulate the crew's part in boarding actions that was quick and dirty, but offered SOME way to determine how well your crew performed and also ways for players to influence it. The ultimate victory/defeat is still based on whether the players win their fight against the officers, but this offers a way to simulate what else went on during that time. I based these rules heavily on the Fleet Rules in the Price of Infamy so that the transition will be easy. Hopefully.”

A crew has three stats: Attack, Defense & Morale.

Attack is equal to the captain's Profession (sailor) skill.
Defense is equal to the captain's Profession (sailor) skill + 10.
The following modifiers apply to both Attack and Defense:
Every 5 crew below minimum = -1
Every 10 crew over minimum = +1
Masterwork Arms = +1
Won previous round(s) = +2(cumulative)
Lost previous rounds(s) = -2(cumulative)

Morale a crew's starting Morale score is equal to their side's Infamy score divided by 10(round down), with a minimum Morale score of 1 and a maximum score of 10. Morale can be modified by the Shantyman prior to boarding, or by purchasing the "Well Paid" upgrade below, or by circumstantial bonuses or penalties the GM applies.

Once starting Morale has been determined the attacking crew rolls a D20 + Attack and compares it with the defending crew's Defense stat. Whichever side is higher deals 1 point of Morale damage to the other side. The victor of that round has a +2 in the next round (cumulative). Keep track of the total amount of Morale Damage each side receives during the Boarding Action. This continues till one crew reaches 0 Morale.

A crew that reaches 0 Morale stops fighting and either surrenders or retreats to their own ship or tries to escape. This ends the Boarding Action. The victorious side receives an immediate +1 to their Morale.

Roll 1d4 per point of Morale Damage each side received during the Boarding Action. This represents the number of fatalities that side suffered. For example if a crew started with 4 Morale and was defeated, then roll 4d4 to determine the number of deaths they suffered. If a crew started with 4 Morale and was victorious ending with 2 Morale, they still suffered 2d4 fatalities during the Boarding Action. Casualties (serious non-fatal injuries) are always double the number of fatalities.

Disregard any obviously ridiculous results such as a crew suffering more fatalities and casualties than they have members of their crew.

With this system it is possible for the PC's to win the battle, but for their crew to have been routed (or vice versa). In this case, have the losing crew come storming back when they see the success of their officers. The battle is won, but with a heavy cost.

Got Your Back this upgrade represents a crew that looks out for each other in combat (or a skilled surgeon), resulting in 1d4 fewer casualties per combat. 2,500gp
Landlubbers Need Not Apply this upgrade represents a crew of more highly skilled sailors than normal providing a +1 on any of the Pilot's or Captain's skill checks. 1,000gp
Masterwork Arms this upgrade grants +1 to the crew's Attack & Defense stats. 10,000gp
Siege Weapon Training this upgrade removes the -4 penalty crew normally has for operating siege weapons. 1,000gp per weapon type
Vicious Fighters this upgrade represents a crew that fights in a particularly bloodthirsty manner dealing 1 extra damage to their enemy's morale per successful round in a Boarding Action. 10,000gp
Well Paid this upgrade gives a +1 to the crew's Morale stat. 10,000gp

February 13th, 2023

Ship Positions & NPC Archive

Major Character Archive

Characters by Locale

Individuals

Role: Captain

Role: Mate

Role: Navigator

Role: Surgeon

Role: Chaplain

Role: Engineer

Roles: CUSTOM

Crew Loyalty

Crew Recruitment

Crew Morale

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Boosted feature

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