Roscommon, Fey-Pact Schooner Large Vehicle |
Level 24 Vehicle 763,400 gp |
Hull Integrity 4 Defense 30 Maneuverability 12 Speed 14 |
Command — Full Crew 16 Minimum Crew 4 Total Complement 40 |
Design | |
Length 90 ft. Beam 25 ft. Three masts, 70 ft. high. Two decks. Beautiful fey woman figurehead. |
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Beloved but Petulant * Trait | |
As long as the ship and figurehead are in full repair, the ship completes its journeys in 10% less time than usual, and the crew gets +1 to saving throws. If either is damaged, the benefit goes away. |
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Armaments | |
A small array of light cannons, five to either broadside, enchanted for elven precision. The mounting for each is carved from lightning-struck wood, threaded with white streaks. A couple of cannons are mounted forward and aft for full coverage. |
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Crew: 15. Attack: +20, full coverage. Option to fire shocking ammunition, which only damages enemy crew, not the vessel. |
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Dryad Figurehead | |
The beautiful woman blushes when complimented, and sometimes disappears when mistreated. Occasionally trinkets go missing and are found decorating her wooden locks. |
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The figurehead functions as a flagbearer, redirecting hostile spells originating beyond 50 feet away to herself. She has 100 hit points, and ignores the first 10 points of damage from any attack. |
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Jaunter | |
Once per naval round, the captain standing at the head of the ship can ask the favour of the queen’s figurehead. If the captain is in good favour with the fey spirit within the figurehead, the ship teleports a short distance. This can grant a +5 bonus to the ship’s Maneuverability for the purpose of avoiding obstacles or for the Bearing phase, but only relative to a hostile ship at short range. In tactical combat, this requires a standard action and can be done once every five minutes. The Roscommon and everyone aboard teleports 50 ft. (10 squares) to an unoccupied space. It maintains the same heading and speed. |
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Total Cost 763,400 gp | |
Hull (base level 14, sails, improved maneuverability x2, improved speed ×6, Level 24): 525,000 gp Armaments (medium, full coverage, Level 21): 225,000 gp Shocking ammunition (Level 8): 3,400 gp Figurehead flagbearer (Level 10): 5,000 gp Jaunter fey step (Level 10): 5,000 gp |
Fey Portal Pad | Level 17 Uncommon | ||
Vines grow from the deck of your ship where you place this wooden pad. A five-foot diameter disk, its face is traced in incomplete golden arcs and inlaid with green gemstones in the form of the vesica pisces: two-interlocking circles, representing mystical connection. |
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Wondrous Item | 65,000 gp | ||
Special: This item is a ship component. It fills one 5-ft. square on a ship’s main deck. | |||
Properties | |||
A five minute ritual, which can be performed by anyone who knows the proper fey command words, primes this component for one minute. A creature standing on the primed portal pad may teleport to a spot which must be visible and within about 1000 feet, bringing along up to 7 adjacent creatures. Arrival takes a brief moment, so creatures cannot ready their actions to strike the moment they appear; effectively, once you teleport in just roll initiative as usual. Boarding an enemy vessel requires the ritual leader (who uses the engineer officer role if you’re using Admiral o’ the High Seas) to make an Arcana check, with a DC equal to 10 + the target ship’s level. On a failure, the group can choose to still teleport, but they’ll arrive in the water within 25 feet of the target |
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Power Daily | |||
If the engineer, the navigator, and the ship’s captain recite the ritual backwards, they can instead have the ship transition briefly to The Bleak Gate or The Dreaming. While transitioned, the portal pad’s teleportation powers are suppressed. Each naval round (approximately five minutes), the engineer must make an Arcana check (DC 25). If he fails, he may either have the vessel return to the real world, or have the vessel take 1 point of hull integrity damage. |
Roscommon, named after the region in Risur that provided most of its material, mounts a three-masted square-topsail rig. Her lower deck could accommodate as many as forty, and she typically sails with thirty-five crew, a cook, and some small elite complement of officers or specialists.
Laid down in 417 A.O.V., when it was nearing completion its designer had a druid deliver a replica to a fey circle near the town of Roscommon. The model ship delighted the local fey queen Medb, and the next morning when the designer returned to work, the ship’s figurehead had been replaced by a beautiful faerie woman carved from living wood.
R.N.S. Coaltongue Gargantuan Vehicle |
Level 26 Vehicle 1,700,440 gp |
Hull Integrity 4 Defense 30 Maneuverability 8 Speed 18 |
Command +15 Full Crew 32 Minimum Crew 4 Total Complement 200 |
Design | |
Length 205 ft. Beam 50 ft. Two level central bridge. Steam engine with two propellers. Five decks. |
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Armaments | |
Dozens of cannons fire to either broadside. The ship’s greatest weapons are its capacitor which magnifies the spells of mages who cast from the main deck, and its brand which can launch a blast of arcane flame from the prow. |
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Crew: 100. Attack: +27 in any firing arc. Can use acidic, chain shot, flaming, freezing, and shocking attacks, but no more than one in any given round in a single firing arc. |
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Eldritch Defences | |
The ship gains a +5 bonus to saving throws against the burning condition. Any spells that originate more than 50 feet from the ship deal 26 less damage to targets within that area. |
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Flight | |
The vessel can fly at any altitude. Because it does not rely on water for levitation, its speed is not limited by its size. The vessel also creates an aura of flight around it. Any friendly passenger or crew gains a fly speed of 30 ft. (6 squares) while on the ship. As long as the creature ends its turn within 30 ft. of the edge of the vessel, when the ship moves the character moves with it, retaining the same relative position. If the character moves beyond this distance, the fly speed lasts until the end of his or her next turn, and thereafter the character featherfalls to the ground. |
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The Vortex Array | |
Living steel responds to thoughts and touch, detecting magical energies over a great distance. |
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Property: A column-like contraption made of cerebral mesh, diamonds, and living steel, the Vortex Array is a masterpiece of Gidim biotechnology. A ship equipped with one can scan regions as small as a single building (taking mere moments) or as vast as a thousand miles (which could require several hours), detecting all magic in it as per greater arcane sight. It also provides an overview of the general magical demeanour of a region, detailing any planar traits it might have. If the Array is damaged, there is a chance that its readings will not be accurate when it is activated. |
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Total Cost 1,700,440 gp | |
Hull (base level 14, engine, improved maneuverability x2, improved speed x7, Level 26): 1,125,000 gp Armaments (huge, forward turret, explosive rounds, Level 24): 525,000 gp Gunnery components (acidic, Level 8; chain shot, Level 4; flaming, Level 10; freezing, Level 8; shocking, Level 8): 16,040 gp Eldritch defenses (greater fire charm, Level 12; shield defense; Level 10; tar and brimstone sheathing, Level 8; teleportation ward, Level 12): 34,400 gp |
Sovereign's Knife, Danoran Submarine Huge Vehicle |
Level 13 Vehicle 36,360 gp |
Hull Integrity 3 Defense 20 Maneuverability 4 Speed 8 |
Command +8 (Or PC's) Full Crew 16 Minimum Crew 3 Total Complement 16 |
Design | |
Length 150 ft. Beam 30 ft. Steam engine, one deck, sealed hull accessible by central hatch. Forward boarding compartment in ramprow. |
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Boarding Ramprow | |
Forged in the face of a glaring female tiefling, the fore of this vessel is made of reinforced metals and bears a brutal set of horns, seemingly meant to drill into opposing vessels. When the Sovereign's Knife rams another, prevent the first strike the rammed ship would deal to the submarine. In addition, following the ram, the vessel can unload as many crew-members as prepared onto the enemy ship through the area impacted by the ram. Once the Sovereign's Knife disengages following a ram attack, the enemy ship is considered to be Sinking slowly from the resultant wound. |
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Nautilus | |
The Sovereign's Knife can submerge to a depth of 30 feet, and holds up to four hours of air with full complement. A periscope allows a crewman to act as look-out while inside the hull. |
Pemberton Industries' Dragon Fliers
Each flier’s nose has a draconic face with twin autocannons at the sides of its mouth, its two-level wings are framed with mithral resembling dragon scales, and the stabilizing tail boasts a proud Pemberton Industries logo. The wings are covered with glowing white glyphs, and the engine crackles with lightning when it revs. The two seats—for a pilot and a spotter—are even comfortably upholstered.
They are basically enchanted bi-wings. They have limited ammo, and they can only carry enough fuel to fly for about twenty minutes, but their top speed is eighty miles per hour (800 feet per round, speed 160).
Piloting: Piloting a flier functions much the same as driving one of Pemberton’s roadcars, though their speed categories are reckless (160), fast (120), moderate (90), slow (60), and idle (30). The plane needs to go at speed 60 or higher to take off and maintain its flight; any slower than that and the plane stalls and falls. (Idle is only really used while on the ground.) The planes need 20 feet (4 squares) of turning space for each speed category.
It can ascend by no more than 60 feet (12 squares) per round.
Weapons: Each flier has three hundred rounds (thirty bursts’ worth) of ammo for its autocannons. They function as a military ranged weapon, proficiency +2, range 40/160, 2d12 damage.
(An autocannon attacks all creatures in a line. Make a separate attack roll against each creature in the line. Effects that grant concealment, such as fog or smoke, or certain magic, do not foil an automatic weapon’s line attack.)
Stats: Each flier has 300 hit points and Defenses of 15. The fuselage is twenty feet long by five feet wide, with a twenty-five foot wingspan.
As part of the retrofit, Pemberton will also equip the Coaltongue with docking arms. These allow the dragon fliers to both launch and dock at the side of the vessel with a Dexterity check (DC 15), as long as the airship is flying at least 150 feet per round.
Officers
- Captain:
- Bosun:
- Engineer:
- Gunner:
- Look-Out:
- Navigator:
- Attacker:
Officer Roles
There are six officer roles. Each round, a PC can choose a role and provide one of the listed benefits for the ship. NPCs can also fill officer roles, and most ships of significant size will have multiple people with the right skills for each position.
You can have multiple characters in the same role, except for captain. Also, a ship can benefit from a maximum of six officers at a time. Any spare characters can fill the Attacker role, which doesn’t count against the limit.
Characters can switch roles between rounds as long as the character can realistically reach an appropriate location to perform the duties of that role. Since naval rounds are one to five minutes long, it’s usually possible to get anywhere on even the largest ship in that much time. However, a character can only take one officer role-based action per naval round (two if he has the Elite Officer feat, page 9).
Finally, most roles let characters add to the captain’s Command checks for a specific action. A character must choose whether to add a bonus before the captain rolls, so it is ideal for the officers to decide their tactics at the beginning of the naval round, before they start making rolls.
The officer roles are:
- Captain: Decides ship’s movement. (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma)
- [+11: Chandra, Ernst, Phyllis; +10: Garrett, Gerald; +9: Zane]
- Bosun: Manages the crew and can grant small bonuses in various roles. (Charisma; Diplomacy or Intimidate)
- [+6: Chandra; +5: Garrett; +4: Zane; +2: Phyllis; +0: Ernst, Gerald]
- Engineer: Repairs damage, or adjusts ship components to improve performance. (Intelligence)
- [+11: Ernst, Phyllis; +7: Chandra, Garrett; +6: Gerald, Zane]
- Gunner: Aims shipboard weapons. (Dexterity, Intelligence; Perception)
- [+6: Ernst, Garrett, Gerald, Zane; +5: Phyllis; +1: Chandra]
- Look-Out: Helps avoid hazards and tricks. (Wisdom; Perception)
- [+5: Gerald; +3: Chandra, Ernst, Phyllis; +2: Garrett, Zane]
- Navigator: Plots courses or pilots ship to grant bonuses for manoeuvres. (Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom; Nature)
- [+6: Phyllis; +5: Ernst, Garrett, Gerald, Zane; +3: Chandra]
- Attacker: Uses own attacks against enemies.
Captain
The captain’s role is to decide manoeuvres and order the rest of the crew. His actions are typically limited to those detailed above in the Round Phases section. The rest of the crew augments his decisions by filling in the details and giving the captain more time to focus on the big picture. It’s the difference between the captain giving specific orders (“Set a course at 15 degrees North North-east at twelve knots”) and the captain providing general goals and trusting his crew to carry them out (“Cut them off so we can bring our port guns to bear”).
Bosun
The bosun relays orders to the crew and directs them while working alongside them. Once per round, the bosun can choose one of the following:
- Roll a Command check in the Location, Terrain, or Bearing phase, adding his Charisma modifier to the captain’s Command score. This replaces the captain’s normal Command check for that phase.
- Add his Charisma modifier to a shipboard weapon’s attack roll, or to an engineer’s check to repair or tweak the vessel.
A bosun trained in Diplomacy or Intimidate can either add 2, or add 1 + his ability score modifier, whichever is higher. So a bosun with an 8 Charisma who has the right training could add +2, while a high-level bosun with a 22 Charisma and the same training could add +7.
Engineer
Once per round, the engineer can attempt to repair the hull or a damaged component, or can try to tweak the ship’s performance. To do so, first he must have a number of crew at his disposal equal to the ship’s Minimum Crew rating. Then he chooses one of the following effects, and makes an Intelligence check.
- Fight Fire (DC 20). Put out a fire in one section.
- Repair Component (DC 15). One damaged component is restored to full order. A check that beats DC 20 can repair a disabled component to being just damaged. A check that beats DC 25 can repair a destroyed component to being disabled. If the component is magical, the engineer takes a –5 penalty to this check if he’s not trained in Arcana.
- Repair Hull (DC 20). Repair 1 point of Hull Integrity damage the ship has taken. Each success increases the DC of further repairs by 5, even between encounters. The DC only resets if the ship can undergo proper repairs in a safe harbour.
- Right a Listing Ship (DC 20). Restore a listing ship to be upright.
- Slow Sinking (DC 15). Reduce the rate of the ship’s sinking by one step, from immediate to quick to slow to stable.
- Give Her All She’s Got! (DC 10). Increase the ship’s Manoeuvrability or Speed rating by one 1 for this round, plus an additional 1 for every 10 you beat the DC by.
Gunner
One PC can act as Gunner per firing arc, as long as the battery has sufficient crew. Once per round, the gunner can choose one of the following:
- Roll for an attack with a shipboard weapon, adding his Intelligence or Dexterity modifier to the normal attack bonus. Similar to with the bosun above, a gunner trained in Perception can add either 2 or 1 + his ability score modifier, whichever is higher.
- Choose the location of the first hit with shipboard weapons, instead of rolling on the hit chart.
Look-Out
During the Manoeuvres phase, the look-out makes a Perception check to determine the order ships choose their manoeuvres for the round. Additionally, once per round the look-out can choose one of the following:
- Make a Perception check to reduce the impact of poor visibility. See Visibility (page 7).
- Roll any necessary Command checks in the Terrain phase, adding his Wisdom modifier to the captain’s Command score. This replaces the captain’s normal Command check for that phase.
- Grant a bonus equal to his Wisdom modifier to the ship’s Defence against one attack from a vessel he can see.
- Grant a bonus equal to his Wisdom modifier to the defences of the crew against attacks coming from a vessel he can see. This bonus only applies to personal attacks, not shipboard weapons.
- Choose one section where the crew takes damage from an enemy’s shipboard weapons. Reduce the damage done to each creature in that area by the same bonus as above.
When he would add his Wisdom modifier, a look-out trained in Perception can add either 2 or 1+ his Wisdom modifier, whichever is higher.
Navigator
Once per round, the navigator can roll a Command check in the Location or Bearing phase, adding his Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom modifier to the captain’s Command score. This replaces the captain’s normal Command check for that phase. (Dexterity represents fast piloting as helmsman, while Intelligence or Wisdom fits for plotting courses).
A navigator trained in Nature can add either 2 or 1+ his ability score modifier, whichever is higher.
Attacker
Each naval round lasts a minute or more, but sometimes players will want to take actions that can be accomplished in a few seconds. Performing the other officer roles takes the full round, but if a character would prefer to unload a wand of fireballs or a quiver of arrows, use these guidelines.
Attacker is an officer role, just like captain or bosun, and a character who’s busy filling another officer role doesn’t have time to directly attack an opposing ship.
Ships spend most of their turn hundreds of feet away from each other, and rocking of waves, gusts and vortices of winds, and the great speeds of ships make it difficult to aim ranged attacks accurately. Likewise, most ships that expect combat are enchanted with some sort of eldritch defence that weakens magical attacks, or else have mundane countermeasures.
An attacker is usually better off waiting for the right opening and making a single attack, instead of futilely watching arrows fly off course, or fireballs be snuffed by an eldritch aura.