I'm going to be running a D&D naval battle at sometime in the future. Low tech with no cannons or guns. I'm thinking range weapons and spells, grappling hooks, cutlasses etc. Anyone run one and has any thoughts? Anything I should look out for? Things that players did that were unexpected?
Before Cannons were invented you had ships that contained a ram in the bow to disable ships, they were powered by oars so that the can go fast in a single direction and puncture the opposing ship. Once the boat rammed the other ship, the aggressor would then be able to board. No need for grappling hooks. Also if you had oars on the side, you couldn't really use grappling hooks.
Sailing in those days was not very good in the Roman days if you had to sail into the wind. Lateen sails were invented around 100's AD, but they did not improve on sailing characteristic, they were just cheaper to own and operate. About when the Caravel was invented in the 1400s is when humans could better sail into the wind with accuracy to fight. By then, cannons were well in use.
Look at Roman naval battles for ideas and ship sizes & the amount of men on a boat. It will also give the vocabulary to better describe what is going on.
Realize many but not all boats with rowers had them chained to oars as slaves. That meant if the ship sunk, the rowers drowned. It also meant that if you had 96 rowers (about 16 oars per side), they did not fight as they could not be untied to actually fight.
There are rules for ships in ghosts of saltmarsh. Well, stats for them at least. What level are the characters? Because fireball might as well be a cannon.
I'm thinking that there will be approx 20 oars per side and that they would all be voluntary rowers so not chained. Apart from the rowers, there will be a few other people on board, such as the helmsman and captain, plus my party which comprises around six level 6 or 7 characters.Working out how the ships could move is going to be the main tricky part. I think that my party's ship will probably only take on two other ships. I'll take a look at the Ghosts of Saltmarsh - thanks for the tip.
My ships won't have rams, but I like that idea for the future. You are probably right about grappling hooks. Maybe nets that could be slung across so that people could scramble from one ship to another would work better. I think that fireballs at the waterline might be the best idea for sinking. Time period is definitely pre-1400's, so don't need to worry about different types of sails.
I'll spend some time looking at Roman naval battles - good idea. Thanks for that!
Keep in mind that due to distances involved, longbows and Eldritch Blast users will have distinct advantage in your scenario.
Also, there was something called Greek Fire, which, in D&D is basically Alchemists fire, the item. Since ships are made of wood, well....
Depending on how complex you want things to be, keep in mind that weather has huge impact on sailing ships. Wind direction, as already noted by Character, as well as rain, lightning, and storms. Since there are no mountains or hills on the open sea, wind is faster, louder, more powerful.
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I'm going to be running a D&D naval battle at sometime in the future. Low tech with no cannons or guns. I'm thinking range weapons and spells, grappling hooks, cutlasses etc. Anyone run one and has any thoughts? Anything I should look out for? Things that players did that were unexpected?
Before Cannons were invented you had ships that contained a ram in the bow to disable ships, they were powered by oars so that the can go fast in a single direction and puncture the opposing ship. Once the boat rammed the other ship, the aggressor would then be able to board. No need for grappling hooks. Also if you had oars on the side, you couldn't really use grappling hooks.
Sailing in those days was not very good in the Roman days if you had to sail into the wind. Lateen sails were invented around 100's AD, but they did not improve on sailing characteristic, they were just cheaper to own and operate. About when the Caravel was invented in the 1400s is when humans could better sail into the wind with accuracy to fight. By then, cannons were well in use.
Look at Roman naval battles for ideas and ship sizes & the amount of men on a boat. It will also give the vocabulary to better describe what is going on.
Realize many but not all boats with rowers had them chained to oars as slaves. That meant if the ship sunk, the rowers drowned. It also meant that if you had 96 rowers (about 16 oars per side), they did not fight as they could not be untied to actually fight.
There are rules for ships in ghosts of saltmarsh. Well, stats for them at least.
What level are the characters? Because fireball might as well be a cannon.
I'm thinking that there will be approx 20 oars per side and that they would all be voluntary rowers so not chained. Apart from the rowers, there will be a few other people on board, such as the helmsman and captain, plus my party which comprises around six level 6 or 7 characters.Working out how the ships could move is going to be the main tricky part. I think that my party's ship will probably only take on two other ships. I'll take a look at the Ghosts of Saltmarsh - thanks for the tip.
Wow! So much knowledge in a mere few minutes!
My ships won't have rams, but I like that idea for the future. You are probably right about grappling hooks. Maybe nets that could be slung across so that people could scramble from one ship to another would work better. I think that fireballs at the waterline might be the best idea for sinking. Time period is definitely pre-1400's, so don't need to worry about different types of sails.
I'll spend some time looking at Roman naval battles - good idea. Thanks for that!
Keep in mind that due to distances involved, longbows and Eldritch Blast users will have distinct advantage in your scenario.
Also, there was something called Greek Fire, which, in D&D is basically Alchemists fire, the item. Since ships are made of wood, well....
Depending on how complex you want things to be, keep in mind that weather has huge impact on sailing ships. Wind direction, as already noted by Character, as well as rain, lightning, and storms. Since there are no mountains or hills on the open sea, wind is faster, louder, more powerful.