Hey! Just to keep this brief, is the crew size of a Spelljammer (ie; Bombard. Crew: 12) the minimum size required to pilot the ship, or the maximum crew size the ship can carry? RAW states “The standard crew complement for a spelljamming ship includes one captain to give orders, one spelljammer to pilot the ship, and one or more crew members to operate its weapons. Some ships carry extra crew (such as troops and back-up spelljammers) or passengers. A ship that has more than a standard crew complement will degrade the quality of its air supply more quickly.” so I assumed the “Crew” portion listed on ships would be its maximum? Thanks!
I think the crew size is meant to be its maximum number of people on board. Above that point the air begins to foul faster. RAW, a ship can take off with just a single person: the spelljammer at their helm.
However, I also think for a lot of ships, the crew size acts as an "ideal" number of ship mates as well. For example, the Space Galleon has a crew size of 20. In combat, 11 people are working its siege weapons. With the spelljammer working the helm, and a captain giving orders, that leaves 7 people for boarding/counter-boarding actions. Seems reasonable. 20 people I think is also a reasonable number for the ship to have multiple watches, and maybe even 2 or 3 spelljammers, allowing the ship to sail 24 hours a day.
It's the total crew positions between the captain who gives orders, the spelljammer who functionally controls all ship movement, and all weapons positions being filled to full. It is absolutely not the maximum size the ship can carry, simply by common sense: all ships are larger than 12x1, and the rules explicitly say ships can carry extra crew and passengers.
Really, all you need to fly a ship is a guy in a spelljammer seat. Everything else could be cargo.
Hey! Just to keep this brief, is the crew size of a Spelljammer (ie; Bombard. Crew: 12) the minimum size required to pilot the ship, or the maximum crew size the ship can carry? RAW states “The standard crew complement for a spelljamming ship includes one captain to give orders, one spelljammer to pilot the ship, and one or more crew members to operate its weapons. Some ships carry extra crew (such as troops and back-up spelljammers) or passengers. A ship that has more than a standard crew complement will degrade the quality of its air supply more quickly.” so I assumed the “Crew” portion listed on ships would be its maximum? Thanks!
For the Bombard specifically, Crew: 12 appears to refer to 1 Captain, 1 Spelljammer, 2 sets of 3-member Ballista teams, and 1 4-member Giant Cannon team, matching up with your description of 1 captain, 1 spelljammer, and enough crew to operate the weapons.
Going through the list of ships in SAIS, the only ships I see that violate the above rules are the Nautiloid, Nightspider, Space Galleon, and Tyrant Ship (and, sort of, the Living Ship). Of these, the following explicitly explain their additional crew:
A Living Ship has a bonus treant which is explicitly explained in its entry.
A Nightspider has exactly 6 more crew than it "needs", which is explicitly listed as "up to a half-dozen umber hulks" used as "shock troops", so these additional 6 are optional.
The following do not explicitly explain it:
A Nautiloid has 1 more crew than it "needs".
A Space Galleon has 7 more crew than it "needs".
A Tyrant Ship has 5 more crew than it "needs".
Since you only ever need a Crew of one to pilot the ship (your spelljammer), I would assume those bottom three ships all work like the Nightspider, and additional Crew past what's needed to operate and coordinate the ship are simply optional. Crew should be the maximum capacity.
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Hey! Just to keep this brief, is the crew size of a Spelljammer (ie; Bombard. Crew: 12) the minimum size required to pilot the ship, or the maximum crew size the ship can carry? RAW states “The standard crew complement for a spelljamming ship includes one captain to give orders, one spelljammer to pilot the ship, and one or more crew members to operate its weapons. Some ships carry extra crew (such as troops and back-up spelljammers) or passengers. A ship that has more than a standard crew complement will degrade the quality of its air supply more quickly.” so I assumed the “Crew” portion listed on ships would be its maximum? Thanks!
I think the crew size is meant to be its maximum number of people on board. Above that point the air begins to foul faster. RAW, a ship can take off with just a single person: the spelljammer at their helm.
However, I also think for a lot of ships, the crew size acts as an "ideal" number of ship mates as well. For example, the Space Galleon has a crew size of 20. In combat, 11 people are working its siege weapons. With the spelljammer working the helm, and a captain giving orders, that leaves 7 people for boarding/counter-boarding actions. Seems reasonable. 20 people I think is also a reasonable number for the ship to have multiple watches, and maybe even 2 or 3 spelljammers, allowing the ship to sail 24 hours a day.
It's the total crew positions between the captain who gives orders, the spelljammer who functionally controls all ship movement, and all weapons positions being filled to full. It is absolutely not the maximum size the ship can carry, simply by common sense: all ships are larger than 12x1, and the rules explicitly say ships can carry extra crew and passengers.
Really, all you need to fly a ship is a guy in a spelljammer seat. Everything else could be cargo.
For the Bombard specifically, Crew: 12 appears to refer to 1 Captain, 1 Spelljammer, 2 sets of 3-member Ballista teams, and 1 4-member Giant Cannon team, matching up with your description of 1 captain, 1 spelljammer, and enough crew to operate the weapons.
Going through the list of ships in SAIS, the only ships I see that violate the above rules are the Nautiloid, Nightspider, Space Galleon, and Tyrant Ship (and, sort of, the Living Ship). Of these, the following explicitly explain their additional crew:
The following do not explicitly explain it:
Since you only ever need a Crew of one to pilot the ship (your spelljammer), I would assume those bottom three ships all work like the Nightspider, and additional Crew past what's needed to operate and coordinate the ship are simply optional. Crew should be the maximum capacity.