WNH Ship Combat

Start of Combat

• Initiative: Each ship rolls Crew Quality for initiative. Highest initiative takes its Ship Turn first.

Ship Turn

• Declare Shipboard Tasks. One member of the crew who has Specialist Tasks may start a Task, shift to a new Task, or end a Task entirely.
• Helm Action. The helmsman moves the ship the number of squares it moved last turn. The helmsman may also take a Helm Action at the beginning, end, or midst of this movement. The helmsman may also use the Shift Senses free action once at any point during the Helm Action.
• Attacks. At any point during a ship's movement (including at the very beginning or end of it), a ship may fire its shipboard weaponry at a target.
• Ready Attacks. Any weapon that was not fired during a ship's movement may be Readied to fire outside of the ship's turn. The crew must declare what will trigger the attack. If the trigger never occurs, the readied attack is lost at the start of the ship's next turn.

Player Character Actions. Because the scale that ships operate at differs from typical combat turns, at the end of each Ship Turn, allow any player character to take actions (including Readying Actions) that might have some effect on the battle.

Shipboard Tasks

Command crew give orders to the ship's crew, allowing them to increase the ship's performance and the crew's efforts toward a specific goal. Though these tasks require a member of the command crew to enact, it isn't that individual doing these things: they are leading the crew in these efforts. Thus, a ship can only enact a limited number of Tasks at a time, and Tasks have a limited duration. The command crew member allocated to that Task can take no other actions while they are so committed.

• Task Checks: Each Task can be performed for a certain number of rounds before that cycle ends. Each Task has a Skill associated with it, and the time is based on the result of that check:
  • DC 10: 1 round
  • DC 15: 2 rounds
  • DC 18: 3 rounds
  • DC 20: 4 rounds
  • DC 25+: 5 rounds

Captain & First Mate Tasks

• Command. Charisma (Persuasion). Until this Task ends, the captain or first mate assigns one additional Shipboard Task per turn, at the end of the ship's turn. May also assign a number of officers to take the Support Officer or Support Crew tasks equal to Charisma bonus. Only one Command Task may be active at a time.
• Direct Fire. Intelligence (Vehicles). Until this Task ends, the captain or first mate attaches to a weapon crew, granting it a +1 Crew and allowing it to target a specific component on a target ship. Any given weapon may only have one commander attached in that way.
• Rally. Charisma (Intimidation). Until this Task ends, the captain or first mate grants a +1 Quality bonus to the crew of a specific component. Additionally, that crew ignores the effects of any Conditions inflicted by Crew Loss while this Task is active on them.

Boatswain Tasks

• Damage Control. Strength (Athletics). Until this Task ends, the bosun may reduce incoming damage to the ship hull or one of its components (chosen when this Task begins). Once per round, when an attack inflicts damage to the chosen component, reduce that damage by 1d10 + crew Quality. This reduction occurs before the damage is compared to Damage Threshold.
• Jury Rig. Strength (Carpenter's Tools). Until this Task ends, the bosun may cause a chosen ship component at 0 hit points to function as normal.
• Reinforce. Strength (Carpenter's Tools). Until this Task ends, the bosun is attached to a ship component, counting as +1 Crew for that component and granting that component the ship's Damage Threshold until the Task ends.

Navigator Tasks

• Calculate Jump Point. Intelligence (Navigator's Tools). The quartermaster figures out where in the local space a re-entry point to their charted course can be found. This takes six rounds, reduced by 1 per round generated on the Task check. Once a jump point is found, a vessel must arrive at that point with nothing to prevent it from returning to spelljamming speed within 500 feet (10 squares). A single square of movement while in that space is sufficient to remove the vessel from the battlemap.
• Navigate Hazardous Terrain. Intelligence (Nature). Until this Task ends, the quartermaster allows the ship to ignore Hazardous Terrain during its movement. Different qualities of terrain may inflict a bonus or a penalty to this check.

Master-at-Arms Tasks

• Direct Fire. Charisma (Intimidation). Until this Task ends, the master-at-arms attaches to a weapon crew, granting it a +1 Crew and allowing it to target a specific component on a target ship. Any given weapon may only have one commander attached in that way.
• 'Rally. Charisma (Intimidation). Until this Task ends, the master-at-arms grants a Quality bonus to the crew of a specific component. Additionally, that crew ignores the effects of any Conditions inflicted by Crew Loss while this Task is active on them.

Surgeon Tasks

• Tend the Wounded. Wisdom (Medicine). Until Task ends, at the end of every turn, the surgeon reduces Distress rating by 1.
  • Instead of reducing Distress by 1, the surgeon may instead attempt to remove a Condition from the crew, with a Wisdom (Medicine) check, DC 12 + current Distress.

Any Officer Tasks

• Support Officer. Attach to another officer to assist using the Help action (if proficient in the check) and any abilities that grant bonuses to checks. There is no Task Check for this Task, and it continues until the attached character chooses to cease giving assistance.
• Support Crew. Attach to a crew operating a component to act as +1 Crew on that component and grant +1 Quality to that crew while so attached. There is no Task Check for this Task, and it continues until the attached character chooses to cease giving assistance.

Helm Actions

• Alter Speed. Before movement. Increase or decrease the current speed of the ship by 1 square, to a minimum of 0 and a maximum of the ship's speed.
• Evasion Spin. Before movement. The helmsman spins the ship along its keel, making it harder to hit. Attacks against the ship or its crew have disadvantage. Attacks made by the ship or its crew also have disadvantage. The helmsman cannot turn the ship at all while performing this spin.
• Helm Magic. Any time. The helmsman may draw upon the magics of the helm to accomplish small but useful feats of magic.
  • Embody Perspective. The helmsman may project a phantasmal body of themselves as they currently appears wherever their Perspective is currently focused. They can hear and see everything that occurs in that area, and can speak aloud from this temporarily-visible point, being easily heard by anyone within 30 feet.
  • Message. The helmsman may speak a message of up to 25 words to any one member of the crew aboard the ship, either within or outside of their Perspective. By spending a spell slot of any level, the helmsman may send a message to anyone aboard the ship they choose.
  • Shields. The helmsman may spend a spell slot to channel magic into the spelljamming helm, erecting magical protections that last for one round per spell level of the spell slot so expended. This grants a +1 AC to every ship component, or a +2 to a single component.
  • Speed. The helmsman may spend a spell slot to channel magic into the spelljamming helm, causing their vessel to surge forward. The ship gains one additional square of movement per level of the spell slot so expended. If this bonus causes the ship's Speed to exceed its normal limits, this inflicts 1d10 bludgeoning damage (ignoring Damage Threshold) per point above that limit.
• Shift Senses. Free action, any time. The helmsman may shift their Perspective to any point on the vessel they choose, once at any point during the Helm Actions. This Perspective can be sensed by those within 30 feet of it who have a passive Perception 13+.

Jumping to Spelljamming Speed

• A Navigator must take the Calculate Jump Point Task.
• A Jump Point space takes up an area of 1d4+1 squares on each side.
• Its location is determined by rolling 2d10 and comparing those results to the place markers on the bottom and left of the map.

Once a spelljamming ship is within the area of its Jump Point, there are no other vessels within 10 squares, and it has at least one square of movement available to it, it may spend that remaining movement to transition to spelljamming speeds, leaving the encounter map entirely.

Attacks

• Attack Roll. A weapon uses either its own innate attack bonus, or the Quality of the crew manning it, whichever is greater.
• Damage. If the attack roll is high enough to hit the Armor Class of the target, roll the weapon's damage. If the amount of damage inflicted is higher than the target's Damage Threshold, it inflicts all its damage to the vessel's Hull.
• Critical Hits. If the attack roll is a 20, roll on the Critical Hit chart for that vessel if the damage roll inflicts any damage. Additionally, the helmsman must make an immediate save against Spelljammer Shock.
• Components Damage. Some effects allow a vessel to target a specific ship's component. If a ship component has damage inflicted to it, the vessel takes 1 Distress. If that damage reduces the components hit points to 50% or less, the vessel takes 1d4 Distress.

Helm Attacks

Helm attacks are specialized helm actions that can only be taken when a helmsman's ship enters the space occupied by another ship that is its target. There is no additional movement cost to enter an occupied space, but leaving a space shared with another vessel takes double the squares of movement.

• Ramming Action. Any time. Any time the vessel enters the same space as another ship, the helm may direct the vessel's movement to impact with the other vessel.
  • This qualifies as a crash, unless the acting helmsman's ship is equipped with a ram.
  • After a successful ram or crash, the acting ship's speed drops to 0.
  • In addition to normal ram or crash damage, the active vessel also takes 1 point of Distress if successful (or 0 Distress, if equipped with a ram), and inflicts 1d4 Distress on the struck vessel.
• Gravity Surge. Any time. Any time the vessel enters the same space as another ship, the helmsman of the acting vessel may elect to attempt to disrupt the other ship's crew by causing the gravity planes of their vessels to interact in a disruptive fashion.
  • The acting vessel must be the same size or larger than the target vessel to accomplish this, and the acting helmsman makes a Wisdom (Perception) check opposed by the target ship's helmsman's Wisdom (Perception).
  • Success inflicts 1 point of Distress on the enemy vessel, plus another point for every 5 points above the opposed check scored.
  • Failure on this check inflicts 1 Distress on the acting vessel.
• Boarding Action. Any time. Also performed by a ship entering the same space as another vessel, this involves a hurried halt to movement and the deployment of boarding grapples by the crew of the acting ship (a Quality check vs the target vessel's AC).
  • Success on this check ties the vessels together and drops the acting vessel's speed to 0.
  • Failure on this check only reduces the acting ship's current speed by 2, causing it to bypass the target vessel.
• Leaping the Void. Crew Action. If a pair of vessels occupy the same space and fail to successfully perform a ram, gravity surge, or boarding action attack, it is still possible for characters to transfer from one ship to the other through extraordinary movement. Assume that a span of 2d6x5 feet separates the vessels at their closest. A DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check can double the character's jump distance.

Spelljammer Shock

Grievous damage to the hull of your ship while spelljamming can cause a feedback loop of magical pain and disruption. There are certain other effects that can also trigger such an attack as well.

• Constitution Saving Throw. Resisting spelljammer shock is a Constitution saving throw. Any benefits you have that apply to concentration checks also apply to this saving throw.
• DC. The DC to resist this effect is based on the cause: ballista (DC 10), mangonel (DC 12), cannon or bombards (DC 14), crash (DC 16), ram (DC 18).
  • Success. On a successful save, you resist any ill effects.
  • Failure. On a failed save, you take the Stunned Condition until the end of your next turn.
    • Concentration Lost. On a failed save, your spell concentration is disrupted as well.
    • On the Drift. While you have the Stunned Condition, your ship continues to move forward at its previous Speed, though it does so in a drifting, uncontrolled way. This signals to onlookers that the spelljammer has been shocked. Your vessel's weapons have disadvantage to their attack rolls and ships firing on your vessel do so with advantage until you are no longer Stunned.

Distress

Distress reflects the deaths, injuries, and morale losses that inhibit a crew's function. Distress is accumulated as a number that increases and decreases throughout a battle. It reflects deaths, injuries, and morale losses that inhibit a Crew's ability to function effectively.

• Distress is subtracted from the Crew Quality for the purpose of making checks during an encounter.
• Distress is inflicted by damage to a vessel, as well as attacks directed at a crew. Ship critical hits also usually inflict Distress.
• Distress is reduced by Shipboard Tasks taken on behalf of the crew. Distress cannot go lower than 0 in rating.
• At the end of a battle, a ship's Distress rating is used to determine any lasting injuries or losses to crew.