Ship Combat

GM Reference

Water opens up a distinct category of adventure — from swamp crawls and river crossings to high-seas chases and ship-to-ship broadsides. These rules cover both aquatic environments and the fast-play system for resolving naval combat.

Aquatic Adventures

Any adventure where water is the primary terrain feature — marshes, rivers, lakes, oceans, or the Plane of Water. PCs don't need to breathe water to face aquatic dangers; surface hazards alone can create plenty of peril.

Adapting to depth: Water breathing for submersion, endure elements for temperature, freedom of movement against pressure damage. Aquatic polymorph forms are the most broadly useful option for extended underwater play.

Nautical Adventures

When the PCs fight aboard a ship rather than in the water, combat works almost identically to land combat.

A ship's deck in a storm or heavy seas counts as difficult terrain.
Spellcasters must make concentration checks due to weather or the ship's motion (Core Rulebook 206–207).
When ships themselves enter combat, use the Fast-Play rules below.

Fast-Play Ship Combat

These rules are designed to be quick and playable, not a full naval simulation. They cover ship vs. ship and ship vs. sea monster equally well.

Preparation

Use a large blank battle mat. 1 square = 30 feet.

Place markers for each ship occupying the appropriate number of squares (miniature toy ships work well). Consult the Ship Statistics table for each vessel's size in squares.

Starting Combat

PCs and important NPC allies roll Initiative normally. The ship itself moves and attacks on the captain's initiative count.

If any ship relies on sails, randomly determine wind direction at the start of combat: roll 1d8 and apply the same key used for splash weapon misses (Core Rulebook 202).

Movement

Move action (captain): move current speed; requires minimum crew.
Full-round action (captain): move double speed.
Speed can increase or decrease by 30 ft. per round, up to maximum.
Direction change (standard action): up to one square-side at a time; can only change direction at the start of a turn.
Sail ships move at double speed when moving in the same direction as the wind.

Attacks

Siege engines: Crew beyond the minimum can man siege engines; they attack on the captain's initiative count.

Ramming: Requires minimum crew. The ship must move at least 30 ft. and end with its bow adjacent to the target. The captain makes a Profession (sailor) check vs. the target's AC — success deals ram damage to the target and minimum damage to the ramming vessel.

A ram siege engine adds +3d6 damage to the target (the ramming ship takes no extra damage).

Sinking

Gaining the Condition

A ship reaches 0 or fewer hp and gains the sinking condition. It can no longer move or attack.

Countdown

The ship sinks completely after 10 rounds. Each hit that deals damage reduces the countdown by 1 round per 25 damage dealt.

Recovery

Make whole (or similar magic) can remove the sinking condition if the ship's hp are raised above 0. Nonmagical repairs are generally too slow to save a sinking ship.

Ship Statistics

Ship Type	AC	hp	Base Save	Max Speed	Arms	Ram	Squares	Crew (min/max)
Keelboat	8	60	+4	30 ft.*	1	2d6+6	2	4 / 15+100
Longship	6	75	+5	60 ft.*	1	4d6+18	3	50 / 75+100
Sailing Ship	6	125	+6	60 ft.* (sails only)	2	3d6+12	3	20 / 50+120
Warship	2	175	+7	60 ft.*	3	3d6+12	4	60 / 80+160
Galley	2	200	+8	90 ft.*	4	6d6+24	4	200 / 250+200
* Has sails — moves at double speed when travelling in the same direction as the wind. A sail-only vessel cannot move without wind.

AC: Base AC + captain's Profession (sailor) modifier. Touch attacks ignore the captain's modifier. Ships are never flat-footed.
hp: Total hit points. All wooden ships have hardness 5. At 0 or fewer hp the ship gains the sinking condition.
Base Save: All three saves (Fort/Ref/Will) use this value + the captain's Profession (sailor) modifier.
Max Speed: Tactical speed in combat. Oared vessels can always move; sail-only vessels are becalmed without wind.

Arms: Number of siege engine slots. A ram occupies one slot; only one ram per ship.
Ram: Damage dealt to the target on a successful ramming attack (without a ram siege engine).
Squares: Squares the ship occupies on the battle mat. Width is always 1 square.
Crew: Minimum crew / maximum crew + passengers. Below minimum, all ship actions require a DC 20 Profession (sailor) check. Excess crew can replace casualties or man weapons.