Ship Combat and Maneuvers

Setup

To start a chase, first set out a token of some sort for every ship. The Pirates CSG minis are suitable for this. The chase rules use a measure called a Range Increment. This is equivalent to 5” on the tabletop scale, or 20 times that in “real life” yards (so, during chases, each game inch represent 100 yards).

Initiative & Position

Now deal each ship a card. Don’t deal in each character—only each vehicle. These cards are used both for initiative and to determine the relative positions of all the ships in the fight. Shuffle after each round. The difference between the cards multiplied by the Range Increment is the distance between the two ships. If one ship is on a Five and the other on a Ten, for example, they are five Range Increments apart, or 25” (500 real yards). Ships on the same card are half the normal Range Increment apart.

Jacks count as 11, Queens as 12, Kings as 13, and Aces as 14. Jokers can be used for any card the captain wishes, and grant their bonuses as usual. Note that these are more representative of distance than position. If you begin the game on an 2 and your foe on a Ace, but you’re dealt a 10 next round while he gets a 3, it doesn’t mean you have overtaken him, only that the distance between the ships has closed. Everyone in the ship acts on the same card. Edges affecting initiative (like Level Headed) are only used if the captain has the Edge.

Speed

Since positioning is relative in the chase rules, the speed of a vehicle adds to the captain’s Boating rolls to reflect the fact that faster vessels should have an edge over slower ones. For every 1” of difference between the ships’ Top Speeds the faster captain adds +1 to opposed Boating rolls. A ship’s Handling applies as normal.

Attacks

Attacks may be made during any of the maneuvers below. The captain may not pilot the ship and fire his ship’s weapons (or take other actions), but other crew may fire weapons, or take other actions as usual. Damage works as in the table-top vehicle rules with one exception: ships that go out of control and suffer a Turn, Slip, or Major Slip simply suffer a –2 to their next Boating roll.

Maneuvers

Now it’s time to start the action! The captain of the ship with the highest card goes first. He may choose from any of the maneuvers listed below. Some maneuvers change a vehicle’s Initiative card. It’s important to note that the change reflects the vehicle’s new position. The crewmen resolve their actions on their original card—they don’t go again if their replacement card comes up later.

Change Position If the captain isn’t happy with his current position, he can try to change it. To do so, he makes a Boating roll and draws one card for a success and two for a raise. The captain must then replace his current card with one of the new draws immediately. If the card is a Joker, the pilot and his crew gain the Trait and damage bonuses as usual.

Flee To escape a fight, a captain must choose this maneuver and make an opposed Boating roll versus the opponent with the highest Top Speed. If he can do this on three successive rounds, and is not being tailed, he has escaped and the chase is over.

Force Sometimes a captain sees an opportunity to put a foe at a serious disadvantage. This is called a “force.” To force an opponent into some disadvantageous position, the hero makes an opposed Boating roll against his target. If the hero wins, he may force any one of the following conditions on his foe:

• The opponent must make a Boating roll (at –2 if the force was won with a raise) or hit an obstacle (if there are any used in the engagement). This causes an effect as per the specific Terrain (see page 132).
• The opponent must make a Boating roll or go out of control.
• The hero may draw one card for every raise over his opponent’s total and use any one as a substitute for his foe’s next card.

Trail Trail puts one ship directly behind another. To get on a ship’s tail, a captain makes an opposed Boating roll against the other ship. He must get a raise over his foe to trail him, or he holds steady at his current position. If successful, the captain is hot on his foe’s tail. The trailing ship gives up its card and uses the opponent’s card until he is shaken off. This means the range is half the normal increment as well! The trailing ship may fire its cannons as normal. The trailed ship may not attack the ship behind it.

Shake a Tail The only way to get a trailing ship off your tail is to shake him off. This is an opposed Boating roll, with the trailing player adding +2. To shake the tail, the fleeing captain must get a raise over his foe. If successful, the trailing ship remains on the same initiative card, he just isn’t trailing anymore.

Steady The captain keeps his card for this round and holds his ship steady. This is useful when in a good firing position to allow the crew a chance to open up on the enemy ship.

The following are some common maneuvers that may be performed by ships. The penalty to the Boating roll is listed in parentheses. An entry given as X/Y is for the tabletop and Chase rules respectively. An entry of “–” means no roll is necessary and the ship must maneuver to the correct position on the tabletop. If the maneuver is failed, move the ship to the point of the maneuver, then roll on the Out of Control Table to see where it actually ends up.

Broadside (– /0): Broadsides are the most powerful attacks a ship can make but unless the attacking ship has “crossed the T” it allows the enemy to return fire with their own broadside. This maneuver is usually reserved for daring captains or those with vastly superior firepower. A broadside may be lined up whenever a ship is parallel to its foe (in the Chase rules, this requires a Force maneuver). A broadside may be attempted at any range. All guns on one side of the vessel may be brought to bear on the target at once. The enemy vessel may likewise fire half its cannons back.

Club Hauling (–4): By dropping the anchor and having all the crew rush to one side of the ship the captain can attempt to turn his ship tightly in a very narrow circle. The captain makes a Boating roll. If successful he turns his ship up to 180 degrees (in the Chase rules, he draws two new cards for position— three with a raise—and keeps the best). On a failure the ship goes Out of Control.

Crossing the T (– /–2): The most favorable position in naval combat is perpendicular to your opponent at close range. This allows a ship to fire a complete broadside (all of its cannons on that side) and rake the target from stem to stern, without presenting the same target to the enemy. This is called “crossing the T.” A ship may cross the T whenever it crosses perpendicular to the bow or stern of an enemy ship and all cannons are within short range (in the Chase rules, the captain must succeed in a Force maneuver once he has closed the range). The attacker may fire a broadside. The defender may not return fire unless he has some sort of weapon mounted on the bow or stern.

Hard Brake (0): The pilot decelerates up to three times the ship’s Acceleration. Obstacle or Stunt (–2 or more): Sailing through a really tight obstacle looks easy enough on the tabletop since a ship is simply moved however the player wants. But in “reality,” the ship is pitching and tossing at the mercy of the wind and is much more difficult to hold steady than the battle mat shows. For this reason, pilots trying to pass through tight obstacles—narrow reefs, between a harbor wall and a ship moving to block you—must make Boating rolls. The standard difficulty is –2, but really tight spots might call for a –4 or greater penalty. If the roll is failed, the ship hits the obstacle and suffers collision damage as usual.

Ram (Opposed): Though we have to move ships in turns on the table-top, they’re actually moving simultaneously in the “real world.” For that reason, when one ship rams another, we give the defender a chance to get out of the way—even if it’s not his turn. When this happens, the two captains make opposed Boating rolls. If the attacker wins, he’s managed to ram his foe and damage is calculated normally. If the defender wins, he must move his ship just out of the way, whether backwards, forwards, or sideways. Shearing (–2): Shearing involves drawing close along side a vessel powered by oars in an attempt to smash its oars. The attacking captain must maneuver his ship into parallel contact with his target of the enemy ship and make a successful Boating roll. In the Chase rules, the attacking ship must be on the same initiative card as the target and the captain must make a Force maneuver. On a success, the target ship suffers 3d6 damage applied against its base Toughness (no Armor). If the damage results in a wound the oars are sheared—the vessel suffers no actual wound. The target’s Top Speed is halved and it can only turn to the left or right as applicable, while using oars.

Tight Turn (0): The ship can turn between 45 and 90 degrees.