Ship+Weapons

SHIP WEAPONRY AND ACCESSORIES

The seas of the D&D world are dangerous places, roamed by deadly monsters and bloodthirsty pirates. Prudent captains carry the best armament they can obtain for their vessel in order to discourage attack. Many ships, especially ships used by adventurers or villains, feature one or more magical items. Magical helms, sails, keels, or figureheads often provide a ship with unusual maneuverability, seaworthiness, or protection from attack. See Stormwrack Chapter 6 for specific items and their effects. WEAPON DESCRIPTIONS Shipboard weapons require specific mounts, or hardpoints, where heavy equipment can be securely installed on the deck. Most of the ship descriptions in the preceding section state a number of heavy and light mounts available for carrying weapons (or other heavy gear). The limitations in the number of mounts available stem from the ship’s basic design—each one must be reinforced with heavy timbers, and requires a certain amount of clear deck space for use. You can install a weapon requiring a light mount in a heavy mount, but not vice-versa. Shipboard weapons come in two basic varieties: direct fire and indirect fire (see page 29).

Reloading: Each weapon notes the reloading procedure and checks necessary to fire. Asterisked actions can be assisted by means of the aid another action (and in fact, trained weapon crews routinely do so in order to expedite reloading).

Ballista As described on page 99 of the // Dungeon Master’s Guide //, the ballista is a Huge heavy crossbow fixed in place. The ballista is a direct-fire weapon; due to its size a Medium creature takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls when firing a ballista, and a Small creature takes a –6 penalty. The ballista takes up a space 5 feet across and weighs 400 pounds. A ballista deals half damage to an enemy vessel. ** Reload ** : Full-round action and DC 10 Strength check to wind to half-cock; Full-round action and DC 10 Strength check to wind from half- to full-cock; full-round action to load bolt. Normal rate of fire is one shot per 4 rounds. Catapult This is the light catapult described in the // Dungeon Master’s Guide. // A catapult is an indirect-fire weapon that uses a tensioning device to throw a heavy stone hundreds of feet. Because the catapult throws its stone in a high arc, it cannot strike a target within 100 feet—the range is simply too close. The catapult takes up a space 10 feet across and weighs 2,000 pounds. ** Reload ** : Full-round action and DC 10 Strength check to wind to half-cock; full-round action and DC 10 Strength check to wind from half- to full-cock; full-round action and DC 15 Profession (siege engineer) check to load stone; two full-round actions to aim the catapult. Normal rate of fire one shot per six rounds. Firebomb The firebomb is a special type of ammunition suitable for catapult or bombard shot. It is a small cask filled with alchemist’s fire, designed to set the target ship afire. A firebomb is about a foot in diameter and weighs 40 pounds. When the firebomb hits its target, it bursts open and deals 3d6 points of fire damage in a 10-foot radius, DC 15 Reflex save for half. On the round following, all targets within the radius take 1d6 points of fire damage; DC 15 Reflex save negates. A ship (or similar wooden structure) struck by a firebomb might catch on fire; see Fires, page 31. Creatures who fail their Ref lex saves against a firebomb catch fire; see Catching on Fire on page 303 of the // Dungeon Master’s Guide. //
 * Item || Cost || Damage || Crit || Range || Crew || Type || Mount ||
 * Ballista || 500 gp || 3d8 || 19-20/x2 || 120 ft || 1 || Direct || Light ||
 * Bolt || 1 gp || - || - || - || - || - || - ||
 * Catapult || 550 gp || 4d6 || - || 150 ft (100 ft min) || 2 || Indirect || Heavy ||
 * Firebomb || 50 gp || 3d6 Fire || - || - || - || - || - ||