Ship+Accessories

= SHIP ACCESSORIES =

ACCESSORY DESCRIPTIO ﻿ NS In addition to the weapons carried by most vessels, a number of special accessories are available. Many vessels carry various magic items and gear in addition to these mundane accessories.

Davit A davit is a special hoist and cradle designed to carry small boats on the deck of a larger ship. Most ships carry a skiff or two stowed on deck, but a davit can accommodate a fairly large boat, and makes launching and recovering the vessel much easier. A large davit can hold a boat of Large size or smaller, and requires a light mount; a huge davit can hold a boat of Huge size or smaller, and requires a heavy mount.
 * Davit, large || 500 gp ||
 * Davit, huge || 1,500 gp ||
 * Diving bell || 7,000 gp ||
 * Grappling ramp || 500 gp ||
 * Masterwork Controls, Medium || 300 gp ||
 * Masterwork Controls, Large || 600 gp ||
 * Masterwork Controls, Huge || 1,200 gp ||
 * Masterwork Controls, Gargantuan || 2,400 gp ||
 * Masterwork Controls, Colossal || 4,800 gp ||
 * Netting, Large || 50 gp ||
 * Netting, Huge || 150 gp ||
 * Netting, Gargantuan || 300 gp ||
 * Netting, Colossal || 500 gp ||

Launching a boat with a davit requires only a single round and one crewmember; recovering a boat requires 1 minute and two crewmembers for a Large boat or eight crewmembers for a Huge boat. The cost of the davit does not include the craft carried in the davit.

Diving Bell The diving bell is a sturdy weighted barrel or sphere of wood and iron, fitted with several thick glass portholes. It can hold up to two Medium creatures or four Small creatures. The bell descends on a stout cable from the ship above, and can’t move horizontally—it can only ascend or descend at a rate of 10 feet per round. The bell can descend to a maximum depth of 200 feet.

Bells can be left open on the bottom, allowing a swimmer to easily enter or exit the bell. The air inside the bell will prevent the water from completely filling the bell, although the deeper you descend, the less headroom you’ll have. An open bell can descend to a maximum depth of 100 feet, at which point everyone inside will be neck-deep in water.

The diving bell apparatus includes a davit or hoist on the ship’s deck for raising or lowering the bell, and a crude hand-powered air pump and waterproofed hose of canvas or leather to provide fresh air to the bell. It takes 2 crewmembers to work the pumps, and 4 crewmembers to operate the winch to raise or lower the bell.

The bell itself weighs 1,000 pounds. The hoist on deck takes up a 10-foot space and uses a heavy mount. The price of the diving bell includes the air pump, hoist, and bell.

** Diving Bell: ** Medium vehicle; Seaworthiness +0; Shiphandling —; Speed —; Overall AC 5; Hull hp 80 (hardness 6); Ram —; Mounts —; Space 5 ft. by 5 ft.; Height 0 ft. (draft 5 ft.); Watch 1; Complement 2; Cargo 200 pounds; Cost 4,000 gp (bell) or 7,000 gp (bell, pump, and hoist).

Grappling Ramp This structure is a long ramp and frame that resembles a small drawbridge. When an enemy ship is near, the grappling ramp is dropped, so that it forms a bridge to the other vessel. The top end of the grappling ramp is usually fitted with iron spikes, cleats, or grapnels so that its drop drives the ramp into the enemy vessel’s deck, holding it fast. A grappling ramp gives you a +4 bonus on Profession (sailor) checks to initiate a grapple with another ship or to maintain a grapple from a foe who wants to escape (see Special Maneuvers, page 27), but no bonus on resisting another ship’s attempt to grapple your own vessel. It also creates a five-foot-wide bridge to the other vessel’s deck.

A grappling ramp has a space of 10 feet and weighs 1,000 pounds. It requires a heavy mount.

Masterwork Controls Whether it's a finely tuned wheel that allows delicate adjustments to the rudder, or a complex harness system that directs the dray creatures with just a flick of the wrist, it's possible to get more performances out of a vehicle by improving its control system. Masterwork controls provide a +2 seaworthiness bonus to the ship. The cost depends on the vehicles size (its weight does not change) Cost: 300 gp (Medium size); 600 gp (Large size); 1,200 gp (Huge size); 2,400 gp (Gargantuan size); 4,800 gp (Colossal size)

Netting Designed to hinder boarders, ship’s netting consists of a sturdy net of tarred rope that is rigged 10 feet or more above the gunwales. A creature attempting to climb over the rail or gunwale and board the ship (or attempting to leave the ship, for that matter) can’t pass through the netting, but it’s perfectly feasible to make attacks through the netting. Piercing weapons or ranged weapons can be used through the netting at no penalty; slashing or bludgeoning weapons can only be used against foes adjacent to the netting, and take a –4 penalty on attack rolls.

A 5-foot section of netting has hardness 2 (the rope is heavily tarred) and 20 hit points. Piercing weapons and bludgeoning weapons deal one-quarter damage to netting instead of the normal one-half damage when attacking an object.

Rigging ship’s netting takes 1 hour of work. The number of crewmembers required depends on the size of the netting: 1 crewmember for Large, 4 for Huge, 8 for Gargantuan, and 12 for Colossal.