The Seafarer's Manual

Every adventurer, at some point, finds themself upon a harborside, gazing out at a vast expanse of ocean between themselves and their next destination. Perhaps the journey is dull, uneventful, or easy - or perhaps it's full of danger. Their ship might be chased by pirates, attacked by sea serpents, or wracked by mighty storms. Perhaps there's a sickness or mutiny among the crew, and the adventuring party need to don officers' colors. Or maybe your party's always dreamed of a pirate's life, with an ambition to claim a great ship and make it their own, a floating stronghold tacking from port to port.

Regardless of the cause, most campaigns take to sea at some point. The Seafarer's Manual aims to provide a complete ruleset for naval travel, ship combat, and navigating the waves. It also tries to be sleek and streamlined - the sort of document you can read in a few minutes and include in your game without headaches. It includes rules for ship-to-ship combat and boarding actions, as well as more pedestrian guidelines for how to handle long-distance sea travel and how to make your party useful aboard ship. Whether you need rules for a quick voyage lasting just one or two sessions, or want a long-term naval campaign with a home at sea, these rules should work for you. So come walk the quay, admire the ships, and if you're ready, dive right in - the water's fine!

What to Expect

The Seafarer's Manual is divided into several sections, with some optional rules sprinkled in to help you adapt the rules to better suit your games.

Ships

Obviously, you can't sail without a ship. Ships get their own stat blocks, similar in many ways to creature stat blocks. Ships have several unique statistics, though, and have a few components, which can be damaged individually.

Naval Combat

You feel the salt breeze on your face and the wind whipping your hair, when a single cannon booms in the distance — and you watch as the cannonball whistles over the deck. A mere warning shot, signaling the pirates' intent to board the vessel, taking your precious cargo and impressing you all to join their despicable crew.

If you're going to have ships, you have to have ship combat! The Seafarer's Manual has rules for naval combat, which connect and tie into rules for ship-to-ship boarding actions. Officers can take Combat Actions to get an edge in the fight!

Voyages

The Seafarer's Manual doesn't recommend tracking individual travel days. Rather, it describes a system based on voyages - modeling the passage of time according to when interesting events happen. This scales up to handle weeks of travel across a trackless ocean, or scales down to handle a few hours of sailing in a treacherous strait. PCs making a voyage can take Travel Actions to help ensure a smooth sail.

Officers

And of course, every ship needs its officers. These will typically be PCs, but the DM can easily pad out a ship with NPC crewmembers if the party aren't able to cover all the essential roles. Every officer has their own menu of actions to take in combat or at sea.

Expansion Content

The base Seafarer's Manual provides you with a complete ruleset for ships and sailing, along with some sample ship statblocks - enough to let you run a few adventures at sea. Other resources that pair particularly well:

Songs of the Spellbound Sea: The full version of this document will be included within Songs of the Spellbound Sea, a full-length print and PDF book. It includes an equipment index, additional officer positions, more ships, more equipment, and NPC statblocks. In addition, it's got three classes, dozens of subclasses, magic items, monsters, mini-settings, and more, to give you the best naval adventures you could ever ask for. Coming to Kickstarter June 11 2024!
The Swashbuckler: A martial skirmisher class that fights with flair, Swashbucklers are perfectly suited for seafaring PCs, whether they be scurvy pirates or upstanding sailors.
KibblesTasty Crafting: A good crafting system pairs very nicely with seafaring adventures, which tend to have multiple days of downtime in between scenes - and where sea monsters and uncharted islands are a great way to find interesting crafting ingredients.

Naval Combat

Let's start with the good stuff.

Scale and Grids

Naval combat is typically handled on a significantly larger grid than ordinary combat. Using 20-foot spaces is recommended. This produces ships that play well at the table and aren't wildly inappropriate sizes for the Age of Sail.

The Seafarer's Manual is written with hexagonal grids in mind. Hex grids have more realistic diagonal movement, and do a better job modeling big, ungainly turns. You can use these rules with a square grid, though - you simply need to use 8 directions instead of 6.

The Combat Round

Naval combat uses the same basic rules as the rest of the game, with time measured in rounds and combatants taking turns. However, naval rounds last 1 minute each.

Initiative

At the start of combat, every ship rolls a Dexterity check to determine initiative, adding its morale to the roll.

Actions

Every ship can move and take one action on its turn, with its movement determined by the helmsman and its action selected by the captain. Ships don't have reactions, but great sea-beasts do.

Facing

The most important difference between ship and creature combat is that ships have specific facing. All ships have a fore (front), aft (rear), and sides (port for left and starboard for right). This matters for movement and for combat, as a ship's weapons generally face specific directions. A ship's heading is its direction - it can point in any of six (or eight, on a rectangular grid) directions. When a ship changes its heading, it's described in terms of points — each point is one face of a hex, or 60 degrees (45 degrees on a rectangular grid).

Movement

Unlike creatures, sailing ships are always moving. A ship must move half its speed during its turn, and must always begin its turn by moving one space directly forward. If a ship under sail wants to turn, it must move at least one space straight ahead before it can change its heading by one point.

A ship without a captain directing it always moves straight ahead for half its speed.

Stopped Ships

Anytime a ship's speed is greater than 0, it's moving. A variety of things can reduce a ship's speed to 0, though.

A ship can expend half its movement to reef its sails and intentionally reduce its speed to 0.
Its sails or rudder can become severely damaged.
A colossal creature can grapple it in place.

A ship with a speed of 0 can change its heading by up to 2 points on its turn. If a ship is big enough to occupy multiple spaces, its bow stays in place while it performs a stationary turn.

Wind

If the DM wants to apply simplistic wind rules, they can roll a d6 to determine which way the wind blows at the start of combat. A ship that moves directly into the wind does so at half speed. A ship that starts or ends its movement pointed directly away from the wind can move an additional 40 feet. At time 20 on every round, the GM can roll a d6 to change the wind direction.

d6	Initial Wind Direction	Wind Shifts
1	North	1 point clockwise
2	Northeast	1 point clockwise
3	Southeast	Doesn't shift
4	South	Doesn't shift
5	Southwest	1 point counterclockwise
6	Northwest	1 point counterclockwise

Attacking

A ship's action will almost always be to fire its weapons. You can find a ship's available attacks in its stat block. Most ships will be able to fire one broadside each round, as well as firing any swivels or chasers. Elite warships may be able to fire multiple broadsides.

Broadsides: Broadsides are fired by cannons oriented to port or starboard. Broadsides can target any ship within an arc from the ship's sides. Broadside arcs are similar in shape to 5E's normal cone rules, but a bit wider, since their narrow end is as wide as the entire ship.
Chasers: Chasers are smaller cannons oriented fore or aft.

If no officer takes the Ready the Cannons action, the ship cannot attack.

Damage

In general, ships are immune to all damage that does not come from siege weapons or colossal creatures. When a ship's cannons target a creature directly, they roll 8 times as many damage dice.

Ships will almost never fight to the death, since a sunken ship is a death sentence for all aboard (and makes it harder for the winner to loot its cargo). A ship that's clearly outmatched will usually surrender at half health. In an even combat, the loser typically surrenders around one-quarter health.

Casualties

Ship combat continuously causes casualties amongst the crew. These don't have to be deaths - in fact, a ship's Surgeon makes it much more likely any injuries are treatable. And they don't need to be the result of enemy fire - gunnery is a risky business, and there's a reason so many pirates get peg legs and hook hands. The first time each battle a ship drops to 50% of its maximum hit points, it suffers casualties equal to 25% of the crew.

Variant Rule: No Casualties

Tracking casualties can be fiddly, so one option is always to just skip it. It'll make for a little less attrition overall. This won't work as well for a long journey with tense resource management, but will do fine for heroic swashbuckling.

Boarding Actions

If ships close to adjacent spaces, either ship can engage in a boarding action. Generally, this will be because the stronger ship wants to take a prize intact, or the weaker ship is getting desperate. A boarding action can be initiated by ramming, dropping hooked gangplanks, or simply sailing up alongside and grabbing the enemy ship with grapples and ropes. If the defenders are able to brace for combat, the DM might grant them advantage on initiative rolls, reaction attacks, or even a free round to act; similarly, if the defending ship's badly damaged and her crew's in disarray, the attackers might get such bonuses.

Once a boarding action has occurred, the party enters ordinary combat against the opposing ship's captain and key allies. The fight between the crews happens in the background. At time 20 on each turn, roll a morale check for each crew (1d20 + morale). If one crew has a logical combat edge (bigger numbers, fearsome cutthroats, etc.), give them advantage; likewise, give untested civilian sailors or a disabled ship disadvantage. Whichever side loses this contest takes casualties equal to 25% of its crew. If either crew is reduced to 0%, its captain must surrender.

Ramming

Ramming is a special attack any ship can make, but an extraordinarily risky one. Ramming is performed simply by moving directly into another ship's space. The ramming ship rolls its hit dice, and both ships take an amount of bludgeoning damage equal to the result. A boarding action immediately occurs.

Certain ship upgrades may make ramming deadlier or safer.

Crashing

Crashing is similar to ramming, but instead of an enemy vessel, a ship slams into an immobile rock or reef. The crashing ship rolls its hit dice and takes bludgeoning damage equal to the result.

Vision

During the daytime and good weather, a ship can see up to 5 miles. At night, a ship with lanterns can see out to 120 feet. A ship with no lanterns can only see 40 feet.

Combat Actions

Players serving in officer positions can take Combat Actions at the start of their ship's turn. NPC officers and enemy ships do not take Combat Actions. You can find more detail on Combat Actions in Actions at Sea.

Ships

You need a ship if you're going to sail. Ships all get stat blocks, which mostly function the way creature stat blocks would. There are a few differences, though.

Size: Ships are always Large or bigger, most often Gargantuan. They usually occupy rectangular spaces (rather than square) on a hex grid. If a ship moves into a space too small for it, it crashes.
Capacity: Every ship has cargo and creature capacities. Overfilling the ship with crew and passengers will make everybody miserable, doubling all effects that cause Morale loss and rolling all Morale checks at disadvantage. Overfilling a ship with cargo reduces its speed to 0.
Travel Speed: Every ship has a long-distance travel speed, which is distinct from its combat speed. (For example, oar-powered galleys are fast in combat, but slow on the open sea).
Ability Scores: Ships all get Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores. Strength measures size and weight. Dexterity measures maneuverability. Constitution measures durability. They don't get mental ability scores.
Conditions: Ships are generally immune to all normal conditions except Grappled, Invisible, and Restrained. They are immune to psychic damage and immune to damage not inflicted by siege weapons or Huge or larger creatures. They are subject to a few unique conditions, which are covered below.
Morale: Morale measures the state of the crew, generally ranging from -10 to +10. It's discussed more later on, under Crew.

Ship Conditions

There are several new conditions that specifically apply only to ships.

Disabled: A disabled ship is dead on the water. It is immobile, it can't take any actions, and it rolls a death saving throw anytime it takes damage. If it fails three death saving throws, it sinks.
Immobile: An immobile ship can't steer or sail. Its speed drops to 0, and it can't turn unless pushed by a current.
Ablaze: A ship that's set on fire takes damage every round until it's destroyed. A ship that's ablaze takes 2d10 fire damage at the start of each of its turns. To put out the fire, the ship can attempt a DC 10 Constitution check as its action, modified by its morale. At least two officers must participate in the check instead of taking combat actions; the ship gains an additional +1 to the check for every additional officer that assists. On any round when nobody attempts to extinguish the fire, it grows, increasing its damage by 2d10 and the check's DC by 2.

Ship Properties

There are new properties which can apply to ships.

Nimble: A nimble ship is able to turn twice as fast. It can adjust its heading by one point during every space of movement. If its speed is 0, it can turn up to 6 points on its turn.

Guns and Artillery

Sailing ships can mount whole batteries of cannons to pummel their enemies into oblivion. Cannons are siege weapons, usually mounted on wooden wheels, which do devastating damage to structures or individuals, but which are finicky to operate and have significant failure chances. Most cannons will be muzzle-loading weapons made of iron, firing solid lead or iron balls.

Ship attack modifier = the gunner's proficiency bonus + the ship's Morale

Gun Decks

A ship's cannons will mostly be organized into gun decks. Each gun deck will have a range of cannons, which all share a single attack and damage roll. A gun deck deals one die of damage for every cannon it contains. Bigger ships generally mount more and bigger cannons than smaller ones.

Weapon	Cost	Range	Damage Die	Properties
8-pounder	200gp	160/480	1d6	Siege
12-pounder	300gp	160/480	1d8	Siege
24-pounder	500gp	160/480	1d10	Siege
36-pounder	800gp	120/360	1d12	Siege

Chasers

A ship may also mount a few chasers - lighter guns, pointed fore or aft, and mostly used to attack small targets. Chasers are always 8-pounders, and no ship can fit very many. They function similarly to gun decks, rolling attacks together and dealing one die of damage per gun.

Siege

Siege equipment and weapons with the "Siege" property are able to deal full damage to fortified structures, ships, and sea-beasts.

Siege weapons are impractical to aim at individual creatures, however. When targeting creatures smaller than Gargantuan, any shot against a Dodging creature only hits on a natural 20. If a ship fires a broadside at creatures not aboard a ship, the broadside affects a line with a width equal to 10 feet times the number of cannons, and length equal to the cannons' range. Huge or smaller creatures in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw, with a DC equal to 4 + the cannon's attack modifier. On a failure, a creature takes half the broadside's damage. On a success, it takes no damage.

Managing Your Crew

A ship's stat block will indicate its crew requirements. For small ships, this may be 15-30 sailors, while for bigger ships, 50-80 is common. Massive galleons or men o'war may need well over 100 crew.

Skeleton Crew

Running a ship with the bare minimum crew is referred to as a skeleton crew - a ship with a skeleton crew moves at half speed, and can only make one attack when it takes the Attack action.

Officers in Brief

There are seven available officer roles aboard ship. Four posts are senior officers - a ship suffers significant penalties if it sets sail without a senior officer. Three posts are optional officers. Most roles have applications both in and out of combat, though a few are strictly non-combat positions. Each officer has general duties, and gains specific actions they may take during combat and travel. A character can only serve in one officer position at a time.

The four senior officers are the Captain, Quartermaster, First Mate, and Bosun. The four optional officers are the Arcanist, Master Gunner, and Navigator. Each is described in detail later.

Morale

Morale represents the basic ability of the ship's crew - it's a function of raw skill, satisfaction, and leadership. It can range from -10 to +10. Most of the time when you take a ship action, you add your ship's morale to the role. Morale goes down when the ship suffers casualties, disease, poor leadership, or other calamities. Conversely, morale goes up when the crew are well-paid, healthy, and complete successful voyages. Your morale at the start of a ship's lifetime is a function of how skilled and disciplined a crew you hire.

Slovenly crew: base morale of 3, with a maximum of 6.
Standard crew: base morale of 4, with a maximum of 8.
Skilled crew: base morale of 5, with a maximum of 10.

Mutiny

If the ship's morale is lower than 0, the Captain must make a mutiny check each day, which is a Charisma check (either Intimidation or Persuasion) modified by the ship's morale. If the result is between 1 and 9, then morale decreases by 1. If it's below 1, the crew mutinies, and may attempt to murder, imprison, or maroon the captain and their allies.

Variant Rule: Ship (Dis)Inspiration

Ordinarily, a ship's morale simply can't go below -10, or above its maximum. If you want to reward a very happy ship or punish a very miserable one, you can adopt this rule.

When a ship's morale would go above its maximum, it gains inspiration. The captain can order this inspiration to be used to gain advantage on any d20 roll the ship or any of its crew makes.

When a ship's morale would go below -10, it gains a point of misery. The DM can use this misery to force disadvantage on any d20 roll the ship or its crew makes.

Reputation

Your crew may respond to the Captain's reputation - an esteemed (or nefarious!) captain may increase base and maximum morale by 1. Likewise, a particularly green captain may decrease base and maximum morale by 1.

Supplies & Wages

At standard rations, most ships will carry 30 days worth of supplies. You can stretch it to 45 days by going to reduced rations, which causes morale to drop -1 per week. You can also order double rations, which will only last 15 days, but will increase morale by +1 per week. A standard 30 days of rations doesn't count against a ship's cargo capacity.

For simple tracking of wages, use the average wage for each ship, as detailed in its stat block. Add 1gp per day for each NPC officer and senior rating, and 5gp per day for an NPC captain.

A skilled crew increases the ship's wages by 50%. A slovenly crew decreases them by 25% (and may be all you can hire, when you're just starting out).

Voyages

Sailing travel is measured in voyages, and voyage legs. A voyage is any significant trip from one port to another. A voyage ends when the ship docks at a port of significant size and allows the crew to take at least one day of shore leave. When setting out from port, a captain must make an estimate as to the voyage length. The crew will have higher morale if they are expecting a short voyage.

Short voyages are less than 1 week. Base morale increases by 1.
Medium voyages are 1-2 weeks, and have no effect on morale.
Long voyages are more than 2 weeks. Base morale decreases by 1.

If the estimate proves wrong, and the captain has to extend the voyage, morale decreases by 2 as your sailors grumble about the change of plans. Beyond a Long voyage, every additional 2-week extension causes morale to decrease by 2.

Voyage Legs

Voyages are composed of voyage legs, which are any significant stretches of travel in between major events. Legs are of variable length depending on the needs of the game; any time the ship spends between significant stops should count. Typically, each voyage leg will last a few days. For long voyages without many stops, you should treat each week as a separate voyage leg. After every voyage leg, morale drops by 1, as sailors get fatigued and miss port.

Planning a Voyage

For a quick guide on how to plan out a voyage, follow these steps.

Obtain a ship.
Hire a crew - slovenly, standard, or skilled.
Appoint PCs to any officer positions they need.
Hire senior ratings and NPC officers. Make sure every Senior Officer post is filled.
Calculate the ship's wages.
Have the Captain estimate the voyage length.
Sail!

Concluding a Voyage

When a ship makes port, the GM first resolves any casualties that occurred on the voyage. Half the casualties recover, while the other half are lost forever (through death, maiming, or refusal to sail with this ship again).

The crew can then take shore leave to relax and recuperate. If morale is below its base score, it resets to its base when you complete a voyage.

Variant Rule: Detailed Shore Leave

If you'd like a good justification to keep your PCs in port for a few days' worth of adventures, don't reset morale when you complete a voyage. Instead, it increases by 2 for every day spent in port, up to its base.

Officer Roles

Characters can occupy a variety of officer roles. Typically every PC will serve as an officer, with your party hiring NPCs to fill any senior officer positions nobody's qualified for.

Senior Officers

All ships suffer serious penalties if they are missing any senior officers.

Captain

The captain issues orders. The best captains have high Charisma scores, as well as proficiency with water vehicles and the Persuasion or Intimidation skills.

Combat Actions: Inspire an Officer, Take the Helm, Rally the Crew
Travel Actions: Raise Morale, Make 'Er Ship-Shape, Plot a Course
No Captain? A ship cannot sail without a captain.

Quartermaster

The quartermaster is the second-highest ranking officer, responsible for logistics and discipline. They typically disburse pay or divide loot, resolve disputes at sea, and mete out discipline to unruly crew. They also are expected to lead boarding parties during combat. A commanding quartermaster is often the most well-rounded of the ship's officers, possessing high Charisma, and respectable Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom, and the Persuasion or Intimidation skills.

Combat Actions: Ready for Boarding, Rally the Crew, Emergency Repairs
Travel Actions: Manage the Stores, Discipline the Ratings
No Quartermaster? A ship without a quartermaster suffers double from any morale decreases.

First Mate

This specialist keeps the crew’s morale high by providing supervision, encouragement, and discipline. They also serve as the captain's right hand, though lower-ranking than the quartermaster. A first mate benefits from a high Strength or Wisdom score, as well as proficiency with Athletics and navigator's tools.

Combat Actions: Take the Helm, Ready the Cannons, Treat the Wounded
Travel Actions: Be the Backup, Plot a Course
No First Mate? A ship without a first mate has disadvantage on all ability checks.

Bosun

The bosun serves as the foreman of the crew, and is responsible for duty assignments, ship repairs, and most maintenance. On a big ship, they'd likely delegate to a carpenter and a sailmaker; on a small ship, they're the go-to. A good bosun has high Dexterity, Wisdom, or Intelligence scores, as well as proficiency with carpenter's tools and the Survival skill.

Combat Actions: Take the Helm, Emergency Repairs
Travel Actions: Make 'Er Ship-Shape, Swab the Orlop!
No Bosun? A ship without a bosun has its maximum hit points reduced by half.

Optional Officers

A ship won't necessarily have a full complement of optional officers - if a ship doesn't have them, it doesn't gain any benefit from having them, but other officers or crew may cover their essential duties.

Arcanist

A ship's arcanist provides magical support for the crew and all the other officers. In battle, this may mean slinging fireballs or obscuring the ship with a fog cloud. Outside of battle, it could involve divination to check the ship's course or conjuring more favorable winds. An arcanist's performance is determined by their ability to cast spells, rather than any specific stat or proficiency. The presence of an Arcanist reduces the ship's base morale by 1 - sailors are superstitious and often uncomfortable relying on magic.

Combat Actions: Magical Assistance, Magical Assault
Travel Actions: Be the Backup, Find Fair Weather

Master Gunner

The master gunner supervises the cannoneers, both in combat and regular maintenance. They direct the gunnery crew in combat, and ensure the cannons are cleaned and secured outside of battle. A reliable master gunner tends to have a high Strength or Dexterity score, as well as proficiency with gunpowder weapons or smith's tools. A master gunner also enables the ship to fire specialty ammunition.

Combat Actions: Ready the Cannons, Practiced Barrage
Travel Actions: Pack the Powder, Come Up For Sunlight

Navigator

The navigator plots the ship’s course, relying on knowledge of nautical charts and a study of weather and sea conditions. A reliable navigator tends to have a high Wisdom or Intelligence score, as well as proficiency with navigator's tools, cartographer’s tools, and the Nature or Survival skills. A navigator passively increases the ship's travel speed by 25%.

Combat Actions: Take the Helm, Trim the Sails
Travel Actions: Plot a Course, Find Fair Weather

Senior Ratings

Senior ratings are specialized crew who are usually present on bigger ships, but may be absent on smaller vessels. They are not officers, but do perform specialized duties, granting passive bonuses to the ship.

Cook: A ship’s cook works with the limited ingredients aboard ship to make meals. A skilled cook keeps the crew’s morale in top shape, while a poor one drags down the entire crew’s performance. A cook increases base morale by 1, and grants advantage on the Raise Morale action.
Carpenter: A ship's carpenter works under the bosun, conducting repairs and keeping the ship seaworthy. A carpenter grants advantage to all checks made for Emergency Repairs or Make 'Er Ship-Shape.
Sailmaker: A ship's sailmaker also works under the bosun, tending to the condition of the sails. A sailmaker increases the ship's combat speed by 10 feet.
Musician: Some sailors are skilled with the viol or squeezebox, or are talented enough singers to entertain the crew. A musician increases base morale by 1.
Surgeon A ship's surgeon tends to injuries and keeps illnesses from spreading. A surgeon causes half the ship's casualties to recover at the end of every combat.

Becoming An Officer

If the character's background gives them experience aboard ship, they automatically gain proficiency as an officer of their choice.

For other characters trying to become officers, make a DC 10 Intelligence check at the end of every voyage leg. If they make 3 successful total learning checks, they gain proficiency with water vehicles and become a qualified officer, meaning they can add their proficiency bonus to the skill checks involved in that role. Failures have no effect besides lengthening the time needed to learn a role. A natural 20 on a learning check counts as two successes.

A character who knows any ship role can learn another in the same way, though no character can be proficient in more than two roles at the same time. If they become proficient with a new role, they must lose proficiency in their choice of their existing roles.

Variant Rule: Quick Study

Want a faster pace? Skip the checks, and just let every PC select an officer role to learn at the completion of their first voyage.

Variant Rule: Proper Education

For a game more focused on realism, learning to crew a ship in just a week or two is a little tough to believe. For such a game, you can increase the required learning checks from 3 to 12. Since a voyage leg is often about a week, it will take at least two or three three months of sailing to gain proficiency.

Actions at Sea

Seafaring can be divided into two phases: travel, where each round lasts one leg of a voyage, and combat, where each round lasts one minute. In general, each officer aboard ship may take one action per round. Combat actions and Travel actions are distinct, and each officer will have multiple options. During travel, characters may also undertake any activity they reasonably could during a voyage (e.g. scribing spells, most crafting, learning languages). Every action can be taken only once each round.

DCs are described as Easy, Medium, or Hard. Under normal circumstances, these correspond to DC 10, 15, and 20. But shipboard life has very few normal circumstances, and the DM may adjust the DCs as appropriate.

Officers always take their actions in rank order: Captain, Quartermaster, First Mate, Bosun, Arcanist, Master Gunner, Navigator. In combat, this happens immediately before the start of their ship's turn. During travel, every officer declares their action first, then takes their actions in the same order.

Combat Actions

Help Another Officer

Officers capable: All

You may use your Combat Action to provide advantage to another officer making a check.

Inspire an Officer

Officers capable: Captain

You may inspire any officer aboard ship in their duties. Designate an officer and make a Medium Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) check - on a success, that officer receives a bonus equal your Charisma modifier on the next check they make this round. You may not inspire the same officer two rounds in a row.

Take the Helm

Officers capable: Captain, First Mate, Navigator

The ship's speed is increased by 50% this turn.

Improvise

Officers capable: First Mate

You may delay your combat action until after every other officer has taken their turn. Then, you may attempt any Combat Action which was not attempted or failed. You make any associated checks at disadvantage.

Rally the Crew

Officers capable: Captain, Quartermaster

You may inspire the crew, spurring them to great feats. Make an Easy Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation check), adding the ship's Morale - on a success, the ship gains a +1 bonus to Morale until the end of the round.

Ready for Boarding

Officers capable: Quartermaster

You equip and rally the crew for hand-to-hand combat. Make a Easy Charisma (Persuasion) check, adding the ship's Morale - on a success, the party begins the boarding action with temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

Ready the Cannons

Officers capable: First Mate, Master Gunner

You prepare the cannons to fire, but hold off on lighting the matches. The ship may Ready its Attack action. You specify the condition that triggers the readied action.

Emergency Repairs

Officers capable: Bosun, Quartermaster

You assist some sailors making a quick patch to a damaged component of the ship. Make an Easy Dexterity (Carpenters' Tools) check, adding the ship's Morale. On a success, you roll a number of d6's equal to your proficiency modifier, adding the ship's Morale - the ship gains that many temporary hit points.

Trim the Sails

Officers capable: Navigator

You steer the ship closer to the wind, filling the sails with a favorable breeze. Make an Easy Dexterity (Water Vehicles) check, adding the ship's morale. The ship may ignore negative effects from wind this round.

Practiced Barrage

Officers capable: Master Gunner

You help the gunnery crew prepare to fire. Make a Medium Strength (Athletics) check. On a success, the ship's Broadside can reroll any 1's on its damage dice this turn, keeping the new result.

Magical Assistance

Officers capable: Arcanist

You assist any officer aboard ship via magical means. Designate an officer and expend one spell slot. Roll an Easy spellcasting ability check. On a success, the officer gains a bonus to their combat action check this round equal to 1 + the slot level.

Magical Assault

Officers capable: Arcanist

You cast a spell that directly interferes with the enemy ship. Expend one spell slot and roll a Hard spellcasting ability check. On a success, choose one of the following effects:

The ship's speed is reduced by 5 feet per slot level until the end of its next turn.
The ship suffers a penalty to morale equal to the slot level until the end of its next turn.
The ship takes casualties equal to the slot level.

You cannot select the same effect two turns in a row.

Travel Actions

Make a Map

Officers capable: All

You attempt to map out any visible features and relate them to the ship's heading. Make a Medium Intelligence (Navigator's Tools) or Hard Wisdom (Survival) check. On a success, any attempts to Plot a Course have advantage.

Fish

Officers capable: All

You drop a line and attempt to catch some fish as the ship sails, or while it is resting at night. Make a Medium Wisdom (Survival) check. On a success, the ship consumes 25% fewer supplies on this voyage leg.

Raise Morale

Officers capable: Captain

You may attempt to inspire the crew to greater performance. Make a Medium Charisma (Persuasion) check. On a success, morale improves by 1. If you fail by 5 or more, decrease morale by 1.

Make 'Er Ship-Shape

Officers capable: Captain, Bosun

You supervise needed repairs to the ship. Make a Medium Dexterity (Carpenter's Tools) check. On a success, you restore the ship's health up to the next quarter-step (i.e., if it is below 25% hit points, it goes to 25%; if it is between 25-50% it goes to 50%, etc.).

Manage the Stores

Officers capable: Quartermaster

You ensure that the ship's stores are clean, well-preserved, and not being filched. Make an easy Wisdom (Water Vehicles) check. On a success, increase Morale by 1.

Be the Backup

Officers capable: First Mate, Arcanist

You may help another officer with any Travel Action, granting them advantage on the check.

Discipline the Ratings

Officers capable: Quartermaster

You keep the crew in line. Make an Easy Charisma (Intimidation) check. On a success, improve morale by 1. If you fail by 5 or more, decrease morale by 1.

Plot a Course

Officers capable: First Mate, Navigator, Captain

You chart a course to where the captain wants to sail. Make an Easy Intelligence (Navigators' Tools) or Hard Wisdom (Survival) check. On a success, the ship stays on course and makes good time, increasing travel pace by 50% for this voyage leg. If you fail by 5 or more, the ship's travel pace is reduced by 50% for this voyage leg.

Find Fair Weather

Officers capable: Navigator, Arcanist

You find favorable winds and currents to help with the voyage. Make an Easy Wisdom (Water Vehicles), Medium Intelligence (Nature), or Hard Spellcasting Ability check. On a success, the weather cooperates and the ship's travel pace increases by 50% for this voyage leg. If you fail by 5 or more, the ship's travel pace is reduced by 50% for this voyage leg.

The effects of Plot a Course and Find Fair Weather stack, potentially increasing travel pace by 100% or down to 0%, as you wander in circles through foggy weather.

Pack the Powder

Officers capable: Master Gunner

You take extra care to prepare the cannons for combat. Make an Easy Strength (Athletics). On a success, the ship's next Broadside is made at advantage. If you fail by 5 or more, the it is made at disadvantage.

Come Up For Sunlight

Officers capable: Master Gunner

Tending the cannons isn’t quite a full-time job, so you’ve got free time on your hands to help the other officers. Designate an officer and make an Easy Intelligence check. On a success, that officer gains advantage on any checks they make as part of their Travel Action. If you fail by 5 or more, you inconvenience them so much that they suffer disadvantage instead.

Swab the Orlop!

Officers capable: Bosun

You reassign a troublemaking sailor to isolated and undesirable duty. Make a Medium Intelligence check. On a success, you may prevent the next decrease to Morale that occurs on this voyage leg.

Weather & Hazards

A ship at sea can encounter a wide variety of natural dangers, any of which may confound its crew. The list below is just a sample; GMs should feel empowered to craft more hazards as they require. Hazards apply their effects for the entire duration of a combat or voyage leg.

Storms

The most common hazards to encounter, by far, are storms. Ranging from troublesome squalls to raging hurricanes, a storm can throw a ship off course, tear crew overboard, or batter a ship to pieces.

Combat

In combat, a storm applies the following effects:

Wind: The GM should make use of the Wind rules.
Lightning: At time 10 on every round, the GM should roll a d20 for every ship in the combat. On a roll of 5 or lower, the ship is struck by lightning, and must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, it takes 6d10 lightning damage; on a success, it takes half as much.
Waves: At the end of every ship's turn, it needs to make a DC 10 Strength saving throw. On a failure, it is struck by a wave. It takes 1d10 bludgeoning damage, and its heading is changed 1 point in a random direction.

Travel

During travel, a storm applies the following effects:

Attempts to Make a Map, Fish, or Find Fair Weather have their DCs increased by 10.
Morale decreases by 1d4.
The ship's hit points drop by a quarter-step.

Tsunamis

Massive earthquakes or colossal sea monsters can cause gigantic waves to sweep the ocean.

Combat

In combat, a tsunami occurs at a time dictated by the GM, striking every ship at once. Every ship must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, it takes 8d10 bludgeoning damage, is moved 60 feet along the tsunami's course, and has its heading randomized.

Travel

During travel, a tsunami applies the following effects:

The ship's hit points drop by a quarter-step.
The Navigator or Captain must make a Hard Intelligence (Navigator's Tools) check or be swept off course. The ship makes no progress on this voyage leg, and the GM may move the ship as they see fit.

Fog and Rain

Fog doesn't present danger in the same way as more destructive hazards, but it can be just as crippling.

Combat

In combat, fog reduces the vision of every ship to 120 feet.

Travel

During travel, fog applies the following effects:

Attempts to Make a Map or Find Fair Weather have their DCs increased by 5.
The Navigator or Captain must make a Medium Intelligence (Navigator's Tools) check or become lost. The ship makes no progress on this voyage leg, and the GM may move the ship as they see fit.

Freezing

A ship traveling in extreme climates might encounter unbearable temperatures.

Combat

In combat, freezing weather causes no effects.

Travel

During travel, freezing weather increases any morale loss by 1.

Appendix 1: Ships

This document includes two ship statblocks you can use. Ship statblocks are designed similarly to monster statblocks, using the same CR system. If you wish to design your own ships, you can use the general CR system, but it's recommended you set the offensive CR several points above the defensive CR, to keep battles from dragging out too long.

Cog

A single-masted ship with one square-rigged sail, fore of the mast. They are slow and not very maneuverable, but are easy to crew, cheap to build, and cheap to operate. Often used as cargo freighters, they rarely have weaponry beyond small arms for the crew.

Cog

Gargantuan vehicle (sailing ship) (60 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 14

Hit Points 80

Morale 3

Speed 60 ft.

Creature Capacity 20 crew, 20 passengers

Cargo Capacity 100 tons

Cost 4000gp

Travel Pace 4 miles per hour (96 miles per day)

Average Wages 20 gp per day

STR DEX CON

16 (+3) 6 (-2) 16 (+3)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 2

Weapons

Most cogs are unarmed, but they can give up half their cargo capacity to mount up to 8 9-pounder cannons, 4 per side.

Actions

Broadside, 4 9-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +3 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
16 (+3)	6 (-2)	16 (+3)

Brigantine

A double-masted ship with square-rigged sails. Brigantines are known for maneuverability, but not as nimble as sloops; they ride a little lower in the water, with deeper holds for more cargo. They're popular with pirates and merchants sailing in dangerous waters.

Brigantine

Gargantuan vehicle (sailing ship) (60 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 14

Hit Points 80

Morale 3

Speed 100 ft.

Creature Capacity 30 crew, 30 passengers

Cargo Capacity 65 tons

Cost 5000gp

Travel Pace 5 miles per hour (120 miles per day)

Average Wages 30 gp per day

STR DEX CON

18 (+4) 8 (-1) 18 (+4)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 3

Weapons

A brigantine can mount a respectable amount of cannon for its size, typically 6 12-pounders per side.

Actions

Broadside, 6 12-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +5 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 27 (6d8) bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
18 (+4)	8 (-1)	18 (+4)

Sloop

A slender single-masted ship with two or more triangular sails, fore and aft of the mast. Known for being quick and agile, sloops are a popular choice with pirates and smugglers.

Sloop

Gargantuan vehicle (40 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 15

Hit Points 100

Morale 4

Speed 120 ft.

Creature Capacity 30 crew, 20 passengers

Cargo Capacity 40 tons

Cost 6000gp

Travel Pace 6 miles per hour (144 miles per day)

Averages Wages 30gp per day

STR DEX CON

18 (+4) 8 (-1) 16 (+3)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 4

Weapons

Sloops can mount up to 16 12-pounder cannons, 8 per side. They can mount one chaser, either fore or aft.

Actions

Broadside, 6 12-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +7 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 36 (8d8) bludgeoning damage.

Bow Chaser, 1 8-pounder. Ranged Weapon Attack. +7 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
18 (+4)	8 (-1)	16 (+3)

Corvette

A three-masted ship, usually built as a dedicated warship but among the lightest vessels in that role. Corvettes are low on cargo capacity, but carry a lot of cannons for their size.

Corvette

Gargantuan vehicle (80 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 16

Hit Points 120

Morale 4

Speed 100 ft.

Creature Capacity 40 crew, 20 passengers

Cargo Capacity 50 tons

Cost 9000gp

Travel Pace 5.5 miles per hour (132 miles per day)

Averages Wages 40gp per day

STR DEX CON

20 (+5) 8 (-1) 16 (+3)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 6

Weapons

Corvettes typically mount 20 cannons or more, 10 per side, and fit a large chaser.

Actions

Broadside, 10 12-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +6 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 45 (10d8) bludgeoning damage.

Bow Chaser, 1 24-pounder. Ranged Weapon Attack. +6 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 5 (1d10) bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
20 (+5)	8 (-1)	16 (+3)

Galleon

Galleons are large ships, with multiple decks and at least three masts, with square-rigged sails. They serve as massive armed cargo ships, or can be fitted with extra cannons to act as floating fortresses and heavy warships.

Galleon

Gargantuan vehicle (sailing ship) (120 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 14

Hit Points 150

Morale 5

Speed 80 ft.

Creature Capacity 60 crew, 40 passengers

Cargo Capacity 140 tons

Cost 18000gp

Travel Pace 5 miles per hour (120 miles per day)

Average Wages 60 gp per day

STR DEX CON

22 (+6) 4 (-3) 20 (+5)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 7

Weapons

A galleon fitted for trade typically has a lighter armament, but still plenty to outmatch smaller ships, with 20 24-pound guns, 10 per side.

Actions

Broadside, 10 24-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +7 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 55 (10d10) bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
22 (+6)	4 (-3)	20 (+5)

Frigate

A larger three-masted ship, square-rigged with a long bowsprit, and typically built by formal navies as light warships. Frigates are formidable vessels in a straight fight, but fast enough to serve as pirate-chasers when needed.

Frigate

Gargantuan vehicle (100 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 16

Hit Points 150

Morale 5

Speed 100 ft.

Creature Capacity 50 crew, 20 passengers

Cargo Capacity 70 tons

Cost 12000gp

Travel Pace 5 miles per hour (120 miles per day)

Averages Wages 50gp per day

STR DEX CON

22 (+6) 6 (-2) 18 (+4)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 8

Weapons

The most common armament for frigates is 28 guns, 14 per side, and bow and stern chasers.

Actions

Broadside, 14 12-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +7 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 63 (14d8) bludgeoning damage.

Bow Chaser, 1 24-pounder. Ranged Weapon Attack. +7 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 5 (1d10) bludgeoning damage.

Stern Chaser, 1 24-pounder. Ranged Weapon Attack. +7 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 5 (1d10)2 bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
22 (+6)	6 (-2)	18 (+4)

Carrack

An early warship, specifically outfitted and built for combat, carracks are fearsomely destructive. They sport multiple gun decks, for firing simultaneous broadsides.

Carrack

Gargantuan vehicle (sailing ship) (80 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 15

Hit Points 180

Morale 6

Speed 80 ft.

Creature Capacity 80 crew, 40 passengers

Cargo Capacity 100 tons

Cost 30000gp

Travel Pace 4 miles per hour (120 miles per day)

Average Wages 80 gp per day

STR DEX CON

24 (+7) 4 (-3) 22 (+6)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 10

Weapons

A typical carrack will have two full gun decks. It carries 16 12-pound guns and 16 24-pound guns. All are arranged in two decks each of 8 per side.

Actions

Multiattack. The carrack can fire both of its broadsides simultaneously.

Broadside (Light Deck), 8 12-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +8 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 36 (8d8) bludgeoning damage.

Broadside (Heavy Deck), 8 24-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +8 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 44 (8d10) bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
24 (+7)	4 (-3)	22 (+6)

War Galleon

A galleon specifically outfitted and built for combat, war galleons are fortresses on the sea. They sport multiple gun decks, for firing simultaneous broadsides.

War Galleon

Gargantuan vehicle (120 ft. by 20 ft.)

Armor Class 14

Hit Points 210

Morale 7

Speed 80 ft.

Creature Capacity 50 crew, 20 passengers

Cargo Capacity 70 tons

Cost 40000gp

Travel Pace 5 miles per hour (120 miles per day)

Averages Wages 50gp per day

STR DEX CON

22 (+6) 6 (-2) 18 (+4)

Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities all but invisible, grappled, restrained

Challenge 13

Weapons

The most common armament for a ship of the line is 20 24-pound guns and 16 36-pound guns.

Actions

Multiattack. The ship of the line can fire both of its broadsides simultaneously.

Broadside (Light Deck), 10 12-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +10 to hit, range 160/480, one target. Hit: 45 (10d8) bludgeoning damage.

Broadside (Heavy Deck), 8 36-pounders. Ranged Weapon Attack. +10 to hit, range 120/360, one target. Hit: 52 (8d12) bludgeoning damage.

STR	DEX	CON
22 (+6)	6 (-2)	18 (+4)

Credits & References:

The Seafarer's Manual created by somanyrobots
Discord | Patreon

Art

Sleek Schooner, by Mark Winters © Wizards of the Coast LLC

Shipreck, by Olga Jaworska

Naval Combat, by somanyrobots using assets by Limithron

Sailing Ship, by Olga Jaworska

Chart a Course, by James Ryman © Wizards of the Coast LLC

Assets

Map and Ship Assets by Luke Stratton | Limithron

Background Image Stains

Jared Ondricek

Fan Content Policy

This work is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Thank you supporters!

A heartfelt thank you to my patrons, whose generous support helps make this work possible. And a special thank you to:

Alex Whitehurst

arawnannwn

bluewarbler

Danny Mendoza

David Sharp

Erratic Berry

GlaciesGlace

Graham Hildebrandt

Grimm

Marc Adelman

Maya

Seita

TheWindMagi

Vexin Reed

And an extremely heartfelt thank-you to Archmage-tier supporters!

Lochey

Changelog

v0.3

Added Ablaze condition
Added Storms, Tsunamis, Fog, and Freezing
Added Carracks and War Galleons
Changed system from 10-foot to 20-foot spaces
Buffed Fishing
Demoted Surgeon to a senior rating
Added Ramming
Described siege weapon vs. creature interactions
Added simple wind table
Taking the Helm is no longer required for basic movement, and readying the cannons is no longer required for basic firing

v0.2.1

Added Brigantines, Corvettes, Galleons, and Frigates

v0.2

Reduced voyage lengths

v0.1.1

A few quick reorganizations and a clarification on calculating ship attacks

v0.1

Roughest Draft

Planned Changes

This is just the very first release on this ruleset. I'm going to iterate on the core rules as they receive more playtesting and more feedback. Things that are already in the works, which you can expect to see:

More ships!
Sea-beasts!
Ship and cannon upgrades!
Ammunition types!
More guns! Swivels, mortars, carronades, and more!
Quick-reference officer role cards!
An appendix on the sorts of historical considerations this document makes, and how it tries to adapt historical context while producing a fun TTRPG.
Nautical terminology glossary
For DMs: A list of shipboard crises and events.