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Nich_Critic
2010-03-17, 10:31 AM
Hey all. I have a bit of a conundrum.

My players recently captured a ship, and left most of it's crew in a lifeboat. Unbeknownst to them, I've prepared a little surprise. The captain wasn't actually aboard the life boat, that was the first mate. The captain, who knows his ship better then the players do, is currently preparing powder kegs in a secret area of the ship, in order to sink it and prevent it's capture.

The problem I'm having is that I can't seem to stat out an explosion that reliably damages the ship, while still providing a reasonably survivable situation for my players. The way I see this going is, I give them search checks to properly loot the ship, and the one who declares he's searching the area where the captain is locates a secret door. If he opens it, he only has a short time to prevent the captain from detonating his powder kegs.

My players are only level 3, and have around 15-18 hp (I know -_-). With the dying rules, that makes their effective hp 25-28. I was thinking of the powder keg explosion doing 6d6, half fire half force, ref 15 for half. On average, that's 21, enough to seriously injure them, but not kill them outright. If they save, they might actually walk away from it. It would be tense, and exciting.

The ship's hull, however, has 80 hp. To impair the ship to the point where it would have to be repaired (but still can be. Holed ships need a shipyard and supplies to repair, but damaged ships don't), I need to reduce two sections by 40 hp, and even still I'm having a hard time coming up with that damage.

Any thoughts?

druid91
2010-03-17, 10:41 AM
Distance? have them close to the hull but a bit away from the captain and the pc's. And having holes in your boat is in general a bad thing no matter the size. what sort of ship is it? I could probably help more with that information.

Eldariel
2010-03-17, 10:47 AM
Obviously explosion is more intense at the "heart". People on another deck are probably quite unaffected so only the fellow scanning the area is probably in any real danger.

Anyways, I found this table (http://hastur.net/wiki/Gunpowder_%28D&D_equipment%29) with a quick search and the bomb numbers seem quite usable; just figure out how much gunpowder your kegs contain and you're good to go.

Nich_Critic
2010-03-17, 11:37 AM
Distance? have them close to the hull but a bit away from the captain and the pc's. And having holes in your boat is in general a bad thing no matter the size. what sort of ship is it? I could probably help more with that information.

The ship is a stormwrack dromond.

I don't necessarily want to put a hole in the ship, but I do want to cause damage that can't be ignored (reducing two sections of the ship to below 50% hp reduces the speed by 10, so that's what I'm aiming for).

I'm not really concerned about a TPK, I'm concerned about a no save death for the unluck guy who happens to stumble upon the captain and his powder kegs. I suppose I can have the first 10 feet do 12d6 (42 damage average) and the next 10 feet do 6d6. That should be sufficient to cause the ship some harm

Vizzerdrix
2010-03-17, 11:38 AM
Just have those sections already be weak for just this reason.

gallagher
2010-03-17, 11:47 AM
Have the explosives be low powered, but start the ship on fire. It would require teamwork and creativity to properly put out

the humanity
2010-03-17, 12:11 PM
conveniently have the PC's on the 'other' end of the ship and have them watch half the ship blow into smithereens while they are just out of reach to feel anything but a wave of heat and splinters, which deal 1d6 damage. for flavor reasons, have a nearby nameless sailor get speared by a 10 foot long burning splinter.

druid91
2010-03-17, 12:23 PM
The ship is a stormwrack dromond.

I don't necessarily want to put a hole in the ship, but I do want to cause damage that can't be ignored (reducing two sections of the ship to below 50% hp reduces the speed by 10, so that's what I'm aiming for).

I'm not really concerned about a TPK, I'm concerned about a no save death for the unluck guy who happens to stumble upon the captain and his powder kegs. I suppose I can have the first 10 feet do 12d6 (42 damage average) and the next 10 feet do 6d6. That should be sufficient to cause the ship some harm

Don't have stormwrack, I meant more of, Is this your average sized sailing ship or is this an Enormous ship? if the later make it so that he has set up the powder kegs with a fuse giving him time to get away and the finder time to either chase after the spark and cut the fuse or get out of the hold and run for it.
Make it so that the players could easily outrun the spark but have the captain interfere and try to slow them down, then you can either have the explosion be a BOOM and the ship is scuttled, or a BOOM and you have to hurry so you don't go sinking.
You might be able to do the same with a smaller ship but it would be a bit more urgent.

Beorn080
2010-03-17, 04:42 PM
Is the captain suicidal, or does he have an escape plan? A better idea is to open the stoppers on the bottom. If its a normal 4 person party, and a decent sized ship, that would mean hours or days of pumping, and if he breaks em so they can't be closed easily, well, two man teams pumping 24/7 should keep the ship afloat. Granted, they would be extremely fatigued at all times, and perhaps easy pickings if you want the captain to reclaim the ship. However, if they close em quick enough, it wouldn't be a major hassle.

Tinydwarfman
2010-03-17, 04:50 PM
This actually happens in real life due to shaped charges places on walls. Just make the bomb to more damage to the ship without a ref save (unless it's a ninja ship that is... :smallcool:) and set it on fire.

Darkfire
2010-03-17, 05:38 PM
A better idea is to open the stoppers on the bottom. If its a normal 4 person party, and a decent sized ship, that would mean hours or days of pumping, and if he breaks em so they can't be closed easily, well, two man teams pumping 24/7 should keep the ship afloat. Granted, they would be extremely fatigued at all times, and perhaps easy pickings if you want the captain to reclaim the ship. However, if they close em quick enough, it wouldn't be a major hassle.
Agreed. A non-explosive attempted scuttle could work just as well whilst avoiding the possibility of a cut scene TPK. It would be more subtle too: Everything seems fine initially but the ship gradually starts losing speed and listing. Follow up with a race against time to determine the cause, find & close/block the open valves and, finally, a confrontation with the captain taking place in a compartment slowly filling with water. A bit clichéd I know but how often do you get to stage a fight in a sinking ship?

If an enforced return to dock is necessary, have a couple of valves beyond reach/repair (and throw in a couple which are merely difficult to reach/repair) and the PCs struggling to navigate effectively whilst maintaining a decent speed and keeping the ship afloat long enough to get there. Just to keep things interesting, all of the ship's comestibles have been spoilt and just don't allow the cleric/druid/etc. long enough to prepare Create Food and Water/Goodberry/equivalent. If there not exhausted and half-dead from starvation/dehydration/exposure/sleep deprivation by the time they make it back, you've been far too lenient. :smalltongue:

Edit: Extra evil...

Darrin
2010-03-17, 10:55 PM
The problem I'm having is that I can't seem to stat out an explosion that reliably damages the ship, while still providing a reasonably survivable situation for my players.


You might want to take a look at Secrets of Sarlona p. 138 under "Explosive Packs". 1d6 to 10d6 damage, but with a Profession (Siege Engineer) check DC 20, they do double damage to unattended stationary objects. Profession (Siege Engineer) check DC 30 and they do triple damage. You could probably kitbash those rules into something that might work with your powder keg or some other similar explosive device.

The other thing you could do is make that particular section of the ship partially damaged, either via sabotage or maybe they just scraped up against something and nobody noticed the cracked planks. So the hardness or HP in that particular section is compromised. You can foreshadow that a bit with an incompetent navigator that nearly grounds the boat, a random sea monster attack, or a cheapskate captain that refuses to pay for regular upkeep/repairs.