Boats in the DnD world

[SonOfKronos]

I'm planning to DM an aquatic adventure that takes place in a carribean-style group of islands. The party will probably be on the sea a lot, and I'm not sure what kind of boats they should be dealing with.

The setting is pretty standard DnD fare, with magic on the low side due to the government.

What kind of ships do you picture in a simple DnD world? Longboats? Men O' War? Why?

[hamishspence]

The Arms & Equipment Guide, and Stormwrack, are the main sources for what kinds of boat exist in D&D.

In 2nd ed books though, galleons were mentioned, and not just carracks, as the biggest sailing ships.

[gbprime]

Carracks, caravels, and cogs, oh my.

And yeah, magic kind of needs to be low. If it was too plentiful, merchants wouldn't bother with boats in the first place, given that they cost 1000's of gold each and tend to attract monsters. They'd use teleporting wizards and pack mules instead.

[SonOfKronos]

Thanks.

I'm thinking carracks and the like will be the main trading ships, but maybe the shore guards will use galleys in order to get out of port quickly and ram ships.

I'll have to use some magic though, e.g., wall of ice being used to trap ships? Yes please. And who wouldn't marvel at a fireball streaking through the night towards the broadside of a ship?

Maybe galleons and other ships of the line are too cannon-oriented, and a little outside of a middle-aged setting. Thanks for referring me to Arms and Equipment.

[hamishspence]

Stormwrack does have cannon- but even a carrack can only fit a very few.

Besides the main ship classes in Stormwrack's Vessels section, there is also one called a Brig, in the Adventures section (Sable Drake adventure).

It is apparently built by humans but derived from the Elven Wingship- smaller and faster than a normal caravel, and with less cargo capacity- and it is one of the most advanced ship designs.

[Anxe]

In the Faerun setting nearly every ship had a mage on board. Not to throw fireballs at other ships, but to counterspell fireballs thrown by other ships. Hope that helps a little. My campaigns are based in a weird Classical/Medieval time period with triremes as the main ships, so I can't help you with what types of ships to use.

[gbprime]

Glacial Globe of Invulnerability (Cler 4 / Wiz 3, Frostburn) is your friend. And a wand thereof will make you the most popular mage on the 7 and 2/3 seas.

[Doomboy911]

Folding boat is my choice for any self respecting cuckolander.