[3.P] [E/P6] Let's Set Sail!

[Chained Birds]

So I had this nifty idea for an Seafaring adventure involving the PCs being a part of the galant vessel, Leviathan, and under the command of Captain Hawthorne Kuu.

Leviathan is a ship around the size of the Titanic, but is decked out with weaponry specialized for dealing with massive phenomena like sea monsters and sea gods (Bigger sea monsters). I've never dealt with such a large structure before, so any info about how to create a detailed ship like this would be greatly appreciated.

Captain Hawthorne Kuu is a former Pirate Captain who was selected to spearhead the venture due to being the only sailor to brave all of the challenges presented by the old rulers.

Storyline-wise, the largest ocean in the world was sealed by the three great rulers 1000 years ago, to protect the common folk from the great dangers that lay within. The rulers did not feel their people were ready to explore the ocean due to their weak vessels and shanty construction skills that solely relied upon magic. It was discovered that the Ocean held many dangerous locations of Dead Magic, which led many adventurers to their demise (especially those cocky wizards who thought that Magical Flight was an easy solution).
After the fall of the 1000 year old seals, it finally came time to show their new prowess and prove that they were now ready to explore the great mysteries.

I'm looking for nautical themed ideas, encounters, and anything that could help me work out Ship Dynamics. Also, any info on creating this massive ship.

[Malvanis]

The Arms and Equipment Guide has some stuff on sea faring vessels. Otherwise you would have to home brew the rules. There is a third party campaign setting called Swashbuckling Adventures that is 3.0 that presents rules on seafaring battles.

[nameurl]

I just started a nautical campaign, too! It's my first time DMing, but I think I am doing alright. I know Paizo has put out a seafaring book, and Stormwrack is a must. Your best bet would be to draw it out deck-by-deck on graph paper.
I'm trying to find character sheets specifically for vessels. Let me know what you find out.

[Fouredged Sword]

Ok, a vessel as large as an aircraft carrier acts more like a city than a ship. It will have a huge layout with tons and tons of levels.

Without magic (and you suggested dead magic areas) the inside of the ship will stink. There is tons of water and organic byproducts floating around, and that means stink and sickness.

Comunication will be an issue. Getting orders from one end of the ship to the other could take hundreds of rounds by foot. Stairs and ladders are everywhere.

I wouldn't map everything, but I would set up zones and set up some general maps.

Sewers are all over the place. All plumbing must be accessible, so that means maintenance tunnels. Maintenance tunnels become horrid places that are never cleaned.

[Chained Birds]

Would that new Pathfinder book about downtime adventuring and retraining help in constructing the ship?

[Korahir]

The 3.5 splat Stormwrack should help building the ship and add some hazard options.

[Firest Kathon]

Ok, a vessel as large as an aircraft carrier acts more like a city than a ship. It will have a huge layout with tons and tons of levels.

Without magic (and you suggested dead magic areas) the inside of the ship will stink. There is tons of water and organic byproducts floating around, and that means stink and sickness.

Why is that? I've never been on board of an aircraft carrier, but any descriptions I've seen/read about them don't mention bad smell (and I'm failry sure the US Navy does not use magic to keep their carriers clean...). If you have the technology to build a Titanic-sized ship, you can also build in proper plumbing. And on sea there is no lack of water...


Comunication will be an issue. Getting orders from one end of the ship to the other could take hundreds of rounds by foot. Stairs and ladders are everywhere.

You could use pneumatic tubes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_tube) to transmit messages.


I wouldn't map everything, but I would set up zones and set up some general maps.

Sewers are all over the place. All plumbing must be accessible, so that means maintenance tunnels. Maintenance tunnels become horrid places that are never cleaned.

[Krobar]

Avast! Stormwrack is a must-have for WOTC rules governing seafaring. You can also get some good stuff from the Arms/Equipment Guide.

Therein lie rules for ship construction and movement, combat, encounters, magic ... everything you'll need to run a seafaring adventure.

As far as piloting your ship goes, you'll want ranks in Profession: Sailor. This is used to avoid collisions and hazards, to maneuver your ship, in ship-to-ship combat, to avoid foundering or sinking due to holed hull sections, to keep from running aground, all kinds of stuff. The more ranks the captain has the better! Different ships will add different modifiers to that skill for seaworthiness and ship handling.

Another vital skill is Knowledge: Geography. This is what is used for charts, navigation, setting a course, not getting lost or finding yourself after getting lost, etc.

But the book will go into more detail.

---Cap'n Bombelli, Privateer


P.S. You know huge ships sink too, right? I think you may be better off with a fleet of smaller, more maneuverable ships. That way if you lose a ship you don't lose everything and everyone in one fell swoop.

[Fouredged Sword]

The inside of large modern ships don't stink per say, but they do each have their own smells. People who live in them get used to the smell, so they don't mind. This is only because each ship is almost constantly being scrubbed and cleaned by the crew (and to fill idle hands). A ship that isn't cleaned constantly becomes rank very quickly.

I am concerned about the DnD sanitation technology and large ships. Cleanness would be a constant struggle.

[Chained Birds]

I've grown up on ships seeing as my father is a Captain (Now somewhat retired), so I can say the ships smell like... well, ships. A well maintained one will never smell foul, but it will always have that new/old ship scent to them.

I know the large size of the ship may pose a problem, but I'd like to have the PCs and other crew engage in epic battles versus Gargantuan and Colossal sea creatures, and I don't think a Fleet would fit as well. The Leviathan (Boat) is supposed to be a crowning achievement of mechanical know how, encased in security and safety procedures to prevent sinking. There are even rules for cases of Doppelgängers and being boarded by incorporeal and/or invisible personnel.

I'll try to see if I can get my hand on some of the 3.5 books mentioned, as the ship building rules will definitely be useful. I just hope there isn't too much Magic over Mundane there...

[Scow2]

Make it a ship that can turn into a whole fleet when it needs to, so that when the Kraken gets its noodly appendages around the center of the ship, the entire thing doesn't break. Also - be sure to make it submersible as well.

[CheshireCatAW]

In all likelihood, all day-to-day maintenance and cleaning would be done by prestidigitation. Much more thorough than doing it by hand, less time consuming.

The Titanic had electricity to help it shore up most issues. Do the people in your campaign have electricity?

[Chained Birds]

In all likelihood, all day-to-day maintenance and cleaning would be done by prestidigitation. Much more thorough than doing it by hand, less time consuming.

The Titanic had electricity to help it shore up most issues. Do the people in your campaign have electricity?

I was going to go with maybe Golarian levels of technology (The current Pathfinder world) in that Firearms are a thing and alchemists are still working on the electricity stuff. The ship may have some electrical devices, but it won't be run on electricity.

I'm still working on the details, so I might need to involve more electricity if I can't find solutions without using magic.

[Fouredged Sword]

I would suggest a telegraph system to spread messages (with speak language (morse code) as a known language). It's an electrical system that is simple, very useful, easy, and won't sink the ship if it fails.