Boat progression through the levels

[gentlemanlyGeek]

I have a group of PCs who own a boat to serve as a base of operations and for smuggling goods. Right now i have them on a mundane boat designed for a crew of ten (they only have 5 PCs and 2 NPCs right now, going to have them pick up NPCs along the way) with no real magic or anything.

They are level 3 now, but I want to advance the boat with them as they level up. Any thoughts on progression or how to do this (Greyhawk campaign setting)?

[Waker]

Aside from getting access to specialized crew members, you might consider rewarding them with unique items to enhance the boat itself. Things like a Storage Hold of Holding, a Sail that has Control Winds, Compass that can use a long range Locate Object/Creature/City, a self-updating Map of the world... There are tons of options available. You can also go with upgrading the boat through the use/construction of specialized materials like darkwood or the other materials presented in Stormwrack. Perhaps the ship itself could be granted a form of sentience if enough magic doodads gets added, letting it become an Intelligent Item with it's own agenda.

[Calimehter]

I would take a look at Arms and Equipment Guide - its 3.0, but its got a lot of vehicle rules regarding movement and combat (useful at any level) and just as important it also has magical vehicle upgrades to keep the boats mobility and protection "up to date" as the PCs advance.

[Thrawn183]

Stormwrack really has a most of what you're looking for. Outside of the material the ship is made out of, you'll probably be best off by making wondrous items that can affect a ship available.

[Shining Wrath]

To achieve uberboat, suggest looking at Eberron for their flying boats.

Aside from that, consider the essential features of a boat: watertightness, storage, speed, weapons, durability, maneuverability. Upgrade those.

At high level, a water elemental that swam the boat about and could maneuver it through the worst reefs imaginable safely ...

[Flickerdart]

Consider the movement modes available to the party. The boat should at least keep pace with them. This means that by level 9, the boat should probably be flying, or else they could just overland flight everywhere.

[nyjastul69]

Since Stormwrack has been mentioned I'll suggest Salt and SeaDogs: The Pirates of Tellene (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/12561/Salt-and-Sea-Dogs-The-Pirates-of-Tellene?it=1&filters=0_0_44827_0_0). I found it a useful resource when I ran a seafaring game. It's a 3rd party product from Kenzerco. It's suited for just about any campaign setting by replacing the place/organization names. There is a preview in the link.

[VoxRationis]

Consider the movement modes available to the party. The boat should at least keep pace with them. This means that by level 9, the boat should probably be flying, or else they could just overland flight everywhere.

They can't use overland flight to go everywhere once they hit 9. For starters, it's too high-level for potions, and not everyone has UMD. Secondly, even if there's some metamagic feat that allows you to cast spells with a range of "Personal" on other members of the party, the wizard only has 1-2 spells of that level per day, and probably isn't going to want to have all of his spell slots of that level dedicated to one spell perennially. This is something people forget with their wizards: they have limits on how often they can do things. Sure, they can do X, Y, or Z, and all of those are great, but they have to predict at the beginning of the day which one they'll really want to be able to do at some point during the day.
Even when they get to where they can do that, the boat has advantages, such as cargo in the dozens of tons and the ability to drag a bunch of NPCs along for cheap.
As for what the boat should upgrade, keep the things others have said in mind. Add fore-and-aft sails for more versatile sailing, and stunsails for more speed. If it's a rowing vessel, have the oars animated, pair by pair, until you don't have to feed any rowers (assuming a setting where you can have that done). Other good things include the ability to muffle sound or cast darkness about, or speaking tubes running through the decks so the captain can give orders quickly. Add light-tubes of mirror and crystal to illuminate the lower decks, bulkheads to contain leaks, and fenestrated rudders to make turning easier. Cut down on crew overhead with a junk rig.
If it's a sailing ship, I'll ask you, for the love of God, don't go Assassin's Creed IV and let them put a ram on it.:smallwink:

[Telok]

During the age of sail "improving" a ship was normally limited to:

Adding more sail and more seamen to control the sails (limited by how tall the mast was and how many masts the ship was designed for)
Adding more oarsmen to each oar (adding more oars was almost impossible due to ship building techniques and ship sizes)
Adding more armaments and more crew to man them (and a much reduced cargo capacity)
Buying a better ship.


Generally buying a better ship is always going to be the best bet. It's easier, more cost efficent in the long run, and you don't end up with a ship jam packed with people and flammables. Remember that every additional crew member requires additional supplies and enough extra sailors will require more officers to coordinate them, which means more (and better) supplies and quarters for the officers.

If you go the magic route then there isn't any limit. You can spend 100,000+ gold just enchanting a one pound dagger with a bunch of 1/day DC13 magic effects, enchanting a ship will hit the epic magic item gold piece limit pretty fast. 1,500 gold per 10' x 10' section of hull just to increase hardness and hit points will add up fast.

[VoxRationis]

Ooh! I thought of one. Have a master engineer or something like that rig up a remote control system for the sails and the like, such that they can all be managed by a small number of people from one room. (Probably very strong people, in order to keep control of the yards, but most parties have at least one strong member.)

[kardar233]

Make it an Animated ship, then start adding templates.

[John Longarrow]

I forget the name of it, but there's a spell in Stormwrack that lets you sail your ship underwater. Great to add permanently to a rudder.

Also means you don't need a crew, just a caster who can now run your ship. Plus its FAST!

[VoxRationis]

Have it be able to enter the Plane of Shadow a la the shadow walk spell. Faster travel time, the ability to escape a Material Plane enemy, but with lots of potential for dangerous encounters!

[Sith_Happens]

Give at least one of them the Landlord feat from Stronghold Builder's Guide as a bonus, limited to improving the ship (or getting a new, fancier one and improving that).

[bravebonebook]

Eberron is a good place for some additional ideas. Maybe allow them to upgrade their ship into an airship/ water craft combination powered by fire, air and water elementals. Some nifty magical items for a ship as well can be found in that setting.

If you want to replace their current ship with a hard-earned, upgraded version maybe after a sacrificial action on their part (i.e. doing a kamikaze on some terrible sea creature in order to save a king's daughter/son or a seaside city, etc.), consider giving them a boat made out of the wood from a dryad's tree and now her spirit is part of the ship, granting powers and abilities that level up with them. I cannot recall, but there is a novel series set in Eberron that has that very same premise.

[KorbeltheReader]

Oh, I love stuff like this, being able to build up your boat/base of operations/whatever.

One idea: they could eventually hire a wizard to use various helpful sea spells and make wondrous items. They can then pimp the wizard, buying him/her scrolls for new spells, new gear, etc. A ship wizard is a hot commodity, and likely the first thing targeted by opposing ships!

They could acquire letters of marque that grant them the ability to raid on behalf of different cities and kings. Conflict between rulers might preclude certain alliances or nullify letters.

They can also build up contacts in different cities.

What about gradually acquiring multiple ships? They could start a smuggling network which would require recruiting captains and sailors, buying ships, finding smuggling routes for them, etc.

[VoxRationis]

consider giving them a boat made out of the wood from a dryad's tree and now her spirit is part of the ship, granting powers and abilities that level up with them. I cannot recall, but there is a novel series set in Eberron that has that very same premise.
That is pure evil, assuming that they did it intentionally (and I don't see what dryad would just let her tree get cut down by accident.)

[Sith_Happens]

That is pure evil, assuming that they did it intentionally (and I don't see what dryad would just let her tree get cut down by accident.)

You're assuming a Dryad that's against this plan.

[Gavinfoxx]

You really need to read this...
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14zilT4WGOyHM0AfpG4-GmD2FkgDg1HZ9HC1cTleQHds/

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

1. Make the ship living via Animate Objects + Permanency. They'll want to attach things to it prior to this which it can use as fins to swim (nail the length of one edge of a rug to its hull on each side at the minimum) as well as things it can use to fight (long chains with hooks at the ends that it can move as though they were tentacles). They can use Repair Damage spells and powers to fix it, and they won't even need to rely on wind conditions.

2. Prior to doing that, they should place one or more touch-triggered automatic reset spelltraps (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/traps.htm#magicDeviceTrapCost) on the ship, and attach a chain to the ship which the ship can use to trigger those traps. Include a trap of Repair Light Damage (1,000 gp, or 500 gp 40 xp to create), and note that you can make six touches as a full round action (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/actionsInCombat.htm#standardCastaSpell) (under holding the charge) so it could potentially use this to heal itself for 6d8+6 damage per round, or it could touch it once when making a full attack. Include other traps that it can use that would also benefit the party, such as Endure Elements (1,000 gp, or 500 gp 40 xp to create), Mage Armor (1,000 gp, or 500 gp 40 xp to create), Protection from Evil (1,000 gp, or 500 gp 40 xp to create), etc.

3. Get a blank spellbook that has automatic reset spelltraps per CA p141. They can be set to trigger when a particular page is read, so you could potentially put one on each page. This can include any spelltraps you forgot to put on the ship prior to animating it, though the ship itself won't have access to any of these. Spells to put in this would include Cure Light Wounds (1,000 gp, or 500 gp 40 xp to create), Lesser Restoration (2,000 gp, or 1,000 gp 80 xp to create), Create Food and Water (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/createFoodAndWater.htm) (15,000 gp, or 7500 gp 600 xp to create), and especially Heart of Water if possible (CM, 15,000 gp, or 7500 gp 600 xp to create).

4. Add a permanent item that generates the effects of a Magnificent Mansion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magesMagnificentMansion.htm), with the entrance inside a windowed water-tight room of the ship. The ship itself can swim underwater, the crew can just sit around in the Magnificent Mansion while one person stays in that watertight chamber to direct the ship's movement and inform the occupants of the Magnificent Mansion of any trouble.

5. Get everyone a Necklace of Adaptation or Helm of Underwater Action if you were unable to include a spelltrap of Heart of Water (since it's a personal-range spell) or just as a precaution in case someone gets dispelled while underwater.

[VoxRationis]

You're assuming a Dryad that's against this plan.

It's a reasonable assumption to think a sentient being doesn't want to have the majority of its being torn down and assimilated into a ghoulish machine that their spirit will then be bound to for all eternity (not to mention that ships are generally not thought of as natural, so most fey probably aren't of a nautical bent). Any dryads that do consent to such a scheme would probably be chaotic evil, insane, "Fallen Dryads" or something.