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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Building a fleet?



Sk8ter274
2020-05-25, 09:17 PM
So long story short, I am running a pirate campaign and it never occurred to me or my players, until the newly added Bard did it, to commandeer the merchant ship they raided.

We ended the session after unloading and selling the stolen goods. We agreed that next session they would travel to the ship wrights guild to repair both ships before finding a crew for the second ship. They have already earned a name for themselves among the pirate city, but I am at loss at how to handle this. Do I treat the second ship as a business that earns a steady, but significantly smaller, profit and only bring it back when they decide to mobilize the fleet? Or do I use it as plot hook that sparks the navy to take action against them? Also how would I handle when they have dozens of ships in their fleet and decide engage in a massive ship battle ala Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

I am open to ideas

jjordan
2020-05-26, 09:25 AM
So long story short, I am running a pirate campaign and it never occurred to me or my players, until the newly added Bard did it, to commandeer the merchant ship they raided.

We ended the session after unloading and selling the stolen goods. We agreed that next session they would travel to the ship wrights guild to repair both ships before finding a crew for the second ship. They have already earned a name for themselves among the pirate city, but I am at loss at how to handle this. Do I treat the second ship as a business that earns a steady, but significantly smaller, profit and only bring it back when they decide to mobilize the fleet? Or do I use it as plot hook that sparks the navy to take action against them? Also how would I handle when they have dozens of ships in their fleet and decide engage in a massive ship battle ala Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

I am open to ideas
Well.... Welcome to the wonderful world of logistics. Now they've got salaries, maintenance schedules and costs, concerns about access to ports, concerns about access to supplies, transit times, and communications to worry about. As for battles, assigned every ship stats and fight the ships as individual units. Allow PCs to function as buffs on ships.

Zhorn
2020-05-26, 10:46 AM
http://mrwgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Miguel-and-Tulio-Agree-Both-Is-Good-In-The-Road-To-El-Dorado-Animated-Movie.gif

Mechanically, run it as a business. You have overheads on crew costs, repairs, bonuses and shares for larger hauls, supplies, and all of that needs to be met and exceeded by the about of plunder your ships are able to secure.

Plot-wise, the amount of pirate activity and the proportion of ships they disrupt in a region should elicit some level of response.
Do merchant vessels start running more heavily armed? Do they hire mercenary escorts? Are naval forces deployed to hunt down these ships, and/or are bounties placed on the known crews/captains drawing the attention of adventurers? Is this encroaching on the territory of other pirates and there is a term war over who controls what trade routes? Are protection moneys being paid for certain merchant companies to not be raided? Do the losses due to increased piracy prompt an investment into alternative means of transportation (airships, teleportation circles)? Are businesses forced to cut off seafaring enterprises in favour of internal trade over land instead?
All these things have an effect on the power balance and disrupt the status quo. Those controlling wealth and those trying to control wealth now have a new challenge, a change in the system. Those in power will either be successful, adapt before their competition does, or eliminate the problem before they suffer too large a loss. If they fail, someone else will rise to power in their place. Will it be another merchant company? Your pirate fleet? Some other nation?
The more successful your fleet becomes, the faster your players will proceed towards a large conflict, either directly themselves, or sparking a conflict between other factions.

The video is about war, but more importantly it's about power balances and the shift that sparks conflicts. It is very handy when looking at D&D campaigns where players rise above the simple "kill monsters in cave for loot" into "have a major impact on economies, power-centres, and disrupting a balance of peace"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB9iJUSL1xo

Tvtyrant
2020-05-26, 11:39 AM
So long story short, I am running a pirate campaign and it never occurred to me or my players, until the newly added Bard did it, to commandeer the merchant ship they raided.

We ended the session after unloading and selling the stolen goods. We agreed that next session they would travel to the ship wrights guild to repair both ships before finding a crew for the second ship. They have already earned a name for themselves among the pirate city, but I am at loss at how to handle this. Do I treat the second ship as a business that earns a steady, but significantly smaller, profit and only bring it back when they decide to mobilize the fleet? Or do I use it as plot hook that sparks the navy to take action against them? Also how would I handle when they have dozens of ships in their fleet and decide engage in a massive ship battle ala Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

I am open to ideas

I would ask the party how they would like to do it first.

After that, I would personally probably run it so the party essentially loans the ship out to another pirate crew, who pays them a small amount of money and will come assist them in fleet actions when called. The party can acquire a whole navy over time that way, but generally they still act as a single ship. If you have read Aubrey-Maturin series that is a great example of switching back and forth from single ship to naval operations. Any time they work with their fleet they have to equitably split the loot, if they act alone they get all of it.

Sk8ter274
2020-05-26, 02:02 PM
Gotta say

I am loving all these ideas.

The idea of them "loaning" their spare ship to another crew in exchange for percentage and protection, but acting as a singular ship, makes a lot of sense. Combined that if they continue to form an enlarge their fleet then they will spark attention from the government. In short, they can build thier own faction.

Keep the ideas coming guys. These are great so far