Combat Movement

Ship Movement

Ship movement can be treated under two categories: long range and tactical. Long-range movement is used for traveling over the great distances of space between the planets and along the rainbow ocean called the phlogiston that runs between the crystal shells. Tactical movement deals with shorter ranges between objects in space and is the theater of ship-to-ship combat.

The magic behind the spelljammer helms allows them to travel great distances in little time, but also causes them to slow down when they draw near other large objects, including other ships. For this reason, movement is divided between long-range, high-speed movement (such as is used when ships travel between planets) and short-range, tactical or maneuver speed. Because tactical movement often is triggered by (or followed by) combat, the rules for fighting from ship to ship are covered in those same sections.

Long-Range Movement In Atmosphere

A spelljammer helm grants a hull 100 ft of movement, plus an additional 50 ft for every 2 points of its ship's rating (minimum 50 ft). This translates into approximately 17 miles per hour, or approximately 400 miles per day, per 2 ship rating points. This is a wonderful number when compared with most ground movement, which is measured in tens of miles. Few people who spend their lives on the ground travel 400 miles in their entire lives.

Taking Off and Landing

Only ships capable of landing on water or land can do so and take off safely. Any ship can crash onto a planet or its ocean, but then taking off again is guaranteed to be a problem (see Crashes).

When taking off from a celestial body, some time is required to overcome the force of the body's gravity. When taking off from a body of class A or greater, a certain amount of time is required to allow the energies contained within the helm to overcome the force of normal gravity and take off. It takes 1d8 rounds from the time a helmsman sits upon the helm to when takeoff is ready. Once this random warm-up period is over, the helm's power automatically corrects the force of gravity. Smaller celestial objects (such as other ships) do not have this warm-up requirement.

A ship's maneuverability rating (Poor, Average, Good, Perfect) in atmosphere (that is, for flying combat) is the same as when the ship is in space. Treat vessels with Poor maneuverability (usually modified sea vessels) as Average for airborne combat. In general, a spelljamming ship's high speed allows it to evade all but the fastest and most maneuverable opponents.

A hovering ship loses its MC bonus to AC and is treated as a levitating body.

The amount of time that it takes to get out of a planet's "gravity well" and attain full wildspace movement is determined by the planet's size. In general, landing takes the same amount of time:

• Size Class A: 1 round
• Size Class B & C: 2 rounds
• Size Class D: 3 rounds
• Size Class E: 4 rounds
• Size Class F: 6 rounds
• Size Class G: 12 rounds
• Size Class H: 24 rounds (~2.5 hrs)
• Size Class I: 48 rounds (~5 hrs)
• Size Class J: 96 rounds (~9.5 hrs) The time required to get out of a planet's gravity well from its surface is the same regardless of the planet's composition and/or whether it has an atmosphere. This assumes that the ship is moving in a straight line upward. Time spent jetting about at the same level or in mundane activities such as dogfighting is discounted from the total time.

Atmospheric conditions may create difficulties in both landing and taking off.

Condition	Time Modifier
Becalmed	× 1
Normal	× 1
Light Breeze	× 1
Favorable	× 1
Strong Winds	Time × 2
Rain or Snow	Time × 2
Storm	Time × 4
Gale	Time × 4
Hurricane	No takeoff or landing possible

Tactical Movement

Tactical movement occurs when a ship encounters another large body, usually another ship. Such tactical encounters can occur either in the Flow or in wildspace, and both are handled similarly.

Each hex on a star map, a battle map designed for ship to ship battles, is 150 ft across. A round of combat in space is the same as a standard round—6 seconds.

Movement and combat are handled in a two-dimensional format despite the fact that space (even fantasy space) is three-dimensional. This is purely for the sake of simplicity. Three-dimensional rules are very slow and add little or nothing to the flavor of the game.

Ship-to-Ship Combat

Ship-to-ship combat flows along the same lines as standard combat. Initiative is determined for the turn, then one side moves and fires, then the other. The chief difference is the sense of scale involved. Missiles can travel through space several miles before finding a target, while magic spells require a closer approach, and ramming and boarding closer still.

Also, ship-to-ship combat poses danger to the characters involved of losing their ship and being stranded in space. Many (but not all) enemy ships will rescue survivors (as slaves if nothing else), but some, particularly during war, will leave the survivors to fend for themselves.

Players who are piloting their own ships should note their ship's abilities and those of significant passengers—like player characters—on board. A ship with a variety of player characters on board has an advantage over one manned merely by NPCs, even if those NPCs are mind flayers.

Facing

Each ship has a facing. It is pointed in a particular direction on the map. A ship can change its facing as part of its movement. How often it can do this depends on its maneuverability rating.

A ship may only move into a hex that it is currently facing.

Movement

A ship's movement is determined by its SR. A ship may move one space or change its facing direction by one hex side at the cost of 1 SR. For example, a ship with an SR of 3 can move one hex, turn in a new direction, then move another hex in its turn; or move three hexes in a straight line; or move two hexes, then turn one hex side; etc.

A ship can always change its facing by one hex side at the end of its movement for free, in addition to any other facing changes.

When a ship changes direction, it uses one SR for every hex side it turns. The maneuverability class of the ship affects how often and when the ship can change facing:

• Ships with Poor maneuverability cannot change facing as their first action. They must move into the hex they are facing at the start of the turn before any turning is allowed.
• Ships with Average maneuverability cannot change facing by more than one hex side within a single hex in a single turn. They can change facing as the first action of their move and can change facing as often as desired during the move, but no more than one hex side per hex moved.
• Ships with Good maneuverability can change facing up to two hex sides in a single hex.
• A ship with Perfect maneuverability may change its facing at will in the direction of choice, even 180 degrees backwards. A ship with Perfect maneuverability does not expend SR when changing facing.

Stacking

Any number of ships can be in the same hex at the same time. Ships in the same hex have the option to board, ram, grapple, or engage in missile fire and magic.

Combat

There are two general types of combat in space: long range and close combat. Long-range combat occurs when the ships are in different hexes. This is beyond the range of most magical effects and is the province of missiles and heavy armaments. Close combat occurs when two ships are (however briefly) in the same hex. Then spell attacks occur, in addition to other missiles. It is also at such times that boarding and ramming can occur between ships.

Turn Sequence and Initiative

The turn sequence for battling in space is similar to that for fighting on land:

1. The DM determines what actions the monsters or NPCs will take, including attempts to ram, spells, etc.
2. The players indicate what they and their ships are doing.
3. Initiative is determined.

4. Movement and attacks are made in order of initiative. Movement is performed one ship at a time. One ship takes its full normal move, then the next, and so on.

5. Long-range combat can occur at any time.

6. Short-range combat (including boarding and ramming) can occur only when two ships are in the same hex. No weapons can be fired while a ship is moving. As soon as a ship completes its move, the owning player announces whether it will fire any weapons. If it fires, those attacks are resolved immediately. After that ship has had the opportunity to fire (regardless of whether it fired or not), any other ship may fire its weapons at the ship which just moved, or any other ship.

Each weapon can only be fired once per turn. The moving ship always has the opportunity to declare and resolve its attacks first. After it does so, other ships can attack. If there is more than one other ship attacking, resolve their attacks in the order of their initiative.

Many large weapons take more than one round to reload between shots.

Initiative

The winner of the initiative die roll can choose whether they want to move first or last that round. The player with the second-best initiative roll can choose whether to move second or second to last, and so on.

Unless optional initiative rules are used, there are no initiative modifiers in space for spaceships. Individuals fighting on the decks of a ship may fight with standard initiative modifiers.

Long-Range Combat

The large weapons onboard ship, along with normal missile weapons, fire further in space than within atmospheres. Therefore it is often a tactic for crews to fire volleys from a long distance before closing to attack.

Large onboard weapons (catapults, bombards, ballistas, projectors, and jettisons) all have a typical range and amount of damage they inflict, summarized on the table below. A large weapon inflicts either hull damage or personal (hit point) damage, but not both. The attacker must specify whether the weapon is aimed at the ship or a character before firing.

Choosing Targets

Larger weapons (any weapon that is not hand-held) may inflict damage on crew targets (in hit points) or enemy ships (in hull points). The attacker chooses which type of target he wishes to attack.

• A large weapon may always attack ships in other hexes.
• Catapults cannot attack ships in the same hex
• Any weapon attacking the crew (hit point attacks) may attack any character on deck or partially exposed. A player may not simply specify “I’m attacking the captain,” however. If he wants to attack the captain, he must tell the DM how he will identify the captain. If the attacker has no clear idea of what the caption looks like, the DM should assign the shot randomly among the potential targets
• Attacking the crew other than from in the same hex with a missile weapon means that the attack hits a random individual on the deck (all those on exposed decks are targets—if 10 individuals are available to attack, then any of the 10 may be hit)
• Large weapons modify their attack bonus by the AC of the target they hit. For crew hits it is the AC of the crew or creature. All ships have an AC equal to their armor rating. A crew member gets a one-point bonus to his armor class for the turn if the ship’s armor rating is better than the character’s and that character’s ship has the initiative that turn (presumably, the helmsman or captain will maneuver the vessel so that its bulk provides some protection against enemy fire)
• A large weapon (catapult, ballista, etc.) that misses a creature target can still inflict damage on the ship. Roll for a hull hit, but damage is always 1 hull point maximum
• Magical armor, Dexterity, and circumstance can affect crew attack bonus as in normal combat.

Hit Points

When a bolt or volley of fire hits a living target, damage is inflicted as per normal rules. If the damage is severe enough, then the “instant death” rule is applied, forcing a saving throw against the attack.

Hull Points

A ship’s hull points are like a character’s hit points—when they are reduced to 0, the ship begins to break up. Large weapons inflict their listed damage. Damage can be repaired given time and money (see Repairs).

Small weapons can inflict hull point damage as well. For every 10 cumulative hit points of damage inflicted on a ship, the ship takes one hull point of damage. The damage must be to the same exact location (a volley of 20 arrows that sticks in the side of a ship and inflicts a total of 60 points of damage causes no damage to the ship’s hull; each arrow hit a different spot. A character chopping at the hull with an axe, however, could inflict hull damage).

When a ship’s hull damage exceeds half of its hull points, the ship immediately suffers a critical hit.

Critical Hits

Critical hits vary from ship-threatening results of combat to less-dangerous situations which impair the functioning of the ship. Only large weapons can inflict critical hits outright, but sufficient application of small weapons (the dwarf on the hull with a battle axe) could weaken a ship sufficiently to push it past the 50% damage point and thereby cause a critical hit.

When a critical hit is called for, roll on the table below and apply the result. If the result is inapplicable (“Hah! You can’t destroy the spelljammer helm! You blew it up last turn!”) shift up to the next higher entry on the list.

Roll	Result
1	Loss of 5 Hull Points
2	Deck Crew Casualty
3	Interior Crew Casualty
4	Ship Shaken
5	Large Weapon Damaged
6	Deck Crew Casualty
7	Hull Holed
8	Maneuverability Loss
9	Loss of 10 Hull Points
10	Ship Shaken
11	Fire!
12	Loss of SR
13	Deck Crew Casualty
14	Large Weapon Damaged
15	Ship Shaken
16	Hull Holed
17	Maneuverability Loss
18	Loss of 10 Hull Points
19	Loss of SR
20	Spelljammer Shock!

Definition of Effects:

• Loss of 5 or 10 Hull Points: This loss is in addition to the initial damage. In some cases, it may cause the ship to break up or force another critical hit check. Multiple rolls for the same attack are cumulative.
• Deck Crew Casualty: One exposed crew member is struck and suffers the same damage as the ship. Choose the target randomly from exposed crew. All characters within 5 ft of that individual must make a saving throw against death or suffer the same damage.
• Interior Crew Casualty: Same as Deck Casualty, but everyone aboard is a potential target, including prisoners, the captain, and spelljamming mages. This reflects not so much the effect of the missile itself, but shattered parts of the ship’s interior bouncing around during combat.
• Ship Shaken: Ship rings from the blow of the attack. All characters not sitting or otherwise firmly tied down (the spelljamming mage is considered secure) have a chance to fall to the deck, disallowing any attacks or spell use that round. NPCs have a flat 40% chance of falling as a result of this critical hit, while PCs (and those NPCs important enough to rate their own Dexterity) must make a Dexterity check to maintain their balance.
• Large Weapon Damaged: One large weapon (chosen randomly) is inoperable until repaired (see Repairs). Its crew is unharmed.
• Hull Holed: The attack punches a hole in the ship where there was none before. The DM chooses which part of the ship is holed (either by random roll, according to the situation between the ships, or whatever would make things most interesting at that point).
• Fire!: A fire starts somewhere in the ship, determined by the DM. The effects of fire aboard ship are described below. In cases where it is physically impossible for a fire to start (all the lights are magical, there is nothing flammable onboard, and everyone is wearing clothes made of rock), go to the next entry. A fire onboard as a result of this critical hit (as opposed to alchemist fire or magic) inflicts no damage the first round, but may spread.
• Loss of SR: The SR of the ship drops by 1 point for the next 1d10 rounds while the helmsman readjusts his balance and senses to the new damage level. Additional losses are cumulative, to a minimum of 1 SR. If a ship with an SR of 1 receives this result, go to the next entry.
• Maneuverability Loss: The ship drops one MC for 1d10 turns. Perfect becomes Good, Good becomes Average, and so on. A ship with Poor maneuverability cannot lose any more maneuverability so the next entry is taken instead.
• Spelljammer Shock!: The spelljamming mage must make a saving throw versus spells or fall immediately into a coma which lasts 1d4 days. In cases of serial helms, all creatures linked up must save. In case of foundries, artifurnaces, furnaces, and “unknown drives” (such as the neogi’s), the drive itself is rendered nonfunctional 1d4 days (no saving throw allowed). If no replacement is available and the mage fails his saving throw, the ship immediately becomes SR 0 and can only move in a straight line at its present speed.

Multiple Critical Hits: One attack may cause a critical hit, which in turn causes enough damage to inflict another critical hit. All damage must be applied to the ship, and it is all cumulative.

Effects of Crew Losses on Ship Performance

The less manpower a ship has, the less capable it is of fighting and sailing effectively. A ship may still handle itself in “reduced” circumstances, but not with the effect of a full crew.

Large weapons require a minimum crew to fire properly. For each member missing out of a large weapon crew, the weapon takes one round longer to reload and fire. A weapon crewed by three men with a reload rate of ⅓ will take three rounds for three men to reload and fire, four rounds for two men to reload and fire, and five rounds for one man to reload and fire. Men that are lost during the reloading are considered as if lost at the start of the reloading—that is, three men start reloading the above weapon, then one man is lost as a casualty, then the remaining men will need four full rounds (including those that have already passed) to reload and fire.

Large weapons can be reloaded and fired as long as one man remains available to do so. A large weapon without a crew cannot be fired. If a weapon is partially loaded, then the crew is slain and a new crew arrives, the loading must begin again.

Loss of crew affects the maneuverability of a ship as well. The minimum number listed for the crew indicates the number required for operating the ship at its listed maneuverability class and does not include weapon crews. If less than that number are available to operate the ship, set the sails, man the oars, etc., then the ship is downgraded in its maneuverability class. This loss may be from casualties, or may be because handling crew has been reassigned to weapon crews, preparing for boarding, or fleeing the ship.

If the crew is less than its listed minimum but more than half that number, the MC of the ship is downgraded by one class. If the available crew is one-half or less of its listed minimum but more than one-fourth that number, the MC of the ship is downgraded by two classes from its original value (this usually means it is downgraded one more class, since by this time it is probably operating one class lower than its original class anyway).

If the available crew is one-fourth or less of the ship's listed minimum, the MC of the ship is downgraded 3 classes from its original value. A ship will operate at three classes below its original class as long as there is at least one crewman left to handle the rigging and someone at the helm. The MC of a ship may not be downgraded beyond Poor.

When figuring out how many crew members are available, PCs and officers are excluded, though they may be pressed into service to handle things during a battle emergency. Normally, however, their activities prevent them from taking an active role in the more mundane aspects of handling the ship, even in the heat of battle.

When calculating halves and fourths for manpower requirements, round fractions in the players' favor. The breakdowns for a ship with a 10-man minimum crew, for example, would be:

• 10 crew | Full MC
• 6–9 crew | Down one MC
• 3–5 crew | Down two MC
• 1–2 crew | Down three MC

A ship that is breaking up stops moving. The hex it occupies and all hexes surrounding it are filled with debris. Surviving characters are considered to be in the last hex occupied by the ship.

Breaking Up

If a ship is reduced to 0 hull points, its internal structure is destroyed and it begins to fall apart. Roll a d6 for every 10 tons of the ship (round fractions up). That is the number of large (atmosphere-retaining) pieces of the ship that are left.

Some victors will sift through such debris looking for prisoners. Others will abandon them. It is possible for survivors to lash up some sort of vessel from the junk to save themselves with a temporary helm or spelljamming mage.

Debris

Debris is a common consequence of battle, but in addition there are often small asteroids, comets, and other space flotsam that can interfere with the movement of and combat between ships. Debris of sufficient mass will cause a ship moving at high velocity to slip into normal movement.

Ships moving through debris-strewn hexes do so at risk. Those moving one hex per turn can do so normally and without danger. Those moving through at speeds of two or three hexes per turn suffer the attack of a small jettison, while those moving at a speed of four or five hexes per turn suffer the attack of a medium jettison. Anything moving faster than five hexes per turn suffers the attack of a large jettison. These attacks occur once per debris hex entered.

Fire

Whether as a result of a critical hit, a device such as the alchemist fire projector, or spells such as fireball, fires sometimes get started on ships. Fires inflict their initial damage the round they start. On each subsequent round, the fire inflicts the same damage as on the round before, plus one point.

Putting out a fire requires one person for every point of damage the fire will cause that turn. For example, if a fire will inflict three points of hull damage on this ship this round, then three people working with proper tools (assumed to be present) can extinguish the blaze. If not enough people are available to put out a blaze, they can reduce its severity by their actions. If two people fought our three-point fire, then the fire would be reduced to a one-point fire at the end of the round (and then increase to a two-point fire at the beginning of next round).

The greatest danger from fire is its potential to poison the air envelope. Once a fire has damaged 10% of the tonnage of a ship (total damage, not in a single round), the air is degraded one step (from fresh to fouled, from fouled to deadly). If the damage reaches 40% (without the ship otherwise breaking up) the air envelope degrades again, with all effects of the change affecting the crew.

A ship reduced to 0 hull points by fire breaks up normally to form a field of debris. The surviving debris (if on fire) will continue to burn and break up until the disintegrating chunks are completely consumed. Ships entering the debris field while it is still burning will suffer the effects of the Fire critical hit.

Fields of Fire (Optional Rule)

While the portrayal of combat here is two-dimensional, in reality, a ship could be tilted in any direction without affecting the occupants. As a result, almost any weapon can be brought to bear against an attack from any direction. The limitations on this are for weapons that fire to the bow and stern, including forward-facing catapults and rear-mounted jettison.

Nonmovable weapons designed to fire toward the front and rear of the ship may only fire at targets that are within the lines set up by the three frontal (or rear) hexes. They in addition receive a +2 to their attack bonus to hit targets directly in front (for front-mounted weapons) or directly behind (for rear-mounted weapons). This is due to the "stability" of the shooting platform (as much anything whirling through space can be considered "stable").

Short-Range Combat

When a ship enters the same hex as another ship, short-range combat can occur. The attacker has the option of firing any hand-held weapons or large weapons (except catapults). Following his attacks, the player whose hex he entered has the option of making any missile, large weapon, or magic attacks. Following this, if there are any other ships in the area, they have the option to fire as well.

After all weapons are discharged, the moving player may ram the opponent if he has initiative, grapple, or board the opponent. If he chooses to do none of these, then the opponent has the opportunity to grapple or board. Ramming attacks are allowed only to the side that has the initiative.

Missile Fire at Close Range

For the sake of simplicity, all hand-held missile fire is considered to be at medium range if both ships are in the same hex (their air envelopes probably, but not definitely, overlap). When ships come into contact with each other, the range shifts to short.

Short and medium-range combat is resolved the same as long-range combat, but now hand-held missile weapons (and not large weapons) can hit individual targets on the opposing deck. (Typical orders for any crew, whether at sea or in space, are “Shoot at anyone who looks like a wizard.” Of course, this often means that the man who looks like a wizard really isn’t.) Large weapons are limited to aiming at areas of the enemy deck and then take their chances at hitting whatever might be there.

Personal weapons cause one point of hull damage for every 10 points inflicted to the same, exact location.

Magic at Close Range

All spells with a range greater than 150 ft can be cast on another ship in the same hex. Spells with ranges less than 150 ft can be cast on enemy (or friendly) ships only when they are obviously within 150 ft (such as when they are grappled and being boarded).

Magic which inflicts damage in points has the same effect as personal weapons. For every 10 points of damage inflicted by a spell that is directed against a ship, it inflicts one point of hull damage. A fireball which causes 30 points of damage inflicts 3 points of hull damage (and starts a fire, if possible).

Spells which do not inflict points of damage can still harm a spelljamming craft. A disintegrate spell cast on a ship’s bow, for example, results in a Hull Holed critical hit. A dispel magic cast on the spelljamming helm causes it to malfunction for one round, temporarily reducing the ship’s SR to 0. A warp wood may weaken a few boards but causes no hull damage; alternatively, it could destroy an enemy ballista.

Ramming

Ramming is a common tactic in space for damaging or breaking up an enemy ship. Ramming is best performed against other ships that are of roughly the same tonnage or smaller.

A ship must announce its intention to ram before initiative is determined. The process of ramming (steering to hit the opponent’s ship, plus battening down all the loose gear for the impact) requires time, and is not something that can be done on the spur of the moment.

A ship cannot ram another ship that is in the same hex at the start of the turn, unless it leaves that hex and reenters it later. A ship cannot ram another ship that is grappled with it.

A ship may only attempt to ram once in its turn. It cannot attempt to ram a vessel once, miss it, then ram another vessel in the same or an adjoining hex.

When ramming, use the helmsman’s attack bonus (compared to the target ship’s armor class) to determine if the ramming is successful. In this case it is often better to have a cleric at the helm than a wizard because of their higher Base Attack Bonus (a priest can run a ramming attack even if the ship is equipped with a piercing ram). If a ship has no one individual at the helm (such as the dwarven foundries), then the ship rams with the attack bonus of its navigator, treated at half his level.

Piercing Rams: a ship struck by a piercing ram automatically suffers the Hull Holed and Ship Shaken critical hits.

If a piercing ram is used in combat, there is a chance that the two ships will become locked together. This chance equals 5% per tonnage of the ramming ship. No additional damage is inflicted, but the ships are considered grappled. They cannot separate until the helmsman from either ship successfully makes an attack roll to pull them apart.

Blunt Rams: The opposing ship suffers a Ship Shaken critical hit and one other critical hit, determined randomly (more if damage demands it).

Grappling Rams inflict no damage, regardless of size or speed. If a ship with a grappling ram strikes another ship, the two ships are considered grappled.

Movement After Ramming

If the ramming ship misses its target or reduces the opposing ship to 0 hull points (so that the opposing ship begins to break up), the ramming ship may continue its movement up to its regular limits. If the ship hits its target without destroying it or is locked or grappled with the target, its movement stops.

Ship crews may grapple in the same round as a ram, if so desired.

Size and Ramming

Ramming works best against ships that are the same size as or smaller than the ramming ship. In certain cases, an opposing ship may be too large or small to be rammed by a particular ship.

A ship cannot ram another ship that is 10% or less of the ramming ship’s tonnage. For example, a 100-ton ship cannot ram a ship of 10 tons or less. If such a ram is attempted, the smaller ship must check for a crash (see below).

A ship may not ram another ship that is more than three times its tonnage. If it attempts such a move, it must check under Crashes.

The exception to this is when using a grappling ram, which can be used against smaller targets of any size (but only three times larger targets).

Ramming and Ship Positions

In general, a ship ramming another ship will maintain its positional relationship after the collision. That is, a ram from the bow will strike the opposing ship on its bow, a ram from the flank will strike the opposing ship in the flank, etc. Let the situation dictate the relative positioning of the ships.

Head-On Ramming is a special case. Head-on ramming is a dangerous situation, as it exposes the ramming ship to the ram of the opposing ship, should one be carried. If the attacking ship hits its target, the ram is handled normally. If the ramming ship misses its target, the opposing ship has the opportunity to ram its attacker immediately. This is the only time a ship is allowed to ram without having the initiative. In this situation, the original target ship uses its speed from the previous turn when determining damage (this is a reactionary move, so the ship has not had the chance to reach full, ramming speed).

Ramming Gargantuan Creatures

In general, living things cannot be effectively rammed (they are too small). Creatures of gargantuan size, however, are large enough that a ram would have an effect. Ramming damage dealt to Gargantuan creatures are instead measured with a d4, rather than the normal d6. Therefore if a ram which would normally inflict 4d6 hull points was to be used against a space wyrm, the ship would inflict 4d4 dice of damage.

Crashes

When two ships occupy the same hex, there are four possibilities:

• They can crash into each other
• One ship can ram the other
• One ship can land on the other
• The two ships can align courses or simply pass each other

This section deals with crashes. Occasionally a ship will make a sudden, unplanned landing (called impact) against a larger object. This impact usually has disastrous results for the ship making the crash and the ship that is being crashed into.

The helmsman makes a Helm Pilot skill check to avoid a crash and if successful can either fly off (in his part of the turn) or land normally on the other ship or object. A vessel with no one controlling its flight is treated as having a single rank in Helm Pilot.

This saving throw is modified according to the ship's maneuver rating, as follows:

Maneuver Rating	Modifier
A	+8
B	+6
C	+4
D	+2
E	0
F	−2

If there is a crash, the smaller ship is always assumed to be crashing into the larger ship, regardless of the overall tactical situation. The hull points of the crashing ship are reduced by half their total original value. If the hull points of the ship are reduced to 0, the ship breaks up (usually all over the gravity plane of the other ship). All on board the crashing ship must make a Reflex Saving Throw or take 1d6 points of damage per ton of the crashing ship (max 20d6), a successful save reduces this by half.

A ship that is crashed into takes damage equal to the hull points of the ship that crashed into it at the moment when the crash occurred. When a ship with 15 hull points left out of 30 hits a 50-hull-point ship, it inflicts 15 (not 30) hull points of damage. Individuals on the ship being hit suffer the Ship Shaken critical result.

Crashing is not a situation that many captains look forward to, but in combat there is often a need for "fire-ships" and other suicidal tactics where sacrificing a ship may help turn the battle. The crew of such a ship usually abandons it before the crash, hoping to survive a "fall" to the surface of the other ship rather than die in the crash.

Shearing Attacks

A shearing attack is a close pass against an opposing ship with the intention of dragging rigging, steering equipment, and other devices overboard to cripple the ship's maneuverability.

Similar to ramming, the attacking helmsman’s attack bonus is used to determine whether the shear is successful. For ships without a spelljamming helm, the navigator performs the attack at one-half his actual level.

A shearing attack reduces an opponent’s maneuverability class by one rating— from Good to Average, for example. A ship may only have its maneuverability class reduced twice by shearing attacks, though it may suffer additional losses from critical hits and other attacks.

If a shearing attack fails, the opposing ship has the option of immediately launching its own shearing attack against the original attacker.

Shearing attacks inflict no points of damage to the target ship's hull, but if a 20 is rolled for the attack, a critical hit results.

Grappling and Boarding

Often it is desirable to take over an opponent's ship without inflicting major damage. In cases like this, a side with enough manpower can overwhelm the other side by grappling and boarding. Certain types of ramming may also result in a grappling situation.

Either side can grapple, but the moving ship has the first opportunity. The purpose of grappling is to bring the two ships together to allow either towing or boarding.

The most common method for grappling is a large hook at the end of a long rope or chain. There are also ballista bolts which are similarly equipped and can be fired into the opponent’s hull. In either case, once the hooks have caught hold, the two ships can be hauled together.

A grappling hook requires about 5 ft of space from side to side to be thrown at another ship in the same hex. The number of hooks that can be thrown depends on the length of the ship making the attack and how many hooks it can bring to bear.

Two ships are considered grappled when the number of lines between them is at least equal to one-tenth of the tonnage of the smaller ship. For example, a 50-ton ship and a 30-ton ship are grappled if they are connected by three or more grappling lines. If there are fewer lines than this connecting the two ships, either ship can break them all simply by moving out of the hex. (This is a good way to pick up some free grappling hooks.)

A grappling attack inflicts no damage but links the two ships together. Both ships are immobilized once they are connected by sufficient grappling lines (unless one ship tries to tow the other; see Towing).

Cutting Grapples. A crewman must make a normal attack roll to hit AC 10, then roll his damage to cut a grappling line. A line has 5 hit points. Grappling chains are AC 4 and have 20 hit points. Grapples may be cut at any time in the defender’s turn, but often the ship has been boarded by then.

A ship may be boarded in the round after it is grappled. Any characters standing at the gunwale at the beginning of the round can swarm aboard the enemy ship (that is, boarders must be standing by and ready to board).

Combat when boarding is standard D&D combat. If players and DM agree, the rapid combat resolution system described below can be used to resolve large numbers of NPCs fighting.

A crew (either side) will fight until defeated or it fails a morale check; then it surrenders. Player characters and important NPCs (determined by the DM) may fight as long and as hard as they wish, even to the death. Morale checks are used only for two-dimensional NPCs.

In very dangerous situations, a morale check should be made to see if the crew will board in the first place (attacking a ship full of mind flayers is a risky proposition even under the best of conditions). Such a morale check would be made after the orders are given but before they are carried out.

In case of a failure of morale, the crew will retreat back to its native ship. If the crew is on its native ship, it will surrender (unless it is checking morale to determine whether it will board, in which case the crew just refuses to attack). In certain cases (such as dealing with villainous neogi, who are merciless), they will fight to the death.

Rapid Resolution of Small-Scale Combat

There will be situations, such as a crew all stocked by PCs, where the actions of every character are important. Similarly, there are situations where a long, large-scale combat between conflicting sides of NPCs will just waste the players' time. The following system can be used to resolve combat between large numbers of essentially featureless NPCs.

It is strongly recommended that player characters not be factored into this procedure, for two reasons. First, PCs should be directly under their players' control. They should not simply be part of a mathematical process. Second, if the PCs are very much superior to their crew members, they will tip the scale toward the high end and throw off the results. This system works best with crew members who are all pretty similar. If the crew contains widely disparate members (minotaurs and hobgoblins, for instance), it is best to treat them as two separate groups and determine their attacks and casualties separately.

Figure out what is the "average" crew member on both sides. There are two ways to do this. The quick way is to look at the NPC stats and see what number of hit dice, armor class, and weapon is most common and then assume that everyone in the crew has those same characteristics. The second is to figure out a statistical average: total all the hit dice and then divide by the number of crew members, then do the same for armor class, and again for weapon damage. Round fractions off toward the nearest whole number (round ½ up).

Compare these two "average" crew men and determine their attack numbers. Then divide the total number of attackers by the average defender's hit dice. This determines how many d20s the attacker will roll (in effect, how many attacks they get per round). Do the same for the defender, dividing the total number of defenders by the average attacker's hit dice.

Each round, both the attacker and defender roll their attack dice. Every hit kills or incapacitates one character from the enemy ship.

The attack dice can be halved or doubled for special circumstances. Double a side's attack dice if its average maximum damage is greater than 12 or the average crew member has some sort of special attack that can incapacitate with a single hit, like paralysis, poison, a gaze weapon, etc. Halve its number of attack dice if the average maximum damage is less than 6.

As casualties are inflicted, the number of dice that each side rolls must be recalculated. Attacks are resolved in the order of initiative and are not simultaneous.

Casualties: Using this system, casualties can be apportioned however the player sees fit. Losses must be taken from crew members who are actually involved in the fight, however.

At the end of the fight, roll 1d6 for each side and multiply the result by 5%. This is the percentage of casualties from that side who were not killed or mortally wounded, but only incapacitated. Survivors on the winning side can recover. Survivors on the losing side can be taken prisoner or dealt with in some other manner.

Other Considerations: The same procedure works equally well for archery and other light missile fire.

If one side can only be hit with magical and/or silver weapons and the other side does not have such weapons, then only the latter group will suffer casualties.

Fights between very different types of creatures probably should be handled with the normal combat rules. Powerful beings are at a disadvantage under this simplified set of rules.

Towing

A ship that has been grappled may also be towed. Both ships are considered to be part of the same larger ship; their tonnage is added together to determine if a spelljamming helm or other device can move the whole mass.

Only the stronger of the two spelljamming devices will function when the ships are linked, so that the weaker item will be inhibited until all the lines are cut. "Strength" is determined by the ship's current SR. A large ship with a low SR may suddenly find itself being dragged through debris fields by a smaller but more SR-powerful ship. If the SRs are equal, then neither ship may move as long as both helms remain in working order.

Encounters, Evasion, and Running Away

Given the nature of space movement, an opposing craft may appear suddenly in the distance, then slow to combat speed almost immediately. Since it is the nature of the spelljamming helm to stop when it nears the gravity plane of another body, many encounters will occur without the desire of either side.

The opposing ship(s) will appear 11–20 hexes away (1d10+10) in a random direction determined by rolling 1d6:

1. Directly Ahead
2. Ahead & Right (Starboard)
3. Behind & Right
4. Directly Behind
5. Behind & Left (Port)
6. Ahead and Left

Heading is usually toward the player's ship, though the DM can determine this if he desires.

After the initial placement of the ships, there is no surprise roll. Some ships (such as pirates) which travel with loaded ballistas may have a tactical advantage against opponents. However, there usually are several rounds of maneuver before ships come within effective weapon range of each other.

Use the Encounter Reactions table on page 103 of the Dungeon Master's Guide to determine the reactions of the individuals, unless those reactions are previously determined by the DM (for example, a ship filled with raging xenophobes tends to not be friendly under any circumstances). A good rule of thumb to determine intentions is to use the following guidelines:

Friendly: Large weapons unloaded, crew not carrying personal weapons.
Indifferent: One of the large weapons loaded, but crew unarmed.
Threatening: All large weapons loaded.
Hostile: All large weapons loaded, crew packed to the gunwales and armed to the teeth, shouting for blood.

It is possible to make a situation appear less threatening than it is through the use of illusions, concealed weapons or crew, etc. The DM is encouraged to be as devious as necessary.

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor, and he who fights and runs away lives to run another day. Unfortunately, when one is close to another large body (such as a ship or planet), the spelljammer helm will not permit the ships to reach sufficient speeds to make high-speed travel worthwhile.

The times listed under Takeoffs and Landings reflect the amount of time it takes to clear a planetary surface in order to attain high speeds. For smaller bodies (such as errant asteroids and pirate ships), the "capture" distance is 25 hexes on the map, counted at the start of the ship's movement. That is, if there is nothing within 25 hexes of the ship (including debris fields and asteroids) at the start of its movement, the ship can accelerate to interstellar speed and leave the map. The ship can maneuver before this acceleration, but once the player declares his intention to accelerate he cannot turn the ship again. The ship is simply picked up and removed from the map.

A faster ship can usually outdistance a slower ship so that such escape is possible, but often a slower but more maneuverable ship can put an opponent far enough out of the way that it can reach the 25-hex radius and escape. More likely, the fleeing ship often unloads a few potshots or jettison loads before escaping in the hope of either damaging something that will prevent pursuit or slowing down the pursuer.

Pursuit

A determined pursuer can often follow an evading target even at high speed. Because the SR of a ship matters little when moving at the speed of 100 million miles per day, a slower ship can keep pace with a faster one if the captain is clever enough.

Since both ships are moving at very high speed, when one ship stops the other overtakes it almost immediately and stops as well, if that it passes within 1,200 yards. Aiming the pursuing ship this precisely is the department of the ship's navigator.

Make an Intelligence check for the ship's navigator, modified by +2 if he has the Navigation proficiency. A successful check results in the correct angle being chosen. A failed check results in the pursuer heading off in a slightly wrong direction, but over millions of miles of distance, even a slight error will cause the pursuing craft to miss its prey.

Time is important in pursuit. For every round of delay since the departure of the first ship, add 1 to the navigator's Intelligence check die roll. After two turns of delay, a ship is irretrievably lost.

When pursuing, the trailing craft does not know if it is on the same track as its quarry unless the crew is aided by magical means. Depending on the situation, a pursuing ship may lose interest in the chase quickly or hang on until the lead ship reaches its destination or another encounter which will slow it down.

Small shot like a jettison load will not stop a pursuer, but does have a 5% chance of hitting at high speed. If the pursued ship cuts loose a mass of at least 10 tons, the opposing ship will be slowed by its encounter with the dropped material. A towed ship or one of the elvish moth-ships is often used this way. (Of course, once that mass is free of the towing ship, that ship slows down also. There is a net gain, however, because the lead ship can accelerate once it is 25 hexes away from the mass. The pursuing ship will stop 11–20 hexes short of the mass and must pass it before accelerating again.)

If the fleeing ship slows down for some reason, then the pursuing ship will appear (as a normal encounter) in the same number of rounds as when the pursued ship disappeared. If it took two rounds for the pursuer to follow, it will appear two rounds after the lead ship stops. Ships trying to evade pursuit will often use such a lead to stop, turn, and flee in a new direction, hoping to be gone on a new course before their pursuer arrives.

Repair

Spelljamming ships are remarkably easy to repair—their only irreplaceable parts are the helm (or other spelljamming device) and the people who crew them.

In most civilized areas, one hull point can be replaced or repaired at a cost of 2,000 gp in one day by a crew of five trained workers. For every additional five workers (and 2,000 gp), an additional point can be repaired.

If a ship is very badly damaged (more than 50% of its hull points lost), the cost goes up to 5,000 gp per hull point repaired. The repairs still require five workers but take three days of work.

Poor (or cheap) characters can repair ships themselves. A crew of five individuals, with the correct materials, can repair one hull point in a week in space. Materials can be acquired by buying them at a groundling city (at an approximate cost of 50 gp per hull point worth of material) or just landing on a vacant stand of timber and taking what is needed.

Such repairs are just as good as the expensive ones, provided that at least one member of each five-man crew has carpentry or some other relevant proficiency (repairing a dwarven flying mountain, for example, would call more for stonemasonry). The chance of scoring a critical hit against a poorly maintained ship increases by 1 until the hull points are repaired again by someone with the appropriate skill.

Morale (Optional Rule)

No one likes to die, particularly in space with a long walk home. For this reason, morale can be important in combat. If you can convince a ship’s captain (or more importantly, a ship’s crew) to either call off their attack or surrender, you are winning a victory without risking your own ship and crew. A crew of typical seamen has a morale of 11. Monstrous crews can have higher or lower morale and other factors (including how well the captain is liked) also have an effect. Morale checks are made at the conclusion of a round of battle, after all actions have been resolved.

A morale check is required for a ship’s crew when:

• The ship suffers a critical hit.
• The ship has only 5 hull points left (unless the ship started with less than 10, in which case ignore this situation).
• The crew has been surprised (but only on the first turn after being surprised).
• The ship is faced by an obviously superior force.
• An ally or crewman is slain by magic.
• 25% of the crew have been eliminated.
• 50% of the crew have been eliminated.
• A companion or crewman is slain after 50% of the crew is eliminated.
• All officers desert, are slain, or surrender.
• The crew is fighting a creature they cannot harm due to magical protection.
• The crew is asked to perform heroic (and dangerous) tasks.
• The crew is offered a bribe.
• The ship’s crew is covering a fighting retreat.
• A member of the crew is asked to use a personal magical device with charges.
• The crew has met the conditions of another morale check and is given the opportunity to surrender.
• It is apparent the ship cannot escape.
• The ship’s captain is slain.

Situational modifiers may also affect the morale check itself:

Event	Modifier
Ship has taken 25% hull damage	−2
Ship has taken 50% hull damage	−4
Ship has taken 75% hull damage	−6
Captain is slain	−2
Spelljamming mage or priest is slain/destroyed	−3
Opponent firing has taken 50% damage	+2
Captain is on deck	+4
First Officer is on deck w/o captain	+2
Ship is on fire	−2
Opponent's ship is on fire	+1
Opponent's ship has been holed	+1
Abandoned by friendly ships	−6
Creature has lost 25% of HP	−2
Creature has lost 50% of HP	−4
Crew losses at 25%	−2
Crew losses at 50%	−4
Crew is receiving a share of plunder	+2
Creatures are fighting hated enemy	+4
Ship's crew was surprised	−2
Crew fighting magical creatures	−2
Creatures have ½ HD or less	−2
Creatures have 1 HD or less	−1
Creatures have 4 to 8+ HD	+1
Creatures have 8 to 14+ HD	+2
Creatures have 15+ HD	+3
Defending home (if ship is lair)	+2
Defensive terrain advantage	+1
Multiple checks per round	−1
Captain is of different alignment from crew	−1
Most powerful ally killed	−4
Crew favored by captain	+2
Crew poorly treated	−4
No enemy have been slain	+2
Crew outnumbered 3 to 1	−4
Ship outnumbered 10 to 1 in tonnage	−2
Outnumber other crew 3 to 1	+2
Ship outnumbers opposition 10 to 1 in tonnage	+2
Unable to hurt opponent	−8
Magic-using creature on same side	+2

The effect of a failed morale check is largely up to the DM, but the most common result is to “Strike the Colors”—that is, to surrender. In some situations, the attacker might let the defender limp away. In others, the ship will at least be boarded, a ransom will be levied for the ship’s passage or passengers, the ship will be looted of cargo and/or towed back to a base. Civilized races tend to treat their defeated foes honorably. However, there are many creatures who do not.

Because morale is checked at the end of the round, it is possible for all ships on both sides of a conflict to “strike their colors” at the same time. In this case, all ships break off and will not resume combat for at least two hours (this is only an average and can vary according to the availability of healing spells, presence of charismatic leaders, or other factors).

If a ship that has struck its colors has PCs aboard, it is up to the players to decide whether to pursue the fight or not. A ship that has struck its colors will not use its NPCs to fire weapons or board, but the PCs may do so. If a player character is at the helm, he may continue moving the ship.

However, be warned. A ship that has struck its colors only to attack again is generally accorded no mercy by other ships. An NPC crew will mutiny immediately against a captain or officers who pursue the fight after a surrender, since this only puts their lives at even greater risk (if they are ultimately defeated, the enemy is likely to simply maroon them in space, or worse).