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The following presents the broad categories of ships in the campaign with rules about crafting and upgrading them. Some of the concepts here, including the Weatherly and Sluggish mechanics, come from Limithron’s Guide to Naval Combat.
There are four broad categories or classes of ships in the campaign, as follows.
Cutters are a broad category of small, nimble ships with minimal crew—many needing no more than fifteen hands to function. While they cannot sport more than a single array of cannons, and have a smaller capacity for cargo, these are still favored among pirates for their high speed and maneuverability. A baseline Cutter costs only 1,000 gp to manufacture, though it cannot be armored.
Frigates are a moderate “jack of all trades” class of ship, requiring at least 24 hands on deck to sail. These ships are the happy medium between speed and maneuverability, cargo space, and potential for firepower. Plenty of pirate captains prefer this class of ship, particularly those with an established name and reputation (with a corresponding fortune to spend). A baseline Frigate costs 10,000 gp to manufacture, and can only bear medium armor if any.
Brigs are massive battleships brimming with weaponry, trading any speed or maneuverability for sheer firepower. A pirate captaining a full Brig is almost unheard of—most require a crew close to 100 to function properly, and their sluggish nature makes them untenable for typical “hit and run” pirate tactics. A baseline Brig costs a stunning 50,000 gp to manufacture.
Galleons are the preferred ship class of the merchant trader. Modest weaponry helps to defend a massive cargo hold, making this class perfect for those seeking a “legitimate” fortune at sea. Not quite as sluggish as a Brig-class vessel, Galleons tend to be the target of pirates rather than their preferred ship class. A baseline Galleon costs 20,000 gp to manufacture, and can only bear medium armor if any.
The following tables give base statistics for each class of ship:
| Class | Speed | Abilities | Cargo Slots | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutter | 5 | Weatherly | 4 | 1,000 |
| Frigate | 4 | 6 | 10,000 | |
| Brig | 3 | Sluggish | 8 | 50,000 |
| Galleon | 2 | Sluggish | 10 | 20,000 |
| Class | Damage | Base HP | HP Level | HP | Crew min/max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutter | 1d6 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 15/30 |
| Frigate | 1d8 | 8 | 6 | 48 | 24/48 |
| Brig | 2d6 | 12 | 7 | 86 | 100/300 |
| Galleon | 1d6 | 6 | 6 | 36 | 30/60 |
A Weatherly ship does not decrease its max speed when sailing Close to the Wind in combat; a Sluggish ship can only rotate once per turn in combat.
The Base HP for the class is multiplied by the ship’s HP Level (hit dice in D&D parlance) to give the ship’s current HP maximum.
The damage column gives the base dice rolled per side (port or starboard). Of course, given the right circumstances, a ship may fire both port and starboard cannons on the same combat turn.
In Nimble, medium and heavy armor ignores all damage bonuses; heavy armor additionally reduces incoming damage by half (rounded up).
The base statistics for each ship are statistical minimums given the ship’s size, design and necessary number of crew. Nearly all of these statistics can be upgraded, however—given enough time, gold, expertise, and exotic materials.
The following tables give the cost of each upgrade as a multiplier of the ship’s base cost; this can be paid when the ship is initially built or afterward.
Magical upgrades are, as noted, usually much more expensive to implement. In addition, they may require specialized materials—materials harvested from dangerous magical beasts, ancient runestones recovered from ruins, or the like. These are not included in the base cost multiplier.
Also note that the magical upgrade table is far from exhaustive; players should be encouraged to explore the possibility of applying more “creative” enchantments beyond these statistical improvements. Obtaining particular materials for a specific magical upgrade is an excellent motivation for questing.
| Mundane Adds | Multiplier | Magical Adds | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Armor | .5 | Weatherly | 2 |
| Heavy Armor | 1 | Runic Armor | 3 |
| Speed +1 | .5 | Speed +(1-2) | 2 |
| Cargo Slots +(1-2) | .5 | Cargo Slots +(1-3) | 2 |
| Damage Track +(1-2) | .5 | Damage Track +(1-3) | 2 |
| HP Level +(1-5) | HP level * 0.1 | HP Level +(6-10) | HP level * 0.3 |
Runic Armor increases the ship’s armor level one tier (unarmored → medium → heavy), while ignoring any ship class armor restrictions (thus a Cutter with runic armor is treated as if it has medium armor; a Frigate with medium and runic armor is treated as if it has heavy).
As an example of increasing an HP level:
The pirate crew of a baseline Cutter with an HP level of 5 want to increase it to level 6. They would need to pay 450 gold (750 base price * 6 * 0.1). This would increase their ship’s HP to 36. If they wanted to increase it to level 7 (for an HP of 42), they’d need to pay an additional 525 gold, for a total of 975 gold. Note that if they ever wanted to increase their Cutter’s HP beyond level 10 (60HP), they would need to invest in more costly magical upgrades.
The following table gives the Damage Track for ship damage dice. A +1 Damage Track upgrade measures one “step” either horizontally (rightward) or vertically (down) on the track. A move leftward or upward is ignored. (Thus, moving from 1d6 to 2d6 requires a +2; moving from 1d6 to 1d8 requires only a +1; moving from 1d6 to 2d8 requires a +3; moving from 2d6 to 1d10 requires only a +1).
| 1d6 | 2d4 | ||
| 1d8 | 2d6 | ||
| 1d10 | 2d8 | 3d6 | |
| 1d12 | 2d10 | 3d8 | 4d10 |
Do note how damage hit-probability works in Nimble. Rolling a 1 on the leftmost damage die is a miss; rolling maximum is a crit, which rerolls the primary die and adds it to the damage total. 1d4 and 2d4 both have a 25% chance of either missing or critting; rolling 1d10 has only a 10% chance of either.
Ships and Crafting