Hello everyone, I am running a high seas piratey campaign which so far has been a blast but I have a few questions what maybe you can shed some light on as there does not appear to be a LOT of discussion about the Ultimate Combat ships and siege weapons.
So correct me if I am wrong, but the DC to successfully maneuver a sailing ship going more than half its top speed so lets say 120ft (out of a maximum of 180ft)
Base 20 (due to combat) + 10 (due to sailing ship) +20 (due to 4x Acceleration) for a total of DC50 Profession(Sailor) or DC60 Knowledge(nature).
Now this may seem specific but it would be a fairly common thing to encounter in this campaign and the DC's for it seems ridiculous. I can make it higher too by adding a few more specifics.
I would also like to point out that the Game Mastery Guides own level 12 pirate captain NPC only has a Profession(sailor) rank of 10 meaning even he has NO chance of meeting some of these DC's.
So is there any explanation as to why sailing ship combat (arrrrr) is basically impossible? Or am I missing something big? lol
Currently I dropped combat DC to base 10, and removed the +10 DC for being a sailing ship. Making a maneuver during combat at higher speeds
20-40 top really.
Next are some siege firearm questions If you be so kind.
Ok so I read through the siege weapon rules (same day as ship rules my god does my head hurt) and they seem a bit more reasonable to me and only REALLY using Cannons and other Direct fire siege firearms simplified things a bit.
Cannon takes 3 full round actions to reload. (3 move actions if they have the Master Siege Engineer Feat):
is there anyway to increase the speed of doing this?
Like Rapid Reload but for Cannons?
Also you can do a double move to use up 2 of those move action reloads on one turn correct?
Please confirm my math on how to hit with a cannon.
So, 2 people need to be there to control the cannon (crew of 2)
The crew leader has Siege Engineer feat but not Master Siege Engineer.
He also has a Dex of 18, a BAB of 5 and 5 ranks in Knowledge(engineering).
So to fire the cannon and hit lets say a person with it that is on an enemy ship within the cannons 100ft range it is...
5(bab) + 4(dex)so 9 vs Opponants AC + 4 (ship provides cover) and does 6d6dmg (does it ignore armor like a gun?)
Now lets say he has no engineering ranks or Siege Engineer feat.
5(bab) + 4(dex) - 4(exotic weapon) -2 (1 size category larger) for a total of 3 to attack.
These are correct?
Last one I can think of at the moment is when you enchant a Cannon is that it costs twice the normal as a weapon (so 4000g) and it adds +1 to the attack of a cannon, but it does not say damage. If that the case whats the difference between a +1 Cannon and a Masterwork Cannon?
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So is there any explanation as to why sailing ship combat (arrrrr) is basically impossible? Or am I missing something big?
I haven't recently read the rules involved, but I would assume each crewman is also making an Aid Another check.
Cannon takes 3 full round actions to reload. (3 move actions if they have the Master Siege Engineer Feat):
is there anyway to increase the speed of doing this?
Assign 3 crewman to expend those actions.
Also you can do a double move to use up 2 of those move action reloads on one turn correct?
Yes.
Whats the difference between a +1 Cannon and a Masterwork Cannon?
The ability to bypass DR/magic and the ability to enchant with additional properties.
Also, the next AP from Paizo will contain ship combat rules.
I found some components of your equation
Page 170: The base DCs for all driving checks are DC 5 and DC 20. Use the lower DC when the driver is not in combat and the higher DC when the driver is in combat.
Page 171: Because of their complexity, air-current vehicles always have their driving check DCs increased by 10.
Where is the +20 for 4x accel coming from ?
EDIT: Found it, you didn't mention you're talking about the "turn" driving action:
Page 174: Turn (standard action): The driver takes this action to turn a vehicle’s forward facing 90 degrees. The vehicle moves its current speed. If a vehicle’s current speed is twice its acceleration, the driving check DC increases by 5. If a vehicle’s movement is three times its acceleration, the driving check DC increases by 10. If it is four or more times its acceleration, the DC increases by 20.
I suggest both slowing down and using the "Wide Turns" sidebar. A sailing ship turns ponderously.
Also, ship to ship combat in the age of cannons did not take place at high speeds (the rigging is just too vulnerable). I used to be very very good at a sailing ship game called "Close Action". The vast majority of combat took place at so-called Battle Sail. Sometimes you would use Full Sail (a.k.a. All Plain Sail) and rarely Studding Sails. Ships were capable of carrying even more sail than this, but the time required to set or reset them in combat would have been impractical.
I haven't recently read the rules involved, but I would assume each crewman is also making an Aid Another check.
Assign 3 crewman to expend those actions.
Yes.
The ability to bypass DR/magic and the ability to enchant with additional properties.
Thank you, I did not even think of Aid Another checks, that makes it quite a bit easier in some cases.
Also, the next AP from Paizo will contain ship combat rules.
Yeah I keep hearing that and I am looking forward to it, but do you think it will be different than their already established rules from UC?
I suggest both slowing down and using the "Wide Turns" sidebar. A sailing ship turns ponderously.
Thank you, I will look into those rules, I sort of just glossed over them as I usually do for Optional Rules
Ok I guess that takes care of most of my questions, except do you know if Cannons would ignore armor if withing first range increment as a bullet would?
Having looked at this a bit more, I think the DC20 base is for when the DRIVER is in combat, not necessarily when the VEHICLE is in combat. If I'm in the Monitor's armored pilothouse and nobody's trying to fire through the vision slits, even though the turret is busy pounding away at some distant shore target, it's DC5(base) to maintain course and speed. Now if I've one hand on the wheel and one hand weilding my cutlass to defend myself from Yellowbeard who's trying to do me in, well, then that's a D20 base.
Even if the driver isn't directly in combat to say he is completely not distracted would be a stretch. Start with the DC 5 and throw a distraction penalty on it as long as the driver is aware of the combat. On a big enough vehicle it is possible comabt is going on without his/her knowledge.
I think cannons should ignore armor in the first range increment as long as they are being used in a direct fire role.