Question about crew complement


Skull & Shackles

Silver Crusade

This may seem like a stupid question, but I just need some clarification. As far as crew complement goes on ships and the Wormwood in particular, the stat block says 20.

Then it says that that number is the minimum crew needed to make the ship move.

It also says that with less than half a full crew complement the ship will not move. So that means the Wormwood’s full crew complement is 40? That seems like a lot for that size ship, which is what my players said to me.

Plus, it says in the PG that if you have less than a full crew complement, you take a -10 on all sailing checks. If that is the case, how would the Wormwood ever catch anyone with less than 40 crew members, as it is in the beginning of the AP?


Actually for a ship with three masts even 40 sailors wouldn't be much for this time period. That may be the number of sailors in the rigging at the same time not including people sleeping, resting, or repairing the ship.

But for the D&D rules they use lower numbers.

As by the rules from the player's guide the ship needs a crew of 20 as its minimum crew to steer the ship without a penalty.
The ship can hold up to 120 passengers (above the 20 needed for steering the ship) and anyone operating siege weapons or doing other jobs does not count as crew, so you would want to have more crew then the 20 sailors you need at minimum.

Silver Crusade

So you are saying that if the crew has less than 20 it can still steer the ship, albeit with a penalty?

I don't see that from the reading at all. It says, To make the ship move, you need a minimum of 20 crew.

I think I see where the confusion stems.

From the gamemastery guide:

Crew: The first number lists the minimum crew complement the ship needs to function normally, excluding those needed to make use of the vessel’s weapons.

From the Skull and Shackles Player's Guide:

Crew: This is the minimum number of crew members
needed to move the ship, in addition to the pilot.

Both list 20 as the number. Moving the ship and functioning normally are two completely different things.

My PCs want to know the bare minimum of crew to make the ship get from point A to point B. These two sources seem to contradict each other.


Historically? I'd say even twenty sounds like they're busting their bums on a smallish-sized ship. I understand the understating-for-gameplay purposes, and I suspect I'm going to run with an average crew of 40-80. Which, as I understand it, is still about a hundred fewer hands than an actual ship that size would want. If needs be, er, magic. :P

Silver Crusade

Well, the Nina and the Pinta had crew complements of 24 and 26 respectively. And that includes the pilot, surgeon, captain, steward, etc.

The Santa Maria had a crew of 40.

Of course, those ships were built for Mediterranian sailing, but they seemed to do all right in the open ocean. And they seem to compare pretty well to the Wormwood (single deck, three masts).

Sovereign Court

2 people marked this as a favorite.

The crew complement of 20 for the Wormwood (and any sailing ship) is the minimum number required to move and control the ship normally, without penalty. In other words, if the Wormwood has a crew of 20, it can do everything a ship can normally do in the ship-to-ship combat rules presented in the Skull & Shackles Player's Guide. Note that these characters are required to sail the ship, and can't do other things, like crew siege engines.

If the Wormwood (or any other sailing ship) has less than 20 crew, but more than 10, it takes a -10 penalty on all sailing checks. If it has less than 10 crew, it can't be sailed at all. If it has more than 20 crew, it gets no special bonuses, but those extra crewmembers can crew siege engines, or take other actions, etc.

Silver Crusade

Thanks for the clarification...


Rob McCreary wrote:

The crew complement of 20 for the Wormwood (and any sailing ship) is the minimum number required to move and control the ship normally, without penalty. In other words, if the Wormwood has a crew of 20, it can do everything a ship can normally do in the ship-to-ship combat rules presented in the Skull & Shackles Player's Guide. Note that these characters are required to sail the ship, and can't do other things, like crew siege engines.

If the Wormwood (or any other sailing ship) has less than 20 crew, but more than 10, it takes a -10 penalty on all sailing checks. If it has less than 10 crew, it can't be sailed at all. If it has more than 20 crew, it gets no special bonuses, but those extra crewmembers can crew siege engines, or take other actions, etc.

Wait a minute, I just watched Treasure Island with Charlton Heston and one pirate and a teenager steered a big ship around the island and grounded it on a beach. Doesn't that count for something?

OK never mind.

Sovereign Court

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Biobeast wrote:
Rob McCreary wrote:

The crew complement of 20 for the Wormwood (and any sailing ship) is the minimum number required to move and control the ship normally, without penalty. In other words, if the Wormwood has a crew of 20, it can do everything a ship can normally do in the ship-to-ship combat rules presented in the Skull & Shackles Player's Guide. Note that these characters are required to sail the ship, and can't do other things, like crew siege engines.

If the Wormwood (or any other sailing ship) has less than 20 crew, but more than 10, it takes a -10 penalty on all sailing checks. If it has less than 10 crew, it can't be sailed at all. If it has more than 20 crew, it gets no special bonuses, but those extra crewmembers can crew siege engines, or take other actions, etc.

Wait a minute, I just watched Treasure Island with Charlton Heston and one pirate and a teenager steered a big ship around the island and grounded it on a beach. Doesn't that count for something?

OK never mind.

Charlton Heston counts as 20 crewmembers by himself. If Chuck Norris was on board, the ship would move itself.


Consider there being 3 masts on a full sized ship, meaning at least two sails per mast, on yardarms.... yardarms being about 20-30' wide.... with large linen/cotton/your pick sails slung underneath which have to be moved "up" to the yard and stowed in a storm, under time-pressure. That would be around 300-400'+, easily more of (wet) square sail, requiring 5 people per yard ( minimum )to haul and handle.
On all three masts...
So 20 is friendly, very much so.

@Nina and Pinta : Latin rigged ships require less personel

As for Treasure Island : The author is and was a hack. Building lighthouses is something different entirely.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder Adventure Path / Skull & Shackles / Question about crew complement All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Skull & Shackles