Hi everyone. First of all, if you are currently playing in my Chronicles of Biston PbP campaign, please read no further!
Okay. I'm GMing a homebrew set in Varisia and I'm looking for the smallest boat possible big enough for river and lake sailing at a reasonable rate. I want something that only requires a few people as its crew and yet can travel ~100 miles across a large lake in a few days. Is there such a boat by RAW? I've been looking and the closest thing I can find is likely a Cutter or a Sloop Sailing Ship, but the rules are pretty stingy on what the actual difference is between those models and the described "Sailing Ship."
Some more information:
- The PCs are 4 2nd level characters and they will likely be assaulting the boat while it is docked in a small fishing/trading village.
- I'm planning the Captain to be a 5th level Expert.
- They will be attacking the boat to bring a thief from their local town into custody. The thief will be a 3rd level Cad Fighter with a 2nd level Goblin Witch lackey.
- It's okay for the boat to have a small crew beyond these three characters, but I don't want anything that will overwhelm the party.
EDIT: If there is no RAW boats that are applicable but you know of any 3rd party or homebrewed options, I'd be curious to hear about them as well!
Keelboat : This 50- to 75-foot-long ship is 15 to 20 feet wide and has a few oars to supplement its single mast with a square sail. It has a crew of 8 to 15 and can carry 40 to 50 tons of cargo or 100 soldiers. It can make sea voyages, as well as sail down rivers (thanks to its flat bottom). It moves about 1 mile per hour.
It might be a little slow (it would take a smidgeon over 4 days to make a 100 mile trip travelling 24 hours a day), but it looks like it pretty much meets your requirements. With 5 more 1st level commoners as the remaining crew, you'd have a tough brawl on your hands (you're already at CR5+ without them, assuming the thief and his lackey get involved, which I'd assume they would, adding 5 CR 1/3 creatures pushes it into CR 6).
Personally, I'd probably just make something smaller, with a commensurately smaller crew, rather than worrying about the precise ship type: a 30-foot long, 10- to 15-foot wide version would have a crew of around 4, and carry about 20 tons.
Alright thanks!
I realize that the CR is high if everyone gets involved, but the party will have the chance to confront the thief in town before boarding the boat. Otherwise, the captain and crew aren't 100% trusting of the thief and the party might be able talk them into not getting involved.