In a world with lots of fireball-slingers, naval combat will develop countermeasures. The easiest way is some kind of spell or treatment to give a ship energy reistance. Another is having a guy with a wand of fireballs standing by to counterspell the enemy's fireballs.
You might see iron turtle ships or something. At any rate, second-order effects will kick in.
Boats aren't dry wood. They're treated constantly to prevent them from getting too damaged by the water. I believe this same treatment makes them less VUnerable to fire also.
Boats aren't dry wood. They're treated constantly to prevent them from getting too damaged by the water. I believe this same treatment makes them less VUnerable to fire also.
Actually the reverse was true. The most common means of treating wood in wooden ship days was to use tar or pitch to make the timbers waterproof. That made ships highly susceptible to fire. Because of this there were few things that sent fear through the minds of a sailor like a fire on ship.
In fact fire is so feared by sailors that it is likely that use of fireball might well end up in retaliation against ship crews that used fireball or other fire spells on other ships.
Also it is unlikely that pirate ships would use fireball on their targets since the last thing they want is to see their booty going up in flames or down into Davy Jones locker. That's just wasted time and effort.
Take a look at the Skull and Shackles Players' Guide. It's a free download from Paizo, and has an extensive section of rules for ship-to-ship combat, including the use of magic.
While the whole combat system may be a bit more than you're looking for, the rules also include a long list detailing how different spells affect ships. There are also a number of modifications that can be added to ships to make them more resistant to regular and magical damage. You might find the information you're looking for there.
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Also it is unlikely that pirate ships would use fireball on their targets since the last thing they want is to see their booty going up in flames or down into Davy Jones locker. That's just wasted time and effort.
Pirates probably not...but what about naval combat in the case of warfare? In such a case, sinking ships is of great usage as you drain the enemy of resources.
Also it would mean merchants would be nigh un-piratable. Pirates can't fireball...but the merchant sure as heck can...and WILL.
Energy attacks against objects do half damage before you apply the hardness of wood, which is 5. So, a 5d6 fireball, on average, does 3.25 points of damage to the ship. And kills most of the low level crew. You're MUCH better off targeting crew in pre-cannon piracy.
The only way around this scenario is if your DM rules that there is no ability to treat the wood against fire. Then the fire ball does 12.5 per shot. Look at the number of hit points a ship has.
Targetting the sails, on the other hand....
A wildshaped Druid with Natural spell and warp wood or wood shape can just shapeshift into a fish and devastate a fleet
Who needs showy fireballs? Any 5th level druid can destroy a ship with little or no danger to themselves.
Boats aren't dry wood. They're treated constantly to prevent them from getting too damaged by the water. I believe this same treatment makes them less VUnerable to fire also.Actually the reverse was true. The most common means of treating wood in wooden ship days was to use tar or pitch to make the timbers waterproof. That made ships highly susceptible to fire. Because of this there were few things that sent fear through the minds of a sailor like a fire on ship.
In fact fire is so feared by sailors that it is likely that use of fireball might well end up in retaliation against ship crews that used fireball or other fire spells on other ships.
Also it is unlikely that pirate ships would use fireball on their targets since the last thing they want is to see their booty going up in flames or down into Davy Jones locker. That's just wasted time and effort.
...and knowing is half the battle. :-)
In a world where fireball exists I imagine people would come up with a way to waterproof wood that's not combustible.
Although it occurs to me that a more devestating spell than fireball is snapdragon fireworks. Add extended and you can shoot fire for many rounds at long range even at the lower caster levels.
At the end of the sailing era, before steamships took over, there sailed steel-hulled schooners. A fireball wouldn't do a hell of a lot to something like that. Crew and sails would be vulnerable of course.
Those were clippers though, not the round bellied ships of the medieval era.
Seems like counter spells would definitely be developed for navel warfare. A few Druids with Warp Wood, and the spell, 'resist warp' would be developed.
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If using Druids to scuttle ships became a common tactic, then every ship worth protecting would have its own Druid on the crew casting Ironwood and countering enemy warp spells. Druids, however, have to maintain a level of neutrality--it's unlikely a druid would choose to become a special ops agent for the Navy. At least it's unlikely any one kingdom's navy could find enough druids willing to join up that Warp Wood becomes a major problem.
As far as magical naval combat goes, the real scary tactic isn't Fireball, it's merfolk. They use Hydraulic Push to get you off your boat and into the water, then they grapple you and hold you under! Once all the crew is drowned, they have all the time in the world to plunder the ship before ransoming it back to your navy.
Non-merfolk navies are likely to summon aquatic creatures to similar effect. I can picture a larger ship having an underwater hatch, so that sharks, otyughs, or other marine life can be summoned below decks and released to attack an enemy ship.
I'd agree that it would be unlikely druids would probably not join any Empire or army in any large scale.
However....small tribes of natives with their shamans certainly would want to repel invaders or foreigners. I could see druids in that scenario becoming sort of like guerrilla warfare resistance fighters.
I'd agree that it would be unlikely druids would probably not join any Empire or army in any large scale.
However....small tribes of natives with their shamans certainly would want to repel invaders or foreigners. I could see druids in that scenario becoming sort of like guerrilla warfare resistance fighters.
There are probably islands that no ship goes near for just that reason.