Fantasy Sailing Equipment - What special gear does a fantastic sailing ship have?

[FrankManic]

Basically - The seas of Golarion, or any fantasy world, are completely different than the seas of earth. Magic totally changes navigation and ship to ship combat. Powerful characters with class levels alter the dynamics of a boarding action. And there are a tremendous number and variety of sentient underwater creatures that will have a great influence on shipbuilding, trade, and other aspects.

So here's a piece of equipment and a magic spell that might be handy on a Pathfinder ship

Boarding Nets: A set of heavy nets strung out around the edge of the ship on short booms. The nets are held ten feet away from the sides of the ship and extend to 20 feet under the surface. The nets are strung with bells, weighted, and woven with barbed hooks. Any swimming creature entering a square adjacent to a net is subject to a grapple attack as though made by a medium creature with +0 BAB. A creature moving into a square containing nets suffers a grapple as though made by a medium creature with +5 BAB. Resolve the grapple normally, with the net receiving the +5 bonus on subsequent rounds of the creature fails to free itself. Each round the net deals 1d4 points of damage to creatures tangled in the net. Anyone on deck succeeding on a DC 15 perception check will notice that the bells in that section of the net are ringing more than they ought to with the normal motion of the ship. The dense net has a hardness of 0 and 20hp in each square. Setting or recovering the nets takes about one hour. A ship with nets deployed can move at up to 10 feet with no difficulties. For each 10 feet of movement beyond that there is a 10% chance per round that the booms will break free, tearing off the netting along one side of the ship. At the DMs option this may foul the rudder or cause other complications. Ships may not use oars while the nets are deployed. Nets cost 50gp for each section (square) of netting.

Moon Pool

School - Transmutation Level - Sorcerer/Wizard 2

Casting Time - 10 minutes

Components - V, S, F (a silver mirror set with moonstones worth 250gp)

Range - Touch

Target - One 6x6 foot section of ship's hull below the water line

Duration - 1 hour/level

Saving Throw - none

A 6'x6' hole appears in the hull of a ship. The hole is protected by a magical force that prevents water from entering the ship through the opening. Creatures may enter the ship through the hole or exit into the water as a move action. In every respect the hole behaves as a hole in the ship except that water is prevented from entering. The caster may will the hole to close or open as a standard action for the duration of the spell. The hole closes when the spells duration ends. If a creature is partially within the hole when it closes that creature has a fifty/fifty chance of being expelled safely into the water or into the ship, size permitting. The focus is a silvered mirror set with moonstones worth at least 250gp. It is placed against the hull of the ship and expands to form the moon-pool. It re-appears when the spell ends.

Sahuagin and worse creatures lurk in the seas of Golarion. it pays to have some way of preventing creatures from crawling onto your deck while the ship lies at anchor. Boarding nets serve to deter attackers from attempting to climb onto the ship and give the crew some warning in case of an attack.

Ships crews have many reasons why they might want to enter directly into the sea - Smugglers may take on illicit cargo under the nose of the port authorities. Amphibious crew may want a secure way to enter or exit the ship without being observed. Traders might wish a comfortable way to meet undersea guests. Whatever your reasons are the Moon Pool spell creates an opening in the hull of the ship through which creatures and cargo can move freely.

[Gnomezrule]

China had river warfare. The built fortress that could float down river. One of the weapons these fortresses had were huge tree trunks with millstone sized boulders on top. When boats or other watercraft got close they would literally drop the hammer. On a ship this hammer could also have a grapple home or huge barb so it would crush and lock the ships together.

I have pictured a ship powered by waterwheel with coral golems walking in the wheels like hamsters ever since I read the words coral golem.

[FrankManic]

Funny you should mention hamsters as a source of motive power...

Do you know what those fort-ships were called? I'd love to learn more about them.

[Gnomezrule]

No but I think the History Channel show was Ancient Chinese Super Ships. Not to be confused with Ancient Super Ships.

[deathbydice]

Take a look at the Osprey series of short histories. They had a few books on asian ships (including river craft) some years back.

[vikingson]

There was some old stuff for DnD, basically a kingdom called Glantri, with a capital city much along the lines of RL Venice. Gondolas with water elementals in a V-8 formation (I don't think it was Glantri-Vice.. bt something along those lines ).... sounds like some form of jetski-type propulsion ?

Or one could use a caged water elemental for driving a paddlewheel ? Both might be great to have in a calm.

To leave the ship : have some gunports in the stern besides the rudder... the Royal Navy used those for having drunken captains and officers getting aboard and not do so by the main deck. Also nice to drop off some Undines or Gillfolk etc..

[Gnomezrule]

Um this will be the Chellish flagship . . . or Asmodeous' flagship.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bxiJOCY.jpg[/IMG]

[captain yesterday]

Gnomezrule wrote:

Um this will be the Chellish flagship . . . or Asmodeous' flagship.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bxiJOCY.jpg[/IMG]

Nice:)

[Fitzwalrus]

Gnomezrule wrote:

Um this will be the Chellish flagship . . . or Asmodeous' flagship.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bxiJOCY.jpg[/IMG]

By jingies Gnomezrule, you're right. That is exactly what the Chelaxian flagship looks like! ;D

Great find... thanks for the "Yoink"!