| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The first power of lyre of building... protecting constructed materials from siege engines and so forth.
If the proper chords are struck, a single use of this lyre negates any attacks made against inanimate construction (walls, roof, floor, and so on) within 300 feet. This includes the effects of a horn of blasting, a disintegrate spell, or an attack from a ram or similar siege weapon. The lyre can be used in this way once per day, with the protection lasting for 30 minutes.
Can that protect a ship from cannons, ballista and catapults?
How about from the Dragon Turtle's Capsize ability?
I mean 30 minutes is an eternity in a ship battle once it's on the tactical map?
The answer to your question isn't specified in the rules on this object. My gut feeling is that it is only effective regarding fixed emplacements like buildings, castles and so on. A moveable vehicle like a ship doesn't appear to fall under its purview.
This said, if your DM will allow it, go for it!
I'm the GM and someone is asking. From the term inanimate, it can mean 1. that it isn't animated per the spell, or 2. that it doesn't move, or 3. that it doesn't have moving parts.
As for ships. 2 would mean it wouldn't get any help from it. 3 would mean that it wouldn't target the sails, control mechanisms, or weapons on board, just the hull.
But I see the gut feeling regarding fixed emplacements.
At the end of the day, you as the DM need to decide only this: will letting the lyre of building help protect ships enhance your players' fun or detract from it?
Maybe if they have this one-stop-shop to protect their ship, they can focus more on off-ship adventures that you think will be fun. After all, having your ship sunk out from under you is a very, very nasty proposition.
I'd be tempted to let it work on ships.
I would say no. It's about buildings, not about vehicles. Ships qualify as vehicles.
So the lyre cannot protect it. However, a fortress could be protected with it if it was suddenly under siege from cannons.
If for some reason you do let it be used on ships...this should be a common tactic. You would expect any ship o' the line of any country to have itself a lyre of building for this purpose. Assuming the country has at least 1 wizard working for them to craft things it's only 6500 gp per lyre.
So you get you're lyre, you get your big boat stuffed full of siege weapons and men and you set out upon any target you choose. The lyre protects you from siege weapons. You can use your cannons to attack with virtually impunity from whomever you're targeting, unless they also have a lyre. In which case, that's why you brought a big crew as a boarding party.
I would expect this too be common among all ships if it worked, and would actually expect to see ships move towards having more crew for boarding and less (but not no) siege weapons. With the alternative being those trying to evade them using small and fast craft to try and outrun them before they can be boarded.
Of course, when I played Skull and Shackles trying to sink a ship was a waste of time (unless you were using the rules for fleet combat).
Sure, you could chase them around and fire siege weapons all day, but ships have over 1000 hp.
Or you could do what we did every battle after the first, ram them and turn it into regular combat.
I think Claxon has the right of it. A ship counts as a vehicle, not a building as far as the Lyre is concerned. That also avoids Claxon's scenario where every ship would basically be invulnerable if it was allowed to protect ships.
You could extend the other argument to the absurd if you wanted. If it can protect ships, then it could also build ships. If ships are allowed, then why not boats. Stick some wheels on a rowing boat and you have a wagon. So the Lyre of Building works with vehicles. If it works with buildings construction and vehicles, why not weapons; they are also inanimate things that have to be made. If weapons are allowed what about other things that are crafted. So it can be used to make jewellery.
Much easier to say the Lyre only works with buildings and not vehicles.
Another thing to add. Most of your sizeable boats are 10,000 gp or more. So adding the lyre of building to it would be less than double the cost. For an individual captain to guarantee his ship was immune to siege weapons, well I think most would make the investment (as I mentioned above).
So yeah...I just don't think ships should qualify. Or else you really have to think about the ramifications it would have on ship design and naval battles.
I wrote up a thread about this: How to use a Lyre of Building in Skulls & Shackles AP.
The Lyre dates to 1st edition, where the text states:
"This harp can be used to build or repair ships."
RAI, legacy indicates it is good for ships. Did it get nerfed in the PF rules? Who knows.
As to protecting ships, I think that since a ship combat round is 10 minutes, the 30 minute protection is only 3 rounds. Not so great.
Our group house ruled the fleet effect as one use subtracted 1d6 from damage to one of the fleets. Since they only had 2-4 hp per ship in fleet combat, this could save some ships from that round's effect.
/cevah