Re: Why Big ships?

I've always found that even a heavily outgunned PC ship can usually get
close enough to board and attack hand to hand (spell to spell) so that in
the end they usually win the enemy ship. But I agree that PCs usually prefer
manoeuvrability over weapons. Anyway being captured is certainly not the end
for most resourceful pcs, the majority of would be captors usually end up
with far more than they bargained for ;O)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ben Wafer" <bwafer@????.ca>
To: <SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 01, 2002 6:14 AM
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Why Big ships?


> Paul Westermeyer wrote:
>
> > I wonder about this one... I mean, I've gamed out many SJ battles,
> > never with anything larger then a scorpion ship (most battles , in
> > fact, involved a 17 ton galleon), and from my experience the damage
> > the weapons cause is low enough that it takes a lot to destroy a
> > ship. Sure, a broadside from a giff crewed clipper could turn many
> > vessels to kindling but with poor to hits and reasonable damage
> > already in the system, few vessels are easily destroyed. (impossible
> > to destroy, of course, is another matter).
>
> I've had similar experiences. With a ship as small as a mosquito or a
> dragonfly, sure, in any serious battle it's easy to get your ship shot
> to pieces if you're not careful, but with an average sized ship (IMO
> this means anywhere from 20-60 tons) you've generally got enough
> durability for a decent battle if you use decent tactics (ie. running
> away if you're badly outmatched, closing and boarding if you've got good
> fighter but few large weapons, etc). In the SJ campaigns I've run, the
> overall favorite ship of the different PCs has been the Angelship. It's
> maneuverable (which my players have usually found to be more important
> than big), it's got good weaponry, and it's large enough to take a
> decent pounding, while being small enough that they don't need a massive
> crew.
>
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