Re: Pirates - Was: Places: Dragon Rock Map

From: "Dreamer" <dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk>
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Pirates - Was: Places: Dragon Rock Map


> In <URL:news:local.spelljam> on Wed 02 Mar, David Shepheard wrote:
> > > From: "SUBSCRIBE REALMS-L tauster" <chefseehund@???.de>
> > > Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] Places: Dragon Rock Map
>
> If I recall the references properly, real world pirate ships
> often had far more people on board than was required to crew the
> ship, generally at least twice, maybe even three times or more.
>
> If you used this in SJ, boarding actions would be their ideal
> tactic, and they could just murder and recrew a couple of
> merchant ships, before needing to return to port. Ignoring any
> possible recruits from among the merchant crews.
>
> If this is the case, then pirate ships might be far more likely
> that most to have a way of renewing their air, because they are
> so over-crewed. I quite liked the Horn of Fog, though having a
> permanent magic item like that would mean rich pirates. Alchemy
> which could renew air, might be far more likely. I'm assuming
> food and water are compact enough that their not a major issue on
> short pirate raids.

Look up the disease scurvey to see one of the problems associated with longer sea voyages.
The British found that the disease could be prevented by taking along a supply of limes
(that is why we got the nickname "Limeys").

One thing not covered much in Spelljammer stuff, probably because it is stuff that is
irrelevant to gameplay, is food and cooking. Real ships used to carry livestock and also
had cooking fires (these were in ovens rather than open fires). Neither is the sort of
thing that gets mentioned in fiction. Livestock could cause problems on a spelljammer by
carrying disease especially as sailors and animals used to share the same deck. Cooking
fires could spread to the ship if knocked over (and in SJ use up your air). Nobody seems
to mention that in The Flow, you can only eat dry rations and uncooked food. Travel
between the spheres probably takes a *lot* out of people that do it.

> On that subject, where would I look for articles on all the
> different ways that you might use to renew air? I would have
> thought some new ideas would have come out over the years.

Firstly don't forget that additional crew only reduce the time that an atmosphere remains
fresh. It is normally 4 months. Method 1 in the CoAS states that every 25% of excess crew
reduces that time by one month, so if you wanted to use the easy rule you could still stay
in space for a month with a 75% excess. However, if you can be bothered to go to the
trouble of using method 2, you can run ships with even higher crew levels.

If you work out the time for air to remain fresh, your pirates can use half of that time
to travel away from their base, before they have to retreat to a world and top up their
air. Don't forget that air gets fouled before it gets deadly, so pirates would not
definitely die if the got delayed on the way to a planet.

Before you do research away from the Spelljammer setting itself, don't forget that pirates
already have access to the following:

Create Air - This 1st level priest spell, from page 21 of the CoAS creates enough fresh
air for one person per cleric level and requires the pirates to carry a stoppered flash
for every time they want it cast. I would suggest that pirates get down on their knees and
pray to any evil or chaotic god that will lend them its clerics or sell them scrolls with
the spell on.

Softwood - This 4th level priest spell, from page 24 of the CoAS, allows anyone to be
frozen inside a block of magical wood until they are put into fresh air for half an hour.
Combine this with the rope use skill (or a 2e non-weapon proficiency) and you gain a way
to stop prisoners using any air. All you need to do is tow them on long ropes that leave
them outside the ships air envelope. If attacked, you can cut the ropes to ditch the
softwooded characters.

Obscurement - This 2nd level priest spell (now the 3e spell Obscuring Mist) creates fresh
air.

Wall of Fog - This 1st level wizard spell (from the 2e PHB, but not available in 3e)
freshens air and can also be used to provide concealment during boarding actions.

Fog Cloud - This 1st level wizard spell (replaced by Obscuring Mist in 3e) freshens air
and can also be used to provide concealment during boarding actions.

Leomund's Tiny Hut - This 3rd level wizards spell has its own atmosphere (which lasts for
the 2 hours per caster level). 9 people can fit inside it.

Wind Wall - This 3rd level wizard spell freshens 10 tons of air per caster level, in
addition to its listed effects.

Leomund's Secure Shelter - This forth level wizards spell retains its own atmosphere
(which lasts for 2 hours per level). The spell says it provides facilities for 8 people,
but you may be able to cram more inside.

Conjure Elemental - This fifth level wizards spell (folded into the Summon Monster spells
in 3e) can be used to summon an air elemental inside a sphere and will freshen an air
envelope. (The 3e Summon Nature's Ally can also summon air elementals at high levels.)

(I would suggest that we might need an improved 3e rule for air elementals as there are a
variety of them with different sizes. I would be thinking that an air elemental can clean
up a certain amount of tons of air per day as a natural ability depending on its hit
dice/level. Are there any Planescape fans on the list that know of a handy 3e rule on
Planewalker or another website?)

Mordenkaninen's Magnificent Mansion - This 7th level wizard spell can not be used in The
Flow, but can be cast in wildspace to provide free air for everyone you let in for 2
hours. This spell would also allow people to make a ship look deserted and appear in force
2 hours later.

I'm sure that there are a number of magic items that allow someone survive without air,
and they would probably allow you to treat that crew member as if they didn't exist for
air calculation purposes.

The Hurwaeti race have a natural ability to create a fog cloud, and this can clean up 10
tons of air per day. If you take one hurwaeti per 10 tons of your ship (5 hurwaeti for a
squid ship) you can keep you air fresh indefinitely. This is probably the most useful
ability of this strange race!

> Arr, my hearties! [grin]

Avast ye land-lubbers!

David "Big Mac" Shepheard
Virtual Eclipse Role Playing Club
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/links/d20_system_001071937434/Spelljammer_001071430476
http://virtualeclipse.aboho.com/