Re: Pirates - Was: Places: Dragon Rock Map

In <URL:news:local.spelljam> on Sun 06 Mar, David Shepheard wrote:
> 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").

If you look, you will notice that "Dreamer" has a "co.uk"
address. [grin]

Better (if I can use that term about them) pirates should know
how to deal with these problems.


> 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.

I would agree with all of this, and this is another reason that
alchemy, which could provide flame-less heat, or magic, which
could provide hot food, one way or another, could be very popular
in the phlogiston. I don't think fishing, to get a change of
diet, will be very practical, either!

I didn't think you got too much human-animal disease problems,
with a little care, except with pigs?


> >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.

I would be more inclined to calculate the man-days rating of the
air, and divide that by the crew, plus cooking fires, and any
other air-consuming activity, which I'd give a man-equivalent
rating. Method 2, I think.

Does anyone know of tables suggesting air consumption in man-
equivalent ratings for things like lighting and cooking on a SJ
ship? Or, do we just ignore these for simplicity?


> 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!

Thanks for the above list!

I knew of some of these, but, they might suggest a few new magic
items, like the Air Lantern, which while it burns provides fresh
air, good for two man-equivalents, in a 10' radius (there is a
non-magical alchemical equivalent).

Maybe some sort of larger unintelligent lizard creature which can
create a bigger flog cloud exists?

I can see the great popularity of Hurwaeti (C.S. Lewis 'Narnia'
marsh wiggles?), to the extent that some pirates or other evil
spelljammers might keep them as slaves.


Also, it seems to strongly push for any crew, pirate or
otherwise, having two spellcasters, one who normally runs the
helm, and a second with some spell capability free.

Scrolls with the above spells would seem very attractive, as I
would have thought you could use these without interfering with
your ability to spelljam, though maybe not after you start
spelljamming for the day?

Would it be only naval vessels who have three helmsmen, and at
least one, preferably two, understudies, to have three eight-hour
shifts at the helm, with spare spellcasters?


> > Arr, my hearties! [grin]
>
> Avast ye land-lubbers!

So, you'd make fun of ... The Captain, would you!  [grin]

(Must stop channeling pirate Captain 'Billy Red'...)


> 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/

--
Dreamer
dreamer@??????.?????.??.uk
http://www.romsys.demon.co.uk/