Ships

In many AD&D campaigns, ships and boats are the fastest way to travel long distances. Many kingdoms rely extensively on sea trade and are plagued by pirates or privateers. Naturally, adventurers tend to get involved in problems like this. Fighting on a ship first assumes that the attacker can catch and board his prey.

Encounter Range: Belowdecks, encounter range is limited by the range of vision. Abovedecks, everything is in range for an encounter. Ships can spot other ships as far as 10–15 miles away, depending on their size and the prevailing visibility.

Lines of Fire: Impaired.

Cover: Masts, deckhouses, water-kegs, and gunwhales can all function as hard cover. Abovedecks, any character is within 1d4 squares of hard cover.

Footing: Normal. Climbing around in rigging is a different matter, though.

Obstacles: Masts, sails, deck cargo, and open hatches can obstruct movement.

Unusual: The sails and masts of a ship are known as its rigging. Moving around in the rigging is treated like climbing, but there are always ropes or ladders handy. If a character in the rigging slips or is knocked down, he may fall to the deck or the sea.

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