Action Phase (OSS)

__TOC__
During this phase, each ship performs any actions declared in the Maneuvering phase-such as boarding or ramming. Actions that don't require any declaration, such as firing missiles or casting spells, also occur in this phase. Some combat actions might receive modifiers from the results of the Maneuvering phase and possibly from previous morale checks (see the Morale section in the Resolution phase).
Actions are resolved in the following order:
* Missile and artillery attacks.
* Ramming Attempts
* Boarding Attempts
* Boarding Melees
When two ships attempt the same thing, the two actions are resolved simultaneously.
 Table 15: General Naval Combat
d20 roll	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number	Adjusted Hit Number
d20 roll	1* 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10 	11 	12 	13 	14 	15 	16 	17 	18 	19 	20 	21 	22 	23 	24 	25**
1 	8 	7 	6 	5 	5 	4 	3 	2 	2 	2 	1 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
2 	8 	8 	7 	6 	6 	5 	4 	3 	3 	3 	2 	2 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
3 	9 	8 	7 	6 	6 	5 	4 	4 	4 	4 	3 	3 	3 	2 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
4 	9 	8 	8 	7 	6 	5 	4 	4 	4 	4 	4 	4 	3 	2 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
5 	9 	8 	8 	7 	7 	6 	5 	4 	4 	4 	4 	4 	3 	3 	2 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
6 	9 	9 	8 	7 	7 	6 	5 	4 	4 	4 	4 	4 	4 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
7 	9 	9 	8 	7 	7 	6 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	4 	4 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
8 	9 	9 	8 	8 	7 	6 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	4 	4 	2 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
9 	10 	9 	9 	8 	7 	6 	6 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	4 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
10 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	5 	5 	5 	4 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
11 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	7 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	5 	4 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
12 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	7 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	5 	3 	3 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
13 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	8 	7 	6 	6 	6 	6 	6 	5 	5 	3 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
14 	10 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	7 	7 	7 	7 	6 	6 	6 	5 	4 	3 	3 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
15 	10 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	7 	7 	7 	7 	7 	6 	6 	5 	4 	3 	3 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
16 	10 	10 	9 	9 	9 	8 	8 	7 	7 	7 	7 	6 	6 	5 	4 	3 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
17 	10 	10 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	8 	7 	7 	7 	7 	6 	6 	4 	4 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0
18 	10 	10 	10 	9 	9 	9 	8 	8 	8 	8 	7 	7 	7 	6 	5 	4 	4 	3 	2 	1 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0
19 	10 	10 	10 	10 	9 	9 	8 	8 	8 	8 	8 	7 	7 	6 	4 	4 	4 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	1 	1 	0
20 	10 	10 	10 	10 	10 	10 	9 	9 	9 	9 	9 	8 	8 	7 	6 	5 	5 	4 	3 	2 	2 	1 	1 	1 	1
 Table 16: Hits From Excess Attack Factors
ExtraFactors	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15	Result from Table 15
ExtraFactors	0 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9 	10
1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	1
2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	1 	1 	1 	1 	2 	2
3 	0 	0 	0 	1 	1 	1 	2 	2 	2 	3 	3
4 	0 	0 	1 	1 	1 	2 	2 	3 	3 	3 	4
5 	0 	0 	1 	1 	2 	2 	3 	3 	4 	4 	5
6 	0 	0 	1 	2 	2 	3 	3 	4 	5 	5 	6
7 	0 	1 	1 	2 	3 	3 	4 	5 	5 	6 	7
8 	0 	1 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	5 	6 	7 	8
9 	0 	1 	1 	2 	3 	4 	5 	6 	7 	8 	9
==Missile Attacks==
Naval archery can soften up the resistance on opposing ships before a boarding action and slow down fleeing ships by killing rowers and other sailors. In addition, flaming arrows can ignite sailcloth and other flammable objects on enemy ships.
A vessel's marines serve as its archers; however, archers require clear fields of fire as well as fairly secure, steady places to stand. No matter how many marines a ship actually carries, only a limited number can serve as archers at any given time, as noted in the following table:
 Table 17: Naval Archers
Vessel Size	Maximum number of archers
Small 	5
Medium 	20
Large 	30
Very Large 	40
Naval missile attacks work just like normal missile attacks, except that missiles are fired in groups. Each archer contributes one missile factor to the attack. Artillery weapons each contribute the number of factors shown on Table 21: Artillery! The player controlling the attacking ship selects a target vessel and rolls 1d20 for every 10 missile factors. The attackers' THAC0 and the targets' Armor Class determine the basic number needed to score a hit, though that value is subject to modification for range and any bonuses or penalties incurred during the Maneuverability phase (see Table 13: Maneuverability and Combat). If the attackers have different THAC0s, use the most prevalent THAC0 in the group. If the targets have different Armor Classes, use the most prevalent Armor Class in the group.
Once the DM knows the required attack number, check Table 15: General Naval Combat, cross-referencing the number required for a hit with each die roll. The result indicates the number of hits inflicted on the opposing ship. If the number of missile factors is not evenly divisible by 10, roll once on Table 15 for the remnant and then roll on Table 16: Hits From Excess Attack Factors to determine how many extra hits occur.
Each hit has the potential to inflict one hit die of damage to crew and passengers aboard the opposing ship. After determining the number of hits, the player then rolls on Table 18: Missile Hit Allocation to see where each hit lands.
When creatures aboard a ship suffer damage from a naval missile attack, pool their hit dice and inflict enough casualties among them to account for all the damage. That is, if a group of 20 hobgoblin marines (one hit die each) suffer five dice of damage from a missile attack, five hobgoblins die. If the defenders are creatures with multiple hit dice, one must die before any others suffer damage. If the attacks don't inflict enough damage to slay a creature outright, it is merely wounded, but damage from further attacks affects wounded creatures first. For example, if a group of 10 ogres (4+1 hit dice each) suffers 6 dice of damage, one ogre is killed and another is wounded, with two hit dice remaining. Bonus hit points of +3 or more count as an extra hit die and bonuses of +2 or less are ignored. For purposes of naval combat, all creatures have at least one hit die.
When missile fire strikes a target divided into several groups, such as marines (who might be divided into archers, boarders, artillerists, firefighters, and unassigned crewmen), the player controlling the target ship decides where the casualties occur. Boarding combat is an exception. Whenever two ships become involved in a boarding action, the player controlling the ship making the missile attack can direct his archer's fire at the onrushing boarders. The attacker must still roll on Table 18 to see where any hits fall, but hits against marines must be taken from the boarding party first.
==Incendiary Attacks==
Occasionally, archers shoot fiery arrows at an opposing vessel's sails or decks; artillery weapons, too, can fire incendiaries. The practice poses some danger to the attacking ship, however, as incoming attacks from the opponent vessel can damage or scatter the incendiaries and start fires.
A ship's crew can prepare one to four volleys of incendiary missiles during any 1-minute round in which it has unassigned crewmen or marines not engaged in combat or reloading. The player controlling the ship decides how many volleys to prepare. Incendiaries cannot be fired during the round in which they are prepared, but remain ready until fired or thrown overboard.
Weapons firing incendiaries suffer a range reduction of one third, rounded down (except for greek fire projectors, see page 44). The procedure for firing incendiaries is the same as for firing at personnel, as described above, except the target is the ship, which is considered armor class 10. Greek fire projectors work differently (see page 44).
For each hit scored, roll once on Table 19: Incendiary Hit Allocation. For each fire started, roll once on Table 20: Fires to determine the fire's size.
{| class="article-table"	 	A 	B 	C 	D 	X
1 	— 	— 	— 	— 	n/a	
2 	— 	— 	— 	— 	n/a	
3 	— 	— 	— 	Sailor 	n/a	
4 	— 	— 	Sailor 	Rower 	n/a	
5 	— 	Sailor 	Rower 	Rower 	n/a	
6 	Sailor 	Rower 	Rower 	Rower 	n/a	
7 	Sailor 	Rower 	Rower 	Marine 	n/a	
8 	Marine 	Marine 	Marine 	Marine 	n/a	
9 	Marine*	Marine*	Marine*	Marine*	n/a	
10	Special	Special	Special	Special	n/a	
{| class="article-table"	 	A 	B 	C 	D 	X
1 	Fire, crippling 	Fire, crippling 	Fire, crippling	Fire, crippling	***	
2 	Fire, crippling 	Fire, crippling*	Fire, hull 	Fire, hull* 	***	
3 	Fire, crippling*	Fire, hull 	Fire, hull* 	Fire, hull** 	***	
4 	Fire, hull 	Fire, hull• 	Fire, hull** 	— 	***	
5 	Fire, hull 	Fire, hull** 	— 	— 	***	
6 	Fire, hull** 	— 	— 	— 	***	
7 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	
8 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	
9 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	
10	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	
 Table 20: Fires
Die Roll (d10)	Fire Size
1 	d4
2-5 	d6
6-9 	d8
10 	d10
Effects of Fires: When a fire starts, it immediately inflicts hull or crippling damage on the target vessel, depending on its location (from Table 19). To determine damage, roll the die type shown on Table 20. When a fire inflicts maximum damage, it immediately grows to the next larger size and starts a second fire; hull fires spread to the rigging or oars, and crippling fires spread to the hull. The steps after d10 are d12 and d20 (the maximum size).
If the target ship has firefighters ready, they can try to fight the blaze, but not before it inflicts damage. Roll one die equal to the fire's size for each firefighter. On a roll of 1, the fire goes out; otherwise, it keeps burning. Each firefighter can work on only one fire at a time. If a ship has several fires, all its firefighters must be assigned before rolling any dice. If a fire is not put out when it starts, it continues to inflict damage every minute until it goes out or the ship is consumed. Firefighters can continue to battle it each minute.
==Artillery==
If not used to contribute to missile attacks, a ship's artillery can be aimed directly at opposing ships. Each weapon's particulars are noted on Table 21: Artillery.
To conduct an artillery attack, the controlling player selects a target ship for each piece of artillery firing and notes the target's effective Armor Class:
* Ballistae targets are effectively AC 10.
* Catapult and trebuchet targets are effectively AC 0.
* Greek fire projector targets are effectively AC 5.
The effective THAC0 for the attack varies with the artillery weapon and is shown on Table 21: Artillery. If an attack hits, the target ship rolls once on Table 22: Artillery Effects. Each hit inflicts the damage listed on Table 21 to the target ship. Table 22 shows where the damage occurs, along with any special effects.
{| class="article-table"	Weapon 	RamgeM/S/M/L 	DamgeCrew/Ship	Crew 	ROF	THAC0	Cost 	Space
Ballista, light 	—/8/16/24 	3/— 	1 	1/2 (5)	12 	400 	5 (1) 	
Ballista, medium 	1/10/20/30	6/1d3 	2 	1/3 (3)	14 	600 	10 (3)	
Ballista, heavy 	2/12/24/36	6/1d4+2 (+1) 	4 	1/4 (2)	17 	·800 	15 (5)	
Catapult, light 	15/—/—/321	5/1d2 (+1) 	1 	1/2 (5)	14 	500 	6 (1) 	
Catapult, medium 	15/—/—/321	10/1d3+1 (+2)	3 	1/3 (3)	15 	700 	12 (3)	
Catapult, heavy 	18/—/—/361	15/2d4 (+3) 	5 	1/4 (2)	16 	1,000	18 (5)	
Greek Fire Projector2	—/2/4/6 	Special 	2 	1/4 	10 	1,000	10 (5)	
Trebuchet3 	24/—/—/481	20/4d4 (+4) 	8 	1/4 (2)	17 	1,500	— 	
 Table 22: Artillery Effects
Roll 	Effect
1 or less	Glancing Blow: target suffers no damage
2-3 	Partial Hit: -2 points of Crippling damage (minimum of 1)
4-5 	Partial Hit: -1 point of Crippling damage (minimum of 1)
6-10 	Rigging/Oar Hit: normal Crippling damage
11-12 	Partial Hull Strike: -1 point of Hull damage
13-14 	Hull Strike: normal Hull damage
15 	Rigging/Oar Hit: normal Crippling damage plus Personnel Casualty
16 	Hull Strike: normal Hull damage plus Personnel Casualty
17-18 	Critical Hit: roll on Table 23: Artillery Critical Hits
19 	Critical Hit: roll on Table 23 plus Personnel Casualty
20+ 	Critical Hit: attack inflicts normal Crippling and Hull damage plus Personnel Casualty and roll on Table 23
====Notes to Table 22====
Defense Class X vessels always suffer normal Crippling and Sinking damage if struck by artillery. Roll on this table, however, to see if the artillery inflicts a critical hit. Class X vessels suffer double damage from any critical hit (do not roll on Table 23).
Personnel Casualty: The artillery hit causes secondary damage to the crew (from splintering wood, falling debris, or actual crew hits). Roll once on Table 18: Missile Hit Allocation. The group indicated suffers three hits.
 Table 23: Artillery Critical Hits (2d4)
Die Roll	Effect
2 	Hull Smashed
3 	Crippling Strike
4-5 	Tactical Strike
6 	Artillery Hit/Crew Casualty
7 	Ram Smashed
8 	Hull Smashed
====Notes to Table 23====
Hull Smashed: The artillery attack destroys a section of the target ship's hull. The ship in question suffers an additional 2d6 points of hull damage and must make a Seaworthiness check in the Resolution phase of this naval combat round to avoid sinking (see page 52). If the check succeeds, the ship still founders in 1d10 hours unless beached or repaired. Remember that hull damage reduces a ship's Seaworthiness rating (see Table 28); the damaged ship must use its reduced rating (if any) for the required Seaworthiness check.
Crippling Strike: The artillery hit severely damages a ship's rigging (if sail-powered), oars (if rowed), or both. The damaged vessel suffers an extra 2d6 points of crippling damage. In addition, the vessel's sailors or rowers suffer three hits. Ships moving under sail lose sailors. Ships moving under oars lose rowers. If the ship is moving under both sail and oars, the player controlling the target ship can allocate the three hits among the ship's sailors and rowers as he sees fit.
Tactical Strike: The artillery strikes the target ship in an important or vulnerable area. The ship in question suffers twice the normal damage indicated on Table 21. If the vessel is armed with a greek fire projector or has Incendiary missiles prepared, roll twice on Table 19: Incendiary Hit Allocation to see if any fires start on board. Artillery Hit (Artillery-bearing vessels only): The attacking ship's strike actually destroys an artillery weapon on the target ship. (Destroyed weapons must be replaced; crewmen cannot repair them.) In addition, the vessel's artillerists suffer three hits. Roll randomly to determine which weapon is destroyed. If the destroyed weapon is a greek fire projector, the target ship automatically suffers one hull fire and rolls five times on Table 19 to see if additional fires start.
Ram Smashed: The artillery hit completely destroys a vessel's ram, reducing the target's Ram Factor to 0. Do not roll for additional damage. In addition, the ship in question loses 1d6 hull points. Ships normally possessing a Ramming Factor of 0 (those not equipped with a ram) simply lose 1d6 hull points.
===An Example of Missile and Artillery Fire===
During a routine patrol, the valiant crew of the great galley Discord engages the bloodthirsty and barbaric pirates of the dread dromond Strömbreaker and her evil captain, Bruis Blackheart (run by the DM). The two ships are just 100 yards apart, thus naval combat rounds occur in one minute. The Strömbreaker wins the Maneuvering phase of the first combat round.
Devilishly clever, Captain Bruis Blackheart closes the range between the two vessels to 50 yards so as to make full use of his archers and the three medium ballistae mounted on his ship. Unfortunately for the Discord, its captain ordered a ramming action. Since it lost the Maneuvering phase, it could not close the distance enough to ram (see Table 13: Maneuverability and Combat). Now, the vessel is a sitting target for the Strömbreaker's missile attacks. Worse still, the Discord's archers cannot attack this round, as they put down their weapons and prepared for the shock of collision.
Since the Strömbreaker is a Very Large ship (see Table 38: Ship Combat Statistics for details), it can only use 40 archers at a time. This is small consolation to the crew of the Discord, as the pirate ship loads two of its three medium ballistae with anti-personnel shot (smaller rocks and metal designed to kill crewmen and marines) and fires a large rock from the remaining ballista at the ship itself.
To resolve these attacks, the Dungeon Master first adds up all of the missile factors from the missiles aimed at the crew (that is, the number of archers plus the artillery factors of two ballistae), for a total of 52 (40 for the number of archers plus 12 for the missile factors of the two ballistae—see Table 21: Artillery). The DM then rolls on Table 15: General Naval Combat once for every 10 missile factors, for a total of five rolls. The Dungeon Master would also check Table 16: Hits From Excess Attack Factors to determine how much damage (if any) the remaining 2 missile factors inflict on the Discord.
To use Table 15 effectively, the DM needs to know the most prevalent Armor Class of the Discord's crew (in this case 10) and the most prevalent THAC0 of the Strömbreaker's archers. (In this case, the THAC0 for all missile attacks is 20; even though the medium ballistae have their own THAC0, the most prevalent THAC0 on the Strömbreaker stems from its 40 firing archers and not its 12 missile factors worth of artillery.) Once the Dungeon Master knows this information, he computes the attackers' adjusted hit number, factoring in any modifiers for range. Since the ships are 50 yards apart no missile attacks suffer any range modification. Therefore, the Strömbreaker's adjusted hit number is 10. The DM rolls 5 times on Table 15, cross references the die roll numbers with the adjusted hit number, and adds the results together. In this case, the number of hits totals 32.
To resolve the remaining 2 missile factors (remember there were a total of 52 missile factors), the DM rolls once on Table 15 and cross references that result with the number of extra factors on Table 16: Hits From Excess Attack Factors. In this case, the DM scores 1 additional hit based on the results of Table 16, for an overall total of 33 missile hits.
Now, the DM must check Table 18: Missile Hit Allocation to find exactly where each of the 33 missiles struck. To use this table, the DM simply finds the Discord's Defense Class Rating a great galley is Defense Class B according to Table 38: Ship Combat Statistics), rolls a d10, and consults the appropriate column. In this case, the Dungeon Master does not want to roll a d10 33 times and opts to roll only 13 times, counting the results of the first 10 rolls three times each. As a result of checking on Table 18, the Strömbreaker's first missile attack hits 5 sailors, 15 rowers, 3 marines, and 2 officers. The remaining 7 hits have no effect according to Table 18.
Finally, the Dungeon Master must resolve the remaining ballista attack. Since Bruis Blackheart ordered this attack on the Discord itself, the process is different. This time, the DM finds the artillery's THAC0 and the target ship's Armor Class rating to determine the probability of a hit. (Ballista targets possess AC ratings of 10 according to the Artillery section of the Action phase.) The DM makes a regular attack roll for Blackheart's ship and strikes the Discord with an 18 on a d20.
The DM then rolls 2d10 on Table 22: Artillery Effects to determine the overall damage of the artillery attack. In this case the DM rolls a 13, indicating a Hull Strike. The pirates! artillery attack causes 1d3 points (according to Table 21: Artillery) of hull damage to the Discord. Captain Bruis Blackheart cackles gleefully as he orders his archers and artillerists to reload!
==Ramming==
Many warships possess rams designed to breach the hulls of enemy ships. These rams offer a quick way to smash and sink opposing vessels. DMs should note that only oared ships can perform ramming maneuvers, as sailing vessels do not possess sufficient maneuverability to make ramming a viable tactic.
===Optional Rule: Ramming and Boarding Actions===
In naval combat, ramming often precedes boarding actions, as the maneuver brings the opposing ships into physical contact. Ships that inflict more than a glancing strike during a ramming maneuver receive +2 on their boarding rolls if they choose to board during the next Action phase (see the section marked Boarding for more details).
Likewise, ships that inflict only glancing strikes, or miss, or suffer damage themselves become subject to boarding by the target vessel, which receives no bonus to the roll.
Each ship capable of ramming possesses a Ramming Factor (RF). The RF is a number between 1 and 4; the higher a ship's RF, the more effective it is at ramming. Add the RF to the attacking ship's Ramming roll every time that ship attempts a ramming maneuver.
In addition, the size and tonnage of a ship influence its ability to damage other ships. Larger ships, for example, often inflict greater damage when ramming smaller ships. Ramming vessels receive a +1 bonus to their Ramming roll for every size category greater they are than their target ship. A Very Large ship, for example, is 2 sizes greater than a Medium ship, and thus receives a bonus of +2 on its Ramming roll. Conversely, smaller ships do not inflict as much damage on larger ships. Thus, ramming ships suffer a -1 penalty for every size category smaller they are than their target ship. A Small ship attempting to ram a Medium vessel would suffer a -1 penalty to its roll, as the attacking ship is one size category smaller than its target.
To determine the success of a ramming action, add any size and RF modifiers with those combat modifiers incurred during the Maneuverability phase. Since an actual ramming action encompasses a number of complex factors, it is possible for an attacking ship to suffer as much, if not more, damage than its target.
Most ram attempts are aimed at sinking the opposing vessel, but if the target has oars, a ram can be directed at the oars with an eye toward crippling the target instead.
In the event that two or more ships attempt to ram each other during the same combat round, the DM should consider the winner of the Maneuvering phase as the ramming ship; the loser of the Maneuvering phase becomes the target and may not attack the ramming ship on the same round.
No matter what the result of a ramming attack, the opponents must wait one round before attempting to ram again, as the two vessels must maneuver away from each other to get enough space for a ramming run.
 Table 24: Ramming Action Results (2d6)
ModifiedDie Roll	Result
1 or less 	Ramming Ship suffers Critical Miss
2 	Ramming ship loses 4d6 damage points
3 	Ramming Ship loses 3d6 damage points
4 	Ramming Ship loses 2d6 damage points
5-6 	Complete Miss
7 	Glancing Strike: Target loses 1d6 damage points
8 	Target loses 2d6 damage points
9-10 	Target loses 3d6 damage points
11 	Target loses 4d6 damage points
12-14 	Target suffers Critical Hit
15 	Target suffers Critical Hit and loses 2d6 damage points
16 	Target suffers Critical Hit and loses 3d6 damage points
17 	Target suffers Critical Hit and loses 4d6 damage points
18+ 	Deadly Strike
====Notes====
: Critical Miss and Critical Hit: These effects appear on Tables 25 and 26. Roll the appropriate dice indicated by the particular table to discover the effect of a Critical Hit or Miss.
: Complete Miss: This result indicates that the target ship avoids the ramming action. The ramming ship cannot attack again this combat round.
: Attacking Ship Loses Damage Points: The attacking ship loses the indicated number of hull points (if the ramming attack was directed against the hull) or crippling points (if the attack was directed against the oars). If the ship has rowers, they suffer as many dice of damage as their ship suffered. During the Resolution phase, the DM determines whether the damage affects the ship's Seaworthiness (see page 52).
: Defending Ship Loses Damage Points: The defending ship loses the indicated number of hull points (if the ramming attack was directed against the hull) or crippling points (if the attack was directed against the oars). If the ship has rowers, they suffer as many dice of damage as their ship suffered. During the Resolution phase, the DM determines whether the damage affects the ship's Seaworthiness (see page 52). Deadly Strike: The attacking ship has damaged a significant portion of the target's hull. This result is possible even if the attack was aimed at the oars—the two vessels collided. The target ship loses half its original hull points. (A ship with a normal total of 24 hull points would lose 12 hull points as a result of the ram.) The target ship must also make a successful Seaworthiness check at its current rating (see page 52) with an additional -2 penalty. If the check fails, the ship sinks [see page 52). If the check succeeds, the ship still founders in 1d10 hours unless beached or repaired.
 Table 25: Ramming Critical Miss Results (2d4)
Die Roll	Result
2 	Ram Shatters
3 	Oars Sheared/Sails Tear
4 	Ram Damaged
5 	Fouled Oars/Rigging
6 	Poor Tactical Position
7 	Collision
8 	Ram Shatters
Ram Shatters: The attacking ship rams the target with a glancing strike, which causes the target ship to lose 1d6 hull points (even if the attack was aimed at the oars). The blow shatters the attacking ship's ram, reducing the ship's Ramming Factor to 0. In addition, the attacking ship must attempt a Seaworthiness check with a -3 penalty to see if the shattered ram opens a hole in its hull; failure indicates that the ship does indeed have such a hole. Ships damaged in this way founder in 1d10 hours unless beached or repaired. Ships without a ram (those with a Ramming Factor of 0) must still make a Seaworthiness check to avoid foundering.
Oars Sheared/Sails Tear: The target ship barely avoids the ramming vessel. If the attacker is under oar power, the proximity of the two ships causes one side of the attacking ship's oars to break against the hull of the target ship. This event cripples ships powered solely by rowers. Vessels that also possess sails may move at their normal sailing movement rates. The event kills half the ship's rowers.
If the attacker is under sail power, its sails and rigging tear under the stress from the complex maneuvering involved in combat. Ships without oars are effectively crippled. Vessels that possess oars may move at their normal oared movement rates. The event kills half the ship's sailors.
If the attacker employs both sails and oars, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-3, the attacker's oars are sheared. On a roll of 4-6, the attacker's sails tear.
Ram Damaged: The attacking ship rams the target with a glancing strike, which causes the target ship to lose 1d6 hull points (even if the attack was aimed at the oars). The blow damages the attacking ship's ram, reducing its Ramming Factor by 1. Ships without a ram (those with a Ramming Factor of 0) must make a successful Seaworthiness check with a -2 penalty or lose 2d6 hull points.
Oars/Rigging Foul: The rowers aboard the attacking ship fall out of rhythm or the attacker's sails and rigging get tangled up (or both). The attacking ship cannot complete its ramming attack and the ship's movement is reduced by two thirds of its base rate for the remainder of the round.
Poor Tactical Position: Not only did the attacking ship miss its target, but its poor tactical position gives an advantage to its opponents. Ships with this result receive a -3 penalty to their maneuverability checks during the Maneuvering phase next combat round.
Collision: The attacking ship strikes a natural object (rock, coral reef, etc.) or floating debris during its ramming action and loses 2d6 hull points (even if the attack was aimed at the oars). Ships receiving this result during a battle fought in or near shallows or coral infested areas should make a Seaworthiness check to see if they run aground.
 Table 26: Ramming Critical Hit Results (2d4)
Die Roll	Result
2 	Deadly Strike
3 	Oars Sheared/Mast Cracked
4 	Crew Stunned
5-6 	Tactical Advantage
7 	Crippling Strike
8 	Deadly Strike
Deadly Strike: See notes to Table 24 for details. In addition, the ramming ship must attempt a maneuverability roll. If the result is six or less, the ramming ship becomes stuck in the hull of the target vessel. Once stuck, a ship cannot move or maneuver until freed. Stuck ships can try to break free during the Action phase of the next naval combat round. To get free, the ship must roll a 4 or more on 1d6. The ship cannot attempt any other maneuvers during the process, however, and only half the normal complement of crew and warriors can participate in any combat action. (The other half work on freeing the ship, and count as unassigned crewmen for purposes of missile hit location.) If the ship makes no combat actions at all, but devotes its entire crew to freeing the stuck ship, it gains a +2 bonus to the roll. If the roll fails, the ship can try to get free again during the next combat round, but suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to the roll.
If the target ship begins sinking, it drags the ramming ship down with it unless the latter gets free before the target ship sinks completely.
Oars Sheared/Mast Cracked: If the target ship is oar powered, the ramming ship strikes it in such a way that it shatters the target's oars. The impact reduces the target ship's rowing movement rate to 0. Vessels that also possess sails may move at their normal sailing movement rates. Half the target ship's rowers die.
If the target ship is under sail power, the force of the ramming attack topples its rigging. This result reduces a ship's sailing rate to 0, though vessels that possess oars may move at their normal oared movement rates. Half the target ship's sailors die.
If the target ship was moving under both sails and oars, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-3, the target's oars are sheared. On a roll of 4-6, the target's rigging topples.
Crew Stunned: The impact from the ramming attack knocks down and stuns all crew members and passengers on the target vessel. The target vessel cannot move or participate in combat for the remainder of the combat round. In addition, it suffers a -4 penalty on its maneuverability check during the Maneuvering phase of the next combat round. PCs on board ships so struck must make successful saving throws vs. breath weapon to avoid the stunning effect; PC spellcasters have their spells interrupted regardless of whether or not their saving throws are successful.
If the target ship has a greek fire projector or has prepared any incendiary missiles, one hull fire starts; roll five times on Table 19 to see if any more fires occur. Tactical Advantage: The angle and force of the ramming attack grants the ramming vessel a tactical advantage. The attacking ship receives a +3 bonus to its maneuverability check and a +2 bonus to any boarding action during the next naval combat round.
Crippling Strike: The ramming vessel strikes a particularly vulnerable section of the target ship. As a result, the target ship's movement rate decreases by two thirds of its base rate and it suffers a -3 penalty to all subsequent maneuverability checks. In addition, the target vessel loses a quarter of its normal total hull or crippling points (round fractions up), depending on whether the ramming attack was intended to sink or cripple the ship. Thus, a ship that typically possesses 24 hull points would lose 6 hull points.
If the ramming attack was directed at the target ship's hull and the target ship has a greek fire projector or has prepared any incendiary missiles, roll twice on Table 19 to see if any fires start on board.
===An Example of Ramming===
After suffering damage at the hands of the merciless pirate, Bruis Blackheart, the dashing captain of the Discord orders his great galley on a ramming course. Since the Discord and the Strömbreaker are only 50 yards apart, naval combat rounds last one minute and both ships use their maneuverability dice to determine the winner of the Maneuvering phase.
Bruis wishes to maintain the range between the vessels and chooses to flee the charging great galley in an attempt to avoid its ram. Both ships roll their maneuverability dice. Since the Discord and Strömbreaker currently operate under sails and oars, they use the first maneuverability die rating indicated on Table 38: Ship Combat Statistics. The great galley rolls an 8 while the pirate dromond rolls a 4; the Discord wins the maneuvering phase by twice the amount of the Strömbreaker's maneuverability score!
The Dungeon Master checks Table 13: Maneuverability and Combat and discovers that the Discord's victory allows it to close up to 80 yards this naval combat round (see the notes to Table 13 as well as Table 14: Range Changes) more than enough for it to ram the cold-blooded pirates. In addition, the galley's victory gives it a +2 bonus on its ramming combat roll this round. According to the order of battle in the Action phase (see the Action phase overview on page 39), however, the Strömbreaker can fire arrows before the Discord rams it. The DM resolves this missile combat as described earlier, and the valiant crew suffers more damage.
The DM now turns to Table 24: Ramming Action Results and rolls 2d6, adding the Ramming Factor of the Discord (4) and the maneuverability ramming bonus (2) to the roll. The number rolled will determine the effect of the galley's ramming action. The Discord's player receives a modified roll of 13 (natural roll of 7 plus 6 for Ramming Factor and ramming combat bonuses). Table 24 indicates that the Strömbreaker receives 2d6 points of hull damage. The Discord's crew cheers as it strikes the pirate vessel for 6 points of hull damage!
==Boarding==
Boarding is a two-stage process which requires the attacking ship to throw out grapples and secure the target ship before sending over marines to attack. In the AD&D naval combat system, these two stages occur during the Action phase of the combat round. The results from the attacker's boarding action die roll (listed on Table 27: Boarding Action Results) determine the success of the maneuver. To board another vessel, a ship must reduce the distance between it and its opponent to zero. If two ships try to board each other in the same round, the winner of the maneuvering roll is considered the attacker. If the two ships did not make a maneuvering roll in the previous round because they were grappled together (or because of a ramming attempt) the ship that won the last maneuvering roll is considered the attacker.
===Boarding Factors===
Every marine assigned to a boarding party represents one boarding factor. Note that marines can serve as archers, provided that their ship carries enough personal missile weapons to equip them for missile combat.
A vessel can also increase its boarding factors by leaving a skeleton crew to operate the ship and adding the "non-essential" sailors to its boarding party. DMs can find the minimum number of sailors required for each ship on Table 2: Ship Characteristics. Remember that ships utilizing skeleton crews can only move at one half their maximum movement rate (before modifying for wind strength and course relative to the wind).
During a boarding action, Dungeon Masters should note the total boarding factors of each ship involved; a vessel with significantly more boarding factors than its opponent has a greater chance of succeeding with or repulsing a boarding action. The DM simply compares the attacker's and defender's boarding factors and subtracts the lower number from the higher, then modifies the boarding action die roll by one for every five points of difference between the two ships' boarding factor totals. If the attacker has more boarding factors that the defender, add the modifier to the boarding action die roll. If the defender's boarding factors exceeds the attacker's, subtract the modifier from the boarding action die roll.
For example, a ship with 20 boarding factors attempts to board a ship with 30 boarding factors. The DM subtracts 20 from 30 and gets 10. The DM then modifies the die roll 1 point for every 5 points of difference between the two boarding factor totals, for a modifier of 2. Since the defender has more boarding factors, the DM subtracts 2 from the boarding action die roll.
 Table 27: Boarding Action Results (2d10)
ModifiedDice Roll	Result
6 or less 	Grapples Repulsed
7-8 	Target Ship Partially Grappled
9-12 	Target Ship Grappled
13-14 	Boarding Party
15-17 	Boarding Party
18-19 	Boarding Party
20 or more 	Entire Boarding Party
Grapples Repulsed: Indicates that the defending ship manages to repel all grappling attempts. No boarding action is possible this round.
Target Ship Partially Grappled: Indicates that the attackers have successfully attached a few grapples to the target ship. Partially grappled ships can immediately make one attempt to free themselves by rolling a 5 or 6 on 1d6. Unassigned crewmen or members of boarding parties on the defending ship can help cut the grapples. Every group of 10 crewmen participating adds +1 to the die roll, but a roll of 1 always fails.
Ships partially secured by grapples suffer a -2 penalty to all maneuverability checks including those made during the Maneuvering phase. If a partially grappled ship successfully evades its attacker during the Maneuvering phase, all grapples are removed and no boarding action is possible this round.
Target Ship Grappled: Indicates that the attacking ship successfully grapples its target. However, no war parties can board the secured vessel until the next Action Phase. Secured ships can immediately attempt to free themselves from the grapples by rolling a 6 on 1d6. Unassigned crewmen or members of boarding parties on the defending ship can help cut the grapples. Every group of 10 crewmen participating adds +1 to the die roll, but a roll of 1 always fails.
Although the attacking ship cannot send boarding parties over this combat round, it gains a +6 bonus on its Boarding Action roll during the next Action phase, unless the target ship escapes the grapples.
, , , or Entire Boarding Party: Indicates the total number of marines who successfully board a secured ship. Simply modify the vessel's total Boarding Factors by the listed amount (rounding up) to determine the exact number of marines that make it over to the target vessel. For example, if a ship with 30 boarding factors receives a boarding party result, 8 of its marines (30+4=7.5 rounded up to 8) board the defending ship during that Action phase.
The two grappled ships cannot move, and additional boarders from the attacking ship can cross to the defending ship each round until the whole attacking boarding party has moved to the other vessel (see the next section for details).
===Effects of Being Grappled===
Grappled ships automatically lose any maneuverability check made during the Maneuvering phase and have a movement rate of 0 while grappled.
Once an attacking ship has grappled a defending vessel, its remaining marines can attack the other ship during subsequent rounds. Each round after the first, an additional one quarter of the attacker's boarding party can cross over to the defending ship; this process continues until the entire party boards the defender. A defending ship cannot free itself from the grapples while hostile boarders remain on it.
===Running a Boarding Action===
To run a boarding action, the DM totals any modifiers incurred during the Maneuvering phase and applies any modifiers for the relative strengths of the two boarding parties (see the Boarding Factors section on page 49). The Dungeon Master then rolls 2d10, applies the total modifier to the die roll, and consults Table 27: Boarding Actions for the results.
Once the DM determines how many marines board a defending vessel, the boarding action moves into melee. The Dungeon Master then consults Table 15: General Naval Combat, rolling one time on the table for every 10 marines attacking and every 10 marines defending. (Consult Table 16 for information on combat with less than 10 marines.) Boarding parties use the most prevalent THAC0 and Armor Class among them. Note that boarding combat always occurs between two boarding parties. If the defending ship has no boarding party, the attackers sweep the ship and capture it. A ship's officers, important passengers (including PCs), and unassigned crewmen can form a makeshift defense. Although only boarders who actually cross to the defending ship can participate in the melee, any bonuses from the relative sizes of the boarding parties (see Boarding Modifiers, above) apply to their attack rolls.
Attacks from the opposing boarding parties take place simultaneously, and all casualties are applied to the defending boarding party. If an attack wipes out the opposition, any extra hits are lost.
Note that all morale rules (found in the Resolution Phase section, below) apply to marines in a boarding action melee-boarders form a separate unit for morale purposes. A Surrender result for the attacking marines indicates that they retreat from the defending ship and return to their own vessel.
If all attacking boarders are killed, captured, or forced to flee to their own vessel, the defenders cut all grapples holding their ship and the defending ship can maneuver freely. Alternatively, the defending ship can try to board the enemy vessel. In this case, the former attacker is considered grappled (see Target Ship Grappled on the previous page), and the former defender becomes the attacker until its opponent gets free or defeats the attacking borders.
===An Example of Boarding Combat===
Once again the Discord and the Strömbreaker circle each other. This time, the heroic captain of the galley assigns 30 of his men to a boarding party in an attempt to board the pirate ship. Once again, however, Bruis Blackheart attempts to open the range between the two ships (flee) so as to make full use of his archers and ballistae, which can fire again since their artillerists have spent 3 rounds loading them (see Table 21: Artillery for more details).
The two vessels, a mere 30 yards from each other, roll their maneuvering dice. The Discord wins with a roll of a 7 compared to the Strömbreaker's pitiful 4. Once again the great galley handily wins the Maneuvering phase.
The DM checks Table 13: Maneuverability and Combat and finds that the Discord can close the range up to a maximum of 30 yards-enough to try and board the Strömbreaker and receives a +2 bonus on its boarding attempt. However, the pirates can fire its missiles before the galley's boarding party can attempt its action, according to the action priority list given at the beginning of the Action phase section of this chapter. So the Discord receives another volley of damaging arrows.
Now the great galley makes its boarding attempt. First, the members of the boarding party throw out grapples and try to secure the pirate ship, while the pirates' marines attempt to cast them off. The Discord's player rolls 2d10 and the DM consults Table 27: Boarding Action Results to determine the success or failure of the opposing crew's actions. The DM remembers to modify the boarding action die roll by the difference between the two ships' boarding factors and the maneuverability boarding attack bonus from Table 13. As noted earlier, the Discord's captain assigned 30 marines to the boarding party; unfortunately, the canny captain Bruis Blackheart assigned 40 marines to his. Thus, the DM subtracts the higher score from the lower and then subtracts 2 points from the Discord's boarding action roll (1 point for every 5 points of Boarding Factor difference, according to the Boarding section) because the defenders had more marines assigned to boarding duty. Since the galley received a + bonus to its boarding action from winning the Maneuvering phase, the ship's player makes an unmodified roll (2-2=0) on Table 27.
The player rolls a 16, indicating that the ship manages to grapple the Strömbreaker successfully (reducing its movement to 0), and sends 15 ( of 30) of its boarding party to fight the pirates.
The DM must now resolve boarding melee by turning to Table 15: General Naval Combat and rolling once for every 10 marines attacking and every 10 marines defending. The Discord's crew rolls twice (once for its first 10 boarders and once for the additional 5 boarders, consulting Table 16: Hits From Excess Attack Factors. This whole process is identical to the process used for determining missile hits, including the use of the prevalent AC of the defender and THAC0 of the attacker to determine the adjusted hit number, except that all hits apply to the opposing boarding party. The Discord's boarders manage to do away with 6 of the pirate boarders. The pirates, however, roll four times on Table 15 and neutralize all but 1 of the Discord's boarders.
Fortunately for the remaining boarder, 9 more of his companions cross over to the pirate ship at the beginning of the next Action phase (of 30-24 minus the 15 boarders already aboard the pirate ship (24-15=9).