D&D5eShipChallenges

Shipchallengesarequitesimplyskillchallenges
from4theditionrefittoemulatecombatbetween
twosailingshipsinamorecinematicandfun
mannerthanplayingthecombatoutnormallycan
achieve.Thissetofrulesisdesignedtoencourage
playercreativityandstorytellingtocreateamore
cinematicexperiencethanasimulationistversion
ofrules,angles,andboringslogsofcannonfire.
ShipChallenges
Shipchallengesusuallyinvolvetwosideswithone
ormoreshipsoneachsidefightingontheopen
seas,theplayersareassumedtobeparticipating
ononesideofthecombat,performingskill
checks,attackrolls,andcastingspellsto
contributetothechallengeontheirturnina
similarmannertoa4theditionSkillChallenge.
ChallengeDC
Thefirstelementofashipchallengeisthe
ChallengeDC.ThisDCissetbytheGMwhen
makingtheencounterandiswhattheplayers
mustmeetorbeatwiththeirskillchecksto
contributetotheshipchallenge.
TheGMcangenerallysetthechallengeDC
astheyseefit,howeverguidelinescanbefoundat
theendofthedocumentforsettingit
appropriately.
Hits
appropriateabilitycheckorattackroll,andthen
describetheresultdependingoniftheyfailor
succeed.
Asuccessonaplayersturnresultsinthe
opposingshiptakingahitwhereasafailure
resultsintheplayersownshiptakingahit.
Tactics
Duringashipchallengetherearetwostatesthe
challengecanbein,thesestatescanlimitwhat
actionsplayersareabletotakeandwhathappens
whenashiptakesahit.
Attackingmeansthatbothsidesare
engagedincombatwithoneanother.Duringthe
attackingstateallhitsashiptakesresultin
damagetotherespectiveship.Itsassumedwhen
ashipisengagedincombatthattheNPCcrew
membersarefiringsiege/rangedweaponsatthe
opposingship,meaningthateveniftheplayers
actionisnotnecessarilydamaging,theresult
leadstooneofthesidestakingadamaginghit.
Chasingmeansoneshipiscurrently
fleeingfromtheother.Duringthechasingstate
allhitsashiptakesexhauststhecrewratherthan
damagingtheship(seebelow),unlessthereisa
reasonfortheshiptotakepermanentdamage
(suchasaweaponorspell).Whilechasing
generallytheplayer'sshipisdescribedaseither
PursuingorFleeing.
TheCaptainorHelmsmenofashipcan
choosetochangetacticsatanytimebetweena
playersturn.

Eachshiphasapoolofhitsthatrepresentthe
hitpointsofaship.InD&Dtermsahitrepresents DamagevsExhaustion
50hitpointsfortheship.Whenaplayersucceeds
Whenashiptakesahititisusuallyeither
orfailsintheshipchallenge,theydeal1hitworth
damagedorthecrewisexhausted.Generally
ofdamagetotheenemyshiportheirownship
thesedamagetypesoccurintheabovedescribed
respectively.
tacticalstates,buttheGMcouldalsorule
otherwise.
Contributing Adamaginghitusuallymeanstheshiphas
takensomeamountofdamagethatthenneedsto
Whenthechallengebeginsallplayersroll
berepairedpostcombat.Adamaginghitusually
initiativeandtaketurnscontributingtothe
onlyhappenswhenAttackingorthereissome
challenge.Onaplayersturntheydescribethe
kindofreasonfordamagetotakeplace.
actiontheircharacterisgoingtotake,rollan

Aexhaustivehitusuallymeanstheships
crewisbeingtiredoutandfatigued.Shipcombats
generallytakeoverlargeswathsoftime,
especiallywhenChasing,meaningthecrewsof
eachshiparetirelesslyworkingtokeeptheship
onitscourse.Exhaustivehitsdonotcausedamage
totheshipitselfandareremovedaftertheships
crewhascompletedafullrestpostcombat.
attackrollplusanadditionalbonusequaltothe
slotlevelthespellwascastfrom.
Forexampleifaspellcasterbombarded
theenemyshipwithaFireballspelltheywould
gaina+3bonustotheirattackroll,butifthey
weretocastFireballfroma4thlevelspellslot,
theywouldgaina+4bonustotheirattackroll.

Crew
DestroyvsCripple
Whenashiptakesadamaginghitgenerallya
Whenashipisreducedto0hits,theopposingship numberofcrewmembersareinjuredfromthe
getsthechoicetoeitherdestroyorcrippletheir impact.Bydefault1d12crewmembersare
foewhentheymakethelasthit. injured,howeverthisdiceisfurthermodified
Destroyingashipsinksitandpotentially basedonhowmuchthecrewispaid(seethenext
destroysanycargo,crewmembers,orotherwise section).
ontheship.Destroyingashipgenerallymeansyou Attheconclusionoftheshipchallenge
cannotloottheshipafterwardwithoutsomekind theseinjuredcrewmembersdieunlessthey
ofsalvagingoperation.Whenashipisdestroyedit receivemedicalattention.Generallyaplayercan
isalsopossibleforsomeindividualsofthecrewto saveanumberofcrewmembersequaltotheir
survive,thisisleftopentotheGM. Wisdom(Medicine)bonus(minimum1).Aplayer
Cripplingashipmeansitstillremains canspendauseofaHealersKittosavetwicethis
intactbutcannolongermoveorattack amount,andaplayerwiththeHealerfeatwho
effectively.Acrippledshipposeslittlethreatand spendsausecansavetriplethisamount.Aplayer
canbeeasilyboardedbytheopposingcrewwhich canonlyattempttosavecrewmembersifthey
wouldthenlikelyleadintoamoretraditionalD&D wontheshipchallenge.
combat.Crippledshipscanbelootedandsalvaged
witheaseoncetheremainingcrewisdealtwith.

ShipWeapons
Sometimesduringashipchallengeaplayermay
choosetofireoneoftheshipssiegeweapons.
Whendoingsotheplayerdeclareshowtheyare
firingtheweapon(usuallyanabilitycheckor
attackroll,alwaysassumeplayersareproficient),
andthenaddstheshipsweaponbonustotheroll
whilealsoreducingtheshipssupplybyone.
Youcanfindmoreinformationonweapons
andsupplyinthenextsection.

Spells
Sometimesacharactermaywanttocontribute
throughaspellinsteadofanabilitycheckor
attackroll.Inthiscasethecharacterdescribes
howthespellcontributesandthenrollsaspell


MaintainingaShip Speed
Theabovewillallowyoutorunashipcombat
Ashipsspeedisgiveninmilesperhourand
easily,howevertherearestillseveralotherrules
affectshowmuchdistancetheycancoverinaday.
onecanemployduringthem.Belowaresome
Togetthetotaldistanceashipcantravel
additionalrulesforshipcombatsthatyoucanuse.
uninterruptedinadaymultiplyitsspeedby10.

Duringashipchallengeadifferencein
ShipSizeTable
speedhasagreateffectduringchases. Ifthe
Size Cost Cargo Crew HP Speed playersarepursuingorfleeingtheiropponent
(gp) (Total) (Hits) (Mph)
withafastershipthantheygainadvantageonall
Tiny 5,000 10 5(10) 150(3) 1 checks,likewiseiftheplayersarefleeingor
pursuingwithaslowershiptheyhave
Small 10,000 50 15(30) 250(5) 2
disadvantageonallchecks.
Medium 20,000 100 25(50) 350(7) 3

Large 30,000 150 40(80) 500(10) 4 Weapons&Supply

Cargo
Mostshipsontheopenseasaretransporting
cargoofsomekind,beitfood,valuables,ortrade
goods.Asinglecargorepresents100gpand
weighsbetween500and2000pounds.
Crew
Ashipneedsacrewinordertooperate.Ifashipis
reducedtobelowhalfitstotalcrewthentheship
movesathalfspeedandisunabletofleeor
pursueduringashipchallenge.
Ashipscrewneedstobepaidinorderto
bekepthappy.Generallyapercentageofcargo
andlootsoldshouldgotothecrewinorderto
keepthemhappy.Ahappycrewperformsbetter
duringashipchallenge,lesscrewmembersare
lostwhentheshiptakesdamagedependingon
howmuchtheywerelastpaid.
Theplayersshiphaswhat'scalledaweapon
bonus,thisishoweffectivethesiegeweapons
(cannons,ballista,firebarrels,etc)areontheship.
Whenaplayerfiresaweaponontheship,they
addthisweaponbonustotheird20roll.
Playersfiringaweaponhoweveruses
resourcesfromtheship.Ashiphasaholdof
supplywithamaximumcapacityof10.Asingle
supplycosts50gpandisusedwhenevertheplayer
usesoneoftheshipsweapons.Supplycanbe
boughtinmostportswherecargocanbesold.
Allshipswhenbuilthaveadefaultweapon
bonusof+1,thebelowtableoutlinesthecostof
upgradingthatbonus.Whenusingthistableyou
mustpurchaseallbonusesuptotheoneyouwish
topurchase.Forexampleifyouwishtopurchasea
+3weaponbonusforyourshipyoumusthave
previouslypurchaseda+2weaponbonus.
Weapon Bonus Cost

+2 1500 gp
PercentagePaid DeathDice
+3 3000 gp
5% 1d10
+4 6,000 gp
10% 1d8
+5 12,000 gp
15% 1d6
+6 24,000 gp
20% 1d4

Repairs
Whenashiptakesdamageitneedstoberepaired,
eitherbythecrewitselforahiredrepaircrew.
Repairscantakeseveraldaysanduseup
materials.Thebelowtableliststhesituationthe
shipisin,howmanyhitpointsaregainedaftera
dayofrepairs,andhowmanymaterials(ingold)is
required.Iftheshipshealthisn'tdivisibleby50,
thenthenumberofhitsithasisroundeddown.
Situation Cost/Day HP/Day
AtSea 20gp 10
BearthedNearLand 40gp 20
TrainedRepairCrew 100gp 50
AtSeameanstheshipiscurrentlystrandedinthe
ocean.Whilerepairingatseatheshipcanonly
movehalfitsmovementspeed.Theconstant
rockingoftheshipatseamakesitmoredifficult
torepairquicklyandsafely.
BearthedNearLandmeanstheshiphascurrently
droppedanchornearlandandcanmoresafely
repairtheship.
TrainedRepairCrewscanbefoundinmostports
fromshipwrightsandothersources.Thesecrew
aretrainedinrepairingashipandcandosomuch
fasterthananordinarycrewofsailorscould.
ShipUpgrades
Shipsnotonlyserveastransportationandcombat
vesselsbutalsomobilebasecampsforthe
players.Thefollowingsectiondetailsupgrades
thatcanbepurchasedforaship,usuallyinstalled
inports.
Improvements
Theseupgradesfocusonimprovingtheship
physicallybywithnewweaponsandarmor.These
upgradesgiveacostandtheamountoftimeit
takestoinstallthem.Keepinmindyoucanhavea
shipberepairedandhaveanupgradeinstalledin
thesameday.
ArmorPlating
Cost:3000gp
Time:3days
Installsmetalarmorplatingtothehulloftheship
makingitmoreresilienttoattacks.
Increasesthenumberofhitstheshiphas
by1.Ashipcanbeimprovedwitharmor5times.
FireBarrels
Cost:2500gp
Time:2days
Addsaspecialstorageareatothebackoftheship
tostorehighlyexplosivefirebarrels.
Whentheplayersshipisfleeingtheycan
usesupplytodropthesebarrelsbehindthem,
addingtheshipsweaponbonustotheroll.Fire
barrelscanonlybeusedwhiletheshipisfleeing
anddealadamaginghitonsuccess.
Mortar
Cost:4000gp
Time:4days
Addsamortarcannontothecenteroftheship
thatcanbeusedtohamperwheretheopposing
shipcanmove.
Unlikemostweaponswhichtakeaplayers
action,theMortarisinsteadusedwhentheenemy
shipchangestactics.Whenthishappens,the


CaptainorHelmsmenoftheshipcanorderthe
mortartobeused,spendingasupplyandadding
theshipsweaponbonustotheroll.Asuccess
resultsinadamaginghittotheenemyship,a
failurehasnoeffect.
GMAdvice
Thissectionmostlygoesintoadviceforbuilding
ShipChallengesandotherGMrelated
information.

PursuitCannons
Cost:2500gp
Time:2days
Addsasetofcannonstothebowoftheship.
Whentheplayersshipispursuingtheycanuse
supplytofirethesecannons,addingtheships
weaponbonustotheroll.Pursuitcannonscan
onlybeusedwhiletheshipispursuinganddeala
damaginghitonsuccess.
BuildingaBasicChallenge
Buildingashipchallengeisarelativelysimpletask
fortheGMandcanbebrokendownintoafew
basicstepsfortheessentials.
NumberofHits
Thefirstthingyoushoulddoisdeterminethe
numberofhitstheenemyshipcantake.Thiscan
easilybefoundbychoosingasizefortheenemy
shipandreferringtothehitpointcolumnonthe
shipsizetableabove.
Ifyouwantamoredifficultencounter
however,consideraddingmorehitstotheship
throughtheArmorupgrade.Keepinmindtho
morehitsmeansmorerequiredsuccesseswhich
alsomeansagreaterchanceoffailureforthe
players.Longerchallengesgenerallymeanmore
opportunitiesforfailure.

ChallengeDC
ThechallengeDCcanbealittleharderto
determineasithasthegreatestaffectonhow
difficultthechallengeisgoingtobe.Thetable
belowbreaksdownthechallengeDCsimilarto
monsterencounterdifficultiesbyplayerlevel
range.

PartyLeveltoChallengeDCTable
Level Easy Medium Hard Deadly

1-4 6-9 10-13 14-17 18+

5-8 7-10 11-14 15-18 19+

9-12 9-12 13-16 17-20 21+

13-16 10-13 14-17 18-21 22+

17-20 11-14 15-18 19-22 23+


WhenpickingthechallengeDCkeepin
mindthesuccessrates:Easy(80%-95%),Medium
(60%-75%),Hard(40%-55%),Deadly(0%-35%).
RememberthatfailingaShipChallengecanmean
theendoftheplayersinvestmentsandpossibly
theendofacampaign.Itisrecommendedto
chooseEasyorMediumdifficultiesforchallenges,
butiftheenemiesdogettheupperhandonthe
playersalwaysremembertheoptiontoboardthe
playersshipexists.
MultipleShips
Sometimestheplayersorenemiesmaybring
morethanoneshiptothechallenge.Inthiscase
choosetheshipwiththemosthealthoneachside
(generallythisistheplayersship)toserveasthe
numberofhitsrequiredtowinorlosethe
encounter.Thenforeachadditionalshipraiseor
lowerthechallengedcbasedonthesizeofthe
shipsbeingadded(1forTiny,2forSmall,3for
Medium,4forLarge).
Problems
Evenwiththeadvantagesofusingtheskill
challengesystem,itcangetalittletiresome
runningshipchallengesandmakingthemfeel
unique.Thisiswhereproblemscomein.
Problemsaddanextralayerofuniqueness
totheencounter.Someproblemssimplyare
passivebonusestheenemyshiphas(suchas
certainkindsofweapons),environmentaleffects
thataffectbothships(suchasfogorrain),or
eventsthathappenduringbattle(suchasa
boardingpartyontheplayersship).
BoardingParty
Successes:2
Theenemycrewhasboardedyourship!
Onafailure,anadditionaldiceworthofcrew
membersareinjured.
Fire!
Successes:2
Afirehaseruptedonyourship,threateningyour
cargoandsupply!
Attheendofaplayersturnroll1d10,ona1or2
destroy1d4oftheshipscargoorsupplyand
removeasuccessfromthisproblem.
FireBarrels
Theenemyshipisequippedwithfirebarrels
FailureswhilePursuingtheenemyshipresultin
damage,notexhaustion.
IntenseWeather
Thebattlefieldisstrickenwithintenseheatorcold.
Whenashiptakesanexhaustivehit,addtwohits
insteadofone.
Leak!
Success:2
Aleakhassprunginthehullofyourship!
Attheendofaplayersturnroll1d10,ona1adda
damaginghittotheplayersshipandremovea
successfromthisproblem.
LowVision
Adensefogorheavyrainhampersyourvision
AllWisdomabilitycheckshavedisadvantage
Mortar
TheenemyshipisequippedwithaMortar
Whenyourshipchangestactics,theCaptainor
HelmsmanmustsucceedonaWaterVehicles
checkortakeadamaginghit.
PursuitCannons
TheenemyshipisequippedwithPursuitCannons
Failureswhilefleeingtheenemyshipresultin
damage,notexhaustion.
Spellcaster
Theenemyshiphasaspellcasteronboard!
IncreasethechallengeDCby+2whenusingaspell
tocontribute.
Whirlpool
Checks:1


Agreatwhirlpoolhasformedinthewater,dragging
yourshipinward
Yourshipcannotfleeorpursue.Thisproblemcan
onlybesolvedbytheCaptainorHelmsmanwitha
WaterVehiclescheck.