Ship Mechanics
Food & Water
Characters and crew members need food and water every day they're on the ship away from land. Supplies for one person per day cost 2g and don't count towards the cargo weight limit of the ship. Having no supplies for a day results in 1 level of Exhaustion.
Goodberries and other conjured foods are enough to sustain someone at sea for a day. Unused supplies can be resold for half their purchase value.
Repairs
Ship health can be replenished by using repair kits. Different kits repair different sections of the ship. A kit takes one crew member a day to install, which includes refinishing, fitment, installation, etc. Multiple crew members can use multiple repair kits at once (ex: 2 people using 2 stitch kits to repair torn sails in the same day).
If a character is proficient in Shipwright's Tools, an additional 5 damage is restored and the kit only takes half a day to use.
| Kit | Section | Cost | Contents | Repairs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patch Kit | Hull/Helm | 10 gold | Fibrous rope, tar, fiber patch strips, varnish | Repairs 10 hull damage |
| Stitch Kit | Sails | 5 gold | Fabric patches, heavy thread, metal needle | Repairs 10 sail damage |
| Oar Kit | Oars | 5 gold | Smaller spare oars, handles, paddles | Repairs 10 oar damage |
| Firing Kit | Weapons | 10 gold | Rope, fasteners, hammer, rivets | Repairs 10 damage to ranged ship weapons |
- Repairing a naval ram: 60g, takes two days by a shipwright in a dry dock
- New sails: 30g in a solid color, 40g with trimming in a second color, 75g for full silk embroidery with a symbol on the main sail.
Crashing
If a ship moves into the space occupied by a creature or an object, the ship might crash. A ship avoids crashing if the creature or object is at least two sizes smaller than it.
When a ship crashes, it must make a DC 10 saving throw. On a failed save, it takes damage to its hull based on the size of the creature or object it crashed into (see Crash Damage). It also stops moving if the creature or object is one size smaller than it or larger, otherwise it keeps plowing through to the nearest unoccupied space and pushes the creature or object aside.
A creature struck by a ship must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to 10 + the ship's Strength modifier. On a failed save, it takes damage based on the ship's size (see Crash Damage). On a pass, it takes half the damage.
| Size | Bludgeoning Damage |
|---|---|
| Small | 1d6 |
| Medium | 1d10 |
| Large | 4d10 |
| Huge | 8d10 |
| Gargantuan | 16d10 |
Study Days
A crew that spends a long time together tends to share information and teach each other new things. A calm, uninterrupted day at sea can be used for studying and teaching others.
One crewmate can teach multiple other crewmates on the same proficiency in a day, as a little gathering. The days do not have to be consecutive. While teaching for the day, a crewmate cannot learn from others that day.
| Days | To Learn |
|---|---|
| 30 | 1 tool proficiency |
| 60 | 1 weapon proficiency |
| 100 | 1 language to rough conversational level |