R ules
of
Engagement
Quick Naval Combat Rules
Rules of Engagement
Quick Naval Combat Rules for DCC v1.0
By: Christophor "Port Gunnery Captain" Rick &
Michael "Starboard Gunnery Captain" Spredemann,
2 Old Guys Games, LLC
• Edited by: Christophor "Deadeye" Rick •
• Layout: Christophor "Cannonball" Rick •
• Visuals and Trackers: Christophor "The Mathematician" Rick •
• Ship Maps: Domille's Wondrous Works •
• Open Water Map: Christophor "The Lazy Cartographer" Rick (via Inkarnate Pro) •
Playtesters: Lilith Dragon, Ian and Mia Spredemann Plasencia, Seribus.
“It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force
we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.”
- Gen. George Washington
“We have met the enemy and they are ours…”
-Oliver Hazard Perry
"Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an
urgent and horrifying news story, and I need all of you, to stop what you're doing
and listen..."
"Cannonball!"
-Ron Burgundy
This product is based on the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, pub-
lished by Goodman Games. This product is published under license. Dungeon
Crawl Classics and DCC RPG are trademarks of Goodman Games.
All rights reserved. For additional information, visit www.goodman-games.com
or contact [email protected].
Rules of Engagement, Quick Naval Combat Rules is a production of
2 Old Guys Games, LLC © 2020.
All rights reserved. First Printing.
Visit 2oggames.com/shop for other products
Quick Naval Combat Rules
Christophor Rick
For Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC)
Introduction Combat Maneuvers
We here at 2 Old Guys Games started by and continue to pub- To keep things simple, make opposed piloting checks for each
lish nautical adventures (Sinking the Stercorarius, Behold! The ship. Piloting checks are Action die + AGI bonus, unless a char-
Aethernauts Rise!). To that end, we have decided that a set of na- acter has a piloting skill from a nautical class (e.g. The Salty Sur-
val combat rules for DCC are in order. These have shown up in vivor from the Sinking the Stercorarius Expansion Pack) in that
bits and pieces of other adventures that are in progress or pub- case add that bonus instead. Luck can be burned on these rolls.
Winning by 5 or more gives an advantageous position. If one ship
lished by us. It made sense that we have a published set of rules all
achieves that, they get a +3 to the cannon checks. Ships move
in one place for quick reference. Having played some great naval
up to 60' per round and can turn 45º off their starting direction.
combat tabletop games like Sails of Glory, it was imperative that
these rules not bog down the feel of DCC nor create such a com- If one ship gets 2 advantageous moves in a row, they are fore or
plex construct that it subsumes the role-playing game that they’re aft of the enemy ship and can do a raking shot. The AGI DC is 12
inside of. To that end, we give you this. (through lots of confusing, yet static, math). For every hit, they
automatically kill/destroy 1d3+3 crew. We say destroy because
in some cases, the crew might be undead or constructs, etc.
Christophor’s Quick Naval
Combat Rules Compendium Boarding
I promise, the rules will be more concise than that title. If a ship gets an advantageous position because they won the pi-
loting check, they can announce they wish to board the other. On
the next piloting check if the same ship wins again, then boarding
The Short Version
can begin. This gives any ship a chance to avoid boarding instead
of it automatically happening.
If both ships declare they wish to board, boarding can begin
Ships roll opposed piloting checks to
the next round and the piloting roll can be skipped as they have
see where they end up each round. moved next to each other.
Boarding can take place in specific
circumstances.
Ships can fire while reloading previous-
ly fired cannon.
Each round, no ship can fire more than
twice the number of cannon as there
are gunners. A Gunner can only fire 2
cannon per round. Gunners are divided
equally per side but can shift sides and
fire a cannon that round. Then 2 per
round.
This ruleset is just to keep the naval
combat aspect from getting completely
out of hand and paring it down to a
manageable level.
3
(position #1 in the crew) who is repsonsible for aiming and
Christophor’s Cannon Combat calling for the cannon to be fired.
The gunner makes an AGI DC 14 check for each shot (except for
Reload procedure with crew position numbers:
special circumstances like advantageous position and raking
shot, above). If they pass, the shot hits a ship, if they pass by 5 1. Sponge the gun - Clean the bore between shots. (#2)
or more, they hit the ship below the waterline. Then they make 2. Load Powder - Insert a powder bag.(#3)
a Luck check. This determines if the shot kills (or destroys) 1d3
enemy crew. On a critical success they kill 1d3+2 enemy crew. 3. Projectile loading -Insert the cannonball, etc.(#3)
Six shots below the waterline and the ship is sinking, six shots 4. Ram - Ram the powder and projectile down the bore. (#2)
above the water line and the mast shatters stopping the ship, 5. Vent load - Prick the powder bag, add powder to vent.
unless it has other propulsion means. (#4)
6. Fire! - Ignite the vent powder with a slow match. (#5)
Cannon Reloading
Many may find this sort of thing boring in combat and so it's
Reloading cannon takes three rounds each and requires a crew best left to NPCs or give a player, the gunner, command of the
of 4. They cannot do anything but reload the cannon during whole crew and they can fire other cannon while tracking re-
those rounds. Add a round for each missing reload crew loading of previously fired cannon. To make it crunchier, each
member. So, one person reloading a cannon takes 6 rounds. round of loading could require an AGI DC 13 check when not
(It's a fantasy game so we make allowances in the name of fun!). being shot at and DC 16 when actively being fired upon and
Anyone can reload cannons if they are under the direction of having to perhaps dodge away from explosions, etc.
the Gunner
4
Damage Control Combat considerations
Damage control is imperative in naval combat. Things to consider going into battle:
• Fires need to be extinguished (AGI DC 12) • Fires should be extinguished, or they could be a
danger that sinks a ship.
• Decks need to be cleared (STR DC 11+ based on what needs
clearing) • Weapons, handheld guns and such, should be dis-
tributed prior to the battle if they have not been along with
• Water needs to be bailed (STA DC 11) ammunition and powder cartridges.
• Holes need to be patched (AGI DC 13+ based on location) • Sand should be spread on the main deck both to
• Things generally need shoring up (STR DC 13). fight fires and to absorb blood from battle to keep it from
getting slick.
Anyone is able to do these things during combat in lieu of attack
or movement actions. • Buckets of water should be prepped for firefighting.
• Reloading cannon took 2-5 minutes. That makes
Fire! for a boring game, so we trimmed it, a lot.
Fire is really bad when on a wooden structure that is keeping • Raking the target (shooting down the keel) with
you from drowning. One should endeavour diligently to ensure cannon fire will do extra damage as the shots travel the
that the fire is extinguished in the most timely manner possi- length of the ship. This should always be the goal of PCs
ble. How does a fire start? Smashed lanterns, dropped slow and enemies alike.
matches, powder explosions, flaming arrows, bottle bombs,
incendiary projectiles, and, of course, magic! If not attended Quick Combat Flow
to straightaway, fire can quickly spread (5' in every direction At Combat start: Initiative. Have PCs and NPCs roll as normal
every round). See above for how to put fire out, usually sand for the entire encounter including boarding.
or water.
Cannon Combat Turn
1. Ship maneuver check. Roll opposed piloting checks and determine if one
ship has advantage, moves to begin boarding, or has a raking shot. If
both declare a boarding action the ships come together with boarding
beginning next round skip further piloting checks. If boarding succeeds
through back-to-back successful rolls with a boarding declaration, skip
further piloting checks.
2. Proceed through initiative order.
a. PCs and NPCs can attempt to fire ranged weapons, cast spells,
put out fires, load cannons, spread sand, or prep water buckets on
their turn. They can also try to grapple the enemy ship if the pilot calls
for a boarding. Melee begins the next round if boarding succeeds.
b. Gunners fire cannon. Determine hits and crew killed/destroyed.
c. Crews of 4 must be in place for each cannon to reload them in 3
rounds. Add a round for each missing reload crew member. So, one
person reloading a cannon takes 6 rounds!
3. Calculate cannon reloading times as needed.
4. Calculate ship cannon hits above and below waterline. If any ship has six
hits below the waterline, it is sinking. If any ship has six hits above the
waterline, it is becalmed as its mast has collapsed. If either of these con-
ditions apply to a ship in the battle it no longer has a piloting check roll.
5
Naval Combat Naval Combat
Action Options Action Options
What's a player to do? What's a player to do?
1. Move and... 1. Move and...
a. Damage Control a. Damage Control
b. Ranged Attack b. Ranged Attack
c. Melee Attack c. Melee Attack
2. Cannon Loading (if crew or gunner) 2. Cannon Loading (if crew or gunner)
3. Cannon Firing (if Gunner) 3. Cannon Firing (if Gunner)
4. Pilot the ship and... (if Pilot) 4. Pilot the ship (if Pilot)
a. Fire a ranged weapon at the oppos- a. Fire a ranged weapon at the oppos-
ing pilot if within range. ing pilot if within range.
5. Boarding (either grappling the other 5. Boarding (either grappling the other
ship, or actually moving onto it) ship, or actually moving onto it)
Cannon Reload These Simple Cannon
Tracker are inter- Hit Tracker
active. They
Sponge the gun - Clean the bore have layers
between shots. (#2) that can be
turned on/
Load Powder - Insert a powder off to track
bag.(#3) reloading
and hits.
Check out
Projectile loading -Insert the can- the layer
nonball, etc.(#3) interface
Ram - Ram the powder and pro-
in Adobe
Acrobat or Waterline
jectile down the bore. (#2) Reader (not
in a brows-
Vent load - Prick the powder bag, er).
add powder to vent. (#4) They are ti-
tled Cannon
Fire! - Ignite the vent powder with reload 1-6
a slow match. (#5) and Above/
Below water
hit 1-6.
6
Ship Orientation Handout
7
Optional Rules Detailed Piloting Checks
A pass/fail check is a simplified way to determine piloting of a
Wind ship. However, piloting checks could be made more complex.
Given that these are sail-powered ships One could make wind When the check is made, reference the table below to expand
an issue. If your game is using tokens or minis you can add some upon how the ship was piloted. Ships normally can turn 45º each
flavor by making the wind a factor in piloting checks.If the wind round and move at 60'. Wind can also cause a ship to move faster
blows in the same direction or 45º off, give the pilot +2 on the or slower depending on its orientation to the direction of the ship.
check. If it blows parallel to their course, +1. If it blows 135º from
their direction -1 and 180º a -2. Success/ Piloting Results
To determine wind direction, roll a d8 and reference the compass Fail
below. Fail by 10+ The evasive manuever causes damage to the
ship's rudder. Piloting checks are done at -2 for
1 1d5 rounds while the damage is repaired. The
ship can only move up to 15º from its starting po-
sition each round.
8 2 Fail by 5+ The rapid change of direction causes damage to
the ship's rigging. Piloting checks are done at
-2 for 1d4 rounds while the damage is repaired.
Speed is reduced 15' for those rounds.
7 3
Fail by 1-4 You forgot to call out to the crew when you took
rapid action and they were thrown out of posi-
tion.
6 4 Succeed Your piloting skill is above adequate and you may
by <10 have an advantageous position over your enemy.
5
Succeed You have managed to push your crew beyond
by 10+ expectations, movement is increased 20' this
round and
Magic Cannon - Enchanted cannonballs? Supercharged powder? Directional
control? What about attaching an unseen servant or spirit to a cannonball
Spells can influence a variety of actions during combat. Here
to wreak havoc on your enemies?
are a few ways that might be included in your game.
Enemy - Anything that can be done to crew, can be done to enemies, in a
Wind -Spells can affect the wind by increasing or decreasing its strength, detrimental way. Plus, all the other normal things spells do to humanoids.
changing its direction, or stilling it altogether.
Sea Creatures - WOOOOAWOOOOOAWOOOO What? That's a whale
Water - Spells can affect the water by moving it in a certain direction, call. The mage might speak whale too, or squid, or octopus, or KRAKEN!
changing its level or making it a weapon to attack enemies. Or perhaps a single dragon turtle to capsize a vessel, or a couple smaller
Ship - Magic could increase/decrease the weight or size of a ship. It turtles to get jammed in a rudder?
could affect the rudder, hull, sails, rigging and cannon. It could apply force Magic in naval combat is the great equalizer, or the essence of chaos.
in a positive or negative manner. Utilizing it could save the day, or go horribly wrong. Do with it what you
Crew - Magic can speed/slow crews. It could make them more or less will, if you've got creative casters, give them some leeway. If you've got
effective, stronger/weaker, bigger/smaller or even create new crew to clerics, check out patrons like Pelagia or Umwansh and a big Invoke Pa-
assist during combat. tron success could see a ship dragged down to the watery depths with all
hands aboard... maybe some of its cargo even comes back up to be booty!
Questions, comments or concerns? Drop a line: [email protected] - address it to Christophor and he'll call ye a scurvy dog or not! ARRRR!
8
The Ships, map, and
this note are all on
separate layers for
ease of use.
This printing of Rules of Engagement, ities; places, locations, environments, with a work containing Open Game Rules of Engagement, Quick Na-
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