Rules for Merchantmen Up Dated

[Bos'n]

Yo Ho Mates,

This is an updated version of the Rules for Merchant Ship that can be found in the Rules Help forum that you are looking at. Many people have contributed to this project by making suggesting changes to the document, recommending resources to look at, and play testing the rules. Many thanks go to those people. I really hope that this is a final draft and we can put this to bed. The final play test was Monday, June 15, 2015 at 7pm.

Here is my 3rd (last?) draft. Now would be the time to suggest changes.


Rules For Merchantmen (purposed)

Ships
1. Choose any warship with a burden of three or less.
2. Cover half of the boxes on both the hull and crew damage rows, round up, never down. This represents the space taken up with cargo. If you decide to take on more cargo then just cover more boxes. The more boxes you fill with cargo increases the point value your ship is worth at the end of the game.
3. The hull and crew damage boxes that are left are treated like any other ship in the game.
4. A merchant ship must reduce her veer by two. Their crews are just not as good as the crews of fighting ships.
5. Merchantmen take 2 turns to load a broadside. Their crews are just not as good as the crews of fighting ships.
6. Merchant ships may take shots of opportunity. They don’t want to tangle with ships built for war.

Capturing a Merchant Ship:
1. The safest way to capture a merchant ship is to sail within half a ruler length from his side and telling him to surrender.

He will often do as you ask.
2. If he doesn’t surrender then send him a broadside to let him know whose boss.
3. You may have to fight the merchant in order to capture the ship. Be careful, if you sink it, you loose the cargo.
4. You can control your prize by putting a prize crew on board the prize. She becomes yours and will stay yours unless the enemy recaptures her.
5. To surrender, a merchant ship must turn into the wind, douse all sail and prepare to be boarded.

If you can’t put a prize crew on your captive then there are ways you can lose control of the prize ship.
1. Another ship could come between you and the prize ship. If an intervening ship is your friend he can take over control of the captured ship for you. An enemy will steal your prize from you.
2. If you get involved in fights that will distract you from your prize, he may just slip away.
3. Issue clear and precise directions to the captive ship. They must follow them or get blown out of the water.
4. If the prize ship gets more than a cannon shot away from you, then he no longer feels obliged to follow your orders. If you can’t shoot them you don’t control them.

Prize Crews
The most foolproof way to control the captured ship is to put a prize crew on board.
To do this simply:
1. Move your ship to make base contact with the surrendered ship.
2. The prize crew can be part of a boarding party or part of your crew that is put on the captured ship after the fight is over.
o Cover at least one crew damage box representing the prize crew that has been left on the captured ship.
o Uncover the same number of crew damage boxes on the prize ship, again, representing the prize crew’s presents.
3. Remove all movement cards from both Ships’ Mats.
4. On the next movement turn both ships may plan a movement that will not happen until later.
5. On the next movement turn you move your 1st movement card to the first slot (no movement) and plan a 2nd move as normal.
6. Sails are not set and the ship must raise sails 1 level at a time to rejoin the action. (movement)

Towing a Ship
The ship under tow follows the towing ship by 1 ruler width.
The towing ship’s acceleration occurs with a -1 on movement.
1. Struck sails there is no movement.
2. Backing sails act like struck sails, no movement.
3. Battle sails act like backing sails, use the shortest arrow on movement.
4. Full sails act like battle sails; use the middle arrow.

Scoring
1. A merchant ship that is captured is worth one point for each point of burden, plus points for each box devoted to cargo.
2. If the merchant is sunk, then it is worth only one point for each point of burden.
3. The merchant that survives gets points for each box of cargo as above. The merchant also gets 10pts. for staying alive.

You are given permission to copy, alter, or ignore these rules at your discretion.

Please let me know how your game went and if these rules helped make it a good experience. You can message me as “Bos’n” on the Anchorage web page. (www.sailsofglory.org)

Thanks

Bob