Original work inspired by Josh on the forums.
TSoY has a relatively involved equipment rules-set, which makes ships and boats and such mechanically quite simple. A ship is just a piece of equipment (chapter VI) for its captain, unless the player decides to forgo mechanizing the ship entirely. When a ship has multiple interesting characters, then the equipment is simply handled and used by multiple characters at once, each doing their part for the ship. Characters co-using equipment like this can share costs of using imbuements they use cooperatively, too.
Sinking a ship most often happens as the outcome of a conflict; usually the ship’s captain has something to say about the matter, as will other characters in the crew. The ship itself does not have hit points or such; it’s all a matter of how far the captain is willing to go to protect his ship. Considering the consequences of a shipwreck, he will often protect his ship to the last, if not surrender.
Crew is handled mostly as extras, nameless companions to the characters with personal interests. A singular crew member can stand out with his interests, even become a sidekick for the ship or leave the ship with little effect; an issue that affects the whole crew, on the other hand, is quick to escalate and take the ship from under its captain. The Story Guide will presumably lift some names from the crew to lead the mutiny if it comes to that; it’s a good idea anyway to have a couple of named secondary characters around so the player character involved with the ship has somebody to talk to. Another good idea is to keep the ship’s commission in mind: as a rule of thumb, as long as the captain has the KEY OF THE COMMISSION and he does not act against it, the crew will probably stay reasonably loyal; deviating from what the crew as a whole expects of the mission will require misleading or convincing the men to go along regardless.
A traditional question in roleplaying concerns the role of specialty knowledge in playing the game: what do the players actually need to know about topics they play with? My own stance, especially regarding a game like TSoY, has long been that prior research is always a luxury, not a necessity; whatever it is that players know about a specialty topic like naval matters is sufficient for their own purposes. Knowing a lot about ancient galleys or age of sail naval tactics will certainly enrich the texture of the game, but it does not affect the dramatic component.
Even while matters like triremes vs. quinqueremes or “holding the wind cage” on your opponent are near and dear to us history buffs, I resisted the temptation to write these matters into the rules-text here; it’s better for the individual Story Guide to research and build the situations and detail for his own game.
Still, the naval setting is pretty interesting as an adventure environment, so a few choice examples of consideration might prove inspiring, especially if you have no idea what I mean when I refer to seafaring adventure. Consider:
| Boating (I) |
|---|
| Smaller vessels that do not require a large crew are operated with this Ability. Such vessels are easier to procure and keep than larger ones; they also have benefits in stealth and coastal operations, being able to reach places larger ships couldn’t. Fishermen, smugglers and such would probably use this Ability for their hijinks. |
| Sailing (R) |
| Large ships that mostly rely on a properly trained crew are operated with this Ability, and perhaps suitable social Abilities used in commanding the crew. In comparison to boats, a ship can handle larger cargoes and longer journeys, making it appropriate for greater endeavors. |
| Navigation (R) |
| Most captains of Near navigate based on memorized coast profiles. This Ability can be used to tell where you are and where you should be going. |
| Command (I) |
| A larger ship will often have disciplinary issues, which are largely sorted by the captain using this Ability. The Ability is useful for gaining respect and getting obeyed; however, it rarely works on people who have not already decided to trust your lead. |
| Secret of the Captain |
|---|
| The character is a natural captain of a ship. He pays the introduction cost of his ship and other naval equipment only the first time it makes an appearance in the session. |
| Crew Imbuement |
| The crew of the ship can make Ability checks independently to support the character or do things for him. Their Ability level is equal to an applicable equipment rating (which cannot be further modified for this purpose by other Secrets), and they use the character’s own Pools. |
| Cost: 1 Ability-appropriate Pool per check. |
| Hold Imbuement |
| The ship has extra hold for supplies, which translates into Pool: the ship has a Pool point that can be used as any Pool by the character. It is refreshed when the ship restocks in harbor. |
| Luxury Imbuement |
| The ship has luxurious accommodations for the officers and passengers. This might play |
| Key of the Commission (specify) |
|---|
| The character is responsible to a crew hired for a certain mission. |
| 1xp: Order the crew around. |
| 2xp: Justify yourself to the crew. |
| 5xp: Quell a mutiny. |
| Buyoff: Abandon the mission. |
| Key of the Landlubber |
| The character is unaccustomed to sea life, and it shows. |
| 1xp: Throw up. |
| 2xp: Get ridiculed. |
| 5xp: Fall into the ocean. |
| Buyoff: Save a seaman’s life. |
| Key of the Scoundrel Crew |
| The character has shipped out with a bunch of no-good scoundrels. |
| 1xp: The crew drinks or practices other vices. |
| 2xp: Their vices cause trouble. |
| 5xp: Get mixed up in their problems. |
| Buyoff: Get out or accept the crew as they are. |