Ships

kourck

Mongoose
I don't have my Lone Wolf book with me right now so there's a possibility that this is answered in the text, but I don't remember seeing it. In 5000 MS, what sort of weapons would ships usually be carrying? Ship-mounted cannons? Ballistas? I'm not sure what other kinds there are, but I'd really like to know because my next adventure with my group is based around it.
 
As far as I can recall, there's a mention that the people of Magnamund have mastered canons, based on Borese guns, but not as advanced, so canon would most likely be the standard ship-board weapon.
 
Well, I know that the dwarves of Bor have developed use of boompowder, but that doesn't necessarily mean that ships will commonly have cannons on them.
 
Considering that it takes an entire keg of boompowder to fire a cannon, and the dwarves have a complete monopoly over that stuff, I can't see many ships having these. Only big ships of governments.

On the other hand, it says that the Shadaki have adapted the bombards (super-cannons) for their ships, so it's obviously sold in some quantity.

I'd probably say that most ships would just rely on manpower, flaming arrows and such. 125gc -per shot- for cannon (250gc for bombards) is just a bit much for most Magnamund ships, I think.

price breakdown:

Cannon: 1200gc
Firing a cannon 10 times: 1250gc
..for a total of 2450gc to fire ONE cannon ten times.

Bombard: 1800gc
Firing a bombard 10 times: 2500gc
..for a total of 4300gc to fire ONE bombard ten times.
 
Good points. Though I wouldn't go so far as to say that most ships have to rely just on archers. There's always catapults and ballistae. Launching the better part of a whole tree at the enemy is going to make an impression!
 
Winter Wolf said:
I think it also mentions that cannons are prow mounted so no brutal broadside ships of the line just yet. :wink:

Did they have those in Masters of Darkness? About all I can remember is that the Darklords had iron warships with cannon, and I haven't yet got that far in my great Lone Wolf re-read.
 
The Darklords iron clad gun boats from the illustrations look to have one large gun on the foredeck on a rotating mount with a shield plate set to it's front, and a variety of smaller swivel guns mounted around the vessel.

There was also a huge iron clad juggernaut again from the pictures it had huge twin gun turrets mounted on the centre line. From the pictures at least it looks like Magnamund missed the broadside altogether. However I prefer to picture the Darklords Juggernaut like the very first battleships with a row of guns in swivel mounts built down each side of the hull and just a couple of turrets. Something of a cross between the Juggernaut and a ship of the line.

Also the Master of Darkness is set some 70+ years approx after the setting in the RPG book. I for one would love to see a Naval supplement, or even a Lone wolf sea battles game with model ships, Skyriders, Kraan Carriers etc. Oh well I can dream. :lol:
 
Winter Wolf said:
Also the Master of Darkness is set some 70+ years approx after the setting in the RPG book. I for one would love to see a Naval supplement, or even a Lone wolf sea battles game with model ships, Skyriders, Kraan Carriers etc. Oh well I can dream. :lol:

Actually, I think this is a superb idea, Winter Wolf. There is very little detail in fantasy gaming about ship warfare, and with the many sea battles seen in the Lone Wolf books, it would make sense to have some rules on it. Also, one of the seven core classes is a pirate. Yes, a book like this would rock.

Nerethel
 
Cheers Nerethel.

While we are dreaming I would really like to see Magnamund Mighty Armies Box sets.

Darklord
Drakkarim
Vassagonian
Plague Lords of Ruel
Stornlands Mercenaries
Sommelending
Lencian
Durenor

£15 Mighty Magnamund Armies in a box now you are talking.

Mighty Magnamund Navies.

6 to 8 small scale warships dice rules everything you need to play all in one box £15! :wink:
 
Naval rules would be cool. In the meantime, I'll probably improvise something should I try running the plot of book 2 in the RPG. :)
 
For anyone who is interested in model ships or simple ship combat rules I can heartily recommend Pirates Of The Spanish Main by WizKids. Very cheap and visualy effective.

Hope I'm not breaking any rules posting this..... :?
 
The Intrepid (the ship Lone Wolf sails on in Masters of Darkness) is armed with ballistas. The crew try to use them to fight off the Xargath attack.

The Pride of Sommerlund, seen in Voyage of the Moonstone is described as a 'sleek trading caravel', and is armed with four swivel cannon. However, it's also mentioned that it is unusual to see cannon on trading ships.

-GB
 
For anyone who is interested in model ships or simple ship combat rules I can heartily recommend Pirates Of The Spanish Main by WizKids. Very cheap and visualy effective.

The models are indeed very nice considering the (low) price you pay for them. But of course they are not suited for Magnamund, belonging rather to the 18th century than into a mediaeval or renaissance setting. And the rules - well, the rules... They aren't really about sailing ship combat. (Wind? What wind?)

BTW - I can't remember at the moment if galleys were mentioned in the Gazetteer section. Does anyone know if they are much used in Magnamund? (Probably not, as they are not made for the open sea.)
 
Confused Wolf said:
The models are indeed very nice considering the (low) price you pay for them. But of course they are not suited for Magnamund, belonging rather to the 18th century than into a mediaeval or renaissance setting.

I wouldn't entirely agree with that. There are ships form many periods in Magnamund. I would say that the Lencian Clipper from book sixteen was eighteenth century and the Darklords even have ironclad gunboats that I'm guessing at Nineteenth century.
 
I guess the old GW game Man 'o War had lots of nice ships for many different races. Too bad the game's out of print, as it can reach some pretty steep prices on eBay.
 
I would say that the Lencian Clipper from book sixteen was eighteenth century and the Darklords even have ironclad gunboats that I'm guessing at Nineteenth century

I don't know about book 16 - my collection ends at book 12 (cause just the first 12 were translated into my mother tongue German and only years later I learned of the existence of the other books :( ).

I always thought that the ironclads in book 12 were a pretty recent development: otherwise the Darklords would have dominated to Gulf of Durenor years before. And the Darklords' minions usually don't use guns/cannons in the earlier books iirc. Thus I guessed (and still guess) that the Darklords stole the secret of gunpowder from the Dwarves while Lone Wolf was in the Daziarn.
 
Really powerfu/important Shadakine vessels might also have Shasarak looking over them, sending them air/water elemental aid when needed. (kind of like in Darksun, when the templars called upon the sorceror-kings)

Imagine pc's with a whole fleet, fully armed with cannon's coming across a lone shadaki ship, and attacking it.

...as his crew lies dying, the captain falls on his own cutlass, and with his dying breath calls out a plea, "Wytch King...avenge us!". Suddenly two huge orbs open up in the sky above, and regard the hero's with a baleful gaze...the eyes coalesce into slits, and bolts of lightning crack out and rip into the fleet, obliterating it into smithereens. The hero's turn around in horror, and see a huge tsunami lifting out of the ocean, and bearing down upon them...
[/i]
 
Back
Top