Combat, Melees, Canons, Ramming and General Destruction

Collisions
When ships collide, movement of the ships in the collision is forfeited for that term. Neither captain forfeits his rights to other actions that turn, but both ships will move entirely by the force of the collision this turn. Both ships sustain d4 of Hull Point damage. (Do not reroll maximums.)

The activated ship continues forward d4 inches, the ship that was struck will swing on its bow or stern to let the offender pass. The ship end of the ship that is farthest from the impact will remain in place, while the end of the ship that is closest to the collision will swing to allow the forward motion of the other ship. If the colliding ship strikes within 1" of the center of a ship’s broadside, both ships will push forward 2" maintaining their "T" shape. If the ship strikes the stern or bow of a ship, it will deflect along closest side and rake the side of the ship was struck.

In the case of galley collisions, if the oars of either ship are contacted by the other ship, the oars are considered "swept". After a galley’s oars are swept it may not go to Ramming Speed for the remainder of the game. If a ships oars are swept twice it may not go to Battle Speed for the remainder of the game. Any further oar-sweeps are overkill.

Ships that collide immediately resolve any boarding actions. The ship that was activated has the first choice of whether to board or not. If that player chooses not to board, the other captain may attempt a boarding action.

Ramming
A ram is an intentional collision meant to damage the enemy ship. Galleys, ironclads and sharkboats may ram. Sailing vessels and longboats may not. On a successful ram, both ships come to a dead stop and all movement for both ships is ended for the remainder of the term. Certain conditions must be met in order to ram and these include:

1. A vessel may not ram on the first leg of its movement
2. A vessel may not execute a turn between its first and second legs prior to a ram.

A full ram occurs when the angle of incidence to the bow is greater than 45°. (All rams to the stern are full rams.) For most ram-types roll a 5d6 Damage dice to determine the amount of damage the defender sustains. Sharkboats do 3d6 of Damage on a successful ram.

Ramming damage is open-ended, meaning that on each and every roll of a ‘6’ on Damage, the attacker may reroll the die and add it to his total damage. If a full ram destroys an enemy vessel the attacker’s movement is slowed by 3 inches, and the rammed vessel continues onward with any available movement.

A glancing ram occurs when the angle of incidence to the bow is 44° or less. All rams to the bow of a galley or ironclad inflict d6 of damage to the defending ship. All rams to the bow of a sailing vessel inflict one-half normal damage. In both cases, reroll maximums on attacker.

Hull Points
Most galleys can sustain 30 points of hull damage before sinking. Sailing ships can sustain 36 points of hull damage, while ironclads can sustain 42 points of damage. Longboats can sustain 25 points of damage before sinking while sharkboats can sustain a mere 20 points of damage. Icebergs cannot be sunk.

Cannon-fire
Galleys generally don’t have cannons. Sailing ships have up to 4 bangpowder cannons and these may be brought to bear in an area encompassed by perpendiculars from the bow and stern of the firing ship (the "broadsides" of that ship).

Additionally, many ironclads have a single cannon on a turret. This turret allows for 340° movement, allowing shots in all directions except over the bow of the ship. Measure the number of inches from the cannon to the center of the target. The attacking player must roll this number or higher on a d20 to score a hit. Roll once for each cannon. If hits are scored, roll damage.

Damage
Cannonballs do d6 of Hull Point damage per hit. In the event the damage rolled is a 6 the attacker may reroll the dice and add to his total. This may continue to infinity as long as the attacker is rolling 6’s. When a broadside is pointed directly at the bow or stern of an enemy ship, it can rake the length of the ship. If this is the case roll 2d6 for Damage. (Rerolls for maximums permitted of course.)

Collateral Damage
Cannonballs can also kill crewmen and damage guns and equipment. For each "6" that was rolled in Damage roll 2d6 against the following chart:

Archers
Archers may fire at any point during a ship’s movement. However, if archers fire during movement, they may not fire during melees.

Measure the distance from the center of the archers' ship to the target ship. Add 6 to the measurement and the attacking player rolls a d20 for each archer. For each roll equal to or greater than the total, the defender suffers one casualty. The defending player selects the casualties. Only above board crew may be eliminated by archery fire.

Archers may only fire once per term. Archery fire is resolved before melee. Archers are not permitted to fire into melees.

Boarding
Resolve boarding only after ALL ships have completed their moves. All boarding actions are considered simulataneous.

Ships must be within 1" of each other to attempt a boarding action. A galley that successfully delivers a full ram automatically grapples the defending ship (skip to melee).

To deny a boarding attempt, the defending player rolls a d8 for each marine and a d10 for each hero. The defending player rolls all the dice at the same time and leaves the dice to compare to the attackers' dice.

To attempt to board, the attacker then rolls a d8 for each marine and a d10 for each Captain, Commander or Admiral. The attacking player rolls his dice one at time in any order he chooses (i.e. officer first, last or in the middle). Compare the each attacking die to the highest defending die showing:

• If the attacker's die is lower than the defender's: that attacker is thrown back onto his vessel.
• If the dice tie, pick up the defender's die and the attacker rolls again for the same marine or hero.
• If the attacker's die is higher than the defender's roll, the boarding is successful, place that marine or hero on the deck of the enemy vessel. The defender picks up his highest die.
• If there are no defenders left to oppose, the attacking player may board as many marines and heroes as he would like.

If any attackers successfully board, immediately roll to adjudicate the effects of the melee that follows.

Melees
Melees occur when marines and / or officers have boarded an enemy ship. In the event of a full ram, boarding is unopposed and the attacker chooses how many marines have successfully boarded.

To resolve a melee, the defending player rolls a d6 for each crew or archer, d8 for each marine and a d10 for each officer (excluding lieutenants). The defending player rolls all the dice at the same time and leaves the dice to compare to the attackers' dice.

The attacker then rolls a d8 for each marine and a d10 for each hero. The attacking player rolls his dice one at time in any order he chooses (i.e. captain or commander first, last or in the middle). Compare the each attacking die to the highest defending die showing:

• If the attacker's die is lower than the defender's: that attacker is removed from play.
• If the dice tie, that attacker remains on deck, or retreats to his own ship. (Attacker's choice.) The defender picks up his highest die.
• If the attacker's die is higher than the defender's roll, a corresponding defender is removed from play. The defender picks up his highest die.

The attacking player may withdraw to his ship at any time without suffering further casualties.

When the defending ship no longer has marines or officers, the ship (and any remaining crew) is a prize of the attacker.

Grapples
If the turn ends with attacking marines and/or heroes on the enemy vessel, the ships are considered "grappled". In the event of a full ram, the ship is grappled.

When grappled, neither ship may move, except as forced to move by the current. Ships remain grappled so long as one player is attempting a boarding action. If one side wins the melee, or if neither side wished to board, the grapple is cut, both ships are free to move.

When ships are grappled, boarding is unopposed---meaning the attacking player can send as many marines / heroes as he would like onto the enemy vessel.

Multiple Melees
If another ship attempts to board a ship involved in a melee or a boarding action, only defending marines or heroes may help repulse boarding actions or kill attackers. If a ship is boarded by more than one ship, defenders must be assigned to a specific boarding action. After attackers are successfully on board a ship, all attackers are become one group to face the defenders.

Reinforcing Melees
Ships may grapple friendly ships and reinforce marine strength in the melee.