Post by Gravedust on Jun 12, 2010 0:38:39 GMT -8
TRAVEL PHASE
Much like Port Phase is intended to be a fast-forward through all the dockside minutia, Travel Phase is a fast-forward through the hours and hours and hours of uneventful flying that happens between point A and point B of a journey.
In travel phase the GM calculates morale loss or gain per day, fuel consumption, changes in morale, etcetera. And there is a chance for an unexpected encounter (or a plot-related one)
SHIPBOARD DUTIES AND MORALE
Before Travel phase begins, however, it's the Captain's job to make arrangements for the journey, such as setting a destination, (obviously) and deciding who aboard ship will perform what duties. To simplify things, duties that are given to a crew member are in effect for the whole day. Any duty given to a crewmember will decrease their morale by a certain amount. This morale loss can be offset each day by good food, and comfortable rest in a ship's bunkroom. (As well as gambling or other entertainment, if the captain allows.) Some of the harder jobs can take quite a toll, so it may be best to alternate who gets what duty on longer trips, or even give a hard-worked crewmember the day off.
While not all the duty stations are necessary, keeping them well-staffed will help keep things aboard ship shipshape. The captain should specify which duties they want done every day, and which people should fill them.
____________________
Preparing food (-5 Morale)
Hungry crews need to eat, and somebody had to cook the food. This is usually a hot and sometimes thankless task. If a member of the crew has the Chef special skill, however, the extra effort they can put into the meal will help out the crew in the form of a morale bonus. Any extra liquor the captain sees fit to dole out will be served along with meals as well, which can add another bonus.
Maintenance (-15 morale)
As with any complex machine in almost constant use, parts on an airship wear down, need to be lubricated, painted and in general could use a touch up now and again. In order to halt the slow breakdown of an airship's compartments, someone has to make the rounds and do this sort of patchwork. The work is delicate and tedious, and often times requires very close proximity to hot or moving parts. Sometimes both. It is not fun. Having Mechanical and Repair skills help this job get done more effectively.
More than 1 person can be assigned this duty if necessary.
Piloting (-5 Morale)
Well, it's as simple as this: If nobody pilots the airship, it doesn't go anywhere. Fortunately as far as duties go, about the worst you'll suffer from is a bit of boredom. The view is great, though. It's best if someone with at least a little piloting training takes the helm, should bad weather sneak up before the lookouts notice it.
Navigating (-5 Morale)
While a navigator isn't required, it's recommended, as the intricacies of plotting an exact position and accounting for things like wind speed and drift are a bit much for the average pilot to do while flying. The Pilot CAN take care of the Navigation as well, but incurs a little extra stress as a result, and will suffer a -12 morale penalty for doing both jobs) Having a competent navigator can save time and fuel by preventing the ship from going off-course.
Lookouts (-5 morale)
Keeping an eye out isn't strictly required, but it is a good idea. Having lookouts posted improves the chances of noticing things on the air or ground that might prove beneficial. It'll also help keep the ship from being ambushed. *cough*Or identify potential targets.*cough* Any number of people can be assigned to this duty.
Cleaning (-10 Morale)
An unfortunate amount of grime tends to build up aboard ship, both as the result of the machines and the people who call it home. This dirty and unpleasant job of cleaning it all up has to fall on someone. Failing to keep the ship spick and span will negatively effect the moral of everyone on board.
No duty (no morale loss)
Basically characters with no duty are free to rest, relax, or do whatever they wish. You don't have to specify which characters get no duty, any ones that aren't specifically given a duty are considered to have none.
____________________
Fortunately there are a few ways to regain that last morale!
Meals are served aboard ship once a day. (Provided somebody cooked one) some hot food can be just the thing to raise the spirits, especially if well prepared. Remember you have to have enough food to keep every mouth fed, otherwise you may be forced to choose who eats and who doesn't.
Rations of rum or other liquor can help to pep up the crew as well. Again, the captain should specify when to haul out the keg and who should get the stuff. You can even specify double or triple rations though the consequence of having a drunk crew is to be considered (-2 to all rolls per application of liquor, resetting the next day) .. As well as the cost. As captain you can choose to reward specific people with extra drink if you like.
____________________
As an example:
==DAY-1==
Pilot: Gregor
Navigator: Myself
Cook: Carl
Mainten. Alex
Lookouts: Tom, Dick, Jane.
Cleaning: Conlan
-
Golder Tinned Food will be served to all crew
Rum will be served to all crew, with an extra ration for Alex and Conlan.
==DAY-2===
Pilot: Myself
Navigator: Myself
Cook: Carl
Mainten. Tom, Gregor
Lookouts: Conlan, Alex,
Cleaning: Dick
-
Golder Tinned Food will be served to all crew
Rum will be served to all crew, with an extra ration for Tom, Gregor and Dick.
OFF-DUTY ACTIONS
If a character is not on duty, they have 4 Flight Actions to use doing other things, such as:
Creating Items or gear
Costs 1 Flight action per every 20 points of Difficulty of the item. Creating items, gear or weapons requires requires a Workshop Compartment to be aboard ship with the appropriate crafting skill included.
Playing cards
Restores Morale as usual, but characters can only play with other off-duty characters. Costs 1 Flight Action for up to 10 hands of cards. 1 Morale is restored for every Flight Action spent playing.
Entertaining
Adds a morale bonus to the entire crew as per the Entertain Skill. Takes 2 Flight Actions but can only be done once per day.
____________________
MAKING CONTACT
As you fly along in Travel Phase, there is a good chance during your flight you might run into vessels of various types, be they merchant, warship, or pirate.
When your lookouts detect a ship it will be at one of three ranges:
---
Long Range:
Usually just a glob on the horizon, though with a good spyglass or other magnifiers it should be fairly easy to make out class and type, perhaps even country markings. Detection at this range gives plenty of time to assess the situation, try communicate via wireless, or re-arrange the positioning of crew if needed.
Medium Range:
Several miles distant, though class and type should be evident, if one squints hard enough. If required, your crew ought to have 4 rounds of action to respond to the contact however they wish, though the distance is too far for either to trade shots. Communication via signal flags or flares is possible at this range.
Close range:
Less than a mile, and well inside the engagement range of cannons! Let's hope they didn't sneak up on you, or you may be in for a bad time if your crew is disorganized and unprepared.
--
Making contact with vessels might drop you out of Travel mode and into Free RP mode, especially if the other ship wants to communicate or intends to attack.
The Captain can also specify reactions to any sort of ship that is encountered, which will drop the game from travel mode to Free RP mode once the right type of ship is encountered. For instance the Captain can state his intent to stop for any ship which is interested in trading. (Or any merchant vessel, in case it's ripe for plundering)
COMMUNICATING
LONG RANGE
Ships at long range can be communicated with via wireless telegraph, if the ship is equipped with one.
MEDIUM RANGE
Ships at medium range or closer can be communicated with via signal flags. Most ships have enough room to run 20 flags out to form a message from individual letters or numbers, but there are also some flag combinations that form code phrases, so you can form a code string as long as you have space for.
-
Affirmative (1 flag)
Negative (1 flag)
Stand By For Message (2 flags)
-
I Am Landing (2 flags)
I Am Taking Off (2 flags)
-
Hold position (2 flags)
Hold position for grappling ( 3 flags)
-
Abandoning ship (2 flags)
I Am Seriously Damaged (2 flags)
Emergency aboard (1 flag)
Ship is Crippled (2 flags)
-
Need Assistance (1 flag)
Need Medical assistance ( 2 flags)
Need Repair Assistance ( 2 flags)
Located Ship in need of assistance ( 2 flags)
Can not assist ( 2 flags)
-
Crew On Ground (2 flags)
Rescue Crew ( 2 flags)
-
Warning: (1 flag)
-
Bad Weather Expected ( 2 flags)
Bad Weather Nearby (2 flags)
-
Suspicious Ships Nearby (2 flags)
-
Attack ( 2 flags)
Stop or I will fire on you (2 flags)
Move further away immediately ( 2 flags)
Do Not Approach ( 2 flags)
Land Immediately ( 2 flags)
-
Let us join as a convoy (2 flags)
Follow me ( 2 flags)
I'll follow you (2 flags)
-
Any News? (2 flags)
I am Short On Provisions (2 flags)
I Want To Trade (2 flags)
-
Enemy Nearby ( 2 flags)
Are There Enemies Nearby? (2 flags)
Under Attack ( 2 flags)
-
What is my location? (2 flags)
Where are you bound? (2 flags)
Where are you from? (2 flags)
What ship are you? ( 2 flags)
-
We are pirates! ( 1 flag)
-
----
SHORT RANGE
At short range you can use use semaphore flags to send messages of unlimited length. Or at grappling range, just yell real loud.
____________________
Travel Phase ends when the ship has reached it's destination, at which point it reverts immediately into Port Phase.
____________________
And that about covers the meat of How To Play. This section will most likely be updated occasionally to feature new rules and better explanations.
Much like Port Phase is intended to be a fast-forward through all the dockside minutia, Travel Phase is a fast-forward through the hours and hours and hours of uneventful flying that happens between point A and point B of a journey.
In travel phase the GM calculates morale loss or gain per day, fuel consumption, changes in morale, etcetera. And there is a chance for an unexpected encounter (or a plot-related one)
SHIPBOARD DUTIES AND MORALE
Before Travel phase begins, however, it's the Captain's job to make arrangements for the journey, such as setting a destination, (obviously) and deciding who aboard ship will perform what duties. To simplify things, duties that are given to a crew member are in effect for the whole day. Any duty given to a crewmember will decrease their morale by a certain amount. This morale loss can be offset each day by good food, and comfortable rest in a ship's bunkroom. (As well as gambling or other entertainment, if the captain allows.) Some of the harder jobs can take quite a toll, so it may be best to alternate who gets what duty on longer trips, or even give a hard-worked crewmember the day off.
While not all the duty stations are necessary, keeping them well-staffed will help keep things aboard ship shipshape. The captain should specify which duties they want done every day, and which people should fill them.
____________________
Preparing food (-5 Morale)
Hungry crews need to eat, and somebody had to cook the food. This is usually a hot and sometimes thankless task. If a member of the crew has the Chef special skill, however, the extra effort they can put into the meal will help out the crew in the form of a morale bonus. Any extra liquor the captain sees fit to dole out will be served along with meals as well, which can add another bonus.
Maintenance (-15 morale)
As with any complex machine in almost constant use, parts on an airship wear down, need to be lubricated, painted and in general could use a touch up now and again. In order to halt the slow breakdown of an airship's compartments, someone has to make the rounds and do this sort of patchwork. The work is delicate and tedious, and often times requires very close proximity to hot or moving parts. Sometimes both. It is not fun. Having Mechanical and Repair skills help this job get done more effectively.
More than 1 person can be assigned this duty if necessary.
Piloting (-5 Morale)
Well, it's as simple as this: If nobody pilots the airship, it doesn't go anywhere. Fortunately as far as duties go, about the worst you'll suffer from is a bit of boredom. The view is great, though. It's best if someone with at least a little piloting training takes the helm, should bad weather sneak up before the lookouts notice it.
Navigating (-5 Morale)
While a navigator isn't required, it's recommended, as the intricacies of plotting an exact position and accounting for things like wind speed and drift are a bit much for the average pilot to do while flying. The Pilot CAN take care of the Navigation as well, but incurs a little extra stress as a result, and will suffer a -12 morale penalty for doing both jobs) Having a competent navigator can save time and fuel by preventing the ship from going off-course.
Lookouts (-5 morale)
Keeping an eye out isn't strictly required, but it is a good idea. Having lookouts posted improves the chances of noticing things on the air or ground that might prove beneficial. It'll also help keep the ship from being ambushed. *cough*Or identify potential targets.*cough* Any number of people can be assigned to this duty.
Cleaning (-10 Morale)
An unfortunate amount of grime tends to build up aboard ship, both as the result of the machines and the people who call it home. This dirty and unpleasant job of cleaning it all up has to fall on someone. Failing to keep the ship spick and span will negatively effect the moral of everyone on board.
No duty (no morale loss)
Basically characters with no duty are free to rest, relax, or do whatever they wish. You don't have to specify which characters get no duty, any ones that aren't specifically given a duty are considered to have none.
____________________
Fortunately there are a few ways to regain that last morale!
Meals are served aboard ship once a day. (Provided somebody cooked one) some hot food can be just the thing to raise the spirits, especially if well prepared. Remember you have to have enough food to keep every mouth fed, otherwise you may be forced to choose who eats and who doesn't.
Rations of rum or other liquor can help to pep up the crew as well. Again, the captain should specify when to haul out the keg and who should get the stuff. You can even specify double or triple rations though the consequence of having a drunk crew is to be considered (-2 to all rolls per application of liquor, resetting the next day) .. As well as the cost. As captain you can choose to reward specific people with extra drink if you like.
____________________
As an example:
==DAY-1==
Pilot: Gregor
Navigator: Myself
Cook: Carl
Mainten. Alex
Lookouts: Tom, Dick, Jane.
Cleaning: Conlan
-
Golder Tinned Food will be served to all crew
Rum will be served to all crew, with an extra ration for Alex and Conlan.
==DAY-2===
Pilot: Myself
Navigator: Myself
Cook: Carl
Mainten. Tom, Gregor
Lookouts: Conlan, Alex,
Cleaning: Dick
-
Golder Tinned Food will be served to all crew
Rum will be served to all crew, with an extra ration for Tom, Gregor and Dick.
OFF-DUTY ACTIONS
If a character is not on duty, they have 4 Flight Actions to use doing other things, such as:
Creating Items or gear
Costs 1 Flight action per every 20 points of Difficulty of the item. Creating items, gear or weapons requires requires a Workshop Compartment to be aboard ship with the appropriate crafting skill included.
Playing cards
Restores Morale as usual, but characters can only play with other off-duty characters. Costs 1 Flight Action for up to 10 hands of cards. 1 Morale is restored for every Flight Action spent playing.
Entertaining
Adds a morale bonus to the entire crew as per the Entertain Skill. Takes 2 Flight Actions but can only be done once per day.
____________________
MAKING CONTACT
As you fly along in Travel Phase, there is a good chance during your flight you might run into vessels of various types, be they merchant, warship, or pirate.
When your lookouts detect a ship it will be at one of three ranges:
---
Long Range:
Usually just a glob on the horizon, though with a good spyglass or other magnifiers it should be fairly easy to make out class and type, perhaps even country markings. Detection at this range gives plenty of time to assess the situation, try communicate via wireless, or re-arrange the positioning of crew if needed.
Medium Range:
Several miles distant, though class and type should be evident, if one squints hard enough. If required, your crew ought to have 4 rounds of action to respond to the contact however they wish, though the distance is too far for either to trade shots. Communication via signal flags or flares is possible at this range.
Close range:
Less than a mile, and well inside the engagement range of cannons! Let's hope they didn't sneak up on you, or you may be in for a bad time if your crew is disorganized and unprepared.
--
Making contact with vessels might drop you out of Travel mode and into Free RP mode, especially if the other ship wants to communicate or intends to attack.
The Captain can also specify reactions to any sort of ship that is encountered, which will drop the game from travel mode to Free RP mode once the right type of ship is encountered. For instance the Captain can state his intent to stop for any ship which is interested in trading. (Or any merchant vessel, in case it's ripe for plundering)
COMMUNICATING
LONG RANGE
Ships at long range can be communicated with via wireless telegraph, if the ship is equipped with one.
MEDIUM RANGE
Ships at medium range or closer can be communicated with via signal flags. Most ships have enough room to run 20 flags out to form a message from individual letters or numbers, but there are also some flag combinations that form code phrases, so you can form a code string as long as you have space for.
-
Affirmative (1 flag)
Negative (1 flag)
Stand By For Message (2 flags)
-
I Am Landing (2 flags)
I Am Taking Off (2 flags)
-
Hold position (2 flags)
Hold position for grappling ( 3 flags)
-
Abandoning ship (2 flags)
I Am Seriously Damaged (2 flags)
Emergency aboard (1 flag)
Ship is Crippled (2 flags)
-
Need Assistance (1 flag)
Need Medical assistance ( 2 flags)
Need Repair Assistance ( 2 flags)
Located Ship in need of assistance ( 2 flags)
Can not assist ( 2 flags)
-
Crew On Ground (2 flags)
Rescue Crew ( 2 flags)
-
Warning: (1 flag)
-
Bad Weather Expected ( 2 flags)
Bad Weather Nearby (2 flags)
-
Suspicious Ships Nearby (2 flags)
-
Attack ( 2 flags)
Stop or I will fire on you (2 flags)
Move further away immediately ( 2 flags)
Do Not Approach ( 2 flags)
Land Immediately ( 2 flags)
-
Let us join as a convoy (2 flags)
Follow me ( 2 flags)
I'll follow you (2 flags)
-
Any News? (2 flags)
I am Short On Provisions (2 flags)
I Want To Trade (2 flags)
-
Enemy Nearby ( 2 flags)
Are There Enemies Nearby? (2 flags)
Under Attack ( 2 flags)
-
What is my location? (2 flags)
Where are you bound? (2 flags)
Where are you from? (2 flags)
What ship are you? ( 2 flags)
-
We are pirates! ( 1 flag)
-
----
SHORT RANGE
At short range you can use use semaphore flags to send messages of unlimited length. Or at grappling range, just yell real loud.
____________________
Travel Phase ends when the ship has reached it's destination, at which point it reverts immediately into Port Phase.
____________________
And that about covers the meat of How To Play. This section will most likely be updated occasionally to feature new rules and better explanations.