S R o G
Ship Registry of Gor
SRoG Rules of Naval Engagement
Intitial development by the player of Erik Locke (RoSoG/SRoG).
Enhanced dicing rules by the player of Milan Hunter.
Web page development and support by the player of Milan Hunter.
This page is not to be copied to another website.
Protocol
Hit and Distance Points
The dice table specifies the hit points for each ship type.
As damage is taken, the number of hit points decreases. A ship is sunk when the number of hit points reaches 0. Initially, a ship has no distance points (aka speed points). A ship escapes a match when the number of distance points reaches 5.
Weapons and Speed Dice
The dice table specifies the weapons and speed dice for each ship type. Use weapons dice to damage, capture, or sink another ship. Use speed dice to escape a match or pursue a ship attempting to escape.
Dice Table
For each die rolled: 1-14=no points, 15-19=1 point, 20-24=2 points.
The values for hits, weapons, and speed apply to combat in the open sea (thassa). For river combat (e.g. on the Vosk), weapons and speed are reduced for some ships. River values are shown in blue.
Inits
Roll 1d6 to determine the order of play. Announce your terms of combat. Use proctors to avoid disputes.
Rounds
You get one turn per round.
At the beginning each turn, declare an action: weapons, capture, pursue, or escape. If no action is declared, the action is weapons. If you are battling more than one ship, declare a target. If no target is declared, the target is the same ship as your last turn.
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Weapons: Roll weapons dice. The hit points of the target are decreased by your roll. If your roll equals or exceeds the remaining hit points of your target, you SINK the target immediately.
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Capture: Allowed if your target has 1 or 2 hit points remaining. Roll weapons dice. If your roll equals or exceeds the remaining hit points of your target, you CAPTURE the target immediately. If not, NO damage is done to the target.
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Escape: If you have 0 distance points, then you are beginning an escape attempt. Roll speed dice. The distance points of your ship are increased by your roll. When your distance points reach 5, you ESCAPE the match immediately. Until you escape, you may be damaged, captured, or sunk.
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Pursue: Only one ship may pursue a target on each escape attempt. Roll speed dice. The distance points of your target are decreased by your roll until 0 is reached.
Naval Warfare and Pirating
The various ship types afford limitless opportunity for roleplay. In most cases, the outcome is far from certain. Naval engagements are typically for the purpose of warfare or pirating. The objective of warfare is to vanquish your foes. The objective of pirating is to capture property. Understanding how ships match up against each other will improve your chances of success.
The table below shows the expected number of rounds that it takes for an attacking ship(s) to sink another ship. It also shows the expected number of rounds for a ship to escape. For example, if a heavy ram (3d22 weapons) pounds away at a serpent (8 hits), the heavy ram is expected to sink the serpent in 5.8 rounds. However, the serpent (2d24 speed) is expected to escape in 4.5 rounds, so the serpent can "win" by escape.
The table suggests that:
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Any round ship has a good chance of escaping any single ship.
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A serpent can escape from any single ship.
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Two serpents or two medium rams can sink a heavy ram.
The point is that heavy rams do not always win. Ships of lesser speed and weaponry can succeed when combined with other ships and/or when commanded by an experienced Captain.
Naval Warfare
Because weaponry is valued in warfare, heavy rams, medium rams, and serpents are the ships of choice. In battles, ships do not run, rather, they slug it out in head-to-head combat.
The table below shows how ships fare in head-to-head weapons combat
Any head-to-head battle between ships of the same type is fair, however, the ship that has first strike always has a slight advantage. For different ship types, only the Medium Ram vs. Serpent matchup is fair.
In multiship battles, unequal matchups are used to engage the stronger ship for a number of rounds. Although the weaker ship is lost, the stronger ship is prevented from attacking another target.
Pirating
Because pirating concerns capturing cargo, all ship types are involved. Rounds carry the cargo and rams and serpents attack.
The table below shows the capture rate for combinations of attacking ship(s) and rounds. It shows that all classes of rounds have a reasonable chance of escape from attack, and in most one ship attacks, the odds favor the round ship.
* The capture rate if the attacker has first strike is shown first.
All rounds can elude capture and their chance improves if they have first strike. The medium round is the hardest to capture.
The rules of naval engagement support pirating roleplay because the odds favor the safe transport of goods in all types of rounds, even when the pirate is sailing a heavy ram.