Sleigh/Whitebeard questions: Can the “Ho Ho Ho” ability be used on every player’s turn? (or just Santa’s turn; I realize it is probably every player’s turn due to your answer on the spying abilities from October, but it just felt too ridiculous to play it that way with this one)
It doesn’t specify Santa’s turn, so you can use it every turn.
Is the Sleigh’s ability to not be shot at and cannot sink one ability since it’s one sentence? (or separate for copying/cancelling purposes)
It’s a single sentence, so yes, treat it as one single ability for copy/cancel purposes.
Can an L mover move a ship out of a fog bank?
No, a move action is required.
Can Runes of Odin be revealed on any player’s turn? (or just the owner’s turn)
It’s not triggered by some outside action (like Loki/Thor, for example), so you can only activate it during your own turn.
Are flotillas automatically “docked” at an island when the towing ship docks? (thinking no because flotillas don’t have bows)
Yes. Because they don’t have bows, any part can touch the island to dock.
Do you get 1 gold from Ransom if you eliminate your own crew after it was captured by an opponent?
No, only players opposing to the original owner can gain gold from Ransom, regardless of what happens to the crew.
Am I correct in saying that neither of these situations trigger a player to be eliminated for the “half or more” multiplayer endgame rule: derelict with Eternal (can be scuttled), and a ship with Oarsman that is pinned in place by a sea monster.
Correct. The Eternal ship can be scuttled and repaired, and pinning will never trigger the endgame.
I may have been moving sea monsters wrong for years. Must you always move them so the white dot is the forwardmost point? I have usually played that they face “forward” with the tentacles of a squid outstretched which helps them be able to pin opponents more quickly. Is this wrong? I’ve noticed that by reversing direction on the dot and turning 180 degrees, it can produce quite a large “flip” as the tentacles reverse direction and cause a big movement jump from one extreme end to the opposite direction.
Treat the front point (dot) similar to the bow of a standard ship for movement purposes. It does create a big swing with the tentacles sticking so far past that point, but functionally it’s really not that different from a ship with a long front sail that reaches past its own bow.