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Now that the Rules survey has some results (43 responses as of this post), I think it would be a good idea to discuss some various options in detail.
Are there any changes you would recommend in regards to repair actions?
die roll allowing more or less masts to be fixed per round. allow sea monsters to repair (regenerate) some segments when it defeats an opponent if the ship has crew, regain the number of segment as the ship had crew… eg it eats and heals.
I don’t like the first but I do like the second. First seems too fast, unless it was a simple roll allowing for 2 masts to be repaired on a 5-6, perhaps only while at home. Getting a 6 and potentially repairing 6 masts is really weird to me, and would only further the gap between large and small ships.
Allowing sea monsters to “eat crew” for regeneration makes sense. Though I think it could be restricted to winning a boarding party and eliminating crew directly, rather than just from sinking an enemy ship.
Yay or nay?
A bonus of some sort would make repair actions more efficient, but I agree that the bonuses should really only apply at your home island, and they should be limited in scope. Rolling a d6 and getting back that many masts would be way too much too quickly.
Rolling a 5-6 to get one extra mast when docked at home would be simple enough to add, and wouldn’t break anything too badly. Eternal could become problematic, but when isn’t it?
A neat twist on that would be to roll a d6 and compare it to the current number of masts on your ship when you give the action. If the roll is higher, you get an extra mast, otherwise you just get the usual 1. This would make it easier to get little ships back to full strength or get heavily-damaged larger ones to a more usable state quickly, but getting the larger ships back to 100% would take longer.
Shipwrights could remain pretty much as-is for either case, or they could do their normal thing plus give a small boost to the home island roll, like +1 to the result, so you have better odds of getting the bonus mast but it’s still no guarantee.
Sea Monsters (and/or creatures in general) being able to repair would make them far more useful too. Tying that directly to crew kills isn’t necessarily going to help them much when they have to be parked on the surface for an entire round right next to the ship they just boarded, because they’re still likely to take more damage than they got back. A simple regeneration roll wouldn’t be a bad thing, but with similar limitations to above. Maybe it only works at your home island, or only while submerged, and instead of rolling to get an extra mast you roll to see whether you get a mast at all.
A neat twist on that would be to roll a d6 and compare it to the current number of masts on your ship when you give the action. If the roll is higher, you get an extra mast, otherwise you just get the usual 1. This would make it easier to get little ships back to full strength or get heavily-damaged larger ones to a more usable state quickly, but getting the larger ships back to 100% would take longer.
Great idea!
Shipwrights could remain pretty much as-is for either case, or they could do their normal thing plus give a small boost to the home island roll, like +1 to the result, so you have better odds of getting the bonus mast but it’s still no guarantee.
I actually like the idea of making it automatic with shipwrights since they’re not worth using very often. Letting ships with shipwrights repair 2 masts in one action while docked at home or a fort could at least make someone consider using one instead of a cannoneer perhaps.
I did make a custom sea monster that can repair while submerged.
I actually like the idea of making it automatic with shipwrights since they’re not worth using very often. Letting ships with shipwrights repair 2 masts in one action while docked at home or a fort could at least make someone consider using one instead of a cannoneer perhaps.
The part I don’t like about making it automatic at your home island is that it’s super easy for a player to just leave a single Shipwright on their home island for the duration of the game, and only move it onto docked ships momentarily to get the extra repair. Giving a smaller bonus to the roll runs into the same issue, but at least there’s a chance it still won’t help. I prefer that a Shipwright’s main benefit should remain the option to repair at sea and on wild islands, while the home island boost comes mostly from the extra facilities and staff that are assumed to be available there.
I’m torn on whether or not the home island bonus should apply at forts. They’re technically “permanent” structures that could include support for more efficient ship repair, but in gameplay they’re relatively fragile and can’t be repaired or maintained in any meaningful way, so they’re more like small, armed outposts than full-fledged forts.
Maybe a small change to shipwright needing to be on a ship only and not islands or some type of delay in its’ ability if it’s left on an island for a turn should work. Haven’t had time for a bunch of thought on this one yet. Not sure how well it’d work.
Or perhaps a shipyard type card required on an island where the shipwright could repair extra. I kind of feel shipyards were a missed opportunity in game.
Love the idea of creatures regenerating by eating crew. Just seems appropriate. Maybe a die roll similar to the discussed greater than # of masts for eating crew.
Some of the creatures seem like a single crew may not be enough meat for an entire mast like the sea dragons. Maybe something like eat crew equal to half a creatures segments rounded down, to regrow a segment. Shark would be fine eating a single crew while a kraken or sea dragon, as larger creatures would need to eat more to heal themselves.
I prefer that a Shipwright’s main benefit should remain the option to repair at sea and on wild islands, while the home island boost comes mostly from the extra facilities and staff that are assumed to be available there.
Good point, I just see it differently. A master shipwright who is capable of making full mast repairs while at sea should be even more effective with those facilities, supplies, and staff available to them. 🙂
Some of the creatures seem like a single crew may not be enough meat for an entire mast like the sea dragons. Maybe something like eat crew equal to half a creatures segments rounded down, to regrow a segment. Shark would be fine eating a single crew while a kraken or sea dragon, as larger creatures would need to eat more to heal themselves.
A solid point, but I feel it would almost never happen with limitations like that. Unless the sea creature had the Massacre ability (eliminate all crew with a successful boarding). Sea creatures can be pretty vulnerable when not submerged and haven’t been that effective in combat in my experience.
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