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« 4.1 Cannon Fire
Sequence
A ship's guns are fired by declaring an enemy ship within
that vessel's arc-of-fire as a target (see 4.2 Targeting below). Cannon fire is
then conducted by rolling a number of six-sided dice based on the gun
dice numbers shown on the ship log. The gun dice numbers correspond to the
number of light, medium and heavy cannons available on each side of the vessel.
Note that within a gun dice sequence, each digit is treated individually. For
example, a gun dice value of 609 is not six-hundred and nine, it is
six, zero and nine, indicating that vessel has six light
guns, no medium guns and nine heavy guns available for use on each side. In
some cases the last heavy value is followed by a fourth number which reflects
the number of heavy carronade guns which may be added to the last heavy gun
value at close range. Otherwise, all cannons may be fired at all three of the
available gun ranges.
Now choose one of the gun types to fire. Most
players start with their heaviest guns and work down. Whatever size is chosen,
the initial number of gun dice for that size may be modified by the Dice
Modifiers in the Gun Dice table. The modifiers change the number of gun dice to
be thrown. In the same Gun Dice table, check for the hit roll values, which are
the numbers that actually have to be rolled on each gun die for a hit to have
occurred.
Next, begin at the Start Line on the Hit Table and modify it
up or down according to the Line Modifiers — if any apply. The maximum
cannon fire line is +2 and the minimum is -2. A certain portion of the dice to
be rolled will apply to the Hull Target column, and the remainder will apply to
the Rigging Target column. See Targeting below for more information about the
the numbers of dice that can be used for the two target types.
Once the
gun dice and fire table are established, the dice are rolled. All hit results
cause the corresponding sets of damage hits shown for that line and
target type. Hull targeted dice only inflict damage hits shown in the
Hull Target column and rigging targeted dice only inflict damage shown in the
Rigging Target column. Record the resulting hits — if any — on the
ship log and proceed to the next gun size.
General Fire Rules
– Different ships firing onto the same target with identical modifiers may
group their dice into one roll. Each set of guns or "battery" may only
fire once each turn. All fire conducted during a turn is considered to
be simultaneous. Damage inflicted during the course of the Cannon Fire step
only becomes effective at the end of the step when all ships have had their
opportunity to fire. Passing fire effects also become active at this time (see
Passing Fire below). All gun hit fractions are rounded down.
Multiple 6 Results – If during the course of
rolling his gun dice a player rolls more than one natural six, each extra six
rolled will immediately result in a CR hit and a corresponding roll for
additional damage on the CR line of the Critical Hit table. For example, if a
player rolls nine gun dice and the results are 2,2,3,4,4,5,6,6,6, the player is
considered to have rolled two "extra" sixes and inflicts two CR hits on the
enemy ship in addition to any other damage suffered. Note that CR hits are
modified by the gun size which inflicted the original damage.
Firing Example 1: A 100-gun ship of the line
with a B grade crew and a gun dice profile of 609 is going to fire her nine
heavy guns at a target that is 40mm away under full sail. Because this is in
the close range bracket, there are no reductions due to range, and her B rating
allows die rolls of 5 or 6 to score hits at close range. Because the heavy guns
are being fired at a target that has full sails, the hull targeted dice used
the +1 line and the rigging targeted dice use the +2 line of the Hit Table. If
the target ship were under battle sails, all dice would use the +1 line on the
Hit Table.
Firing Example 2: A 74-gun ship of the line with an F
grade crew and a gun dice profile of 022 is going to use her two medium gun
dice against a target that is 160mm away under battle sail. Because this is in
the medium range bracket, the number of gun dice is halved to one, and her F
rating allows only die roll pairs of 6 to score hits (shown as "12" on the
combat chart table). Because of this, the player does not roll because a
minimum of two dice would be needed in order to have any possibility of scoring
a hit.
« 4.2
Targeting
 Fig. 1 – Arc of Fire Targets.
Ship A represents a vessel which is just moving out of the arc of
fire. Because part of its stern still lies within the arc, it may be fired at.
Ship B is entirely within the arc and may be fired at. The centerpoint of ship
C lies just within the arc, and so it may be fired at. The centerpoint of ship
D lies just outside of the arc, and so it may not be fired at because the ships
is only just moving into the arc of fire and does not yet represent a broad
enough target. |
Arcs of fire – A ship may only fire its
cannon at targets that are within limited arcs-of-fire. These arcs are anchored
off the port and starboard sides of the ship, and their breadth or "sweep" is
different depending on the time period of the battle. Early in the period
covered by Admiralty, the average arc-of-fire was about 10°. By the middle
of the period most ships had been converted to allow their guns a 45°
arc-of-fire. See the Ship Values for more information about arcs-of-fire for
individual fleets.
Ships which are moving into an arc of fire may only
be fired upon if their centerpoint lies within the boundary of the arc. Ships
which are entirely within an arc of fire may always be fired upon, assuming
they are within range. Ships which are moving out of an arc of fire may be
fired upon if any portion of the model lies within the arc. See Figure 1 at
right. Note that because all game movement is conducted in steps or "leaps,"
the actual ship models will all be stationary at the time that firing is
resolved. However, the ships will often represent objects which are moving in
relation to each other. Because of this, the rules will discuss abstract ideas,
like ships which are considered to be moving, as in "moving into an arc of
fire" even though both models are setting still at the time the observation and
firing are done. Whether a ship is considered to be motionless for game
purposes is decided by its movement (or lack thereof) from the previous
turn.
Multiple Targets – In any case where numerous enemy
ships are within a vessel's arc of fire, the firing ship will target the enemy
which is in the closest range bracket and closest to the
attacker's line of fire. Such a ship is referred to as the primary
target. An exception to this is the case of a pre-existing target.
If the ship fired upon last turn by a battery is still within the arc of fire
but is no longer the primary target, the firing player may choose either the
new primary target or the pre-existing target. If two enemy ships are both
within the same range bracket and are also the same distance from the line of
fire, either ship may be targeted.
Example: A vessel which is in a closer range
bracket than three other vessels, but further away from the line of fire will
still be the primary target. If three vessels are all within the same range
bracket but are individually at different ranges, the vessel closest to the
firing ship's line of fire will be the primary target. All of these situations
are subject to the pre-existing target option.
 Fig. 2 – Valid Passing
Fire
The green ship may conduct passing fire against the red ship
because the red ship passed through more than half of the green ship's arc of
fire. |
Passing Fire – During the movement step, a
player may declare any of his ships as conducting passing fire as enemy vessels
pass through his own vessel's arc of fire. Passing fire may only be conducted
under special circumstances, and it is designed to prevent viable targets from
slipping out of a ship's arc of fire in conditions which normally would have
resulted in a vessel firing or taking fire. Players should keep this last note
in mind during the game, as it is nearly impossible to create rulings to cover
every eventuality. In the case of unusual circumstances the general intent of
the rules must be kept in mind.
Passing fire is considered to be
simultaneous to all firing which occurs during the Fire phase, and damage
inflicted as a result of passing fire only becomes effective at the time all
other damage for the turn becomes effective at the conclusion of the Conduct
Cannon Fire step.
In order to conduct passing fire, the player in
control of the firing vessel must declare that he will do passing fire either
as he moves his ship past an intended target, or as the enemy player moves a
ship which is a viable target. All passing fire must be declared while a vessel
is being moved. If a player is allowed to move his ship past an enemy vessel
and take his hand off the model or its base without anyone calling "passing
fire" against it, no passing fire may be done on that vessel. By the same
token, if a player moves a ship without calling passing fire, none may be
conducted by that ship.
Passing fire may only be conducted against a
vessel which (a) passes through more than half of a firing ship's arc of fire
or (b) presents a raking fire target. In order for (a) to occur, the target
vessel's centerpoint must have passed the firing vessels line of fire. See
Figures 1 and 2 at right. In order for (b) to occur, the target vessel must
present a raking target at any point during the move. Passing fire must be
conducted using all the weapons on the embattled side of the ship in question.
Vessels which conduct passing fire during the movement phase may not fire again
during the turn using the side or sides of the ship which fired.
 Fig. 3 – Invalid Passing
Fire
The green ship may not conduct passing fire against the red
ship because the red ship moved through less than half of the green ship's arc
of fire. |
Target Types – When rolling for cannon fire, the
dice themselves are used to define the mix between hull targeted guns and
rigging targeted guns. Players should use two different colors of
dice for the two target types, but should still roll the gun dice all
at once, with one color assigned to hull hits and the other color assigned to
rigging hits.
The ratio of dice used is decided according to the range
and the national doctrine of a vessel's parent fleet. As a general rule, the
gun dice mix for guns fired at long and medium range should follow a 66/33 mix.
A ship from a fleet whose national doctrine is to fire at an enemy's hull
should consider two-thirds of the dice rolled as counting toward the Hull
Target column and one-third toward the Rigging Target column, with a general
bias toward the dominant type. Fleets whose doctrine was firing at an enemy's
rigging should consider two-thirds of their gun dice as being for Rigging
Targeted fire and one-third for Hull Targeted fire. Hence, a French ship firing
only two gun dice of a certain size at medium or long range will likely fire
both of them as rigging targeted, but if rolling three dice will fire two at
the rigging and one at the hull.
An interesting option for medium and
long range fire is to mix the two dice colors into a can and blindly draw the
desired number for each firing. Adjusting the ratios of dice inside the can
could randomly show national differences while allowing unpredictable
fluctuations in targeting. This would completely randomize hull/rigging
targeting, and allows an interesting variety of options.
For close
range firing players can choose among several possibilities, but in general the
amount of heavy gun dice assigned to hull targets should be higher. Medium and
light guns may be more selective about where they aim. Below are outlined
several possible methods of deciding close range dice mix. Players should
decide in advance which method will be used throughout a game, or roll to
randomly decide which method to use before the game starts.
Close Range Options:
Battery Targeting
(recommended) – Heavy cannon are always hull targeted, medium and
light cannon may fire any combination of their guns as hull or rigging
targeted.
Basic Targeting – All but one of the gun dice for each
type are hull targeted.
Advanced Basic Targeting – When firing
five dice or less, all may be hulled targeted. When firing six dice or more,
one must be rigging targeted.
« 4.3
Modifiers
All gun dice and cannon fire table modifiers are
cumulative.
Dice Quantity
Modifiers
Stern Rake – Double the number of dice if the
center-point of the firing ship lies within the stern zone of the target
vessel. Note that all gun hits which are caused by a bow or stern rake must be
evenly split between the two sides of a ship.
Bow Rake – Add
one-half (50%) to the number of dice if the center-point of the firing ship
lies within the stern zone of the target vessel.
Medium Range –
Halve the number of dice if the target lies within the medium range
bracket.
Long Range – Quarter the number of dice if the target
lies within the long range bracket.
Choppy Seas – Halve the
number of dice if current sea condition is choppy.
Heavy Seas –
Quarter the number of dice if the current sea condition is heavy.
Line Modifiers
Weak Hull – Go up one line on
the fire table for hull-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel with a weak
hull.
Stout Hull – Drop one line down on the fire table for
hull-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel with a stout hull.
Heavy
Firing – Go up one line on the fire table if the gun dice being rolled
are for heavy guns.
Light Firing – Drop one line down on the
fire table if the gun dice being rolled are for light guns.
Rigging
Target vs Normal/Full Sail – Go up one line on the fire table for
rigging-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel using normal or full speed
(sail).
Rigging Target vs Anchored/Slow Sail – Drop one line
down on the fire table for rigging-targeted gun dice fired against a vessel
using slow speed (sail).
« 4.4 Damage
Hits
During the course of the game a ship can suffer damage that
slowly reduces it ability to fight. In order to keep the game moving, we have
chosen not to concern ourselves with damage and hits that do not dramatically
affect the operation of the ship. Our main concerns are basic: Are the guns
still firing, can the ship still move, will it sink soon? Those primitive
concerns and others like them are the concerns of the moment for Admiralty.
There are two basic types of damage in the game: static and active.
Static damage happens once and doesn't need to be bothered with any further.
Active damage is damage that can somehow trigger additional damage, sometimes
immediately, sometimes later in the game. In any case, active damage is usually
dangerous in some way and will usually be a source of concern. The most common
types of damage are suffered from the Hit Table. Less common types of damage
are inflicted through the Critical Hits table. All types of damage inflicted
should be recorded on the ship log under the name of the ship which has
suffered the damage. A few damage types can be repaired, a function which is
discussed more in Section 6 -
Repairs.
Below is a master list of each damage type and its
respective effects.
| Damage Code Glossary |
| A |
Anchor |
Mark one
A in the Critical Hits box of the ship log.
A ship with two
or more anchor hits may not anchor during the game. |
| B |
Blocked Gun Dice |
Mark a 1B at the bottom of
the appropriate Gun Dice box for each B hit. For multiple B hits, change the
number accordingly: 2B, 3B, etc.
Each set of B
hits should be randomly located either on the port or starboard side of the
ship, not both. B hits cause the temporary suppression of one gun die of each
"B Point" on the corresponding side of that ship. As with any suppressed
feature, suppressed gun dice may not be used until the B hits have been
repaired.
Example: A ship with a Gun Dice value of 255 that has two B
hits (2B) marked on its Starboard side, may only fire three medium and three
heavy gun dice. It is effectively a 033 on that side of the ship until the
blocked guns are cleared using repair die rolls.
The BD
hit result is a related code which requires one or more immediate die rolls to
test for B hits. The BD hit result is not recorded anywhere, it simply results
in the immediate test for further damage. |
| C |
Carronade |
Reduce one of the
carronades values (if any) shown in the Gun Dice box. Each C hit should be
randomly located either on the port or starboard side of the ship, not both. If
a target vessel does not have any carronade weapons, inflict one normal G hit
instead. |
| CR |
Critical Hit |
Refer to the Critical Hit line of the
Critical Hit table and roll one six sided die. Inflict the resulting damage
codes and, if necessary, roll for their effects also. Note that the gun size
modifiers from the Hit Table are also used for critical hit die rolls: A
critical hit roll triggered by light guns will suffer a minus one (-1); A
critical hit roll triggered by heavy guns will receive a plus one (+1). |
| CR2 |
Critical Hit 2 |
Refer to the Critical
Hit 2 line of the Critical Hit table and roll one six sided die. Inflict the
resulting damage codes and, if necessary, roll for their effects also. The CR2
line inflicts less common types of damage such as anchor, leader and pump
hits. |
| D |
Fire Danger |
Immediately refer to the Fire Danger
line on the Critical Hit table and roll one die, recording any fires that are
started as a result. |
| E |
Explosion |
Immediately refer to
the Explosion line on the Critical Hit table and roll one die, recording all
damage that happens as a result. Keep the I hit which triggered
the explosion and continue rolling each turn for additional
explosions.
Any ships within 10mm of an exploding ship must roll on the
Explosion hit line with a minus two (-2) modifier. Ships within 20mm of an
exploding ship must roll on the Explosion line with a minus three (-3)
modifier. |
| F |
Fire |
Mark an F in the Critical
Hits box of the ship log. At the start of each Fire Phase, roll for each active
F hit on the Fire line of the Critical Hit table and apply the results. |
| G |
Gun
Hit |
Mark a number in the
Gun Hits box of the ship log corresponding to the current total of gun hits on
that side of the ship. G hits should be marked off on the embattled side of the
ship, that is, the side of the ship facing the direction of the attacker. G
hits coming from directly ahead or behind (IE - from raking fire) should be
evenly split between the two sides of the ship. If all of the gun dice on the
nearest side of the target ship have been destroyed, gun hits are then to be
applied to those guns (if any) which are still intact on the other side of the
target ship. |
| GD |
Gun Dice |
Randomly reduce one of the remaining Gun
Dice values shown in the Gun Dice box, choosing the side which corresponds to
the adjoining Gun Hits box. One GD hit is suffered for every five gun hits.
Once the GD hit is recorded, cross out the contributing gun hits.
Example: A
ship suffers eight G hits on its port side. Cross out five of the eight G hits
and reduce one randomly selected port side Gun Dice value by one
point. For this example a 609 value would reduce to 608 or 509, but not 508. A
zero value cannot be reduced. This example would leave the vessel minus one gun
die, with three G hits remaining in the port side Gun Hits box. |
| I |
Inferno |
Mark an
I in the Critical Hits box of the ship log and cross out the F
hit which triggered it. At the start of each Fire Phase, roll for each active I
hit on the Inferno line of the Critical Hit table and apply the results. Ships
with an inferno burning on board will stop all firing and may not voluntarily
move within 10mm of any other ship. |
| L |
Locked |
Mark an L in the Critical
Hits box of the ship log. That ship is locked or fouled with the other ship in
question. Note that ships may be locked to each other (both with L hits) or
just one may be locked to another (just one with an L hit). Ships with their
own L hits and those which have other ships locked to them may not move or
rotate in place, regardless of sail settings. |
| M |
Mast |
Mark an
M in the Critical Hits box of the ship log. At the start of each
Movement Phase, roll for each active M hit on the Mast line of the Critical Hit
table and apply the results – if any. Cross out any M hit that causes
additional damage or gets repaired.
Example: On turn three a ship suffers an
M hit during the Fire Phase. At the start of turn four's movement phase the
owning player rolls a 2 on the Mast Hit roll, giving no result. The M hit
remains active on that ship's log. At the start of turn five's movement phase,
the owning player again rolls for that M hit, with a 4 result which causes 10
Sail hits. The M hit is then crossed out (made inactive) and ten S hits are
added to the Sail Hits box.
Note that some game functions take into account
all M hits suffered during the game, whether or not they are
active. |
| O |
Officer |
Mark an O in the Critical
Hits box of the ship log. An officer of admiral's grade (if on board) is killed
or injured. [THIS SECTION NOT FINISHED YET] |
| P |
Pump |
Mark a P
in the Critical Hits box of the ship log. Pump hits allow Waterline hits to
take full effect, thereby threatening the ship in case of severe damage. A ship
with no pump hits may suppress two W hits each turn. A ship with one pump hit
may only suppress one W hit each turn. A ship with two or more pump hits may
not suppress any W hits. |
| R |
Rudder |
Marked an R in the
Critical Hits box of the ship log. One rudder hit reduces to four the
number of turning circle steps that a ship may use to turn. Each additional R
hit reduces that number by another point until the ship reaches four R hits, at
which time the rudder of the ship is considered destroyed. A ship with a
destroyed rudder must anchor in place and set it's sails to a stop position (if
possible). If the ship's anchors and rigging are also destroyed, it may not
conduct any type of voluntary movement (the ship may be subject to optional
drifting rules if those are part of the game scenario). |
| S |
Sail |
Subtract the number of
inflicted sail hits from the current value listed in the Sail Hits box of the
ship log. The number currently shown in the Sail Hits box is the percentage of
ship's speed that can actually be used.
Example: A ship which suffers 7
sail hits will reduce the 100 at the top the Sail Hits box of the ship log to
93, meaning that only 93% of that ship's speed (shown in the Speed box at
right) may be used. If that ship suffers another 30 sail hits the Sail Hits
number would now be reduced to 60. The ship may now use only 60% of the speeds
shown in its Speed box. If the ship currently trying to use a speed of 80mm
with a sail hits value of 60, the ship can actually move only 48mm.
Players who want to streamline game play can also choose to use only
the first number of the sail hit value to affect the ship's speed. Any sail hit
value in the 90's range would be treated as 90%, any values in the 50's range
would be treated as 50% and so forth. |
| W |
Waterline |
Mark a W in the Critical
Hits box of the ship log. Waterline hits cause a progressive series of effects
which result in the loss of the ship. Waterline hits can be slowly repaired if
the seas are not choppy or heavy. One W hit each turn can be rendered
ineffective or "suppressed" if the pump if not damaged. See the Critical Hits
box for the list of waterline hit effects. |
| XX |
Repaired |
Cross out (deactivate)
the critical hit in question. In the case of an F hit the fire is considered
put out. In the case of an M hit the mast or yard is considered repaired enough
to prevent further damage. |
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« 4.5 Critical
Hits
The Critical Hits box on the combat chart controls the ongoing
side-effects caused by damage hits. Some critical hit results will be recorded
in the ship log, and others will be immediately acted upon in the form of
additional hits and die rolls. Each critical hit line contains a line of blank
spaces and damage hits which correspond to the die roll lines above them.
Rolling one six sided die and cross indexing the result with the corresponding
hit type will give the result. Each result matches a damage code which is
outlined on the combat chart and defined in detail in section 4.4 above.
« 4.6 Advanced
Firing Rules
Advanced rules are not required for general game play,
and they may slow game play. But experienced players already familiar with the
rules may enjoy these ideas and the historical feel they help to
create.
Partial Broadside – Whenever a ship has just come
into another ship's field of fire and is positioned so that it blocks over half
of an enemy ship's arc-of-fire, yet still has its centerpoint outside the arc,
the enemy ship may still fire half of its broadside batteries at it. Note that
this will usually only apply when ships are offset enough that full broadsides
are not allowed, yet too close to ignore the potential for even half the guns
to do damage.
Weather Effects – In choppy or heavy seas,
ships firing from a weather position onto a lee target lose use of half or all
of their heavy guns due to the ship heeling into the ocean.
Crashing
Masts – Any vessel Locked with another vessel (either with its own L
hit, or locked with a vessel that has an L hit against it) must roll on the M
hit table if the other ship suffers an M hit table die roll result of
5 or 6. Apply all hits as called for. In addition,
a result of 5 or 6 on the second ship's die roll
will also result in one die roll worth of L hits for each of the locked
ships.
Inferno Aid – Ships with an inferno burning on board
will immediately surrender to the closest enemy ship and ask for aid. The enemy
ship must stop between 15mm and 30mm distant from the burning vessel. Both
ships will remain in that position as non-combatants until the burning ship
either explodes or successfully evacuates its crew on a die roll of 6,
whichever occurs first. If the ship explodes first, the formerly assisting
enemy ship may resume fighting. If the burning ship's crew successfully
evacuates, the assisting enemy ship will take a station away from the battle
area but remain as a non-combatant. It may not attack enemy ships, and enemy
ships may not attack it.
Frigate Immunity – Ships of the
line may not fire at enemy frigates unless the enemy frigates fire on them
first.
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