In the Player’s Companion, we have the Scandinavian-inspired Jutland barbarians. They need some Scandinavian-inspired ships. The best archeological evidence (that I’m aware of, anyway) are the Skuldelev ships, a number of 11th-century vessels that were sunk to block Roskilde fjord and recovered in the 1960s. The five ships (1-3 and 5-6) were two longships, two merchant vessels, and a small ship that has been suggested was either a ferry or a fishing vessel (“Skuldelev 4” was found to be part of the Dublin-built Skuldelev 2). Using the latest draft of the ship rules I’ve been working on (some of the development is cataloged at http://www.autarch.co/forums/house-rules/hr-naval-rules), here are two of the smaller ships, waiting for Jutland sailors to take them into action. Some of the stats wouldn’t normally be used, but I wanted to keep all of the information in the table.
Skuldelev 3 (small merchant/byrding)
Length: 39 feet
Beam: 8 feet
Draught: 2 feet, 5 inches
Freeboard: 1 foot, 6 inches
Base Seaworthiness: 4
Armor Class: 4
Seaworthiness: 5
Tonnage: 10 tons
Structural Hit Points: 12
Starting capacity: 2,000 stone
1 mast, 2 sails (actually one large sail), square rig
Sailing MP: 5
Sailing crew needed: 4
Crew needed for full rowing speed: 24
Oars: 4
Rowing MP: 1
Capacity: 1,968 stone
Special quality: clinker-built
Cost: 1,520 gp (with oars and one full-size sail)
Skuldelev 5 (small longship/snekkja)
Length: 59 feet
Beam: 8 feet
Draught: 2 feet, 1 inch
Freeboard: 1 foot, 3 inches
Base Seaworthiness: 3
Armor Class: 3
Seaworthiness: 4
Tonnage: 10 tons
Structural Hit Points: 12
Starting Capacity: 2,000 stone
1 mast, 2 sails (large sail), square rig
Sailing MP: 6
Sailing crew needed: 4
Crew needed for full rowing speed: 24
Oars: 24
Rowing MP: 4
Capacity: 1,958 stone
Special quality: clinker-built
Cost: 1,620 gp (with oars and one full-size sail)
Note that while there’s little difference between the two in capacity or cost, the merchant ship will have five or six crew, while the longship will have twenty-six to thirty, which will require more supplies and weight for the crew (and the raiders’ weapons). Both ships will sail as much as possible, but row in contrary winds.