So with some lucky-high sleep HD rolls and some inexplicably brave pirates, my PCs are on the verge of falling into possession of a small galley at about level 3. Of course their first question is “so if we sell this thing, we get XP?”. Imagining myself a clever DM I dodge the question and say “aha, well even if it worked that way, you’d have to use it to get back to port!”.
To this they reply “hmmm, but what if we convince the captain on the ship we bought passage from to tow it with his ship? Would that work?” (the NPC captain has the same kind of ship, a small galley with a full hold of cargo).
Ok, so first question: is the whole prospect daft? Should a ship really be worth XP if you manage to sell it?
Second question if first question is “Yes, get your XP!”, how hard would it be for one small galley to tow another one? How reasonably can I lean on the NPC captain being focused on getting to the next port and not wanting to be slowed down, or would a merchant captain who managed to repel a pirate attack and take their ship be seeing dollar signs (or gold pieces) and already be trying to hash out his share?
Another practical obstacle here is finding a buyer, depending on the type of market they’re headed to. I’d probably let them have the XP, but can’t speak to the motive power of a towing galley.
Ok, so first question: is the whole prospect daft? Should a ship really be worth XP if you manage to sell it?
ALEX: I would absolutely give them XP if they capture a ship and sell it as a prize. Historically, the capture and sale of enemy vessels (prizes) was one of the most lucrative sources of income for naval captains - the “master & commander” series is filled with such references. It certainly seems reasonable to me to assign PCs XP for performing deeds of historical plunder!
Second question if first question is “Yes, get your XP!”, how hard would it be for one small galley to tow another one?
Towing galleys was common in ancient war.
“Ramming itself was done by smashing into the rear or side of an enemy ship, punching a hole in the planking. This did not actually sink an ancient galley unless it was heavily laden with cargo and stores. With a normal load, it was buoyant enough to float even with a breached hull. It could also maneuver for some time as long as the oarsmen were not incapacitated, but would gradually lose mobility and become unstable as it flooded. The winning side would then attempt to tow away the swamped hulks as prizes.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galley
“Grappling hooks would be used both as a weapon and for towing damaged ships (ally or enemy) back to shore.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme
How reasonably can I lean on the NPC captain being focused on getting to the next port and not wanting to be slowed down, or would a merchant captain who managed to repel a pirate attack and take their ship be seeing dollar signs (or gold pieces) and already be trying to hash out his share?
He’d be seeing gold pieces and want his share. You might find this article on the historical allocation of prize money to be helpful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prize_money
At a minimum the Captain should be expecting 25% and his senior officers should share another 25%…
Command structure of a Navy ship c.1810, showing prize money groupings
The following scheme for distribution of prize money was used for much of the Napoleonic wars, the heyday of prize warfare. Allocation was by eighths.
Two eighths of the prize money went to the captain
, generally propelling him upwards in political and financial circles.
One eighth of the money went to the admiral or commander and chief who signed the ship's written orders (unless the orders came directly from the Admiralty in London, in which case this eighth also went to the captain)
.
One eighth was divided among the lieutenants, sailing master, and captain of marines
if any.
One eighth was divided among the wardroom warrant officers (surgeon, purser, and chaplain), standing warrant officers (carpenter, boatswain, and gunner), lieutenant of marines, and the master's mates.
One eighth was divided among the junior warrant and petty officers, their mates, sergeants of marines, captain's clerk, surgeon's mates, and midshipmen.
The final two eighths were divided among the crew, with able and specialist seamen receiving larger shares than ordinary seamen, landsmen, and boys
So yeah, I see the PCs each getting a share something like 1/8th divided by the number of friendly combatants, or 1/(N+8), where N is the number of friendly combatants, including the PCs.