7  Vehicles

The following tables give details of various land and sea vehicles. Game Masters should feel free to create their own vehicles, in which case the table can be used for guidance. Some of the statistics given below are explained in detail later.

Land Transportation

Vehicle	Length x width*	Weight	Cargo	Movement	Hardness / HP	Cost (gp)
Chariot	15’ x 6’	300	750 lbs	60’ (10’)	10 / 10	400
Coach	30’ x 8’	1,000	2,000 lbs	40’ (15’)	6 / 12	1,500
Wagon	35’ x 8’	2,000	4,000 lbs	20’ (15’)	6 / 16	500

*Includes hitched horses or mules.

Water Transportation

Vehicle	Length x Width	Cargo	Crew	Movement	Miles/Day	Hardness / HP	Cost (gp)
Canoe	15’ x 4’	½ ton	1	40’ (5’)	30	4 / 4	50
Caravel	55’ x 15’	75 tons	10	20’ (20’)	42	8 / 75	10,000
Carrack	60’ x 20’	135 tons	20	30’ (30’)	48	10 / 120	20,000
Galley, Small	100’ x 15’	210 tons	90	20’ (20’)	36 / 24	8 / 75	15,000
Galley, Large	120’ x 20’	375 tons	160	30’ (25’)	42 / 24	10 / 120	30,000
Longship	110’ x 15’	10 tons	70	30’ (25’)	42 / 24	9 / 110	25,000
Raft/Barge	per 10’ x 10’	1 ton	2	40’ (10’)	18	6 / 12	100
Riverboat	50’ x 20’	50 tons	10	20’ (20’)	30	8 / 30	3,500
Rowboat	15’ x 6’	1 ton	1	30’ (10’)	24	6 / 8	60
Sailboat	40’ x 8’	5 tons	1	40’ (15’)	36	7 / 20	2,000

Notes Regarding Vehicles

The Crew figure given reflects the minimum number of sailors and/or rowers needed to operate the ship. Officers are not counted among these numbers, and of course it is always a good idea to hire extra sailors and/or rowers to ensure that any casualties will not slow down the ship.

Cargo for wagons is given in pounds, while for ships it is given in tons. If the ship sails night and day, each passenger requires living space equivalent to one ton of cargo; in addition, provisions for one man for one month occupy 1/10 of a ton of space.

Movement is given separately here in feet (yards, actually; see Time and Scale for an explanation) as well as miles per day. The encounter movement of ships is not directly related to the long-distance travel rate, since the crew must work hard to make the ship move quickly in combat, and this level of effort cannot be maintained day and night.

The parenthesized figure represents maneuverability; see Maneuverability in Part 5: The Encounter for details.

See Attacking a Vehicle, also in the Encounter section, for details on the Hardness and HP statistics.

A chariot requires a single horse, generally a warhorse, to pull it. Both coaches and wagons require at least a pair of draft horses to pull them.

A caravel is a highly maneuverable sailing ship with two or three masts. Though superficially similar to the larger carrack, caravels are capable of sailing up rivers, a task for which the larger ship is ill suited.

A carrack is a large, ocean-going sailing ship with three or four masts.

Galleys are equipped with both sails and oars; the second listed movement rate for galleys is the rowing speed. A small galley will have around 20 rows of oars, with each oar pulled by two men (for a total of 80 rowers) while a large galley will have around 35 rows of oars (for a total of 140 rowers). Galleys are generally much more maneuverable than sailing ships such as the carrack or caravel, and may be outfitted with rams.

The longship commonly used by northern raiders is very similar to the large galley. However, where more civilized nations have specialist rowers, sailors, and marines, the crew of a longship is more generalized; most crewmen will be qualified for all of these tasks.

Siege Engines

These are weapons used to attack strongholds, or sometimes ships. Their cost may be up to twice as high in a remote location. A siege engine that throws missiles (a ballista, onager or trebuchet) must have a trained artillerist to fire it; this is the character who makes the attack rolls for the weapon. Missile-throwing engines have attack penalties, detailed below. Note: siege engines are not generally usable against individuals or monsters; the GM may make exceptions for very large monsters like giants or dragons. Review the rules in the Stronghold section for details regarding attacking fortified buildings such as castles, towers, fortresses, and so on.

Weapon	Cost	Rate of Fire	Attack Penalty	Damage	Short Range (+1)	Medium Range (+0)	Long Range (-2)
Ballista	100 gp	1/4	-3	2d8	50’	100’	150’
Battering Ram	200 gp	1/3	+0	2d8	N/A	N/A	N/A
Onager	300 gp	1/6	-6	2d12	100’	200’	300’
Screw	200 gp	N/A	N/A	1d8	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sow	100 gp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Trebuchet	400 gp	1/10	-8	3d10	N/A	300’	400’

Ballista: This is effectively a very large crossbow that may fire a spear-like bolt or a large stone. It is usually mounted on a tripod or wagon, but may also be mounted on a ship. When firing bolts, a ballista cannot damage brick or stone. A ballista requires a crew of three to operate.

Battering Ram: These are usually operated under a sow (a sort of portable roof). They require a crew of eight or more.

Onager: This weapon throws a stone with a fairly flat trajectory. An onager requires a crew of four to operate.

Screw: This device may be used to attack a stronghold, by means of boring through the walls. A crew of at least eight is required to operate it. It is only used at the base of a wall, and it is usually operated under a sow.

Sow: This is a kind of portable roof, used for protection while performing slower attacks on a fortified building. Those under a sow will be harder to hit, receiving at least a +6 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks while taking cover under it. The sow itself has a hardness of 9 and 50 hit points.

Trebuchet: This mighty weapon uses a counterweight to fling a stone on a high, arcing path. It cannot fire at targets within 200 yards. If it is aimed at a target that is more than 20’ higher than the weapon, there is an additional –2 attack penalty. A trebuchet requires a crew of eight to operate.