Freya's Purpose
gargantuan vehicle (85ft x 35ft),
Travel Speed: 5 mph (125 miles/day)
Crew quality:
Crew count:
Marid's Heart: A creature can touch the orb to gain the ability to breathe underwater for an hour (each creature can gain this benefit only once per day).
Actions
On its turn, Freya's Purpose can take 3 actions, choosing from the options below. It can take only 2 actions if it has fewer than 10 crew and only 1 action if it has fewer than five. If it has fewer than 3 crew it cannot take any actions.
Unless indicated, the ship can only do each action once per turn.
Hull
15, 300 (damage threshold 10)
If the hull is destroyed, the ship starts sinking.
Control: Helm
14, 50
Turn: Turn the ship up to 90 degrees to port or starboard. This action can be used before the ship moves.
Movement: Sails
10, 75
At the start of its turn, the ship moves forward. The amount depends on how much sail is out. The speed is halved while sailing into the wind, and halved if the sails have less than half their hit points.
Adjust Sail: Set or take down sail, adjusting the speed by up to 20 feet, up to a maximum of 50.
Weapons: Scorpios
13, 50
Fire Scorpio: Ranged Weapon Attack, quality+2 to hit, range 120/480 ft, one target. Hit: 13 (2d10+2) piercing damage. Each scorpio can be fired once per turn.
Scorpios have an arc of fire about 120 degrees from the ship's centerline on each side.
Weapons: Chain-launcher
13, 75
Fire Chains: Ranged Weapon Attack, +2 to hit, range 100/300 ft, one target. Hit: 18 (3d10+2) slashing damage. Scores an automatic critical hit versus sails.
Freya's Purpose
| Length | 85 ft |
| Beam | 35 ft |
| Sail Plan | Brigantine |
Freya's Purpose is a brigantine, a two-masted ship with two square sails on her fore mast and two square sails on the main mast with a large gaff sail over the quarterdeck. Two headsails fly from her bowsprit. Her masts are about 75 ft tall each. There is a crow's nest 40 ft up in each mast, and netting lets anyone climb up without an ability check.
During a journey from Tec to Covenant, a cursed sarcophagus containing a Mummy Lord turned the crew into undead husks and the ship was set adrift. It was recovered by a small squad of Pilgrim Knights, who now hope to use it as their base of operations. It was renamed from the Eternity to Freya's Purpose after it was repaired, in honor of the patron deity of the Pilgrim Knights which now man the ship.
Officers
The ship needs several officers, in addition to normal crew. These officers can be called upon to use their skills (the normal proficiency needed is indicated in the Officer table) to ensure the ship's safe and orderly passage.
| Role | Check | Proficiency | Character | Proficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | Intelligence | Water Vehicles | Thundin | |
| First Mate | Charisma | Intimidation/Persuasion | Lyra | |
| Quartermaster | Wisdom | Navigator Tools | Claire Beckett | |
| Bosun | Strength | Carpenter's Tools | Lord Flashheart | |
| Surgeon | Wisdom | Medicine | Frank | |
| Cook | Wisdom | Cook's Utensils/Brewer's Supplies | Raphael |
Proficiency in the indicated skill is not required to perform the role, but it will certainly help. By spending some time learning their craft, an officer could develop the proficiency over time. A character cannot hold several officer positions at the same time.
It is also possible to hire NPCs to act as officers. They are more expensive than regular crew, but are good at their job.
Officer actions
Some officer roles get special actions to help the ship, both in and out of combat.
Helming the Ship (all officers)
Whoever is holding the wheel is steering the ship. In combat, they give orders to the ship's crew. If no one is helming the ship, it cannot take actions.
Take Aim (all officers)
As an action, the officer directs the crew’s firing, aiding in aiming one of the ship’s weapons. Select one of the ship’s weapons that is within 10 feet of the officer. It gains advantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of the ship’s next turn.
Full Speed Ahead (Captain only)
As an action while on deck, the captain can exhort the crew to work harder and drive the ship forward faster. Roll a d6 and multiply the result by 5. Apply the total as a bonus to the ship’s speed until the end of the ship’s next turn.
Motivate Crew (First Mate only)
As an action while on deck, the First Mate can coax or scare the crew to work harder. The next ship action that adds the Crew Quality score gains a 1d4 bonus. This can be done once per short rest.
Predict Weather (Quartermaster Only)
Once per day, the quartermaster can take 10 minutes to read the signs of nature. Make a Nature (Intelligence) or Survival (Wisdom) check. On a 20 or higher, learn all weather changes that will happen tomorrow. On a 15 or higher, learn one (wind speed, wind direction, precipitation or temperature).
Emergency Repairs (Bosun Only)
Once per long rest, the ship’s bosun can make a Carpenter's Tools (Strength) check. On a 15 or higher, each damaged component regains hit points equal to 1d6 + the crew’s quality score (minimum of 1 hit point). A component other than the hull that had 0 hit points becomes functional again.
It's Only A Flesh Wound (Surgeon Only)
Any creature who rolls hit dice during a short rest when the surgeon is on board heals an additional 2d8 hp.
Double Rum Rations (Cook Only)
By spending 50gp worth of extra supplies, the quality of the crew gains a 2 (1d4) bonus for one day. The next day, subtract 2 (1d4) from all rolls that use crew quality, as they are hung over.
Crew
An average crew member costs about 20gp a month (in wages and supplies used). The base expenses for general supplies and upkeep of the vessel itself is 200gp/month.
Quartermaster Claire Beckett
Maritime Human Hunter Ranger 5 (Sailor, NG)
A young human woman who was born out of wedlock to Lady Julianna Beckett, and thus rejected by her family. In a fight, she uses a longbow.
Claire wants to find her father (Lord Remus Tuveren), but has little idea of where to start. Her mother will not tell her.
Crew quality and actions
Crew quality is a measure of both how good the crew is, and how loyal they are to the captain. It ranges from -10 to +10, and is added to ship ability checks, saving throws and attack rolls. A ship with negative quality might even have a mutiny.
| Crew Actions | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hire specialist | 250gp, 100gp/month | Increases crew count by 1, increases quality by 1 |
| Hire able seaman | 50gp, 25gp/month | Increases crew count by 1 |
| Hire warm bodies | 10gp, 5gp/month | Increases crew count by 1, decreases quality by 1 |
| Combat Drills | 3 days downtime | Increases the crew quality by 1 |
| Shore Leave | Downtime | Increases the crew quality by 1 per day of downtime, up to a maximum of +3. This bonus decreases by 1 for every three days spent at sea. |
The crew are able to pilot the ship without all officers onboard. For example, they could be instructed to meet the party on the other side of an island, or to go to a well-known port and take on cargo.
Upgrades
While Freya's Purpose is a capable trading ship, a few upgrades could prove a big benefit, especially in combat. All of these upgrades are not readily available, some might need a drydock, others require special craftsmen who will only give their services in return for a favor. They may also take some time to install.
Some examples of where upgrades could be bought/found: purchased at the shipyard in Greystone, recovered from a shipwreck, salvaged from a defeated pirate ship.
| Upgrade | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Workshop | 500gp | Creates a space for crafting under deck |
| Ram | 1000gp | +2 Strength, adds a sturdy ram in the front of the ship |
| Cannons | 15000gp | +4 Strength, adds two cannons on either side |
| Grappling Hooks | 1500gp | +1 Strength, adds a set of grappling hook launchers that can be used to pull in another ship in order to board it |
| Efficient Bulkheads | 2500gp | Increases the cargo capacity by 5 tonnes |
| Staysails | 1200gp | Adds 1 mph travel speed, but the sails are too bulky to use effectively in combat |
| Self-tacking foresails | 1000gp | Decreases the crew requirement for maximum efficiency by 2 (only the highest tier is affected) |
| Carved Figurehead | 500gp | A well carved figurehead the crew can rally around. Increases crew quality by 1. |
| Windsilk sails | Special | +2 Dexterity, removes the penalty for sailing into the wind |
| Siren Ship's Bell | Special | Mounted at the helm, ringing this bell forces the captain of any hostile ship within 1 mile to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be forced to stop his pursuit. Hostile action against ships under this effect wakes them from their slumber and they resume their original course of action. Once used, can not be used for 5 (1d4+3) days |
| Fluxcharger Eye | Special | Looking through this magical spyglass negates the effects of non-magical fog |
| Ironwood Hull Planks | Special | +2 Constitution, the hull gains resistance to non-magical B/P/S damage |
| Living Wood Planking | Special | The ship restores 5 hit points every hour to one part that has less than its maximum, but not 0 hp |
| Hydra Slime Anti-foul Coating | Special | +1 Dexterity, with this coating applied to the hull the Purpose ignores non-magical difficult terrain |
| Storm Giant Figurehead | Special | Once per day, the ship can use an action to unleash a thunderwave in a 120 foot cone in front of the ship. Each creature and ship part in the cone must make a Constitution saving throw (DC equals 8+crew quality) taking 4d6 thunder damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success |
| Crew Displacer Device | Special | This marvel of artifice allows for quick disembarkment of crew. Once per day, can cast Scatter as a ship action. |
This is not a complete list of possible upgrades.
Repairs
At sea, the bosun can make some emergency repairs, but for more serious damage, a harbor is needed. Each hit point healed requires 5gp worth of materials, and a maximum of 100 hit points can be healed per day.