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johndallman · 10-28-2016, 11:47 AM

GM: "So, driving this 100' tall TL1^ mecha, you want to pick up your galley and move it outside the harbour?"
Player: "It's OK, I have Shiphandling!"

Shiphandling is the IQ/H TL skill of operating a large vessel, primarily by coordinating the actions of the crew. If one person can operate the vessel, you don't need Shiphandling. The boundary between the various skills is explained in more detail here. The skill has prerequisites of Leadership, Navigation for the medium in which the vessel moves, and the Crewman skill for the vessel. Specialisation is required, and the options are (Airship), (Ship), (Spaceship), (Starship) and (Submarine). The defaults depend on the specialisation, but are generally the Crewman skill at -5 or the vehicle-driving skill at -5. The skill appeared in Compendium I for GURPS 3e.

As well as coordinating the crew, the skill covers the duties of a commander, such as making sure the log is kept up, and the crew are being looked after. Somebody who knows Shiphandling needs to be on duty at all times while the vessel is in use, usually called the officer of the watch, or of the deck.

Rolls for Shiphandling are made in combat, or in hazardous situations. In combat, a failure means the ship ended up in the wrong place, which may abort combat actions, expose you to enemy fire, take you out of contact with your fleet, or cost you a chance of prize money. Failing a roll for a hazard will damage the ship in some way, make you late, or similar non-catastrophic problems. Critical failures cause some kind of disaster, such as running aground, a collision that was your fault, losing a vital part of the ship, such as mast, rudder or screws, or the crew giving up listening to you.

In combat, it isn't compulsory for a naval captain to be handing the ship himself. He's responsible for it, but if he needs to coordinate with other forces, handling the ship itself may be delegated to another officer.

Shiphandling shows up on templates for ship's officers, but is otherwise rare. AtE mentions it, for airships as well as surface vessels, and Banestorm has a maelstrom that's a very serious challenge for a captain. Fantasy gives Shiphandling penalties for hurricanes, and LTC2 has equipment that gives bonuses for boarding actions. Power-Ups 3 and 7 have talents and wildcard skills that cover Shiphandling, and Spaceships has lots of tasks for it. Supporting Cast: Age of Sail Pirate Crew has characters who use it, and points out that the vehicle statistic of Handling (Hnd) affects contests of Shiphandling. Thaumatology has Path/Book rituals defaulting to skills (Weatherworking to Shiphandling), Chinese Elemental Powers has an ability that can boost or penalise the skill, and Urban Magics has a spell whose effects are capped by Shiphandling.

A version of the classic apocryphal tale of cascading critical failures of Shiphandling can be found here.

What trouble have you got into, or out of, with this skill?

10-28-2016, 11:47 AM	#1
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	[Basic] Skill of the week: Shiphandling GM: "So, driving this 100' tall TL1^ mecha, you want to pick up your galley and move it outside the harbour?" Player: "It's OK, I have Shiphandling!" Shiphandling is the IQ/H TL skill of operating a large vessel, primarily by coordinating the actions of the crew. If one person can operate the vessel, you don't need Shiphandling. The boundary between the various skills is explained in more detail here. The skill has prerequisites of Leadership, Navigation for the medium in which the vessel moves, and the Crewman skill for the vessel. Specialisation is required, and the options are (Airship), (Ship), (Spaceship), (Starship) and (Submarine). The defaults depend on the specialisation, but are generally the Crewman skill at -5 or the vehicle-driving skill at -5. The skill appeared in Compendium I for GURPS 3e. As well as coordinating the crew, the skill covers the duties of a commander, such as making sure the log is kept up, and the crew are being looked after. Somebody who knows Shiphandling needs to be on duty at all times while the vessel is in use, usually called the officer of the watch, or of the deck. Rolls for Shiphandling are made in combat, or in hazardous situations. In combat, a failure means the ship ended up in the wrong place, which may abort combat actions, expose you to enemy fire, take you out of contact with your fleet, or cost you a chance of prize money. Failing a roll for a hazard will damage the ship in some way, make you late, or similar non-catastrophic problems. Critical failures cause some kind of disaster, such as running aground, a collision that was your fault, losing a vital part of the ship, such as mast, rudder or screws, or the crew giving up listening to you. In combat, it isn't compulsory for a naval captain to be handing the ship himself. He's responsible for it, but if he needs to coordinate with other forces, handling the ship itself may be delegated to another officer. Shiphandling shows up on templates for ship's officers, but is otherwise rare. *AtE* mentions it, for airships as well as surface vessels, and *Banestorm* has a maelstrom that's a very serious challenge for a captain. *Fantasy* gives Shiphandling penalties for hurricanes, and *LTC2* has equipment that gives bonuses for boarding actions. *Power-Ups* 3 and 7 have talents and wildcard skills that cover Shiphandling, and *Spaceships* has lots of tasks for it. *Supporting Cast: Age of Sail Pirate Crew* has characters who use it, and points out that the vehicle statistic of Handling (Hnd) affects contests of Shiphandling. *Thaumatology* has Path/Book rituals defaulting to skills (Weatherworking to Shiphandling), *Chinese Elemental Powers* has an ability that can boost or penalise the skill, and *Urban Magics* has a spell whose effects are capped by Shiphandling. A version of the classic apocryphal tale of cascading critical failures of Shiphandling can be found here. What trouble have you got into, or out of, with this skill? __________________ The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques.