[Low-Tech] Landing Craft at TL2 to TL4

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Unless you need to roll vehicles off the ship, any boat capable of landing will do the job.

This is true. On the other hand, the PCs need the capability to quickly land more troops than will fit into their existing ships' boats. Hence, the need for building more. And as these are being built for a single purpose, i.e. amphibious landing, it makes sense to adopt a design optimised for that role and not, for example, a design that needs to be small and light enough for it to be hauled in by larger ships.

Originally Posted by Anthony

Unless you need greater speed and/or stealth, barges are the easiest.

Both speed and stealth are extremely desirable, as the PCs must figure on the possibility that deception and covert strikes by supernatural special forces will not be enough to prevent the opposition from defending their fortified docks with priests, mages, archers, slingers and mechanical artillery launching magical projectiles.