Captain talent

[phiwum]

The Captain talent doesn't seem to make a lot of sense as written.

Seamanship (1): Ability to act as an ordinary seaman on a
trading ship, fishing boat, or other medium-to-large vessel.
A figure without this talent suffers a -2 DX adjustment
(except to cast a non-missile spell) while on shipboard.

Captain (2): Prerequisite: Seamanship and two years at sea.
The ability to command a large vessel on an extended
voyage. A Captain in command of your party gives you +1
on initiative rolls if the combat involves boats and has +2
on Seamanship rolls.

If I read it correctly, aside from the initiative bonus (which is perfectly fine), it seems that a captain is better at DX rolls on a boat than he would be on land. Mind you, this isn't a penalty for his rolls on land. He's unnaturally better on a boat.

Of course, maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I'm not sure what "Seamanship rolls" there are, aside from the basic DX rolls while on board a ship.

At minimum IQ of 12 and two talent points required (as well as a requirement for two years at sea), the benefit ought to be pretty damned good. I'm just not sure that this benefit makes all that much sense.

Any suggestions for how to play this? I have this idea for an Octopus pirate who preys on lonely catboats. Don't tell my players.

[hcobb]

I took seamanship rolls as those directly connected to the operation of the ship. So a roll to avoid grounding or recover from one or identify another ship at a distance. It doesn't have anything to do with swinging a cutlass.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by hcobb

I took seamanship rolls as those directly connected to the operation of the ship. So a roll to avoid grounding or recover from one or identify another ship at a distance. It doesn't have anything to do with swinging a cutlass.

Ah, perhaps that's the intention. The book doesn't actually mention any such rolls explicitly, but I suppose they fit in with our usual use of 3/DX and 3/IQ rolls.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by phiwum

Of course, maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I'm not sure what "Seamanship rolls" there are, aside from the basic DX rolls while on board a ship.

How about navigation rolls? The Captain could roll fewer dice to avoid getting lost at sea. I'd also consider letting a Captain make a Tactics to try to determine what another ship is likely to do, judging by crew and sail position, direction, wind, etc.

[larsdangly]

I routinely (basically, always) allow for the complex non-combat talents, such as Captain, Business Sense, Scholar, etc., to be used to provide a ~1 die advantage for any roll that seems reasonably relevant. Typically, if it involves something challenging I'll say thats a 3d roll if you have the talent and 4d if you don't. If it's something any reasonably competent person would have a good chance of doing, that will become 2d and 3d, respectively. I know the rule books don't go into this sort of general rulings, but it is easy to remember and if you stick to it you will be satisfied with the value and breadth of the various talents.

[Steve Plambeck]

I'd venture to say an experienced ship's captain or helmsman could (besides piloting a vessel and those related things) detect when land is near, and the correct direction to the nearest land when it’s over the horizon or otherwise out of sight, by the “feel” of the ship and the sea, on a roll of 4 vs IQ (one attempt per 12 hours). At sea or on the land they can always tell north from south, and the time of day or night by the positions of the stars, sun, and moon(s) on a roll of 3 vs IQ (one attempt allowed per hour). The latter might make one useful to have along on any outdoor trip or adventure.

[hcobb]

Is Captain "Woodsman" when lost at sea?

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by Steve Plambeck

I'd venture to say an experienced ship's captain or helmsman could (besides piloting a vessel and those related things) detect when land is near, and the correct direction to the nearest land when it’s over the horizon or otherwise out of sight, by the “feel” of the ship and the sea, on a roll of 4 vs IQ (one attempt per 12 hours). At sea or on the land they can always tell north from south, and the time of day or night by the positions of the stars, sun, and moon(s) on a roll of 3 vs IQ (one attempt allowed per hour). The latter might make one useful to have along on any outdoor trip or adventure.

I just read a book about the sinking of the Grosvenor. They were sailing from India to Great Britain, unaware that they had ended up far east of what they expected. Overnight, some crew saw lights from fires to the west, while the helmsman insisted that they were nowhere near land. By the time that the captain was involved, light had broken enough to recognize they were close to the African eastern shore. They attempted to tack, but were too late and hit a shoal.

Which, you know, fair enough. The helmsman failed his 4/IQ roll while another crew member made his. Sadly, that crew member lacked Charisma and could not convince the helmsman of the danger.

(While I recently read the book, my memory stinks, so I'm likely to have a few of the details wrong.)

To Henry: I doubt that a sea captain would be very good at determining location at sea, especially out of sight at land. Maybe he'd be better at keeping on course, but longitude was very difficult even in the 18th century and perhaps later. It was much easier to tell how far north or south one was than to tell how far east or west, at least until reliable chronometers were available.

Of course, Cidri is Cidri, so maybe clocks are commonplace in your world.

[Steve Plambeck]

And perhaps Captain should be a job or rank rather than a talent. If I were on a ship I'd like to think the Captain could plot the course and get us home at least as well as the navigator, but, y'know, politics.

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by phiwum

Of course, Cidri is Cidri, so maybe clocks are commonplace in your world.

Just have a wizard back home ping you every dawn for $16/day.