[center]

[u][b]Naval Combat[/b][/u]

[hider=Warships of Formaroth]

[i]Common Ships:[/i]

War Cog
Size: Small - Medium
Propulsion: Single Sail
Armament: Archers, Boarding Infantry.
Ocean Going: Yes
Compliment: 10-20 Crew. Up to 50 Archers, up to 50 Infantry.

The Cog is a small, round hulled vessel with ocean-going capabilities and a large hold. It is reasonably fast, but only when the wind is favorable, and its simple sail arrangement prevents it from easily going against the wind. A war Cog will have raised fore and aft castles, from which Archers, Crossbowmen or Mages, can rain fire down on the crews of other ships, while making boarding a more difficult prospect for hostile ships. They will usually sink when rammed. These ships are built in many sizes, with the primary advantage of the smaller variant being that it is cheaper and easier to build.

Siege Cog
Size: Medium
Propulsion: Single Sail
Armament: 1 Catapult, Archers, Boarding Infantry.
Ocean Going: Yes
Compliment: 20 Crew, 15 Catapult Crew. Up to 25 Archers, up to 50 Infantry.

The Siege variant of the War Cog takes the hull design to its upper limits in size and weight. It uses this size to include a Naval Precision Catapult, greatly enhancing its ship killing potential. The expense of building the larger hull and engineering the complex catapult means that only wealthier nations with established shipyards are able to field these vessels in any numbers. With the Forecastle taken up by the Catapult, this Cog variant has less room for Archers. Guaranteed to be heavily laden with shot for its catapult, the Siege Cog will sink very quickly if rammed.

War Galley
Size: Medium
Propulsion: 1 - 2 Sails, 25 pairs of Oars.
Armament: Ram, Archers, Boarding Infantry, Boarding Ramp.
Ocean Going: No
Compliment: 70+ Crew, Up to 60 fighting men (split between archers and infantry).

The standard War Galley has many minor variants, but all are consistent in the lack of castles or siege equipment, instead having a focus on speed under oar power. It should be noted that a crew of 70 can only be achieved with very skilled oarsmen, and that it can rise dramatically if unskilled oarsmen are used, requiring as many as 4 men per oar. These ships will usually survive several hull breaches, only sinking when very heavily damaged or breached while heavily laden. This is the most simple Galley variant to build, and thus the cheapest.

Castle Galley
Size: Large
Propulsion: 1 - 2 Sails, 30 pairs of Oars.
Armament: Ram, Archers, Boarding Infantry, Boarding Ramp.
Ocean Going: No
Compliment: 90+ Crew, Up to 80 fighting men (split between archers and infantry), Up to 50 Archers.

A larger, more expensive Galley variant, the Castle Galley is defined by its large Fore and Aft Castles. These are ideal positions for archers, who can rain down arrows on the crews of opposing ships from positions of relative safety. These structures add little weight, and so do not make the Castle Galley vulnerable to sinking from a ram, nor do they meaningfully reduce its speed. Like all Galleys, crew sizes rise dramatically when skilled oarsmen are in short supply.

Siege Galley
Size: Large
Propulsion: 1 - 2 Sails, 30 pairs of Oars.
Armament: Archers, Boarding Infantry, 1 - 2 Catapults.
Ocean Going: No
Compliment: 90+ Crew, 15-30 Catapult Crew, Up to 40 fighting men (split between archers and infantry).

The largest Galley variant built in any numbers, the Siege Galley exchanges its Ram and Boarding Ramp for one or two Precision Naval Catapults, mounted where the Castles would be on the Castle Galley. While not slowing the ship significantly, the weight of the shot for these weapons does make a Siege Galley likely to sink if rammed. They are usually built with thicker horizontal decking to avoid having their hulls breached by enemy catapults. The space taken by the weapons on deck also reduces the space available for other fighting men, and the Siege Galley is woefully undermanned in a boarding action.
Exotic Ships:

Siege Holk
Size: Large
Propulsion: 1-3 Sails
Armament: Boarding Infantry, 1 Catapult.
Ocean Going: Yes
Compliment: 40 Crew, 15 Catapult Crew, Up to 300 Infantry.

A rare Holk variant rigged for war, this is the largest Ocean going warship available to the nations of Formaroth. With a thick deck to resist catapult fire and a huge compliment of infantry, this ship is difficult to sink via most normal methods. It is, however, very vulnerable to ramming, and will break up and sink quickly if its hull suffers any breaches. Nonetheless, it is the terror of the open ocean, and will easily overwhelm nearly any other ship in a boarding action.
Alenius Turtle Ship
Size: Medium
Propulsion: 10 pairs of Oars.
Armament: Ram, Crossbowmen, Boarding Ramp.
Ocean Going: No
Compliment: 60 Crew, 40 Crossbowmen, 40 Infantry.

The Alenius Turtle Ship is unique among warships. It features tall sides and a roof made of thick wood covered with a thin layer of Alenius Steel. It is short and wide, with a unique hull design focused on maneuverability over straight line speed. With slits in its armored sides that allow crossbowmen to shoot out, its crew can attack without fear of reprisal. Though not as fast as a Galley, it still has a large ram and accompanying boarding ramp, ensuring it is still capable in close combat. Meanwhile, its enclosed nature makes it nearly impossible for foes to board it. Its biggest weaknesses are speed and a degree of top-heaviness that may lead to capsizing in heavy weather or if rammed.

Alenius Turtle Siege Ship
Size: Medium
Propulsion 10 pairs of Oars.
Armament: Ram, 6 Ballistae.
Ocean Going: No
Compliment: 60 Crew, 60 Ballistae Crew.

The Siege variant of the Turtle ship exchanges its fighting men and boarding ramp for a set of Ballistae. With three per side and capable of firing either round stones or bolt, it is a versatile light artillery ship able to do terrible damage to enemy crews, often even if they are in a ships castle. Still without the high arcs of naval catapults, it is unable to sink enemy ships with its main armament. It also cannot capitalise on a ram, as it has no infantry onboard.

Summer Isles Catamaran
Size: Small
Propulsion: 2 Sails, Mages.
Armament: 1 Ballistae, Archers, Mages.
Ocean Going: No
Compliment: 15 Crew, 10 Ballistae Crew, 20 Infantry, 5 Mages.

Vessels designed exclusively to act as war platforms for Mages, the Summer Isles Catamaran is unmatched in speed, even without magical assistance. It relies on this speed for defence, with a fragile hull and a low deck, it is very vulnerable if caught up close by a larger warship. While its artillery may seem minimal, the broad, flat headed bolts it fires are fin stabilised and usually inscribed with destruction glyphs to dramatically increase their destructive potential.
[/hider]

[hider=Warships of the Imperium]
Beilokias Caravel
Size: Medium
Propulsion: 2 Sails.
Armament: Archers, Boarding Infantry.
Ocean Going: Yes
Compliment: 30 Crew, Up to 20 Archers, Up to 60 Infantry.

Larger than any Formaroth Cog, the Elven Caravel puts Formaroth sailing vessels to shame. It is faster, more maneuverable, and carries more than even the best Cog, and Holks can claim only to haul more cargo. The ships of this class that arrive in Formaroth waters are typically Elven merchantmen, and carrying few warriors. Yet despite this, their combination of traits leave them more than capable of overwhelming most human ships if they so choose. It is rare for a human to own one, but those that do achieve this feat find themselves with a supremely capable ship by Formaroth standards.

Beilokias Carrack
Size: Large
Propulsion: 2 - 3 Masts.
Armament: Archers, Boarding Infantry.
Ocean Going: Yes
Compliment: 40 Crew, Up to 30 Archers, Up to 150 Infantry.

The pride of the Elven merchant navy, the Carrack takes ocean-going ship design to a level unfathomable to humans. It carries more cargo than a Holk, while outrunning a Cog with ease and weathering storms that would put any human ship on the bottom of the ocean. Like the Caravel, it is not explicitly built for war, but its huge, multi deck hull leaves plenty of room for warriors and supplies both, and if equipped for war, could dominate the oceans around Formaroth like no other. Humans owning them is almost unheard of.

Beilokias Galleon
Size: Large
Propulsion: 3+ Masts.
Armament: Archers, Boarding Infantry.
Ocean Going: Yes
Compliment: 80 Crew, Up to 100 Archers, Up to 300 Infantry.

A ship class only rumored in Formaroth, the Elven Galleon is a significant and recent investment even for the Elves. Its colossal size, excellent sea-keeping, speed, and complex rigging make it a true King of the waves, undoubtedly able to overwhelm many other ships on its own. Yet few humans have even seen one of these behemoths, and none can claim to own one. Many in Formaroth claim they do not even exist at all, and Admirals scoff at the idea of such preposterous ‘super-ships’ while secretly dreaming of making one their flagship.

[/hider]


[hider=Fleet Composition]

Fleet composition varies drastically depending on the wider goals of the kingdom in question, yet can generally be divided by two metrics - wealth, and coast type.

Coast type: Sea or Ocean?
Sea - Kingdoms with coasts on the inland seas of Irman, Inan or the Ice sea will favor Galleys. Galleys are far more effective warships than their sail driven cousins, and the calm inland seas provide ideal conditions for them. Kingdoms with such coastlines will likely not bother constructing any War Cogs at all, with any such vessels present in the fleet being conversions of seized civilian ships instead of purpose built vessels.

Ocean - Kingdoms with a coastline on the outer edge of Formaroth will have cause to construct the far more seaworthy, if less capable, War Cogs. Yet even then, ocean control is of little importance in most wars against other Kingdoms of Formaroth. Galleys are still useful closer to the shore, and so the fleet will still likely have at least 60% Galleys. Akki is the exception, with a fleet much more focused on Ocean Going ships, as the approach to its island territory is dangerous for Galleys.
Wealth:

Poor - Kingdoms without much wealth, or Kingdoms that place little importance on coastal security, will spend little on their navy. Navies are expensive, far more so than armies, and difficult to manage and maintain. Therefore, poor Kingdoms are likely only to field the most basic variants of ships, standard War Galleys and War Cogs, in their smallest iterations. Rarely, they may have a few larger, more well armed ships to serve as flagships or transports for their Kings, but they will be the exception, not the rule.

Balanced - Kingdoms that are willing to invest in their navy, but not make it a focus, form this category. They are likely to field primarily Standard variants, but they will usually be better constructed and of a decent size. Depending on the preferences of the Admiralty, they may also have small squadrons of larger ships, or siege ships. They may even be able to afford several Mages for the fleet.

Rich - Kingdoms that rely on the sea, or have a considerable amount of wealth, fall into this category. They will have large, comprehensive and well built fleet of ships. They will not be lacking in siege ships, and may even replace their standard War Galleys with Castle Galleys entirely. They will be able to field War Holks in small numbers, and will almost certainly have a small but dedicated corps of Mages.
[/hider]


[hider=Winning a Naval Battle]

The core goal of a Naval battle is to sink, capture or disable enemy Warships.

This can be achieved by:

Boarding - getting close to an enemy ship and storming it with infantry to capture it is the most common and most effective tool in a captains arsenal. If the enemy fields more or better infantry, boarding can be made easier by softening their crew up with archers at short ranges. Archers are most effective when shooting down from Castles.

De-Oaring - the act of using one's ram to slide along an enemy ships side, destroying their oars in the process. A De-Oared Galley is nearly completely crippled, and while its archers or siege weapons may still be a threat, it can be outmaneuvered and dealt with at a captains leisure.

Sinking - Sinking a Warship is not an easy prospect. Damage must be dealt below decks to flood the vessel. There are two ways to do this. Ramming requires you to get close while moving at speed, and will usually also result in a boarding action. Artillery can also achieve this, when a catapult shot at long range plunges down through a ships decks and out its keel. Galleys are usually buoyant enough to remain floating unless holed repeatedly or under heavy load, but even a single hole will slow the ship down quite a bit.

Burning - The most effective way to destroy a ship is to set it on fire. This can be achieved using flaming munitions, or with magical attacks. Once burning, it is difficult to put out a fire on a ship, and they will usually burn to the water line within hours. Smoke below decks will cripple Galleys immediately by choking their Oarsmen, and fire will quickly devour sails once it reaches them.
[/hider]


[hider=Mages at Sea]

Mages are perhaps even more useful on a warship than in an army. While any mage can aid a ships crew in a variety of ways, mages trained for seabound life and magic are far more effective. The main uses a Mage has on a warship are as follows:

Combat - Destruction magic can be truly devastating on the waves. Fire and lightning spells can set ships ablaze with ease. There is an ample supply of water to form Icy spears and slay crewmen, or simply create abnormally large waves and swamp smaller Galleys. Force magic can blast crewmen into the water or destroy oars. The destruction even a single mage can wreak on a hostile ship is terrifying, and when a group of mages works together to create larger scale spells, whole ships can be destroyed with ferocity approaching that of the legendary Kraken.

Movement - Specially trained mages can manipulate the water around a ships hull to propel it along much faster than its usual achievable speeds, or even move it when it is otherwise unable to move. This is an exhausting spell however, and even a group will not be able to keep it up for long. A more simple approach to aiding a ships movement is to weave Force magics into a false wind to fill a ships sails even when there is no wind or unfavorable wind.

Scouting - Mages with flying Shades or Shape Shifting abilities can take to the air and scout enemy fleets with ease. This is a vital strategic edge that cannot be underestimated.
Augmentation of Artillery - similar to traditional Destruction magic, but applied to a ships artillery instead. Mages can use Glyphs to attach spells onto the heads of bolts or the surfaces of catapult shot. This greatly increases the mages reach and brings a ship's artillery to frightening new levels of destructive power.
[/hider]


[hider=Naval power by kingdom]
[hider=Thralreth Navy:]
3 War Galleys, 5 War Cogs. Main focus on keeping the trade lanes with Windermere open. Replaces ships mostly by seizing pirate ships instead of building their own.
[/hider]
[hider=Raeldar Navy:]
Admiral Anabla Sutharlan - Skilled Admiral
5 War Galleys, 1 Castle Galley, 6 War Cogs. With notably skilled crews and built to withstand the Ice, the Raeldar Fleet keeps pirates away from its whaling operations with extreme prejudice, and packs a much greater punch than their numbers suggest.
[/hider]
[hider=Ralda Navy:]
(pre-war) 5 War Galleys. With the Summer Isles navy to safeguard their fishing fleets, there has been historically little reason for Ralda to heavily invest in its own ships, and it maintains only a token force that spends a lot of their time docked. Post War, they have no navy at all.
[/hider]
[hider=Glarmion Navy:]
None. With no significant ports, little money and surrounded by the Naval powers of Akki, Uzgob and Telmarion, Glarmion nobility simply allows others to police their coast for them. Accordingly, they have become something of a pirate haven.
[/hider]
[hider=Nash Navy:]
Irman Fleet: 8 War Galleys, 1 Castle Galley. With ships exclusively bought from the Summer Isles shipyards, this fleet is more of a prestige icon than useful for war or anti-piracy.
Oceanic Fleet: 9 War Cogs, 2 War Galleys. Purchased from Windermere shipyards, these ships patrol the northern coasts, suppressing what little pirate presence there is on the northern oceanic coasts. Maintained in such size for the sake of prestige more than practicality.
[/hider]
[hider=Orog Navy:]
Coastal Fleet: 11 Castle Galleys, 3 Siege Galleys. This powerful fleet rarely leaves coastal Orog waters, but is one of the few serious threats to the Summer Isles Navy on the Irman.
Trade Protection Fleet: 12 War Cogs, 5 Siege Cogs. This fleet exists to escort Orog based merchant ships wherever they may go. It is rarely concentrated in one place. Thanks to its wide ranging area of operations though, it perpetuates the myth of a colossal Orog navy by showing the flag all across Formaroth.
Reserve Fleet: Consisting of the 5 captured Ralda War Galleys, the reserve fleet is also marked as containing far more ships than it does, due to the theoretical warship output of the Orog yards should they be seriously challenged at sea.
[/hider]
[hider=Imperial Navy]
Based out of Nyhem, the Imperial Navy owes allegiance only to the High King. It consists of 10 Castle Galleys and 10 Siege Galleys. With the healthy mage presence in Nyhem, it often deploys with destruction mages onboard to augment its artillery, and when it is deployed, it is with the intent of destroying enemy ships, not capturing them.
[/hider]
[hider=Sypius Navy:]
Under the command of the Du Paraquettes, the Sypius Navy consists of 10 War Galleys, whose purpose is primarily to keep the southern Sypius coast pirate-free.
[/hider]
[hider=Telmarion Navy:]
Inan Fleet: 16 War Galleys and 5 Castle Galleys, many purchased from the Summer Isles, are a force set to dominate the narrow confines of the Inan sea. Though they engage in anti-pirate activites, they are without a doubt deployed to ensure Telmarion cannot be invaded by sea without a fight.
Ocean Fleet: 9 War Galleys, 12 War Cogs and 4 Siege  Cogs are the product of native Telmarion ship-building efforts on the Oceanic coast. Once again, they are defensive in nature, keeping the Telmarion Oceanic coast secure from pirate raiders in the north or Akki based raids.
[/hider]
[hider=Windermere Navy:]
Irman Fleet: Consisting of 10 Castle Galleys, the Irman Fleet often co-operates with the Summer Isles Navy in securing the coast from pirates.
Oceanic Fleet: 6 War Galleys and 11 War Cogs secure the Windermere Oceanic coast, and provide it with the most fleet power in this oft-forgotten and rarely traveled theater. It is based in the only significant shipyard on this coastline.
[/hider]
[hider=Coruneon Fleet:]
7 War Galleys, 8 Castle Galleys and 2 Siege Galleys based in the Inan sea are the Coruneon answer to the massive Telmarion armada, procured at great expense from the Summer Isles. Coruneon typically leaves its Irman coast undefended, letting the Summer Isles fleet clear it of pirates.
[/hider]
[hider=Uzgob Navy]
10 Castle Galleys, 4 Siege Galleys, 11 War Cogs and 2 Siege Holks make up the Uzgob navy. Relying on imported wood has led to a focus on more capable individual Galleys rather than fielding many lesser Galleys. Numbers are made up from the cheaper War Cogs.
[/hider]
[hider=Cawanor Navy]
Admiral Helen Bludvist - Master Admiral
Ice Sea Fleet: 20 Castle Galleys, 8 War Galleys and 7 Siege Galleys form the powerful Cawanor Ice Sea Fleet. Primarily a Warfleet, they secure the short Cawanor coast with extreme prejudice, while remaining ready to seize control of the whole sea if such is necessary in wartime.
Trade Protection Fleet: 15 War Cogs and 11 Siege Cogs make up the Trade protection fleet. These ships are rarely concentrated in one place, instead following Cawanor based merchant ships and guarding them from pirates wherever they go. Thanks to the widespread nature of Cawanor exports, many believe the Cawanor navy to be much larger than it actually is, as Cawanor navy Cogs can be found all across the seas of Formaroth.
[/hider]


[hider=Akki Navy]
(Pre War Composition)
Captain Nicol - Expert Admiral
Grand Oceanic Fleet: 40 War Cogs, 20 Siege Cogs, 7 Siege Holks, 1 Beilokias Caravel. This huge fleet secures not just Akki, but the oceans around it for many leagues. Deceptive in its size, for Cogs are far cheaper to construct than Galleys, it is also in large part thanks to captured ships that the Akki navy has grown so large. Nonetheless, it would be a brave or foolish man indeed to threaten Akki on the seas.
Southern Shallows Fleet: 8 War galleys and 2 Siege Galleys. This fleet is small by Akki standards, though a respectable force in its own right. It operates in the south of Akki, keeping the shallow, less tumultuous areas around Urmi secure, lest a foe try to send an armada of Galleys up around the cape of Alenius.
(Post War)
None.
[/hider]

[hider=Alenius Navy]
Captured Fleet: Alenius has had much misfortune with maintaining a fleet, but the spoils of war are great. It has recently found its fleet grow to 8 War Galleys, 10 Castle Galleys and 6 Siege Galleys, taken from Akki and Uzgob.
[/hider]


[/hider]

[/center]