limithron

1st Rate Ship of the Line [56x46]

Added 2020-09-30 18:54:54 +0000 UTC

Here she is: the flag ship we've all been waiting for! I am very excited to present to you all the 1st Rate Ship of the Line map - Part 1! I've been working on this massive project for over a month and I am very excited to reveal the first part of it you all.

This ship is part one of a two part release plus there will be a special version of this map included in a Secret Halloween Collaboration that will be coming out in the beginning of October and will be free to all patrons. Part 2, which will also come out in October, will add some very special and exciting variations to this ship that I'm sure you will find use for during the spookiest month of the year.

Legend tier and higher patrons may have noticed earlier today that I started a new post called The Prop Emporium. From now on, instead of including more and more prop assets in each release I will just update that post so you can always download the full complete library as it's updated.

Ship Ambiance Audio from Michael Ghelfi

I have also teamed up with Micael Ghelfi for this release to include some awesome audio ambiances for while your players are exploring this behemoth: one for the exterior and one for the interior! Audio files are included with your download.

Michael Ghelfi is a composer and sound designer from Switzerland. He aims at creating the ultimate fantasy sound experience, by creating the fullest and most immersive soundscapes and ambiences collection. He began creating them in 2018, and already has a hoard of several hundred pieces. Not only his ambiences cover the widest range of situations of anything that’s currently available on the internet, but it’s always made with two objectives in mind : swiss precision and usability.

Be sure to check out his Patreon, BandCamp, and YouTube pages, and plan to hear more of his work on future collaborations!

The Ship of the Line: A Floating Fortress

In the 18th Century, the Ship of the Line was the warship that dominated the waters. It gets its named from how warships would line up to make an impenetrable wall of cannon fire. One of the more uses of the naval concept is the Battle of Trafalgar, a massive engagement between the British Royal Navy and the French and Spanish. During this era, warships were ranked based on how many guns they carried and their size: 1st rate through 4th rates were consider Ships of the Line, and 5th and 6th rate were reserved for smaller frigates.

The 1st Rates were the Flagships of the fleet, often carrying the Admiral on board. This particular ship is modelled after the Spanish San Felipe and the British HMS Victory, which if you can actually visit if you are ever in Portsmouth, UK!

During my research for this project, I couldn't ever find evidence of these massive ships in the Caribbean waters during the Golden Age of Piracy - they were simply too expensive and indispensable and could not be spared across the ocean just to deal with thieves. They carried over 100 cannons and crews were often as large as 800 men. Certainly no pirate force was ever large or powerful enough to capture one of these vessels... but we're here to play fantasy roleplaying games, right?!

While you could certain have a Royal pirate hunter case your players down with one of these warships, they will most certainly be outmatched without other powerful allies, magic, or perhaps the help of a friendly local Kraken or Dragon Turtle. Or maybe they join the massive crew of a Pirate Lord? Sneaking on board, escaping from the brig, or exploring a derelict wreck are all great adventure hooks.

Perceptive players might notice that in the Pirate Lord's war room they are studying a treasure map. I've included a larger version of the map as well as a Naval combat scale region map for Deity level patrons.

HERE BE THE REWARDS