Fouling & Unfouling Ships

When collisions occur, the rigging of the involved sailing ships may becoming entangled and “fouled,” locking the ships together. For each collision, one of the involved ship captains must roll a die ~ a 1 in 3 chance indicates the ships have become fouled.

Fouled ships cannot move or turn in place. On the second round after fouling has occurred, if they cannot separate themselves, the fouled ships may drift.

If the ships are not fouled, they may continue to move normally with the next movement phase. Take note, however, that such moments are opportunities for either crew to grapple.

Fouled ships provide an opportunity for boarding and melee.

Once a ship has become fouled, during the next movement notation phase, the captain MUST declare the intention to unfoul when logging movement. Leaving the ship fouled (taking advantage of the opportunity to board) can be logged as “F,” while unfouling the ship can be logged as “UF.” When a crew aboard a fouled ship are not actively unfouling it or grappling another ship, or are in melee, the ship’s captain may act freely.

This orders the entire crew to untangle the ship’s rigging. This is the only movement that can be logged during that round. To succeed, roll a d10: success occurs on a 1-5. A poor crew receives a penalty of -1; crack crews gain a bonus of +1; elite crews, +2.

If success does not occur, the crew must be assigned to make the attempt the next round, with the same odds.

Unfouling a ship occurs during the unfouling phase of the sequence of play.

See Naval Combat