Navíos de Línea: Trafalgar 1805 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1. INTRODUCTION
• 2. COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION
  • 2.1 THE MAP
  • 2.2 SHIP MODELS. SUMMARY
  • 2.3 THE DIE
  • 2.4 BASIC MOVEMENT UNIT – UM
  • 2.4 [sic] FIRE RANGE TEMPLATES
• 3. GAME SEQUENCE
  • 3.1 GAME'S MAXIMUM LENGTH
• 4. COMBAT
  • 4.1 FIRE
    • 4.1.1 FIRE FIELDS
    • 4.1.2 COMBAT RULES
    • 4.1.3 GUNS RELOADING
    • 4.1.4 GUNNERY: RANGE, FIREPOWER AND TARGETS
    • 4.1.5 HULL FACTORS
  • 4.2 DAMAGE
    • 4.2.1 FIRE TABLE
    • 4.2.3 SPECIAL CASE: RAKING A SHIP
  • 4.3 BOARDING
    • 4.3.1 HOW TO RESOLVE BOARDINGS
• 5. MOVEMENT
  • 5.1 MOVEMENT PROCEDURE
  • 5.2 FACTORS AFFECTING MOVEMENT
    • 5.2.1 SAILS
    • 5.2.2 MOVEMENT COSTS - COMPASS
    • 5.2.3 WIND STRENGTH, INERTIA AND SLOWING DOWN
    • 5.2.4 DRIFT
    • 5.2.5 MOVEMENT RESISTANCE
  • 5.3 MOVEMENT AGAINST THE WIND
  • 5.4 MOVEMENT EXAMPLES
  • 5.5 MOVEMENT SUMMARY; 4 CASES
  • 5.6 SPECIAL MANOEUVERS: TOWING
• 6. GRAPPLING AND UNRIGGING
  • GRAPPLING, BREAKING GRAPPLE AND UNRIGGING TABLE
• 7. FATIGUE
• 8. WINNING
• ADVANCED RULES
  • 9. LEADERS, ADMIRALS AND OFFICERS
• 10. COLLISION
• 11. FRIENDLY FIRE
  • 11.1 Friendly fire on surrendered ships penalties
• 12. BREAKING THE LINE – FLEEING COMBAT
• 13. "NAILING THE COLOURS" TO THE MAST
• 14. OPTIONAL: COMMUNICATIONS AND SIGNALS
• 15. VETERAN CREWS (new fatigue, movement and hits)
• 16. ADDITION TO THE MOVEMENT RULE
• 17. PITCHING AGAINST THE WIND
• 18. WIND DIRECTION AND STRENGTH CHANGES
  • 18.1 WIND IN EACH COMBAT PHASE
  • 18.2 WIND STRENGTH
• 19. NEW GUN RELOAD – DIFFERENT KINDS OF AMMO
• 20. CREW AND MARINES ADDITIONAL RULES. NEW BOARDING
  • 20.1 What is a crew?
  • 20.2 NEW BOARDING RULES
• 21. WINDWARD AND LEEWARD
• 22. HARBOURS AND COASTAL BATTERIES
• TRAFALGAR SCENARIO
  • Order of Battle – Ships list

1. INTRODUCTION

SHIPS OF THE LINE is a game system attempting to simulate the naval engagements in the 1740-1815 timeframe. These rules are not a precise account of what actually happened in the Battle of Trafalgar or during the full campaign, nor is this game intended to be the last word in 18th Century naval combat simulation. The main purpose is to provide a fun game for the players.

2. COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION

The basic game is designed for two or more players. One player will run the British side, while the other will run the Franco-Spanish side. The latter can be further divided in two, with the Spanish and French ships as separate forces, providing a three-players game. The players must decide beforehand, by common agreement, if the optional rules are to be used or not. The game can be played by more than three players, dividing the ships accordingly.

2.1 THE MAP

The map portrays a naval area on a blue background. There are no zones or markings. It's divided in tiles to facilitate movement.

2.2 SHIP MODELS. SUMMARY

All the ships that took part in the battle are represented by ship models from the depicted period, easy distinguished by the national colours, where a number referencing the corresponding Summary Ship Card is printed.

The Summary Ship Cards represent each ship that took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, and provides important data regarding that ship:

• National Colours: Indicates which nation the ship belongs to.
• Class or Ship Type: Indicates the type of ship, whether she is a one, two, three-decker or more.
• Ship Number: A number matching the one printed in the model colours.
• Guns and Basic Combat Strength: This is the actual amount of guns the ships carried in combat and how many dice are rolled in Point-Blank range (this rating is reduced when the ship enters sinking zone).
• Captain: The historical captain who commanded the ship. If a capital ship, the leader has a rating to be applied to various game rolls. Capital ships are marked with an asterisk.
• Boarding Crew Rating: This is the rating to be compared against the enemy's, to determine a ship's surrender after assault combat.
• Crew Rating: See Advanced Rules.
• Hull Rating: The ship's standing rating. As damage is received, this rating is reduced accordingly. When the Sinking Zone is reached, the ship risks sinking. If this rating becomes zero or less, the ship is considered to have sunk and is removed from play.

Informational markers:

• Nailing the Colours (for Spanish ships only).
• Rudder: To keep track of rudder damage.
• Wounded/Dead Captain: To keep track of captain status.
• Struck/Captured: to keep track of surrendered or captured ships. If captured, the capturing nation colour is used.
• Fire/Ammo Storage: To keep track of the ship's fire level.
• Fatigue: To keep track of the ship's fatigue level. Fatigue hinders any action undertaken by the affected ship; i.e.: she will not be able to conduct every possible action in a turn. There are 3 levels, 4 for veteran crews (advanced rules).
• Grappling and Boarding: To mark those ships that grappled and can board each other.

2.3 THE DIE

The game is played with six-sided dice, used for those actions where a certain degree of uncertainty exists, such as firing cannons. The result is consulted in the appropriate table, as explained further below.

2.4 BASIC MOVEMENT UNIT – UM

A Basic movement unit is used in play (there is a marker in the game, but a compass may also be used). This is the standard measure when moving or pivoting the ships.

2.4 [sic] FIRE RANGE TEMPLATES

Note: the source prints this heading as "2.4[Sic]" a second time after 2.4 above; the numbering is reproduced as printed.

To determine if a ship can be fired upon, the Fire Range Templates are used. There are several ranges: point-blank, long and medium range fire, thus giving a certain amount of dice to be subtracted from the firing ship's basic fire strength:

• Medium Range Fire: -1 die.
• Long Range Fire: -2 dice. Note that some ships cannot fire at long range; this is due to their small calibre cannons being unable to inflict an effective damage at long ranges.
• Point-Blank Fire: This is the case when the firing ships are very close to each other. The dice are rolled as per ship's cannon calibre and some bonus to the hit check are applied.

3. GAME SEQUENCE

The Ship Squadrons are deployed as per the historical scenario. Each turn is divided in the following phases:

Start: Initiative Struggle.

• In this scenario, the British side has the Initiative. Thus, the British side is entitled to a +1 bonus to the Initiative Struggle check. Each side rolls a die. The Initiative goes to the side that rolls the higher result, to the British if tied.

First Phase: Combat.

• The Initiative Player conducts gun fire, but the damage inflicted is not yet applied (i.e.: the fire being simultaneous, all damage is noted in the Ship Card but is not considered to be in effect until both sides have conducted all their fire combats).
• The Non-Initiative Player conducts gun fire, all damage inflicted by both sides is now applied.

Second Phase: Movement.

• The Non-Initiative Player moves.
• The Initiative Player moves.

Third Phase: Crew Phase: Crew Actions and surrender.

The Initiative Player resolves his actions first, but all the results are considered simultaneous.

Crew Phase:

• Resolve Sinking.
• Resolve Surrenders.
• then, check for:
  • Grappling and Breaking Grapple attempts (Fatigue)
  • Boarding, if Grappling achieved and the player choses to board (Fatigue)
  • Unrigging (Fatigue)
  • Fire Extinguishing (Fatigue)
• Check Capture after all boarding attempts are resolved.

Repeat all these phases until the turn 24, then tabulate each side's victory points total.

3.1 GAME'S MAXIMUM LENGTH

The game's maximum length is 24 turns. The game cannot last longer than 24 turns, unless a scenario instructs otherwise. Each turn represents approximately 15 minutes of real time. We consider 6 hours as an absolute endurance limit (historically, the crew were exhausted before this time span).

Note: If you want a faster game, play 12 turns, doubling all hull damage (critical hits remain unchanged).

4. COMBAT

4.1 FIRE

In this phase, the ships may fire within their gun field of fire and range (as given by the fire templates, as previously noted). All fire is deemed simultaneous and all combats are resolved before applying the ensuing damage (remember to keep track of damage results, but don't forget they are in effect only when all fire has been resolved). Fire is resolved with the guns lodged on both sides of the ship.

4.1.1 FIRE FIELDS

Each ship has two sides, starboard (right) and port (left). Each broadside covers a fire field measured from the broadside itself. Each ship has two fields of fire (one per broadside). A blocked field of fire has no effect on the opposite broadside.

4.1.2 COMBAT RULES

A ship can only fire against one enemy ship, but:

• Keep in mind that the ship's range or field of fire is a constant. The fire templates are the final indicator of fire range, to avoid any arguments. Note that guns were mounted on carriages, with minimal turning; remember you are playing this game for fun and are not supposed to bring your ruler, goniometer and protractor to your game!
• If the closer ship is a friendly, captured or surrendered ship, the field of fire is blocked and the affected broadside cannot fire (Exception: Friendly Fire; see advanced rules).
• Both broadsides can fire at once, as long as they are both loaded (see Fatigue, below).

4.1.3 GUNS RELOADING

Guns must be loaded in order to fire. This is automatic for one broadside and all batteries each round, but if both broadsides are simultaneously fired, the crew incur a fatigue level increase when reloading. Thus, in the first turn, all ships have both their broadsides loaded. If they fire, they can reload one for free, but if they want to reload both, the crew fatigue is increased by one (mark in the Ship Card the Crew Fatigue level).

4.1.4 GUNNERY: RANGE, FIREPOWER AND TARGETS

Ships are classed as per the number of guns they carry, this is their rate. This is the historical classification, and it will help us in play: it defines the number and calibre of guns. The more decks, the more guns they hold, and the stronger they'll be. The following list provides a classification of ships per decks and guns, and their firepower. The crew boarding strength is also provided:

Type / #Guns / Class / #Decks	Point-Blank firepower	Medium-range	Long-range	Boarding strength
Santísima Trinidad. Four Decks	7 dice	6 dice	5 dice	5
Ships 91 to 120 – Class I. Three Decks	6	5	4	4
Ships 75 to 90 – Class II. Three Decks	5	4	3	3
Ships 65 to 74 – Class III. Two Decks	4	3	2	3
Ships 50 to 64 – Class IV. Two Decks	3	2	1

The basic firepower is the number of dice the ship rolls in combat¹, it is shown in the Point-Blank heading and decreases with range.

¹ All dice must be rolled. No dice withholding allowed.

When a ship is in her sinking zone, her combat dice are halved, rounded up (e.g.: 3:2=2; 1:2=1; 5:2=3; etc.).

4.1.5 HULL FACTORS

The Ship Cards provide the Hull Rating for each ship. When a ship incurs damage, the lost Hull points must be noted, until she sinks.

4.2 DAMAGE

The following procedure helps tabulate the damage sustained in combat:

• First, declare the attacker (per the combat rules, above).
• Check the distance from the enemy to determine how many dice to roll. The closer, the more dice are rolled.
• Resolve the combat and check how many hits resulted.
• Roll on the Damage Table.
• Record the damage sustained and resolve critical hits.

4.2.1 FIRE TABLE

1st – To Hit Table: A hit is scored on a die result of 4, 5 and 6², depending on the range (4-5-6 at Point-Blank range, 5-6 otherwise).

2nd – Once the number of hits is determined, roll on the Damage Table:

Damage Table

Die	Damage
1–5	Hull Damage
6	Roll on the Critical Hit Table

Hull Damage: a point of Hull is lost in the corresponding Ship Card. A 6 causes a critical hit.

3rd – Roll for any critical hit obtained and apply results as per the following table:

Critical Hit Table

Die	Damage
1	Mast falls to the left
2	Mast falls to the right
3	Leader W/D
4	Rudder
5	Fire
6	Ammo Storage*

² Veteran crews hit with a 4 result, no matter the range (Advanced Rules).

Note: If a critical hit occurs more than once, all are applied.

Example 1: The Santísima Trinidad fires on a British ship at point-blank range, broadside against broadside. The firing player rolls 7 dice, with the following results: 2x5, 1x3, 1x6, 3x4. He gets 6 hits; he rolls 6 dice in the Damage Table and obtains: 1, 2, 2, 4, 4 and 6; so, the British player must deduct 5 hits from his Hull Rating and a critical hit has also been achieved. Now, the Santísima Trinidad resolves the critical hit, rolling a die in the Critical Hit Table, and gets a 2, which means the Mainmast falls to starboard.

Example 2: Same scenario as above; let's assume the hit dice are 6, 6, 6, 2, 2, 2; three critical hits and 3 hull damage. The critical hits rolls are 1, 2, 3, two masts are lost, one on the left and another on the right (the Mainmast first, then the Mizzenmast; see below) and the captain is wounded. Had the result been 1, 1, 2, then both 1 results would apply, two masts fall and then the third one with the 2 result.

Results Explanation:

• 1-2: A mast falls on a broadside; this broadside cannot fire until it is successfully unrigged. Roll on the Grapple/Unrigging Table each turn until successful (at the option of the affected player, rolling to unrig is not mandatory). Put a sail-marker on the ship model on the corresponding ship broadside.
• 3: The ship officer is wounded. If rolled again, he dies; mark the captain as eliminated in the Ship Card and roll for ship surrender at this moment and each time she is hit in combat (use the appropriate marker as a reminder).
• 4: Rudder lost, the ship is uncontrollable. She must be towed and can only be fixed with a special roll of 1 die, by obtaining a 1 and increasing fatigue. If the ship doesn't anchor, she will move by drifting.
• 5: A fire has started; put a marker as reminder. If the fire isn't extinguished after the first fire marker, one point of hull damage is sustained at the end of the Crew Phase (no matter how many fire markers exist). The attempt can only target a single fire marker per crew, and with an additional cost of a fatigue level increase.
• 6: Ammo Storage: If this result is rolled and a fire was not extinguished in the previous turn, another die is rolled. The ship explodes on a 6, otherwise, another fire marker is added to the ship (it can only be extinguished in the Crew Phase and the fatigue increases). If the ship explodes, the model is eliminated. Any ship within point-blank range suffers a 12-firepower attack to be resolved immediately.

The fall of masts is resolving according to the damaged ship's facing versus the firing ship. There are three possible situations:

• If the firing ship does so on the Bow facing of the target ship (raking on the front or firing over the port or starboard tack), the first mast to fall is the Foremast, then the Mainmast and, finally, the Mizzenmast.
• If the firing ship does so on any broadside of the target ship (starboard-right or port-left), the first mast to fall is the Mainmast, then the Mizzenmast and, finally, the Foremast.
• If the firing ship does so on the stern facing of the target ship (raking on the rear or firing over the port or starboard quarter), the first mast to fall is the Mizzenmast, then the Mainmast and, finally, the Foremast.

The damage is always applied from the attacker perspective. There should be no problem in identifying the affected masts.

4.2.3 SPECIAL CASE: RAKING A SHIP

If a ship is perpendicular to an enemy ship (in a position where a clearly drawn T is visible, i.e.: in a 90º angle) and fires against her, this is called "raking a ship". There are two ways to rake a ship: on the bow or on the stern. Raking the stern is the most effective, damage-wise. A rake is resolved:

• If on the bow, the amount of dice rolled is doubled. The damage is applied normally.
• If on the stern, the amount of dice rolled is doubled, but the resulting damage is doubled.

Example: The Victory rakes the Bucentaure on the stern at point-blank range, i.e.: the player rolls 12 dice (6x2); hits on 4-5-6 and gets 5 hits. He rolls on the Damage Table and gets 3 Hull Hits and 2 Critical Hits. The French player suffers 6 Hull Hits and 4 rolls on the Critical Hits Table (he's been hit big time!). Had the rake been on the bow, also at point-blank range, and with the same results, the damage would had been 3 Hull Hits and 2 Critical Hits.

4.3 BOARDING

Any ships grappled together may form boarding parties to attempt to capture enemy ships, as many as the player wants to, as long as they are all grappled. This is checked after the enemy unwilling to be boarded, but already grappled, tries to break grapple in the Crew Phase and fails. If both players agree in boarding and being boarded, no grappling check is needed. Otherwise, the willing player must roll on the grappling table and be successful. The defending player may try to break grappling. If still grappled, the assault may proceed.

In the Ship Card, there is a boarding rating per ship.

Note: To avoid being boarded, it is important to consider the distance between the opposing ships. In order to conduct grappling, the models must be touching each other or at most within ½ UM.

4.3.1 HOW TO RESOLVE BOARDINGS

After checking which "touching" ships managed to grapple (see rule below), and after checking if the enemy was unsuccessful in his break grapple check, a boarding combat is conducted. Note that the effect "if you grapple me and assault, I can do so too" is perfectly true and so, a boarding combat is an action taking place simultaneously for both ships involved.

Each ship has a boarding rating, and a boarding ratio must be tabulated. Compare the assaulting ship rating with the defending ship rating³. The resulting ratio must be reduced to one of those appearing on the Boarding Table. The assaulting player rolls first and, if the result obtained falls within the range shown on the table, the boarding fight is won, for the time being, as the defending player is still entitled to roll his dice.

The defending player must then follow the same procedure, comparing his boarding rating with his opponent's, to get a ratio (Note that if two ships are boarding one ship together, the ratio must be tabulated considering the total rating of the involved ships, making the defence a hard one!). Now it's time for the second player's roll. If:

• The second player is successful, both remain engaged in combat, to be resolved in the next Crew Phase (put a boarding marker to denote an ongoing firefight). They drift.

• The second player fails; he loses the combat and the ship is captured (put a captured marker with a matching colour).

If the assaulting player failed his roll, two situations arise:

• If the defending player also fails his roll, there is no effect, but both remain grappled (put a grappled marker). They are not engaged in combat.
• If the defending player passes his roll, he manages to board the opponent's ship and captures her.

Note that, if a player was boarded while unwilling and wins a boarding roll, he cannot capture the attacking ship, he just repulses the boarding attempt.

Boarding is a hazardous matter, to say the least! Use the leader modifier to obtain the needed result in the following table (subtract the modifier from the die roll – advanced rules).

So, to conduct a boarding attempt, you must:

1st – move close to the enemy ship and check collision (advanced rules). 2nd – grapple (roll on the Grapple Table). 3rd – If the enemy doesn't want to be grappled, he may try to break the grapple (roll on the Grapple Table). 4th – Once grappled, the assaulting side tabulates the combat odds and rolls 2 dice in the Boarding Table. 5th – The ship under attack ripostes, tabulates the odds and rolls 2 dice on the boarding table. 6th – the boarding attempt is resolved. There are three possible results: all boarding attempts are repulsed (the ships remain grappled but unengaged); one ship is captured, or both ships remain engaged in combat, to be resolved in the next turn.

4.3.2 BOARDING TABLE

Ratio	1-5+	1-4	1-2	1-1	3-2	2-1	3-1	4-1	6-1	8-1+
2d6 roll result	2	2-3	2-4	2-5	2-6	2-7	2-8	2-9	2-10	2-11

Note: 12 is always a failure. If a ratio falls below 1-5, the ships surrenders without fighting.

4.4 SURRENDER (STRIKING COLOURS) AND SINKING

4.4.1 A ship may surrender (strike colours) in three different ways:

1. A ship surrenders when she's lost enough Hull points to enter the sinking zone (grey zone). While in this zone, a ship must check for surrender at the end of each turn, provided she's been attacked (even if missed)⁴:

   • 1-2: the ship surrenders and strikes colours (put a white flag marker).
   • 3-4: No effect.
   • 5-6: the ships may sink. Roll again, on a 6, the ship sinks and is removed from the board, everybody aboard drowns. A ship hull marker is placed on the map for a round, simulating the slow sinking procedure. Remove the marker at the end of the next turn.

   Furthermore:

2. If a ship is dismasted and unable to move, and outside the maximum gun range of another friendly ship with same or higher gun calibre than the closest enemy ship, she will strike colours (white flag), if her own calibre is equal or lesser than the enemy's.

3. A ship surrenders when successfully assaulted (boarded) and strikes colours. The ship is said to be captured (use a marker with the capturing side flag depicted).

⁴ This simulates that, in combat, only a few people can work to keep the ship afloat. If not in combat, the crew is fully committed to contain the flooding.

4.4.2 Status Surrendered/Captured

A ship that surrendered or was captured can only move, she will never fight, but can be attacked by her former controlling side, whether by gunfire or boarding. These captured ships have a boarding rating of 1. Surrendered ships drift. If captured, they may be moved by their captor.

For victory points purposes, if a surrendered ship (whether just surrendered or captured) is recaptured, the VPs won by the opponent are subtracted.

• Surrendered: White Flag marker.
• Captured: Only through boarding or boarding without fighting.

4.4.3 Ships' surrender: clarifications

To keep the simulation value of the game, a surrendered ship shouldn't be moved by the opponent. Ships surrender as per the rules, but no one can move them unless assaulted through grapple/boarding. If the player that caused the surrender grapples the ship, he may move her as one of his own ships (but won't fight, since the crew is not enough to man the guns, but could be moved freely). If the ship is grappled by her former controller, the ship is fully combat operative, immediately.

While surrendered but uncaptured, the ships don't move. They drift.

5. MOVEMENT

The ship models must be deployed and faced as indicated in the scenario book. As the game goes and the ships move, they will change their facing.

Ships from this period moved according to a plethora of factors, as was the construction technique, how old they were, the crew, etc. For the sake of simplicity, we assume every ship can move about the same distance at a given time. So, the movement factor for all the ships in the game is 4 points. These points are spent as the ship moves on the board, affected essentially by the wind strength and direction. A ship can move all or part of her movement allowance, except if affected by inertia or drifting (in that case, she will be forced to move per the inertia rules).

These 4 movement points represent the inherent capability of the ship as well as the crew skills in manoeuvring. That's why the movement allowance is spent in moving, but also in slowing down. Those movement points are also called manoeuvre points, both denominations stand for the same concept.

The players will have no trouble when determining the wind direction and strength, as it is given in the Trafalgar scenario. Remember to use the compass.

In this game, the sole movement restriction is that a ship cannot move through another; the player needs to slow down or manoeuvre, or collide if unable to avoid it.

5.1 MOVEMENT PROCEDURE

The movement points are measured from the stern of the ship (using the movement marker or a compass) to move in any direction. At any point during movement, the ship may change her facing. This facing change is free (it doesn't reduce the movement points allowance) if less than 45°.

Moving is never free.

Changing facing/turning without moving costs one movement point (1UM). A ship cannot pivot 90°, she can only turn up to 45° per manoeuver point. She must, hence, turn, move and turn again if enough UMs (movement or manoeuver points) are available.

First, the compass must be consulted to check, given the wind direction and the heading of the ship, how many additional movement points are available (beyond the usual 4 basic movement points).

Example: The Santísima Trinidad is moving her 4 UMs; i.e.: she may move a distance 4 times the basic movement marker (UM). If, at any point, she pivots (45°), she must spend an UM and thus could only move 3 UMs. If she pivots less than 45°, the facing change is free, and she will be able to move her full 4 UMs movement allowance. The compass and the wind effects will be explained further below.

5.2 FACTORS AFFECTING MOVEMENT

5.2.1 SAILS

As sails are lost, movement is lost. This is not reflected in the Ship Cards, as the missing masts are clearly visible in the ship models themselves. The lost masts reduce the movement allowance as follows, this is in addition to the wind effects as shown in the compass.

The ship's rigging reflects different movement points:

• Foremast: 1 UM
• Mainmast: 2 UMs
• Mizzenmast: 1 UM

5.2.2 MOVEMENT COSTS - COMPASS

Warning: the ships from this period were very slow, if a player is looking for fast and furious blitzkrieg moves, he won't find them here.

Movement points are spent as a ship moves, and the movement costs don't change. Take your time to study the compass; a percent value for the wind, given a ship heading north (with her bow oriented to the north), are printed on the compass, providing a percent rating for the wind relative to the ship's facing (see examples below).

Designer Note: if you prefer a simpler game, you may ignore the wind effects. The compass is included in the rulebook to provide more realism to a naval battle involving sailing ships; it was essential in this period to know how to manoeuver a sailing ship, a lifesaver deal in the midst of combat. So, if you don't want to use the compass, move always 4 UMs per ship, or less, according to the rigging status. If you want more realism in your game, use this rule.

5.2.3 WIND STRENGTH, INERTIA AND SLOWING DOWN

If we take a closer look at the compass, we see that, depending on the direction of the wind relative to the ship facing, the UM allowance for the turn increases or decreases:

• If the wind comes from the side, the movement allowance is 50% of the current available movement points for the ship (modified per rigging status). If the ship has her three masts, she'll move 50% of 4=2 (always round up).
• If the wind comes from the stern, 75%.
• If the wind comes from the quarter, 100%.
• If the wind comes from the tack, 25%.
• If the wind comes from the bow, 0%, the ship cannot move.

Editor's note: the compass figure also carries red modifiers (-2, -1, +1, +2) placed around its dial. The text does not separately explain them, so they are not transcribed here; see the compass figure in the printed rules.

Inertia:

In this period, the ships moved with the wind, and thus there is always an inertia carried from a turn to the next. If a ship is not anchored nor facing into the wind (0% in the compass), she is FORCED to move 1UM before slowing down or stopping, whatever the wind.

Slowing down:

A ship unwilling to move, still subject to the inertia rule above, and if enough UMs are available (i.e.: not all have been spent), may slow down. The player declares his intention to slow down while moving the ship. This represents the crew moving jibs or steering the ship to reduce the wind push.

Note that these ships were moved by the wind and thus had always an inertia, forcing the player to spend at least 1UM (by moving or pivoting) before slowing down.

Example 1: A ship with 100% wind has 4UMs and wants to slow down. She must move or turn 45° to spend 1UM per the inertia rules. She does so, and is thus free to slow down with the remaining UMs.

Example 2: If the ship from the example 1 wants to slow down only 1UM, she moves 2, decides to slow down 1, she has 1UM remaining. In this case, she already fulfilled the inertia rule and could move 1UM.

Example 3: The ship can slow down as much as she wants, but must always spend one UM. Same case as in the example 2; she pivots 45° for 1UM, slows down with 2UMs and she could move 1UM or pivot again on the spot.

5.2.4 DRIFT

When a ship is dead in the water; i.e.: she lost her masts or the rudder was damaged, or the ship is stopped, grappled, being boarded, fouled after colliding, unflagged, dragged by the wind or the current strength; the rule for drifting applies. Drifting is mandatory at the end of the movement phase for all ships stopped or without functioning rudder, and not anchored. The drift is tabulated for all ships boarding each other.

In each round, the drifting ship(s) must drift in the wind direction 1UM and must pivot 45° until they face the wind direction (at 75%).

Drifting is an artefact of the wind strength as defined in each scenario. Sometimes there will be drifting effects, and sometimes they won't, as is the case in Trafalgar.

Notes: To resolve the drift for boarding ships, tabulate the drift for one of the ships and apply the result to the whole lot.

5.2.5 MOVEMENT RESISTANCE

That's the ship's resistance to move; i.e.: putting the ship in motion is harder when the ship is stopped. This is checked when starting a ship's movement. A stopped ship has a -2UM resistance.

Note: The wind strength⁵ may forfeit this resistance; if an inertia strength of +2 is in force, the resistance will be reduced to 0. The inertia rule is in effect as usual.

How do we know if a ship is stopped? A ship is stopped in the following cases:

• When a ship is being boarded, or is fouled after a collision (i.e.: the ship is grappled/fouled).
• When we have decided not to move a ship. Put a stopped marker as a reminder for the next turn. This may be due to: anchoring (use the appropriate marker and raise fatigue) or slowing down after spending 1UM for basic inertia.
• When dismasted (all sails and masts down). There is no need for a marker to denote this status, as the model will show no masts remaining.
• When making a move that entails a 0% penalty to movement (heading against the wind). In this case, the ship cannot move further and ends her move. Put a stopped marker.

⁵ In Trafalgar, the wind strength is light breeze, there is not drift nor added movement to ships. The wind strength is further explained in the advanced rules.

5.3 MOVEMENT AGAINST THE WIND

This is an exceptional case, as the ship is not permitted to change facing because she is facing a 0% wind. A special two-turns manoeuvre is conducted in this case:

The ship was stopped because she ended her move faced against the wind (i.e.: the compass shows a 0% wind, no matter the allotted UMs). The ship was marked with the corresponding marker. Now the turn starts and the time comes to move this ship:

• 1st turn: the captain decides to mobilize part of his crew to turn the ship with the barges aboard. The turn is spent pivoting the ship 90°. She cannot move yet and the stopped marker is not removed. This is the only time when a ship can pivot 90° at once. Increase fatigue.
• 2nd turn: Now the ship can move. Remember the -2-resistance penalty when moving, as the ship is stopped. Remove the stopped marker. The ship may be forced to remain still due to the resistance penalty, but she will not be considered stopped for the next turn.

Note that in both turns, the ship is subject to drifting, if the wind is strong enough.

5.4 MOVEMENT EXAMPLES

Example 1: A ship moving 4UMs is heading E and the wind coming from the starboard quarter (from the right) is blowing from the S. If we want to move to the E, checking the compass, we see we are dealing with a 50% wind effect. The ship will thus move 2 movement points.

Example 2: Now our ship is facing SW. The wind comes from the S. If we want our ship to move SW, we deal with a 25% wind effect, and we have only 1 movement point to spend.

Example 3: The wind is blowing from the SE and our ship is heading N. The compass gives us a 100% wind effect, and we can use the full 4UM movement allotment. We move our ship 2UMs. We can turn for free less than 45° and head W and then move the remaining 2UMs.

Keep in mind that each time a ship moves 1UM, she may change facing for free (if willing to and if the facing turn is less than 45°). Remember that, to slow down, you must have UMs available. Otherwise, slowing down is not permitted, and collisions may ensue.

5.5 MOVEMENT SUMMARY; 4 CASES

When moving, 4 cases are possible:

• I don't change my ship's facing: move as modified by the compass.
• I don't want to move my ship. The ship remains still. Unless the ship is dismasted or anchored, she must always spend 1UM minimum (or more, as indicated by the wind strength) per the inertia rules. Note that in the basic rules of Trafalgar, the inertia is 0 because the wind strength is light breeze (see scenario).
• I want to change my ship's facing: a 45° turn is worth 1UM. I turn and then move. A stopped ship cannot change facing, as we already know, she must first be put in motion (and pay the resistance -2UMs cost) and then turn for free or 45° for 1UM.
• Manoeuvre against the wind: (see above).

Examples Diagram: [The printed rulebook contains a diagram of movement examples on page 16 which is an image and is not transcribed here.]

5.6 SPECIAL MANOEUVERS: TOWING

To tow a ship, some steps must be followed:

• The towing ship must move close to the to-be-towed ship and stop adjacent to her⁶. This consumes the first turn of the towing procedure.
• They grapple each other in the corresponding phase. There is no need to roll on the grapple table. The procedure is automatically successful.
• The fatigue is raised.

The towing ship loses ½ her movement points allowance (rounded up). There is no collision check (they are allied ships).

If two ships involved in towing decide to break grapple, it is automatically successful. There is no cost associated to this action. The owner simply declares the action aloud and the ship able to move may do so. The other one is subject to drift.

When two ships are together, one towing another, one is placed in front of the other. In that case, both may fire, but penalized with -1 die, because part of the crew is engaged in non-combat activities.

⁶ Literally, the models must be touching each other.

6. GRAPPLING AND UNRIGGING

When a ship is adjacent⁷ to an enemy ship at the end of movement, she may try to grapple. Grapple between ships of the same nation is automatically successful. But, a ship captured by boarding in the crew phase cannot automatically break grapple until the next turn. This represents the chaos amidst the ship after a boarding firefight and the time needed for the new crew to take control of the ship.

Grappled ships cannot move nor fire, they only drift, if applicable.

GRAPPLING, BREAKING GRAPPLE AND UNRIGGING TABLE

Die	Result
1-2	Grapple / Break Grapple / Unrigging successful / Fouled Ships Released
3-6	Grapple fails / Break Grapple Fails / Unrigging Fails / Ships remain Fouled

Modifiers to the roll:

• -1 per consecutive attempt failure, up to a maximum of -2.
• If a leader is present⁸, the division or squadron leader modifier, if in range, may be used.
• +1 if trying to grapple through the stern or bow (tack or quarters; it's harder than grappling through the broadsides).

Note: Grappling and breaking grapple (cutting loose the ropes) occur in the same phase, one side grapples, the other tries to break loose in the crew phase.

This table is also used to get rid of rigging and masts that fell over the deck in combat. Note that a ship cannot fire a broadside if the corresponding board is blocked by a fallen rigging until an unrigging attempt is successful.

Both kind of actions increase the crew fatigue.

⁷ Same as 6, above. ⁸ Advanced Rules.

7. FATIGUE

The fatigue increases when the crew is engaged in some actions.

Every ship starts the game with a 0 fatigue rating. As the following actions take place, the fatigue is increased up to a maximum level, where the ship will be unable to conduct any activities until she spends a full turn recovering. The fatigue inducing activities are:

• Reloading both broadsides (port and starboard; if both fired). There is a marker for that. If only one broadside is reloaded, no fatigue is incurred.
• Boarding. Use the corresponding marker.
• Unrigging.
• Extinguishing a fire.
• Moving the ship against the wind.
• Raise/Lower Anchor.
• Fix the rudder.
• Grapple/Break Grapple/Free Fouled Ships.

Note: firing a broadside is not fatigue inducing, but if the ship fires, the fatigue cannot be reduced this turn. When the maximum fatigue level is reached (there are 3 levels, 4 for veteran crews in the advanced rules), none of this actions can be undertaken (only firing and moving). Exception; a crew at maximum fatigue level can defend if boarded, but won't capture the enemy ship if the boarding struggle is won.

8. WINNING

The player with the most victory points at the end of the game is declared the winner.

• Surrendered Ship: +15 points.
• Sunk Ship: +10 points.
• Official Death⁹: +/- leadership value x3, (the minus in the leadership value, if any, is ignored for the purposes of this rule; and any leader with 0 or +1 rating is considered as 1).
• Fleeing combat: +/-5 points (+ for fled enemy ships, - for fled friendly ships).
• Coastal battery destroyed: 10 points (Advanced rules).

Note that if a surrendered ship (captured or only surrendered) is recaptured, the VPs are deducted from the enemy tally, if sunk, the enemy player gets the victory points, but he does not lose any points scored for forcing the surrender.

⁹ Advanced Rules.

ADVANCED RULES

Before using these rules, play the basic game until you are familiar with the rules.

9. LEADERS, ADMIRALS AND OFFICERS

Check the list of leaders in the Order of Battle or list of ships. They start aboard their historical ships. In Trafalgar, the next leader types are present:

• 1st class leader; Admirals: Nelson and Gravina: die modifier -2 or -3.
• The remaining admirals, rear admirals and vice admirals: modifier -1 or -2.
• Some with a modifier of 0 and others with a +1 due to their poor performance, as Admiral Dumanoir.

This modifier is applicable to various tasks, but a leader action range applies to each division where the leader is present (see the rule about communications for further information about the action ranges), except if more leaders are in play per scenario rules. In Trafalgar, there are no more officers with modifiers.

Historically, the officers who fought in the Trafalgar campaign were attached to particular ships, and this is how they are listed in the Order of Battle. Some of those officers because of their courage and outstanding performance do have modifiers.

The leader rating may be used to modify (at the owning player discretion) the following die rolls:

• Boarding (only if the leader is participating in the boarding).
• Nailing the colours (only for the Spanish).
• Fleeing combat check (breaking the line).
• Friendly fire penalty on surrendered ships.
• Unrigging and grappling/breaking grapple.
• Collision checks.
• Communications (rules for multi-player games, commanding different divisions).
• Leaders can move between ships of the same nation or allied by means of automatic grapples in the appropriate phase, using transfer movement.

10. COLLISION

A collision check must be made in the following cases:

• When unable (or unwilling) to slow down and moving close to another ship, friendly (if playing with the groups rule) or enemy.
• When two enemy ships or more are adjacent (to board, because of drifting, etc. Not applicable to friendly ships, as they are considered to manoeuvre cautiously).
• A ship sunk while in a port is obstructing the area occupied by the shipwreck; i.e.: if a ship tries to cross the area, she risks collision, and if a collision occurs, it will be considered as a sand bank; the ship failing the collision check will run aground and deduct 4 hull hits (not applicable to Trafalgar).

A failed collision check causes damage to all ships involved:

• If they belong to the same class, they suffer 2 hull hits each and:
• The ship that causes the collision always receives 2 extra hull hits.
• If one of the ships belongs to a higher class, the smaller one will be penalized accordingly:
  • If the difference is by one class category, the damage ensued is 3 hull hits instead of 2.
  • If the difference is by two class categories, the damage ensued is 4 hull hits instead of 2.

Remember to apply damage to both ships, the smaller one gets the more damage, but both apply their own damage per the rules above.

Ship Categories:

• Ships of the line: first class.
• Frigates: second class.
• Corvettes/brigantines: third class.

Collision Table:

Die	Damage
1-2	No Hull Damage / Ships are not Fouled.
3-6	Hull Damage / Ships are Fouled.

Note: a leadership modifier may be used for this check.

Note that a collision check is made by the moving ship even if it may affect both ships. When two ships collide, allied or not, they become automatically fouled and are damaged. They cannot move any further until unfouled. Put a stopped marker.

To be released, a die roll on the Grapple/Unrigging Table at the start of the next crew phase is needed to become unfouled.

Note: a collision is different from a grappling. In order to board a ship a grapple is needed. These are two different procedures.

Example: a ship collides with another; she rolls for collision and gets a 6; she must suffer damage and be fouled with the other ship. Each ship loses 2 hull points (given same category) and the moving one loses 2 additional hull points.

11. FRIENDLY FIRE

This is an exception to the general combat rule that prohibits fire when the closest ship in the fire zone is a friendly, captured or surrendered ship. This whole rule is changed by the following, when using friendly fire. Use common sense when determining if friendly fire is possible. The enemy ship is the target, and the friendly one must not obstruct the fire zone, i.e.: the friendly ship may partly obstruct the fire zone, and she cannot be beyond the target ship to qualify for friendly fire.

Friendly Fire: If a friendly ship lays within a fire zone, an enemy ship within the same fire zone can be fired at, but the friendly ship will be subject to the same damage die results (taking into consideration the range to her) with the following modifiers:

• If the friendly ship is at medium range from the firing ship, deduct 1 (-1) from the damage inflicted on the enemy target ship and apply the result as friendly fire damage (considering hits only, i.e.: if any hit is achieved, subtract one when resolving friendly fire).
• If the friendly ship is at long range from the firing ship, deduct 2 (-2) from the damage inflicted on the enemy target ship and apply the result as friendly fire damage (considering hits only, i.e.: if any hit is achieved, subtract two when resolving friendly fire).
• Never apply critical hits when resolving friendly fire. Treat them as misses.

11.1 Friendly fire on surrendered ships penalties

If an enemy ship is fired upon when a surrendered ship (with a white flag) is closer, and the surrendered ship is damaged by friendly fire, the crew will be infuriated and try to take control of the ship by force to return fire (only applicable to surrendered ships, not to ships captured by boarding). The surrendered but uncaptured ship rolls a die: 1-2 she returns to the fight. The player rolling the die may use any applicable leadership modifier, if present.

12. BREAKING THE LINE – FLEEING COMBAT

Forming a line was the most orthodox approach when fighting between ship squadrons. To simulate the critical concern of maintaining the combat line, when the enemy has broken the line (defined as crossing the enemy combat line and raking any of his ships – both conditions must be true), at the end of the crew phase, the ships from the affected division must check against their higher boarding rating. If the check is failed (rolling equal or more than the boarding rating), the ship must refuse combat immediately; the officer in command considers the battle is lost and seeks to save his crew. The ship must leave the tactical map the sooner and this will be her main concern. Meanwhile, she will still be able to fire and defend, and even board if the case presents itself, but will always move to run from combat (this means she must move by the most direct route to leave the tactical map).

This will provide victory points to the enemy.

• For the check against the higher boarding value, the leader modifier of higher rank must be used, thus reducing the risk of fleeing (except in the case of a poorly rated leader, where it will be more likely). Note that because of this rule, some ships will never refuse combat; for instance, the Santísima Trinidad with a boarding value of 5 and a leader with a -2 rating, unless the leader dies.

How to form a line: a line is formed with the ships one behind the other at a maximum range of ½ UM. Each line has always a commanding ship, that is, with a leader on board (if there is one line, with the squadron captain ship; if more than one line, each line with a division and/or squadron captain ship).

If formed in several lines (as is the case with Nelson), the lines are considered broken individually, each division been affected separately. Watch your formations!

Note that naval units are formed by divisions, if for any reason the lines break, as soon as a rake occurs, the more damaged ships or those with less morale standing will flee from combat.

13. "NAILING THE COLOURS" TO THE MAST

Only the Spanish ships with a living officer (whether he is a leader or not) may nail the colours. This check is made at the start of combat, when the Spanish ship is damaged, if the controlling player is willing to make the check and a maximum of once per game (not per turn). If the ship nails her colours, she will fight to the bitter end without surrendering.

Effects:

• The crew is fanatical until the officer's death. The crew will win or die when the ship sinks. If a fanatical ship sinks or captures an enemy ship, she will target automatically the closer enemy ship to attack (by boarding). The fanatical status is lost when the battle ends or the officer dies.
• When the officer dies, the ship is not rolled for surrender. From this moment on, the ship behaves as normal; the "nailing the colours" status is lost (remember Churruca).
• Ignore the usual surrender check for being in the sinking zone until the death of the officer, and ignore any checks for fleeing combat.

Nailing the Colours Table:

Die	Result
1-2	Colours Nailed
3-6	No Effect

Modifiers:

• Use the division leader modifier if any, or the squadron leader otherwise.
• -1 if some other ship is already subject to fanaticism (it propagates).

14. OPTIONAL: COMMUNICATIONS AND SIGNALS

This rule is only applicable when there are several players per side.

To communicate ship to ship, a ship must send a message. We saw in the leaders' rule that there were different leader kinds according to their rank and capabilities level; this level will define how far a message is effective; this range is also their charisma action range, used to influence other ship's checks:

• +1 Leader: Message effective up to short range fire template (-1d).
• 0/-1 Leader: Message effective up to the full fire range template.
• -2/-3 Leader: Message effective up to twice the fire range template¹⁰.

Message Effective: Any ship within command range must attend to the message, but note the following restrictions:

• Maximum of one message per leader and turn, as concise as possible (e.g.: stop the fire; move close to the enemy and open fire, move close to the enemy and board, move away from the enemy, retreat, form in one line, two lines, etc.). 7 words maximum (prepositions/conjunctions excluded).
• The order from the higher-ranking ship takes precedence (the higher-ranking leader). If two ships with equal ranking officer send a message, that of the higher rated ships (more guns on board) takes precedence.
• When a leader dies, the ship no longer sends orders and signals. This may prove devastating for the naval battle.
• Remember those ranges are used for any check, and the leader modifier may affect any ship within range.

When a player is to send a message to another ship or division, he must write down the message and, if the conditions above are true, he may hand it over to the receiver.

¹⁰ As only one fire template is provided with the game, we suggest to use a thread to mark the double template range for this rule.

15. VETERAN CREWS (new fatigue, movement and hits)

Veteran crews are listed in the scenario as present in the ship were they historically served. They benefit from the following perks:

• Maximum fatigue level: 4.
• When firing, they hit on a 4, even if not at point-blank range.
• Veteran crews always add +1UM to their ship's movement. This +1UM is not compulsory.

16. ADDITION TO THE MOVEMENT RULE

The basic rules gave each ship the capability to move up to 4UMs, 1UM per Foremast, 2UMs per Mainmast and 1UM per Mizzenmast. Now this basic movement capability is known as low sail and mid sail and full sail conditions are added as follows:

• LOW SAIL: 4UMs (1-2-1)
• MID SAIL: 5UMs (1-3-1)
• FULL SAIL: 7UMs (2-3-2) and +1 additional inertia rating added to the usual inertia provided by the wind at the start of the movement phase.

Note: Veteran crews add 1UM optionally, it is not compulsory.

17. PITCHING AGAINST THE WIND

To increase the realism of the ship movement rules, this rule expands on the basic movement against the wind rule.

A ship may move against the wind by pitching (from left to right and vice versa), under the following conditions:

• The wind must be Heavy Breeze or the ship must be at full sail in a breeze wind (remember to apply +1 inertia if at full sail). This manoeuvre may not be conducted in light breeze and fog. It is not applicable to Trafalgar.
• The full mast allotment must be present.

Procedure:

• A ship is heading against the wind. That would force the ship to stay still for the next two turns under the basic rules. By pitching, she could pivot spending her +1 additional inertia and then, if willing to keep sailing against the wind, she must pivot to the angle opposite that of the first facing change.

Example: A ship at full sail and with all her masts present faces the wind at 0% (remember an additional +1 inertia is automatically applied). If she wants to move against the wind, she must first pivot to face the wind at 25% (2UMs if advancing, but only 1UM otherwise); she thus pivots, spends 1UM and spends the +1 inertia for full sail; she is pitching from left to right to face the wind at 25%; now she tabulates her movement points: 7 (for full sails: 2-3-2) at 25%=2; she could keep moving normally or keep pitching, spending 2UMs to pivot to the opposite side and advance.

• This is hardly an ideal way of moving heavy and slow ships; the lighter and swifter ships, like the corvettes and frigates will, nevertheless excel in this kind of manoeuvers (not covered by this rulebook).

18. WIND DIRECTION AND STRENGTH CHANGES

18.1 WIND IN EACH COMBAT PHASE

To increase realism, we can check, by means of this rule, the wind status, each hour (each 4 turns: 5-9-13-17-21). This rule is used before the combat phase, before moving.

Wind Direction Table:

Dice	< 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	> 6
Wind from the	W	SW	S	NW	SE	N	NE	E

This table shows the direction from which the wind is blowing each combat hour.

Procedure:

• 1st, check if the wind changes: roll a die: 1-5 no change. 6: change of wind. Roll again on the wind direction change table below and:
• apply the resulting modifier to the wind direction table to determine the new wind direction.

WIND DIRECTION CHANGE TABLE

Dice	1	2	3	4	5	6
Apply	+2	+1	0	0	-1	-2

Example: At the start of the game, the wind is blowing from the SW, rolling 1 on the wind direction table yields that result. 4 turns elapsed and a 6 is rolled on the wind direction change check. So, the wind does change. Another die is rolled on the wind direction change table and another 6 is rolled, thus, from the starting wind direction, SW, we must apply -2 and so, the wind blows from the W (value of less than 1 in the wind table). Had the roll been 1, a +2 modifier would have applied, giving a 3 wind, so the wind would have changed to NW.

18.2 WIND STRENGTH

The wind strength is usually provided in each scenario, but if you want to simulate a wind strength change during combat, use this rule. The initiative player rolls after each hour (just as in the rule for wind direction change, above). This is separate from the wind direction change check. A die is rolled, a 6 resulting in a change of strength:

Wind Strength Table in Clear Weather

Die	Wind strength	Inertia Effects
1-2	Light Breeze	-1 UM
3-4	Breeze	No Effect
5-6	Heavy Breeze	+1 UM

If 1-2 is rolled = Light Breeze: all ships' movement allowances reduced by 1UM. If 3-4 is rolled = Breeze: No effect, all ships retain their movement allowances unchanged. If 5-6 is rolled = Heavy Breeze: All sailing ships have an increased inertia of +1UM.

Restrictions: A change in wind strength cannot be sudden, if a Light Breeze changes to Heavy Breeze, the change will only be a step stronger and will simply change to Breeze. The change in wind strength cannot be greater than a step above or below the current strength.

19. NEW GUN RELOAD – DIFFERENT KINDS OF AMMO

Gun range: The gun range is relative to the gun calibre and all are at 22.5° because they are mounted on carriages and unable to achieve greater angle inclinations. The fire template is still used as per the basic rules.

Exception: for fortifications' guns, the range is always doubled and guns are always 24 pounders, unless otherwise indicated in the scenario.

Apart from the gun calibre, the range is based on the ammunition used. There are several kinds of ammunition. Each one causes different critical hits.

• Round Ball: a solid iron ball. This is the standard ammo; the Red Ball, a red-hot round ball is also used to kindle fires; after inflicting damage, it starts as many fires as half the damage inflicted. This ammo type can only be used at the start of combat, and no other ammo type can be used until two turns have passed (another ammo type cannot be loaded until the guns cool down). To use this ammo, a leadership check (1 or 2 in a die roll) must be passed; if failed, a fire is started in the battery that intended to fire Red Ball and could not fire again until the fire is extinguished. Any critical hit inflicted by this ammo is resolved normally. If an ammo depot critical hit is obtained, the ship explodes instead (as was the case with the frigate Mercedes). This ammo can only be used by ships with a living officer and by coastal batteries.
• Double round: as the round ball, but two balls are shot instead of just one. The damage inflicted is doubled and guns take two turns to reload. It can only be fired at point-blank range. The doubling effect is applied even if conducting a rake. No critical hits result from this ammo. Its main purpose was to destroy the enemy ship's hull. Any 6 obtained when resolving hits increases the target crew fatigue by +1.
• Chain Shot: two small balls tied together by a chain or piece of iron. It was used against masts and rigging. Its range is -1d in the fire template. A critical hit with this ammo automatically causes a mast to fall, no need to roll in the critical hits table.
• Grapeshot: a large amount of iron balls, used against enemy crews and rigging. Effective only at point-blank range. Any critical hit automatically eliminates the enemy crew (apply once, not per 6 rolled).

20. CREW AND MARINES ADDITIONAL RULES. NEW BOARDING

20.1 What is a crew?

The crew is the sea people taking care of the maintenance of the ship and other seamanship tasks + garrison (marine infantry, artillery brigades or Army infantry). The number of crews in a ship is indicated in the Ship Cards and it depends on the number of decks present +1. So, for example, the Victory, a three-decker has 4 crews.

Crews can be assigned to several activities:

• Flooding control: when the ship is sinking, in the sinking zone, a -1 is applied to the sinking check for each 2 crews performing Flooding Control.
• Extinguish Fire: when a ship is on fire, -1 per each 2 crews performing this task.
• Clear the Deck: when an unrigging must be conducted, roll on the grappling table with a -1 bonus per each 2 crews performing this task.
• Fire: without crew, the guns are unmanned and cannot be fired; guns can fire with than less than their optimal crew assignment. For each deck that doesn't fire, apply -1. For example: the Santísima Trinidad has 7 combat dice, if a deck is not firing, she has -1 to his total combat dice. If her 4 crews are intended to conduct boarding, she will fire with a single die. One die is always the minimum when firing guns, no matter what the crews are tasked to do.
• Assault, boarding: when boarding a ship.
• Counter-boarding: to repulse an enemy boarding attempt.
• Transfer between ships: to transfer crews from a ship to another one or to capture it.

The player must clearly record what task each of his crews is performing. If a crew is tasked to do something, it must be cleared before engaging in another task. A crew controlling a flood cannot extinguish a fire at the same time, for example. As these decisions are made in the crew phase, this is the time to clearly assign tasks for each crew. Each task increases the fatigue by 1.

Example: The Victory wants to extinguish a fire and assigns 2 crews (from his total 4 crews) and raises her fatigue by 1. If she also wants to assault the San Agustín and assigns her 2 remaining crews to boarding (she will fight with a -2 to her boarding strength), she raises her fatigue by another +1 for a total fatigue increase of +2.

20.2 NEW BOARDING RULES

We have as many crews available as decks in the ship +1, so we can board with X+1 or less:

Example: The Victory has 3 decks, 4 crews, 3 assigned to guns and 1 on deck. She may attack with 2 decks (strength 2 at boarding and will fire guns with -2 dice).

This boarding system includes a counter-boarding and the process is somewhat more time-consuming. We now have the following cases:

1st – the British assaults, he compares his strength with the defender's, who also chose between defending with everybody and not firing, or defend with a portion of his crew. The attacker rolls a die and the results may be:

• The roll is passed; the boarding is successful.
  • The defender rolls:
    • If successful, they are locked in melee. No changes from the basic rules.
    • If he fails, the attacker controls the defender's deck, but it's not over. They are engaged in melee, to be resolved next turn. This is the main change from the basic rules; it's now harder to capture a ship through boarding.

Both ships raise their fatigue level at the end of the turn.

In the next turn, the attacker may add more crews to the combat, and so may the defender. Another round of combat is resolved:

• If the attacker and defender both pass their rolls, they remain locked in melee for another turn. Both ships raise their fatigue level.
• The attacker fails, but the defender passes his roll; the attacker is repulsed. Both ships raise their fatigue level.
• The attacker wins, but the defender fails; the ship surrenders. i.e.: Two combat rounds must be won to capture an enemy ship by boarding. Both ships raise their fatigue level.

Leaders in close combat:

A leader can assist in an assault by adding his modifier as a full column shift. This must be declared before rolling the dice. (Example: a -2 leader provides a 2-column shift, a -1 leader provides one column shift, a +1 leader provides no benefit or penalty, etc.).

If leaders are present in both sides, they cancel each other (up to their value). A leader may die in combat. A leader defending/assaulting cannot be involved in any other task. A leader that wins an assault and captures an enemy ship becomes the leader of the new ship, and an officer takes his place in his former ship if no other commander is present. If we don't want a leader to stay in a captured ship, a transfer can be made to return the leader to his former ship. Note that leaders participate in combat with the boarding parties and share their fate. If a ship is captured, they are assumed to have died in combat.

An assault requires the guns to be unmanned to attack; depending on the number of guns not firing, the number of crews assaulting the enemy ship is determined.

21. WINDWARD AND LEEWARD

This is applicable to every ship, but frigates and brigantines are not affected by the restriction over the 1st battery.

• Windward: if a ship is at windward, the wind is blowing from behind, this means she controls the momentum of attack, has higher speed and has bonus in boarding combat, as the smoke concentrates in front of her, covering her manoeuvers, but in any wind except for breeze, she loses the fire of the lower battery.
  • Apply -1 in boarding combat.
  • Apply +1 to any damage caused by collision for ramming.
  • She cannot fire the 1st battery in any wind higher than breeze (i.e.: fires with -1 die at all ranges).
  • Exposes her rigging and hides her hull. Any falling mast automatically falls to the side opposite the wind direction (whatever the critical hits table indicates).
  • +1UM to her movement allowance.
• Leeward: if a ship is at leeward, the wind is blowing from his front; she will manoeuvre best for running from combat, the smoke is a lesser nuisance; with a wind higher than breeze, she exposes her flank, and will thus receive all hits in the hull rather than the rigging, and can use her 1st battery. This situation is the opposite of windward. To summarize:
  • Protects her rigging, i.e.: +1 hull hit when fired upon.
  • +1 for all smoke status¹¹ (removed sooner).
  • No restrictions for boarding.
  • A falling mast falls to the side of the ship opposite the wind direction and it will be the broadside not hindered for firing (whatever the critical hits table indicates).

¹¹ Not applicable in this scenario.

22. HARBOURS AND COASTAL BATTERIES

Harbours:

There are always coastal defence in harbours and they serve to protect the fleets.

• 1st category: 4 coastal defences or batteries.
• 2nd category: 3 coastal defences.
• 3rd category: 2 coastal defences.

Each port's batteries are permanent and will be rebuilt if destroyed. A harbour is considered destroyed if all its batteries are destroyed. Further instructions will be provided in the scenario.

Coastal batteries:

They are deployed at the beginning of each combat in which they participate and before knowing the actual location of the enemy fleet (in scenarios, their location will be provided). The coastal batteries used to be armed with guns of, at most, the same calibre as the bigger calibre mounted on a ship, but were fewer. If a scenario doesn't provide the calibre, 24 pounds will be assumed.

Furthermore, note that:

• If a ship fires on a coastal battery and scores a critical hit, the battery receives double the amount of damage.
• A battery is considered to have a resistance (hull points) as an 80-guns ship.
• A coastal battery can fire twice and has a 24-pounds calibre.
• Coastal batteries are mounted over the sea level and thus cannot rake a ship.
• Coastal batteries can fire at any ship, they ignore the rule that restricts fire to the closer target.
• They can use "Red Ball".
• Their range is always double the fire template. No restrictions apply.

NOTES

• Usually, the area close to a coastal battery is not navigable (the 1st line, 2UMs large), the 2nd and 3rd lines are navigable but a grounding check is required¹², unless stated otherwise in the scenario.

¹² Not applicable to this scenario.

TRAFALGAR SCENARIO

Dawn of the 21st, clear sky, both fleets are perfectly distinguishable. The Combined Fleet steers to starboard to sail against the W-NW wind in a bad shaped line. The enemy, in battle line, steers to port and 4 miles away heading from W to W-NW, with 27 ships, 8 of them three-deckers. The initial setup can be found in the setup charts. Wind is breeze (no inertia).

Initiative: The British player holds the initiative.

At 11:45, the order to open fire when in range is given and the San Agustín fires the first shot on October the 21st, 1805. The rest is up to you!

Optional Rules: For a more historical scenario (choose whether or not to use them before starting play).

Rule 1: Dumanoir's Division: The French admiral Dumanoir did not fight in Trafalgar nor did he help anybody with his division ships. To simulate this, roll a die to check to behaviour of these French ships. Roll for each ship at the end of the first turn after the British attack the Combined Fleet.

• 1-2: withdraws, don't roll again; the ship sails to leave the tactical map as soon as possible.
• 3-4: roll again in the next turn.
• 5-6: enters the fight; don't roll again.

NOTE: Each French ship (not the Spanish ones) from Dumanoir's Division rolls in this table; if the British capture or sink the commanding French ship (Bucentaure), subtract one from the die.

Rule 2: British firepower: To simulate the British strategy, firing at point-blank range when the Combined Fleet expected a boarding assault, resulting in many casualties, add 1 to the damage inflicted by British ships. If the fire misses, do not apply.

Scenario Variants: Play with all, some or none of these rules, always upon players' agreement.

• A. Setup before the wearing order: Hypothetical situation: The Allied ships are setup before the catastrophic order was given by the admiral Villeneuve. Setup according to the Order of Battle below, forming one line but heading SE.
• B. No damage advantage for the British: Try to play without the damage advantage rule for the British. This may prove interesting.
• C. Dumanoir joins the fight: Dumanoir ignores Villeneuve's orders and enters the fight. Do not apply the rule for Dumanoir's Division.
• D. The Observation Division sets up out of the combat line: Gravina intended to manoeuvre outside the line the French admiral wanted to form, to prevent a break in the line, supporting with his division as needed. The French admiral disallowed this manoeuvre, but it's interesting to see what could have happened had Gravina deployed out of the combined line. Two smaller variants are provided:
  • D1. Place the ships before the wearing order was given by the French admiral, and from this moment on, Gravina is commanding a different squadron for breaking line rules purposes and manoeuvres out of Villeneuve's line.
  • D2. Place the ships per the historical setup, after the wearing order, but Gravina's Division acts as an independent formation.

Order of Battle – Ships list

Column key as printed: Nº: ship number. Vet: Veterans. D2: dice rolled (point-blank). D/2: dice halved, for ships in the sinking zone. BS: Boarding strength. Cr: Number of crews. HP: Hull points. The flag column in the Franco-Spanish table is not defined in the source; E and F are read here as Spanish and French, which matches the officers listed. The British table has no flag column.

Franco-Spanish ships

Nº	Vet	Flag	Ship Name	Officer/Leader Name	Class and # of Decks	# of Guns	D2	D/2	BS	Cr	HP	Division / Note
1		E	Neptuno	D. Cayetano Valdés	III - 2	80	4	2	3	3	17	REAR
2	V	F	Scipion	Mr. De Beranger

British ships

Nº	Vet	Ship Name	Officer/Leader Name	Class and # of Decks	# of Guns	D2	D/2	BS	Cr	HP	Division / Note
1	V	Victory	Thomas Masterman Hardy + Admiral Lord Nelson (leader -3)	I – 3	120	6	3	4	4	24	1ª Port Squadron – Weather Division
2	V	Temeraire	Eliab Harvey	I – 3	110

Division labels in the British table are placed on the first row of their span in the source (the source label for the Stern Squadron covers rows 12–13).

Ships setup for Trafalgar 1805:

The ships should be within 1UM of each other from bow to stern, except if otherwise shown on the setup diagram.

They must be separated by 1UM when they setup in parallel, except for Bucentaure and Santísima Trinidad, that are almost touching each other, as are Berwick, Príncipe de Asturias and San Juan Nepomuceno.

• San Francisco de Asís is at 2UMs of Montblanc.
• África is at 2UMs of Neptuno and at 6UMs of Conqueror.
• Victory at 6UMs of Bucentaure and Royal Sovereign at 5UMs of Santa Ana.
• Minotaur and Spartiate at 2UMs of Agamenon or Britannia.
• Defence, Thunderer and Defiance at 16UMs of San Juan Nepomuceno and Berwick.
• Prince and Dreadnought almost touching each other and Thunderer, the latter almost touching Defence and Defiance.
• Mars and Royal Sovereign almost touching each other.

The setup is approximate, don't worry too much when setting up. Your main concern is the enemy fire!

Editor's note: the printed "Initial Setup for Trafalgar Scenario" (pages 33-34) is a diagram of the setup and is not transcribed here. The designer's closing note, the sponsor and playtester acknowledgements, and the closing thanks are credits and promotional text and are omitted.