Not all ships are created equally. Players looking for a ship that is faster, tougher, or more agile might consider adding modifications to their vessels. Each of the following ship improvements must be planned, built, or installed (as appropriate) by someone with the Craft (ships) skill or other skill or feat, as described in the Requirements line. In order to alter a ship with one of the following modifications, the shipwright must make a skill check, with the final DC dependent upon the overall complexity of the desired modification. A failed check means that this particular ship-builder is unable to install that feature, though 1/2 of the cost of the feature is nonetheless expended on wasted parts. Another shipwright must be consulted to complete the work, but the DC for his check is increased by 2 if any previous modifications were made by another shipwright (different builders have different techniques).
The following ship improvements can be added to a ship.
Additional Crew Quarters: This translates into more space for a ship’s sailors to sleep and eat. The ship may support 10% more passengers, but its cargo capacity is decreased by 10%.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 22
Cost: 20% of base ship cost
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Armor Plating: By attaching metal plates to the ship, the hull’s hit points are increased by +15% and its hardness is increased by +4. This modification reduces a ship’s cargo capacity by 15%. The armor plating slows the ship, imposing a –1 penalty on all sailing checks. The ship’s tactical speed in ship-to-ship combat is not affected, but its waterborne speed is reduced by 20%.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 28
Cost: 30% of base ship cost
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Broad Rudder: A wide rudder makes a ship more nimble, granting a +1 bonus on all sailing checks.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 16
Cost: 500 gp
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Concealed Weapon Port: The ship’s below-decks area undergoes major reconstruction in order to house Large direct-fire siege engines, such as light ballistae or cannons, if they are in use in the campaign. A concealed weapon port can only be recognized on a successful DC 15 Perception check. Each concealed port reduces a ship’s cargo capacity by 5 tons, in addition to the space required by the weapon itself.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 16
Cost: 100 gp per port (in addition to the cost of the weapons)
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Extended Keel: The ship’s keel is longer than usual for a vessel of its type. The ship’s measurements from bow to stern are 10% longer than normal, though cargo capacity is not appreciably affected. The ship is more stable, and grants a +1 bonus on all sailing checks. This improvement must be installed at the time of the ship’s construction and cannot be added later.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 19
Cost: 10% of base ship cost
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Figurehead: Some ships sport fanciful carvings on their bowsprits. This modif ication is strictly cosmetic, with no real impact on game play. Players are encouraged to design their own custom f igureheads, such as dolphins, mermaids, and other such creatures of myth.
Requirements: Craft (carpentry) or Craft (sculptures) DC 10
Cost: 100–1,000 gp, depending on the port and the craftsman
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Glass Bottom: The bottom of the ship is inset with wide windows, permitting those inside to gaze into the ocean. This has no effect on ship performance, other than making the ship’s bottom only as strong as thick glass (hardness 1, hp 3, Break DC 8).
Requirements: Craft (glass) DC 19
Cost: 5% of base ship cost
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Increased Cargo Capacity: An efficient remodeling of the ship’s layout means more room for the ship’s stores. The ship’s cargo capacity is increased by 10%.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 22
Cost: 15% of base ship cost
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Magically Treated Control Device: The ship’s steering wheel or tiller is magically treated, doubling its hit points and hardness. This improvement can only be added by a spellcaster with the Craft Wondrous Item feat.
Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, Craft (ships) DC 15
Cost: 1,000 gp
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Magically Treated Hull: The ship’s hull is magically treated, doubling the ship’s hit points and hardness. This improvement can only be added by a spellcaster with the Craft Wondrous Item feat.
Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, Craft (ships) DC 15
Cost: 4,500 gp per square of ship
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Magically Treated Oars: The ship’s oars are magically treated, doubling their hit points and hardness. This improvement can only be added by a spellcaster with the Craft Wondrous Item feat. Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, Craft (carpentry) or Craft (ships) DC 15
Cost: 100 gp per oar
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Magically Treated Sails: The ship’s sails are magically treated, doubling their hit points and hardness. This improvement can only be added by a spellcaster with the Craft Wondrous Item feat.
Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, Craft (sails) DC 15
Cost: 500 gp per 5-foot-square of sails
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Movable Deck: The features of the ship’s decks are designed to be moved in order to disguise the ship as an altogether different vessel. After pulling up dozens of kingpins, the crew can slide the sterncastle forward on hidden rails, rearrange the position of the masts, extend the gunwales, lower the poop deck, transfer the ship’s wheel, and make other cosmetic changes such as a new figurehead and different-colored sails. The secret pins, levers, and tracks can only be found with a DC 20 Perception check during a close examination of the ship.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 28
Cost: 40% of base ship cost
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Narrow Hull: The ship has been intentionally designed with a more slender hull, enabling it to slip through smaller spaces. The ship’s beam (width) is decreased by 20%, and cargo capacity is reduced by 10%. However, the ship gains a +2 bonus on all sailing checks. This improvement must be installed at the time of the ship’s construction and cannot be added later.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 22
Cost: 15% of base ship cost
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Ram: The ship bears a standard ram, usually sheathed in bronze or iron, mounted on its bow. A ship equipped with a ram deals an additional 2d8 points of damage with a ramming maneuver, and ignores the damage for the first square it enters of a solid object, and all damage from ramming creatures or other objects (such as other ships).
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 10
Cost: 50 gp (Large ship), 100 gp (Huge ship), 300 gp (Gargantuan ship), or 1,000 gp (Colossal ship)
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Rapid-Deploy Sails: The ship’s rigging undergoes a wholesale change as improvements in engineering enable the sails to be raised and lowered much faster than normal. Any sail adjustments can be made in half the normal time, granting a +1 bonus on all sailing checks.
Requirements: Craft (sails) or Knowledge (engineering) DC 25
Cost: 10% of base ship cost
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Silk Sails: Few ship improvements are as beautiful as the addition of silk sails. These sails can be designed in whatever color the player desires; they are often embroidered with striking images of the sea. Such sails are usually imported from faraway lands. Silk sails give the ship superior rates of movement, as they capture and displace the wind more efficiently. A ship with silk sails gains a +1 bonus on opposed sailing checks to gain the upper hand. The ship’s tactical speed in ship-to-ship combat is not affected, but its waterborne speed is increased by 10%.
Requirements: Craft (sails) DC 16
Cost: 15% of base ship cost
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Smuggling Compartments: The ship’s bulkheads are modified so that gaps between them can serve as hidden cargo storage areas. This does not change a ship’s cargo capacity. A smuggling compartment can hold anything that fits within a 5-foot cubic space. If you are using the plunder rules (see “The Life of a Pirate” in Pathfinder Adventure Path #55 for details on the plunder system), in general, two smuggling compartments are required to hold 1 point of plunder. A DC 20 Perception check is required to locate smuggling compartments in a search of the ship.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 19
Cost: 500 gp per 5-foot-square compartment
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Sturdy Hull: The ship’s body has had additional supports and layers of wood added to it, making it thicker and more resilient. The hull’s hardness is increased by 2, but the ship’s cargo capacity is reduced by 10%.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 16
Cost: 10% of base ship cost
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Wooden Plating: For protection during naval combat, this ship has received additional wooden planks nailed to its hull. The hull’s hit points are increased by 5% and its hardness is increased by 2. However, this reduces cargo capacity by 10% as extra room must be made inside for beams to support the reinforcements. The ship’s tactical speed in ship-to-ship combat is not affected, but its waterborne speed is reduced by 10%.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 25
Cost: 20% of base ship cost
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Light Build: (Home brew) Special construction techniques reduce the thickness of the hull and framework. The hull’s hit points are decreased by 5% but the vessel can skip through the water more easily, although cargo space is reduced by 10% and the vessel cannot carry siege engines. The ship’s tactical speed in ship-to-ship combat is not affected, but its waterborne speed is increased by 10%. This improvement must be installed at the time of the ship’s construction and cannot be added later.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 25
Cost: 10% of base ship cost
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Extra Mast: (Home brew) The vessel has one more mast, than is normal for a vesel of its class, and can carry more sail. The Sail’s hit points and area are increased by 20% but the vessel can catch the wind more easily, although cargo space is reduced by 10% to accommodate the extra mast. The ship’s tactical speed in ship-to-ship combat is not affected, but its waterborne speed is increased by 10%. This improvement must be installed at the time of the ship’s construction and cannot be added later.
Requirements: Craft (ships) DC 25
Cost: 10% of base ship cost