1) Speed Reduction for Falling Masts
Section 4.6 states that speed is halved for each fallen mast suffered by a ship. This is perhaps a little harsh. Delete that line and replace with the following:
Each fallen mast reduces the number of dice thrown for movement by 1 for vessels with three or more masts, or by 2 for ships with two masts. Where this would the number of dice rolled to zero or less a single die is rolled and the deficit is made up by reducing the score of the die by the deficit. Note that the score is never reduced below zero (i.e. ships will never move backwards as a result of mast loss). Refer to the table below for a quick reference.
Example, a ship of the line has lost two masts and is close hauled. The ship would normally roll one die. Losing two masts reduces this to one die less 2. A 1 is rolled, which is modified to -1 so the ship makes no headway this turn. A frigate which has lost one mast on the same heading rolls 1 die unmodified instead of 2.
If this system is used an alternative system should be used to determine the speed effects in various states of weather (see Appendix 4 of the rules). Instead of varying the number of dice rolled in Light Airs, Strong Winds and Gales use the following:
Other weather effects stay the same.
2) Damage to Oared Vessels
Oared vessels which suffer "wheel" damage do not lose control in the same way as sailing vessels do. By backing oars on one side of the ship the vessel can still turn, albeit at some penalty in performance. To simulate this, an oared vessel with a trained crew of oarsmen which suffers a wheel hit can turn up to 4 points, losing 50% of movement if more than 2 points are turned; an oared vessel with untrained oarsmen (e.g. slaves, criminals, landsmen etc.) can turn up to 3 points, losing 50% of movement if more than 1 point is turned.
Oared vessels in collisions may suffer damage to their oar banks. If the oared vessel is collided with in such a way that the side of the vessel is hit (i.e. the bow of another ship contacts the side of the oared ship) roll a d6. On a roll of 1-3 the galley has managed to ship oars in time to prevent serious damage. On a roll of 4 or 5 the galley has lost a number of oars on that side - maximum speed is reduced by 1 die. On a roll of 6 all the oars on that side have been wrecked - the galley can no longer move under power and must drift (Note: it is still able to turn 2 points in addition to the turns imposed by the requirements of drifting)
3) Oar Units
The maximum number of Oar Units a galley may carry is equal to the Hull factor of the ship.
4) Sweeps
A number of smaller vessels such as cutters and the like were equipped with oars, or sweeps to propel them in calm weather. These may use the same rules as Xebecs to transfer to oar power.
5) "Defensive Fire"
In the first edition a non-phasing ship (i.e. a ship not eligible to move in a particular phase) could fire at a phasing (moving) ship under certain circumstances (if fired at or if the phasing ship moved into its broadside arc). This was omitted in the second edition in error.
Ships of the non-phasing side are allowed to shoot at eligible targets after all movement has been completed, and after all gunfire from the phasing side has been completed. Any damage to the non-phasing ships is inflicted before they fire, so a non-phasing ship may suffer rating reductions or even be sunk or forced to strike before it may return fire.
6) Anchoring and Weighing Anchor (rule 4.3)
When anchoring announce whether the ship is to be anchored by the bow or stern. The ship will swing at anchor about the end chosen.
When a ship at anchor wishes to move off the owning player can either weigh anchor or cut the cable. If a ship weighs anchor this is announced in the Command Phase. The anchor is lifted during the turn and the ship can move off following the next Command Phase (this is as the present rule 4.3). If the cable is cut the ship moves off in the first Action Phase after the announcement is made. The only drawback is that the anchor is lost (not serious in "one off" games, but this could be a serious problem in campaigns).
7) Draughts (rule 4.4)
The following table gives typical draughts for ships of different rates:
| Rate | Draught |
| 1st | 27’-32’ |
| 2nd | 25’-26’ |
| 3rd | 22’-24’ |
| 4th | 20’-21’ |
| 5th | 18’-19’ |
| 6th | 16’-17’ |
| Unrated | 9’-15’ |
Referees should determine the depth of water in feet for coastal scenarios and have ships run aground which move into water shallower than their draught.
8) Grounding
Ships which are aground may not be able to fire their main guns as a result of heel brought on by the grounding. When a ship takes the ground roll a d6. On a roll of 1-5 the ship is heeled too far to allow the guns to be used. On a 6 the ship is on a relatively even keel and may use its guns. Note that being grounded does not affect a ships ability to defend against boarding.
Here are the answers to a few commonly asked questions:
1) Range Measurement
Ranges should be measured from the mainmast of the firing ship to the nearest mast of the target ship. If firing at shore batteries or non-masted structures use the centre of the vessel or structure for all measurement purposes.
2) Blocking Line of Sight
Line of sight and firing arcs are blocked if the line used for range measurement between the two objects concerned passes through the HULL of an intervening ship or across a structure or land.
3) Collisions
Collisions are possible if two or more vessels come into base to base contact. It is not necessary for the models themselves to actually touch.
4) "S" Results
The "S" result on the Broadside Firing Table" represents
the ship striking, but being severely damaged. Ships which strike to an
S result are too badly damaged to e repaired and "bought in" as
prizes. If they encounter bad weather they are almost certain to founder.
The following are a series of alternative rules which have been tried out by the NWS and the Trowbridge Irregulars, or suggested by visitors to the site (in particular Alan Saunders). If there is ever a FLoB 3 some of these may well be included.
a) Hull Factor
This is a change to the way combat results are determined.
Under this new rule the Hull rating is used as a defence factor. Instead of reducing hull and broadside ratings together, rrs are only applied to the Broadside rating. The Hull factor is only reduced by multiple rrs in the same way as crew units (i.e. 3rrs reduce Hull factor by 2). For example, a frigate has a Hull and Broadside rating of 8. During combat it suffers a damaging 1rr hit. The Broadside Rating is reduced to 7, but the Hull rating remains at 8. Another ship fires at the frigate scoring a devastating hit, inflicting 3rr’s of damage. The Firepower rating is reduced from 7 to 4, the Hull Rating from 8 to 6.
b) "Quasi" Broadside ratings for Merchants
Merchant vessels would generally strike once they had come under effective fire. To simulate this, merchants are assigned a non-offensive, or quasi broadside rating of 1-3. Once the ship has suffered a number of rrs equal to this quasi rating the merchant strikes. This rule may be used in conjunction with the rule above if desired.
c) "Stern Board"
Making a stern board was a method of sailing a ship backwards. It is only possible for square-rigged ships and ships with Average or better crews to do this.
The intention to make a stern board is made in a players first action phase. The ship must spend one complete turn stationary whilst the sails are reset. When the announcement is made roll a d6 to see whether control of the ship is maintained. On a roll of 2+ control is maintained and the ship remains in position. If a 1 is thrown the ship is treated as if it is drifting for this turn.
In subsequent turns the ship moves astern, and may turn up to 1 point per phase. Two dice are rolled for movement but the lowest score must be used.
The transition from astern to forward motion is done in the same way, with the intention to revert to forward movement announced in the player’s first action phase and control rolls carried out as before.
d) Minimum Movement
Rolling a single d6 for movement can be unrealistically restrictive as
far as movement options are concerned. If a ship, as a result of attitude
or wind strength, is required to roll a single die for movement it is permissible
to roll 2 dice, taking the score of a single die as the movement for that
phase.
e) Fallen Masts and Firing
Normally a fallen mast blocks fire from the side over which the mast has fallen. This is because of the risk of starting a fire. However, there may be cases where a player is desparate to fire a broadside and is willing to take the risk. If so, apply a +2 modifier to the first Gunnery die roll to take into account the guns which are well and truly smothered by the fallen rigging. Then, when rolling on the Broadside Firing table, if the unmodified die roll is even the foring ship has caught fire (this is in addition to any other effects of the broadside, so a truly unlicky shp could catch fire twice!)
If all a ships masts have fallen the ship becomes a less stable gun platform. If all a ships masts have fallen, apply a +2 modifier to the first gunnery die roll.
The classification system in the basic version of FLoB2 lumps ships of quite different sizes together in one class, eliminating any differences between them. This rule attempts to redress this balance by penalising the less effective ships.[NB: Do not use this rule when using the Advanced Ship Ratings in Appendix 6, as the effects described herein are already included in those ratings].
Certain ships in a 'Rate' will be rated as Inferior. An Inferior ship recieves a penalty of +1 when firing at a ship of equal or better initial rate.
Other ships in a rate may be Superior". These receive a bonus of -1 when firing at a ship of equal or worse initial rate.
Example: An 80 gun ship is classed as an Inferior 2nd Rate ship. If it fires at a 1st Rate, or another 2nd Rate, it recieves a penalty of -1, regardless of how much damage the ships have suffered. If it fires at a 3rd Rate it gets no penalty and fires as any other 2nd Rate.
The following classifications are suggested. Gun ratings in (brackets) should be considered Inferior, those in Bold as Superior
1st Rate: 130 or larger, 120, 110, 100
2nd Rate: 98, 90,
3rd Rate: 80, 74, (68), (64)
4th Rate: 60, 56, 54, 50, (44)
5th Rate: 38, 36, (32)
6th Rate: 30, 28, 24, (20)
7th Rate:18, 16, 12, (10 or smaller)
For various reasons initiating a boarding action does not seem to have been as easy as some fiction suggests. This is especially true of ships of the line, with few historical examples of them being carried by boarding - Nelson at St. Vincent seems to be a major exception, rather than the rule. Boarding does seem to be a lot more common the smaller the ships get. To this end, try the following rule:
A ship may only initiate a boarding action if it is grappled or fouled to an enemy, and it succeeds in rolling equal to or less than the original rate of the largest ship (in terms of initial rate) in the boarding action.
Example: A 4th Rate grappled to a 3rd rate would need to roll a 3 or less to initiate the action. A 1st Rate grappled to a 5th Rate would need to roll a 1 or less.
h) An Alternate Combat Resolution System
The following is an alternative way of resolving gunfire, and only uses a single die roll.
Stage 1: Determine which row of the Broadside Firing Table is used.
Start from a base row of 0.
Add the target’s Hull rating.
Subtract firer’s Firepower Rating
Modify for range:
Point Blank (0-10cm) -4
Short (10-20cm) -1
Medium (20-40cm) 0
Long (40-60 cm) +4
Modify for Crew Quality:
Elite -2
Veteran -1
Green +1
Other Modifiers:
Stern Rake -2
Bow rake -1
Double Shotted -2
Initial Broadside -2
Second broadside +2
The result is the row of the Broadside Firing table which is to be used.
Stage 2. Take the resulting score from above and roll 2d6 on the indicated row of the Broadside Firing Result Table. Note that this die roll is not modified.
Example: A 3rd rate (Firepower 10) fires at a 2nd rate (Hull 11). It is an initial broadside at Point Blank range, normal crew, no rake.
The row used is 0 +11 (target’s hull) -10 (firers firepower) -4 (range) -2 (initial broadside) or -5. 2d6 are rolled on the -5 row without any further modifier.
OR.........
For a less radical change which maintains the same simplification of the firing process, simply ignore the first "red-white" die roll (treat the die roll as being zero).
i) "Second Broadside"
This optional rule can apply to any of the combat systems, published or alternate. If a ship fires both broadsides in a turn one of the broadsides must suffer a +2 penalty, since there are insufficient crew to effectively man both sides of the ship. The firing player may, if they think they will be firing both broadsides in a turn, opt to fire the first broadside with the +2 modifier, saving the unmodified broadside for a later, better shot.
j) "Clear For Action"!
It is assumed at the start of an action that both sides are prepared for battle (i.e. that their ships are cleared for action, all extraneous items stowed, boats over the side, gun crews ready etc.). However, in some cases both sides might meet each other unexpectedly, or one side may have an advantage over their opponents, who are unprepared. If such a situation exists one or both sides must Clear For Action in order to maximise the fighting ability of their ships. Whilst a ship is clearing for action its broadside rating is reduced and its crew are more vulnerable to the effects of splinters.
The time taken to clear for action depends on the crew type. Refer to the table below for times and the broadside Rating Reductions which apply.
| Reduction in Broadside Rating each Turn | ||||||
| Crew Type | Time to CFA | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Elite | 2 | -50% | -25% | |||
| Veteran | 3 | -50% | -50% | -25% | ||
| Average | 4 | -50% | -50% | -25% | -25% | |
| Green | 5 | -50% | -50% | -50% | -25% | -25% |
NB; when assessing fractions always ROUND DOWN (e.g. 25% reduction of 7 rounds down to 5)
If using the standard rules these broadside rating reductions apply only to the ships own gunfire. When assessing incoming fire the unmodified broadside rating is used (for the advanced rules the ships Hull rating is unaffected)
Whilst clearing for action ships may not use bow and stern chasers
Whilst clearing for action the number of crew units lost to multiple rr hits is NOT reduced by 1, i.e. if a ship takes 2rr it loses 2 crew units not 1. This represents the greater danger from splinters posed by unsecured wooden panelling, boats etc.
NB: if using the optional signalling rules then "Clear For Action" must be the first order given.