Additional Ship Statblocks [Monster Thursday]

What are ships but really big and non-sentient constructs? -Stephen

For this Monster Thursday, I decided to do something a little different and give you guys all a few more ship stat blocks to play around with! Looking through Ghosts of Saltmarsh and also the Of Ships and The Sea - UA that WotC put out a year or so ago, I was left a bit... disappointed. The ships they provide are all pretty generic and it's difficult to exactly pin down when those ships would be found on the high seas, which is a bonus for them but still... I want a bit more personality in my boats and I want more historical accurate ships.

Take for example the keelboat, it is supposed to be used on shallow rivers and be pushed forward by poles. In more modern times a keelboat is anything that uses a keel, which is a type of mechanic used in the steering of a boat. The keelboat they provide could be any type of ship, maybe it's for rivers maybe not. 

Who knows, it's too generic for my own tastes so I've gone ahead and made several ships that provide a bit more historical accuracy as well as providing some flavor to help them feel distinct. 

Knarr - The first ship is the Knarr. This ship is from the early middle ages and developed by the Norse for the purpose of cargo transport, or carrying a large number of people to different locales. In fact, some reports are that the Knarr was used to transport soldiers for the Crusades!

Cog - Up next is a well-used ship from the high middle ages and was used in rivers and canals for transporting goods. Throughout the rivers of Europe, these cogs would float downstream or upstream loaded down with cargo and supplies to towns and cities.

Hulk - While it's not purple and green, this Hulk is also from the high middle ages but is responsible for replacing the cog completely due to how it was built. Bigger, tougher, and able to hold more goods, the Hulk quickly grew to larger and larger sizes and is perfect for transporting massive amounts of goods.

Ship of the Line - I was sad that WotC has touched on cannons on their ships. I like cannons. I think everyone likes cannons. The ship of the lines were built during the Age of Sail, which is about 1571–1862, these ships were designed for military purposes and loaded to bear with cannons of all kinds. Upon working on this ship, I could understand why WotC might not want to create a ship with 100+ cannons on it, but I'm not deterred by such numbers. I came up with my own system for firing 100+ cannons and I think it works quite well. Probably going to be adding that into my own Mass Combat system! 

A little bit more about the Ship of the Lines, these ships are highly diverse. From only 40 cannons to 100+ cannons, these ships span a variety of sizes. I provide a chart that shows off how to customize your own Ship of the Line in case you want to customize your own ship.

Tradesman - Alright, so it's not technically a ship - it's a spaceship. That's right, we got ourselves a spelljammer! Using the same stat blocks as created by WotC, I did some research and created a spelljammer that has simplified rules and-just maybe-will get a few astronauts floating through wildspace. 

I hope you enjoy these and can find some uses in your own games. Next time, I promise to go back to some monsters to throw at your players! If you have any requests, let me know!