Yardarm to Yardarm- Firing High
I’m including the rules for mast damage, in case anyone wishes to actually try out the game. It’s pretty easy and reflects mast damage probabilities from the War of 1812.
Mast Values
There are three sections to each mast. The lower mast, the top mast, and the topgallant mast. Depending on the tonnage of the vessel, a point value is placed on each mast section. As in low hits, a tick mark is placed on the vessel’s log to show where the high hits scored. When a section has taken hits equal to its mast defense value, that mast is eliminated.
Example: The French Royal Navy frigate Belle Poule has its mast targeted at 15.cm. (Musket Shot Range). HMS Amazon has a broadside factor of 5.8 long guns and 1.8 carronades. She manages to score two hits on Belle Poule. The French player marks down two tick marks on the top mast. It should be noted that the frigate has the following mast defense points: Lower mast- 15, top mast 10, topgallant 5. So, providing she doesn’t have any other damage points on the top mast already, just another eight points would make that mast, and the topgallant mast above it, fall. (That may seem tempting, but in a perfectly matched battle, you can fall behind on scoring low damage points while trying to slow your opponent.)
Firing high at various ranges
From Close Hailing Distance, the lower mast may NOT be targeted. Firing high at this range will cause damage to the top mast only. Firing from Musket Shot Range, or A Cable’s Length Range, will also cause all damage to hit the top mast only. From Gunshot Range, only the top gallant mast may be targeted. If the top mast is eliminated, the top gallant mast has fallen as well. This will result in speed cuts.
Shots Going Wild
It should be noted that when one is firing LOW, at Close Hailing Distance on the Main Gunnery Chart, a roll of 8-10 will cause a high hit. In this case, the shot hits the lower mast instead of hitting the hull. This is the ONLY way of hitting the lower mast.
Figuring Mast Defensive Points
Unlike the way hull value is figured, mast defense uses the full tonnage of a vessel. Because of the way hull damage is figured, the full tonnage is STILL doubled when doing the calculation.
1.) Divide the vessel’s doubled tonnage by 60.
2.) Half of this figure will be the lower mast’s value. Two thirds of the remainder will be the top mast value, while the last one third will be for the topgallant mast. All figures are rounded off to the closest whole number.
Example: The frigate Belle Poule has a tonnage of 903. Doubling this gives 1806. 60 divided into 1806 leaves 30.1, rounded to 30. Half of 30 is 15, so that’s the lower mast’s defense value. Two thirds of the remainder is 9.99, which rounds to 10. The remaining one third is 4.99, rounding to 5.
Keeping Track of Hits
In the standard game, any high hits always score against the same mast. When that falls, hits automatically begin with another mast. If the lower mast is ready to fall, check the position of the two rival vessels. The mast which is directly opposite from the main mast of the firing ship will be considered the damaged mast. If players wish to be more realistic, they can agree to keep track of damage on all masts, but it’s not necessary.
What does losing a mast mean?
Because “crew tasks” are so hateful and pedantic to me, the loss of a topgallant or top mast means nothing more than a reduction in speed, or possible reduced ability to operate in certain wind attitudes. Losing a lower mast is different. The vessel will not only be slowed, but the mast will drag in the water until cut loose. It’s beyond the scope of this article to tackle that now, but it should be kept simple. In actual fact, losing a topgallant or top mast was quite a common occurrence. Losing a complete mast was less common, but even when it occurred, it didn’t mean that the vessel would automatically surrender. The best way to get your opponent to surrender is to get in close and cause low damage, which will compel him to roll for surrender. Another good thing about getting in close is that a roll of 8-10 will go higher than the hull and hit the lower mast, when firing LOW at Close Hailing Distance. This will give you the opportunity to eventually knock out a lower mast, while still inflicting maximum crew casualties.
Combat Example: HMS Amazon fires LOW, at Close Hailing Distance, on the Main Gunnery Chart. With a 7.6 broadside factor, she rolls 2, 4, 4, 10, 14, 15, and 19 for the seven full dice, then, for the second 19, .6. Note that her.6 was awarded another d20 die, since we’ll say that the d10 he needed to throw scored 3. (Note: a throw of 1-6 on the d10 was required to turn the .6 into a full point of fire. 7-10 (on he d10) would be a miss, in this case.) So, we have three misses, one high hit, and four low hits. Belle Poule must record four tick marks for the hull and one tick mark (the roll of 10) for the lower mast.
Falling Mast: When a lower mast reaches its damage limit, it will eventually fall. For every game turn after the mast has reached that limit, roll a d12 at the beginning of the next turn. A roll of 1 means that the mast will fall immediately. A roll of 2-12 means it stays standing until forced to roll on the next game turn, regardless of future hits on the same mast.
Main Gunnery Chart
Close Hailing Distance (.1-10cm.) All Guns
Firing Low
1-7 Miss 8-10 Hits High 11-20 Hits Low
Firing High
1-10 Miss 11-20 Hits High
Musket Shot (10.1-23cm.)
Firing Low
1-12 Miss 13-14 Hits High 15-20 Hits Low
Firing High
1-12 Miss 13-14 Hits Low (hull) 15-20 Hits High
Gunshot (23.1-76cm.)
Firing Low
1-16 Miss 17 Hits High 18-20 Hits Low
Firing High
1-16 Miss 17 Hits Low (hull) 18-20 Hits High
Carronades
A Cable’s Length (10.1-15cm.)
Firing Low
1-12 Miss 13-14 Hits High 15-20 Hits Low
Firing High
1-12 Miss 13-14 Hits Low (hull) 15-20 Hits High
Musket Shot (15.1-23cm.)
Firing Low
1-16 Miss 17 Hits High 18-20 Hits Low
Firing High
1-16 Miss 17 Hits Low (hull) 18-20 Hits High
Short Guns
Musket Shot (10.1-19cm.)
Firing Low
1-12 Miss 13-14 Hits High 15-20 Hits Low
Firing High
1-12 Miss 13-14 Hits Low (hull) 15-20 Hits High
Gunshot (19.1-50cm)
Firing Low
1-16 Miss 17 Hits High 18-20 Hits Low
Firing High
1-16 Miss 17 Hits Low (hull) 18-20 Hits High