>On September 17, 2007 04:56 pm, donald_at_qfJbZ6vpycDrybNHqE8HRBHefmZB-EvCj5morE6g-kUBCImipn27bMaBNteq9TQ2eyuWUpHTTO7kmBkMaNw.yahoo.invalid wrote:
>> The typical small merchantman of the period. Minimum crew of three
>> - Captain, Mate and odd-job man. Similar to the "Cog" described in
>> MotS but smaller and without the castles.
>
>Lovely.
>Perfect, in fact.
>
>I presume these were not particularly Ocean worthy? (mind you, it's
>Glorantha, so I can make it so if I like)
Depends on the precise design and the state of repair. In general they were used for hopping between ports along the coast rather than sailing across seas or oceans. Partially so they can seek shelter from storms and partially because with such a small crew anyone lost or disabled needed replacing pretty quickly. One of the reasons the ships used to explore the world in the 16th C had such big crews was to allow for losses through accident and disease.
So your PCs could sail the oceans in such a craft though most sailors will think they're daft. And just sailing is risky - fumble your rope handling and you could lose a hand. Days away from the nearest healer. They're also going to need some magic to tell them where they are when out of sight of land.
>Still, that's a fine size for a crew of misfits. Some room for
>cargo, a passanger if you need one...
So long as the passenger doesn't mind roughing it. No cabins, just some sort of covering over part of the deck.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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