10-22-2008, 07:47 PM
Greetings fellow officers of the Imperial Navy, Defenders of the Nine Divines, Servants of his Imperial Majesty Uriel Septim. As a captain of this respected and feared service, it will no doubt be clear to you the dangers our brave sailors face against piracy, insurgency and the ever present evils of mutiny. It is for these reasons that I have decided to write these volumes, hoping to pass on my hard earned knowledge of seamanship and naval combat. For as a captain of the Imperial Navy in Tamrielic waters for many a decade, I have acquired a knowledge of how and when to fight at sea. Piracy is the chief enemy of our noble service, and it is thus that this novel is chiefly focused towards that enemy. In this, the first volume, I shall focus chiefly on the boarding and capturing of enemy vessels, or the defending of your own vessel should you find yourself in such a situation.
i) Manouver
In any naval situation, speed (both of the vessel and of wit) and wind direction are the essence of victory. It is especially so in boarding, as if you have failed to disable his sails, your opponent may escape if he outmanouvers you. Similarly, great care must be taken on your part to ensure your sails remain intact. Manouvering your vessel broadside to the opponent is necessary for effective boarding, unless it is conducted by Imperial Marines (whose regicidal tactics for taking a ship have paralyzed many a threat to the Empire).
This technique of broadside boarding does of course mean that if the enemy should have skilled mages or arrows of fire, she may cause such harm to your vessel as for any capture to be Pyrrhic, and thus always ensure to clear the enemy decks, whether magically or conventionally. This can be conducted through manouvering your ship behind the other, and blasting volleys of fire and steel through the rear of the enemy ship. Care must be taken not to sink her however, if capture is the intent.
ii) Boarding
The traditional methods of boarding an enemy ship have been through swinging ropes attached to the mast(s) and also through planks. Unconventional sailors (most notably the Altmer) have been known to use teleportation to board, although this is essentially useless to the majority of Imperial crews. It has also been known to manouver several rowing boats round behind the foe, and launching an attack from the rear - take care of smaller pirate vessels using this tactic. Planks should be placed (ideally several should be used in different areas to thin the defenders out). This can be useful in capturing lower decks, which we will mention in the next section.
The benefits of magicka are not hard to realise, and especially if one considers the horror of fire (thankfully, all new Navy vessels have now been charmed by battlemages, making them fireproof unless at very close quarters). It is for this reason that fire spells are banned in the common ranks of the Navy, and actively discouraged even among pirate scum. Lightning and frost spells are thus most common, but usually not ranged, unless in a last act of stubborn sacrifice (The Abecean Glory springs to mind). Frost spells are safest, but there use in the already frozen seas of the north is debatable. For this reason, it is with the traditional cutlass and sabre that most battles are fought, as well as the mace, axe, bow and dagger.
Defending your vessel from boarding is no easy task, especially as to be in such a position would require a heavy disadvantage in both numbers and luck. It is advised by most naval handbooks not to resist the actual boarding and to lure the enemy in, however a quick decisive strike while the enemy is still boarding has saved many a captain's honour and a crew's loyalty - Forget not that old saying 'Divide and Conquer'.
iii) Securing the Vessel
Once aboard, great care must be taken to avoid getting drawn in to the bowels of the ship. Although the capture of the captain usually signals the end of the battle, I have found that, depsite the hopelessness of the situation, many foes, especially political opponents of our Glorious Majesty, are reluctant to surrender. The Dunmer in particular can prove zealous and suicidal, should they see there mission or cargo as holy.
On capturing ships with non-combatants such as slaves or passengers aboard, it is often impossible to avoid collateral damage. The best method to deal with this is to secure all areas where they are stationed as soon as possible. Of course, a clever captain may utilise the freeing of a multitude of angry slaves for his own means. Captured beast race crews are also susceptible to a simple amnesty in return for the heads of those still resisting.
__________________________
as this was originally written for the now defunct-Ocean Mod, I have had to edit out some old parts which included cannon - so please alert me to any remaining non-lore friendly sections
i) Manouver
In any naval situation, speed (both of the vessel and of wit) and wind direction are the essence of victory. It is especially so in boarding, as if you have failed to disable his sails, your opponent may escape if he outmanouvers you. Similarly, great care must be taken on your part to ensure your sails remain intact. Manouvering your vessel broadside to the opponent is necessary for effective boarding, unless it is conducted by Imperial Marines (whose regicidal tactics for taking a ship have paralyzed many a threat to the Empire).
This technique of broadside boarding does of course mean that if the enemy should have skilled mages or arrows of fire, she may cause such harm to your vessel as for any capture to be Pyrrhic, and thus always ensure to clear the enemy decks, whether magically or conventionally. This can be conducted through manouvering your ship behind the other, and blasting volleys of fire and steel through the rear of the enemy ship. Care must be taken not to sink her however, if capture is the intent.
ii) Boarding
The traditional methods of boarding an enemy ship have been through swinging ropes attached to the mast(s) and also through planks. Unconventional sailors (most notably the Altmer) have been known to use teleportation to board, although this is essentially useless to the majority of Imperial crews. It has also been known to manouver several rowing boats round behind the foe, and launching an attack from the rear - take care of smaller pirate vessels using this tactic. Planks should be placed (ideally several should be used in different areas to thin the defenders out). This can be useful in capturing lower decks, which we will mention in the next section.
The benefits of magicka are not hard to realise, and especially if one considers the horror of fire (thankfully, all new Navy vessels have now been charmed by battlemages, making them fireproof unless at very close quarters). It is for this reason that fire spells are banned in the common ranks of the Navy, and actively discouraged even among pirate scum. Lightning and frost spells are thus most common, but usually not ranged, unless in a last act of stubborn sacrifice (The Abecean Glory springs to mind). Frost spells are safest, but there use in the already frozen seas of the north is debatable. For this reason, it is with the traditional cutlass and sabre that most battles are fought, as well as the mace, axe, bow and dagger.
Defending your vessel from boarding is no easy task, especially as to be in such a position would require a heavy disadvantage in both numbers and luck. It is advised by most naval handbooks not to resist the actual boarding and to lure the enemy in, however a quick decisive strike while the enemy is still boarding has saved many a captain's honour and a crew's loyalty - Forget not that old saying 'Divide and Conquer'.
iii) Securing the Vessel
Once aboard, great care must be taken to avoid getting drawn in to the bowels of the ship. Although the capture of the captain usually signals the end of the battle, I have found that, depsite the hopelessness of the situation, many foes, especially political opponents of our Glorious Majesty, are reluctant to surrender. The Dunmer in particular can prove zealous and suicidal, should they see there mission or cargo as holy.
On capturing ships with non-combatants such as slaves or passengers aboard, it is often impossible to avoid collateral damage. The best method to deal with this is to secure all areas where they are stationed as soon as possible. Of course, a clever captain may utilise the freeing of a multitude of angry slaves for his own means. Captured beast race crews are also susceptible to a simple amnesty in return for the heads of those still resisting.
__________________________
as this was originally written for the now defunct-Ocean Mod, I have had to edit out some old parts which included cannon - so please alert me to any remaining non-lore friendly sections