TEXT: Rulebook
  TM
  
  A small French fleet ventures into an archipelago.
  Two columns of Royal Navy ships prepare to cut 
  through the Franco-Spanish lines at Trafalgar.
  Royal Navy 3rd Rates sailing in line.
  
  Contents 
  Core Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 
  The Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 
  Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 
  Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 
  Damage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 
  Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 
  Boarding Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 
  Additional Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 
  Scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 
  Advanced Rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 
  Terrain & Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 
  Additional Scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 
  Battles of the Carronade Era . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 
  A Brief Guide to Tall  Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 
  HMS Victory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 
  A Ship’s Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 
  Fleet List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 
  National Special Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 
  Playing a Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 
  Rigging a Ship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 
  Painting Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 
  Quick Reference Sheet 
  Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 
  Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
  B
  L
  AC
  K 
  S
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  A
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  THE
  AGE 
  OF S
  AIL 
  BAT
  TLE 
  GAM
  E
  by Gabrio Tolentino 
  EDITING & ADDITIONAL CONTENT 
  Darron Bowley, Duncan Macfarlane, 
  Paul Sawyer, Noel Williams 
  COVER ART 
  Peter Dennis 
  INTERNAL ART 
  Tony Bryan, Peter Dennis, Steve Noon, 
  Guiseppe Rava, Paul Wright  
  MINIATURES PAINTING & 
  TERRAIN MAKING 
  Paul Sawyer, Gabrio Tolentino, 
  Darek Wyrozebski  
  PRODUCT DESIGN 
  Dylan Owen, Paul Sawyer,  
  Gabrio Tolentino, Ian Strickland, Adam Want 
  THANKS TO
  Chris Blackman, Alan Butler,  
  Richard Carlisle, Charlie Coult, Mal Green, 
  Richard Jones, Mark Latham, Shaun MacTague, 
  Tom Mecredy, Steve Morgan, Craig Nixon,  
  Rick Priestley, Darren Wadmore 
  SPECIAL THANKS TO 
  John Stallard, David Manley, 
  Colin Stone, Noel Williams 
  WWW.BLACK-SEAS.COM 
  © Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2019 
  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be  
  reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any  
  form or by any means without the prior written permission of the 
  publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover 
  other than that in which it is published and without a similar 
  condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. 
  ISBN: 978-1-911281-52-8
  
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  What follows in this section are the fundamental rules you will need to learn to play games of 
  Black Seas. Once you have mastered these core rules you will be ready to introduce Advanced 
  Rules should you so wish for an additional level of detail and flavour of the period (see page 32).  
  Ship Sizing 
  The world’s navies had a challenging and 
  bewildering array of types and classes of vessels, 
  and still do to this day! Rather than adopt the 
  Admiralty chart of any particular nation, Black 
  Seas reduces this complexity to five sizes of ship:  
  Small: Brigs, schooners, barques, 
  bomb ketches, oared frigates, prams, 
  xebecs, small galleys. 
  Medium: Large galleys, 4th, 5th  
  and 6th rates (also known as frigates) 
  and small merchant vessels. 
  French 
  gunboats
  Spanish 
  brig
  Tiny: Sloops, cutters, luggers, gunboats, 
  gun yawls, gunbrigs, cannon sloops. 
  US frigate
  “Partial firing continued until 4.30 when, a victory having 
  been reported to the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Nelson, 
  K.B., and Commander-in-Chief, he then died of his wounds.” 
  The log of the Victory
  
  3
  For thousands of years ships have been used 
  as engines of war – the earliest recorded 
  naval action occurring around 1210 BC 
  when the Hittites defeated and burned a 
  fleet from Cyprus. However, it is the Age of 
  Sail nearly two thousand years later that we 
  focus in Black Seas. 
  During this period of maritime warfare ships 
  were beautiful and deadly machines of war, 
  capable of turning the tide of any major 
  conflict. The brave men who crewed them 
  would endure long periods at sea, battling 
  against the elements and the ocean whilst 
  also engaging with their foe – either at range 
  with massed cannon fire or in bloody 
  boarding actions with cutlass and pistol. 
  Black Seas focuses on the latter part of the 
  golden age of sail – known as the ‘carronade 
  era’ – which encompasses the period 
  between 1770 and 1830. At this time sailing 
  ships reached their peak of technological 
  advancement, both in terms of speed and 
  armament, and tactics employed became 
  extremely refined and daring. HMS Victory, 
  USS Constitution, Santissima Trinidad and 
  Admiral Lord Nelson are amongst the 
  leading protagonists of this era – legends of 
  naval warfare. 
  These rules are designed for a fast-paced 
  and fun game, rather than to give a 
  completely authentic sailing simulation. 
  They’re realistic in many respects, but 
  several of the intricacies and difficulties of 
  battling with a fully rigged sailing ship have 
  been simplified to avoid games becoming 
  bogged down in unnecessary minutiae and 
  book keeping.
  Large: Small and large 3rd rates, some 
  US frigates and large merchant vessels. 
  Extra Large: 1st rates  
  and 2nd rates. 
  HMS Victory,  
  British 1st rate
  British 
  3rd rate
  
  Black Seas
  Crew Type 
  In Black Seas we have three classes of crew: 
  Inexperienced, Regular and Veteran. A sailing 
  ship had hundreds of crew members with a 
  vast array of different jobs assigned to them, 
  their level of training and discipline varied, so 
  our classifications represent an average of the 
  various men operating a ship. 
  INEXPERIENCED CREWS 
  Inexperienced crews are not as effective at 
  fighting the enemy as veterans. Many tend to 
  give up quickly and are generally not as 
  disciplined or as effective as more experienced 
  crews. In reality many ships had young, 
  inexperienced captains and crews. A player taking 
  on the challenge of an Inexperienced crew can get 
  fabulous results with a little tactical know-how 
  and a helping hand from Lady Luck. 
  REGULAR CREWS 
  Regular crews are seamen who know their 
  ships and their trade competently. Most of the 
  sailors fighting on the seas would learn the 
  ropes of their vessel and the intricacies of 
  sailing engagements over time, becoming more 
  effective as a result. 
  VETERAN CREWS 
  Command of the seas in the age of sail was of 
  extraordinary importance, so many men were 
  well versed in the art of sailing and fighting at 
  sea. Veteran crews punched well above their 
  weight. These crews, who truly 
  loved their ships and their 
  shipmates, would do pretty 
  much anything to get their 
  ship home despite all the 
  efforts of the enemy to 
  prevent this.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Royal Navy Admiral in  
  full dress uniform c. 1795  
  by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. 
  Taken from Warrior 131: Nelson's 
  Officers & Midshipmen.
  Carnage on the decks of the Redoutable at Trafalgar, 1805, 
  by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. Taken from Warrior 
  97: French Warship Crews 1789-1805.
  
  Core Rules
  5
  Ship Cards 
  Each ship in Black Seas is accompanied by a 
  ship card which details its speed, weaponry 
  and other key information.  
  SHIP TURNING ANGLE 
  The red or yellow chevron corresponds to the 
  same coloured line on the wake marker and 
  indicates the maximum turn angle this ship can 
  make (see page 12 for more details). 
  ARMAMENT 
  This is represented by a number of D10s for 
  each gun (and gun type) in a gun position (see 
  the rules for shooting on page 14). We suggest 
  the following coloured dice are attributed to 
  these weapons so you can resolve a broadside 
  in one roll of the dice. 
  Heavy cannon – blue D10 
  Light cannon – red D10 
  Carronades – black D10 
  Mortars – any colour D10 
  RATE OF KNOTS 
  Each ship has its own movement rate 
  expressed as a Rate of Knots (see page 10 for 
  more details). 
  SHIP POINTS 
  These represent the integrity of the 
  hull, masts and sails together with the 
  wellbeing of the crew. The current Ship Point 
  value can be tracked on the ship card with the 
  red damage sliders. As your vessel is battered 
  by enemy fire, the damage slider is moved 
  accordingly. Once the damage slider reaches 0 
  your ship is taking a one-way trip to Davy 
  Jones’ Locker! 
  BREAK VALUE 
  The point at which the crew might  
  Strike the Colours and surrender (see page 28). 
   
   
   
   
  EXAMPLE SHIP CARD
  British 
  frigate
  “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private 
  considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.” 
  Admiral Lord Nelson in a letter to his wife
  
  Black Seas
  Tokens 
  There are several types of tokens or markers used in games of Black Seas. These represent 
  additional equipment, ammunition types and the all-important wind rose. You can find all these 
  compnents in the Black Seas: Master & Commander starter set 
  Activation: Placed next to a ship that 
  has been activated but did not shoot. 
  Ammunition: Place on a ship  
  card when equipped with this type of 
  special ammunition. 
  Ship Identification: Place on a ship card to match 
  the flag attached to the model of a ship. 
  Critical Hit: Placed next to a 
  ship that has been critically hit. 
  Wind Rose: Indicates north and from 
  which direction the wind is blowing 
  (in the example above, it indicates that 
  the wind is blowing from the east). 
  Loot or Troops:  
  A valuable cargo such as treasure 
  or transported troops. 
  Upgrades:  
  Place on a ship card 
  when adopting a 
  specific upgrade.  
    
  Cotton Wool: White, black and fiery cotton 
  wool is used to indicate when a ship has 
  fired its cannons or is set on fire. 
  Chain Shot
  Double Shot
  Red Hot Shot
  Grape Shot
  Troops
  Loot
  
  7
  Core Rules
  Dice 
  A game of Black Seas uses 10-sided dice (D10s), 
  six-sided dice (D6s) and three-sided dice (D3s).  
  If you do not have a D3, you can use a D6 and 
  consult the table to the right to find the D3 result. 
  When asked to roll ‘2D6’, roll two six-sided dice 
  and add the results together. 
  D6 Score
  D3 Result
  1-2
  1
  3-4
  2
  5-6 
  3
  Set Up 
  Either choose one of the scenarios from the 
  Black Seas rulebook, or create your own.  
  For small or medium-sized games an area 
  approximately 4' x 3' is recommended  
  (the double-sided sea map included in the  
  Black Seas: Master & Commander starter game 
  (shown below) is ideal. 
  For larger games a playing area of 6' x 4' or 
  more works well. 
  The scenario will tell you the initial wind 
  direction, a very important element of a game 
  with sailing ships! For your own scenarios, set 
  the wind direction or determine it randomly 
  before deploying your fleets. 
  “In less than a quarter of an hour this ship 
  was a perfect wreck, without a mast or a 
  broadside gun to fire.” 
  John Nicol, midshipman of the Goliath  
  on the Battle of the Nile, 1798
  
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  Games of Black Seas recreate the constant flow and action of a naval battle. To represent this in a 
  manageable way we break the action down into distinct Turns and each Turn is resolved by 
  following a number of phases as described below. 
  Turn Sequence 
  Phase 1. Roll for wind direction. 
  Phase 2. Determine the Weather Gage order. 
  Phase 3. Activate a ship as dictated by the 
  Weather Gage order. 
  Phase 4. Resolve Shooting. 
  Phase 5. Resolve Boarding Actions. 
  Phase 6. Mark the activated ship. 
  Phase 7.
   
  Repeat phases 3 to 6 
  for all the ships in 
  Weather Gage order. 
  Phase 8.
   
  Remove all 
  ship activation  
  markers. 
   
   
  1. ROLL FOR WIND DIRECTION 
  The wind played an important role in naval 
  combat and using the wind to one’s advantage 
  was an art many a captain or admiral strove to 
  perfect. Black Seas simplifies this difficult art to 
  avoid slowing the pace of the game unduly.  
  At the start of each turn roll to see if the wind 
  changes direction or intensity. There are eight 
  directions the wind can come from, the four 
  table edges and the four corners. Mark any 
  change of wind direction on the wind rose. 
  Roll 2D6 and apply the following: 
  THE EIGHT WIND SOURCES
  2D6 Score
  Result
  2
  Becalmed! Reduce the Rate 
  of Knots for all ships by 2 for 
  this turn only.
  3
  Winds of Change. Move the 
  arrow on the wind rose one 
  step clockwise.
  4-10 
  No change in wind direction 
  this turn.
  11
  Winds of Change. Move the 
  arrow on the wind rose one 
  step anti-clockwise.
  12
  Wind swell. Add 1 to the 
  Rate of Knots for all ships 
  for this turn only.
  US brig
  
  9
  2. DETERMINE THE  
  WEATHER GAGE ORDER 
  Holding the Weather Gage (being upwind 
  relative to other vessels), meant having a 
  significant tactical advantage in the combat 
  between sailing ships. To represent this in  
  Black Seas, the ship closest to the point where 
  the wind starts activates and moves first, while 
  those ships furthest away move last. We call 
  this ‘activating in Weather Gage order’. 
  To find the order in which ships activate, 
  imagine a line running perpendicular to the 
  point of origin of the wind then move that line 
  in the direction the wind is blowing. Ships then 
  activate in the order that this line contacts them, 
  first to last. Where the line contacts two or more 
  ships at the same time, the ship with the more 
  experienced crew goes first. If they have the 
  same experience, decide randomly which goes 
  first. A measuring tape or a laser line can also 
  be used to simulate this wind front. 
  3. ACTIVATE A SHIP 
  Sequence 
  When activating a ship follow these steps in order: 
  1
  Check the attitude of the wind. 
  2. Declare Level of Sail. 
  3. Move the number of times indicated by the 
  Level of Sail. 
  • At the end of each move, may make a turn. 
  • At the end of each move, may fire some or 
  all weapons. 
  • At the end of the final move, may make a 
  boarding action. 
  4. RESOLVE SHOOTING 
  See Shooting (page 14) and Damage (page 18). 
  5. RESOLVE BOARDING ACTIONS 
  See Boarding Actions on page 24. 
  6. MARK THE ACTIVATED SHIP 
  When the ship has finished its activation, 
  mark it with white cotton wool smoke if it 
  fired, or with an activation marker if not. (If 
  using the Advanced Rule, Fire as She Bears 
  (page 33), mark it with black cotton wool. 
  Then, at the end of its activation, swap the 
  black cotton wool for white.) 
  7. ACTIVATE THE NEXT SHIP 
  Repeat phases 3 to 6 for the next ship in the 
  Weather Gage order, and continue until all 
  ships have been activated. 
  8. REMOVE TOKENS 
  After every ship has activated, the Turn ends. 
  Remove all activation tokens and cotton wool 
  markers and start the next Turn at phase 1. 
  WEATHER GAGE ORDERS
  Skill Tests 
  Throughout a game, there will be 
  numerous occasions in which the skill of 
  the crew will determine whether an action 
  is successful or not. This is called a Skill 
  Test. The more experienced a crew, the 
  easier it will be to perform the various 
  actions, so whenever a Skill Test is 
  requested, use the above table. If you roll the specified numbers on a D6, you have passed the 
  Skill Test. Any dice roll of 1 is always considered a failure, regardless of any modifiers to the roll.
  Crew Level
  Required Score
  Inexperienced
  6
  Regular
  5 or 6
  Veteran 
  4, 5 or 6
  The wind is blowing from the south-west. 
  Therefore, the ships will be activated in the 
  order shown in this diagram, from 1 to 6. 
  
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  The speed and manoeuvrability of a ship is dependent on several factors including its construction, 
  sails and the prevailing wind.  
  Ships in Black Seas move at a basic Rate of  
  Knots that is measured in inches. Additionally, 
  ships can adjust their speed, by slowing down 
  or speeding up, by adding or removing sails. 
  The more sails a ship has unfurled, the more 
  wind it catches, and the faster it is propelled 
  across the sea.  
  During a Turn, the ship will move its full Rate 
  of Knots a number of times depending on its 
  Level of Sail.  
  Be careful, as you must always move the full 
  distance of your Rate of Knots, so make sure 
  you have chosen the right Level of Sail.
  A ship can utilise four Levels of Sail: 
  • Full Sails: Will make three separate moves. 
  • Battle Sails: Will make two separate moves. 
  • Light Sails: Will make one move. 
  • Anchored: Will make no moves; may still turn. 
  At the start of a ship’s activation declare which 
  Level of Sail a ship has. A ship can maintain the 
  level it has or can increase or decrease its Level 
  of Sail by a maximum of one level. Note that 
  when going from Light Sails to Anchored, the 
  ship makes one move at its Rate of Knots before 
  stopping. No ship can make an ‘instant’ stop 
  unless dictated by a specific rule. 
  HMS Victory breaks through the Franco-Spanish line at 
  the battle of Trafalgar, 1805, by Peter Dennis © Osprey 
  Publishing. Taken from Command 16: Horatio Nelson.
  
  Wake Marker 
  Each vessel has its own wake marker that 
  corresponds to the size of the vessel: a Small 
  ship uses a small wake marker; a Medium ship 
  uses a medium wake marker, and so on.  
  The wake markers are used to record which 
  Level of Sail a vessel currently has by 
  lengthening or shortening the marker up to the 
  appropriate line (shorten it by sliding the wake 
  under the vessel until it shows the correct Level 
  of Sail). When the ship is Anchored simply 
  remove the wake. 
  Measuring 
  When a ship moves, measure the distance from 
  the bow of the ship (front of the hull) and move 
  the model straight ahead to its new position, by 
  an exact number of inches equal to its Rate of 
  Knots. This same process is repeated a second 
  time if sailing with Battle Sails and a third time 
  if at Full Sails.
  11
  WAKE MARKERS
  Presentation sword presented to Lt James Bowen by the 
  Lloyd's Patriotic Fund (1803) © Copyright Royal Armouries
  MEASURING
  Full Sails
  Battle Sails
  Light Sails
  A frigate sailing with Battle Sails with a Rate of Knots of 5, is performing its first 
  move. Measure the distance from the bow of the ship and move it 5" straight ahead. 
  
   Turning 
  Once a ship has moved its 
  Rate of Knots it may make a 
  turn, in order to change its 
  heading, depending on its 
  Level of Sail and turn angle. If 
  a ship has a yellow turn angle 
  it may turn after its first and 
  second move. However, it 
  cannot make a turn during its 
  third move. A ship with a red 
  turn angle is free to turn after 
  the end of any move.  
  A vessel that is already 
  Anchored when it activates 
  may turn up to its turn angle. 
  However, it cannot turn in to the wind. 
  To turn a vessel, pivot it by holding the stern 
  (back) of the vessel still and rotate the bow up to 
  the maximum angle allowed (as represented by 
  either the red or yellow chevron on the turn 
  marker). A vessel’s turn angle is specified on the 
  ship card. 
  Wind Attitude 
  The final factor affecting a vessel’s speed is the 
  wind. Getting the most out of the wind was 
  difficult but essential for any sailing ship and it 
  was especially complex for square-rigged ships. 
  How much wind a vessel can harness in its sails 
  has a direct bearing on how fast it can go. Ships 
  sailing into the wind find they are much slower 
  than those sailing with the wind at their backs. 
  Black Seas offers two approaches to this: a 
  simple, yet less realistic way and a more 
  complex, but more realistic way, of dealing with 
  the wind. You will find the latter in the 
  Advanced Rules section (see page 34). 
  The angle and direction of the wind can limit the 
  Level of Sail of a ship. When the ship is activated, 
  check the angle the wind is coming from in 
  relation to the ship. Use the yellow turn angles as 
  a guide; if the wind hits the ship outside those 
  turn angles, it’s blowing on the ship’s side. If it’s 
  between those angles, then it is blowing on either 
  the front (bow) or rear (stern) of the ship. 
  As soon as a ship is activated, use the diagram 
  shown right to determine where the wind is 
  coming from in relation to which way the ship 
  is facing, and note the specified maximum 
  Level of Sail it can have for that Turn. It you are 
  currently at a higher Level of Sail than is 
  WIND EFFECT ON MOVEMENT
  TURNING ARC
  Black Seas
  Wind 
  Direction
  Become  
  Anchored or 
  attempt to tack
  Maximum Level  
  of Sail = Full Sails
  Wind 
  Direction
  Wind 
  Direction
  Maximum 
  Level of Sail  
  = Battle Sails
  Maximum 
  Level of Sail  
  = Battle Sails
  Wind 
  Direction
  After having performed its first move, the frigate turns up to its 
  turn angle by placing the turn marker behind the ship with the 
  white arrows pointing in the same direction as the ship, then 
  pivoting on the stern.
  
  13
  allowed then the ship immediately drops down 
  to the level indicated and cannot further change 
  its Level of Sail this activation. 
  If forced to drop two levels (from Battle Sails to 
  Anchored or from Full Sails to Light Sails), take 
  D3 points of damage and apply the effects of 
  the Critical Damage result ‘Sail Hit’ (from 
  Critical Table – High. See page 21). The same 
  will happen if you are forced to drop by three 
  levels (from Full Sails to Anchored), but you 
  will take D6 points of damage instead of D3. 
  If, when activated, you are facing into the wind, 
  and the ship was moving in the previous 
  activation, you can either move forward your 
  Rate of Knots and become Anchored or 
  you can attempt to get out of the wind 
  by ‘tacking’.  
  To ‘tack’ make a Skill Test when activated.  
  If passed, turn the ship before deciding the 
  Level of Sail. Turn the minimum amount 
  needed to take it just out of the wind, even if 
  this turn exceeds the ship’s turn angle. It then 
  continues with its activation as normal. If the 
  test is failed, you instead move forward its Rate 
  of Knots before becoming Anchored. Taking 
  damage as indicated above. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  WIND ATTITUDE
  Movement
  Ship A has the wind directly behind. Ship C is sailing against 
  the wind. Ships B, D and E have the wind on their side. 
  Spanish  
  3rd rate
  
  S
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  Shooting in Black Seas is the reward gained for manoeuvring your craft into a more favourable 
  position so that your guns can devastate the enemy.  
  Ships could carry an array of different sizes and 
  types of armament. For simplicity, Black Seas 
  uses four categories: heavy cannons, light 
  cannons, carronades, and mortars. 
  Ships can shoot from four gun positions: left 
  and right broadsides directly to each side 
  and/or their bow and stern chasers in front and 
  behind respectively. Some ships carried 
  cannons or mortars that could swivel on the 
  spot, giving an almost 360 degree angle of fire. 
  When shooting follow this procedure: 
  1. Each gun position chooses a target within its 
  arc of fire. Inexperienced and Regular crews 
  must choose the closest target to the shooting 
  gun position. Veteran crews can choose any 
  target, but only if they first pass a Skill Test. 
  2. Measure the range from the gun position to 
  the target. 
  3. Determine To Hit number (see page 16). 
  4. Determine how many dice you will need to 
  roll. Each of the four gun positions has a 
  value on its ship card, indicating the number 
  of D10s that you will need to use. 
  5. Roll the D10s to identify how many hits  
  are achieved. 
  The Redoutable unleashes a broadside at Trafalgar, 
  1805, by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. Taken 
  from Warrior 97: French Warship Crews 1789-1805.
  
  Allocate Each Gun Position a Target 
  At the end of each move, or at any time if 
  Anchored, you can chose to shoot some or all of 
  a ship’s weapons. You may shoot with as many 
  of the four gun positions as you wish. However, 
  each gun position may only ever shoot once per 
  Turn. This means the activated vessel can 
  potentially target more than one enemy ship, a 
  different one for each of the four gun positions. 
  For each gun position intending to fire, 
  nominate a target. 
  Any part of the hull of a ship (not masts or 
  sails) must be within one of the arcs of fire of 
  the attacking ship (even if partially) to be a 
  viable target. To determine a broadside’s arc 
  trace a band spanning the length of the ship 
  and extending outwards. For the chasers’ arc of 
  fire use the yellow turning angles. 
  Measure the Range 
  The armaments on a ship often varied, so a 
  broadside could fire a mixture of different  
  gun types. To represent this, we use four  
  types of guns – heavy cannon, light cannon, 
  carronades, and mortars. Depending on  
  the distance, one, some, or all of a ship’s  
  gun types will be within range. When you 
  wish to shoot, measure from the relevant  
  gun position to the closest part of the target 
  vessel you intend to hit. Always measure to 
  the target’s hull – ignoring any mast, yard  
  or bowsprit.
  15
  Gun Type:
  Heavy Cannon
  Light Cannon
  Carronade
  Mortar 
  Maximum Range:
  20"
  14"
  8"
  22"
  Dice Colour:
  Blue
  Red
  Black
  Any
  Remember, vessels manned by Inexperienced and Regular crews must target the closest available enemy to 
  each gun, whereas Veteran crews may choose any target in range if they successfully pass a Skill Test.
  GUN POSITIONS
  “Impressment … was at the time a necessary evil. By 
  fair means or foul we were compelled to procure men, and 
  without these forcible procedures we never could have manned 
  our famous“old wooden walls”, or done that execution on the 
  broad seas for which our navy is so justly celebrated.” 
  From Nelson’s Sailors by Philip Haythornthwaite (Osprey Publishing)
  
  Black Seas
  Determine the To Hit Number 
  The firing ship must be able to clearly see its 
  target – the target may be completely blocked 
  from view by another vessel, a wreck or an 
  island, or it could partially fall out of its arc of 
  fire. If you can see more than half of the target 
  (or at least half is within the arc of fire), you 
  may shoot at it without penalty. If you can see 
  less than half of it (or less than half is within the 
  arc of fire), you can fire but must apply the 
  penalty ‘Visibility Obscured/Partial Target’ (see 
  To Hit Chart opposite).  
  Declare if you are aiming high or not. Aiming 
  high means that the cannons are angled toward 
  the sails and masts of the target instead of the 
  main hull. This is a more difficult shot but is 
  potentially more damaging. If you elect to aim 
  high, apply the appropriate modifier and 
  resolve any critical damage on the Critical Table 
  – High (page 21). 
  Select the appropriate number of D10s of the 
  relevant colour (dice are not rolled for out of 
  range guns). For each gun type in the position 
  firing, you have a base chance of 5 or less to hit 
  the enemy vessel. This is then modified by 
  factors contained in the ‘To Hit Chart’ on the 
  opposite page. 
   
  Modify the base chance of 5 by adding and 
  subtracting the modifiers on the chart. The 
  result is the number you must roll equal to or 
  less than to successfully score a hit.  
  If, after applying all factors, the number you 
  need to roll is 0 or a negative number, the shot 
  automatically misses. Otherwise, roll to hit.  
  Use the same calculated target number for all 
  the different guns in the gun position. 
  When rolling to hit, any result of a 10 will 
  always be a miss even if, after all modifiers, the 
  number needed to hit is a 10 or more.  
  Any result equal to or less than the modified 
  number is a palpable hit! Additionally, for 
  every 1 rolled on the dice, critical damage is 
  scored (see page 20).  
  Example: A frigate is travelling at Full Sails and 
  firing its left broadside at over 10” range, targeting 
  a Tiny boat. The base to hit value of 5, -2 for over 
  10” range, -2 for travelling with Full Sails and -2 
  for a Tiny target equals a -1 needed on a D10 – there 
  is no chance of obtaining a hit! 
  Later, the same frigate is firing against the same 
  Tiny target, but this time the enemy boat is closer, 
  within 10”, and the frigate is only moving with 
  Battle Sails. Base to hit value of 5, -2 for a Tiny 
  target equals a 3 or less needed to hit. 
  Mortars 
  Mortars always aim high, therefore apply the 
  usual -2 to hit modifier. Additionally, they also 
  suffer a further -1 to hit modifier because of 
  their inherent inaccuracy.  
  If a mortar misses, pay attention to the number 
  on the dice and which direction the pointed end 
  of the dice is pointing. The number on the dice 
  represents the exact inches that the shot will 
  travel (measuring from the centre of the ship) in 
  the direction indicated by the pointed end of 
  the D10. The mortar will now hit any ship or 
  fortification under this new point instead.  
  Note that a small amount of ships were armed 
  with rockets – these function exactly like 
  mortars in all respects. 
  The mortar targeted on the 
  frigate misses! It therefore 
  impacts 4” away from the 
  originally intended target in 
  the direction of the pointy 
  end of the D10.
  MORTAR DEVIATION
  
  Shooting
  17
  To Hit Chart
  BASE TO HIT: 5 OR LESS ON A D10
  SITUATION
  MODIFIER
  Firing more than  
  one gun position  
  in a Turn
  First gun position fired
  No modifier
  Second gun position fired
  No modifier
  Third gun position fired
  -1
  Fourth gun position fired
  -2
  Range
  Target over 10” away
  -2
  Point Blank Range – the target is within 3" of the gun 
  position (Not applicable for mortars)
  +2
  Crew
  Veteran
  +2
  Inexperienced
  -2
  Speed
  Shooting vessel is Anchored
  +1
  Shooting vessel at Full Sails
  -2
  Target vessel has sailed more than 10" in its previous move
  -1
  Target size  
  (Only use one  
  size modifier)
  Tiny
  -2
  Small
  -1
  Large or Extra Large
  +1
  Visibility Obscured/Partial Target
  -2
  Aiming high
  -2
  Fire as she bears (see page 33)
  -2
  24-pdr carronade and carriage (1808) 
  © Copyright Royal Armouries
  “Engage the enemy more closely.” 
  Signal from the Victory at Trafalgar, 1805
  
  D
  A
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  E
  A full broadside of cannon fire can easily rip gaping holes in a wooden ship, causing devastating 
  damage. Such destruction can quickly render a ship unseaworthy or even sink it outright. We 
  represent this damage using the following rules. 
  Each dice that hits, does 1, 2, 3 or D6 points  
  of damage depending on the gun type.  
  The total of these scores gives the amount  
  of damage inflicted on the enemy vessel. 
  Record this using the damage sliders on the 
  target’s ship card, reducing the current Ship 
  Points accordingly.
  If the target is within 3" of the shooting gun 
  position, the gun shoots at point blank range 
  and the total damage it inflicts is doubled (note 
  that this is not applicable for mortars). 
  When a vessel’s Ship Points reaches zero as a 
  result of shooting, it has been sunk! Remove the 
  model from play. 
  Gun Type:
  Heavy Cannon
  Light Cannon
  Carronade
  Mortar 
  Damage:
  2
  1
  3
  1D6
  HMS Temeraire and HMS Victory engage Redoutable 
  at Trafalgar, 1805, by Tony Bryan © Osprey Publishing. 
  Taken from Duel 9: Victory vs Redoutable.
  
  19
  “Every man does his duty with spirit, whether his 
  station be in the slaughterhouse or the magazine.” 
  John Nicol, midshipman of the Goliath at the Battle of the Nile, 1798 
  Crossfire! A Spanish frigate is caught 
  between Royal Navy broadsides.
  Fire as she bears! A line of Royal Navy brigs fires 
  at a French frigate as she crosses its path.
  
  Black Seas
  Critical Damage 
  Any unmodified D10 roll of a 1 on a 
  successful hit will cause critical damage – a 
  devastating event which will have dire 
  consequences for the target vessel. For every 
  natural 1 scored, roll 1D6 and check the 
  resulting number on the appropriate Critical 
  Table. There are two tables – use Critical Table 
  – High (see opposite) when you aim high or 
  when critical damage is caused by a mortar.  
  Otherwise use the Critical Table – Hull (see 
  below). The only critical damage result which 
  accumulates is Mast Hit. For all other critical 
  damage effects, a ship can only have a 
  maximum of one of each type at any time. 
  D6 Score
  Result
  1
  Quarter Deck Hit 
  The quarter deck is a ship’s nerve centre, where command and control orders are 
  given to the vessel and morale is maintained. Place a Quarter Deck Hit token next 
  to the ship and remove it at the end of its next activation. No change of direction or 
  Level of Sail change can be made next activation without passing a Skill Test. If 
  failed, the ship continues to move straight at its current Level of Sail and all of its 
  shooting suffers a penalty of -1 to hit.
  2
  Gun Deck Hit 
  A gun position has been damaged by enemy fire, or the gun crew has been 
  temporarily disabled. Place a Gun Deck Hit token on the ship next to the gun 
  position affected. Remove the token at the end of the ship’s next activation. The 
  ship will fire two fewer cannons of each type (including mortars) from that gun 
  position (to a minimum of zero).
  3 
  Rudder/Steering Hit 
  Either the helmsman has been hit or the rudder is jammed. Place a Rudder Hit 
  token next to your ship. At the next activation, roll a D3. On a roll of 1, the ship will 
  change its direction to the full extent of its turn arc to the left at the end of each 
  movement. On the roll of 2, the ship cannot make any changes of direction this 
  Turn. On a roll of 3, the ship will change its direction to the full extent of its turn arc 
  to the right at the end of each movement. Remove the token at the end of the next 
  activation as the crew take control of the helm again or un-jam the rudder.
  4
  Crew Hit 
  Crews are particularly vulnerable to incoming fire of all sorts. If enough sailors are 
  disabled or key officers wounded or killed morale and order can collapse. Place a 
  Crew Hit token next to your ship. Until the end of the next activation, the ship will 
  automatically fail all Skill Tests it performs. Remove the Crew Hit token at the end 
  of the next activation, as the crew take over control of the vessel. 
  5
  Extra Damage to Structure 
  The ship’s hull and superstructure take a hammering! Roll a D3 and add the result 
  to the total damage taken. 
  6
  Fire on Board! 
  The shot has sparked a fire on board! Place a piece of fiery cotton wool on the 
  damaged ship to represent it now being ablaze! See Ships on Fire on page 26 for the 
  effects of this critical damage. 
  If you have to roll more than one Skill Test resulting from multiple critical hits on the same ship, do it in 
  the same order as they appear on the critical tables.
  CRITICAL TABLE – HULL
  
  Damage
  21
  D6 Score
  Result
  1
  Quarter Deck Hit 
  The quarter deck is a ship’s nerve centre, where command and control orders are 
  given to the vessel and morale is maintained. Place a Quarter Deck Hit token next 
  to the ship and remove it at the end of its next activation. No change of direction or 
  Level of Sail change can be made next activation without passing a Skill Test. If 
  failed, the ship continues to move straight at its current Level of Sail and all of its 
  shooting suffers a penalty of -1 to hit.
  2
  Sails Hit 
  Sails are the engine of the ship, without them it drift helplessly. For its next 
  activation the Rate of Knots for this ship is reduced by 2. Place a Sails Hit token 
  next to the ship. Remove it at the end of its next activation.
  3 
  Crew Hit 
  Crews are particularly vulnerable to incoming fire of all sorts. If enough sailors are 
  disabled, or key officers wounded or killed, morale and order can collapse. Place a 
  Crew Hit token next to your ship. Until the end of the next activation, the ship will 
  automatically fail all Skill Tests it performs. Remove the Crew Hit token at the end 
  of the next activation, as the crew take over control of the vessel. 
  4
  Substantial Damage to the Upper Decks 
  The ship’s yards and upper structure are devastated! Roll a D6 and add the result 
  to the total damage taken. 
  5
  Fire on Board! 
  The shot has sparked a fire on board! Place a piece of fiery cotton wool on the 
  damaged ship to represent it now being ablaze! See Ships on Fire on page 26 for the 
  effects of this critical damage.  
  6
  Mast Hit 
  One of the masts has been critically hit, badly reducing the effects of its sails – 
  without them you are drifting and helpless. Take additional damage equal to 25% 
  of the original Ship Points (rounding up). The first Mast Hit reduces the current 
  maximum Level of Sail of Small ships to Light Sails. The second hit reduces it to 
  Anchored. For Medium or larger ships, every Mast Hit reduces the maximum 
  Level of Sail by a by another Level of Sails, cumulatively. Place a Mast Hit token on 
  the ship card. This cannot be repaired and remains in play for the rest of the game.
  If you have to roll more than one Skill Test resulting from multiple critical hits on the same ship, do it in 
  the same order as they appear on the critical tables.
  CRITICAL TABLE – HIGH
  Boarding Cutlass (1800-1870) 
  © Copyright Royal Armouries
  
  C
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  LI
  SI
  O
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  S
  Players should avoid deliberately ramming each other at all costs. However, on occasion, a newly 
  activated ship may have no option other than to collide (for example, if its movement takes it into 
  another ship before it can change direction). Only consider the main hull of the ships involved 
  when checking for collisions.  
  Evading 
  There is always a chance of evading a collision; 
  each ship executes an evading manoeuvre, 
  where-by both ships would experience a near 
  miss. Both vessels involved in a potential 
  collision must make a Skill Test with a +1 to the 
  roll. This represents the determination of the 
  crew to evade the collision. If either ship is two 
  or more sizes smaller than the other, add +2 to 
  the roll of the smaller ship.  If either test 
  succeeds, the active player must move their 
  ship past the other ship, completing their full 
  move, finishing with their stern clear of the 
  targeted vessel. However, if the ship does not 
  have enough Rate of Knots to clear the other 
  vessel it instead must stop short of actual 
  contact with the other ship. Allow some degree 
  of approximation when dealing with evasions. 
  Do not worry too much about exact 
  measurements, instead ensure the models are 
  safely clear of one another. 
  You cannot evade when colliding with terrain. 
  Action on the lower gun deck of a Royal Navy Ship-of-
  the-Line by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. Taken 
  from Warrior 131: Nelson's Officers & Midshipmen.
  
  23
  Colliding  
  If both evading attempts fail, there is a 
  collision. The size and speed of the two ships 
  determines the amount of damage a ship takes. 
  The ship which is currently activated is 
  regarded as the attacker, the other is the target. 
  On the Collision Chart below, find the 
  attacker’s size on the left column and then read 
  across to the target’s size to find the damage 
  the target vessel takes.  
  To determine the damage the activated ship 
  takes from the collision, regard the unactivated 
  ship as the attacker and the activated ship as 
  the target and repeat the process above. If the 
  active ship travelled more than 8" in its last or 
  current activation, add 3 to all damage. If the 
  collision is with terrain, treat it in exactly the 
  same way as an unactivated ship. Terrain can 
  never take damage. All damage is applied to 
  both ships simultaneously. 
  After a collision, confusion and panic ensues on 
  a ship as the crew slowly attempt to recover 
  from the encounter. To represent this, apply all 
  the effects of the Quarter Deck Hit critical 
  damage. In addition, the ship cannot shoot or 
  initiate grapples. 
  Finally, complete the activated ship’s 
  movement as reasonably as possible taking 
  into consideration the change in direction due 
  to the collision.
  ATTACKER’S 
  SIZE
  TARGET’S SIZE
  Extra Large
  Large
  Medium
  Small
  Tiny
  Tiny
  1
  3
  4
  6
  8
   Small
  3
  4
  6
  8
  10
  Medium
  5
  6
  10
  10
  10
  Large
  8
  10
  12
  10
  10
  Extra Large
  12
  14
  16
  14
  10
  Terrain
  30
  26
  20
  16
  10
  The Carronade 
  During the late 1770s a new gun appeared on the decks of ships, named after one of the 
  main manufacturers: the Carron Ironworks. Its new design allowed for heavier shots to be 
  fired at the same velocity as lighter shots fired by larger guns, whilst using a much reduced 
  powder charge. This meant that carronades could inflict significant damage. However, the 
  same design meant that their range was also much reduced. Therefore, the best tactics 
  involved arming ships with a mixture of carronades and more traditional heavier guns for 
  longer range shots. Because of their reduced weight, carronades were usually placed on the 
  upper decks and were usually mounted on slides instead of a truck carriage.
  COLLISION CHART
  
  B
  O
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  DI
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  G 
  A
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  IO
  N
  S 
  Sometimes the enemy ship must be captured intact, either for the valuable contents of its hold or 
  as a prize itself. In order to do this the brave crew must board the enemy ship and confront their 
  opponents face-to-face in the vicious melee of a boarding action.  
  Both ships must be travelling at either Light 
  Sails, Battle Sails, or be Anchored, and the hulls 
  of both vessels must be within 3" of each other. 
  The active ship makes a Skill Test – if 
  successful, both ships come to an immediate 
  stop and become grappled. While grappled, a 
  ship cannot shoot. Place them side-by-side, 
  with both turning the minimum amount 
  possible. Now they make their deadly attacks! 
  Immediately after the initial grapple, and at the 
  next activation of every grappled ship, battle 
  rages! Divide the current remaining Ship Points 
  of each of the two grappled ships by ten 
  (rounding up). This gives the strength of each 
  side, which is the number of D10s to roll for 
  each ship involved. Both ships aim to score 
  equal to or less than the target number on the 
  Boarding to Hit Table (right).  
  On the first turn of boarding only, the currently 
  activated ship adds +1 to the target number 
  shown on the Boarding To Hit Table. Each 
  successful roll reduces the enemy’s Ship Points 
  by 2. A throw of 1 is a critical hit, reducing the 
  enemy Ship Points by 4 instead of 2.  
  The ship that took the least amount of damage is 
  considered to be the winner of this round of 
  fighting. If the ship that took the most damage in 
  this round is now at less than half of its initial 
  Ship Points, it will have to pass a Skill Test or 
  surrender. If the Ship Points go below its Break 
  Value, it will automatically surrender without a 
  Skill Test. If the action is a draw, nothing further 
  happens. If the Ship Points ever reach zero as a 
  result of a boarding action, all crew have been 
  slain or captured. The ship is still afloat and may 
  pose a collision threat. 
   
   
   
   
  Shooting at Grappled Ships 
  When shooting at grappled ships, apply the 
  same amount of damage to all the grappled 
  ships. However, a roll of 1 only inflicts normal 
  damage and never scores critical damage.  
   
   
  Naval boarding axe (1800-1854) 
  © Copyright Royal Armouries
  Boarding To Hit Table
  Inexperienced
  4 or less
  Regular
  5 or less
  Veteran 
  6 or less
  
  25
  Multiple Grapples 
  If more than two ships are involved in a grapple, 
  add the Ship Points of each side together. The 
  side with the greatest total Ship Points adds +2 to 
  the Boarding to Hit target numbers. Then resolve 
  all boarding actions as described above. 
  When attempting to board ships that are 
  already part of a grapple, consider all grappled 
  ships as one target, so you can attempt the 
  grapple if you are within 3" of any ship 
  involved in the grapple 
  Repel Boarders/Disengage 
  A grappled ship, when activated, may attempt 
  to repel boarders by performing an attack (as 
  describe on page 24), or it may attempt to 
  disengage from the boarding action instead.  
  To disengage, a ship must pass a Skill Test 
  which allows it to move, following all the 
  normal rules for movement (e.g. it will only be 
  able to move with Light Sails on the first move). 
  However, it will not be able to shoot this turn as 
  its crew scramble back to their action stations.  
  If the ship has been reduced to less than half its 
  original Ship Points, add +2 to the Skill Test. 
  You may move away from a surrendered ship 
  without needing to make a Skill Test. 
  Weather Gage for Grappled Ships 
  When determining Weather Gage you may 
  need to decide which of two grappled ships 
  activates first. This will be the ship with the 
  more experienced crew.  
  If both crews have the same experience, the 
  ship which originated the grapple will go first. 
  Note that two boarding actions might be fought 
  one after the other if both ships want to fight. 
  When more than two ships are grappled, the 
  vessel with the most experienced crew will go 
  first, followed by the first ship that initiated a 
  grapple, followed by the next ship that initiated 
  a grapple and so on. 
  Repel boarders! Spanish sailors fight French 
  marines in vicious hand-to- hand combat.
  
  A
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  The Core Rules cover the most common actions your ships can take during combat, such as 
  moving, manoeuvring, shooting and boarding actions. What follows are a few extra rules that add 
  some permutations to those actions. 
  Ships on Fire 
  Ships can catch fire due to critical damage or by 
  sailing within 1" of another ship that is already 
  ablaze. Place a piece of fiery cotton wool on the 
  ship as soon as it catches fire, then the ship takes 
  D3 damage if Tiny or Small, D6 if Medium, and 
  D10 if Large or Extra Large. This will continue 
  until the fire is extinguished or the ship becomes a 
  burning wreck!  
  At the start of every subsequent activation, the 
  crew of a ship on fire attempts to extinguish the 
  flames by making a Skill Test. If successful, the 
  ship is no longer on fire. If it fails, an extra D3, D6, 
  or D10 damage will be taken depending on the 
  vessel’s size (as described above). Additionally, if 
  the unmodified result of the Skill Test is a 1, the 
  fire has reached the ammunition’s magazine and 
  the ship explodes! Remove it from play. Any ship 
  within 4" of the explosion suffers D10 damage. 
  You my choose to gain a +2 modifier to the Skill 
  Test. If you take this modifier, the ship cannot 
  then make any change in Level of Sail, change of 
  direction, or shooting this activation. However, as 
  the crew are taking extra precautions, the ship 
  will not explode on the roll of a 1. 
  R
  U
  L
  E
  S 
  The magazine of a French 1st Rate 
  explodes – abandon ship!
  
  Repairs 
  Making repairs means all-hands-on-deck, 
  which results in the ship being unable to shoot 
  that Turn as all the crew are more concerned 
  with what is happening to the ship, such as 
  tattered sails, wounded crew or water surging 
  through splintered timbers. The ship needs 
  saving and saved it shall be! 
  When a damaged vessel is activated, declare a 
  repair action. The vessel cannot shoot, change 
  its Level of Sail or change direction this 
  activation. Make a Skill Test, if successful, 
  repair D6 worth of damage – adjust the damage 
  slider accordingly. If the test fails, then repair 
  just 1 point of damage. 
  Raking Fire  
  Raking fire saw a ship passing directly  
  across the less well protected fore or aft areas 
  of an enemy vessel and unleashing a deadly 
  broadside down the length of the target.  
  This manoeuvre, also known as ‘Crossing  
  the T’, delivered a withering fire while only 
  presenting a small target to the enemies’  
  chase guns. 
  When a ship fires a broadside at a target that 
  is perpendicular to it (allow for a small degree 
  of approximation), double the damage 
  inflicted for a stern rake, or add an extra 1 
  point of damage for each successful hit roll for 
  a bow rake.   
  If you are also shooting at point blank range 
  treble the damage for a stern rake instead,  
  and the additional damage for a bow rake is 
  added after the damage is doubled if firing at 
  point blank range. This tactic is particularly 
  effective when used in conjunction with the Fire 
  as She Bears Advanced Rule (see page 33). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  27
  A frigate shoots a broadside at the bow of a 
  rival ship. As the target is perpendicular to the 
  frigate, this attack is considered a raking fire. 
  The bow rake adds an additional 1 point of 
  damage to each successful hit.
  RAKING FIRE
  The BiG Smoke 
  “Smoke bursting forth from the many black iron mouths and whirling rapidly in 
  the thick rings till it swells into hills and mountains, through which the sharp,  
  red tongue of death darts, flash after flash, and mingling fire and smoke slowly 
  rolls upwards like a curtain in awful beauty… And ever and anon, amid the  
  breaks of the cannon’s peal and shrieks and cries of the wounded mingling with  
  the deep roar of the outpoured and constantly reiterated “hurra, hurra, hurra!” 
  sweep over the sea …” 
  The Trafalgar Companion (Mark Adkin)
  
  Black Seas
  French boarding cutlass, ‘sabre 
  d'abordage' pattern (1802-1803) 
  © Copyright Royal Armouries
  Leaving the Battle Area 
  If a ship finishes its move with any part of its 
  hull over the edge of the battle area it is 
  removed from play. After spending one full 
  Turn off the board, the ship re-enters the battle 
  area at the same point where it exited.  
  The ship returns with Light Sails – place the 
  back of its wake marker on the edge of the 
  battle area at the start of the Turn. The ship will 
  then be activated as per Weather Gage and will 
  be able to move normally. 
  Strike the Colours 
  Naval combats could be extremely bloody 
  affairs, and it often happened that the crew’s 
  will-to-fight would falter after having taken a 
  lot of damage, which often meant that historical 
  engagements would end with the surrender of 
  many ships rather than outright destruction. 
  As soon as a ship drops below its Break Value, 
  for whatever reason, and every time it activates 
  after that, make a Skill Test. If this fails, the ship 
  will Strike the Colours and surrender 
  immediately. The ship will slow down and 
  become Anchored as soon as possible and do 
  nothing else for the rest  
  of the game.  
  Forts and other land  
  fortifications use  
  these same rules  
  to surrender. 
   
   32 Pounder Gun 
  The main broadside of a typical ship of the era was mostly made up of heavy 32 or  
  36 pounder guns. These impressive and heavy guns could unleash great loads at a 
  significant distance. They could be made of bronze but were mostly made of cast iron as 
  by this time, this had become cheap and reliable. They were positioned on a wooden gun 
  carriage, usually wheeled. This would be used to deal with recoil and to change the 
  elevation of the guns.
  “The general of the sea         
      has need of only one  
    science, that of navigation.” 
  Napoleon Bonaparte’s memoirs 
  
  Additional Rules
  Ammunition Types 
  At the start of the game, or at the start of a 
  ship’s activation, you can change ammunition 
  at any or all gun positions. Any gun position 
  changing its ammunition cannot shoot during 
  that Turn. All shots from that gun position will 
  use the new ammunition type until changed 
  again. Place the ammunition token at the 
  relevant gun position on the ship card as a 
  reminder. Note, mortars never use any of these 
  special ammunition types. 
  CHAIN SHOT 
  Consisting of two half-balls attached to a length 
  of chain, and used to damage masts. The 
  modifier for aiming high is only -1 for chain 
  shot (instead of the normal -2), and for any 
  critical damage, roll twice on the Critical Table - 
  High and choose which result to apply. 
  However, the range of all guns are halved. If 
  not aiming high chain shots have a -2 to hit. 
  DOUBLE SHOT 
  The practice of loading two balls at the same 
  time reduced range but increased damage 
  significantly. The range of all guns in the gun 
  position is now 8". All shots have a -1 to hit and 
  all successful shots do double their damage but 
  do not inflict critical damage. This damage is 
  tripled if also at point blank range, or 
  quadrupled if at point blank range and the shot 
  is a stern rake. 
  RED HOT SHOT 
  Also known as heated shot these were loaded 
  to set fire to enemy ships. When firing with this 
  shot, carronades cannot fire. If any critical 
  damage is inflicted, the target is on fire in 
  addition to the effect rolled on the Critical 
  Table (see Ships on Fire on page 26). However, 
  if you roll a 10 on any of the to hit roll dice, 
  that shot has been dropped and your own ship 
  is also on fire! Fortifications are not affected by 
  this dropped shot rule. 
  GRAPE SHOT 
  Canisters filled with metal balls that act as a 
  giant shotgun when fired. The range of all 
  guns in the gun position is now 3" (in this case 
  the point blank modifier is not applied). Each 
  hit inflict 4 points of damage but do no critical 
  damage. In addition, add +2 to the to hit target 
  of the ship’s first boarding action that Turn.
  29
  Gundeck of a Humphries frigate, by Tony Bryan 
  © Osprey Publishing. Taken from New Vanguard 
  79: American Heavy Frigates 1794-1826.
  
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  A good plot can significantly enhance your games of Black Seas. Here we present a series of scenarios 
  that allow you to gain your sea legs and learn to handle your ships competently. The first two 
  scenarios are designed to introduce you step-by-step into the world of naval combat in the age of sail, 
  concentrating only on the Core Rules of the game. Once you’ve mastered the basics of Black Seas 
  you’ll be ready to tackle the Advanced Rules later in this book (see page 32).  
  SCENARIO 1 – OUT OF THE FOG 
  It is early morning. The rising sun is burning off the night fog that has enshrouded your  
  ship, when the distinctive sound of a bell chiming four times is heard in the distance – beat  
  to quarters! 
  Unsighted by the thick fog two frigates from opposing fleets nearing the end of routine patrols 
  have sailed unawares into close proximity of one another. As the fog dissipates both ships 
  prepare for battle. Neither is fully prepared for this unexpected encounter and so both will 
  attempt a fighting retreat in order to fight another day. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is played on a 4' x 3' area, with the 
  wind blowing from the west. 
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Randomly decide who will start in which 
  deployment zone. Then, place one 5th rate ship 
  each in the specified areas with the back of their 
  wake markers touching the table edge. Both 
  ships begin sailing at Battle Sails.  
  SPECIAL RULES 
  Some scenarios have specific rules that only 
  apply to that scenario. These need to be 
  followed in addition to the Core Rules and any 
  Advanced Rules you chose to adopt. For this 
  scenario the experience of the crews for both 
  frigates is Regular. 
  VICTORY 
  Each scenario will give you the conditions of 
  victory. This is often done with victory points to 
  help you work out the result.  
  For this scenario you gain 1 victory point for 
  each point of damage caused on the opponent’s 
  ship, plus 4 victory points if you make it to the 
  opposing table edge undamaged (or 2 victory 
  points if you make it there but have sustained 
  damage).  
  The game lasts until the first ship leaves the 
  battle area.  
  If neither ship is capable of leaving the battle 
  area the result is a hard fought draw! 
  
  31
  SCENARIO 2 – LETTER OF MARQUE 
  Raids against merchant shipping were one of the most common naval engagements of the age 
  of sail. Privately owned warships, or ‘privateers’ as they came to be known, would attack rival 
  merchant ships on behalf of opposing enemy nations. In this scenario, a small privateer fleet 
  has spotted a merchant with its escort and is going in for the kill!  
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is played on an area 4' x 3'.  
  The wind is blowing from the south. 
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Decide randomly who will be the privateers 
  and who the defender. 
  Defender 
  Place one merchant ship (you can use a spare 
  5th rate ship to represent it) in the red 
  deployment zone with its wake touching the 
  easterly edge of the table. Immediately move 
  the merchant its Rate of Knots dead ahead. 
  Then place one 5th rate ship anywhere in the 
  red deployment zone. 
  The merchant ship has an Inexperienced crew 
  whilst the crew of the 5th rate ship is Regular. 
  Both vessels start with Battle Sails. 
  Privateers 
  Place three brigs in the south-west corner of the 
  gaming area sailing with Battle Sails, with their 
  wake markers touching the edge of the board. 
  All three brigs have Regular crews. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  Once the merchant’s Ship Points drop below 
  half of its original value, it must pass a Skill 
  Test every time it is activated or Strike the 
  Colours (this test is in addition to any tests 
  induced by boarding actions).  
  Having already preyed on a few ships the 
  privateers are classed as having a Regular crew. 
  Furthermore, privateers had a fearsome 
  reputation, intimidating less experienced crews. 
  As a result they have a +2 to the target for 
  grappling and will roll 2 extra D10s, with a +2 
  modifier to their Boarding To Hit target 
  numbers against the merchant ship only. 
   
  Place three loot tokens on the merchant’s  
  ship card. If the privateers win a boarding 
  action against the merchant, they will collect 
  one loot token (take it from the merchant ship 
  and place it on the ship card of the privateer 
  brig involved in the action).  
  If the merchant ship Strikes the Colours, the 
  privateers can collect all remaining loot  
  tokens on their next boarding action  
  against the merchant – they simply declare  
  the action and take the tokens with no  
  further need of rolling dice. Place the looted 
  tokens on the successful privateer brig’s  
  ship card.  
  VICTORY 
  The game ends once either the merchant  
  ship moves off the western edge with two  
  or more loot counters or if the privateer fleet  
  exits the gaming area holding two or more  
  loot counters. 
  Defender’s Objective 
  Survive the privateers’ onslaught and take 
  home your precious cargo. 
  Privateers’ Objective 
  Seize the loot and escape the attentions of the 
  merchant’s escort.
  
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  These optional rules add extra flavour and detail to your game of Black Seas but also introduce a 
  degree of complexity. Feel free to use any or all of them in your games – with the agreement of 
  your opponent before the game starts. 
  Damaged Ships 
  Damaged vessels quickly see their fighting 
  capabilities compromised. When the Ship Points 
  of a vessel drop below half of its initial value, 
  reduce the number of guns of each type at each 
  gun position by half, rounding up. Additionally, 
  the ship can no longer be at Full Sails. This lasts 
  until the end of the game or until the ship is 
  repaired back above half of its Ship Points. 
  Entanglement 
  Any ship within 1" of another vessel at the end 
  of any of its movement, may risk becoming 
  entangled. Each ship involved must make a 
  Skill Test with a +2 modifier to the roll. If either 
  test is failed then both ships become entangled. 
  entangled ships are considered ‘grappled’ (see 
  the rules for boarding actions on page 24). 
  When activated, unless the subject of a 
  collision, entangled ships may initiate boarding 
  actions or attempt to disengage. Furthermore, 
  entangled ships have a -1 penalty to any Skill 
  Tests to disengage. 
  R
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  Zut alors! The French column engages the enemy.
  
  Fire as She Bears 
  As ships pass each other in the maelstrom of 
  battle there are opportunities for a ship to 
  unleash a broadside upon an enemy vessel, 
  known as ‘firing as she bears’.  
  DURING YOUR SHIP’S ACTIVATION 
  If you want to shoot at a target at any point 
  during one of your moves, first measure the 
  whole move and mark where your ship would 
  end up.  
  Begin to move your ship, stopping at the point 
  you wish to fire upon an enemy vessel. At this 
  point measure, roll to hit and resolve damage as 
  normal. Then complete the move up to the pre-
  measured marker. It is only at this point that 
  you can make a turn during this activation.  
  You may not fire as she bears when evading  
  a collision. 
  DURING OPPONENT’S ACTIVATION 
  If a ship has not yet activated, and an enemy 
  vessel ends its move within one of your 
  broadsides’ fire arcs, you may fire as she bears! 
  This happens outside the normal sequence of 
  play, after the acting ship has resolved any of its 
  own shooting. Roll to hit as usual and add 
  black cotton wool next to the broadside that has 
  just been unleashed.  
  During its next activation, the ship cannot 
  shoot again from that gun position.  
  However, remember that the modifier for 
  firing more than one gun position in a turn 
  still applies (see page 17). At the end of the 
  activation, swap the black cotton wool for 
  white to mark that the ship has been activated. 
  Apply the results of any critical damage at the 
  end of the target ship’s activation (i.e. after it 
  has finished the remainder of any movement 
  or other actions). 
  Fire Ships 
  A fire ship is deliberately set ablaze as a 
  hazard to other ships. Fire ships are activated 
  in Weather Gage order. In each activation, 
  they will travel directly forward, always at 
  Battle Sails, unless affected by the wind or a 
  collision. When a fire ship has to take a Skill 
  Test to avoid a collision, it will always fail  
  the test. 
  If 2, 3, 11 or 12 are scored when rolling for wind 
  direction, the fire ship is out of control. Place a 
  Rudder Hit damage token next to the ship. For 
  this and all future activations of the fire ship 
  apply the Rudder/Steering critical damage 
  effect to its movement. If a fire ship comes 
  within 2" of any ship, that ship is also set on fire 
  – use the Ships on Fire rules on page 26. 
  33
  Grog 
  A typical drink given to the crew of a ship named after the nickname of the man 
  who invented it, Admiral Vernon, called ‘Old Grogram’ because he often wore a 
  waterproof coat made of grogram (a rough material mix of wool and silk). It was 
  made up of three or four parts water and one part each of rum and lemon juice and 
  brown sugar. There were very specific measures assigned to sailors and usually 
  these could not be traded or shared. Even if it posed a risk of encouraging 
  drunkenness, grog heightened spirits and the lemon juice was a good deterrent 
  against scurvy (a typical tall ship illness caused by a deficiency of vitamin C).
  
  Black Seas
  Initial Broadside 
  The first time a ship shoots with either of its 
  broadsides (not bow or stern guns) in a game, it 
  can coordinate all its guns on one flank to shoot 
  at the same time with possibly devastating 
  effectiveness. In this case only one gun position 
  can shoot in this activation phase. 
  Roll extra D10s as per chart below: 
  More Realistic Wind Effect on Movement 
  In order to keep the pace of the game fast and 
  fun, we have used an abstraction of the real 
  effect of the wind on square rigged ships.  
  If you want to add greater realism to your 
  games, use the opposite diagram instead of that 
  on page 12 of the Core Rules. All other rules 
  still apply.  
  Moving Under Oars 
  Galleys and some smaller ships could deploy 
  oars and, if needed, move independently of the 
  wind. Vessels noted in the fleet lists may make 
  use of this rule (see page 72–74). While moving 
  under oars, these ships can move as if at Battle 
  Sails, no matter where the wind is coming from. 
  However, as the crew is busy rowing, the ship 
  will shoot with an additional -2 penalty. 
  Any ship able to move under oars may also 
  deploy their sails. In this case they follow all the 
  same rules regarding wind as other sailing ships. 
  In order to switch from sails to oars, or vice 
  versa, a ship must spend one full Turn without 
  shooting. 
  Squadrons 
  A squadron represents three Tiny vessels acting 
  together in unison.  
  The values given in the fleet lists on page 73 
  are for the squadron as a whole, not each 
  individual vessel. For this reason it is intended 
  for the three models of a squadron to be 
  mounted together on a single base, and are 
  thus considered a single model which activates 
  as normal.  
  Ship Category:
  Tiny
  Small
  Medium
  Large
  Extra Large
  Number of extra  
  D10s rolled:
  N/A
  1 Light Cannon
  1 Light Cannon 
  1 Heavy Cannon
  1 Light Cannon 
  1 Heavy Cannon 
  1 Carronade
  1 Light Cannon 
  2 Heavy Cannons 
  1 Carronade
  Wind 
  Direction
  Become  
  Anchored or 
  attempt to tack
  Maximum Level  
  of Sail = Battle Sails
  Maximum Level  
  of Sail = Light Sails
  Maximum Level  
  of Sail = Light Sails
  Wind 
  Direction
  Wind 
  Direction
  Wind 
  Direction
  Wind 
  Direction
  Maximum 
  Level of Sail = 
  Full Sails
  Maximum 
  Level of Sail = 
  Full Sails
  Wind 
  Direction
  REALISTIC WIND EFFECTS
  
  Advanced Rules
  Squadrons have no wake marker and no Level 
  of Sail; instead they may move any distance up 
  to their full Rate of Knots. Additionally, they are 
  much more manoeuvrable than larger ships 
  and can turn once to face any direction at any 
  point during their movement. 
  Because of their small size, squadrons:  
  never block line of sight, never take critical 
  damage, cannot perform a boarding action 
  (nor can they themselves be boarded), cannot 
  make repairs, cannot be grappled, and cannot 
  become entangled. 
  Musket Fire 
  When a ship is shooting at point blank range, 
  musketeers would also unleash deadly volleys 
  and rake the decks with shot.  
  If a successful Skill Test is made add 3  
  to the final damage (after any doubling  
  or trebling). 
  Rules of Engagement 
  There was a strict code of honour in naval 
  doctrine, so larger ships would not attack 
  smaller ships unless they were fired upon first. 
  Therefore ships may not attack smaller ships 
  without passing a Skill Test or unless attacked 
  first. Every Turn in which a larger ship wishes 
  to target its fire at a smaller vessel, it must pass 
  a Skill Test, even if it has previously passed one 
  for this purpose.  
  For the purpose of this rule the Extra Large and 
  Large ships are considered the same size. 
  Sailing in Lines 
  Very often fleets would move and do battle in 
  columns of ships also known as a ‘line’.  
  Groups of two or more ships, all sailing with 
  Battle Sails, will be considered in a line if the 
  bows (fronts) are touching the wake marker of 
  the ship in front of them at the start of a round.  
  When determining the Weather Gage order, 
  lines are treated as one unit, no matter where 
  each ship of the line is, with regard to the wind.  
  When moving a line, activate, move, and shoot 
  the front ship first and then the rest in 
  sequence, even if this would alter the normal 
  Weather Gage order.  
  All ships in a line move at the same Rate  
  of Knots as the slowest ship in the  
  formation, even if they could normally move 
  faster. This reflects all ships maintaining a 
  disciplined formation. 
  When a ship in a line is no longer touching the 
  wake of the ship in front at the end of its 
  activation, it is no longer in that line.  
  It becomes a single unit again (or a separate 
  line). From the next Turn it will be activated in 
  the normal Weather Gage order.
  35
  Pres s Gangs 
  It was common practice to forcibly 
  recruit the lower ranks of a ship’s crew 
  by what was known as ‘impressments’. 
  Teams of recruiters would scour the 
  port’s taverns in search of crewmen. 
  Usually, gentlemen and landsmen were 
  avoided, but not always. The victims 
  would be forcibly brought to a ship and 
  once on board men would be assigned 
  duties and rewarded with a regular pay. 
  Impressments also happened when 
  civilian or merchant ships were met or 
  captured on the seas. 
  
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  The sea and the enemy weren’t the only hazards a ship’s captain had to contend with. A first-rate 
  crew was essential to navigate the seas, spot hazards, and still be able to bring weapons to bear at 
  the critical moment. Use these optional rules with the agreement of your opponent. 
  Fog/Rain Squall  
  Fog and rain squalls are unpredictable in their 
  emergence, intensity and scale and as such pose 
  significant challenges for a fleet.  
  These two phenomena are either small (up  
  to 10" x 10"), medium (up to 15" x 15"), or  
  large (up to 20" x 20") in width. They may be 
  of any shape, but we suggest a roughly round 
  or oval shape.  
  They are deployed at the start of a game and 
  will remain in place until the end of the game. 
  They block line of sight through them. 
  Additionally, any vessel that enters one 
  immediately becomes invisible to enemy 
  vessels and cannot be targeted while in that 
  area. Of course, they cannot fire at any targets 
  themselves either! 
  Any vessel entering the weather feature cannot 
  exceed Battle Sails after entry, it being too 
  dangerous even for veteran crews to navigate 
  blind! Once the vessel emerges from the 
  template, it acts as normal. 
  W
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  Steady as she goes – a Spanish ship 
  slowly emerges from a fog bank.
  
  Land Fortifications  
  Coastal defences are nearly as old as naval 
  warfare itself. Land fortifications and shore 
  batteries could cause dreadful damage to 
  passing shipping.  
  Shore batteries have 360° arc of fire (within 
  reason, bearing in mind the emplacement) and 
  are assumed to have a good idea of their range 
  and capabilities, so always gain +1 to hit. 
  Furthermore, their maximum range is increased 
  by 50% due to the stability of their platforms. 
  All shore batteries are activated at the end  
  of the Weather Gage order, after all ships have 
  been activated.  
  If both sides have land fortifications, roll a dice to 
  determine whose fortifications will activate first.  
  As with ships, fortifications may have crews 
  with different levels of experience, and can be 
  boarded or destroyed in the same way as ships. 
  Use a fortification’s Structure Points in the same 
  manner as Ship Points. 
  Sandbanks 
  Sandbanks are just that: large stretches of sand 
  that can shift with the tides and potentially 
  ground even small craft if they are unlucky.  
  To cross a sandbank, a ship must pass a Skill 
  Test, with a +2 to the roll if a Medium- or 
  smaller-sized craft. If the test is failed, the 
  vessel takes D3 damage if at Light Sails, 2D3 
  under Battle Sails and 3D3 if at Full Sails. Large 
  and Extra Large ships will become immediately 
  grounded and, unless the scenario dictates 
  otherwise, cannot move for the remainder of 
  the game. Grounded ships remain where they 
  entered the treacherous terrain but can still 
  shoot, so activate them as normal but don’t 
  move or turn them!  
  Shoals/Shoreline 
  Medium, Large and Extra Large ships cannot 
  approach closer than 3" to a shoreline or shoals. 
  If they do, by design or by misfortune, they 
  must make a Skill Test. If failed, a collision will 
  take place and damage will occur. The ship is 
  now grounded (see above) and determine 
  damage using the Collision Table (see page 23). 
  If passed, the ship turns as little as possible to 
  be at least 3" away from the obstacle at the end 
  of its move. 
  37
  Privateers 
  Traditional pirates had all but vanquished by the period covered in Black Seas  
  (1770 to 1830). However, during this time, privateering reached its peak of 
  popularity and effectiveness. Privateering was the practice of raiding merchant 
  ships of a rival-in-war nation, with the authorisation of your own nation. This was 
  mostly done by ‘Letters of Marque’, which were assigned to practically anyone 
  who would apply for one. It was a very easy and cost effective way to disrupt the 
  enemy’s supply lines, without devoting state owned resources to the effort. 
  Therefore pirates were alive and well in the period and many merchants fell to 
  privateering captains.
  
  Black Seas
  Small Islands/Rocky Outcrops  
  These follow the rules for the shoals/ 
  shoreline but also block line-of-sight. Vessels 
  cannot see over these obstructions, so cunning 
  captains can use the terrain to stalk closer to 
  the enemy before making their move.  
  Islands can hold enemy positions such as 
  shore batteries, adding a degree of tension to  
  a scenario. 
  Weather Conditions  
  Opponents rarely fought in extreme weather 
  conditions, having to fight a much harder battle 
  against storm and high winds than against their 
  adversaries. In Black Seas, we simplify the 
  effects of rough seas which, in reality, have 
  innumerable restrictions for sailing ships. 
  Before the start of a game either roll a D6 and 
  consult the table below or agree with your 
  opponent how the seas are acting. This effect 
  will remain for the duration of the game. 
  At the start of each Turn a Tiny or Small ship  
  is on the table in rough seas it takes 1 point 
   of damage.  
  When in stormy seas, such vessels take D3 
  points of damage.  
  Wrecks 
  When a ship sinks due to gunfire it is usually 
  removed from play but you may choose to 
  replace it with a model of a wreck or sinking 
  ship. In this case it will pose a danger to all 
  vessels. As with islands and rocks, wrecks block 
  line-of-sight and cause the same damage 
  penalties as shorelines, rocks and islands. 
  Consult the Collision table (see page 23), 
  treating the wreck as terrain. When rolling for 
  the wind, a result of 2, 3, 11 or 12 will mean that 
  any wrecks currently in play disappear into the 
  depths of the sea.
  D6 Score
  Result
  1
  Smooth as a glass pond 
  Add +1 to the to hit numbers of all gun positions.
  2-4
  Calm 
  No modifiers apply.
  5 
  Rough seas 
  Apply a -1 to the to hit numbers of all gun positions. A successful Skill Test will  
  be needed to go above Light Sails. No ship may travel at Full Sails.
  6
  Stormy seas 
  Apply a -2 to the to hit numbers of all gun positions.  
  Ships may only travel at Light Sails.   
  “Tell the men to fire faster! Don’t give up the ship!” 
  Captain James Lawrence’s dying words aboard the USS Chesapeake, 1813
  
  Terrain & Weather
  39
  “Something must be left to chance; nothing is 
  sure in a sea fight above all.” 
  Admiral Lord Nelson before Trafalgar, 1805 
  A French flotilla navigates its way 
  around treacherous shores.
  Any port in a storm – the courageous crew of an American 
  frigate tries to reach safety before the storm claims them.
  
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  Here we present more scenarios to add to those on pages 30-31. For scenarios 3 to 6 you will be 
  able to use the contents of our Black Seas: Master & Commander starter set. The remaining 
  scenarios require additional ships. Although each scenario recommends the size of the fleets, they 
  are all scalable to be played with smaller or larger forces – just agree on a set level of points to 
  use. Feel free to create your own scenarios or themed encounters. Additional scenarios can be 
  found on the Black Seas website: www.black-seas.com. 
  SCENARIO 3 – CHANCE ENCOUNTER 
  Many naval battles occurred between relatively small fleets, sometimes just one frigate against 
  another. In this scenario two small opposing forces encounter one another on the open seas.  
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best played on a 4' x 3' area.  
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Place a small number of islands, sand banks, 
  and rocks around the battle area (alternate 
  placing items of scenery until you are both 
  happy with the amount).  
  There are two fleets, each consisting of one 5th 
  rate frigate and three brigs. All ships begin with 
  Battle Sails. The crews for all vessels are Regular. 
  Randomly decide which fleet will deploy first, 
  then deploy it with their wake markers touching 
  the northern edge of the table. Then deploy the 
  opposing fleet with their wake markers 
  touching the southern edge of the table. 
  Roll 1D6 to determine where the wind is 
  coming from: 1-3, the wind blows from the 
  west; 4-6, it gusts from the east. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  In this scenario you can capture enemy ships. To 
  do so, initiate a boarding action with a ship that 
  has already Struck the Colours. That ship is then 
  captured and can be used by its captor. Captured 
  ships can only travel with Light Sails and can 
  only shoot with half the number of cannons per 
  gun position (rounding down). Each ship may 
  capture no more than one ship per game. 
  VICTORY 
  The game ends after 9 Turns or as soon as half 
  the ships of one fleet have sunk or having 
  Struck the Colours. Players receive 1 victory 
  point for every point of damage they inflict, 5 
  victory points for each brig that is either sunk or 
  captured, 5 victory points if a frigate’s Ship 
  Points drop below half, and 10 victory points if a 
  frigate is sunk or captured. The winner is the 
  player with most points. 
  
  SCENARIO 4 – BLOOD & PLUNDER! 
  It was not unknown for independent privateer fleets hunting the same routes to run into the 
  same target simultaneously. In this scenario, two opposing privateer fleets meet a loaded 
  merchant convoy and close in to snatch the plunder from under the noses of their rivals.  
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best played on a 4' x 3' area, 
  with the wind is coming from the west. 
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Each privateer fleet is made up of three brigs. 
  Each of which have Regular crews, and begin 
  travelling with Battle Sails. Deploy each fleet in 
  opposing deployment zones. 
  Place three merchant ships (you can use 5th  
  rate frigate models) on the western edge of  
  the gaming area sailing with Full Sails. The 
  merchant ships all have Inexperienced crews. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  Against the merchant ships, each privateer ship 
  has a +2 to the target for grappling and will  
  roll 2 extra D10s and receive a +2 to hit in 
  boarding actions.  
  The three merchants act independently of the 
  two privateer fleets. Each Turn, the players 
  should alternate who controls the merchant 
  ships. When activated by the Weather Gage 
  order, they will travel directly ahead with the 
  maximum Level of Sails the wind allows and 
  shoot at all available targets. If the merchants 
  suffer any damage, their maximum Level of 
  Sails for the rest of the game will be Battle Sails. 
  Place three loot tokens on each merchant ship’s 
  card. A privateer ship can claim one loot token 
  after every boarding action it wins, whether 
  from a merchant or rival privateer’s hold. 
  Transfer the captured loot token onto the 
  privateer’s ship card. A ship may hold a 
  maximum of three loot tokens at any one time.  
  If a ship Strikes the Colours, a privateer ship can 
  collect all remaining loot tokens on its next 
  boarding action against that ship (just declare the 
  action and take the tokens – no need to roll dice).  
  If two (or more) rival privateers’ ships board 
  the same merchant, resolve the boarding action 
  between the rival privateers first. Only after one 
  of the privateers disengages, surrenders, or has 
  all its crew killed, is the boarding action against 
  the merchant resolved. 
  VICTORY 
  The game lasts 8 Turns or until four loot  
  tokens are removed from the table (privateer 
  vessels must leave from the same area they 
  were deployed in).  
  The privateer fleet with the most loot  
  tokens wins! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  41
  British 
  frigate
  
  Black Seas
  SCENARIO 5 – CATCH THE PRIZE 
  Warships are often assigned to escort important ships and defend them from hostile enemy 
  fleets. In this scenario, a ship carrying a valuable prize (perhaps important dignitaries or secret 
  naval plans) is about to be attacked. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best played on a 4' x 3' area, 
  with the wind is coming from the east.  
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Decide who is the attacker and who is the 
  defender. The defender controls the prize ship. 
  Place one 5th rate frigate in the yellow 
  deployment zone sailing with Full Sails and its 
  wake marker touching the edge of the gaming 
  area: this is the prize ship. 
  Place the defending fleet, of one 5th rate frigate 
  and three brigs, in the yellow deployment zone 
  with the prize ship. They all start at Full Sails. 
  Place the opposing fleet, of one 5th rate frigate 
  and three brigs, in either or both red 
  deployment zones, with their wake markers 
  touching the back of the battle area. They start 
  the game at Battle Sails. 
  All ships in the scenario have Regular crew. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  The prize ship is a 5th rate frigate with all her 
  guns removed for speed. This ship will always 
  move as if there is a wind swell (see page 8).  
  Once the prize ship suffers 5 points of damage 
  it will not be able to travel at Full Sails for the 
  duration of the game.  
  VICTORY 
  The game lasts 5 Turns or until the prize leaves 
  the battle area. If the prize ship is sunk, the 
  game is a draw. 
  Defender 
  To win, ensure the prize leaves the battle area 
  by the western edge.  
  Attacker 
  To win, capture the prize, compel it to Strike the 
  Colours or prevent it from leaving the table. 
  Spoils of war – a privateer fleet intercepts a British merchant convoy.
  
  Additional Scenarios
  43
  SCENARIO 6 –  HASTY RETREAT 
  A contingent of battle-worn troops need safe passage back to their country and a small fleet 
  has been dispatched to escort them to safety. The enemy has heard about this and want to 
  capture the troops. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best played on a 4' x 3' area, 
  with the wind blowing from the west. 
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Decide who is the attacker and who is the 
  defender. The attacker places one frigate and 
  three brigs on the western edge of the gaming 
  area, sailing with Battle Sails and their wake 
  markers touching the edge of the battle area. 
  The defender places one 5th rate frigate 
  Anchored 4" off the island, and three brigs 
  Anchored anywhere within 10" of the island. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  The crews of all ships are Regular. 
  Each time the frigate is activated while 
  Anchored, roll a Skill Test for its crew, adding +2 
  to the roll on its second subsequent activation 
  and +3 for the third and all following activations. 
  If successful, they have managed to load all the 
  troops on board. Place a troop token on the 
  frigate’s ship card. The ship will then weigh 
  anchor and start sailing for safety immediately.  
  Until the troops are loaded, the frigate cannot 
  change its Level of Sails from Anchored but 
  may otherwise act as normal. 
  The troop token can be captured in the same 
  way as described in Scenario 4 (see page 41). 
  VICTORY 
  The game will last for 12 Turns or until the troop 
  token leaves the battle area. 
  Defender 
  Take the troop token off the western edge of the 
  battle area.  
  Attacker 
  Capture the troop token from the rival frigate 
  and take it off the western edge of the battle 
  area, or sink the whole enemy fleet.
  “Our rigging being cut up and the Speedy’s sails  
  riddled with shot, I told the men that they must 
   either take the frigate or themselves be taken.” 
  Thomas, Lord Cochrane of the brig HMS  Speedy, in a desperate  
  fight with the much larger Spanish frigate, Gamo, 1801
  
  Black Seas
  SCENARIO 7 – COASTAL RAID 
  There were many incursions into ports and coastal towns both in the Caribbean and the coasts 
  of Europe and the Mediterranean. In this scenario, an isolated fort is under attack, either for 
  its strategic position or for the supplies held within.  
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best played on a 4' x 3' area, 
  with the wind is blowing from the south.  
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Decide who is the attacker and defender.  
  The attacker chooses a fleet up to a limit of 
  1,500 points and deploys them on the western 
  table edge with their wake markers touching 
  the edge of the battle area. 
  The defender chooses a fleet up to a limit of 
  1,100 points, which starts Anchored within the 
  harbour area. They also choose up to 400 points 
  of land fortifications and deploy them 
  anywhere on land near the harbour. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  Land fortifications have a +2 to hit modifier 
  when shooting at any target within the harbour 
  area and start the game loaded with red hot 
  ammunition (see page 29). 
  VICTORY 
  The game will last for 10 Turns or until any of 
  the victory conditions are met. 
  The attacker wins if at least half of their 
  initial fleet spends two full Turns Anchored 
  inside the harbour area (half in points, 
  rounding up – disabled and sunk ships do 
  not count).  
  The defender wins if he makes this 
  impossible to achieve. 
  Land Ho! An American frigate 
  prepares to weigh anchor.
  
  Additional Scenarios
  SCENARIO 8 – RUN THE BLOCKADE 
  Many ports were blockaded by ships anchored outside an enemy port. The blockaded ships 
  would run the gauntlet, but once freed, they could exact their revenge! 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best played on a 4' x 3' are,with 
  the wind blowing from the east.  
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Both fleets are chosen up to 1,000 points. Decide 
  who is the attacker and who is the defender.  
  The attacker places their fleet Anchored in at 
  least two of the three red deployment zones, 
  facing any direction.  
  The defender starts with all of their ships 
  Anchored in the port. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  For the first two Turns, none of the attacker’s 
  ships can change their Level of Sails. However, 
  they can still turn and shoot. 
  VICTORY 
  The game will last for 12 Turns or until any  
  of the victory conditions are met.  
  The defender wins if at 
  least two thirds of 
  their total initial Ship 
  Points exit the 
  western side of the 
  battle area. 
  Otherwise the  
  attacker wins. 
   
   
  The capture of the Growler and Julia by the 
  British on Lake Ontario, 1813, by Paul Wright  
  © Osprey Publishing. Taken from New Vanguard 
  188: Great Lakes Warships 1812-1815.
  British 
  brig
  45
  
  Black Seas
  SCENARIO 9 – LANDING EXPEDITION 
  When fighting on territories near or across large bodies of water, troops needed to land on 
  enemy beaches. Protecting or thwarting these expeditions could turn the tide of a conflict. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best 
  played on a 6' x 4' area, 
  with the wind blowing 
  from the north.  
  DEPLOYMENT 
  The attacker deploys a 
  fleet built to 1,500 points 
  on the western edge, in 
  three lines, with the rear 
  ships’ wake markers 
  touching the edge of the 
  battle area. There must be 
  at least three large 
  merchant ships in the 
  attacker’s fleet 
  (representing troop-carrying vessels).  
  The defender will deploy a fleet built to 1,000 
  points in the red deployment zone, with their 
  wake markers touching the southern edge of 
  the battle area. All ships begin at Battle Sails.  
  SPECIAL RULES  
  Each merchant has three troop tokens. Each 
  Turn a merchant ship spends Anchored within 
  4" of the island, transfer a troop token from the 
  merchant ship onto the island. 
  If a merchant is boarded it will fight  
  boarding actions as if the crew were Veteran. 
  Additionally, they gain 2 extra D10s and will 
  have the Trained Marines upgrade at no extra 
  cost (see page 75).
  For every full 10 points of damage a merchant 
  ship receives, one of its remaining troop tokens 
  is removed from the game. 
  VICTORY 
  The game will last for 12 Turns or until either 
  all available troop tokens are on the island or 
  there are less than four troop tokens in total left 
  in the battle area. 
  If the attacker lands five or more troops on the 
  island they win a major victory. However, if the 
  attacker lands three or four troops on the island 
  they instead only win a minor victory. 
  If the attacker only manages to land one or two 
  troops on the island, the defender wins a minor 
  victory. If the defender prevents the attacker 
  from landing any troops on the island, they win 
  a major victory. 
  Naval dirk (1780-1820)  
  © Copyright Royal Armouries
  
  Additional Scenarios
  SCENARIO 10 – CAPTURE THE FORT 
  A Martello tower of significant strategic importance has been captured by an unknown force. 
  Both players are interested in capturing the fort for their own side although the fort will not 
  surrender without a fight. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best 
  played on a 6' x 4' area, 
  with the wind blowing 
  from the north.  
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Each player deploys a fleet 
  built to 2,000 points on 
  opposite sides of the 
  board. All ships start at 
  Battle Sails and must be 
  placed wholly within their 
  deployment zone. 
  Place the Martello tower 
  on the island in the centre 
  of the board. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  The crew of the Martello tower is Veteran. 
  Additionally, at the end of each Turn, it will 
  shoot twice, once at the closest ship in each 
  fleet, with its full compliment of guns (3H, 3L). 
  Ships can perform a boarding action against 
  the tower by becoming Anchored within 3"  
  of the rocks. The tower fights in the same way 
  as a ship but with an extra +1 to hit modifier. 
  Players may not fight a boarding action 
  against the tower simultaneously. If 
  both players try to preform a boarding 
  action against the tower at the same 
  time, resolve the boarding action 
  between the players first (even if 
  the ships involved are at opposite 
  sides of the island). When only one 
  player is left, perform a boarding 
  action against the tower. Once the 
  tower Strikes the Colours, the 
  player performing the next 
  boarding action against it will 
  capture it. 
  VICTORY 
  The game will last for 10 Turns or until the 
  tower is captured or destroyed. The player who 
  captures the tower will be the winner. If the 
  tower is destroyed, or if no one captures it 
  within 10 Turns, the game is a draw. 
  HMS Royal Sovereign
  47
  
  Black Seas
  SCENARIO 11 – DANGEROUS WATERS 
  The enemy and the weather are not the only hazards ships must deal with – rocky outcrops, 
  small islands and sand banks demand the attention of a ship’s captain, lest his vessel be run 
  aground or holed. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best 
  played on a 6' x 4' area, 
  with the wind blowing 
  from the north-west.  
  DEPLOYMENT 
  Take turns placing the 
  Martello Tower 
  (abandoned) and 12 to 24 
  other islands, sandbanks, 
  and rocks evenly around 
  the battle area. 
  Each fleet is built to  
  1,500 points. 
  Decide who is the attacker and who is the 
  defender. Starting with the attacker, players 
  alternate deploying a single ship at a time until 
  both fleets are fully deployed.  
  Ships begin the game travelling at Battle Sails, 
  with the back of their wake marker touching 
  the edge of the battle area or the bow of a 
  friendly ship. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  This scenario uses the rules for shorelines, sand 
  banks and rocks (see pages 37-38).
  Line-of-sight can be drawn over sand banks. 
  However, rocks partially obscure line-of-sight 
  (you can shoot but with a -2 modifier). Larger 
  islands or land masses completely block line-
  of-sight. 
  VICTORY 
  The game lasts 15 Turns or until half of a fleet’s 
  ships have Struck the Colours or sunk. 
  Calculate victory points as follows.  
  For each damaged ship  
  (i.e. less than half ship points):  
  • Unrated - 1 point 
  • 4th, 5th or 6th rate - 2 points 
  • 3rd rate - 3 points 
  • 1st rate - 5 points 
  For each ship disabled or sunk 
  Double the above. 
  Winning the Game 
  The player with the most victory points is  
  the winner.  
  US brig
  
  Additional Scenarios
  49
  SCENARIO 12 – PITCHED SEA BATTLE 
  The awesome destructive potential of naval ships comes to realisation when large fleets engage 
  one another in open combat. Steely-eyed crew face down the oncoming enemy’s guns and 
  bravely do their duty in the midst of such terrifying fire, smoke and fury. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best 
  played on a 6' x 4' battle 
  area, with the initial  
  wind direction 
  determined randomly. 
  DEPLOYMENT 
  The two fleets should be 
  built to an equal points 
  value. We recommend 
  2,000 points per side. 
  Each player takes  
  turns deploying one of 
  their ships, until all ships 
  are deployed.  
  Each ship is at Battle Sails and is deployed with 
  the back of its wake marker touching the edge 
  of the battle area or the bow of a friendly ship. 
  SPECIAL RULES  
  After both fleets have deployed, roll 1D6 to 
  determine from which direction the wind is 
  blowing: on a 1-3 the wind comes from the 
  west; 4-6 it comes from the east. 
  VICTORY 
  The game lasts 15 Turns or until one fleet has 
  half the number of its ships sunk or surrendered. 
   
  Calculate victory points as follows.  
  For each damaged ship 
  (i.e. less than half ship points):  
  • Unrated - 1 point 
  • 4th or 6th rate - 2 points 
  • 3rd rate - 3 points 
  • 1st rate - 5 points 
  For each ship disabled or sunk 
  Double the above. 
  Winning the Game 
  The player with the most victory points is  
  the winner. 
   
   
   
   
   
  “In less than a quarter of an hour this ship  
  was a perfect wreck, without a mast or a broadside 
  gun to fire.” 
  John Nicol, midshipman of the Goliath on the Battle of the Nile, 1798
  
  Black Seas
  SCENARIO 13 – BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR 
  The most iconic sea battle of the age, this makes for a huge game with a satisfyingly large 
  number of ship models! A game of this size is ideal for playing at your local club with several 
  players taking command of parts of each fleet. 
  After pursuing the Admiral in charge of the Franco-Spanish Fleet, Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, 
  to the Caribbean and back, Admirals Lord Nelson and Collingwood engaged the enemy. On 
  the 21st of October 1805, just off the southwest coast of Spain, west of Cape Trafalgar, near 
  the town of Los Caños de Meca, the two mighty fleets finally engaged. 
  What followed was arguably the most famous naval battle in military history. 
  BATTLE AREA 
  This scenario is best played on a 8' x 6' area, 
  with the wind blowing from the west (also, see 
  Special Rules below). 
  BRITISH FLEET 
  The British deploy in two lines: 
  1st Line: 2x 1st Rates, 2x 2nd Rates,  
  6x large 3rd Rates, 2x small 3rd Rates,  
  4x 5th Rates, 2x Schooners 
  2nd Line: 1x 1st Rate, 3x 2nd Rates,  
  10x large 3rd Rates, 1x small 3rd Rate. 
  The original lines were made up of the 
  following ships, in order (the list specifies ship 
  names and number of guns).  
  The weather line led by Nelson 
  Victory [104], Téméraire [98], Neptune [98], 
  Leviathan [74], Conqueror [74], Britannia [100], 
  Agamemnon [64], Ajax [74], Orion [74],  
  Minotaur [74], Spartiate [74].  
  The lee line led by Collingwood 
  Royal Sovereign [100], Belleisle [74], Mars [74], 
  Tonnant [80], Bellerophon [74], Colossus [74], 
  Achille [74], Revenge [74], Polyphemus [64], 
  Swiftsure [74], Dreadnought [98], Defiance [74], 
  Thunderer [74], Defence [74], Prince [98]. 
  The Africa [64], attacked the head of the  
  enemy line. The following were attached to  
  the main columns: 
  Euryalus [36], Naiad [38], Phoebe [36],  
  Sirius [36], Pickle [8], Entreprenante [10]. 
  FRANCO-SPANISH FLEET 
  The combined Franco-Spanish fleet deploy in 
  one line facing north:  
  4x 1st Rates (3 of which are Spanish  
  over gunned ships), 6x 2nd Rates,  
  22x large 3rd Rates, 1x small 3rd Rate,  
  5x 5th Rates, 2x Schooners. 
  The following listing shows the French  
  and Spanish ships-of-the-line by order  
  of sailing from north to south (ship  
  name, [number of guns], “F” for France,  
  “S” for Spain): 
  Neptuno [80] S, Scipion [74] F,  
  Rayo [100] S, Formidable [80] F,  
  Duguay Trouin [74] F, Mont Blanc [74] F,  
  San Francisco de Asis [74] S,  
  San Agustin [74] S, Héros [74] F,  
  Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad [136] S, 
  Bucentaure [80] F, Neptune [80] F,  
  Redoutable [74] F, San Leandro [64] S,  
  San Justo [74] S, Santa Ana [112] S,  
  Indomptable [103] F, Fougueux [74] F,  
  Intrépide [74] F, Monarca [74] S,  
  Pluton [74] F, Bahama [74] S, Aigle [74] F, 
  Montañés [74] S, Algésiras [74] F,  
  Argonauta [80] S, Swiftsure [74] F,  
  Argonaute [74] F, San Ildefonso [74] S,  
  Achille [74] F, Principe de Asturias [112] S, 
  Berwick [74] F, San Juan Nepomuceno [74] S. 
  The smaller ships attached to the main fleet 
  were all French: 
  Cornélie [40], L’Hermione [40],  
  Hortense [40], Rhin [40], Thémis [40],  
  Furet [18], Argus [16]. 
  
  SPECIAL RULES  
  All British ships have Veteran crews. 
  Half of the large 3rd rates of the Franco-Spanish 
  fleet have Regular crews, all other ships have 
  Inexperienced crews. 
  The wind is consistant but very light and  
  is always becalmed, never roll to change  
  the wind direction in phase 1 of a Turn (see 
  page 8).  
  VICTORY 
  The game ends when 36 ships have either 
  Struck the Colours or have been destroyed. 
  Each ship that Strikes the Colours or has been 
  destroyed is worth a number of victory points 
  equal to its original Ship Points to the  
  enemy player.  
  When the game ends, the player with the most 
  victory points is the winner.
  51
  Additional Scenarios
  England Expects! The Royal Navy line of battle bears down on the Franco-Spanish column.
  
  B
  AT
  T
  L
  E
  S
  Ships propelled by sails have been used for thousands of years. However it wasn’t until around 
  1770 when ships started to use carronades, that the tactics and technological advancements in ship 
  building and sailing turned naval conflicts into a real art. Here we briefly explore the main naval 
  conflicts of the age. Although there were several skirmishes and small fleet actions throughout 
  the entire period, there were four main wars which featured large naval engagements. 
  American War of Independence (1775-83)  
  In July 1776 the thirteen British colonies in the 
  Americas, angry at taxation from Britain and 
  lack of representation in the British 
  government, united in declaring themselves 
  independent of British rule. The colonies were 
  already in conflict with Britain, as the first  
  shots of resistance had been fired by  
  American militia at Lexington and Concord  
  the previous year.  
  It seemed unlikely that the rebellious states, 
  defended only by militia and the almost  
  non-existent Continental Navy would survive 
  long against the military might of Britain. The 
  first major battle, at Bunker Hill (June 17th, 
  1775) during the Siege of Boston, reinforced 
  this belief. But it also showed that 
  conventional 18th century linear tactics were 
  going to cost the British dearly. Similarly, the 
  OF 
  TH
  E
  C
  AR
  RO
  NA
  DE
   E
  RA
  US and British frigates clash off the coast of mainland America.
  
  53
  newly formed US Navy, which built thirteen 
  frigates by March 1776, lost nearly all of them 
  by 1781, due to the overwhelming might of the 
  British North Atlantic fleet. American 
  privateers, however, did account for the loss of 
  a large amount of British commercial shipping.  
  Across six major land campaigns (Boston, 
  Quebec, New York, Saratoga, Philadelphia and 
  Yorktown) more battles were won by the British 
  than by the US, but the victors rarely managed 
  to turn tactical success into strategic advantage. 
  For both sides, attrition became a major factor 
  leading the British to use Hessian mercenaries – 
  a move which solidified opposition against 
  them. However, the balance of forces shifted 
  when the French joined the war in 1778. This 
  led to the first major naval encounter, the Battle 
  of Ushant (July 1778), a substantial but 
  essentially indecisive action.  
  The following year Spain joined France, which 
  meant that the British navy, the largest in the 
  world, was now outnumbered and Britain 
  found she was fighting on several fronts, 
  including India and the West Indies. Spain had 
  her eyes on Gibraltar, commencing a four year 
  siege of that rock, though it was broken at least 
  three times by relieving fleets. 
  the year 1779 saw the Franco-Spanish alliance 
  attempt to invade Britain – an enterprise 
  wrecked by disease and contrary winds. 
  However, their diversionary action created one 
  of the most celebrated naval actions of the war.  
  Captain John Paul Jones in the USS Bonhomme 
  Richard led a fleet of five ships to battle off 
  Flamborough Head in Yorkshire. Outgunned, 
  and with his ship aflame, Jones attempted to 
  grapple the Richard to HMS Serapis. After a 
  struggle, he succeeded and, while his own ship 
  sank, his crew boarded and captured the British 
  ship, fleeing with that prize to neutral Holland. 
  In 1781 Lord Cornwallis’s unsuccessful army 
  retreated to Yorktown. Offshore, at the Battle  
  of the Chesapeake, a French fleet under Vice 
  Admiral the Comte de Grasse defeated the 
  British relieving fleet of Admiral Sir Thomas 
  Graves. Whilst only a minor defeat, it was 
  sufficient to keep the relief away, and a 
  disappointed Cornwallis duly surrendered.  
  Despite a subsequent British naval victory in the 
  Battle of the Saintes in 1782 in which Admiral Sir 
  George Rodney’s 36 vessels defeated a French 
  fleet of 33, the loss of Cornwallis’s army in 
  Yorktown was a blow from which Britain never 
  recovered. Peace was agreed in 1783. 
  Ranger vs HMS Drake, by Tony Bryan © Osprey Publishing. Taken 
  from New Vanguard 161: Ships of the American Revolutionary Navy.
  
  Black Seas
  French Revolutionary Wars (1793-1802) 
  The French Revolution of 1789, resulting from 
  discontent at increased taxes and perceived 
  misgovernment, created turmoil in the country. 
  Despite the revolutionary ideology of “liberty, 
  equality and fraternity” it led to imprisonment, 
  disunity, hatred, the guillotine and The Terror – 
  a period where many thousands were executed. 
  It also panicked the monarchies of other states, 
  who feared their own populations might follow 
  suit. Foremost amongst these was Britain. 
  The French Republican government, the 
  Directory, felt military success could promote 
  their revolutionary ideals and help forge 
  national unity. They gave this task to a young, 
  ambitious general, Napoleon Bonaparte. He 
  had made his reputation in 1793, at the siege of 
  Toulon. This key naval base was occupied by a 
  joint Anglo-Spanish fleet until Bonaparte’s 
  artillery threatened them. The fleet withdrew, 
  the city came back under Revolutionary control 
  and Bonaparte’s ascendancy began. 
  With thirteen rapid and unexpected victories 
  demonstrating the might of revolutionary 
  armies, Napoleon gave the Directory control of 
  A broadside from HMS Nymphe wreaks havoc on the 
  Cleopatre, June 1793, by Peter Dennis © Osprey Publishing. 
  Taken from Duel 52: British Frigate vs French Frigate.
  
  Battles of the Caronnade Era
  55
  Northern Italy and the Papal states.  
  However, his political masters worried he 
  might seek power, so to distract him he  
  was commanded to assemble a fleet to  
  invade Britain. 
  Unfortunately, those ideals which led to 
  success on land paradoxically weakened the 
  French Navy. Egalitarianism undermined the 
  absolute authority which naval efficiencies 
  depended on. Crews refused duties, mutinies 
  occurred and many naval commanders were 
  lynched or guillotined. Consequently, there 
  was a shortage of officers and seamen, 
  inexperienced men were promoted and 
  maintenance of the fleet had declined. 
  Napoleon persuaded the Directory that an 
  invasion across the Channel was unworkable. 
  Instead he used the fleet to invade Egypt, 
  threatening British trade routes with India. 
  Pursued, but not caught, by Admiral Lord 
  Horatio Nelson, he took 33,000 troops and 17 
  ships of the line across the Mediterranean, first 
  seizing Malta as a staging post, then marching 
  into Alexandria and Cairo.  
  Whilst consolidating his hold on the country, 
  his fleet lay anchored at Aboukir Bay, 
  commanded by Admiral Brueys. Brueys 
  moored the ships in an apparently strong 
  position, a defensive line parallel to the shore, 
  ideal for conventional linear tactics. On the 
  evening of August 1st, when the British fleet 
  arrived, French crews were ashore and did not 
  believe they’d be attacked until the following 
  day. However, the British came on rapidly, and 
  rather than forming line, passed between and 
  around the French ships, engaging their inshore 
  (port) sides, which were not prepared for 
  action. Only four French ships escaped.  
  This disaster, the Battle of the Nile (1798), 
  isolated Napoleon’s army in Egypt. He 
  returned to France, seizing power and 
  defeating the Austrians again (at Marengo, in 
  1800). But, as the British now had effective 
  control of the Mediterranean, his Egyptian 
  army could not be reinforced nor resupplied, 
  eventually surrendering to British and Turkish 
  assaults in 1801. 
  It took the British eight months to recapture 
  Malta. Meanwhile, the Baltic countries were 
  drawn into the conflict, leading Nelson to 
  bombard Copenhagen (technically neutral, but 
  in British eyes disposed aggressively against 
  them). Fortunately, peace was signed in 1802. 
  Both sides knew, however, this was merely a 
  pause in hostilities. 
  The Imperial Rus sian Navy 
  The Russians had a large fleet during the period covered by Black Seas, in fact it had the 
  fourth largest navy after Great Britain, France and Spain. The Russian Navy had different 
  flotillas for every different sea mass adjacent to the Russian Empire – the Baltic Sea, 
  Caspian Sea, Black Sea, White Sea and the Pacific Ocean.  Despite its size the fleets saw 
  little action. Admiral Spiridov defeated the Turkish Fleet in 1771. The Navy also assisted 
  the Russian army in capturing Derbent and Baku during the Persian Expedition of 1796. It 
  saw some action in the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, helped a coalition with Britain, 
  and France against an Ottoman/Egyptian force at the Battle of Navarino (off Greece) in 
  1827 and was used to great effect during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-29.
  The Dutch Navy 
  In the earlier stages of the 18th century 
  the Dutch Navy was at the pinnacle of 
  its strength, both in terms of size and 
  capability.  By the end of the 18th 
  century it had fallen under political 
  control of Britain initially, and France 
  later. So any action during this period 
  was performed as an ally of the greater 
  forces involved in the period’s conflicts. 
  
  The Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) 
  One of the most heavily studied eras of 
  European history, the French wars which began 
  in 1803 were effectively a continuation of those 
  which had preceded them, involving most 
  European countries and their colonial 
  possessions. Naval actions in this period were 
  worldwide: in the Mediterranean, the North 
  Sea, the Baltic, the Atlantic and as far afield as 
  the West and East Indies. These were, of 
  course, mainly in support of strategies and 
  campaigns on land, but also related to local 
  quarrels as well as to strategic, political and 
  trade decisions.  
  Soon after war was declared, French control  
  in the West Indies was quickly eroded by a 
  small naval squadron under Admiral Samuel 
  Hood. First St Lucia fell, then Tobago, whilst 
  the slaves in Hispaniola carried out their own 
  Revolution, ousting their French slave- 
  masters, and renaming the island Haiti. By 
  1804 only the islands of Guadeloupe and 
  Martinique remained French possessions. 
  However, Hood had insufficient resources to 
  capture these islands. Conversely, French 
  forces there were strong enough to make raids 
  on British possessions, but insufficient to 
  consolidate those successes. The war in this 
  arena became largely a series of raids and 
  small-scale amphibious actions, though in 1809 
  Britain eventually captured both Martinique 
  and Guadeloupe.  
  Crew of the Redoutable cheers damage dealt to the masts of HMS 
  Victory at Trafalgar, 1805, by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. 
  Taken from Warrior 97: French Warship Crews 1789-1805.
  The Portuguese Navy 
  By the end of the 18th century Portugal 
  had a small but well organised fleet.  
  It mostly saw action against Spain off 
  South America and against France as it 
  was often allied to Britain in the latter 
  part of the 18th century.  Portugal fought 
  again against France during the 
  Napoleonic wars, especially in the 
  Mediterranean sea.
  Black Seas
  
  Battles of the Caronnade Era
  Whilst Britain, of course, remained Napoleon’s 
  obdurate opponent throughout the period, the 
  other great powers - Austria, Prussia, Russia, 
  Spain – found themselves at times either allied 
  to him, or one-by-one defeated by him. His 
  early reputation was confirmed in the masterly 
  land battles of 1805: Ulm (a superb outflanking 
  of sluggish Austrian forces) and Austerlitz 
  (deception then destruction of an 
  outnumbering Russian and Austrian army). 
  Whilst the French had continued success on 
  land, in the same year she suffered defeat in the 
  defining naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. 
  At Trafalgar Nelson’s fleet of 33 ships defeated 
  a combined French and Spanish fleet of 40 ships 
  of the line commanded by Admiral Villeneuve. 
  As at The Nile, rather than conforming line to 
  parallel line to exchange broadsides, British 
  ships sailed perpendicularly across and 
  through the French line, so each British 
  broadside was met by limited French counter-
  fire. Nelson captured or destroyed 22 
  Franco-Spanish ships, and lost none, though in 
  the aftermath of the battle some of the prizes 
  were destroyed and Nelson himself perished. 
  Trafalgar prevented Napoleon’s planned 
  invasion of Britain. Having naval dominance, in 
  1806 Britain now began a complete naval 
  blockade of the French coast. In response, 
  Napoleon instituted the Continental System, 
  which prevented trade between French allies 
  and Britain. Whilst Britain did not suffer greatly 
  as a result, merely redirecting trade to other 
  countries, many of Napoleon’s European allies 
  lost significant trade, creating further resistance 
  to his rule. Policing these blockades, and 
  escorting or disrupting merchant convoys, 
  became important elements of naval strategy, 
  while the position of Spain and Russia, at the 
  limits of French conquest, potentially left holes 
  in the French system. 
  Napoleon’s further major victories, over the 
  Prussians, at Jena-Auerstedt (1806) and the 
  Russians at Friedland (1807) extended the 
  impact of his Continental System, primarily 
  through the Treaties of Tilsit (1807). Russia 
  agreed to the Continental System, and so found 
  itself now at war with both Britain and her ally, 
  Sweden. The Baltic then became one of several 
  arenas in which naval actions carried forward 
  French interests by proxy. Several small naval 
  engagements took place, of which the most 
  notable was probably in the Gulf of Finland in 
  1809, where a joint British-Swedish fleet 
  defeated a Russian fleet of 20 ships. 
  57
  HMS Leander at the Battle of The Nile, 1798, by 
  Tony Bryan © Osprey Publishing. Taken from New 
  Vanguard 42: British Napoleonic Ship-of-the-Line.
  
  Black Seas
  After the highpoint of 1807, French fortunes 
  varied. In 1808 Napoleon invaded Spain which 
  revolted against French rule. This war in the 
  Peninsula became a constant drain on French 
  resources and saw a succession of French 
  Marshals defeated by British, Portuguese and 
  Spanish forces (the most renowned being 
  Wellington’s victories at Talavera in 1809, 
  Salamanca in 1812 and Vitoria in 1813). 
  The year 1809 saw Napoleon’s first major 
  defeat, by the Austrians at Aspern-Essling, 
  though he was able to reverse this loss two 
  months later at Wagram. Thereafter, as most of 
  mainland Europe had been subdued by France, 
  1810 and 1811 proved relatively peaceful in 
  Europe, though resentment simmered in just 
  about every conquered State and hostilities 
  continued elsewhere in the world. In the East 
  Indies, for example, French squadrons aimed to 
  disrupt British trade with India. In 1810, a 
  French frigate squadron destroyed five British 
  ships in the Battle of Grand Port, off the coast of 
  what is now Mauritius – the biggest naval 
  disaster for Britain in the war. This gave France 
  local superiority in the Indies to harass British 
  convoys. However, British amphibious 
  operations eventually captured the island and 
  followed this, in 1811, with a British fleet of 25 
  ships out of India capturing Java, effectively 
  suppressing French operations in the area. 
  Meanwhile, Napoleon was concerned about 
  Russia. Despite the treaties, Tsar Alexander was 
  trading extensively with Britain through 
  proxies. Napoleon decided to compel 
  Alexander’s compliance by invading Russia, on 
  the pretext of protecting Poland. He assembled 
  a Grande Armée of over 600,000 French and 
  allies, which, in 1812, battered through Russian 
  resistance at Borodino, but arrived at Moscow 
  to find the city ablaze and uninhabitable. 
  The retreating French army was all but 
  annihilated by guerrilla warfare and the 
  Russian winter. France’s loss of approaching 
  500,000 men was something Napoleon was 
  never able to recover from. This huge failure, 
  coupled with Wellington’s successes in Spain 
  gave heart to France’s enemies who now began 
  to mobilise against him. Over 20 battles were 
  fought in 1813 as France’s former allies turned 
  against her, culminating in the three day battle 
  of Leipzig in which approximately 365,000 
  allies (Russian, Austrian, Prussian and 
  Swedish) fought 200,000 French. Napoleon’s 
  defeat here meant that 1814 became a series of 
  defensive stalling battles, as embattled France 
  was beset on all sides, until Paris was taken. In 
  April 1814 Napoleon abdicated. 
  In March 1815 he was back in Paris, 
  organising a new army that would be 
  defeated 100 days later by Allied forces on  
  the battlefield of Waterloo. 
  Flintlock muzzle-loading pistol 
  – Phillipe d'Auvergne pattern 
   (about 1796) by Henry Nock  
  © Copyright Royal Armouries
  “I do not say the 
  Frenchman will not 
  come. I only say he 
  will not come by sea.” 
  Admiral Lord St. Vincent, 1803
  
  War of 1812 (1812-1815)  
  Several linked factors led to the War of 1812. 
  Britain was pressing US sailors into its navy to 
  help with the war in Europe. US ships were 
  neutral, meaning that both France and Britain 
  suspected them. In 1807 the American frigate 
  Chesapeake was attacked and boarded by HMS 
  Leopard, removing four US crewmen as British 
  deserters. The US responded with an economic 
  embargo to pressure both Britain and France into 
  respecting US neutrality, but this was ineffective.  
  These increasing tensions gave President 
  Madison the excuse for war. However, his real 
  reason was probably to forge national unity 
  amongst States that were pulling in different 
  directions, many factions being keen on US 
  expansion into Canada. 
  Both countries recognised the strategic 
  importance of Lakes Erie and Ontario, being the 
  most convenient routes between them. Here 
  initial aggressive moves by the US into Canada 
  were quickly repulsed with embarrassing 
  American defeats. Both sides felt naval 
  domination of the lakes would win the war, 
  building larger and larger ships there. The 
  largest was the 112-gun HMS St Lawrence, 
  whose launch in 1814 on Lake Ontario 
  effectively ended that arms race. 
  Upon the lakes, small ad hoc fleets might 
  raid enemy outposts, seize strategic bays 
  or islands, or support the coastal advance 
  of an army. At sea, the US Navy was 
  primarily tasked with capturing British 
  merchants, but more often pursued the 
  ‘honour’ of attacking warships. The 
  British Navy, on the other hand, was 
  mainly used to blockade ports and 
  protect merchant ships.  
  Most naval actions of the war were small 
  scale, often only between single ships. 
  Because the bulk of the British Navy was 
  engaged in and around Europe, US 
  frigates were generally superior to the 
  British ships they encountered, often out-
  gunning and out-manning them. The USS 
  Constitution, for example, in two separate 
  encounters, captured HMS Guerriere and 
  HMS Java. Probably the most dramatic 
  encounter was between HMS Shannon 
  and the USS Chesapeake in 1813. In eleven 
  minutes, over a quarter of the combatants fell 
  casualty (231 men), including the commanders 
  of both ships. 
  On land the war consisted largely of raids into 
  enemy territory, with success and disaster on 
  both sides. In August 1812 2,500 Americans in 
  Detroit surrendered to 1,300 Anglo-Canadians. 
  In October 1813 US forces heavily defeated a 
  combined British and Native American army in 
  the battle of the Thames. In November, at 
  Chrysler’s farm near Montreal, an inferior 
  Canadian army inflicted a heavy defeat on 
  invading US forces.  
  In 1814, when the apparent end of the 
  European war released British forces for 
  America, the success of the naval blockade led 
  to a strategy of coastal raids, meant to deflect 
  the US from incursions in the North. Britain 
  attacked Washington, burning the White 
  House, then unsuccessfully besieged Baltimore. 
  Meanwhile, the US launched the Niagara 
  campaign, whose most significant battle at 
  Lundy’s Lane decided nothing. Peace was 
  signed on Dec 24th, though not communicated 
  quickly enough to forestall a final spectacular 
  British failure to take New Orleans. 
  Battles of the Caronnade Era
  A Royal Navy boat action against a US ship, 1812-
  1815 by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. Taken 
  from Warrior 131: Nelson's Officers & Midshipmen.
  59
  
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  As already stated, there is a bewildering array of types and sizes of ships at large in this glorious 
  period of naval warfare. Don’t know your ketch from your xebec or your sloops from your 
  schooners? Don’t worry! To aid the uninitiated and to clearly state our intentions as to which is 
  which within Black Seas the following profiles have been produced.  
  Type of Ships 
  BARQUE: Typically a three-masted vessel, in which the fore mast and main 
  mast are square-rigged and the mizzen mast is rigged fore and aft. 
  BRIG: A two-masted square rigged vessel, with between 10 and 18 cannons, 
  frequently used  in combat actions by various navies. 
  BRIGANTINE: Very similar to a brig, but slightly smaller. Often with the 
  mizzen mast rigged fore and aft. 
  CANNON SLOOP: A two-masted ship with sails rigged loose footed on gaff.  
  CUTTER: Usually a tiny or small vessel with one mast. Designed for speed 
  more than transport capacity, the mast has a triangular aft (behind the mast) 
  sail rigged fore and aft (from the front to the rear) and a headsail (a triangular 
  sail rigged in front of the mast). 
  FRIGATE: A small warship with a perfect balance of speed, armament and 
  resilience that made it ideal for single ship action and privateering against 
  merchant ships. It usually had one main gun deck as well as the guns 
  positioned on the top decks.  
  T
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  61
  GALLEY: A very low, long and slender ship that uses banks of oars as its 
  main mode of propulsion. 
  GUNBOAT: A tiny vessel, with one to three mounted cannons, usually with 
  one mast with square rigged sails. 
  GUN YAWL: A tiny vessel with a main mast and a smaller mizzen mast on the 
  back of the ship. With fore and aft rigged (from front to rear) triangular sails, 
  four to ten cannons, and also two rows of oars (one on each side). 
  GUNBRIG: A small two-masted vessel, typically carrying 12 guns, a  
  cannon pointing forward, one backwards and ten (five on each side) 
  carronades on the broadsides.  
  LUGGER: A tiny vessel, usually used as a fishing boat, with lug sails – square 
  sails rigged fore and aft (from the front to the rear).  
  MERCHANT: A slow lumbering vessel designed to have a large capacity for 
  transporting goods but not very manoeuvrable. 
  SCHOONER: A two-masted vessel with both masts having loose footed  
  sails rigged on gaff and two or more headsails (staysails rigged in front of the 
  fore mast). 
  SLOOP: A tiny vessel (although larger sloops existed) usually with only one 
  mast and a gaff rigged aft (behind the mast) sail rigged fore and aft (from the 
  front to the rear). 
  TURUMA/HEMMEMA: Shallow draft (often also oared) frigate in operation 
  in the Baltic and Swedish archipelago. 
  XEBEC: A two- or three-masted vessel usually found in the Mediterranean 
  that was used mostly for trading. It had a long overhanging bowsprit, an aft-
  set mizzen mast and lateen sails. 
  
  Black Seas
  Sails 
  There were many different ways that sails were rigged on ships as seen below. 
  Square: Topsail
  Square: Course
  Lateen
  Quadrilateral 
  on spar
  Loose-footed 
  on gaff
  Spritsail
  Standing lug
  Triangular
  Dipping lug
  Junk
  Gaff-rigged
  Staysail
  Captain Pellew directs the action on the quarter-
  deck of HMS Nymphe, June 1793, by Peter Dennis 
  © Osprey Publishing. Taken from Duel 52: British 
  Frigate vs French Frigate.
  
  A Brief Guide to Tall Ships
  63
  Hull
  Mast
  AFT 
  Rudder 
  Lower wale
  Keel
  Gun ports
  Head
  PORT
  STARBOARD
  STERN
  WAIST
  BOW
  Poop 
  deck
  Mizzen mast
  Main mast
  Fore mast
  Royal yard
  Crosstree
  Main top
  Futlock shroud
  Ratline
  Main chain
  Mainmast
  Fife rail
  Footrope
  Mainyard
  Topmast
  Topsail yard
  Topgallant yard
  Topgallant mast
  Masthead/truck
  Cathead
  Figurehead
  Bowsprit
  Main or  
  spar deck
  Forecastle
  Quarter 
  deck
  FORWARD 
  Flogging 
  Discipline on a navy warship was 
  paramount because, as a very 
  complicated machine, all its elements 
  would have to work in unison to 
  achieve both sailing prowess and victory 
  in battle. The crew had to obey orders 
  and do their duty at all times. However, 
  on occasion, an infraction was made 
  (stealing rations, failing to salute, 
  avoiding work, etc). This would be 
  usually punished by several lashes from 
  a cat-o’-nine-tails (a brutal whip made 
  up of nine cords attached to a stock). 
  The standard practice was for the ship’s 
  company to assemble on the top decks 
  and for the captain to read out the crime 
  and the naval code describing the apt 
  punishment. Then the flogging would 
  take place on the bare back of the 
  perpetrator who would have been 
  previously lashed to a grating. 
  
  The Rating System 
  Britain’s Royal Navy introduced a system of 
  rating the ships of its fleet based on the 
  number of guns they carried. This rating 
  system takes its name from the capability of 
  ships to stand in a line of battle (Ship-of-the-
  Line). Initially introduced by Samuel Pepys  
  in 1677, the rating system underwent 
  numerous revisions until the late 1800s.  
  After its introduction, the other nations also 
  adopted very similar systems to categorise 
  their ships. 
  • 1st rate = 100+ guns 
  • 2nd rate = 90-98 guns 
  • 3rd rate = 64-80 guns 
  • 4th rate = 50-60 guns 
  • 5th rate = 32-44 guns 
  • 6th rate = 20-28 guns 
  The largest ships were classified as 1st rate. 
  They were capable of incredible firepower and 
  able to withstand severe damage. They were 
  very costly to build and to maintain, but were 
  magnificent war machines that inspired fear 
  and awe in the enemy. 
  2nd rate ships were a hybrid – larger than the 
  more popular 3rd rates but not as big as a  
  1st rate. Not as many 2nd rates were built 
  during the Carronade era. 
  One of the most popular size of ships for this 
  period was the 3rd rate. They had a perfect 
  balance between manoeuvrability, firepower and 
  sturdiness. A large number of 3rd rates were built 
  and employed on a wide variety of missions.  
  As with the 2nd rates, the 4th rates were not as 
  popular as some of the other ship categories 
  and so fewer were built. They were not large 
  enough to withstand the line of battle but too 
  big to be considered frigates. 
  The 5th rates were the archetypal frigates of the 
  period. Used for single ship actions and 
  privateering, they could make their crews very 
  rich as a result of the share of the prize money 
  for any captured ship. 
  The smallest Ship-of-the-Line was the 6th  
  rate. It was mostly used to relay orders or  
  take messages. 
  All other ships with less than 20 cannons were 
  considered Unrated. These were not really 
  meant to participate in large battles – that was 
  the domain of the Ships-of-the-Line. However, 
  they were the vessels of choice for privateers 
  and still played a valuable role during larger 
  battles relaying orders and messages in a 
  similar fashion to the 6th rates. 
  Black Seas
  HMS Royal Sovereign leads a Royal Navy fleet on patrol.
  
  A Brief Guide to Tall Ships
  65
  Glossary of Naval Terms 
  Able Seaman: An experienced sailor. 
  Afore: Toward the front of the vessel. 
  Aft: Toward the rear of the vessel. 
  Aloft: Up in the rigging or masts. 
  Astern: Behind. 
  Ballast: Heavy weights, usually gravel, iron or 
  stone, placed in the hold to help with stability. 
  Bar: A shallow area of water at the entrance to  
  a harbour. 
  Beam: The ship’s width. 
  Bilge: The angle between the bottom and the 
  side of a ship’s hull. 
  Bilges: The lowest part of ship, usually filled 
  with waste water. 
  Binnacle: The locker in front of the ship’s 
  wheel, where the compass is kept. 
  Block: A pulley. 
  Boarding nets: Nets hanging from the ship’s 
  hull, designed to hamper boarders. 
  Boatswain (Bo’sun): The ship’s officer in charge 
  of both crew and equipment. 
  Boom: An extendable light spar, often used 
  with a studding sail. 
  Bounty: The money gained from capturing an 
  enemy vessel or completing a task. 
  Bowsprit: The spar that extends from the front 
  of the ship. 
  Boxhauling: A way to recover from a  
  failed tack. Involves backing up by sailing  
  into the wind. 
  Brace: The rope that holds a sail in position. 
  Broadside: All the cannons on one side of the 
  ship, or the coordinated fire of those guns. 
  Bulkhead: The inside, vertical part, of a vessel. 
  Burgoo: A porridge-like food. 
  Canister shot: Cannon ammunition designed to 
  be effective against enemy crews. 
  Capstan: The device sailors turn in order to 
  haul up cables. 
  Careen: Turning a ship on its side in order to 
  clean or perform maintenance on it. 
  Carronade: Powerful, but short ranged,  
  naval cannon. 
  Caulking: A way to fill gaps between hull 
  planks with pitch and unpicked rope. 
  Chase guns: Guns that fire fore or aft during  
  a chase. 
  Close-hauled: Sailing as close to the direction 
  of the wind as possible. 
  Flag officer: An admiral entitled to fly a 
  personalised flag when commanding. 
  Fireship: A ship deliberately turned into an 
  incendiary device. 
  Fore: The front of the ship 
  Forecastle: The raised deck at the front of a ship. 
  Gaff: The yard supporting the top of a sail. 
  Halyards: The ropes that raise and lower flags, 
  sails or yards. 
  Heads: The ship’s toilets. 
  Jib: The front-most, triangular, sail. 
  Jollyboat: The ship’s smallest boat. 
  Larboard: Left (port) 
  Lateen sail: A triangular sail. 
  Lee: The direction away from the wind. 
  Luff: Turning closer to the wind. 
  Lug sail: A four-sided sail. 
  Mast: The post that supports all the sails, yards, 
  gaffs and spars. The three masts are called: fore, 
  main and mizzen. 
  Midshipman: A junior officer. 
  Muster: The list of all men currently aboard ship. 
  Ordinary seaman: An inexperienced sailor. 
  Orlop deck: The lowest deck, often on  
  the waterline. 
  Petty officer: A senior sailor with extra 
  responsibilities. 
  Pinnace: A ship’s boat. 
  Pipe: When a boatswain blows his pipe to 
  indicate an order has been given. 
  Pitch: The rise and fall of the fore and aft of a ship 
  Poop: The raised deck at the rear of a ship. 
  Privateer: A privately funded warship given 
  licence to attack shipping. 
  Quarter deck: A raised deck running from the 
  middle of the ship to the stern. 
  Ratlines: A net-like series of ropes that allows 
  access to a ship’s rigging. 
  Royal: A type of squaresail that is beneath the 
  topgallant mast. 
  Sheets: Ropes used to control a sail, attached at 
  the bottom corners. 
  Ship: A square-rigged, three masted, vessel. 
  Shrouds: Ropes running from the sides of the 
  ship up to the masts. 
  Spanker: A fore-and-aft sail, attached with gaff 
  and boom to the aft of a ship. 
  Spar: A strong pole from which sails are hung. 
  Square-rigged: A ship rigged with horizontal 
  squaresails. 
  Stays: Support ropes for masts. 
  Tack: To sail a ship into and through the wind. 
  Top/Fighting top: A low platform on the mast 
  where men work and fight. 
  Topgallant: The highest spar that makes a mast. 
  Wardroom: The room used as the officers’ mess. 
  Wear: Turning the ship by moving the bow 
  with the wind. 
  Windage: How far the ship is off course due to 
  the wind. 
  Windward: The direction the wind is blowing. 
  Yard: The horizontal spar that supports the sails. 
  Yardarm: The outer part of a yard.
  
  Black Seas
  HMS Victory 1805,  
  by Tony Bryan © Osprey Publishing. Taken from  
  New Vanguard 42: British Napoleonic Ship-of-the-Line.
  HMS Victory
  x = Spot where Nelson was 
  mortally wounded at the 
  Battle of Trafalgar, 1805
  x
  Flag 
  Lockers
  Tiller
  Rudder
  Orlop 
  Deck
  Main 
  Mast
  Hammock 
  Netting
  Quarter 
  Deck
  Mizzen 
  Mast
  Ship’s 
  Wheel
  Poop 
  Deck
  Boat 
  Davits
  
  67
  HMS Victory
  SPECIFICATION 
  Launched: 7 May 1765 
  Displacement: 2,142 tons 
  Length overall: 186 ft. 
  Keel length: 1451 ft. 4 in. 
  Beam: 52 ft. 
  Draught: 21 ft. 6 in. 
  Armament:   30 x 32-pdrs, 28 x 24-pdrs, 
                         30 x 12-pdrs, 12 x 6-pdrs.
  Copper 
  Bottom
  Entry 
  Port
  Keel
  Gun 
  Deck
  Middle 
  Deck
  Figurehead
  Bowsprit
  Marine’s 
  Walk
  Forecastle
  Fore Mast
  Chimney
  Fire Hearth 
  and Boiler
  Belfry
  Sheer 
  Anchor
  Fore Jeet 
  Capstan
  Upper 
  Deck
  
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  There were many different roles that needed to be fulfilled on a ship – the key ones are 
  summarised here. The Royal Navy was one of the only institutions of the time in which one could 
  rise through the ranks, starting at the very bottom, and end up holding a high-ranking position 
  entirely through their own merit. 
  SEAMEN 
  There were broadly three categories of seamen: 
  men with no sailing experience (most of these 
  were “pressed” into service) who were known 
  as Landsmen. They would do a lot of the heavy 
  lifting and most menial jobs. Men with some 
  sailing experience were called Ordinary 
  Seamen. These men would still need 
  supervision but could help in the management 
  of the ropes and sails. After at least two years 
  served as ordinary seamen on a ship one would 
  advance to the rank of Able Seaman. They were 
  expert sailors, key to the safe navigation of the 
  ship. A seaman’s pay would increase with the 
  ranking. However, they all had to sleep in 
  hammocks on one of the gun decks. 
  MARINES 
  Most war ships with more than 12 guns had a 
  detachment of marines – the larger the ship, the 
  more marines they would have, very 
  approximately one marine per gun. When a 
  ship was out of action, marines mostly 
  performed guard duties or were used as 
  supplementary muscle where needed (although 
  not on the rigging). They also trained in combat 
  and musketry. In preparation for action, marine 
  drummers would ‘beat to quarters’ and during 
  a fight, marines would be stationed on the top 
  decks (and sometimes in the tops - the high 
  platforms of the masts) firing their muskets or 
  fighting in hand-to-hand combat, or helping the 
  gun crews as marine artillery-men.   
  US Marines in the fighting top during the Barbary Wars, by 
  Guiseppe Rava © Osprey Publishing. Taken from New Vanguard 
  147: American Light & Medium Frigates 1794-1836.
  
  MIDSHIPMEN 
  Usually from the middle or upper classes 
  (although not exclusively), young men and 
  sometimes children, would voluntarily enter 
  into the service on a career path to become 
  officers. After three years at sea as a volunteer 
  seaman, one was then eligible to become  
  a Midshipman.  
  In the Royal Navy it would take a further 
  minimum of six years before one could take the 
  examination to pass to Lieutenant, and it was 
  typical for the average Midshipman to fail this 
  several times. On top of this, even if the 
  examination was passed, positions of 
  Lieutenant were much less in number than the 
  people aspiring to them. Therefore, one would 
  expect to remain Midshipman for many years. 
  They held a minor position of authority 
  amongst the crew and would be in charge of 
  gun crews during action or could be on watch, 
  and were generally expected to work the ship 
  on top of keeping up with their learning on 
  navigation and seamanship. 
  PETTY OFFICERS 
  The term identifies all the roles on a ship below 
  the rank of officer but above the rank of able 
  seaman. Some of these roles would only exist 
  on larger ships. Although these terms refer 
  specifically to the Royal Navy, all other navies 
  had the same or very similar positions: 
  • Quartermaster – in charge of steering the 
  ship and executing the orders of the master 
  or captain in the matter of sailing the ship.  
  • Boatswain’s mates – kept discipline 
  amongst the seamen and ensured all orders 
  were carried out. 
  • Carpenter’s mate – assisted the carpenter in 
  any maintenance or repair of the wooden 
  parts of a ship. 
  • Caulker’s mate – assisted the caulker in the 
  important duty of keeping the ship afloat. 
  • Captain’s clerk – helped the captain in 
  administrative tasks such as writing ledgers, 
  journals and reports and generally assisted 
  the captain in his duties. 
  • Gunner’s mate – assisted the gunner in  
  his duties. 
  • Yeomen – there would be several assigned 
  to the various storages (magazine, sails, 
  carpentry, etc.) to keep the ship’s stores  
  well-organised. 
  • Armourer’s mate – assisted in looking after 
  the small arms stored on the ship. 
  • Ship’s corporal – assisted the master-at-
  arms in his inspections. 
  69
  Royal Navy  
  Midshipman c.1797  
  by Steve Noon © Osprey 
  Publishing. Taken from  
  Warrior 131: Nelson's Officers  
  & Midshipmen
  Royal Navy Midshipman c.1805  
  by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing.  
  Taken from Warrior 131: Nelson's Officers  
  & Midshipmen.
   “Never strike the flag!” 
  Captain Dupetit-Thouars’ dying words on the 
  Tonnant at the Battle of the Nile, 1798
  
  Black Seas
  WARRANT OFFICERS 
  They were appointed by the Navy Board and 
  were dedicated specialists in various fields. 
  Although these terms refer specifically to the 
  Royal Navy, all other navies had the same or 
  very similar positions: 
  • Master – responsible for all matters of sailing 
  and sea navigation of a ship. His decision on 
  these matters sometimes surpassed even 
  those of the captain. 
  • Surgeon – responsible for maintaining the 
  general well-being and health of the crew; 
  would also operate on the wounded  
  during action. 
  • Purser – was in charge of all non-war-related 
  stores on the ship. He was the storekeeper 
  and shopkeeper and would distribute or sell 
  general use items to the crew. 
  • Chaplain – celebrated mass and presided 
  over funerals, amongst other spiritual 
  (clergy) related functions. 
  • Carpenter – responsible for maintaining and 
  repairing the wooden parts of a ship. 
  • Gunner – was in charge of training gun 
  crews and supervised large teams made up 
  of gunner’s mates, quarter gunners, yeomen, 
  armourers and, on occasion, a gunsmith. The 
  actual gun crews were composed of a 
  mixture of seamen, marines and landsmen 
  and were commanded by lieutenants and 
  midshipmen in battle. 
  • Boatswain (Bo’sun) – maintained the 
  discipline amongst the crew, administered 
  punishments and relayed the orders of  
  the officers, overseeing the crew’s 
   everyday tasks. 
  • Armourer – tasked with the care and repair 
  of all small arms. 
  • Master-at-arms – responsible for enforcing 
  the general rules and regulation of a ship 
  with particular care to be vigilant for any 
  potential fire hazard. 
  • Caulker – under the direction of the 
  carpenter was responsible for keeping the 
  ship afloat, plugging any loose seam or leak 
  that ships (especially the larger ones) would 
  frequently develop. Also oversaw the 
  maintenance of the pumps, gun ports and 
  other openings. 
  • Sailmaker – working under the bo’sun, he 
  maintained and repaired the sails of the ship, 
  as well as making new ones if required. 
  • Ropemaker – also working under the bo’sun, 
  he maintained and repaired the ropes of the 
  ship, producing new ropes if necessary. 
  • Cook – was in charge of the galley, cooking 
  and serving food to all the crew. 
  A small US flotilla heads out to sea.
  
  A Ship’s Crew
  LIEUTENANTS 
  After passing the strict examination, a 
  midshipman received his first lieutenant 
  commission. The main duties of a lieutenant 
  were to be in charge of his watch, to command 
  a division (usually 65 to 70 men) of the crew, to 
  be in overall charge of the gun batteries when at 
  quarters, to be responsible for the recruitment 
  of crew and petty officers and to draw up the 
  crew’s duty list. The First Lieutenant was the 
  2nd-in-command of a ship and would assist the 
  captain on the quarterdeck in battle. He would 
  take over command should the captain be 
  killed or incapacitated in action. 
  MASTER AND COMMANDER 
  Before becoming a captain, the next step for a 
  lieutenant was to become a commander on an 
  unrated ship of 10–18 guns. The name describes 
  the need of the commander to also fulfil the 
  function of master (the person responsible for 
  all matters of sailing and navigation), as the 
  overall size of the crew would not warrant 
  having one. On the ship, commanders acted as 
  de facto captains and would have overall 
  responsibility for the condition and safety of the 
  ship as well as her crew. 
  POST CAPTAINS 
  This was the main objective of a career sailor, as 
  it provides a certain degree of job security and 
  wealth even in times of peace. Post captains 
  were commissioned to command ships-of-the-
  line, from a 6th rate up to a 1st rate ship. The 
  bigger the ship they commanded, the higher 
  their pay. On his ship, a captain was king. He 
  could rule and decide on virtually all matters 
  and his authority was little short of absolute. 
  However, he was also responsible for the overall 
  condition and safety of his ship and her crew. 
  ADMIRALS 
  The next stage was to become an admiral. 
  There were various types and sub-rankings. 
  However, once an admiral, one would be in 
  charge of more important decisions – either on 
  land making war plans and presiding over 
  matters of policy and organisation, or on the 
  seas by being in overall command of a fleet (or 
  in some cases, fleets) of ships. Advancement 
  was by seniority, and therefore slow. However, 
  the pay was good and would afford a good 
  standard of living.
  71
  Royal Navy Lieutenant  
  by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. 
  Taken from Warrior 131: Nelson's 
  Officers & Midshipmen.
  Royal Navy Admiral in  
  undress uniform c. 1797 
  by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. 
  Taken from Warrior 131: Nelson's  
  Officers & Midshipmen
  Royal Navy Captain in 
  dress uniform c.1800 
  by Steve Noon  
  © Osprey Publishing. Taken  
  from Warrior 131: Nelson's 
  Officers & Midshipmen
  Royal Navy Junior Captain  
  in dress uniform c. 1810 
  by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. 
  Taken from Warrior 131: Nelson's 
  Officers & Midshipmen
  
  F
  L
  E
  E
  T 
  L
  IS
  T
  Fleets can be determined by a scenario or can be chosen within a points maximum agreed between 
  the players using the lists here. Usually a small game will be between 500 and 1,000 points per 
  side, whilst larger fleet actions can see 2,000 points or more on opposing sides.  
  If deciding to play to a points total, simply 
  choose the ships for your fleet using the tables 
  below. Add the points (including upgrades) until 
  you reach the agreed total value.  
  For every 1,000 points spent, you can only have a 
  maximum number of certain ship types. This is 
  identified by (max X) next to the Ship Type below.  
  The armaments on the table below have been 
  abbreviated as follows:  
  H=Heavy Cannon; L=Light Cannon; 
  C=Carronade; M=Mortar.  
  Calculate and add/subtract the crew points 
  only after all upgrades have been purchased.
  Ships-of-the-Line
  Ship Type
  Size
  Broadsides Stern
  Bow
  Ship 
  Points
  Turn 
  Angle
  Rate  
  of Knots
  Break 
  Value
  Points
  1st Rate  
  (max 2)
  XL
  4H-3L-3C
  1H
  2H
  104
  Yellow
  3
  35
  450
  2nd Rate  
  (max 1)
  XL
  4H-3L-2C
  1L
  2H
  96
  Yellow
  3
  32
  400
  Large  
  3rd Rate
  L
  3H-2L-2C
  1L
  1H
  74
  Red
  4
  25
  280
  Small  
  3rd Rate
  L
  3H-2L-1C
  –
  1H
  64
  Red
  4
  22
  250
  4th Rate  
  (max 1)
  M
  2H-2L-1C
  –
  1L
  44
  Red
  4
  15
  190
  5th Rate
  M
  2H-1L-1C
  –
  1L
  36
  Red
  5
  12
  150
  6th Rate
  M
  1H-1L-1C
  –
  –
  28
  Red
  5
  10
  120
  Presentation sword to Vice Admiral Lord 
  Collingwood from Corporation of the City of 
  London (1805) © Copyright Royal Armouries
  
  Unrated Ships
  73
  “It follows then, as certain as that night succeeds 
  the day, that without a decisive naval force we can 
  do nothing definitive, and with it, everything 
  honourable and glorious.” 
  President George Washington
  Ship Type
  Size
  Broadsides Stern
  Bow
  Ship 
  Points
  Turn 
  Angle
  Rate  
  of Knots
  Break 
  Value
  Points
  Large 
  Galley*
  M
  –
  1L
  2H
  50
  Red
  5
  17
  90
  Small  
  Galley*
  S
  –
  _
  1L
  35
  Red
  4
  12
  60
  Large 
  Merchant
  L
  2H-2L
  –
  –
  44
  Yellow
  3
  15
  90
  Small 
  Merchant
  M
  1H-1L
  –
  –
  28
  Yellow
  3
  10
  40
  Brig
  S
  2H
  –
  –
  20
  Red
  5
  7
  80
  Bomb  
  Ketch
  S
  –
  –
  1M
  20
  Red
  5
  7
  80
  Barque
  S
  2H
  –
  –
  16
  Red
  5
  6
  70
  Sloop
  S
  1H-1L
  –
  –
  16
  Red
  6
  6
  60
  Cutter
  S
  2L
  –
  –
  12
  Red
  6
  4
  50
  Schooner
  S
  1L
  –
  –
  12
  Red
  5
  4
  40
  Bomb Vessel   
  (max 5)
  S
  –
  –
  1M
  10
  Red
  4
  4
  50
  Gunbrig 
  squadron  
  (max 3)
  T
  1C
  –
  –
  12
  n/a
  4
  4
  40
  Gunboat  
  Squadron 
  (max 6)
  T
  –
  –
  1L
  12
  n/a
  4
  4
  30
  Fireship  
  (max 4)
  M
  –
  –
  –
  20
  Yellow
  3
  7
  80
  * These ships can all use the moving under oars rules on page 34. 
  
  Black Seas
  These may be added to ships with a maximum 
  allowed as follows. No ship can have more than 
  one upgrade of the same type. Fortification may 
  never take upgrades.
  Ship Upgrades
  Crews 
  INEXPERIENCED CREW 
  After choosing upgrades subtract 20% of the 
  final point cost of the ship (rounding up to the 
  closest ten). Note, merchant ships may only 
  ever have Inexperienced crews and cannot be 
  upgraded to Regular or Veteran. The point cost 
  listed already reflects this restriction.  
  VETERAN CREW 
  After choosing 
  upgrades add 20%  
  of the final point  
  cost of the ship 
  (rounding up to  
  the closest ten). 
  Land Fortifications
  TYPE
  Size
  Broadsides
  Guns
  Structure  
  Points
  Break  
  Value
  Points
  Shore Gun 
  Emplacement
  M
  –
  1H
  10
  4
  40
  Shore Mortar 
  Emplacement
  M
  –
  1M
  10
  4
  50
  Martello Tower
  L
  –
  3H-3L
  150
  50
  250
  Shore Fortress
  XL
  –
  5H-4L
  200
  67
  400
  Floating Battery
  M
  1H-1L
  –
  20
  7
  50
  Ship Size:
  Extra Large
  Large
  Medium
  Small
  Tiny
  Maximum  
  Upgrades per ship
  4
  3
  2
  1
  0
  British  
  brig
  Ready for battle – a fully equipped British fleet engages the Spanish.
  
  Fleet List
  75
  UPGRADE
  EFFECT
  POINTS
  Boarding Nets
  Opponents suffer a -1 penalty to all grappling attempts 
  directed against this ship.
  10
  Grappling Hooks
  Add +1 to the Skill Test to grapple an opponent.
  20
  Grenades
  Add +1 to the target number on all boarding actions.
  30
  Lucky
  Once per game, re-roll all the dice in a single Skill Test, 
  shooting attack or boarding action, even successful ones. You 
  must accept the second result.
  30
  Master Carpenter
  +1 to the Skill Test roll to repair damage.
  20
  Master Caulker
  When attempting to repair damage, repair an extra 2 points 
  (even if the Skill Test is failed).
  20
  Master Gunner
  The first time this ship shoots in the game, it can  
  re-roll any misses.
  30
  Over Gunned
  Add +1H, +1L, to each broadside. Not available to  
  unrated ships (those on page 73).
  100
  More Carronades
  Add +1C to each broadsides.
  50
  Privateer
  +2 to grapple attempts and roll 2 extra D10s, and gain +2 to 
  hit, in boarding actions against merchant ships. 
  10
  Sharpshooters
  When using musket fire, you may re-roll the Skill Test.
  20
  Ship’s Surgeon
  For each hit suffered during a boarding action, make a Skill 
  Test. On a success, take no damage for that hit.
  30
  Streamlined Hull
  Add 1" to the ship’s Rate of Knots the first time it moves  
  per activation.
  30
  Sturdy
  Add 20 Ship Points to the current total.
  60
  Swivel Guns
  Before the first round of a boarding action, make a successful 
  Skill Test to inflict 4 damage on the enemy before any further 
  action takes place.
  30
  Trained Marines
  Add +1 to the to hit target number on all boarding actions.
  30
  
  N
  AT
  IO
  N
  A
  L
  You can elect to use the following rules to add extra character to your games, making them more 
  thematic. You should agree their use with your opponent as they may introduce a certain degree 
  of imbalance to the rules system. 
  Special Characters and Famous Ships can further 
  enhance the gaming experience, but could also 
  unbalance the game, so we suggest you only use 
  them in less competitive games. The rules for the 
  Special Characters only affect the specific ship 
  the character takes command of, unless 
  otherwise specified. You may only pick one of 
  each Special Characters and Famous Ships from 
  your nationality (e.g. you may only select Lord 
  Nelson if you are playing a British fleet, and no 
  other Special Characters). Furthermore, there can 
  only be a maximum of one Special Character per 
  ship. Famous Ships cannot be given any 
  upgrades. However, they retain their national 
  special rules and are considered to always have a 
  Veteran crew (at no extra points). 
  SP
  EC
  IA
  L 
  R
  U
  L
  ES
  Royal Navy admiral on the quarterdeck of a flagship, 
  by Steve Noon © Osprey Publishing. Taken from 
  Warrior 131: Nelson's Officers & Midshipmen.
  
  77
  GREAT BRITAIN 
  By the late 1700s, Great Britain had the most 
  prominent and powerful navy of the time.  
  This was mostly due to the discipline and 
  commitment of its sailors, and the quality of 
  the training for its leadership positions.  
  The only way to rise through the ranks of the 
  Royal Navy, was to prove your mettle in action 
  and by passing gruelling exams. This was 
  coupled with a very well managed gunnery 
  programme that trained the men to shoot 
  rapidly and accurately. This professionalism 
  was at the fore as the British were victorious in 
  many engagements during the Anglo-Spanish 
  war. Amongst these victories a British force of 
  24 ships of the line decimated the Spanish fleet 
  at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1780. 
  Ultimately losing a number of its colonies 
  during the American Revolutionary War (1776 - 
  1783), Great Britain also fought several 
  successful naval engagements against the 
  fledgling American Navy and their French 
  allies. At the Battle of the Saintes in the 
  Caribbean in 1782, in a fairly evenly matched 
  battle, four French ships were captured or 
  destroyed including the flagship of the fleet, the 
  1st rate ship Ville de Paris. 
  Great Britain had to contend with both the 
  French and the Spanish navies during the 
  French revolutionary war of 
  1793-1802. Royal Navy fleets distinguished 
  themselves in many battles – none more so 
  than during the second Battle of Cape St 
  Vincent in 1797. Admiral Jervis led a fleet of 
  fifteen ships of the line, seven frigates and 
  several smaller ships against 24 Spanish ships 
  of the line, eleven frigates and smaller ships. 
  The British captured four Spanish ships of  
  the line and badly damaged the hulking 
  Santissima Trinidad.  
  The French revolutionary war would also see 
  another great British naval victory against the 
  French – the Battle of the Nile in 1798, where 
  daring tactics took the enemy by surprise 
  resulting in a brilliant victory which reversed 
  the balance of power in the Mediterranean. 
  It was during the Napoleonic wars that the 
  Royal Navy achieved its most impressive 
  victory. On the 21st October 1805 Admirals 
  Nelson and Collingwood engaged an allied 
  Franco-Spanish fleet near Trafalgar. Despite 
  having fewer ships, the British fleet sailed 
  through the enemy’s lines, emerging battered 
  but victorious, having disabled or captured 22 
  ships! The victory was somewhat pyrrhic 
  however, as Admiral Lord Nelson died on 
  HMS Victory, sealing his status as a national 
  hero in perpetuity. 
  Admiral Nelson leads his fleet to war from the decks of HMS Victory.
  
  Black Seas
  National Rules 
  DRILLED  
  The crew of British ships were periodically 
  drilled in gunnery and were faster at reloading 
  cannons than many other nations.  
  • British ships receive a +1 to hit modifier 
  when shooting. 
  THE ADMIRALTY  
  British naval commanders were amongst the 
  best in the world and commanded great respect 
  and loyalty from their men.  
  • Each British ship can re-roll one failed Skill  
  Test per game. You must accept the  
  re-rolled result. 
   
  Special Characters 
  ADMIRAL LORD EDWARD PELLEW (1757-1833) . . . . . . . . . . . 50 PTS 
  Pellew fought during the American Revolutionary, the French Revolutionary, 
  and the Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his great courage and 
  leadership, which was used as an example of the versatility and determination 
  of Royal Navy officers during the Napoleonic Wars.  
  • Re-roll one Skill Test per Turn, you must accept the second result. 
  • The ship will never Strike the Colours no matter the circumstances.  
  ADMIRAL LORD HORATIO NELSON (1758-1805) . . . . . . . . . 60 PTS 
  An inspirational leader renowned for his unconventional tactics, which were 
  instrumental in victories at the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar, two 
  of the greatest sea battles of the era. 
  • Every British ship within 20" of Nelson’s ship, including his own, gains  
  a +1 to the dice roll of every Skill Test. 
  • The ship will never Strike the Colours no matter the circumstances. 
  • Once per Turn, each gun position on the ship Nelson is commanding can  
  re-roll one dice that fails its to hit roll. 
  • If the ship Nelson is commanding takes damage from musket fire from a ship 
  with the Sharpshooters upgrade (see page 35 and 75), roll a D6. On a result of 
  1 or 2, Nelson dies; his special rules have no further affect on the game. 
  ADMIRAL CUTHBERT COLLINGWOOD (1748-1810). . . . . . . 40 PTS 
  Admiral of the Blue at Trafalgar, Collingwood is known for being a wise and 
  exceptional tactician and commander yet is sometimes overlooked as being a 
  hero of the nation.  
  • Every British ship within 10" of Collingwood, including his own, can re-roll 
  the first broadside it shoots. All dice are re-rolled and the second result must  
  be accepted. 
  
  Famous Ships 
  HMS VICTORY (1765-YTD) 
  A 104 gun 1st rate ship of the line, HMS Victory was a terrible and awe-inspiring sight to both 
  enemies and allies. It has become one of the most famous ships in the world and is still in 
  commission in the Royal Navy to this day. She is best known for her role as Lord Nelson’s flagship 
  at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 upon whose decks he fell. 
  • HMS Victory and all ships within 20", gain a +1 to the dice roll of all Skill Tests.
  HMS BELLEROPHON (1786-1836) 
  A 74-gun 3rd rate ship of the line which served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic 
  Wars. Known to her sailors as the “Billy Ruffian”, she fought in three fleet actions, the Glorious 
  First of June, the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Trafalgar, and was renowned for being able to 
  keep going even under heavy punishment. 
  • For every successful hit scored against her, roll a D6. On a result of 5 or 6, Bellerophon takes no
  damage from that hit.
  HMS INDEFATIGABLE (1784-1816) 
  Originally a 64 gun 3rd rate ship of the line, she was soon converted to a 44 gun frigate. She was 
  very successful throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars when she took some 27 
  prizes, alone or in company. 
  • If a ship takes damage from HMS Indefatigable and is below half its original Ship Points, it must
  immediately take a Strike the Colours test with a -1 modifier.
  79
  Ship
  Size
  Broadsides Stern
  Bow
  Ship 
  Points
  Turn 
  Angle
  Rate 
  of Knots
  Break 
  Value
  Points
  HMS 
  Victory
  XL
  4H-4L-3C
  1H
  2H
  115
  Yellow
  3
  20
  550
  HMS 
  Bellerophon
  L
  3H-2L-2C
  1L
  1H
  84
  Red
  4
  28
  360
  HMS 
  Indefatigable
  M
  2H-2L-1C
  –
  1L
  60
  Red
  4
  20
  240
  National Special Rules
  “No captain can do very wrong  
  if he places his ship alongside that 
  of an enemy.”
  Nelson’s memorandum on the eve of Trafalgar,1805
  Vice Admiral Nelson 
  by Steve Noon © Osprey 
  Publishing. Taken from 
  Warrior 131: Nelson's Officers 
   & Midshipmen
  
  Black Seas
  FRANCE 
  The French Navy has a history of highs and 
  lows, both in terms of successes in battle and in 
  the number and quality of its ships. 
  In the mid-1700s, after the defeats of the Seven 
  Years’ War, the French Navy was at a nadir. 
  However, due to the efforts of Louis XV and 
  later Louis XVI, France rebuilt and reinforced its 
  fleets with well-designed and well-built ships. 
  French support for the American uprising 
  against the British in 1775 saw their fleets 
  involved in numerous actions against the 
  Royal Navy. In the decisive and strategically 
  important Battle of Chesapeake, 24 ships of the 
  line, led by Admiral de Grasse, managed to 
  defeat a British fleet ensuring a victory for the 
  ground forces at the Battle of Yorktown.  
  In 1780 a combined Franco-Spanish fleet 
  captured a large British convoy in the Atlantic, 
  despite it being escorted by a 3rd rate ship and 
  two frigates. 
  France also had successes against the British 
  near the Indian colonies. At the Battle of 
  Cuddalore in 1783, a smaller 
  fleet of 15 French ships of the line saw off a 
  larger British fleet of 18 ships of the line.  
  Before the French Revolution in 1789,  
  French discipline and gunnery training were 
  on par with their British and Spanish 
  counterparts. However, the executions of 
  many highly experienced noble officers and 
  the dissolution of the Fleet Gunners Corps 
  during the French Revolution, badly 
  hamstrung the overall performance of French 
  ships for many years to come. 
  This culminated in the major defeat at the  
  Battle of Trafalgar at the hands of the Royal 
  Navy, where 11 French ships and many lives 
  were lost. 
  Despite being at war with Spain at the 
  beginning of the 19th century, there were no 
  significant naval engagements with Spanish 
  ships. Instead, France and Spain would often 
  combine fleets to oppose the might of the 
  British. It would be natural for Black Seas 
  players to play with similar alliances. 
  National Rules 
  STREAMLINED 
  French ships were usually very fast. The 
  Streamlined Hull upgrade only costs 20 points 
  for French ships as a result. 
  DOUBLE PLANKING 
  Some French ships were much sturdier than 
  their counterparts. French ships may take 
  the Sturdy upgrade for only 40 points. 
  AIMING HIGH 
  The French tended to shoot high  
  to disable the opponent rather than 
  sink it. therefore they only have -1 
  penalty for aiming high, instead of the 
  normal -2.  
  Additionally, if a Chain Shot is also 
  loaded, the French suffer no penalty 
  when aiming high.  
   
  French  
  3rd rate
  
  National Special Rules
  Special Characters 
  ADMIRAL PIERRE-CHARLES-JEAN- 
  BAPTISTE-SILVESTRE DE VILLENEUVE (1763 – 1806) . . . . 50 PTS  
  An officer of the French Navy during the Napoleonic wars, he was known to  
  be extremely lucky, managing to emerge unscathed from many major battles. 
  Not favoured by Napoleon, he was blamed for the defeat of the Franco-Spanish 
  fleet at Trafalgar. 
  • Once per Turn, the ship captained by Villeneuve can make a Skill Test when 
  receiving critical damage. A success means the critical damage is ignored. 
  CAPTAIN ROBERT SURCOUF (1773 – 1827). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 PTS 
  A captain, ship owner and corsair who operated in the Indian Ocean  
  capturing over 40 prizes, while amassing a large fortune from both privateering 
  and commerce. 
  • The ship captained by Robert Surcouf has the Privateer upgrade at no extra 
  cost. Furthermore the upgrade will also affect every ship in Surcouf’s fleet 
  except those rated as between 1st and 4th rate. 
  Famous Ships  
  L’ ORIENT (1793 - 1798) 
  A 118 gun ship of the line, she was the flagship of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile  
  and is best known for her spectacular destruction during that battle when her ammunition 
  magazine exploded. 
  • +1 To Hit when targeting British ships. 
  • When the L’Orient is on fire, it will always explode on an unmodified roll of 1 on the Skill Test to 
  extinguish the flames, even if takes the +2 modifier (see page 26). 
  BUCENTAURE (1803 - 1805) 
  An 80 gun ship of the line, she was considered to be one of the 
  best ships of the time, with superb handling. 
  • On top of its normal change of direction, the Bucentaure can 
  make an additional change of direction during any part of 
  its move.  
  • A +1 modifier is added to all Skill Test rolls. 
  81
  Ship
  Size
  Broadsides Stern
  Bow
  Ship 
  Points
  Turn 
  Angle
  Rate  
  of Knots
  Break 
  Value
  Points
  L’Orient
  XL
  4H-4L-3C
  1H
  2H
  120
  Yellow
  3
  40
  550
  Bucentaure
  L
  3H-3L-2C
  1L
  1H
  84
  Red
  4
  28
  370
  French 
  brig
  
  Black Seas
  SPAIN  
  The history of the Spanish Navy in the Age of 
  Sail is one of varying fortunes: involving both 
  major successes and massive defeats. 
  At the beginning of the 18th century, the fleets 
  were in a poor state and performed badly. 
  Reforms in all areas of the fleet in the 1720s 
  rapidly transformed it into a truly powerful 
  force. By the 1730s the navy was able to 
  recapture possessions in Italy that had been 
  lost to Austria decades before.  
  In 1741, a small Spanish fleet won a 
  spectacular victory against overwhelming 
  British forces at the Battle of Cartagena de 
  Indias in Colombia. A force of only six Spanish 
  ships and supporting fortresses, defended by 
  around 6,000 men, faced a British invasion of 
  124 ships and almost 28,000 men. In combined 
  land and sea operations, the Royal Navy was 
  heavily defeated, losing 50 ships and suffering 
  18,000 casualties.  
  The Spanish Navy successfully fought  
  the British several times between 1720 and 
  1820. In the 1770s Spanish fleets made a  
  major contribution to the American War  
  of Independence. With their French and  
  Dutch allies they were able to outnumber  
  and outmanoeuvre the British ships to  
  bring essential arms and supplies to the 
  Colonial forces.  
  It wasn’t always plain sailing for the  
  Spanish navy though. During the Siege of 
  Havana in 1762, after several battles, 22 ships  
  – a fifth of the entire Spanish fleet – 
  surrendered to the British. 
  Relations with Spain’s 
  European neighbours clearly  
  fluctuated, always affecting the navy, which 
  can make for interesting Black Seas scenarios, 
  especially during the Napoleonic Wars.  
  At the onset of the Revolutionary Wars in the 
  1790s, Spain allied with her traditional enemy, 
  Britain. However, she switched support to 
  France in 1796, a change which then led to 
  heavy defeats and extensive blockades by 
  Royal Navy fleets.  
  At the battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797,  
  a Spanish fleet of 36 ships was defeated by  
  a fleet of 22 British, with the loss of four  
  ships. The greatest Spanish reversal was, of 
  course, at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805,  
  when a quarter of the Spanish fleet was 
  captured or sunk.  
  The calamity at Trafalgar did not stop  
  Spain from allying with Britain again,  
  though, in 1808, as part of its struggle for 
  independence from Napoleon. Almost 
  immediately, in a small battle off Cadiz in 
  June, 1808, Spain captured an entire squadron 
  of six French ships, losing only four men in  
  the process. 
  Spain’s navy fought for the French and against 
  them, and for the British and against them. 
  Along the way, it allied with the Americans 
  and the Dutch, and fought battles not only 
  close to home in the Mediterranean, but had 
  many successful (and also disastrous) 
  engagements as far away as South America 
  and the Caribbean. 
  National Rules 
  HEAVILY ARMED 
  1st rate ships were sometimes armed with 
  many more cannons than other countries’  
  1st rates. Spanish 1st rates may take the Over 
  Gunned upgrade for free. However, due to the 
  increased bulk of the ship it will need to make a 
  Skill Test to sail with Full Sails.  
   
  Additionally, these ships may never take 
  Veteran crews as the up-gunned vessels  
  rarely saw action.  
  OUT OF PRACTICE 
  Spanish crews were not trained very often. It 
  will cost 30% (rather than the usual 20%) to 
  crew a ship with a Veteran crew. 
  
  National Special Rules
  Special Characters 
  ADMIRAL IGNACIO MARIA DE ALAVA  
  Y SAENZ DE NAVARRETE (1750-1817). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 PTS 
  An officer of the Spanish navy who started his career fighting pirates and 
  privateers off the coast of North Africa. He rose through the ranks to become  
  an Admiral. 
  • Every ship within 20" of Navarrete, including his own, adds +1 to hit  
  versus privateers. 
  ADMIRAL JUAN DE LÁNGARA (1736-1806). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 PTS 
  Entering the Spanish Navy at a young age, Lángara distinguished himself  
  both in the Anglo-Spanish war of 1779-83 and the French Revolutionary Wars. 
  He also made several scientific expeditions, and made several important 
  contributions to cartography. 
  • You may deploy Juan de Lángara’s ship after everyone else has deployed, on 
  any edge of the battle area. 
  Famous Ships  
  LA PRINCESA (1778-1794) 
  A 6th rate frigate launched in 1778, she served for over three decades, playing an important role 
  in the exploration of the Pacific Northwest as well as the routine work of provisioning other 
  ships stationed off the coast of America. She was very sturdily built and used to take control of 
  key land positions. 
  • If La Princesa is Anchored within 4" of a beach, for every two full turns without moving or 
  shooting, place a shore gun emplacement on that beach within 6" of La Princesa. 
  SANTISSIMA TRINIDAD (1769-1805) 
  Originally built as a 118-gun ship of the line in La Habana, she was 
  soon converted, with her armament  increased first to 130 artillery 
  pieces, then to 136 and finally to 140 artillery pieces and four 
  decks. This resulted in her being relatively unwieldy and slow, yet 
  she truly was a power to behold. 
  • The Santissima has many guns and is extremely sturdy, however 
  she is also very unwieldy: The Santissima will only ever be able 
  to make one change of direction during her activation, no matter 
  what Level of Sail she is travelling at. Additionally, it can only 
  travel at Full Sails after succeeding at a Skill Test. 
  83
  SHIP
  Size
  Broadsides Stern
  Bow
  Ship 
  Points
  Turn 
  Angle
  Rate  
  of Knots
  Break 
  Value
  Points
  La Princesa
  M
  1H-1L-1C
  –
  –
  34
  Red
  5
  12
  150
  Santissima 
  Trinidad
  XL
  5H-5L-4C
  2H
  2H
  144
  Yellow
  3
  48
  680
  Spanish  
  brig
  
  Black Seas
  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
  In 1774, because of growing tensions with  
  Great Britain, 13 British colonies in North 
  America created the first Continental Congress, 
  which would later adopt the Declaration of 
  Independence. This would lead to the 
  American Revolutionary War where control of 
  the seas would be crucial.  
  The Continental Congress authorized the 
  purchase of two vessels to be armed and used 
  against British merchant ships and initiated the 
  building of frigates. Congress also issued many 
  letters of marque to encourage privateering.  
  In 1779 John Paul Jones on board the USS 
  Bonhomme Richard led a small fleet. They pursued 
  a British merchant fleet protected by the 4th rate 
  ship HMS Serapis and the 22-gun HM-hired 
  armed ship Countess of Scarborough and won a 
  heroic victory. Despite a number of successful 
  actions, the newly formed US fleet could not 
  match the might of the Royal Navy. It took the 
  appearance of the French fleets on the American 
  side to disrupt British operations significantly. 
  After the War of Independence the US was left 
  with a small navy and could not afford to 
  rebuild. However, in the mid to late part of the 
  1790s, tensions between the US and 
  revolutionary France increased, leading to 
  Congress authorising the building of six frigates: 
  USS United States, President, Constellation, 
  Chesapeake, Congress, and Constitution. 
  These soured relations with 
  France eventually developed into the Quasi-
  War, an undeclared war fought almost entirely 
  at sea, mostly between privateers and merchant 
  ships or between frigates, such as the capture of 
  L’Insurgente by USS Constellation.  
  For many years, the US had been paying tribute 
  to the North African Barbary Pirates, to avoid 
  their commercial routes being plundered. When 
  the tributes were stopped, Tripoli declared war 
  on the United States beginning the First 
  Barbary War in 1801. This led to a number of 
  small sea battles and some daring land attacks 
  by the newly formed American marines. 
  Up until 1812, the Royal Navy had the habit  
  of pressing American sailors into their ranks. 
  Great Britain also supported Indian tribes of 
  the North West territories, who would then 
  raid American settlements. This led to the  
  US declaring war on Britain in June 1812.  
  This conflict, known as the War of 1812, saw  
  mostly frigate-on-frigate action or 
  engagements with small fleets – the US navy 
  succeeding in the main despite it being 
  outnumbered fifty to one 
  When playing the USA in Black Seas, you 
  might want to limit games to smaller fleet 
  actions, as the US Navy did not build larger 
  ships until a later period which Black Seas 
  doesn’t currently cover.  
  National Rules  
  OVER FITTED 
  The US Navy had few large ships, but tended to 
  reinforce the structure of its frigates and add 
  many guns to them. The Over Gunned upgrade 
  only costs 80 points instead of 100 points, and the 
  Sturdy upgrade only costs 40 points. However, 
  the USA cannot field 1st, 2nd or 3rd rate ships. 
  DRILLED 
  The crew of US ships were periodically drilled 
  in gunnery and were faster at reloading their 
  cannons than many other nations. To represent 
  this, US ships always get a +1 to hit modifier 
  when shooting. 
   
   
  USS 
  Constitution
  
  National Special Rules
  Special Characters 
  COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 PTS 
  An American naval officer notable for his heroism in the First and Second 
  Barbary Wars and in the War of 1812. Decatur was the youngest man to reach the 
  rank of captain in the history of the US Navy, and the first American celebrated as 
  a national military hero who had not played a role in the American Revolution. 
  • +1 to hit modifier versus privateers and +2 to hit modifier in any boarding 
  action against privateers. 
  CAPTAIN JAMES LAWRENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 PTS 
  An American naval hero of the War of 1812, in which he died commanding the 
  USS Chesapeake during a single-ship action against HMS Shannon. 
  • A ship commanded by James Lawrence always succeeds when testing  
  to Strike the Colours. 
  OLIVER HAZARD PERRY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 PTS 
  An officer in the United States Navy who served in the War of 1812 and earned 
  the nickname “Hero of Lake Erie” for leading American forces in a decisive 
  naval victory against the Royal Navy. 
  • Adds +1 to hit modifier when shooting and +1 to the result needed to pass  
  a Skill Test when fighting in any scenario agreed to be considered set on  
  any US lake. 
  Famous Ships 
  USS CONSTITUTION  
  One of the American ‘super-frigates, “Old Ironsides”, as she was nicknamed by her crew, is most 
  noted for her actions during the War of 1812 against the British, when she captured numerous 
  merchant ships and defeated various Royal Navy warships. 
  • When hit, make a Skill Test. If successful, reduce the total damage suffered by half, rounding up. 
  USS ESSEX 
  A 36-gun frigate that participated in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and the War 
  of 1812. She was very successful in disrupting British whaling in the Pacific. 
  • +2 to hit on boarding actions. 
  85
  Ship
  Size
  Broadside
  Stern
  Bow
  Ship 
  Points
  Turn 
  Angle
  Rate  
  of Knots
  Break 
  Value
  Points
  USS 
  Constitution
  L
  3H-3L-1C
  –
  1L
  60
  Red
  5
  20
  290
  USS Essex
  M
  2H-1L-1C
  –
  1L
  45
  Red
  5
  15
  190
  
  P
  L
  AY
  IN
  G 
  A
  Conflicts of the period covered in this book rarely remained isolated nor were they fought only 
  on the seas. Below we offer some guidance and suggestions for how you might link games together 
  in Black Seas. We’ve outlined a possible structure for a campaign, with a set of appropriate rules 
  that you may like to use, but we’ve also suggested other possible approaches, and a few ideas on 
  where you might need to adapt Black Seas scenarios to fit a campaign context. 
  Campaigns Which Link Black Seas Games 
  We present two possible approaches to playing 
  campaigns. However feel free to change them 
  or design your own! First, it is a good idea to 
  make sure that the players who sign up to the 
  campaign (ideally between two and six) can all 
  commit to play a minimum number of games in 
  a specified time (e.g., three a week, one a 
  month). We also suggest creating a narrative to 
  link the games, such as a specific series of 
  historical battles or an imaginary ‘what if’ 
  situation set in any given period. You can even 
  have alliances of nations or each player against 
  all the others. You will need to make notes and 
  keep records after each battle, as the same ships 
  will fight throughout the campaign gaining 
  experience but also accumulating damage. 
  C
  A
  M
  PA
  IG
  N
  MNF Baionnaise captures HMS Ambuscade, 1798, 
  by Peter Dennis © Osprey Publishing. Taken from 
  Duel 52: British Frigate vs French Frigate.
  
  Each player starts the first game with 500 
  ‘resource’ points. These resource points are 
  spent on creating each player’s initial fleet. 
  Later, resources points can be used to repair 
  damaged ships or purchase new ones. These 
  points can also be used to purchase upgrades. 
  All new ships begin with Inexperienced crews 
  (remember to take the reduction in points into 
  consideration). After each of games two, three 
  and four, each player gains a further 500 
  resource points. From game five onwards, until 
  the end of the campaign, each player only gains 
  a further 200 resource points per game.  
  For each stage of the campaign, choose  
  which scenario to play that best suits the 
  narrative, or decide randomly. Where random 
  choice leads to a scenario being played more 
  than once by the same players, we suggest 
  swapping their roles, so the previous attacker 
  now becomes the defender. Alternatively, 
  choose a different scenario. 
  If there are more than two players, you’ll need 
  to make sure that all the players in your 
  campaign have an equal chance of playing each 
  other. One way to do this is to create a simple 
  table, like a sports league table, in which each 
  player is scheduled to play each of the others. 
  Obviously, as each player’s fleet accumulates 
  damage and spends points on new ships, there 
  may be some unbalanced conflicts as the league 
  progresses, leading to some interesting tactical 
  challenges in later games.  
  In several cases, you will need to alter the 
  scenario to suit the fleets the players have built. 
  For example, in the case of Scenario 2, which 
  requires a merchant, the defender will 
  temporarily control a merchant on top of his 
  fleet list, but only until the end of the game. 
  Wherever possible the points needed to play 
  each scenario should be used. However, if 
  player’s fleets don’t have the required 
  minimum amount of points, then they should 
  deploy their entire fleet with the exception of 
  any ship with damage below its Break Value.  
  Alternatively, players could be allowed to 
  deploy any size force regardless of what the 
  scenario says. Ignore the fleets and points totals 
  specified in the chosen scenario, and instead use 
  some or all of the ships a player has available. In 
  this case, players are not required to use their 
  entire fleet for a given scenario, if they don’t 
  wish to, and may keep their choice of ships 
  secret until deployment. This can lead to some 
  surprises, and means players can protect some 
  of their weaker ships, perhaps awaiting repair.  
  There are several ways you can adapt two-
  player scenarios to work with three or more 
  players. The easiest is to allow players to form 
  alliances, either permanently within the 
  campaign, or just for a given scenario. Some 
  scenarios can also be adapted to give a third 
  player a role, though this may need some 
  thought beforehand. For example, the 
  merchants in Scenario 4 might be given an 
  escort from a third player’s fleet and scenario 
  6 could easily allow two attackers. More 
  complicated, but potentially leading to 
  interesting games, is to combine two 
  scenarios, where different fleets have different 
  objectives. If you’re going to try this, however, 
  it’s best to have worked 
  out the possible 
  scenario(s) 
  before the 
  campaign 
  begins.
  Powder Monkeys 
  In order to protect gunpowder from 
  getting wet or from accidental exposure 
  to naked flames, it was stored in the 
  powder magazine deep in the hold of a 
  ship. The youngest members of the crew, 
  sometimes not older than 10 or 12 years, 
  had the role of fetching the powder 
  charges from the magazine and taking 
  them to each gun. As they had to nimbly 
  and quickly navigate the busy decks and 
  ladders of a ship during an attack, they 
  became known as ‘powder monkeys’.
  87
  French frigate
  
  Each ship’s crew will move up a level in 
  experience for every two games it survives 
  with more Ship Points than its Break Value. 
  Once a ship’s crew is Veteran, if they capture or 
  destroy at least one enemy ship during a game 
  of equal or greater size/rate, that ship will gain 
  one of the following upgrades: roll D10 on the 
  table below (re-roll if the ship already has the 
  upgrade rolled). Note: Famous Ships never 
  make this roll.  
  After each game, note the final Ship Points for 
  each ship. These will be the same Ship Points 
  the ship starts the next game with (i.e. don’t 
  reset to the full Ship Points it began the 
  campaign with). You can repair ships between 
  games by spending the resource points 
  assigned before each game. To restore 1 Ship 
  Point you must spend 1 resource point. For 
  example, if a Brig, which starts with 20 Ship 
  Points, ends a game with 12 Ship Points, you 
  will need to spend 8 resource points to refit her 
  back to full strength. 
  During a game you can capture a ship. First, 
  you must be grappled with a ship that has 
  Struck its Colours at the end of the game. If this 
  happens, add the ship to your roster and the 
  opponent will have to strike her off their roster. 
  In the following game, the Ship Points will still 
  be the same as when she was captured, unless 
  they are repaired. Additionally, it will start with 
  a new Inexperienced crew just like any other 
  new ship. 
  In a campaign like this, you will often be 
  playing with opposing forces consisting of 
  different points values. In this case, calculate 
  Black Seas
  Naval officer's bead pattern sword  
  (1780-1800) © Copyright Royal Armouries
  D10
  UPGRADE
  EFFECT
  1
  Sharpshooters
  When using musket fire, you may re-roll the Skill Test.
  2
  Boarding Nets
  Opponents suffer a -1 penalty to all grappling attempts directed 
  against this ship.
  3
  Grappling Hooks
  Add +1 to the Skill Test to grapple an opponent.
  4
  Trained Marines
  Add +1 to the to hit target number on all boarding actions.
  5
  Master Caulker
  When attempting to repair damage, repair an extra 2 points (even if 
  the Skill Test is failed).
  6
  Master Gunner
  The first time this ship shoots in the game, it can re-roll any misses.
  7
  Ship’s Surgeon
  For each hit suffered during a boarding action, make a Skill Test. On 
  a success, take no damage from that hit.
  8
  Swivel Guns
  Before the first round of a boarding action, make a successful Skill Test 
  to inflict 4 damage on the enemy before any further action takes place.
  9
  Master Carpenter
  +1 to the Skill Test roll to repair damage.
  10
  Lucky
  Once per game, re-roll all the dice in a single Skill Test, shooting 
  attack or boarding action, even successful ones. You must accept the 
  second result.
  
  the difference in points between the two fleets. 
  The owner of the smaller fleet will receive the 
  difference in points at the end of the game on 
  top of the usual resource point allocation. 
  However, don’t do this if allowing players the 
  option to deploy any fleet size in a scenario. 
  Instead, allocate extra resource points at the end 
  of the game, to the player whose fleet has the 
  smaller points values, as follows: 
  If the difference is less than 10%, no additional 
  resource points are given. If the difference is 
  between 10% and 50% then allocate an extra 100 
  resource points to the smaller force. If the 
  difference is more than 50%, the smaller force 
  receives an additional extra 200 resource points. 
  Campaigns can end in several ways. A 
  narrative campaign, based on a historical 
  conflict, might end when a specific historical 
  objective is reached, such as capturing a named 
  port or island. In this case, you would probably 
  begin by placing your scenarios in order, to end 
  with the climactic and decisive battle. 
  Alternatively, the campaign might be won by 
  the first fleet to reach a certain points level 
  (which would usually mean by gaining the 
  most victories and suffering the least damage) 
  or in a two-player campaign when one 
  opponent has been completely destroyed. Or 
  you may simply decide to play a set number of 
  games. You might even set a target for total 
  victory points by using the method given in 
  scenario 12 to calculate Victory points. With the 
  addition of an extra 4 points for a major victory 
  and 2 points for a minor victory for those 
  scenarios that include these victory conditions.  
  Linking Black Seas & Black Powder Games 
  Another interesting way to link games is to 
  connect the outcome of a game of Black Seas 
  with a game of Black Powder or vice versa. 
  Playing with a narrative greatly helps here as it 
  allows you to choose the most appropriate 
  scenario, and the effects of each game can be 
  varied. For example, if you manage to 
  successfully land troops using scenario 9 – 
  Landing Expedition, then you will perhaps 
  have an extra brigade to command in the next 
  Black Powder game you play. Or if you win a 
  battle of Black Powder fought around a fort, you 
  can play scenario 7 – Coastal Raid and reduce 
  the opponent’s shore guns’ strength or giving 
  them -2 to hit. 
  Or you might play a campaign which uses 
  Black Powder to resolve land battles and Black 
  Seas to resolve sea battles. Such a campaign 
  probably needs an umpire, who would have 
  the role of working out what the impact of the 
  two kinds of battle would be. For example, 
  would losing a game of Black Seas mean your 
  Black Powder army did not get the 
  reinforcements it was expecting by sea? Or 
  would winning a Black Powder battle, mean that 
  all ships get the Trained Marines upgrade 
  because they managed to break through and 
  join the fleet? 
  However you chose to play your games of Black 
  Seas, we hope you will enjoy fighting many 
  battles on the high seas.
  Playing a Campaign
  Captains Sword 
  This was usually a slightly curved or 
  straight blade, between 26 and 32 inches 
  in length. In most cases, the grip was 
  bone or ivory with wire bands and a 
  steel hilt. When a ship’s crew was 
  defeated in hand-to-hand combat it was 
  customary for the defeated captain to 
  give up his sword and hand it to the 
  victorious captain as a sign of respect 
  and chivalry typical of the period.
  89
  Spanish 
  brig
  ’
  
  Rigging a Ship 
  The model ships included in the Black Seas: Master & Commander starter set are already 
  fantastically detailed. However, if you wish, you can add an extra level of detail to your vessels 
  by using the spool of thread included in the game to attach rigging lines to your ships. A word of 
  caution: this process is intricate and can be fiddly; we recommend it only to the dedicated modeller. 
  ESSENTIAL TOOLS 
  You will need: a spool of black thread, small 
  scissors, a pair of tweezers, and super glue. A 
  tiny drop of super glue is used to seal each knot 
  and to stiffen the end of the thread, making it 
  easier to thread through holes. After you 
  complete each step, cut off any loose ends. 
   
   
   
  1
  Tie a piece of thread on the main 
  mast (a). Run one side of it to the 
  base of the fore mast (b) and the 
  other to the base of the bowsprit 
  (c). Next, tie a thread on the mizzen 
  mast (d) and the other at the base 
  of the main mast (e). 
  2
  Tie a long piece of thread on the main mast (a), 
  then at point (b) on the mizzen mast and run it 
  to point (c) on the upper section of the same 
  mast. From this point, run the thread to point 
  (d) on the main mast, tie and run the thread to 
  point (e) on the foremast and tie off. Finally, run 
  it to point (f) on the bowsprit and tie off. 
  3
  You will need to follow this step for all 
  three masts. Tie a long piece of thread at 
  the top of the mast (a). Run down to the 
  right hand side; thread it through the 
  hole (b) from the outside of the ship 
  towards the inside. Then up to point (c), 
  thread it between the mast and the 
  thread used in step 2. Tie around the 
  mast and down to the hole on the left 
  (d), going from the inside, out. Then 
  back up to point (a) and tie around the 
  mast. Note, if you have a resin model 
  you will need to drill these holes. 
  Black Seas
  
  91
  7
  Tie a knot on the tip of the bowsprit (a), run one 
  end to point (b), tie, then to point (c). Do the same 
  on the other side and finally tie the two ends 
  together under the bowsprit at point (d) and glue.
  Rigging a Ship
  6
  Tie a knot on point (a) on the fore mast 
  and run it to point (b) on the bowsprit 
  and tie. Finally, run it back to point (c) 
  and tie off. 
  5
  Tie a knot on point (a) on the main mast 
  then carry on the thread to (b) on the fore 
  mast and tie. Finally, run it down to (c) and 
  tie off on the bowsprit. 
  4
  Tie a knot on point (a) on the mizzen 
  mast (or use any excess thread from 
  step 3) and run it to (b) on the main 
  mast and tie off, then take it to (c) on the 
  fore mast and tie. Finally, take it to point 
  (d) on the bowsprit and tie off. 
  
  Painting Guide 
  There wasn’t a defined paint scheme used consistently by specific navies, but rather a fairly 
  limited pallet of colours that could be used in various combinations as chosen by each captain. 
  Captains of unrated vessels and most frigates 
  could paint their ships in a variety of colours, 
  such as: white, yellow ochre, red, black, or dark 
  blue-grey. More commonly they painted the 
  hulls black and added a coloured stripe of 
  varying thickness in yellow, red, pale orange, 
  white, green, or occasionally light blue. Ships of 
  the line tended to have a more limited pallet. 
  Here we present a few ways in which you 
  could paint and theme your fleet. 
  Black Seas
  FRANCE 
  Hulls were usually yellow or red, 
  with black stripes. Sometimes blue 
  details were added. We have used a 
  slightly lighter shade of yellow for 
  our French and added an upper 
  blue stripe on most of the ships to 
  unify the look of the fleet. Masts 
  were yellow with white, black or 
  blue tops, bands and yards. 
  ROYAL NAVY 
  The British favoured black for their hulls with 
  one, two or three stripes painted in 
  yellow ochre (described as “baby 
  puke yellow” at the time), which 
  did not necessarily run along the 
  lines of the gun ports. In the 1790s 
  a new chequered scheme was 
  introduced known as the “Nelson 
  checker”. This added black to the 
  outer part of the gun ports on the 
  yellow stripes. Masts could be 
  varnished wood, 
  yellow or white 
  with black Tops, 
  Bands and Yards. 
   
  
  93
  SPAIN 
  Spanish ships had various different, 
  yet similar, patterns to the French 
  and the British. However, they 
  favoured a red or maroon hull with 
  black stripes. They sometimes also 
  had blue details, especially on the 
  stern of the ships. Like the French, 
  they could have red, 
  white or yellow 
  masts, with white, 
  black or blue tops, 
  bands and yards. 
  Painting Guide
  UNITED STATES 
  During, and immediately after, the American 
  War of Independence, the colours of US 
  Navy hulls would be quite 
  generic: naked wood, white 
  with black stripes, or would 
  follow the British colours. 
  Later they started adopting 
  black hulls with white 
  stripes, black or white 
  masts, and wood, white or 
  black tops, bands 
  and yards. 
  OTHER DETAILS 
  The inside bulwarks were usually red, yellow, 
  kaki green, blue, black, or wood. The gun 
  carriages where red, yellow or wood. The 
  insides of the gun ports were red, yellow, black, 
  or wood. The decks were a lighter ash or very 
  light wood colour. The gratings, rails, and 
  similar containers or openings on the upper 
  deck were black, wood, red, maroon or a darker 
  wood colour; usually one or two different 
  shades on the same deck. 
  The keel could be copper, white, black, red, 
  blue, khaki green or wood. 
  The stern of the ships could be quite 
  decorative and could be painted in either 
  similar colours to the hull, or in a contrasting 
  colour. With black, blue, red, white and yellow 
  ochre being the most popular. They could also 
  have decorations painted in gold, or painted to 
  realistically represent whatever they were. 
  Figure heads were often painted to realistically 
  match what they represented, or they could be 
  white, gold, bronze or wood.
  
  A privateer closes in on an unsuspecting merchant ship.
  A French frigate under fire 
  from two Royal Navy brigs.
  Royal Navy brigs accompany a squadron of gunboats.
  
  BI
  BL
  IO
  GR
  AP
  H
  Y
  Adkins, Roy and Leslie Adkins (2007) The War for All the Oceans, Viking 
  Chartrand, René (2006) Gibraltar 1779-83: The Great Siege, Campaign 172, Osprey 
  Davies, David (2002) A Brief History of Fighting Ships, Robinson 
  Forczyk, Robert (2005) Toulon 1793: Napoleon’s First Great Victory, Campaign 153, Osprey 
  Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2005) Trafalgar 1805: Nelson’s Crowning Victory, Campaign 157, Osprey 
  Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2011) Nile 1798: Nelson’s First Great Victory, Campaign 230, Osprey 
  Gardiner, Robert (2006) Frigates of the Napoleon Wars, Naval Institute Press 
  Gardiner, Robert (1998) The Naval War of 1812, Naval Institute Press 
  Howard, Martin R. (2015) Death Before Glory! The British Soldier in the West Indies, Pen and Sword 
  Lambert, Andrew (2002) War at Sea in the Age of Sail 1650-1850, Harper Collins 
  Latimer, John (2009) Niagara 1814: The Final Invasion, Campaign 209, Osprey 
  Lloyd, Christopher (1973) The Nile Campaign, David and Charles 
  Regan, Geoffrey (2001) Geoffrey Regan’s Book of Naval Blunders, Andre Deutsch
  The death of Randolph, by Tony Bryan © Osprey Publishing. Taken 
  from New Vanguard 161: Ships of the American Revolutionary Navy.
  95
  
  IN
  DE
  X
  THE TURN 
  Turn Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 
  Wind Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 
  Wind Gage Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 
  Sailing in Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 
  MOVING 
  Rate of Knots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 
  Levels of Sail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 
  Wake Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 
  Measuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 
  Turning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 
  Wind Attitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 
  Realistic Wind Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 
  Leaving the Battle Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 
  Moving Under Oar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 
  Moving Squadrons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 
  Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 
  Squalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 
  Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 
  SHOOTING 
  Rules of Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 
  Allocating Gun Positions a Target . . . . . . . . . . 15 
  Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 
  To Hit Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 
  Initial Broadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 
  Mortar Deviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 
  Musket Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 
  Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 
  Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 
  Break Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 
  Strike the Colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 
  Critical Table – Hull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 
  Critical Table – High. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 
  Ships on Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 
  Raking Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 
  Ammunition Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 
  Fire as She Bears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 
  Wrecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 
  COLLISIONS 
  Avoiding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 
  Collision Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 
  Becoming Entangled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 
  BOARDING ACTIONS 
  Becoming Grappled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 
  To Hit in Boarding Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 
  Winning a Boarding Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 
  Strike the Colours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 
  Disengaging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 
  FLEET LISTS 
  Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 
  Ships of the Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 
  Unrated Ship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  73 
  Fortifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 
  Crew Experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 
  Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 
  NATIONAL RULES 
  British National Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 
  French National Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 
  Spanish National Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 
  United States of America National Rules . . . . 84 
  SPECIAL CHARACTERS 
  Admiral Lord Edward Pellew . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 
  Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 
  Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood. . . . . . . . . . . . 78 
  Admiral Pierre-Charles-Jean- 
  Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
  Captain Robert Surcouf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
  Admiral Ignacio Maria de Alava  
  y Saenz de Navarrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 
  Admiral Juan de Lángara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 
  Commodore Stephen Decatur . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 
  Captain James Lawrence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 
  Oliver Hazard Perry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 
  FAMOUS SHIPS 
  HMS Victory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 
  HMS Bellerophon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 
  HMS Indefatigable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 
  L’ Orient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
  Bucentaure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
  La Princesa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 
  Santissima Trinidad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 
  USS Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 
  USS Essex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 
  French 
  gunboat 
  squadron
  
  QUICK REFERENCE SHEET
  WIND DIRECTION
  SKILL TESTS
  TO HIT CHART
  BOARDING TO HIT CHART
  WEATHER CONDITIONS
  Crew Level
  Required Score
  Inexperienced
  6
  Regular
  5 or 6
  Veteran 
  4, 5 or 6
  Boarding To Hit Table
  Inexperienced
  4 or less
  Regular
  5 or less
  Veteran 
  6 or less
  2D6 Score
  Result
  2
  Reduce Rate of Knots 
  for all ships by 2 for this 
  turn only.
  3
  Move arrow on wind 
  rose one step clockwise.
  4-10 
  No change this turn.
  11
  Move arrow on wind rose 
  one step anti-clockwise.
  12
  Add 1 to Rate of Knots for 
  all ships for this turn only.
  BASE TO HIT: 5 OR LESS ON A D10
  SITUATION
  MODIFIER
  Firing more than  
  one gun position  
  in a Turn
  First gun position fired
  No modifier
  Second gun position fired
  No modifier
  Third gun position fired
  -1
  Fourth gun position fired
  -2
  Range
  Target over 10" away
  -2
  Point Blank Range – the target is within 3" of 
  the gun position (Not applicable for mortars)
  +2
  Crew
  Veteran
  +2
  Inexperienced
  -2
  Speed
  Shooting vessel is Anchored
  +1
  Shooting vessel at Full Sails
  -2
  Target vessel has sailed more than 10" in its 
  previous move
  -1
  Target size  
  (Only use one  
  size modifier)
  Tiny
  -2
  Small
  -1
  Large or Extra Large
  +1
  Visibility Obscured/Partial Target
  -2
  Aiming high
  -2
  Fire as she bears (see page 33)
  -2
  Gun Type:
  Heavy Cannon Light Cannon
  Carronade
  Mortar 
  Maximum 
  Range:
  20"
  14"
  8"
  22"
  Dice Colour:
  Blue
  Red
  Black
  Any
  Damage:
  2
  1
  3
  1D6
  Remember, vessels manned by Inexperienced and Regular crews must target the  
  closest available enemy to each gun, whereas Veteran crews may choose any target in 
  range if they successfully pass a Skill Test.
  COLLIDING
  INITIAL BROADSIDE
  ATTACKER’S 
  SIZE
  TARGET’S SIZE
  Extra Large
  Large
  Medium
  Small
  Tiny
  Tiny
  1
  3
  4
  6
  8
   Small
  3
  4
  6
  8
  10
  Medium
  5
  6
  10
  10
  10
  Large
  8
  10
  12
  10
  10
  Extra Large
  12
  14
  16
  14
  10
  Terrain
  30
  26
  20
  16
  10
  D6 
  Score
  Result
  1
  Smooth as a glass pond 
  Add +1 to the to hit numbers 
  of all gun positions.
  2-4
  Calm: No modifiers apply.
  5 
  Rough seas 
  Apply a -1 to the to hit 
  numbers of all gun 
  positions. A successful Skill 
  Test will be needed to go 
  above Light Sails. No ship 
  may travel at Full Sails.
  6
  Stormy seas 
  Apply a -2 to the to hit 
  numbers of all gun 
  positions. Ships may only 
  travel at Light Sails.   
  SHOOTING
  Ship Category
  Number of extra 
  D10s rolled
  Tiny
  N/A
  Small
  1 Light Cannon
  Medium
  1 Light Cannon 
  1 Heavy Cannon
  Large
  1 Light Cannon 
  1 Heavy Cannon 
  1 Carronade
  Extra Large
  1 Light Cannon 
  2 Heavy Cannons 
  1 Carronade
  
  Made in the E.U.
  ISBN: 978-1-911281-52-8
  TM
  Find the whole Black Seas range at: 
  www.black-seas.com 
  © Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this 
  publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, 
  in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the 
  publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other 
  than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being 
  imposed on the subsequent purchaser. 
  Product code: 799410001
  Black Seas focuses on the golden age of sail, which encompasses the period 
  between 1770 and 1830. During this period of maritime warfare ships 
  were beautiful and deadly machines of war. 
  This Black Seas rulebook allows you to recreate the thrilling naval battles of 
  the age of sail in all their glory. Utilising a unique and innovative initiative 
  system based around the most important factor of sail powered combat: the 
  wind. Additional rules enable you to fight in a ‘line of battle’, engage shore 
  batteries, rake your enemies with withering initial broadsides or capture 
  vessels in heroic boarding actions. All while avoiding such hazards to 
  navigation as fog banks, fire ships and shipwrecks. 
  The rules allow you to field fleets comprised of vessels ranging from the 
  tiniest gunboats up to the true giants of the waves, the mighty 1st rate 
  warships. Also included are rules for such famed vessels as Bucentaure, 
  Santissima Trinidad, USS Constitution, and the legendary HMS Victory. Black 
  Seas also provides national rules for the four main protagonist of the era:  
  the French, Spanish, American and Royal Navies, including rules for such 
  renowned commanders as Commodore Decatour, Admiral Villeneuve and the 
  inimitable Admiral Lord Nelson.  
  The thirteen scenarios included range between merchant raids, running 
  blockades and fighting pitched battles, finally culminating in the engagement 
  that defined naval combat in the age of sail: the Battle of Trafalgar.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Black Seas/Black Seas - Rulebook (2019).pdf