I especially agree with akasuisei about the turn rule. Unless the crew can drop anchor and pull the ship a particular direction, or unless they send out a long boat to pull the ship, a riggingless ship should have almost no ability to turn. It would be drifting and would possibly turn parallel to the wind direction, but nothing more.
This is a problem in the game because unless you can surround a riggingless ship with at least two or three other ships in close range, it is almost impossible to rake the ship and force a surrender. When a riggingless ship can turn just as fast as a fully rigged ship and avoid being raked, there is a problem.
When I read the rules, the rules state that "When all rigging sections are gone, the ship cannot move." Perhaps this is a problem in the interpretation of the rules, but I count turning as moving, and so a riggingless ship should not be able to turn.
There is another clause in the rules that could help resolve this problem--have the drifting rules been implemented yet? Under that section of the rules, it states that:
5. Ships which have lost all rigging-squares (become dismasted) drift with a special turning allowance.
a. Dismasted ships with a turning ability of 1 must wait at least three consecutive turns while drifting before being able to make a 60 degree turn.
b. Dismasted ships with a turning ability of 2 must wait at least two consecutive turns while drifting before being able to make a 60 degree turn.
c. Dismasted ships with a turning ability of 3 must wait at least one turn while drifting before being able to make a 60 degree turn.
d. If a dismasted ship makes a 60 degree turn while drifting, it must wait the same period before making another turn.
If these rules were implemented, it would limit the unrealistic turning ability of riggingless ships, and it would give the opponent a chance to move close enough to try to force a surrender.
The "psychological support" rule is a bit silly, too. In one of my games, when the ghost ships reappeared a couple days (minus their rigging), three riggingless ships were all in close enough proximity that none of them will surrender (with the Romulus as a fourth ship, and the only one still with any rigging). Since they can all turn, I can't maneuver to rake any of the ships. And even if I could, they won't surrender. If there is an able ship within ten hexes, I can see a crew maintaining hope and refusing to surrender, but when all of the ships of an equal or greater class are without rigging, they shouldn't count to provide support. |
