The Thorn

The Thorn
Captained by Vick Sloane, The Thorn is a small second-hand cog ship that can be used in battle in a pinch. Unlike many of its ilk, it has a curved hull for greater speed and manoeuvrability in the water, at the expense of a slightly larger draught and being more difficult to unload on shores. It has a fore and stern castle to both allow more storage space and to better repel pirate attacks, and a small crow’s nest atop its only mast. It currently has a crew of six.

Current Crew: 6 Ideal Crew: 4+1 per 10 tonnes Minimum Crew: 4

Dimensions
Weight: 22 tonnes Mast Height: 50ft Length: 52ft Beam: 16ft Draught: 4ft unburthen, 6ft burthen

Cargo and Passengers
Cargo Capacity: 20 tonnes Passenger Capacity (at sea proper): 8 per ton of cargo yielded, including two week's provisions. Passenger Capacity (coastal): 16 per ton of cargo yielded.

Speed
100 miles per day base -10 miles per tonne of cargo -20 miles for rough waters -25% for sailing into the wind -50% for sailing with no wind

Seven portholes run down each side, which can be threaded with oars for additional speed or manoeuvrability when needed. In speed, each person on the oars adds (1 + Strength + Stamina) / 2 miles per day for a six-hour shift. ''Note that this is reduced by Fatigue penalties; rowers gain one long-term fatigue level per six hours. The increased speed from the oars is not penalised by wind conditions.'' In manoeuvrability, each person on the oars adds (Strength + ½ Profession: Sailor) / 6 to the Captain’s roll to move the ship nimbly, such as when navigating narrow rivers or performing a sharp turn during ship-to-ship combat.

History
The Thorn’s crew are all ex-pirates that Vick took with her when she left The Riposte. All have their reasons for joining her, despite her gender, relatively young age, and lack of charm; Coleán Light-Touch had limited prospects after the loss of his hand, Snail-Drum Sven was keen on being left mostly to his own devices, working in his own way, Geoffroi has a poorly-hidden crush on Vick and follows her like a lovesick puppy, Elias found himself somewhat ostracised from many of The Riposte’s crew due to his indolence, and Hann has great loyalty to Coleán.

More information on the crew’s history aboard The Riposte can be found in Vick Sloane’s Story section (1186-1192)