Physical Aspects of the Ship
The Half Moon is a sengokobune, the largest form of ship in Rokugan save for the great turtle ships that, while well suited to coastal combat, tend to roll in any strong storm or currents. Three-masted, it is 110 feet from end to end and 20 feet across. It can bear up to 100 tons of men, supplies, and cargo and has a draft of 25 feet, not including the additional height of the topside stern cabin.
There are two 'levels' below deck: the cargo hold and it's sundry sub-areas and the crew quarters. The cargo hold is in the belly of the boat and has 14 foot ceilings, while the Crew quarters is directly below deck. There are two stairwells, one fore and one aft, that can be sealed against rolling water and which run from the deck to the hold.
Bound on poles extending from the sides of the ship and hanging just below deck level for easy lowering are six small skiffs, four on the stern and two on the bow. Each can hold no more than four men comfortably, six at the absolute extreme, and are not meant as life boats. After all, any samurai who fails to preserve his ship in battle, are negligent enough to allow it to fall into disrepair, or has angered Suitengu-kami should not desire to live with the shame of shipwreck. Instead, the skiffs are meant to ferry messages between ships, send scouts ashore for brief sorties or supplies, and to rescue any unfortunates who go over the rail. Each is carefully covered in an oilcloth to keep it preserved from the elements and is equipped with both oars and a small sail.
Social Aspects of Naval Life
With a broad range of Clans and samurai of different status living in close quarters, certain social mores have been adopted to keep the peace on a ship and ensure that its crew remains an efficient operational unit. Below are the peculiar changes in behavior that you can expect to find on the Half Moon.
The Captain is to be treated as the daimyo, taisa, and magistrate on his own ship.
Though he will take advice from his subordinates, in the end it is his word that is the be all and end all for matters that arise on his ship. The only time he may be removed from command is when he is deemed unfit to serve, and even then it is a chancy business and likely to lead to sepukku. No matter the relative status of the individuals when in the Empire proper, once out upon the sea only Rank matters.
Fraternizing is strongly frowned upon.
While a healthy sense of camaraderie is encouraged, physical liaisons between samurai are even less welcome on a ship with close communal quarters than they are in barracks on the land. Samurai being mortal (and Players being players
), however, it is grudgingly accepted that there will always be those too weak to resist, especially after a battle. "Going Fishing" is the common euphemism for the only real way to get any privacy on a ship which is, of course, to take a skiff out for the makings for fresh sushi. Needless to say, returning from such a trip without any fish is going to cause a lot of talk.
Please note that we WILL NOT be providing Private Forums for any sort of romantic shenannigans. If you enter into that sort of relationships via PM or messenger service, please drop a brief! note in your PF with only the facts for your GMs...we don't need the sordid details but we do need to know who's fodder for the gossip mill.
Fire is dangerous
There is no smoking allowed belowdecks and any cooking is to be done with at least two people in the galley, one to cook and one to man the buckets should something go awry. Fire is the bane of any ship and so it is to be handled very, very carefully. Failing to comply with this rule is a sure way to get on the Captain's bad side and repeated offenses may well lead to a flogging.
Eta and heimen crewmen are to be treated with the highest degree of respect for their relative station.
In addition to the samurai troop, the Moon has a group of heimen and a pair of eta on-board as well.The heimen are all skilled shipwrights and ashigaru, while the eta both trained in the healer's arts. All vital and necessary skills for the efficient running of the ship. Killing any of them is expressly forbidden, as is beating them to the point of rendering them useless.
All duels will be to first blood.
Honor is still an important thing, even on shipboard. If two samurai come to a disagreement that cannot be settled in any other fashion, a duel will be permitted. In some instances, should the two samurai grow disruptive with their disagreement, one may actually be ordered by the Captain to settle the matter. All shipboard duels are to first blood and no more, no matter the severity of the insult...no crewman can be lost without harming the whole and there is no means to gain permission for a shi duel on a ship regardless.
This should not be taken as an excuse for utterly disrespectful behavior, however. The Captain, should it be necessary, has the right to execute anyone on his crew and may choose to do so for the greater good, though the consequences when he returns to port may be quite dire. Also, from an OOC standpoint, the GM's will wield the ban hammer with great alacrity on anyone who seeks to abuse the lack of deadly challenges.
Drunken behavior will not be tolerated.
Leisure time exists, even on a military ship. Each samurai will have at least two hours a day, outside of active engagements or storms, to spend on personal matters. This does not include the normal eight hours set aside for sleep. A samurai may do, largely, as they like with this time. Drinking is permitted, provided the samurai doesn't drink to disgraceful degrees and has brought their own supplies...what little drink there is on the ship held in common is reserved for medicinal use. Should you be found to be a repeat drunk or dipping into the medicinal sake (which is terrible rotgut anyway that only a truly desperate person would drink for pleasure to begin with), disciplinary action will be forthcoming.
