Google Books then provided me excellent insight from the letters of the British commanders involved on the progression of the actual battle and even gave me the names of several of the ships involved:
The Ships-of-the-Line
(c) Wikimedia Commons (Vengeur class image)
The namesake of the Blenheim-class (old Vengeur-class 3rd rate ships-of-the-line converted to steamers) originally with 74 cannons, but after conversion to steam guard ship, was reduced to one deck only and the amount of cannons to 60. The engine was 450 hp steam screw capable of up to 8.9 knots. The ship had light rigging as well for an alternative source of power.
(c) Wikimedia Commons (Vengeur-class image)
An another Blenheim-class 3rd rate ship-of-the-line.
(c) Wikimedia Commons
Another Blenheim-class, in the image depicted after the Blenheim-class conversion.
Blenheim-class, but I couldn't find an image. Probably looked a lot like HMS Hogue though.
Rear-Admiral Chads was known for his gunnery skills. I would give him the Gunner Admiral Archetype, as during the Baltic campaign, admiral Sir Charles Napier claimed that Chads ‘knew more about gunnery than any man in the service'.
How about rules?
Now... for the rules bit on these 3rd rate ships-of-the-line. The normal stats (probably depicting Vengeur-class) are depicted as below:
| Cost | Sailing | Discipline | Boarding | Gunnery | Hull | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flagship | 56 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
| Regular | 52 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
The game gives the amount of guns to a 3rd rate ship as 64-84 and for 4th rate ships 44-54. This is depicted as Gunnery 8 for 3rd rate ships and 6 for 4th rate ships. The logical new value after the reduction of guns in the Blenheim class would thus be 7.
After reduction of the hull to a single deck and knowing that the 4rd rate ships tended to be two-deckers, the amount of Hull should be reduced. A British 4th rate ship has a Hull value of 5 and a 5th rate Frigate has a hull value of 3. Still, given that these were originally bigger ships than 4th rates, I'd not reduce the Hull value to less than 5, so let's have that.
Now... the conversion to steam power should provide some advantages as well! The engine provides nearly 9 knots of speed and a fully rigged 1st rate ship-of-the-line such as HMS Victory can move at 11 knots. The rigging was made lighter, so a maximum speed of 9 knots would probably still apply. I would probably keep the Sailing value at 4, but reduce the cost of Tacking to 1 sailing point and enable them to make tight turns even when Running. I would also give the steamships +1 to the sailing roll when Close-Hauled or in Irons. They should not be faster than sailships when Reaching or Running, but should have distinct advantage to sailships when the wind conditions are not optional. Also, removing Anchor-tokens should be a breeze.
| Cost | Sailing | Discipline | Boarding | Gunnery | Hull | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flagship | ? | 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Regular | ? | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
I've left the costs as a question mark, since I really have no idea on how to balance these yet... but perhaps the regular point costs would be used when calculating morale. I need to test these modifications first before I can make decisions on the matter.
The Frigates
My Google Books source, British Battles of the Crumean Wars 1854-1856: Despatches from the Front, also gives me names of several frigates:
The French
Asmodée
20 guns, French Gomer-class paddle frigate, launched 20 October 1841 at Rochefort
(c) Unknown
Frigate Gomer, same class as Asmodée (c) Unknown
Phlegeton
(c) Getty Images
Darien
14 guns, converted French paddle packet (begun as Transatlantic Packetboat No.1), 14, launched 6 October 1842 at Cherbourg. Probably resembled Gomer class steam frigates more or less, so I can use the same model as for Asmodée.Rules for the French Frigates
The normal rules for French Frigates are thus, but again, these need adjusting. The rules represent 32-40 -gun frigates for 5th class and 24-28 -gun frigates for 6th class.
| Cost | Sailing | Discipline | Boarding | Gunnery | Hull | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th rate (frigate) | 31 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 6th rate (corvette) | 16 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
If I've understood correctly, both Asmodée and Phlegeton had 20 guns whilst Darien had 14 guns. This would be adjusted to Gunnery 1 for both classes. A "quick fix" would be thus.
| Cost | Sailing | Discipline | Boarding | Gunnery | Hull | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| French paddle frigate | ? | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| French screw corvette | ? | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
The British
H.M.S. Arrogant
(c) Wikimedia commons
46-gun screw frigate
.jpg)
(c) Wikimedia commons
16-gun steam powered paddle frigate of the Royal Navy built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 30 April 1851.
Rules for the British Frigates
Here are the stats for napoleonic British frigates, gun stats as previously:| Cost | Sailing | Discipline | Boarding | Gunnery | Hull | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th rate frigate | 26 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 6th rate frigate | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Again, we need to do a bit of conversion. HMS Arrogant and HMS Amphion packed a punch, so let's keep the Gunnery at 4, but reduce the Gunnery of Valorous to 1. Otherwise I don't see much need to adjust, so let's just add the steamship rule.
Steamship: May make tight turns even when Running. Tacking costs only 1 Sailing Point. +1 to roll when Close-Hauled or in Irons. Succeeds automatically on Discipline rolls to remove Anchor tokens.
| Cost | Sailing | Discipline | Boarding | Gunnery | Hull | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrogant and Amphion | ? | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Valorous | ? | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Steamship: May make tight turns even when Running. Tacking costs only 1 Sailing Point. +1 to roll when Close-Hauled or in Irons. Succeeds automatically on Discipline rolls to remove Anchor tokens.
Sloops
H.M.S Driver
_sinking_off_Gibraltar.jpg)
Wreck of HMS Hecla (c) Illustrated London News
4-gun wooden paddle sloop
Sloop rules
Fighting Sail does not provide rules for sloops, but the British have 3 sloops with 16 guns. They could be based on a single base and using the rules for HMS Valorous, but perhaps with some adjustments to the rules:
| Cost | Sailing | Discipline | Boarding | Gunnery | Hull | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 x wooden paddle sloops | ? | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Steamship: May make tight turns even when Running. Tacking costs only 1 Sailing Point. +1 to roll when Close-Hauled or in Irons. Succeeds automatically on Discipline rolls to remove Anchor tokens.
Sloops: May not roll for Damage Control. Each Damage Token increases the difficulty by one (with 1 Damage Token short is hit on 4+, medium at 5+, long at 6, with 2 Damage Tokens short is hit on 5+, medium is hit at 6, long cannot be hit at all). Explosions are caused as normal. Sloops are removed from play after receiving 3 Damage Tokens. Counts as a single frigate when creating squadrons, needs to be formed into a squadron.
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