Ship Classes of the Imperial Navy

The specifics of individual vessels across Creation (speed, armour, crew, armament, cargo stowage, hull shape, sail plan, and so on) vary widely even within a single fleet of the Imperial Navy. In the magitechnologically-driven fleets of the Golden Age, Factory Cathedrals could churn out near-identical vessels, which could be assigned specific classes with names as florid as the ships themselves so commanders and civilians alike could easily recognize their shapes and powers. In this Age of Sorrows, that is no more. While blueprints and designs might exist for certain ships, even a shipyard which repeats the same vessels over and over will introduce differing variations depending on the available materials, the expertise of each shipwright and craftsperson involved, the weather, tactical developments, and the politics of local shipbuilding spirits. Instead, the Imperial Navy has established a system of general classes for tracking the capability of its vessels, based on rough groupings of size, armament, and ability. While intended to be used internally, the Navy system has spread to other navies across Creation as they try to define their own fleet vessels, and naval officers in the Realm and elsewhere often classify opposing vessels according to this system so that captains better understand the foe they face.

Hawk Ship

Hawk Ships are light War Junks, typically with two or even a single mast. They tend to be lightly armed, with one light Onager or Ballista facing port and another aft, and a swiveling weapon on the high poop deck to stern, a heavy ballista on larger vessels and a brace of light ballistae or Sailcutters on lighter ships. They also have banks of oars for bursts of speed and maneuverability (poetically referred to by some as their 'hawk's wings').

While larger ships can reach higher speeds due to their greater sails, hawk ships are able to quickly deploy from port with minimal need to load crew or supplies, and are highly maneuverable. They serve as scouting vessels, launching fireworks to signal the rest of their fleet as to the location of the enemy battle line, and they can serve as intermediary transports to carry supplies from shallower harbours to larger vessels in the fleet. They are, unlike ships of deeper keel, able to pursue pirates and raiders upriver should they seek to escape, and this river access also sees them sometimes assigned to support ground forces with artillery fire during campaigns. They tend not to be heavily loaded with marines, for though they have grapples to take prizes when opportunity presents they are not meant for boarding actions as a standard tactic.

Hawk Ships also serve as messengers, both carrying couriers and relaying signals from flagships to the rest of the fleet in conditions of poor visibility.

Bear Ship

Bear Ships are the mainstay War Junks of Imperial Navy fleets and many Threshold navies which employ junks. On average, they have three or four masts and are armed with two or three light Onagers facing port and two facing starboard, protected from attack by a wooden battlement atop the deck. To fore of these is often located a lighter weapon that can fire over the bow or to either side, Ballistae and Sailcutters favoured here, though some ships also employ Fire Projector. To aft, a Torsion Trebuchet (akin to a heavy Siege Sling or light counterweight Trebuchet in effect) provides longer-ranged firepower. From the decks of such ships, archers and marines with grappling hooks join in bombardments as distances close, and may carry out boarding action.

Horse Ship

Horse Ships are large junk type vessels, each approximately two hundred feet in length, built primarily for transport. They are amongst the largest vessels of the Realm’s merchant marine, though the need for ships so large is seen only in the transport of grain and Cattle from the Southern Threshold to Arjuf. In the Imperial Navy, these ships carry foodstuffs, freshwater, workshops for the repair of the fleet’s other ships, and can also hold spare crew or soldiers. The decks of these vessels can support a dozen Onagers port and starboard, with more forward and aft, though in battle they are usually employed defensively rather than on the attack. Their primary battle role, in addition to firing on attacking ships threatening the fleet, is to bombard harbor fortifications.

Horse ships are also used as tenders for the crews and marines of the Navy’s Triremes in actions away from the shores of the Blessed Isle. While skeleton crews remain aboard the triremes, which are often towed by their mother horse ship, the remainder of the crew stays aboard the larger vessel. As the fleet prepares for battle, each trireme is drawn up close to their horse ship, and the crew descends by ropes and ladders to board it. Some horse ships even support systems of winches and pulleys to lift triremes up for repairs without needing to put into port.

Dragon Ship

Dragon Ships are the largest vessels of the Imperial Navy, no power of the Threshold able to construct such behemoths. They are designs derived from War Junks, though their keels run deep and they stretch 400 feet or more in length (the largest, the ten-masted Paragon of Danaa’d, stretches over 460ft in length). Each is moved by gargantuan sails mounted on between seven and ten masts, and the wood for such masts forms part of the tribute to the Realm from the Linowan Nation, taken from the forests of Halta and floated downriver across the Inner Sea. As major vessels, each dragon ship of the Imperial Navy is always captained by a Dragonblooded navarch.

These vessels are equipped with all manner of war machines: Ballistae, Onagers, Trebuchets, and hundreds of crewmen & marines with bows, grapples, and weapons ready to swarm over a foe and overwhelm them. They are also capable of carrying vast sums of tribute, cargo, or troops across the oceans to and from wherever there is need. Each also bears, in addition to a large number of uniformed Naval administrators, a cadre of civilians, officials of the Thousand Scales, provisioned with luxurious quarters and offices, additional quarters allowing the vessels to bear Dynastic guests and diplomatic missions. Each Dragon Ship is capable of bearing an entire Imperial Legion, complete with slingers, warstriders, supplies, and equipment, across the Inner Sea from Blessed Isle to Threshold.

They are not, however, invincible, as seen in the Battle of Infernal Fire in RY707. This was a severe blow to Navy morale, as the dragon ships had attempted to make up for a lack of First Age technology through sheer size. Now that the Solar Anathema have returned, with their eldritch and infernal powers, many Navy navarchs are concerned over the potential for further dragon ship losses.

Turtle Ship

Turtle Ships are a form of large Galley type vessel, of deeper draught and much heavier armour, employed primarily by the Imperial Navy and the fleets of Cherak and Thorns, with roots in the Shogunate. The vessels stretch about 100ft in length, with two masts mounting battened sails. Aboard are 80 oarsmen plus officers and other crew, and a complement of two scales of marines. The deck of a turtle ship, and the source of its name, comes from a curved ‘shell’, of either metal plates or wood-backed animal skins, all studded with sharp spikes. This plating prevents the mounting of artillery, but serves to protect the crew from missile fire and grapples, and to impale those who attempt to board the ship. At the bow, turtle ships mount a ram and an ornate form of figurehead in the shape of a dragon or dragon-turtle. While some are ornamental, others mount deadly weapons: some naval historians posit this type of vessel was the first to mount a Flame Projector, though in the Imperial Navy it is much more commonly used to deploy a dark, noxious smoke which chokes the crews of surrounding ships and conceals the movements of the turtle ship. Above the oars, slits allow archers to fire arrows as they pass opposing vessels.

Turtle ships are used primarily for ramming, and while they are slower than Triremes, they are able to withstand far more punishment. A ramming charge of triremes led by turtle ships is amongst the regular tactics of the Imperial fleets… the triremes strike the enemy’s forward vessels to board them and sweep around the flanks to ram others broadside, while the turtle ships push ahead, shrugging off boarders and bombardment under cover of their own smoke, to strike at the flagship of the fleet. Loss of a commander can devastate any military force, but particularly in naval battles where coordination and frequent signals must be made to keep ships operating together.

Unlike most Triremes, Biremes, or war Galleys, the size of turtle ships allows them to carry some supplies, and their protective cover keeps the crew safe from inclement weather, allowing them to travel greater distances and rely less on support ships such as Galley Tenders.

The use of highly iconic dragon heads at the front of turtle ships has a psychological impact, for their visages are carved or cast to be ferocious and terrible. The practice is viewed with distaste by the Immaculate Order), requiring all shipyards building the vessels for the Imperial Navy to be overseen by a Dragonblood lest monks descend to lay religious censure. Since before the birth of the Scarlet Empire, figureheads have been designed and decorated to depict the Elemental Dragons, rather than a lesser spirit who might be more corrupted by such idolatry, but the most recent vessels commissioned by House Peleps have gone instead with the silver-painted head of a dragon turtle... an unsettling sight for the mariners of the V'neef-controlled Imperial Merchant Marine.

Trireme

Triremes are vessels common on the Inner Sea and the rivers of the Scavenger Lands, though rare in the deeper and more tumultuous waters of the West. A typical trireme is between seventy and seventy-five feet long, with a crew of 170 rowers, each manning their own oar, arranged in 3 banks, plus 30 sailors & officers, as well as an additional scale of marines to lead the charge in boarding actions. They have only one mast, their sail used for movement out of combat and rowers driving the ship to bursts of speed once battle is joined. Below the prow, a metal-clad ram is mounted to strike and pierce the hulls of opposing ships, while crew and marines ready for boarding actions. The masts of triremes can often be lowered, and in battle sails are often tied down or even left ashore.

Triremes are fast over short distances, but in longer battles the crew will tire and be reduced by casualties should they face many boarding actions… with no shelter and minimal room for supply, a trireme has no endurance for sea voyages, such ships beached at night when travelling coastal waters, or linked with Galley Tenders or Horse Ships who can provide needed support on longer journeys.

In addition to ramming and boarding, triremes often mount a swiveling sailcutter to aft, in order to prevent the escape of a target. A few triremes serving with the navies of the Southern Threshold instead mount a Flame Projector aimed to the fore. This design has also been seen in squadrons of triremes constructed for the Imperial Merchant Navy by House V’neef.

Some Threshold states refer to Galleys with a single bank of oars, each oar manned by three rowers, as ‘triremes’... to the sailors of the Imperial Navy, this is considered laughably barbaric.

The Imperial Navy has sometimes employed triremes as amphibious assault ships, reducing the number of rowers by two-thirds, with only the top bank of oars deployed and the other banks filled instead with troops or horses. These ships can push up onto the shore, infantry spilling out over the sides onto the beaches where they can assume formations and advance, cavalry taking longer to disembark and arrange themselves.

Bireme

A Bireme is a simpler form of the trireme, with two banks of oars. They are designed and equipped much as the triremes, though their crews are lesser and they bear up to two scales of marines. They cannot match triremes for speed or ramming power, but are able to outmatch Galleys in those areas. As with triremes, they require tenders to gain much endurance, though they can carry about a ton of cargo. The Imperial Navy eschews such vessels in favour of triremes, but they are popular amongst many Threshold navies as trireme designs are not universally understood.

Some Threshold states refer to Galleys with a single bank of oars, each oar manned by two rowers, as ‘biremes’... to the sailors of the Imperial Navy, this is considered a hilarious sign of Thresholder stupidity, akin to baking Pineapple into a Pineapple Bun.

Galley

Though the term ‘Galley’ technically encompasses both single-deck ships, Biremes, and Triremes, any shallow vessel primarily powered by oars with sails as backup. However, the term is usually (particularly within the Imperial Navy) applied specifically to the simpler ships of this family, powered by sails mounted on one or two masts and a single bank of oars. Such ships are not deep-keeled, and are common in coastal or shallower waters across Creation (particularly the Inner Sea) but rare in the open oceans of the West.

Most war galleys are similar in design to biremes and triremes, but with smaller crews and less speed when rowed, though while those ships improve on the design by adding additional banks of oars, galleys can expand in a different direction by adding more oarsmen… in the Imperial Navy, galleys are sub-classed by the number of rowers per oar: Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, Fifteens, et cetera, with Imperial reports once recording a Navy patrol engaging a ‘Forty’ out of Port Calin.

Larger galleys are used as merchant vessels along coastal trade routes and across the Inner Sea or the major rivers of the Threshold. These rarely have rams, and some Threshold navies will equip them with a light Onager or a pair of Sailcutters, providing artillery support for war galleys.

Galley Tender

Galley Tenders are large three-masted trimaran ships, approximately 180 feet in length, with central hulls flanked by two outriggers. Between the hull and outriggers, a single Galley, Bireme, or Trireme can fit (with its mast lowered and oars in), and a few Tenders have winches and pulleys allowing those ships to be partially raised for repairs to their hulls. The tender moves by sail, though some have been equipped with paddlewheels at the rear of their main hulls.

The tender’s main hull houses supplies and quarters for its own crew, usually 90 to 100 sailors and craftsmen, plus a talon of marines to defend it and replenish the boarding parties of its triremes. Vessels such as these allow Inner Sea navies to deploy their triremes across the Inner Sea, though they remain small next to the larger junks and other sailing ships and thus have lesser endurance. The Imperial Navy makes use of such tenders, but prefers the far larger Horse Ships, and they are a staple of many navies along the Inner Sea including the mercenary fleets based out of the Scavenger Lands. Tenders tend to avoid open battle, but may be equipped with Onagers to deter raiders and join the fleet in bombardments.

Typically, a tender will serve as base for four to six galleys, biremes, or triremes, though flotilla commanders more often direct their ships from a Galley on the battle line.

Tower Ship

Tower Ships are naval vessels employed by powers across Creation, including (though rarely) the Imperial Navy, where they are operated in conjunction with the Imperial Legions or House Guard forces. They are particularly popular on the vast rivers of the Scavenger Lands.

Tower ships are relatives of the Galley, but larger, and far wider, with shallow draught and tall superstructures, resembling wooden battlements and fortifications. Some might have battened sails, but they are primarily driven by oars. Their broad flat decks allow room for archers to array and fire upon enemy ships or shore fortifications, and are oft equipped with swinging booms ending in heavy grapples, so passing ships might be firmly seized and boarded. The size of their decks and arrangements allows troops trained for operations on land to participate in naval battles, with even cavalry forces able to fight on the largest tower ships. Some may be equipped with an artillery piece on their upper tower, such as a heavy Onager or Torsion Trebuchet.

Tower ships are slow, and in strong winds they can easily escape the control of their crews, while heavy waves put them at great risk. Thus, they avoid the open oceans, remaining in the safety of rivers, harbours, and the coastal Inner Sea.

Often, Tower Ships are used in sieges, to bombard fortifications from off the shoreline as landward armies bombard the other. They are also used to transport land forces across rivers when the opposite banks are defended or the foe has a fleet of vessels in between.

Quick-Leaping Ship

Quick-Leaping Ships are the Imperial Navy designation for Schooner vessels and similar hull designs, most commonly produced from the shipyards of the northwest such as Coral and Skullstone. Rare in the Navy, these vessels were more common within the Merchant Marine and Imperial Merchant Navy, where they served as blockade runners, couriers, and pirate chasers, the most famed examples those speedy ships under contract to the Imperial Post. They have risen in popularity with the rise of House V'neef, which shows great favour towards such hulls, causing House Peleps to seek such ships for the Imperial Navy to compete, displacing older Hawk Ship designs.

Such ships feature narrower hulls and large numbers of sails crammed onto thinner decks to increase speed substantially. Sails can also be made lighter by not battening them, though this means increased rigging and demands on the crew.