Ships of the Karameikan Navy
by Chris FurneauxI have always liked the idea of naming ships after historical/mythic heroes and places like Agamemnon, Minotaur, Hades, Icarus, Delphi, Heracles, Juno, Nemesis, etc. Although you would have to use names and places from Mystaran myth & legend. The main reason I like them is that they are singular and have connotations that go with them of power and glory. That said I really like the names you have come up with. They all have a nice ring to them even when shortened.
Now on the note of 8 ships: Gaz1 says 8 "ships of the line". So that is 8 ships big enough to be used in the line of battle.
Quoting http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/INTRO.HTM : "Only 1st rates, 100 or more guns, 2nd rates, 90 or 94 guns and 3rd rates, 74 or 80 guns, were powerful enough to fight in the line of battle."
So the question now is what is a ship of the line in Mystara?
Well Gaz 1 says that each company (61 men) is a ship so that means that the only option keeping with that are War Galleys. That said a war galley requires another 330 men on top so that is a large investment of resources. I would suggest that Karameikos might have a couple of these at the most. I would classify any Galley or Large sailing ship as a ship of the line. Each company would have one of these type of ships and other smaller ships to carry the rest of the company. Eg. a small galley and two small sailing ships would carry one company (as in the PWA's).
If you use the Ierendi tokens as a basis for ship types however I would suggest: [-Ship Name (Class Mariners/Sailors/Rowers)]
1st Company
Admiral Hyraksos
Captain (6th level)
1st Lieutenant (4th level)
4 Lieutenants (2nd level)
56 Mariners
The "Duke Stephan" (War Galley 75/30/300)
2nd Company
Captain (6th level)
3 Lieutenants (2nd level)
42 Mariners
The "Fury of Protius" (Large Galley 50/20/180)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
14 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
3rd Company
Captain (6th level)
3 Lieutenants (2nd level)
42 Mariners
The "Dymrak Dread" (Large Galley 50/20/180)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
14 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
4th Company
Captain (6th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
18 Mariners
The "Sea Nymph" (Small Galley 20/10/60)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
5th Company
Captain (6th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
18 Mariners
The "Resolution" (Small Galley 20/10/60)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
6th Company
Captain (6th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
18 Mariners
The "Three Stars" (Small Galley 20/10/60)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
7th Company
Captain (6th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
18 Mariners
The "Grey Lady" (Small Galley 20/10/60)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
20 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
8th Company
Captain (6th level)
3 Lieutenants (2nd level)
42 Mariners
The "Silver Falcon" (Large Sailing Ship 50/20)
Master and Commander (4th level)
Lieutenant (2nd level)
14 Mariners
****** (Small Troop transport 25/10)
The Troop numbers in Gaz 1 for the navy don't add up anyway. So I took a bit of leeway. Most Sergeants are titled Lieutenant in this scheme. The Quote that made me decide to use master and commander was: "The rank of commander was originally called Master and Commander, and appeared in the late seventeenth century. There was a need for officers to command sixth rates, vessels that were considered too small to require a full captain. Such vessels were also deemed too small to carry a master, so the two duties were combined in one officer."
I was going to use Lieutenant Commander as the equivalent of Army Lieutenant and command the company where applicable, but I went with having more captains instead.
Each company is led by a captain and the fleet by the Admiral. The term Commodore seemed too modern, but Most of the captains would likely function as such in day to day operations.
I made all Master and Commanders and 1st Lieutenants 4th level, which is a naval addition to the military ranks. I also gave ships under a Master and Commander a 2nd level Lieutenant (i.e. a Sergeant). This means there is about 4 more 4th level Commanders then suggested by the Gaz but I also removed 4 2nd level Lieutenant (i.e. Sergeants). Only the war galley has a 1st Lieutenant as it is considerably larger then anything else.
All in all I think this looks pretty reasonable for the Karameikan Navy of AC1000.