When you need a ship
You need a ship (or a captain willing to take you) when:
| Goal | Why |
|---|---|
| Sigil Underground north water | Faceblight, Darksea, and related zones — water-only on the overland grid |
| Ocean whirlpool → SUG north water | Ship transit at Whirlpool 1540, 742 (gossip success line) — Faceblight, Darksea, etc. |
| Pirate hideaways | Recruiter / artifice content often requires bringing a ship to the hideaway |
| Ship cargo / piracy | Official help: pirate treasure, ship combat (help 2199) |
| Open-ocean / named seas | Oceanus Ingenii (surface), Oceanus Decarus (Great Alyrian Underground); SUG water uses area names — see Lookout and navigation |
Slow fallback: if steam fuel is unavailable, sail propulsion still works but travel is slower.
Command reference
Canonical list: help 2198 (SHIP-SYNTAXES). Grouped for daily use:
Boarding and leaving
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
ship board [<direction or ship name>] |
Embark from adjacent water/dock |
ship exit [<direction>] |
Disembark |
ship plank <victim> |
Force someone off the ship |
ship info ['brief'|'weapons'] |
Vessel details |
Sailing (see Ship prompt)
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
ship anchor |
Drop or raise anchor |
ship direction <dir> |
Set heading; cancel heading at SLOW (steam: idle burn) |
ship speed <stop\|slow\|half\|full\|flank> |
Throttle; wind affects sail-only hulls |
ship engine <type> / ship rigging <type> |
Propulsion setup (help 2201, setup help) |
Navigation automation
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
ship mark add <route#> <name> |
Mark current coords (needs sextant) |
ship mark coordinateadd <route#> <x> <y> <name> |
Remote water mark |
ship mark remove … / ship mark dump |
Manage / export marks |
ship course list / set / cancel / reroute |
Autopilot between marks |
Ownership and port services
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
ship locate |
Where the hull is (drydock name, coords) |
ship drydock / ship launch |
Store or deploy at shipwright |
ship recover |
Raise sunken ship (fee at shipwright) |
ship repair / ship refuel / ship recharge |
Maintenance |
ship contract [<# crew>] |
Hire crew at port |
ship christen <title> |
Rename |
ship officer <name\|'clear'> |
Promote officer |
ship transfer <character> |
Pass title |
ship wright / ship yardinfo |
Travel to / inspect shipwright |
Combat and economy
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
ship lookout ['all'] |
Crow's nest scan |
ship scan |
Nearby ships |
ship target / ship weapon / ship fire |
Naval combat |
ship cargo / ship cargo dump … / ship salvage |
Cargo hold |
Contextual directions: With SET CONTEXTUAL-DIRECTIONS, a direction on an anchored ship raises anchor, sets heading, and accelerates SLOW; repeat direction bumps speed one notch (help 2201).
Ship prompt
When aboard, the prompt replaces your normal HP line:
(450hull NWdir FLANK Ewind 100%shld 915, 928)
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hull | Hit points; 0 = sink → ship recover at shipwright |
| dir | Heading (--dir = anchored); ANCHOR / STOP / compass dirs |
| speed | STOP, SLOW, HALF, FULL, FLANK |
| wind | N/S/E/W wind — strong effect on sail-only ships |
| shld | Shield percentage (combat upgrades) |
| coords | With sextant (held or ship upgrade) |
| [SPK] | Attackable waters — ship combat possible (red in client) |
Official reference: help 2199 (SHIP-GENERAL).
Capsizing: Medium+ ships must be at SLOW or below to change heading safely; smaller hulls may turn at HALF or less (help 2201).
Ship types
help 2671 (SHIP TYPES) — shop list at shipwright compares models. Summary:
| Type | Req lvl | Max hull | Top spd | Crew | Cargo wt | Cost (gp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| skiff | 30 | 100 | 15 | 3 | 24,000 | 200,000 |
| coaster | 35 | 120 | 13 | 7 | 40,000 | 800,000 |
| caravel | 45 | 150 | 12 | 12 | 54,000 | 1,200,000 |
| drakkar | 55 | 150 | 15 | 25 | 48,000 | 2,000,000 |
| corsair | 60 | 160 | 14 | 33 | 48,000 | 3,200,000 |
| dromond | 75 | 200 | 16 | 50 | 56,000 | 5,200,000 |
| galleon | 90 | 250 | 13 | 100 | 64,000 | 8,400,000 |
| dreadnought | 110 | 300 | 12 | 200 | 64,000 | 13,600,000 |
| junk | 115 | 330 | 15 | 300 | 72,000 | 22,000,000 |
| superdreadnought | 120 | 350 | 14 | 350 | 80,000 | 35,600,000 |
Propulsion: early types sail-only; larger hulls add steam (fuel cap in table). Upgrades vary by shipwright (help 2457).