02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

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and mortars. Cannons are best for short-range ship-toship
fire, whereas mortars are efficient in long-range
firing and are ideal for shelling coastal buildings and
enemy defenses. Over the past few generations, untold
dockside settlements have been pounded into either
submission or history by the galley’s mortars.
Today’s galley remains a common sight on the seas
and the deeper rivers. They typically travel in fleet
groups to concentrate firepower. The ships range in
length from 150 to over 200 feet, with banks of oars on
each side. They have two and sometimes three masts
rigged with long lateen yards, carry weapons at prow
and stern, and contain a complement of at least 100
oarsmen—often more—and just as many, if not more,
fighting men; some large galleys carry as many as 1,200
men and sailors in total.
Steam Ships
Steamboat
Paddlewheel boats—more commonly referred
to as steamboats, riverboats, or steamers—are quite
abundant on western Immoren’s river ways. Before the
steam engine, horse-driven paddlewheel ferries were
in use for hundreds of years on the rivers of Cygnar
and Ord. By 620 BR steamships were introduced to
the various waterways of Immoren, but the Orgoth
destroyed all of these during their occupation of
the kingdoms. It was not until the early 200s AR
that the steam engine was once again applied to the
paddlewheel.
Compared to sailing ships, steamboats certainly
have some disadvantages. Greatest among these
is their fragile nature. Paddlewheels are delicate,
especially in the stormy northern waters where waves
have actually smashed the wheels off a number of
vessels leaving them to drift or limp home by sail if
they were so equipped. On a warship, a paddlewheel is
likely to be the first thing shot away in a fight. Another
disadvantage is their lack of consistency. Overtaxed or
poorly maintained steam engines tend to break down
and ships must anchor or drift while repairs are made,
which sometimes can take hours or even days.
However, they also have advantages. They operate
in very shallow waters where deep drafted sailing ships
strike bottom, and side-wheel steamers can function in
extremely tight quarters, literally spinning in place by
putting one wheel in forward and the other in reverse.
Most steamboats also perform equally well in forward
or reverse, unlike a sailing ship that is limited by the
direction and force of the wind. This makes steamships
ideal for use as ferries and tugboats, for they often find
themselves needing to go backwards.
Aye, my lady love is the Palaxis to be sure,
lad. But it weren’t much of a decision to have her
fitted with some engines and wheels. There’s not
a more maddening thing to a sailing man than
the lull at sea: no headwind, sails as slack as yer
grandmammy’s—ar, well ne’er ye mind that. Ye get
the drift, lad. Nothing like the churn o’ the wheel as
ye make yer way coastside. In truth, the only thing
I can’t stand is all that bloody smoke. May as well
toot a horn to announce yer presence to every rascal
within seven leagues, aye!
—Halford Bray, captain of the steamship Palaxis
Steam-powered boats range in length from 75 to
150 feet, have very little draft (under 70 inches), and
are capable of hauling adequate tonnage—typically
as much as 140 tons. The first riverboats were
sidewheelers, but sternwheelers have recently grown
in popularity. Their advantage is their shallow hulls
and the ability to “nose up” to shore while keeping
the wheel slowly turning in deeper water away from
the banks.
Ironhull
Ships called ironhulls proudly herald the age of
iron and steam upon the seas. Being a new and rather
experimental type of ship, just three are known to be
in service currently: the Ordic Navy’s Sprightly and
Cygnar’s Merciful Boon and Glory of Morrow.
The prospect of pitting iron against wood has
greatly intrigued the sailors of Cygnar and Ord for
decades. Indeed, the first account of iron-covered
ships was in 468 AR when the Cygnarans used
floating ironcased batteries to shell Khadoran forts
on the Rohannor River. Just a few years thereafter
World Guide 107