'Dungeons & Dragons' Is Playtesting New Rules for Ships

Dungeons & Dragons has released an exciting new public playtest involving rules for ships.

Each month, Dungeons & Dragons releases a public playtest called "Unearthed Arcana" that gives fans a chance to provide feedback on new subclasses or rules. Some "Unearthed Arcana" get integrated into the official rules, while others don't make the cut. This month, the D&D team released a set of new rules explaining how players can control ships, which has a ton of fans very exciting.

One of the more interesting aspects of the new rules is that ships now have their own set of ability scores, similar to playable characters. The Strength score represents size and weight, Dexterity represents its maneuverability, and Constitution represents how well the ship is made. Most ships (save for intelligent ones) lack Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom scores. Ships also have their own armor class and overall hit points.

In addition, the new rules also give players specific roles they can play on the ship, such as the captain, first mate, or quartermaster. Players can make checks based on their role on a ship, which determine their success on the high seas. For example, a bosun can make a Strength check to repair the ship, while a quartermaster can try to help navigate. Every officer on the ship can also participate in a Hazard Check, to determine how a ship avoids whirlpools, icebergs or other hazards.

Although the new rules are flavored towards seaworthy ships, they can easily be converted for airships or even spaceships. Some fans have suggested that the new rules could be a sneaky way of playtesting some Spelljammer content...although that's likely just wishful speculation.

Still, this is the largest set of new rules released this year and can really help add some flavor to travel time when sailing from landmass to landmass. There's more to sailing than fighting kraken and pirates, and now players can experience all the highs and lows of a life on the sea.