Airship Combat Rules

How airships fight in Nova. Each ship's own numbers are in its stat block; see the full list on the Airships & Vehicles page.

1. Vehicle Basics

• A vehicle is an object, not a creature. It uses the stats in its block.
• The vehicle acts on its own turn in initiative. It can only take the number of actions listed in its stat block (based on current crew).
• Creatures on the vehicle act on their own turns as normal in initiative.

2. Initiative

• Roll initiative for the vehicle using its Dexterity modifier
• All crew and passengers use their own initiative.

3. Movement

• A vehicle must use the Move action to move up to its speed.
• Turning limits are listed in the helm component. Most ships can only turn 45° or 90° per Move action unless a feature says otherwise.
• Diagonal movement is allowed.
• A vehicle can hover in place if its description says it can.

4. Altitude

Uses three broad altitude bands for clarity:

Changing altitude requires half of the vehicle’s speed.

5. Attacking

• The vehicle uses its listed weapon attacks. Attack and damage bonuses are in the stat blocks.
• A vehicle can fire any number of its weapons as part of a single Fire Weapon Battery action (subject to the action limit).
• Creatures on a vehicle can still make their own attacks normally.
• Cover works as normal. The hull of a vehicle typically grants three-quarters cover to creatures inside or behind it.

6. Crew & Reduced Capability

• If a vehicle drops below the crew thresholds listed in its stat block, it loses actions exactly as written.
• If the helm is destroyed, the vehicle can only move in a straight line and loses any special turning or surge abilities.
• If a vehicle's Hull is reduced to 0 hit points, it is destroyed (or begins falling / becomes derelict, depending on the situation and DM judgment).

7. Ramming & Collisions

• To ram, a vehicle must move at least the distance listed in its ram/prow feature in a straight line toward the target and then make an attack using the prow/ram.
• On a hit, apply the listed extra damage and any save effects.
• Both vehicles take damage on a collision (the ramming vehicle usually takes half the damage it deals unless a feature says otherwise).

8. Boarding

• Ships can board at any altitude band, but boarding becomes less safe the higher the ships fly; the DM sets the check DC based on the situation. To board, a vehicle usually needs to be on the same altitude and within 10–30 feet of the target (exact distance depends on boarding tools, stairs, etc.).
• Creatures use their movement and any relevant checks (Athletics, Acrobatics) to cross.
• Features like “Dramatic Boarding,” “Boarding Design,” or extended stairs grant advantage on these checks.

9. Falling & Forced Landings

• If a flying vehicle is unable to maintain altitude (destroyed engines, destroyed balloon with no glide ability, etc.), it begins falling.
• Falling damage for vehicles is severe: the vehicle takes 10d6 bludgeoning damage per 100 feet fallen, and creatures on board make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 15 or higher) to avoid taking half that damage.
• Some ships (like the Gondola-class and Tri-Lift) have special glide rules that reduce or delay falling.

Airship Action Economy

An Airship can take a number of actions on its turn based on how many crew are currently active and able to work.

Standard Action Thresholds

Most ships use one of these patterns (already reflected in the stat blocks written):

Exact numbers are always listed in the individual ship’s stat block.

What a Ship Can Do With Its Actions

On its turn, a ship can spend its available actions on any combination of the following:

• Move — Move up to its speed (subject to turning limits).
• Fire Weapon Battery — Fire one or more of its weapons (the number it can usefully fire is limited by the action and the weapon mounts).
• Special Action — Use a listed ability such as Magitek Overcharge, Graceful Surge, Deploy Payload, Wing Snap, etc.
• Deploy / Recover Gear — Lower boarding stairs, deploy ramps, launch or recover a Falcon, etc.
• Hold — hold an action (following hold action rules).
• Disengage — The ship’s movement does not provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn. Useful when trying to break contact or fly past an enemy.
• Evasive Maneuvers — Until the start of the ship’s next turn, attack rolls against it have disadvantage, and it makes Dexterity saving throws with advantage. The ship must be able to move (helm functional and speed greater than 0) to take this action.

A ship can take the same action more than once on its turn if it has enough actions (for example, two Move actions or Move + Fire + Fire).

Important Notes

• The Helm must be functional to take the Move, Disengage or Evasive Maneuver actions (or any action that requires steering).
• If the ship has the Captain / Command Presence style feature, a designated officer can use their character reaction or bonus action to grant limited benefits, but the ship’s own action economy remains separate.
• Players operating stations do not spend the ship’s actions when they use their own character actions to help (e.g., an engineer repairing a component uses their own action, not the ship’s).

Character Actions on a Ship

Players still take their normal turns and can use their actions, bonus actions, and reactions as usual. When they want to interact with the ship itself we will use the following rules:

Common Shipboard Actions

These use a character’s action.

• Repair Component - Restore hit points to a damaged component (helm, engines, weapons, etc.) - Intelligence DC equal to half the Damage taken or 10 whichever is higher (Tinker’s Tools or appropriate tools) check. On a success, restore 2d10 + Int modifier hit points to the component.
• Put Out Fire - Extinguish a fire on a deck or component - Success on a DC 13 Dexterity or Strength check (or automatic with proper equipment).
• Clear Jam / Restore Weapon - Get a disabled weapon working again - Intelligence (Tinker’s Tools) or Strength check, DC 15.
• Assist Helm - Help the pilot with a difficult maneuver - Use the Help action (grant advantage on the pilot’s next check or save related to flying.)
• Damage Control - Temporarily reduce the effect of a critical hit or ongoing hazard - Intelligence or Wisdom check; success can remove disadvantage or stop ongoing damage for a round.
• Signal / Coordinate - Communicate with other ships or coordinate boarding - Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) or simple success if the means exist.
• Board / Repel Boarders - Normal combat actions once boarding has begun - Standard character combat rules apply.

Important Rules

• These are character actions, not ship actions. They do not cost the ship any of its action economy.
• A character can only work on one task per action.
• Some tasks may require the character to be at the right location on the ship (e.g., you can’t repair the engines from the Helm without consequence).
• Tools, spells, and class features can improve or replace these checks as normal (a mending cantrip, a Forge Domain feature, etc.).