Greetings folks,

As you may or may not have noticed already, if you have a class 2 ship or
higher, some new things have appeared in your ship module info. Two new types
of modules have been added, quarters for defenders and boarders type
crewmembers. Also, as a result of this, the maximum number of modules for these
classes has also been increased as follows:

Class 2: 2 -> 3 (+1)
Class 3: 8 -> 10 (+2)
Class 4: 15 -> 18 (+3)
Class 5: 24 -> 28 (+4)
Class 6: 30 -> 36 (+6)

In addition to the new crew quarter maximums, the brig restriction has been
lifted from class 3, 4, and 5 ships at the expense of 2 cargo holds. As
clarification, one may choose to have 2 fewer cargo holds and instead install a
brig.

Reinforcements:
You are now able to view whether or not your ship has ship reinforcements, and
if they do, what they are made of.

New Crew Types:

Defenders: In the event that your ship has been grappled, defenders are crew
that are exceptionally good at fending off enemies who attempt to board your
ship. While they may not be 100% successful in preventing an attack, they may
help reduce the damage done to the rest of your crew. In the event that no
defenders are on board, 'sailors' will suffer the blunt of the attack.

Boarders: A classic act of close-combat situations, boarders can board another
ship once the opponent has been grappled down so they cannot move. Once aboard
the enemy ship, they will engage the crewmembers and attack. This makes
close-combat situations at sea very risky. In order to board a ship however,
the golem on deck must first be taken out, as they are tasked with defending
the ship, crew, and officers from foreign invaders.

New Crew Specials (and defining the purpose of all now):

Trainer: Increases the maximum trainable rank of crew of that type. [v. rare]
Loyalist: Adds a "hard" bonus loyalty to your overall crew loyalty.
Illusionist: Increases the maximum level of invisibility your ship may attain.
[rare]
Illusion Piercer: Increases the maximum level of see invis your ship may
attain. [rare]
Assistant Nav: Increases the maximum effectiveness of your ship's navigator.
[v. rare]
Rebuilder: Increases the amount of hitpoints the crew can repair in one
repairing 'cycle'.
Farseer: Increases the effectiveness and range of information provided by the
ship's radar, including the status of enemy ships.
Healer: Increases the amount of hitpoints your crew recover per crew tick.
(Prior to a few weeks ago, crew did not even heal!)
Warden: Increases the maximum number of prisoners your brig may handle.
[uncommon]
Negotiator: Help reduce the duration of any crew mutinies that may occur.
Lifetime Specialist: A lifetime specialist has no special abilities, but is
exceptionally good at being a member of his crewtype (cannoneer, defender,
etc)

New combat options:
Grappling- Before a ship can be boarded by enemy crew, it must first be
grappled, or tied onto. Once a ship has been grappled, neither can move. One
has a chance to break free, but it might not always be so easy.

Trebuchet- Ideal for combat situations of multiple heights, the trebuchet can
launch cannonballs at an enemy ship, with the capability of hitting anything.
The usable range of the trebuchet varies on the height difference of the two
opposing ships, but it may be well worth the effort of positioning oneself.

Harpoon Launcher- A nice medium-ranged weapon, the harpoon launcher will give
one another potential way to damage a target. It has the potential to do decent
damage and also might have future...more practical uses. The harpoon launcher
will use harpoons that merchants will have the ability to craft...or that you
can find out at sea.

Brigs- With boarding enemy ships, a common practice is to capture opposing
crew. Once imprisoned, one may choose to ransom the crewmember to their enemy
for a fee, deliver them to the maritime jail as a reputable action, or perhaps
keep them in prison until they decide to join your own crew...

Shops and quests for the above will be detailed in the next post.

-- Lord Tarken Aurelius, the Sage