With the advent of ships and transoceanic exploration, the skill of Seafaring was unveiled to give adventurers abilities with which to truly excel and prosper whilst navigating the extensive oceans and seas surrounding the continent of Sapience. It is unique among all skills through a number of respects, and many intrepid circumnavigators have joined the Sefyric Mariner's Guild, a high clan dedicated to exploring the furthest reaches of the sea.
Firstly, access to Seafaring is acquired only by obtaining a Fully Attested Marque of Unquestioned Seaworthiness. Secondly, general Seafaring abilities are attained as usual through lessons learned up to the transcendent level. Finally, training in Seafaring involves specialisation in various vocational paths - Deckhand, Weapons, Helm, Watch, and Command - each of which is given a set of unique abilities. These abilities are not gained through simple progression of skill ranks but rather by the usage of accumulated Seafaring Promotion Points (SPPs) received from advancement through the aforementioned skill ranks.
Ranks (I, II, III, IV, and V) are assigned within each of the five Seafaring specialisations. It is by reaching these ranks under the tutelage of the five Seafaring specialists that abilities within each specialisation are gained. Each following rank requires an additional number of SPPs equal to the value of that rank number to be utilised in order for the rank to be achieved, such that rank I requires one SPP, while reaching rank II from rank I requires two more SPPs, and so on, totalling 15 SPPs needed to reach rank V. Transcendence in Seafaring bestows about 32 SPPs, which may be used in any manner, whether that be two rank V specialisations and two SPPs used elsewhere, or eight SPPs spread out equally in four specialisations.
General abilities in Seafaring
| Ability | Description |
| Sealegs | Walk with confidence aboard a ship. |
You have gained your sealegs and are less troubled by the heaving of the ocean while upon a ship. Your sealegs ability is improved with higher skillrank in Seafaring. This is a passive ability; you do not need to enable nor disable it. | |
| Crossplank | Cross a plank extended over water to another ship. |
Your balance is now steady enough to traverse a gangplank set over the water between your ship and another. This requires the ship the be adjacent to another ship, for both to be grappled, and for the Captain to SHIP EXTEND PLANK. SHIP WITHDRAW PLANK is the obvious counterpart to the Captain's command. | |
| Shipwho | Sense who is aboard the ship. |
Sense who is aboard the same ship as you. | |
| Dodging | Avoid anti-personnel ship ammo. |
Your dexterity aboard a ship has increased to the point that you are sometimes able to dodge anti-personnel ammunition fired at your ship from other ships. Your likelihood to dodge increases as your skillrank in Seafaring grows. This is a passive ability; you do not need to enable nor disable it for it to work. | |
| Harbourinfo | Discern information about a harbour from aboard your ship. |
Your seafaring skills have been honed to the point that you can discern information about a harbour from aboard your ship via use of a spyglass to analyse a seamark denoting a harbour. A harbour's seamark can be found using HARBOUR INFO in the harbour proper, or while docked in the harbour. Not all harbours may bear a specific seamark, however. | |
| Rigging | Climb up into the rigging above. |
Climb up the ropes to a place on the rigging above the deck, from any deck location. (You can use SWING UP and SWING DOWN as well.) In addition, you may use clear rigging to attempt to disentangle the rigging from unwanted obstructions. | |
| Deepseafishing | Fish for the biggest there be. |
You are able to fish off your ship, using "huge" bait only. See HELP FISHING for more information. | |
| Seaprayer | Return to your ship after death. |
First, you must PERFORM SEAPRAYER RITUAL while upon a ship where you have at least boarding permissions and there is a consecrated figurehead mounted to the ship. Then, if you chance to die, you have the option to PRAY TO SEA SPIRITS to return to that ship after you walk the Halls of Thoth, rather than embracing death. You can only have one ship designated for return via seaprayer at a time. | |
| Deepseadiving | Dive deep for the sea's hidden treasures. |
Using a diving bell, dive for treasure in the deep seas. Once the bellis lowered fully divers can go DOWN to access the ocean floor and UP from the arrival location to enter the bell once more. Be ware. There are many perils to be encountered at sea, ignorance high amongst them. Should a ship move, either by intention or currents, any divers on the ocean floor will perish. Should a careless Captain raise the diving bell while divers remain on the ocean floor, the unfortunate divers will perish. | |
| Shipreturn | Return to your ship from afar (captains/owners only). |
Return to your ship from afar. (Captains and owners only.) | |
| Homeport | A seaspell to return you to safe harbour. |
This powerful seaspell will return your vessel to the harbour that it last departed. Once cast, the spell will summon a powerful storm to transport you great distances. Be warned, using the Homeport ability will come at a great cost, destroying your figurehead in the process (or draining and dismounting resetting ones). Your vessel must be in prime condition to withstand the rigours of this journey, and any damage to this ship while returning will cause the spell to fail. | |
| Deckhand Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Cooking | Improve crew morale and performance culinarily. |
| Mast | Climb the ship's mast to the crow's nest. |
| Sailmaintenance | Repair and maintain the ship's sails. |
| Hullmaintenance | Repair and maintain the ship's deck and hull. |
| Sounding | Using the leadline to see if deep sea diving is feasible. |
| Salvageops | Recover sunken ships. |
| Forceboarding | Lead a party onto another ship, uninvited. |
| Ship Weapons Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Fireweapon | Basic use of shipboard weapons. |
| Status | An overview of all the ship's weapons. |
| Grappling | Snare another ship with clawed hooks. |
| Weaponmaintenance | Ship's weapons repair and upkeep. |
| Weaponaiming | Greater accuracy when firing. |
| Weaponenhancement | Improvements to ship's weapons. |
| Ammoenhancement | Improvements to ship ammunition. |
| Ship Helm Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Helm | Basic directional control for ships. |
| Sighting | Determining longitude with a sextant. |
| Steadygoing | Maximising steadiness while under weigh. |
| Stationhold | Holding (almost) perfectly still at sea. |
| Evasives | Manoeuvres to avoid enemies and enemy weapons. |
| Bearings | Finding the right way to go. |
| Mapscribe | Create a map to where you are. |
| Jink | Slide around obstructing ships. |
| Shipmeld | Summon the ship's sea spirit and share in its powers. |
| Whirlpool | A seaspell to create a watery inconvenience. |
| Emergencies | Manoeuvres to get you out of the worst situations. |
| Ship Watch Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| Mast | Climb the ship's mast to the crow's nest. |
| Bearings | Finding the right way to go. |
| Spyglass | Gain greater detail on your surroundings. |
| Shipscan | Check all ships within range. |
| Shipmeld | Summon the ship's sea spirit and share in its powers. |
| Shipcloak | Conceal your ship from detection for a time. |
| Shipwarning | Notice movement nearby, at cost. |
| Wavecall | A seaspell to summon an immense wave for instant movement. |
| Barrier | Summon a prismatic barrier for all allies aboard. |
| Anticipate | Know when a ship changes course or manoeuvre. |
Command specialisation abilities
| Ability | Description |
| Command | Basic command ability. Crew works better/faster! |
Assume command of a ship which you are permitted to captain. Appoint another approved captain (or yourself) to the captain's position. | |
| Keelhaul | Special treatment for one special persona aboard. |
Send the unfortunate soul to a watery doom. (Your ship will need to be underweight.) | |
| Fleetsense | Details on ships of the same ownership or fleet. |
Get information on the ships upon which you may act as captain. | |
| Commscreen | Screen communication from the mainland. |
Raise a communications screen between your ship and the mainland. | |
| Sailsgird | Seaspell to protect your ship's sails. |
A seaspell to gird the sails of your ship to temporarily reduce damage from regular wear and tear as well as weapon attacks. | |
| Hullgird | Seaspell to protect your ship's hull. |
A seaspell to gird the hull of your ship to temporarily reduce damage from regular wear and tear as well as weapon attacks. | |
| Rainstorm | Seaspell to extinguish shipboard conflagrations. |
While shipmelded, you can invoke this seaspell to douse all deck and sails fires at once. | |
| Windboost | Seaspell to direct nearby winds. |
A seaspell to temporarily boost your ship's speed. | |
| Etch | Etch a Token of Charybdis for emergency mainland returns. |
By obtaining a Token of Charybdis and etching upon it, you can call upon the Spirit of Charybdis, the Whirlpool, to help your passage back to safe shore should you find yourself in dire straits. See HELP SHIPRESCUE for more information. | |
| Shield | Seaspell to protect a ship from some attacks. |
A seaspell to weave a shield around your ship to protect it from damage attacks. Can be shattered by a wavescythe seaspell. | |
| Wavescythe | Seaspell to break a ship's shield. |
A seaspell to shatter the magical shield of a ship within a small radius. | |