Wormy Ships & Intemperate Men

For 1:1200 Scale Miniatures

By Ivan Travnicek
 11.17.17 – 1

Wormy Ships & Intemperate Men

(Dated November 11, 2017)

Movement
While
A a ship’s
ship’s initial
attitude speed
toward thecan beaffects
wind decreased by
its movement HMS Bellona
changing
factor the attitude
allowance toward
and will the wind,
change it can’t
at each be
hex entered
increased.
during See ship phase.
a movement sheet. See Ship Sheet.
Speed:
A ship may use all or none of its movement per turn.
Turns:
Ships can only make 1 turn per hex. Each turn must
be made in a different hex. Each turn costs 1 movement
factor. Turns can be made at the start of a move.
Wind direction vs. ship speed.
Turning Into Wind:
Ships turning directly into the wind must immediately stop and lose any remaining movement. 
Ship is now at speed 0. Ships with movement allowance of 0 may always turn in place 60 degrees
or 1 hex in a turn. This changes the ship’s attitude toward the wind for the next movement phase.
Collisions & Fouling:
Prorate movements to see which ship enters the collision hex first; second ship backs away 1
hex and ends parallel to the other ship. One player rolls for fouling or unfouling. Chart on page 8.
Drifting:
When necessary, Ships-Of-The-Line drift every other turn; all other ships drift every turn. Ap-
plies to both fouled and grappled ships.

Effect of Damage
Loss of Each Rigging Section:
Decrease ship speed by 1.
Loss of All Rigging:
Ship strikes. Ship is dismasted. Ships with turn ability of 1 must wait 3 turns before being able
to make a 60 degree turn. Turn ability 2 wait 2 turns. Turn ability 3 wait 1 turn.
Loss of Crew Sections: Loss of all Gun Boxes:
Lose 1 crew section: Drop 1 damage chart Ship strikes.
Lose 2 crew sections: Drop 2 damage charts
Lose 3 crew sections: Drop 3 damage charts
Lose all crew sections: Ship strikes. It can’t fire guns or move. It will drift.
Loss of Last Hull Box:
Last hull box lost, but not more than that. Ship strikes, but stays afloat and drifts. 1 more hull
hit would sink ship if it un-strikes.
Time to Sink:
A ship that loses all its hull boxes plus 1 or more sinks. Roll of D10 = number of turns hulk
floats. Fouling/collision/drift rules apply to floating hulk. Player must keep record on ship sheet.
Enemy does not fire at a sinking (struck) ship.
 6.6.17 – 2

Downwind

HMS Bellona under full sail moves directly downwind at speed 4 hexes.

Off Quarter Future

Right
direction
of travel
Turn

Pivot

HMS Bellona under full sail wind HMS Bellona pivots on the bow to
off quarter moves at speed 5 hexes. execute turn to starboard (right).

Close Hauled Pivot

Future
direction
of travel
Left
Turn
HMS Bellona under full sail wind off bow HMS Bellona pivots on the bow to
(close hauled) moves at speed 2 hexes. execute turn to port (left).

Into Wind

HMS Bellona must wait one move before it can pivot away from the wind.
 11.17.17 – 3

Gun Range Rake Range

Broadside (Range in Hexes): Rake (Range in Hexes):
Cannon 1 - 2 – Must fire low Cannon: 1 - 2 – Must fire low
3 - 6 – May fire high or low 3 - 6 – May fire high or low
7 - 10 – Must fire high Carronade: 1 - 2 Must fire low
Carronade: 1 - 2 Must fire low (Added to cannon fire) (Added to cannon fire)
Critical Hits: Boarding Rules
A ship under full sail will take double rigging hits
Ammunition rules and Critical Hits are on page 8. Boarding is Number. 9. on the
Sequence of Events chart, below.
Reloads: If used, the following rules apply:
Ships can reload one side per turn; i.e., ships can fire
Step 1. Ships must be grappled.
1 side continuously.
Step 2. Attacker moves 1 full crew
Strike section on to opponent.
Step 3. Defender allots 1 full crew
A ship will strike when: section to defense. If no full crew section
Last hull box lost, but not more than that. Ship stays is available, assign a partial section.
afloat. Step 4. Each player rolls 1-D10. Low
All guns are lost (additional hits that turn do nothing). roll loses 1 crew box. Ties = Attacker
All rigging factors are lost (additional hits do nothing). loses 1 crew box. Roll until 1 side loses its
All crew sections are lost (1 more crew hit sinks ship). last crew box in the section assigned to
Struck ship will try to escape if no enemy is within the boarding event.
10 hexes.
Crew Quality Modifier
Capturing a Struck Ship Elite Crack Average Green Poor
Procedure: +1 +1 0 –1 –2
1. Stop your ship at range 1 or 2 of struck ship. Defender’s Crew
2. Neither ship moves for 1 turn or fires guns. +1
Move 1 full crew section from your ship to the Step 5. If defender loses, ship strikes.
struck ship. If attacker loses, boarding action is over.
3. Both ships sail away as they are able. Captured There is no second attack that turn. Grap-
ship cannot fire guns and will take pled ships proceed to Number 10. on the
damage if fired upon. Battle damage remains. Sequence of Events chart.

Grappling & Fouling

Refer to Tables on page 8: Miniatures Rules
These rules are modifications for
Sequence of Events miniatures play of the original
1. Write next move Wooden Ships & Iron Men rules as
2. Load guns (ball shot unless otherwise noted) published by Battleline Publications
3. Move ships in 1974 and Avalon Hill in 1975.
4. Reposition 1 ship after a collision Hasbro, which purchased Avalon
5. Resolve fouling Hill, has released the game as a
6. Resolve unfouling free online promotional item. A set
7. Resolve grappling/ungrappling of the original WS&IM rules will be
8. Simultaneously fire guns & record damage needed to create ship sheets and
9. Boarding, if used other rules that can be added to the
10. Resolve Melee phase (if used) miniatures game.
11. Go to Step 1.
 6.6.17 – 4

Broadside
C

10 B
ge
Ran
x.
Ma

A
Broadside field of fire, left picture. At right, all three ships can fire at each other
even though Ship C is half outside Ship A’s field of fire.

Rake

A
C

Ship A cannot rake or fire a broadside at Ship C.

Ship B can rake because it is half within Ship C’s rake pattern.
 6.6.17 – 5

Broadside
Rake
Rake

Attacker has half of its ship on single line of hexes running

fore and aft of target ship. Other attacker fires broadside.

No
Fire
Broadside

Broadside
(Both Directions)

Broadside
(Both Directions)

Rake!
Rake

No
Fire

Rake:
An attacking ship will rake a target if either end of the attacking ship lies on the
line of hexes running directly fore and aft of the target. No end-to-end attacks.
Range 1 - 2 must shoot low; range 3 - 6 may shoot high or low.
Broadside:

Rake Ship can fire up to 60º off the broadside as aimed from the center hex beside
the firing ship. Only one hex of the target must be within the field of fire.
Line-of-fire hexes must be clear of friendly ships.
 7.27.17 – 6
Fold
Cut in Half Cut
Vertically

Cut Cut

Ship Sheet
Ship models
can be identi-

fied by name,
an I.D. letter,
or both.

( )( )

Ship Sheet
Data:

Information
to create new
Ship Sheets is
provided in the
original rules
under scena-
rios. There is
also a “Design
Move Your Own”
chart on page
31.

Cut Cut
Fold

Blank Ship Sheet:

Print at 100% or 80%. Trim to size on paper cutter. Fold in half vertically.
 6.6.17 – 7

For
easy
Wind Direction
playa-
bility,
suggest
not changing wind
direction during a
battle. Only the
lightest of winds
Ship Sheet showing damage. Suggest using the X and O were very fickle
to differentiate damage taken on different turns. anyway.

Credits:
All original work on this game was Copyright 1974 Battleline Publications and 1975 The Avalon Hill Game
Company. Hasbro currently owns the game and has put the rules into the public domain. Modifications to the
rules to make them suitable for play using 1:1200 scale
miniatures were done by Ivan Travnicek in 2017.
 7.11.17 – 8

1 Hit Table
Bow/ Cap-
Stern tured
2 OPTIONAL MODIFIERS

AMMUNITION
Rake Ship BS
–1/+1
0/+2
+1/+3
+2/+4
+3/+5

Ball Shot (BS) is always used unless

Damage
3
otherwise stated.
Rigging hits are doubled if ship is under full sail.

0 1 2 3 4

Rigging hits are doubled if ship is under full sail.

5 6 7

5 Damage
Critical Hits &
Control
Roll 1-D10 when 5 or more hull
hits are taken in 1 turn. Attacker
8 9 10 must ask for the Critical Hit.
0. Ship explodes; hulk sinks end of
next turn. Any ship at range 1
loses 2 full Rigging sections.
1. Fire; hulk drifts 4 turns, sinks.
Any ship within or entering
range 1 of the burning hulk
loses 1 full Rigging section.

4
Ball Shot (BS) always used
unless otherwise stated.
2. Entire crew leaps into the water.
Soggy hulk drifts 8 turns, sinks.
Additional Damage 3. Ship strikes. Last Hull box lost,
+1 to H loss (any time a carronade is fired) but not more than that. Ship
(BS) +0
stays afloat. Struck ship repairs
(CS) +2 to R loss; +1 to C loss; no H and G losses
(GS) +2 to C loss; no H, G and R losses
1 Hull box next turn.
(DS) +0 4. Lose rest of 1 Crew section.
5. Mascot shoebill stork splattered.
Fouled Rigging Angry crew repairs 2 hull boxes.
6. Ship’s pet goose is cooked.
One
Player
Hungry crew repairs 2 rigging
Rolls boxes. Worried stork cackles.
7. Cannon ball exits captain’s chest.
Course, speed unchanged next
Grappling Fouling and grappling possible only at range 1.
move. First mate takes over.
Both 8. Helmsman loses his head;
Players course unchanged next move.
Roll 9. Ship strikes. Jubilant crew
repairs 2 hull. Stork flies away.
If one ship was motionless during the movement phase, subtract 1 from the die roll.
If both ships were motionless, subtract 2 from the die roll. Chart has priority over strike rules on page 3.
 8.17.17 – 9
Make-Your-Own Hex Grid Playing Board
Print several
dozen at a
copy shop.
Cut along
inside of box’s
dashed line.
Tape many
together to
make a
playing board.

Cut out 2
hexes to make
a ship base.
Glue ship base
to thin wood
or metal. Don’t
use balsa. Use
small bench
sander to
shape base.

1.5” hex
side to side

Note: Sizing the ship model to the 1:1200 scale can be guesswork. Length of the gun deck is
often given, which is approximately from the visible base of the bowsprit to the rudder post.
 6.6.17 – 10
Making Ship Model

Piano wire cut to the proper length is

3
glued and inserted into a bored hole
to make the masts.

The hull is made from a 1/4” slab of

oak. Glue deck to wood, then use
2
small bench
sander to
shape the hull.
1 Use furnace duct-work metal for
base that can be shaped using a
small sander. A thin slab of hard
wood also works. Don’t use balsa.
1. Fold
2. Open and apply glue
3. Fold shut (accurately)
4. Flatten and dry
5. Cut out every other
sail set.
6. Cut out rest of sails
on second illustration
7. Glue sides to hull

8. Glue sails to masts

9. Let dry a while
10. Add flag (next page)
11. Apply two or three
coats of polycrylic
to stabilize the model
for banana-fingered
players.
11
6.6.17
 7.17.17 – 12

Addendum
River Currents Escape Maneuver
Major rivers always carry a ship 2 hex- A ship too close to a rock, shore or another ship may use 2 avail-
es directly downstream after comple- able movement factors to advance smoothly into the next hex to
tion of the ship’s movement. The rapid the front left or right of the ship. This avoids the clumsy pivot.
freshwater flow extends 2’ out to sea
in the 1:1200 scale.
2-Hex
Movement Amplification Move 3-Hex
A ship cannot exceed its movement 1-Hex
allowance given at the start of its Illegal Move
move. Nor can a ship exceed the Turn
movement allowance on any leg of its
move. Standing
Ship

*
Forts Standing Standing
A 40-gun fort, for example, fires 8 Ship Ship
guns. A 30-gun fort fires 6 guns. It fires
only ball shot from a single hex sited Wormy Ships & Intemperate Men
in the center of the fort’s wall that These rules are modified and simplified for miniatures play of
faces the enemy. The crew is always the original Wooden Ships & Iron Men as published by Battle-
elite because its base is stable, which line Publications in 1974 and Avalon Hill in 1975. Later, Hasbro
greatly enhances accuracy. Only gun released the game as a free online promotional item. A set of the
hits count against a fort. original rules will be needed to create ship sheets.

Ship Vermin Microscopic Mites

Fleas

Cockroaches

Shipworms

Rats

Pet goose cooked.

1st
Mate,
2nd
Mate,
3rd
Mate
Captain Thorax Cannonball is a 4’-tall Shoebill Stork.
 7.27.17 – 13

Addendum
Fold
Cut in Half Cut
Vertically

Cut Cut

25
26
27 For a
Long Game
28
29 1. Print at 80%
30 or 100%.
2. Trim to size
31 on paper
32 cutter.
3. Cut in half
33 for a second
34 page.
4. Insert 1
35 inside ship
sheet.
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
Cut Cut
Fold Cut