Vehicles

Chariot: A two-wheeled vehicle pulled by horses; there are three versions. Racing chariots are pulled by four horses that are run abreast. The body is made for just the driver. War chariots are pulled by two war horses. The body is made for two people; a driver and an archer or spear man. The Common chariot is pulled by a single war horse. The body is designed for one person. The common chariot is usually used to bring a champion warrior out to the battle field so they aren’t tired by running.
Coach: The coach is a long distance vehicle pulled by four to six horses hitched in pairs. A coach will be able to sit six people inside and has a bench on the front for a driver and a guard if traveling through wilderness. There is a place for storage of one or two chests per passenger, either on the top of the coach or on the boot located at the back of the vehicle.
Wagon: A wagon is a large vehicle used to transport goods from farms into towns or transport all a family’s possessions across the frontier. The wagon is pulled by a team (pair) of horses or oxen. The sides of the wagon are 4’ to 6’ high.
A Sedan chair is carried by 4 male slaves, and is only large enough for a single person to sit. The sedan chair has sides and a top; the sides have windows cut out and will have cloth curtains. A Rickshaw is a two-wheeled cart that is pulled by a single person. There is enough room for two people to sit side-by-side.
A Dog cart is a small two-wheeled cart that is pulled by a large dog. There is enough room in the seat for one adult or two children or Halflings. A Dog sled is a large sled pulled by 6 dogs attached in teams of two. The sled has room for one or two people; if two people are sitting there will not be enough supplies carried for feeding the animals or humans. When the day is done, if the dogs are not cared for first, the dogs may balk at being hooked up the next day.
A Sleigh is an open-topped coach body on a set of iron or steel runners. A sleigh can be pulled by a horse or reindeer.
A Sledge is a short-sided wagon box on large timber runners pulled by a team of draft horses or oxen.
A Carriage is a private coach with room for one or two passengers with a driver on the bench up front and a footman (guard) riding on the boot.
A Cart is a small two-wheeled vehicle pulled by a horse; there is enough room for two people and their traveling gear.
Travois: A pair of long poles tied to the back of a horse or dog and on rare occasions humans, dragged on the ground after them. There is a rope or canvas across the poles and goods are piled onto it. The poles can be tent poles if the party has a tent. Anything loaded on the travois (including people) only counts as 1/3 of its weight against carrying capacity. Anyone hauling a travois moves as if heavily encumbered, regardless of how much weight is actually being pulled. Water-borne vehicles are propelled by either sail or rowing or a combination of both. Rowed vehicles don’t need to tack the way a sailing vessel does.
Canoe: A small boat that is rowed with an oar or paddle. There isn’t room for lodging and will need to pull to shore to setup camp for the night. Used on calmer rivers and lakes, not built for use on the open ocean.
A Caravel is a highly-maneuverable sailing ship with two or three masts. Though superficially similar to the larger carrack, caravels are capable of sailing up rivers, a task for which the larger ship is ill-suited.
A Carrack is a large ocean-going sailing ship with three or four masts.
Galleys are equipped with both sails and oars; the second listed movement rate for galleys is the rowing speed. A small galley will have around 20 rows of oars, with each oar pulled by two men (for a total of 80 rowers) while a large galley will have around 35 rows of oars (for a total of 140 rowers). Galleys are generally much more maneuverable than sailing ships such as the carrack or caravel, and may be outfitted with rams. Large galleys can sail on open seas but need to put to shore in stormy conditions. The boat’s pilot will use sail on the open seas and will only use the rowers for combat or putting into shore.
A Raft is a set of logs bound together for a one way trip, usually downriver. A Barge is a shallow, flat-bottomed vessel that is built to go up or down a river or across a lake. Both crafts use poling and current as its means of propulsion. Poling is using a long pole to poke into the river bed and pull or push on the pole to help move the craft. The pole can also be used as a brace to prevent the craft from bumping into a snag or submerged rock. A barge is dragged up river using ropes and a teamster leading a team of horses or oxen on shore pulling against the current. There is not enough room on the vessels for overnight accommodations and so it will need to be brought to shore and a camp made for the nights.
Riverboats are built similar to a barge with a small cabin for the crew and a merchant that is transporting goods. The crew will tow the riverboat upstream using ropes and the crew walking on the shore similar to a barge. Going downriver the crew uses the poling technique. A riverboat will normally put into shore for the night and the pilot and merchant will sleep in the cabin. The crew will have watch and sleep on deck; they can sleep inside during inclement weather.
A Rowboat uses two oars for propulsion. It is not meant for open oceans and needs to be put into shore for the night.
Sailboats are usually for recreational sailing on lakes, seas, and coastal waters. There is room for the pilot to stay on-board during the night but since there isn’t another crewman or navigator the ship will anchor for the night and will not do night sailing.
Keelboats are small versions of riverboats and will have a team of horses or mules on shore that will pull the boat up river. They can also be moved by poling.
A Knarr is a small cargo version of a longship without any manned warriors. With its shallow draft it is able to go further upriver than caravels.
The Longship commonly used by northern raiders is similar to the large galley. However, where more civilized nations have specialist rowers, sailors, and marines, the crew of a longship is more generalized; every crewman is usually qualified for all of these tasks. Longships are generally flat-bottomed, allowing them to easily sail down rivers as well as across seas. Drakkar: more of a royal barge than a sailing ship – expensive and not much storage.
The Coaster is a small merchant ship used to transport goods along the coast of an ocean or sea. It has a single mast and small sail. It is not designed for river travel. A coaster can put in on a beach, but may need to wait for high tide to float off again.
Cog: A single-mast ship used on open seas and oceans. Used to transport cargo over very long distances. The mast is taller and the sail larger than those used on a coaster. A cog needs to put in at a port. A cog can have small siege engines on its deck for protection.
Galleon: A two- or three-mast merchant ship with multiple levels for crew and passenger cabins. These can be armed with siege engines for protection and have a compliment of troops if the merchant is carrying expensive items. A galleon is built for ocean travel and will only put into ports that are built to handle the deep draft of these boats.

Notes Regarding Vehicle Gear

A Paddle is a short oar used to propel and steer a small vessel such as a canoe.
Oars come in two styles: one for small vessels like row boats and a larger version used on galleys and longships. A row boat will have two oars; the rower will grasp both oars and maneuver the boat by putting the blades of the oars in the water and pulling. Turns can be made by using one oar or the other to put a drag on the inside corner of the turn. Galleys and long boats use an oar that is much longer and is operated by two people per oar. The timing of the rowing is kept with the use of a drummer. Galleys are often rowed by slaves or indentured servants. A longship is rowed by warriors; rhythm is kept again with the use of a drum. A sail will be used on open water to save the strength of the rowers.
Sail: There are two basic versions of sail: square and triangle. On tall mast ships like galleons and cogs there can be up to three sails from the yards (horizontal beam) attached to the mast. The largest sails are hung from the lowest yard and decrease in size going up the mast. The yard is hung at a slant for triangular sails. Triangular sails are also hung from the foremast (front mast) to the bow (front) of the ship.