Naval combat requires carefully positioning your line of battle. Massive and unwieldy vessels pick off small maneuverable flanking ships, and large scale boarding actions dominate the swirling center.
Command of a fleet requires different skills from a conventional army. A fleet is led not just by a fleet commander, but also by a flagship that provides a rallying point for the rest of the fleet, and represents the pinnacle of their shipyard’s building capabilities.
Naval warfare is accompanied by innovations in munitions and cannoneering. Though some armies do not normally field heavy guns in terrestrial warfare, they bring them to the high seas simply because it is more tactically sound.
On the high seas of the mortal realms, the weather can change in an instant. While an auspicious breeze might allow a fleet to rush into boarding action, on the soulless seas a storm is always on the horizon.
by Duncan Hall
