1. Map
PATE is played on a map covering the Mediterranean, Baltic, and
Caribbean
Seas, and portions of the Atlantic Ocean. Click to see the European
map, the Caribbean
map, or a sample game map showing units. The map is divided into
sea
areas, and sea areas can have one or more ports connected to them.
Click for a list of
sea areas or a list
of ports. Each
port is divided into the harbor and the coastal waters. If ships are
displayed
in a sea area or a port on the map, then clicking on the ships will
reveal
some information about them.
2. Ships
There are four types of ships in PATE: flagships (first and second
rates, with three gun decks), ships
of the line (third and fourth rates, with two gun decks), frigates
(fifth and sixth rates, with one gun deck), and transport groups
(unarmed).
Each ship has a nationality and a number. For example,
BR1SL
is the British first ship of the line. Ships also have names (transport
groups normally do not). Each ship is rated
for number of crew and Marines, quality, experience, stores,
and
damage to hull and rigging. Each ship has a commander and a deputy
commander;
the deputy can send orders for the ship if the commander does not.
Transports
can carry land units (see the GITM rules) and supplies for those units,
and are rated for carrying capacity.
3. Turn Sequence
PATE runs in turns. Players send orders for each of their ships each
turn. At the start of each turn, ships can repair
damage,
ships in port can load stores, and transports can commence loading or
unloading
units and supplies. Then, combat occurs between groups of hostile
ships that are located together. After that, ships move in two phases.
Between the two phases, winds
may
shift and storms may occur. After the second movement phase, ships have
a final opportunity to move to ports, and transports that commenced
loading
or unloading units and supplies complete the loading or unloading. At
the
end of the turn each player receives a report on the turn's events and
the position of his or her units for the start of the coming turn.
4. Submitting Orders
Players send orders to PATE using the PATE orders submission form on
the holf.org/NWOL website. Players may
submit
orders on the form in any combinations they desire. If both the
commander
and the deputy send orders, the commander's are used; if a player sends
more than one set of orders, the last set received is used. Default
orders
are used if none are sent.
5. Detection
Ships can detect other ships automatically if they are in contact with
one another. Two ships in the same port are automatically in contact,
whether
they are in the harbor or the coastal waters of the port. Two ships in
the same sea area may or may not be in contact with one another. Two
ships
in the same sea area but not in contact with one another cannot detect
each other. Last, ships will obtain
information about the location of enemy ships from merchant captains or
land observers, and this information will be included on the ship's end
of turn report. When hostile ships are in contact with one another, one
group of ships will be to windward (upwind), and one will be to leeward
(downwind).
Ships can send orders indicating whether they wish to seek windward or
leeward gauge (position) if they come into contact with enemy ships.
They
can also send orders to pursue enemy ships contacted (abandoning their
movement orders to do so) or to attempt to evade contact if enemy ships
are sighted.
6. Movement
At the start of combat, ships that are in harbors can sail out of the
harbor to engage the enemy. If the ships in the harbor do not sail out,
ships outside the harbor can sail in to initiate combat. After combat,
ships can move from port to sea or from sea to port, and can move one
sea
area, in each phase. Damaged ships may not be able to move. In the
second
phase, ships attempting to sail upwind or sail perpendicular to the
wind may not be able to move;
ships
moving downwind will always move in the second phase unless damaged. A
ship will move
together with all friendly ships with the same orders with which it is
in contact (whether one of those ships is attached to another or not)
unless it is ordered to sail alone.
Each port has a channel which requires a ship to sail in a particular
direction
to enter or leave port. A ship may not enter or exit a port if it must
sail upwind to do so and either enemy ships are present or winds are
light.
A ship in a harbor may not leave the port if enemy ships are in the
coastal
waters of the port, and a ship entering a port may not enter the harbor
if enemy ships are present in the coastal waters (this permits the
enemy
ships to blockade the harbor).
7. Combat
Two groups of ships in contact with one another can engage in combat.
Ships may be ordered to fire at enemy hulls or at enemy rigging. Firing
at hulls offers slightly more combat power than firing at the rigging,
but firing at rigging increases the odds that enemy ships will not sink
and can be captured as prizes. Ships may be ordered to engage at range
or at close quarters; engaging at close quarters increases the
intensity of battle, and the chance that ships will be sunk or
captured. Ships may be ordered to engage in line
of
battle to or attempt to break the enemy's line when at close quarters.
Attempting to break the enemy's line will greatly increase a fleets
combat power if the attempt succeeds, but will greatly reduce it if the
attempt fails. Prior to combat, each
side
may attempt to escape the battle unless the battle takes place in a
harbor.
If battle takes place in a harbor, the shore defense guns of the port
will
also engage in the battle (they cannot engage in battles in coastal
waters).
Ships may automatically escape as long as the number of ships remaining
to fight is at least half the number of enemy ships remaining to fight.
Otherwise there is a chance to evade; the chance is higher for ships to
leeward. Ships remaining in battle take damage to their hull and
rigging.
If hull damage reaches 5, the ship sinks. Losing ships which do not
sink
either flee the battle area, or are taken as prizes.
8. Supply and Repair
At the start of each turn, ships in port can load stores. Ships which
run out of stores while at sea will not fight efficiently and may
mutiny
(not yet coded). Ships which are damaged, either in battle or by
storms,
can repair damage. Ships in port repair one point of hull damage and
five
points of rigging damage per turn; ships at sea repair one point of
rigging
damage per turn but cannot repair hull damage.
9. Transporting Units and Supplies
Transport groups can transport units and supplies. To load or unload
units, the unit must be coming from or going to a GITM location which
is
accessible to the transport. To load into a transport in a harbor, the
unit must in the GITM tactical square of the port, or the same GITM
strategic
square but not the same tac square if no enemy units are present. To
load
into a transport in the coastal waters of a port, the unit must be in
the
GITM strategic square of the port or a strategic square closer to that
port than to any other port on the same sea area. To load or unload
supplies
from a city, the transport must be in the harbor of that city. To
unload
supplies into a corps HQ, the corps HQ must be in a position from which
it could load onto the transport. Loading and unloading take one turn;
the loading/unloading commences at the start of the turn and finishes
at
the end. If the transport moves or fights during the turn, the
loading/unloading
is disrupted and does not take place. GITM units which load may not
move
on the turn they load; units which unload may move in tactical phase 5.