Rivers as Highways?

[furt]

Could a major river serve as a highway, for purposes of trade routes? Would there be a GB upkeep for maintaining the barges and boat houses along the route?

[Raesene Andu]

I see no reason why not. However, the only river long and important enough to serve as a highway is the Maesil.

[Osprey]

I treat every major river (that is, every river large enough to show up on the map) as a natural highway for trade routes. However, since 2-way trade requires roads and supporting structures be built along the river to drag barges up it, there's no major advantage in doing this: regent shave to build the highway, it is just assumed they would incorporate the river into this whenever possible.

Huge rivers like the lower Maesil might be an exception, as these are actually big enough that sailed/oared ships might be able to independently propel themselves upriver. If that's possible, then we can treat them more like a sea trade route, needing "sea"-ports and coasters (keelboats) to carry the trade goods.

Osprey

[Raesene Andu]

Here is some information that Ed Stark posted a few years back about this topic, and which ships were possible to sail up rivers.

Ships & Rivers

Okay, I looked over the ship information we have on hand, did a little research, and discussed the matter with Rich Baker. Here's what we came up with on Cerilian ships and river passage.

In Cerilia, we've got "deep draft" and "shallow draft" vessels. Deep draft vessels are suited to the sea, since they can displace as much water as they want (making them much less likely to flip over when struck by a wave or rough water), while shallow draft vessels are suited to rivers because they can navigate shallows without scraping on rocks or the riverbed.

You can tell which ships are shallow and which are deep by the description and the Hull Code (listed for each ship in CotS and NBR). Here's how it works:

SHALLOW DRAFT (very)

Hull Code 1:
Coaster, Dhow, Keelboat, Longship

These ships were all designed to sail in the shallows and actually do better on rivers or shorelines. Taking these ships out into the open sea is asking for trouble (hence their lower seaworthiness codes)

SHALLOW DRAFT

Hull Code 2:
Caravel, Cog, Dhoura, Drakkar, Knarr

A little more suited to the ocean, these vessels are still coast-huggers (for the most part) and well-suited to Cerilia's continental traffic. They can navigate most major rivers pictured on the map of Cerilia, and even some minor ones. The knarr and drakkar are particularly suited to river and coastal traffic, while cogs and caravels do well on the ocean.

DEEP DRAFT

Hull Code 3:
Roundship, Zebec

The roundship was developed primarily for ocean traffic and should not be taken on any but major rivers. It is not well suited to river traffic for several reasons, including the fact that it has no oars.
The zebec seems to bridge the gap between deep and shallow draft vessels, and can serve on most major rivers. It does, however, suffer in its seaworthiness and cargo capacity because of this. Keep these two ships in the ocean or on major rivers and you should be fine.

DEEP DRAFT (very)

Hull Code 4:
Galleon

Developed for the Anuirean sea campaigns, the galleon has become the flagship of all ocean-going vessels. It seldom sails up rivers (though it can navigate a few of the largest), since it has no oars and does not maneuver well in the river. It should not be allowed in any but the largest, deepest rivers.

There may be other ships mentioned in other products, and you can judge for yourself how these stack up for river traffic. The Brect Tower Ship, for example, has a HC of 5 (is that right?) and cannot be sailed on Cerilia's rivers without great hazard.