At a Glance
- Kind
- Portable, skin-covered river boat.
- Home Waters
- The rivers of Wales and the western British Isles; local shapes suit local water.
- Crew and Load
- One paddler with a small pack. The ordinary fishing model has no passenger seat.
- Construction
- Woven willow, hazel or ash beneath a waterproof hide, with a seat and carrying strap.
- Best Use
- Fishing, quiet crossings and journeys with frequent stretches on foot.
- Game Reference
- Price, carrying capacity, handling and damage.
The fisherman comes down the bank carrying his boat on his back. At the water’s edge he sets its wicker frame afloat, steps inside and takes a broad paddle across his knees. In a coracle, a river that stops a horse becomes a road for one person.
The Boat on the Bank
A coracle is built around its owner and the water it must cross. Its shallow body slips across reaches where a deeper boat grounds, and the carrying strap lets its owner walk around a weir or bring it home at dusk. The curved frame flexes beneath its hide covering; a sharp snag is more dangerous than a scraped landing.
A short Teifi-style fishing boat and a broader ferry coracle serve different tasks. The fishing craft described here has room for its paddler and gear. Travellers who need a ferryman and a passenger together hire a larger local boat, or take a rowboat. The coracle’s advantage is that one person can carry it away from the landing.
Taking the River
One paddle both propels and steers the craft. A practiced coracleman uses a sweeping stroke and reads the small disturbances that reveal a rock beneath the surface. There is no deep keel to keep a careless paddler on course. A rope tied to the bank can secure a crossing, provided someone watches where it might catch.
Willow-shaded pools offer a quiet passage, but a flooded river carries branches, tears at landing places and hides the edge of a fish weir. Choose the landing before launching. Keep a knife accessible, tie packs into the frame and leave heavy armour ashore when the crossing allows it. A portable boat is useful because its owner can choose to walk.
Buying, Hiring and Mending
A river maker fits the frame to a particular reach and teaches a buyer how to sit and paddle without twisting the light hull. A used coracle should be lifted into the light: thin places, split bindings and fresh patches tell more than a coat of grease. A sound carrying strap matters almost as much as the covering.
The usual fishing model costs 10 gp with its paddle and weighs 30 lb. These figures describe a practical local purchase; an ornate craft, a larger ferry boat or transport to a distant market costs more. Boatmen often prefer payment for a crossing to lending a stranger the tool on which their living depends. Dry hide, binding cord and waterproofing are the materials needed for a small repair.
The Broken Fish Weir
At dawn the crossing is empty, but the local coracle hangs from the willow where its owner left it. Downstream a fish weir has been cut apart. The missing fisherman was last seen following a rope caught beneath the timbers; his family wants him found before the afternoon flood.
The boat can reach the sheltered side of the wreckage, while companions work from the bank. A secured line gives the searcher a way home. There is no spare passenger seat: bringing back an injured fisherman means towing him on a supported line, clearing a landing beside him, or finding another boat. Cutting the trapped rope frees the timbers and releases the water behind them.
Coracle: Handling and Damage
Coracle — D&D 2024
Cost 10 GP, paddle included; Weight 30 lb.; Space 5 by 5 feet; Crew one Small or Medium paddler; Passengers none; Maximum Load 350 lb., including paddler and gear; AC 11; HP 15; Damage Threshold none; Immunities Poison and Psychic damage.
Paddle. As a Utilize action, the seated paddler moves the boat up to 10 feet in any direction on calm water. It can be paddled only once per turn. Travel speed is about 1 mile per hour. Add downstream current to travel speed; the boat makes no upstream headway against a current at least as fast as its paddling speed. In an encounter, establish the current’s movement in feet before launching and apply that drift at the end of each round.
Difficult Water. Calm crossings require no check. When entering a swift eddy or negotiating a narrow weir gap, make one DC 13 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check as part of paddling. Failure prevents the intended movement; failure by 5 or more also capsizes the boat. Current still carries it. A collision with rock or timber deals 1d6 Bludgeoning damage to the hull. Ordinary flood rapids are impassable in this fishing model.
Damage and Recovery. At 7 HP or fewer, paddling movement falls to 5 feet. At 0 HP, the torn boat ceases to support its load. An overloaded boat cannot be paddled and capsizes if carried into rough water. Righting an empty capsized boat requires an action and a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check from a stable bank or adjacent boat; safely emptying and relaunching it takes 1 minute. On shore, 10 minutes and 5 SP of patching materials restore 1 HP. A destroyed hull needs rebuilding.
Coracle — D&D 2014
Cost 10 gp, paddle included; Weight 30 lb.; Space 5 by 5 feet; Crew one Small or Medium paddler; Passengers none; Maximum Load 350 lb., including paddler and gear; AC 11; Hit Points 15; Damage Threshold none; Damage Immunities poison, psychic.
Paddling. The seated paddler uses an action to move the coracle up to 10 feet in any direction on calm water, once per turn. Its sustained travel speed is about 1 mile per hour. Add downstream current to travel speed; it cannot gain ground upstream against a current at least as fast as its paddling speed. During an encounter, set the current’s drift in feet before launching and apply it at the end of each round.
Handling. No check is needed in calm water. Entering a swift eddy or threading a narrow weir gap requires a DC 13 Dexterity check as part of paddling. A character proficient with water vehicles adds their proficiency bonus. Failure loses the intended movement, and failure by 5 or more also capsizes the boat. Current still moves it. A collision with rock or submerged timber deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage to the hull. Flood rapids cannot be crossed in this model.
Damage and Recovery. At 7 hit points or fewer, paddling movement is 5 feet. At 0 hit points the boat stops supporting its load. Exceeding its load prevents paddling and causes it to capsize in rough water. From a stable bank or adjacent boat, an action and a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check right the empty craft; emptying and relaunching it takes 1 minute. A 10-minute shore repair using 5 sp of patching materials restores 1 hit point. A destroyed hull must be rebuilt.
Coracle — Pathfinder 1e
Medium floating object; Price 10 gp with paddle; Weight 30 lb.; Space one 5-foot square; Occupants one Small or Medium paddler; Maximum Load 350 lb., including occupant and gear; AC 5; Hardness 0; hp 10; Break DC 13. The hull provides no cover.
Propulsion. As a full-round action, the seated paddler moves the coracle up to 20 feet in any direction. Sustained travel speed is about 1 mile per hour. Add downstream current, or subtract an opposing current; there is no upstream progress when current cancels paddling speed. In combat, set current drift in feet before launching and apply it at the end of each round. This craft uses the handling procedure here.
Handling. Calm paddling needs no check. Entering a swift eddy or a narrow gap requires a DC 15 Survival or Profession (sailor) check as part of the paddling action. Profession requires training; Survival does not. Failure loses the intended movement; failure by 5 or more also capsizes the boat. Current continues to move it. Striking a rock or beam deals 1d6 damage to the hull. Flood rapids are impassable.
Broken and Sunk. At 5 hp or fewer the boat is broken: paddling movement falls to 10 feet and handling checks take a –2 penalty. At 0 hp it is destroyed and cannot support an occupant. An overloaded boat cannot be paddled and capsizes in rough water. From a bank or adjacent boat, a full-round action and DC 10 Strength check right it empty; emptying and relaunching takes 1 minute. On shore, 1 hour, 5 sp of materials and a DC 12 Craft (leather) or Craft (ships) check restore 1 hp. The broken condition ends above 5 hp.
Coracle — D&D 3.5e
Medium object; Cost 10 gp with paddle; Weight 30 lb.; Space 5 feet by 5 feet; Occupants one Small or Medium paddler; Maximum Load 350 lb., including paddler and gear; AC 5; Hardness 0; Hit Points 10; Break DC 13. The low hull grants no cover.
Paddling. A seated paddler spends a full-round action to move the boat up to 20 feet in any direction on calm water. Long-distance travel averages about 1 mile per hour. Add downstream current or subtract an opposing current; the coracle cannot advance upstream if current cancels its paddling speed. Set encounter current drift in feet before launching and apply it at the end of each round.
Steering. Ordinary calm travel needs no roll. A swift eddy or narrow weir gap requires a DC 15 Profession (sailor) check as part of paddling. An untrained paddler instead makes a DC 15 Strength check. Failure loses the intended movement; failure by 5 or more capsizes the craft as well. The current still carries it. Collision with a rock or beam deals 1d6 damage to the hull. Flood rapids are impassable.
Damage and Recovery. At 5 hit points or fewer, paddling movement falls to 10 feet and the break DC falls to 11. At 0 hit points the hull is destroyed and no longer supports its load. Overloading prevents paddling and capsizes the boat in rough water. A full-round action and DC 10 Strength check from a stable bank or adjacent boat right the empty hull; emptying and relaunching take 1 minute. One hour on shore, 5 sp of materials and a DC 12 Craft (leatherworking) or Craft (shipmaking) check restore 1 hit point.
Sources and Licensing
The coracle’s construction, portability and Welsh river setting draw on the National Maritime Museum Cornwall’s River Teifi coracle and Heritage Crafts’ coracle-making record. Later canvas coverings and modern waterproofing are excluded from this hide-covered model.
The four coracle profiles, prices, carrying limits, repair procedures and river incident are original campaign equipment and writing. They are not printed coracle statistics. General rules references: D&D 2024 equipment, D&D 2014 equipment, Pathfinder First Edition object rules, and D&D 3.5e object rules. The original painted hero is the approved coracle illustration.
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