Sohars were a type of ship commonly used by Calishites to ship goods.[1]
Description[]
On average, from bow to stern these ships measured 90 feet (27 meters) in length,[2][4] had a beam (width) of 25 feet (7.6 meters), and required a depth of at least 4 ft (1.2 m) in order to float.[4]
Sohars sported three masts[1][2] and had a small forecastle. They could hold up to 100 tons (91,000 kg) of cargo and supplies,[2][3] around as much as a cog, though sohars tended to be faster and more maneuverable than most cogs.[1] Each sohar could man a crew of up twenty individuals,[2][3] but the average number of crew one could find on a sohar would be around eight individuals. The bare minimum of individuals needed to sail a sohar were four.[3]
History[]
Circa 1344 DR, a sohar being sailed by Calishite merchants sunk in the Sea of Fallen Stars, leaving a shipwreck.[5]
By 1371 DR, sohars were becoming a more common sight in the Inner Sea.[1]
Appendix[]
Background[]
Sohars first appeared in the AD&D accessory Of Ships and the Sea (1997). Every ship featured in that book is derived from a real historical type of ship, but the sohar is the one exception to this rule. In the text it is described as a "middle-eastern merchant ship" and that "adventurers will certainly encounter these ships in Arabian cultures". The only historical instance of a ship called "sohar" was a replica dhow built in 1980 for the British explorer Tim Severin. He named it in reference to the town of Sohar in Oman, which is commonly believed to be the birthplace of the legendary Sinbad the Sailor.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Steven E. Schend (1999). Sea of Fallen Stars. (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 0-7869-1393-2.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Keith Francis Strohm (September 1997). Of Ships and the Sea. (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 0786907061.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Keith Francis Strohm (September 1997). Of Ships and the Sea. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 0786907061.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Keith Francis Strohm (September 1997). Of Ships and the Sea. (TSR, Inc), p. 13. ISBN 0786907061.
- ↑ Mel Odom (March 2013). Rising Tide. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 1, loc. ?. ISBN 978-0-7869-6396-6.