The Flying Dutchman for Oak & Iron

“The Flying Dutchman” is a special Oak & Iron ship released by Firelock Games on Oct 31, 2022 as part of a Halloween event. You can read more about the Oak & Iron Halloween event in our “The Sailor’s Devil” article. You can also download a PDF of the stats and rules that added Davy Jones and “The Flying Dutchman” stats to the game.

Historical Background

“She was an Amsterdam vessel and sailed from port seventy years ago. Her master’s name was Van der Decken. He was a staunch seaman, and would have his own way in spite of the devil. For all that, never a sailor under him had reason to complain; though how it is on board with them nobody knows. The story is this: that in doubling the Cape they were a long day trying to weather the Table Bay. However, the wind headed them, and went against them more and more, and Van der Decken walked the deck, swearing at the wind. Just after sunset a vessel spoke him, asking him if he did not mean to go into the bay that night. Van der Decken replied: “May I be eternally damned if I do, though I should beat about here till the day of judgment.” And to be sure, he never did go into that bay, for it is believed that he continues to beat about in these seas still, and will do so long enough. This vessel is never seen but with foul weather along with her.”

  – “Der fliegende Holländer” An Opera by Richard Wagner

“The Flying Dutchman” Ship Analysis

“The Flying Dutchman” Ship Overview & Tactics

For Oak & Iron, this ship is a Fluyt with some extreme upgrades. Let’s look at the base stats:

• With a Fortitude of 4, this ship is all but indomitable to smaller ships of the game. Only a 2nd Rate and 1st Rate Frigate have a Fortitude of that magnitude. This means, against most ships, it can only take Damage by Critical Hits.
• Based on its expanded Fatigue track it has the “Additional Crew” upgrade for free. But that would only give a Fluyt a Crew score of 3. Clearly, there be evil forces afoot, as its Crew score is 4. A 4 is double that of a standard Fluyt and makes it on par with a 3rd Rate Frigate.
  • Taking this ship with a Dutch or French Fleet where you get a +1 on Close Combat gives you 8 dice for close combat! The ship can take two upgrades, adding Marines and Boarding Party can push it to a monstrous (literally…) 10 dice.
  • Since the ship lacks the High Freeboard ability of a standard Fluyt, you may want to consider taking a Skilled Surgeon to regain Fatigue.
• The Broadside remains the same as regular Fluyt. And unfortunately it doesn’t have the option to add Additional Guns.
• With Captain Davy Jones at the helm for zero points, the ship gains a free SKill 1.
• With a ghastly supernatural force in its sails, the ship has improved its Windward score and gained the “Fast” attribute making it a prime option for a boarding vessel.

Ghost Ship Ability

The new attribute of Ghost Ship is one that adds a spooky flavor to the vessel as it causes the ship to disappear into the ether when it collides with any island or landmass terrain. The downside to the cool factor of this attribute is that it limits the ship’s maneuverability. Extra care has to be given to sailing on as it is at a much higher risk if it collides with the terrain.

At first glance, the ship lacked Shallow Draft which is a bummer, but upon further review, Ghost Ship is much better. The ability allows it to not only sail over shoals but rocks as well! This increases the ship’s ability to close on an enemy that may otherwise try to use the terrain to hide.

Letters From The Dead Ability

Letters From The Dead is now possibly one of the most powerful abilities in the game. The ability automatically inflicts 1 Fatigue to all enemies within Musket range of the ship. There is no SKill Test to resist… it’s an auto success. This ship is primed for a boarding style of play so send it straight at your enemy’s fleet and let the fear inflict Fatigue like madness. Adding this ship to a Spanish fleet that benefits from the Ruthless initiative card add a double whammy. If this ship is within Musket range of an enemy, even if they try to do a Rally, they will only break even on Fatigue. In larger games, with more ships on the board, this ability becomes even more powerful as it affects any ship in Musket Range, not just one.

The Heart Ability

As a negative and risky element to this ship, it also has a cursed attribute of “The Heart“. This represents a cursed item that gives the wielder the power to make Davy Jones obey their every command. The flagship that has the item controls the ship. This means if your flagship is captured, the Heart, and therefore The Flying Dutchman will change its allegiance to your opponent. So guard your flagship well.

For clarity, it may be good to add an Objective Marker to the ship that currently possesses “The Heart“. As an optional rule for Objective Tokens, our local group allows you to use a Crew Action to move an Objective Token between two ships that are Entangled or within Yard Arm distance and move a Speed of 2 or less during the round. This makes it more fun to squabble for items in various scenarios.

Part of the Ship, Part of the Crew Optional House Rule Ability

We came up with an extra ability that pays homage to one of the Hollywood films featuring Davy Jones. Part of the Ship, Part of the Crew, may be used once per round. When activated, the ship unit may use a free special Repair action to add 1 Fatigue in exchange for removing 1 Damage.

Additional Content Suggestions

• Get the original PDF that added the ship to the game: “The Sailor’s Devil” – Davy Jones in Oak & Iron
• Since this is a boarding focused ship, you may want to review our Boarding Tips: Ultimate Guide & Top Strategies for Oak & Iron
• This YouTube video has an Airbrush tutorial for painting Ghost Ships