Brig

Brig
Belongs to	All factions
Crew	81
Guns	26 (12 on either side, 2 stern chasers)
Firepower	192
Range	500
Accuracy	70
Reloading skill	60
Hull strength	1194
Speed	26
Maneuverability	High
Tech requirement	None
Produced from	Shipyard
Cost	700 SP/410 MP
Upkeep	170

The Brig is a ship type in Empire: Total War.

Description

A brig is a lightly armed, small, two-masted sailing ship, much prized for its exceptional handling and sailing qualities.

The term “brig” is a contraction of “brigantine” (an earlier sailing ship design), although the two types do not have the same rigging. A brigantine carries fore-and-aft sails, while a brig is square-rigged; this explains why the brig was favored, for square rigging requires far fewer skilled hands to sail the vessel. The term “brig” could also include many rigging sets, including the strangely named “hermaphrodite brig”, which had a square-rigged forward mast and schooner-rigged aft (main) mast.

All brigs, in the hands of a good captain, are handy little ships, and can virtually turn in their own length. This maneuverability partly makes up for the light armament, usually no more than a couple of cannon – and those no larger than 12-lbers. The development of carronades (short-barreled, short-range, large-bore weapons) added to a brig’s firepower.

Historically, the fledgling United States Navy used brigs, particularly on the Great Lakes. USN brigs also put up a brave account of themselves against the Barbary Pirates.

General Information

Available from the very beginning to any nation with a port, brigs are versatile ships. They are more heavily armed and better manned than sloops, and are good for fending off lighter ships. With proper control, they can even take on larger ships by taking advantage of their superior speed and (usually) better range. Brigs are unusual for a light ship in that they have cannons located at the stern, allowing them to damage other ships attempting to chase them down. These cannons are very weak, however.

Brigs have some key weaknesses. Their open decks make them far more vulnerable to Grape Shot than sloops (or nearly any other ship in the game, for the matter). In addition, their sails are quite weak and can easily be taken out by Chain Shot. A single volley from even the weakest ship could potentially nearly immobilize an unlucky brig.

Some factions' ship statistics are different from others; differences are listed below (traits that to not differ are not listed).

Type	Accuracy	Reload Skill	Hull Strength	Speed	Morale	Cost	Upkeep
Standard	70	60	1194	22	8	700	170
France	80	60	1220	23	8	750	180
Great Britain	70	75	1258	22	9	700	170
Spain	70	60	1194	22	8	680	170
United States	70	70	1258	22	9	670	160