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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009044" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.Broadsides is another set of naval adventuring rules and subject matter in the recent glut of product of this type. It is compatible with Living Imagination's Twin Crowns campaign setting and is an expansion of the rules found there.At $19.95 for 128 pages, and with good use of the space available, this is fairly average in pricing for a product of this size. Art is generally good - the front cover is particularly good and is indicative for once of the quality of the art inside. Though most of the text is rules-orientated, it is well-written, and editing is generally good.Chapter 1: Navigation & Piloting, reproduce the skills introduced in Twin Crowns, discuss the use of the Profession: Navigation, and Profession: Piloting skill rules in a little more detail, give explanations of some nautical instruments such as sextant and compass, and briefly covers maps and charts. It moves on to cover the shipping environment - underwater hazards, ice, weather (including a random weather chart), wind direction, and prevailing winds and currents. After some brief rules and discussion of seasickness, there is a larger section on flying ships and the effects and dangers of altitude.Chapter 2: Ships, gives general statistics and definitions for each part of a standard ship and some rules for such things as manoeuvrability, acceleration and aerodynamics. The rest of the chapter is dedicated to about 40 different examples of ships including long ships, galleys, galleons and fantastic ships (such as elven assault ship and sky chariot). There is also a final section on ship construction and design.Chapter 3: The Voyage, gives a step-by-step guide to the GM for running a voyage, including advice on determining weather and navigation.Chapter 4: Naval Combat, expands the combat rules given in Twin Crowns and includes detailed rules for initiative, movement, attacking, boarding, damage (to both the ship and the crew) and weapons (such as catapults, ballista, cannon, rams, fireshooters (i.e. flamethrowers) and spells), and some further information on repairing ships.Chapter 5: Underwater Adventuring, begins with rules for surviving, moving and fighting underwater as well as perception restrictions. The remainder of the chapter deals with underwater vessels, giving some examples and a couple of underwater weapons (bow harpoon and dorsal ram).Chapter 6: Nautical Equipment, covers gunpowder before going on to general equipment (e.g. anchor, bilge pumps, and diving grease), surgical supplies (e.g. emetic, ether, and tincture of opium), and weapons (e.g. cannon, bomb, and muskets).Chapter 7: Feats, offers 21 new ship-orientated feats including deep diving, naval expertise, quickload (for muskets) and water combat.Chapter 8: Prestige Classes, offers 7 new prestige classes - Harpooneer, Marine, Oceanic Sentinel (Sea Wizard), Privateer, Surgeon, Sea Captain and Sea Scout. Chapter 9: Spells And Rituals, offers about 40 new spells related to the subject matter including such dweomers as determine location, enlarge reef, founder ship, mend ship, repel ice and underwater communication. There are also 12 new rituals to be used with the Ritual System explained in the Twin Crowns sourcebook (e.g. Air Ship, Raise Atoll, and Skeleton Crew).Chapter 10: Nautical Magical Items, includes such items as armor of swimming, harpoon of piercing, ring of protection from sharks, and cloak of storms as well as a couple of minor artifacts.Chapter 11: Sea Creatures, includes five new monsters including Siren and Orctopus, as well as the 'Jonah' template, a type of fey that inhabits the bodies of the drowned. This seemed to me to be more appropriate as an undead as they are described as spirits created by fear and mourning.Chapter 12: Nautical Organizations, offer four short descriptions of organisations such as smugglers, pirates and insurance brokers. Chapter 13: Adventuring, offers 9 short adventure ideas (complete with ELs), a short (3-page) adventure, three famous pirates, and four famous pirate vessels.There is also a ship's log, nautical glossary and index.Conclusion:This is a detailed and well-written book, and is recommended for those of you who wish to bring greater depth to your campaign setting in terms of ships, ocean travel and underwater adventuring. It has a particularly detailed naval combat system. It is not recommended for those who do not wish to take their games to this much detail. Although it has some interesting information in general regarding nautical equipment, there is not enough on offer here to appeal to those who do not wish to bring this fairly specialised area into their games. Therefore, it is limited in its usefulness, dependent on this factor.</blockquote>

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