Sanackranib
First Post
there is a lot of new or fairly new info out there for a pirates/swashbuckler campaign. so I pose the question where is the best info to be found?
Pirates!
- Thread starter Sanackranib
- Start date
Teflon Billy
Explorer
GURPS Swashbucklers is good.
As is Black Flags: Piracy in the Caribbean by Avalanche is also a big favorite
As is Black Flags: Piracy in the Caribbean by Avalanche is also a big favorite
Bob Aberton
First Post
Broadsides! is a superb general-reference sourcebook for any swashbuckling campaign (not necessarily limited to pirates, though; I use it for my campaign, set aboard a pseudo-18th century merchant vessel).
I believe that Living Imagination is also coming out with a specifically piratical sourcebook in the near future (they're the ones that publish Broadsides!)
I believe that Living Imagination is also coming out with a specifically piratical sourcebook in the near future (they're the ones that publish Broadsides!)
Mark Plemmons
Explorer
***Shameless plug***
We just got "Salt & Sea Dogs: The Pirates of Tellene" in from the printer yesterday! So it should be showing up in stores in a couple weeks or so! I believe the exact release date is September 1st.
144 pgs, $22.99
Here's the text I wrote for the back cover...
==============
ARE YOU READY TO COME ABOARD?
Haunted by ghost ships, fraught with dangerous storms, and beset upon by pirates and monsters alike, the high seas promise debonair adventure and bloodthirsty terror to those bold enough to set sail upon them. Whether you become a suave buccaneer, cruel pirate or brash navy officer struggling to end the pirate threat, you now have the skills, the knowledge and the equipment to begin your journey!
SALT & SEA DOGS IS LOADED WITH DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (3.5 EDITION) MATERIAL, INCLUDING:
- All New Prestige Classes! Become a combat marine, master navigator, pirate hunter, pirate lord, privateer or ship magus.
- New Feats! Learn how to master classic swashbuckling tricks.
- New Equipment and Magic Items! These sections contain normal and magic weapons, tools, armor and shields, and more.
- Detailed Spell Chapter! Learn over 20 new spells, and discover new uses for existing spells.
- Complete Ship Building System! By using ship types (galley, keelboat, longship, etc) as a base, easily construct ships ranging from the smallest rowboat to the largest galley, while new ship weapons, accessories and augmentations allow you to quickly build sleek warships, heavy cargo ships and much more.
- New Ships and Ship Templates! Here are 18 varieties of pre-constructed ships, along with 10 ship templates to easily adapt to your own vessel.
- Easy-To-Use Naval Combat and Extensive Weather Hazard Sections! Whether facing a fleet of warships or battling a tropical storm, these chapters give you all the information you need on the rigors of life at sea.
- The Seafarers of Tellene! Read about the organizations, government and history of the pirates of Reanaaria Bay, or travel west to learn about the cruel, vicious sea dogs of the Windy Straits. Learn about the city of Aasaer, seven new pirate towns and even an underwater merfolk city.
- Backwards Compatible! Along with the new material, this book also includes detailed ideas on how to utilize existing information (races, classes, monsters, skills, spells, etc) in your campaign.
- Adventure Hooks, Campaign Ideas and Much More!
Although usable in any campaign, this book is especially suited for the Kingdoms of Kalamar® Dungeons & Dragons® campaign setting – a realistic, dynamic world where complex political alliances mix with marauding bands of humanoids, and medieval technology and culture come face to face with magic and the fantastic. Whatever type of adventure you seek, you can find it here.
This Kingdoms of Kalamar compatible book is intended for use by D&D players and Dungeon Masters (DMs) alike. To use this book in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, you also need a copy of the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual. You can also find further detail on the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting in the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Setting Sourcebook, the Kingdoms of Kalamar Player's Guide or any of our other supplements and adventures.
--------------------
Mark Plemmons
Kenzer and Company
www.kenzerco.com
-------------------
We just got "Salt & Sea Dogs: The Pirates of Tellene" in from the printer yesterday! So it should be showing up in stores in a couple weeks or so! I believe the exact release date is September 1st.
144 pgs, $22.99
Here's the text I wrote for the back cover...
==============
ARE YOU READY TO COME ABOARD?
Haunted by ghost ships, fraught with dangerous storms, and beset upon by pirates and monsters alike, the high seas promise debonair adventure and bloodthirsty terror to those bold enough to set sail upon them. Whether you become a suave buccaneer, cruel pirate or brash navy officer struggling to end the pirate threat, you now have the skills, the knowledge and the equipment to begin your journey!
SALT & SEA DOGS IS LOADED WITH DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (3.5 EDITION) MATERIAL, INCLUDING:
- All New Prestige Classes! Become a combat marine, master navigator, pirate hunter, pirate lord, privateer or ship magus.
- New Feats! Learn how to master classic swashbuckling tricks.
- New Equipment and Magic Items! These sections contain normal and magic weapons, tools, armor and shields, and more.
- Detailed Spell Chapter! Learn over 20 new spells, and discover new uses for existing spells.
- Complete Ship Building System! By using ship types (galley, keelboat, longship, etc) as a base, easily construct ships ranging from the smallest rowboat to the largest galley, while new ship weapons, accessories and augmentations allow you to quickly build sleek warships, heavy cargo ships and much more.
- New Ships and Ship Templates! Here are 18 varieties of pre-constructed ships, along with 10 ship templates to easily adapt to your own vessel.
- Easy-To-Use Naval Combat and Extensive Weather Hazard Sections! Whether facing a fleet of warships or battling a tropical storm, these chapters give you all the information you need on the rigors of life at sea.
- The Seafarers of Tellene! Read about the organizations, government and history of the pirates of Reanaaria Bay, or travel west to learn about the cruel, vicious sea dogs of the Windy Straits. Learn about the city of Aasaer, seven new pirate towns and even an underwater merfolk city.
- Backwards Compatible! Along with the new material, this book also includes detailed ideas on how to utilize existing information (races, classes, monsters, skills, spells, etc) in your campaign.
- Adventure Hooks, Campaign Ideas and Much More!
Although usable in any campaign, this book is especially suited for the Kingdoms of Kalamar® Dungeons & Dragons® campaign setting – a realistic, dynamic world where complex political alliances mix with marauding bands of humanoids, and medieval technology and culture come face to face with magic and the fantastic. Whatever type of adventure you seek, you can find it here.
This Kingdoms of Kalamar compatible book is intended for use by D&D players and Dungeon Masters (DMs) alike. To use this book in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, you also need a copy of the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual. You can also find further detail on the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting in the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Setting Sourcebook, the Kingdoms of Kalamar Player's Guide or any of our other supplements and adventures.
--------------------
Mark Plemmons
Kenzer and Company
www.kenzerco.com
-------------------
Attachments
Wombat
First Post
I have to agree with GURPS Swashbuckler -- a fantastic book! Okay, okay, it may not have the "crunchy bits" that are usable in a D20 game, but it has fantastic information on the Golden Age of Piracy (as opposed to the Golden Age of Leather for all you Soft White Underbelly fans...).
I love GURPS. Actually I can't stand the system, per se, but I love the supplements they put out -- great, solid background information for a variety of campaign types. Probably explains why I no longer have the base rules but own over a dozen supplements...
I love GURPS. Actually I can't stand the system, per se, but I love the supplements they put out -- great, solid background information for a variety of campaign types. Probably explains why I no longer have the base rules but own over a dozen supplements...
CarlZog
Explorer
Bob Aberton said:
Broadsides is excellent. Probably some of the best RPG sailing ship rules available (For more serious sailing ship miniature wargames, see Heart of Oak and Beat to Quarters).
LI's new Pirates! book is good, but not as great as I'd hoped. It's the usual stuff you would expect, a few historical pirates and literary characters turned NPC, spells, etc.
Green Ronin is coming out with a new pirate sourcebook, Skull & Bones this month. A company called Adamant has already announced a pdf newsletter dedicated to Skull & Bones adventures and stuff.
In a thread last month, someone suggested that pirates had become too cliche, nothing new or creative could be done. If you're feeling that way, I suggest reading Under the Black Flag, by David Cordingly, a former curator of England's National Maritime Museum. This historical book uses a lot of original source material to break down the myths and legends of the pirates. From a gaming standpoint, the historical truth can offer a fresh approach to the hackneyed Hollywood style image that tends to dominate swashbuckling RPGs. These were some gritty, mean SOBs, but not without their human foibles. It's a great read.
CZ
Pramas
Explorer
Skull & Bones has finally gone to print. In fact, I just approved the proofs today. Should be in stores in September. For more info, go here:
http://www.greenronin.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prodid=1018
Dig that David Leri cover. Mmmmmm, piratey.
http://www.greenronin.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prodid=1018
Dig that David Leri cover. Mmmmmm, piratey.
Larry Fitz
First Post
Not only is Pirates! already out (it had its debut at GenCon) and in your bookstores, it is already getting great reviews!
RPG.net
Game Play News
and as you may have seen on EW's front page today...
GameWyrd
I think anyone that thinks pirates are cliche, probably isn't all that interested in a high seas game anyway. When most people think of pirates they think of the golden age of piracy, but really piracy has existed for almost as long as people have sailed the seas, and still exists today. In a game of adventuring, what is more adventurous than pitting yourself against either other characteres trying to hold on to their stuff or other characters trying to take yours? They can have abilitites the equal of yours or maybe even better and failure probably means death for either side...
There are many kinds of pirates even for those with a narrow view however. There were those who essentially were loyal to their own countries preying on the ships of their enemies (James Clavell's Shogun gives an interesting perspective on that). There were even those who were de facto agents of their countries with Letters of Marque to prey on the ships of their enemies. There were those who were just in for themselves of course, and even those who were called pirate, and killed for it, but were not, then there is that rarity, a man who was loyal to his country, had a commision to hunt pirates, but was himself hung by his country as a pirate when he was not, like William Kidd (Pirates!, pg 13).
CarlZog, what were you hoping for in Pirates! that wasn't there? Have you taken a close look at the ship rules in chapters 3 &4? If there was anything you needed above and beyond the content of Broadsides! that isn't in those two chapters let me know.
RPG.net
Game Play News
and as you may have seen on EW's front page today...
GameWyrd
I think anyone that thinks pirates are cliche, probably isn't all that interested in a high seas game anyway. When most people think of pirates they think of the golden age of piracy, but really piracy has existed for almost as long as people have sailed the seas, and still exists today. In a game of adventuring, what is more adventurous than pitting yourself against either other characteres trying to hold on to their stuff or other characters trying to take yours? They can have abilitites the equal of yours or maybe even better and failure probably means death for either side...
There are many kinds of pirates even for those with a narrow view however. There were those who essentially were loyal to their own countries preying on the ships of their enemies (James Clavell's Shogun gives an interesting perspective on that). There were even those who were de facto agents of their countries with Letters of Marque to prey on the ships of their enemies. There were those who were just in for themselves of course, and even those who were called pirate, and killed for it, but were not, then there is that rarity, a man who was loyal to his country, had a commision to hunt pirates, but was himself hung by his country as a pirate when he was not, like William Kidd (Pirates!, pg 13).
CarlZog, what were you hoping for in Pirates! that wasn't there? Have you taken a close look at the ship rules in chapters 3 &4? If there was anything you needed above and beyond the content of Broadsides! that isn't in those two chapters let me know.
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