Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Tell Us About Your Pirate Campaign(s)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Breaking Star Games" data-source="post: 9753091" data-attributes="member: 7042067"><p><strong>What game system did you use?</strong></p><p>Rapscallion (it's Powered by the Apocalypse), the game just recently had its retail release. I kickstarted it, so I’ve had the PDF for a while but only just ran it.</p><p></p><p><strong>Was it "realistic" from a logistics and sailing perspective?</strong></p><p>Almost the opposite. It has 3 simple stats on the ship’s toughness, maneuverability/speed and cargo size. A few simple Moves for things like engaging, outmaneuvering and running away, but realism is very much not the focus.</p><p></p><p><strong>Where and when was it set, and if totally fantastical, what piracy period or style did it hew closest to?</strong></p><p>Totally fantastic and especially weird. The resources provided on the setting are very much fantastical.</p><p></p><p><strong>My overall takeaways:</strong></p><p>Like most PbtA games, it is definitely the most fun with good players who can improvise some very interesting ideas and run straight ahead into the drama.</p><p></p><p>I've gotten to run a four-shot and a one-shot and I will definitely be keeping it in my back pocket as a backup session when we have too few players at my normal campaigns.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Good:</strong></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Compels (much like Fate) and especially Playbook-specifics Vices are exactly the kind of mechanic I love in narrative games where they make it properly optimal to charge straight into danger because the value of Bonds as a cost to stand their ground against them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Luck allows some spectacular moments that really feel exciting (it definitely helps having a good set of players for this) but I never worried how they'd get out of trouble when master assassins and man-o'wars could easily destroy them and their entire ship. That leaves a lot of room to have fun as the GM. It definitely can feel limited as early-on (assuming you don't invest in the Spitfire stat) you may only get some on lucky rolls, but it's very powerful allowing players to alter reality, so that makes sense.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bonds, although very limited, I think are thematically amazing. Using them as a resource to stand up to your Vice is amazing for that roleplay moment. I think the limitation is intentional for early-game and you can see them grow over a campaign as you gain new ones during Downtime.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I really like that there is a Bond-earning mechanic for being earnest and forthright when you use the Persuade Basic Move, Parley on a 10+. That is pretty interesting and leads to this incentive to have some honor</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Smart and intentional discussion around the genre and real world implications. How to work with your table to set the tone and what kind of focus you want for the world and gameplay</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Having <em>Use a Clever Trick</em> as the catch-all Basic Move is a lot more interesting than your typical <em>Act Under Fire</em> as the PCs are evoking how they act dirty like pirates to solve problems. There is no Basic Move to just jump a large distance, pirates have to be more <s>cunning</s> vinegar-y</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I think the world is wonderfully weird and they have a great section on locations and factions</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Playbook-Specific GM Moves are something I don't see how it hasn't caught for most other PbtA games on because Masks uses them so wonderfully. Rapscallion does a great job here (though I need them on my GM cheatsheet!) and really helps with my final point as it gives the GMs another huge tool in their arsenal</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Best for the last, the Playbooks are amazing. Every player I've run this for usually has several they are excited to try. They are highly evocative and have some great themes. Many of their Playbook Moves expand on this theme and their core mechanic to really hit on the theme, which is nice as many other PbtA Playbook Moves can feel a little generic to allow any other Playbook to take them.</li> </ul><p><strong>The Not so Good:</strong> Most are more minor as it's easy to adjust or create your own, but editing and flavorful terms do make the initial parsing of the system take longer.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Troubles are a neat mechanic but outside of the Troubles caused by the PCs' Vices, the generic ones provided in the game are pretty boring and around injury. EG Concussion: when you hear a loud noise or flinch, take 1-harm. Item tags often suffer from this issue of being a little boring. A few too many +1s and -1s that aren't making the narrative more interesting IMO. In another game, I ran, the PC basically has a +4 to their main stat from a tag that gives Aid +1.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Editing (an index of only 20 items says a lot) but I saw unexplained mechanics or tags that I only saw in previous Quickstart editions. I still can't find the section on NPCs resisting compels.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Overly flavorful terms - the <s>stats</s> traits are definitely the most obvious - but this is definitely my own bias. If there is a pretty standard game mechanic term, I prefer for usability of the book to use that like Stats or PbtA Terms like GM Principles. One aspect was really bad, the term crewmates is the replacement for PCs. But throughout the book, it's also used for NPC crewmembers</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Awkward abstractions (this makes the logistical side even less logical): Crew Size grow somewhat geometrically, but your ship's size grows linearly, so it leads to the fact that as your crew gets bigger, they become more compact. Currency has a similar issue of no value between Pittance (PC pays nothing) and 1-Treasure (a large value to buy most quality gear), so how to handle minor bribes or other small taxing is left out.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The game tells you to make the Pirates as the good guys but provides no redeeming qualities - you're sinful, lying, ruthless, mutinous killers (as pirates should be), but they don't want The Law to look good. So I made them basically stupid evil - religious fanatic slavers.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I'm not a fan of a single stat that covers all of <s>Charisma</s> Polish functions - many PbtA games have Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation kind of Basic Moves broken into different stats, so everyone participates in this kind of social arena.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I'd personally have liked to see a skill list for such an action-focused game like how Blades in the Dark or Root: The RPG handles them since it's such an action-adventure focused game. <em>Use a Clever Trick</em> becomes a bit too overused. Though the design of all the Basic Moves is great.</li> </ul><p>It is a PbtA through and through - mixed successes and no GM rolls. So, if that's not your style, I don't think this one will change your mind - it even has some of the more "controversial" conventions worn proudly on it's sleeves:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Luck for PCs to reshape the world summoning NPCs, items or opportunities</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shared worldbuilding built into the mechanics of the Map as players contribute and write on it</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Narrative scaffolding built around each of the Playbooks where they buy-in to fight some Vice and struggle against some core thematic issue.</li> </ul><p>But Compels are nice for people like me that want you to optimally be reckless - it reminds me of how Masks's Conditions or Monsterhearts's Strings work. It lets me fit the genre while staying in mostly Actor Stance performing what may be best in the long-term for my PC to save a Bond for future use.</p><p></p><p>But those that do like PbtA, you'll at the minimum find some thought-provoking design and some interesting core mechanics around each of the Playbooks. Or like me, you find your new favorite way you want to run a Pirate TTRPG with my Ironsworn: Sundered Isles and Pirate Borg tables at hand to help with prep and improv.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Breaking Star Games, post: 9753091, member: 7042067"] [B]What game system did you use?[/B] Rapscallion (it's Powered by the Apocalypse), the game just recently had its retail release. I kickstarted it, so I’ve had the PDF for a while but only just ran it. [B]Was it "realistic" from a logistics and sailing perspective?[/B] Almost the opposite. It has 3 simple stats on the ship’s toughness, maneuverability/speed and cargo size. A few simple Moves for things like engaging, outmaneuvering and running away, but realism is very much not the focus. [B]Where and when was it set, and if totally fantastical, what piracy period or style did it hew closest to?[/B] Totally fantastic and especially weird. The resources provided on the setting are very much fantastical. [B]My overall takeaways:[/B] Like most PbtA games, it is definitely the most fun with good players who can improvise some very interesting ideas and run straight ahead into the drama. I've gotten to run a four-shot and a one-shot and I will definitely be keeping it in my back pocket as a backup session when we have too few players at my normal campaigns. [B]The Good:[/B] [LIST] [*]Compels (much like Fate) and especially Playbook-specifics Vices are exactly the kind of mechanic I love in narrative games where they make it properly optimal to charge straight into danger because the value of Bonds as a cost to stand their ground against them. [*]Luck allows some spectacular moments that really feel exciting (it definitely helps having a good set of players for this) but I never worried how they'd get out of trouble when master assassins and man-o'wars could easily destroy them and their entire ship. That leaves a lot of room to have fun as the GM. It definitely can feel limited as early-on (assuming you don't invest in the Spitfire stat) you may only get some on lucky rolls, but it's very powerful allowing players to alter reality, so that makes sense. [*]Bonds, although very limited, I think are thematically amazing. Using them as a resource to stand up to your Vice is amazing for that roleplay moment. I think the limitation is intentional for early-game and you can see them grow over a campaign as you gain new ones during Downtime. [LIST] [*]I really like that there is a Bond-earning mechanic for being earnest and forthright when you use the Persuade Basic Move, Parley on a 10+. That is pretty interesting and leads to this incentive to have some honor [/LIST] [*]Smart and intentional discussion around the genre and real world implications. How to work with your table to set the tone and what kind of focus you want for the world and gameplay [*]Having [I]Use a Clever Trick[/I] as the catch-all Basic Move is a lot more interesting than your typical [I]Act Under Fire[/I] as the PCs are evoking how they act dirty like pirates to solve problems. There is no Basic Move to just jump a large distance, pirates have to be more [S]cunning[/S] vinegar-y [*]I think the world is wonderfully weird and they have a great section on locations and factions [*]Playbook-Specific GM Moves are something I don't see how it hasn't caught for most other PbtA games on because Masks uses them so wonderfully. Rapscallion does a great job here (though I need them on my GM cheatsheet!) and really helps with my final point as it gives the GMs another huge tool in their arsenal [*]Best for the last, the Playbooks are amazing. Every player I've run this for usually has several they are excited to try. They are highly evocative and have some great themes. Many of their Playbook Moves expand on this theme and their core mechanic to really hit on the theme, which is nice as many other PbtA Playbook Moves can feel a little generic to allow any other Playbook to take them. [/LIST] [B]The Not so Good:[/B] Most are more minor as it's easy to adjust or create your own, but editing and flavorful terms do make the initial parsing of the system take longer. [LIST] [*]Troubles are a neat mechanic but outside of the Troubles caused by the PCs' Vices, the generic ones provided in the game are pretty boring and around injury. EG Concussion: when you hear a loud noise or flinch, take 1-harm. Item tags often suffer from this issue of being a little boring. A few too many +1s and -1s that aren't making the narrative more interesting IMO. In another game, I ran, the PC basically has a +4 to their main stat from a tag that gives Aid +1. [*]Editing (an index of only 20 items says a lot) but I saw unexplained mechanics or tags that I only saw in previous Quickstart editions. I still can't find the section on NPCs resisting compels. [LIST] [*]Overly flavorful terms - the [S]stats[/S] traits are definitely the most obvious - but this is definitely my own bias. If there is a pretty standard game mechanic term, I prefer for usability of the book to use that like Stats or PbtA Terms like GM Principles. One aspect was really bad, the term crewmates is the replacement for PCs. But throughout the book, it's also used for NPC crewmembers [/LIST] [*]Awkward abstractions (this makes the logistical side even less logical): Crew Size grow somewhat geometrically, but your ship's size grows linearly, so it leads to the fact that as your crew gets bigger, they become more compact. Currency has a similar issue of no value between Pittance (PC pays nothing) and 1-Treasure (a large value to buy most quality gear), so how to handle minor bribes or other small taxing is left out. [*]The game tells you to make the Pirates as the good guys but provides no redeeming qualities - you're sinful, lying, ruthless, mutinous killers (as pirates should be), but they don't want The Law to look good. So I made them basically stupid evil - religious fanatic slavers. [*]I'm not a fan of a single stat that covers all of [S]Charisma[/S] Polish functions - many PbtA games have Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation kind of Basic Moves broken into different stats, so everyone participates in this kind of social arena. [*]I'd personally have liked to see a skill list for such an action-focused game like how Blades in the Dark or Root: The RPG handles them since it's such an action-adventure focused game. [I]Use a Clever Trick[/I] becomes a bit too overused. Though the design of all the Basic Moves is great. [/LIST] It is a PbtA through and through - mixed successes and no GM rolls. So, if that's not your style, I don't think this one will change your mind - it even has some of the more "controversial" conventions worn proudly on it's sleeves: [LIST] [*]Luck for PCs to reshape the world summoning NPCs, items or opportunities [*]Shared worldbuilding built into the mechanics of the Map as players contribute and write on it [*]Narrative scaffolding built around each of the Playbooks where they buy-in to fight some Vice and struggle against some core thematic issue. [/LIST] But Compels are nice for people like me that want you to optimally be reckless - it reminds me of how Masks's Conditions or Monsterhearts's Strings work. It lets me fit the genre while staying in mostly Actor Stance performing what may be best in the long-term for my PC to save a Bond for future use. But those that do like PbtA, you'll at the minimum find some thought-provoking design and some interesting core mechanics around each of the Playbooks. Or like me, you find your new favorite way you want to run a Pirate TTRPG with my Ironsworn: Sundered Isles and Pirate Borg tables at hand to help with prep and improv. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Tell Us About Your Pirate Campaign(s)
Top