What's the best sourcebook for ships/swashbuckling/pirates?
- Thread starter DDK
- Start date
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
GURPS Swashbucklers
It might not be d20, but it has all the setting information you'll need.
It might not be d20, but it has all the setting information you'll need.
booboo
First Post
Robbert Raets
Explorer
Check out the latest issue of www.roleplayingtips.com .
Azure Trance
First Post
Fourecks said:
Em ... possibly either Swashbuckling Adventures or Freeport off the top of my head.
Gez
First Post
I've bought Seas of Blood, by Mongoose, and found the stuff quite OK. Havn't see Seafarer's Handbook, nor Twin Crown, nor anything that was already mentionned in that thread, so I can't say if that's the best.
For flavor, 7th Sea is probably the best, as it is designed quite specifically around that theme; however from the reviews I've seen, I can only advise people to avoid its d20 version, Swashbuckling Adventure. Or wait for a hypothetical Revised Edition of it...
For flavor, 7th Sea is probably the best, as it is designed quite specifically around that theme; however from the reviews I've seen, I can only advise people to avoid its d20 version, Swashbuckling Adventure. Or wait for a hypothetical Revised Edition of it...
Turgenev
Legend
I would whole heartily recommend Seafarer's Handbook (by Fantasy Flight Games). It has rules on playing Aquatic Elves, Half-Merrows (aquatic half-ogres), and Merfolk (with a few new Prestige Classes), new skills & feats, underwater combat rules, ship design & construction rules, ship-to-ship & crew combat rules, plus a ton of info on running an underwater or above water campaign.
I haven't used it yet in my campaign, but I can't wait for the chance (when I get around to playing the converted U1-3 Saltmarsh series modules probably
).
Cheers,
Tim
I haven't used it yet in my campaign, but I can't wait for the chance (when I get around to playing the converted U1-3 Saltmarsh series modules probably
). Cheers,
Tim
Sagan Darkside
First Post
Salutations
What kind of game are you looking for?
Something leaning more towards the fantastic or towards the realistic?
Do you want to do miniature ship battles or just have an abstract system?
Have you read the reviews for the three main products?
Seafarer's Handbook
Seas of Blood
Broadsides!
I think the Broadsides is the best for my group's needs. It is also the best bet for doing miniature ship battles.
Have you considered doing the campeign with air ships?
Aerial Adventure Guide, Vol. 1: Rulers of the Sky
SD
Fourecks said:
What kind of game are you looking for?
Something leaning more towards the fantastic or towards the realistic?
Do you want to do miniature ship battles or just have an abstract system?
Have you read the reviews for the three main products?
Seafarer's Handbook
Seas of Blood
Broadsides!
I think the Broadsides is the best for my group's needs. It is also the best bet for doing miniature ship battles.
Have you considered doing the campeign with air ships?
Aerial Adventure Guide, Vol. 1: Rulers of the Sky
SD
All of these books will do the job very well, but they each have a different focus/strength.
Broadsides: Realism -- especially if anyone in your group knows about sailing (it's the only book that accounts for wind in combat, for example -- other books have movement mechanics more suited to spacecraft than sea ships)
Seafarer's Handbook: Adventuring -- It's got more content for game ideas, like port towns, sea hazards, and underwater adventuring.
Seas of Blood: Completeness -- It's got a few things the other two lack, like mass combat rules for ship to ship combat and trade commodity values.
Swashbuckling Adventures: A complete d20 game with support for renaissance era play -- It can be a bit of a mixed bag. Some bits may not mesh well with standard D&D but many pieces are really excellent for inclusion in your game. It has rules for all kinds of interesting fencing weapons and gadgets, firearms if you want to use them, support for encouraging people to be lightly armored if that's what you want, support for lowering the magic level in your game if that's what you want, and a ton (I think 70+) of interesting fighting school prestige classes. I think it has the most potential, but also requires the most DM supervision to work. However, this book is really for running a campaign centered on these themes, not inserting these themes into a more standard D&D campaign. There are lots of editing errors. The included rules for ships and mass combat are passable but not as extensive as books that focus on these topics.
Broadsides: Realism -- especially if anyone in your group knows about sailing (it's the only book that accounts for wind in combat, for example -- other books have movement mechanics more suited to spacecraft than sea ships)
Seafarer's Handbook: Adventuring -- It's got more content for game ideas, like port towns, sea hazards, and underwater adventuring.
Seas of Blood: Completeness -- It's got a few things the other two lack, like mass combat rules for ship to ship combat and trade commodity values.
Swashbuckling Adventures: A complete d20 game with support for renaissance era play -- It can be a bit of a mixed bag. Some bits may not mesh well with standard D&D but many pieces are really excellent for inclusion in your game. It has rules for all kinds of interesting fencing weapons and gadgets, firearms if you want to use them, support for encouraging people to be lightly armored if that's what you want, support for lowering the magic level in your game if that's what you want, and a ton (I think 70+) of interesting fighting school prestige classes. I think it has the most potential, but also requires the most DM supervision to work. However, this book is really for running a campaign centered on these themes, not inserting these themes into a more standard D&D campaign. There are lots of editing errors. The included rules for ships and mass combat are passable but not as extensive as books that focus on these topics.
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