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  • Locked thread
JosephWongKS
Apr 4, 2009

by Nyc_Tattoo
CHAPTER ONE - SCURVY KNIVES

quote:


A cannonball hits the water astern of your ship's hull. The resulting splash soaks your clothing. You drag your sleeve across your forehead, succeeding only in spreading the water around.

"Could be worse," says the unflappable Caesar Lord, your closest friend, a huge, dark-skinned pirate who towers over you — and the rest of the crew. "They could have better aim."

Your ship's last loaded cannon fires, drowning him out for the moment, fouling the air with smoke and brimstone. Luckily, the cannon didn't explode. Unfortunately, your cannonball also missed — and now you're out of gunpowder.

"Ye call that a hit, ye land lubbers?" screams your captain, the notorious and cruel Captain Blackguard. It's unfounded criticism. Even he must know that the way the ships are closing on each other, there's no clear shot for a broadside—and for that, you should all be grateful. "Prepare to board, ye scurvy knaves, and make your peace with Davy Jones, for ye'll either send our enemies to him or see him yerself!"

The flag on the ship trading fire with you bears a skull and crossbones with a rose clutched in its grinning teeth. It's the flag of Captain Adelaide Briar — but why do you recognize it?

1. I tried to sign on to her crew.

2. The Crown despises her—and so do I.

3. Captain Blackguard told us; we're after her ransom.




Stats posted:


Ye
Name: Unnamed
Moniker: none
Flagship: None
Flag: none
Signature Clothing: none

Yer Skills
Fame: 10%
Pistols & Swords: 35%
Cambiar: 35%
Skullduggery: 35%
Parley: 35%
Sailing: 35%

Yer Reputation
Ruthless: 50% Honorable: 50%
Greed: 50% Goodwill: 50%
Privateer: 50% Pirate: 50%

Yer Resources
Booty: 10 doubloons
Fleet: 0
Lover: none

Yer Relationships
Caesar Lord: 70%
?: 20%
?: 20%
?: 30%
El Sabio: 10%
The Crown: 10%
Your Crew: 50%



A Landlubber's Guide to the Terms posted:


Fame: How well you are known (celebrated or feared) throughout the Lucayan.

Pistols & Swords: Your ability to handle yourself in a fight, whether face to face or ship to ship.

Cambiar: Your knack for changing the world around you through magic.

Skullduggery: Your sneakiness, ability to improvise, and general cunning.

Parley: Your diplomatic ability to talk your way into profits or out of trouble.

Set Sail: Your ability to navigate, steer, and keep your ship sailworthy.

Reputation Stats: Your reputation stats (Ruthless/Honorable and Greed/Goodwill) are less about your decisions and more about how others view them. You may make honorable or merciful — or dastardly and greedy — decisions for purely pragmatic reasons, but those who talk about what you've done are more likely to attribute such decisions to your heroics or your villainy.

Privateer/Pirate: Do you predominantly side with the Crown, hoping to serve them as a privateer? Or do you celebrate the life of a pirate?

Booty: How much have you earned, swindled, or stolen?

Fleet: The number of ships in your fleet. If you have more than one ship, your fleet may, at various times, be off on other missions, bringing in money to support you and the rest of your ships and crew.

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Cathode Raymond
Dec 30, 2015

My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
Soiled Meat
1

I disagree with Captain Blackguard's management style :colbert:

AfroSquirrel
Sep 3, 2011

1

More syllables in name = better captain. It's a fact!

Lokapala
Jan 6, 2013
1

I don't think we like it on this crew.

Lord Cyrahzax
Oct 11, 2012

Obviously we signed up for a life of piracy because of our deep respect for the Crown!

2

CommissarMega
Nov 18, 2008

THUNDERDOME LOSER
Yarr! That harpy be worth a queen's ransom! (3)

JosephWongKS
Apr 4, 2009

by Nyc_Tattoo

quote:


1. I tried to sign on to her crew.

2. The Crown despises her—and so do I.

3. Captain Blackguard told us; we're after her ransom.




quote:


+10 Pirate

Adelaide Briar has a reputation for being ruthless to her enemies, but good to her crew. Unlike some other pirate captains you could mention. She also captains a fine ship and, according to rumor, she's made it through the Crown blockade at Port Lucia three times, which is the going record.

Unfortunately, she had no need of someone with your skill set when you were ready to sign a contract. So you ended up with Blackguard, more's the pity.

The Crown, in its ongoing efforts to rid the Lucayan Sea of pirates, has put bounties on pirate ships, setting pirates against each other in hopes of making legitimate money—or earning their pardons and letters of marque. Blackguard and Captain Adelaide Briar have a long history: the stories told in the port of San Alfonso, the pirate haven a few miles south, say they were once lovers until Blackguard's obsession with finding the treasure of Ishmael the Lost came between them. Briar mutinied against Blackguard, stole his ship and crew, and marooned him. Other stories put Blackguard as less of a victim, claiming that he went mad with rage when he found out Briar had hidden a map from him that would have led him to the treasure, nearly killing her and half his crew before coming to his senses. When he's out of hearing, other pirates call him Blackguard the Bloody.

Blackguard is nearly as obsessed with destroying Briar as he is with finding Ishmael's legendary treasure. She was an obvious choice for his first bounty target.



quote:


"Wind round, north to east!" Blackguard shouts, and your crew tacks as the ship's cambiante—your weather mage—calls a gust of wind, bringing the ships nearly side by side. "No mercy!" Blackguard screams.

The ships groan in protest as their hulls collide. Caesar—who despite ship's tradition has long insisted you call him by his first name—claps you on the back.

"See you on the other side," he says, and it's both a promise and a command.

"Wouldn't miss it," you say lightly.

Caesar grins as he takes a leap across onto the enemy ship, not bothering with the grappling hooks your mates are using to draw the ships together. Pirates of Briar's crew swing over from their rigging, and it won't be long before both ships have erupted into combat.

And there you are, standing at the rail. How did you get into this mess?

1. Mess? This is what I live for! Piracy: a life of freedom and plunder.

2. I took a job with Blackguard to avoid being arrested by the Crown.

3. I hired on with Blackguard to avoid being conscripted into the navy.

4. I was captured by pirates as a youth and haven't found a way to free myself.

5. Blackguard gave me the option to sign on to his crew or walk the plank.




Stats posted:


Ye
Name: Unnamed
Moniker: none
Flagship: None
Flag: none
Signature Clothing: none

Yer Skills
Fame: 10%
Pistols & Swords: 35%
Cambiar: 35%
Skullduggery: 35%
Parley: 35%
Sailing: 35%

Yer Reputation
Ruthless: 50% Honorable: 50%
Greed: 50% Goodwill: 50%
Privateer: 40% Pirate: 60%

Yer Resources
Booty: 10 doubloons
Fleet: 0
Lover: none

Yer Relationships
Caesar Lord: 70%
?: 20%
?: 20%
?: 30%
El Sabio: 10%
The Crown: 10%
Your Crew: 50%



A Landlubber's Guide to the Terms posted:


Fame: How well you are known (celebrated or feared) throughout the Lucayan.

Pistols & Swords: Your ability to handle yourself in a fight, whether face to face or ship to ship.

Cambiar: Your knack for changing the world around you through magic.

Skullduggery: Your sneakiness, ability to improvise, and general cunning.

Parley: Your diplomatic ability to talk your way into profits or out of trouble.

Set Sail: Your ability to navigate, steer, and keep your ship sailworthy.

Reputation Stats: Your reputation stats (Ruthless/Honorable and Greed/Goodwill) are less about your decisions and more about how others view them. You may make honorable or merciful — or dastardly and greedy — decisions for purely pragmatic reasons, but those who talk about what you've done are more likely to attribute such decisions to your heroics or your villainy.

Privateer/Pirate: Do you predominantly side with the Crown, hoping to serve them as a privateer? Or do you celebrate the life of a pirate?

Booty: How much have you earned, swindled, or stolen?

Fleet: The number of ships in your fleet. If you have more than one ship, your fleet may, at various times, be off on other missions, bringing in money to support you and the rest of your ships and crew.

Lord Cyrahzax
Oct 11, 2012

Yargh! A pirate's life for me! 1

thiswayliesmadness
Dec 3, 2009

I hope to see you next time, and take care all
I don't want to be on their ship. I want to be on that ship 3

perfluorosapien
Aug 15, 2015

Oven Wrangler
1.

Cathode Raymond
Dec 30, 2015

My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
Soiled Meat
1.

TheGreatEvilKing
Mar 28, 2016





1
Pirates are cool, I am a pirate, therefore I am cool.

December Octopodes
Dec 25, 2008

Christmas is coming
the squid is getting fat!
The smell of salt, the wind on your face, and the promise of booty to come. 1!

CommissarMega
Nov 18, 2008

THUNDERDOME LOSER
Beer, babes and booty! That's why I thought the pirate's life for me! (1)

JosephWongKS
Apr 4, 2009

by Nyc_Tattoo

quote:


And there you are, standing at the rail. How did you get into this mess?

1. Mess? This is what I live for! Piracy: a life of freedom and plunder.

2. I took a job with Blackguard to avoid being arrested by the Crown.

3. I hired on with Blackguard to avoid being conscripted into the navy.

4. I was captured by pirates as a youth and haven't found a way to free myself.

5. Blackguard gave me the option to sign on to his crew or walk the plank.




quote:


+12 Piracy

It's a pirate's life for you! The thrill of battle, the excitement of the chase, the grog, the romance. Everything about life at sea — out from under the tyranny of the Crown's strict rule — appeals to you.

Everything, that is, except for Captain Blackguard. As tyrants go, he's not much better than the Crown.

If you had enough gold to buy your own ship — and to get out of your contract with Blackguard — you know you'd be a much better captain than he is. And really, gold and freedom are all it takes to be a pirate captain, which is why there's such a low bar for entry. What is it you despise most about Blackguard?

1. His cruelty to my shipmates.

2. His stingy sharing of our plunder.

3. He's just not a very skilled pirate.




Stats posted:


Ye
Name: Unnamed
Moniker: none
Flagship: None
Flag: none
Signature Clothing: none

Yer Skills
Fame: 10%
Pistols & Swords: 35%
Cambiar: 35%
Skullduggery: 35%
Parley: 35%
Sailing: 35%

Yer Reputation
Ruthless: 50% Honorable: 50%
Greed: 50% Goodwill: 50%
Privateer: 28% Pirate: 72%

Yer Resources
Booty: 10 doubloons
Fleet: 0
Lover: none

Yer Relationships
Caesar Lord: 70%
?: 20%
?: 20%
?: 30%
El Sabio: 10%
The Crown: 10%
Your Crew: 50%



A Landlubber's Guide to the Terms posted:


Fame: How well you are known (celebrated or feared) throughout the Lucayan.

Pistols & Swords: Your ability to handle yourself in a fight, whether face to face or ship to ship.

Cambiar: Your knack for changing the world around you through magic.

Skullduggery: Your sneakiness, ability to improvise, and general cunning.

Parley: Your diplomatic ability to talk your way into profits or out of trouble.

Set Sail: Your ability to navigate, steer, and keep your ship sailworthy.

Reputation Stats: Your reputation stats (Ruthless/Honorable and Greed/Goodwill) are less about your decisions and more about how others view them. You may make honorable or merciful — or dastardly and greedy — decisions for purely pragmatic reasons, but those who talk about what you've done are more likely to attribute such decisions to your heroics or your villainy.

Privateer/Pirate: Do you predominantly side with the Crown, hoping to serve them as a privateer? Or do you celebrate the life of a pirate?

Booty: How much have you earned, swindled, or stolen?

Fleet: The number of ships in your fleet. If you have more than one ship, your fleet may, at various times, be off on other missions, bringing in money to support you and the rest of your ships and crew.

Cathode Raymond
Dec 30, 2015

My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
Soiled Meat
3. Those other things too, but mostly what we object to is the fact that Blackguard is dumb and bad at sailing.

sullat
Jan 9, 2012
3, Yarr, he be bad at this.

Lucas Archer
Dec 1, 2007
Falling...
2 To be the best pirate, we are greedy for all the filthy lucre.

CommissarMega
Nov 18, 2008

THUNDERDOME LOSER
This landlubber's a worse sailor than a drat barnacle! (3)

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
I've seen fleas that could captain a better ship! (3)

JosephWongKS
Apr 4, 2009

by Nyc_Tattoo

quote:


1. His cruelty to my shipmates.

2. His stingy sharing of our plunder.


3. He's just not a very skilled pirate.




quote:


While Caesar is more concerned about Blackguard's cruelty, even putting himself in the way of the lash to spare other sailors, you have a more professional critique. Which of his areas of bumbling do you find most offensive?

1. He's a bully, but his combat lacks finesse.

2. He's about as sneaky as a cannonball.

3. He wouldn't know diplomacy if it bit him.

4. He's frankly an awful sailor.

5. He doesn't even understand what our cambiante — our weather mage — does.




Stats posted:


Ye
Name: Unnamed
Moniker: none
Flagship: None
Flag: none
Signature Clothing: none

Yer Skills
Fame: 10%
Pistols & Swords: 35%
Cambiar: 35%
Skullduggery: 35%
Parley: 35%
Sailing: 35%

Yer Reputation
Ruthless: 50% Honorable: 50%
Greed: 50% Goodwill: 50%
Privateer: 28% Pirate: 72%

Yer Resources
Booty: 10 doubloons
Fleet: 0
Lover: none

Yer Relationships
Caesar Lord: 70%
?: 20%
?: 20%
?: 30%
El Sabio: 10%
The Crown: 10%
Your Crew: 50%



A Landlubber's Guide to the Terms posted:


Fame: How well you are known (celebrated or feared) throughout the Lucayan.

Pistols & Swords: Your ability to handle yourself in a fight, whether face to face or ship to ship.

Cambiar: Your knack for changing the world around you through magic.

Skullduggery: Your sneakiness, ability to improvise, and general cunning.

Parley: Your diplomatic ability to talk your way into profits or out of trouble.

Set Sail: Your ability to navigate, steer, and keep your ship sailworthy.

Reputation Stats: Your reputation stats (Ruthless/Honorable and Greed/Goodwill) are less about your decisions and more about how others view them. You may make honorable or merciful — or dastardly and greedy — decisions for purely pragmatic reasons, but those who talk about what you've done are more likely to attribute such decisions to your heroics or your villainy.

Privateer/Pirate: Do you predominantly side with the Crown, hoping to serve them as a privateer? Or do you celebrate the life of a pirate?

Booty: How much have you earned, swindled, or stolen?

Fleet: The number of ships in your fleet. If you have more than one ship, your fleet may, at various times, be off on other missions, bringing in money to support you and the rest of your ships and crew.

Deadmeat5150
Nov 21, 2005

OLD MAN YELLS AT CLAN
4 As I said before...

Lunethex
Feb 4, 2013

Me llamo Sarah Brandolino, the eighth Castilian of this magnificent marriage.
MAXIMUM SPITE AT 4

CommissarMega
Nov 18, 2008

THUNDERDOME LOSER
He doesn't know anything about spells, magic or how to spell magic! (5)

Lord Cyrahzax
Oct 11, 2012

Couldn't sail his way out of a paper bag! 4

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious
3. He is a salty asshat to friend and foe alike. Well he would be if he had friends.

JosephWongKS
Apr 4, 2009

by Nyc_Tattoo

quote:


While Caesar is more concerned about Blackguard's cruelty, even putting himself in the way of the lash to spare other sailors, you have a more professional critique. Which of his areas of bumbling do you find most offensive?

1. He's a bully, but his combat lacks finesse.

2. He's about as sneaky as a cannonball.

3. He wouldn't know diplomacy if it bit him.


4. He's frankly an awful sailor.

5. He doesn't even understand what our cambiante — our weather mage — does.




quote:


+9 Sailing

You've taken a peek at Blackguard's charts, and you're not sure he even knows how to use a compass. He calls for more sail when you ought to be taking it in, and in a storm a few weeks ago, he left sailors aloft so long that he risked all their lives. It's amazing his ship is still floating. Maybe today will be the day that Blackguard meets his fate.

But in the meantime, you've got to be sure you don't head off early into yours. Two of Briar's pirates swing onto deck next to you. You've no time to clear the rail onto Briar's ship next to Caesar — you're in the middle of battle! What do you do?

1. My pistol and cutlass are already drawn. To battle!

2. I use my magic to fight unconventionally.

3, All's fair in combat—especially cheating.

4. I use my knowledge of the ship to my advantage.

5. I try to talk my way out of combat.




Stats posted:


Ye
Name: Unnamed
Moniker: none
Flagship: None
Flag: none
Signature Clothing: none

Yer Skills
Fame: 10%
Pistols & Swords: 35%
Cambiar: 35%
Skullduggery: 35%
Parley: 35%
Sailing: 44%

Yer Reputation
Ruthless: 50% Honorable: 50%
Greed: 50% Goodwill: 50%
Privateer: 28% Pirate: 72%

Yer Resources
Booty: 10 doubloons
Fleet: 0
Lover: none

Yer Relationships
Caesar Lord: 70%
?: 20%
?: 20%
?: 30%
El Sabio: 10%
The Crown: 10%
Your Crew: 50%



A Landlubber's Guide to the Terms posted:


Fame: How well you are known (celebrated or feared) throughout the Lucayan.

Pistols & Swords: Your ability to handle yourself in a fight, whether face to face or ship to ship.

Cambiar: Your knack for changing the world around you through magic.

Skullduggery: Your sneakiness, ability to improvise, and general cunning.

Parley: Your diplomatic ability to talk your way into profits or out of trouble.

Set Sail: Your ability to navigate, steer, and keep your ship sailworthy.

Reputation Stats: Your reputation stats (Ruthless/Honorable and Greed/Goodwill) are less about your decisions and more about how others view them. You may make honorable or merciful — or dastardly and greedy — decisions for purely pragmatic reasons, but those who talk about what you've done are more likely to attribute such decisions to your heroics or your villainy.

Privateer/Pirate: Do you predominantly side with the Crown, hoping to serve them as a privateer? Or do you celebrate the life of a pirate?

Booty: How much have you earned, swindled, or stolen?

Fleet: The number of ships in your fleet. If you have more than one ship, your fleet may, at various times, be off on other missions, bringing in money to support you and the rest of your ships and crew.

Lunethex
Feb 4, 2013

Me llamo Sarah Brandolino, the eighth Castilian of this magnificent marriage.
If we're going to be pirates, we need to CHEAT

Cathode Raymond
Dec 30, 2015

My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
Soiled Meat
3.. Time to dugg some skulls.

thiswayliesmadness
Dec 3, 2009

I hope to see you next time, and take care all
We can aspire to be more than pirates. We could be Ninja Wizard Pirates! 2

Snorb
Nov 19, 2010
3! Because the Pirate's Code (...well, guidelines) says "A fair fight's for landlubbers!"

Lazaruise
Jan 25, 2009
2, YOURE WIZZZARD PIRATE HARRY

Lucas Archer
Dec 1, 2007
Falling...
1, shoot them in the face.

Sylphosaurus
Sep 6, 2007
2. We'll be a Pirate Mage and we'll godsdamn like it!

Oblivion4568238
Oct 10, 2012

The Inquisition.
What a show.
The Inquisition.
Here. We. Go.
College Slice
3. Cheat like hell. We're already going full-tilt Pirate instead of Privateer, might as well fight like one.

Lokapala
Jan 6, 2013

Sylphosaurus posted:

2. We'll be a Pirate Mage and we'll godsdamn like it!

This is the truth.

Lord Cyrahzax
Oct 11, 2012

Cheat!

JosephWongKS
Apr 4, 2009

by Nyc_Tattoo

quote:


But in the meantime, you've got to be sure you don't head off early into yours. Two of Briar's pirates swing onto deck next to you. You've no time to clear the rail onto Briar's ship next to Caesar — you're in the middle of battle! What do you do?

1. My pistol and cutlass are already drawn. To battle!

2. I use my magic to fight unconventionally.


3, All's fair in combat—especially cheating.

4. I use my knowledge of the ship to my advantage.

5. I try to talk my way out of combat.




quote:


+19 Skullduggery

Fight fair? Who does that?

As Briar's pirates swing over, you kick one of them, swinging him right back to his own ship. He crashes into a pair of duelists and tangles everyone in line. You point over your other foe's shoulder and shout, "This one's yours, Caesar!" The pirate whirls around, as you anticipated he would, and you stab him in the back with your dagger.

Though your battle took only seconds, the scene around you has changed in the meantime, and the air is full of gunpowder. One of the cambiantes — either Briar's or your own, you're not sure — shifts the wind. Both ships tack without the sailors being ready for it. You — and everyone else — stagger to keep your balance.

You see Blackguard engaged in a duel with one of Briar's pirates — a tall woman who is Briar's first mate, you guess — near the steering wheel, not far from you. Blackguard is hard-pressed. Maybe he really has met his match this time. Unfortunately, if he dies, Briar might turn the crew in to the Crown for Blackguard's bounty.

1. If Blackguard and the mate both die, that's two problems solved.

2. I don't care what happens to the crew as long as Blackguard is killed.

3. I defend my captain to the end!




Stats posted:


Ye
Name: Unnamed
Moniker: none
Flagship: None
Flag: none
Signature Clothing: none

Yer Skills
Fame: 10%
Pistols & Swords: 35%
Cambiar: 35%
Skullduggery: 54%
Parley: 35%
Sailing: 44%

Yer Reputation
Ruthless: 50% Honorable: 50%
Greed: 50% Goodwill: 50%
Privateer: 28% Pirate: 72%

Yer Resources
Booty: 10 doubloons
Fleet: 0
Lover: none

Yer Relationships
Caesar Lord: 70%
?: 20%
?: 20%
?: 30%
El Sabio: 10%
The Crown: 10%
Your Crew: 50%



A Landlubber's Guide to the Terms posted:


Fame: How well you are known (celebrated or feared) throughout the Lucayan.

Pistols & Swords: Your ability to handle yourself in a fight, whether face to face or ship to ship.

Cambiar: Your knack for changing the world around you through magic.

Skullduggery: Your sneakiness, ability to improvise, and general cunning.

Parley: Your diplomatic ability to talk your way into profits or out of trouble.

Set Sail: Your ability to navigate, steer, and keep your ship sailworthy.

Reputation Stats: Your reputation stats (Ruthless/Honorable and Greed/Goodwill) are less about your decisions and more about how others view them. You may make honorable or merciful — or dastardly and greedy — decisions for purely pragmatic reasons, but those who talk about what you've done are more likely to attribute such decisions to your heroics or your villainy.

Privateer/Pirate: Do you predominantly side with the Crown, hoping to serve them as a privateer? Or do you celebrate the life of a pirate?

Booty: How much have you earned, swindled, or stolen?

Fleet: The number of ships in your fleet. If you have more than one ship, your fleet may, at various times, be off on other missions, bringing in money to support you and the rest of your ships and crew.

Lucas Archer
Dec 1, 2007
Falling...
2 . The Captain needs to go - we can deal with the rest after he's dead.

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Lazaruise
Jan 25, 2009
2, maybe that'll get us on the crew we actually want to be on

  • Locked thread