Glossary

(meanings applicable in this game, but not necessarily anywhere else)

A.B.	Able Bodied Seaman. One possessed of a certificate of their nautical prowess, or at least of their possession of a limb, (or recognised substitute), at each corner.
Abaft	Behind, toward the hinder part of the ship.
Abeam	Side on as in the wind blowing at right angles to the ship.
Aloft	In the rigging.
All in the wind	Generally, at right angles to the wind, more specifically, when the wind is just catching the edges of the sails, (the leeches), and making them shake.
Amidships	Halfway between stern and prow of the ship. The waist of the ship.
Articles	Pyrates often had quite detailed contracts and lists of rights and obligations that they jealously guarded, especially when it came to the distribution of loot.
Astern	Behind, from behind. The ship is Running when the wind blows from astern.
Backing	Wind changing heading in an anti-clockwise direction.
Beating	Making headway against, but not into, the wind or tide. In this game it has a specific meaning of making headway upwind, or upstream.
Beam	Breadth of the ship, imaginary line running abreast the ship amidships.
Bermuda Rig	Yacht fashion, developed in the 17th Century Bermuda from Lateen rigs via the Leg-o-Mutton rig.
Bilges	The ship's sump
Boatswain	Pronounced and often spelled "Bosun", frequently with additional emphasis. The crew member in charge of ropes, rigging and boats, and often, discipline.
Boom	Yard defining the bottom of e.g. a spanker, or a Bermuda rig mainsail.
Bow	Front of ship, as Prow.
Bow Chasers	A small number of cannon placed in the bows so that ships can fire ahead when in pursuit.
Bowsprit	The long mast at a shallow angle sticking out of the front of the ship.
Box Hauling	Three point turn manœuvre using sternway.
Brail	Rope used to gather up the foot and leeches of a sail before furling, or gathering up using the brails.
BtB	Base to Base. Figures touching or as near as dammit. Due to the vagaries of manufactures, scenery etc. they may not literally be in base to base contact, but reasonable players should agree when BtB is intended and applies.
Careening	Heeling the vessel over on the beach, to scrape weed and barnacles off the hull.
Caught in Irons	Stuck in the eye of the wind while changing tack.
Chance Cards	Special events and rules that add spice, distributed on handy little cards.
Close Hauled	Pointing as near as possible into the wind without getting Caught in Irons.
Close Quarters	Situations where longer weapons put you at a disadvantage, e.g. in a confined space.
Club Hauling	Dropping an anchor to swing the bow round, much trickier than a hand-brake turn. Can lead to dismasting or even capsize.
Cornered Rats	Reluctant fighters left with no other option
Coxswain	Crew member in charge of a boat, usually with hand on the tiller.
D6	An ordinary six-sided dice(1). Also found in multiples e.g. 2D6 means two dice and 3D6 means roll three dice, etc. D6/2 means a roll of 1..2 = 1, 3..4 = 2 and 5..6 = 3. When giving odds of an event occurring, 1:6 means "one chance in six" or a one on a D6. D6:1..2 means a roll of one or two on a single dice. So 2D6:7..8 would mean a roll of seven or eight on two dice.
D6"	A dice roll of inches.
Engaged	Figures in hostile base to base contact.
Eye of the Wind	Pointy end pointing straight into the wind.
Figure	Models which depict the actors in our drama. Note that while each Model may represent one character, a character may be worth two or more of their fellows hence an officer may be worth "two figs" and a Captain "three figs" e.g when determining MQ (Mêlée Quotient).
Fo'csle	Arbitrarily apostrophised, short for fore castle – a raised deck at the front of the ship if there is one.
Foot	Twelve inches. If this is archaic, read thirty centimetres.
Fore&Aft Sails	Sails that are rigged in line with the keel of the ship, with the edges fore and aft rather than the big square sails hanging down from the yards.
Gaff	Yard supporting a fore&aft sail such as a spanker.
GBH	Grievous Bodily Harm
Gunwale	Pronounced gunnel. The projection of a ship's sides forming a low fence or wall round the deck that stops things rolling overboard, like cannons, or rum- sodden surgeons.
Gyb	Heaving the fore and aft sails over as the ship turns its stern through the wind. If a ship is going to cross the wind then the fore and aft sails, (e.g. Jibs and Stays, Drivers 0r Spankers), will swap face. Sheets and booms will have to be hauled over.
Hailing Distance	Maximum distance for a sensible conversation. Four inches in this game.
Headway	Sharp end first
Heave To	Deliberately head to wind to bring the ship to a standstill.
Hold	The Hold of a ship is where the supplies, cargo and Loot are stored.
HtH	Hand to Hand.
Inch	If this is archaic, for an inch read two-and-a-half centimetres.
Inch Rule	No figure should bypass an unengaged antagonist unless they can do so by at least an inch.
Initiative Action	An action you can make if you hold the initiative.
Jib	Staysail off the stay supporting the fore mast.
Knot	One nautical mile per hour (a nautical mile being about 1852 metres). Knots were tied about forty-seven feet apart on a line that was paid out by a moving ship and Captains judged their ship's speed from the number of knots that passed through the hands in half a minute as timed by a big hourglass, (egg-timer). Also a way of securing ropes to things or other ropes.
Landlubber	Almost the worst term of abuse in the lexicon.
Larboard	The left side. Replaced by the term Port in the latter 19th Century, though previously Port was only used at the helm, where confusion was least desired.
Lateen Rigged	Big triangular sails on a sloping yard, e.g. on sloops, the mizzen mast of galleons, xebecs or dhows.
Leeches	Perpendicular edge of a square sail and the back edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
Leeward	Pronounced "loo-ard". Downwind.
Leg-o-Mutton Rig	Development of the Lateen Rig by Dutch. Imagine the lower end of a lateen yard extended to the deck, replacing the masts. Invented by Dutch in the Caribbean, who called it a "bezaan jacht" rig. This later develops into the Yacht Bermuda Rig
Levels	Structural height is measured in levels of roughly one-and-a-half inches, i.e. a figure plus "head-room", or about eight to ten feet in real money.
Load	Rule of thumb measure representing the average carrying capacity of a figure.
LoS	Line of sight.
Lubber	Someone who is incapable of performing their duties due to lack of skill or experience.
MA	Movement Allowance, to be spent on distance, manœuvres and overcoming obstacles.
Mêlée	Hand to hand (or hook) combat. Parties are in mêlée when figures are engaged and a mêlée is resolved when no figures remain engaged.
Mizzen Mast	Smaller mast at the back end of a three mast ship.
mm	Millimetres.
MQ	Mêlée Quota - the count of figures involved in a mêlée taking into consideration variations in 'worth' depending on status and circumstances.
Nautical Mile	c.1852 metres. See Knots.
Parley	Truce period in which time negotiations may occur, and binding treaties made.
Party	Group of figures and a leader forming a shore or boarding party.
Poop Deck	The smaller deck sometimes found at the back of the quarterdeck, for even more senior officers.
Pooping	When a ship gets kicked in the hindquarters by a heavy sea.
Port	The Left. O.K., we appreciate that you're not total landlubbers. It replaced Larboard as the general term for left in the latter 19th C. Also a place where convenient anchorage has encouraged a settlement to develop. Also a pleasant, rich, fortified red wine much favoured by Naval Officers and others.
Purse	Loot set aside for spending on the ship.
Quarter	The rear part of the ship between the main chains and the stern. Among many other meanings, an offer or request for terms, mercy or surrender, often found in the phrase "No Quarter!!! Aargh!". Square riggers sail best when the wind is coming on a quarter i.e. between Abeam and Astern, when they are Reaching.
Quarterdeck	The Quarter being the hinder part of the ship, the Quarterdeck is the big deck at the back, where all the gentry stand and the steering wheel or tiller is usually to be found.
Reaching	Sailing with the wind blowing on the quarter. For the purposes of this game we include abeam as in the quarter.
Running	Sailing with the wind directly astern.
S/B/S	Ship, boat or structure
Sheet	Rope used to control a sail.
Ship Oars	Order to rowers to retract their oars, usually as collision is imminent.
Shroud	Ropes holding mast firm from side to side.
Spanker	Fore and Aft gaff sail projecting back from the rear mast. May have a lower boom, or, if not, it is known as a Soft Bottom Spanker. Imperfectly overheard conversations in dockside taverns have led to all sorts of inappropriate speculations concerning the maritime life.
Standstill	Holding the ship stationary in the water without anchoring. I.e. compensating for wind, drift etc., but not making way.
Starboard	Right, See Port and Larboard.
Stay	Rope used to hold masts firm fore&aft. Can also support Staysails.
Staysails	Fore&Aft sails suspended from stays.
Stern	Back of the ship.
Stern Chasers	As Bow Chasers, but to discourage pursuit.
Sternway	Blunt end first.
Swivel Gun	Very light cannon or big blunderbuss, usually attached to a rail or gunwale and used to deter borders or mutineers.
Tacking	Turning the prow of the ship through the wind.
Tiller	Previous to the wheel and pulley system, and on simpler craft, a simple bar or beam arrangement allows the rudder to be turned.
Turn Action	An action declared this turn that is to be a fait accompli at the beginning of next turn.
Veering	Wind changing its heading in a clockwise direction
Waring	Turning the stern of the ship through the wind, possibly to avoid tacking.
Whip-Staff	A vertical attachment to a tiller that may contrive to allow a helm to stand in a position to see where the ship is going.
Yard(arm)	The spars which the square sails, (and less savoury items), hang on.

(1) We here apologise to the grammatically minded for following popular custom in referring to a singular "dice" rather than a single but distasteful and confusing "die" and plural "dice".

© Baggins Wood Ltd. 2009