On the one hand this is what it's all about, the valuables, from treasure chests stuffed full of gold and jewels, to cargoes of coffee and cocoa for the London Coffee and Chocolate Houses, exotic timbers for Mr. Sheridan's new shop, finest porcelain to inspire Messrs. Wedgwood, silks, pearls, tea, tobacco, brandy, sherry, sugar, cotton and rum, spices and rare unguents and so on….But on the other hand, the loot is the rather the raison d'être of scenarios than part of the game itself. However the following general rules are introduced for players who want some guidance in handling the crass commercial side of their ventures.
What players actually do depends on whether the events are happening in game time, or after the game proper as part of the book-keeping for an ongoing campaign.
When a ship has been captured, then loot can be transferred ship to ship by moving figures back and forth, or it could be loaded into boats and ferried away. The ship can then be scuttled, allowed to depart, (and thus provide business for tomorrow), taken as a Prize either to be used as a new pirate ship, (in which case the cargo can be left in situ), or to be renamed and sold on with the keel number filed off.
If taken as a prize, the Officer who led the boarding party is nominally the Prize-Captain, though next turn the Captain could replace him with another Officer, and the boarding party along with any renegades form the prize crew. The controlling player now has two ships and two Captains, but the first is the Commodore of this fleet, and is The Captain, (note Capitals), while the other is a species of subordinate Acting-Captain.
The various items of loot are usually scenario determined, and are generally divided into these categories:
- Treasures
- Enticement Tokens
- Cargoes
Treasures
These are one or two figure burdens of highly prized items in chests, caskets, or sacks. Treasures are intrinsically valuable. Rather than get bogged down in monetarism, we use the single treasure as a rough unit of currency. Treasures are broken down into smaller manageable units of currency - Enticement Tokens, (For convenience abbreviated to €). The exchange rates vary widely, but a treasure is said to average €36.
Treasure is usually stored in the Captain's Cabin. Excess is stored in the Hold. It may be distributed according to the Ship's articles, at which point all Mutinous Dogs retire to their kennels, (lose all Mutinous Dog points), and morale throws receive a +1 bonus in this adventure. If distributed then each distributed treasure is converted into €36. The crew all receive their share, 1 share for ordinary mariners, and increments for senior crew as per the recruitment section. Excess gets put into the Ship's Purse, where it is looked after by the Ship's Purser.
For example, at the end of a less than successful adventure, Captain Bradshaw of The Laughing Cavalier, has a mere two treasures to distribute amongst his crew of 20, including two officers and an experienced Navigator and a Gunner. The Captain usually has a claim on 4 shares, so that's 30 shares to be distributed and two treasures is €72.
That's enough for a double helping each and €12 for the Purse. In effect the Captain gets €8, the Officers get €6 apiece, the specialists get €4 each and the rest of the crew get €2 each.
- If the distribution of treasure does not satisfy the crew (i.e. is insufficient to pay out the fair shares), then the Captain may pay them out of their own stash, distribute more treasure or lose the unpaid crew to desertion on next landfall.
- The Captain will also get a Mutinous Dog point for each unpaid crew member until either the malcontents are paid or they desert.
Pocketable loot. Trinkets, coin of many realms, (but especially pieces-of-eight and doubloons), pouches of jewels and jewelry that probably don't bear close inspection in good light, bottles of choice wines etc. Many things pass for currency in these waters and are broadly classed as €s.
Offering €s smoothes the way when recruiting, resupplying, avoiding justice, and easing the conscience of traitors.
Tokens are held by the player on behalf of the Captain and Purse.
Emphatically: Captains can't just dip into the treasure like their own private piggy bank. Crews tend to react rather badly to that sort of thing. Captains must distribute treasure in order to accrue Enticement Tokens. (However, at a pinch, they may persuade the crew that the Purse needs topping up and a treasure may be assigned to it).
€s may also be obtained in the course of the Scenario: E.g. If brawling in a dockside tavern it might be that a handful of fine cigars or a bottle of choice brandy find themselves inadvertently falling into the wrong hands as spoils of war. In the scenario this could be written:
- "This building is a disreputable tavern, (even by pyratical standards), any party venturing within will inevitably incur the wrath of the local bullies. ~ Roll 1d6. D6:1..3 means ignominious retreat with 1d6 wounds to distribute, treat any knockdowns as unconscious until the victim is returned to ship or stronghold, where they revive, D6:4..6 means that they have taught said bullies better manners and several €s may be liberated as just reward for the inconvenience, 1d6 worth will find their way into the general Purse."
- "In the ruined temple, should our gallant Crew overcome the gharstly guardian of the curiously ornamented altar, might be discovered a two figure treasure chest of loot (two treasures) and several loose €s, 1d6 worth make it into the Purse".
Purse
Any excess €s, after the distribution of fair shares, are retained in a fund we call the Purse. This is used to resupply the vessel, and if inadequate then the Captain is generally obliged to dip into their own pockets.
The Purse ostensibly belongs to the ship, and by extension the Crew, not the Captain, but the Captain decides how it is spent. As it is generally unclear which figure at any given time is actually holding the goods, and as any chain of petty larceny, illicit, (strictly against articles), gambling, debt repayment and general bartering could be invoked to explain how those fine earrings, or that enameled snuffbox got from A to B, so the Captain, or any member of the crew on their behalf, can use €s up to the amount currently in the Purse on ship's business.
If the Purse is low and there is undistributed treasure then the Captain can declare that a Treasure is needed to feed the Purse. There may be some grumbling and if the Captain already has any mutinous dog points they now have another one.
Cargoes
These are stored in two-figure burden sacks, (takes two figures to lift one), barrels and crates. Cargoes are usually held below decks in the Hold. The Hold is what sits on the Orlop deck above the Bilges and below the Gun Deck.
Some of whatever manifest a ship held is going to be lost in transit if it is taken by force, (left behind, spoiled, spilled, smoke-damaged, in the drink, or smoked, or drunk etc.). For convenience, look at the fraction of damage, (to the nearest 1/4 rounded up the way), that the ship took while being captured. That is the fraction of the cargo that is lost. So, if a ship was battered by cannon and lost between a quarter and half of its Ship Points, (see All at Sea below), then half the Cargo was lost.
Cargo can be stored in a ship's hold at:
- "beam X half the length (rounded up to a number divisible by four to make fractions easy)"
so a 4 inch beam, 12 inch length ship could carry 24 cargo loads, in its hold and a 3X 9 ship could carry 16.
You cannot spend cargo. The value of a cargo can only be realised when the goods are traded, either in a port or with a dodgy trader in a ship to ship exchange, or on a conveniently deserted coastline. If a trade is made, it can be converted into treasure at a randomly determined rate, (the perils of the market). Roll a d6:
- 1 worthless, a treasure for the lot,
- 2..3 alas the market is flooded - one treasure for every twelve cargo, or part thereof,
- 4..5 a worthy prize - one treasure for six cargo, or part thereof,
- 6 worth its weight in gold, (figuratively guv, figuratively), this is just what the smuggler ordered - one treasure for every four cargo, or part thereof.
These may be ransomed or sold, or disembarked for a fee, as the Captain's whim or scenario dictates. (It is conjectured that following the Golden Age of Piracy, many pirates re-branded as ferry companies).
Prizes
The captured ship herself, if taken as a prize, may be sold. Do not expect top doubloon, as potential customers have an eye for inconvenient details like cannon ball holes and nasty stains. The rule of thumb for ships is €2 per Ship Strength Point, less the proportion of ship's points lost, in whole quarters. +1€/inch if fast, -1€/inch if slow rated
E.g. an ordinary 11 inch ship would be worth €88, but some thoughtless owner has allowed three-quarters of the its Ship Strength Points, (see below in the All At Sea section), to be lost, so it's now worth €22. The new owner will probably spend €11 repairing the ship and sell it again for a handsome profit.
Buried Treasure
Although, for the purposes of this game, there's always room for treasure, you might not want to be sailing around like a great big piggy bank saying "I'm loaded with loot".
Traditionally, if your hold was stuffed, there was no room in the Captain's cabin for their bed, and the crew were still greedy for more action, the discerning pyrate looked for an island, preferably uncharted, (by anybody else), on which to stash the loot before roving out in search of more ill-gotten. The ideal island had a nice sandy bay for careening, plenty of fresh water and game for resupplying and convenient dry caves or a nice light soil for digging.
The Captain must make at least one Treasure Map revealing the location of their hoard.
© Baggins Wood Ltd. 2009
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