Philosophy and Requirements

"High Seas Adventure on a Tabletop."

Yes indeed, we venture here to offer a brief set of rules of deportment by which wouldbe Captain Flynnts and their ilk might essay their debauched craft without getting their sea boots wet, and without the necessity for either a table the size of a small village, or ships that require movement with tweezers. Our era is post-gunpowder and pre-steam, (unless we get really carried away). We present nautical and tropical adventures that retain some of the flavour of the sea, (seaweed, fish, ex-pyrates(1) and so forth), and have room for a dash of phantasy. The aim is entertainment not competition and the game pitches towards the histrionic rather than the historic, so if some dog of a sea-lawyer starts to quibble about the rules, resolve the issue in favour of the most narratively satisfying outcome.

This game might be summed up as Adventure/Skirmish, and is eminently suitable for either a Quick Game or Campaign Play. At every step the player should have a choice of several strategies.

• Naval engagements are never predictable slogging matches but are instead dynamic encounters, swiftly responsive to the ingenuity of cunning Captains.
• The sailing rules reward canny and authentic sea-faring without getting too bogged down in the minutiae of ship handling.
  
• Boarding actions and other mêlées keep the feel of individual swashbuckling cut and thrust in a maelstrom of activity, but without the need for excessive record keeping.
• Chance cards add spice and provide options that expand one's strategic horizons.

At all times the quick witted will have the edge, but there is enough residual chance to punish complacency, to allow for desperate million-to-one chances, and to stop formulaic routines stifling the game. The game mechanisms actively stimulate the imagination of the players and prevent games becoming jaded.

These rules are scaled for models about an inch high, but if using another scale then just adjust dimensions as you see fit.

Apologies in advance to the genuinely Nautical for any historical or technical mangling.

Requirements
Pyratical and other Exotic figures, Ships and/or templates, tokens, Playing Cards, 6-sided Dice, (poker dice if you have 'em), a prepared pack of chance cards (see appendix), measuring devices, magnetic compasses (optional), a bit of cotton wool would come in handy, a few square feet of playing space, (e.g. at least 4'x4'), scenery, Tropical Islands, Strongholds, Steamy Jungles and Seamy Waterfronts, Mysterious Ruins, the Deep Blue Sea, Cannons, Treasure, the odd bottle of Rum, (purely for medicinal purposes). Quill and parchment would be useful, and, of course, a Plank …in case of Lawyers.

(1) We call them Pyrates rather than Pirates because Defoe did, and he knew more of them than we do.

© Baggins Wood Ltd. 2009