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Exodus NDS Era Book Black Flag
Black Flag, front cover

Exodus NDS Era Book · Genesys compatible RPG supplement

Black Flag

An Exodus NDS Era Book, the Caribbean, 1660 to 1730, mapped in 1716

The Caribbean and the Atlantic from 1660 to 1730, drawn as they stood in 1716: Nassau and Port Royal, the other ports and sea lanes, the crews, the navies and the law that hunted them. Black Flag is an Exodus NDS Era Book for the golden age of piracy. It gives the history, the powers and their trade, the places and a period map, ships, Origins and Roles for crews, sail combat and the prize loop, adversaries, a starter adventure and ready-made characters. Real places and dates; every character in the book is fictional.

23 chapters, about 89,300 words, free to read here in full.

Read It Online Download the PDF (226 pages, 81.7 MB) Contents Skill Cards Talent Cards

Contents

Part 1 Welcome

  1. 1. Welcome “We surrender! Men, lay down your arms! We want no bloodshed!”

Part 2 The Era and Its Powers

  1. 2. The Era The game spans 1660 to 1730; its maps show 1716. Pirates and privateers operate within a wider Atlantic world.
  2. 3. Powers of the Caribbean Entries follow a common structure. The opening card lists territory, population, trade, defences and officials in 1716; Reach points to the relevant Era Rules.
  3. Trade and Shipping Trading vessels dominate the seas between 1660 and 1730. Their cargoes supply pirate incomes, while merchants and fences turn plunder into money.

Part 3 The Ports and the Ships

  1. 4. Nassau On New Providence in the Bahamas, Nassau serves as home port for the Beach at Nassau campaign frame (Places and Campaign Tools). Companies sell prizes, careen, drink and gather news here.
  2. 5. Port Royal Port Royal occupies the tip of the sand spit sheltering Jamaica's Kingston Harbour. Before 1692 it ranked among English America's richest and largest towns, a base for buccaneers.
  3. 6. Other Ports Beyond Nassau and Port Royal, Companies call at six groups of ports: the English colonies; Spanish, French, Dutch and Danish harbours; the logwood, Mosquito and salt coasts; and the African coast.
  4. 7. Ships Use the Core vehicle rules for ships (Core Rules, Vehicles) and Crew and Articles for the Company aboard (Era Rules). Ten hulls cover the vessels commonly encountered.

Part 4 Building a Character

  1. 8. Character Creation and Roles Build a human character using Core Rules, Character Creation. Black Flag substitutes Origins for Backgrounds and Roles for Careers, then adds a Starting Stake in pieces of eight.
  2. 9. Skills and Talents Use Core skills and talents unchanged. The notes below explain their use at sea and within the Company, followed by sixteen Era talents.
  3. 10. Gear and Prices Black Flag reckons money in pieces of eight (Era Rules, Money and Credit). Prices below use that coin, with sterling in brackets when English records supply a figure.

Part 5 Rules

  1. 11. Era Rules Use the Exodus NDS Core Rules and cited sourcebooks unless an Era Rule states otherwise. Entries that change existing rules are labelled Modifies or Replaces, with the owning book and heading.
  2. 12. Sail Combat This signature subsystem adds a sequence of play and two contests to Core Rules, Vehicles, and The Heavy Armory: Crews, Loading, and Firing; Batteries and Broadsides; Ramming; Fire; Sails and…
  3. 13. Adversaries Opposition usually comes from people: rival Companies, courts, governors and captains hunting named pirates.

Part 6 Running the Game

  1. 14. Places and Campaign Tools Use these tools to calculate voyages, describe the coast between ports and start a campaign.
  2. 15. Running the Era GM guidance follows: running a Company afloat and ashore, using historical figures and portraying the fictional cast.
  3. 16. Historical Reference Real people, events and institutions from 1655 to 1730 appear below, followed by a dated regional calendar. Entries identify the subject, place and date, then explain its use at the table.

Part 7 The Adventure and the Cast

  1. 17. Starter Adventure This two-session adventure follows the opening story and suits four to six players. The Company has captured Bristol's brigantine Providence, leaving Captain Proctor alive.
  2. 18. Pregenerated Characters Choose from six complete characters: five Era Cast members and a sixth, the gunner, outside the cast. All use Character Creation and Roles' seven steps and the standard 110 XP.

Part 8 Reference

  1. 19. Quick Reference Each table names its owning chapter. If figures conflict, use that chapter's value.
  2. Sources and Further Reading These documents and books underpin Black Flag's history and offer routes for further reading. Entries identify author, title, date, subject, use and reliability.
  3. 20. Licensing Only the Exodus NDS Core Rules are published under the ORC License. Everything else Kaosweaver, Inc. publishes, including this book, is under copyright and is not open.
  4. About This Book The Caribbean and the Atlantic from 1660 to 1730, drawn as they stood in 1716: Nassau and Port Royal, the other ports and sea lanes, the crews, the navies and the law that hunted them.

The Era Cast

The people who carry the book's art and examples. They are fictional people of the period.

  • Honora "Nora" Kinsella, reference sheet Honora "Nora" Kinsella Irish pirate captain and Jacobite widow
  • Rodrigo Salazar, reference sheet Rodrigo Salazar Spanish pirate captain
  • Sir Edmund Haldane, reference sheet Sir Edmund Haldane Governor, English
  • Captain Josiah Whitcombe, RN, reference sheet Captain Josiah Whitcombe, RN Royal Navy captain hunting pirates
  • Dinah Calloway, reference sheet Dinah Calloway Tavern owner
  • Madeleine Lacoste, reference sheet Madeleine Lacoste French wine and brandy merchant
  • Cuffee, reference sheet Cuffee Freed ship's surgeon and healer

Black Flag is free to read here in full. It is copyright 2026 Kaosweaver, Inc., all rights reserved, and uses the Exodus NDS Core Rules, which are published under the ORC License. To reuse any of it beyond your own table, just ask. Licensing and permission.