Each table names its owning chapter. If figures conflict, use that chapter's value.
Where to Look
| Looking for | Here | Owning chapter |
|---|---|---|
| The seven creation steps, XP costs, Standing and Stake | Making a Character | Character Creation and Roles; Era Rules, Money and Credit |
| The 16 Roles and 12 Origins | Roles at a Glance; Origins at a Glance | Character Creation and Roles |
| The difficulty of every fixed check | Difficulty at a Glance | Era Rules; Sail Combat |
| What a talent does | Era Talents | Skills and Talents |
| The Company, the Vote, shares and Morale | Crew and Articles in Brief | Era Rules |
| Prizes, the fence, Infamy and the pardon | The Prize and Fence Loop in Brief | Era Rules |
| Chase, broadside, boarding and quarter | Sail Combat in Brief | Sail Combat |
| The ten hulls | Ships at a Glance | Ships |
| Wound Points, Resistance and Strain of every adversary | Adversary Numbers | Adversaries |
| Prices, wages, day's runs and distances | Gear and Prices in Brief | Gear and Prices; Places and Campaign Tools |
| Dates and the frame years | Dates to Use | Places and Campaign Tools; Historical Reference |
| Cargoes, convoys, the trade in people, who trades | (none) | Trade and Shipping |
| A word you do not know | Glossary | |
| A rule by name | Index of Rules |
Making a Character
- Species. Human.
- Characteristics. All six begin at 2. Raise one by 1 if you lower another by 1; none below 1 or above 4.
- Origin and Role. Both list profession skills.
- Spend 110 XP. A characteristic to 3 costs 30 and to 4 costs 40. A profession skill costs 5 for rank 1 and 10 for rank 2; any other skill 10 and 15. No skill above rank 2. A Tier 1 talent costs 5 and a Tier 2 talent 10.
- Free talent. One free Tier 1 talent, from any Core or Era Tier 1 talent.
- Kit, Stake and derived values. Wound Points are 10 plus Might; Strain Points 10 plus Willpower; Resistance half Might rounded up, plus protection.
- Name and details. Defenses and Initiative are calculated as the Core Rules say. Every character speaks working English, the trade speech of the English colonies, reads and writes one home tongue of the player's choice (English for the English and Creole Origins), and begins at Infamy 0. The Origin's other home tongues are spoken free. Each other tongue costs 5 XP to speak and 5 XP more to read and write; the Sailing Master, Quartermaster, Merchant Captain or Supercargo, Fence and Factor, Colonial Clerk or Advocate, Chaplain, Priest or Pastor, and Minister read and write a second tongue free. A character may also have a few words of any other tongue the GM allows: free, no check and no reading.
Standing and Starting Stake (Era Rules, Money and Credit)
| Standing | Stake | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | 6 pieces | Able Seaman, Marine or Soldier, Boucanier or Logwood Cutter |
| Officer | 12 pieces | Gunner, Boatswain, Carpenter, Sailing Master, Surgeon, Quartermaster, Privateer Officer |
| Master | 45 pieces | Merchant Captain or Supercargo, Fence and Factor, Tavern Keeper and Broker |
| Clerk | 24 pieces | Colonial Clerk or Advocate, Chaplain, Priest or Pastor, Minister |
A Master Stake creates a Debt of 45 pieces to a named backer.
Roles at a Glance (Character Creation and Roles)
| Role | Standing | Profession skills | Favored talents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Able Seaman | Hand | Operate, Athletics, Melee, Fortitude, Reflexes, Readiness | Weather Eye, Quick Hand, Boarding Rush, Hardy, Wayfarer |
| Gunner | Officer | Operate, Craft, Science, Readiness, Perception, Leadership | Master Gunner, Cool Under Fire, Keen Eye, Steadfast, Danger Sense |
| Boatswain | Officer | Leadership, Operate, Athletics, Intimidation, Craft, Melee | Quick Hand, Voice of the Company, Strong Arm, Hardy, Momentum |
| Carpenter | Officer | Craft, Operate, Science, Athletics, Fortitude, Perception | Careener's Skill, Quick Hand, Skilled, Conditioned, Keen Eye |
| Sailing Master | Officer | Operate, Survival, Science, Perception, Leadership, Lore | Dead Reckoning, Reading the Wind, Weather Eye, Keen Eye, Wayfarer |
| Surgeon | Officer | Medicine, Science, Craft, Fortitude, Readiness, Lore | Ship's Doctor, Cool Under Fire, Steadfast, Helpful, Boon Reader |
| Quartermaster | Officer | Leadership, Negotiation, Intimidation, Perception, Lore, Melee | Plain Speech, Honest Weight, Voice of the Company, Cool Head, Convincing |
| Marine or Soldier | Hand | Ranged, Melee, Readiness, Fortitude, Athletics, Perception | Cool Under Fire, Short Shrift, Guarded, Steadfast, Hardy |
| Privateer Officer | Officer | Leadership, Operate, Melee, Ranged, Lore, Negotiation | Voice of the Company, Short Shrift, Reading the Wind, Cool Head, Convincing |
| Merchant Captain or Supercargo | Master | Negotiation, Operate, Lore, Leadership, Craft, Streetwise | Honest Weight, Safe Harbour, Convincing, Helpful, Wayfarer |
| Tavern Keeper and Broker | Master | Streetwise, Charm, Negotiation, Perception, Deception, Intimidation | Safe Harbour, Fence's Eye, Plain Speech, Low Profile, Convincing |
| Fence and Factor | Master | Streetwise, Negotiation, Craft, Deception, Lore, Perception | Fence's Eye, Honest Weight, Lie Low, Low Profile, Convincing |
| Boucanier or Logwood Cutter | Hand | Survival, Ranged, Craft, Athletics, Fortitude, Stealth | Quick Hand, Weather Eye, Wayfarer, Keen Eye, Hardy |
| Colonial Clerk or Advocate | Clerk | Lore, Negotiation, Charm, Deception, Perception, Subterfuge | Plain Speech, Lie Low, Low Profile, Convincing, Skilled |
| Chaplain, Priest or Pastor | Clerk | Lore, Charm, Leadership, Medicine, Readiness, Negotiation | Plain Speech, Safe Harbour, Helpful, Cool Head, Unshaken |
| Minister | Clerk | Lore, Charm, Leadership, Medicine, Perception, Negotiation | Plain Speech, Safe Harbour, Helpful, Cool Head, Honest Weight |
A Marine or Soldier commissioned as a naval or garrison officer uses Standing Officer and replaces Athletics with Leadership.
Origins at a Glance (Character Creation and Roles)
| Origin | Profession skills | Home tongues | Strength: once per session |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Operate, Lore, Negotiation, Craft | English | With English merchants, the navy and colonial courts: Negotiation or Lore |
| Irish | Fortitude, Leadership, Charm, Negotiation | Irish | With Irish crews, Catholic parishes and Jacobite exiles: Charm or Leadership |
| Scottish | Fortitude, Lore, Medicine, Readiness | Scots or Scottish Gaelic | With Scots crews, soldiers and Highland exiles: Lore or Readiness |
| Welsh | Craft, Fortitude, Charm, Operate | Welsh | With Welsh sailors, privateers and Welsh-speaking parishes: Charm or Operate |
| French | Negotiation, Charm, Operate, Streetwise | French | With French merchants, buccaneers and Catholic ports: Negotiation or Streetwise |
| Dutch | Negotiation, Operate, Science, Craft | Dutch | With Dutch traders, factors and the free ports: Negotiation or Science |
| Spanish | Operate, Lore, Perception, Ranged | Spanish | With Spanish officials, coast guards and Catholic ports: Lore or Perception |
| Portuguese | Operate, Survival, Negotiation, Perception | Portuguese | With pilots, Brazil traders and Catholic ports: Operate or Negotiation |
| African-born (free, freed or self-freed) | Operate, Negotiation, Craft, Survival | A West or Central African tongue the player names (Akan, Gbe, Igbo, Kikongo, Wolof or Mande, for example) | With free Black seamen, Maroons and mixed Companies: Negotiation or Survival |
| Creole (born in the islands, of European descent) | Lore, Negotiation, Charm, Streetwise | English, French or Spanish as the player chooses, and an island creole | With planters, factors and island ports: Negotiation or Streetwise |
| Mixed ancestry (European and African) | Streetwise, Negotiation, Craft, Operate | One other tongue of the player's choice | With port towns and mixed Companies: Negotiation or Streetwise |
| Indigenous (island and coastal peoples) | Survival, Ranged, Operate, Perception | The tongue of the player's people | With your own people, their allies and traders, and in any coastal water you know: Survival or Operate |
Once per session, an Origin's Strength adds 1 Boon Die to one check using either listed skill in the specified setting.
Difficulty at a Glance
| Check | Difficulty | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| A Vote that pays, with the trade's ordinary risk | Average | Era Rules, The Vote |
| A Vote with high risk or small gain | Hard | Era Rules, The Vote |
| A Vote that breaks an article | Severe | Era Rules, The Vote |
| A No Confidence | Easy at Morale 6; Average at 4 or 5; Hard at 2 or 3; Severe at 1 | Era Rules, No Confidence |
| Intelligence: Streetwise or Negotiation in a port, Charm or Intimidation on a prisoner; Appraisal (Craft or Negotiation) | Average | Era Rules, The Prize and Fence Loop |
| Fence | Average in a pirate port; Hard elsewhere | Era Rules, The Prize and Fence Loop |
| The King's pardon: a Negotiation check with the governor | Average inside the window; Hard outside it | Era Rules, Rewards and the Pardon |
| A trial (Lore (Law) or Charm) | Average with a Friendly court; Hard Fair; Severe Hostile | Era Rules, The Trial |
| The daily illness check (Willpower) | Easy Mild; Average Serious; Hard Grave | Era Rules, Scurvy and Fever |
| Care for an illness (Medicine) | Average with clean water and rest; Hard without | Era Rules, Scurvy and Fever |
| Marooned: a week's Survival | Average with fresh water; Severe without; a failure costs 4 Strain, which does not recover while marooned | Era Rules, Marooning |
| Careening with a Carpenter's Craft | Average (five days; three with Careener's Skill) | Era Rules, Careening and Repair |
| Sighting a sail (Perception) | Average by day; Hard at dusk or in haze; Severe at night | Sail Combat, Sighting |
| Taking the weather gauge in a chase | Hard Operate (Sail), in addition to the round's check; Average with Reading the Wind | Sail Combat, Chase |
| Slipping away in the dark, at dusk | Average Operate (Sail) | Sail Combat, Chase |
| Closing on a ship unobserved | Average Stealth by the Master | Sail Combat, Sighting |
| A storm in hurricane season (June to November): keep the masts | Hard Operate (Sail) | Sail Combat, Wind and Weather |
| Marooned and incapacitated | Hard Fortitude each day; a failure inflicts a Critical Injury | Era Rules, Marooning |
| A day's run, to add or lose a tenth | Average Operate (Sail) | Places and Campaign Tools |
| Settling a quarrel aboard (Plain Speech) | Average Charm | Skills and Talents |
| Reading the Room | Average Savvy and Perception | Era Rules, Prejudice |
| Grappling | Opposed Operate (Sail); cutting away is Hard | Sail Combat, Boarding |
| The gun to bring to (Intimidation) | Average | Sail Combat, Boarding |
| A Captain keeping a Company at Morale 2 or less in the fight | Average Leadership each round | Sail Combat, Gunnery |
| Navigation at sea (Survival) | Average by day with a coast or the sun; Hard at night or in a storm | Skills and Talents |
| Water on a coast or a bare cay (Survival) | Average; Hard | Places and Campaign Tools |
| A gale: keep the ship off the shore | Hard Operate (Sail) each round | Sail Combat, Wind and Weather |
Era Talents (Skills and Talents)
| Talent | Tier | Kind | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weather Eye | 1 | Passive | Add 1 Boon Die to Perception checks to sight a sail, a shoal or a squall, including the Sighting check (Sail Combat); the Boon Die is added once. The GM warns you one round before a squall or a change of wind. |
| Quick Hand | 1 | Passive | Add 1 Boon Die to Athletics checks to climb the rigging, swing between ships or run a boarding line. |
| Honest Weight | 1 | Passive | Remove 1 Bane Die from checks to weigh, measure, count or divide goods and shares. Appraisal in the Prize and Fence Loop is an Easy check in place of Average. |
| Fence's Eye | 1 | Passive | Add 1 Boon Die to Streetwise checks to sell goods. A fence rate you set is 5 in 100 higher (maximum 60 in 100). |
| Plain Speech | 1 | Once per Scene | You settle a quarrel aboard with a word before it becomes a fight. Make an Average Charm check. On a success the quarrel ends without Strain or a broken article. A Quartermaster with this talent may use it before a quarrel reaches the Quartermaster's court (Era Rules, Crew and Articles). |
| Safe Harbour | 1 | Passive | Name one port at creation. A friend there, who is willing to hide you or sell to you, acts as your Sponsor (Era Rules, Prejudice) there, and in addition the audience's Attitude toward you moves one step toward Welcome 1. |
| Ship's Doctor | 1 | Passive | Remove 1 Bane Die from Medicine checks made aboard ship. Add 1 Boon Die to Care for scurvy or fever. One Medicine check may treat up to three patients at once. |
| Careener's Skill | 1 | Passive | Careening takes three days in place of five if your Craft check succeeds, and its Hull repair is 1 higher. |
| Dead Reckoning | 1 | Passive | Navigation at sea (Skills at Sea) is an Easy Survival check by day, or Average at night or in a storm. Once per voyage you may fix your position without a landmark. |
| Lie Low | 1 | Passive | Your Infamy falls 1 each month out of the news, in place of each season. A hunter who looks for you by Name adds 1 Bane Die to the check to find you. |
| Master Gunner | 2 | Passive | Add 1 Boon Die to the attack of a battery you command, and once per session you may re-roll one die of that battery's attack. |
| Boarding Rush | 2 | Once per Scene | When you lead a Boarding, your Company adds 1 Boon Die to its first round of the contest, and you add 1 Boon Die to your first Core combat round on the enemy deck. |
| Cool Under Fire | 2 | Passive | Remove 1 Bane Die from Readiness checks caused by gunfire or a broadside. Once per scene, when fear would cost you Strain, you suffer none. |
| Voice of the Company | 2 | Passive | Add 1 Boon Die to Leadership and Charm checks in a Vote and to the Leadership checks you make when Captain and Quartermaster disagree. When you put a Vote and succeed with 2 or more net Successes, the Company gains 1 Morale. |
| Reading the Wind | 2 | Once per Chase | Once per Chase, when you make the Hard Operate (Sail) check to take the weather gauge (Sail Combat, The Chase Round), the check is Average in place of Hard, and a gauge you take this way is not lost when a squall passes. |
| Short Shrift | 2 | Passive | Add 1 Boon Die to Intimidation checks to demand a surrender (Sail Combat, The Gun to Bring To), and you may make the demand from Long Distance. When the demand succeeds, your Company gains 1 Morale. |
Crew and Articles in Brief (Era Rules)
- The Company has Size, Quality and Morale (0 to 6). Quality sets its pool: Green: 2 Mastery Dice; Seasoned: 3; Veteran: 3 plus a Boon Die.
- Morale begins at 3. Gain 1 for taking a prize without loss, paying shares fully, winning against odds or honouring an article at a cost. Lose 1 for a hard defeat, withholding a share, breaking an article, imposing punishment without a Vote or cruising three weeks without a prize. A single prize or fight changes Morale by at most 1 each way; capture and payout count as one event. At 0, the Company breaks.
- The Vote: roll Leadership or Charm. At Morale 4 or 5 add 1 Boon Die; at 6 add 2. At Morale 1 add a Bane Die. No Vote occurs at Morale 0 because the Company has broken.
- Captain and Quartermaster: absolute command in chase and battle belongs to the Captain. Shares, discipline and first boarding belong to the Quartermaster. Resolve disagreements with Leadership checks from both officers. Ties favour the Captain during chase and battle, the Quartermaster otherwise.
- Articles cover the Vote, the Shares, Injury pay, Quarter, Discipline, Drink and lights, and Women and boys aboard. A breach costs 1 Morale, increased to 2 for an open breach or an article protecting hands against officers.
| Hand | Shares |
|---|---|
| Captain, Quartermaster | 2 |
| Master, Boatswain, Gunner | 1.5 |
| Surgeon, Carpenter, Mate, other officers | 1.25 |
| Every other hand | 1 |
| A boy | 0.5 |
Phillips's articles (1723) award injury pay of 800 pieces of eight for a limb, 400 for a joint.
The Prize and Fence Loop in Brief (Era Rules)
The seven steps: Intelligence, Chase, Boarding and Quarter, Appraisal, Fence, Spending, the Base and the Navy.
| Class | Value, pieces of eight (sterling) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Poor | 1,000 (£225) | A coasting sloop of salt, tobacco or hides |
| Fair | 4,000 (£900) | A merchant brigantine of sugar, rum or wine |
| Rich | 12,000 (£2,700) | A merchantman with trade goods, or a plate-fleet straggler |
| Great | 40,000 (£9,000) | A ship carrying silver or indigo |
- Fence rate: begin at 25 in 100; add 10 in 100 per net Success, up to 60. Court-condemned goods sell automatically at 50 in 100, minus a fee of 5 in 100 of prize value: 45 in 100 net. Divide coin and plate at face value without fencing.
- Spending: each hand pays 1 piece daily ashore, or 3 on a Spree. Tavern credit extends to one share.
- People held aboard: treat captives as persons, never cargo, a prize class or a price. Stakes cannot buy them. Before sorting goods, the GM voices at least one captive and the Company votes: land them, invite them to join voluntarily (a share after a month, by a Vote), return the ship or sell them. Sale breaks an article only if the Company's articles prohibit it.
| Infamy | Reach | Who knows the Name |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | None | Nobody |
| 1 | A port | One harbour town and its ships |
| 2 | A colony | A colony's governor, its courts and merchants |
| 3 | A sea | The Caribbean or the Guinea coast, the navy's station ships and the colonial press |
| 4 | The Atlantic | Every port with a newspaper, and the Admiralty |
| 5 | The Empire | London, the Crown and the whole Navy |
- Earning Infamy: gain 1 at most once per session for a named or flagged prize, sinking or burning a ship, escaping execution, a famous fight, or mention in a proclamation or the press. Spending a Fortune Point or Peril Point permits a second gain. Lose 1 per season without news of you.
- A Company takes the highest Infamy of its Captain and officers. From Infamy 3, the GM can spend a Peril Point to introduce a warship. Audiences recognising the Name within its Reach are Welcome 1 or Wary 1 at Infamy 1 or 2; Welcome 2 or Hostile 2 at Infamy 3 or more.
- Rewards for pirates taken on or after 6 September 1718 (set by the proclamation of 5 September 1717): £100 a commander (444 pieces); £40 a lieutenant, master, boatswain, carpenter or gunner (178); £30 an inferior officer (133); £20 a private man (89); £200 for a hand who delivers up the commander (889).
- The pardon: runs from 5 September 1717 to 5 September 1718. Further plunder makes a pardon turned: restore Infamy and add 1, capped at 5. A second pardon is unavailable.
Scurvy, Law and the Rest of the Era Rules in Brief
| Severity | Willpower check | Strain on a failure | Bane Dice, at most | Course |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild | Easy | 2 | 1 | 4 checks |
| Serious | Average | 4 | 2 | 7 checks |
| Grave | Hard | 6 | 3 | 10 checks |
- Illness: recovery takes two successes or the end of the Course. Illness Strain cannot recover before the illness ends. Conditioned and Hardened apply to the check. Only Grave illness can kill, inflicting at most one Critical Injury after incapacitation. Care requires Medicine, Average with rest and clean water, Hard otherwise. Add 1 Boon Die per net Success to the patient's next check, capped at 3.
- Scurvy starts after one month without fresh food; fresh fruit or greens cure it in three days. Jesuit's bark provides 2 Boon Dice against ague, included in Care's cap of 3.
- The trial: begin at hanged. Net Successes each improve the sentence one step towards acquitted: hanged in chains, hanged, seven years' servitude, acquitted. Failure or a Calamity imposes hanged in chains.
- Marooning: leave the offender one small arm, a few shot, a bottle of powder and a bottle of water.
- Careening: gain 1 Foul per three months at sea, capped at 2. Reduce Speed by 1 at Foul 1 and by 2 at Foul 2, never below 1. Careening takes about a week, reduced to five days by an Average Craft success from the Carpenter. Remove all Foul and 1 Hull Damage. While hove down the ship cannot sail or fight; attackers finding her add 2 Boon Dice.
| Attitude | Effect on social checks with that audience |
|---|---|
| Welcome 2 | Add 2 Boon Dice |
| Welcome 1 | Add 1 Boon Die |
| Neutral | None |
| Wary 1 | Add 1 Bane Die |
| Hostile 2 | Add 2 Bane Dice, and no credit or favour without a Sponsor |
| Closed 3 | The door is shut. Use it only for an institution the record shows excluded that group |
Nation, faith, language, sex, trade, legal status and deed supply audience markers that determine Attitude. Cover or a Sponsor shifts one marker one step towards Neutral, leaving Welcome unchanged. Attitude affects neither attacks, damage nor characteristics; its penalty cannot exceed 3 Bane Dice.
| Sum | In pieces of eight |
|---|---|
| 1 shilling | about two ninths of a piece |
| 4s 6d | 1 piece |
| £1 (20s) | 4 and four ninths |
| £10, a privateer sailor's lot in 1708 | 44 |
| An able seaman's month in the Navy, £1 4s | 5 and a third |
| A commander's reward, £100 | 444 |
| The injury pay for a limb, £180 | 800 |
Sail Combat in Brief (Sail Combat)
-
Sighting. Perception; the first to sight sets the Distance (Long by day, Medium at dusk, Short at night).
-
Chase. Five bands: Engaged, Short, Medium, Long, Hull-down. Each round the masters make an opposed Operate (Sail) check. Each side adds 1 Boon Die per point its Speed is above the other's and per point of positive Handling, 1 Bane Die per point of negative Handling, and 1 Boon Die for the weather gauge. The pursuer wins by 1 or 2: one band closed; by 3 or more: two. The prey wins by 1 or more: one band opened. A tie holds the Distance. The GM gives the weather gauge at the start to the upwind ship, or each master rolls an ordinary six-sided die for it (the higher takes it, the prey on a tie); in the chase a master takes it with a Hard Operate (Sail) check in addition to the round's check (Average with Reading the Wind). It changes hands only when its holder loses a round by 3 or more, or a squall passes. Six rounds run to dusk; at dusk the Distance holds and the chase resumes at dawn, unless the prey slips away in the dark. Past Hull-down the prey has escaped.
-
Gunnery. A battery at the Range band of its guns (every gun that reaches Long Distance fires there at Hard; a gun of Extreme Range may also fire at Hull-down, at Severe). A ship whose System Damage reaches half its System Points is 1 Speed slower; at its System Points it is dismasted; at its Hull Points it is disabled and strikes. A Company at Morale 2 or less must have its Captain make an Average Leadership check each round to keep fighting. Grape and canister: Range becomes Short, so Short or Engaged only. Targets: hull (Hull Damage), rigging (System Damage with chain or bar shot) or hands (1 hand per net Success per 10 of Size, at least 1; the target loses 1 Morale if it loses a quarter in a broadside).
-
Boarding. Grapple by an opposed check. Fighting Strength is Size less one hand in four. Each round the Companies roll their Quality pool; a side adds 1 Boon Die for 1.5 times the other's Strength, 2 for 2.5 times, 3 for 4 times. The loser loses 10 in 100 of its starting Strength per net Success (to a margin of 3, at least 1 hand). A Company at half its starting Strength, or with its Captain taken, strikes. Each player character fights one Core combat round per Boarding round; beating an officer gives the Company 1 Boon Die, being dropped costs it 1.
-
Quarter. The winner's Captain decides by the articles; a Company that has sworn to give none may refuse.
The gun to bring to: a merchant overtaken within Medium Distance by a pirate ship whose Captain or officers have Infamy 3 or more, or by a King's ship or a commissioned privateer, may strike without a fight if the pursuer's Captain succeeds at an Average Intimidation check.
| Wind | Effect |
|---|---|
| Calm | Every ship's Speed is 1 lower (to a minimum of 1); a ship with oars or a tow may use Speed 2 |
| Fair | No change |
| Fresh | Ships with Handling +1 or better add 1 Boon Die to chase checks; ships with Handling -2 or worse add 1 Bane Die |
| Gale | No ship may fight or chase: Speed is 1 for all, and a Hard Operate (Sail) check each round keeps a ship off the shore |
Ships at a Glance (Ships)
| Hull | Scale | Speed | Handling | Armor | Def | Hull | Sys | Crew | Typical weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Periauger | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 8 | Swivel Gun or small arms |
| Bermuda sloop | 3 | 4 | +2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 40 | Battery of 4 Light Guns a side |
| Jamaica sloop | 3 | 3 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 30 | Battery of 5 Light Guns a side |
| Brigantine | 4 | 3 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 10 | 70 | Battery of 6 Light Guns a side |
| Schooner | 3 | 3 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 25 | Battery of 3 Light Guns a side |
| Merchantman | 4 | 2 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 12 | 25 | Battery of 3 Light Guns a side |
| Slave ship | 4 | 2 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 12 | 35 | Battery of 6 Light Guns a side |
| Prize galleon | 5 | 2 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 14 | 200 | Battery of 10 Medium Guns a side, Light Guns above |
| Royal Navy sixth rate | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 14 | 150 | Battery of 12 Medium Guns a side, two Long Nines |
| Guardacosta (balandra) | 3 | 4 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 25 | Battery of 2 Light Guns a side, swivel guns |
Adversary Numbers (Adversaries)
| Figure | Tier | Resistance | Wound Points | Strain Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soldier or Marine | Minion | 1 | 8 | None |
| Navy Lieutenant | Elite | 2 | 14 | None |
| Captain Josiah Whitcombe, Royal Navy | Nemesis | 2 | 16 | 17 |
| Sir Edmund Haldane, Governor | Elite | 1 | 13 | None |
| Admiralty Commissioner | Elite | 1 | 13 | None |
| Pirate Hunter | Elite | 2 | 14 | None |
| Hand | Minion | 1 | 8 | None |
| Quartermaster | Elite | 2 | 14 | None |
| Pirate Captain | Nemesis | 2 | 16 | 16 |
| Spanish Soldier | Minion | 1 | 8 | None |
| Guardacosta Captain | Elite | 2 | 14 | None |
| Boucanier | Minion | 1 | 8 | None |
| Port Tough | Minion | 2 | 8 | None |
| Informer | Elite | 1 | 13 | None |
| Fence | Elite | 1 | 13 | None |
| Merchant Master | Elite | 1 | 13 | None |
Minion groups contain 4 to 8 figures as specified by Group Size; each has 8 Wound Points. Elites have 11 plus Might Wound Points. Nemeses have 13 plus Might Wound Points and 13 plus Willpower Strain Points. All have Defense 0. For four player characters ashore, use these encounters (Adversaries):
| Encounter | Opposition |
|---|---|
| Easy | One Minion group of the party's size, surprised or ashore |
| Standard | One Minion group of 4 to 6, or one Elite alone |
| Hard | One Elite with a Minion group of 4, or two Elites |
| Deadly | A Nemesis with a Minion group and an Elite |
Gear and Prices in Brief (Gear and Prices; Places and Campaign Tools)
| Band | Pieces | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Trifle | under 1 | A drink, a candle, a meal, a quart of beer, a knife |
| Small | 1 to 5 | A shirt, a pair of shoes, a cutlass, a Sea Service Pistol, a month of an able seaman's pay (5⅓) |
| Moderate | 6 to 25 | A Belt Pistol, a musket, a fowling piece, a month of a boatswain's pay (11), a swivel gun (24) |
| Large | 26 to 100 | A surgeon's chest, a suit of black, a horse at Jamaica, a Light or Medium Gun |
| Great | 101 to 500 | A pair of fancy pistols, a Long Nine or Heavy Gun, a cargo of logwood |
| Princely | over 500 | A sloop (about 750, Legend), a prize's cargo |
- Most-asked prices: Falchion 2; Dagger 1; Knife ½; Belt Pistol 6; Sea Service Pistol 5; Musket 7; Blunderbuss 8; Leather Jerkin 2; surgeon's chest 40; Light Gun 45; a Navy able seaman's month 5⅓ pieces of eight; a merchant seaman's month in peace 5½ to 6⅔.
- A piece of eight is 4s 6d.
The table gives miles covered per sailing day. Calm already includes the Speed reduction from Sail Combat, Wind and Weather; apply it only once.
| Speed | Calm | Fair | Fresh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 40 | 50 |
| 2 | 30 | 70 | 90 |
| 3 | 40 | 100 | 125 |
| 4 | 50 | 130 | 160 |
Distances in nautical miles (Places and Campaign Tools): Nassau to Harbour Island 60; to Havana about 410; to Charles Town 560; to Port Royal 600; Port Royal to Havana about 780; to Campeche about 985; the Atlantic crossing 6 to 10 weeks (England to Barbados 6 to 9 weeks; Barbados to Jamaica under 2 weeks downwind, up to 14 weeks to windward).
Dates to Use
Use the Historical Reference for the complete timeline. The three frames in Places and Campaign Tools begin in 1716, the map year.
Glossary
- Articles. The Company's agreed rules for a voyage.
- Attitude. How an audience responds to a marker, ranging from Welcome 2 to Closed 3.
- Base. A port offering water and a market for Company goods without questions.
- Company. The crew treated collectively, rated for Size, Quality and Morale.
- Cover. A respected identity that shifts one marker's Attitude a step towards Neutral.
- Debt. Money owed to a named backer through a Master Stake.
- Distance. The five chase bands separating ships.
- Fence. Someone buying goods for covert resale; also the transaction itself.
- Fighting Strength. Boarding and defending hands, calculated as Size less one in four.
- Foul. Weed and shell accumulating below the waterline and reducing Speed.
- Gun to bring to. A shot or a demand that makes a ship heave to; a merchant within Medium Distance may strike without a fight to a pirate Captain with Infamy 3 or more, or to a King's ship or a commissioned privateer.
- Hull-down. Beyond Long Distance, with the hull hidden by the horizon.
- Infamy. How widely a name is recognised, rated 0 to 5.
- Letter of marque. A commission to take a named enemy's ships; a prize taken under it is lawful only when a court condemns it. The holder posts a bond of 1,000 pieces, forfeit for a prize taken from a friendly flag and returned when the commission lapses (this book's rule).
- Marker. Nation, faith, language, sex, trade, status or deed that shapes an audience's response.
- Marooning. Abandoning an offender ashore with water, powder, a few shot and one small arm; water and powder each fill a bottle.
- Morale. The Company's spirit, rated 0 to 6.
- No Confidence. A Company vote to retain or remove an officer.
- Origin. A home community supplying skills, tongues and a Strength.
- Piece of eight. Spanish silver dollar, rated 4s 6d.
- Prize. Captured ship and cargo, classed Poor, Fair, Rich or Great.
- Quality. Green, Seasoned or Veteran, determining the Company's pool.
- Quarter. Mercy granted after a Company strikes.
- Quartermaster. Officer responsible for shares, discipline and the first boarding of prizes.
- Role. A character's occupation aboard or ashore.
- Share. Rank-based portion of a prize: Captain 2, hand 1.
- Size. How many hands belong to the Company.
- Sponsor. Someone respected by an audience who vouches for you.
- Spree. Shore spending at 3 pieces of eight daily.
- Stake. Starting funds determined by Standing.
- Standing. Hand, Officer, Clerk or Master: the Role's rank determining Stake.
- Strike. Surrender by lowering the colours.
- Turned pardon. A pardon forfeited through renewed plunder.
- Vote. Leadership or Charm rolled by a proposer to secure a Company decision.
- Weather gauge. Being upwind, granting a Boon Die during a chase.
Index of Rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Articles, the Company, the Vote, No Confidence, Shares | Era Rules, Crew and Articles |
| Prize classes, the fence, Spending, People Held Aboard | Era Rules, The Prize and Fence Loop |
| Infamy, rewards, the pardon | Era Rules, The Prize and Fence Loop |
| Scurvy and fever | Era Rules, Scurvy and Fever |
| Commissions, prize courts, the trial | Era Rules, Law at Sea and Ashore |
| Prejudice and Attitude | Era Rules, Prejudice |
| Marooning | Era Rules, Marooning |
| Foul and careening | Era Rules, Careening and Repair |
| Pieces of eight, wages, Stakes | Era Rules, Money and Credit; Gear and Prices |
| Sighting, chase, wind, gunnery, boarding, quarter | Sail Combat |
| A day's run, distances, news, stores | Places and Campaign Tools |
| Cargoes, convoys, routes, coin and credit in the trade, smuggling, the trade in people | Trade and Shipping |
| Scenes, campaign modes, pacing | Running the Era |
| The hulls and their rows | Ships |
| Adversary tiers and stat blocks | Adversaries |
| Skills at sea and Era talents | Skills and Talents |