Quote from: WarthurYou know, sometimes I'd like to see Kenzer's approach with Aces and Eights applied to piracy. There's all sorts of scope for fun subsystems - exploring tropical islands, navigating, ship-to-ship combat, boarding actions, crew morale, that kind of thing - and it would be interesting to have a more "serious" pirates which didn't buy into the Disney pirates hype but didn't overcompensate (as Poison'd does) by going all the way into Captain Rape of the good ship Arserape territory. Would In Harm's Way fit the bill?

You know what? There's no reason this couldn't be written up as a supplement for Mariner, either.

This book , I think was originally wrotten in the late '60s or early '70s. (a comment about hairstyles makes me think that)

I'm putting this up as an example of a 'Good"/fun Pirate/swashbuckling story that has elements of horror in it - but the main characters are still Heroic with a capital "H".



The book is called CHASE THE MORNING and its by Michael Scott Rohan. Oh yeah the main ship in the story flies through the clouds and appears to travel through time and dimensions. There is also a mysterious portside tavern at the beginning of the story that seems to blink in and out of existennce and exist in several time periods at once.

The book is a bit of an adventure romp , with plenty of bits of historical research and accuracy thrown in.

 IF I was adapt this to an RPG - it would be either GURPS 4/e or PIRATES OF THE SPANISH MAIN/SAVAGE WORLDS by Pinnacle.


Your Kilometerage may vary....

- Ed C.

I counter...

Quote from: KoltarI'm putting this up as an example of a 'Good"/fun Pirate/swashbuckling story that has elements of horror in it - but the main characters are still Heroic with a capital "H".

Eh, the main character in that book only ends up on the whole adventure because he's a "hollow man" who doesn't have a meaning in life, and that gives an unpleasant god a chance to take over him. Also, many of the other characters in the crew are somewhat inhuman and unsavoury: for instance, consider Le Stryge who's accompanied by the spirit of a polluted river in the body of a drowned little girl. It's a great novel (even if I didn't really care for the sequels), though, and the Spiral Sea with its mythical islands and strange harbours would make for a great RPG setting.

"Tell you something: the world's a lot wider place than most of them ever realize. They cling to what they know, to the firm centre where everything's dull and deadly and predictable. Where the hours slip by at just sixty seconds to the minute from your cradle to your tombstone -- that's the Core. Out here, out on the Spiral, out towards the Rim, it's not like that -- not always. There's a whole lot more to this world than just a mudball spinning in emptiness like the wisemen say. It's adrift, in Time and in Space as well. And there's more tides than one that ebb and flow about its shores.

So one day, maybe, for everybody, one such tide comes lapping about their feet. And most just look and draw back before more'n their toes get wet. They look and don't understand, or won't; and they turn back into the Core again, forever.

But there's always a few that don't. And they look upon infinite horizons! Some bow down and slink away in fear from the truth they've seen. But others, they take a step forward into the chill wide waters. And across them, eventually. From Ports like this one, often enough, where comings and goings over a thousand years or more have tied a knot in Time, to all the corners of the wide world. Lord, lord, how wide!"

Quote from: RPGPunditGURPS swashbucklers is a GREAT historical sourcebook, and In Harm's Way is a spectacular RPG.  

I think that a certain other post on here got it right: You want to play a serious "Pirates" game, these are the books to use. If you want sophomoric snuff wankery, then I guess the Forge is the way to go.

I actually agree with you 100%.

Quote from: Warthurit would be interesting to have a more "serious" pirates which didn't buy into the Disney pirates hype but didn't overcompensate (as Poison'd does) by going all the way into Captain Rape of the good ship Arserape territory

I have zero interest in Poison'd but I have to say, that description is pure gold!

KoOS

ahem.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086618/

I'd also recommend 'The Pyrates' by George McDonald Fraser, which is an extremely entertaining, even if he does terrible things with history (Compared to his Flashman novels).

Personally, I'm looking forward to Gene Wolfe's new novel, Pirate Freedom. If you can trust anyone to deromanticise pirates while at the same time not just wallowing in nihilism and gore, you can trust Wolfe to do it.

Watch  for my soon to come source book - In Arrrrrrrm's Way: Shiver Me Timbers!



-clash

Ever since I watched PotC III, I'd been tinkering with the idea of brewing an "edritch pirates" game with FATE/SotC. It seems to fit the tone rather well.

Yeah, I like Disney's pirates and think that sort of fantasy-laden high adventure flavor would be PERFECT for a pirates game.

Heres the thing: GURPS may be a more natural fit for doing a "Pirates!" game than any modern Tarantino-ized version of a game.

Historical, real pirates had Codes of conduct and codes of honor .

 Take a look :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brethren_of_the_Coast

A very fictionalized version of the Brethren was portrayed in Pirates of the CaribbeanA At World's End.

 Also , Pirate ships had Articles of Agreement......
Some examples here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_code_of_the_Brethren

There is also a good example on page 40 of GURPS:SWASHBUCKLERS.

This part of a Wiki article is also pretty interesting :

QuoteUnlike traditional Western societies of the time, many pirate clans operated as limited democracies, demanding the right to elect and replace their leaders. The captain of a pirate ship was often a fierce fighter in whom the men could place their trust, rather than a more traditional authority figure sanctioned by an elite. However, when not in battle, the ship's quartermaster usually had the real authority. Many groups of pirates shared in whatever they seized; pirates injured in battle might be afforded special compensation. Often all of these terms were agreed upon and written down by the pirates, but these articles could also be used as incriminating proof that they were outlaws. Pirates readily accepted outcasts from traditional societies, perhaps easily recognizing kindred spirits, and they were known to welcome them into the pirate fold.

The whole article , if you want to look :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate


- Ed C.

Quote from: WarthurPersonally, I'm looking forward to Gene Wolfe's new novel, Pirate Freedom. If you can trust anyone to deromanticise pirates while at the same time not just wallowing in nihilism and gore, you can trust Wolfe to do it.

Holy Smokes!  Wolfe and pirates?  Shiver me timbers.

What might be interesting to do is a variation on the "Captain Blood" story  - a man or a few men wrongly imprisoned who become piurates - but in their hearts are still patriotic to their original country.

 Heck, that book and movie even had a Preacher/man of god character as one of the main pirates.

- Ed C.

Quote from: darahem.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086618/

That was an awful fucking movie.  I hate you now.  Just for that.