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Pen & Paper Roleplaying Central => Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games (RPGs) Discussion => Topic started by: Koltar on September 01, 2007, 11:06:08 PM

Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 01, 2007, 11:06:08 PM
Those other two threads got me pissed off and thinking.
(sometimes a bad combination)

 IF I want to play in a Pirates!! Game , this is what I want :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BLH4i2qcWI&mode=related&search=
Not only that - but I get a woman to romance that looks like a slightly taller version of Kristy McNichol!! Alright??

And its played with game books like this :

(http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Swashbucklers/img/cover_lg.jpg)

  Or even this one :

http://www.smithandrobards.com/product_info.php?products_id=277&osCsid=c7ea95b82cc13b9e4a29be4402c9952b


And the music is,..again like this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA6MZVcOaL0

...except this time My character gets to kiss and hug a woman that looks like Kiera Knightley between the sword fights and battles.  (the other stuff happens offscreen or when a TV show fades to black for the commercials. )


Or this works too :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuKx7AgHLes


Or this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLrKJV4ITeE

With Cat-like tread...:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKNguiWZab8&mode=related&search=


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Wj2yMuTIU


 Edgey? Trendy ? Artsy ??  To the deep with that crap !!! I'll sick Captain Blood and Jack Sparrow on them....



- Ed C.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Rezendevous on September 01, 2007, 11:52:45 PM
People have different tastes, and that's cool.  Some people want to play American Outlaws or Maverick, and some people want to play Unforgiven or Deadwood.

I enjoyed all four of those, FWIW.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Zachary The First on September 02, 2007, 12:23:51 AM
Piracy?  His Majesty's Navy has an answer for that sort of foul and brutish practice, sirrah:

(http://jalan.flyingmice.com/In_Harms_Way_cover.jpg)

Mr. Reed?!  Smartly, now, if you please!  Clear the deck for action!

:D
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 02, 2007, 12:40:31 AM
Quote from: Zachary The FirstPiracy?  His Majesty's Navy has an answer for that sort of foul and brutish practice, sirrah:

(http://jalan.flyingmice.com/In_Harms_Way_cover.jpg)

Mr. Reed?!  Smartly, now, if you please!  Clear the deck for action!

:D

 Seconded....Now just aim all canons at that rude Captain Vincent Baker and that thing called Poisone'd.


- Ed C.




As a side note : My Klingon family name of  " Qoltar " translates roughly as : "...to beam away poison."
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Zachary The First on September 02, 2007, 12:49:01 AM
Eh, let's keep it on the fun, gaming side of things.  :)

Now, then, it looks like that merchantman is making a run for the safety of our frigate's weighty guns.  Wait?  What treachery...false colors...PREPARE TO REPEL BOARDERS!!!  

:jollyroger::duel::eek::yarr:
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: John Morrow on September 02, 2007, 01:26:03 AM
Quote from: RezendevousPeople have different tastes, and that's cool.  Some people want to play American Outlaws or Maverick, and some people want to play Unforgiven or Deadwood.

How about the people who want to play snuff films?
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Brantai on September 02, 2007, 01:28:47 AM
I for one am shocked (shocked!) to see Koltar recommend a GURPS book.  Never would have saw that coming.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: RPGPundit on September 02, 2007, 02:16:21 AM
GURPS 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.

RPGPundit
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Silverlion on September 02, 2007, 02:42:55 AM
Rock on Koltar. I really have no idea where it came from, I must have missed a thread (since it seems to be in response to something...)

But still cool stuff.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: jeff37923 on September 02, 2007, 02:48:19 AM
Quote from: John MorrowHow about the people who want to play snuff films?

They can LARP that amoungst themselves if they really want to play snuff films.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 02, 2007, 03:03:27 AM
Quote from: jeff37923They can LARP that amoungst themselves if they really want to play snuff films.

 Sounds like a bunch of Dolcett fans to me - which has nothing to do with glorious swashbuckling Pirates!!!

 ARRR  me mateys!!!!


- Ed C.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Claudius on September 02, 2007, 04:32:23 AM
Quote from: KoltarThose other two threads got me pissed off and thinking.
(sometimes a bad combination)
Which two threads are you talking about? And, what offended you?
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Claudius on September 02, 2007, 04:38:48 AM
And yes, GURPS Swashbucklers is EXCELLENT.

I don't know In Harm's Way, but it looks interesting. I'll have to read some review.

I don't know Pirates of the Spanish Main either, but I'm not interested. I prefer historical and gritty pirates. :)
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 02, 2007, 04:50:22 AM
Quote from: ClaudiusI don't know Pirates of the Spanish Main either, but I'm not interested. I prefer historical and gritty pirates. :)


PIrates of the Spanish Main is basically SAVAGE WORLDS combined with the setting of the WizKids Pirate Ship  game.
Its published by Pinnacle - and uses the same RPG rules and mechanics as SAVAGE WORLDS. I've looked through the book and it feels like a "near alternate timeline" to what happened in our own history of that time period. If You liked the Jack Sparrow /"PotC" movies - this is pretty close to that in spirit.


- Ed C.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Warthur on September 02, 2007, 05:23:41 AM
You 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?
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: jeff37923 on September 02, 2007, 07:59:08 AM
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.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 02, 2007, 09:22:25 AM
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".

(http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/mike.scott.rohan/images/spiral/chase.jpg)

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.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: HinterWelt on September 02, 2007, 09:45:14 AM
I counter...

(http://www.hinterwelt.com/squirrels/ahoycover.jpg)
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: The Yann Waters on September 02, 2007, 09:58:42 AM
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!"
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: joewolz on September 02, 2007, 02:11:20 PM
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%.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: King of Old School on September 02, 2007, 05:26:08 PM
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
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: dar on September 02, 2007, 05:35:51 PM
ahem.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086618/
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Joshua Ford on September 02, 2007, 05:39:13 PM
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).
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Warthur on September 02, 2007, 07:18:04 PM
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.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: flyingmice on September 02, 2007, 08:27:25 PM
Watch  for my soon to come source book - In Arrrrrrrm's Way: Shiver Me Timbers!

:D

-clash
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Caesar Slaad on September 02, 2007, 10:54:25 PM
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.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 05, 2007, 09:39:45 AM
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.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Reimdall on September 05, 2007, 10:12:45 AM
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.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 05, 2007, 12:54:08 PM
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.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: J Arcane on September 05, 2007, 10:35:11 PM
Quote from: darahem.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086618/
That was an awful fucking movie.  I hate you now.  Just for that.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: dar on September 05, 2007, 11:27:29 PM
Quote from: J ArcaneThat was an awful fucking movie.  I hate you now.  Just for that.

Ha! AH! HA! HA!


fuck.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 06, 2007, 02:11:01 AM
....speaking of pirates.....


 Anyone remember the gaming magazine that FASA used to publish called STARDATE??  It originally mostly covered their STAR TREK RPG , but later issues covered other RPGS...including their DOCTOR WHO game.


I actually tried to run an adventure that they had in there that was set up to involve a Time Lord vs. Cybermen and Blackbeard the Pirate.

 Except I ran as a STAR TREK RPG scenario.

I had a 9th or 10 version of the Doctor as an NPC who was a bit rattled after his regeneration. His companions were a bit worried about , then these strange humans wearing primary colored uniforms show up and claim to be part of something called Starfleet.

 The players were from the U.S.S. Valiant(Constitution-class vessel)...they wound up going back in time by accident to the time of pirates on old Earth.  There discovered a "big Bad nefarious plot " involving Cybermen, Klingons and a Pirate ship captained by Blackbeard himself.

 So of course they wind up working with the British Royal Navy while in disguise....

 God,  that game session was fun!!!


 One of the wackiest game sessions I ever did - and I'm just now remembering it.  This must have been in 1989 or 1990 that I ran that game.


- Ed C.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: jgants on September 06, 2007, 09:51:24 AM
Quote from: J ArcaneThat was an awful fucking movie.  I hate you now.  Just for that.

Besides, everyone knows http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087451/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087451/) is the best pirate movie ever made.




:D
What?
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: beeber on September 06, 2007, 09:53:17 AM
i thought someone was going to say this was the best:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086112/

:what:

or, to quote GTA 3, "prepare for a jolly rogering!"
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: Koltar on September 06, 2007, 09:57:48 AM
Quote from: beeberi thought someone was going to say this was the best:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086112/

:what:

or, to quote GTA 3, "prepare for a jolly rogering!"


Beeber,

 I technically DID mention that one - a song from it is in one of the YouTube videos I did in the opening post.

Kevin Kline is great as the Pirate King.


- Ed C.
Title: PIRATES? You want "Pirates" as an RPG - THIS is what you aim for...
Post by: beeber on September 06, 2007, 09:59:23 AM
Quote from: KoltarBeeber,

 I technically DID mention that one - a song from it is in one of the YouTube videos I did in the opening post.

Kevin Kline is great as the Pirate King.


- Ed C.

sorry, i skip all things youtube.  they take too long to load at home, and well, i can't really watch them at work (the library).