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This is a piratey adventure with lots of action, swashbuckling and piratey shenanigans. But even thieves must have a code.

So, to start out, you are a pirate. Your job is to sail your ship in search of adventure, treasure and other ships to plunder.

First you need a ship.

There are six types in all: gunboat, sloop, schooner, brig, frigate, and galleon (a.k.a man-o-war)

The four you are concerned with are schooner, brig, frigate and galleon.

Gunboat: Small patrol ships with light to medium armaments. Not a high threat alone, but usually found in formations of three or more.

Sloop: Small civilian vessel used to transport persons across sea channels and routs. Also used as cargo ships.

Schooner: Small to medium sized sailing ship. Used as both warships and merchant vessels. Built for speed and maneuverability.

Brig: Medium sized vessel. Primarily used as patrol ships and escorts. Decently armed and fast. The most balanced stats of all the classes.

Frigate: Medium to large sailing vessel. The most common size class for warships. Also used as merchant vessels able to carry large cargo loads. Heavily armed and decently fast.

Galleon: Large to Massive sailing ship. Almost always used as a war ship. Slow, but armed to the teeth. The strongest fighting class sacrifices speed and subtly for raw fire power.

You won't choose gunboat or sloop for your ship. They will be NPC's. Each class has three stats: Combat (fighting strenght), Navigation (speed and handling) , and Resilience (resistance to damage).

The stats for each class are:

Schooner: CMB = 24, NAV = 80, RES = 140

Brig: CMB = 44, NAV = 60 RES = 200

Frigate: CMB = 88 NAV = 60 RES = 600

Galleon: CMB = 136 NAV = 20 RES = 1000

Choose wisely. A big galleon can dish out and take a lot of punishment, but it's slow speed means you will loose the race for treasure, and you may underestimate a smaller ship.

The way combat works is as simple as I can make it. You will first choose how to attack. You have three ways. You can broadside, fire chase cannons, or ram.

Broadside means you fire all the cannons on one side of your ship. Chase cannons means you fire the cannons on the bow or stern of the ship. Ram....well that's kinda obvious, is it not? "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" and slam into the enemy ship.

You will roll the dice to attack. the number you come up with is the amount of damage done. Take too much damage and your ship will be crippled. Don't worry though. You won't sink right away. You can choose to retreat and save your ship, but you will lose crew. The best strategy is to pick your fights. Don't go up against a galleon by yourself in a schooner. It can only end in disaster. When you wish to flee, put "Retreat!" at the top of the post.

So a combat example. You roll dice based on the number of cannons you have to attack with. So, lets use my character's ship, The Crimson Phoenix. The Phoenix is under attack by a brig. The Phoenix is a frigate. That means her CMB is 88. Note: Combat is measured by total number of cannons carried. She uses a broad side attack. That means she fires the 40 cannons on her side. so I would roll two 20 sided dice and do damage accordingly. if she fires chase cannons, then I roll a four sided dice.

So, you have done enough damage to cripple an enemy ship. What now? You have two choices. You can board her, meaning you will lose crew, but gain maximum loot. Or you can scuttle (sink) her, meaning you will loose no crew, but will only get half the loot she carried.

You start out with a set number of crew.

Schooners have 40 crew.

Brigs have 60 crew

Frigates have 80 crew

Galleons have 100 crew

You're crew is important because it dictates you're ability to board ships. To successfully board, you must have no less than an equal amount of crew to the ship you are boarding. So if you are a brig, you can't successfully board a galleon or frigate. If you want to fight or board a ship bigger than you, fret not. You can request the aid of your fellow pirates. So if two people attack the same ship, I will add their damage values and crew numbers together. So a brig and a frigate could put up a fight against a galleon if you work together. The spoils will be divided evenly.

As you sail and explore, you will encounter random events that I will set in place. These are anything from discovering islands, to encountering ships, and storms.

Islands will have loot or some supplies. You can choose to explore an island if you find one, or ignore it. Some islands will be large, and will require interaction, as they will contain story elements. The prompt will let you know what kind of island it is.

Ports resupply and repair your ship, replenish your crew, and have story events.

Storms can damage your ship and cause you to loose crew.

Ships can be attacked, ignored, or may attack your ship.

On land, and during deck fights with swords and pistols, we will use the combat system used in the Half Moon Roleplay. (See Half Moon Roleplay rules)

Also, remember to follow guild rules.