Chronofus' Wargame Scans!
Piracy!
Last update 5th January 2001
Piracy! is a set of rules I have written to play skirmishes, raids, battles, or naval conflicts in a 'fanciful' Pirate era roughly equating to the early 1700's. I hope there is also enough information for people to develop their own campaigns to develop their ship & crew over time. I originally wrote this game because of some female pirates I bought in 25mm, and so most of my examples are of female characters. I make no distinction in these rules between the abilities of male or female pirates, they are just as rascally either way. I make no claims of strict historical accuracy in any way.
The Pirates - the basis of piracy, the legalities
The Nations of the Caribbean, their strengths, weaknesses, attitudes, armies, navies & colonies
Slaves & Natives - run down on where slaves came from, what they did, what they didn't, and where they went to. A run down on the local inhabitants, what they'll do with you if they meet you
The Ships - types of ships available, their capacities, guns, crews, strengths, weaknesses, what you'll find, what you won't
The Crews - the types of crewmen you can find, who can do what, who can't do what, how many you'll need, what you can expect from them, what they expect from you
Weapons - guns, swords, daggers, grenades, cannons, deck guns, spears, pike, axes
Magic - the power of voodoo men and sea witches. Curses & jinxes.
Currency & Treasure - the nature of money, who wants it, who's got it, where it comes from, what types are there and it's impacts on inflation, greed and jealousy
The Law - the general rules of conduct for men at sea to abide by, who set them, who enforces them, and the judgements expected
Clothing - who wears what and why
Trade, Cargos and Supplies what towns make, want, will pay, will trade for, will steal, will ignore, how much they'll take
Towns, Villages & Hideouts - what's in them, what makes them grow or shrink,
Islands and Land Masses - generic descriptions, plus flora & fauna
Winds & Storms - the effects of winds & storms on your boat, and how to determine what's in store for you
The Law of the Sea - the general rules of conduct for men at sea to abide by
Carousing, Gambling & Drinking
Generating Your Crew & Ships - what type of ship do you get, and how to pick and choose your crew
Example 1 Black Jade's Buccaneers & The 'Virtue'
Example 2 Wendy's Wastrels & The 'Peach'
Example 3 The fort of Cartagena
Example 4 Tom Mallories merchanman 'Bridesmaid'
Orders - the turn sequence, who shoots when, and when the looting gets done
Ship to Ship and Ship to Shore combat
Cannon vs men combat the effects of cannon shot on men either at seaor on land
Musket vs men combat - shooting singly or in volley, with either musket or pistol
Hand to hand combat - fighting up close and personal with a variety of weapons
Morale - making sure your crew continue to do either what you want them to do, or what they want to do
Command & Control - making sure your crew know what you want, or what your crew will do if they don't know
Ships & Settlements on Fire - the impacts of fire on board ships and in buildings, the spread and recovery from
Ghost Ships - the ship of the dead
Voodoo Ships - ships sailed by a voodoo priest and his zombies
Mystical Animals of the Sea - whales, squid, mermaids, sirens, albatross,
Campaign Material
The progression of ship & crew - collecting gold, fame & power, ability increases
Crew replacement & impressement, medicine, surgery and wound recovery
Ship repairing - hows & whens of ship repair plus results of
Colonial trade - the impacts of inter colony & inter continental trade on the type of vessels encountered, their cargo, and the emergence of war vessels, marines & forts
War - the impacts of your actions on either the flourishing or suppression of piracy or war
Reputation - what is said about you due to your deeds
The changing face of trade - becoming a part time merchant, effects of cargos on ship performance
Navigation - how to sail from place to place, the value of maps, mapping, and getting lost. How to determine the weather for the next sailing period.
Food, water & morale at sea - covers the rate of food & water consumption, the changing face of morale due to conditions, the ability to subsist at sea
Back to the Piracy page
If you want me, grab me here: