The Deep Blue Sea: Ruleset

[Baggins Wood]

I've been working for several years now on a ruleset for Seafaring (and Coastal/Insular) Adventures. The idea was not to make a set of "Skirmish on Deck/Dock" rules, but something that captured the feel of really having the sea and wind as integral, and saw ships as vital elements of the game not platforms to have the game on. I blame Rudi Geudens and the Antwerp Fusiliers. Their Jolly Roger (7 pages including fine illustrations) Rules have inspired what currently stands at 76 pages without illustrations. At 132k (OpenOffice) or c412k(MSWord) it's a bit big to cut and paste here for your perusal. If people don't find it too annoying I could post text sections now and again for appraisal and crit. I don't have any objection to people here using ideas ("I stand on the shoulders of giants" etc. 'though I might be slightly miffed if a glossy reprint became a best-seller under someone else's moniker). Indeed, I hope that I can use any feedback for much needed improvements. Here's the opening pages to give an idea of the show...

Philosophy (Sales Pitch)

High Seas Adventure on a Tabletop.

Yes indeed, we venture here to offer a brief set of rules of deportment by which wouldbe Captain Flynnts and their ilk might essay their debauched craft without getting their sea boots wet, and without the necessity for either a table the size of a small village, or ships that require movement with tweezers. Our era is post-gunpowder and pre-steam, (unless we get really carried away). We present nautical and tropical adventures that retain some of the flavour of the sea, (seaweed, fish, ex-pyrates (Defoe called them Pyrates rather than Pirates and he knew rather more of them than we do)  and so forth), and have room for a dash of phantasy. The aim is entertainment not competition and the game pitches towards the histrionic rather than the historic, so if some dog of a sea-lawyer starts to quibble about the rules, resolve the issue in favour of the most narratively satisfying outcome.

This game might be summed up as Adventure/Skirmish, and is eminently suitable for either a Quick Game or Campaign Play. At every step the player should have a choice of several strategies. Chance cards add spice and provide options that expand one's strategic horizons. The sailing rules reward canny and authentic sea-faring without getting too bogged down in the minutiae of ship handling. Naval engagements are never predictable slogging matches but are instead dynamic encounters, swiftly responsive to the ingenuity of cunning Captains. Boarding actions and other m?l?es keep the feel of individual swashbuckling cut and thrust in a maelstrom of activity, but without the need for excessive record keeping.  At all times the quick witted will have the edge, but there is enough residual chance to punish complacency, to allow for desperate million-to-one chances, and to stop formulaic routines stifling the game. The game mechanisms actively stimulate the imagination of the players and prevent games becoming jaded. These rules are scaled for models about an inch high, but if using another scale then just adjust dimensions as you see fit.

Apologies in advance to the genuinely Nautical for any historical or technical mangling.

Requirements 

Pyratical and other Exotic figures, Ships and/or templates, tokens, Playing Cards, 6-sided Dice, (poker dice if you have 'em), a prepared pack of chance cards (see appendix), measuring devices, magnetic compasses (optional), a bit of cotton wool would come in handy, a few square feet of playing space, (e.g. at least 4'x4'), scenery, Tropical Islands, Strongholds, Steamy Jungles and Seamy Waterfronts, Mysterious Ruins, the Deep Blue Sea, Cannons, Treasure, the odd bottle of Rum, (purely for medicinal purposes). Quill and parchment would be useful, and, of course, a Plank ?in case of Lawyers.

Cheers, B.W.

[Lowtardog]

Looks very interesting, you may be able to attach the file to the thread, not sure on file size limit

[Baggins Wood]

Thanks Lowtardog, I really think they might be worth a look... but don't I have to be a "supporting adventurer" to add attachments ?

[marko.oja]

Sounds excellent, can't wait to see this. I'm hoping one of the moderators would help you out with the file though.

Marko

[Baggins Wood]

Thanks Marko,  Here's some more - a glossary that I've been putting together that might be of more general use for the terms that aren't game specific. As with everything else I do this is a WIP (and is so indefinitely until prised out of my reluctant grasp).

Glossary has now been installed on the website.

Cheers, B.W.

[ChukTuttle]

Could you possibly link the file to an external/personal site?  I'd be very interested in reading the rules in their entirety.

[Baggins Wood]

Sorry ChukTuttle, I don't actually have an external site, (that I could put a text file on), set up at the minute, (just a photo account), but it is definitely on the list of things to learn how to do, I've been reliably informed that html is a not as dangerous as it looks. In the interim I'll staple the next section of these rules (or the bones of it) to this message. I'm sorry that the fancy formatting goes to pot in the transition. 

[on the website now]
 
Cheers, B.W.

[jet]

Mr. Baggins,

Looks very interesting.

Sorry ChukTuttle, I don't actually have an external site, (that I could put a text file on), set up at the minute, (just a photo account), but it is definitely on the list of things to learn how to do, I've been reliably informed that html is a not as dangerous as it looks.

You should seriously consider setting up a free blog at http://blogger.com

It takes about five minutes to set up a blog, and the WYSIWYG editor means that no technical know-how is required.  My site is a blog.  Put it this way... If you can use Photobucket or Flickr, you can use blogger.  Another bonus is that blogger will automatically make your site accessible to search engines, so if you name the blog "deepbluesea.blogspot.com" or something similar, it will be easy for people to find.

Just my $0.02,
good luck with the rules,
JET

[Baggins Wood]

Thanks very much Jet - I will don the pith helmet, sharpen the machete and head for the Bloggerzone...I may be some time... so in the interim I'll attach another bit to this pigeon, again, apologies as the formatting doesn't translate.

Cheers, B.W.

[Baggins Wood]

..thanks for the interest so far. I now have email and have opened the bw-deepbluesea.blogspot.com so future instalments will go there (nothing there yet).

It takes about five minutes to set up a blog, and the WYSIWYG editor means that no technical know-how is required.

spake Mr. Jet
 
I am consistently delighted at a) discovering how vast the ocean of things I don't know about is, and b) how optimistic the human species is.

Cheers, B.W.

[Baggins Wood]

Hi JET - I found your site (so that's what that Icon does). Very impressive. I have been somewhat tempted by sob&h, (but I'm so tight-fisted I write my own rules, and make my own figures out of clay), is there a Songs of Rum and Thunder yet ?

Cheers B.W.

[Baggins Wood]

These sections are all up on the website (click on the globe icon next to this post)   

    * Glossary
    * Philosophy and Requirements
    * Sequence of Play
    * Officers
    * Parley!
    * Mutinous Dogs
    * Morale Tests
    * Prisoners
    * Spending It (Wisely)
    * Loot
    * All At Sea
    * Chance Cards
    * M?l?e
    * Small Arms
    * Cannons
    * Shore Leave
    * Making Contact
    * Boats and Canoes
    * Oared Galleys

That's all the core rules there, so I shall start to transfer what's here to there and delete it from this rather bloated post. Expect changes as I get to grips with the site, and also, in reformatting, I will clarify some of the obfuscation.

Please could folk post comments here as I have not yet configured that part of the blog.

Cheers, B.W