Freebooter's Fate

[morkin]

Hi there

I'd like to draw your kind attention to Freebooter's Fate, the new game put out by Freebooter Miniatures. It's a fast-paced 30mm scale tabletop skirmish game set on and around the tropical island of Leonera. The Empire's hold is crumbling, threatened by pirates, goblins and mysterious assassins.

The game is based on a diceless combat system that leans more towards skill and psychology than luck, although having the latter still comes in handy. Play alternates between miniatures of opposing teams, thus not only leading to interesting tactical options but also minimizing downtime for the individual player, making the game more fun.

On top of that, it's got everything a swashbuckler's heart could desire: rampacious pirates, dastardly goblins, stalwart Imperials, shadowy assassins, women with big guns, rum, gold and booty. Give it a go, you'll love it.

There’s no website yet, but we’ll be launching the English version at Salute, so if you’re attending, keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Thanks for reading this far.

[powerfrog99]

Hi, I played a preliminary version at Crisis in Antwerp last year.

Nice nice rules I have to say, unusual game mechanics.

Looking forward to see the "real" issue.

cheers Thomas

[richarDISNEY]

"Diceless"? "skill and psychology than luck"?

How is this achieved? How is combat resolved?

Is this a land based game, or will there be ship to ship combat?

[morkin]

@RicharDMB: Sorry, I'm in too much of a rush at the moment to go into much detail, but if you come to the Freebooter stand at Salute, I'll be happy to explain the mechanics at length. We may even have a demo table. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to wait till we're back from London. Sorry.

[Black Cat Bases]

Hi,

(Werner is that you?) It's Jo from Black Cat. It sounds great and I believe that your demo table is next to ours and directly infront of our stall?? Was very please when I spotted that earlier!

we will see you then, we are setting up on Friday, if you need any help let us know!

Jo & Ben Black Cat Bases.

[morkin]

Hiya

Sorry to have to disappoint you, but I'm not Werner. I'm the main translator and one of the co-authors of the rules (mainly fluff). I speak to Werner regularly, though. Thanks for the kind offer of help, I'll pass your message on. I'll be there on Friday as well and may well be running the odd demo game at Salute.

Hope I haven't spoiled your pleasure now.  I'm told I can be quite agreeable as well on occasion. Looking forward to meeting you on Friday. 

[elysium64]

Any more news on the starter sets, their factions, contents and price?
I look forward to seeing the game on Saturday.

[morkin]

Any more news on the starter sets, their factions, contents and price?
I look forward to seeing the game on Saturday.

My latest information is that there will be a starter set for each of the four main factions, i.e. Pirates, Imperial Armada, Goblin Pirates and Brotherhood. They will feature a basic crew, the rules and the game cards at a special Salute discount price. There will also be a booster deal for each of the four factions on top of that so you can bulk out your starting force.

Unfortunately, I have no details with regard to price or detailed content but as far as I'm aware, you'll get a range of options to choose from where possible, so you're not forced to buy one specific crew as part of the deal. Full details will be available at the stand.

[richarDISNEY]

Unfortunately, I am no where neat Salute, so I guess I have to wait til you get back! 

But I will say, I am excited on hearing about this game...

[Chilledenuff]

Picked up a copy of the rules and the deck of cards required at Salute yesterday (unfortunately I'd spent too much at this point to buy a starter set  )
Having read the book and watched some demo game yesterday i have to say this is a really nice games system, fluid and easy to pick up.  Just need the toys now.  If I'm lucky they'll put starter sets on their online shop.

[Thargor]

Played a demo on Saturday, bought a XXL starter set straight away.  Very easy to pick up rules, beautiful minis.  Great demo too, thanks if it was you 

[morkin]

Played a demo on Saturday, bought a XXL starter set straight away.  Very easy to pick up rules, beautiful minis.  Great demo too, thanks if it was you 

No worries. I was the unshaven one in the black pirate shirt, with no glasses. Thanks for playing (and buying  ). I had an absolute blast of a time, even if my voice went AWOL for a time. Thanks to everyone who came to our stand, whether you played a demo game, bought some stuff or just dropped by for a wee chat or some lead ogling.

[richarDISNEY]

So any more info?  Easy to pick up, but what are the rules like???
When will it go on sale to the general public?

What are the pros/cons of the game?
I am dying to find out!!!

[richarDISNEY]

I just read that there were started packages for Salute... On several different websites...

Since I was on the other side of the planet, will there be a "kick off" package for those of us who were not able/near Salute?  Can there be? Please?

Some of the quick reviews have me very curious about this game...

[morkin]

Okay, here's a short overview of the Freebooter's Fate game mechanics to answer RicharDMB's earlier question:

The Freebooter's Fate game mechanics are card-based. There is a stack of so-called fate cards with numerical values and symbols to work out damage, initiative and other stuff. The interesting thing is that the pile is worked through from the top and reshuffled once exhausted. So if your memory is better than mine and you can memorise which cards have been played already, you gain a better insight into the relative probability of the remaining ones as the game progresses.

The real skill comes into play during hit determination, however. Usually, both attacker and defender get to choose a number of hit location cards from two identical sets. The number of cards they each get to choose depends on factors such as cover, special actions, special character traits and similar. Any card chosen by the attacker and not the defender represents a potential hit to that location. Multiple hits or particularly heavy damage can result in critical hits to certain locations with severe adverse effects for the defender (reduced movement, reduced attacks etc.). This is where the skill bit comes in as you try to outguess your opponent and anticipate what cards he or she is going to choose or rather try to bluff your opponent into thinking you are going to defend certain locations. "Reading" your opponent is the skill you need here. My own personal experience from countless testgames and demo rounds is that most people have a pattern or certain favourites. Of course, you can make this bit entirely random by just drawing cards at random rather than choosing them deliberately, but you would seriously miss out on a lot of fun.

To answer your other pre-Salute question, the game is currently entirely land-based. However, we are by no means finished with developing the game and will keep on refining and expanding it. Any suggestions from active players are always welcome, by the way.

We are only slowly emerging from our post-Salute frazzle and so it'll take me a bit longer to get answers to your other questions, but I'll try my best.