"Pirates of the Cliched Seas"-A Fistful of Seamen" AAR

[coggon]

(Many thanks to fellow LAF member Wingnut  for the patience and humor he displayed during a month long barrage of questions)

Finally got to do the large pirate game I've always wanted to do. Many thanks to Chris for providing the figures, ships, and terrain.  Also thanks to John for letting me use his table.

THE PLOT:

It's a tale often told in the grog shops of Tortuga and other places where sailors meet to have a pint and spin a tale.  The tale of La Luna Azul.  They say she was on a secret mission for the King of Spain when she disappeared 13 years ago.  And no one, at least anyone that's talking, knows exactly what it is she was laden with.  Two things are known for sure though. The first is that she disappeared on the second full moon of the month (the proverbial " blue moon")that she sailed, and the second is that many ships have claimed to have seen her since, but only at night, and any attempts to run her down have been fruitless.

But now rumors have spread far and wide throughout the Caribbean that she's run aground in the Archipelago of Doom

THE INDIVIDUAL BRIEFINGS:

Havana, today.  You are Don Luis Opibspo, commander in of His Most Catholic Majesty's Navy in this part of the world.  Rumors of the beaching of the Azul have reached your ears and you realize that if there is any truth to these rumors then they must be investigated.  For you know with dead mortal certainty what that ship was carrying, for you were to serve as First Mate on that voyage until a bout of the clap laid you low the night before she sailed (the damn doxy still claims she was "clean"-the nerve of that strumpet!).  But most of the fleet is out chasing smugglers and other ne'er do wells, so you will have to do this yourself.  And as you are sure that the English will catch wind of this news, you are just going to have to bite the bullet and issue some letters of marquee to whatever "privateer" scum happens to be in port right now in order to beef up your fleet. You quickly start spreading rumors that the Azul was stuffed with silver from Peru and gold from Mexico.  (It most certainly was not) Promising shares in a nonexistent treasure is much easier on the coffers of His Most Catholic Majesty than actually paying anyone! For you know that ship carried some sort of cursed soul that was being transported back to Spain.  It is said this person had the strength of 5 men and the Inquisition wanted to discover his secrets.

Objectives 1) retrieve the cursed soul 2) once that is done, eliminate, or better yet, let English eliminate the rest of your fleet.  Dead men tell no tales.  

Speaking of the rest of your squadron, you have hired a certain disgraced English captain named Barbossa, and a puta named Maria.


You are Tranquilla Lorenz, the most feared lady pirate in the Caribbean.  Born in a brothel in Havana, the eldest daughter of its star headliner.  You loved your mother dearly and you were there the day Don Luis accused your mother of giving him the pox.  It ruined her reputation in the finer circles and she was left no choice but to become a common streetwalker.  But you knew then and still know now that he got it from his wife, and she got it from her dashing Italian gardener.  You swore as a small child that you would have your revenge, but the Don received a succession of promotions while you were growing up And now the fat bastard barely leaves the shade of his hacienda, which is patrolled by his guards.  But now word on the street is that the Don is going to sea and is so desperate to augment his fleet that he will even issue a letter of marquee to a lady pirate.  

Your objectives 1) catch the Don in a vulnerable position and kill him, while uttering the words "my name is Tranqulla Lorenz.  You shamed my mother.  Prepare to die". 2) get as much of the treasure for you and your crew as you can.  The less shared with the other pirates the better.


You are Captain Barbossa, former (and future ) pirate.  You’ve washed ashore in Havana this time, and though you love the rum, cigars and senoritas, you are itching to get back to see and reunite with Jack Sparrow.  (he has the other half of the treasure map) And the opportunity has arisen-desperate for ships the local commandante’ has issued you a letter of marquee and you are now a privateer in the Spanish Navy.   And this navy is out for treasure-something about a ghost ship appearing after many years at sea.
Your mission 1) get as much treasure from this ship as possible.  2) If you encounter Jack Sparrow, reunite the halves of the map and maroon him on the island where the treasure is.  He’s the star of these movies and there’s no future in killing him as you realize your future residuals depend on him.


You are Gregory Aguire, 2nd son of the Viscount of Spenburn.   And if your brother remains “missing” in Florida for another 6 years, you will be able to resign your commission in the Royal Navy and retire to your estates.  And since you hid your brother’s body in the Everglades, it’s a pretty good bet that you will indeed assume the life you were meant to lead.

But in the meantime, the last fishing boat in tonight brought rumors that La Luna Azul has been sighted, and that she has run aground.  And as the Admiral is out with the majority of the fleet, you are left to your own devices.  You quickly forge the admiral’s name to two letters of marquee and issue them to the only two ships in port that look like they can float.  One goes to Captain Jack Sparrow, who happened to show up right after the fleet left.  He has some embarrassing info on you, so you can’t really hang him.  The other goes to that Chinese junk that mysteriously showed up a week or so ago.   You know it’s seaworthy as you saw many ships of that kind when you worked the opium trade for the Honorable East India Company several years ago.

You are Captain Jack Sparrow, and you’ve washed ashore in Port Royal, though you swear you set a course for Tortuga.   And to make things even better, the English haven’t even tried to hang you.  Instead they’ve issued you a letter of marquee and invited you to join their fleet in the search for La Luna Azul.   You’ve heard the rumors about its rich cargo, but you’ve heard darker rumors about why it still sails the seas, and only at night. And besides all that, you still have that half of a treasure map-Barbossa had the other half.  Perhaps you may encounter him, and if you do, be sure to retrieve that treasure, as well as any that Captain Aguire is seeking

You are Lai-Jong Long, late of the opium trade on the Yangtze River.  But Captain Aguire of the Honorable East India Company stole from you one too many times.  Ignoring a large in this plot, you have sailed your junk from China to the Caribbean seeking your revenge.  But what’s this?  Captain Aguire doesn’t recognize you, and he has issued you a letter of marquee and asked you to join his small fleet in search of treasure.  No matter, you will join him, loot this alleged treasure ship, and them kill Captain Aguire.   The reach of your revenge must be long and legendary if you are to rule the tongs back in China.


(GM Note-there is no treasure on this ship, only crew in the upper deck and werewolves below.  Finding the real treasure is dependent on Jack and Barbossa getting to together and finding the treasure buried on Cannibal Island)

The table, as seen from the north end:



And from the south, note the "Azul" aground in the middle of the table



A closeup of Cannibal Island

[coggon]

 Captain Aguire and Captain Jack race ahead



Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Barbossa exhorts his crew to row for Cannibal Island



And they begin searching what they soon find are abandoned buildings.   Once they heard the drums start up, they decided to get back on their ship



Captain Aguire, having taken a volley from the Luna decides to board her.





And as soon as he is off the ship, the Chinese open fire and stern rake the "Odius"



A couple of lucky hits from the "King Ping" and the Odius was holed below the waterline and due to sink in three turns.  The remaining crew did manage to get her aground -here she is later in the game, aground, half sunk and set afire by the Spanish.

The English attack goes in, with marines scaling the Azul



The English storm the Azul





The crew of the Azul, having realized that the howling and barking creatures in the hold are no longer their problem, happily abandon ship and leave it to the English



Aquire order the holds searched, and immediately wishes he hadn't-realizing his mistake (but only after the werewolves chopped up half his crew), he orders the Azul set afire

[coggon]

At the other end of the table (I sort of lost track of what was going on-many thanks to Chris for running that end of the table)  I think what happened was Jack and Barbossa exchanged ineffective volleys, Jack called for a parlay, Barbossa slipped Jack some rum, and took of with the map and all the boats, effectively marooning Jack on Cannibal Island

But Jack, being Jack, was soon recognized as a god made human by the cannibals, and he was off in pursuit of the treasure



While all of this was going on, Captain Obispo, with Tranquilla faithfully trailing him, has been making his way up the board, gleefully launching broadsides and anyone and anything that got in his way.   He would sink a small pirate skiff before it could board him, and also turn a couple of werewolves into a red mist with a well aimed volley. The "Apocalypse Now" mantra of "Never Get Out of The Boat" seemed to work well for Obispp

But everyone, save Aquire (more on him later) has seen Jack and Barbossa make for "Pirate Island" and they all follow

The first to make landfall was the crew of the Azul.  They were closely followed by the Spaniards



The stage was set for the final showdown.  More pictures and the thrilling conclusion a bit later when I have time

[Wingnut]

Coggon,
Hope you enjoyed the rules I sent your gaming group. Your feed back will certainly help in the final draft. Let me know what your players thought of the movement rules and the fast and bloody combat system. Tell Chris he has a nice fleet of ships and thank him for his efforts to bring this soiree together. Please let me know if you guy's can join us sometime in either Kansas City or Chicago.

Wingnut

PS I'm still chuckling about the concept of a boarding party attacking a canoe......
   

[Momotaro]

Looks like an absolute blast to play!  Great stuff!

[coggon]

PS I'm still chuckling about the concept of a boarding party attacking a canoe......
 

Hey, that's what playtests are for  -ironing out the kinks and such

[Patrice]

Ooooh... I'm not sure I've understood everything, but it looks great and fun!

[olicana]

At the other end of the table (I sort of lost track of what was going on-many thanks to Chris for running that end of the table)  I think what happened was Jack and Barbossa exchanged ineffective volleys, Jack called for a parlay, Barbossa slipped Jack some rum, and took of with the map and all the boats, effectively marooning Jack on Cannibal Island

But Jack, being Jack, was soon recognized as a god made human by the cannibals, and he was off in pursuit of the treasure


While all of this was going on, Captain Obispo, with Tranquilla faithfully trailing him, has been making his way up the board, gleefully launching broadsides and anyone and anything that got in his way.   He would sink a small pirate skiff before it could board him, and also turn a couple of werewolves into a red mist with a well aimed volley. The "Apocalypse Now" mantra of "Never Get Out of The Boat" seemed to work well for Obispp

But everyone, save Aquire (more on him later) has seen Jack and Barbossa make for "Pirate Island" and they all follow

The first to make landfall was the crew of the Azul.  They were closely followed by the Spaniards



The stage was set for the final showdown.  More pictures and the thrilling conclusion a bit later when I have time

Jeez, is that scenery or the skull of a gamer who beat you once?

[coggon]

Ooooh... I'm not sure I've understood everything, but it looks great and fun!

Patrice-you've discovered my secret-don't tell any one.  It was great fun-these seem to have been written with an emphasis of pure unadulterated fun.   

Olicana-it's the skull of the last person who didn't fun at one of our games 

[coggon]

OK then, on to the thrilling conclusion.......

As Jack headed toward Pirate Island, the rest of the players quickly came to the conclusion to that he knew where the treasure was, with the following exceptions:

Captain Aguire would eventually end up at the other end of the board, burning his boats and "pacifying" the natives.



 He would end the game on his own island with a bunch of angry natives on the next island.

And the Chinese player, apparently bored with the whole thing, decided to salvage the Odius before it burned.

Here we see the captain of the "King Ping" admiring his new stern chasers:



Back at Pirate Island, the crew of the Luna decided to start digging under the fountain, which was where the treasure happened to be:



They soon unearthed the treasure and the race was on, at least until they were reminded they didn't have a boat-fortunately for them the Chinese left them one.  Here they are late in the game preparing to receive a volley from the Spanish ship:



Meanwhile, having followed Obipsbo around the board for nearly three hours, Tranquilla finally saw her chance.  The Spanish captain had left his boat for a smaller ship.   Revenge was short and sweet in this case.  The player, who was new to our groups, looked at his sheet to make sure he had the right line, and  uttered "My Name Is Tranquilla Lopez, you shamed my mother.  Prepare to Die" and unleashed a volley which sank the Captains boat.  



The Captain was the only one who could swim, so he made for shore, but Tranqilla's crew took him out with a musket volley

Tranquilla Triumphant:



While this was going on, Jack had somehow managed to grab 3/5's of the treasure and get himself in the middle of EVERYONE. he seized what he thought was his best chance and challenged Tranquilla to a duel



5 rounds of combat produced no conclusive result, so it the GM's ruled that Jack and Tranquilla had fallen in love (or something) on the boat and sailed away together

Tranquilla was the big winner-she exacted her revenge, and got away with a half share of 3/5's of the treasure.  Biggest loser was probably Aguire-he lost his ship and his lifeboats, and had nothing to show for it but small strip of land and an angry bunch of cannibals for company

[Wingnut]

"5 rounds of combat produced no conclusive result, so it the GM's ruled that Jack and Tranquilla had fallen in love (or something) on the boat and sailed away together"

Did she change her 25mm-Facebook-status?






Wingnut

[Ignatieff]

 

BRILLIANT!

[pauld]

What a great story!

Looks a barrel load of fun

[Mason]

What a great story!

Looks a barrel load of fun

^^^
Wot he said!
 

I like the twists and turns and unexpected events and I must admit that I did chuckle a few times whilst reading your write-up.
 

[coggon]

Thank you all for your kind words.  "Fistful of Seamen" is a great set of rules and TONS of fun and perfect for large games.   The players picked them up with two or three rounds.  Can't thank Wingnut nearly enough for all the help and guidance he gave me in putting this altogether.  Also many thanks to Ignatieff, as he is the master of the twisted plot.