A narrative focused TTRPG for all of your swashbuckling needs.
My goal with this solo project was to create a tabletop system where dice rolls and mechanics are completely dependent on the ways that players roleplay their actions. This system is viewed through the lens of a pirate setting that encourages swashbuckling and skullduggery.
This game initially started as a summer worldbuilding project. I had challenged myself to try and make the perfect setting for a pirate themed Dungeons and Dragons game. Every single character, location, and event was shaped with one question in mind: "does this make you want to be a pirate?" I had a great time doing this, but by the time the summer was over, I realized that while this world was fine tuned for piracy, D&D didn't really have the systems needed to take advantage of the possibilities I had created.
So, why not make my own custom pirate system instead?
I spent a semester developing this simple but incredibly versatile system, using bi-weekly playtests to iterate and improve on my mechanics in ways that encouraged creativity and roleplay.
The result is a 32 page player manual that includes the following features:
- Character Creation Manual & Character Sheet
- 8 Playable Species
- Gameplay Manual
- 4 diverse combat systems for Duels, Skirmishes, Creature Combat & Monster Combat
- Ship Creation Manual & Ship Sheet
- Naval Combat Manual
- Setting Introduction
- Superstitions & Rituals
Here's some samples of how the Character Sheet evolved over the course of development, changing as I adjusted player abilities and combat mechanics in response to testing results.
Version 1
Original Stats were created, with Audacity being the primary focus at the time.
Character Traits were limited to the character's Talent and Flairs, which were not even labelled on the sheet.
Combat System had not been developed, so there were no features on the sheet to indicate any sort of armor or health.
The biggest problem I encountered with this system was how to handle naval battles. Ships shooting each other with cannons in the middle of a hurricane sounds cool in theory, but I ended up running into a lot of issues in practice, the major one being NUMBERS.
This system is meant to be rules light and roleplay heavy, but I found myself needing to make increasingly complex systems and charts in order to simulate naval combat. This is not something that aligns well with the spontaneous playstyle of the rest of the game.
I re-worked the naval combat four separate times before I had a realization. The number crunching always appeared when I tried giving more control of the ship to the player.
I tested what combat felt like when I took over control of the ship and just let the players handle the cannons and melee combat, and it went really well. However, the players didn't like that they had no say over where/how the ship moved even though their characters were the ones technically steering it.
So how do I take away control of the players own ship without
taking away their agency? Well, the solution turned out to be
really simple.
Make the ships ALIVE!!!
In the current version of the game, the ships are now sentient,
based off the myth of the Klabautermann. Each vessel has a
consciousness that acts as an NPC and a member of the crew.
During combat, the GM controls the movement of the ship as if
it were an NPC, and the characters can dramatically shout
requests to it across the deck as battle rages.
This project was a great lesson in creating narrative and gameplay that complimented and enhanced each other. The systems needed to make roleplay feel good, and the roleplay & narrative needed to make the mechanics fun and exciting. It was a careful balance that I am till tweaking now as I work on the next update.
(P.S. I drew all the art too!)