Uncharted Isles: a Saltbox Generation Toolkit

So here is a Saltbox Generator, usable with this starting scenario for a Pirate Campaign.  Basically, this generator is a toolkit for helping a GM quickly and randomly produce a Pirate Sandbox, in the spirit of WFRP's Border Princes.

This toolkit will produce a cluster of island along a trade-route, populated with people, monsters, and ancient ruins.  I'll post a sample Saltbox generated with this tookit in the near future.

1. The Grid

Start with a blank 39x39 grid/hexmap.  You can make the scale of this grid whatever you want.  I prefer a grid rather than hexes since it makes navigating with the 8 basic compass directions a little easier.  Hexmaps look nicer, but anyway I don't show the players the game map(though I'll help them map as they explore).

I like 36 mile grid-squares for this.  This puts the islands close enough together to allow travel-by-sail between them, without making the overall map too small.  When I actually run the game, I'll use a 12 mile grid.  This should make the map feel pretty big to the players.

In general I'll say that 120ft movement on a dirt road allows for 24miles travel in an 8 hour day.  Sea Travel will be much faster, since the ship can potentially move faster and sail round the clock.

2. Islands

Generate Islands and draw them on the grid.  Number them so you can make a key describing their details.

2a. Number/Size

1+1d4 Large Islands (4d6 squares)
1+1d4 medium Islands (2d4 squares)
3+3d6 small (1d2 squares)
1+1d4 tiny (1d4 tiny islands in a square)

2b. Location(per island)

If you land on an existing island, skip this one
x: 2d20-1
y: 2d20-1

2c. Special Features(per island)

Size<=10: %chance of having a feature=size*10
Size>10: roll for two features, with each having %chance of size*5
Size>20: roll for three features, with each having % chance of size*10/3

1-2 Freshwater Lake or river
3-4 Protected bay
5 Hidden Reefs 1 square away, 1d6 squares total
6 Surrounded by Hidden Reefs
7 Extensive Caves
8 Volcano
9 Whirlpool(1d2-1 squares away)
10 Roll twice for two features

2d. Primary Vegitation

1 Rocky
2 Sand
3 Salt-Swamp
4 Tall Grasses
5 Jungle

3. Ancient Ruins

Place 1d6 ruins on the islands.  Use the modules of your choice or roll on the tables below for some ideas.  Mark ruins on the map with a simple X and put the details in the key.

3a Ruin Form(per ruin)

1. Fortress
2. Temple
3. Settlement
4. Tomb
5. Industrial/Scientific complex
6. Other

3b Who built it?(per ruin)

1. Technologically Advanced ancient race
2. Pagan ancient race
3. Wizard
4. Humanoid Race(Elves, Dwarves...)
5. Monstrous race(Goblinoids, Deep Ones...)
6. Giant Race(Giants, Cyclopses...)
7. Space Aliens
8. Inhuman things from another dimension

3c Main thing left(per ruin)

1 Weapon
2 Plague/Curse
3 Monster(s)
4 Technology
5 Treasure
6 Ancient Race Survivor

4. Persons of Note

Describe 3-10 persons of note, generally leaders of Human Settlements

4a. Background(per person)

 1-5 Native Islander
6-7 Colonial
8 Pirate
9 Naval Officer
10 Escaped slave

4b. Give each a Name/Title

4c. Relations

Record which are allies, which are enemies, which are rivals, which don't know each other exist, etc.

5. Human Settlements

Place settlements wherever you see fit.  Generally the more habitable islands should get priority.  Mark them with circles, or dots of varying size and put the details in the key.

5a. Size/Number:

1d2 Towns(roll 3 features)
2d3 Villages(roll 2 features)
2d4 Homesteads(roll 1 feature)
1d4 Individuals(50% chance roll 1 feature)

5b. Who lives there(per settlement):

1-5 Native Islanders
6-7 Colonials
8 Pirates
9 Naval Outpost
10 Escaped slaves

5c. Features(Settlement size determines number of features)

1-2 None
3 Fortified(Stockade, Wall, etc.)
4-5 Dark Secret subtable
6-10 Economic Resource subtable

5c-1. Dark Secret(for large settlements, may only be a small cell)

1 Cultists
2 Cannibals
3 Pact with Monsters

5c-2. Economic Resource

1 Mine/Quarry(pick type)
2 Market
3 Gunsmith
4 Weaponsmith
5 Armoror
6 Bowyer
7 Brewer
8 Carpenter
9 Goldsmith
10 Shipwright

5d. Roads

If multiple settlements co-exist on an island and are in contact, feel free and add dirt roads between them

6. Monster Lairs

Place 2d4 monster lairs on the map.  Mark them with the letter L and put the details in the key.

Monster-Type(per-lair)

1 undead
2 degenerate humans
3 huge monster
4 smaller monster
5 sea monsters(lair is underwater on an ocean square)
6 space aliens

7. Trade Route

Draw the trade route between Old and New Worlds as a path through the sea across the map.  This is where the party is most likely to encounter large ships, etc.

• You can have it stop at a settlement or two along the way
• The route should generally avoid reefs and other hazards
• Draw it up-to several squares thick, since courses tend to vary.

8. Compass, Key

Add a compass direction to your map(Up=North).  You may also want to add a key with the symbols for settlements, lairs, ruins, etc.

9. Random Encounter Tables

Now make random tables for various locations on the map.  Here are some general ones you may want to use:

Ocean, On Trade Route

1 From nearby Monster Lair
2 From nearby settlement
3 Wandering Seamonsters
4-10 Wandering Ships(see subtables)

Ocean, Off Trade Route

1-4 From nearby Monster Lair
5-8 From nearby settlement
9 Wandering Seamonsters
10 Wandering Ships(see subtables)

General Island

1 Dangerous Animal
2 Wandering Cannibals
3 Wandering Pirates/Bandits
4-10 From a settlement/lair or near the island

Wandering Ship Subtables:

Wandering Ships number

1-5 one ship
6-7 two ships, same type
8 two ships, different types
9 three ships, same type
10 three ships, different types

Wandering Ships type

1 Merchant
2 Pirate
3 Naval Patrol

Wandering Ship size

1 Cog
2 Caravel
3 Carrack

Pirate Starting Scenario

The Hook

How pleasant the long journey to the New World started out.  The calls of the gulls, the rocking of the ship. The fresh salt air itself seemed full with new potentialities.

And how awkward it was when the Squire who owned the boat found out you were fugitives from the law.  The quick skirmish ended in an extended draw, with you barricaded in the ship's cabin.  After a long, tense night, an agreement was reached.

And so you find yourselves at dawn rowing the ship's longboat toward a nearby island.  As you near, a quaint seaside village comes into sight, the locals just starting to set-out in their fishing skiffs.  It seems tranquil enough, but you suspect that the Squire might send someone looking for you before too long, so you'd better not be too complacent.

The party has been left with just a row-boat and their personal belongings in a cluster of tropical islands on the trade route between the Old and the New Worlds.  They left the Old World as fugitives, hoping to make a new start.  Now, it seems their reputation has followed them, and even if they manage to gain passage to the New World, they are in danger of being recognized by one of the many witnesses to the recent shoot-out aboard the ship.

Pirate Crawl Classics Occupations

So I've been thinking more about seafaring skills and I think I have a better solution.  I recently got to browse through a copy of Dungeon Crawl Classics and I liked the skill system, so I'm using something similar for the Pirate game:

• Characters have an occupation from before choosing a life of adventuring
• Tasks requiring a skill check have a DC between 0 and 20 depending on difficulty
• Character with relevant Occupation roll 1d20
• Characters without relevant Occupation roll 1d10
• Roll is modified by ability score modifier where relevant
• Blacksmith making a battle axe uses STR modifier
• Blacksmith making a tiny key uses DEX modifier
• Simple career tasks may not require a skill check for a trained character.  If an untrained individual attempts these, the DM can decide on a case-by-case basis if a check is required.  For example:
• taking the helm of a ship for simple manoeuvres in fair weather- no check
• managing the rigging for simple manoeuvres in fair weather- no check
• firing a canon at a target- modify attack roll by DEX bonus if DEX was half of current value
• If a character spends a long time doing a particular career action they may gain an additional career.  The DM and players may negotiate this, but in general, it should be quite rare.  For example:
• If the ship's carpenter takes the helm on a regular basis for a year of game-time, he may add the Helmsman career
• If the ship's carpenter is constantly having to treat other wounded characters in the absence of a Doctor, over the course of years, he still is probably not going to add a Doctor career without years of study.  But maybe the DM will invent a Medic career which is more limited.
• If you want an Occupation that doesn't appear here, invent it.

Occupations

Here are some occupations and some of the things they can do:

• Seafaring Occupations- all know the basics and can serve as riggers, powder monkeys, lookouts, helmsmen in favourable conditions
• Sailor- tie knots, fix sails, traverse rigging even in foul weather
• as lookout, skill check to see underwater reefs 
• Helmsman- pilot a large ship or command an untrained person at helm
• manoeuvre ship effectively in combat
• skill check to traverse narrow passages through straits, reefs
• Navigator- read/draw maps, get boat from point A to point B
• skill check to go to particular hex(failure means ending-up travelling to an adjacent hex)
• Ship Doctor- know how to set broken bones, install peglegs, care for wounded crew
• skill check to double patient's healing rate
• Ship Carpenter- fix boat parts
• fix damage from canons, storms
• Ship Gunner- fire a heavy gun and oversee it's maintainence
• skill check to hit particular target
• Ship Cook- create a meal out of nearly anything
• Fisherman- catch fish
• Marine- soldier stationed on ship
• no penalty fighting on ship during high seas
  
• Other Occupations(what are you, a landlubber?!)
• Noble- member of noble class
• begin with more starting funds
• Smith- make simple things from metal
• Gunsmith- make/fix guns
• Leatherwork- make complex things from leather
• Performer- entertain people
• Professional Gambler- gamble
• Pearl Diver- swim, hold breath

A Word on Character Class

This skill system gives you a good deal of flexibility as far as what character classes you want to allow.  

• For Pirates in the line of Treasure Island you may only want to allow Fighting Man
• in this case you may want to add a Burglar Occupation who makes skill checks when thief skills are needed
• For more fantastical Pirate adventures like Adventures of Sindbad, you can just use standard DnD classes with the above occupations

Naval Combat Sample

So let's give this Naval Combat a whirl with Naval Hardware, small arms, and death and dismemberment.  The encounter:

The party(a Captain, a Ship's Doctor, a First Mate, and a Duelist), in their Cog, go looking for a ship to overwhelm.  They're lightly burdened, but have a crew of 20 pirates, a small cannon, a Heavy Musket mounted on deck, and a minimal cargo so their ship will be unencumbered and move fast.  They also have a small sailing skiff.

A couple days in they encounter a heavily-laden Caravel moving slowly, with a crew of 12, a standard cannon on each side, as well as a Swivel-Gun on the poop deck.

So here's how the party chose to split-up command between the 4 PCs, and the Merchant's command groups(used for initiative):

Pirate Cog

• Pirate Captain/Navigator(2nd level) flintlock pistolsx2, sabre
• Pirate Helmsman sabre
• Pirate Sailor sabre
• Pirate Carpenter sabre
• Pirate Canon Gunner sabre
• Pirate Mate/Swordsman with 2 flintlock pistols
• 4 Native spearmen with short bows
• Pirate Doctor 2 flintlock pistols, Musket, rapier
• Pirate Heavy Musket Gunner sabre
• 2 Pirate Musketeers sabre

Pirate Skiff

• Pirate Duelist 2 Flintlock Dragons
• 5 Crossbowmen, sabre

Merchant Caravel

• Merchant Captain(2nd level) 2 pistols
• Merchant Helmsman
• 2 Merchant Sailors
• Merchant Carpenter
• 5 Merchant Gunners
• Merchant Mate(2nd level) Musket, sabre
• Merchant Musketeer, sabre

Initiative

We'll have each of the commanders roll initiative.  The order is:

1. Merchant Captain
2. Merchant Mate
3. Pirate Captain
4. Pirate Mate
5. Pirate Duelist
6. Pirate Doctor

Ship Turn 1:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

Pirates

• Pirate Helmsman, Pirate Sailor-Rigger, Pirate Canon Gunner-at their stations
• Pirate Carpenter, Captain, Mate-At Ready
• Duelist- Helm of Skiff

Merchants

• Merchant Carpenter, Captain- At Ready
• helmsman, 2 sailors, 5 gunners- at their various stations

Phase 2: Individual Combat, Phase 3: Heavy Guns

None of this yet, not in range.

Phase 4: Ship Control

• Pirate Cog: Captain orders to engage the Caravel
• Pirate Skiff: Mate engages Caravel
• Caravel's Captain: Chooses to Evade the Cog, try to deal with the skiff first

So So the Skiff and Caravel will be ENGAGED next turn(i.e. in heavy gun range)

Ship Turn 2:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

same as last

Phase 2: Individual Combat

None of this yet, not in range. 

Phase 3 Heavy Guns

• The Merchant Swivel Gun and one of the canons fire at the small skiff(needs 17-1(gunner skill)) aiming for it's hull.  The other canon cannot fire at the skiff since guns on opposite sides of the craft cannot both fire at the same ship.
• both miss

Phase 4: Ship Control

• Pirate Cog: Captain ENGAGES caravel
• Pirate Skiff: pulls ALONGSIDE caravel
• Caravel's Captain: not wanting the skiff with it's crossbowmen to get within range, he EVADES the Skiff

So all three ships will be ENGAGED next turn.

Ship Turn 3:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

same as last

Phase 2: Individual Combat

None of this yet, not in range. 

Phase 3 Heavy Guns

• Roll initiative(1d6+Helmsman skill).  Merchant wins.
• The Merchant Swivel Gun and one of it's canons fire at the small skiff(needs 17-1(gunner skill)).  Both aim for the hull hoping to sink it.  The other canon fires at the Pirate Cog's hull(needs 10-1)
• swivel-gun misses
• Canon hits skiff for 4 Hull damage(it will begin shipping water next Turn).
• Crossbowman 3 is chosen randomly, but makes his save so does not take damage
• Canon hits Cog for 4 Hull damage
• The Pirate Cog fires on the Caravel's deck(needs 7-1=6)
• Hits. 12 crew, 2 masts, helm, 3 Heavy Guns, 3 powder barrels. 21: swivel gun powder barrel.  Ship is on fire.  Gunner: Hit an artery: -1HP and bleeding

Phase 4: Ship Control

• Pirate Cog: Captain orders to pull ALONGSIDE  Caravel
• Pirate Skiff: Mate attempts to pull ALONGSIDE Caravel
• Caravel's Captain: not wanting the Cog to get any closer, EVADES the Cog

So all three ships will be ENGAGED next turn, with the Skiff and Caravel ALONGSIDE one another(small arms range).

Ship Turn 4:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

Pirates

• Pirate Helmsman, Pirate Sailor-Rigger, Pirate Canon Gunner-at their stations
• Pirate Carpenter- Repairing hull damage
• Pirate Doctor and 3 musketeers- bailing water from Cog
• Captain, Mate-At Ready
• Duelist- abandons helm to participate in combat
• note the skiff crew is not bailing, so their ship will sink at the end of this turn!

Merchants

• Merchant Carpenter- putting out powder fire
• Captain- At Ready
• Rest except for Mate's group- at their stations

Phase 2: Individual Combat

Round 1

• Merchant Mate & Musketeer fire at Duelist and Crossbowman 5(need 11+1-1=11 and 11+1=12 to hit)
• Crossbowman 5 hit, Killed Horribly
• Duelist climbs aboard Caravel(needs to roll DEX=11 or lower to succeed)
• Climbs onto deck of Caravel
• Crossbowmen 1-4 fire at Mate, Musketeer(need 11)
• all miss

Round 2

• Merchant Mate & Musketeer draw swords and attack Duelist(need 10, 11 to hit)
• Musketeer hits for 8 damage, Dies Horribly
• Crossbowmen 1-4 reload

Round 3

• Merchant Mate & Musketeer reloading
• Crossbowmen 1-4 fire at Mate, Musketeer(need 11)
• both die horribly

Round 4

• Crossbowmen 1-4 reload

Round 5

• Crossbowmen 1-4 fire at Merchant helmsmen and 3 of remaining 4 gun crew
• Helmsman hit, Killed instantly(Captain takes his place at helm)
• Canon 1 Gunner hit, 0HP and falls unconscious for 5 rounds
• Canon 2 Gunner hit 0HP and falls unconcious bleeding.

Round 6

• Their gunners unconscious, Powder monkeys 1, 2 abandon their posts to bandage the two bleeding gunners
• Seeing their skiff is about to sink, Crossbowmen 1-4 jump aboard the caravel
• 3 of them make it aboard
• 1 of them falls overboard!

Phase 3 Heavy Guns

• The Merchant Caravel's guns are unmanned
• The Pirate Cog fires on the Caravel's deck(needs 7-1=6)
• Hits. 6 crew, 2 masts, helm, 3 Heavy Guns, 2 powder barrels. 5: Powder Monkey 1 is killed horribly!

Phase 4: Ship Control

• Pirate Cog: Captain orders to pick-up Crossbowman 4 who is OVERBOARD
• Pirate Skiff: takes on 4 water units from hull damage.  Sinks
• Caravel's Captain: not wanting the Cog to get any closer, EVADES the Cog

So ships are not engaged this turn

Also, hull damage to Pirate Cog has been repaired.

Ship Turn 5:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

Pirates

• Pirate Helmsman, Pirate Sailor-Rigger, Pirate Canon Gunner-at their stations
• Pirate Carpenter, Captain, Mate- AT READY

Merchants

• Merchant captain orders all hands to repel boarders, so the ship is UNMANNED

Phase 2: Individual Combat

Round 1

• Merchant Captain approaches Crossbowman 1 and fires pistol(needs 11+1-1=11)
• grazes him(2HP)
• Merchant Carpenter, 2 sailors, Powder Monkey attack the 3 Crossbowmen with their sabres
• Crossbowman 2 killed horribly
• Crossbowman 3 is slashed but it's just a flesh wound(2HP)
• Crossbowmen 1,3 attack Carpenter, Powder Monkey with their sabres
• Carpenter slashed in stomach, falls to floor bleeding, unconscious
• Crossbowman 4 is fished out of the water, his weapons left on the bottom of the sea

Round 2

• Merchant Captain, 2 sailors, Powder Monkey attack the 2 Crossbowmen with their sabres
• Crossbowman 3 takes two more fleshwounds(1 and 2 HP)
• Crossbowmen 1,3 attack 2 sailors
• both take fleshwounds(1HP each)

Round 3

• Merchant Captain, 2 sailors, Powder Monkey attack the 2 Crossbowmen with their sabres
• Crossbowman 3 takes a fleshwound(1HP)
• Crossbowmen 1,3 attack 2 sailors
• sailor 1 takes a fleshwound(1HP)

Round 4

• Merchant Captain, 2 sailors, Powder Monkey attack the 2 Crossbowmen with their sabres
• Crossbowman 1 killed instantly
• Crossbowman 3 takes a fleshwound(2HP)
• Crossbowmen 3 surrenders and is bound and taken below

Round 5, 6

canon 1 gunner awakens

Phase 3 Heavy Guns

• ships not engaged

Phase 4: Ship Control

• Pirate Cog: Captain orders to engage skiff
• Caravel is UNMANNED

So the Cog and Caravel will be ENGAGED

Ship Turn 6:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

Pirates

• Pirates
  
  • Pirate Helmsman, Pirate Sailor-Rigger, Pirate Canon Gunner-at their stations
  • Pirate Carpenter, Captain, Mate- AT READY

Merchants

• Captain- At helm
• 2 sailors at stations
• Powder Monkey, Canon 1 gunner- man a canon

Phase 2: Individual Combat

None of this yet, not in range. 

Phase 3 Heavy Guns

• Pirates win initiative
• The Pirate Cog fires on the Caravel's deck(needs 7-1=6)
• Hits. 5 crew, 2 masts, helm, 3 Heavy Guns, 2 powder barrels. 6-mast goes down.  Caravel now only has 5/10 sail points
• The Powder monkey fires the Swivel Gun at the Cog's hull
• hits, 2 hull damage

Phase 4: Ship Control

• Pirate Cog: Captain pulls ALONGSIDE caravel
• Caravel EVADES cog

So both ships will be ENGAGED next turn.

Ship Turn 7:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

same as last except Carpenter and 2 musketeers set about fixing hull/bailing

Phase 2: Individual Combat

None of this yet, not in range. 

Phase 3 Heavy Guns

• Pirates win initiative
• The Pirate Cog fires on the Caravel's deck(needs 7-1=6)
• Hits. 4 crew, 1 mast, helm, 3 Heavy Guns, 2 powder barrels. 5-mast goes down.  Caravel is at 0 sail points and is DISABLED!
• Merchant cannot fire canon since disabled ships don't get to shoot their fixed guns at moving ships

Phase 4: Ship Control

• Pirate Cog: Captain pulls ALONGSIDE caravel
• Caravel is DISABLED

So both ships will be ALONGSIDE next turn.

Ship Turn 8:

Phase 1: Crew Assignment

Pirates

• Pirate Helmsman, Pirate Sailor-Rigger, Pirate Canon Gunner-at their stations
• Pirate Carpenter, Captain- AT READY

Merchants

• Captain, 2 sailors, powder monkey abandon stations since ship is disabled
• Canon Gunner- man's the swivel gun

Phase 2: Individual Combat

Round 1

• Merchant Captain fires pistol at Pirate Captain(needs 11+1-1)
• flesh wound(5hp)
• Pirate Mate fires pistol at Merchant captain
• Killed instantly
• 4 Native spearmen with short bows fire at 2 sailors
• miss
• Pirate Doctor,Heavy Musketeer, 2 Pirate Musketeers fire at powder monkey, 2 sailors
• miss
• Crossbowman throws a boarding hook to disabled Caravel

Round 2

• Sailor 1 fetches fallen pistol from captain
• Pirate Mate fires pistol at sailor 1
• DEAD
• 4 Native spearmen with short bows fire at sailor, powder monkey
• sailor killed instantly.
• powder monkey's left arm lamed.  Falls unconscious and bleeding
• Pirate Doctor,Heavy Musketeer, 2 Pirate Musketeers wait
• Crossbowman makes fast the boarding hook.  Ships are now MOORED
• Pirate Doctor & musketeers board the Caravel and attack Canon Gunner with sabres
• killed instantly

Conclusion

The battle is over.  The Pirates lost a PC, the duelist, and 3 NPC crossbowmen.

The merchant ship was taken with 7 dead crew and 5 wounded and unconscious

I was pretty happy with how the naval combat system worked in practice.  Despite a combined roster of 32 crew-members, the rules meant that only small sub-groups could attack on any given round, which kept it manageable.

Also, the combat was fun and strategic, with ships trying to sink each other, board each other, evade each other, with ranged gun-battles going-on throughout.

Now to try it on actual players...

Pirate Small Arms(Revised)

After play-testing the Naval Combat Rules with the Naval Hardware and the Small Arms, I realized that the reload times were a problem.  Having every gun and canon with it's own reload-time is just too much bookkeeping.  In fact long reload times in and of themselves require a better memory(how many rounds ago did I start reloading?)

This may be less of a problem for a small skirmish(where everyone shoots the first round, then draws their swords) but for naval combat, where missile fire can continue for several turns before one ship manages to pull alongside the other, it's a real problem.

I simplified this by giving all canons one shot per Ship Turn and by having all firearms reload in 2 rounds(ROF: 1/3).  If you want, you can take this a step further by taking a tip from OSRIC and giving bows ROF: 2, crossbows ROF: 1, and firearms ROF: 1/2.

With that preface, here is the revised list of Pirate Small Arms:

Typical Hand Weapons: Dagger,Cutlass,Sabre,Falchion,Rapier, Hand Axe

Short Bow 1d6
Range: 50ft/100ft/150ft
ROF: 1

Long Bow 1d6
Range: 70ft/140ft/210ft
ROF: 1

Crossbow 1d8
vs. UAC(Unarmoured Armour Class)
Range: 80ft/160ft/240ft
Reload: 1 round
ROF: 1/2

Pistol 1d6 per FDM(Firearm Damage Multiplier) of Target

vs. UAC

-1 to hit(due to misfires)
Range: 20ft/40ft/60ft
ROF: 1/3

Musket 1d8 per FDM of Target
vs. UAC
-1 to hit(due to jamming/misfires)
Range: 50ft/100ft/150ft
ROF: 1/3

Blunderbuss 1d6 per FDM of Target
vs. UAC

+1 to hit(due to multiple projectiles)
Range: 20ft/40ft/60ft
ROF: 1/3

Blunderbuss Pistol(Dragon) 1d4 per FDM of Target
vs. UAC
+1 to hit(due to multiple projectiles)
Range: 10ft/20ft/30ft
ROF: 1/3

Heavy Deck-Mounted Musket 1d10 per FDM of Target
+0 to hit(mounting increases accuracy)
Range: 50ft/100ft/150ft

ROF: 1/3

Career Skills

PCs don't have a class.  Instead they start with a career skill.  The maximum number of career skills a character can have is 1 plus their INT bonus plus their DEX bonus.  Each time the character gains a level, they can add 1 career skill relevant to their experiences, up to the maximum number of skills.

Some skills are also associated with an ability score for performing checks.  A character can attempt some actions without having the skill, in which case they should use half the value of their ability score.

Some typical Career Skills:

• Navigator(INT)- navigate a boat
• Helmsman(INT)- pilot a large ship
• Able Sailor(DEX)- tie knots, fix sails, traverse rigging
• Doctor(INT)- know how to set broken bones, install peglegs, care for wounded crew
• Carpenter(DEX)- fix boat parts
• Smith(DEX)- make simple things from metal
• Gunshmith(DEX)- make/fix guns
• Leatherwork(DEX)- make complex things from leather
• Gunner(DEX)- fire a heavy gun and oversee it's maintainance
• Burglar(DEX)- typical thief skills
• Performer(CHR)- entertain people
• Professional Gambler(LUCK)- gamble
• Duellist(DEX)- +1 to hit with pistols
• Sharpshooter(DEX)- +1 to hit with muskets
• Swordsman(DEX)- +1 to hit with swords

Death & Dismemberment Table

Death and Dismemberment tables make for An Interesting Death.  A Pirate Death & Dismemberment table should make for eye-patches, peglegs, and hook-hands.

As soon as a characters takes damage that puts them at 0 or negative HP, they should roll 1d6+(number of negative HP) on the Death & Dismemberment Table.

Death & Dismemberment Table

1 Now You've Made Him Mad: +1 to victim's strength bonus for remainder of fight
2 That'll Leave a Scar: gains or loses 1d3 CHR
3 A Stunning Blow: character is not killed, but falls unconscious for 1d10 rounds
4-5 Hit an Artery: Unconscious.  Lose 1 HP per rounds until bandaged.  If reaches -10 is dead
6-7 Maiming Locational Hit(see sub-table)
8 Death Defying Stand: lose 1HP per round, cannot be bandaged.  When reaches -10 is dead.
9 Killed Instantly
10 Horrific Demise: It's going to take a Resurrection spell to bring them back.

Maiming Locational Hit Sub-Table

For these, weapon type matters(heavy gun, slashing, piercing, small firearm, bludgeoning).  Roll area of the body and then see the details below.

1 Right Leg

2 Left Leg

3-4 Right Arm

5-6 Left Arm

7-8 Torso

9-10 Head

Arms & Legs

These all result in -1d3 STR and -1d3 DEX for legs

• heavy gun/slashing- severs the limb.  Also see Hit an Artery.
• piercing/small firearm- lames the limb(due to nerve and other tissue damage). Also see Hit an Artery.
• bludgeoning- breaks the limb

Torso

• heavy gun- see Horrific Demise
• other weapons- see Hit an Artery

Head

• slashing- lose nose or ear(-1d3 CHR)
• piercing- lose eye(-1 to hit with missile weapons)
• small firearm- see Killed Instantly
• heavy gun- see Horrific Demise
• bludgeoning- see A Stunning Blow