# Give me some pirate ideas to steal!



## punkorange (Jul 2, 2007)

Okay, so I'm going to be starting a campaign soon using true20.  It's going to be roughly based loosley on the PotC movie settings.  The group will probably be a crew on a ship at the start of the campaign.  I was just wondering what everyone else had done with pirate campaigns, what worked what didn't, what's fun and what's not.

Thanks,

ThePunkOrangeCamo


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 2, 2007)

1) Its not from a pirate-themed _anything_, but there was an African Grey Parrot in a movie called _It Waits_.  Not a very good movie at all- the Parrot has all the best lines.

For example, unlike the humans around it, it can actually tell when the movie's monster is around (and obscured from sight)...and says things like "Uh Oh!" in its cutesy parrot voice.  The humans never really catch on- at one point, the heroine actually tries to set him free for his safety...nevermind that he's an ideal warning device!  It has other lines as well, but that stood out to me.

(Personally, I'm dying to use it for a PC of my own some day...but it would be a nice familiar or animal companion for a pirate (N)PC.)

Other whacky takes on the old parrot-on-the-shoulder pirate schtick would include birds like Ostriches, Axebeaks, Penguins, or even some of the smaller dinosaurs (esp. the raptors and birdlike ones).

2) I once started a campaign with an interdimensional raider themed twist on the old Against the Slavers modules- the party's transport was attacked by transdimensional pirates and eventually taken captive.

While it was fun, I'm not suggesting that as a starting point for your campaign.

What I'm suggesting is that you take a close look at the way pirates capture ships and do at least one attempted ship capture- its a great big melee with 3 dimensional consequences that also involves strictures.  Most seamen of all kinds didn't even know how to swim, so once they hit the water...

3) Use superstitions.  There are all kinds of mysterious beasties below the waves and beyond the horizon, and everyone knows about ghost ships and the restless spirits of men lost at sea.


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## punkorange (Jul 2, 2007)

Thanks for the quick reply, even if it wasn't purely related   I really like the idea of the pirate on the shoulder though and hadn't actually thought of it until your reply.

One of the group is an adept, I think either a gypsy type, or a voodoo witch.  Maybe she might want a bird.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 2, 2007)

Well, consider some of the cultures that surround piracy.

Piracy was most visibly connected with the Carribean and the waters between Europe and Africa.  Both regions had a link between piracy and the slave trade, as well as privateers- pirates who were essentially working for a government, be they local or from one of the Empires that were expanding into the area.

In the Carribean, you'd have all kinds of Voudoun legends & curses...and ZOMBIES!  While I personally don't care for the class, a Hexblade might make for an interesting believer in Voudoun.  The _Oriental Adventures_ Shaman (updated to 3.5 in Dragon#318) would make a good Voodoo priest (esp. if you open the class up to all the Cleric Domains), especially one who was trained in Capoiera (a martial arts form developed in the islands & South America that was designed to be used even while shackled, and whose moves resembled dancing, and thus could be taught & practiced in plain sight).

In African waters, you'd have more Sorcerers & Sha'irs- Arabic spellcasters reprinted in _Dragon Compendium v1._- than Wizards.  Piracy themes could also be gleaned from movies like the old Sinbad films.

You might also find some useful info in Atlas Games' _Nyambe_ and _Northern Crown_, and AEG's _Swashbuckling Adventures_.


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## Wolv0rine (Jul 2, 2007)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> Other whacky takes on the old parrot-on-the-shoulder pirate schtick would include birds like Ostriches, Axebeaks, Penguins, or even some of the smaller dinosaurs (esp. the raptors and birdlike ones).




Dude, *Penguins*?!?  ROTFLMAO...  oh god I love it, that's beautiful.  hehehe


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## avr (Jul 2, 2007)

Binders in the Tome of Magic make a great fantasy voodoo-style magic. They were probably inspired by it, IMO. 

Sorcerer/Wizard magic quickly becomes dangerous to any campaign using ships in my experience, usually from fireballs or flying. Replace it (e.g. with Binding - see above), alter it or eliminate it!

Good pirates need an evil empire to prey on. Aztec-flavoured might be as interesting as western-flavoured?


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## punkorange (Jul 2, 2007)

I'm using true20, so the only classes that will be available to my players right now are the three core classes from that.

I think I might start them working on a legit ship that gets attacked by pirates.


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## Mortellan (Jul 2, 2007)

In my sea-based campaigns, nothing was more fun than fully detailing the quirky traits of the entire crew. Use the DMG's d100 traits and let the hilarity ensue as you nickname the NPCs. The players will then get attached to the crew better if they have a hand in it.


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## Father of Dragons (Jul 2, 2007)

punkorange said:
			
		

> Okay, so I'm going to be starting a campaign soon using true20.  It's going to be roughly based loosley on the PotC movie settings.  The group will probably be a crew on a ship at the start of the campaign.  I was just wondering what everyone else had done with pirate campaigns, what worked what didn't, what's fun and what's not.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> ThePunkOrangeCamo



*DnDChick* (known there as *True20Chick*) posted bunches of information about her True20 _Skull & Bones_ campaign on the True20 boards -- here and here are good starting places to look.


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## Steel_Wind (Jul 2, 2007)

For a wealth of ideas _nautical _  - as opposed to things merely piratical - I would recommend reading Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series _Master & Commander._

The first book is quite difficult slogging for the first three chapters. O'Brian uses the language of the upper classes in the Napoleonic era in his novels (thick, Jan Austen like prose) and layers nautical terminology on it very, very thickly. 

It's tough reading, it really is.  The prose is intended by the author to be "transportive" so that by the time your brain finally "gets it", it aids in the escapism into that era to a vast degree.  And it really does work.

Once you struggle past that barrier to entry, the series takes on a life of its own and your appreciation for all the issues that faced a warship and fighting on the sea in the Age of Sail will blossom. 

The inspiration that this series will give to your piratical - and privateer  - themes into your campaign will pay off a hundred-fold. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

If you prefer to listen to those books instead - the audiobook versions of the _Master & Commander _ series are brilliantly narrrated and read.


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## Stormborn (Jul 2, 2007)

- a London occult scholar comes to the new world seeking the Fountain of Youth (or some similarly powerful artifact) and falls in with a pirate captain who aids him in exchange for the promise the treasure holds.  The PCs can wind up on the same ship or on a rivals.  How far this goes can be up to the themes of your game.  If you want to down play the magical aspect then the scholar is simply wrong (either because its not real or because he has misinterpreted the clues) or if magically minded eventually the search leads to islands in very strange seas (pocket diminsion?)

- again only if you are wanting some strange events:  a modern-ish (say even WW2) ship appears in the Bermuda Triangle and a pirate ship catches sight of it in a storm.  He tells many tall tales about it while drunk in port and now a race is on to find the Magical Metal Ship; or maybe someone already has and is using machine guns to raid and plunder.

- The ship the PCs have joined is only nominally a pirate, although most of the crew is unaware of this.  Instead it is a privateer owned by one of the great powers of Europe, and on board is a spy from a rival nation who reports on the captain's activities with orders to destroy or take the ship if neccesary.  The captain picks rich treasure ships to attack, but he is really after important documents that he can send back home to his superiors.  The PCs might be brought into the confidence of either the spy or the captain, neither, or both. 

- A freed slave tells the captain of a fantastic island off the coast of Africa, but is he telling the truth or is he only angling to get revenge on those who sold him off in the first place while making  a break for home.

- The PCs arrive in port to discover a bounty has been placed on their heads, but for a cirme they didn't commit.  The prize is enough that even former allies cant be trusted, but when an old enemy comes forward claiming to be the victim of the same circumstances the PCs are forced to make hard choices.  Meanwhile the coniving govenor of the island and the real villains want to make sure the PCs are captured as quickly as possible.

-A pirate nation is forming on a tiny island and is begining to transition from a simple haven to a real home for many outlaws, former slaves, and exiles.  The crown, of course, cannot let that happen.  What will the PCs do when put in the middle of the coming war?


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## Driddle (Jul 2, 2007)

re "Pirates! - Give me some pirate ideas to steal!":
Arrr! I buried my ideas on a beach on a tiny island y'll never be finding, y' scurvy dog. Arrr!


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## SavageRobby (Jul 2, 2007)

If its in your gaming budget, you might check out the Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG that has recently been released. It uses the Savage Worlds ruleset, but it also has plenty of great ideas about campaigns and adventures and episodes and such.


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## Calico_Jack73 (Jul 2, 2007)

Obviously Green Ronin's "Skull & Bones" is a great source for d20...

Alderac Entertainment has an E-Zine for Skull & Bones called *"Buccaneers & Bokor"* and it is available for download at RPGNow.com.  I've bought numerous issues and each has pirate adventures to run as well as setting info for the Caribbean in the golden age of piracy.  Probably the best source overall.

Below is a link that will allow you to purchase the first 6 issues for $19.95.  I highly recommend them.

http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7686&


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 3, 2007)

Or how about a different take on pirates...

A group of brigands living in an archipelago who have trained large predatory birds which they use to ride & raid passing sea vessels.

I'm envisioning some kind of giant eagle or osprey, attacking from air, perhaps dropping large stones from altitude as an opening gambit...but again, riding giant penguins (OK, just use Orcas) and attacking from below could serve just as well!


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## NewJeffCT (Jul 3, 2007)

A few years back, Kenzer put out a very good book about pirates called "Salt & Sea Dogs: The Pirates of Tellene"  While it has some Kalamar-specific detail, it's mostly a lot of detail that can easily be ported over to a lot of other gaming worlds with little modification.  They had, if I recall, a pretty good section on ideas for pirate adventures & campaigns.


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## Tonguez (Jul 3, 2007)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> - a London occult scholar comes to the new world seeking the Fountain of Youth (or some similarly powerful artifact) and falls in with a pirate captain who aids him in exchange for the promise the treasure holds.




You will also need the mummified head of a twoheaded dog and a gigantic obese mute Bokor named Woefully Fat


Remember that Piracy was a worldwide phenomena ranging from the Ports of Europe to the mediteranean North Africa through the Red Sea to Araby and across the Indian Ocean to the Mughal States of India and mystic islands of SE Asia then across to the Americas and even to the pacific.

This brings in Warring European States (like the French and Dutch)
Corasairs and Genies in Arabia
Slave Ships and Lost Civilisations in Afrika
Mughal Convoys and decadent empires in India and SE Asia
The mysteries of the orient and the Opium Dens of Hong Kong and Singapore
The Lost City of El Dorado and Colonial Rebellion in the Americas (see Boston Tea Party)

The Privateers were often employed or sponsored by Noble Lords, Colonial Land Barons and merchants. The British East India Company was a major employer of Privateers most notably Captain William Kidd. Nonetheless they were not always on freindly terms with the legitamate navy and so run ends with 'friendlies' isn't out of the question

Captain Kidd was employed as a Pirate Hunter and so that gives an option for a 'good crew' of pirates tasked to hunt down evil pirates.


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## punkorange (Jul 3, 2007)

I think I'll look into sea and salt, I need a hook to get my players to some action and enjoyment early in the game.  I've never ran true20 before either, so I'm hoping it goes well.


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## Asmor (Jul 3, 2007)

Wolv0rine said:
			
		

> Dude, *Penguins*?!?  ROTFLMAO...  oh god I love it, that's beautiful.  hehehe




Personally, I really wanna see a giant pirate with an ostrich on his shoulder now. >_>


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 4, 2007)

Or, to switch it up, a halfling Pirate (Swashbuckler/Halfling Outrider) riding the Ostritch...

As a side note...most pirates hate woodpeckers.


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## scourger (Jul 4, 2007)

I used the great, little, free advenure for _Skull & Bones_ called _Isle of the Damned_:

http://www.gamewyrd.com/echoes/previews5_15.php#end

I made a mini-campaign of Pirate D&D after that adventure, but the main PCs were not spellcasters; which kept magic strange and magical.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 4, 2007)

Aquatic Pirates who sail the Seas with submarine sailboats.

Submarine sailboats?

Yes.

The aquatic pirates design a vessel based upon the same principles as the Portugese Man o War jellyfish (which has a large crest protruding into the air that catches the wind, taking the animal for a ride).  They even make the vessel _look_ like an oversized Man o War, but they can control the crest like a normal sail.  This camoflage keeps the targeted ships from turning tail and running or fighting with cannon & spell until its too late.

When it gets close to a ship, the pirates boil up from the sea and attack, just like normal pirates do!

Are the pirates air breathers or aquatic?  You decide.


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## Tonguez (Jul 4, 2007)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> Aquatic Pirates who sail the Seas with submarine sailboats.
> 
> Submarine sailboats?
> 
> ...




Shark World was an aquatic game setting, created here an ENWorld once long ago 
One of my submissions was the 'Aquasphere' a huge submersible colony occupied by gnomes. The colony was itself psychic and covered in a Psionic skin which they gnomes had grown. The gnomes used other algal, coral and slimey growths to produce oxygen, fuel and some of their food.

Anyway whilst not pirates per se they also had a set of Crab-claw Apparatus's onboard which they would use to go out and explore both the seabed and any land they came across.

Now imagine your PCs ship suddenly having a squad of crab apparatuses climbing up the sides ready to attack!


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 4, 2007)

CRAB apparatus?

Bah, humbug!  In _my_ campaign, those guys would be all super devoted to the jellyfish theme...right down to the transparent hats.  

And somewhat like the neuro-whip wielding Ferengi from the early days of Star Trek Next Gen, they'd simply use arcane bioweapons...

Whips containing magical nematocysts filled with jellyfish poison, causing those damaged intense, immobilizing pain!_

After all...who wears armor at sea?

*BWAH-HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAA!*_


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## Mighty Veil (Jul 4, 2007)

OK here's a pirate idea *I* just thought up just for you.

The PCs are young sailors. Their captain has promised them their own boat. So they go to an used boat lot. There the old seadog boat salesman tells them "how it's the boat whom chooses its sailors". And they find an old beaten up boat, which the seadog doesn't remember being in his stock.

It turns out that one of the PCs has a treasure map to an artifact which golems from another Plane want to find! These golems... they can transform themselves so to hide. That old boat - actually one of these golems!!! I know, good plot twist.

But there are two groups of the Planar golems. One good, one bad. And for poor measure you should throw in a tacked on sub-plot about a bunch of navy soldiers. Can never have enough characters in a story.


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## RichGreen (Jul 4, 2007)

Calico_Jack73 said:
			
		

> Obviously Green Ronin's "Skull & Bones" is a great source for d20...
> 
> Alderac Entertainment has an E-Zine for Skull & Bones called *"Buccaneers & Bokor"* and it is available for download at RPGNow.com.  I've bought numerous issues and each has pirate adventures to run as well as setting info for the Caribbean in the golden age of piracy.  Probably the best source overall.




QFT. I've just finished running a Pirates of the Caribbean game using Skull & Bones and Buccaneers & Bokor, loosely based around the Governor's Prize adventures in the e-zines. i added in bits of D&D, part of the plot of The Mummy and stuff from the Monkey Island computer games, Tim Powers' On Stranger Tides, Cutthroat Island etc etc. We had a blast playing this game! See my story hour, link in sig, for more info. 

Cheers


Richard


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## Nifft (Jul 4, 2007)

Tarrasque pirate. With a Vrock on his shoulder.

"T_arrrrrr_asque, matey!" , -- N


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