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y'know what, sure, why the fuck not?
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Howdy, Farmhands.
As of the time of writing, it is the release day for Dicegoblin's "Block, Dodge, Parry" (and thus, "Cairn") supplement, "Sail, Swab, Scurvy." The document is available on itch for half off during release weekend, and is apparently only 5 dollars full price once the promotion is over. BDP is one of many Cairn hacks that I return to for inspiration while collating my own personal preferred ruleset, and while I don't yet own it in physical, it's near the top of my To Buy list for a good reason.
But I'm not actually here to talk about BDP or it's new supplement. Because as it turns out, I've been running my OWN odd-like pirate game for the past 6 months, using it as a testing ground for whatever nonsense I decide to try and put into the Sanic Hack. The first iteration was made of me doing copious amounts of googling to see what other people who wanted to sail the seven seas in an OSR-y fashion had done before me; cobbling together their concepts and roll tables until I had something CLOSE to the vibe I expected. Every change since then has been seasoning to the taste of my actual players. So color me surprised when, at the very end of SSS, there's a short list of credits and references Dicegoblin used while writing the thing.
- Enthusiastic Skeleton Boys by Sam C.
- Lilliputian: Adventure on the Open Seas by Manadawn Tabletop Games
- This series of blogposts on Wavecrawls and Pirates by Skerples
This is list is, I shit you not, the exact same 3 sources I used to cobble together the first few iterations of my ruleset. Not for a lack of Other, equally impressive sources, mind you. They were simply some of the most immediately obvious results to read from, and so I did.
I found this happenstance very funny, but it also made me wonder. If two completely separate people could approach a similar project, around the same time, using the same core texts as inspiration, and come out with two different systems, then there's got to be other people who will inevitably try as well. So here's the point of today's post. I could let what I've got fester in the word document I keep it in, polishing it off and on over the next 10 years until it's PERFECT and ready for public consumption. I could dripfeed individal rulings and concepts out as some sort of retroactive design documentary, for you to piece together. Or. I could slap what I've got down here, in the hopes that it becomes useful to the next person wanting to craft their own bespoke Pirate OSR NSR POSR D&DIY Elfgame Mark of the Odd Odd-like Wavecrawl Sailing TTRPG experience. At the very least, I've linked like, 6 different games they might not have found in their search yet. To those future people I say welcome.
Quick disclaimer: This is only the player facing rules my table needs to reference; character creation item data, and monster statblocks use standard Cairn notation. We also play in a Shounen Furry Waterworld with Sanics and rubber people and stuff. I hope this helps you, despite this, lmao.
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Brace yourself for whatever This is
- Sonic Prime, available on Netflix
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Until next time,
Farmer Gadda
Ol' Gadda's Pirate Game
Basic Rules:
If you do something Risky, roll 1d20 and aim to roll Below your relevant stat. (STR, DEX, WIS)
If you get into a fight and get hurt, you subtract damage from your HP. If HP hits zero, you start taking away from STR. Every turn you get hit without HP, you have to roll against STR, and if you fail, you drop.
If you have any questions about anything at all, I'm to give you the information, no rolls required. You guys are supposed to try to be smart and solve problems without getting yourselves killed. I'm supposed to be neutral and not try to kill you guys. We all get to have fun in a big sandbox of adventures and npcs and shit.
Inventory Rules:
- You have 10 Slots on your person. Unless noted, most items take up 1 Slot.
- Fatigue ALSO takes up a slot. If your slots are full and you gain Fatigue, you must choose an item to drop.
Technique Rules:
- Unless written with an explicit cost, Techniques can be done as an Action at any time, only rolling if it's use is particularly Risky. To perform feats only vaguely related to known techniques, you must gain 1 Fatigue and roll a WIL save to perform it.
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- You can LEARN new Techniques by Finding A Master, Studying a Guide, or Training the new Technique after successfully performing it as listed above Once.
Wealth Rules:
- A vague idea of the party's resources, be it monetary or favors. When in port,it is assumed you can afford food for basic living, and scenes in which coins are required for RP won't count against your WEALTH.
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- Common Items can ALWAYS be bought from relevant Vendors for 1 WEALTH each. For LARGE, RARE, or IMPORTANT purchases, roll against the party's WEALTH Score. On a Success, you can make the purchase, reduce the score by 1 when you do so. On a failure, you do not have the funds, and cannot try again until the Wealth Score is increased.
Combat Rules:
Once Combat begins, time is tracked using Turns and Rounds. The Party goes first unless noted by the GM. -
- On the Party's Turn, every member can Move and Perform an Action (you can do either first or choose to only do 1). Move: Up to "30 Feet" or between "Close" and "Near" ranges. Moving "Far" requires two turns of Movement. Action: Casting a Spell, Attacking with a Weapon, or any other Activity that requires focus to do. If you're not sure, ask your GM is an activity would take up your entire action for the turn.
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- On the Enemy's Turn, if a Party Member is attacked, they can choose to do 1 of these things-
- Fight Back: Choose one attacker and roll to deal damage against it after you've taken the incoming damage.
- Block: Tank the hit, but it's damage becomes Impaired (reduced to d4), you must have a Weapon or Shield for this. If you are willing, you may completely sacrifice the shield to negate all damage; the item will become irreparable.
- Dodge: Avoid being hit at all by bodily moving out of the way. Roll a Dex Save. On a Failure, this action costs 1 Fatigue to complete. You may choose to simply accept the hit.
- Parry: Choose one attacker and roll to deal damage; if you roll higher damage than they, their damage is invalidated, and your roll is applied directly to their STR score. If you roll lower than they, your roll is invalidated and damage is applied directly to YOUR STR score After both the Party and Enemy have had Turns, the Round ends- The GM re-describes the scenario and the next Round begins.
Things to Know About Combat:
- Dual Wielding and Teaming Up on a Guy: If more than one weapon is used on an Opponent in the same attack (unless marked as a multi-attack weapon like a boomerang I guess) all weapon dice are rolled and the Highest number used.|
- Morale Checks: Enemies that take half or more of their HP in damage make a Morale Check against their WIS. Failing this check means they no longer wish to fight and will look for an out. You can purposefully try to convince or de-moralize your enemies to remove them from Combat faster. Groups of enemies take a group Morale Check after losing half their number OR their Leader.
- Odd Stunts: If you describe your attack in a cool way that incorporates your surroundings (kicking a table at your foe, running up a wall for a backflip kick), the GM may enhance your damage roll to a d12. Basically you gotta bribe them.
What Happens after reaching 0 HP:
- Down: A Player Character at 0 HP is Down, and only able to choose between Moving and Performing an Action each turn, but not both. Any further damage is taken from their STR score, requiring a Roll against the new STR number to stay standing. If they fail, they are-
- Out: Unconscious and otherwise unable to participate in the battle.
- Carry: Players may Carry a Downed member of their party. All attacks made during this time are Impaired(reduced to a d4), but for every round the Downed Member is Carried, they regain 1 hp.
Timekeeping Rules:
- The day is split into 4 "WATCHES", Morning, Day, Evening, and Night. Generally, you may perform one activity per Watch, and at least 1 Watch must be spent sleeping. The number of Roleplay Scenes within a Watch is up for discussion based on the table and narrative's needs, and clarification can be asked for at ANY time.
Overland Travel Rules:
- To walk somewhere, you just do it. Each WATCH, I roll for events along the way, sometimes you'll find problems sometimes you'll have an easy trip. Terrain types and Weather determine how fast you can go without slowing down.
Sailing Rules:
- To sail somewhere, you need Rations (Food and Water) to last you the trip. Each DAY, I roll for events along the way, sometimes you'll find problems sometimes you'll have an easy trip. The Hold slots are for Cargo, and the other slots are for Upgrades like cannons and shit. It's your home base so customize it as you like.
(We've been using the Lilliputian Ship Sheet for this)
Scaling Rules:
- Some things are just Bigger than other things. To determine the difference between them, we use Scales. Creatures and Vehicles of any scale have their damage die against anything of a smaller scale Enhanced. Conversely, they can only perform Impaired damage against targets 1 scale larger than them. Beyond that, their attacks are ineffectual.
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My players only understand new concepts if I can relate them
to Digimon in some way, it's a recurring problem. |
