Pirates and Plunder Review

Introduction and Physical Product

Pirates and Plunder is a historical roleplaying game of the age of piracy set in the 17th century and specifically for the Carribean, Central and South America. The boxed set comes with an attractive piece of cover art by Jerry Lee who also does the few examples of fine artwork in the first book; after that there is only functional sketches. There are three books with the helpful titles of The Basic Game (44 pages), The Advanced Game (52 pages), and The Adventures (40 pages). In addition there are eight pages of maps etc, a pad of character sheets (which includes both errors and a summary of character generation), and two small twenty-sided d10s. The three books have cardstock covers, saddle-stapled, and on some fairly good quality paper.

The text is provided in two-column justified throughout with a serif font with boxed sections, and with a clear markings of page numbers. However there are no chapters as such, just sections which are insufficiently distinct. The first book has a table of contents, and the second an index of the two books. Further, the text doesn't pay much attention to issues like tables that sometimes flow across two pages. The writing style is incredibly rambling and informal. The traditional opening of 'what is roleplaying' is more like an extensive essay of some ten pages. It contains some very good points, especially for the time, arguing that roleplaying is like a improvised script-writing of a mini-series, with players taking up roles a script-writers and actors, and with randomness providing some of the challenge and enjoyment of the experience. This is great content, even if the style and signal-to-bandwidth leaves a lot to be desired.

Basic Rules

Character generation and an introductory scenario are interwoven. After two pages of reading aloud an introduction to the players, they get the opportunity to design their captured pirate (better than being a dead one). As an interesting element for the time, players can have one "star" character (who gets bonuses in generating abilities) and supporting characters (who also receive a smaller bonus). Generation consists of succession of 2d10 rolls, plus modifiers. Height and Weight are determined first with results cross-referenced to a table, with high weight providing a bonus to Strength, Stamina, and Drinking, as "you won't find many fat or poorly muscle-toned pirates" . Handedness is random, followed by "Lucky Break/Adrenaline" which allows between 0 to 8 rerolls per adventure. In addition to these there are Strength, Agility (which determines Movement), Vision and Hearing (which determine Senses), and Wounds. The last ability is used to calculate wound points for a rather hefty selection of body areas; Head/Neck, Shoulder/Upper Arm, Elbow, Forearm, Hand, Hip/Thigh, Knee, Calf, Foot, Chest, Abdomen, Groin.

In the basic rules several abilities are not calculted - these include Encumbrance Point, Constitution, and Stamina. In addition to these there are skill-like abilities, albeit a fairly modest selection. This includes musket, pistol, swordmanship, fist/dagger training, all determined by a 2d10 roll. These are combined with various other characteristics (e.g., Vision, Agility, Strength etc) to calculate 'to hit' numbers. For example, the 'Fist/Dagger' to hit number is based on the training times three, plus Strength and Agility, with the sum divided by five. Nationality is also randomly determined with most characters coming from various parts of England, but with a not-insignificant number of French, Dutch, Irish, and Scots. The 'special' results are ignored in the basic rules. Intelligence is then determined, providing a bonus on Read and Write, and Speak and understand foreign languages. All characters are able to speak English, regardless of nationality, and they also have a number of randomly determined language points which they can spend to develop a level of competence in the main European languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Franch), or - at half-value - more generic Indian languages (Yucatan, South American Indian, North Carribbean Indian, South Caribbean Indian). Finally, the character's religion (Catholic, Protestant, None, Pagan) is randomly determined which chances cross-referenced with nationality, along with their 'Religious Fervor' ability.

Following this basic character generation the text returns to the opening scenario, again with a couple of pages of colourful description, then leading to an in-jail fist-fight among the prisoners, with GMs encouraged to narrative descriptions rather than mechanical. Description of the fist/dagger combat system occurs here, with first strike based on Agility, and with results determined from a combat results table, with notable modifiers from difference between the two character's "to hit" numbers in the respective ability. Damage is differentiated into wounds and stun points, with the latter recovered within an hour, along with half of the former. After the fist-fight, there is a narrative break, and then the characters have an opportunity to experience swordfighting. The system is pretty much the same as fist-fights, with the key difference is that swords do wounds, whereas fists do stun and wound damage. After another narrative interlude, the characters are freed from their prison with a conditional rescue, which involves much bloodshed on the part of PCs and several amorous encounters. This give the opportunity to introduce some new derived abilities into the game, specifically Stealth, which receives a hefty two pages of description (including contests against Senses, movement rate, and silent kills).

Advanced Rules and Further Adventures

The Advanced Rules are meant to difference in the degree of player-character freedom offered, and with some modest hints to gamemasters on how to ad-lib situations that arise from these new freedoms. The content of the book however does not really reflect this. Whereas the first book alternated between narration, rules, and roleplay, the second book is almost entirely rules. Abilty checks are introduced (rather late in the piece I think) along with an "everything table" which correlates adjectival descriptions of a situation to mechanical modifiers. The "special nationalities" are introduced, Reading and Writing ability, Swimming, and some personality traits primarily for NPCs (Greed, Compassion, Morality, Courage), along with a Physical Appearance score. This is further elaboration on the Luck (reroll) and Adrenaline (1d10 add to ability) rules.

There is plenty of elaborations to the to the fighting rules to include parries and ripostes, clubbing weapons, and various brawling events. Armed versus unarmed combat rules are added, along with special rules for the use of the main gauche, boarding pikes and the like. Combat stances and maneuvers ("patterns") are added along targetting specific body locations. There is significant modification to missile weapons, including notable variation in damage, and spread rules for the blunderbuss. Thrown weapons, including grenades, are added as options. Grenades, which affect the target square and adjacent squares, may cause multiple wounds or none. Appropriately this is followed by armor effects, which is a modifier to attack rolls according to attack type - not to wound points. A notation system for different types of wounds in introduced (for scarring purposes!), along with the natural hazard of snakebites, which provides an opportunity to introduce the Constitution ability, and the recovery of wounds, especially with the advantage of a medical kit. An Encumbrance system is introduced with a carrying capacity of ten times Strength and per item values, which is roughly equal a half a pound in weight. For every 10 points over the capacity, a character suffers a -1 penalty to Strength, Agility, Swimming, and Stealth.

Several pages of a mass combat and advanced mass combat system are offered, with combat values derived as a multiple of the class of combatant, generating a strength value for the conflict, with some fairly hefty modifiers. Despite their relative basic inability, civilians double their ability when defending their homes, Indians are good at fighting in the jungle (pirates not so much) etc. Major characters can avoid the fate of randomly allocated victims in such an environment by making use of the Luck.

The Advanced rules conclude with a hodge-podge of various rules, such as the use of horses, wagons, and a rather amusing discussion of "quiet interludes in Port Royal" which has an extensive treatment of the payments and modifiers to the market price when sailors engage professional ladies for "polite social conversation over tea and crumpets", which is one of the more unusual euphemisms. There are also extensive rules for drinking contests, gambling, target shooting, arm wrestling, and slap fights. The drinking contests do not include the standard rations of a canteen of rum or equivalent per day, without which a sailor will have a negative to their 'Emotional Stability' ability. Just in case you're not learning from all this, the chapter finishes with the rules for the Teaching ability.

"Sailors are, and always have been, sailors. Immediately after reaching a port after a hard tour of sea duty most sailors will make a bee-line for the nearest Lady to engage in polite social conversation over a cup of tea and a plate of crumpets... Professional conversationalists, being professional, have certain specific qualities they look for in a potential customer who seeks to enjoy their company and spirited conversation. These qualities will influence not only the length and depth of the conversations but may indeed influence any monetary consideration. The adage that 'Talk is Cheap,' does not apply in Port Royal.

Sailors, for their part, greatly desire to indulge themselves in feminine company and most definitely in as much conversation and tea and crumpets as possible when in port. The reason for this being that tea and crumpets are not the usual shipboard fair [sic], and female conversation is most difficult to come by on a man of war. Failure to obtain sufficient tea, crumpets, and conversation can cause a deep, disturbing sense of frustration and loss on the part of the sailor often causing him to become somewhat sour of disposition and occasionally rash or aggressive toward those in his immediate neighborhood."
- Pirates & Plunder, Book II, p43-44

Not too much can be said about the third book, Further Adventures. There is a some verbose descriptions of a hacienda which the pirates can engage in some looting and pillaging, an extensive cross-country trek across some inhospitable land (from a pirate's point of view), and the takeover of some forts and a Spanish town, which means more looting and pillaging, including the local church as a prime target. There are "required encounters" in this linear progression, along with some random tables with a modicum of flavour in the text, along with various random encounters, keyed to particular region types. Eventually the story concludes with a journey to Port Royal to witness the marriage of Jake The Peg.

Assessment

Whilst the physical product is quite fair and the art (what there was of it) quite good, the game lacks a great deal of cohesion in its presentation. The initial attempt of modularity is interesting, but when it was abandoned the general organisation of the text quickly went from bad to worse. The aforementioned writing style is just overly verbose, despite some amusing moments.

As for the game system, it is rather primitive to say the least. The degree of randomness in character generation is too high, with too much out of the player's hands. Lumping everything into "abilities" may work in some systems, but in Pirates & Plunder there is significant divergence in the scope of these abilities. There are far too few of the skill-like abilities, and those that do exist are too strongly biased towards core combat abilities, which are at times amazingly clunky and inconsistent. As a historical roleplaying game - which is makes some claims to - it is a terrible failure. There is almost nothing here that provides any background to the period. Given that the game is about pirates, the fact there is nothing relating to shipping is quite inexcusable.

But despite all this, every time I've run Pirates & Plunder, it has been fun. It certainly is very poorly suited to any sort of extensive campaign, and it really only works for "beer and pretzels" (or rum and bread) evenings. The game and especially the adventures, for all its flaws, does have style, and quite a lot of it. For that alone, Pirates and Plunder, whilst certainly a second-rate game, does carry a certain quirky charm from the earlier days of roleplaying.

Style: 1 + .3 (layout) + .6 (art) + .7 (coolness) + .3 (readability) + .7 (product) = 3.6

Substance: 1 + .5 (content) + .2 (text) + .7 (fun) + .2 (workmanship) + .2 (system) = 2.8