Dark Era Help: The Dark and Terrifying Seas

[Greyskull]

I am thinking about doing a Werewolf: The Forsaken game for my group, set in the Golden Age of Pirates, with the pack serving as part-pirates. They will likely have a small island as their territory, and the seas around them, but will also act as pirates.

At the moment this is just a rough idea, but I would welcome any ideas people here might have.

[nofather]

Sounds good.

You can probably get a whole pack as a pirate crew. I think Black Sails would be a good inspiration, they did sort of act like packs there, even with in-fighting.

You could make their totem a spirit of plunder or greed, or just have them allied to one, to encourage the piracy. Taking down, or taking things from, other ships are fun sacred hunts.

[Monghani]

Black Sails is a great reference. Using Nassau as a Protectorate and each Pirate Crew as its own Pack is pretty spot on. I'd love to see Lodges that pop up with crazy Ocean Spirits guiding them, a Squid Host for that Kraken action, and a new Gift of the Sea.

[Helur]

Territory and plot:

- Nassau as pack territory, they can be both political or war pack.
- Maybe a political storm lord pack has the control of the island, they are elder outlaw wolves
- Like Captain Flint from black sails, another elder storm lord wants to take control of the island: the pack can join him, or the other faction of pirates on the island
- An elder vampire command the territory, acting with terror tactics, now the pack want to riot and kill him.
- The ivory claws managed to infiltrate the english fleet or the spanish armada: now is total war, and they are going to cut every kind of commerce from the island
- There are two packs who command two different crew of pirates, and it's almost open war, by the way something happen and they must become allies
- A pack of Fire Touched arrives on the island with their pirate crew, and they start using spirits to make the various factions join their fleet. They are going to become really powerful
- A powerful spirit wants to control the island, sick of the forsaken infulence: he decide to use other spirit to attract the english and spanish army to invade the island. This is a problem not only for them but also to all the various crew of pirates and pirate-werewolves. The problem is that the only enough powerful werewolf in the area, is a pirate Predator King of high renown. Will they fight together against the english?
- Ned Low arrive with his crew on the packs territory. He's not only a sadistic pirate, but also a psycho bone shadow cahalith leader. He stalks the sea with his pack sacrificing humans and other preys to Death Wolf. He claims to talk directly with death wolf. Is him a false idol? Or is him right? The thing is that some bone shadows on the island are going to follow him...

Prey for any tribe

- The most dangerous prey is elusive (Hunters in darkness): a great hive of beshilu, guided by the High Priest of Pestilence are razing the various ships: pirates are dying of disease, the free population of nassau is dying of starvation and the spirits of pestilence and famine are going to conquer the pack territory.
- The most dangerous prey is strong (Blood talons): a wolf blood slave , sold to an important merchant of nassau is going to change. He leaves blood and guts on his trail and it seems that some other wolf blood slaves joined him, with some other humans they create a great pack, and they start to pillage the island. It seems that a lot of spirits wants to help those ghost wolves...why?
- The most dangerous prey is invisible( Bone shadows): a ghost ship arrives on the coast, no men, no gold, no pirates. The ship is empty and smells like death. A ghost crew of dead pirates, butchered because of a betrayal quartermaster starts to scare the shit out of people on the island, a true ghostly storm. Will the uratha help them or try to hunt them down one by one?
- The most dangerous prey is what is around you (Iron Masters): the english arrives. Divide and conquer. The marines of the Queen re-organize the island and kill or converts the pirates and thieves. The spiritual land is changing drastically and ... part of the new governor crew is made up by a special force called ''the Hunters''. And they have silver weapons..
- The most dangerous prey is an unholy blasphemy (Storm Lords): A brutal murder in the brothel. A girl was slaughtered, her eyes removed and replaced with 2 gold coins.
the two coins seems to be part of a legendary treasure. The killings will not stop. Other people will be found in pieces and their eyes or their tongue removed and replaced with gold from the same trasure. A powerful hive claimed is stalking the night: he's possessed by the dead crew of an legendary pirate, guided by a monstrous murder spirit of revenge. Someone talked. Someone betrayed the secret. So, what is the secret about? What these people saw or said to loose their tongue and eyes?

-The most dangerous prey is corrupt (fire touched playable characters): a new preacher approach the town. He's followed by normal people, pirates and ex soldiers. He's starting a christian-like cult, but full of weird syncrethism. The most loyal allies of the preacher are gaining weird power : mind control and majesty like skills. Is going to create a cult of claimed who wants to erige unholy altars around the island, to create wounds and attract spirits of fanatism and disase. The izidakh will not tolerate such blasphemy.
- The most dangerous prey is a backstabber (ivory claws playbale characters): One of the ruling forsaken pack expand his territory. On the pack territory. They discover, because they are good at stalking or because of a coincidence, that the leader of the pack is not an uratha but a powerful vampire. He's controlling the pack, controlling the leader/alpha, and most of all, controlling one of the larger pirate crew on the island. The tzuumfin will not let it alive.
- The most dangerous prey is civilization (Predator Kings playable characters): The spanish arrives on the island: they are merciless. They kill and conquer: women are raped, children becomes slave or worst, pirates are tortured, killed or jailed. The spanish armad strikes everyone and everything: also the wolf blooded and human members of the local packs. This is blasphemy, this is pure human corrupted modus operandi. The local Ninna Farakh are out for blood, no matter if they are wild beasts or pirates-like hunters: they will find a way to hunt down and kill their preys, one by one.



Of course, you can mix ALL of them.

[Aynie]

Territory and plot:

[[SNIP]]


Of course, you can mix ALL of them.

I did not realize I needed a game like this in my life until this moment.

[Greyskull]

While that campaign didn't lift off, as my players have chosen another game to play, I have done some work on trying to hammer down stats for various ships of the Golden Age of Piracy, and as an offering to this incredible forum, i present them to you:

Ships

Name	Size	Dice Modifier	Durability	Structure	Speed	Crew Size
Barque	30	-3	1	31	22	30
Brigantine	30	-3	1	31	28	50
Coastal Trader	15	-2	1	15	18	10
Frigate	35	-3	2	45	24	200
Galleon	40	-4	2	52	18	160
Gluyt	35	-4	1	36	18	60
Guineamen	30	-2	1	26	30	20
Indiaman	30	-4	2	41	22	200
Merchantman	35	-4	2	45	18	60
Schooner	30	-2	1	31	28	50
Shallop	20	-2	1	21	4 or 8	15
Ship of the Line, 1st rate	50	-5	2	77	16	400
Ship of the Line, 2nd rate	45	-4	2	69	18	350
Ship of the Line, 3rd rate	40	-4	2	62	20	300
Ship of the Line, 4th rate	30	-3	2	47	20	200
Spanish Galleon	40	-4	2	65	18	200
Sloop	20	-1	1	20	11	14

Ship of the Line

Fourth rate vessels are the smallest ships of line. Their duties roughly correspond to those of a modern-day destroyer—primarily patrol, border defense, and the escort of larger warships. They are almost as well armed as their larger sisters, but are more maneuverable and able to operate in shallower waters. This is the most common type of vessel used by the Dutch navy.

Passangers - 50 approx.
Max Guns - 60 Guns (30 Broadside)
Cargo - 100 ton


Shallop

One cannon


Schooner

Distinguished by her two small masts, rigged with fore-and-aft sails and by the narrowness of her hull, the schooner or ‘pinnace’ is a favorite of many pirate captains. Her great speed allows quick escape, and her shallow hull enables her to find her way into the most secluded coves, away from the larger ships of privateers and pirate hunters. But at a good hundred tons, she’s also big enough to carry a sizable crew of bloodthirsty men.

Passangers - 15
Max Guns 12 (6 per broadside)
Max gun size - 6 lbs
Cargo - 100 ton


Indiaman

These immense cargo vessels are used to ferry wealth and trade back and forth between the West Indies and Europe, and are among the most sought-after prizes in the Caribbean. This is an amazingly well armed merchant vessel, with two gun decks sporting 12 cannons on each side.

Passangers - 60
Max Guns 48 (24 broadside)
Max gun size - 24 lbs
Cargo - 300 ton


Galleon

These vessels represent the ultimate goal of any pirate, although by the late 17th and early 18th century they are rarely encountered. The galleon is also viciously armed with massive cannons on two gun decks, making taking one as a prize even rarer.

Passangers - 60
Max Guns 48 (24 broadside)
Max gun size - 24 lbs
Cargo - 250 ton


Gluyt

Round sterned, broad beamed, two-masted and flat bottomed, the Dutch fluyt is expensive to build, cheap to man and renowned for her cargo capacity—half again that of similarly sized vessels with sleeker lines. The English and the French both have their own adaptations of this design, and fluyts range the world’s sea lines under all flags. However, those that sail pirate waters are routine prey for buccaneer captains.

Passangers - 20
Max Guns - 28 (14 broadside)
Max gun size - 18 lbs
Cargo - 250 ton


Merchantman

Larger adaptations of mariners were built to compensate for the growing number of colonies in the New World, and the name ‘merchantman’ became synonymous with these larger ships; the mariner became a trade ship, the merchantman a supply ship. Roughly the same in all respects, merchantmen often carry more precious goods than others, and thus seldom do they travel without an escort. They’re a fine prize for pirates—if they are rugged enough to attack two ships to their one.

Passangers - 50
Max Guns 24 (12 broadside)
Max gun size - 18 lbs
Hull Points - 220
Cargo - 200 ton


Frigate

The Frigate is the workhorse of Navies. They perform multiple roles and have the most variety of ships. The ships range in size from a small flush deck 20-gun frigate to that large two deck 44-gun frigates. They also have a wide range of armament, ranging from 9 pound cannons up to 24 pounders in the large 44-gun frigates. No matter their size they are feared by all pirates.
Ranking just below the ships of the line, a frigate is sometimes referred to as a fifth rate (30-44 Guns) or a sixth rate (20-28 guns). They are often sent on the same duties as corvettes, serving as the command vessel for a squadron of the smaller ships. Single frigates are found on patrol duty on the shipping lanes, making this the most common variety of military vessel encountered by pirate crews.

Passengers - 20 approx.
Max Guns 20-44
Max gun size - 9-24 lbs
Hull Points - 300-400
Cargo - 80-100 ton


Barque

Barques are shallow-draft three-masted ships with one or more of the masts being fore-and-aft rigged. The fore-and-aft rigging makes these ships fast when sailing close-hauled, but slow when sailing large.
The standard Barque design has been around for a very long time, and is extremely popular in the tranquil waters of the Mediterranean and Caribbean. They are not good vessels in rough seas, and few dare to take them out into the stormy North Atlantic.

Passangers - 15
Max Guns - 16 (8 per broadside)
Max gun size - 6 lbs
Cargo - 80 ton


Coastal Trader

This is a small ship that was used for trading, smuggling and privateering. This ship type include a vareity of ship classes, but in genral they are all similar. They are shallow draft, small, and not very seaworthy.
Chasse-marée - A French, especially Breton, merchant coastal vessel for fishing, smuggling, and privateering. Usually rigged as a lugger. Many were around 50ft with two masts, but privateers were often larger, and some, especially in naval use, had three masts.
Lugger - A merchant rig, typically fishing vessels but also (since they sailed very close to the wind) smugglers and privateers. Luggers had two masts in two sections with only the topmast abaft the masthead, a horizontal bowsprit, and often (very far aft) a third mast, the jigger. Lug-sails were four-sided, with the head two-thirds the length of the foot, bent on a yard which hung obliquely to the mast, as a third of its length.

Passangers - 5
Max Guns - 6 (3 broadside)
Max gun size - 4 lbs
Hull Points - 100
Cargo - 25 ton
Masts - 2


Sloop

Greatly favored by smugglers, the swift sloop is an ideal vessel for pirates. A rapier-like bowsprit almost as long as her hull enables her to mount a parade of canvas that makes her even more nimble than schooners and snows. Though not as shallow in draft as the schooner, this hundred ton ship draws only eight feet of water carrying close to a hundred men, enabling the sloop to maneuver in channels and sounds where pirates make their lairs.

Passengers - 2
Max Guns - 4 (2 broadside)
Gun size - 8 lbs
Cargo - 4 lots


Brigantine

The Brigantine (a.k.a. Brig) In all respects other than sails rigging there is little or no difference between these two vessels.
Similar to a barque, a brigantine is built for slightly better speed, but the trade-off is that she has less of a capacity for battle. Almost the exact same size and shape—about seventy feet—she has some gunports replaced with rigging and longboats.

Passangers - 15
Max Guns 14 (7 per broadside)
Max gun size - 6 lbs
Cargo - 80 ton


Spanish galleon

High castles fore and aft and multiple decks of guns bring to mind the large galleons with lofty sails and graceful lines that transported the riches of the New World to Spain. Yet, the original galleons used to explore the lands across the oceans rarely surpassed the size of a modern-day offshore fishing boat..
Spain needed seaworthy ships capable of making transoceanic voyages while laden with vast cargoes, but early sea vessels lacked these qualities. Designers borrowed the best characteristics of existing ships to build just such a vessel. From the caravel came the fixed rudder and lateen sails. From the carrack came the sturdy hull and fore and aft castles. The result was the galleon, which combined square and lateen sails rigged on three or four masts with a longer ratio of length to beam and castles more integrated with the structure of the ship.
The internal structure of Spanish galleons included a series of braces, knees, and decks as evidenced in The Fragments of Ancient Shipwrightry by the English shipwright, Matthew Baker. These allowed for more than one deck of guns aboard ships for the first time. The heaviest gun found aboard a galleon was approximately ten feet long and fired shot weighing thirty-two pounds. Yet, the most suitable gun for use on this vessel was the demi-culverin. Some Spanish galleons carried as many as thirty-six guns: sixteen culverins on the lowerdeck, twelve demi-culverins on the upper deck, and eight sakers.
Spain eventually built much larger, more elaborate galleons with the combined purpose of carrying cargo and soldiers. More than two thousand trees--pine, cedar, oak, and mahogany--were required to build the largest of these, some of which became the warships that guarded the flota, or fleet, of vessels bound for Spain from the New World with holds laden with riches. A typical galleon weighed five hundred tons, but the largest were 1,200 tons. The high superstructure, which clearly identified a Spanish galleon, made the ship clumsy and slow. While larger in size, though, life aboard the galleon was no better for mariners than previously designed ships. Wealthy or influential passengers plus their servants could put the total number of people aboard a galleon at two hundred soldiers and sailors and up to fifty civilians, which made for very cramped quarters.
A typical Spanish galleon had a number of decks: forecastle, upper or weatherdeck, main deck, lower or orlop deck, poop deck, and quarterdeck. The crew's quarters were in the bow while the officers and passengers lived in cramped cabins in the waist or center section of the galleon. Provisions were stowed near the galley. Larger galleons also had a surgeon aboard. In addition to the sailors and soldiers that made up the crew, there were also the carpenter, sailmaker, cook, and cooper.
The captain or admiral lived in the Great Cabin, earmarked by large windows, greater space, and more comfort. While his was above deck, the crew slept and ate on the gundecks where it was dark, damp, and odorous. Insects and rats abounded and foodstuffs often spoiled.
The crew of a Spanish galleon with thirty guns might number 180 men. In battle, sixty-six worked the guns, fifty manned small arms on the upper deck, and fifty sailed the ship. Four were stationed in the powder room and as many as four carpenters repaired damage belowdeck. The surgeon commanded several men who served as assistants in tending the wounded. The remaining crew kept watch for fires. Few galleons sank from enemy attacks, though. The enemy's guns more often damaged the rigging and masts, and inflicted serious wounds on the crew from flying splinters when shot crashed through wood.

Passangers - 100
Max Guns - 40 (20 per broadside)
Max gun size - 32 lbs
Cargo - 300 ton