50 Fathoms Maiden Voyage - Session four- Board 'em!

50 Fathoms

Session 4 Maiden Voyage

The Party:

Urghh - Half Ugak Bloodthirsty Sailor - Aaron

Flynt - Delusional Human Merchant - Charlie

Obadiah Merle - Squanderous Human Rifleman - Garry

Kuthelaquin - Kraken Water Mage - Rob

After negotiating to get the ship repaired in Baltimus dry dock, the crew were released on shore to carouse while the group headed to The Severed Head Inn to discuss what to do next, and after a somewhat long winded conversation about trade and profit margins, the overly loud players were approached by a shifty looking scalywag called Robinson.  The grungy sailor had a business offer for the group, 10000 pieces of eight to transfer a cargo of "blackbirds" to Jomba town.  Quickly reading between the lines, and realising he was a slaver,  Urghh's response was "I have no problem with this."  Somewhat appalled, the rest of the crew were against the idea, especially Merle who was very vocal about why they wouldn't be accepting, and Robinson left the table to make his offer to a nearby crew of merchants.  

Merle took the party aside and revealed his plan, by digging into their own pockets and some nimble persuasion they could get their letter of marque from the great harbour council, they could refloat the ship and capture the merchants who had agreed to take Robinson's offer.  They knew where they were going and it would be easy enough to intercept them.  The party agreed, with Kuthelaquin, Merle and Flynt heading to get their letters, while Urghh would shadow the merchants and gather information.  

The following day, Urghh started his surveillance and the rest of the party headed to the harbour council hall.  After waiting for some time, they were eventually ushered into the office of Paikus Pathe, the current great harbour master.  After some haggling the disolute and clearly drunk Masaquani offered them letters of marque for 16,100 pieces of eight.  After some veiled threats and name dropping he backed down and offered them the letters of marque for the original price.  

Urghh's spying lead him to an old shack on the edge of town where Robinson lead the merchant crew, inside were 20 men and women in shackles.  He reported this back to the party and they decided he should follow them the next day in case they left for sea.  
Disaster struck the following morning when Urghh managed to follow the merchants to the shack, the ragged chained slaves were being transported undercover by skiff to a galleon lying at anchor in the harbour.  Realising that their ship was still a day and a half from being sea worthy, the party rushed to the dry dock and bribed the dock supervisor to try to get his men to complete the repairs as soon as possible.  Merle headed into town to round up the crew as the ship was refloated, and they boarded as quick as they could, and left in pursuit of the slavers, a scant 5 hours later.  

The galleon was sighted a day of out port, the older and slightly more cumbersome ship was easily overtaken by the Binkley.  The ship was identified as The Red Reaper.  Deciding to attack under cover of darkness, the crew shadowed the galleon, and immediately attempted to board her as night fell.   With some amazing boating rolls, Urghh managed to maneuver the ship into close range and all hands launched grappling hooks at the enemy ship.  

Drawing close, there were 20 pirates on the enemy ship's deck waiting for the attacking crew, Flynt took half a dozen crew from the Binkley and ordered the boarding action, with 2 - 1 odds, this was going to be a fight to the death.  

As the two ships crunched together, Urghh attempted to swing from the rigging and engage the enemy captain in combat on the quarterdeck.  A critical fail on the agility roll however, saw Urghh mistime his acrobatic feat, and smack into the side of the ship with a grisly thud.   He then slid down the side of the hull and fell into the water between the two combating vessels.  

From his sniping position in the rigging, Merle tried to shoot the captain down and missed, then swung down and joined the boarding party.  

The battle royal kicked off with the defending pirates shooting the attackers with pistols then moving to close combat with their cutlasses.  Kuthelauquin killed two off the pirates with water bolts then drew his bone sword and started dispatching them gorily.  With scientific precision, Merle used his pistols and musket to whittle down the attackers before drawing his sword and attacking.  Meanwhile, the soaking wet and angry Urghh climbed the side off the ship, vaulted over the gunwhale and launched himself at the captain.  Flynt was directing the attacking crew of the Binkley and taking pot shots at the pirates.  

Urghh was shaken by the captain, failed his smarts roll and immediately frenzied, butchering the captain and the nearby crewmate with his great axe.

After a long and bloody battle, where Flynt and Kuthelaquin were both wounded, the pirates were destroyed, with only one of the crew of the Binkley suffering a wound.  

The decks literally awash with blood and gore, the crew of the Binkley stood victorious, and claimed the ship for themselves.  After freeing the slaves who readily agreed to join them, they sailed both ships back to Baltimus to claim their prize money.  
As news of their heroism spread through town, people flocked to the dockside to see the valiant heroes and cheered them as they made their way back to the Great Harbour Council Hall to claim their prize.  After some more haggling with Pathe, a bounty of 31,000 pieces of eight was agreed on, and the battered and bloody crew immediately went shopping, with Merle giving a bonus of 200 pieces of eight each to the original crew of the Binkley.  

As they were about to leave the council hall, they were approached by the personal secretary of Edward Lazenby, Percy Bartlet.  He handed them a wax sealed envelope with courtly grace, which had the personal seal of Lazenby himself.  After hearing of their heroism and speaking to Admiral Duckworth, Lazenby had invited them all to a performance of The Merchant Of Venice at the Baltimus Shakespear Company, formal dress mandatory.  

Flush with cash, the party headed to Mid Town to outfit themselves in finery for a night at the theatre.

50 Fathoms Maiden Voyage - Session three - Swimming with sharks

50 Fathoms

Session 3 Maiden Voyage

The Party:

Urghh - Half Ugak Bloodthirsty sailor - Aaron

Flynt - Delusional Human merchant - Charlie

Obadiah Merle - Squanderous Human Rifleman - Garry

Kuthelaquin - Kraken water mage - Rob


After gaining the environmental protection spell from ghost captain Iago, the crew dived overboard and swam down to the wreck of The Black Prince.  Heading towards the shattered stern of the ship, Merle noticed that they were being flanked by a trio of enormous man eater sharks, the crew stood their ground and were able to dispatch the bloodthirsty creatures quickly with some dashing underwater sword play.  

Swimming to the wreck, they were able to enter the hold and discovered that their were 30 skeletal remains of slaves shackled to the walls of the ship, The Black Prince was obviously a slaver.  Merle noticed that one of the grisly remains was over 7 foot tall, and massively built.  Moving on to the Captain's cabin, the crew discovered the rotting remains of the crew and the Iago's tarred sea chest still bolted to the decking of the cabin.  Urghh moved to rip the chest off the deck and as soon as lifted it, the crew re-animated and attacked the party mercilessly.  Again, without suffering a single wound, the crew were able to destroy the undead sailors and return to The Binkley to speak to Iago.

After revealing they had indeed recovered the locket, Iago pleaded with them to give him the trinket so he could go onto his final rest.  Kuthelaquin was particularly against this idea, arguing that the captain should suffer for the torment he inflicted on the slaves he killed on his voyage.   Eventually the party decided to give him the locket and allow him to rest in peace.  

After bringing the ship about, the crew again continued on their voyage to Lanos.  After three more days at sea, Merle, who was on watch, sighted a sail on the horizon, determining it to be a heavily laden merchant ship.  The ship immediately piled on sail and made a run for it away from The Binkley.  After some discussion to agree that the crew were definitely NOT pirates, they allowed the merchant to sail away and left them in peace.  

Sighting a small dinghy in the middle of open water, Captain Flynt ordered the crew to investigate and were able to rescue the dehydrated and unconscious single occupant. Kuthelaquin restored him to health with his water magic, and the sailor revealed he was James Low, an Earther sailor who was on the merchant ship the Trinidad when it was taken by pirates. He was set adrift by the cruel captain and left to die.  The small ship drifted into a fog bank and he found himself in Caribdus.  After some culture shock, Low asked the captain to take him to the nearest port.

Two days out from Lanos, another sail was sighted, this time a privateer heading on an intercept course with The Binkley.  Realising that the ship was possibly still known for being a pirate brig, the crew decided to try to flee, with Urghh piloting the ship on a course to outrun the privateer.  After a tense 24 hour chase, The damaged Binkley managed to evade the following ship and make for Lanos.

Making port at Lanos, Captain Flynt allowed the crew to leave the ship and carouse, with the rest of the party following them.  With the only inn on Lanos being The Bawdy Maiden, the crew headed there for some restorative rum, and to try to find a merchant contact to buy food supplies to trade.  After a briefly humourous argument with a constable outside the inn, Urghh was relieved of his harpoon and allowed entry.  

After a night of relatively sedate carousing, Captain Flynt and Merle made contact with a Masaquani merchant called Roge Rez, who happily agreed to supply them with a single cargo space of rice and rice wine for trade.  

Their negotiations were interrupted by constable Turner, who offered them employment as deputies.  Farmers had been disappearing without a trace from paddy fields outside the town and the local watch were stretched too thinly to investigate properly, Governor Thornsby offered a reward to any parties that were able to solve the mystery.  

Readily accepting, the crew returned to The Binkley and organised the loading of the food cargo, and decided to take the skiff Rosebud.  Low, their passenger, had left the ship at this point and made his way into town.  

After rowing their way to the paddy fields where the farmers went missing, a quick investigation revealed that there were signs of a scuffle and some cloth strands on the nearby bushes.  With no clear motive or idea where the farmers went, the crew decided to stake out the paddy and hid in a copse of trees and disguised the skiff with branches and foliage.  

After a surveillance of about 10 hours, Merle noticed a trio of farmers heading away from the paddy fields towards a low island sheltered in a strand of trees.  Kuthelaquin decided to follow them by submerging in the muddy waters of the paddy and stealthily following them underwater.  He followed them to the island and realised that they were growing a small crop of opium, and had probably killed the farmers because they had come across the poppy fields.  Turning to swim back to the rest of the crew, Kuthelaquin swan straight into the submerged rotting corpses of the missing farmers.  Taking one of them as proof, he returned to the rest of the party and informed them of what he had found.  

The party decided that they should inform the constable and returned to town, after offering to increase their pay to assist in the arrest, Taylor and the group returned to the opium field and set up an ambush for the smugglers.  Unfortunately, as they returned, the opium farmers realised that their farm had been discovered and the crew lost the element of surprise, and a melee erupted.  

After quickly dispatching half the smugglers, the rest surrendered and were taken into custody by the constable.  With his gratitude the party received their pay and made their way back to the ship to set sail for Baltimus.

A few days out from Baltimus, Merle on watch noticed an enormous man of war bearing down on them, the HMS Justice, Admiral Duckworth's flagship.  Realising that they were massively outgunned and outmanned, the Captain ordered the crew to stand down and let the Admiral and 20 marines board the ship.  After a swift interrogation, Flynt managed to persuade the Admiral that they had taken the ship legally from pirates, and the captain of the Moon Runner could verify their story.  Duckworth was mightily impressed with their tale, (Charlie rolled 23 on his persuasion roll) and allowed them to continue on their way, suggesting they buy letters of marque to legitimise their claim.  

After heading back on course towards Baltimus, the crew sighted a merchant convoy escorted by two galleons and were allowed to join the convoy after signalling the lead ship, and sailed in safety to their destination Baltimus, home of the British East India Company.

Trading Rules for 50 Fathoms

Trading rules:

1) Find out how much of each type of "Trade Goods" are available in the port you're in using the Master Trading Table.

2) Buy "Trade Goods" at the prices listed on the Master Trading Table (or at 75% of those prices with the Merchant Edge)

3) Pay 10% of the Overall Cost in "Stamp Duty" (or 20% of the overall cost in Keira)

4) Travel to Destination

5) Roll using the Master Trading Table to find out how much of each good can be sold at this location.

6) Sell "Trade Goods" at the prices for the new location on the Master Trading Table (or at 125% of that price, with the Master Merchant Edge)

A Successful Streetwise roll must be made to buy the "Trade Goods" Illicitly anywhere that is not a pirate port. A success finds one unit of each trade good available 'under the counter' - each raise can be applied to find one more cargo space worth of that good. (Though no more will be found than is available 'legally' in the same port, as rolled for in step 1 above)

To find goods that DO have a Stamp in a Pirate Port, the same applies.

No "Stamp Duty" is paid, but the goods can only be sold at a "Pirate" port (in Italics on the Master Trading Table) unless a Streetwise roll is made, where a success allows one unit to be sold, and each raise adds another unit that can be sold up to the total that the port is willing to buy (as rolled for in the 'legal trading' side of things step 5).

If the ship is boarded by privateers the unstamped goods are going to look more than a little suspicious ...

Definition of a Brig.

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Brigs fell out of use with the arrival of the steam ship because they required a relatively large crew for their small size and were difficult to sail into the wind. They are not to be confused with a brigantine, which has different rigging (a brigantine has a gaff-rigged mainsail, while a brig has a square mainsail with an additional gaff-rigged spanker behind the mainsail). A brig is distinct from a three-masted ship by virtue of only having two masts.

In sailing, a full-rigged brig is a vessel with two square rigged masts (fore and main). The main mast of a brig is the aft one. To improve manoeuvrability, the mainmast carries a small (gaff rigged) fore-and-aft sail.

Brig sails are named after the masts to which they are attached: the mainsail; above that the main topsail; above that the main topgallant sail; and occasionally a very small sail, called the royal, is above that. Behind the main sail there is a small fore-and-aft sail called the spanker or boom mainsail (it is somewhat similar to the main sail of a schooner). On the foremast is a similar sail, called the trysail. Attached to the respective yards of square-rigged ships are smaller spars, which can be extended, thus lengthening the yard, thus receiving an additional sailing wing on each side. These are called studding sails, and are used with fair and light wind only. The wings are named after the sails to which they are fastened, i.e. the main studding sails, main top studding sails, and the main top gallant studding sails, etc.

The brig’s foremast is smaller than the main mast. The fore mast holds a fore sail, fore top sail, fore top gallant sail, and fore royal. Between the fore mast and the bowsprit are the fore staysail, jib, and flying jib. All the yards are manipulated by a complicated arrangement of cordage named the running rigging. This is opposed to the standing rigging which is fixed, and keeps mast and other objects rigid.

Hull material

A brig is "generally built on a larger scale than a schooner, and may approach the magnitude of a full-sized, three-masted ship." Brigs vary in length between 75 and 165 ft (23–50 m) with tonnages up to 480. Historically, most brigs were made of wood, although some later brigs were built with hulls and masts of steel or iron.  A brig made of pine in the 19th century was designed to last for about twenty years (many lasted longer).

Development of the brig

The word "brig" has been used in the past as an abbreviation of brigantine (which is the name for a two-masted vessel with foremast fully square rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a fore-and-aft mainsail, square topsails and possibly topgallant sails). The brig actually developed as a variant of the brigantine. Re-rigging a brigantine with two square-rigged masts instead of one gave it greater sailing power. The square-rigged brig's advantage over the fore-and-aft rigged brigantine was "that the sails, being smaller and more numerous, are more easily managed, and require fewer men or 'hands' to work them." The variant was so popular that the term "brig" came to exclusively signify a ship with this type of rigging. By the 17th century the British Royal Navy defined "brig" as having two square rigged masts.

Historic usage

Brigs were used as small warships carrying about 10 to 18 guns.  Due to their speed and manoeuvrability they were popular among pirates (though they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates).  While their use stretches back before the 17th century, one of the most famous periods for the brig was during the 19th century when they were involved in famous naval battles such as the Battle of Lake Erie. In the early 19th century the brig was a standard cargo ship. It was seen as "fast and well sailing", but required a large crew to handle its rigging.  While brigs could not sail into the wind as easily as fore-and-aft–rigged vessels such as schooners, a trait that is common to all square-rigged ships, a skilled brig captain could "manoeuvre it with ease and elegance; a brig could for instance turn around almost on the spot".  A brig's square-rig also had the advantage over a fore-and-aft–rigged vessel when travelling offshore, in the trade winds, where vessels sailed downwind for extended distances and where "the danger of a sudden jibe was the large schooner-captain's nightmare".  This trait later led to the evolution of the barquentine. The need for large crews in relation to their relatively small size led to the decline of the production of brigs. They were replaced in commercial traffic by gaffsail schooners (which needed fewer personnel) and steam boats (which did not have the windward performance problems of square rigged ships).

The Telos, built in Bangor, Maine in 1883, was reportedly the last brig to join the American merchant marine, and was "considered to be the finest vessel of her class ever constructed in Maine". She was wrecked on Aves Island, off Bonaire in the Caribbean, in 1900.

50 Fathoms Maiden Voyage - Session 2 - Bar Room Blitz.

50 Fathoms

Session 2 Maiden Voyage

The Party:

Urghh - Half Ugak Bloodthirsty sailor - Aaron

Flynt - Delusional Human merchant - Charlie

Obadiah Merle - Squanderous Human Rifleman - Garry

Kuthelaquin - Kraken water mage - Rob

The crew of the skiff Rosebud see a sail on the horizon, peering through his telescope, Merle discerns that the ship is a heavily damaged merchant ship called the Moon Runner.  After cautiously approaching, the crew hail the ship and are invited aboard by the first officer. 

He thanked them for coming to their assistance and told them that they were set upon by pirates who damaged the sails and poured shot into the hull, the captain and many of the crew were injured in the attack, luckily the Moon Runner was able to lose the attackers in a dense fog bank.

Merle immediately climbed the rigging to the crow's nest to keep watch for the pirates, while Kuthelaquin attended to the crew and captain, using his water magic to heal them and then started to co-ordinate repairs on the ship.  Greedy Flynt went below to check on the cargo, sensing a possible profit.  Urghh stayed on deck and pestered the crew.  

After seeing to the repairs, Kuthelaquin returned to the main deck and was signalled by Merle that there was a ship emerging from the fog bank, he identified it as the Black Arrow, the same ship that attacked the Moon Runner.  Deciding to take the initiative, the party let the pirates board the ship and then attacked them in a frenzied ambush. Urghh stepped into plain view, and loudly addressed the pirates, saying he'd rip their genitals off and feed them to them. (Arron played the Shakin' In Their Boots adventure card)  Everyone froze, and he launched himself into combat.  

Once the attacking captain was stunned by the Half-Ugak's threat, Merle sniped him from the rigging with his rifle, killing him instantly.  Cutting a rope, Merle swung down onto the deck into combat, kicking one of the pirates into his comrade behind him.  

The heroic party whittled down the attackers in a brutal melee that left Flynt mortally wounded, leaking blood onto the deck.  Merle managed to dispatch 5 of the pirates, leaving the rest of the party to make light work of the remainder.  

The captain of the Moon Runner, Kyrie Kal, thanked them for their help and gave them 1000 pieces of eight each.

The party transferred their supplies to the Black Arrow along with their crew, and plotted a course to Brigandy Bay.  After some discussion, the Black Arrow was renamed the Brinkley, for reasons that are not all together apparent.

Inspecting the hold, Flynt, who was still aching after his wounds were healed by Kuthelaquin, found that the pirates were carrying 30 casks of gunpowder.  After discussing it with the rest of the crew, they decided to sell the powder at Brigandy Bay and try to make a decent profit.  At this time, Merle was appointed quartermaster, Urghh pilot, Kuthelaquin ship's doctor, and Flynt as captain.  

After sailing to Brigandy Bay, the crew moored and made their way into the pirate town.  Allowing half the crew to go carousing, and the other left to guard the ship, the party joined them in the festivities, ending up in the Black Queen Inn.  After Flynt made contact with a local black market trader, Ballard, they were able to sell the gunpowder and buy extra cannons for the ship at a reasonable price, they also arranged to restock with provisions.  

Flynt was approached by Annie Mason, an indentured prostitute who wanted to escape from Brigandy Bay, after shamelessly trying to haggle for more of a reward, they agreed to help her flee the following night.  

The next night in the Black Queen, Annie started a bar fight with pirates at the adjacent table, seeing their drawn knives, Urghh drew his great axe and started chopping.  The bar fight quickly turned into a massacre, with Urghh killing 3 of the pirates and two of the Grael bouncers before being ordered to flee with the rest of the crew.  

Quickly setting sail and almost crashing the ship into a nearby dock, the crew made their way west around the point of Brigandy Bay heading towards Lanos,

With Merle on watch, a ghostly apparition appeared on the deck, the spirit of Captain Iago Alfonso de Toledo.  The ghostly captain begged the crew to recover his lost locket from his ship, The Black Prince and offered them the treasures of his ship as a reward.  The crew agreed to help and set sail for the site of the sunken wreck.

Johnston Blakeley, Privateer for the British East India Company

Johnston Blakeley was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France and the War of 1812. He is considered to be one of the most successful American naval officers of that period.

Blakeley was born near Seaford, County Down, Ireland. Brought to the United States as a child in 1783, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, in 1800, then joined the Navy and was appointed a Midshipman in 1800.

After service in President during the Quasi-War with France and command of Enterprise early in the War of 1812, Master Commandant Blakeley was appointed to command of the newly built sloop-of-war Wasp.

In 1814, he made a very successful cruise which in June included the sinking of HMS Reindeer. In September, in a similar action, Blakeley sunk HMS Avon. That month he also captured the mercantile brig Atalanta. Wasp was last heard of 9 October 1814 and is believed to have foundered in a gale.  Blakeley received the Thanks of Congress, a gold medal, and posthumous advancement to the rank of Captain for his last cruise.

Captain Blakeley was married, in December, 1813, to Miss Jane Hoope, the daughter of his father’s old friend, Mr. Hoope, of New York; and has left an only daughter, who received one of the most noble and substantial and affecting tributes of national gratitude which has occurred in the history of this country. The legislature of North Carolina, on 27 December 1816, after prescribing the destination of the sword they had voted to Captain Blakeley, "Resolved, unanimously, That Captain Blakeley’s child be educated at the expense of this State; and that Mrs. Jane Blakeley be requested to draw on the Treasurer of this State, from time to time, for such sums of money as shall be required for the education of the said child."

In reality, the USS Wasp and her crew were drawn through the mists by the Maiden and barely escaped the Devil’s cross.  The Wasp was heavily damaged and all hands abandoned ship, leaving her fate unknown.  Blakeley has put aside his feelings toward the British and offered his services as a privateer commanding the Miss Jane, a brigantine in the service of the British East India Company.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6

Skills: Boating d8, Climbing d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, Notice d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Swimming d8

Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 5

Hindrances: Loyal

Edges: Block, Combat Reflexes, Musketeer

Booty: Loot per every 3 privateers.

Gear: Knife (Str+d4), cutlass (Str+d6), pistol (Range 5/10/20, Damage 2d6+1), compass, US Naval uniform

50 Fathoms - Maiden Voyage session 1

50 Fathoms

Session 1 Maiden Voyage

The Party:

Urghh - Half Ugak Seasick sailor - Aaron

Flynt - Delusional Human merchant - Charlie

Obadiah Merle - Squanderous Human Rifleman - Garry

Kuthelaquin - Kraken water mage - Rob

The crew of the Rebecca find themselves shipwrecked on the shores of Torath-Ka, The Savage Land, the party consists of Obadiah Merle, a Napoleonic rifleman from Earth, Urghh, a Half-Ugak sailor, Kuthelaquin a Kraken water mage and Flynt, a human merchant. After inspecting the wrecked skiff lying on the beach the party are set upon by an enraged Yellowback, a dinosaur similar to a veloceraptor from Earth. Merle takes aim with his rifle and shoots, unbelievably the shot ricochets off the scaled creatures hide. Urghh, under orders from Flynt, steps up and hurls his harpoon, pinning the creature to the beach through the neck and killing it in one hit. After some discussion, the Yellowback is butchered expertly by Flynt for food.

The crew make their way back to the ship to find it has burned to the waterline and there are tracks leading into the the thick jungle, Merle is able to discern that there are also drag marks along with the oversized footprints, meaning the remains of the ship's crew were taken against their will. Following the tracks into the thick primordial jungle, all of the party resist the thick humid air of the track, except Flynt who fatigues noticeably. After a long trek following the tracks, the group eventually came upon a Red Man blood pool with the survivors from the Rebecca tied in front of it, with a band of Red Men and a tribal shaman chanting to their obscene monkape god.

Without any prompting, Urghh launches himself into the midst of the Red men, expertly flinging his harpoon at the shaman, killing him instantly. In the ensuing commotion, two of the sailors bound in front of the pool freed themselves and attacked the Red Men (Charlie played the Here Comes The Cavalry adventure card).

Summoned by Kuthelaquin, a blood red water elemental rose from the blood pool and attacked the savages, disabling two of them immediately. (Rob played the Get Savage adventure card, slightly bending the rules but it was cinematic and cool). Merle opened fire on the savages, taking out one of the Red Men. Demoralised and already severely outnumbered by this point, the remaining savages fled into the jungle leaving the party to free their shipmates and retreat back to the beach.

After salvaging 100 rations from the Rebecca, Kuthelaquin repaired the skiff with boards and sail from the doomed merchant ship and the shipmates set sail. After a lengthy discussion, they decided to head towards Brigandy Bay because of their limited rations.

Expertly navigated by Merle with his map and compass, the unnamed skiff made excellent time, travelling 55 leagues before sighting a sail on the horizon......

Ship's roles for 50 Fathoms

The Captain

One thing for sure about pirates is they didn't like authority. The Navy ships of the various countries were usually commanded by the privileged class, not necessarily because of any inherent skill but just because that was the way it was done. Sailor in the regular navy were often treated miserably by their Captains. Pirates would have nothing to with this.

Contrary to the book Treasure Island, Most Captains didn't command by an iron fist, they commanded because of skill, daring, and the ability to win prize and booty. In some cases pirate ship elected its Captain through a vote. If the Captain fell in disfavour the crew were just as quick as quick to maroon their captain, or throw him overboard, or perhaps if he were lucky they would just let him off at the nearest port.

But it is safe to assume that if a Captain had a bad cruise with little to show for it and the end of it, it would be difficult for him to raise a new crew in the future.

In many cases, the Captain didn't have the last say, except perhaps in the midst of battle. In fact, on some ships , the Captain had no more power than every other pirate on board except in times of battle. When not in battle or preparing to fight, quite often the Quartermaster might actually be in charge of the ship.

Important matters such as where the ship might sail, or rather or not to put into port, or if a certain ship should be engaged and so on, were quite often not up to the Captain. These pressing details were decided by vote, with the majority ruling. If the Captain were to go against the vote, then he too would be in violation of the Articles of Piracy, and would most likely step down from command and new leader would be chosen.

Of course on other ships, simply through his skill and charisma, a pirate captain would command and lead with his voice being the ultimate authority. While it is true that after mutinies crews would sometimes vote ona new captain before going pirate, it was usually the leader of the mutiny that got the vote. It is also true that, especially among some of the smaller pirate vessels, that the pirate crew was led by a natural leader and his close mates. In such a case, the priate crew may work more like a family or clan than the much touted democracy.

Quartermaster

The Quartermaster, depending on the circumstances and the pirate ship was the second in command. His main purpose was to distribute things. He distributed, rations, powder, work, prize, and punishment.

Pirate didn't trust authority and therefore saw no reason to let all the power of a ship rest on one man. Therefore they split the power between, the Captain, who led the ship in battle, and navigated the ship, and the Quartermaster, who usually led the way on any boarding party, and kept custody of all prize or booty. The Quartermaster also determined what prize was worth taking.

As expected all gold, silver, or coin was taken, but beyond that, it was the quartermaster who decided what else was worth taking. He made his decisions based on time on how much room the ship had. If the ship was already cramped, spices and exotic materials may be burned rather that stolen.

The quartermaster would also watch over the treasure until it was divided among the crew. It was also the quartermaster who did the dividing, with the crew's supervision. There was rarely a dispute about how the loot was divided, however.

The quartermaster was also the only man who could dole out punishment. Even then, any many instances the crew would take a vote first. The captain could order punishment but only the quartermaster could administer it, which made it the will of at least two before any punishment was given.

The quartermaster also settled individual quarrels and if need be, acted as a witness to any duels, to insure that duels were fair and just. Finally, on some ships, except when in battle the quartermaster might actually hold a position above the captain, especially in matters of punishment and rations.

Despite all the activity of the quartermaster, Pirate captains would still pick their other officers such as first and second mate, often creating a complex chain of command on a pirate ship.

Of course this was not always the case. In many cases, a pirate captain was the ultimate law and there was no quartermaster or the quartermaster and captain worked as if captain and first-mate. Much of the discussion of quartermasters is found in the General History of Pirates and it would be foolish to think all pirate crews had a division of power as it described in that book.

First Mate

On most ships, the First Mate is the officer who ranks just below the Captain of the ship and takes over in the event that the Captain can no longer perform his duties. Unfortunately this is not the case on a pirate ship. The first mate on a pirate ship is the man the pirate picks as his second in command. In the even the pirate is killed the job falls to the quartermaster. Ships also had second, third, even forth mates creating a chain of command.

Boatswain (bos'n)

Among the crews were several skilled seamen who kept the ship afloat or kept the crew in place. The Bos'n was one of them. Originally, on board a sailing ship such as a man-of-war or a galleon, the boatswain was in charge of a ship's anchors, cordage, colours, deck crew and the ship's boats, and would also be in charge of the rigging while the ship was in dock. The bos'n is often a petty officer. On a sailing ship he might be the thyroid or forth mate. within a pirate crew, if it were large a Bos'n would be right under the quartermaster. On a smaller ship the quartermaster would handle the jobs of the bos'n.

Cabin Boy

The cabin boy is typically a young boy of privileged birth who is sent to sea to learn the maritime trade. Typically the cabin boy waits upon the officers of the ship. In some instances he may act as the Captain's servant. The cabin boy will run messages and errands for the officers, prepare their uniforms, perhaps even fetches their dinner. Because he is an apprentice of sorts, he is also expected to learn all aspects of the maritime trade. The cabin boy works long hard hours. Even on pirate ships, the captain might employ a young energetic fellow as a cabin boy.

Carpenter

A ship's carpenter was the man who kept the ship afloat, making necessary repairs, filling holes if need be, and so on. Carpentry was an extremely useful skill on-board ship and good carpenters were highly valued.

Gunner

Gunners were skilled men who aimed the guns on a ship. In some instances a master gunner would give orders to other gunners on how to set their guns during a broadside. It took years of practice to become a good gunner.

Master
The term used to describe a leader of certain section. Thus the master gunner is the person in charge of the guns (artillery, now pistols), the Master Rigger would be in charge of fixing the ships rigging, a Master carpenter, would be the top carpenter. Under these "masters" would be a series of mates. Thus you might have a gunners mate and gunners second mate and so on.

Pilot

The man at the helm. The helmsman. The pilot was the man who steered the ship. Typically one man would be the master pilot who would work with the navigator and captain to pilot the ship over the water. The pilot needed to know such aspects as the ship's draught (how deep she sat in the water) how wide the ship was and how sharply she could turn. In shallow waters, the crew would take soundings (checking the depth of the water) and it would be up to the pilot to either steer the ship or sometimes stand at the bow and relay orders back to the man at the helm which way to steer the ship. Quite often, in the movies you see the captain of the ship giving the orders but in real life the captain would rely on the pilot of the ship to do such a task. In some cases a crew man might be given the task of acting as a pilot for a portion of a voyage because they were more familiar with sand banks, hidden shoals, and rough currents in an that area

Powder Monkey

Powder Monkey was a British naval term used to describe the young boys who made up the gun crews. The term dates from the 1600's. Many powder monkeys were probably pressed into service, being kidnapped by press gangs and forced to serve aboard ship. Often the powder monkeys were young lads no more than eleven to thirteen years old. They mainly assisted the gun crews and learned most of the ships basics but were paid little (if anything), treated poorly, and were expendable. If they managed to live a few years, they might eventually make it to a position of more importance on the ship. Often, due to their harsh life, powder monkeys were quick to sign articles and desert a ship. On a pirate ship, new comers would serve the function of powder monkeys.

Sea Artist

A sea artists is not someone who paints seascapes. typically the term referred to the ship's navigator. The sea artist was expert at reading and correcting charts, using navigational tools such as the cross-staff, backstaff, quadrant, and sextant (depending on time period). They were also expert at use dead reckoning methods for determining longitude. Some were also capable of determining longitude using lunar observations (taking lunars). The sea artist was also an expert at reading the ocean, able to tell shallows and hidden reefs from deep waters and able to determine if storms were coming. Possessing such knowledge often would make a person the second mate if he were not already the first mate or captain.

On a more broad term, the sea artists was anyone who could navigate ships over great distances with little or no difficulty, an expert seaman.

Striker

Often overlooked, the Striker was a native of the West Indies, typically from Darien or the Mosquito Coast. They were expert hunters who trapped sea turtles and manatees; fished for sharks and other large fish; and also hunted wild game when the the crew came ashore. Their knowledge of local plants aided in collecting edible fruits and vegetables as well as medicinal plants and herbs.Their expert ability at hunting and fishing earned them a spot among the crew, Their hatred of Spain assured their loyalty and ferocity in battle. They were not kept aboard for the seaman ship, their job was to catch fish and kill Spaniards.

Surgeon

Surgeons were highly valued among pirates and when pirates captured ships they would often press surgeons into service. A surgeon was typically the only person kept on board who was not required to sign articles. Depending on the nature of the crew some surgeons were paid even if they refused to sign on.

If a surgeon wasn't handy, then the crew would often elect someone with an inkling of knowledge to act as surgeon. On at least one account, the carpenter was elected the ship's surgeon, because the carpenter had the necessary tools needed to amputate limbs and knew how to cut quickly. At other times a cook might also be employed but cooks were normally considered less skillful at cutting than carpenters. (Cooks weren't butchers and had little training. Typically they were crew members assigned to work the galley who managed to make edible food.)

The Pirate Code

The Pirate Code

Every man shall have an equal vote in affairs of moment. He shall have an equal title to the fresh provisions or strong liquors at any time seized, and shall use them at pleasure unless a scarcity may make it necessary for the common good that a retrenchment may be voted.

Every man shall be called fairly in turn by the list on board of prizes, because over and above their proper share, they are allowed a shift of clothes. But if they defraud the company to the value of even one dollar in plate, jewels or money, they shall be marooned. If any man rob another he shall have his nose and ears slit, and be put ashore where he shall be sure to encounter hardships.

None shall game for money either with dice or cards.

The lights and candles should be put out at eight at night, and if any of the crew desire to drink after that hour they shall sit upon the open deck without lights.

Each man shall keep his piece, cutlass and pistols at all times clean and ready for action.

No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man shall be found seducing any of the latter sex and carrying her to sea in disguise he shall suffer death.

He that shall desert the ship or his quarters in time of battle shall be punished by death or marooning.

None shall strike another on board the ship, but every man's quarrel shall be ended on shore by sword or pistol in this manner. At the word of command from the quartermaster, each man being previously placed back to back, shall turn and fire immediately. If any man do not, the quartermaster shall knock the piece out of his hand. If both miss their aim they shall take to their cutlasses, and he that draw the first blood shall be declared the victor.

No man shall talk of breaking up their way of living till each has a share of 1,000. Every man who shall become a cripple or lose a limb in the service shall have 800 pieces of eight from the common stock and for lesser hurts proportionately.

The captain and the quartermaster shall each receive two shares of a prize, the master gunner and boatswain, one and one half shares, all other officers one and one quarter, and private gentlemen of fortune one share each.

The musicians shall have rest on the Sabbath Day only by right. On all other days by favor only

Henry Every, AKA Long Ben, The King Of the Pirates for 50 Fathoms.

The Ballad Of Long Ben

In '94 we took the Charles and set Gibson ashore

And set a course for southern seas, to sail for evermore

Round the Cape in a hurricane with the devil on our beam

And clear to Newgate London Town you could have heard us scream:

Here's to gentlemen at sea tonight, and a toast to all free men

And when the devil comes to take us home, we'll drink

To old Long Ben!

Now off the coast of Hindoostan we spied a musselman

She'd 60 guns and musket men, but still away she ran

"Ho!", cried Ben and ran the grinning skull atop the mast

"I'll wager half my share me lads, there's not a ship this fast!"

Here's to gentlemen at sea tonight and a toast to all free men

And when the devil comes to take us home, he'll drink

With old Long Ben!

We ran her down off Malabar as she lay becalmed

And there beneath the burning sun stood Al Ibrahim Khan

He twirled his 'stache and raised his sword and gave a might roar

Then cowered like a dog below and hid amongst his whores

Here's to...

We turned the Fancy from the wind and ran out 40 guns

And soon the sky was filled with smoke that hid us from the sun

Then up and down the ship we fought, until the decks ran red

And when the fight was done we drank and this is what we said:

Here's to...

For thirteen days aboard the Ganj, we made a merry sport

A thousand pounds of Mughal gold, and whisky, rum and port

Some men we shot and some we walked and some of them did hang

And while we made free with the girls, well this is what we sang:

Here's to...

Henry Every, also Evory or Avery, (baptised 23 August 1659 – after 1696), sometimes erroneously given as John Avery,[a] was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates.

Dubbed "The Arch Pirate" and "The King of Pirates" by contemporaries, Every was the most notorious pirate of his time; he earned his infamy by becoming one of the few major pirate captains to retire with his loot without being arrested or killed in battle, and also for being the perpetrator of what has been called the most profitable pirate raid in history. Although Every's career as a pirate lasted only two years, his exploits captured the public's imagination, inspired others to take up piracy, and spawned numerous works of literature.

Every was baptised at Newton Ferrers in Devon in England's West Country, likely a member of the local Every family; little else is known about his early life. He served in the Royal Navy from 1689 to 1690, likely participating in several battles of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). Following his discharge from the navy, Every began slave trading along Africa's Slave Coast. In 1693, he was again employed as a mariner, this time as first mate aboard the warship Charles II, which had been commissioned by England's ally, Charles II of Spain (the ship's namesake), to prey on French vessels in the West Indies. After leaving London in August 1693, the Charles II anchored in the northern Spanish harbor of Corunna, where other vessels were assembling for the expedition. The crew grew discontent as Madrid failed to deliver a letter of marque and the Charles II's owners failed to pay their wages. On the evening of 7 May 1694, the restless sailors mutinied. With the Charles II renamed the Fancy and Every elected as the new captain, the Fancy sailed south en route to the Indian Ocean, soon plundering five ships off the West African coast.

In early 1695 the Fancy had reached the Comoros Islands, where Every's crew raided a French vessel and narrowly escaped capture by three East Indiamen. The Fancy then sailed north to the Arabian Sea, where a 25-ship convoy of Grand Mughal vessels was making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, including the treasure-laden flagship Ganj-i-sawai and its escort, the Fateh Muhammed. Joining forces with several pirate vessels, Every found himself in command of a small pirate squadron, including a sloop captained by English pirate Thomas Tew. As the pirates gave chase, the smaller vessels in the squadron gradually fell behind, and at some point Tew was killed in an engagement with a Mughal ship. Every had more success, however, capturing the Fateh Muhammed and later overtaking the Ganj-i-sawai, snapping its mainmast in a cannonball volley. Following several hours of ferocious hand-to-hand combat on deck, the pirates emerged victorious. Although many pirates were reportedly killed, the payoff was astonishing: Every had captured up to £600,000 in precious metals and jewels, making him the richest pirate in the world. After this raid, Every and his crew tortured and killed a great number of the passengers and raped women of all ages. Some women stabbed themselves with daggers or jumped overboard, committing suicide to escape this fate.

The plunder of Ganj-i-sawai caused considerable damage to England's fragile relations with the Mughals. In response to Every's attack, a combined bounty of £1,000—an immense sum by the standards of the time—was offered for his capture by the Privy Council and the East India Company, leading to the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history. Every and his crew fled to the Bahamas, briefly sheltering in New Providence, a known pirate haven. After adopting aliases, the crew broke company, most choosing to sail home to the British Isles and the rest remaining in the British West Indies or taking to the North American colonies. Twenty-four of the pirates were eventually captured, and six were tried, convicted, and hanged in London in November 1696. Yet Every eluded capture, vanishing from all records in 1696; his whereabouts and activities after this period are unknown. Unconfirmed accounts state he may have changed his name and retired, quietly living out the rest of his life in either Britain or an unidentified tropical island, dying sometime after 1696. Many still believe that Every's treasure is still out there.

They are wrong…..

Every and his immense fortune were engulfed by a mysterious fog-bank deep in the heart of the Caribbean, transporting him and the remnants of his crew to Caribdus. Like a poverbial duck to water, Every continues to be a scourge to merchant ships and traders, fast gaining a reputation that threatens to rival Blackbeard.  Eventually the two pirate Lords will meet, and a parley will be struck or war declared, either eventuality will have dire consequences for the seafarers of Caribdus.

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d8

Skills: Boating d10, Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Intimidation d10, Notice d8, Shooting d8, Stealth d8, Streetwise d10, Taunt d8, Swimming d6

Charisma: –4; Pace: 6; Parry: 9; Toughness: 6

Hindrances: Bloodthirsty, Greedy

Edges: Block, Command, Hard to Kill, Hold the line! Improved Block, Level headed, Quick, Really Dirty Fighter

Booty: King's Ransom.

Gear: Knife (Str+d4), Cutlass (Str+d6), pistol (Range 5/10/20, Damage 2d6+1).