Amiria
2015-03-31, 03:43 PM
Avast ! All hands on deck ye scurvy sea dogs !
Errm, hi,
the setting / system is "Pirates of the Spanish Main" (Savage Worlds) which takes place in a not really historically accurate version of the Carribean during the Golden Age of Piracy. And there I need help with ideas for the plot / scenes. There are 8 PCs (Wild Cards in Savage Worlds jargon) aboard our pirate ship. They are played by less then 8 players, but only about 4 PCs will be played simultaneusly while the rest usually blends in with the normal crew (Extras). These pirates are more the heroic and less the villainous type inspired by classic films like "The Black Swan" (1942, with Tyrone Power) and "The Crimson Pirate" (1952, with Burt Lancaster).
The ragtag PCs are:
Tyrone McKinnon, the captain; male Scottish-Irish, catholic; leadership and good boating skills, competent fencer
Diego Montoya, the quartermaster; male Spanish, catholic; best boating skills, good fencer
Evangeline de Moret, the face; female French former novice nun, catholic; best social skills, good fencer
Antigone Jones, the thief; female Creole-English, protestant / voodoo; thieving and social skills, good fencer
Joop van Bommel, the bo'sun; male Dutch, protestant; repair and boating skills, good fighter
Hiram van Sneijder, the surgeon; male English-Dutch, protestant; medical skills, good marksman
Salomón Bomba, the master of guns; male West African (Yoruba) former slave, catholic / yoruba; good fighter and marksman
Samuel Crow, the master of sails; male English, protestant; boating skills, best fighter
The general idea for the adventure is that the pirates board a spanish galleon (which took some damage and lost its escort during a storm) en route to Puerto Cabello with minimal losses. The plunder is good but there is a chance for more when they kidnap passenger (the bride to be of the governor of Puerto Cabello) and demand a ransom from the Spaniards by letting the galleon play the messenger. The ransom is paid on a sandbar (idea stolen from Pirates of the Caribbean 3) and the pirates escape unscathed (or so it seems).
Now here starts my problem, because I want the pirate ship and all of its crew with the exception of 4 of the PC's pursued, found and captured by the Spaniards in a way that makes sense (.e.g. they run aground on another sandbar and stuck there as a sitting duck when a superior spanish warship finds them ... but how can the 4 PCs escape then ?). :smallannoyed:
For later parts my idea is that the 4 escaped PCs make their way to Puerto Cabello to rescue their crewmates, take back their ship and also get back some plunder). Meanwhile the captured 4 PCs might try to escape on their own but it would be ok if the focus stays on the escaped ones. Solution found.
So far I have the following scenes:
Scene 1: The quite easy capture of the spanish galleon and abduction of the bride to be of the governor.
Scene 2: Getting news that the Spaniards will pay the ransom. Releasing the bride for a nice sum of gold. Of course, the pirates know that spanish ships will be waiting behind the horizon ready for pursuit, but they trust in their skill as sailors and the speed of their ship.
Scene 3: While sailing north along the coast not long after scene 3, some disaster or bad luck strikes. The ship is found in a bad position by the Spaniards and the crews only hope to prolong their life a bit is to surrender. 4 PCs can escape (best more by lucky coincidence and not in a way that makes them look like cowards or traitors).
Scene 4: The escaped PCs have some encounter with unfriendly locals (wildlife or people) on their way to Puerto Cabello (by land and/or by sea, e.g. with a dinghy).
Scene 5: The captives arrive in Puerto Cabello and learn that they are about to dance the hangman's jig in a few days, maybe with some torture beforehand. They are brought to their temporary residence (jail) and meet some fellow inmates. There should be enough inmates to instigate a prison revolt and/or to supplement losses from the crew (e.g. if the Spaniards hang a few crewman every day and the PCs are of course lucky enough to be not among the first ones to face the gallows). Already played.
Scene 6: The escaped PCs arrive at Puerto Cabello and sneak into town. There should be at least 2 among them who have a good chance to blend in or pose as persons to be respected: the quartermaster, the face and the surgeon -> the former is a native Spaniard while the latter two are the most cultured ones and can both speak not only Spanish (all PCs can) but also Latin. This might help if they try to infiltrate the prison disguised as people of the church.
Scene 7: The prison escape, triggered by one or both groups. Either way, it shouldn't raise a general alarm in the town just yet to set the stage for the following scenes. The PCs will now have a large group of NPCs (their crew and other inmates of the jail) under their command who can help in causing chaos and evening the odds against the town guard / soldiers. Their original NPC crew was 12, now they might have at least thrice that number at their disposal.
Scenes 8 and later: Here one group of PCs should try to neutralize the cannons / garrison of the fort that watches over the entrance of the harbour so that they can escape with their ship(s). The other group will do what pirates love to do ! Plunder ! They lost their ship, all they had stolen from the galleon and the ransom money and now it is time to get some some new plunder ... with interest ! The PCs should lack the manpower for a full-blown sacking of the town. But concentrating on the harbour and stealing one or even two valuable ships - maybe with valuable cargo - while setting fire to the rest seems managable.
In the aftermath the PCs should escape richer than before. But excess riches in the form of stolen ships can easily sail away to seek fortunes of their own with their crews of liberated prisoners while the PCs are only left with their old or maybe a slightly better ship.
I appreciate ideas / fleshing out for any part of the adventure. :smallsmile: The things that still need work are Scenes 6 and later, with the the final part (Scenes 8 and later - the climax).
Errm, hi,
the setting / system is "Pirates of the Spanish Main" (Savage Worlds) which takes place in a not really historically accurate version of the Carribean during the Golden Age of Piracy. And there I need help with ideas for the plot / scenes. There are 8 PCs (Wild Cards in Savage Worlds jargon) aboard our pirate ship. They are played by less then 8 players, but only about 4 PCs will be played simultaneusly while the rest usually blends in with the normal crew (Extras). These pirates are more the heroic and less the villainous type inspired by classic films like "The Black Swan" (1942, with Tyrone Power) and "The Crimson Pirate" (1952, with Burt Lancaster).
The ragtag PCs are:
Tyrone McKinnon, the captain; male Scottish-Irish, catholic; leadership and good boating skills, competent fencer
Diego Montoya, the quartermaster; male Spanish, catholic; best boating skills, good fencer
Evangeline de Moret, the face; female French former novice nun, catholic; best social skills, good fencer
Antigone Jones, the thief; female Creole-English, protestant / voodoo; thieving and social skills, good fencer
Joop van Bommel, the bo'sun; male Dutch, protestant; repair and boating skills, good fighter
Hiram van Sneijder, the surgeon; male English-Dutch, protestant; medical skills, good marksman
Salomón Bomba, the master of guns; male West African (Yoruba) former slave, catholic / yoruba; good fighter and marksman
Samuel Crow, the master of sails; male English, protestant; boating skills, best fighter
The general idea for the adventure is that the pirates board a spanish galleon (which took some damage and lost its escort during a storm) en route to Puerto Cabello with minimal losses. The plunder is good but there is a chance for more when they kidnap passenger (the bride to be of the governor of Puerto Cabello) and demand a ransom from the Spaniards by letting the galleon play the messenger. The ransom is paid on a sandbar (idea stolen from Pirates of the Caribbean 3) and the pirates escape unscathed (or so it seems).
Now here starts my problem, because I want the pirate ship and all of its crew with the exception of 4 of the PC's pursued, found and captured by the Spaniards in a way that makes sense (.e.g. they run aground on another sandbar and stuck there as a sitting duck when a superior spanish warship finds them ... but how can the 4 PCs escape then ?). :smallannoyed:
For later parts my idea is that the 4 escaped PCs make their way to Puerto Cabello to rescue their crewmates, take back their ship and also get back some plunder). Meanwhile the captured 4 PCs might try to escape on their own but it would be ok if the focus stays on the escaped ones. Solution found.
So far I have the following scenes:
Scene 1: The quite easy capture of the spanish galleon and abduction of the bride to be of the governor.
Scene 2: Getting news that the Spaniards will pay the ransom. Releasing the bride for a nice sum of gold. Of course, the pirates know that spanish ships will be waiting behind the horizon ready for pursuit, but they trust in their skill as sailors and the speed of their ship.
Scene 3: While sailing north along the coast not long after scene 3, some disaster or bad luck strikes. The ship is found in a bad position by the Spaniards and the crews only hope to prolong their life a bit is to surrender. 4 PCs can escape (best more by lucky coincidence and not in a way that makes them look like cowards or traitors).
Scene 4: The escaped PCs have some encounter with unfriendly locals (wildlife or people) on their way to Puerto Cabello (by land and/or by sea, e.g. with a dinghy).
Scene 5: The captives arrive in Puerto Cabello and learn that they are about to dance the hangman's jig in a few days, maybe with some torture beforehand. They are brought to their temporary residence (jail) and meet some fellow inmates. There should be enough inmates to instigate a prison revolt and/or to supplement losses from the crew (e.g. if the Spaniards hang a few crewman every day and the PCs are of course lucky enough to be not among the first ones to face the gallows). Already played.
Scene 6: The escaped PCs arrive at Puerto Cabello and sneak into town. There should be at least 2 among them who have a good chance to blend in or pose as persons to be respected: the quartermaster, the face and the surgeon -> the former is a native Spaniard while the latter two are the most cultured ones and can both speak not only Spanish (all PCs can) but also Latin. This might help if they try to infiltrate the prison disguised as people of the church.
Scene 7: The prison escape, triggered by one or both groups. Either way, it shouldn't raise a general alarm in the town just yet to set the stage for the following scenes. The PCs will now have a large group of NPCs (their crew and other inmates of the jail) under their command who can help in causing chaos and evening the odds against the town guard / soldiers. Their original NPC crew was 12, now they might have at least thrice that number at their disposal.
Scenes 8 and later: Here one group of PCs should try to neutralize the cannons / garrison of the fort that watches over the entrance of the harbour so that they can escape with their ship(s). The other group will do what pirates love to do ! Plunder ! They lost their ship, all they had stolen from the galleon and the ransom money and now it is time to get some some new plunder ... with interest ! The PCs should lack the manpower for a full-blown sacking of the town. But concentrating on the harbour and stealing one or even two valuable ships - maybe with valuable cargo - while setting fire to the rest seems managable.
In the aftermath the PCs should escape richer than before. But excess riches in the form of stolen ships can easily sail away to seek fortunes of their own with their crews of liberated prisoners while the PCs are only left with their old or maybe a slightly better ship.
I appreciate ideas / fleshing out for any part of the adventure. :smallsmile: The things that still need work are Scenes 6 and later, with the the final part (Scenes 8 and later - the climax).