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Sea of Dead Men: v1.3 Joe Adkisson
Sea of Dead Men: v1.3 Joe Adkisson
v1.3
Joe Adkisson
Overview
“The sea’s a cruel mistress, mark my words. There are whispers of ancient ruins half-buried beneath forgotten
What she offers is freedom – a chance to carve
The Characters islands, and of strange, impossible creatures – mermaids and
The characters begin as the crew of a fledgling pirate ship – an
out a new life for yourself, away from the rules sirens, giant serpents and tentacled monsters. Old sailors tell
untested, ragtag band of outlaws. They attempt to build themselves
and laws of the land. It’s a powerful thing, to stories of ghostly ships roaming the face of the sea, and vast
up to a serious force in the Carrascan Sea, by taking prizes, building
live on the sea’s bounty. But her price is steep, leviathans lurking beneath it. They say that there are some among
alliances, striking back at their enemies, and staying a step ahead
and sooner or later she always takes what’s the island tribes who can mix drugs to bewitch a sailor, or restore
of the law.
due.” a dead body to life. The official statements from back north say
– Reza Pearce, captain of the Falcon that such tales are superstitious nonsense – but the seafarers of
The Crew the Carrascan know all too well how true they can be.
In addition to creating characters, you’ll also create the crew by
Summary choosing what kind of pirates you’re interested in playing. This Amidst it all sail the pirates, brigands, corsairs, and privateers who
Sea of Dead Men is a Blades hack about a crew determines the general aesthetic of the crew, and makes a couple have made the Carrascan their home. Far from the harsh reality
of pirates making their fortune in the lawless decisions about your ship. The crew (and by extension the ship) gets of laws and hard labor, pirates ply their trades freely, harassing
Carrascan Sea. There are pitched naval its own sheet, just like a player character. merchant vessels and bringing home holds full of plunder. The
battles, chases, camaraderie, betrayals, laws of the old world are thin around its edges, and no country can
deception, swashbucklery, strange magic and
lost treasure.
The Setting spare the resources to stamp out piracy for good. As long as they
The game takes place in the Carrascan Sea, a tropical ocean lying stay beneath the notice of the law, there’s plenty of opportunity
We play to find out if our pirate crew can on the southern edge of the so-called civilized world. It’s dotted by for pirate crews to make a fortune in the Carrascan.
survive and flourish amidst the rival pirates, small islands, which range in climate from warm and hospitable
dark spirits, powerful merchant companies, beaches to barren rocks and jagged cliffs. Imperialist nations from Caveat Lector
and royal navies of the Carrascan, or if they the northern continents have been colonizing the Carrascan for the Sea of Dead Men is not a complete game. It’s a hack of Blades
will fall beneath the waves as have so many past few decades, and most of the larger and more hospitable islands in the Dark, by John Harper; as such, it leaves out a lot of rules
before them. are home to port towns, plantations and fortresses flying the flag and gameplay information that you’ll need to play. If you
of some country or other. already have a copy of Blades, go on ahead – this PDF will
Touchstones Wars spring up between nations as easily as brawls in a dockside
provide you with the rules changes, playbooks and setting info
Film & TV: Captain Blood, directed by you need to play a crew of daring pirates in a bountiful and
bar, and their effects are felt even as far south as the Carrascan: dangerous ocean. If not, you can grab a copy of Blades at
Michael Curtiz; Black Sails, by Robert Levine navies skirmish over resources and territory, and privateers armed
and Jonathan E. Steinberg; Disney’s Pirates DriveThruRpg or your local game store. I’m working on a
with official letters of marque harass trade routes. Politics aren’t standalone version of Sea of Dead Men that includes all the
of the Caribbean series. the only source of conflict, though: several merchant companies
Games: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, by necessary rules, but it may be a while before that comes to
have arisen to exploit the bountiful resources of the Carrascan, and fruition.
Ubisoft; Sid Meier’s Pirates! they have as much influence and power in the Sea as any nation’s
Books: Treasure Island, by Robert Lewis navy. Roll20 character sheets for Sea of Dead Men are available here,
Stevenson; Red Seas under Red Skies, by Scott
though you will need a Roll20 pro account to import them into
Lynch; The Scar, by China Mieville. The islands not filled with colonies and ports are home to the your own games. They’re based on the Blades sheets made by
indigenous tribes of the Carrascan. Some of these tribes trade Jakob Oesinghaus.
Theme Song happily with colonial merchants, while others attack any ship that
Privateering by Mark Knopfler, though any enters their territory. For the most part, they don’t have access to If you end up playing this, I’d love to hear about it; leave a
good shanty will do in a pinch. the forged steel and gunpowder with which battles at sea and on post in the Blades forum or subreddit with any questions,
land are usually won, but their resourcefulness and knowledge of feedback, comments, or tales of swashbuckling adventure that
the Carrascan make them formidable opponents – and valuable you might have.
allies.
Actions & Rules Changes
Rules Changes Action Ratings Downtime Actions
For the most part, Sea of Dead Men either uses the same Attune to the ocean's currents and the dark forces beneath Acquire Asset: Acquire temporary use of an asset. Roll the
rules as Blades in the Dark or has fairly large-scale changes, the sea; perceive supernatural entities; read the winds and Crew’s Tier. The result indicates the quality of the asset
but there are a few subtle differences that are easy to miss. the tides. (1-3: Inferior (Tier-1), 4-5: Standard (Tier), 6: Fine (Tier+1),
Below is a list of changes to the basic Blades rules; most of Crit: Exceptional (Tier+2). You may spend coin to bump this
Blast your enemies with cannon-fire, guns, or explosives;
these are explained further on in the rulebook, but make result beyond exceptional, but it costs 2 coin per level to do so.
break through an obstacle with chaos and force.
sure you understand all of them before you play.
Long-Term Project: Work on a long-term project, if you
Brawl with an opponent in close quarters; assault or defend
have the means. Roll a trait and mark 1 segment on the
● The crew starts at Tier 1, not Tier 0. a position; hold your own in a melee.
project clock per level (1-3: one, 4-5: two, 6: three, Crit:
● There are no claims or turf.
Command obedience with your force of personality; five).
● Characters can take out coin from their stash directly,
intimidate or threaten; lead your crew on a mission.
1 for 1, but must spend a downtime action to visit the Recover: Get treatment to tick your healing clock (like a
stash (either to take coin out or to put it in) Consort with connections from your heritage, background, long-term project). When you fill the clock, each harm is
● The crew has separate heat with each of five nations friends, or rivals to gain access to resources, information, reduced by one level.
(collections of factions), and rolls entanglements based people, or places.
Repair: As Recover, but tick the ship’s Repair clock rather
on heat with the Nation who controls the region they Finesse an item from someone's pocket; employ subtle than your own healing clock.
are in. misdirection or sleight-of-hand; formally duel an opponent.
● Wanted level is now a binary (you’re either Wanted Reduce Heat: Say how you reduce Heat on the crew and
or you’re not). Like heat, it’s tracked separately for each Navigate your vessel across the high seas; keep your sense roll the appropriate action. Reduce heat according to the
nation. of direction in unfamiliar areas; maneuver your ship in result level (1-3: one, 4-5: two, 6: three, Crit: five).
● The crew has a flagship, which functions as a cohort combat and pursue fleeing enemies.
Train: Mark 1xp for an attribute or your playbook (2xp if
in addition to any experts or ships they may employ Patch up a sail or rigging; keep the ship running despite you have the appropriate crew training upgrade). You can
● It costs coin to make long journeys between regions, damage. train a given xp track only once per downtime.
and the crew risks danger or complications when doing
Skulk around unseen and undetected; ambush with close Visit Stash: Take out, or put in, any amount of coin from
so.
violence; get the jump on an unsuspecting foe. your stash.
Scan your surroundings for danger; perceive a threat before Indulge Vice: Visit a purveyor of your vice and roll dice
it strikes; study a document, person or situation. equal to your lowest attribute. Clear stress equal to your
Sway someone with charm, logic, deception, disguise, or highest dice result. If you clear more stress levels than you
bluff; change attitudes or behavior with manipulation or had marked, you overindulge (see below). If you do not or
seduction. cannot indulge your vice during downtime, you take stress equal
to your Trauma.
Vault over obstacles; swing across ropes and climb riggings;
perform great athletic feats. Overindulge: You make a bad call because of your vice - in
acquiring it, or while under it’s influence. What did you do?
● Attract Trouble: Select or roll an additional
entanglement.
● Brag about your exploits: Take +2 heat.
● Lost: Play a different character until this one returns
from their bender.
● Tapped: Your current vice purveyor cuts you off. Find
a new source for your vice.
Character Creation
0. Choose Crew Type 7. Choose Your Vice Vices
Your characters will be greatly influenced by which Pick your preferred kind of vice, and detail it with - Faith: You are dedicated to a god, spirit, ancestor, etc.
crew playbook you select, so discuss your choice of a short description. - Gambling: You crave risky decisions and games of chance.
crew type before you start building individual - Luxury: Expensive and/or ostentatious displays of opulence.
characters. 8. Record Name and Look - Obligation: You’re devoted to a family, cause, charity, etc.
Choose a name or alias for your character, and jot - Pleasure: Gratification from lovers, food, drink, drugs, etc.
1. Choose a Playbook down a few words about your look. - Stupor: You seek oblivion in the abuse of drugs, drinking to excess,
Your playbook determines your character’s reputation getting beaten to a pulp in tavern brawls, etc.
and specialties, their special abilities, and how they - Weird: You experiment with strange rituals, observe bizarre taboos or
advance. Multiple characters can choose the same
Loadout customs, consort with spirits, etc.
You have access to all of the items on your character
playbook.
sheet. For each score, decide what your character’s
Names
load will be. During the operation, you may say that
2. Choose a Heritage Abdul, Acanorex, Adelaide, Ahari, Albin, Amani, Amira, Antoni, Aramoca,
your character has an item on hand by checking the
Detail it with a note about your upbringing and family Archibald, Areida, Arunei, Atuadi, Bagamu, Baruna, Bashir, Bastien,
box for the item you want to use – up to a number
history. For instance: Revelle: Poor Laborers, or Belen, Benjamin, Bianca, Biautex, Brigid, Brooke, Bryson, Cacimar,
of items equal to our chosen load. Your load also
Waturey: Chieftain’s Daughter. Add one point to an Canimao, Carina, Casiguaya, Daguao, Charles, Charlotte, Conrad,
determines your movement speed, weight, and
action that reflects your heritage (max starting action Constance, Dante, Derrick, Edward, Eleanor, Emeni, Emma, Eregu, Faisal,
conspicuousness:
rating is 2). Farida, Florian, Gari, Guaraca, Guruna, Gwendolyn, Heather, Henry,
● 1-3 load: Light. You’re faster, less conspicuous;
Horace, Imotonex, Irichau, Isaac, Isabelle, Jack, Jameson, Kariun, Khalid,
you look like a normal sailor or citizen.
3. Choose a Background Layla, Leonard, Lynn, Mabo, Macuya, Malena, Maniquatex, Marion,
● 4/5 load: Normal. You look like a pirate, ready
Detail it with your specific history. For instance: Marise, Miranan, Mireia, Nohemi, Numan, Nuria, Orrin, Sagana, Saragu,
for trouble.
Underworld: Smuggler, or Labor: Career Sailor. Add one Sebastian, Shaheen, Sibyl, Stefan, Sumadi, Susanne, Theresa, Tobias,
● 6 load: Heavy. You’re slower, weighed down.
point to an action that reflects your background (max Toussaint, Uganu, Urayoan, Victor, Wagundan, Yabura, Yacaguex, Zahra
You look like an operative on a mission. It’s
starting action rating is 2)
harder for you to swim.
● 7-9 load: Encumbered. You’re overburdened
Family Names
4. Assign Action Dots Barnes, Brown, Byrd, Campbell, Carver, Castria Chandler, Cole, Corrigan,
and can’t do anything except move very slowly.
Assign two additional action dots, however you like. Cormac, Drake, Fielder, Frakes, Gates, Greene, Hardy, Harland,
No action may begin with a rating higher than two. Some items count as two items for load (they have Harrington, Hayward, Jansen, Levine, Mallory, Manderly, March, Morgan,
(During play, action ratings can advance to three dots, two connected boxes). Items in italics don’t count Neilson, Nelson, O'Malley, Redd, Rivers, Ryder, Schmidt, Shepherd,
or four with the Mastery crew upgrade) towards your load. Shrike, Singer, Starr, Underwood, Vance, Waller, Waters
Regions
The Carrascan is divided into several regions, each of which
has its own personality and political situation.
Danger Ratings:
Take the maximum of Weather and Security ratings for all
regions along the route.
Travel Roll:
Fortune roll using the journey’s Danger rating.
Hunting:
Used when the players are looking out for a prize, and don’t
have a specific score in mind. Make a fortune roll using the
target region’s Opportunity score. +1d if it’s in the crew’s
Hunting Grounds, -1d if they’re Wanted. Result
determines the prize, and the starting position.