Dread_Privateer_Roberts

I don't remember how ESPG rated weapons, but here is a little bit of what we go by: 8" for Pistol and a 10 for accuracy [10 and less is a hit](out of 3, 6 side dice) 10 is like 50% accuracy range of 14" for rifle and its accuracy is 14 (about 75%) if a character can concievably hide behind something, we will role for a chance for the shot (if it was a hit) to be deflected by his cover. We judge roughly how much cover he is behind and go with a %. Say he is 50% covered, if he rolled a 10 or less he would be safe. If he was 75% covered, 14 and less he would be safe ect... This enables crew in the deck and holds of the ship to avoid a lot of the fire from an opposing vessel and allows for more boarding actions so you can get some H2H action going! Cannons (depending on class) can be from 16" to 48" and from 6 to 10 in accuracy (25 -50%) For cutlass and H2H combat, a cutlass swing has an accuracy of 10 (50%) if you do get a hit, but the other guy has a cutlass, he has a 12 (63%) chance of deflecting the hit. If the opponent being swung at has a flagpole, rifle, or other object that could deflect a cutlass, he may get a 6, 8 or 10 (depending on his weapon) chance of deflecting the attack. This seems to work well as it simulates the back and forth, perry and thrust momentum of a real swordfight.

We have played a few death matches, but mostly prefer a more of a role playing adventure type game. We seldom have an actual "Win" to end the game because some games can take WAY longer than others depending on the number and types of encounters you end up actually having. We have a system of captain scoring (where each voyage, battle, encounter ect) adds up to points. The higher your points the better your captain is and you get different bonuses for a better captain (like ship speed +10%, cannon range +3, all crew worth double crew points [manpower] ect...) Since we start off with only 5k and one character with 0 points, we determine the winner of the game whenever we run out of time and have to leave. The most successfull player (most points, most $, most ships/largest ships purchased ect) is the winner. We've even been known to put down a few (real) $ in a pot for the winner :) We have had great success running with the encounters charts in our games. Adds a very random and exciting element to it! We also use another form based on a deck of cards (instead of 18 for 3 dice) Where, for instance, if you were in port and wanted to hire 3 crew, you draw 3 cards. You then have a chance to hire the hero for which the card represents. (if you can afford or want him) Some of our heroes are similar to ESPG, and we've added a few others. Each has his own ability and his cost is in proportion to his usefullness/value. I do have them all in spreadsheets... I'll try to post some of them soon!

In terms of LEGO sets, the IFS is superior. It has Many more pieces, nearly double that of the SES, and a better color scheme. Aslo, because it is newer and not as rare, the $ per piece is MUCH lower (about 1/4) of what the SES costs. Because I prefer the original Pirates,however, I am not as fond of the newer figures. In terms of Real world sailing, each ship would have its own merits. Obviously the larger ship would have greater capacity, better ability to weather storms, and in all likelyhood faster on a downwind run due to the setup of its sails. In real life, the IFS would likely be a Brig, with the Fore, Main, and Mizzen masts squair rigged and one headsail off the foremast. The Fore and Mizzen are rigged with a Main and Lower sail and the Main mast is running with a Top Gallant. Lightly armed for its size in comparison to other vessels, it would have made an excellent transport ship in open areas with good steady wind (like the trade winds) The SES, although called the schooner, is more of a Galleon with the Fore and Main Squair rigged and the Mizzen setup with a Lanteen Rig. This would have made the SES a more manuverable ship and better at sailing close to the wind, although not as fast on a Run. The Lanteen rig also requires less crew to manuver which means more crew available for fighting. With its lower profile (harder to hit), more manuverable configuration, and equal number of broadside cannon (assuming they are in fact the same cannon that the IFS has, probably demi-culverin) plus a small cannon, The SES is an ideal pirate ship and would have, in all likelyhood been able to disable and capture the Larger IFS. The Smaller hull of the SES would not take the abuse that the IFS would likely be able to absorb, but its manuverability would mean that it would probably be able to avoid a broadside from the IFS. The goal of the Pirates was seldom to sink another ship, but rather disable, board, and take its cargo...

IMPRESSIVE! I'm new to the sight, but not new to lego Pirates. Many of my sets I've has since their original release. Although I've always favored the Pirates theme, my friends and I have played many a "turn based strategy game" with other sets like Castle and Western. I was fascinated when if found "ESPG" Many of the elements are VERY similar to the various versions we have played over the years. I am working on putting up a page with our version of the game to give other players new ideas. One thing I thought I would mention involves setting up a sort of non player A.I. to be included in the game when you want to move beyond a quick ship-to-ship deathmatch and play a move involved campaign type scenario on a large scale (to include many islands and "fort" sets) As simple technique we use invoves different zones of our map. In each specific zone there are a table of odds (based on rolling 3 dice) that involve "encounters" for each turn (day at sea) you roll for an encounter. Different zones have different odds (ie: the closer you are to imperial waters, the better the odds of crossing paths with the Imperial Flagship, The closer you are to Tortuga or Port Royal :) the better the odds of crossing paths with Pirates. There are also heavily trafficed merchant zones where, if your chosen profession is Privateer, you have better odds of meeting a treasure heavy spanish merchant vessel) In our version, we've gone to great lenghts to limit the roll of a "GM" type player by creating odds tables for encounters, to the point that it is not even necessary to have a GM for the overall game, thereby enabling you to play with as few as 2 players. Instead other player can temporarily take command of non player ships durring combat scenarios. There are certain AI rules set up before hand, based on your chosen alliance and/or reputation. For example, Imperials will always attack a pirate ship, Merchant vessles are less likely to resist you if you have higher reputation as a pirate, If you are a pirate another pirate ship is not likely to try to attack you, If you are an unloaded merchant ship Pirates will likely not be interested in you ect... An example of one of our "odds tables" Sea Encounters 3 None 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Storm 11 Merchant ship Loaded 12 loaded 13 Empty 14 Imperial 15 Pirate 16Storm 17 18 Monster So if you rolled 3 dice, and got a 6 (total) you wouldn't have encounterd anything. If you rolled an 11, you would have encountered a loaded merchant vessel, 14, an imperial ship, or 15, a Pirate ship. If you rolled 16 or 17 (storm) we added an extra odds table to see what severity it would be: Class 5 Wind + 6 3 - 10 Class 4 Wind + 12 11 - 14 Class 3 Wind + 12 13- 15 All Rigging damaged Class 2 Wind + 14 16 - 17 Rigging Damaged Rudder Damaged Class 1 SUNK! 18 (in our version, Class 1 is always highest) So if you rolled a 16, got a storm, then rolled an 18, your ship was destroyed and you washed up on the nearest (downwind) island. If you had life boats on your ship, your crew washes up to. (in our version, your captain (you) cannot die, you get imprisioned, marooned, stranded ect...) You can used odds tables like these to create a fairly complex (yet simple to operate) environment for your characters to move around in. We use them to meet special characters in port who will give you special missions (also driven by odds charts) that you can choose to accept, to set up encounters with other non player ships and environmentals (sea monsters, storms) to change the wind patterns durring game (every 10 turns for example) I am fortunate enough to have a house with an empty finished basement (complete with kitchen) which is great for hosting large "Pirates" games, so if your ever in Wyoming (particularly in winter when its to flippin cold to do anything else!) Swing on by and join us in an adventure in the Spanish Main! I don't have quite the collection of ships you do (yet) but You've certainly given me inspiration to build more!

6244 Armada Sentry 1795 Imperial Cannon 1872 Soldiers Forge 6247 Bounty Boat 6263 Imperial Outpost x2 6266 Cannon Cove 6271 Imperial Flagship 6277 Imperial Trading Post x2 6245 Harbor Sentry 6259 Broadsides Brig 6265 Sabre Island 6274 Carribean Clipper x3 6236 King Kahuka 6246 Crocodile Cage 6256 Islander Catamaran 1464 Pirate Lookout 1481 Pirates Desert Island 1492 Battle Cove 1696 Pirate Lookout 1713 Shipwrecked Pirate 1729 Barnacle Bay x2 1733 Shipwrecked Pirate 1747 Treasure Surprise 1788 Treasure Chest 1802 Tidy Treasure 1871 Pirates Cannon 1873 Pirate's Treasure 1970 Pirates Gun Cart 6232 Skeleton Crew 6234 Renegade's Raft 6235 Burried Treasure 6237 Pirates Plunder 6254 Rocky Reef 6257 Castaway's Raft 6258 Smuggler's Shanty 6260 Shipwreck Island 6261 Raft Raiders 6268 Renegade Runner 6270 Forbidden Island 6285 Black Sea Baracuda x3 6289 Red Beard Runner 6296 Shipwreck Island And More to come!