HMS Gaspee
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Revolutionary War (RevWar) (June 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 085
Nationality: English
Point Cost: 7
Masts: 2
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+S
Cannons: 4L-4S
Ability: Schooner. Hoard. This ship gets -1 to her terrain rolls.
Link: William Duddingston
Flavor text: Customs collection in and around Narragansett Bay may take a turn for the worse if antagonized colonists take up arms….
For a ship as famous as this one, I was surprised not to find many individual pages/history for her. As always her specific abilities are based on history. I think she’ll fill an interesting niche role in English fleets as a gold runner with heist potential. The middling cannons and speed coupled with the (somewhat) negative ability help keep her cost down, so with a helmsman and explorer/oarsman she’ll be able to get gold in potentially multiple ways. I tend to write long flavor text for these historical game pieces (it’s often hard to keep the summary to 2-3 sentences!), so here I wanted to change that up and give more of a Crimson Coast-esque feel. Kind of an ominous anti-British slant given the circumstances….
Once in a while I let myself be content with a ship that isn’t as pretty. Both for historical reasons, and because I know I don’t need every ship to be some colorful stunning masterpiece. I couldn’t get the hull to look the way I wanted, but a bit gnarly is fitting for a ship that met a grisly end (burnt to a crisp for being a customs/inspection bully). I do like the subtle textures I added to the sails and deck. Many small barrels on her deck to represent the cargo seizures from before the Revolution started. Great to have a schooner in this release, especially since I was a little surprised last year not to have one in my War of 1812 release.
