“Concept” Game with 3D Printed Ships, Wooden Ships, AND Wizkids Ships

10/22/2020: I’m a day late for a Trafalgar Day game, but this is the game I’ve been wanting to play for almost a month, ever since my package from Cloud of Craft Gaming arrived and in the same week I 3D printed my first ship.  😀

I’ve had mixed success with 3D printing ships so far, having initial success very early before running into a myriad of issues (all my fault lol, I’m a total beginner).  However, I have made some progress and improvements (don’t use “soft” PLA for Pirates stuff!), and now have an additional 4 master in addition to a 5 master.  I did not create any of the files used to 3D print any of the stuff used in this game.  Here are the resources I used:

Juulm’s files for the 4 master and Skull Island volcano
Todd C’s files for the 5 master
Circular fort
Torus Knot fort

-Both forts and the Skull Island volcano were printed at about 50-65% size, with 10-20% infill.

This was a “concept game” to test what it would be like to play with a combination of regular Wizkids ships, the wooden ships, and 3D printed PLA ships – along with 3D printed island/fort stuff.  The setup and fleet makeup was secondary to showcasing the stuff and trying it out, but nicely enough the game turned out surprisingly great!

I am not concerned with artwork yet, which is why things are bare and white. I hope to delve into that eventually, but for now my focus is on 3D printing (ex: getting more ship types available in terms of files/etc).

Here are the fleets used in the order of play – 4 at 50 points each.  All game pieces from Wizkids can be found in the Master Spreadsheet, while most of the customs are from my Epic Seas set in the Customs Database.

The Cursed

Devil’s Glory + Ebenezer Foxe (from Riz; has Captain+Helmsman), Disciples of Lucifer (Cannoneer+Crew Protect), oarsman

Namazu (RtSS)

Just using basic crew chips to proxy in for the other crew. (C+H for Foxe, blank for Disciples)

Pirates

Tempest + Emperor Blackheart, helmsman, oarsman

Spanish Mercenaries

Fortaleza + captain, helmsman, oarsman

El Neptuno + helmsman

El Picador

The Spanish were the one faction “civilized” enough to have an actual building on their home island.  🙂

Americans

Cascade + Jonathan Haraden, John Paul Jones, helmsman, oarsman

Jarvis + explorer

The Islands

Skull Island volcano has a special house rule – when a ship docks at it, they have to roll a d6.  On a 1-2, choose one crew from the ship to be removed from play.  Dead spirits haunt the island and are looking for new recruits.

I love how intricate this one is, and how the staircase leads up to the top:

With the Pirate deathbat flag (and podcast logo) fittingly in the background:

Maybe the island will take flight?!  😉

The circular fortress has 12 cannons, all at 3L and they can only fire in a straight line from where the cannons are actually pointing.  The fort can be hit normally, and each hit eliminates a cannon (ships actually choose which cannons to shoot at to eliminate).  On the 12th and final hit, the fort is destroyed and the fleet that got the final hit automatically gets 10 points/gold towards their final score.

The Torus fort has no cannons, but must be stormed to get to the gold inside.  When a ship docks here, they can roll for a boarding party against the fort. The fort has a base boarding roll of 2 (like a 2 masted ship).  When a ship wins, they can take a number of coins from the fort equal to the boarding score difference.  If the fort wins, no gold can be taken and the losing ship eliminates a mast.

Ready for action!  Round earth rules in effect!  Also, no damage from ramming.

It doesn’t take long for shots to ring out!  Guided by Blackheart’s All-Powerful, the Tempest smashes 2 of the fort’s cannons right away.

The Cursed and Spanish both head east.  What a sight!  A 3D printed 5 master and fort, a wooden 10 master and wooden sea serpent, and El Neptuno!  😀

The Cascade shuts down two more of the fort’s guns – could this lead to a conflict between the Americans and Pirates?

The Jarvis is brave enough to sail for Skull Island volcano!

The Devil’s Glory is the first to storm the Torus fortress! She succeeds and loads 3 coins!  (should have been more but I forgot about Hidden Gold)

The circular fort is proving to be rather inept, missing the Tempest and not finding any good ranges to the Cascade:

The Pirates go rogue and blast the Cascade!  Both the ship and fort take damage!

With a double action via All-Powerful, the Tempest lays waste to the American ship! Blackheart purposely kept the Cascade in between the fort and the Tempest, making sure the fort would have trouble reaching the Tempest if any cannons were in range.

El Neptuno’s crew storm the castle!  Both sides fight admirably but the Spanish come out on top!  3 coins are loaded after the 11-8 score differential.

Here comes the Fortaleza!!  She rounds the big island and gets her bow L range cannons in range of the Devil’s Glory!  One connects, no doubt angering The Cursed.

The Americans have a decent turn, taking 3 coins from Skull Island as the Jarvis avoids getting spooked, while John Paul Jones gets the Cascade home to repair with SAT.

Submerged prior to now, Namazu has surfaced!  I have a bad feeling I know what that S range straw means….

TIDAL WAVE ATTACK!!

Namazu’s wave attack blasts through two thirds of the Spanish fleet, dismasting El Picador and doing damage to the Fortaleza:

The Fortaleza’s “fort” mast has fallen on the Torus fort:

Spanish forces watching at home are horrified by what they witness.  Unfortunately for the Spanish the atrocities will continue!!

Wave attacks like Namazu and Neptune’s Trident are one of the most fun things in Pirates CSG!

The Cursed aren’t done yet!  The Devil’s Glory shoots 4/4 to smash the Fortaleza even more!

Barely needed Wizkids stuff to play this game 😀

With the Glory’s Cargo Wrecking ability, the cannonade also eliminated all three of the Fortaleza’s crew!!

Back in the east, the Tempest does work, eliminating an additional 5 cannons from the fort.

The Fortaleza gets some measure of revenge, taking two masts off the Devil’s Glory:

The Neptuno headed for home, towing the Picador on her way back.  However, this slight deviation of course proved unfortunate for Spain, because they had unwittingly put themselves into the line of fire (or line of tsunami) again….

Another tidal wave attack by Namazu blasts another 4 masts off the ships!!

The Fortaleza is really hurting now:

The Pirates finish off the circular fort, netting them 10 gold automatically!  Then the Tempest heads even further east, probably looking to round earth towards the chaotic western area!

Realizing their mistake of towing the Picador, and wanting to get gold home before the Tempest potentially arrives with a bang, the Neptuno scurries home to unload her coins.  I put them under the cube building, which is the perfect size for coins.

The Fortaleza hits on both of her shots to kill Namazu!  The great beast is dead, but not before taking out 8 masts in successive tsunami blasts!

An overview of the small sea, showing that the Americans have gotten back on their feet with gold and repairs.

Not bothering to repair, the Devil’s Glory comes out for another round!  She hits twice to dismast the Fortaleza!

Emperor Blackheart is here to take over the game!  However, his crew barely wins a boarding party (8-7) against the Torus fort, only escaping with one coin.

El Neptuno plans to round earth and join the Jarvis at Skull Island, but the excitement here lies with the Cascade joining the other gunships in the west!

The Devil’s Glory pulls off a sweet maneuver, angling into the island to tow the Fortaleza as she docks at the fort to steal its final coin!

But Emperor Blackheart is All-Powerful!!  He sinks the massive junk and prepares to wheel around the stern of the Devil’s Glory!

The Tempest knocks down the DG’s final masts:

SEVERE CARNAGE

The Cascade arrives, taking two masts off the Tempest and killing her oarsman!  She captured the Devil’s Glory (oops) and had her explore the Cascade, grabbing her coin.  This shouldn’t have happened since the DG had both Crew Protect and Oarsman aboard.

I was just playing this game to showcase the new stuff and I got a horrid bloodbath!  O_O

The Tempest shoots at the Cascade and hits her with a wave attack!!  Namazu’s not the only one who can do that in these parts…

The Jarvis isn’t so lucky this time, with her explorer abandoning ship to join the dead at Skull Island.

The Cascade rows away at 4S and the DG at 2S (realizing my mistake on the latter, keeping the Cursed alive).

Blackheart continues to take over the game, sinking both ships!!

The Tempest finally succeeded at her whirlpool generation ability, placing one next to the Pirate home island in case they would be able to make a quick getaway soon (if another whirlpool was placed elsewhere).  The 1 on their HI just represents the 10 from the destroyed fort.

The Neptuno loses her helmsman to the spirits of Skull Island!  The island may have been drained of gold today, but it gained two new souls… perhaps we will see it again….

The desperation of the endgame has begun.  Blackheart gets his first 6 with All-Powerful and commands the Jarvis to shoot at the Neptuno!  However, she shoots 0 for 3!  XD

The Neptuno flees, but gets rammed by the Jarvis again. The Jarvis again loses the boarding party, failing consistently here at the end of the game.  Blackheart arrives in the Tempest to bring the Neptuno down to 1 mast, with all 3 ships nearly at Ocean’s Edge!

The Jarvis does something I try to avoid but could not in this situation: a round earth ram!  She finally wins a boarding party to steal a coin.

El Neptuno does a high wire act, reminiscent of the Black Pearl at the end of Dead Men Tell No Tales:

The Jarvis wouldn’t fit on the other side, leading to the main awkward thing about using round earth.  Still worth it though!!

The uncaptained ships were content to make their way home with a coin apiece, but as Thanos said, “destiny still arrives.”   In Pirates CSG that destiny takes the form of All-Powerful Emperor Blackheart, rolling another 6 to force the Neptuno away from her own home island.  The Tempest round earths and slaughters her final mast, eliminating the Spanish from the game.

The Tempest captured the Neptuno and brought her to the Pirate HI, while the Jarvis got home with another coin for the Americans.  With all gold unloaded, it was finally over.

I had no idea the game was going to be this bloody and full of carnage, with nearly all ships sunk or dismasted:

In the end, The Cursed claim victory!

1. The Cursed: 18 gold
2. Americans: 14 gold
3. Pirates: 12 gold
4. Spanish: 7 gold

What a game!  Not only was it exciting and a bit crazy throughout, there were even close scores at the end.  This game was like a love letter to Pirates in a way – even with a rushed setup and quick gameplay, it was absolutely incredible!  It really showed how great the game is overall.

The new stuff was great to see in action for the first time.  The wooden ships have really neat artwork, while the 3D printed ships feel about as sturdy as the original styrene models.  Some improvements should be made with the 3D printed stuff, since the ships aren’t perfect (not saying this is the fault of the file creators, I think it’s just somewhat inevitable).  However, playable is awesome to have so soon after getting my printer.  I also really like the 3D printed forts and island, though I think in the future I’ll change the fort rules a bit, probably making them more difficult to face if in the same category of an NPC. They could also be regular forts, or maybe even start as NPC before being taken over and used by a player.  Tons of possibilities and fun house rules!

If you love Pirates CSG, I do recommend the Ender 3 V2 as it led to exactly what you saw in this report!  Now that I’ve played this game I plan to continue working on 3D printing Pirates stuff when I have time.  If you have any contributions of your own, feel free to post them in the 3D printing thread.