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The thing with the Ryuk’s ability, is that the ability text of the crew you’re going to eliminate has to match exactly with the crew that’s going to be sacrificed on the Ryuk.
[Additional explanation/examples]By now I know that the Ryuk’s ability is probably understood, but I just want to put this out there so there’s no question about it.
If the ability is still confusing in any way, for the sake of time and releasing the rest of the set, I can skip the Ryuk and come back to her after the rest of Eldest Seas has been posted.
-Darkhurst
That does help clarify the intent of the ability, thanks.
It’s good that it can’t destroy unequal crew values, although it still seems like something that could be easily broken in high-point games. For example, in a 100-point game you could get away with investing 25-30 points into that ship plus an assortment of generic crew on your home island while still having more than enough left over to build a solid fleet of your own. You’ll be a little short-handed initially, but once you’ve picked off a few essential crew from opposing ships things could rapidly swing in your favor.
As part of a custom set, it’s probably fine as-is. It’s not as breakable as something like Captain Jack Sparrow, but would still sit pretty high on the list if it were to appear in an official WK set.
Hey again, y’all; a late-night post this time
But tonight, I bring you the last standard release Cursed pieces from Eldest Seas!!
So let’s get right into itRelevant Keyword
–Ship Burner: Once per game if this ship is within S of enemy ships, roll a d6. On 4-6 she explodes, and is immediately removed from the game. For every enemy ship within S, eliminate one mast, replace another with a fire mast, and eliminate one crew, cargo or equipment. On a 1-3 remove all of this ship’s masts and eliminate all her crew.
18. Sacrifice
Points: 18
Masts: 1
Cannons: 6L
Cargo: 0
Base Move: S+S+S
Ability: Ship Burner.Flavor: The crew of the Sacrifice are soulless, emotionless servants of the Witch Queen. They are ready and willing to give up their otherwise empty lives at any moment for the benefit of their glorious and eternal Queen.
19. Fiendfire
Points: 22
Masts: 3 (jib)
Cannons: 3S, 5L, 3S
Cargo: 3
Base Move: S+L
Ability: Limit. Once per turn, before you give this ship an action, roll a d6 for every ship within S of this ship. On a 1-3, give the target ship a fire mast. Once per turn, if this ship is touching another ship, give that ship a fire mast.Flavor: Crewed by a collection of reanimated arson murderers, the Fiendfire stalks the ocean, always on the hunt for something new to turn into ash.
20. Calamity
Points: 12
Masts: 2 (sloop)
Cannons: 4S, 3L
Cargo: 1
Base Move: S+S
Ability: Die rolls made within S+S of this ship are decreased by 2.Flavor: The Calamity is a magnet of bad luck and misfortune. Even other members of the Cursed Empire have learned to avoid her at all costs.
These are the last three standard release Cursed pieces from Eldest Seas; I’ll probably begin posting the next faction as soon as tomorrow afternoon, depending on school scheduling and such. But anyway, let me know what you think of these ships! I’ll respond to questions comments and concerns as soon as I can
Until next post;
-J. W. DarkhurstGut reaction, the Calamity should ave L range, not S+S, simply for sake of measurement purposes.
Sacrifice could be a few points less, maybe.
@Xerecs: A’ight, I can make L-Range happen. About the same points for that as currently?
I think at one point, I’d adjusted the point cost of the Sacrifice, but that was on my phone when it was being wonky, so 😛
What would you suggest? We talking 14-16 point range?-Darkhurst
I can make L-Range happen. About the same points for that as currently?
In addition to that, I think it should be more expensive. That ability makes cannons far less likely to hit, and it makes SAT and EA impossible to use. (among other things)
@Ben: I see what you mean with the Calamity. Her points can be brought up without issue from me. I will note that her ability doesn’t exclude friendly ships, but regardless, 12 is pretty cheap for that ability. Would 16-18 be better?
-Darkhurst
12 is pretty cheap for that ability. Would 16-18 be better?
Yeah, I just realized it’s like a moveable Cursed Zone. As usual I like to keep things more expensive to start so games are less likely to be ruined by OP stuff, so 18 sounds good.
Quite the opposite of my own Calamity, which is a 10 masted junk. XD
Lol yup XD
The Fiendfire is actually the ship I alluded to in a reply to your post about the Combustion on 4-23-19
Do you have any in-depth opinions on her?-Darkhurst
The Fiendfire is actually the ship I alluded to in a reply to your post about the Combustion on 4-23-19
Do you have any in-depth opinions on her?
I think she looks fine! Was it inspired by the Fiendfyre from Harry Potter?
I like the various limits the ship has. (especially the once per turn and d6 roll so it’s not automatic) 🙂 It would be interesting to try and time that ship’s action for the opportune moment.
Namewise, yes she’s inspired by the fiendfyre from Harry Potter. I think this is an example of me coming up with the name first, and then the ability.
I too, look forward to physical and Vassal play-testing of this ship ??
Thank you much for the feedback! 😀-Darkhurst
Alrighty, might as well send y’all some new stuff!
Let’s get started with the pirates from Pirates of the Eldest Seas!1. William Slank
Points: 7
Ability: Captain. Sac.
Link: Little RichardFlavor: William Slank is a man who wants power. He aspires to be a Pirate Lord, and is willing to do anything, and kill anyone to get what he wants.
2. Little Richard
Points: 5
Ability: This ship gets +1 to her cannon and boarding rolls against any non-Pirate ship
Link: William SlankFlavor: Little Richard is loyal to William Slank and would probably lay down his life for Slank; if Slank doesn’t kill him first.
The pirates are a little crew heavy in the beginning, but worry not; the ships will come a-sailing in soon. In the meantime, let me know what y’all think of these crew! I’ll respond to comments questions and concerns as soon as I can.
Until next post;
-J. W. DarkhurstBoth of those Pirate guys look ok. The SAC-Captain combo is worth 5 according to WK, but 7 is fine, since the Pirates ALREADY have at least two crew that do that at 5 points, so Slank at 7 is fine.
Going back to the Sacrifice, adjusting he cost is going to be tricky I think. She has incredible speed, and would make an excellent flotilla tug, but outside of he ability and speed she’s very bad. A 6L cannon will never hit without some modifications, which would have to be a cheerleading ship since the Sacrifice has no cargo. I think you could still explore islands with her, to sponge any negative UT’s, but other than that she’s of no use as a gold runner.
I think putting her at 15 is fair for now, and she could possible go lower, since the Shipburner ability could wind up rolling as a dud, which would make her useless afterward.
Hello again, all. Time to show-and-tell some more Pirates from Eldest Seas! 😀
Relevant Keywords
–Armed Merchant: Once per turn, as a free action, one of this ship’s canons may shoot at one enemy target in range. This shot cannot have its range or rank increased. (A captain crew is not needed for this action)
–Privateer: This piece may use its abilities on any ship, but it gains the Loyal: X keyword for its flag faction.
–World-Hater: This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against any [non-faction] ship.
3. Neverland
Points: 15
Masts: 4
Cannons: 3L, 3S, 3S, 3L
Cargo: 5
Base Move: S+S
Ability: Armed Merchant. Once per turn, if this ship is touching another ship, reveal all face-down treasure aboard the other ship. This ship can take as much unique treasure from the other ship as she can carry.Flavor: Stolen from America while traveling to England, Neverland was a cruel name given by William Slank, since the poor merchant vessel never landed at port in England.
4. Scott McBain
Points: 5
Ability: Privateer. World-Hater.Flavor: The Storm Stalker’s first mate, and a trusted friend of Captain Bennett’s, McBain is a force to be reckoned with in battle. But over time, his personal agenda has shifted to become his only agenda, preferring a shiny penny over loyalty and trust.
In retrospect, I probably could’ve linked the Neverland to William Slank….. But I didn’t ?
So let me know what y’all think of these two pieces. I’ll respond to comments, questions and concerns as soon as I can. And with luck, more Pirates tomorrow ?Until next post;
-J. W. DarkhurstI think you still could link the Neverland to Slank, I wouldn’t mind that.
The ship itself seems a little too good, or too optimizable. You could very easily make this a capable hybrid, especially with those cannons and base move. This is one instance where the Armed Merchant keyword might be beneficial, since the free shot can happen at anytime during your tun. If you get an EA/SAT on her, you could rip off 9 shots in one go, more than enough to seriously damage or sink one if not multiple ships.
I think it would be less of a problem if the Neverland wasn’t as fast as she currently is. Bringing her speed down to L or S would be better, since she wouldn’t be too good then.
@JW: I like the Neverland and would love to use her. Given the costs of the Intrepid (15 points for a better gunship) and others, I think the cost is fine.
I didn’t realize that Armed Merchant can be used in addition to shooting, for basically an extra shot each time the ship shoots. I’m not sure if that should be more clearly stated in the keyword text, or if I’m just not thinking about it optimally. It’s possible I’ve been underrating the ability, since you could use it like a reverse captain too. Hmmm….
Ok, I can reduce the Neverland’s base move to L. Same points though?
Since I’m here, I might as well send more Pirates from Eldest Seas!
5. Nicholas Nautilus
Points: 5
Ability: Loyal: Pirate. Helmsman. SAT.Flavor: The loyal helmsman of the Storm Stalker, Nautilus always knows how to get a ship to port as fast as possible. However, it’s still somehow slower than the speed at which he talks; and the frequency he’s told, to no avail, to shut up.
6. Oliver Blackburn
Points: 6
Ability: Broadsides Attack. This crew doesn’t take up cargo space.Flavor: An expert with guns and firearms of any kind, Blackburn is an essential member of Captain Bennet’s crew.
A couple more crew for the pirates today; will get some more ships next time. SO let me know what y’all think of these two, and I’ll respond to questions, comments, and concerns as soon as possible.
Until next post;
-J. W. DarkhurstI like Oliver Blackburn, Broadsides with no cargo taken up? sounds like a nice deal to me. His cost of 6 is probably ok. WK had some Broadsides Attack crew at that cost, which many thought was too much. His additional ability I think is worth it though I think.
I made a crew like Nick Nautilus, and I think i costed him the same, but a combo crew like that is so very useful. Normally Pirates get discounts on crew and whatnot, I would say this is one exception where he should cost more than the sum of his abilities.
“a7xfanben”
I didn’t realize that Armed Merchant can be used in addition to shooting, for basically an extra shot each time the ship shoots. I’m not sure if that should be more clearly stated in the keyword text, or if I’m just not thinking about it optimally. It’s possible I’ve been underrating the ability, since you could use it like a reverse captain too.
The free shot you get from Armed Merchant is supposed to function like the shot from a Marine, but with the restrictions of a Musketeer, in that the range or rank cannot be increased, so canno bonuses will not work on the freebie. I worded it so you could use it before a move action, after a move action, after a shoot action, before, etc. If I had wanted it to be instead of shooting, I would have worded it that way.
Normally Pirates get discounts on crew and whatnot, I would say this is one exception where he should cost more than the sum of his abilities.
Thank you for admitting that; that’s exactly what should happen. Helmsman+SAT is not a combo that should really exist on crew due to how absurdly awesome it is. I priced SAT at 5 in my Total Recosting, but even bumping this guy to 7 probably wouldn’t affect how much he’s used.
I think Blackburn could be 4 or 5 points. I like BA at 3, and not taking up space isn’t worth too much.
These crew really illustrate how off some of the WK prices are. In terms of ACTUAL in-game value, I would potentially pay 10 points for Mr. Nautilus, and likely only 3 for Blackburn. If you look at how good each ability is, these crew are pretty much on opposite ends of the value spectrum.
I see what you mean about Helmsman+SAT. Will probably change Nautilus’s ability so it’s not that combo. Perhaps replacing SAT with that ability to off-load cargo from within S of your HI? Would that be better, and would it affect his current point cost drastically?
-Darkhurst
Perhaps replacing SAT with that ability to off-load cargo from within S of your HI? Would that be better, and would it affect his current point cost drastically?
Sounds good; in that case I think 4 points would be good.
@Ben and Xerecs: Thank you both for your feedback! 😀
It’s been far too long since I’ve posted here, so double today!
Relevant Keywords
–Reroll: Once per turn, you may reroll any die roll you make for this ship; you must use the second die roll result
7. Saberhook
Points: 18
Masts: 3
Cannons: 2L, 3L, 3S
Cargo: 2
Base Move: S+L
Ability: Scorpion. This ship’s masts do not block her line of fire.
Link: Captain Cornelius QuellFlavor: A Scorpion with a temperamental captain, the Saberhook’s scythe and rotating cannons generally ensure complete victories.
8. Captain Cornelius Quell
Points: 5
Ability: Loyal: Pirate. Captain. This ship gets +1 to boarding rolls.
Link: SaberhookFlavor: A ruthless and fearsome acquaintance of One-Eyed-Bennett, Quell has no patience for cowards or imperial nations, personally leading most boarding parties, and rarely leaving survivors.
9.
RNSCoastal Ranger
Points: 17
Masts: 4
Cannons: 2S, 2L, 2L, 2S
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+S
Ability: This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against non-English ships.Flavor: The pirates who managed to capture this battleship liked her name so much, they decided to keep most of it.
10. Setekh
Points: 16
Masts: 4
Cannons: 2S, 3L, 3L, 2S
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+S
Ability: Galley. Fear. Eternal.
Link: Amos CarterFlavor: After losing his first ship during a Cursed raid on his home port, Carter acquired a better vessel, and set his sights on the treasure vaults of the Cursed Empire to compensate for a full cargo of treasures.
11. Amos Carter
Points: 3
Ability: Reroll.
Link: SetekhFlavor: An eccentric collector of ancient Egyptian relics, Amos Carter knows how to operate handheld firearms and ship cannons better than anyone else in his crew.
And there we go for now; a few more pirates to showcase. The “RNS” in the Costal Ranger’s name is supposed to be crossed out; I just hope it translates that way ??
Anyway, tell me what y’all think of these pieces! I’ll respond to comments, questions, and concerns as soon as I can.Until next post;
J. W. DarkhurstSaberhook is awesome, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a unique Scorpion!
I do think that putting the faction affiliation for each and every game piece is ideal. Until the end of the post I didn’t know what faction any of them were. I think the Coastal Ranger’s ability could be switched to non-Pirate.
Love the Setekh. Flavor is interesting too, Cursed treasure vaults? Empire? 🙂
As Ben said, I wasn’t sure if these were pirates or what until the end.
That said I think most of these are fine. Is the Coastal ranger’s ability based on her flavor text, like the Pirates and English don’t know that the ship has switched sides?
Oh I did an oopsie ?
Normally, I do say what faction at the beginning of the post; this time, I forgot because I’m a derp ??As for the Coastal Ranger’s ability, I could give her normal World-Hating, but with all 2-rank cannons already, I feel like that’s kinda unnecessary. Also, though I know it’ll be confusing as heck, I think her ability makes her a unique ship. My first draft had the Coastal Ranger with Forward style world-hating; so I think this would probably be better. Worst case scenario, I can just delete her ability. She could survive without one 😛
As for flavor vs ability, I’d probably guess that if there’s anything of that nature going on, the pirates would be posing as Englishmen to avoid capture by the English Navy, while being real pirates to all the other nations on an English gunship. Perfect chaos 😀 (also, I feel like this may help to explain the ability a li’l)
-Darkhurst
Hello again, all!
I’ve got a couple more Pirate pieces from Eldest seas for ya today, and this time, I didn’t forget to properly introduce them! ??Relevant Keywords
–World-Hater: This ship gets +1 to her cannon rolls against any [non-faction] ship.
–Cargo Killer: When this ship his an enemy ship, eliminate a cargo from the enemy ship.
12. Cirrus
Points: 12
Masts: 3 (jib)
Cannons: 3S, 3L, 3S
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+S
Ability: World-Hater.Flavor: Named for the constellation Cirrus, this vessel has proven to be capable of both hauling precious cargo, and sending rivals to the ocean floor.
13. Spike Vicious
Points: 7
Ability: Captain. Cargo Killer.
Link: Red DragonFlavor: A bloodthirsty criminal, the man called Spike Vicious commands an extensive following of pirates who are too afraid to rebel against his violent mood swings.
14. Red Dragon
Points: 16
Masts: 4
Cannons: 2S, 3S, 3S, 2S
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+S
Ability: World-Hater. This ship may shoot at pirate ships.
Link: Spike ViciousFlavor: Feared by sailors and fellow pirates alike, the Red Dragon is the flagship of notorious pirate Spike Vicious’s private fleet. Those not allied with the Red Dragon know not to sail to close on fear of death.
And that’s a few more pirates! Let me know what y’all think of these, and I’ll respond to comments, questions, and concerns as soon as I can.
Until next post;
-J. W. Darkhurstalso, I feel like this may help to explain the ability
It does, just kind of funny to wrap your head around. 🙂
The new pieces look fair. Is the Red Dragon designed to shoot at friendly Pirate ships? If not, the ability is unnecessary.
The Red Dragon, in my opinion, is kinda meant to be a wild card. It’s mostly got the ability for flavor reasons, but also, of all the factions, Pirates would more likely be susceptible to friendly fire. I figure that the player can do with that what they want.
And on the topic of friendly fire, that’s a game mechanic that I honestly wish WK had introduced. But that’s a topic for another time 😛Short answer: The Red Dragon is a pirate ship that can shoot at other pirate ships; have fun ??
-Darkhurst
The way Red Dragon’s ability is currently written (“This ship may shoot at pirate ships.”), it doesn’t actually do anything. The ship can already shoot at Pirate ships normally, so it’s a nothing ability like that extra text that was added to Pride and Julius Caesar in one of the REV reprints. It won’t allow you to attack friendly ships unless that option is explicitly stated.
That being said, I don’t think there’s any need for purposeful friendly fire at all, even if it is intended only for flavor reasons. There are currently only a handful of very specific ways to create a suicide fleet and they’re relatively easy to see coming, but no matter how it’s done, it always ends up being extremely “gamey” because of how the standard rules for ending the game and determining victory work. Any added flavor intended by an ability that makes it easier to pull off is destroyed many times over by the non-flavorful game abuse it would invite.
Friendly fire as something that can happen accidentally could be really interesting, especially if it’s a general rule rather than an ability. For example, maybe any time you rolled a 1, if your cannon was within range of a friendly ship you’d have to roll it again to see if you hit that friendly instead.
@Woelf: Ok; so if I removed the extra text, would the Red Dragon be priced correctly?
I like that idea of accidental friendly fire, and may suggest suggest implementing it into our next summer campaign. Overall, I see your point about the ability wording though.
-Darkhurst
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