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What is the maximum number of actions a ship may be given without stacking using SAT, EA, SAC captain, Admirals action, and any other various action abilities such as “instead of giving this ship an action, you may give another ship in your fleet two actions”? If I remember correctly, Ben laid out in his revised start here YouTube video that a ship may be given at most two actions. This has been a point of contention through the years but I thought I’d get a thorough explanation!
Without any of those additional action generators, each ship is allowed just one full/standard action, usually move, shoot, explore, or repair. With action generators, a ship is allowed at most one extra (two total).
There’s no hard limit to how many free actions a ship can take in a single turn, but most of those require specific situations to occur or are self-limiting in some other way.
Confirming for a Discord user: A crew with the Sac ability cannot use it on themselves to give their ship an extra action, correct?
Once per turn, you may eliminate one of this ship’s crew to give her an extra action.
Answered before I’m sure, but didn’t see it in the Code so I wanted to make sure I didn’t give them the wrong answer.
Confirming for a Discord user: A crew with the Sac ability cannot use it on themselves to give their ship an extra action, correct?
Once per turn, you may eliminate one of this ship’s crew to give her an extra action.
Answered before I’m sure, but didn’t see it in the Code so I wanted to make sure I didn’t give them the wrong answer.
The instant the crew is eliminated the ability goes away and takes the extra action with it.
MrHolly of the Discord server brings up a good point: if you cancel the Marine keyword, you could load an enemy Marine onto your ship to make them part of your fleet.
Though not technically a “capture”, maybe still worth a mention in a future PC update.
Ex: “In order to capture a Marine, you must use one of the following methods:”
Simple question if you have a captain ability to shoot after a move action and another ability to move after resolving a shoot action. Do both chain.
Also I would assume you cannot shoot after entering a whirlpool since the end of movement happens before the pools effect.
I also want to get an opinion if you start towing a ship with the galley keyword can you just start immediately chugging back home. I like to assume the ship isn’t fully yours until you dock it at home island. Otherwise it makes the Galley, longship, and turtleship more detrimental than helpful.
Simple question if you have a captain ability to shoot after a move action and another ability to move after resolving a shoot action. Do both chain.
No: “This ability cannot be combined with the Captain ability. This ability requires a non-free shoot action, while the Captain ability requires a non-free move action.”
Also I would assume you cannot shoot after entering a whirlpool since the end of movement happens before the pools effect.
If you’re using the whirlpool to teleport to another one, you cannot shoot coming out of the second one.
“Using a whirlpool to jump to another whirlpool ends the ship’s entire move action. It cannot shoot (via a Captain), ram, board, or use any other effects that require a move action, until it is given another move action after exiting the second whirlpool.”
I also want to get an opinion if you start towing a ship with the galley keyword can you just start immediately chugging back home.
Yes
I like to assume the ship isn’t fully yours until you dock it at home island.
“-When you tow an opposing ship, it immediately becomes a member of your fleet and may be given actions.
–You are not required to tow it back to your home island in order to gain control of the ship or its crew.
–It may be given an action on the current turn, if able.”
Quoted text from The Pirate Code
How late in the boarding process can you reveal a boarding bonus crew? (such as +1 to boarding rolls) Can you do it after both players roll their dice, or must it be earlier such as at boarding initiation or before dice are rolled?
MrHolly of the Discord server brings up a good point: if you cancel the Marine keyword, you could load an enemy Marine onto your ship to make them part of your fleet.
Though not technically a “capture”, maybe still worth a mention in a future PC update.
Ex: “In order to capture a Marine, you must use one of the following methods:”
It is correct, but I’m hesitant to make a list of ways to capture them because there are a few other ways to do it too, but only the cancellation is unique to Marines. Maybe just a not specifically mentioning that it’s allowed, without a full list.
How late in the boarding process can you reveal a boarding bonus crew? (such as +1 to boarding rolls) Can you do it after both players roll their dice, or must it be earlier such as at boarding initiation or before dice are rolled?
If it adds to the roll (+1), it should be revealed before making the roll. A reroller can wait until you actually want to make a reroll. Abilities that trigger when you win a boarding roll (kill all crew, steal all treasure, etc.) can stay hidden until you win the boarding.
Another probably obvious question. Do free actions stack when triggers happen. The only instance of this I have ran into is when raming and boarding and then if a captain is still alive technically only used a main action move and so can shoot after boarding actions are complete. Does the instance of the ram and board replace the free shoot or is the ramming ship still allowed to fire point blank with the captain ability?
Does the instance of the ram and board replace the free shoot or is the ramming ship still allowed to fire point blank with the captain ability?
All four things can happen, in this order: Move>Shoot>Ram>Board. That’s the order of operations when it comes to moving and ramming when the ship in question has the Captain ability.
In this case, the ramming ship can fire with the Captain ability, though thematically you can think of that happening as the ship gets very close to the other ship. After the shooting is resolved, ramming occurs and then boarding (if initiated) after that.
Do free actions stack when triggers happen.
I believe so, though Woelf will be able to give more clarifications on if they do and if there are exceptions.
Do free actions stack when triggers happen.
I believe so, though Woelf will be able to give more clarifications on if they do and if there are exceptions.
If multiple different things can be triggered by one thing, generally they can all be used unless something specifically prevents it.
Do you have any specific examples in mind, aside from the Captain/ramming/boarding timing that Ben covered above?
Are silver coins able to be transferred between ships similar to gold coins using UPS strategies or are they only able to be transferred amongst ships with silver explorers. My understanding is one only needs a silver explorer to load silver treasure from a wild island after which the silver coin would be treated as normal treasure once aboard a ship. Is this correct?
Are silver coins able to be transferred between ships similar to gold coins using UPS strategies or are they only able to be transferred amongst ships with silver explorers.
Yes, they can be transferred with the Captain Jack Sparrow ability.
My understanding is one only needs a silver explorer to load silver treasure from a wild island after which the silver coin would be treated as normal treasure once aboard a ship. Is this correct?
Any ship capable of loading treasure can load silver coins, not just those with a silver explorer.
Silver coins are generally treated as normal treasure.
The +1 bonus only comes from the ship unloading the silver treasure at your home island, regardless of transfers and whether or not the ship that originally loaded the treasure had a silver explorer as well.
Suppose I have a set of Native Canoes in my fleet. At the start of the game, the canoes are placed at a wild island. The Canoes cannot explore on their first action, per their keyword. If I get a ship with the S-Explore ability out to that island on my first turn and mark it explored, can the Canoes be given a move action to re-dock at the island and explore it as a free action?
Separately, can a Bombardier’s flame strike cannon be given a cannon bonus?
The Stump & others
Place this crew face up during setup. Reduce the cost of all other crew placed on this ship by 1.The Code leads me to believe that this ability can only be applied at the beginning of the game, during set-up. I take it that the point reduction would not function if this crew was transferred to another ship later in a game? Also, you couldn’t start the game with this crew on a home island, then load them later for the point reduction?
Is the point reduction continuous, or is it a one-time effect that applies only to the crew on the ship at the start of the game? As in, if other crew are transferred to the ship with this ability, would those crew also have their point costs reduced?
Suppose I have a set of Native Canoes in my fleet. At the start of the game, the canoes are placed at a wild island. The Canoes cannot explore on their first action, per their keyword. If I get a ship with the S-Explore ability out to that island on my first turn and mark it explored, can the Canoes be given a move action to re-dock at the island and explore it as a free action?
They can’t explore on the first turn, period. It doesn’t matter if the action would be free or not.
Separately, can a Bombardier’s flame strike cannon be given a cannon bonus?
They can’t use equipment, but can apply abilities that affect the roll, like +1 to cannons or a reroll.
The Stump & others
Place this crew face up during setup. Reduce the cost of all other crew placed on this ship by 1.The Code leads me to believe that this ability can only be applied at the beginning of the game, during set-up. I take it that the point reduction would not function if this crew was transferred to another ship later in a game? Also, you couldn’t start the game with this crew on a home island, then load them later for the point reduction?
Is the point reduction continuous, or is it a one-time effect that applies only to the crew on the ship at the start of the game? As in, if other crew are transferred to the ship with this ability, would those crew also have their point costs reduced?
The original intent for the ability was that it could count against the build limit, but players figured out almost immediately how to break the game with that, so it was changed via an official ruling.
It only counts toward the build limit of a ship, and the effect is continuous/always active as long as the point-reducer crew remains on board. Crew that board the ship later will gain the bonus while they’re on the ship, but crew that leave don’t retain the reduction. If the reducer is eliminated or cancelled everyone else on the ship immediately reverts to their full values.
The reduction doesn’t apply to the reducer itself, so you need a minimum of three other crew before the reductions will be enough to make it worth having. They’re not particularly useful in general, unless you have a ship with a lot of cargo space and a high (but not quite high enough for the crew you want) point value.
It only counts toward the build limit of a ship, and the effect is continuous/always active as long as the point-reducer crew remains on board.
Even if the point reducer is moved to another ship? For example, lets say I have Stump on ship A, and then decide that I might want him on ship B. If I transfer him to ship B will he reduce the point costs of any crew on ship B?
Just to confirm, if I had a point reducer in my fleet, but didn’t have them assigned to a ship at the start of the game (placed on home island) would I be able to assign them to a ship later in the game via a transfer to gain the point reduction?
Woelf, do you happen to have an FAQ or multiplayer rules document from 2004 or 2005 from before Crimson Coast came out? I peeked around here and BGG a bit but didn’t find a document.
A few of us are planning to play a 30 point game on the 20th anniversary of SM (7/28) and we’ll be using only rules that were published for SM.
Even if the point reducer is moved to another ship? For example, lets say I have Stump on ship A, and then decide that I might want him on ship B. If I transfer him to ship B will he reduce the point costs of any crew on ship B?
Just to confirm, if I had a point reducer in my fleet, but didn’t have them assigned to a ship at the start of the game (placed on home island) would I be able to assign them to a ship later in the game via a transfer to gain the point reduction?
The effect is always active on whatever ship the reducer is on. If they transfer to another it’ll reduce the crew there instead, and crew on the previous ship will revert back to normal. (Note that if this would make the original ship’s crew total illegal, you’ll have to unload enough other crew to get below the un-altered limit before you can transfer the reducer.)
Woelf, do you happen to have an FAQ or multiplayer rules document from 2004 or 2005 from before Crimson Coast came out? I peeked around here and BGG a bit but didn’t find a document.
A few of us are planning to play a 30 point game on the 20th anniversary of SM (7/28) and we’ll be using only rules that were published for SM.
I found a couple files from around that era that I’ll email to you, but you might already have some of them. They’re the oldest I can find:
-Comprehensive Tournament Rules – Dated 7/11/2005
-Multiplayer Rules – Dated 11/28/2005
-FAQ (Post-Rev) – Dated 12/01/2005
Maybe I’ve been playing icebergs wrong all these years…. (emphasis added)
For each iceberg that will move, roll another d6 and match the result to the number printed around the iceberg’s edge.
Does that mean that for each iceberg that will move based on the initial roll, a separate d6 roll is required for every single iceberg that moves that turn?
I’ve always played that they all move with the same number of the 2nd roll (which is usually still in different directions), but perhaps I never read that sentence closely enough.
Does that mean that for each iceberg that will move based on the initial roll, a separate d6 roll is required for every single iceberg that moves that turn?
I’ve always played that they all move with the same number of the 2nd roll (which is usually still in different directions), but perhaps I never read that sentence closely enough.
After the initial roll to see which one(s) move, they do each get rolled separately, so they could all end up drifting in different directions.
Different Name, Title, or Spelling, Same Person
Addition to the No-Duplicates list:
“Cannonball” Gallows (MI) = Sean “Cannonball” Gallows (RotF)
Added Gallows to the list. How did he slip through for so long? They’re so close that everyone probably just assumed they were the same anyway.
I edited and updated a few of the section headings while I was in there too.
Am I able to use a crew such as Screaming Mimi to pull opponents from a fog bank?
secondly regarding fog hopping, fog banks used by smokepot specialists are placed (not rolled for like other specialists) on that players turn but are removed before any actions are made on that same players following turn. If the players ships aren’t pulled from the fog before the start of that players next turn, is the ship removed from play when the fog bank is removed?
Am I able to use a crew such as Screaming Mimi to pull opponents from a fog bank?
A move action is required to exit.
secondly regarding fog hopping, fog banks used by smokepot specialists are placed (not rolled for like other specialists) on that players turn but are removed before any actions are made on that same players following turn. If the players ships aren’t pulled from the fog before the start of that players next turn, is the ship removed from play when the fog bank is removed?
No, unless it doesn’t exit a fog bank that turn: (page 28 of the Code)
–When the fog bank is removed at the beginning of your turn, you may choose to roll and place this ship immediately (per normal the rules for smokepots) or you may choose to have it remain “inside” the fog. If it remains in the fog, the ship must exit another fog bank before the end of your turn; if it does not exit, it is removed from the game instead.
Ahoy Mateys!
Will someone please enlighten me what the crew, treasure, and equipment do in the game? Aren’t they just chits you place on islands and ships after they are punched out from their deck plates? I would assume their deck plates have the affect of the punched out chits? How does one keep track of it all?
=/\=
Will someone please enlighten me what the crew, treasure, and equipment do in the game?
Various effects; treasure is usually required to win the game. Full rules are at the bottom of the homepage if you don’t have them already.
Aren’t they just chits you place on islands and ships after they are punched out from their deck plates? I would assume their deck plates have the affect of the punched out chits? How does one keep track of it all?
Treasure goes on islands, crew and equipment usually go on ships. Yes, abilities are on the cards (usually a deckplate is only in reference to a ship’s main stat card, the first card of a ship). For tracking, just keep all the cards for your fleet in your designated spot on the table, likely with non-ship cards hidden away in a tin/etc so opponents can’t look over and see all your plans.
So I’ve played this game for quite some time, but most of that time was done using the rules that came in the packs, not the 60+ pages of rules and other tidbits found in the Code. I apologize if it comes off as rude or ignorant, but a LOT of the stuff in the Code feels… wonky. A prime example I can give is the captain and reverse captain deal. The “official” rules (the ones found in every game pack) say NOTHING about this, yet the Code says you can’t use both at the same time for what I can only describe as “your little brother made the rule up on the spot” reasons. To the contrary, the points cost and the fact certain crew/ships have this combo (e.g. Jack Hawkins, DJC) seem to REALLY indicate you were supposed to be allowed to use them together. The Code goes into some reasoning about it (needing to use a shoot action to use reverse captain, and the captain ability itself gives the pew pew is considered a free action), but even that explanation feels almost like it was pulled out of the ether to justify banning the combo.
There’s a plethora of other examples too (e.g. the apparent rule that a canceller can’t cancel himself or his own ship, except the printed card rule says “within S of this ship” and his own ship is quite literally within S of itself). It feels almost as if the Code is trying to stop you from having wacky combos for tournament purposes, and the rationale for banning the combos is some convoluted logic gymnastics instead of just saying “Yeah we F’d up the combo is just THAT broken and shouldn’t be allowed.”
So I guess the point of my rambling here is this: What exactly is the authority of the Code? My limited understanding was that it is more or less the rules set down by Wizkid’s rule arbitrator. But if that’s the case, why isn’t this printed on the cards or in the rules pamphlet that comes with the game itself?
So I guess the point of my rambling here is this: What exactly is the authority of the Code? My limited understanding was that it is more or less the rules set down by Wizkid’s rule arbitrator. But if that’s the case, why isn’t this printed on the cards or in the rules pamphlet that comes with the game itself?
The original purpose of the Pirate Code was to make the rules the same for tournaments and other officially-run events by Wizkids. Back when the game first came out, it was only meant to be a simple “beer & pretzels” game and was never intended to be supported at any sort of tournament level at all. The rules were intentionally left somewhat vague and open-ended, so people could easily adapt it to play however they wanted. The player base, at least the online portion, overwhelmingly demanded otherwise, so more and more official events were quickly created for it. However, because of how those original rules were written, it left the door open for players to find all sorts of creative ways to break the game. And they did, over and over again. The “Official Rules Arbitrator” position was created to deal with all of those issues and find ways to keep the game functional, without completely rewriting things from scratch.
The problem was that there was always somewhat of a disconnect between what the rules-writers did and what the Rules Arbitrator (RA) did to keep them working, and there was never really a good explanation for why. Over the course of the game’s full run the lead designers changed a few times, and some of the later ones were much more receptive to including things from the Pirate Code, but there was always still a reluctance to change the printed rules too much.
On the one hand, that was somewhat understandable, because the overwhelming majority of issues addressed in the PC deal with weird ability combinations and interactions that the basic rulebook doesn’t address at all. On the other hand, it meant that a lot of issues went completely unaddressed outside of the PC for most of the game’s run. Even the action limit didn’t make it into the rulebook until one of the last few sets, even though it had been an issue since the very beginning.
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TL/DR: There are so many wonky rules in the Pirate Code because there are a lot of ability combinations that create confusing situations, and also because players have found so many ways to break the game over the years.
Don’t bother trying to read through the whole thing (maybe just some of the more general sections), and definitely don’t feel like you need to memorize any of it. For casual games with just a friend group you can mostly get away with ignoring it entirely, but it can still be helpful as a reference when there are disputes about specific rules or when you’re not sure how two different abilities are meant to interact.
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