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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.
Introducing: USS America!
USS America
Nationality: American
Collector’s Number: USA (ship is not part of any set; a limited-time, Limited Edition ship)
Point Cost: 23
Masts: 5
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+L
Cannons: 3L-3S-2L-3S-3L
Link: John Barry, John Paul Jones
Ability: Friendly American ships within L of this ship get +1 to their cannon rolls. French crew can use their abilities on this ship.
Flavor Text: When the French were not able to take delivery of the first American-built 74-gun ship of the line due to British blockades, she was welcomed back to the United States with open arms. The mere sight of her produces joyous crowds, exuberant over their earned freedom and eager to pay homage to those who died in the Revolution. A new paint job and armament upgrades make her the finest ship in the fledgling United States Navy.
Designed by A7XfanBenJohn Barry
Nationality: American
Collector’s Number: 888 (subject to change; part of my Pirates of the Age of Sail historical set)
Point Cost: 7
Link: USS America, United States, Delaware
Ability: Captain. If a friendly ship begins a move action within S of this ship, it gets +S to its base move.
Flavor Text: A father of the United States Navy, Barry became the first commissioned officer by the decree of Washington himself. His signal book from the days of the American Revolution has improved formation movements for an organization desperately in need of strong leadership.
Designed by A7XfanBen
4th of July Promo: Buy USS America and get 20% off any other items in your order!
Introducing:
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
In my timeline, this Ancient Wonder of the World was not destroyed by earthquakes in the 1300’s….
It survived and has now been repaired and resurrected by the Barbary Corsairs!!
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
Collector’s Number: 1032 (an LE in my fantasy set, Pirates of the Epic Seas)
Faction: Barbary Corsairs
Gold Cost: 8
Cargo: 5
Cannons: 3L-3L-3L-3L
Ability: Grand Lighthouse. Forward Observer. Mortar. The cannons of this lighthouse are measured from each of its four corners at its base; the cannons may be rearranged as cannons are lost. The bottom segment of this lighthouse does block its own lines of fire. If this lighthouse loses its light, it has additional segments that must be eliminated before the lighthouse can be eliminated (3 total not including the light). Each piece represents a cannon – one for the light, one each for the top half sections, and one for the main tower. When this lighthouse has at least its bottom 3 segments, once per turn you may choose one enemy ship within the lighthouse range (L+L+L) and roll a d6; on a 5-6, the target’s controller replaces one of her masts with a fire mast.Flavor text: Expanding their coastline eastwards to Egypt, the Corsairs were stunned to find this nearly forgotten Wonder of the World in fair condition. Conducting extensive repair work and equipping it with modern weapons, they have turned it into a terrifying monstrosity. It is now considered one of the great strongholds of the Mediterranean, a commanding presence for miles around.
Keywords:
Grand Lighthouse: Building lighthouses follows the conditions for building forts. Gold used to build the lighthouse is placed face-up next to the lighthouse and still counts towards a player’s total for victory conditions. A lighthouse cannot use its abilities on the same turn that it is built.
If the Lighthouse has its light, a friendly ship within L+L+L of the Lighthouse gets +S to its base move once per turn (a yellow L+L+L tool can be used to indicate the range of this effect, or a light yellow plastic can be placed under the lighthouse).
Two hits from the same shoot action are required to eliminate the light; when it is eliminated, remove it from the lighthouse. Once a lighthouse loses its light, it loses the L+L+L effect but retains its other abilities. The light is considered the first segment of this lighthouse; once the light is eliminated, the other segments may be eliminated with each successive hit (which do not need to come from the same shoot action). The segments of this lighthouse must be eliminated in order from top to bottom. A lighthouse is eliminated when all of its segments have been eliminated. When a lighthouse is eliminated, the gold used to build the lighthouse remains on the island (face down).
Enemy ships cannot load treasure or drop off crew or equipment from this island. Enemy ships may dock at this island and try to capture the lighthouse. When an enemy ship docks at this island, either player may initiate a boarding party; if so both players roll a d6. The lighthouse controller adds the number of segments remaining and the number of crew in the lighthouse. If the ship wins, the lighthouse is captured. If the lighthouse wins, the enemy ship is considered undocked and loses two masts.
If a friendly ship is docked at the island, it can give up its turn to give a repair action to the lighthouse.
If a lighthouse has cargo space available, shipwrights and musketeers can use their abilities inside a lighthouse.
(based on Jeremiah’s Lighthouse keyword)
Forward Observer: Each friendly ship within the light radius of the lighthouse gains +1 to their cannon rolls. A ship must be within the radius when the cannon roll is made. This ability does not affect ships that move out of the radius and then start shooting.
(designed by Jeremiah)Mortar: This lighthouse gains a rank 3 cannon with a range of L+L measured from any part of the lighthouse base. This cannon may only shoot once per turn.
(designed by Jeremiah)Credit to pcn3dprinting on Thingiverse for the model! It has been modified for scale and for a better light fit at the top.
Rarely have I been this excited about a specific custom game piece. I conceived of this concept of an “alternate history” and bringing this epic idea into the game earlier this year. I was ecstatic to find 3D printable models of it, and quickly developed the concept of a new “god piece”. It is absolutely meant to rival game pieces like Paradis de la Mer or even the Zeus. The lighthouse concept originally comes from my friend Jeremiah, but I wanted to expand on his Lighthouse keyword and make a wild version of it that could potentially see some crazy uses in future campaign games.
A few edits have already occurred, including some that resulted from the first game I used it in. There may be future edits, but hopefully not.
Aruj Barbarossa has coined it “The Corsair answer to Paradis de la Mer!”
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?
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
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:”
Welcome aboard matey!
I guess I’d be more of a collector, but it’s more like I found all of the stuff and don’t know what to do with it now haha
Sounds like it’s time to play! 😀
Games I’d love to play on VASSAL on the game’s 20th anniversary (July 28th, which is conveniently a Sunday this year):
1. 3 player game at 30 point build total using only game pieces from Spanish Main AND only the Spanish Main rulebooks with no modern FAQ/errata/Pirate Code. (a truly “back in the day” game where there was no rules against duplicates or 3+ action ships/etc. Maybe Woelf or Piranha might have an FAQ from before CC was released)
2. Same as #1 except faction-pure with each player controlling a faction from SM, and using all regular official rules (except for making the fleets faction pure)
3. Same as #2, except a build total of 100 points.
Anyone who is down to sail that day? (feel free to say yes to a specific game of the three)
As you probably know by now, The Store at Pirates with Ben is open. 😀 I’ve put it on the main menu just to the right of Forum, and I’m adding new products nearly every week.
6 Masted Junks are the latest ship type available!
These models are a little larger than I thought they’d be, is that an actual light at the top?
Yes! Having an actual light is one of my favorite things about these, especially since it’s tied into the keyword. The light can be turned off in accordance with the keyword. 😀
These particular lights are the best for them I’ve found so far – no wiring/installation necessary, easy to remove via the removable top, and small enough to fit in a decent amount of the 3D printable models I’ve found so far. Sometimes I just have to make the top part taller so the bulb isn’t buried in the apex.
I’m going to sound a little silly, but I was expecting them to look more like a taller skinnier fort, like several 2D pieces of plastic put together to make a 3D shape.
I might still attempt a more “CSG-style” constructible version someday, but I’m too busy with other stuff in the meantime. I like how the models I’ve found so far are circular (not blocky like a rectangular one would be) and smooth, and they also come in multiple parts so they can easily be disassembled or have a certain level of “constructibility” to them.
Re-Introducing: Lighthouses!
Jeremiah and I are collaborating to bring his custom lighthouses to life!
The Customs Database now has the keywords listed on the first tab, and here is the new version of the Lighthouse keyword:
Building lighthouses follows the conditions for building forts. Gold used to build the lighthouse is placed face-up next to the lighthouse and still counts towards a player’s total for victory conditions.
If the Lighthouse has its light, a friendly ship within L+L of the Lighthouse gets +S to its base move once per turn (a yellow L+L tool can be used to indicate the range of this effect, or a light yellow plastic can be placed under the lighthouse).
Two hits from the same shoot action are required to eliminate the lighthouse light; when it is eliminated, remove it and the lighthouse top (if applicable). Once a lighthouse loses its light, it loses the L+L effect but retains its other abilities. When a lighthouse has no light, one additional hit destroys the lighthouse and it is eliminated; the gold used to build the lighthouse remains on the island (face down).
Enemy ships may dock, load treasure, and drop off crew or equipment from islands with lighthouses built on them. Enemy ships cannot load crew or equipment from this island that belong to the lighthouse controller as long as the lighthouse has its light. If the lighthouse has cannons, their ranges are measured from any part of the lighthouse’s base.
If a friendly ship is docked at the island, it can give up its turn and conduct a repair action on the lighthouse. If an enemy ship is docked at the island and no friendly ship is within L+L of the lighthouse, it can give up its turn to simultaneously capture and repair the lighthouse.
If a lighthouse has cargo space available, shipwrights and musketeers can use their abilities inside a lighthouse.
Smeaton’s Tower
The first of many lighthouses to be lit up! I’m still in the process of figuring out whether or not each custom lighthouse will have a unique look/color palette to the design. Various options will soon be available in The Store at Pirates with Ben – plain lighthouses, existing custom lighthouses, and “build your own” custom lighthouses. I also plan to continue experimenting with different 3D models and hopefully offering multiple varieties.
Smeaton’s Tower
Faction: England
Gold cost: 2
Masts: 1
Cargo: 0
Ability: Lighthouse. Archimedes’ Blaze.
Flavor Text: Now veiled in secrecy, everyone thought the man mad when he proclaimed he could harness the sun’s power… until he ignited a sloop’s sail ablaze.Archimedes’ Blaze: During your turn you may choose one enemy ship within the range of this lighthouse and roll a d6. On a 5, the target’s controller replaces one of her masts with a fire mast. On a 6, the target’s controller replaces two of her masts with fire masts.
Credit to OscarEastwood on Thingiverse for the design! I modified it slightly so the scale fits better with the game and so the light has more room to fit in the top.
Themed fleet idea for fun 🙂
Hey y’all. Right, so turns out I had more time and inspiration than I thought. Now that I’ve gotten my feet wet with VASSAL – I don’t like leaving a job only part done. I’ve completely re-updated my VASSAL contribution! I’m calling it 2.3 and I’ll try to get it added to the main module page on VASSAL’s website. Updated assets in the Dropbox too (see first post) in case anyone just wants to just add individual pieces to their personal copies.
Cawley333,
This is amazing! You’re a pirate hero. 😀 Thank you for your awesome contributions. I’ll have to check it out soon but at first glance it looks good.
This also feels like a little weight off my shoulders since I’ve been wanting to do something similar for years, but have been far more focused on what’s best for the game in the physical space lately (and other projects such as this site).
That said, I’ve never handled most of these ship types in-person. I did my best to estimate proportions based on images. But if anything is flagrantly off in how anything is supposed to function I’d be happy to fix it.
Most of them look pretty close. If anything, they could be tweaked over time. Far better than having none of those ship types in there at all.
Today’s fix: Eliminated extra “is” from ability text for Dr. Forbes Beattie (CC 045), Doctor Urbano Javier (062), Father Rene Bordeaux (RV 064a and RV UL064a), and “Hacksaw” Riley (RV 097a and RV UL097a). Also added comma after “eliminated” for all of their ability texts.
Last .xlsx update on the homepage is from 5/24/2024.
Nice! Another powerhouse hybrid. She’ll be an absolute star in any big games, especially with the high point cap combined with the high cargo – tons of room to further optimize with expensive crew.
With that, the largest custom set I’ve worked on to date is finished! It’s taken us slightly less than a year of mostly daily posting to see 500+ ships, crew, forts, equipment, and islands! What started out as a silly idea to make some ships and references to the old Lego Universe mmog turned into something much more. I’m not completely done making custom ships, there’s still the War of the Seas to come, in addition to a sequel of sorts to the PotC set but I’m not going to be posting bits from those on the daily and likely not anytime soon. I’ll be taking some time to review each post made for Farthest Shore (on PwB anyway) and make any necessary edits to game pieces and eventually I’ll have the set properly added to the Customs Database where you can see all 513 ships, crew, forts, equipment, treasures and islands of Pirates: The Farthest Shore!
Your consistency and customs prowess is legendary. Just when I think you guys are done, there is another set around the corner (often bigger than the last one). Hopefully we might even see some come off the spreadsheet this year and into games too. Congrats on the set completion!
Introducing: Pirates of the Golden Seas!
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.
Hey y’all, I made a macro-enabled Excel worksheet that displays a random asset (ship, crew, etc.) from the official sets based on Set, Rarity, and Faction parameters (or you can randomize each).
Amazing! This is really cool, thanks for making both of these! For years people have wondered about a pack opening simulator type thing.
This all started as part of a larger Excel I’m compiling with other tools I use to DM/GM – I was gearing up for Ironsworn’s new Sundered Isles and my mind cast back to Pirates CSG. Thought I’d draw some inspiration with a randomizer. But now (with VASSAL and Ben’s site) I’ve come back to the Pirates CSG hobby fold. That said – I’m no Excel master so my apologies if things aren’t very pretty or the coding is a little rough. It was originally meant to be a personal aid, but with all the effort and love I see on this website, I though I’d share and share alike. Likewise, I’d never touched VASSAL editing until this so hopefully that doesn’t come through too much either.
It’s great to see VASSAL get some love. Adding/improving to it has long been on my Pirates to-do list but I’ve been so embroiled in other Pirates CSG projects that I haven’t made time for it yet. It will be great to have an iceberg in there too haha.
Thanks for all this great work!
100% player I suppose, but I only just rediscovered this hobby as of about a week ago so all that’s been on VASSAL at a grand total of 3 solitaire games so far. Very much a newbie again!
Welcome aboard! Glad you’re already playing again!
In the last week or so I’ve put together a randomizer excel and made some custom VASSAL assets to enjoy the nostalgia and thought other folks might find a use for those tools too.
That sounds amazing, thank you for doing that!
Truly supreme! Looks like it would be a blast to use. That’s a very powerful new ability, this might even be a ship that goes beyond 50 points someday….
A short buying survey to help me determine what products to offer: Pirates CSG Buying Survey
Thanks for any feedback!
On Saturday June 8th, I will be making probably the biggest announcement of my 13 years of Pirates CSG obsession. However, it is not related to Wizkids or affiliated with them, so don’t get your hopes sky-high. 🙂
I’d love to get your advice on the best products I can offer. Here is a short Buying Survey. Thank you for any and all feedback!
Introducing: The Store at Pirates with Ben!
This has been a long time coming. Only a few offerings for now, but there are plans to expand it quite a lot and add new stuff and improvements over time. There might be some issues early on that I’ll work through, but a test transaction and email confirmation worked on my end.
The custom game piece ordering process is likely to evolve over time. For now it’s just a downloadable form with instructions along with a blank PNG artwork template.
Currently the only shipping option available is within the United States and at a flat rate. Both of those things are likely to change over time as well. (shipping destination availability, and shipping prices)
My tentative plan is to add one ship type per week (but hopefully more). The more people buy from the Store, the more likely it is that I can add new products and features. There will also be an opportunity to get sneak peeks for upcoming products, but more on that soon-ish….
