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Pirates CSG Podcast #45: Former Wizkids Product Manager Tiffany O’Brien!
You can listen to the audio via ShoutEngine!
You can also listen on Archive.org.
Tiffany O’Brien is one of the key figures of Pirates CSG history, having held multiple important positions at Wizkids while the game was still in print!
Questions thread: https://pirateswithben.com/forums/topic/submit-your-questions-for-pirates-designer-tiffany-obrien/
Questions of the Day:
(Tiffany) What is your favorite set packaging?
(Ben) Did you ever play the SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) digital version of the game?
Find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skcorynaffit/
Past podcasts: http://shoutengine.com/PiratesCSGPodcast/
Tiffany’s crew, Eileen Brigid O’Brien from Mysterious Islands!
Thanks for listening! Feel free to answer the Questions of the Day below!
Take the podcast survey! https://goo.gl/forms/CsnwVmi3qhtqik323
Feel free to rate and review the podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pirates-csg-podcast/id1258016060
Pirates packs on eBay: https://goo.gl/MfHBQJ
Sign the Petition! https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bring-back-pirates-of-the-cursed-seas
Join the Forum at Pirates with Ben! https://pirateswithben.com/forums/forum/pirates-csg/
The following should eventually be updated from ShoutEngine so they will be available when they get the podcast.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pirates-csg-podcast/id1258016060
Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1258016060/pirates-csg-podcast
Google Play Music: https://play.google.com/music/m/Imxc6vplvkqlmagcvkxvi2er2wu?t=Pirates_CSG_Podcast
Blubrry: https://www.blubrry.com/piratescsgpodcast/
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/a7xfanben/pirates-csg-podcast?refid=stpr
About to go LIVE with Tiffany O’Brien on the podcast!
Enjoyed listening to the Pirates CSG Online Show on my way home today! (episode 6/7/2009)
Few quick things:
- I apologize for any mistakes in the Master Spreadsheet. I have noticed a minor error about once a month, and I know it’s annoying. I wanted to get it out as quickly as possible last year, so some of the stuff copied from the original Wizkids spreadsheets or from MT may be missing things. As always, let me know if you find something that needs fixing. I plan to keep the .xlsx version on the homepage updated, but the shared google sheet will always be the most up to date.
- With MT sunk for good, a ton of links across my site are broken. The Rankings section is hit especially hard. I don’t have the time to update all of that and make it right or improve those pages yet. I’m also extremely sick of updating broken links and broken pictures (photobucket, then postimages) and cannot spend my life doing that on a constant basis.
Thanks for visiting my site!
Interesting. In a non-campaign game this might be broken, since you could pump all of you points into a few fast ships, and then use this to crew them up as the game goes on.
I think a lot of standard games are too fast-moving and end too quickly for that to be a good strategy, but in a game with a lot of coins available, perhaps more relevant.
I think I’d want to see this used in a campaign, though I suspect it might have a CG point cost and alternate ability.
Indeed. I’d probably make a completely alternate version, likely one MUCH “grander”. XD Maybe even like 50+ gold.
Ceremonial Sacrifice
Type: Ship
Faction Affiliation: Cursed
Rarity: C
Point Value: 12
Number of Masts: 3
Cargo Space: 3
Base Move: L
Cannons: 2S-X-2S
Ability: Firepot Specialist. This ship’s mainmast (middle mast) is always a fire mast that requires no roll [it cannot spread or be put out]. Whenever this ship touches another ship, eliminate one crew from the other ship.Flavor text: Completely obsessed with ritual, the cult-like members of this ship’s crew have a special location for their “offerings”. After a victim is slaughtered or burned alive at the mast, their fervor for fresh killing only increases.
Ring Besis (pronounced “bee-sis”)
Type: Crew
Faction Affiliation: Cursed
Rarity: R
Point Value: 12
Ability: Captain. SAT. [Same Action Twice: Once per turn before you give this ship an action, roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, this ship may be given the same action twice.] Give this ship a move action but do not move her. Instead, roll a d6. On a result of 5 or 6, move an enemy ship L in any direction.
Link: All Cursed 10 mastersFlavor text: With a mystical ring that apparently channels his power, this confusing oddity has become a powerful admiral for the Cursed. His main enjoyments include laughing, strangling, and biting open the necks of enemy captains.
You can find my custom sets here: Pirates of the Age of Sail and Pirates of the Epic Seas
Not using the WK system, or at least a close approximation, does make evaluating some customs difficult, but regardless I do look forward to seeing what you do with the re-costed set.
I think I posted it in another thread so I think you know this, but I’m going to do a recosting of all the Wizkids sets, not either of my custom sets. (which might be what you meant)
Posting here so might as well share a few more!
Bahamian Escape
Type: Ship
Faction Affiliation: Pirate
Rarity: C
Point Value: 10
Number of Masts: 3
Cargo Space: 5
Base Move: S+L
Cannons: 3S-4L-4S
Ability: Schooner. If this ship is within S of an enemy ship when this ship is given a move action, she gets +S to her base move. If this ship is not assigned at least 4 crew, her base move becomes L.Flavor text: A mixture of former slaves and professional scoundrels are celebrating their victorious escape from prison in the Bahamas. Their jolly nature is not to be mistaken for friendliness, for they are simply a merry band of robbers.
Price might be too high?
Blacksmith Jarundar
Type: Crew
Faction Affiliation: Viking
Rarity: C
Point Value: 2
Ability: This ship gets +1 to her boarding rolls when assigned equipment. This ship gets +1 to her equipment rolls.Flavor text: This master metalworker has ensured that his vessel carries the finest swords and axes in the Atlantic. To fight his crew is to ask your own crew to pull off a miracle.
You can find my custom sets here: Pirates of the Age of Sail and Pirates of the Epic Seas
Time to unleash the kraken? Few things up here: https://ebay.to/2XPvQGn
Time to unleash the kraken? Few things up here: https://ebay.to/2XPvQGn
@MagExpress: I think the Moonlight is fairly costed. She seems like a solid hybrid I would try to use. If you want to adjust the cost I think 15 points would be fair as well.
Tribal Sacrifice
Type: Ship
Faction Affiliation: Mercenary
Rarity: C
Point Value: 16
Number of Masts: 3
Cargo Space: 4
Base Move: S+L
Cannons: 3L-5L-2L
Ability: Mercenary. Schooner. Sac. [Once per turn, you can eliminate one of this ship’s crew to give her an extra action.] Whenever this ship is involved in a boarding party, eliminate an extra crew from the losing ship [in addition to any other results].Flavor text: The crazed tribal natives of “The Sacrifice” have become known for their public beheadings. What baffles the sane is their targets – they don’t seem to care at all if they happen to kill their own.
Emundas
Type: Crew
Faction Affiliation: Mercenary
Rarity: C
Point Value: 11
Ability: Captain. Marine. Reroll. [Once per turn, you can reroll any die roll you make for this ship; you must use the second die roll result.] This crew can use its abilities on English and Barbary Corsair ships.Flavor text: Emundas is a renegade captain who shunned the Jade Rebellion for not promoting him to admiral. He has since lived on his own, become a survival expert at sea. Along the way he has ingratiated himself with some sailors in the Royal Navy and of the Barbary States, ensuring he has a ship to sail on when his island hopping strategy runs out of food.
Underwater Trench
Type: Fort
Faction Affiliation: Mercenary
Rarity: C
Gold Cost: 3 gold
Cannons: 3S-3S-3S
Ability: This fort must be built within L of a reef. Only Submarines can dock at this island. Submerged Submarines may dock and repair at this island.Flavor text: Finding an ideal location for a hideout, Nemo designated this area as a station for submarines that need a respite from activity.
You can find my custom sets here: Pirates of the Age of Sail and Pirates of the Epic Seas
HUZZAH!!!! I am now ranking #1 in google search for “Pirates CSG”!! This has been a goal of mine for a while now, and I was hoping to get there by the end of the summer or fall. I’m ahead of Wikipedia, BGG, eBay, everything (obviously if MT was still afloat it might be impossible to dislodge). Just checked in Incognito mode too to make sure it wasn’t just my logged in browser being biased. 🙂 I’ve been publishing content and getting visitors consistently for a while now; I think the speed improvement mentioned above is what might be putting the site over the top just this past week. (might not be ranking #1 for that term in all locations since apparently it can vary by geographic location)
Now the challenge is to rank #1 for all the other game names… yikes. XD (Pirates of the Spanish Main, Pirates Constructible Strategy Game (spelled out), Pirates of the Cursed Seas… and on and on)
Certainly going deep into experimental territory now… I’ve gone off the rails. XD
Deathshade
Type: Flying Crab
Faction Affiliation: Cursed
Rarity: SE
Point Value: 50
Number of Masts: 3
Cargo Space: 1
Base Move: D
Cannons: 3S-3S-2L
Ability: Titan. Sea Dragon. Canceller. Enemy ships within S of this ship cannot use movement bonuses and get -1 to their terrain rolls.Flavor text: A horrid hybrid of giant crab and flying monster, “Deathshade” is able to cover a wide swath of the world with a terrible presence. The creature’s wingspan and unnatural powers create a dark environment that throws squadrons of ships into chaos. Then the beast swoops down and engages with its claws.
Giant crab with sea dragon wings and only the front two (large) claws of a Titan. Probably breaks the keywords and/or the game. Not for serious use. XD
Just made that one today; this is from awhile back.
Valmung
Type: Crew
Faction Affiliation: Cursed
Rarity: C
Point Value: 8
Ability: Eternal. Cannoneer. This crew can use their abilities on game pieces with the Sea Monster keyword.Flavor text: Valmung is a tall creature with a raspy voice who can expel smoke from gill-like holes in his face. He came up as a “serpent rider” and has nursed at least one beast of the sea back to full health.
You can find my custom sets here: Pirates of the Age of Sail and Pirates of the Epic Seas
Here’s a chance at some Viking and Frozen North stuff: https://ebay.to/2LWJOzh
Smaller than the others but another weighted lot; this time 3 pounds: https://ebay.to/2GiWzjV
Enemy ships get -1 to their boarding rolls against this ship.
I’ve got that ability on some customs, and it would be effectively the same as +1 to boards. I understand the idea of them as a defensive force, but I think of them as more offense. In addition, +1 to boards has been around since 2004, so it’s easier to add to an existing keyword and easier for people to wrap their heads around. I think either works and would be 1-2 points. (as I’ve said in the past, based on my experience I think boarding bonuses should have been costed equal to their bonus, ex: +2 to boards for 2 points)
I like the effect, but 3 points is way too low for what this does. As written it’s worth at least 5 points. It’s equal to or objectively better than a Musketeer in every way:
True… just drives the point home that a lot of crew abilities are too expensive, at least in my opinion. Upping it to 5 for now I guess. I’m almost definitely going to do this “total recosting” alternate version of the Master Spreadsheet this year, and I may even house rule some generic crew costs in my Basic Rules someday. (getting tired of Wizkids’ bad prices affecting new customs/etc)
His sac ability is strictly inferior to the standard one that comes in typically at 2 points (or 3 on its own) so let’s call that a 1
That’s the thing. I don’t want to make customs that are purely in line with what Wizkids costed things at, because then none of my switchblades and whatnot would be priced right either. Sac is arguably worth about 5 points. I’d rather put an inferior version at 2 and also adjust the cost of the Carronade based on how Musketeers should have been cheaper. I don’t want to keep some abilities overpriced while keeping others underpriced. When making customs I’d rather have it be fair than make the same mistakes Wizkids did simply because they did it first. Hopefully that makes sense. I partly see custom game pieces as a way to make better game pieces with (formerly) underpriced or overpriced abilities being treated properly.
I made him some months ago, but my thinking was probably as follows: Unholy Light=3, Ex-Patriot=1, crappy sac=2, cargo kill on 6=1-2. I would probably want to use him on a 10 master that had World Hater to get the cargo wrecking on 5’s as well. Lowered him to 7 though.
I am more of an armchair admiral and armchair architect (naval) than player or collector.
Good way to describe it. 🙂
Glad to have ye aboard me ship. Plenty of pirates from MT be washin’ up on these shores lately. XD 😛
Silk of Alnor
Type: Ship
Faction Affiliation: Jade Rebellion
Rarity: C
Point Value: 14
Number of Masts: 2
Cargo Space: 5
Base Move: L
Cannons: 4S-5S
Ability: Junk. Parley. One of this ship’s treasures is worth +1 gold when she docks at your home island.Flavor text: Formerly a French merchant ship under the reign of the King of Alnor, this vessel was lost at sea when the Cursed took the monarch into their custody. Resurfacing in the Indian Ocean, she was “captured” by the Jade Rebellion, who have greatly enjoyed the excess spoils of her full cargo hold.
Oriental Sage of the East
Type: Crew
Faction Affiliation: Jade Rebellion
Rarity: C
Point Value: 6
Ability: Loyal: Jade Rebellion. This ship ignores terrain when she is given a move action (islands are not terrain). This ship can shoot at submerged ships within S of her.Flavor text: This calm and loyal monk is a master at seeing things that normal sailors do not. He has saved four ships from running aground, and became the first Jade Rebel to sink a submarine.
Grand City
Type: Fort
Faction Affiliation: Jade Rebellion
Rarity: C
Gold Cost: 8 gold
Cannons: 3L-3L-3L-3L-3S-3S
Ability: This fort must be built on your home island. At this fort, you may exchange gold for generic crew from outside the game.Flavor text: One of China’s greatest coastal cities, this metropolis was built specifically to cater to the Jade Rebellion’s naval needs. Although it cost Zheng He a small fortune, he now has easier access to able seamen to fuel his growing imperial goals.
You can find my custom sets here: Pirates of the Age of Sail and Pirates of the Epic Seas
Brainstorming basic ideas for the 4 Viking coins found in FN that were part of the mail in for the Nordic Raiders pack:
Axe: +1 to boarding rolls
Shield: Enemy ships get -1 to their boarding rolls against this ship.
Spear: Kill extra crew if you win a boarding party in addition to other results (maybe can throw at a ship within S as a one-time use; 1-3 the other ship gets it for free if they have cargo, 4-6 one of their crew is eliminated (maybe they still keep it)
Helmet: Link UT to a crew on this ship; that crew cannot be eliminated unless this UT is.When I first read the heading I thought this would be more about running up the score after it was obvious the game had already been decided.
That might be one of the only reasons to reveal gold when it’s unloaded at HI’s. Sometimes the game can seem close but in reality it’s a blowout, which isn’t known until the end. Which is why I sometimes like to have all the players peek at the last coin or two in play – if the final 1 gold in play won’t decide who wins, it can be better to save the 20 minute ram and board festivities and start another game or something.
As far as taking just enough risks to squeeze out a win, to me that’s the whole point of the game. If you always play it safe, you might have a more consistent win/loss record over a large number of games, but you’ll be on the losing side when someone takes the extra risk and pulls it off.
Perhaps that’s what happened in some of the tournament games, or just the big games at the end to celebrate the tournaments and fleets. Though since I don’t have more evidence of it (yet), maybe just a coincidence. It would be a largely pointless project to go through my BR’s to find more evidence of this happening… but interesting haha.
I’m yet to see a perfect system for it, but that’s largely what’s being attempted by the various house rules where remaining ships are factored into victory conditions along with gold collected.
Exactly. I love “points in play + gold” for the win, in terms of realism. Just need to test it out more… I wasn’t going to use that in the big game I hope to play within the next 2 months, but I think I’ll consider it. (biggest problem is the amount of gold required… 6 fleets at 150 points XD. Could have low gold values but multiplied by 10; 3 3’s could be worth 90 gold.)
Drop that boost (or make it just 1 point instead of 2)
Huh. I think Wizkids placed Marine at 6 points, which is shown with crew like Grim the Savage from F&S (one of the super basic Marines). The boost seems like 1 point, while the 5 point Marines have -1 from Hostile. “Benoit de Marsilles” (original spelling from BC “final” WK spreadsheet) was one of the early basic Marines and costs 6 points even in that spreadsheet. Just saw an early version of the keyword where you could put it on islands containing enemy forts. 🙂
I would definitely like Marines at 3 and Musketeers at 2. I also think that if the entire game or crew were recosted, captain and helmsman should be the only off-limits abilities, to keep things simple and not have them based on the opposite instead (requiring both of those to go to 5+ points). Compared to the usefulness of captain and helmsman, I could see Musketeer at 1 and Marine at 2-3.
You make good points as always. I think it’s good to have lots of options so people can experiment with house rules if they want. I could certainly live with Marines having +1 to boarding in addition to their existing keyword for a base of 5 points. A little less incentive to drop them at an island, but they have never been very successful on land for me anyway.
Part of the reason I suggested a 1S gun is because Marines are rather lame and ineffective in the game, while they arguably should be one of the more elite crew units. Plus, I’ve rolled a ton of 1’s while shooting, so to me the better odds are almost needed to feel decent about the shot I’m paying a premium for. XD
@Holofernes: Huzzah! Was afraid you might have been washed out to sea with the tide or drowned in the sinking of the Miniature Trading. 😉 But not really. 😀
Super happy to see you here.
Here is a seller with a lot of Spanish Main stuff. Plus a custom made island/terrain set.
Let the bidding continue! Some new listings up: https://ebay.to/2NVjS9W
Bunch of nice auctions ending today/tonight!
Edit: Overall a few things went for a little more than I expected. Big lot of OE for $89. The common/uncommon lot of OE/RotF was weird, since it went for $35, whereas the previous similar lot with a bunch of rares only went for $15.
The original idea was for a generic marine as it was written by WK, but costed at 4-5 points. I’ll run some of the ideas here past JW. At the worst we just go with the first option, a generic marine at 4-5 points, with no other abilities or extra stuff.
Cool, I think 4 points would be a good starting place since 5 is a lot to pay for what they do.
In my opinion, I like the idea of Marines being able to target specific crew. It makes sense to me if they ignore defensive abilities on an island, but I think if they’re on a ship, maybe count as one of the ship’s cannons/guns, at least in the way of the Vega/Algernon ability. However, I think for a generic crew, what WK made might work on its own. I could see it either way, house-ruling to include the add-ons, or remaining as WK made them.
Indeed. These ideas are with the goal of making them more useful, since even the 5 point Marines are almost never worth the cost to use.
Glad to see some responses, thank you!
It’s funny you mentioned Marines, JW and I are thinking about giving every faction a Generic Marine in one of his upcoming Custom sets. We could implement these ideas to make a “new” marine crew.
Makes sense to me. They’re more special than Musketeers but I think it would make sense if there were a lot more of them. The real trouble lies in the costing; Marine would be fine at 3 or 4 points if only Musketeer had been accurately priced at 2 (or even 1?) by Wizkids from the start. Of course, Marines are theoretically going to be more effective anyway, so perhaps they can just be better crew. XD I must say I like the idea of giving them +1 to boarding rolls, even if that’s not an ability I care much about.
I see you haven’t quite given up the customs game just yet. 😉 😛
This is why I love the internet. Today alone I have messaged and gotten responses from Woelf, Holofernes, and Tiffany O’Brien. I also got in contact with Piranha (Tony Vigil, the original Rules Arbitrator) within the past week. 😀
Now we just need more people posting on the Forum! ^
I actually did retcon it to this. I think you wee the one who said that hiding LIMIT inside the keyword was silly, and so I changed it to that version.
Cool; I thought so but wanted to post things the way I did in case that hadn’t happened yet.
Carronades are incredible. I’ve read enough naval history books to know that those abilities should be pretty fitting. If anything it could be more devastating, but I like the cost of 3. I thought about a point-blank range bonus (like eliminating cargo instead of crew, or 2 crew, etc), but I don’t want to force people to get into measuring half-S or new made-up ranges just to use it.
Halgeren is a strange crew, designed to be powerful mostly by combining a bunch of reasonably decent but not great abilities into one crew for a cost that could be competitive. I see him being used on a high-cargo hybrid or a 10 master with Dories, maybe even something fast like HMS Swallow to take advantage of Unholy Light for scouting. (World Hater would be great of course because of that nice offensive ability)
