In the Caribbean Sea, with vast booty for He (or indeed She) that findeth it. This is a multi-player game of no fixed historical accuracy, designed solely for the purpose of fun and frolic. It was planned as an outrageous Saturday night-at-the-convention event; I (being Howard) built a set of massive islands with carved out caverns and tremendous numbers of plastic trees, while Tim thought up foul things that might happen to unwary buccaneers. Actually, three of us thought those things up, three heads being better than one (though it's hard to get a shirt to fit). Any (or, indeed, no) rules can be used. Players command pirate vessels - in our set-up, from 6 to 14 guns apiece, each with a long boat - or perhaps bands of cannibal Caribs or Spanish military patrols. Our experience has been that six ships are plenty, especially if the players insist on shooting rather than thinking, but players can form teams to operate ships rather than act as sole captain. It's a rough and tumble sort of game, to be played with maximum atmosphere and pirate bravado. PLAYERS' BRIEFING: When Septimus Sharp went to the gallows at Spanish Town in 1699, he declared that the art of buccaneering was dead, and that nobody could hold a candle to the exploits of the great sea rovers such as Henry Morgan, or his own brother, Bartholomew Sharp. Having no surviving kinsmen, and regarding his crew as "dastardly knaves what have brought me to the gibbet through poltroonery and idle villainie" he declared that his accumulated treasures - and Sharp was known as a miser who liked to conceal his loot rather than fritter it away in waterfront taverns or trust it to the piratebrokers of the American ports - were "well hid from the likes of scurvy dogs". Twenty years after his execution, long after even his chained skeleton had been cut down from Gibbet Point, a notice was posted outside a dockside tavern, the Vile Swab in Bilgewater St. It read: "To the Wharf Rats and Pyratical Men ofthe Indies. I Septimus Sharp, being dead declare that my Collected Booty shall go to whichever Captain or Quarter-rnaster as can find and seize the treasure what I have hid amongst the islands which the Dons call Las Islas de Gran Pollo, known to English sailors as Chicken Keys. Anyone interested can go to my lawyer, Samuel Fleecem esq, for further information. Stir thine Sorry Arses, for whosever takes my Treasure is truly a Buccaneer in the Grand Old Tradition. etc etc, Septimus Sharp (Deceased) The lawyer, Fleecem has nothing beyond a cryptic note: "Not much of a poet" sniffs the bone-dry barrister. "Still, if this doggerel is of any interest to you, I have had my clerk make several true copies. You may have one. Now, please leave in case one of my respectable clients should call The notes reads as follows: "Three Silver lead to Three o Pearil and thence One Gold and more besides. Yet there be snares and tricks where currents do swirl between the palms and the swelling tide. The silver lies beneath the mast, or yet in the old Spaniard's tower or yet where water tastes no brine and crashes down with grace and power. " "Damned if I know what the old bastard meant" grumbles the lawyer. "meanwhile, you lot clear off before I sets the watch on you." The game moves on to the set of disease ridden islands as set out by the umpire. Vessels may approach from any direction but the western Channel between Cannibal and Waterfall islands. Wind is from the east. The winner, isf such there be, is whoever gets the treasure off the eastern edge of the board, no holds being barred in this process. The silver keys are: Not at all in the old Spaniard's tower, which has been looted by the Caribs. The key can now be found around the neck of the Carib chief, on Cannibal Island. There is, however, a clue daubed in some kind of paint on the inside upstairs wall of the tower. 1) In the cave under the waterfall, in a small brass box (value 5 shillings) with a written clue (A). 2) In a sliding wooden compartment under the supports of the main mast of the wrecked ship, with a written clue (A). Clue 'A' is as follows - "Mother o Pearl, oh look to the rocks, or stroll a while from the Spaniard's door, and truste in thy lucke when thee open the lock perhaps take a voyage to Evermore. However, the clue, as written in the old tower, reads as follows "Mother o Pearl, oh look to the rocks, or stroll a while from the Spaniard's door, and truste in thy lucke when thee open the lock' The mother of pearl boxes are placed as follows: 1) A few steps from the tower. It blows up when opened, killing everyone within 2" for a die roll of 1-4 per lucky treasure hunter. 2) In the hidden cave on Cave Island. 3) In Ben's cave. He uses it as a nightstand, but will happily trade it for cheese. Each box is 18" x 12" x 12", inlaid with mother of pearl, and worth about £ 25. Inside is another clue - "To the Greate Isle, with caverns deep, the signs of earth, air, fire and water, Choose ye a stone, but friend beware, lest ye kiss the Gunner's Daughter. If ye choose well, no hail shall fall, no sailor's grave, no granite tomb, but step ye forth, for golden key is there in yon -forbidden room. " A very large, iron bound chest of considerable proportions is at the centre of the chamber. It has a novelty none of the pirates will have seen, a combination lock. On the lockplate is inscribed; "A name, a man, the sailor's toast, Jamaica's friend, the Spaniard's fear, Spell out that name, the glorious boast, What mother called the buccaneer." There are five tumblers, each with the letters of the alphabet. 'HENRY' opens it. 'SHARP' causes daggers to shoot out of the front of the chest, impaling anyone there for a throw of 1-5. Har Har! Nothing else has any effect. The chest is too large to be carried. When opened, the huge chest contains a simple gold key and a note. "Mateys, yer damned near. Look to the Isle o Palms, and a proper burial. Not like mine, who will hang in chains till me bones drop loose from the shackles. And with the gold bury my mortal remains a full fathom under." The gold is buried on the Isle of Palms, in a plain teakwood chest, six feet deep, underneath a more ostentatious chest containing twelve pieces of silver at three feet, with a layer of earth between them. A GUIDE TO THE ISLANDS: Cannibal Island. Contains no clues, but a village of 20 hostile Caribs, who will attack all interlopers. One of the silver keys can now be found around the neck of the Carib chief if you can take it off him. Ben's Island. Ben is a marooned buccaneer gone a trifle mad. He keeps the natives away by making them think the island is haunted, with noises, clanking of chains, and his own attempts at apparitions. There is a skeleton, placed by Sharp, that pointed to the Grand Island. However, ben has pointed it towards Cannibal Island. If you befriend him, which involves giving him cheese, he will tell about the skeleton. Ben keeps one of the mother of pearl boxes in his cave as a nightsatnd, but may trade it for cheese. Cave Island. This features one obvious big cave, and a smaller, hidden one. The larger cave is the Carib shaman's sacred place. At best those entering it will be frightened by the giant Booga-Booga mask (die of heart attack for roll of 1) and swarms of bats. For a roll of 5-6, there are 2 D6 angry worshippers and an irate shaman. The other cave contains one of the mother of pearl boxes. Tower Island. This features the ruined Spanish watchtower, with the incomplete clue, and the exploding box. Burial Island. This has a none- too - careftilly hidden grave with the remains about four feet deep, under a rough cross that says "Unworthy of a proper burial". Waterfall Island. This contains the hidden cave where one of the silver keys lies. Grand Island is a big island with a massive cave complex. Entering the cave there is a chamber with a passage to left and right. On the wall in front is a picture, crudely done, of a man looking out through what looks like a barred dungeon window, and another of a ships cannon. The right hand passage trips a sliding barred door. Anyone passing through may escape for a roll of 6 as it clangs shut. Otherwise they are stuck inside until somebody else comes along and detects a hidden lever (roll of 1-3 detects each turn). On the 'dungeon' wall is a picture of a ship, a tower, and a series of vertical lines. The left hand passage comes to a wall with four large brass plates set into the stone. They each have one of these symbols on them: 1)Waves 2) a mountain 3) a cloud 4) a flame Press 1) A wall closes behind, and water rushes in from all sides. Escape for a 6. Otherwise it's a watery grave. Press 2) A wall closes behind, and the ceiling comes down on top of the party. Escape for a 6. Otherwise, crushed horribly. Press 3) The wall in front opens to reveal a cannon pointed at you. It doesn't fire. Press 4) The wall in front opens to reveal a cannon pointed at you. It does fire, killing anyone in the passage for rolls of 1-4. However, it doesn't reload. Inside the room is the Great Chest. Isle of Palms. A very small island. The gold, to the value of £ 10, 000 is buried in a plain teakwood chest, six feet deep, underneath a more ostentatious chest containing twelve pieces of silver at three feet, with a layer of earth between them. The top chest opens easily, with a note that reads "To Judas Iscariot, who betrayeth all men. OTHER STUFF If this isn't enough, feel free to throw in extra confusion Carib hunting parties on Burial Island and Tower Island. The crew broach a rum cask without permission Spanish Costa Guarda vessel of 10 guns. ight breaks out between crew members. The crew decide to elect a new captain without informing the old one. You've got the idea --- Back to MWAN #99 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com