The original set of rules for conducting miniatures naval combat with Lego ® model ships ran back in SHADIS #19, and was quite enthusiastically received. Mr. Gabriel has run games under these rules at the last couple of GenCons, and will in all likelihood do so again this year. By popular demand, then, here are the optional rules for Lego Pirate Wars!

The following are optional rules for Lego Pirate Wars and are intended to add more options and complexity to the game.

Running Aground

Whenever a ship travels through shallow water, either reefs or near islands, the ship runs the risk of damaging its hull on the sea bottom. The draft of the ship, the distance the hull extends below the surface, is equal to the interior width of the ships hull. Narrow hulls have a width of 8 and wide hulls have a width of 12. Damage from running aground can never exceed the ships remaining HF. Ships that lose all of their HF by running aground do not sink, they become obstacles that must be maneuvered around. The ships that are aground are out of the game and cannot fire cannons or guns at passing ships. The crew may use launches to go to other friendly vessels or islands.

A ship runs aground if it passes an island at a distance less than its draft. If the ship is going past the island or rock, it takes only one point of Hull Factor in damage. If the island is within 45 degrees of the ships heading, the ship then takes one point of Hull Factor for every 8 dots of movement it had left when it began to run aground. In addition, the ship takes an additional point of damage for every four dots less than their draft that they are closer to the island.

A narrow hull ship takes one point of damage if it is from 4 to 8 dots from the island and two points of HF if it is within 4 dots of the island. A wide hulled ship takes one point of damage if it is from 8 to 12 dots from the island, two points if from 4 to 8 dots and three points if less than 4 dots from the island.

Example: A Skull's Eye Schooner rounds an island and is forced to cut it close. The ship passes the island with 6 dots between the edge of its hull and the edge of the island. The Skull's Eye Schooner loses two HF, one for running aground and one for being within 8 dots of the island (more than four dots less than its draft, but less than eight dots less than its draft).

Example: An Imperial Flag Ship maneuvers for a shot but the Captain forgets that they can't turn until they move forward a full length. The ship has its full move of 60 dots and is 16 dots from a rock. On the next turn, the ship moves forward 16 dots before running aground. The ship has 44 dots of movement left, which divided by 8 results in six points of HF damage. The ship only has 4 HF of damage and stops dead on the rock, a navigational hazard for the rest of the game.

Reefs are set up at the beginning of the game and have a specific area they cover and a specific depth. The depth may vary along the length of the reef. The reef may be 4, 8, or 12 dots deep. A reef deeper than 12 dots does not affect ships because it is deeper than the draft of a wide hull. The damage is taken when the bow of the vessel crosses the edge of the reef and is not taken again unless the ship leaves and then reenters the reef. A depth 4 reef does two points of HF damage to a narrow hull and three points of damage to a wide hull. A depth 8 reef does one point of damage to a narrow hull and two points of damage to a wide hull. A depth 12 reef does one point of damage to a wide hull. A ship that enters a reef in a deep area and then travels to a shallow area takes additional damage equal to the difference between the damages of the two depths.

Example: A Man of War (an Imperial Skull's Eye Schooner with 8 cannons, 4 per side) is chasing a Renegade Runner. The Renegade runner crosses into a reef to try and lose the Imperials. The reef is depth 8 and does one point of damage to the Renegade Runners hull. The Man of War follows and loses two HF from hitting the reef because it has a wide hull. The Renegade Runner then passes into depth 4 water and takes an additional point of hull damage. The Man of War decides to steer clear of this and heads back out to open water.

Oversailing

Oversailing is a sacrifice of cargo area in order to add additional sails to make the ship faster. A narrow hull may add one additional sail over its maximum for every ton of cargo space it allocates to additional sails. A wide hull may add one additional sail for every two tons of cargo space it allocates to additional sails. Each additional sail adds another figure to the sailing crew. The speed of the vessel is increased according to the number of sails added.

Overloading

Overloading is a sacrifice of speed for extra cargo. A narrow hull adds one additional ton of cargo space for every sail withheld. A wide hull adds two additional tons of cargo for every sail withheld. Sails that are withheld are not removed from the ship or the damage chart and the crew is not lost. Instead, calculate the speed of the ship as though it had lost that number of sails and then begin numbering at the first sail with that speed and reduce by one Sail Loss for each SF down the chart. Fill in all the remaining slots with a speed of 8 once the speed drops below 8.

Example: A Skull's Eye Schooner overloads by adding two additional crews of men and two tons of treasure chests. The Skull's Eye Schooner then moves as though her speed were reduced by two Sail Factor. The original speed was 64 and with a Sail Loss of 8 the new starting speed is 48 dots. The player puts this at the top of the chart and then fills in the remaining 7 SF slots with 40, 32 24, 16, 8, 8, and8.

Launches

All ships carry launches, small rowboats used to get the crew to and from shore. Each ship carries one launch for every 8 figures, dropping any remainder. Launches move at a speed of 24 dots and turn like ships. Launches may move backwards at one half speed and are not affected by wind. They do not get damaged when they run aground. Launches may not fire cannons and are at -1 to hit with a cannon firing ball. Launches have only 1 point of HF and sink when hit using the standard rules for sinking ships.

A Launch may be placed next to a ship with up to seven figures on board as a single action in the Action phase of the turn. The launch moves normally on the next turn. A Launch may land on a beach or at a pier as an action. The figures on board may not leave until the next turn, but they may fire muskets and pistols. A launch may not leave a beach or a pier until the turn after the last figure boards it. Launches may not be used in a turn that a ship sinks, but they may be used to flee a ship that has run aground.

Launches may carry up to seven figures. A treasure chest or barrel counts as two figures and a cannon counts as four figures.

Some launches are equipped with a gaff rigged sail on a mast mounted on a small turn table. These boats use the standard sailing rules with a speed of 36 dots. They have one SF which cannot be reset and may carry four figures.

Wind Heading by Sail Types

The type of sail a ship lofts affects the direction it may travel with respect to the wind. Ships that loft square rigged sails may only travel with the wind from beam to beam and may never head into the wind. Ships that loft only gaff rigged or lateen sails may tack as per the normal rules. This rule reflects the reality of sailing these ships. If this rule is used, the Skull's Eye Schooner and Black Seas Barracuda will never be able to move up wind and the Imperial flagship will only be able to move at tack if the main square sail is struck. To do this two additional sailors must be tasked to bring the sail down and the ship then moves as though it had lost 2 SE This rule drastically changes game balance and is not highly recommended.

Firing Cannons

The older ships have cannons that actually fire. This rule may be used with firing cannons to determine hits and damage. The player loads the cannon with a grey round for shot and a black round for ball. They may then fire the cannon at the target.

If the shot hits the target and bounces beyond it, it does one point of damage. If the shot hits the target and bounces back toward the attacker, it does two points of damage. If the shot hits the target and stays on the ship, then it does three points of damage. All damage is applied according to the basic rules. Please note that the normal ranges for cannons still apply even though the cannon may be able to physically shoot farther.

Fortresses

Fortresses represent stone and brick structures capable of withstanding cannon hits. Fortresses are typically controlled by the Imperial Marines pirates would rather be free to move about.

Fortresses cannot be sunk, nor can they be destroyed within the scope of the game. The figures manning the fortress can be killed, allowing the fortress to be overrun. Due to the solid construction of a fortress, the first success of every cannon strike is eliminated. A cannon firing shot only kills one figure for each success after the first. A cannon firing ball kills one figure for each success after the first, but it also destroys a cannon and its crew if it gets three successes. Figures can fire muskets at the fortress with a penalty of -2. Each success kills one figure.

Entering Fortresses

There are two ways of entering a fortress, scaling the walls and blowing down the doors. Once inside, all casualties from cannon fire is split between the attackers and the defenders, with the defenders always taking the first loss.

Any pirate figure that lives long enough to get to the wall of a fortress may scale the wall. The figure must end a turn adjacent to the bottom of the wall. At the end of the next turn, they are placed on top of the wall. Any figures on top of the walls are at +1 to hit a figure climbing the wall.

Cannons outside of the fortress may destroy the doors, if any. The doors require two successful hits to destroy using ball and the cannon firing at them must point at them. The first success is not dropped when firing on doors.

Figures on Shore

Figures on shore, including in fortresses and on docks, follow the standard turn sequence. However, the figures move during the Movement Phase and may still fight during the task phase if they moved. They may not reload cannons, muskets or pistols if they have moved.

Figures have a base movement of 24 dots except figures with peg legs which move only 18 dots. Count the number of dots from where the figure is to where it is going and move the figure after you reach 24 or the desired position. The length of the ramp on the mountain base is 18 dots and a figure may only move onto the ramp if they have enough movement to reach the top. Figures on stairs pay two dots of movement for each dot moved forward. Figures on ladders pay 12 dots of movement for each level climbed up or down.

All figures must be firmly attached to the base plate, building or pier. Any figure that falls over must spend the next task phase standing up. Figures that fall off of a building are killed unless they fall off into the water.

Cannons firing shot on figures in launches or on the ground outside of a fortress kill two figures for each success. There is a -2 penalty for any figure outside of a building that fires at a figure inside of a building. There is a -1 penalty for any figure firing at another figure that is partially obscured by parapets, barrels, cargo, etc.

Fortress Design

The size and configuration of a fortress is left to the discretion of the designer with only a few conventions.

A fortress may have only one cannon for every 24 dots in length of outer wall, not including the main entrance doors. The mountain base plate has a perimeter of 88 dots and can have up to three cannons. The perimeter can be increased by building out over the edge, but the structure must be supported from below. Docks do not increase the perimeter of the fortress, but enclosed buildings on the docks do.

Buildings are considered to be enclosed when they have walls or structure on three sides and a roof. The fourth side is left off as a convention to allow the easy placement and removal of figures and it still gives a -2 fire modifier to targets inside the building. Buildings can be of multiple levels and cannons can be located on any level. There must be a ladder or stairs to provide access to all levels. Typically, each fortress sports a tower at least two and sometimes three levels high.

Cannons can be mounted anywhere within a fortress with at least 4 dots or one floor between them. Cannons may be mounted on wheels, slides or turn tables. Cannons mounted on wheels may be turned and moved inside the fortress. It requires two figures to move the cannon and the cannon can only be moved 12 dots per turn. Cannons on slides have a fixed direction and cannon be removed and fired. Cannons on turn tables can be turned freely, but cannot be removed and fired. Cannons on parapeted structures are considered inside the fortress for determining hits.

Fortresses receive 4 Imperial Marines for each cannon. The Marines may fire and reload cannons in the Fortress as well as their normal tasks. Each Fortress also receives one Imperial Marine Lieutenant as a commander.

Hauling loot

Cannons can be moved from ship to ship or ship to shore by tasking four figures to move the cannon. The cannon is moved to the other ship or pier at the end of the turn. The ship or pier receiving the cannon must be in hull to hull contact with the ship moving the cannon. The cannon can be loaded into a launch with two figures and may be unloaded on shore by a team of four figures. Treasure chests and barrels can be moved by tasking two figures to carry each one.

Revised Renegade Runner

The Renegade Runner model is a basic stripped down ship that is frequently seen as being unworthy of battle.

The speed of the Renegade Runner is 48 dots, which leaves it slower than just about any other vessel. To increase the speed, add one of the gaff rigged masts from a launch, replacing the compass on the stern castle with the mast. This adds one Sail Factor and one sailor to the ship and increases the speed to 64 dots. This makes the Renegade Runner a quick moving and agile ship.

The single cannon limits the ship's firepower Remove the center mount cannon and use two four long by one wide bricks on each side to support a turn table mounted on the ships hull. The Renegade Runner gets two cannon crew for each cannon and now has sufficient firepower to make people worry.

These modifications will result in a crew consisting of four sailors, four cannon crew, the Captain and the First Mate. The revised Renegade Runner moves as fast as the Skull's Eye Schooner and can make three 90ø turns at full movement. The dual turret cannons allow it to shoot at just about any target. These modifications are highly recommended to increase the worthiness of the smallest ship in the line. Without these modifications, its better to just strip the ship and use it as a target vessel for pirate captures.

Stern Chasers

Stern chasers are cannons mounted out the back of the ship that are used to discourage tailgating and boarding approaches from the rear. Only wide hulled ships may mount stern chasers and they may mount one or two. Due to limited space, stern chasers are mounted on slides. A slide is constructed using two one by four bricks, two one by two bricks, two one by four smooth tiles and a one by two smooth tile. Other bricks may be substituted to achieve similar function.

Rules Clarification for Resetting Sails

After lengthy playtesting and many requests, the rules for resetting sails are changed as follows. A player may reset as many sails as desired providing they have the necessary number of figures available and tasked for sailing. The player may reset the excess sails at the top of the damage chart as long as they have not lost any HF. As soon as the first HF is lost, any remaining sails above the HF are lost and cannot be reset. After that point, the number of sails cannot exceed the number of HF.

LEGO and LEGOLAND are registered trademarks of INTERLEGO AG. This game is © Stephen W. Gabriel. This game is the sole idea of its designer and is not recommended, supported or condoned by INTERLEGO AG.

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