(2) RPG Collection: Furry Pirates
To follow up on Furry Outlaws, I decided to quickly go over the second rpg in the same line;
Furry Pirates
This time, no longer self published and printed as an actual softcover book rather then coilbound.
again, under a cut to protect my friends from long text and image walls.
Furry Pirates, By Atlas Games (1999)
An Introduction
Furry Pirates, the follow up of Furry outlaws, is a softcover book which got published by Atlas Games, in collaboration with Furry games (the name under which Furry Pirates was self published, along with their own personal website).
Using the same system as Furry Pirates, this game focuses on the 17th century of Earth, where playing as pirates on the high seas takes the center stage.
Unlike Furry Outlaws there is still a decent chance you can find this rpg
http://www.warehouse23.com/products/furry-pirates
Wheter you want to is another story :)
The Genre
Continueing the line of Furry Outlaws, the game is the world as ruled by only furry (anthropomorphic animals) characters and the implications and changes that go along with it.
The game is presented as a highly historically accurate rpg, giving a lot of setting info on the time and era it takes place, as well as giving a lot of detail towards building and equiping ships for combat.
Players will be playing pirates, either as part of the crew/high ranking officers, or possibly even the captain himself, trying to make a living and avoiding the navy of the various kingdoms out for your blood.
The game also allows for magic, which in this case has become a bit less restricted, and now also includes voodoo practices.
Because of being on the seas, armor on the other hand became a lot less usefull, and thus armor rules are not around as detailed as in Furry outlaws.
Leather armor is going to erode with salt water way to quickly, and iron plate is way too cumbersome and heavy for on a ship and won't protect you against a gunshot.
Due to the furry theme, many animal races are available to choose from, each with their own advantages and size differences. In fact this version included even more races then the previous encouncter giving even more varied options then before.
The Rules
This game is the exact same system as before, but the system is better organised.
The better production values really show as well.
As seen in Furry outlaws, you calculate an attack value and a defense value for each skill or combat check.
Whenever a check is made, you add your attack value to the defense value of the opponent to recieve the score you must exceed on a D100 (2 ten sided dice, representing a score of 1 to 100) to succeed the task. (which can be a hit in combat, a skill you use, or magic spell your casting)
Nothing changed in any of the concepts, other then a better presentation, and that armor has become of little use to those on the ship.
In addition the rise of gunpowder has given access to the use of firearms and cannons.
The most mayor addition this time is an extremely detailed ship-to-ship combat system, which includes wind direction, different types of gun shot, complete classification of the ships in statistics etc.
As a result the combat rules for ships become both highly detailed and seriously cumbersome and time consuming.
That said, it does try it's hardest to keep as realistic as possible, as was also the case with Furry outlaws. Except where they crossed the line in mannageable complexity for me with ship-to-ship combat, where Furry outlaws still tried to keep even the most complex aspects within boundaries.
This is not directly a "problem" with the system, as it's a matter of taste.
Clearly anything outside the ship combat is made to be simple and easy to resolve, whereas the ship combat becomes a group effort, where realism takes centerfold to truly capture the heat of battle.
A ship works as it's own character sheet, where it becomes an ardous task to keep track of everything as a combat resolves.
If you you truly enjoy simulationist/realistic ship combat, and all the detail that comes with it..Well you might want to give it a try.
I haven't actualy tried using these rules myself, so perhaps I just personally got the impression of it being much harder then it ultimately is in play..
But I am also not the correct type to want to play the combat out in the given terms of complexity.
The Setting
The overall main pull to this game remains the historical correctness and eye for detail of it's era, giving you a lot of information about the time.
Including maps of the known world, important characters and figures as friends or enemies, and various locations and hostspots outlined.
The whole book works as a great historical refference for roleplaying during the golden age, and the pirate life, and will msot certainly appeal to those who like historical accuracy in their roleplaying games.
Naturally, it also is with furry characters in it which can be either be an extra reason to get it or to avoid it, but either way I really appreciate the effort taken towards giving a very accurate and great description/outline of everythign within the theme.
Perhaps I won't ever be playing it, but it remains an excelent refference point for playing an rpg based off pirates with a good dose of historical accuracy.
Furry Pirates
This time, no longer self published and printed as an actual softcover book rather then coilbound.
again, under a cut to protect my friends from long text and image walls.
Furry Pirates, By Atlas Games (1999)
An Introduction
Furry Pirates, the follow up of Furry outlaws, is a softcover book which got published by Atlas Games, in collaboration with Furry games (the name under which Furry Pirates was self published, along with their own personal website).
Using the same system as Furry Pirates, this game focuses on the 17th century of Earth, where playing as pirates on the high seas takes the center stage.
Unlike Furry Outlaws there is still a decent chance you can find this rpg
http://www.warehouse23.com/products/furry-pirates
Wheter you want to is another story :)
The Genre
Continueing the line of Furry Outlaws, the game is the world as ruled by only furry (anthropomorphic animals) characters and the implications and changes that go along with it.
The game is presented as a highly historically accurate rpg, giving a lot of setting info on the time and era it takes place, as well as giving a lot of detail towards building and equiping ships for combat.
Players will be playing pirates, either as part of the crew/high ranking officers, or possibly even the captain himself, trying to make a living and avoiding the navy of the various kingdoms out for your blood.
The game also allows for magic, which in this case has become a bit less restricted, and now also includes voodoo practices.
Because of being on the seas, armor on the other hand became a lot less usefull, and thus armor rules are not around as detailed as in Furry outlaws.
Leather armor is going to erode with salt water way to quickly, and iron plate is way too cumbersome and heavy for on a ship and won't protect you against a gunshot.
Due to the furry theme, many animal races are available to choose from, each with their own advantages and size differences. In fact this version included even more races then the previous encouncter giving even more varied options then before.
The Rules
This game is the exact same system as before, but the system is better organised.
The better production values really show as well.
As seen in Furry outlaws, you calculate an attack value and a defense value for each skill or combat check.
Whenever a check is made, you add your attack value to the defense value of the opponent to recieve the score you must exceed on a D100 (2 ten sided dice, representing a score of 1 to 100) to succeed the task. (which can be a hit in combat, a skill you use, or magic spell your casting)
Nothing changed in any of the concepts, other then a better presentation, and that armor has become of little use to those on the ship.
In addition the rise of gunpowder has given access to the use of firearms and cannons.
The most mayor addition this time is an extremely detailed ship-to-ship combat system, which includes wind direction, different types of gun shot, complete classification of the ships in statistics etc.
As a result the combat rules for ships become both highly detailed and seriously cumbersome and time consuming.
That said, it does try it's hardest to keep as realistic as possible, as was also the case with Furry outlaws. Except where they crossed the line in mannageable complexity for me with ship-to-ship combat, where Furry outlaws still tried to keep even the most complex aspects within boundaries.
This is not directly a "problem" with the system, as it's a matter of taste.
Clearly anything outside the ship combat is made to be simple and easy to resolve, whereas the ship combat becomes a group effort, where realism takes centerfold to truly capture the heat of battle.
A ship works as it's own character sheet, where it becomes an ardous task to keep track of everything as a combat resolves.
If you you truly enjoy simulationist/realistic ship combat, and all the detail that comes with it..Well you might want to give it a try.
I haven't actualy tried using these rules myself, so perhaps I just personally got the impression of it being much harder then it ultimately is in play..
But I am also not the correct type to want to play the combat out in the given terms of complexity.
The Setting
The overall main pull to this game remains the historical correctness and eye for detail of it's era, giving you a lot of information about the time.
Including maps of the known world, important characters and figures as friends or enemies, and various locations and hostspots outlined.
The whole book works as a great historical refference for roleplaying during the golden age, and the pirate life, and will msot certainly appeal to those who like historical accuracy in their roleplaying games.
Naturally, it also is with furry characters in it which can be either be an extra reason to get it or to avoid it, but either way I really appreciate the effort taken towards giving a very accurate and great description/outline of everythign within the theme.
Perhaps I won't ever be playing it, but it remains an excelent refference point for playing an rpg based off pirates with a good dose of historical accuracy.