Dogs Ahoy Pirate Campaign 2019

This week we had our half-yearly pirate campaign. At 5 and a half days it has been the longest yet and also one of the most productive ones. Here's a brief summary with some photos.

Days 1-2: In the Town

The first two days saw our crews fighting it out in the town. This is our usual start to allow for collecting treasures to purchase weapons and equipment, hire new crew members (such as the highly popular surgeon and scholar) and - of course - earning experience to improve the characters' skills and earn new abilities.

Day 3: On the High Seas

This day was dedicated to sea battles. Our first game - "Breakthrough" - ended for me with the Pirate Fluyt ramming my British Unrated Cutter so that I could not move (not to mention the human casualties!). Then, the race between the French Fluyt and the two British Sloops ended in a draw with both sides reaching the table edge in the same round.

Day 4: Storm the Fort

I had been looking forward to this day probably the most. I had ordered the Vauban Fort from More-Terrain some time ago and now it was finally time to set it up. My Royal Navy crew tried to defend the fort against the British and French pirate crews who came with grappling hooks, ladders and a huge powder barrel to crush the main gate. I managed to hold up quite well but eventually the scurvy dogs outnumbered the navy.

Day 5-6: Natives!

One of the main goals for our session was introducing an Island Native tribe to our list of playable crews (instead of having them as mere NPCs only). I am quite happy with the rules we come up with as they resulted in a very different play-style - hiding in the dense jungle sections, shooting and hiding again. We played two different scenarios were the Natives raided a colonial town and the militia/navy had to take the civilians to safety. In the morning of the last day we played a quick re-match of the previous raid where the navy returned to put out the burning buildings.

Summary

The mix of different settings and play modes that we had this time made the campaign especially interesting. Another insight is that 5-6 days was not too much - we were worried that we might be too exhausted by the end. We came up with many new ideas and I have lot to write down now. I already can't wait for the next session.