Status: Summary

I don't think I will finish the summary today. I actually probably have all the text cut-and-pasted over to a summary document which just needs to be heavily edited and rewritten in a couple spots, plus add spackle and format for two columns in 1-3 pages. I'm just not sure if I will have time to finish. in the next 2-4 hours.

I'm still set for the full draft on Sept 14th, though. The reason why the summary is so important to get right is because it will become the sidebar text. This is a format I've been building towards: put the highly compressed, complete rules into the margins, where it's easy to flip through to find what you need; put the full explanatory text and setting info in the main body, where it can be read when convenient but easily ignored in play.

Shore Leave

Eventually, the characters will make it to a port. The rules on land are slightly different; I've already covered the way gulls, rats, ravens and scavengers will react to the characters, as well as the nightly 2d6 roll to see if the rest of the crew attempts to reclaim the characters.

The PCs can attempt to hide in the city or flee overland, but this puts off the inevitable. What the PCs need to be concerned about are their damnation and their state of decay. Decay, of course, is already described. There is an additional trick when in port: if your character is damaged, but you can convince an NPC with whom you have a relationship to tend your wounds, in place of the 2d6 roll risking further Decay, you can substitute a 2d6 roll with a risk of revealing your zombie nature, adding +1 for the relationship factor. If an NPC is horrified, further interaction with them without taking steps to hide your zombie nature will risk losing the relationship completely.

Originally, I was going to include a Damnation score and have characters do damage to it, but instead, it's easier to use the ship's curse rating as the number to beat and simply give the PCs a "Damned" label. Every time a character protects or rescues a loved one or risks their own life for the good of their loved one, roll 2d6 and beat the Curse rating of the ship to earn 1 point towards escaping damnation. There is a risk of immediate visitation by the ship's crew, however.

Major Events, Part II

Continuing from a previous post: the GM rolls 3d6 on a dice map and interprets the results. You've already seen a list of suggestions, but the dice can show much more than those 25 results. If some of the dice match, or if a die lands on a boundary between two regions on the map, two values are interpreted together; the results can become very complex, such as Sea+Damned v. Living, which might be the crew attacking a helpless ship while sharks gnaw through the hull.

The lowest result on the 3 dice, in addition to indicating the threat, indicates the general strength of the threat -- how many hit points it has, relative to other threats. Many threats will only be 1 or 2, easily dealt with; rolling triple 6s will likely produce deadly, exotic threats.

To deal with the threat, the players will describe what actions they attempt. If you need to know the speed or effectiveness (strength) of their action, roll 2d6 and assign one value to each. If the character's action is opposed by another character, NPC or PC, or even by a force, that opponent rolls 2d6 as well. The lowest speed result goes first; if the strength of the action is higher than the defensive strength, the action overcame the resistance. The GM may compare factors in favor or opposed to the action and adjust one side or the other by +1 or +2.

After the threat is dealt with, if the ship is heading for a specific port, one player and the GM each roll 2d6 and compare the highest result; if the player wins, do that much "damage" to the distance needed to be traveled. Some events, such as whirlpools and gales, may actually add to the distance; a gale, if the PCs are clever, might give a bonus to damage.

The Curse of the Dead

An orphan's curse would drag to hell
A spirit from on high ;
But oh ! more horrible than that
Is the curse in a dead man's eye !
Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse,
And yet I could not die.

--- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, IV: verse 9

Major Events

I've mentioned major events. What are they? If a minor event is meant to merely convey mood, forcing the characters to explore the ship, a major event is meant to give them something to do. It's something big and unexpected that happens.

The dice map posted previously shows a box with an overhead silhouette of a ship in the center and four phrases posted at the four edges of the map. When the characters are finished temporarily with exploring the ship or taking care of needs, the GM rolls 3d6 on the dice map. Where the dice land determines what happens: the lowest result shows where the threat comes from, and the highest result shows what the threat endangers or otherwise acts on.

• The Damned: The dead crew, whether long dead or newly impressed.
• Unforgiving Sea: The raging Deep itself, or creatures in it.
• The Living: The land, its inhabitants, and their ships. Generally indicates a merchant ship, warship or pirate vessel.
• Uncaring Sky: The wind, clouds, sky, and flying creatures.
• The Ship (center): Self-explanatory. Might indicate a mast that breaks, or a sudden breach in the hull.

Interpreting the dice combos gives inspiration for what events to hit the characters with. Some suggestions:

• Damned v. Damned: several of the long dead attack the PCs.
• Damned v. Sea: the crew tries to force a PC to walk the plank.
• Damned v. Living: the crew makes a pirate raid or salvages a wrecked ship.
• Damned v. Sky: the crew tries to lash one of the PCs to the mast during the day.
• Damned v. Ship: a mutiny! Half the crew against the other.

• Sea v. Damned: a wave swamps the deck, possibly washing a PC overboard.
• Sea v. Sea: a whirlpool, which potentially slows the ship.
• Sea v. Living: the PCs spot a sinking ship.
• Sea v. Sky: thick fog rises, possibly slowing or threatening the ship.
• Sea v. Ship: crashing waves breach the hull.

• Living v. Damned: pirates attempt to board the Dutchman.
• Living v. Sea: marooned or shipwrecked sailors thinking they are about to be rescued.
• Living v. Living: the Dutchman interrupts a naval battle.
• Living v. Sky: the Dutchman find a ship fighting a gale.
• Living v. Ship: a fort on an island or a man o' war attacks the ship.

• Sky v. Damned: gulls attack at night!
• Sky v. Sea: a torrent of rain pounds the ship.
• Sky v. Living: a ship blown off course.
• Sky v. Sky: thunder and lightning.
• Sky v. Ship: gale force winds batter and toss the ship.

• Ship v. Damned: a mast falls, perhaps crushing or pinning a PC.
• Ship v. Sea: the ship runs aground.
• Ship v. Living: the ship unexpectedly rams another ship.
• Ship v. Sky: the sails are torn or the ship is becalmed, losing time until the crew does something.
• Ship v. Ship: one part of the ship collapses and breaks another, perhaps breaching the hull.

This should give a good idea of how the random events are played out, but I'll do a follow-up post.

The Ship and the Voyage, Part II

The voyage of the Flying Dutchman is fairly abstract. You do not need to play out every moment, but you must play out at least one shipboard event in between every major event. Prior to successfully convincing the captain to set sail to a specific port, you must play out at least one scene on board the ship. This can be nearly anything: an escape or mutiny attempt, trying to communicate with others who are damned, looking for food or water. Once completed, the rules are:

• You must have at least one flashback to establish a past relationship;
• You must separate flashbacks with other kinds of events;
• You can attempt to converse with the captain before having a flashback, but the captain will not change course unless you have a past relationship established;
• You must separate major events, including being captured, convincing the captain to set a course, and arriving in port, with minor shipboard events.

In other words:

1. Start with being captured;
2. Play one or more events, including minor interactions with the captain;
3. Play a flashback, possibly one or more additional events;
4. Convince the captain to change course;
5. Play one or more minor events or flashbacks;
6. Play a major event;
7. Repeat 5 and 6 until you reach port.

Once in port, events take a different course, and may end with the player characters being forced back to the ship, starting the sequence again.

Setting Course, Part II

Now that I have a clearer idea of what happens in flashbacks and social interactions, I have a handle on how the player characters interact with the captain or change the course of the ship.

You can use the long term reaction goal mechanics in the Flashbacks post to determine whether the captain will set a course for a known port. This doesn't work at all if the character hasn't had a flashback to establish the goal (a relationship with someone currently located in a known location.) Interactions with the captain before having a flashback are all handled as trivial short-term interactions, with the understanding that the captain is very terse and probably won't react at all. Once you've set up a relationship, however, you can argue with the captain about how you need to see your one true love again, need to rush to your best friend's side, need to see your father before he dies. Rolling higher than the captain during your social interaction means that you do "damage"; if the total damage is more than the Curse rating of 5, the captain agrees to set course for the destination you request.

The risk, in this case, is the interference of the rest of the crew. One of the long dead mocks, threatens or attacks you in some way. Successfully dealing with this interruption lets you continue your argument with the captain.

You can use your relationship for a +1 bonus each time you present a unique example of your love, respect, or loyalty towards the object of your feelings. You describe a moment when you demonstrated the depth of your feeling, then make your roll. You may need more than one flashback, just to gain more examples of your true feeling.