Premise
Set in our world in the Spanish Main during the 17th and 18th centuries, with the addition of horrors from the Cthulhu Mythos.
Core Mechanics
4d6 + Modifiers (Modifiers stop at +10), with various dice tricks to put the odds in the player’s favor.
Re-Roll: Roll a die again. Can only be used once per die, only on dice that have not been Nudged, and only three times per roll.
Nudge: Move a die’s result up or down by one. Can only be used once per die, and only three times per roll. Cannot nudge a 6 up or a 1 down.
Critical success is when all dice show 6. Critical Failure is when all dice show 1. Nudges and re-rolls can move a normal result into one of these.
Quick and Dirty Character Creation
Pick your profession. Record their Talents, Starting Skill, and Equipment, and starting Characteristics
Assign more points to Characteristics – Three methods; Point Buy and two Rolling methods.
Skills cannot typically start higher than 2, except when using a Rolling Method or if your Profession says so.
Pick your skills. You’re allowed to have 3 more at level 1, and may take any skill you meet the requirements for.
What It Does Well or Interestingly
Leans very hard into the high seas adventure and pirate aesthetic. E.g. Professions and Characteristics are assigned a compass position based on what they do and how they relate to the others.
Potential Pitfalls
In the review copy we were given, there were some inconsistencies and vague details. There are many sections that the GM will need to make judgement calls on based on implied details in the text.
Using the Ship Rules leaves the players with one single character shared between all of them.
Sections to Pay Attention To
Every major section ends with a Rules Digest summarizing the important takeaways from that section. Look for those first if you forget a rule, dive into the details if the digest doesn’t answer it.
Final Thoughts
There has been an update to the game since we’ve received our review copy, so some of the vague details may have been addressed via errata.
Otherwise, it’s a rudimentary game whose mechanics rely more on managing resources than risk. You’ll always know how much damage your weapon will do, but the challenge is in finding a weapon strong enough to pierce Cthulhu’s otherworldly hide!
