Age of Sail StatCards

[Phred]

As a disclaimer, I have yet to play Brikwars, so I'm a complete noob here. I have read through the 2005 and 2010 rules a few times and seen some examples of Statcards.

In a Pirate version of Brikwars, each of the specialized types of mini-figures should have correlation to the crew of a ship or fort.
It would be nice to keep the number of classes to a minimum. Otherwise people (including myself) will not use them or care.
If anybody is interested in the types of crew that there were, I found a nice article on the HMS Victory that talks about the different types of crew that had served on the vessel.

Here is a list of Statcards I hope to finalize based upon the primary types of mini-figs provided in sets.
These only my first versions. I don't expect these to be the final ones I'm using, so comments and criticisms are welcomed. It was pretty easy to create these from the StatCard Generator, which means that creation and revamping these card is very easy.



Original * 2nd Draft

Captain (Imperial or Pirate) - Hero
Still trying to figure out his special abilities. Provided a couple of ideas in the StatCard above.


Original * 2nd Draft

Officer - Specialist



Original * 2nd Draft

Marine - Specialist
Known as Royal Marines



Original * 2nd Draft

Seaman (Imperial) - Trained



Original

Pirate - Trained
I assumed that they'd be exactly like a Seaman only much more brutal and depraved.


Villager - Incompetent
Thought I'd use villagers that are protected by Imperials in a game with the goal of pirates looting a town.




As a special note, the images in the StateCards were drawn by Hound Knight.

[IVhorseman]

You misspelled semen.

I like them - but I'm not sure why they're all size 2. Unless you're playing with larger figs? The rifle has about the stats of a size 2 gun, but all the other weapons are size 1. Did you just want to give them hitpoints instead?

I like the marines too. They're a really nice simple way to make elite riflemen.

Are you using some kind of other system for gun crews and sails as well? Sails can add thrust and stuff and multiple figs can join gun crews, but I've never heard of a special ability that was needed to do either.

Finally, I think you have the right idea with pirates - you could give them an extra inch of movement or bump their skill die to 1d8 for more skilled fighters, or you could simply equip them better.

[Phred]

Thank you for you comment IVhorseman.

I like them - but I'm not sure why they're all size 2. Unless you're playing with larger figs? The rifle has about the stats of a size 2 gun, but all the other weapons are size 1. Did you just want to give them hitpoints instead?

No, they're all regular MF's. They should all say size one. That was my mistake.

I like the marines too. They're a really nice simple way to make elite riflemen.

Exactly what I was going for.

Are you using some kind of other system for gun crews and sails as well? Sails can add thrust and stuff and multiple figs can join gun crews, but I've never heard of a special ability that was needed to do either.

I was hoping to have these special abilities separate where each cost 0.5, but the statcard generator only allows whole number values.

I've been working a Pirate MOD for the BrikWars 2010 rules. I've got some notes written down in a notebook right now. But the only changes to the rules in my MOD I believe are needed so far relate to sailing and cannons. In real life, sailing ships need crew to man their sails if the vessel changes direction, and more than one crewman is needed to man each cannon to reload them. Both of these tasks require specific knowledge of how to orchestrate these tasks and at least one person in the 'squad' performing the task has to know how to complete the task. Other MF's can assist, but they need to be told what to do. A bunch of land-lubbers are not going to have a clue as to how to sail a vessel. Anybody could probably figure how to fire a smooth bore cannon, but it takes skill to reload and fire the guns quickly.

Finally, I think you have the right idea with pirates - you could give them an extra inch of movement or bump their skill die to 1d8 for more skilled fighters, or you could simply equip them better.

I'm not sure if I wanted pirates to be bumped to a 1D8. Maybe a +1 on Melee Attack with a sword.

Edit:
I've updated the Statcards in the first post to reflect IVhorseman's comments.

[stubby]

I've been working a Pirate MOD for the BrikWars 2010 rules. I've got some notes written down in an anal notebook right now. But the only changes to the rules in my MOD I believe are needed so far relate to sailing and cannons. In real life, sailing ships need crew to man their sails if the vessel changes direction, and more than one crewman is needed to man each cannon to reload them. Both of these tasks require specific knowledge of how to orchestrate these tasks and at least one person in the 'squad' performing the task has to know how to complete the task. Other MF's can assist, but they need to be told what to do. A bunch of land-lubbers are not going to have a clue as to how to sail a vessel. Anybody could probably figure how to fire a smooth bore cannon, but it takes skill to reload and fire the guns quickly.

I've been wanting to write a pirate mod for BrikWars since version 1, and I have half-finished drafts going back decades. So if this comes together I'll be excited to see it.

Possible solution to the 0.5 CP specialties: An Able Seaman (+1CP) knows how to perform all the stations on ship at a basic level, from sails to guns to carpentry. I always thought of them kind of like control points in other games - your number of living seamen is the number of stations you can man. FTL is a great example of this game mechanic.

Speaking from a realism perspective, nobody is going to figure out how to fire a smooth bore cannon on their own. You forget to worm the cannon, it won't pack properly and explode; you forget to wet sponge the barrel, your powder will ignite; you forget to dry sponge, your powder will fizzle, etc. Who's going to know how to prime a powder charge off the top of their head? (Luckily this is BrikWars rather than real life, so the answer is everybody.)

(My parents met while stealing an artillery cannon. They used it to terrorize their neighbors. I have a lot of cannoneering in my early upbringing.)

For sails my plan was as follows: Each sail can be either furled (providing no thrust) or unfurled (providing thrust). Any sailor on the yards or lines can furl or unfurl the associated sails. Each unfurled sail provides a specific amount of thrust. Square sails are 100% forward thrust, fore-and-aft sails are 100% lateral thrust for maneuvering, and lateen sails are 50%-50%. All forward thrust generated must be used; lateral thrust can be used or not.

I tried a bunch of things for tracking wind strength and direction, but it always turned out to be more trouble than it was worth.

[IVhorseman]

You guys keep misspelling semen.

Anyways yeah, sails are just thrusters in Brikwars 2010 Vanilla. If you make a pirate-specific mod then I can see why you'd want only semen knowing how to actually operate a mizzen-mast and swab the poop deck.

Back to stat cards though, the marine's musket is still an incredibly powerful weapon, able to punch through even heavy armor on its own. Normally, a size 2 weapon is carried by either a heavy or a crew of 2 or more minifigs.

I also want to say size 1 figs pump out 1 power, but I never use power anyways so don't quote me on that.

[Phred]

What an odd problem. Whenever I type in notebook, this forum automatically changes my text into something very inappropriate. The Admins here have a weird sense of humor.

I've been wanting to write a pirate mod for BrikWars since version 1, and I have half-finished drafts going back decades. So if this comes together I'll be excited to see it.

If you're willing to share, I would love to see your notes. I'm not even going to attempt to actually create rules until I've gone through and played the game. My army is almost ready to battle, so hopefully that will be soon.

Possible solution to the 0.5 CP specialties: An Able Seaman (+1CP) knows how to perform all the stations on ship at a basic level, from sails to guns to carpentry. I always thought of them kind of like control points in other games - your number of living seamen is the number of stations you can man. FTL is a great example of this game mechanic.

Very nice suggestion. I like it a lot.

Speaking from a realism perspective, nobody is going to figure out how to fire a smooth bore cannon on their own. You forget to worm the cannon, it won't pack properly and explode; you forget to wet sponge the barrel, your powder will ignite; you forget to dry sponge, your powder will fizzle, etc. Who's going to know how to prime a powder charge off the top of their head? (Luckily this is BrikWars rather than real life, so the answer is everybody.)

I think a skill role could be required to see if MF's that aren't trained in cannon loading would unintentionally make the cannon explode if they fail.

For sails my plan was as follows: Each sail can be either furled (providing no thrust) or unfurled (providing thrust). Any sailor on the yards or lines can furl or unfurl the associated sails. Each unfurled sail provides a specific amount of thrust. Square sails are 100% forward thrust, fore-and-aft sails are 100% lateral thrust for maneuvering, and lateen sails are 50%-50%. All forward thrust generated must be used; lateral thrust can be used or not.

I tried a bunch of things for tracking wind strength and direction, but it always turned out to be more trouble than it was worth.

I've completed a lot of calculations on ship speed and wind direction and may have way to create some rules. A compass diagram could be filled out for the ship as part of a Sailing Ship Statcard. Like the compass diagrams shown on the top right of Ship Record Sheets for Evil Stevie's Pirate Game.

You guys keep misspelling semen.
Back to stat cards though, the marine's musket is still an incredibly powerful weapon, able to punch through even heavy armor on its own. Normally, a size 2 weapon is carried by either a heavy or a crew of 2 or more minifigs.

I also want to say size 1 figs pump out 1 power, but I never use power anyways so don't quote me on that.

Thanks for the input. I'll get the musket to Size 1 in the next draft.

[stubby]

If you're willing to share, I would love to see your notes.

http://www.brikwars.com/rules/1998/eight.htm#pirates

The 2010 rules used to have a big section on sailing ship mechanics, but I think I deleted it right before you got here. They got condensed into the current Thrust rules.


Fun fact: The original Stumble Die was made as a tool for rolling wind direction and strength for naval battles.

Possible solution to the 0.5 CP specialties: An Able Seaman (+1CP) knows how to perform all the stations on ship at a basic level, from sails to guns to carpentry. I always thought of them kind of like control points in other games - your number of living seamen is the number of stations you can man. FTL is a great example of this game mechanic.

One of the options I'm juggling around for Chapter 11 is generalist specialties - they can do the same kinds of things other specialties can do, but with d6es instead of d8s, so that a Commando unit can perform the duties of a Medik, Mechanik, and Scout, but with a lower die roll. A Seaman would probably get d6 versions of Mechanik, Gunner, and Pilot.

[IVhorseman]

SEMEN!

You guys... semen!

[Tzan]

You guys keep misspelling semen.

[Phred]

Back to stat cards though, the marine's musket is still an incredibly powerful weapon, able to punch through even heavy armor on its own. Normally, a size 2 weapon is carried by either a heavy or a crew of 2 or more minifigs.

The Marine's musket is now set to a size 1.5 Long-Ranged Weapon, which seems to match what a musket would be in BW2005.

If you're willing to share, I would love to see your notes.

http://www.brikwars.com/rules/1998/eight.htm#pirates

The movement and armor are increased for officers and captains. Do people still have increased movement and armor for all of their officers and heroes?
I was under the thinking of keeping movement and armor the same for any of the officers and marines.

I had created a first draft of the Captain Statcard. Comments and criticisms welcomed.

The 2010 rules used to have a big section on sailing ship mechanics, but I think I deleted it right before you got here.

I believe this is what you're talking about.

Water Propulsion has a default move of 12", minus half the Vehicle's Size, minus the Vehicle's Structure Level.

This idea (modified) could actually work out nicely.

One of the options I'm juggling around for Chapter 11 is generalist specialties - they can do the same kinds of things other specialties can do, but with d6es instead of d8s, so that a Commando unit can perform the duties of a Medik, Mechanik, and Scout, but with a lower die roll. A Seaman would probably get d6 versions of Mechanik, Gunner, and Pilot.

Yes I agree that a Seaman would get D6 versions.

[motorhead fan]

It is my dream to own a Lego pirate ship, I now have enough Pirate figs to create a large enough crew. This needs to go forward Phred, It is more important than LIFE.

[IVhorseman]

At least Tzan recognizes my genius.

Do people still have increased movement and armor for all of their officers and heroes?
I was under the thinking of keeping movement and armor the same for any of the officers and marines.

I'm fairly certain that that's mostly been axed in the 2010 rulebook but it might come back once customization points become a thing.

Frankly, I'm pretty sure that everyone here on this forum plays Brikwars just a little bit different than everybody else, so do whatever feels most fun.

[loafofcheese]

I'm fairly certain that that's mostly been axed in the 2010 rulebook but it might come back once customization points become a thing.

Frankly, I'm pretty sure that everyone here on this forum plays Brikwars just a little bit different than everybody else, so do whatever feels most fun.

Yeah, call me insane, but I like to use the minifig's armor value as a degrading value, like hit points instead of an arbitrary "four damage will not hurt you, and you can be hit with four damage forever, but as soon as a five or above is hit, you die"

Edit: just noticed that it says "Very experience" on the "seaman/semen" statcard, are we going for Doge semen?

[Phred]

It is my dream to own a Lego pirate ship, I now have enough Pirate figs to create a large enough crew. This needs to go forward Phred, It is more important than LIFE.

Your dream could come true if you save up for the large pirate ship set coming out spring 2015.

At least Tzan recognizes my genius.

I thought it was some weird echo in this thread.

I'm fairly certain that that's mostly been axed in the 2010 rulebook but it might come back once customization points become a thing.

Frankly, I'm pretty sure that everyone here on this forum plays Brikwars just a little bit different than everybody else, so do whatever feels most fun.

I thought that it had been axed. I'll change the captain's movement and armor when I get a chance.
I guess I expect others will use whatever they want from these StatCards or future mods to rules, and hopefully share their better ideas for piratey statcard in the Brikwars forum.

Edit by Phred:
I've updated the Statcards for Captain, Seaman, and Pirate.
Captain's movement and armor brought down to a normal person.
Seaman and Pirate have a merged skill of Able Seaman added to their specialties. Right now, I like the Able Seaman Specialty. Subject to change.
Pirate's brutality increased to match BW1998 rules.
Comments and Criticisms welcomed.

[motorhead fan]

That looks exciting, But at the size it seems to be, I will need twice the amount of Pirate minifigs!