So What Purpose Would Be Served In Finding Whatever Need Be Unlocked . . . . .

Another day another Doubloon as it were, spent the Morning hanging around the Hospital with Dad (again!) but went through the new Freebooter's Fate Equipment cards once more, and jotted down a few notes!

So I reckon a review is forthcoming now!

More Later!

Free to Sail the Seas Beyond the Edges of the Map . . . . .

One of the things I like about Freebooter's Fate, is that it has more of a Fantasy slant than most Pirate games.

So when it come's to Gaming environments, "The World Is Your Oyster" so to speak.

The Various pictures of actual Freebooter's Fate Demo Tables I have seen show this in spades, and that's without what the wonderfully talented people we have involved in our Hobby are capable of coming up with.

Here we have what I would imagine would be a standard sort of layout, a beach, a shipwreck, and some Pal Trees - gorgeous and immediately recognizable.

 

This smaller table is simply centered around a building, a Travelers Inn I think - a simple Idea nicely done IMHO.

Here we have a much more complicated idea, loads of small Istlets linked by walkways and platforms.

As you can see from just the three Salute tables - the sky is quite literally the limit when it comes to Gaming Tables for Freebooter's Fate.

This table is more sedate, but nice nevertheless - and shows the outskirts of a Village, "Smugglers Ahoy" perhaps.

Whilst not specifically intended for Freebooter's Fate, this small coastal town table is simply gorgeous.

Back to Freebooter's Fate Tables now, with this Temple layout - obviously inspired by the Amazon Crew and the Deep Jungle Book!

All these examples (and more, just do a search through Google Images) show the almost limitless Possibilities for your games of Freebooter's Fate.

I just hope my small table does the game justice when I finally get around to it!

The Pirate Queens Powder Monkey

WELL - naughty little (big?) Pirate that I am I went to see the Avengers again instead of finishing the Pirate Queen LoL, but in the mean-time here is her Powder Monkey!

NOT the best Picture I know, just a quickie from the corner of my Painting table LoL!

Longfall - A Freebooter's Fate Facebook Group

Anyone reading this (LoL, I know there aren't many Followers at the Moment but hey, one can hope) - don't forget about Longfall - the  Freebooter's Fate Facebook Group, we have our own Logo now too!

Longfall - A Freebooter's Fate Facebook Group

There is now a Group on Facebook for Freebooter's Fate!

Longfall - A Freebooter's Fate Group is an English Language Facebook Group (though all are welcome obviously) stop by and join in the Parley!

Painting Update - Leathery Joe Finished!

After a MOUNTAIN of other Commitments I’ve finally started on my FF Pirates that I’ve had for what seems like an eternity – and with the very first Freebooter miniature I ever owned “Leather Joe” (who I call Leathery Joe) who I’m using as an alternate Pose for a Pirate Crewman in my Pirate Queen led Crew.

Not the best I’ve done (something I tend to say I know - paranoia is a killer for me) but he’ll do for now, and at least I’ve made a start. You can’t tell properly in the picture, but his right trouser leg is quartered red and white.

I actually finished painting the Pirate Queens Powder Monkey last night too, and shall hopefully finish the Pirate Queen tonight!

Painting Update - Leathery Joe

Finished Leathery Joe - pictures tomorrow hopefully, I had a small panic as I dropped him (plus I had forgotten to paint his Treasure Chest base decoration) - BUT luckily, there was ZERO DAMAGE!

Fortunately, because of the metal base inserts on Freebooter Miniatures - the bases are quite weighty, and he landed base down and was standing there (almost mocking me with his stupid grin LoL) - he landed on laminate flooring too!

Did a little work on the Pirate Queen and her Powder Monkey, so things are on course for finishing my first Crew!

I only bet on what's dearest to a man's heart . . . . .

OK Freebooter's Fate uses Cards not Dice, but not only do Dice focus with some import in "At Worlds End" - Dice are nice Booty to own in my own humble opinion.

Obviously you could buy a set of Official "Liars Dice" but to be frank they are just ordinary Dice in a Funky cup LoL!

One of my favourite Pairs of Dice are these from Q-Workshop, stunning D6's engraved with all sorts of Pirate Map Imagery - they aren't cheap, but if you surf Ebay you can find a bargain -

They even do a gorgeous Jolly Roger Dice Bag (my Freebooter's Fate Cards live in mine too) -

Em4 Miniatures in the UK and G2 in the USA have some nice basic Skull and Crossbones Dice - Some are Numbered, and others have Spots - so everyone's tastes are catered for (and they are quite cheap too) -

 

http://kingzombie.com do Zombie Pirate Dice, I don't have any of these yet - but I shall be definitely looking to get some for my collection! - 

Theres a Black & White Pair, and a Red & White Pair to be had - 

Dress Like a Pirate have a pair of lovely Skull Dice for sale, although the Design is Printed on rather than Engraved - I doubt they would stand up to extended use -

I'm sure there are plenty more out there (I've just included what I have already, and what I want - those Zombie Pirate Dice are a MUST) it just goes to show that when you play your Piratey Games - you don't have to settle for the Mundane!

Gaming Tables

I was going to finish some paitning on the Pirate Queen, and start my Review of the new Freebooters Fate Equipment Cards - but feeling particularly crappy and unwell, instead I watched a couple of Episodes of Lost Girl with the Mrs and did some sketches of a "Micro-Gaming Table" I've had in mind for Freebooters Fate.

The idea is to create a small Desert Island, with a ship-wreck (I have a really nice Aquarium ornament Linda got for me, just for this purpose) some minor Ruins, Palm Trees etc.

Kinda like this Freebooters Fate Demo-Table -

But with water on all sides, so its more like this -

OK, I know - it's a Warhammer Board! But you get the idea. Like an ACTUAL Desert Island - Like  Palominito in the Caribbean (where they shot some scenes for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides).

Of course, if funds and space (space actually being slightly more restrictive for me than funds) were no problem - I think I would actually go for something MUCH grander, something like this -

Of course, I'm always thinking to the future - so something like that WILL be on the cards someday. Even if I have to scratch build everything and make it modular for storage!

Hans Zimmer - He's a Pirate

This weeks 'Pirate Music of the Week!' is "He's a Pirate" by Hans Zimmer, from Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl.

Don't forget to check back next Wednesday for another Piratey Blast of Music!

You will find each weeks Selection at the top of the column on the right!

Not all treasure is silver and gold

 I returned home for a quick Lunch, only to find my Salute 2012 "Ninja Shopper" Simon Moules (Darth Tater on many Forums) has sent my LE Freebooter's Fate Goblin (Ragg Chiflad) and the new Freebooter's Fate Equipment Cards!

THANKS AGAIN SIMON - YOU ARE A STAR!

It quite surprised me, as Ragg Chiflad has both English and German Cards with him - on the Freebooter's Fate Website the Cards are available to download - implying he doesn't come with Cards - I'm not moaning, I'm just saying LoL!

EVEN THOUGH I am tempted to rip the cellophane off the cards straight away, I can't - I have to finish eating then Linda and I are back down Dad's to clean the house top to bottom! Grrrr - Real Life is such a pain sometimes LoL!

I've not had chance to have a proper look yet, but I shall review said Booty at some point! Thanks again Mate!

The Light at the Edge of the World (1971)

After much searching, I have finally tracked down a fairly rare Pirate Movie - The Light at the Edge of the World (1971) in its FULL 2 hours and 8 minutes running time!

I actually read the book originally some years ago, and its a pretty damn good tale penned by the wonderful Jules Verne. The Book has a slightly different title "The Lighthouse at the End of the World" and I have to say I enjoyed the book thoroughly.

The tale centers around lighthouse keepers near Cape Horn who are attacked by a group of Pirates. The Pirates seize control of their island, and more importantly the lighthouse, and use it to steer unsuspecting vessels onto the nearby rocks - with the plan they can loot the wrecks.

Kirk Douglas plays the surviving lighthouse keeper, with Yul Brynner as the lead pirate - I am already on a winner here personally, as they are two of my favourite Actors. Samantha Eggar is, well - Samantha Eggar (as in, she only ever plays herself). Whilst she is not one of my favourite Actresses by any means, she is acceptable in the film.

The movie is not a family friendly film, and every now and then it lapses into savage brutality - in particular, there's a savage scene in which a hostage is skinned alive by the pirates, and we see peels of skin being torn off with a hooked pike to reveal blood and raw flesh beneath. This footage is usually the first to go -as the film tends to be shown up in an incoherent, chopped up 95 minute long version, w recklessly cut down from the two hour original - and the "PC" edit is so badly cut that it barely makes any sense at all.

The movie won't be to everyone's tastes, and a lot of reviewers have been very critical of it; and (to be honest) I can see why - it can be fairly long winded and sometimes the effects can be a little wooden - but if (like me) you are a huge Pirate Movie fan, I am sure you will enjoy it.

 4/5 for me at least, great fun, great actors - what more could any Pirate fan wish for.
 

 

I'm here to take meself back

The older Freebooter miniatures still have some use in your games of Freebooters Fate, in particular "Leather Joe" whom I like to call "Leathery Joe" - though now discontinued, he still turns up on Ebay from time to time - and would make an excellent Pirate miniature for your Freebooters Fate Pirate Crews.

Of course, the biggest issue is not having a Card for him - or is it . . . . .

A little Photoshop wizardry, and Bob's you're Uncle (and in my case he actually is) you can use Leathery Joe in your Games. The back is not shown because there are no changes (and because it contains copyrighted material) - simply print out Leathery Joes card, and slip it into a sleeve!.

So get scouring Ebay for a Leather Joe all you lubbers!

More Welcomes

Welcome to those who recently joined, and a big "hiya" to Mathyoo who came over from my D&D Blog!

Its not the destination so much as the journey . . . .

I think I have already established I am already a HUGE fan of Freebooters Fate – I fell in love with the Miniatures, and the Rules (OK it was pretty much a forgone conclusion considering my 40+ years love-affair with Pirates and Fantasy).

As was mentioned before, you need the special deck of cards created for the game, and (naturally) the stat cards are REALLY important - and YOU WILL need Card Protectors, to mark effects on your Models stat Cards as a Game progresses, and (of course) Dry-Wipe Markers.

Suggested Play-Area is 4ft x 4ft (120 CM Squared, everything is measured in CM – and that is the ONLY thing I have issue with in the Rules tbh) - however when playing with around Half a Dozen or so Miniatures per Player, that’s a hell of a lot of movement to begin with IMHO.

For a Fast Game, 2 Ft Square is proving ample – we cobbled together a Desert Island Board with a smugglers hole etc. – just a bit of fun really, but it is a playable board for fast games.

3ft Square of “playing area” seems optimal, it allows for movement and a tactical approach to play. So when building your table, factor this into the amount of terrain and “water” on your board.

The “Factions” are defined as “Crews” 

The Pirate Crew - Of which I have two, it's possible to do quite different Pirate Crews.

The Imperial Armada Crew - they look somewhat like the Spanish Navy, but more Elizabethan Looking)

The Goblin Pirate Crew - Thanks to Simon (Darth Tater) I have a Convention only goblin now - YAY!

The mysterious Brotherhood - A guild of murderous cutthroats, beggars, murderers, and assassins.

The Amazons - a new Crew, don't know too much about these (yet LoL)

There are also a small really nice selection of Mercenary characters which can be “hired” for your Crews – which change the dynamics of your Crew, so don’t add them lightly. Some won’t work for certain Crews, Lindo Guapo will not fight for the Brotherhood for example.

Instead of points you spend Gold Doubloons to hire your Crew. A nice touch I reckon.

An average introductory game should be 250 doubloons –that’s ABOUT the contents of a Starter Set – the Pirates Starter Set is 285 Points (we played to 300 Doubloons, so I was under priced) the average game size is in the 500 doubloon price-range. 

The cards are the Heart of all Game Play – whether it be deciding who goes first, where you hit, or what damage you do – these Cards do it all – and without the need for additional charts and tables to refer too during play! 

The pack itself is made up of 40 fate cards with numbers and symbols, two sets of the 6 hit location cards each - AND a set of 12 event cards. 

Even though you do need this pack of Cards to play the game - you will only ever need one pack for your games - regardless of the number of players! (Which I see as a HUGE Bonus).

The cards are bilingual (German &  English) where required. Something which (I would imagine) helps keep the costs down, because Cards can cost silly money to print.

Is it fun? Is it Playable? – I would give this game a good 9/10 for game-play. It's fun, easy to learn (that's not to say its simplistic btw) and plays like a dream.

Longevity wise, with the addition of the Amazons and new Characters into the fray – I see potential for more expansion and a real chance for growth in the long term. Of course it is still a "young" game, so chances are there is still much more to come!

Dead Mans Chest . . . .

I've been a fan of Pirates since I was a small child - in fact when I was eight we did a project in class about what our "Top Three" jobs would be when we were all grown up. Whereas a lot of Boys my Age were putting Footballer and Solder, my number one Job was Pirate.

I've got quite a few Pirate and Privateer Miniatures, some of the very Old Pre-Slotta Citadel remain my favourites - as do the Warmachine Privateers. But recently I've been looking at the options for a "Skirmishy" Pirate game with a Fantasy slant.

"Ron and Bones" is a Board Game effectively - much like "OKKO", and although I have Ron & Bones - I wanted to focus more on Skirmish Wargame Rules - so that left Black Scorpion Miniatures "Cutlass" and Freebooter Miniatures "Freebooter's Fate".

CUTLASS - by  Black Scorpion Miniatures

The Cultlass rulebook follows the modern standard for these things and is in full colour, running at just over 120 pages long. Written by Gav Thorpe (and yes it DOES include fairly bad prose before you ask) and Adam Clarke.

Black Scorpion "blurb" states that it is "Superbly Designed" and although it does have all the rules and templates for your games and campaigns - I personally it a little "busy" in look, and hard to find what you need quickly. The rules themselves though straighforward are nothing new really and come over A LOT like Necromunda/Mordheim - and it has a VERY Games Workshopy feel to it.

All the Scenarios/Encounters seem to land based - I found that a little perturbing for a pirate skirmish game personally.

Players start with a "gang" of between 5 and 8 models - a good solid number for a skirmish game. Therein lies the problem for me, as if its like Necromunda/Mordheim - whilst I like those games, it could also mean constant buying/painting/converting of more new models. Whilst thats GREAT for Black Scorpion, as it means the game itself generates sales by people just playing it, its not so good for gamers like me with limited time and resources.

This combined with my slowness of painting and building/converting meant the game is going to be very hard for me to keep up with, although I like a Campaign system - constant adding/changing of models is difficult for me to time manage if I were to end up playing a game a lot.

Presentation & Quality - 7/10. It's a nice looking book, however - mine hasn't had that much use and pages are dropping out already.

Value for Money - 7/10. It's very pretty and glossy, and there is quite a lot to it - Rules for Crews and Races, Equipment & Skills, and the Campaign System. However, they waste 10 Pages on Pictures of Miniatures - and whilst pretty, I would personally rather have a slightly cheaper product (or indeed a stronger one) or had more rules or fiction.

Freebooters Fate - by Freebooter Miniatures

Freebooter's Fate is IMMENSE - the Miniatures quite literally S**T on a lot of the other Pirate Miniatures from a Great Height (Foundry LEAP to mind - as I really don't rate their clunky/chunky style). They remind me of the Metal Confrontation Miniatures line - some of them are quite stunning to be honest. 

The book is gorgeous, again full colour throughout and the cover art is by Paul Bonner who did a LOT of Controntation Artwork - Freebooter's Fate is pretty darn sexy all way through, it doesn't exactly reinvent the skirmish game and I am sure its never going to set the miniature gaming community on fire or anything like that - but the rules are really easily understood and laid out in a clear concise way (A HUGE plus for me, as I hate debating/arguing rules I would rather get on with things and play the damn game). 

HOWEVER you do need a rather specific deck of cards specially designed for the game, and while they are not expensive - I think they should have provided them with the book, as you have to have them to play. My only other real bugbear is that everything is measure in centimeters - being a Wargamer of long standing, I really do prefer Inches. Though I am sure I will get used to it.

You will need to put your Miniatures stat Card in a sleeve, as you need to mark things off during play - pretty standard nowadays I know, and to be frank I like that much more than a crappy written out/printed off army list.

The recommended playing area is 120cm X 120cm (roughly 4ft X 4ft) - but considering the average "gang" size is around half a dozen miniatures, to me that is a HUGE playing area - and most of the first few turns will be spent moving (YAWN) I reckon 3ft X 3ft MAXIMUM is more than enough, unless playing 2 Players vs 2 Players.

They are not called Gangs or Factions, instead they are referred to as Crews. 

Pirates, Imperial Armada (sort of British Navy), Goblin Pirates (hysterical), and the Brotherhood of Assassins (VERY Rackham "Cadwallon" in look and feel) - and now (with the release of the Deep Jungle supplement) Amazons, in addition there are also a few Mercenary characters which can be hired by pretty much anybody. 

You "pay" for your Crew with Gold Doubloons (I know its "cute" but I think it adds to the flavour of the game) and a basic game is 250 Doubloons (which is 3-4 miniatures - the Starter Box for the Pirates is 285 Doubloons), the average game size is 500 Doubloon (which is 7-8 miniatures).

There are three different character types - Leaders, Specialists and Deckhands. As in all other games , you have to have a Leader to form a Crew under.

Your Deckhands are the lackeys, your common soldiers. I wanted two "basic" Pirates in my Crew, fortunately I have the now OOP "Leather Joe" (I call him Leathery Joe) also sculpted by the impressively talented Werner Klocke - I just need to do a custom card with Leathery Joes picture on it instead of the Pirate Crewman.

There's a ratio for your crew - of how many Deckhands you must have in order to hire Specialists. For example - with my Pirates I may only have one Deckhand per Specialist I hire. The Brotherhood (the next Crew I plan on collecting) has a different ratio, they may hire two Specialists for each Deckhand they have (no doubt because of the more "specialized" nature of their "work").

Specialists are "unique" so you can only have one of each Specialist in your Crew. Deckhands are your 'rank & file" and although some still do have specific names in the game, you can still hire multiples of each Deckhand. I'm using "Leathery Joe" because I didn't want to use the same model more than once.

The Mercenaries are not a Crew in their own right - their limitations are specific to each Mercenary - some can be hired by most Crews, but others will not work for the Goblin Pirates or the Imperial Armada for example.

For most Crews there is an allowance of a Maximum of two Mercenaries that may be taken - whereas the Brotherhood can take only 1 (because, lets face it - they are tough enough already LoL). Lastly, its important to note that for the most part Mercenaries are also considered Specialists (as they are all Unique characters) and therefore fill a Specialist spot as well.

As I pointed out, the rules themselves are really straightforward - that's not to say they are simplistic, far from it - but they are easy to understand.


Presentation & Quality - 9/10. The book is remarkably sturdy (my copy has been read through A LOT - and despite that, its merely a little dog-eared at the corners), and despite a glaring error (there are no Doubloon costs for the miniatures, but there is a downloadable PDF list on the official forum) - the book is perfect, stunning in fact.

Value for Money - 8/10. It's not the thickest book in the world at 116 pages, but rather than seemingly useless gallery pages - the painted miniature pictures are dispersed throughout as action/diorama pictures. I marked it down slightly because of the error over the Doubloon costs, as to some people this is very frustrating. My only other issue is the lack of a Campaign system, but it's not beyond the pale to work out your own and have at it!

Right enough for now, I want to get back to painting The Pirate Queen!

Welcome!

Welcome to Leon (of Pulp Citizen fame) and Ian (of Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher) and thanks for being my first two people to sign up!

You've made you're Mark, now lets set sail!

On Stranger Tides . . . . .

Why a Pirate Gaming Blog, I hear you ask yourself - simple, it's something I've wanted to wax lyrical about more than my Pulp City Planet Blog will allow (I want that to focus on Pulp City and associated Topics - Superhero Comics, TV, and Movies - and a little AE-WWII for good measure).

Even though this blogs main focus will be Freebooter's Fate (hence the title) - I will also delving into other Pirate Miniatures and Games, Pirate Movies, Books, and Comics as well.

My Journal (and yes, that is actually MY Journal) is already getting too full - it's about time I shared my thoughts and ramblings.

My first few posts will be some I originally posted over at the Planet, imported over here for completeness and for my own need for order LoL!