The Isle Beyond the Mists (pirate hack of the Between)

[Picaroon Jack]

With Ghosts of El Paso wrapping up (PDF available in a few weeks or less), I've been working on a couple other projects. One is a pirate hack of the Between called, "The Isle Beyond the Mists."

Concept: The Isle Beyond the Mist is a tabletop roleplaying game about a group of supernatural treasure hunters, the crew of the Hunter’s Revenge, who are sailing the Caribbean around 1718. The Hunter’s Revenge was formerly a privateering frigate that sailed for the British Navy hunting Spanish ships, however, all letter of marques for privateers were revoked and the British presence in the area has increased and the days of all pirates and privateers are both numbered. The player Captain of the ship found an arcane map belonging to the dead pirate, Henry Morgan, and it shows the way to Morgan’s fabled treasure hoard on ”the Isle beyond the Mists.” The hunters must overcome many otherworldly obstacles and conduct investigations on how to defeat supernatural foes and how to interpret the map in order to get to the treasure. The hunters quickly become aware of a spectral mastermind who is trying to thwart or manipulate the crew of the Hunter’s Revenge, and to gain their rewards, the hunters will eventually have to confront the mastermind, who is the ghost of Captain Henry Morgan.

The Isle Beyond the Mists is inspired by Pirate films and TV shows such as Black Sails, Our Flag Means Death, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Treasure Island. It also takes inspiration from video games such as the Sea of Thieves and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

The game’s mechanics are based entirely on the Between.

Aim: The aim of the characters in the story is to ultimately find the lost treasure of Captain Morgan and to do so must investigate and defeat supernatural threats. Our aim as players is to learn more about these characters’ mysterious pasts and dark secrets, as well as together paint a vivid picture of our version of the Caribbean during the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

Tone: The tone of the Isle Beyond the Mists is dark, cursed, and gritty. A little bit of humor is fine, but we will always strive to return to that dark, forsaken place the characters exist in.

Subject Matter: Piracy, Murder, body horror, mind/body control, plague, marooned, starvation, betrayal, alcoholism/ addiction, gore associated with 18th century warfare, the devil, foul language, drowning, unseen horrors from below the ocean, sharks, and defiling corpses are all things that come up in this game.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

The Playbook summaries are:

The Captain is the respected leader of the privateer frigate, the Hunter’s Revenge, who also happens to be dead. They are a revenant that is obsessed with finding the lost treasure of Henry Morgan. No one suspects they are undead, and the crew is in support of finding the legendary treasure. During the game, you will lead the crew as you desperately try to keep your unlife hidden from them. Play the Captain if you want to be a leader of a pirate ship or if you want to play someone who mysteriously woke up dead. (currently at this stage, it is mandatory that this playbook is in play)

The Lorekeeper is the oldest sailor on the Hunter’s Revenge. You know all the songs, stories, and superstitions of the sailors of the Caribbean. they sailed on the ship before it was captured 40 years ago by Captain Morgan, and they have continued to sail on it under different captains, including Morgan. During the game you will tell stories and educate new sailors about the terrors of the sea. Play the Lorekeeper if you want to be the saltiest crew member or if you want to play someone who has no idea how old they really are.

The Bosun is the most beloved crew member of the Hunter’s Revenge. They are known for their demeanor, fairness, and merit as an able seaman. They know the crew and ship better than anyone and they strive to keep the ship operational. What no one knows is that the Bosun is also the sole survivor of the Kincaide, a ship that had its entire crew vanish. The superstitious sailors will turn on the Bosun if that knowledge is ever discovered. Play the Bosun if you want to be the heart of the crew and talented sailor with one, dark secret.

The Physician is the ship’s doctor that is on the run from both the British government and a vampire master known as the Gentleman. Hiding out aboard the Hunter’s Revenge has given the Physician a vocation as well as a steady supply of blood that they need as a dhampir. During the game you will struggle to maintain your humanity as dark forces slowly close in on you. Play the Physician if you want to be a scholar of medical science plunged into a world of piracy and the supernatural, or if you just want to play a vampire-lite character!

The Vanguard is the fearsome leader of the ship's boarding party. They are the most dangerous warrior on the Hunter’s Revenge and they are respected and feared far and wide. Some of your bravery comes from making a deal with the patron saint of most pirates, the Devil. During game play you are expected to fight with shock and awe as you devastate your foes and test your unholy pact. Play the Vanguard if you want to play a character that has mastered brute force at a very great cost.

The Spy is an agent for the High Lord of the British Admiralty that has infiltrated the Hunter’s Revenge. They have a simple mission, gain the trust of the crew and then betray them to gain the legendary treasure for King George. During the game you will take daring actions to impress the crew and captain as you try to prove that you are one of them, but you will struggle with you conscience as they impress you in return. You will also learn that your mission is much darker than you ever imagined. Play the Spy if you want to be a swashbuckler that has a major decision to make.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

The Threats I am working on are:



Here is Skeleton Jack via midjourney:

 

[Picaroon Jack]

I've been working on the Mastermind:

 

[Picaroon Jack]

I changed the Spy playbook's name to the Picaroon, 1. after me, 2. it is pirate for rogue, 3. if in game we keep calling them the spy it sort of keeps reinforcing to everyone they are a. . . .spy.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

The draft to the Ruins in Emerald Jungle is complete which just leaves "In which we discover the danger of Mermaids’ Grotto" and then that will give me 8 threats + the Mastermind. I decided to put "In which we try not to heed the Siren’s Call" on hold because it seems like the crew would just plug their ears and sail on. I still need to do the Unscenes as well, but I am closing in on a complete first draft.

Here is the first page:

 

[Voros]

Love the idea AND the execution so far.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Love the idea AND the execution so far.

I'll be ready to play test it in a couple of weeks if your interested, Voros!

 

[Voros]

I'll be ready to play test it in a couple of weeks if your interested, Voros!

If I'm not buried at work I'd be happy to!

 

[Picaroon Jack]

I'll give you first refusal!

 

[Picaroon Jack]

The last threat has been the hardest! I couldn't figure out why the hunters would be interested in helping the marooned pirate. I came up with the item being able to pierce the veil of reality to help them gain access to the Isle Beyond the Mists. But it took me forever to get there. "Maybe it turns people to mermaids??" No. Because then they would just go be mermaids. I would note that these are the creepy, deep sea looking mermaids with translucent fangs and eel skin.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Here are a couple Unscenes for the Night Phase:

 

[Picaroon Jack]

With some feedback from the Gauntlet Discord folks, I've added the Stowaway playbook:

The Stowaway is a precocious child who is 8 to 10 years old that snuck aboard the Hunter’s Revenge to escape their life on land. They have been assigned cabin boy duties as the Captain’s servant and they think they have the run of the ship. Play the Stowaway if you want to be a curious child exploring a supernatural world at sea with a crew of privateers, or if you want to survive it all and live to tell the tale to your grandchildren.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Last week my normal gaming group agreed to play test The Isle Beyond the Mists. We only had 2 hours and they wanted to go through all the playbooks and talk about the setting first. We only got to play around 30 minutes. However, they did give me some feedback on the Stowaway (they need a dark secret) and some clarification notes on the Captain and Vanguard.

The first threat/mystery is to locate Skeleton Jack in Nassau and retrieve the last of the treasure map. They were very reluctant to leave the ship for some reason, but we ended with them venturing forward.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Here are a few paint-the-scene prompts for the Dusk Phase:

1. The Hunter’s Revenge: The ship has two masts, three decks, 20 cannons, 2 longboats, and a crew of over 50 sailors. As a lucrative privateer it has been lovingly decorated by the crew over the years. Describe the figurehead on the prow and other ornate features of the ship.
2. The Hunter’s Revenge Cannon Crew: 28 sailors make up the cannon crew and they are led by the ship’s master gunner, Conner Moore. They have other jobs on the ship, but during battle, they load and fire the cannons. How are the gun crews differentiated from the other crewmen?
3. Seafarer’s Outpost: This is a small island outpost consisting of a tavern, a trading post, and fish market with no more than 30 permanent residents and only 5 or 6 wooden structures. How is it obvious that most of the village’s buildings are made from shipwrecks?
4. The Brig of the Hunter’s Revenge: Located below the sickbay on the main hold deck, the brig is a dark place lit only by lanterns. In the center is a sturdy iron cage, there are two small cells on either side, and a large cell in the back that can have 10 people chained to the wall. How has the Bosun tried to make the brig more homey?
5. Saint-Martin: This small island made of small mountains and fertile fields is shared by the Dutch and the French. A formidable fortress is above the bay on one mountain’s ridge protecting the port. What makes this port friendly in more ways than one?

 

[Atelerix]

This is wonderful stuff - rich and atmospheric. Love it!

 

[Picaroon Jack]

This is wonderful stuff - rich and atmospheric. Love it!

Thanks!! I'm doing the same thing I did with Ghosts of El Paso but in pirate form. It's basically reskinning the Between into different campaigns.

There is so much out there when it comes to pirate tropes, some of this writes itself! lol

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Great play test tonight. They can only play two hours, so it was basically the first day phase and dusk phase. The session was mainly a big chunk of the crew in hot pursuit of the mysterious Skeleton Jack in the wharf district and slums of Nassau. The Vanguard was soon unwelcome at the taverns, the Physician made himself useful at a hospice, the Bosun secured the ship and snooped in the Captain's quarters, and the Captain had the crew side characters canvasing the wharf district. They were able to answer the first question to find the hideout of Skeleton Jack. But since they barely made the roll, that means it will be more challenging to deal with Skeleton Jack.

We did the first Dusk paint the scene: Describe the figurehead on the prow and other ornate features of the ship. And they really got into this one. And then they planned their Night Phase, with the plan being the Vanguard leading the main assault on Skeleton Jack's slum hideout as the Captain leads another team through the secret entrance in the sewers.


I'm looking forward to the first night phase next week.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Adding a sewer scene for the upcoming 2nd play test with the hunters confronting Skeleton Jack in the sewers of Nassau.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

During the last play test in a paint-the-scene question the players were able to describe the figure head of the Hunter's Revenge. They went with Artemis, goddess of the hunt & moon with her bow across her chest.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

In tonight's playtest, the hunters captured the threat's main villain, Skeleton Jack, and then made a deal with him to join forces. For their initial composure roll when they first encountered him and realized he was an animated skeleton they rolled a stellar success, and joked they had 5 animated skeletons working the bilge pump so he was nothing special. HOWEVER, the rest of the crew is very superstitious so I needed a cover story as to how they were going to turn Skeleton Jack into a side character. The Physician said he would stay in sick bay "hung" on the wall as an anatomical model. Perfect. So, now I'll need to add something about him being a side character. LOL

 

[Picaroon Jack]

I've been playing around with watercolors on midjourney to give the project a uniform look:

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Finished up the first round of playtesting. I had a few re-writes of the initial threat, some major changes to the special move: "The Complete Map to Henry Morgan’s Treasure," and minor changes to the Captain and Physician playbooks. I've also updated the CATS. Probably for early November, I'll start looking for new playtesters for another round of playtesting. Three playbooks (the Stowaway, the Lorekeeper, and the Picaroon) were not tested in this round, so I hope to get at least one of those three into play.


Updated CATS:

 

[Picaroon Jack]

I am about to start back up on this project.

I have been thinking about a back up idea in case 1. no one wants to play the Captain playbook or 2. the Captain playbook gets retired/killed. It's basically a shared move called "Covering for the Captain," in which the Captain is a full fledged ghost so the players must keep that secret from the ship's crew (a la Weekend at Bernie's) and also still have access to the Captain's spectral map to Captain Morgan's treasure to keep the campaign going.

I'll post it once I have it ready.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

All that is missing is 8 more Unscenes to bring the total up to 18 and I need about 15 or so Paint-the-Scene Dusk phase questions to bring the total closer to 20 as well.

I'm starting a campaign this week for 10+ sessions to see how things work out on the ocean and how the Mastermind threat plays out. I have 4 seasoned Between players going through the playbooks right now.

I'm exited to see how it goes.

 

[Voros]

Wish I had the energy for this kind of creativity. These days any free time I have usually leads to me just trying to dent the huge backlog of movies on my PVR.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Wish I had the energy gor this kind of creativity. These days any free time I have usually leads to me just trying to dent the huge backlog of movies on my PVR.

For some reason, I just stopped watching movies and tv shows and stopped playing video games. I attribute it to pandemic goblin mode depression.

I have several projects up and running and playtesting a campaign will force me to knock this one out. It is so close. The problem is I have no deadlines so they just drift on and on. I've finished two big ttrpg projects and both of those I actually worked with collaborators to wrap them up. That's what I need is a writing partner, if anyone is interested!

 

[Picaroon Jack]

Here is the work around if no one wants to play the Captain Playbook:

No Captain in Play
If no one plays the Captain Playbook, then one character must be designated “In the Know” and receive the custom move, “In the Know” below. They also are able to create the Side Character, Ghost Captain of the Hunter’s Revenge.


Custom Move: “In the Know”
You somehow have discovered that the captain of the Hunter’s Revenge is actually a ghost. You’re not sure when they died or what happened to their body, but you’re positive they are now a ghost. It appears as though they can only talk to you when they are noncorporeal but when they are corporeal they appear to be living, albeit a bit distracted. You have access to the following:

+ Nautical Advice: Actions the Ghost Captain suggests are done so at an Advantage.
+ Add this Dawn Question: "Did you creatively cover for the Captain's absence?"
+ Study the Map: Once it is unlocked, they also have access to the custom move: The Complete Map to Henry Morgan’s Treasure”
+ Design the Ghost Captain as a side character

Ghost Captain of the Hunter’s Revenge: _________________________

• First Names (choose one, or make your own): James, Edward, John, Oliver, Andrew, Martha, Jane, Catherine, Isabelle, Guinevere.
• Surnames (choose one, or make your own): Hawkins, Bellamy, Crockett, Hodges, Thomason, Hitchings, Dalton, Montclair, Chavez, Moreira.
• Look (choose three, or make your own): Faded long, black frock coat, tall leather boots, lace cuffs on sleeves, black tricorn hat, gold earring, tattoo of cardinal directions, bright red sash, broad brimmed leather hat with red feathers
• Communication when non-corporeal: through a mirror/painting/artifact, the opposite time of when they are corporeal, in dreams, or make your own
• Conditions they are corporeal: Early Morning before 9am, an hour before and after noon, cloudless nights, as long as an accordion is playing a song, or make your own

If the Captain Playbook is Retired
Another character would take over the Captain’s special move which basically needs 3 threats to complete that then sets things in motion to determine the location of the Isle Beyond the Mists. If the special move already has the 3 boxes filled, it's really obsolete. The crew can get there without the Captain playbook and special move. Someone would be elected the new Captain by the crew or it would just go to whoever has Most Beloved.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

The line up for tomorrow's campaign kick off is:

• The Captain
• The Bosun
• The Vanguard
• The Lorekeeper

I'm looking forward to it!

 

[Picaroon Jack]

I started the 3rd playtest, this one a full campaign.

In the first 3 hour session, the cunning crew of the Hunter's Revenge had a Day/Dusk phase after CATS and character introductions, then it was on to the Macabre Nature of Skeleton Jack in the wharf district of Nassau in which:
1. The Captain (Captain Deuxbells) found her cabin rifled through and the trespasser, Skeleton Jack, had absconded to the alleys of Nassau. The ghost of Henry Morgan attempted to chastise her for not joining his armada of the dead, but she was in no mood to deal with another trespasser and convinced him Skeleton Jack had his treasure map. Later above the rooftops of Nassau she was able to help spot Jack's lair.
2. The Vanguard (Big John), despite being the voice of reason and restraint, still made no friends with patrons and owner of Arlo's Tavern while looking for Skeleton Jack, and then angered the local thieves guild by passive aggressively threatening their harbormaster. He now prepares to bust into Skeleton Jack's lair per the Captain's orders.
3. The Lorekeeper (Marcus Baptiste) became a man about the wharf talking with laborers and trinket merchants. All signs of Skeleton Jack pointed to either him being imaginary or somehow under the docks and near the sewers. While under the wharf, he noticed from today's weather that “When fog in the bay lies flat as a knife, rain next day, you bet your life” and there will soon be rain in Nassau.
4. The Bosun (Alfred Thebler) secured the ship and sent several of his men into the port to snoop around. His own search of the wharf had him teaming up with the Lorekeeper to search the foul sewer entrance before the incoming tide forced them out. His men reported back the British redcoats were barricading off parts of Nassau outside of the wharf district leading the rest of the hunters wanting to grab Skeleton Jack at nightfall.

 

[Picaroon Jack]

In my last campaign of the Ghosts of El Paso, we ended up completing 11 threats, and this one only had 10. So I added the one about the Fog of Time. The last two are associated with the Mastermind, the Ghost of Henry Morgan.