Pirate Borg and Pirate Goblins! A Piratey Book Report

Firstly, I was fortunate enough to receive a signed copy of Pirate Borg through my patronage of Victory Condition Gaming (https://www.youtube.com/@VictoryConditionGaming)!!

I’m so excited to dig in! It’s a beautiful book and Dark Caribbean map! One group of my gaming friends will be digging into some piratey adventures in October. We’ll be meeting for a gaming retreat - but I’ll talk about that after the book reports.

TTRPG Book Report: Pirate Borg

Bart Simpson, an historical perspective

Book Report One: Pirate Borg

Just Starting to read the rulebook and first adventure. The art and layout work so well together - bringing the reader an experience like reading a log book or journal of an 17th or 18th century sea captain. There's a nice paragraph at the beginning to set the intention of the writers regarding the tone and themes of the game and the real life history of a period and setting of human history.

Pirate Borg is a game about grog-swilling pirates, undead galleons, arcane treasures found in ancient
temples, and high seas adventure. It’s not a game about slavery, sexual violence, genocide, or any of the
other abhorrent real parts of our history. Please treat these topics with the respect they deserve, or leave
them out of the game altogether and go hunt some skeletons.

I really appreciate the writers who set the game intentions in that way. As you will see in the book report below, playing an historcally accurate game - like "it really happened" would not be as fun or entertaining and disrespects the real suffering and horrible violence in human history.

Anyway, so I’m loving the read of Pirate Borg and I hope to play around with the mechanics of the game system soon - especially the naval combat. I’m enjoying the fantasy Pirate Borginess of the setting. There’s just enough setting material to make it rich and fun - but not dense enough to make it intimidating to get started.

My D&D group will get together at an Undisclosed Location in October for an in-person long weekend. This year, the First Watch team will travel up the Reik river to Marienburg and the Sea of Claws for some nautical grim , perilous, and deeply diabolical crazy shenanigans.

First Watch was “formed” when a squad of night goblins was sent into the city of Ubersreik to gather information and possibly disrupt the activities of a famous Empire hero and his elite team of heroes. Although human and Empire reports differ, First Watch was highly successful and went on to defeat vampires and some demons in nearby caverns.

Book Report Two: Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson

Pirate Borg & Enemy of All Mankind
Pirate Borg & Enemy of All Mankind

In preparation for First Watch 2023: Goblins on the High Seas, I’m also reading Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson. “Enemy of All Mankind focuses on one key event—the attack on an Indian treasure ship by Every and his crew—and its surprising repercussions across time and space. It’s the gripping tale of one of the most lucrative crimes in history, the first international manhunt, and the trial of the seventeenth century.” I’m finding it engrossing and eye opening in regard to the history of piracy, the history of the economics of the time. The impacts this one criminal (and horribly violent) action by Capt Henry Every and his allies was wide ranging on trade, economics, and international public safety. The book’s impact on the adventure I’m planning for First Watch may be somewhat smaller, but the stories are inspiring an atmosphere I want to convey to the other players as our goblin characters engage on the ocean.

Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson
https://www.bearpondbooks.com/book/9780735211612

Pirate Borg
https://www.limithron.com/pirateborg

PIRATE BORG - Free League Publishing

A scurvy-ridden, rules light, art heavy tabletop RPG. Inspired by history, fantasy, horror and rum. Your cutlass & flintlock won’t save you from the hordes…

Follow me!