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Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:47 am Sea Barons Campaign

My players are wanting to have a sea going/pirate type campaign, which after a little reserach, I decided to put into the Dominion of the Sea Barons. I've decided to tinker with the society a little bit, give it much more of a neutral than evil bent. I've already started developing the base town, and am looking at starting them off on a few low level inter-island trading missions. I figure some raids against the Aerdy coast and some sea fights with the Suel barbarians/pirating shipping for 4-7 level play, after that I'm not so certain. My question to the group, has anyone developed this area in their world? Any resources anyone can suggest?

Sat Aug 22, 2009 1:33 am

There's a tiny bit of information in the Ivid the Undying supplement on the area of the Sea Barons.
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Sat Aug 22, 2009 4:43 am

The "L" series (1e AD&D) mods may have a little info, but they're set in the Lendore Isles and not in the Sea Barons. You may want to mine the Savage Tide adventure path (from Paizo's Dungeon magazine) for ideas, but it's set even further south. And, of course, there are several articles here on Canonfire that might help.

Sat Aug 22, 2009 4:17 pm

There is also a tiny bit of information in the Alderweg series (UK2 & UK3) two of my personal favorites. I've run both of them numerous times and well probably be running them again soon actually, only this time with more of a horror aspect then I've ever used before.

Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:42 pm

If you've got the LGG there is some good info in there under the Sea Baron entry. If looking for a real lawless pirate vibe, Leastisle is your best bet, since their baron was overthrown in 584 and the place has been in complete chaos since then. Vernport on that island is described as a dangerous and anarchistic free city.

Like Ceb said, there is a good bit of info in Ivid the Undying also.

Don't forget that the infamous Sinking Isle is nearby. That could be a good plot point.

Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:17 pm Sea Barons Campaign

Thanks all for the tips! I've got the LGG, and I've been using that as a guide. I'm basing them on Asperdi Isle, and I think one of the mid to high level goals will be having the PC's participate in the liberation of Least Isle. The Sinking Isle would be at very high level, I'm thinking.

Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:10 am

Sun Aug 23, 2009 1:53 am

You are correct sir! Happy

Manus-nigrum has the wrong "Sea Nobles". It's an easy one to confuse(done it a few times myself). Embarassed

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Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:23 am

This might not be exactly what your looking for as its more other materials you might raid for ideas and alternative rules than Sea Baron area ideas, but look into Alderac Entertainment Group, Adamant Entertainment, Green Ronin, and New Dimension Games.

Alderac Entertainment does a bunch of stuff that is easily incorporated into pirate campaigns in any setting. Especially look at their 7th Sea Campaign setting, their Swashbuckling Adventure's series, and their book "Corsair!" which has d20 rules for sailing vessels and such. They have a ton of other source books that might have some interesting or useful materials.

Adamant Entertainment has a campaign called Buccaneer's and Bokor that might be useful. Green Ronin's Freeport stuff I've used several times when I want to do a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' feeling setting. New Dimension Games has a campaign setting called "Pirates" that has a lot of material, I haven't used it myself yet but some of it looked good.

Also as an honorable mention: I've always really liked Goodman Games' Dungeon Crawl Classics adventures, they usually have a kind of 1st edition feel with 3rd edition rules. #4 (Bloody Jack's Gold), #7 (Secret of Smuggler's Cove), and #46 (the book of Treasure Maps) all have some piranical flavor.

Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:35 am

Hey there!

It seems like you've allready got your campaign going; but a couple of things that popped into my mind as soon as I read your first post was the various Barbarian nations (Snow, Ice and Frost) if you wanted a more "Viking-esque" kind of feel and/or the various island archipelagos in the Dramidij (I think I spelled that wrong!) if you want to go with an "Arabian-esque" feel.

If you ever want to go with the latter; there were some good Al-Quadim products (Corsairs was one) that were based on a piratical sea-going campaign. (I think I'm the only person I know who liked the Al-Quadim stuff....I just wish it hadn't been set in the Forgotten Realms!)

It's set on the Wild Coast, but the 'Slavers' book is excellent for some sea-going, piratical-type action. Also, if your characters ever feel like going on a long sea voyage for "explorer" type of adventures; the Scarlet Brotherhood book has good info on Hepmonaland and the Amedio Jungle. Also, the 'Hidden Shrine of Tamochan' module could work well for this type of adventure as could the Expert D&D module 'Isle of Dread'.

I hope this helps; and keep us posted on the adventures...they sound like a lot of fun!

Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:17 am

I liked the Al-Qadim stuff. In fact, for a while there I transplanted it all to Greyhawk. You're not alone!

Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:00 am

The Greyhawk Wiki notes on the Sea Barons:

"The Sea Barons were settled mainly by people of a mixed Oeridian and Flannae blend, though there were some Suel settlements on the southern isles, now mainly in ruins. Ivid the Undying says the people are of an Oeridian/Flan mix for the most part, though the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer notes the population as predominantly Suel with a lesser Oeridian strain."

I'm just curious which interpretation people prefer in this case. I've been toying with the idea of a new campaign starting out on one of the isles of the Sea Barons for a little while now. Personally, I prefer the LGG interpretation, but that may be just because I read that one first and started my planning based on that.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:57 pm

The absolute best Pirates RPG is Pirates of the Spanish Main for Savage Worlds. It covers the Golden Age of Piracy, however, which is set in the early 1700s, which is too technologically advanced for Greyhawk. It does has the best ship to ship combat rules, as well as a quick n' dirty island generator (terrain, fruit, water sources), adventure generator (which works really well), and explanations of nautical ranks and their pay/shares on a ship. The ship to ship combat can be switched to d20 rules very easily, as there are only Boating skill checks, and Ranged Attack rolls.

There is a book, http://www.amazon.com/History-Pirates-Angus-Konstam/dp/B002QGSYY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303779575&sr=8-1 The History of Pirates, that I bought in advance to running my last Pirates campaign.

It has many full-color pictures, as well as covering piracy from ancient times to modern, including the medieval periods.

If you want me to, I can scan those pages covering the medieval period. It is out of print, so no one gets hurt by me doing so.

Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:48 pm

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