OSR: Pirates of the Merabaha, Session 1

On a warm night in April a warehouse burned down in King's Bay. The arsonists - for it was surely arson - were rounded up and placed in a cell in the Governor's Fortress, to await a swift trial and probable execution.

The suspects (in order of suspicion):

Nyali Utugelu, a Chultan shopkeeper whose small and dubiously legal business on the island of Splinterpoint had been blown into the sea by a hurricane. She'd come to Rat Leg Island and King's Bay to seek her fortune. Dispirited and angry at the local prosperous merchants, she'd turned to drinking and raving in disreputable taverns. She'd been seen near the site of the fire. While being taken into custody, she'd broken the nose of a guard and bit the ear off another.

Gunter von Steenberger, a dockworker originally from the Ranstead League. Gifted with enormous strength but little ambition, Gunter had drifted from port to port. Always able to find work, he chafed under orders and frequently lost his temper. He'd been seen laughing and jeering near the site of the fire, drunk as a lord, and holding a lit torch.

Imran Goldmaker, a sometime merchant, sometime pirate from the Golden Isles, had lost both his ship and his fortune months ago. His ventures on Rat Leg Island hadn't turned a profit; his grasp of Wexlish left a great deal to be desired. He'd sold the warehouse manager "high-grade timber" which, the manager claimed, turned out to be soaked in flammable oils and full of rot and voids. It was possible he'd set the fire to cover his tracks.

Beatrix, a Tarraconese carpenter and engineer, or so she claimed. She had tried to purchase lumber on credit from the warehouse for a building project and was, according to the warehouse's manager, less than pleased when she was rejected. Small, shortsighted, and nervous, Beatrix was an unlikely suspect, but it was possible she'd set the fire.

Geoffroy Thoorens

Wexlish justice was unlikely to be kind. As the four suspects sat in the same cell, waiting for dawn, a prisoner in an adjacent cell tried to get their attention.

"Oy! What are you in for?," a reedy voice said in Tarraconese.
"Burning down a warehouse." Nyali replied. After a pause, she said, "Allegedly."
"Right. Well, I'm in for piracy."
"That's nice."
"They'll hang me tomorrow."
Nyali nodded. "Sounds about right. Governor Whitefriar does like to hang people."

There was another long pause as the prisoner, clearly flummoxed by the Chultan's stoic answers, tried to think of something else to say.

"Me name is Cameron Jones. I sailed with Handsome John," the unseen figure said. "You know of Handsome John?"
Nyali didn't, but Imran and Gunter both did. Handsome John was a legendary pirate. He'd died three times. His face was so horrible it'd kill old men and babies just to look at him. They said he'd taken a slaver ship and tossed one slave over the side every watch, just to watch the sharks feed.

They also said he was rich.

"I know where he buried his haul," the figure said, "from his last trip to the Golden Isles. It'd a foul shame if I took that knowledge to my grave." By now, Beatrix, Imran, and Nyali were all close to the bars, listening for every word. "Seeing as how I'm fettered, would you inclined to escape this place before your trial and - let's be honest - most likely execution, it would be in our mutual interests if I was to escape with you."

"How exactly are we supposed to break out of here?" Beatrix complained. "There are guards and the warden has the keys. Assuming we escape, what then?"
"We hit a few taverns, find a small crew of trusted souls, steal a small but nimble ship, put to sea, and sail for the Isla de Caracol before dawn," Cameron Jones answered smoothly.

Beatrix translated the plan into Wexlish for Gunter's benefit. The giant dockworker grunted in assent. Using all her wiles, Beatrix managed to lure the lone Wexlish guard close to the bars on his next patrol. Gunter grabbed for the guard's chest and missed. Nyali and Imran grabbed the guard's legs and pulled, painfully slamming his most tender area against the bars. A few quick strikes from Gunter's slab-like fists reduced the guard to a blubbering mess.

While Nyali fashioned a lock-shattering explosive from the guard's pistol charges, Gunter, in apparent boredom, simply bent back the bars to the cell. The other three prisoners watched in awe as the iron flaked and creaked. The gap was just large enough for Nyali, Imran, and Beatrix to squeeze through. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Gunter remained trapped.

After a few misadventures, a bit of stealth, and surprising strong-arm tactic from the mild-mannered Beatrix, the party retrieved the warden's keys, several uniforms, a small stack of pistols, a few swords, and small purse of gold, and a mostly full bottle of brandy. They rescued Gunter and freed Cameron Jones, who turned out to be an old Tarraconese sailor with a scraggly beard and rags, and escaped the prison.

Murat Gül

The town of King's Bay was quiet. A few taverns were still open, but their customers were either asleep, stupefied with drink, or engaged in other business. The five escaped prisoners found a quiet corner in the Bishop's Arms, bought drinks, and began discussing their plan.

Languages: Wexlish, Tarraconese, Chultan,

"We need to steal a ship," Cameron Jones whispered. "Now, there be some small cutter in the harbour, mostly used by merchants. I say we creep down, see how well they are guarded, and sail out with the tide. When the sun rises, it'll bring an east wind with it, and we'll be out of the harbour before the Cimmeria can fire on us."
"What's the Cimmeria?" Nyali asked.
Cameron Jones gestured out the window. "The naval frigate in the bay, defending the harbour. Twenty-four guns, a full compliment of Marines. Not something we want to fight."
"Could we steal it?" Nyali said, peering out the window at the distant lights of the frigate.
"N...no! Are you mad!?" the old pirate hissed. "Even at anchor there are probably eighty men aboard, watchful for mutineers and pirates sneaking aboard."
"What did he say?" Gunter asked.
"He says we can't steal the frigate because there are too many men aboard it," Beatrix hastily translated.
The square-jawed dockworker thought about this for a few moments. "What if we could get the crew off the ship?"
"How?"
"Set the town on fire. Send an order to the ship; all men ashore," Gunter said carefully, marshaling his thoughts. "Row out and take her."
"Gunter has a plan to take the Cimmeria," Beatrix informed the group. "Can anyone forge orders from the governor?"
"What? Maybe. Why?" Nyali asked, leaning back and frowning.
"If we set the town on fire and order the sailors off the Cimmeria, we can board and take her."
"Fucking fuckbiscuits," Nyali cursed in Chutan, impressed at her comrade's daring.

"You're all mad," Cameron Jones said, wide-eyed and worried. "Even if we take her we couldn't sail her. She's a frigate! Sixth rate! Crew of, oh, two hundred at least!"
"But she could be sailed with a skeleton crew," Imran said. "I have done it. Not an easy voyage, not a wise one, but it could be done."
"Right. How many to sail her?" Nyali pressed.
Cameron Jones stared at his four rescuers for a moment, then replied. "Ten. If we had ten good, experienced sailors, and if the weather held, and if we encountered no other ship on the journey, we might be able to do it."

"Then we're settled. You recruit the sailors. I'll forge orders with Beatrix's help. I'll set the fires on the west end of town. Imran will set the fires in the east. Gunter will find us three longboats." As everyone stared blankly, Nyali continued. "When the fires begin, Beatrix will row out to the Cimmeria and deliver the forged orders. Gunter, Cameron Jones, and anyone else we can recruit will take the second longboat once the Marines have disembarked and board the Cimmeria. Imran and I will be along as soon as we can."
"That's... a mad bastard of a plan," Cameron Jones said appreciatively. "You done this sort of thing before?"
"No," Nyali replied. "Well, except for the arson." She paused. "Allegedly."

Claude-Joseph Vernet

An hour later, disguised as a male guard from the prison, Beatrix nervously waited at the docks, flicking her eyes from one edge of King's Bay to the other, watching for the first flames to rise over the rooftops. She didn't have to wait long. With more enthusiasm than skill, and more fear than enthusiasm, she rowed frantically to the Cimmeria.

Behind her, King's Bay was in flames. Nyali had wisely stuck to the back streets, tossing torches into stables, woodpiles, and kitchens. Imran had taken a more direct approach. He'd broken windows, tipped over stoves, smashed lanterns, and generally attracted a lot of attention in the form of a small mob. Luckily, after a short chase, he'd run into Nyali, who managed to frighten the mob away with her blunderbuss.


Meanwhile, aboard the Cimmeria, Beatrix was bluffing for her life. The officer of the watch had accepted and read her forged letter. As sailors milled about and longboats were lowered into the water, Beatrix stood and sweated as the officer, lips pressed together, inspected the letter a second, then a third time. Just as he seemed to find a fault, Beatrix interrupted with a gift of brandy. Imran had topped up the stolen bottle with an infusion he swore would put the officers to sleep. Now trapped in the officer's mess serving small glasses of foul-smelling brandy, Beatrix could only hope her comrades arrived before her luck ran out.

On shore, Gunter had watched boat after boat of sailors stream into the burning city. Cameron Jones had managed to find four people crazy enough to join in the ventures. Gunter could only hope that some of the Wexlish sailors decided to join the crew. Together, the boarding party rowed out to the Cimmeria, approaching by a long route to avoid suspicion. Gunter climbed up the side and leapt onto the deck, two pistols at the ready. He immediately discharged both into the back of a first lieutenant and roared, "We're taking the ship, lads! Anyone disagree?" The four sailors on deck looked at the glowering dockhand, looked over their shoulders at Cameron Jones and the rest of the scruffy pirates climbing up the side, and surrendered.

Hearing a crash from the quarter galley, Gunter sprinted towards the stern of the ship. He kicked open the door and found Beatrix locked in a life-or-death struggle with the ship's sailing master. Gunter quickly dispatched the officer, helped the apologetic Beatrix to her feet, put a cloth on her bleeding scalp wound, and wandered back onto the deck.

A few minutes later, Imran and Nyali arrived in the last longboat. They assisted in raising the anchor, with Gunter doing, by anyone's estimate, the work of five men. When the ship was aweigh, Gunter suggested clearing the lower decks.

"As your Captain," Cameron Jones said, waiting for a challenger and finding none, "I'll lead. Pistols at the ready." The newly appointed Captain, Imran, and Gunter went below and found the ship eerily deserted. They'd expected at least a few sailors belowdecks, but they found nothing until they reached the lower hold. They heard a faint click. Cameron Jones held up a hand and paused.

"Bunker!" he shouted, as musket shots raked through the deck. A shot caught Gunter in the leg and swept him prone, bleeding and swearing. Imran was unharmed; he later found a perfect Imran-shaped outline in the far wall. The Golden Isle sailor dove for cover while Gunter crawled behind a table. Their newly elected captain, Cameron Jones, lay unconcious on the floor. They weren't sure if he was dead but, as another volley of shots swept the deck, they weren't about to find out.

Nyali sprinted belowdecks at the sound of gunfire. She reached Imran and hid behind an overturned table. "Is this table thick enough to shield us?" she asked.
"I hope so," the merchant replied. "Want to push up and see if we can return fire?"
"Let's go," Nyali whispered, and the pair shouldered the table into place. They could hear the bunker's occupants readying another volley. From a safe spot, Gunter was hollering for their surrender.

"Heave!" Nyali shouted, and the two pirate pushed the table up the deck. Another volley of musket fire smashed into them, sending splinters into the air. The table held. "Heave!" Nyali shouted again. The bunker's occupants hastily reloaded. Someone inside made a mistake. When they readied a second volley, someone's musket misfired and detonated. The bunker was filled shrapnel and smoke.

Brandishing her blunderbuss, Nyali ran up to the bunker, poked the ungainly weapon inside, and fired blind. More screams filled the air.

While Nyali dragged two badly wounded Wexlish sailors from the bunker, Imran checked on Gunter's wound. "Just a graze, thank God," the merchant said, peeling back the blood-soaked rags.
"Can't fucking understand you," Gunter complained.
Imran rolled his eyes, pointed at Gunter's leg, and nodded while smiling like a caricature.

Next, the crew checked on their new Captain. A musket ball had caught him just under the heart. He was probably dead before he hit the deck and he'd taken the location of Handsome John's treasure - if he ever knew it - with him. The thought was sobering.

With King's Bay burning behind them, and in a disgraceful and slovenly way, the Cimmeria slipped out of the bay with the tide.

Red line indicates the projected route of the Cimmeria.

Playtest Notes

The GLOG pirate hack I threw together works fairly well.

• Nyali is an Artillerist. Decent stats, save for an Int and Wis of 7.
• Gunter is a Brawler with 18 (!) strength. That's off 3d6 unmodified. Sure, his Int is 7 too, but when any melee attack deals +3 damage you don't need to be smart.
• Imran is a Duelist. Very average stats.
• Beatrix is a Smooth Talker. Her player wanted to run a Weather Witch, but she's got the worst stats I've ever seen someone roll. Her highest stat is an 11 in Int and Charisma. She's got a Strength and Con of 5, a Dex of 8, and an Int of 9. She's also got 1 HP. Everyone agrees; either Beatrix is going to die next session or she'll outlive everyone else.

I didn't expect the players to go for the frigate or to come up with a competent plan to steal it. 2 members of the group are old hands at this kind of bullshit and have been in many of my games before. I expect great things from them.

In case anyone things their adventures was little far-fetched, I'll be posting excerpts from "Captain Kidd and the War Against the Pirates" soon enough.

OSR: Ship Combat Rules Test

I'm trying to build a set of very simple ship combat rules. They should be mechanically crunchy enough to allow for variation, upgrades, and tense duels, but not so complicated that you need a slide rule and a whole table of terms to use. The rules are vaguely based on FFG's Rogue Trader starship combat rules. They should work for Age of Sail combat... as seen on TV.

The core ideas should also be adaptable to ancient sailing battles. Just adjust the speed and range accordingly.

Feel free to pick these apart. The exact numbers are trivial to adjust based on playesting. General concepts are more difficult.

Jeremy Paillotin

Combat Sailing

As opposed to exploration sailing. This is for fights.

Wind

There are 3 kinds of wind:

1. No wind (doldrums, becalmed). A special event on the weather table.

2. Way too much wind (storms, hurricanes, waterspouts, etc.). Special events on the weather table.

3. A sensible amount of wind.
If there’s a sensible amount of wind it fades into the background. Films generally don’t consider it important. Ships maneuver at great speed into the wind, round corners, and pass in front of each other without too much difficulty.

Rules for fog, whirlpools, hurricanes, rapids, shoals, and islands during combat will be added at some point, but based on these rules I think you can see how I'd do it.

Ship Combat

You’ll need a grid. Each square is 100 feet. Each ship combat turn is 5 minutes. Ship speeds are quite a bit lower than top sailing speed, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to avoid using hundreds of sheets of graph paper.

Each round, ships act in order of size, largest to smallest. In order:
1. The ship attempts a Manoeuvre for the round.
2. The ship moves its full Speed straight ahead.
3. The ship may turn up to 45 degrees.
4. The ship fires its Weapons.
5. The ship performs any Special Actions.

Ship Stats

Speed: How fast the ship can move, in squares per turn. This doesn’t correspond to knots or actual speeds. It’s a convenient abstraction to make combat interesting. Don’t tell the sailing people.

Manoeuvre Bonus: How nimble the ship is. Applies to rolls made for Manoeuvres.

Ship Hit Points: The total health of the ship. Negative effects occur at half and quarter HP.

Masts: Number of masts. Useful for some critical hits and identifying ships at a distance.

Crew: Hit Points of sailors and officers who perform regular sailing tasks and assist with boarding actions.

Marines: Hit Points of specialized combat-only troops who do not assist with regular sailing tasks. Cargo Capacity: How much Loot a ship can carry.

Main Weapon Capacity: Arcs are 45 degrees. Prow weapons only fire forward, Stern weapons only fire backward, Port and Starboard weapons fire left and right. Some esoteric ships carry Turrets capable of firing left, right, or forward, or Spine weapons that can only fire dead ahead.

Examples

Stats are all provisional; testing is ongoing.

Rowboat
Speed: 2
Manoeuvre Bonus: +0
HP: 5
Masts: -
Crew: 1 HP
Marines: -
Cargo Capacity: 1
Main Weapon Capacity: -

Raiding Sloop
Speed: 6
Manoeuvre Bonus: +5
HP: 20
Masts: 1
Crew: 10 HP
Cargo Capacity: 2
Main Weapon Capacity: 1 Pro
Raiding Sloops may automatically use the Quick Turn Manoeuvre each turn, in addition to any other Manoeuvres. It may not use the Hard About Manoeuvre in the same turn.

Costal Cutter
Speed: 5
Manoeuvre Bonus: +5
HP: 30
Masts: 1
Crew: 10 HP
Marines: -
Cargo Capacity: 2
Main Weapon Capacity: 1 Prow
Coastal Cutters may automatically use the More Sail Manoeuvre each turn, in addition to any other Manoeuvres.

Brawling Corvette
Speed: 4
Manoeuvre Bonus: -10
HP: 50
Masts: 1
Crew: 20 HP
Marines: 10 HP
Cargo Capacity: 3
Main Weapon: 1 Port, 1 Starboard

Customs Frigate
Speed: 4
Masts: 3
HP: 100
Crew: 50 HP
Marines: 20 HP
Cargo Capacity: 6
Main Weapon: 2 Port, 2 Starboard

Weapon Stats

Range: In squares. Each square is 100 feet. This is the maximum range of the weapon.
Range 1 means the ships must be adjacent.
Range 0 means the ships must occupy the same square or be Locked Together.

To shoot a weapon, roll under 8+ any bonuses. An extensively trained crew might increase this to 10+bonuses, but most of the time, gunnery is horribly inaccurate at anything beyond point-blank range.

A weapon firing at half range gains a +4 to hit. Any weapon fired at Range 0 gains a +8 to hit. Getting to point blank range is the goal. The role of a ship is to carry its guns within point blank range of an enemy, fire them as many times as possible, and render the enemy unable to return fire. Victory is assured through boarding actions.

On a critical hit, roll on the Critical Hits table.

Damage: Like a standard weapon. On a hit, deal damage to the ship’s HP. All hits also deal 1 damage to a ship’s Crew HP and Marines HP. 

Some weapons have special properties, restrictions, modifiers, etc. listed below their main stats.

Prow or Stern Chasers
Range: 8
Damage: 2d6

Cannon Broadside
Range: 8
Damage: 2d6+3

Carronade Broadside
Range: 2
Damage: 3d6+6

Manoeuvres

The helmsman must roll under their Dexterity + the ship’s Manoeuvre bonus + any bonus or penalty from the manoeuvre attempted.

Quick Turn
Bonus: 0
Pass: After moving half its speed, the ship may turn 45 degrees, then complete its movement. It may not turn at the end of its movement.
Fail: The ship moves and turns normally.
Hard About
Bonus: -4
Pass: After moving half its speed, the ship may turn 45 degrees, then complete its movement. It may then turn 45 degrees at the end of its movement.
Fail: The ship moves and turns normally but takes 1d6 damage from the strain.
Drop Anchor
Bonus: -10
Pass: The ship moves 1 square forward, then immediately turns 45 degrees. It does not move further and may not turn. All shooting is at a -4 penalty this turn. The ship is now At Anchor. It takes 1d6 damage from the strain.
Fail: the ship moves 1 square forward, then immediately turns 45 degrees. It does not move further and may not turn. The ship may not shoot this turn. The ship is now Swamped. It takes 3d6 damage from the strain.

More Sail
Bonus: 0
Pass: The ship may move up to 2 additional squares straight ahead.
Fail: The ship moves normally but may not turn.

Trim Sails
Bonus: 0
Pass: The ship may move up to 2 fewer squares this turn. It must move at least 1 square.
Fail: The ship moves and turns normally.
Line Us Up
Bonus: -4
Pass: The ship’s shooting gains a +4 bonus this turn. The ship may move and turn normally.
Fail: The ship moves normally but may not turn at the end of its movement.
Take Evasive Action
Bonus: -8
Pass: All incoming shooting suffers a -4 Penalty. This penalty does not apply at Point Blank range. The ship moves normally but must turn at the end of its move.
Fail: The ship moves normally but must turn at the end of its move.

Prepare For Boarding
Bonus: -4
Pass: The ship may move up to 2 fewer squares this turn. If the ship ends its move next to an enemy ship, while moving parallel to it, the ship may instead move into the same square as the enemy ship. It is now at Point Blank range and may initiate boarding actions.
Fail: The ship may move up to 2 fewer squares this turn.

Ramming Speed
Bonus: -5
The prow of the ship must be facing the target.
Pass: The ship moves up to its full speed towards the target. If the ship has any weapons that face forward, they may fire with a -8 penalty just before the ships collide. Both ships deal 1d6 damage to each other for each 10 HP they have remaining. They are now Locked Together.
Fail: The ship moves its full speed past the target. If the ship has any weapons that face forward, they may fire with a -8 penalty.

Special Actions

Any PC can attempt a Special Action. Roll under the stat listed with the action, applying the bonus or penalty listed. NPC ships can generally attempt 2 or 3 special actions.

Fire at Will
Roll: Charisma +0
Pass: The ship may fire at any point during its Move, interrupting the usual turn sequence. It may not fire a second time in that turn.
Fail: The ship shoots normally, but with a -8 penalty this turn.Cut Anchor
Roll: Charisma or Strength +0
Pass: The ship is no longer At Anchor. The ship will require a new anchor.
Fail: The ship is still At Anchor.Cut Apart
Can only be used if the ship is Locked Together with another ship.
Roll: Strength or Charisma -4
Pass: The ship is no longer Locked Together. At the start of its next turn it may move normally.
Fail: The ship is still Locked Together.

Man the Pumps
Can only be used if the ship is Swamped.
Roll: Strength or Intelligence -4
Pass: The ship is no longer Swamped. At the start of its next turn it may move normally.
Fail: The ship is still Swamped

Lock Together
Roll: Dexterity or Intelligence -4
Can only be used if the ship is at Point Blank Range with another ship.
Pass: The ships are now Locked Together.
Fail: The ships are not Locked Together.

Boarding Action
Can only be used if the ship is Locked Together with another ship.
Roll: Any Stat – 4
Pass: Deal 1d6 + 1 damage for each 10 HP of Crew + 2 damage for each 10 HP of Marines to the enemy ship’s Crew HP or Marines HP. The enemy inflicts 1 damage for each 10 HP of enemy Crew + 2 damage for each 10 HP of enemy Marines to the boarding ship’s Crew or Marines HP. Damage occurs simultaneously.
Fail: Deal 1 damage for each 10 HP of Crew + 2 damage for each 10 HP of marines to the enemy ship’s Crew HP or Marines HP. The enemy inflicts 1 damage for each 10 HP of enemy Crew + 2 damage for each 10 HP of enemy Marines to the boarding ship’s Crew or Marines HP. Damage occurs simultaneously.

Hasty Repairs
Roll: Any Stat -4
Pass: Heal 1d4 Ship HP or repair 1 damaged weapon or repair a damaged rudder or put out a fire.
Fail: No effect.

Statuses

Locked Together
The ships move straight ahead at the slowest ship’s speed. Both ships can still fire normally. They count as being at Point Blank range with respect to each other.

At Anchor
The ship does not move and cannot make any Manoeuvres. It may turn up to 45 degrees.

Swamped
Instead of moving normally, the ship moves 1 square forward. It may not turn and cannot make any Manoeuvres.

Sinking
A ship will sink in a number of rounds equal to its original HP divided by 10. Find boats, flee, grab treasure, and run around in a panic.

Dismasted
A ship with no masts cannot make any Manoeuvres. If it didn’t start with any masts (Rowboats, Gigs, etc.), this does not apply.

Half Ship HP
A ship at half HP takes a -4 penalty to all Shooting, Manoeuvres, and Special Actions.

Quarter Ship HP
A ship at half HP takes a -8 penalty to all Shooting, Manoeuvres, and Special Actions. It is automatically Swamped.

Zero Ship HP
A ship at Zero HP is Sinking. It cannot Shoot, or take any Maneuver or Special Actions.

Half Crew HP
A crew with half Crew HP takes an -4 penalty to all Shooting, Manoeuvres, and Special Actions.

Zero Crew HP
A ship with Zero Crew HP must surrender. This doesn’t mean everyone is dead, but it does mean further resistance is impossible. Everyone is wounded or exhausted.

There will be some sort of ship character sheet to help track all of this.

Critical Hit Chart

1. Mast Shattered. Remove one mast from the target ship.
2. Holed. The enemy ship is now Swamped.
3. Cannons Damaged. 1 weapon on the facing struck now inflicts 1d6 less damage.
4. Cannons Destroyed. 1 weapon on the facing struck is inoperable until repaired.
5. Rudder Struck. The ship must turn after moving, in the direction it last turned (or a random direction if no turns have been made), until repaired. It may not
6. Deadly Splinters. Inflict an additional 1d6 damage to both Crew HP and Marines HP.
7. On Fire. The ship takes an additional 1d4 damage to Ship HP each turn until the fire is extinguished.
8. Well Struck. The ship takes an additional 1d6 damage to Ship HP.

Example Combat

A Raiding Sloop (Red) has run into a Customs Frigate (Blue). The sloop is enormously outclassed and outgunned. She is also carrying a cargo of opium from Yoon-Suin; very illegal.

1. The Customs Frigate moves first, as she is the larger ship. Her Speed is 4. She is not sure where the Sloop will go, so she attempts no Manoeuvres.

2. The Customs Frigate moves straight ahead 4 squares, then turns 45 degrees to starboard, hoping to catch the Sloop in her powerful broadside. She takes no Special Actions. She could take the Fire At Will Special Action, but she hopes to catch the enemy in a fully organized broadside at the end of her next turn, not sporadic and less damaging fire.
3. If the Sloop moves straight ahead she will be at the Frigate's mercy. The Sloop can automatically perform the Quick Turn Manoeuvre. She chooses to perform this Manoeuvre, and also chooses to try for the Line Us Up Manoeuvre. She succeeds. Her shooting gains a +4 bonus this round.

4. She moves 3 squares ahead, turns 45 degrees, and moves a further 3 squares.

5. The Sloop now has the Frigate directly in her sights. She fires her Prow Chasers. The enemy is at half range (+4 to hit) with a further +4 from the Line Us Up Manoeuvre. Base 8+4+4 = 16. The Sloop rolls, hits, and deals 2d6 damage to the Frigate's Ship HP, plus 1 damage to their Crew HP and Marines HP. This barely chip's the Frigate's paint, but it is still a nasty surprise for her officers and crew.

6. The Frigate, realizing the Sloop may escape her, decides to use the Hard About Manoeuvre. 
7. She moves half her speed (2), turns 45 degrees, moves her remaining distance (2), and then turns a further 45 degrees.
8. From her new position, the Sloop is likely to pass within her full broadside.

9. The Sloop, however, hopes to use her considerable speed to escape. She lays on More Sail and uses her automatic Quick Turn Manoeuvre. She succeeds. She moves 4 squares, turns 45 degrees, and moves another 4 squares.
10. The Frigate can try to come about and catch her, but at extended range and no easy way to add bonuses to shooting, the Frigate is very unlikely to ever catch up with the quick Sloop. The Sloop can also manure directly in front of the Frigate

Design Space

There's lots and lots of room.

It should be reasonably simple to add rules for flamethrowers, chain shot, lightning guns, torpedoes based on the core weapon stats.

Upgrades for extra sails, crocodile-powered waterwheels, fog generators, and all the usual piratical nonsense should be easy enough to add. I don't want to create an explicit "upgrade slot" system because that gets fiddly.