Play game
The Ice Pirates of Penn-Tayn's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Most "Northern" (We're from Minnesota, it's okay.) | #5 | 3.653 | 3.875 |
| Coldest (How far below zero can you get?) | #9 | 3.889 | 4.125 |
| Overall | #16 | 2.976 | 3.156 |
| Most Deathless (You know it when you see it.) | #17 | 2.121 | 2.250 |
| Darkest (How deep into the darkness of man can you go?) | #20 | 2.239 | 2.375 |
Ranked from 8 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
This is crazy, in a fun way. So many great scenes packed into such small paragraphs. There's a lot to love here, especially the unique yet simple ship mechanics. I look forward to playing this, well done.
Thank you very much! I had a great time with it. Once the jam concludes, I will upload a tweaked version; I was able to squeeze in a little extra space to give some numbers for the GM to roll for the pirate encounters. While that is something that could be improvised of course, I like that the adventure is more complete with it. I will also include a brief crew description for the smaller pirate vessel, along with another characterful pirate captain. :)
Best,
Dennis
So I love that you took pirates! I was about to write a second adventure about a hidden grotto filled with undead pirates.
What I feel you really suceed with is creating your own battle rules, which will hopefully speed battle up when there is only one hour of play.
I'm a little confused with how many Pirate Ice Cutters I meet in 4? And if I just go from 1. to 2. to 3. to 4. and so on? Also when Ingrid is introduced, does this means she jumps our ship?
I would probably just make som GM rulings on this because I feel like the theme and the flow and tempo of this story really works, so I wouldn't mind just inputting things. I would probably also have the PCs joined by a hireling who could fall into the icy water – because someone has to, right?
Great job!
Thank you Philip! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was going for the "Northern" theme and in the Upper Midwest, wooden iceboats were in use say a hundred or so years ago. Once I considered iceboats, that instantly led to the idea of ice pirates!
I wanted to provide a table to roll on for the number and frequency of encounters with the pirates, but with the space constraints I decided I would leave it up the GM, much as you surmised. The page was starting to look pretty full to me, so I provided the suggested content with the hopes that the GM would improvise. Ingrid can certainly jump to your ship (and she would definitely do this!) however the encounter plays out. I like to imagine one ship or the other hopelessly broken after a ramming attempt, with the skimmer impaling the pirate vessel. That would be an ideal time for a fierce boarding action, from one side or the other!
I do love the idea of a disposable NPC whose fate would provide a sense of dread and tension! And you can never go wrong with undead pirates from hidden grottos. :D
After the jam is over I would like to eventually post a longer "director's cut" version of this adventure with a map of the shorelines, towns and trading posts. It would also include a few pages with encounter tables, additional NPCs and subplots, and maybe a zombified lake perch accidentally included in the pickled fish. :D
Thanks again!
Dennis
I love that you take the jam theme out on the sea and add pirates to it! The ship combat rules are so elegant, I really aprreciate that you didn't invent a complicated new rule but instead just treat ships like one (giant) creature. That makes it easy to approach and handle the battle. The adventure is nice and I like the moment when you think "oh, I got these pirate bastards" and then the lake wyrm rises!
Thank you, sushiundmulch! I felt a simple approach for the ice ships was needed and afterwards realized that I had arrived at a creature-based rule. :D
I'm glad you liked the lake wyrm! If there had been room for another paragraph, I might have had there be a zombie fish inside the stash of pickled fish the characters receive as part of their reward, requiring a Toughness role to avoid infection. But I was out of space and I figured if the characters survived the surprise encounter with the wyrm, they deserved a successful conclusion to the adventure.
After the jam concludes I will consider producing a longer "director's cut" version with a map of the towns and trading posts, shorelines and frozen marshy islands, plus some encounter tables to roll against and additional NPCs. :D
Thanks again! :D
Dennis
I'd love to see that fleshed out version. It's definitely worth it!
This is a really unique adventure, and one of the few to really capture the "Northern theme". I also really like it for the coldest category, but I think it needs some cold mechanics to drive that home.
The coldist kicked up by these ships must be terrible. What happens if someone falls in these freezing water? Do they get stuck under an ice-shelf (fuck, I'm dead I hear the players saying)? I know the ships are equipped to sail these icy waters, but icebergs must still be really dangerous.
The very fact that my mind is racing with what ifs and ideas for mechanics and what not is a testament to how compelling this scenario is.
Hey thank you very much Wayward! I'm glad you picked up on the "Northern" vibe, that is definitely what this one is all about. :D
Given a second page, I would have loved to throw in some cold-based mechanics (and the ice-shelf entrapment idea is brilliant and chilling at the same time). A map of little towns, shorelines and marshy islands would have been fun. I was also wanting a set of numbers to roll against that would show the players' chances of encountering any pirate ship on a given night's patrol, or the big ship. I decided I would let the GMs decide on a approach for that. The one page format made me become very miserly with every word!
This episode and "For Whom the Were-Moose Cometh" are my first jam entries ever, and I've been very grateful for the inclusive and welcoming nature of the community. I appreciate the kind words and compliments!
Best,
Dennis
This is my first jam entry, so I totally understand being miserly with the word count. I had to edit mine down significantly to get it to fit the way I wanted.
If you do expand this at some point I would love to see it!
Sure will! I'm amazed this is your first jam entry, Where the Cold Star Lies is awesome! :)
Thanks! I've done writing professionally and I've been DMing for close to 25 years. So yes, my first jam entry and some of my first explicitly rpg related writing, but I'm not going to pretend I'm some kind of prodigy or something :P
I would never thought of pirates for this jam, really good idea and some interesting points!
Thank you very much, Heltung! For the "Northern" theme of the jam, that made me think of the frozen lakes of the Upper Midwest in the U.S. and Canada. A hundred or more years ago, there were wooden sailboats on runners for use in those locales, and they probably provided some enjoyment and recreation during the harsh winters. And where there are boats, there must be pirates! :)
I was very impressed by your Coldying adventure! I love the premise that we never learn exactly what The Package is, and that it is up to the reader to imagine what it might be-- obviously something small, precious, fragile and warm. I'm guessing an infant, and perhaps one that can somehow bring light to a dark and dying world. The directive to protect it with one's life makes me feel that I would indeed spend my character's life to do so. And the knowledge that the mission could end in tragedy makes the storyline very compelling.
You also did a great job with artwork, graphics, etc. Very professional! I've only just begun to use publishing software, specifically for this jam, and would love to get my abilities to that level. I've got to learn about rasterizing, vector graphics and thinks like that. :)