First of all:
We might talk of historical accuracy when it comes to what lies between the covers of the book, but as to the actual cover, a top-less gun touting D-cupped female pirate in needle heels is not what spontaneously comes to mind when thinking of the pirates of the Caribbean. This tactic is starting to be silly, bordering on the ridiculous. Do they have to use half-naked women on the cover of every book? Is that all they can come up with to market their product?
And now, the review.
This book is holds an incredible wealth of condensed information on seafaring life in the Caribbean of the early 18th century. It was very instructive and entertaining to read. I am inclined to believe Avalanche Press's boast that: "[This book]… is one of the most historically accurate treatments of the period in games in quite awhile." Each part describes how sailors generally did things as well as how pirates did things. Unfortunately, it does not hold enough gaming material to completely support a game.
The first part of the book is a historical recapitulation of the early 18th century in the Caribbean. Each European nation taking part in trade, war and slavery is described. The religious factions vying for influence in the area are discussed. The important facets of trade and economy are described, as well as the mental and moral landscape of the era.
The second part describes ships, seamen and life aboard a vessel in the 18th century. A section describes the classes or types of ships used by the different nations. The art of navigation is discussed, as well as many details concerning firearms, from cannons to pistols. Supplies (food, alcohol, tobacco and water) are discussed as well. The different positions held by members of a ship's crew are detailed, from the cook to the surgeon.
The third part specifically describes pirates. The most likely circumstances
that will make someone resort to piracy as a way of life in this cruel era
are outlined. There is a big section on the way pirates organise themselves.
The subjects of pirate articles (a convention signed by all members of a pirate
crew) and privateering are approached. A section describes their battle tactics,
mostly trying to intimidate their prey into surrender. Another section details
the kind of punishment and torture that pirates would typically inflict on
their victims. There are a few examples of historical female pirates.
The fourth part includes four new character classes: the merchant, the noble, the priest and the sailor. The merchant gets more skill points and can get funding for his expeditions. The noble has influence and even more funding. The priest has a few spell-like abilities (bless, bane, aura of fear, divine favor, remove fear) that he gains slowly over successive levels. He eventually can heal others through miracles. The sailor can curse his enemies. The rogue can be used as is from the PHB and the soldier class is the same as the fighter.
Four special levels that are called templates but should have been called something else can be gained. When gaining enough experience points, instead of going up a level a character can choose to take one of those templates, thus gaining a hit die and some special abilities. These templates are the escaped salve, the carpenter, the cook and the officer.
Four prestige classes are also available. The captain is good at inspiring his crew to great efforts. The cardinal has a lot of influence, an entourage and a guard and can at high level excommunicate other Catholics. The navigator helps make sure a ship does not get lost at sea. The physician can help wounded companions survive their injuries.
Part five describes the new feats and skills available to players of "Black Flag". The Improvised Weapon Proficiency is a strange feat that lets a character use anything as a makeshift weapon and even grants the character a bonus to attack and damage with such an item! No suggestions as to the damage caused. A list of equipment available at that time and a list of what is unavailable from the PHB equipment list is included, as well as the stats for the six types of ships described in this book.
The sixth and last part describes, among other things the awful way characters will die of gangrene when they play "Black Flag". Getting shot by a firearm is very serious and will easily result in a grievous wound, most likely necessitating amputation of a limb. Combat using those rules will be very deadly, which can be a good thing. This part also includes the rules for naval warfare, which are not very interesting. Although something called "percentage of hull integrity" is mentioned, what it really comes down to is that all ships have 100 hit points with different hardness and their hulls can only be damaged if a critical threat is scored. The rigging and crew can be normally targeted.
The panache feats and panache points system presented in this book were created to simulate the swashbuckling effects of typical fantasy or Hollywood style pirates. The result is not brilliant. Panache points are gained by defeating opponents or accomplishing actions with CRs higher than your character level, but not to much higher, which would make you loose points. Because panache is linked to popularity, the number of witnesses present influences the number of panache points you can get. You can then use these "popularity points" to purchase a feat that you can use a single time. It is fairly complicated and in my opinion unnecessary.
This book is pretty incomplete. There is no section on actually sailing a ship, just some navigation rules to find out if you are lost or not. Nothing on manoeuvring a ship. There is nothing to help a GM get started with a game. No adventure ideas, no NPCs. As a historical reference, it's great. As a d20 gaming product, it is very limited.
