Hi, everyone! I've been running a One Piece-inspired pirate campaign for about a year now, and since I occasionally see questions about how to run campaigns involving sea voyages, I decided to share the system I use at my table!

I believe that if your campaign doesn’t revolve around naval battles and voyages—and these are only a minor part of it—then you don’t need any system at all, and you’ll be more than fine with just one or two Environments. But if the players at your table want a more detailed system for managing a ship's resources and everything related to that, here's my approach:

(I'm just sharing what works at my table, and if you like what you see but would like to change something, feel free to use my ideas to inspire your own system!)

Ship Dice

Operating and maintaining your own ship is a difficult and costly undertaking. The ship may sustain damage, supplies may run out at the worst possible moment, and even the most loyal crew may plot a mutiny if treated with contempt. All of the ship’s key resources are represented by abstract values in the form of Dice Sizes ranging from d4 to d12(Supply Die, Crew Die and Strength Die). During voyages, these levels will rise and fall (for example, from d6 to d8 or from d6 to d4) due to various factors.

The maximum Die Size for each of a Ship’s Dice is d12; however, at your discretion and if it suits your game, some ships may have a lower maximum die size for a particular die—for example, a schooner might have a maximum Strength Die size of d8, and a brig might have d10. A brig can carry fewer people, so its Crew Die is d10, not d12 like on a galleon. You can give your PCs the opportunity to upgrade the ship, for example, by expanding the storage space by spending a CHEST OF GOLD, increasing the Supply Die from d10 to d12, and so on.

Supply Die

The Supply Die represents the abstract total of all necessary supplies on the ship, such as food, rum, ammunition, and repair planks. After each naval battle and each travel leg of sailing, reduce the die by one size. Supplies can be replenished at almost any port by paying a BAG OF GOLD for each die size.

Crew Die

The Crew Die reflects the team's motivation and dedication. If you neglect your crew members for a long time, don't provide enough resources, or force them to work overtime, the team won't be happy.

When the GM decides that the PCs have committed an act that would diminish the crew loyalty, they may spend a Fear to reduce the Crew Die size by 1. The Crew Die can be increased in various narrative ways at the PC’s discretion. For example: by recruiting new members to the team, thereby filling vacant positions and reducing the workload; by sincerely thanking them for their service; by offering bonuses; by fairly dividing the loot; by mourning those who fell in large-scale battles; and so on.

Strength Die

The Strength Die is an abstract representation of a ship’s physical condition. Collisions, naval battles, and other situations that can damage a ship may lower the Strength Die size. When the GM determines that a ship has sustained damage that could realistically lead to consequences, the GM may spend a Fear to reduce the Strength Die by 1 size. PCs can repair the ship at a port with access to a Shipyard by paying a BAG OF GOLD for each die size.

Naval Battle

Before the battle begins, one of the PCs (presumably the ship’s captain) sets the PC’s Ship Countdown, which is equal to the highest Ship Die Size. The GM sets the Opponents’ Ship Countdown, which depends on the ship type and the strength of the opponents (for example, a brig might be d10; a galleon, d12; and a hypothetical Imperial Flagship commanded by an admiral—against whom it is advisable to have allies to help defeat it—could be as high as d20).

Once the Countdowns are set, follow the standard rules for Progressive Countdowns and Consequence Countdowns, where the Progressive Countdown is the Opponents' Ship Countdown and the Consequence Countdown is the PC's Ship Countdown.

PCs should make Action Rolls in their attempts to gain the upper hand against an enemy ship. For example, they can use Presence to issue orders to the crew and inspire them; use Finesse to maneuver the ship or fire the cannons themselves; use their abilities and spells to directly attack an enemy ship using their Spellcasting trait; and so on. When you narrate the consequences, try to give them some information they can react to immediately so that the process goes more smoothly. For example, if the PC fails a Finesse roll while aiming a cannon at an enemy ship to fire a volley, describe how the enemies fire first, damaging the ship’s hull and causing water to start seeping into the lower deck. This allows one of the PCs to respond to the problem and make a Presence roll to send a group to fix it, or to go there themselves and make a Finesse or Strength roll to fix everything on their own; this makes the process smoother and makes it easier for less creative players to decide what to do during the scene.

I recommend having an Environment Stat Block that gives you ideas for how to spend Fear during battle to keep the tension high. Naval battles are chaotic—make sure they really feel that way. For example, when you describe enemy falconets firing a volley at a PC’s ship, you can spend Fear to force one of the PCs to make a Reaction Roll and mark HP on a failure or Stress on a success due to flying shrapnel; you can spend Fear to change the direction of the wind and give a disadvantage to the PC controlling the ship; If there’s a storm, you can spend Fear on lightning strikes; or you can even spend more Fear to describe how damage from an enemy volley has started a fire on the ship, establishing a new Countdown that reflects the time it will take for the flames to reach the gunpowder stores—which could destroy the PC’s ship if left unattended.

During a naval battle or a boarding action, any PC may spend 1 Hope to describe how the crew’s efforts assist them in their Action and roll the Crew Die adding the result to their Action Roll.

If the Opponents' Ship Countdown triggers first, PCs can choose to sink the enemy ship or board it. In the latter case, not all enemies would continue fighting after being defeated; many would likely surrender. However, if you believe the enemies will fight to the end, start a standard battle but make it easier (for example, spend fewer BP) to account for the losses the enemy crew sustained during the naval battle.
PCs may attempt to board an enemy ship before the Opponents' Ship Countdown triggers, but such a battle should be more difficult.

If PC's Ship Countdown triggers first, the PCs must perform the Ship's Death Move.

Ship's Death Moves

• Unexpected Savior: At a critical moment, an ally comes to PCs aid; a natural or magical disaster gives PCs a chance to escape, or a raging sea monster draws the enemy’s attention away. In any case, PCs leaves the battlefield and moves to a safe distance; the Strength Die immediately becomes d4, and the GM gains 1 Fear for each PC at the table.
• There's Still Hope to Escape: The PCs realize in time that they cannot win this battle and decide to flee. Set up a Progress Countdown and a Consequences Countdown according to the chase rules, and allow the PCs to make action rolls that will help them escape. If the Progress Countdown triggers first, the PCs have managed to escape. Each Ship Die is reduced by 1 size (the Supply Die is reduced by 2 sizes, since it would have been reduced anyway due to the Naval Battle). If the Consequence Countdown triggers first, the PCs must choose the Ship's Death Move "Unexpected Savior," but the GM can ask one of the PCs to roll a Strength Die (which has become a d4) without spending Fear to determine whether a catastrophe occurs.

Catastrophes

If one of the Ship Dice drops to d4, the GM may, at any time, spend a Fear to force one of the PCs to roll that die; if it rolls a 1, a Catastrophe associated with that die occurs. For example, this could be an attempted mutiny on a ship if morale has hit rock bottom; severe damage to the ship that makes further travel impossible for a long time until the problem is resolved; starvation in the middle of the ocean; or a complete lack of ammunition for a naval battle. It could even go as far as the complete loss of the ship.

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Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of this system!