The Scum of the Tides: A Fantasy Kriegsspiel Skirmish

Creating your character

For the first session, characters are pre-generated. You don’t need to build anything in advance: you’ll simply choose the character you want to play from a set of veteran mercenaries provided before the game.

Preparing for the session

You’ll get the Discord invite after booking. Discord is where we do session comms, handouts, and voice. A working mic is important. Headphones are strongly recommended to avoid echo. And join Discord 5–10 minutes early so we can sort any tech issues and start on the hour.  That’s it, for this One-Shot session, no character building, no homework, just get your comms sorted and pick your mercenary.

What Pete the Elder brings to the table

Provided to the players: I’ll provide everything you need to play: pre-generated characters, a clear mission brief, and a fully run live streamed table in Tabletop. You’ll also get handouts and summaries in Discord so you’re never scrambling to remember names, places, or objectives.

Homebrew rules

Here are the only “house rules” I use, they’re mostly there to support Kriegsspiel pace, fog of war, and fair adjudication:  Capability-based characters (no visible stats): You won’t see numbers or builds. Each pre-generated character is presented through clear strengths, weaknesses, gear, and training. You play them based on what they can realistically do, not what a sheet says.   Referee-led adjudication: I act as an impartial referee and resolve uncertain outcomes using consistent rulings behind the screen. If it’s risky, we’ll talk through your approach, then I’ll call the result quickly and fairly.  Fog of war is real: Enemy positions, numbers, and intentions are not automatically known. Information is earned through scouting, positioning, noise discipline, and good questions.  Declare intent first: Tell me what you’re trying to achieve (“take the bridge fast”, “screen the retreat”, “ambush and withdraw”), then we resolve the details without getting bogged down.  Morale and surrender: Fights don’t always end in total slaughter. Allies and enemies may break, withdraw, surrender, or rout based on shock, casualties, and leadership.  Timekeeping matters: Light, noise, delays, and hesitation change what happens next. The world moves whether you do or not.

How Pete the Elder creates a safe table

We’ll use Lines & Veils to keep the game intense in-world while staying safe and comfortable at the table. Before we play, I’ll share a short Lines & Veils checklist in Discord (or we’ll do it together at the start). Lines are hard limits that won’t appear in the game at all; Veils are topics that may exist in the setting but will be handled off-screen or only referenced lightly.  You can add, change, or clarify Lines and Veils at any time — no explanation required. If anything comes up during play, you can flag it in voice or chat and we’ll immediately adjust (pause, fade to black, fast-forward, or retcon as needed). I also keep an open-door policy: you’re always welcome to step away for a break or leave the session with no pressure.  My job is to run a gritty, high-stakes mercenary world while making sure the table stays respectful, inclusive, and comfortable for everyone.