Ah, the allure of an evil campaign. I’ve run them before, and players delighted in being free to embrace their character concepts without feeling pressured to be the heroes. While a pirate campaign is not the same as a villain campaign, they do focus on similar aspects of tabletop RPG gameplay – there’s more emphasis on loot and total player freedom.
That last part is key. While player agency is crucial to every game, a good pirate game puts it front and center. You get a ship, you decide where the ship goes, and the world reacts to whatever mayhem you inflict when you get there. Sure, you can play a noble group of pirates who are in it for the adventure a la One Piece, but the core goal of freedom is still very much there. So whether you’re here for tactical naval combat, a morally grey setting, or exciting swordfighting mechanics, here are some top Pirate TTRPGs.
Pirate Borg
The main appeal of a pirate game (alongside having a ship, of course) is absolute freedom. There’s no save-the-world plot, no big bad that needs to be defeated to reach a satisfying resolution. Players want to go wherever they want, plunder wherever they want, and cackle maniacally as the GM makes what they can out of the results. Pirate Borg delivers perfectly on this promise with easy-to-learn rules, fast gameplay, and an OSR-style focus on player agency. It also has a deliciously dark setting that sets a dangerous tone.
50 Fathoms
The world of 50 Fathoms garners a lot of praise from players and GMs alike, with many remarking on how easy it is to introduce new plot points and keep a campaign going for as long as the group wants. System wise, 50 Fathoms is a Savage Worlds game. The selling point here is that if you learn Savage Worlds for 50 Fathoms, you also know it for the system’s take on sci-fi, post-apocalypse, and any other genre you can think of. The 50 Fathoms rules in particular are well regarded for their travel and combat.
Pirates Of The Spanish Main
Here’s another one based on the Savage Worlds system for gameplay. But while 50 Fathoms is one of the more well-known Savage Worlds settings, Pirates of the Spanish Main is based on a strategy board game from WizKids. Yes, WizKids, the people that make DnD minis we get to review sometimes. The Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG takes the setting of the strategy game and uses it for your own adventures in search of fame and fortune. You also get to choose whether to be a pirate crew or fight pirates in the name of a royal navy.
Honor + Intrigue
While being the bad guy can be fun for a while, you will probably eventually want to return to a more heroic game. Honor + Intrigue stays within the age of piracy but allows you to play as more of a charming rogue than an outright villain. This system’s combat rules are a particular highlight for their emphasis on swashbuckling. Duels feel like a true crossing of blades thanks to the many maneuvers. It might take a bit more effort to learn than others on this list, but the payoff is worth it for those who want strategic sword fights.
Scum And Villainy
This one’s for those looking to play space pirates. Scum and Villainy runs off the Blades in the Dark system, so it’s more focused on heists and getaways than violent plundering. Still, one thing it does very well for a pirate campaign is make the ship customizable. There’s downtime rules for allocating points to your spaceship and upgrading, creating that feeling of the ship being part of the crew. It’s also easy to pick up and play with minimal learning time.
Sea Of Dead Men
Speaking of Blades in the Dark cousins, here is a fanmade use of that framework to make a pirate game. But just because it isn’t official Forged in the Dark content, don’t be fooled: Sea of Dead Men is a professional product that smartly adapts the FitD gameplay loop for piracy. There are crew and character playbooks that expertly balance individual skill with teamwork, as well as detailed ship diagrams to foster immersion. It’s only $15 online and comes with Roll20 playbook sheets, making it a convenient budget option for those familiar with Blades in the Dark.
7th Sea
7th Sea is one of the higher-ranked pirate games on sites like RPG Geek as it won awards back around its release in the late 90s. Even today there’s a lot of love for its setting, which hits the requisite high notes of competing factions, strange sea magic, and the promise of the New World. It has a point-based system where players have to manage their resources to overcome challenges, which some find as a clunky testament to its age. Others love the risk/reward feel once they learn how it works.
Rapscallion
For those wanting more fantastical elements in their pirate adventure, look no further than Rapscallion. While the full game isn’t available as of this writing, Rapscallion’s Kickstarter successfully funded thanks to its promise of strange, mystical high seas swashbuckling. Your characters embody this uniqueness by being more than just people – you can be a bound djinn, a possessed body, or a sorcerer running from a devil pact. Rapscallion uses the Powered by the Apocalypse system like Monster of the Week, so expect more emphasis on roleplay than tactical combat.
Sergio Sólorzano is the best Dungeon Master in the USA (according to a Wizards of the Coast competition, anyway). He loves minis and terrain but also goes all-in on improv!
