If you are a player of the Pirate Borg roleplaying game (RPG) from Free League Publishing you very likely are already familiar with the work on one Dave Thaumavore. Dave is at work on a forthcoming setting, Dark Kingdom: Koreana using his own Dark Kingdom game engine (legally derived from Pirate Borg).
Dark Kingdom Koreana is a complete standalone tabletop roleplaying game of historical horror set in a supernatural 1599 Joseon Korea, in the aftermath of the devastating Imjin War. Players become soldiers, nobles, shamans, hunters, performers and other survivors navigating a fractured kingdom where rival factions struggle for power, creatures of folklore walk the earth, and the boundary between the living, the dead and the spirit world has grown dangerously thin.
Dark Kingdom: Koreana
In preparation for the publication of Dark Kingdom Korean, Dave released Dark Kingdom Koreana: Dragon’s Wake -Ship Combat in Ancient Korea and Japan.
Dark Kingdom Koreana features a complete tactical naval combat game built into it: Fight ship-to-ship battles on a hex map using a dedicated system for movement, maneuvering, cannon fire, small arms, ramming, boarding and damage, all integrated into the core RPG.
The Naval Engine
Dragons’ Wake is a 14-page, digest-sized, softcover zine that, per the website, describes itself this way:
- Based on the naval combat rules of Pirate Borg: Key changes have been made and playtested for a more tactical, streamlined experience.
- Every Player Runs the Ship: After the Captain maneuvers the vessel, each player performs a Crew Action: firing cannon, aiming at enemy systems, rallying the crew, repairing damage, driving the oars, ramming or boarding.
- Shared Crew Bonus Resource: The Captain receives a pool of Crew Bonus points each turn and decides how to distribute them among the players’ actions, creating a constant tactical choice between concentrating resources on one crucial maneuver or spreading them across the crew.
- Sails vs. Oars: Captains choose between Sails Up and Oars Only stances. Sails provide greater speed but expose vulnerable rigging, while oars offer slower, more controlled maneuvering and protect the sails from targeted attacks.
- Position and Facing Matter: Ships have limited turning rates, different Sail and Oar speeds, and cannon firing arcs. Getting your broadside onto an enemy without exposing yourself becomes a central part of every engagement.
- Target Individual Ship Systems: Instead of simply pounding away at Hull, players can aim cannon fire at Sails, Oars and other components, crippling an enemy vessel’s mobility before closing for the kill.
- Cannons and Small Arms Have Different Jobs: Cannon fire destroys ships and can cause catastrophic damage, while small-arms fire attacks the enemy’s Crew Bonus, gradually degrading the crew’s effectiveness rather than the Hull.
- Ramming, Boarding & Repairs: Naval battles aren’t just shooting matches. Ships can ram opponents, conduct emergency repairs, rally battered crews, drop anchor for more accurate cannon fire, or grapple alongside an enemy and board it.
- Boarding Becomes an RPG Battle: Successfully board an enemy and the game seamlessly shifts back into the regular character-scale combat rules, with the surrounding clash of sailors abstracted through unpredictable Boarding Fight Complications.
The paperback zine also comes with a 56-page digital pdf that has extended rules (including a ship generator), guidance of fighting naval skirmishes, and other digital assets useful for (2D) printing ships for a tabletop or VTT use.
Given my naval background, family connections to Korea, a love of naval wargames, and enjoyment of the Pirate Borg RPG, purchasing Dragon’s Wake was a no-brainer. Now to play!
To see Dragon’s Wake in action watch this full how-to-play tutorial that Dave thoughtfully created.
Feature image courtesy RMN
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