Looking for one of the best pirate tabletop RPGs? You’re in luck because there are a number of excellent choices.
If you are ready to begin your adventures on the high seas, here is my list of the best pirate tabletop role-playing games.
7th Sea Core Rulebook (Second Edition)
7th Sea Core Rulebook (Second Edition) is the most widely known pirate RPG. It was made especially for exciting sea-based sessions and pirate RPG campaigns.
7th Sea is a popular role-playing game and supports a large fanbase. The publisher has produced many supplements and resources.
Beat to Quarters
Beat to Quarters is an RPG of high-sea adventures and the Royal Navy. From the DriveThruRPG description:
“Inspired by the novels of Forester and O’Brien, Beat to Quarters takes you on a voyage of action and intrigue during the Age of Sail. Fight the French with cutlass, pistol or cannon as you sail one of the mighty ships of the Royal Navy into battle. Beat to Quarters is a stand-alone game that is also fully compatible with Duty & Honour.”
Honor + Intrigue
Honor + Intrigue brings pirate adventures with the flavor of the silver screen to tabletop role-playing games. From the DriveThruRPG description:
“Honor + Intrigue is a new, standalone game from Basic Action Games. Inspired as much by Hollywood as by history, Honor + Intrigue pays homage to the swashbucklers of the silver screen as well as great works such as those of Dumas and Sabatini. Game Masters should feel free to use history as a source of inspiration, not a restriction. True to its inspiration, Honor + Intrigue plays fast and cinematic, leaving the focus on drama and action unfolding.”
Several supplements:
Freeport: The City of Adventure for the Pathfinder RPG
Freeport: The City of Adventure for the Pathfinder RPG is not a complete RPG. However, it is a campaign setting and a series of adventures for pirate-themed action in Pathfinder. From the DriveThruRPG description:
“Freeport is one of the classic city settings of fantasy roleplaying and it’s back—bigger and better—in this monstrous new sourcebook for The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Clocking in at a massive 544 pages, Freeport: The City of Adventure lovingly details a metropolis that mixes fantasy tropes, piracy, and Lovecraftian horror into an action packed setting for your RPG campaign. The city is now more detailed than ever, with added locations, characters, hooks, and a brand new, full-length adventure. The book, featuring a cover by fan favorite artist Wayne Reynolds and a fold-out map of the city, also includes full rules support for the Pathfinder RPG: new classes, archetypes, feats, and magic items. As always you can use Freeport on its own or drop it into your campaign setting of choice. So set sail for Freeport, mateys! Come for the pirates, stay for the cosmic horror!”
More Freeport supplements:
- Player’s Guide to Freeport
- Freeport Companion: Pathfinder RPG Edition
- Peril in Freeport (Pathfinder)
- Pirate’s Guide to Freeport
Call of Cthulhu: Corsairs of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu: Corsairs of Cthulhu is not a complete role-playing game. It is an adventure for Call of Cthulhu 7th edition. However, it gives game masters and role-players the option of pirating horror games.
Pirates: Ye Olde Core Rules
Pirates: Ye Olde Core Rules is a rules-light pirate RPG. From the DriveThruRPG description:
“Its carefree rules blow rule-laden games out of the water with salvos of dramatic action that are hard to come by anywhere else.”
Pirate Tabletop Role-playing Games
These RPGs are sure to provide months or even years of outstanding pirate action. Get ready to set sail.