Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG

So one of the new games I picked up in San Antonio this past week was Pirates of the Spanish Main from Wizkids written by the Savage Worlds folks at Pinnacle. It's loosely (very loosely) based on the collectible miniatures game by the same name from Wizkids. It's certainly not a historical simulation by any stretch.

Being based on the Savage Worlds game engine, the mechanics are pretty straight forward. Actions attempted have a Target Number of four (4) which must be equaled or exceeded on a Trait die. Trait dice range from a d4 (very low odds of sucess) to a d20 (extremely high odds). Player characters (PCs) and important non-player characters (NPCs) get to roll a "Wildcard" d6 allong with their Trait die and take the higher of the two. Of course, the die roll can be modified by the GM for circumstances or by the game rules governing the situation. Trait and damage rolls are "open ended". That is, if the highest possible number is rolled on a die than that die gets rolled again and added to the first. If it happens again, then roll and and add again. Keep doing this until the maximum number doesn't come up (still add that number though).

Pretty darn simple mechanics, I'd say! Although I've yet to have an opportunity to play a game using the Savage Worlds mechanics, rules just don't get much simpler than this! Judging by the apparent popularity of Savage Worlds, a lot of people think so too. Ok, so if the basic mechanics can be explained in one paragraph. and Pirates of the Spanish Main does it in two pages, albeit more throughly than I have, what's in rest of this 255 page, $39.99 book?

Fluff! But it's great fluff! The sort of background and detail that on can really sink one's teeth into. On the other hand, there's not so much that it's overwhelming. However, its presentation order left me somewhat confused at first. The rule book launches the reader into character trait definition including modifiers before the game mechanics are explained. The result is that neophyte gamer has no idea what he's reading about until page 71. Much of the information before that is without applicable context and therefore cannot be easily retained. A gamer will read the first seventy pages, then read the games rules section, and then have to go back and reread the first seventy pages! This sort of fundamental mistake is typical of writers who know their subject too well and play testers who are too familiar with the game mechanics. As it is, the game rules are located between the chapter entitled The Age of Piracy and the one entitled Life at Sea. Did the publishers just make careless mistake dropping the game mechanics in the middle of the background material?

As poorly laid out as the book is for beginners, the information itself is valuable and well written. Kudos to using a type font big enough to be read without a magifying glass! I guess having the space to use reasonable sized print comes from having a simple game system that needs far less explanation than others.

All in all, though, I think that I will enjoy playing this game. I'm certainly enjoying reading the material now that I've figured out how the book is (dis)organized.

N.B.
I have Savage Worlds but I didn't remember it. I read the book when I first bought it, but haven't looked at it since. It is laid out exactly the same way. Apparently Pirates of the Spainsh Main just used the same basic structure and table of contents and filled in the pirate stuff. It would have been a good plan if Savage Worlds was, itself, laid out in a order condusive to learning. I find this sort of problem pretty common in RPG writing...come to think of it, this problem is pervasive in the game industry as a whole. Someone needs to send all these writers, proofers, and editors through a Technical Writing course to learn how to write instruction manuals, which, after its all said and done, is what game rule books really are.