The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Avast ye mateys! Ye says ye never hears of Crimson Cutlass? Well, come aboard and listen to a tall tale from Smiling Jack!

CRIMSON CUTLASS was scribed by the lads who brung ya Free-Style Roleplay and Space Gamer magazine. Good stuff alls of it! It's got rules deep enough for Davey Jones, but easy enough for even the likes of you!

Your character is determined by Traits - Dashing, Stout, Cunning or Lordly and from there ya choose from some skills. You also got 2 "hit points" - ya either healthy, wounded or dead.

Unlike most them RPG games where you do a mess of reading, riting and rithmatic before the game to create yer character, Cutlass is very quick & easy. Your character deepens as you play him! You get to watch your character grow during adventures, gaining Swaggering Techniques and Ignobles to become more and more impressive. Unlike in most RPGs where the only difference 'tween a 1st level character and a 10th level character is them magical goodies he's found!

Example: At this Saturday's game at the honored game table of Zack Infanger of Quest Club, I created a Dashing Landowner with skills in Cards/Dice, Gentry-Husbandry and Equestrian who spoke English and Seminole (Indian tribe in Southeast US). I decided he owned a plantation outside Charleston, South Carolina. Within a few hours of play (2 pm to 9 pm), my character became a spokesman for the colonial assembly, captained a frigate through the British battle lines, staged an unsuccessful rescue of imprisoned patriots, visited Washington at Valley Forge, married my beautiful daughter off to a daring young hero, and finally went to the gallows as a traitor to the British crown! In 7 hours, most games get through a single dungeon crawl.

That be another exciting thang about this here Cutlass. It's cinematic and historical! Ye can visit any part of a history book from them Italian Rennaissance to the Civil War without any adjustment to them rules. Also, ye can skip the hard facts and just get down to some Hollywood style High Piracy! Swash them buckles and throw them dar D8s!

D8s ye say? Of course, what pirate game would be complete with pieces of eight? And ya use a Tarot Deck for special occassions when simple dicing just ain't enough!

Here's the bad news for ya swabby. Ye will probably never see a copy of Crimson Cutlass with ye own eyes. It's out of print and has been for a terrible long time. It hasn't be on eBay for 2 years (I checks every week!)

However, a surprise may be on the horizon!

Crimson Cutlass
Crimson Cutlass Playtest Review by Robert Lionheart on 15/10/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) Avast ye mateys! Ye says ye never hears of Crimson Cutlass? Well, come aboard! Product: Crimson Cutlass Author: George "Red" Rahm & Joseph "Conrad" Hillmer Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Better Games Line: Free Style Role Play Cost: priceless Page count: lots! Year published: 1989 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Robert Lionheart on 15/10/01 Genre tags: Historical Other	Avast ye mateys! Ye says ye never hears of Crimson Cutlass? Well, come aboard and listen to a tall tale from Smiling Jack! CRIMSON CUTLASS was scribed by the lads who brung ya Free-Style Roleplay and Space Gamer magazine. Good stuff alls of it! It's got rules deep enough for Davey Jones, but easy enough for even the likes of you! Your character is determined by Traits - Dashing, Stout, Cunning or Lordly and from there ya choose from some skills. You also got 2 "hit points" - ya either healthy, wounded or dead. Unlike most them RPG games where you do a mess of reading, riting and rithmatic before the game to create yer character, Cutlass is very quick & easy. Your character deepens as you play him! You get to watch your character grow during adventures, gaining Swaggering Techniques and Ignobles to become more and more impressive. Unlike in most RPGs where the only difference 'tween a 1st level character and a 10th level character is them magical goodies he's found! Example: At this Saturday's game at the honored game table of Zack Infanger of Quest Club, I created a Dashing Landowner with skills in Cards/Dice, Gentry-Husbandry and Equestrian who spoke English and Seminole (Indian tribe in Southeast US). I decided he owned a plantation outside Charleston, South Carolina. Within a few hours of play (2 pm to 9 pm), my character became a spokesman for the colonial assembly, captained a frigate through the British battle lines, staged an unsuccessful rescue of imprisoned patriots, visited Washington at Valley Forge, married my beautiful daughter off to a daring young hero, and finally went to the gallows as a traitor to the British crown! In 7 hours, most games get through a single dungeon crawl. That be another exciting thang about this here Cutlass. It's cinematic and historical! Ye can visit any part of a history book from them Italian Rennaissance to the Civil War without any adjustment to them rules. Also, ye can skip the hard facts and just get down to some Hollywood style High Piracy! Swash them buckles and throw them dar D8s! D8s ye say? Of course, what pirate game would be complete with pieces of eight? And ya use a Tarot Deck for special occassions when simple dicing just ain't enough! Here's the bad news for ya swabby. Ye will probably never see a copy of Crimson Cutlass with ye own eyes. It's out of print and has been for a terrible long time. It hasn't be on eBay for 2 years (I checks every week!) However, a surprise may be on the horizon!