Bluebeard Scenario 1: The Burning Sloop

Bluebeard Scenario 1: The Burning Sloop

"Bluebeard done this!"

Location: Off Nassau, 1718

A merchant sloop drifts slowly through the morning mist. Her sails are scorched, her rigging hangs in tatters, and smoke still curls from the afterdeck. No colours fly.

The harbour guns have not fired.

Something is wrong.

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Background

A Crown patrol spots the vessel before she reaches the harbour entrance.

The governor dispatches a young Royal Navy Lieutenant with two longboats to investigate before the derelict becomes a hazard.

Unknown to them...

The ship isn't abandoned.

A pirate crew lies hidden below decks.

They have butchered everyone aboard and intend to kill the investigators before escaping in boats. 

Their captain has only one instruction.

If captured...

"...tell them Bluebeard done this."

Whether that's true—or a lie—is another matter.

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British Force

One Officer, Lt Alfred Fairweather RN

Two Groups of Sailors (6–8 figures each)

Arrive in two longboats.

Pirate Force

One Pirate Leader

Two Groups of Pirates hidden aboard ship.

Optional sharpshooter in the rigging.

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Table

A 3'×3' table.

Centre:

The drifting sloop.

Around it:

Open sea.

One edge represents the reef off Nassau Harbour.

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Deployment

The British begin in longboats, 18" from the ship.

The pirates are secretly placed:

• Below deck (use a token)
• Behind cargo
• Inside cabin. (Use a token)

The British have no idea where they are.

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Boarding

British figures must climb aboard.

The first figure reaching the main deck discovers...

Dead sailors.

Blood everywhere.

Then—

The pirates spring the ambush.

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Special Rule: Burning Ship

At the end of every turn roll a D6.

Roll	Effect
1–3	Nothing
4–5	Fire spreads to another section
6	Explosion! Nearby figures take hits.

After enough fire markers accumulate, the ship becomes untenable.

Everyone must escape.

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Pirate Objective

Delay the Crown long enough to escape.

At least half the pirates must reach hidden boats on the far side of the ship.

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British Objective

Capture at least one pirate alive.

Recover the ship's logbook.

Prevent escape.

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The Clue

When the pirate leader is wounded or captured he shouts:

"We never touched them! Bluebeard done it! Ask anyone! Bluebeard is Alive!"

If killed before speaking, another pirate blurts it out in panic.

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Hidden Evidence

Players searching the ship may discover one item each turn instead of fighting.

Possible discoveries:

• Cargo untouched.
• Crew murdered with cutlasses—not cannon.
• A strange black feather.
• A page torn from the log.
• The captain nailed to his cabin door.
• A broken boarding axe bearing an unfamiliar mark.

These clues suggest something more organised than ordinary piracy.

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Campaign Rewards

If the British succeed they gain:

• +1 Reputation
• One surviving witness
• The logbook
• The first clue leading to the mysterious "Bluebeard."

If the pirates escape:

The Crown is left with only rumours...

and the name Bluebeard begins to spread fear throughout the Bahamas.

The Game

The Navy boats thread the reef.

A Captain's gig with Fairweather and a barge with a Masters Mate.

Turn 2.  Alongside.

The Masters Mate leads the assault from the barge.

The pirates appear.  Its a savage fight.

The pirate group in the waist suffer dreadful casualties.
A survivor surrender to Surgeon Crane.
"Bluebeard done this!"

The fight between Fairweather and the "Red Smile" pirate Captain is hard fought.

The pirate draw an event.

Bad news for the Red Smile.  His last remaining unit is shaken.
Fairweather breaks them.

And the "Red Smile" flees.  In retrospect I don't think he managed to surf a crocodile but I couldn't find the boat model.

Finally found that elusive boat.  Captain Jaques "the Red Smile" Moreau vows vengeance.  He shouts at Fairweather, ""Bluebeard done this!""

HMS Swift – Ship's Log

Lieutenant Alfred Fairweather, Royal Navy

Off Nassau Harbour, June 1718

At eight bells in the forenoon I returned aboard His Majesty's Ship Swift after boarding the merchant sloop discovered adrift beyond the harbour reef.

The vessel had suffered considerable fire damage, though strangely little sign of cannon shot. Her cargo remained untouched despite the slaughter aboard, suggesting robbery was never the object.

Every member of the merchant crew was found murdered, the wounds having been inflicted by cutlasses at close quarters rather than by musket or great gun. The ship's master had been nailed to the door of his own cabin in a manner intended to inspire terror rather than serve any practical purpose.

A single pirate was taken alive before succumbing to his wounds. Both he and another outlaw repeatedly declared, "Bluebeard done this," though whether this was truth, fear, or a deliberate deception I cannot yet determine.

During our search we recovered the broken head of a boarding axe bearing an unfamiliar device, unlike any naval or pirate mark known to the officers aboard Swift. It has been retained for the Admiralty's inspection.

Of particular concern is the absence of the vessel's logbook. Despite a thorough search of the captain's cabin and the remainder of the ship, no trace of it could be found. I cannot escape the conclusion that it was removed deliberately.

Whatever transpired aboard that unfortunate sloop was no common act of piracy. The untouched cargo, the calculated murders, and the disappearance of the log all point to a purpose beyond simple plunder.

I respectfully submit this report to Captain —— and recommend that every report concerning the name Bluebeard be collected and examined without delay.

Signed,

Lt. Alfred Fairweather, RN

His Majesty's Ship Swift

Campaign Notes

Fairweather gains:

• +1 Reputation
• A fine sword dropped by the Pirate Captain

Tobias Crain gains;

• +1 Reputation

Surgeon Tobias Crane,
the Admiralty's man,
friend to young Alfred