Looting Davy Jones’ Locker: Down Among the Dead - A Pirate Borg Expansion Review | The Gamerheads Podcast

Introduction: What is Down Among the Dead?

For those who have been playing Pirate Borg for a while, you’ve probably either been creating your own content, something the core book does a great job helping inspire, or you’ve been looking for new material to bring to the table. I’m happy to say that Limithron has created a new expansion, Down Among the Dead.

Just like the core book, it’s packed with tables, ideas, tools, adventures, and fantastic art. While there is plenty here that could work in almost any pirate setting, this expansion really leans into the underworld and exploring the dark world it creates.

What is included in the expansion?

There is so much included in the book. Two of my favorite additions are new characters and sixty-six new skills that can be used for seasoned characters. Wait…there are seasoned characters that live past two adventures?

The three new classes are The Deep One, The Antiquarian, and the Unlocked Soul.

The Deep One is a fishlike character, and there are two different paths one can take: a shaman or a warrior. In similar fashion to previous character creation options, there are tables that help determine the character’s background. Players can leave it up to fate or choose the background that best fits their creation.

For the Antiquarian, think Indiana Jones. There’s even a table to roll against to determine the character’s phobia. There’s also a table to determine what the character’s “holy grail” is, basically what drives them. The features of the class focus on understanding relics and uncovering knowledge.

Finally, there is the Unlocked Soul. These are ghosts that escaped Davy Jones’ Locker…for a while. There is a neat Borrowed Time mechanic where anytime a natural 1 is rolled on a d20, the player must roll a d100, and if a 1 is rolled, the soul is reclaimed and the adventure ends for that character. Pirate Borg is already a deadly game, so it’s fun to see that danger carried over into the Unlocked Soul.

There are sixty-six optional skills that can be rolled instead of a class feature. For example, one skill is ASH Addict. This gives the character a +1 daily to Devil’s Luck, but if the player doesn’t take ASH during the day, their overall stats go down.

Instead of rolling against the table, I think these skills would work really well for characters that consistently do certain things. For instance, if there’s a character that is constantly using ASH, give them the ASH Addict skill. It almost feels like they “earned” the skill. That’s one of the things I love about Pirate Borg. The rules can be used however they work best for your game.

GM Tools

Like the core book, Down Among the Dead offers a lot of tools for the GM. There’s a coral reef generator and an island generator. There are also twenty house rules that a group can incorporate, as many or as few as they want.

Two rules I found particularly interesting are the Nightmare and Heroic modes. One makes the game even more challenging (really, players want this?), while the other makes things much more forgiving. There’s also a coin generator, in case the group asks exactly what types of coins are found in that treasure chest.

There’s even a Jolly Roger flag generator, with tables covering everything from what material the flag is made of to its condition and shape.

I particularly love the island generator. The mechanic has me tossing the standard seven dice used in most d20 games, and the results not only determine the name of the island, but also the terrain and a bit about the inhabitants.

I actually started creating my own adventure based on the island generator, and it’s shaping up to be a dark and mysterious quest, largely because of the results I rolled.

And then there’s a card game: Three-Eyed Parrot. It’s a poker-style game that can be incorporated directly into the world the GM creates.

The Adventures

Included in the book are three adventures: Lost in the Locker: An Escape from Purgatory, Venom in the Veins: A Snake Dungeon Crawl, and Into the Maelstrom: A Maritime Vampire Hunt. There’s also an adventure site included, which gives GMs ideas for additional quests.

Lost in the Locker introduces players to the underworld, including different characters and strange lands. GMs can certainly expand on the concepts, but like the starter set, Lost in the Locker works as a tutorial for the land of the dead.

Venom in the Veins is more of a traditional dungeon crawl. One thing I love about Pirate Borg is how adaptable it is to different types of play. If the group and GM want a dungeon crawl, the game can support it.

Speaking of adaptable play, Into the Maelstrom is a gothic adventure with vampires. It’s a perfect setup for a Halloween-style adventure, but it also opens the door to a whole world of creepy, dark storytelling.

Who This Book Is For

Down Among the Dead is perfect for GMs or players who have been playing Pirate Borg for some time and want to expand their current game. It also works well as a resource for newer GMs, especially with all the tools and tables available. Even if the adventures aren’t run right away, the reference material is usable for a GM from day one.

What I like about this book, along with the core book and the starter set, is that I never felt bogged down by rules. The books are quick reads, and the art makes the entire series feel like I’m reading the journal of a pirate.

Final Grade: A

Review copy provided by UberStrategist PR and Free League Publishing