Is something like this a good idea for a game or is it too dated?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...of_the_Scarlet_Queen

I think it could definitely work with the right worldbuilding to set up plot points for the players - sandboxing with minimal GM control would IMHO spell disaster.

I think your main issue is going to be finding a good way of balancing the roles on the ship - if you following a traditional Trek/Golden Age of Sail structure of a Captain/First Mate and then a bunch of specialists who have to channel decisions through the captain, then I worry that the individuals will lack Agency and you have inbuilt resentment about pulling rank.

That being said, given it's a bit of a percursor to Trek, if you then looked at alternative Sci-Fi 'ship' dramas which don't follow such a traditional model (Farscape, Cowboy Bebop, to an extent Firefly) and are more democratic/government by consensus, you could find a good situation with 'private vessel holding a bunch of different people who have to co-operate to achieve their goals', then it could definitely work.

I think it might work if the ship and it's captain were mostly off scene and play was about the "Away Team" / "Liberty Call" activity. With the Captain handling "Ship's Business" and being controlled by the players as a group.

I suppose, although in that case how much is it worth bothering with the ship if it's just going to be a mode of transportation?

If the main focus is going to be an episodic 'go to city, deal with problems, repeat', then you could easily just have them hitching rides on whatever happens to be going around to travel between locations and gloss over it.

As a more general point, I think it could work as long as everyone agrees on what they're there for, and indeed making sure that the exoticism isn't going towards the borderline with potential stereotyping (which certainly was relatively prevalent in adventure fiction at the time).

Would you intend to use a specific system or just freeform?

I was thinking that the ship would serve the purpose of moving things along as it has to go where sent and the crew makes what they can of each port.

A "Pulp" setting has so many "borderlines" that I'm not sure you could even do it in a public forum.

I had spent some time working on the details needed for using Savage Worlds but giving something like Scum & Villainy a try with a reskinning could be interesting.

It really depends on the interests of the players. What would hold their attention past character generation.

I ran a similar game here a few years ago, using Savage Worlds. It was a single “episode” spanning a week or so game-time and several months real time. There was a schooner with PC skipper and two PC crew members and several PC passengers. The rest of the crew were NPCs.

I agree with Greentongue. If you wanted a more naval background like Star Trek or the Royal Navy, I’d recommend an NPC captain.

I was in a game a few years back based on Tales of the Gold Monkey TV series.

I think a mix of adventure types might work... going from Indiana Jones to Jules Verne to Hornblower to film noir to Doc Savage would be the way I'd go.

Were you thinking of setting on Earth in the early 20th Century? Or an earlier time period?

Ultimately it gets down to what do you see happening with the game? Run for a year? Run for 5 years?

I was bouncing between Ponga Jim Mayo and the Scarlet Queen as a base setting.
http://www.louislamourgreatadv...ClassicAdventure.htm
Less trade based and more "spying" or at least "special deliveries".

How did Tales of the Gold Monkey go because that's another source of inspiration. Having a sea plane as a story base opens up a lot of options while restricting the travel range by fuel supply.

The middle to late 30's is a great time for Adventure but rife with social pitfalls due to lack of compartmentalization (It's a game).

In reply to GreenTongue (msg # 8):

My game played out in the seas east of New Guinea, starting in Rabaul with a missing professor and a treasure map and ending in a remote island, base for a Japanese reconnaissance seaplane.

Here's the game info.

The South Pacific in the 1930s: pulp adventure, tropical islands, sailing schooners, daring adventurers, plucky sidekicks, flying boats, sultry sirens, tramp steamers, shifting loyalties, spies, war on the horizon.

In reply to Gaffer (msg # 9):

Nice!

If it helps anyone, I used to help run a South Seas themed Pulp PBP campaign on RPG.net, a while ago. Got tons of notes (historical, technical, genre, etc) and unused adventure seeds. Glad to pitch in if that would help.

Timing would be a thing- a lot of PBP games have a limited lifespan (3-4 months is what I hear is average). In keeping with the pulp serial theme, doing it as a series of "Episodes" with a definite beginning, middle and end (maybe with elements like cliffhangers or returning characters if the players decide they like them and want to see them again) might be better than planning ahead for dramatic arcs or something.
This message was last edited by the user at 05:48, Wed 16 Mar 2022.

The 1900-era BRP/Mythras/Cthulhu game "Raiders of R'yleh" is coming out with a 250+pg supplement for running a tramp steamer prior to WW1. Kickstarter hasn't begun but it looks excellent. Might be right up your alley.

Google their site and they have sneak peeks.

In reply to Kilgs (msg # 12):

Thanks for the heads up on that. Hadn't really considered prior to WW1 but certainly an option.

RAIDERS OF R’LYEH: FROM THE TIDELESS SEA
"From the Tideless Sea is a seafaring expansion for the tabletop roleplaying game, Raiders of R’lyeh. With it, mercenary rogues captain weather-beaten ships, travel strange seas, and challenge shadowy conspiracies."
This message was last edited by the user at 12:24, Wed 30 Mar 2022.