Shot & Splinters - Napoleonic OSR Gaming
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JUNE - 1805. Napoleon's armies have achieved victory on the continent. French and Spanish men o'war prowl the seas in search of plunder. Only the Royal Navy safeguards England's shores against invasion. The fate of millions rests on the shoulders of a few seamen¸ battling against the relentless tide.
The war will be won at sea.
Shot & Splinters is a tabletop roleplaying game of naval adventure¸ inspired by Horatio Hornblower¸ Aubrey & Maturin¸ and Richard Sharpe. Drawing on history but not beholden to it¸ the game is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars¸ thrusting your characters into the heart of the conflict.
As a hack of Luke Gearing's epic dark fantasy hexcrawl Wolves upon the Coast¸ the game remixes and updates the razor-sharp OSR mechanics to include deafening volleys of musketry and fuisillades of cannon.
At the helm of their own warship¸ the players are free to explore the Bay of Biscay¸ combing the inlets and islands for vulnerable prey. Each captured ship has the chance of making a character's fortune¸ with large prizes providing enough coin to set a sailor up for a life of luxury.
There's all sorts to uncover¸ from shipwrecks and buried treasure to ruined castles filled with smugglers. Superstitious sailors might find strange¸ eldritch things along Brittany's ancient coastline.
The game consists of a main rulebook¸ a hex map¸ and Dalglish's Gazetteer¸ which explores each hex in detail.
Shot & Splinters is still in development¸ and Dalglish's Gazetteer will be updated with more hexes to explore and things to encounter. A third volume¸ Midshipman Goodacre's Primer will provide useful historical background for GMs and players alike.