DUNGEON MASTER'S GUIDE
This section of Pirates and Plunder will be dedicated to all of the work of the GM, or Game Master behind the scenes that go a step beyond you average D&D campaign. PLEASE NOTE: In it’s current state, P&P at large is typically for those more experienced in TTRPG’s as a whole, and a large piece of that is the complications for the Game Master. Let this guide act as a framework for how to adapt to this system, what to look out for, how to best operate such a large and preestablished world if you so choose to have your campaign in the setting of One Piece, and so much more.
ATTENTION: THIS PAGE IS CURRENTLY UNFINISHED!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: A World of Your Own (kinda)
The world of One Piece is world renowned for how deep and amazing it truly is, but in a campaign of a TTRPG, there is no one main character. Each player has their own voice, their own story to bring, and it is the GM’s duty to respect that voice and make sure everyone feels seen at the table. So how do you modify the world to fit a TTRPG setting? What if you don’t even want to follow the conventional pirate story? What if you want to make a world all on your own simply using the rules of P&P as a baseline? Well, here is where you start…
Chapter 2: A World of Possibilities
Now that you know what you want your world to look like, it is time to think about what the story your party will follow will look like. One Piece is known world-wide for its writing, but not every person that wants to dip their toes into becoming a Game Master of P&P has to be Eiichiro Oda. At the end of the day, what makes a good story is one that makes the party happy and ready for more. For such a huge world, where do you even begin to involve your party? As almost all games of D&D go, we begin in a tavern…
Chapter 3: All Things NPC's
What is a story without enthralling characters? Random barkeeps, the evilest of villains, the random NPC you didn’t even name that the party loves more than anything (I’m looking at you Gibbins), and everything in between, NPC’s are vital. You certainly don’t need the titanically large 1500 NAMED CHARACTERS of One Piece, but then who do you add? Can you add actual characters from the story of One Piece? The world is quite literally your oyster, and here is the advice of Pirates and Plunder on everything NPC…
Chapter 4: Siege Combat
You are enjoying a nice drink at a local bar on an island claimed by pirates. All of a sudden, you hear a loud BANG and see the whizzing of cannonballs flying towards your quaint little town coming from a fleet of pirate ships. What do you do? Alternatively, you are a Vice Admiral in charge of a grand attack on an island infested with pirates. How do you plan your attack? Whether you are attacking or defending, these situations call for something beyond normal combat. These situations call for Seige Combat. Prepare yourself…
Chapter 5: Downtime and Exploration
The open seas. Where would pirates, marines, or any other group be without it? Despite the deep blue being so important to the world of One Piece, it doesn’t see as much action for how long each crew is spending on their ship simply looking for their next big haul or adventure. As a GM, how do you make your players feel like they are sailing the high seas when most of the time is spent simply waiting? And once the party finally finds their island of choice, the story isn’t typically thrust upon them, so how do you narrate exploring and navigating islands? Well…
Chapter 6: Ye Booty
Who loves treasure more than pirates? As a GM, it can feel like a lot to assign each different fight or island pillaged/liberated with their own rewards. Some times it’s not as simply as claiming the bounty of someone and collecting the exact money. The rewards and treasure can be more than money, with the most notable of these is the indestructible Poneglyphs and Road Poneglyphs. These are some of the most important pieces of treasure to any pirate, but how do you know where to put them? The GM’s Guide has you covered…
Chapter 7: Game Master's Workshop
For a show all about freedom, the creator of a world in P&P should have just as much freedom. These documents simply aren’t thorough enough to have people solely stick to the letter of the rules, so we openly encourage any and all to use Pirates and Plunder as a stepping stone for what their perfect system looks like. We’d like to share a couple tips, tricks, and things to note about the process of homebrewing anything and everything. Everyone starts somewhere, and we’d be happy if you started here…