Flying Dutchman

A black sailed ship appears on the horizon just as the sun begins to set. It brings with it a rolling fog bank, and as it draws closer, a deep dread fills your heart. That is no ordinary ship - it is the legendary Flying Dutchman, and it has come to collect a bounty owed in gold and souls alike.

Teams: 2 (The Defenders are regular classes or even Militia for an extra challenge. The other is the crew of the Dutchman and is comprised of a balanced team of Pirate Zombies and/or other suitable Undead)

Lives: Variable

Respawn: Variable

Players: 5+ per team

Objective: Variable depending on the scenario being used (see below.)

Scenario Rules: The crew of the Flying Dutchman can be used in a variety of battlegame types. Several possibilities are detailed below. In every case, the Pirates base should be a ship located across the field from the village.

Capture the Governor's Daughter:' Use Capture the Flag rules but there is only one flag and she isn't sitting still to be

taken easily! Should the Dutchman crew capture the target and escort them back to their Base, they win the round. If the Villagers manage to slay 50 pirates before the target is captured, the Villagers win the round. Also, if the Villagers hold the Pirates at bay for a full 20 minutes, the Villagers win the round. Regardless, the target may engage in combat, but may not use or be effected by any abilities which remove her from play. If the target is Stunned, slain or otherwise rendered unable to fight back, any living player on either team may walk her in a direct line toward their base. An incapacitated target must remain on the field and must walk toward whatever base they are directed. Slain targets who are not moved respawn after a 60 count if left alone, but may not respawn if being moved.

Plunder off the Port Bow!: Use Heavy Object rules both otherwise similar to the Governor's Daughter game above,

only with an over-flowing treasure chest instead of a person as the target. The Villagers have a pile of plunder and the cursed Undead are out to recover it. The Villagers may not move the treasure except to return it to it's original place once the game starts. Pirates win if they transport the treasure to their ship. Villagers win if they prevent the pirates from stealing their treasure for 20 minutes.

Recover the Cursed Treasure: One hundred coin tokens are scattered and hidden across the game area. Now, a

crew of Pirate Zombies competes against the Villagers to be the first to collect 51+ coins before the timer runs out. This game has a time limit of one hour and is played across a large, open area. Reeves scatter the coins in easy-to-find locations (generally on the ground) and the team who recovers the most coins (or the first team to recover a majority of available coins) in the time frame wins.

Refresh: Every five player lives if a life pool is used or none if played with unlimited lives and a time limit.

Types Best Supported: Militia or Full Class

Notes: The Flying Dutchman theme is hardly limited by what is presented here. A team of mortal adventurers fighting against the depredations of the immortal undead is a fairly open-ended questing idea. Just mix and match the game goals or questing plans to create your own unique variants.

Don't overlook the Halloween season (especially the days following when everything is on sale!) as a prime chance to stock up on zombie make-up and piratical attire alike!