This page collects various FAQ answers that Grimlord Games and/or the game designed (Adam Smith) have posted. I have tried to integrate the answers in the various pages in this manual that are relevant to the topics, but I also include the questions and answers here for reference.
I have grouped the questions into five groups.
Errata from "OFFICIAL FAQ v1.0":
Q: Do Enemy Ship cards get shuffled into the Enemy Deck, or should they be kept separate? A: It's easier to keep them separate in their own little deck, next to the Enemy deck.
Q: Can I sail through another ship's space? A: Yes, as long as yu have enough Navigation points to finish in unoccupied space.
Q: What shoud I do if there are two equal choices, such as an enemy having two possible routes? A: Roll the Fate Die and let Fate decide!
Q: I've just returned from a Port visit/Expedition/Boarding and all Crew are placed Below Deck. Can I choose where to place them and use Upgrades? A: Yes, though they may only use Upgrade if they are not Fatigued (p18).
Q: A Story card instructed to to spawn a Storm, but it's only Act I. Do I ignored this? A: No, you should spawn the Act II Storm early.
Q: At the end of the Act it says to spawn an Enemy Ship on a random Enemy Ship Spawn space, but I haven't found one yet. Do I still spawn an Enemy Ship? A: No, they cannot spawn if an Enemy Ship Space space has been discovered. (Probably typo in the answer: has should probably be hasn't.)
Q: I'm stuck! I haven't found a Port yet and my Crow's Nest has been destroyed, so I can't discover new tiles and have no way to repair my Crow's Nest. Is it game over? A: This is an incredible rare set of circumstances, but yes, you should reset and start over.
This section contains questions that add new information or clarifies something that was not covered well by the rulebook.
Q: When your agenda token reaches exactly 9, does it automatically move to 1? Or there is a "0" point? A: No, it has to reach 10 to cause Enemy Discovery to advance. However, once it reaches 10, it is reset to 1. (See p14 under "Advancing the Enemy").
Q: What's the intention with Marauders in the overall crew mix? I figured that since they are free, they are more like Deckhands, so I ended up using Shellbacks equal to the total of Deckhands and Marauders added together. Is that what you had in mind? A: Sounds good to me.
Q: If an enemy ship spawns when there is no valid target or player ship which it can attack, what does it do? Does it stay still? A: There should always be a Destination for an enemy ship. If in rare cases it says "second closest island" and only 1 Island has been revealed on the map, then that Island is its destination.
Q: If there is a situation when there isn't any island revealed, but there is an enemy ship in play and I move out of its attack range, what does the enemy ship do? A: In this case, yes, the enemy ship would not move until a player ship enters its Engagement range, or an island is revealed. This actually feels quite sinister, like the enemy ship is guarding that area waiting to strike!
Q: If we manage to sink an enemy ship on its spawn icon hex, we put a shipwreck tile over the enemy icon, covering it. Does this mean that this icon will not allow new enemy ships to spawn as it is now covered? A: No, placing a Shipwreck does not deactivate anything under it.
Q: When an enemy ship rolls two moves and an omen, it first tries to enter the range of fire, because I am within its range of engagement. Then it tries to shoot, but can’t, because it doesn’t have the dice to do it. It’s got one move left on its die, so does it head to its destination, where he’ll also get closer to me, or does it not move? A: As long as you're still in its firing arc, it will make the second movement.
Q: When gambling at the Inn do I need to have at least 15 coins in case I lose? A: Yes.
Q: When at a port, is the order of things important? For example, can I go to the marketplace and first sell things, THEN buy the revealed treasures? Or do I have to buy before being allowed to sell anything, as per the order given in the rulebook? A: In Port, you conduct business in an order of your choosing. So, you absolutely can sell your Treasures before buying what's on offer.
Q: Does that mean that you can, for example, sell a few treasures, then get a Treasure from a visit to a Denizen and sell it also? Or are repeatable port actions not repeatable once another port action has been carried out? It occurred to me once; I had no money and I wanted to buy Treasures from a Denizen, but I had to sell Treasures first. Then, once I bought the Treasures from the hands of the Denizen, I wanted to sell some of them. Can I do that on the same visit to the port? A: You can conduct your business in ANY order you want. So, if you place one Crew at the Marketplace and one on a special Denizen, you can conduct some business with the special Denizen, then the Marketplace, then the Denizen, etc. As long as you're not breaking any of the rules, like for example if the Port service isn't repeatable, or you try to send your Crew to a second location, then you're fine.
Q: It is said the Avatar moves like an enemy ship. How is it affected by rough seas/storms? Only if it's on the centre space? Does it need to turn as well? A: It's affected just like enemy ships, as long as the storm is covering part of it. It doesn't matter which way it's facing, so doesn't need to turn.
Q: Can I block the Avatar? It can't move over my ship, right? There's an objective that mentions the Avatar destroys ports by moving over them. What if I'm on that port? It can't move on it nor can it attack port spaces? A: You can't stop it from destroying the Port by sitting on it.
Q: When using the "boarding enemy ship" mechianics, in player victory section, it shows "spoil reward displayed in the bottom left corner of the enemy ship board", but I can't find any reward symbol in the board. A: This was unfortunately missed off the board. Instead, roll on the Spoils table equal to the current Act (Act II = 2 Spoils rolls).
This section contains questions whose answers are that things mostly work as it says in the rulebook, but clarifies an interpretation or a special case, or confirms something that seemed likely even though it might not have been explicitly stated in the rulebook.
Q: Do you receive clues when you turn the starting tile? A: No.
Q: If a player fails an expedition on an island, is an exploration token placed, therefore locking out other players? Or is an exploration token only placed after a successful explore? A: Islands are Explored once a player has launched an Expedition, no matter the outcome. The Exhaustive Expedition advanced mechanic is certainly recommended if you're looking for a deeper level of interaction with Islands.
Q: If a short game has the token placed at space 8, but I still have to reach space 16, doesn't that mean a short game is a lot more difficult than a long one, as the elder god will spawn much quicker? I feel like I've completely misunderstood something here. A: Wherever the Elder One token starts, that's the game length. So a short game is 8 Discovery track spaces long, etc.
Q: When an ability or a Spoils result indicates to draw a specific treasure card (e.g., Relic), how do you do that? Do I just draw until I find the first treasure of that kind, and then reshuffle the deck? Is this correct? A: Draw until you find that type of Treasure, then place all the cards you drew into the discard pile. It's not a big deck, so it'll run out pretty quick, and then you reshuffle.
Q: Under ship sinking and crew death it mentions that if all crew are KILLED your ship sinks and you start over. Is the same true if you can't pay the wages of any crewmember? A: Yes, it doesn't matter how you lost your Crew, once you have none then the ship is sunk.
Q: Some of the crew traits, e.g., you can reroll the fate die once... do they apply to me as a player, or is it just rolls specifically involving that crew member? A: Traits only affect the Crew member that has them. So, Traits like Astute, which lets you hand in -1 Clue at the University, means that Crew member has to go to the University to get that effect.
Q: Does the "dice converting" mechanism work when attacking and defending? For example, if an enemy roll displays two "move" results, will it be converted to one damage? A: Yes.
Q: During Boarding, as there is no crew ‘move dice’, do I just declare where my crew go at the start of every combat round? A: For Boarding, yes this is true, which is different from normally fighting enemies On Deck, where you need to spend Crew Orders.
Q: Can the 'Gunmetal Mortars' and 'Formidable Swivel Guns' shoot from the Bow and the Stern? A: Yes, these cards can fire out of the Bow and the Stern. Some cannot, like the Ram.
Q: You've got an enemy at point A, one crew at point B and one crew at point B. You want to attack with B + C. Do you... 1. Spend one crew order token and move B first then attack. Then spend another crew order token and move C then attack with both B and C? 2. Spend one crew order token and move B to A, then spend another crew order token, move C to A, then attack with both? 3. Spend one crew order token and move in and attack with B. Then spend another crew order token and move in and attack with C? A: #1. Frays are triggered when a Crew is ordered into a space containing an enemy, and everyone in that space participates in the Fray. So, send the stronger one in first.
Q: How are you supposed to tell the enemy ships apart if there's more than one on the board? A: There are numbered tokens provided for this.
Q: Do enemy ships follow the same movement rules as player ships? For example, do they need to spend two movement points on a stormy sea tile? A: Yes
Q: Do enemy ships take damage while sailing through a storm? A: Yes
Q: Is an explored (purged) Altar a valid destination for an enemy ship? Same question for Shipwrecks and Islands? A: Yes, it doesn't matter if that location has been explored.
Q: When an enemy ship card is drawn and they have cannons on the sides, do the players choose whether that ship's cannons are placed starboard or port? Or do they have firing arcs on both sides of the ship? A: They are considered to be armed on both facings port & starboard or bow & stern.
Q: When hiring new crew at the tavern, they go directly on the ship, according to the rules. Does that mean that I can send them to the port (the market, the tavern, etc.) straight after the recruiting action? A: Yes, you can send them to Port.
Q: When visiting the port, let's say I have someone at the university and someone at the market. Can I potentially buy a relic, then use it and clues to advance discovery, and then sell something after? A: Yes, you resolve the actions in Port in an order of your choosing, but bear in mind that some services, like the University, can only be used once per visit, so if that Crew member has already handed in Clues, they can't do it again.
Q: The negative Trait "Duplicitous" as in the example on p.21: Do you pay 5gp once arriving at the port or only when you send the corresponding crew to a location (so if you leave him on the ship, no payment is necessary)? A: Only when you send that specific Crew member to Port, in the same way that the benefit of the Astute Trait, in the same example, is only gained by sending that specific Crew member to the University.
This section contains questions whose answers are essentially that it works as it says in the rulebook.
Q: When you roll for shipwrecks, do you lose remaining navigation points? A: Yes, because you have interrupted Navigation (see p22 under "Navigation").
Q: When you move onto an altar tile and directly onto the altar hex, do you place one enemy on deck or 2 (one for entering the tile and the other for purging the altar)? A: When you enter into a tile with an active Altar, you must spawn 1 enemy On Deck. But like with all other locations, the player chooses whether to interact with it, so you don't have to purge an Altar if you don't want to. But if you did want to purge the Altar, then you do both spawns.
Q: If your first tile in the game has an altar, do you spawn an enemy on deck or only if you leave and return to the tile or purge the altar? A: No, because you have to navigate into a tile to trigger this effect.
Q: When I am one space away from the edge of a tile, and I use a nav order, with a total nav value of 3, can I then move towards the edge of the tile (1 nav point) then explore a new tile (2nd nav point) and then move into the new tile? (3d nav point)? Or do you always come to a full stop at the edge of a tile and then have to spend an additional nav order if you want to interact with a not-yet-revealed new tile? A: Yes, that's exactly how Navigation points work. You don't come to a full stop at the edge of a tile. You only lose excess points if you decide to do something else before completely spending them, like issuing a different Order.
Q: Can I move to an island hex, explore the island (as it doesn't need an order token), and then go on with my remaining navigation points with only 1 navigation Order? (Same question with a shipwrecked hex). A: No, because you're taking a different action. Revealing a new tile requires 1 Navigation point, and anything that requires Navigation points doesn't interrupt your Navigation Order. If you try to do so something else, like interact with any location (Altar, Port, Island, etc) then this is a new action that interrupts the Navigation Order. Also just to clarify, a Crew member needs to be in the Dinghy to explore the Island. They can either be there when you arrive at the Island, or you can order them to the Dinghy when you arrive. That Crew member is then tested by the Island event.
Q: When attacking or defending, if an enemy rolls "move" and "omen", does it move first or trigger its special ability first? A: Enemy special abilities are triggered first (see p29 under "Target Priority").
Q: When using the "boarding enemy ship" mechanics, there are 2 steps: Step 1: Player's crew move to any node and attack, if possible. Step 2: Enemy uses dice result to take action. Are these 2 steps circular, like 1->2->1->2... until one side are all dead? A: Boarding actions continue until one side wins, and there are no restrictions on which nodes Crew can move to.
Q: When an enemy ship appears, can we choose the orientation of the ship? Or is it oriented towards its goal? A: p30 under "Enemies at Sea" - When an Enemy ship spawns, an Enemy Destination token is placed on its destination, and it is oriented to face it.
Q: Enemy ships have to be placed "On a Calm Sea Space of the player’s choice on that player's tile OR a Rough Seas space if none are available". If we explore and flip a new tile with an enemy spawn icon, then should we put this new ship on our current tile or on the new tile revealed containing the spawn icon? A: This only applies when enemy ships are spawned in other ways, such as the result of an Event. If they are spawned from an Enemy Spawn icon, they just spawn on the icon.
Q: Can an enemy ship attack a player ship that is in a port? A: p18 ". Ships can still be targeted when occupying Islands and Altars, but Ports are safe havens where Artillery cannot be fired into or from".
Q: When you leave port, your crew end up below deck. When you move crew from the port to, let's say, the cabins, does that crew member then also immediately remove one strain? Or does that only happen when you order a crew to go to the cabins? A: p18, under "Fatiguing" - "Whenever a Crew activates an Improvement and triggers its benefit, a Fatigue token is placed on their board. Fatigued Crew cannot trigger any more Improvements on that turn; however, they can still be issued Orders and put to work On Deck. All Fatigue tokens are removed at the beginning of a player’s next turn." So yes, when Crew return from Port you can place them in a Cabin, and they can use it, so long as they haven't been Fatigued.
Q: When arriving at a port you may send any number of crew to visit the port. Is every crew only allowed to visit one location each or may a crew visit as many locations as it likes one after the other (what would the benefit then be to send several crews in the 2nd case)? A: p24, under Engaging Services - Each circular Port space on the board is considered a service, and each Crew may engage a single service on a visit to Port.
This section collects answers that provide some sort of information, but where the answer is unclear and might require further clarifications.
Q: When I get a positive trait as a reward, can I replace an indelible positive trait integrated on a Shellback crew board (not a trait card)? A: No, you cannot replace the Traits of Shellbacks. (CONFUSION: the answer says Traits, plural and indefinite, can't be replaced for Shellbacks, as in, even the Trait in the open slot that is assigned randomly when the Shellback is hired then stays fixed as long as the Crew member lives. But that seems weird, and possibly the answer is only intended to answer narrowly what the question asks, and only refers to the Indelible Traits. But if so, that instead raises another question: if a Shellback would encounter an effect that says to gain a Positive Trait, would that mean they discard their non-Indelible Negative Trait so they can put the new Trait there?)