PIRATE BORG: These Bloody Sails

Almost there! We see the light at the end of the tunnel!
2 months ago – Tue, May 26, 2026 at 06:51:55 AM

Almost There!

We are almost done with Backerkit and we are putting in the order for proofs this week and then we get the fun of waiting to see if we screwed that up. Hopefully we get it right the first time.

Three things I want to mention today.

1. WE NEED YOU TO GO TO BACKERKIT

The Backerkit Survey is out (check your email) and we are almost there! 88% of you have completed it, which makes our lives a lot easier.  For those of you who have not, please get those done. 

You must complete the Backerkit Survey to receive your rewards. 

The Backerkit Survey was sent via email.

Due Date to complete is June 5th, 2026. 

On this day, we lock it down and (assuming proofs are looking good) start placing the physical order. 

You'll get your digital downloads pretty soon after (hours at most), and remember, the survey is your last chance to add items to your pledge! And we have added some good stuff to the add on section, such as a...

2. BRAND NEW PIRATE BORG COMPATIBLE PROJECT

While Josh has been busting his butt on layout, I reached out to two good friends and great writers, John Baltisberger (hey that's our editor) and Steven Hamilton and tasked them with helping me make a PDF of new Pirate Borg Mini Adventures. We call the project A Few Quick Stops Along the Way. We are super happy to see over 200 of you have nabbed it and we hope it lives up to expectations for great Pirate Borg content.

3. AMAZING WORK ON HELPING SUPPORT JOHN

Our good friend and editor John Baltisberger lost his job a few months back, laid off due to AI bullsh*t. We are not fans of AI here at This Effin' GM Games and we are also not fans of our friends and colleagues going through hard times. To this effect, we worked with John and put together two bundles on Backerkit of work John has done, with all proceeds going to John. 

The response has been incredible. So far, you all have managed to raise over $700 for him and his family and we just want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You all are amazing. 

Ok! That's it. 

Have a great day and we will catch you all soon

OH WAIT ONE MORE THING

A few people have asked about when the edits from the typo tracker will be available in the PDF. Soon! We are gathering as many as we can and then planning on hitting it hard in one big swoop. We figured that would be better than sending out a new pdf for every edit we make. Before the end of this run (and before final copies are ordered from the printers) you will be receiving an updated PDF with all the fixes in. 

Thank you so much to those who have given their time to help us make this the best Zine we possibly can make. 

Ok, NOW I am signing off.

-Will "This Effin' GM" Tramp

What a Response!
3 months ago – Mon, May 18, 2026 at 09:17:51 AM

What a response!

1. BACKERKIT SURVEYS ARE OUT NOW

The Backerkit survey is out and WOW, what a response! 75% of you have completed it, which makes our lives a lot easier.  For those of you who have not, please get those done. 

You must complete the Backerkit survey to receive your rewards. Due Date to complete is June 5th, 2026. On this day, we lock it down and start placing the physical order. 

You'll get your digital downloads pretty soon after, and remember, the survey is your last chance to add items to your pledge! And we have added some good stuff to the add on section, such as a...

2. BRAND NEW PIRATE BORG COMPATIBLE PROJECT

While Josh has been busting his butt on layout, I reached out to two good friends and great writers, John Baltisberger (hey that's our editor) and Steven Hamilton and tasked them with helping me make a PDF of new Pirate Borg Mini Adventures. We call the project A Few Quick Stops Along the Way. We are super happy to see over 200 of you have nabbed it and we hope it lives up to expectations for great Pirate Borg content.

3. HELP US! THERE MAY BE TYPOS

Josh and I went over and over and over the PDF and we THOUGHT we got all of the typos. Boy were we wrong. A few of you helped us out immensely by submitting a fair amount and we are extremely thankful for your efforts. In fact, one of you thought I would hate you. 

Oh no. 

No. 

I love you. 

You are helping us to make the best product we can. 

After you get your PDFs, if you have the inclination, please check them out for typos, grammatical errors, layout issues, etc., and please notify us through the Typo Tracker by Friday, May 29th. But don't sweat it if that's not your thing. 

Not long now. 

Will "This Effin' GM" Tramp

☠️We thought about it and....Backerkit surveys are coming now. ☠️
3 months ago – Fri, May 15, 2026 at 12:23:11 PM

We thought about it and...

1. BACKERKIT SURVEYS ARE COMING NOW

I got impatient. I want you to start getting access to the PDFs sooner (and I want to see if problems arise). So today, minutes after this update, we will send the Backerkit survey. 

You must complete the Backerkit survey to receive your rewards. Due Date to complete is June 5th, 2026. On this day, we lock it down and start placing the physical order. 

You'll get your digital downloads pretty soon after**, and remember, the survey is your last chance to add items to your pledge! And we have added some good stuff to the add on section, such as a...

**(in a previous update, I said Immediately. I didn't understand I have to manually click the button to send digital downloads, my bad. I plan on clicking that button once a day)

2. BRAND NEW PIRATE BORG COMPATIBLE PROJECT

While Josh has been busting his butt on layout, I reached out to two good friends and great writers, John Baltisberger (hey that's our editor) and Steven Hamilton and tasked them with helping me make a PDF of new Pirate Borg Mini Adventures. We call the project A Few Quick Stops Along the Way. We hope you check it out!

3. HELP US! THERE MAY BE TYPOS

Josh and I went over and over and over the PDF and we THINK we got all of the typos. But after you get your PDFs, if you have the inclination, please check them out for typos, grammatical errors, layout issues, etc., and please notify us through the Typo Tracker by Friday, May 29th. But don't sweat it if that's not your thing. 

Let's freaking go.

Will "This Effin' GM" Tramp

Hey Captain! Something's Approaching, and Fast! 🦩 (This is about Backerkit)
3 months ago – Thu, May 14, 2026 at 05:35:35 AM

Hey everybody! You aren't going to believe this but....

1. WE HAVE THE FINISHED PDF!

It's done, ya'll. Josh did amazing work and then he and I have made multiple editing passes, and we are ready to go. 

2. BACKER KIT SURVEYS ARE COMING SOON

Today, we send the Backerkit survey "smoke test". If we get through that with no errors popping up, we're sending it to everyone Saturday! You must complete the Backerkit survey to receive your rewards. You'll get your digital downloads immediately, and remember, the survey is your last chance to add items to your pledge! And we have added some good stuff to the add on section, such as a...

3. BRAND NEW PIRATE BORG COMPATIBLE PROJECT

While Josh has been busting his butt on layout, I reached out to two good friends and great writers, John Baltisberger (hey that's our editor) and Steven Hamilton and tasked them with helping me make a PDF of new Pirate Borg Mini Adventures. We call the project A Few Quick Stops Along the Way. We hope you check it out!

4. HELP US! THERE MAY BE TYPOS

Josh and I went over and over and over the PDF and we THINK we got all of the typos. But after you get your PDFs, if you have the inclination, please check them out for typos, grammatical errors, layout issues, etc., and please notify us through the Typo Tracker by Friday, May 29th. But don't sweat it if that's not your thing. 

...And that's all for now :)

We aim to send all files to the printer by the end of this month. Then it will take a month or two to produce and ship all the physical rewards, but we're on track and feeling good! Thank you for bringing this project to life and remember to look out for your survey!

- William "This Effin' GM" Tramp

We are just about there, you all.
3 months ago – Tue, Apr 28, 2026 at 07:59:52 AM

Good morning everyone! 

Getting to the Finish Line

Time for another update on the progress of These Bloody Sails. The book is currently most of the way through layout. It turns out a 52-page book is an ENDEAVOR, but Josh is still going strong. I have some more spreads to show you, and the plan is to have the PDF ready end of May. That is still within our original timeline, so I am feeling pretty good about that, especially since this is the first project I have tried kickstarting on my own. The spreads are in rough draft form, but overall, we are just needing to make minor tweaks here and there.

Damn Josh is so talented.

Additions to the Book

So, it turns out we had a few pages we needed to fill, so you all are going to get a treat. Added into the book will now be NEW SHIP UPGRADE ITEMS, NEW SHIP BASED RELICS, and NEW CREW ACTIONS FOR SHIP COMBAT. We are also adding a Random Village Generator (turns out I needed this at my table a lot) and a Random Pirate Crew Generator (composed of the NPCs who were play tested in the process of designing this book).

I have run this module about 8+ times now since the Kickstarter launch at various conventions and through my home game, and I have learned that when the table grows, the number of times crews use the Something Else option grows. So, I figured it may be useful to add more options to the game and have written out rules for Taunting (almost every table mooned another ship which is chef's kiss) and Intimidating (Finally, a Toughness option for ship combat). 

As for the items and relics, I think the fact that this module grants tools for long term ship sailing means that the group may want more options to customize their mobile base. So, get prepared for mechanical pumps, extra hammocks, tentacle cannons, and mysterious cookpots (AND MORE).

New Add-On for Backerkit: A Few Quick Stops Along the Way

After working on the mini adventures for These Bloody Sails, the ideas just kept pouring in for other locations to challenge and delight your pirates. This, combined with the enthusiasm for writing Pirate Borg goodness shared with a few of my designer friends, led me to create a new product called A Few Quick Stops Along the Way.

This new product includes Four Mini Adventures for Pirate Borg, Brought to you by John Baltisberger, Steven Hamilton, and William Tramp.

Within this 10-page pdf you will find:

The Village Chorus: A strange fishing village with a catchy tune invites you to sing along.

A Deserving Death: An African god charges the pirates with a task: Bring him the head of a notorious press ganger.

Belly of the Beast: Your ship has been swallowed; how do you get out?

Hoist the Colors: A Lovecraftian object has landed in a pirate hideout and things are getting weird.

The adventures in A Few Quick Stops Along the Way are designed to be used as extra locations for the tables in These Bloody Sails but can also be used as drop in adventures for your other Pirate Borg games. It will be available as PDF only for $4 on Backerkit, $5 when it hits Drivethru RPG.

Oh yeah, we have a backerkit.

Shameless Shadowdark Self-Promotion

Did you know I also write Shadowdark projects? I have started an initiative where, at least for the near future, I am releasing an adventure a month for the Shadowdark TTRPG on Drivethru RPG. If you are interested in that rad game, you might enjoy some reasonably priced mini adventures.

First, we have Oh, Rats!

Folk are getting sick in the river front district of the big city. Investigation leads adventurers to determine that the cause of the debilitating ailment is a portion of the river being purposefully polluted. Someone needs to delve into the sewers beneath the district and take out the culprits once and for all before things get any worse.

Oh, Rats! is a Shadowdark adventure for levels 1-2

Next, we have The Rising Star

The Rising Star is an ancient structure nestled in the Azure Mountains, dedicated to the world’s first goddess of art. This location once served as a performance hall for petitioners of the goddess in her aspect as a patron of song and creativity. After her death at the hands of a powerful archmage over a millennium ago, the performance hall was abandoned and fell into ruin.

It is rumored that an aspect of the goddess still lingers near the main stage, having grown vengeful and sullen from her destruction. Would-be virtuosos have tried to gain the goddess’s favor by performing on the stage over the centuries, but those who displease her are doomed to forever lose their creativity. It is said that no one has managed to please her yet.

The Rising Star is a Shadowdark adventure for levels 3-5

Thats all for now

We are nearing the finish line everyone. I cannot wait to get this in your hands.

-Will "This Effin' GM" Tramp