Review: The Cabin Boy's Pocket Pirate Hand Book

I like PDFs a lot. I know not everyone does, in part because there's something to be said for a hard copy of a text that you can hold in your hand. The way I see it, though, one can always print copies of them. (I have a binder containing all seven issues of Buccaneers & Bokor, for example, because I refer to them  frequently.) One of the reasons I like them so much is because they help to make publishing more accessible for RPG materials that fit into a smaller niche, publications that might not be viable in print but that can be shared around the world because they're electronic. This ties into one of the main reasons why I liked 3rd Edition/D20/OGL so much, because it helped to support different styles of play in the game.

Periodically I visit RPGNow's website and run a search for the term pirate, just to see what new items are available. One item that I've been seeing for a few years now is The Cabin Boy's Pocket Pirate Hand Book, from Healing Fireball Publications. Up until today I never purchased a copy, but now I wish I would've done so years ago. It's a sweet little PDF with a lot of information packed into it:

• A pirate glossary
• Types of ships
• Various knots
• Different flags
• Sample ships' articles
• Types of weapons
• Recipes

This is historical information, not tied to any ruleset. It provides a good overview of life aboard a ship, a great accessory to give players at the start of a campaign.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/54811/The-Cabin-Boy%27s-Pocket-Pirate-Handbook

-Nate