// THE PREMISE
What this world is
The Saltspine Reach is a sun-blasted archipelago of a thousand islands where three empires' trade routes tangle and the law ends at the last lighthouse. For a generation it has been a pirate haven, the free port of Hollowport a riot of plunder, rum, and bad debts beyond the reach of any crown. You arrive with a berth on a ship and a name yet to be feared, and a choice about what kind of life to carve out of these waters - honest trade, bloody raiding, treasure-hunting, or the slow climb to a captaincy and a flag of your own.
This is a true sailing sandbox: a ship to command, a crew to keep loyal and fed, weather and reefs and rival sails on the horizon, ports to plunder or trade, and treasure that must be found, not granted. The sea does not care about you. The Round Table Conclave of pirate captains rules Hollowport by a code that is fraying. Director Elias Vane's Saltspine Company would rather buy the islands than fight for them, and pays pirates and navy alike when it suits him. Commodore Alaric Vash and the King's Reach Fleet have burned three pirate harbours already and mean the Reach to be the fourth. Mama Adaeze's Maroon Council guards the hidden inner channels no chart shows. And the Drowned Men, a fatalistic cult who worship a thing in the deep, sail waters where ships simply vanish.
The free Reach is dying - the Navy is closing in, the Company is buying captains out, the captains are fracturing, and the rumour of a sunken flagship's royal gold has set every faction racing for the fog-bound wreck-graveyard called the Boneyard. You sail into the middle of it, free to plunder, trade, hunt the treasure, or rise from a forecastle hand to a captain with a vote at the Round Table.
// PLAY PROFILE
What this world plays like
Begin with a berth and a decision about your first voyage. Honest cargo, a vulnerable prize, or a rumour traded over drinks in Hollowport could give you a reason to put to sea. Learn who your crewmates trust before asking them to risk their lives for you.
The Boneyard's lost gold offers a longer pursuit. You might seek Director Vane's charts, bargain for Mama Adaeze's hidden channels, or look for allies among the Round Table captains while Commodore Vash closes the sea lanes. A share of treasure can be harder to agree on than a heading.
Work toward a captaincy, defend the free Reach, or make your living between the factions. A flag of your own is an ambition worth testing against the people who must sail beneath it.
// FACTIONS IN MOTION
Principal factions
A vast mercantile enterprise granted a royal charter to exploit the riches of the Reach. The Company values profit above all else, using its private army and influence with the Crown to enforce contracts, protect its convoys, and expand its network of plantations. They view pirates as an unfortunate cost of business and the Maroons as obstacles to be cleared.
The ruling council of pirate captains who operate out of Hollowport, led by the elected Pirate Lord. While each captain is a king on their own vessel, the Conclave enforces the Pirate Code, settles disputes, and organizes large-scale raids. Their existence is a direct challenge to Crown and Company authority, built on plunder and a fierce, chaotic interpretation of freedom.
The assembly of elders representing the free communities hidden within the jungle interiors of the Reach. They are the descendants of escaped slaves and indigenous islanders, fiercely guarding their independence and deep knowledge of the land. They seek only to be left alone, but will fight ruthlessly to defend their homes from encroachment.
The arm of the Crown's authority in the Saltspine Reach, tasked with eradicating piracy and protecting Company assets. Operating under the rigid dogma of the Adjudicator, the Fleet's officers believe they are bringing divine order to a lawless land. Their methods are brutal, their justice swift, and their ultimate goal is the gallows at Port Royal.
A fatalistic cult of shipwrecked sailors and outcasts who worship the 'Deep Murmur,' a colossal creature sleeping beneath the Boneyard. They believe its awakening will cleanse the Reach and see the increasing conflict as a sign of its imminent return. They sabotage salvage operations and attempt to lure ships to their doom as offerings to their slumbering god.
// KEY FIGURES
People you'll meet
// SITES OF RECORD
Places that matter
A sprawling cluster of islands and cays at the heart of the Reach, defined by turquoise waters and white-sand beaches. This is the nexus of pirate activity, where the law is what a captain says it is and fortune favors the bold.
A chain of large, fertile islands to the east, tamed by the Saltspine Company. Vast fields of sugar cane and indigo stretch across rolling plains, worked by indentured labor under the watchful eyes of Company overseers.
The dense, mountainous, and largely unexplored western islands, covered in thick jungle and riddled with hidden coves and freshwater rivers. The canopy is so thick that the forest floor is in perpetual twilight, and the channels between islands are narrow and treacherous.
A desolate cluster of high, barren rock spires in the stormy northern quadrant, perpetually shrouded in a cold, unnatural fog. The sea here is a graveyard of ships, their broken hulls snagged on unseen reefs or jutting from the waves like skeletal fingers. The air is unnaturally cold.
// STORY PASSAGE
A passage from the published profile
Director Vane does not rise from his chair on the Company veranda. "I pay the Navy to hang pirates and I pay pirates to sink the Navy, and I profit either way," he says, pouring two glasses you did not ask for. "What I am offering you is the third option. The charts to the Boneyard. For a price you will not like, and a loyalty you will like less."
Out in the harbour, Commodore Vash's frigate sits at anchor, and somewhere a Round Table captain is already asking whose coin you took.
Selected story passage. Your choices can lead elsewhere.
BEFORE YOU ENTER
Choose a first decision
Start with a person you want to meet, a place you want to see, or a problem you want to understand. You make choices through written actions and read the Narrator's response. The people and places above introduce this world; they do not promise a fixed sequence of scenes.
Completed turns save to your account. Review the latest scene and the relevant in-game information when returning. Check current access and Spark allowances before a longer session, and use the player guide for help with saves, artwork, possessions, and other supported features.
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