Yes?

What is this?

This is the Buccaneer Bass, a web site dedicated to the . Iron Kingdoms (IK) . a . d20 . roleplay setting created by . Privateer Press (PP).. Although you should note that we're purely fan-based and in no way affiliated with the good peeps that make the game we play. So this site is only mildly endorsed by them, if anything at all.

I first thought the Buccaneer bass was an Inn in Corvis, and not a site?

Well, technically, you're right. But we're right too. The Bass is both, you see. We could have named our stuff more clearly, but then again... we've got this thing for complexity...

Could you cut the chit chat, and confess what's cooking?

Well, the . Buccaneer Bass Inn . is a hot place to cool down in Corvis, and represents our safe haven in the world of the Iron Kingdoms. It's got a continuing life of its own, with its own bookkeeping, crew, regulars, festivities, small talk and big issues. It's manned by a few . good folk . who've retired from adventuring or settled down in a way or another, and opened up their own little business to make a living. You know, the stuff characters do when they're full of stories and yearn for a life of their own (away from the whims of the people playing them).
At the same time, we'd like to open up our in-game headquarters to other people out there, looking for a setting with character to use in their own adventures. Steering clear from the generic, a penny a dozen Inns and Taverns a party tends to gather in when embarking on a new Quest.

So I get the Inn, but what about the site?

This web site is our means of giving something back to the roleplaying community. We're quite fond of the IK background, and given its recent birth, there's not a lot of material ready for use out there. Let alone a large established player base creating all kinds of aids and resources. Our enthusiasm was just too big to sit down and wait it out for someone else to set-up a fan site, and then start chiming in. We wanted to make a start and share what we had.

You're offering things for free then?

Yup. No Cost. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Niente. The Big O. Less than Nothing. Come-and-get-it. Take-it-if-you-wa...

Yeah, yeah, so what is it exactly you offer?

Well, apart from the Buccaneers Bass setting and the in-character Inn characters (oh, I crack me up), which are like ever evolving and free to the public, we're also uploading any and all things we've created for use in and out of our IK games. You could take a look at . Our Material . for a current state of affairs.

And I can simply clear out these pages and use all things I find here for my own games?

Sure, go ahead. That's exactly what it's for. You can either use the setting and resources exactly as offered here, or cut them up for your personal projects. Like reusing our art for characters you created yourself. As long as you credit us for our work (a simple mention of the "Buccanneer Bass" and a link to this site will suffice, thank you very much).
Any commercial use requires explicit permission first, though. Just contact us to work something out.

But there's an entire adventure in here?

Yup. That's what got us started. Not really a campaign, though. Just an introductory thing we've created to get people interested in the IK roleplaying game. But then we liked it so much that we started to augment it with a map, and pictures. And more background. And then we decided to go the last mile and put it into its proper form. Funny thing is, we even liked doing it, and then decided to spin-off a web site. Just so we could do more of it. Capiche?

You're nuts. Who are you, anyways?

As said, a couple of enthusiasts. There's Koen, graphic designer and initiator of this megalomaniac project. He's the one keeping us all focused and handles the communication and political issues that tend to emerge when you get an online presence. At least, that's what he tells us he does. What would we know? A master at delegation, as he sees himself, a master at avoiding actually doing the work he comes up with, as we think of him.
Second graphic designer is Steven, another apprentice of the analogue and digital brush. Between Koen and him, we've got ourselves the luxury of two officially sanctioned illustrators. Strange thing is: they even get along creatively, having played RPGs together since childhood.
Third in line is Ralph, suckered into having more RPG source books than you can shake a stick at. Whenever we feel like trying out a new system or setting, we start talking up what we've read about, and a few weeks later the aforementioned products start popping up at our weekly game night. He's our poor man's solution to having a computer for reference during a game session, knowing all rules for all systems by heart (only to mix them up occasionally, though). Ralph's tasked with the fiction department. Being an experienced DM, he's got quite a talent for weaving unusual twists and plotlines, still coming to a consistent whole in that final climax. Or not, if he's got one of those days...
Finally, there's me, Tom. As far as Koen is trying for all of us to stay in line, I'm attempting to keep us online. Next to the webmastering, I'd be writing for the site as well. And doing the final editing of everyone's texts, having the most experienced spell checker on our team.

Don't I know you guys from somewhere else?

Might very well be. We're all 4 involved in the . Golden Goblin . wargaming club as well. Got to play IKWM from time to time too, don't we? But the Buccaneer Bass is in no way officially related.

I'm a nutter too! Can I join?

You can't really volunteer to join, as in becoming a Buccaneer and coming to our weekly nights. Would be kind of impractical with all you guys living at all ends of the world, wouldn't it? And for the moment we're still moving into this new online space, trying to get things organised. So give us a sec here before you start requesting or offering stuff, ok?

Oh, I see. Another thing: what are all the abbreviations I see all over the place?

Right. Here's an alphabetical list of what may come up in these pages:

I've noticed these little red 'N's and yellow 'O's on some of your icons... ?

Do you mean this? That's an indicator to denote the "Netbooks" we're currently trying to complete. A Netbook project will result in a downloadable PDF when we've got enough content for it -- at which time we'll officially close and seal it.
The "O" is for "Ongoing", meaning this is about something living that'll just continue on and on (forever, or until we really get fed up with it), and stays permanently available in HTML format.
One of the above indicators features on every online resource project we're hosting here at the Bass site, indicating a temporary or permanent invitation to you to send in additions. Or a quick way for any DM to notice the sections that contain IK source material.

Last question for now: how come you guys have a Frequently Asked Questions already, when you've been up for only, what, a few days?

Smart ass. That's because I'm you, you see? Been imagining you all along as some first timer visiting us, and wondering what you'd ask. It's called role play, after all, isn't it?

TT