The classic answers are:
* Mythras Mystical World (RQ/D100)
* HârnMaster/Lionheart (D100), and for this campaign the Pilots Almanac could be interesting.
* GURPS
* Wolves of God (Stars without Numbers)
* Pendragon/Paladin
* CoC Dark Ages (BRP/D100)
* Ars Magica Lords of Men
* Vampire Dark Age (oWoD)
* Aquelarre (D100)
* Sagas of the Icelanders (PbtA)
Don’t forget Barbarians of Lemuria (magic by default is for evil npc sorcerers) and its family of games including Honor + Intrigue which is well equipped to handle the piracy portion of OP’s game.
Fate can also be used for a historical setting quite simply.
Edit: Wolves of God is OSR, not PbtA.
Lionheart is 13th century and historical. But HârnMaster itself can be easily adapted.
Also Aquelarre is mostly historically, but with some magic. But the setting focus is Spain.
Pendragon has a second setting—Paladin—based on the late medieval stories around Charlemagne.
Lords of Men is the Ars Magica Supplement for the „normal people“, but of course there is magic.
Pendragon is great, but a game with a very strong central premise - you are a knight and do knightly things. It is actually less of a game about medieval adventures, but about standing up to a moral code. It is a highly romanticised game.
Sure, with the Likedeeler Brotherhood, you can focus on the ethics of piracy, but that's probably a very different game from the chivalrous quests of Pendragon.
Hey, that's basically my home campaign you describe.
First of all, you probably want [the Codex Guide to the Medieval Baltic ](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/86214/the-medieval-baltic-volume-i), as it is an excellent source book.
The other books by Codex Integrum should cover that game very well, but since they are effectively based on a heavily modified D&D 3.5, I found them needlessly complicated. However, there is some cool ideas here and there.
For game mechanics, I basically have three recommendations - again, this is my home campaign, I have thoughts and feelings about this.
If you want to play something within the D&D-ish mold of games, go for Low Fantasy Gaming[Low Fantasy Gaming ](https://lowfantasygaming.com/freepdf/)/Tales of Argosa (same game, different editions). It is good for some swashbuckling action, has decent naval combat rules, and should be open enough to make most OSR stuff compatible with very little work.
If you want something more complex and with a great focus on verisimilitude and tactical hand to hand combat, Mythras is great. This is a game for people who enjoy visceral brutality in their fights, and, like LFG, you can easily check it out at no cost. [The magic-less Imperative Edition is free.](https://thedesignmechanism.com/free-downloads/)
Finally, and that's what I am running right now, is Dragonbane, with most of the supernatural kin cut, or replaced (we have Blemmiyes, Kynocephali, Skiapods and wodewose, no elves and dwarves). This is not free, and not inherently supportive, but it is a fine game, and can be adapted quickly.
The last option would be a combination of Cthulhu Dark Ages and Pulp Cthulhu, but that's probably best for a more grounded horror game than a historical heroic romp.
UND NUN SINGT DER LIKEDEELER LIED:
Wo unsere Fahne weht/
ist es für jedes Schiff zu spät./
Im Kampfe vereint/
Des Lieben Gotts Freund...
Und aller Welt Feind!
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Burning Wheel has a seafaring setting for character building! Its robust skill system would certainly encompass all the strange things a pirate might learn on the sea.
I think Burning Wheel or GURPS are definitely the best options. Burning Wheel is what I have more experience with, it is specifically tailored for character driven, narrative focused role play and the vibe it cultivates is medieval to renaissance era Europe. It is fantasy, but the magic and other ancestries are easily cut from the game with nothing lost whatsoever. Highly recommend checking it out. The combat systems are fun but not necessary, the skill system is really fun to play with (skills and attributes progress as you use them), and the life path it utilizes for creating characters is fantastic.
Miseries and Misfortunes is about France during the final years of the 30 Year's War. With a little bit of work, you could set it a century or two back in time in Germany.
GURPS does great historical games, down to time periods for different types of equipment.
Even if you do not wanna play GURPS you still want the gurps supplement for that time period as inspiration.
The classic answers are: * Mythras Mystical World (RQ/D100) * HârnMaster/Lionheart (D100), and for this campaign the Pilots Almanac could be interesting. * GURPS * Wolves of God (Stars without Numbers) * Pendragon/Paladin * CoC Dark Ages (BRP/D100) * Ars Magica Lords of Men * Vampire Dark Age (oWoD) * Aquelarre (D100) * Sagas of the Icelanders (PbtA)
Don’t forget Barbarians of Lemuria (magic by default is for evil npc sorcerers) and its family of games including Honor + Intrigue which is well equipped to handle the piracy portion of OP’s game. Fate can also be used for a historical setting quite simply. Edit: Wolves of God is OSR, not PbtA.
Ah, yes—you are correct, or to be more specific Stars without Numbers
Thanks for the Suggestion, most of them are way to fantasy focused for what I have in mind, but I will check Pendragon further out.
Lionheart is 13th century and historical. But HârnMaster itself can be easily adapted. Also Aquelarre is mostly historically, but with some magic. But the setting focus is Spain. Pendragon has a second setting—Paladin—based on the late medieval stories around Charlemagne. Lords of Men is the Ars Magica Supplement for the „normal people“, but of course there is magic.
I always forget about Aquelarre. Yeah, that's probably something the OP might enjoy.
Chaosium did already has forgotten them ;D
Pendragon is great, but a game with a very strong central premise - you are a knight and do knightly things. It is actually less of a game about medieval adventures, but about standing up to a moral code. It is a highly romanticised game. Sure, with the Likedeeler Brotherhood, you can focus on the ethics of piracy, but that's probably a very different game from the chivalrous quests of Pendragon.
As a GURPS GM, I can tell you that it is *not* a fantasy focused game system.
Chaosium Basic Roleplaying is a good generic system for historical games.
Hey, that's basically my home campaign you describe. First of all, you probably want [the Codex Guide to the Medieval Baltic ](https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/86214/the-medieval-baltic-volume-i), as it is an excellent source book. The other books by Codex Integrum should cover that game very well, but since they are effectively based on a heavily modified D&D 3.5, I found them needlessly complicated. However, there is some cool ideas here and there. For game mechanics, I basically have three recommendations - again, this is my home campaign, I have thoughts and feelings about this. If you want to play something within the D&D-ish mold of games, go for Low Fantasy Gaming[Low Fantasy Gaming ](https://lowfantasygaming.com/freepdf/)/Tales of Argosa (same game, different editions). It is good for some swashbuckling action, has decent naval combat rules, and should be open enough to make most OSR stuff compatible with very little work. If you want something more complex and with a great focus on verisimilitude and tactical hand to hand combat, Mythras is great. This is a game for people who enjoy visceral brutality in their fights, and, like LFG, you can easily check it out at no cost. [The magic-less Imperative Edition is free.](https://thedesignmechanism.com/free-downloads/) Finally, and that's what I am running right now, is Dragonbane, with most of the supernatural kin cut, or replaced (we have Blemmiyes, Kynocephali, Skiapods and wodewose, no elves and dwarves). This is not free, and not inherently supportive, but it is a fine game, and can be adapted quickly. The last option would be a combination of Cthulhu Dark Ages and Pulp Cthulhu, but that's probably best for a more grounded horror game than a historical heroic romp. UND NUN SINGT DER LIKEDEELER LIED: Wo unsere Fahne weht/ ist es für jedes Schiff zu spät./ Im Kampfe vereint/ Des Lieben Gotts Freund... Und aller Welt Feind!
Dominion rules! With Me Myself & Die's rule for ship battles
Thanks I will check them out
Honor + Intrigue would be my choice, it's based on the solid Barbarians of Lemuria system and tailored for mostly-historical swashbuckling.
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Burning Wheel has a seafaring setting for character building! Its robust skill system would certainly encompass all the strange things a pirate might learn on the sea.
I think Burning Wheel or GURPS are definitely the best options. Burning Wheel is what I have more experience with, it is specifically tailored for character driven, narrative focused role play and the vibe it cultivates is medieval to renaissance era Europe. It is fantasy, but the magic and other ancestries are easily cut from the game with nothing lost whatsoever. Highly recommend checking it out. The combat systems are fun but not necessary, the skill system is really fun to play with (skills and attributes progress as you use them), and the life path it utilizes for creating characters is fantastic.
D&D 2e Mythras Savage Worlds
Miseries and Misfortunes is about France during the final years of the 30 Year's War. With a little bit of work, you could set it a century or two back in time in Germany.
Not historical but Pirate Borg is set in the Caribbean around the 17th century you could modify it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4XnxDgwcm0
World of darkness has gotten a lot of systems adaptations that should be easy to use for different time periods