Ahoy! Our Flag Means Kiss is a GM-less, queer pirate TTRPG for 1-4 players that uses the Caltrop Core system. It's a love letter to pirate cinema and love-sick queers everywhere! Now updated with new art and new character options!
The sun sinks on the horizon. The sea is calm for now, the waves gentle as they rock the ship moored off the abandoned island. The world seems to hold its breath, watching the pair on the foredeck.
"But Bethermy, we can't be together!" The short one says, hands pressed firmly against the other's chest, fingers tangled in the chest hair visible through their deeply cut neckline.
"I don't care what they say Jimabeth, no curse or prophesy can keep us apart anymore!" The taller one says, hair billowing in the sea air. At that moment, the Cursed Amulet of the Prophesy pulsed in their grip, the haunting pale gold glinting in the red glow of the setting sun.
"Uh-oh." says Bethermy.
"Uh-oh." says Jimabeth.
"Squawk!" says the seagull, unimpressed but nearby.
With a flash of devilish light from the Cursed Amulet of the Prophesy, a wave of dark energy roared out from the couple, turning the entire crew into zombies!
"This discussion will have to wait." Jimabeth says, drawing their rapier and rushing toward the oncoming horde.
"I'll always wait for you." Bethermy says softly, almost to themselves. Then they draw their greataxe.
As a deadly melee breaks out on the deck, the seagull watches with a malicious glint in its eyes. The plan was coming together at long last. Soon, the seagull will have the Cursed Amulet of the Prophesy for itself and will become the next great pirate lord, the Dread Lord Tim!
Drama! Romance! Sword-fighting sequences! Daring escapes! Devoted lovers and spurned rivals galore! All of this awaits you in Our Flag Means Kiss! Our Flag Means Kiss is a queer pirate TTRPG about love on the high seas. It is a GM-less game for 1 to 4 players and is unapologetically queer, chaotic, and overdramatic. This game is a love letter to the pirate cinema that inspired it, from Our Flag Means Death, to Pirates of the Caribbean, to Muppet Treasure Island. It runs on the Caltrop Core system for fast and easy gameplay that is easy to pick up and play!
Drawing of a trans merman on a rock in the sea, calling out to passing ships.
Sail the High Seas!
Every crew needs a vessel and in Our Flag Means Kiss, you build a ship together! You name your boat, determine its appearance, condition, and reputation. You even have a crew motto! But of course, what is a ship without a custom flag? You will take turns adding elements to the flag to create your own, one-of-a-kind, pirate flag!
Who will you be?
You have the chance to create your own bespoke pirate, choosing or rolling for various qualities like their role on the ship, the hat they wear, and their starting point of their perilous love life.
They have Features that augment their stats, running the gambit from Dressed in Leather to Empathetic to Wise-Cracking. Each pirate also has a Goal that augments their stats further, providing your pirate the motivation they need to sail the seas.
Each pirate is unique and leaves plenty of room for you to bring your imagination and fantastical thinking to the page!
Where's the GM?
In this game, all the players get the chance to be at the helm of the story! What that means is that when one player is deciding their action and making rolls, the other people at the table get to “GM”-- this could mean acting as someone’s love interest, coming up with new twists when something goes awry, or delivering a devastating villain monologue. Even then, they are working in collaboration with the person who is making the rolls. Whenever you are setting up a Situation or a Scene, everyone will get a chance to contribute. Think of GMing as less of a role and more of a conversation, a flow of perspective shifting between everyone at the table.
Chaos and Shenanigans Await!
In Our Flag Means Kiss, every action has a risk-- success is always possible, but so is a Complication. Complications can twist and turn the story in wild ways, keeping everyone on their toes! Ghost ships? Aggressive seagulls? Werewolves? Murder mystery? Talent show? Anything could happen! Make your way through the cinematic Scenes that play out before you and maybe there is a happily-ever-after waiting for you during the credits. Or at least, a touching montage.
The goals of any game of Our Flag Means Kiss is as follows:
Find love.
Collect booty.
Don’t die.
Tell a cool story.
Have fun!
Our Flag Means Kiss uses d4's and d6's. You will roll dice to resolve Actions. Success will grant you Booty Dice that you will roll at the end of the Scene-- failures could result in lost health and Complications. The more Booty Dice you have, the more likely you are to get Treasure at the end of the Scene. Once someone collects enough Treasure, the game ends and you collectively narrate the closing out of your movie-like adventure.
Symbols of a red heart, a red diamond, a black spade, and a black club.
Materials
To play, all you need are the following:
Standard deck of cards;
Some d4 dice for the table or for each player (about 2-3 each) or a way to roll multiple dice virtually;
A handful of d6 dice for the table or for each player (about 4-6 each) or a way to roll multiple dice virtually;
Some way of taking notes (e.g. pen and paper, word document);
One Ship Sheet;
One Consent Sheet for each player (or similar check-in system);
One Pirate Sheet for each player;
A sense of fun, romance, and adventure!
Updated Rules
The rules have been given a refresh and new character options have been added as well! The updates include:
Clarified rules and explanations;
Characters assisting in another character's roles;
More Feature options for character creation;
Added a new Goals section for character creation;
Updated the Success table mechanics;
Caltrop Core
This work is based on Caltrop Core, published by Titanomachy RPG. The Caltrop Core SRD is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. For more information, check out this link.
Banner reading "Stretch Goals"
There are some neat stretch goals on the horizon! If you want even MORE zines and sweet goodies, help us unlock them all!
$1,000 - Project Funded (Yipee!)
Woo-hoo!
$1,200 - Print & Play Upgrade (Digital Stretch Goal)
Let us know what you think! We're always looking for reviews, kind words, or actual plays. Please email Stevie at [email protected] if you would like to reach out.
Banner reading "Timeline"
We're hoping for a quick timeline for printing everything, as we are using a local printer and the product can be sent right after the campaign ends. I'm giving myself some extra time to print and mail physical rewards-- the timeline might be shorter depending on how fast the turn-around is! You will be updated every step of the way.
Banner reading "Shipping"
Shipping for physical items is available for recipients in the United States only. We apologize for any inconvenience. If more physical rewards are unlocked through Stretch Goals, the shipping estimates will be updated accordingly. Shipping fees will be collected post-campaign in Pledge Manager.
These prices are estimates. The shipping price might increase if there are more copies of the zine or accessories included.
Shipping estimates for each pledge tier that includes a physical component are listed below:
Banner reading "About the Crew!"
Polaroid picture frame with a picture of Stevie inside.
Steven (Stevie) Edwards is a polyamorous queer trans man based in Worcester, Massachusetts with a deep love for the camp and strange. He is the creator behind Our Flag Means Kiss and Gigglebutch Games. He has entirely too many hobbies, including but not limited to: TTRPGs, Magic: The Gathering, comics and zines, renaissance fairs, cats, video games, and miniatures.
Stevie and Kai have been together for six years and live with their third partner, Frankie.
Polaroid picture frame with a cartoon drawing of Kai sitting on a toilet reading.
Kai Kiser is a writer, artist, and nonprofit professional living in Worcester, Massachusetts with their partners and far too many cats. Kai did all of the original art for Our Flag Means Kiss!
Polaroid picture frame with a picture of a muted tortoiseshell cat sitting inside a box.
💥 Zinetopia 2026
This project is participating in Zinetopia! A Small-format TTRPG event celebrating Zine Month running February 2–27, 2026.
📖 What is Zine Month? Zine Month is a month-long online celebration observed every February by the tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) community where creators share and launch new DIY zines.
🔥 Unlock the Limited Zinetopia Freebie! Receive the limited edition Zinetopia 2026 Group Zine when you back 5+ projects featuring 60+ pages from participating creators full of mini-games, sketches, activity pages, and more!
