For the first installment, I will be using two characters from the 1935 film Captain Blood (directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini). This film is notable for showcasing one of the first great fencing scenes in the history of swashbuckling film. It was performed by Errol Flynn (as Captain Blood) and Basil Rathbone (as Levasseur), who were both superior swordsmen as well as actors.
The duel occurs on a beach. Honor and innocent lives are at stake. Blood and Levasseur have had an uneasy alliance as the two most renowned pirate captains in the Caribbean, but they are allies no longer and only one will leave the beach alive.
The following character interpretations were created using the rules of All for Me Grog, the pirate role-playing game by Ryan Shelton (available in PDF and print).
- Dr. Peter Blood a.k.a. Captain Blood
- Attributes
- Bloode: 3
- Skull: 4
- Grog: 2
- Salt: 9
- Vocations
- Captain: 4
- Doctor: 3
- Swordsman: 5
- Pistoleer: 3
- Embellishments
- Doctor's Bag: 2
- Splendid Hat: 1
- Concept
- An Irish doctor with past experience as a mercenary, he was wrongfully accused of treason and sent to Jamaica to be sold into slavery. After escaping, he embarked on a new career as a pirate.
- (Portrayed in the movie Captain Blood by Errol Flynn.)
- Levasseur
- Attributes
- Bloode: 3
- Skull: 2
- Grog: 4
- Salt: 9
- Vocations
- Captain: 4
- Swordsman: 4
- Pistoleer: 3
- Pirate: 3
- Rake: 1
- Embellishments
- Unknown: 3
- Concept
- A proud French buccaneer and captain of his own pirate ship, he was formerly an ally of Captain Blood.
- (Portrayed in the movie Captain Blood by Basil Rathbone.)
Hi, just a minor point regarding your assessment of Errol Flynn. I agree he was a great actor, and love his pictures. But he was, alas, not a great swordsman. His pairing with Basil Rathbone is what saved that duel (and their even more famous duel in the Adventures of Robin Hood). Rathbone was easily the best swordsmen of Hollywood's golden age (and perhaps of all time), and was able to sell sword fights against lesser swordsmen... even though alas he was fated to loose them all. When he met someone close to his match (say Tyrone Powers in the Mark of Zorro), you get something truly magical.
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