Sea of Thieves is such a sweet escape, in part because there are so many ways to immerse yourself in this pirate world.
One such immersive experience comes in the form of Tall Tales—delving into this world’s storied past. Those who embark upon these Tall Tales will find a wondrous world of puzzles, platforming, lore and more!
Each Tale tells a story and invites you to uncover its deeper mysteries along the way. Ah, but journeying into the world’s magic and history is not a quick trip.
What if you don’t have the time to sail through an entire Tall Tale before scuttling your ship? Worse, what if a foe scuttles your ship for you—absconding with an item needed to continue your Tale?
Aye, there was a time when such difficulties might have thwarted your efforts, but that time is at an end!
Raise your grog, me hearties! Tall Tales now have checkpoints!

What are Tall Tale checkpoints?
Each Tall Tale now has several defined checkpoints. These checkpoints save your progress in a Tall Tale.
Unlike some games in which a checkpoint might be an actual location in the game, these checkpoints represent a state of progress.
Examples might help clarify the types of progress these checkpoints will save.
Tall Tale Pages
Throughout your Tall Tale journeys, you’ll often gather additional pages to your Tall Tale book after you’ve completed a particular task.
Without checkpoints, if you left the seas before finishing your Tall Tale, you would need begin the Tall Tale and complete that task again to add those pages.
With checkpoints you can simply use your saved checkpoint, and those pages will appear in your Tall Tale book.

Tall Tale Treasures
You will find many curious and powerful treasures throughout your Tall Tale adventures—Ancient Chests, Totems, Gems, and more.
These treasures are much like any other treasure you find in the Sea of Thieves. They can sink beneath the waves. They can be stolen by other pirates.
Without checkpoints, if such a treasure were lost or stolen, you would need to start the Tall Tale over from the beginning. With checkpoints, you can use your saved checkpoint and those items will reappear on your voting table.

Tall Tale Equipment
Some items you find in Tall Tales are not like the physical treasures you can pick up and set down. Instead, these items are pieces of equipment, which remain on your pirate.
These include items such as spyglasses, compasses, and lanterns.
Happily, this means such items cannot be stolen or sink while out at sea. However, such items do disappear when you end your tale—prematurely or otherwise.
Without checkpoints, you would need to begin the Tall Tale again and find that item. With checkpoints, you can simply activate your checkpoint and see the item reappear in your Map Radial.

Tall Tale Destinations
Sometimes, you might need to travel to a destination—without retrieving any treasure or equipment—to see a story unfold.
The Seabound Soul provides an excellent example. In The Seabound Soul, you follow ghostly ships, watching their battle unfold.
If you knew your ultimate destination, you might be tempted to sail for it at the outset. That would be foolhardy. Each step of this tale is triggered only once you sail your ship to the previous battle destination.
Let’s pretend you’ve sailed to several destinations, but then you need to leave the seas for a bit.
Without checkpoints, you would need to begin the Tall Tale from the beginning and visit these destinations all over again to trigger the remainder of the Tall Tale.
With checkpoints, the Tall Tale will know where you have been and where you are going. As such, your next destination will be ready to receive you.

For example, in the Shroudbreaker Tall Tale, you receive new pages for your Tall Tale book after completing your first task: retrieving the Magpie’s Wing’s Ship’s Log. You also receive a Checkpoint.
In the Wild Rose Tall Tale, you also receive new pages for your Tall Tale book after completing your first task: finding the Chest of Memories. However, in this Tall Tale, this first act will not trigger a Checkpoint.
Never fear, we have a list of all Tall Tale Checkpoints at the end of this article. That way you’ll know when you can safely expect to earn one.
How do Tall Tale Checkpoints Work?
Now that you know what Tall Tale checkpoints do, we’ll answer some questions we think might come up about how these checkpoints operate.
How do I know if I’ve reached a Checkpoint?
Each checkpoint is marked with a small bit of fanfare. Similar to achieving a title or commendation, you’ll hear a little ditty and see your checkpoint notification appear on screen.

Where do I find Tall Tale Checkpoints?
If you reach a checkpoint, you will receive a Tall Tale voyage in your Quest Inventory.
Thus, if you’ve just returned to the seas, and you’re wondering if you have any Tall Tale checkpoints saved, you can always simply check your inventory.
Accessing your Quest Inventory is similar to how you would access your Voyage Inventory.
Press your menu button. At first, you might just see a bunch of fruit—or whatever else your pirate is holding. That is because the first screen is your resources.
At the top, you’ll see four tabs: Resources, Equipment, Reputation, and Quests. Tab over to Quests. There you will see the option to click on Voyages or Tall Tales.
Click on Tall Tales to see your saved checkpoints.


How do I use Tall Tale Checkpoints?
This is quite similar to beginning any voyage.
Go to your ship’s voting table. Instead of seeing the prompt, “Propose a Voyage,” you will now see a prompt that reads “Propose a Quest.” Follow that prompt. Select “Tall Tales.” Then, select Tall Tale and checkpoint you wish.
Then, just like any other quest or voyage, you’ll need to vote.
You might also notice a fun little detail added in this Checkpoint system. If a Tall Tale is begun via the Checkpoint system, the Tall Tale book will appear open on your voting table.
Can I go back to any Checkpoint I’ve saved along the way?
For each Tall Tale, there are multiple checkpoints. Let’s pretend you’ve hit checkpoints #1 and #2 for the Tale. The question presented here is, “Can you choose to return to checkpoint #1, instead of checkpoint #2?”
The answer is, “No.”
Reaching a new checkpoint in the Tall Tale will override and update the previous checkpoint with your latest progress. So, you will not have the option of going back to a previous checkpoint.
Do I have to use a Tall Tale Checkpoint?
No.
Put differently, “Can I start a Tall Tale over from the beginning, even if I have a checkpoint saved?” Yes.
Perhaps it’s been awhile and you want to remember the lore. Perhaps you’d like to start the story from the beginning with a friend. Whatever the reason, you can certainly choose to begin the Tall Tale again, rather than begin at your saved checkpoint.

Can I create multiple Checkpoints for the same Tall Tale?
Since you can opt to begin a Tall Tale from the beginning—even though you have a saved Checkpoint—this presents an interesting question.
Let’s pretend you have a Checkpoint saved in the Art of the Trickster for acquiring the Totem in the Trapmaker’s Lair. This means you’ve completed three out of four checkpoints for the Tale! You’re so close! Yet, a friend wants to begin the Tall Tale from the beginning.
Could you begin the Tall Tale from the beginning, complete it, and retain your saved checkpoint to use at a later date?
No.
Once you pass your saved checkpoint in the Tall Tale, your new checkpoint will override your saved checkpoint. This is true even if you did not begin your Tall Tale by using your saved checkpoint.
Maybe you can convince your friend to do other Tall Tales until you properly finish Trickster.

Can I begin from a Checkpoint with my Crew?
In other words, “If my crew has not yet reached that checkpoint, can I nevertheless vote to begin the Tall Tale from that checkpoint?”
Yes.
This is similar to when one person has unlocked a particular Tall Tale. That person can begin the Tall Tale for the crew, even if it would not otherwise be unlocked for the rest of the crew.
So—in the example from the question above—maybe your friend would be willing to tag along for the end of Trickster instead.

Can I Discard a Tall Tale Checkpoint from my Inventory?
Yes. You do this the same way you would discard a voyage.
However, as we mentioned above, you could also simply begin the Tall Tale again while neither using nor discarding the checkpoint.

How many Tall Tale Checkpoints can I have at a time?
You can have one Tall Tale Checkpoint for each Tall Tale.
Currently, there are eleven Tall Tales. So, theoretically, you could have eleven Tall Tale checkpoints saved.
As more Tall Tales are added to the Sea of Thieves, we anticipate that pirates will still be afforded the opportunity to save a checkpoint for each Tall Tale. So, that number should grow.

If I cancel a Tall Tale, do I get to keep my Tall Tale Treasures?
As mentioned above, by “Tall Tale Treasures” we mean any physical item you can set on your boat, which you acquire by way of your Tall Tale, and which is necessary to continue your Tall Tale.
This includes items such as the Music Box and Spice Box in Wild Rose, the Ancient Crown in The Legendary Storyteller, and the Trapmaker’s Gunpowder Key in The Art of the Trickster, etc.
Thus far, in our experimentation, such items disappear if you cancel its Tall Tale. Though, of course, they return if you vote to use a Checkpoint that you earned after acquiring those items.
Interestingly, Tall Tale Chests do remain. Examples include The Shroudbreaker’s Ancient Chest, Wild Rose’s Chest of Memories, and Revenge of the Morningstar’s Morningstar Chest, etc.

Where are each of the Tall Tale checkpoints?
Given what we know about how the Checkpoints are intended to operate, these are the following places in which we strongly anticipate seeing checkpoints.
However, we will need to go through each Tall Tale and verify. So, if you are reading this article the morning of the Lost Treasures update, these might not be finalized.
Never fear, it should only take us a few short hours to complete all eleven Tall Tales and verify a final list. After all, we do consider ourselves rather adept at these Tall Tales…
The Shroudbreaker
- After collecting the Ship’s Log of the Magpie’s Wing.
- After collecting the Totem inside the Ancient Chest.
- After acquiring the Shroudbreaker.
The Cursed Rogue
- After acquiring the Enchanted Compass.
- After acquiring Briggsy’s Skull.
The Legendary Storyteller
- After acquiring the Wooden Plank from inside the chest.
- After acquiring the Ancient Crown.
Stars of a Thief
- After finding the Enchanted Spyglass.
- After discovering both Star Jewels.
- After acquiring the Puzzle Vault Totem.
- After acquiring the Shroudbreaker Stone.
Wild Rose
- After acquiring the music box and spices.
- After acquiring the Enchanted Compass.
- After acquiring Rose’s Pendant.
- After acquiring George’s Pendant.
The Art of the Trickster
- After acquiring the Rum Bottle Spyglass.
- After acquiring the final Trapmakers Note.
- After acquiring the Totem in the Trapmaker’s Lair.
- After the Vault encounter.
The Fate of the Morningstar
- After acquiring the Enchanted Lantern.
- After saving all 3 Morningstar Crew Ghosts.
Revenge of the Morningstar
- After acquiring the Morningstar Crew Outfit.
- After acquiring Douglas’ Skull and the Chalice of Resurrection.
- After acquiring the Shroudbreaker Stone.
Shores of Gold
- After acquiring the Gold Hoarder Coin.

The Seabound Soul
- After handing in Martha’s Skull.
- After handing in Randal’s Skull.
- After collecting the Ancient Skull.
Heart of Fire
- After picking up the Mysterious Key in Stitcher Jim’s Lair.

17 thoughts on “Sea of Thieves: Tall Tale Checkpoints”
This is one of the best things they have added to the game yet! I might actually be motivated to try and finish The Art of the Trickster again. Such a poorly designed tale for solo players.
such a great explanation of everything, thanks!
Stars of a Thief – I can’t get a checkpoint even though I’ve found both the spyglass and the jewel.
Ahoy there! So you didn’t get a checkpoint after finding the spyglass? There’s nothing in your Quest Inventory?
can you also keep your checkpoint and do the tall tale fully again and then do checkpoint after?
No, tale completion is considered a “checkpoint” as well.
These checkpoints don’t work at all for me. I completed the shroudbreaker tale and it didn’t save at all. I gave the mysterious stranger the shroudbreaker, and got all of the items for the tall tale, and he gave me directions on where to go next, and as I was sailing to the next tall tale, I had to log off. I still have the hat, but nothing else has saved.
What in the world do I do to fix this? I spent hours trying to do that tall tale, and everything is just gone.
Once you complete a Tall Tale the checkpoints for that Tale go away. Now that you have completed the Shroudbreaker Tall Tale, you are now onto the Cursed Rogue Tall Tale. This Tall Tale has its own set of checkpoints. You can start it by speaking with the Order of Souls representative on Plunder Outpost.
So I was doing the tall tale mission wild rose I had to leave the game but got the George’s pendant achievement and checkpoint if I load up the tale will it still be there?
Yep! When you load up the checkpoint you should have both pendants on your voyage table ready to hand in.
Try using the traps. I think this is the only TT that’s easier alone than with a group.
Thanks for the information! I was wondering if anyone could help… I have completed the part in the shroud breaker where I get the log of the magpies wing. I have done that twice, and it has popped up saying that I got the commendation and I believe it said that I got the checkpoint too, but the next time I login it seems that I have to restart the whole thing. I have collected the book and then taken it to the mission table in the boat, but it’s not giving me an option to pick up at a checkpoint or anything like that. I should mention that I am doing all of this on my own with a sloop, if that factors in at all. Any idea what could be going on? Thanks!
Hmm, that is really weird that you cannot use your checkpoint. So when you go to your Quests you cannot choose a Checkpoint from the Tall Tale section of the Quests menu? If you start the Shroudbreaker again from the Mysterious Stranger it will remove your Checkpoint. Perhaps that is the problem? Once you have a Checkpoint, you can select it whenever you want after as long as you don’t start the Tall Tale from scratch or finish the Tall Tale.
Thanks for the help. I’m back trying to figure it out. When I go to Quests, it shows in red letters, “ you do not have any tall tale checkpoints.“ but when I click on the pirate log tab and then select reputation, under the tall tales page it says that I have four of 116 commendations and for the shroud breaker it says that I discovered the magpies wing ship log. But when I go to the book it is not showing that additional page with the blue background that lists the things that happened when they were trying to invade that other ship that presumably sunk them.
All is right with the world! 😄 Don’t know what I did differently that made it work, but I repeated the first step for the third time and now it’s acting right. Thank you so much for your help. It was good to not feel alone out there. 🙂
Say I turn off the game after reaching a check point, when I come back on the next day can I telephone straight to where I left off or do I need to travel allllllllll that way again?
The Checkpoints won’t transport you anywhere. You’ll still need to go to where you were supposed to go to next, regardless of where you are. Some Checkpoints for the A Pirate’s Life Tall Tales will take you to where you want to be, after you sail through the portal.