Pirates
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| The Naughty Lass |
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| The Schooner Orator |
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| Les Bien Hores |
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| The Elk Hunt |
The primary attraction
to the time period, playing a pirate isn’t as care free as you may think.
Pirates really have the odds stacked against them, limited safe harbors for
repairs and trading, smaller ships, generally under-gunned, and the deadliest ships
on the board are hunting you down. The actions of a good pirate captain are
counter intuitive to the people who for the most part want to play them. The
first thing that most pirate players want is to shoot a ship full of holes,
kill everyone on board and steal everything they can. I only speculate this is the
result of the societal conformity repression. This is short sited and bad for
the long game strategy. If you leave a ship adrift, take all their money and
goods, that ship is now effectively out of the game. Meaning it’s no longer a
viable source of income in the turns to come. Simply robbing them by grappling,
negotiating with the other captain for a mutually amicable settlement will
allow the merchant to continue operations as future prey.
Pirates have one advantage
over the law abiding ships, the ability to leave the perimeter and travel to
the secret pirate island. After two port actions, they may choose to return to any other
perimeter location.
Strategies:
1) Allow
the merchant ships to make some money before you attack them, wait at Pirate
Island till they leave their first stop on the trade triangle. They should have
a good trove of goods and treasure.
2) Never
leave a Merchant completely gold or cargo-less, if they have no means to
continue their voyage they are left with no other occupation except hunting you
down.
3) If
a naval ship is within 36 inches run for a perimeter.
4) Dutch
merchants are armed like warships.
5) Shallow
water is your friend, use Island shallows to mire larger ships.
6) Merchant
Convoy’s should only be attacked from the rear.
7) If
the occasion arises that you need to threaten a War ship do it in numbers and
rake.
8) If
you can trade with smugglers directly do so, it cuts out the pirate governor as
a middle man.
9) You
can deal directly with the colonial governor if you successfully sneak into
port and out again.
10) Pirates
have the same goal, enemies, and difficulties. Never assume you are on the same
side as your fellow pirates even when you are working together.
11) If
your ship is farther than two moves from a perimeter side you are in some considerable
danger of being cut off from escape. \
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| The Heraclitus is a Barbary Xebec |
