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The Difficulties of Piracy/Piracy Tactics

Which Kind of Pirate would you be?

  • Gentlemen Pirate

    Votes: 1 100.0%
  • Bloodthirsty Pirate

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other (Please Add Detail in Post)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1

Captain_Python

Rogue Scholar
I have been looking around the POTBS Community Website, and I found an interesting article about piracy (it is actually 2 articles, but here it is):

*Beginning of Article*

Pirates looting and sinking merchant ships is entirely acceptable and `in-character` acceptable in terms of grief play. In the game, of course, those pirates will find NPC and PC pirate hunters coming after them, they'll face `player-organized` convoys that make it difficult to take a victim, and so forth.
The fascinating thing about this milieu from an MMG perspective is that it was full of PKing, and in response the "players" organized their societies to better respond to the threats. It's a very dynamic relationship and a very interesting one for a game such as this. By supporting a legal system of sorts and providing both NPC and PC law enforcement, and giving PCs the ability to band together for either safety or greater threat, we recreate that historical reality. Yet as with that historical period, all this only works to the extent that people step forward and make it happen. We'll provide the tools, but we're expecting players to `self-organize` in interesting ways on both sides to pursue their goals.
I think that most of the 'griefers' will gravitate towards the navy and privateering. Being a pirate is going to be *hard*. The scenarios the original poster described are certainly possible. I could get all my friends together in a giant fleet of `high-end` naval ships. We've all had to work our asses off to get those `high-end` ships, and now we're going to... what? Attack merchants? Then we lose our naval status, become criminals, and kiss our ships goodbye. Attack privateers? The first time we attack a privateer of our own nation, we lose our status, etc. Attack pirates? Sure, blast them out of the water. Piracy is supposed to be hard. Attack other naval ships? Sure; you're now doing *exactly* what we want you to be doing. You're acting as naval ships should act.
Turn our ships over to friendly pirates? No problem; as long as our pirate friends don't mind losing that ship after a day or two, and as long as we don't mind flushing our `months-long` naval career, and any shot at the Admiralty, down the toilet.
The question is not: can you grief? Of course you can. The question is: How much work are you willing to put in for a few moments of griefing fun? If it takes you months to get to the point where you can spend an hour or two griefing -- will you put those months in, over and over?
Most of what is thought of as 'griefing' in other games ends up being 'gameplay' in ours:
* Navies freely kill each other when their nations are at war, and eye each other warily when the nations are at peace. A `trigger-happy` captain might cause an international incident, even start a war if tensions are high enough -- and will probably be busted back to commanding a rowboat as punishment.
* Privateers raid merchants when their nations are at war, and lurk menacingly near the shipping lanes when they're at peace. An `over-ambitious` captain might take a prize ship he shouldn't, and that ship would be returned to its owner with a `carefully-worded` apology -- and the captain would be hung for piracy.
* Pirates will attack merchants whenever they think they can win -- but the fights they can win will be against smaller merchants who have ventured far outside naval protection alone, or who have fallen out of their convoy, or ventured into dangerous `pirate-infested` areas. They'll spend the rest of their time running from fights, hiding, pretending to be merchants, and steering well clear of every naval and privateer player in the game.
Ask yourself this: if you were a griefer, which PvP model would you prefer:

* "Here's a massive ship with massive cannons; any that you lose will be replaced free of charge. You can freely attack any of these targets, sink them, capture them and send them home, whatever you like -- but ONLY these targets. Don't attack anyone else. When you're not fighting, you're a loved and respected hero in every port our nation controls."
* "Here's the best ship you could afford, with the best cannons you could scrounge up. If you lose the ship or the guns, it's out of your pocket to replace them. You can freely attack anyone in the game, but you can probably only manage to kill half of them, if that. While not at sea, you can only hide in a tiny handful of disreuptable ports, and are hunted down anywhere else."
The goal is not 'make sure there's no griefing', it's 'channel griefing behavior into gameplay we actually want'.
Other thoughts, on scanning the thread:
*Ok, me and my friend, French privateers, engage two cutters and a sloop; we target the sloop as the 'easy kill'. First off, why? What's to be gained by killing the sloop? If we lose our ships, we lose our ships; we haven't gained any 'exp' or 'realm points' or anything like that if we sink the sloop before going down. The sloop is the least threat, and presumably we want to win the engagement -- so we're going after the cutters first, to neutralize them so we can capture the sloop at our leisure. Second, the cutters are going to tear us apart if we ignore them to focus on the sloop. They're fast, `well-armed`, nasty little ships, and were I their captains, I'd slice your rigging to pieces, sweep your decks with canister, and then we'd escort the sloop away from your crippled ships.
And finally, it's very true that sinking is just not going to happen that often. Why would you ever want to sink someone? It sends their cargo to the bottom; you get no prize money; you make it harder to take ships in the future because `no-one` will surrender to you or offer you a bribe. The only case where sinking is the best option is in naval vs. naval engagements -- and in that case, the ships involved don't belong to the captains. So you get sunk in a naval battle -- who cares? You lose a little reputation, you get a replacement ship. It's not *your* money going down to the bottom of the sea.

*End of Article*

Observations I have made from this article are that being a pirate is like being a predator of nature. You don’t see a lion going for a adult elephant, but for it’s younger, weaker young. So you won’t commonly see a pirate vessel going for 3rd Rate Ships, but for those small little merchants, and won’t go for either if they are together (at least the intelligent ones won’t go for it. Of course animals have more common sense than some humans). For this reason, I think that maybe that is why there were fewer pirates that we thought there would be. At it’s high, there were only 20 to 40 pirate vessels out at sea, and only about 2 to 5 of those could be considered ship of war size (meaning they can take combat like naval vessels).
I also noticed that a lot of guilds are being formed before the game. I expect that until POTBS Release 2 or 3, that some stupid group of 5 to 10 ships will attempt the legendary Pirate Fleet. Of course it is historical that maybe 2 or 3 vessels might get together, but I don’t think that until this world gets most of it’s good aspects (The POTBS world won’t have all the cool stuff until a few releases are out, including avatars). I can imagine what the Pirate Fleet would look like. 3/4 of the fleet will be small Sloops, Cutters, and Ketches, and then we will have a few big ships that will be transformed from merchants, or Sloops of War, or even Frigates. Then either the Spanish, British, or French Navy will get a few `3-rate` ships and Frigates into a Fleet and take out the fleet quickly. But for myself, I won’t be playing the game until a few releases are out (and hopefully I’ll have the correct internet hookup).
I think this game will become a almost recreation of the world of that time, as in we can finally figure out what their politics were like back then, what was more important to them back then, and what their general opinions truly were of pirates back then. I can’t wait until they open up the North and South American coasts. I think that we will have occasional periods of high and low periods of pirates, and we will experience the after affects of wars when quite a few privateers turn Pirate, and the Navies will deal with them. There might even be a few familiar situations in the game. Remember in Sea Dogs that one mission about investigating the pirate raiding between Highrock and … what was the other port with a governor?… anyways, a investigation finds a corvette is causing trouble, and you have to kill him. In POTBS, there might be a particular pirate that might show up in some area that has to be eradicated.

Here is the point of the poll:

If you were going to be a pirate, would you be a gentleman pirate that gave mercy, making you less noticeable as a pirate, or a bloodthirsty pirate that killed everyone, and the Navy would be quickly taking care of you due to you are killing citizens of the Crown? The first one makes for a longer career, but the second makes a more exciting combat career, but a short one like Blackbeard’s. Remember how violent his career came to a end?

Choose, one. Which one is more popular I wonder?

Here is the second part of this thread, Pirate Tactics:

What would be some good pirate tactics to use in POTBS or in the real time? I do wonder what a good tactic would be for using a big ship to take smaller vessels that are most likely faster? Share.
 
Let me start.

I would pick Gentlemen Pirate, because then I would have a longer career, and more loot possibilities. But if it were available in POTBS, I would take the crew of the merchant, take the ship and sell it if possible (or practical, what if they trace the theft to me? If you take a ship with no witnesses, kill or take the crew, and sink the ship; like the old saying goes, it ain't wrong if you don't get caught), and sell the crew into slavery.

For the tactics, I think a combination of a Sloop, and a big ship like a Corvette of Frigate would work. The big ship could make a merchant instanly surrender, and the Sloop could slow down a merchant enough for the big ship to catch up, and when the big ship is in range, it is either get you ship sunk or give up some cargo NOW! Do you think that could work?
 
I would also go with the "Gentleman Pirate" because for me, it's not about the killing (which usually takes very little finesse), it's about the conquest, tactics, looting, and prize ships - the longer my career, the better... I don't kill the captains I best, I ransom them...

Actually if you think about it, some GP's became privateers with letters of marque - which were conditional, of course, but the finest condition was CHOICE - you could turn back the letter of marque, or choose to go against it...

I like your tactic of sloop and corvette or frigate - it's generally the way I prefer to sail in PotC... The smaller, quicker ship for disabling the prey, and the bigger ship for protection. I've actually begun to pay more attention to things like that in PotC - before I started this new game I was in the "`post-main` quest Pirate Hunting" phase and was regularly seeking out pirates for the gov. of Conceicao (also my `father-in`-law, heh!). I had the two ships - a Lugger and something larger, a Battleship, I think. I would keep the Battleship as my flagship ONLY to visit the gov and ask for a mission. When you get your mission, you will be matched with a ship that is similar in strength to your flagship AT THE TIME you asked for the mission. SO I switch to the lugger and head out to get this pirate - who is in a MUCH bigger ship - and it becomes a true test of tactics - firing and scooting away before they can fire back, disabling the sails, &tc...

<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" /> Then there are the days when you just want to blast everything out of the water - sink 'em and who cares about cargo or prize ships or whatever... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dev.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":d:" border="0" alt="dev.gif" />

To take a smaller ship that is faster? Whew... Well, knippels, to be precise, you've got to take out their sails. Only thing is, you probably ought to use JUST your bow cannon or your sternchasers, as any small ship will simply *disintigrate* if you broadside it with 40 or so cannons, even if you're just shooting grape!

Secret? Aim carefully - ABOVE where the aimer glows red... That takes out sails...

I am hoping to take a look into POTBS when I get my DSL connection (soon) (LOL, I keep saying that!). The game looked awesome at E3 - and the appeal keeps growing with each new update...
 
Bloodthirsty Pirate
No quarter given, mate!
<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dev.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":d:" border="0" alt="dev.gif" />
 
I have to agree. I play as the (mostly) Gentleman Pirate. I do straddle a precarious line, as I have letters of marque from England and Portugal, but I am also allied with me bretheren "on account." I, too, ransom the captains of my prizes, unless something unfortunate happens and the prize is lost to the depths. I prefer to cripple my prey by taking her sails and masts rather than turning her into Swiss cheese.

I find meself more often than not stalking my prey from a distance, at first. This gives me a chance to fully determine the force I'm up against, and allows me to put the wind to me stern. That way I can engage with maximum maneuverability while presenting the smallest possible target.

In a larger convoy, I'll use me consorts to engage main body of ships, while I engage the ship I'm gambling will be the best prize. I cut it out from the rest of the convoy, chase it down, and plunder it. Depending upon remaining cargo capacity between me ships, I'll either repeat the exercise or cripple the remaining ships to prevent their giving chase. But there are those days where I'm not so merciful. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pirate2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p:" border="0" alt="pirate2.gif" />
 
What a great idea for a thread Captain Python! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

I have to commend you for a post you made a while back encouraging people to let Amazon know that people like us want to see movies like <u>Captain Blood,</u> and <u>The Sea Hawk,</u> on DVD. I would be very happy to replace my old Captain Blood video tape for a DVD. I'll paste in the link from your older thread so anyone who hasn't seen it can use it.

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JMR7/qid%3D1081807652/sr%`3D11-1`/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/`002-2338376`-2001623" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00...76-2001623`</a>

On a good note, the movie <u>Scaramouche,</u> is available in DVD format.

<b>Rebel</b>

I picked "other" in your poll, and by way of explanation; the idea of a "rebel" pirate appeals to me more than a "gentleman" or "bloodthirsty" pirate, as I feel it draws upon the best traits of both of these choices, but puts more substance into their forms. A rebel is against what he perceives as a tyrannical system, and is willing to use force of arms against that system, and I believe that your friend Captain Blood personifies this "rebel" type of pirate.

Doctor Peter Blood becomes a pirate and outlaw because he acts according to the dictates of his conscience against the established order. Following the battle of Sedgemoor, during the Monmouth Rebellion, Peter Blood saves the life of a wounded man who is unfortunately on the losing side, and Blood is convicted as a rebel and traitor for knowingly harboring and giving comfort to an enemy of the crown. His punishment consists of being sent to the West Indies to live in enforced servitude to the end of his days, and it is in this location that he manages to escape and begin a piratical career; having been proclaimed an outlaw, he takes on this role in rebellion to the injustice he feels he has sufferred.

Though not especially bloodthirsty, Captain Blood becomes a force to be reckoned with and the official (and corrupt) powers in the Caribbean learn to fear him while he wages war against them. When the balance of justice is more or less restored, Captan Blood is perfectly amenable to going back to a somewhat normal life, (hard for rebel types to stay home drinking tea, <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pirate2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p:" border="0" alt="pirate2.gif" /> ) and this distingushes this fictional pirate from the nonfictional pirates, like Francis Spriggs or L'Ollonais, who practiced barbarism and cruelty merely for personal gain, and maybe because they didn't get enough love when they were children. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

So, Rebel is the choice I make because I find strength of character and the ability to improvise in outrageous circumstances, (grace under pressure) appealing and, personally, I am heartily sick of dogmatism, conformity to the mundane, petty tyranny, along with thoughltless cruelty and violence.

Let's Hoist the Jolly Roger! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

Here's a link to the full text of <u>Captain Blood,</u> by Rafael Sabatini, if you haven't read it, I think Captain Python will second me in this, you are in for a treat.
<a href="http://www.knowledgerush.com/books/7.html" target="_blank">http://www.knowledgerush.com/books/7.html</a>
 
Cool, thanks for the link, Sir Christopher! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/onya.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="onya.gif" /> <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

I'm going to post this in the Akella games section for folks who might be interested in reading the book that Akella's new pirate game is based upon.
 
SirChristopherMings, I sort of follow what you are saying. You are are combination between the two main options. You are a Rebel against the Government, and a Bloodthirsty against Naval Ships. On the other side of the spectrum, you are a Gentlemen to any merchant, neutral ship.
This is a good position in some ways. Here is a layout on how it can be good:
-You are Bloodthirsty against Naval Ships
-You Destroy a few Naval Ships that are assigned to the same island group or region, of the same nation. That weakens that country's Navy ability to defend merchants and towns in their colonies in that area. All the advantage to you.
-The Navy will likely send more ships (and in more numbers than before and or better quality). This means that another area is most likely weakend to your attack. Until more ships are sent, there will be a weakness in some place in that nation's colonies.

Am I correct on your position in Piracy Migs?

I thought of another tactic.
HOW TO OUTSMART A WARSHIP

Lets say we have a convoy of 5 ships. 4 are merchants, and one is a escort ship. Now this escort ship could be any type of warship, from Frigate to 2nd Rate Ship of the Line. Take 2 Sloops, and attack the convoy.

The Warship will come to defend, but there is were you split up in opposite directions. Now two things are possible here. The Warship will be stupid to pursue one Sloop, which it will most likely never catch, and let the even supider merchants scatter. The other Sloop can take the merchants while the Warship is trying to catch the other Sloop.

The Warship might decide to go for the raiding Sloop. Simple, the Sloops can switch roles. The other Sloop can be chased and the Sloop that was being chased can take the other merchants.

Now a smart Warship commander would rally the merchants together in a group, which would make the ships easier to defend.

This whole Scenario comes from one of the Horation Hornblower Books, The Ship of the Line. This same situation happened when he had a 3rd Rate ship of the line to defend 10 or 11 merchant ships (I think it was 10 to 11, I think it might actually been 8 ships. Doesn't matter). Hornblower kept the merchants, and he was able to sail through the middle of the group to defend one side from one of the two French Privateers attacking the convoy.

The End

Keep Voting people, and Keep the Pirate Tactical Tips going. The poll is also never ending.
 
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Am I correct on your position in Piracy Migs?  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think we're pretty close to an accord on what I mean, Python.
When I think of a Gentleman Pirate, I picture a privateer, who's actions are committed under authority of a national, or international, power, and when I think of a Bloodthirsty Pirate I envision a group of like minded individuals willing to take on any and all comers. I don't say that these your the definitions of the options, this is just my take on them. In that light neither of the options holds as much attraction for me as having some sort of cause to motivate my actions. Otherwise I'm just a rebel without a cause.
<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />
I'd characterize a rebel as someone who picks their fights according to their own agenda and not someone else's , like a government for instance, and is not just plain old hostile to anyone.
Sir Francis Drake's activities I consider to be piratical in the rebel manner because, the treasure and the surreptitious encouragement of his government notwithstanding, he was motivated towards his activities by his hatred of the Spaniards after the Battle of San Juan d'Ulua, and his religious beliefs as well. (The incongruity of that last statement is not, I am sure, lost upon anyone.) He went to the West Indies fully aware that if he were caught while carrying out his exploits his government would disavow having had any knowledge of his plans, (Drake? Drake who?) but his own overall outlook was broad enough that he was willing to ally with French Fillibusters and the Cimmarroons to achieve his ends.

I don't know that as a pirate I personally would have been any more anxious to take on a Navy ship anymore than any other pirate, especially when there are merchant ships available from whatever country (ies) I have set my sights upon. To quote Oscar Wilde, "the truth is rarely pure and never simple." I don't see why my particular motivations should ever be any clearer than that.

Captain Bartholomew Roberts, the original rebel without a cause summed it up pretty well why I think piracy has such an appeal for rebels like myself and others:

<i>In an honest service there is low wages and hard labor; in this</i> (piracy) <i> plenty and satiety, pleasure and ease, liberty and power; and who would not balance creditor on his side, when all the hazardthat is run for it, at worst, is only a sour look or two at choking. No, a merry life and a short one, shall be my motto.</i>

Basically, @%#* 'em, if they can't take a joke. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pirate2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p:" border="0" alt="pirate2.gif" />

I just noticed that I neglected to put some tactics in my first post. I think tactics go hand in hand with circumstances, if you don't know the first, the second one isn't going to be a lot of help. The main tactic that I think pirates used was running away, unless they found someone they could take on with a minimum of risk.

Captain Dams, old salt! I would have been willing to put money on it that you would vote the way you did. Good show! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

As you can see I'm rather like a dog with regards to making my bed and lying in it. I have to go around three times before I lay down.
<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />
 
Migs, Politics beyond who you hate and are loyal to "ain't mixin' in with it". I think you might want to use a different word that rebel. maybe "against all flags" would be an expression. You are gust describing your loyalties when you say rebels. Being a gentlemen pirate or bloodthirsty pirate is really not so involved with that in this situation. I think my previous description of you is still right. You are against government, and want to rip their guts out. But you will be a gentlement pirate to merchants, who aren't nessesarily a part of government, and are just trying to make a honest dollar. If it ain't that, then I don't think I will figure out what you're about.
 
He's rebelling against being true to form! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

Pure economics was the reason, I think, for most `mariner-turned`-pirates to begin operating outside the law. Desperate times call for desperate measures...

I think of the example of Catalina de Erauso - she ran away from the convent towards what she was hoping would be freedom - but disguised as a young man and working as a clerk for a rich man only made her see that it was not necessarily the kind of freedom she craved. When she signed up with the military she was seeking adventure - she learned necessary skills on the long voyage from Spain to Peru, and upon reaching Peru she jumped ship and ran - making her way gambling and trading and being a bit of a cutpurse on the side. Economics made her sign on with the Spanish military again - she needed money and there was just none to be easily had...

Men (and women) went to sea to escape mundane life and if signing on with the army, marines, or navy, to get that signing bonus. A lot of them got that bonus and then escaped - taking up with pirates as a way to continue gaining wealth so they could live a good life...

As Roberts says, a merry life and a short one... Not a bad idea, actually. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="icon_wink.gif" />
 
Roberts' observation is rather like one by Melville in "Paradise Lost";

"'Tis better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven."

Especially when society's current view of "heaven", which I will equate here to norms of propriety and decorum, wears like a noose around one's neck.
 
Let me cover what a Gentlemen Pirate and a Bloodthirsty Pirate are again:

<b>Gentlemen Pirate</b>: Treats his prey with respect, letting them surrender, and taking a few lives as possible to get a prize.

<b>Bloodthirsty Pirate</b>: When he encounters prey, he takes no surrenders, and he slaughters if not all the crew, most of it and either sells the captives into slavery, or gust maroons them or drowns them.

Also, let us go over basic Pirate Tactics:

<u>10 BASIC STEPS TO TAKE A PRIZE (GENTLEMEN PIRATE VERSION)</u>

<b>1</b>. Find your prey
<b>2</b>. Shadow your prey, observe it, take notice of it’s advantages, disadvantages, habits, number of guns, speed, crew number, and most important of all, can you take this prize without much loss. This is also a good time to achieve the weather gage
<b>3</b>. If you decided that you could take on the prize, then advance on the prize. Good ways to be able to get close on a prize is to
-Fly false flags
-Act as if in distress
-If you have overwhelming speed compared to your
opponent, then it should be easy to come into good
cannon range of your target.
<b>4</b>. When you are in good cannon range, fire a warning shot either a few yards in front of the prey, or across it’s bow. Make sure to take down any false flags before firing, or it is considered against the rules of war (which is important to follow if you are a Privateer or in the Navy).
<b>5</b>. After firing these “warning shots” we could call them, raise your true flag. Some good scare tactics is if you are a pirate or privateer, have a scary looking flag, and have symbols on it that will tell the enemy what your intentions are. Also, having all your crew on your top deck, yelling like demons, waving weapons, and occasionally firing a pistol or musket into the air, can scare the heck out of an enemy. Any or all of these techniques (the warning shots, the scary flag, the scary crew) will convince three fourths of the ships you attack in your career as a Pirate, Privateer, or Naval Cruiser. But there are those ships that take more convincing.
<b>6</b>. If the prey continues to flee, then the next step is to try and take out as much crew as necessary to convince surrender. But sometimes you just can’t get to the crew, because they are hiding and keeping their heads down. If it necessary, get into musket range, and pick off crew. But the merchant will probably be able to use their guns by this point. If a merchant has guns, the best option is to stay away from them, and to try to put them out of order. Also, it is a good idea to not aim toward the waterline. You don’t want to sink the prey, and damage the cargo. Also, if you get the prey, depending on your plans, you fix everything you break. But let say we still are having problems. Let’s say this prey is putting up a fight.
<b>7</b>. The next step is to try and take out the rigging, so the prey is convinced there is no way it can escape. Take out yards, booms on the gaff sails if there are any, but try to only inflict damage that can be repaired later, because if you cripple that ship beyond repair, then you can’t take the prize in to cash in (If you can. If you are a pirate, it is an iffy business, due to selling a stolen ship has to be dealt with like selling stolen cargo.) Also, continue to do techniques from step #6. Now, this prey you are after might be so desperate to get away, that they are still fighting on. It is most likely if they stayed on this far, that they have a very, very valuable cargo that is worth a good fortune. But if that is true, it is likely that they might have a few extra hands on board to defend the ship. But by now, there is a good chance you killed them off already. Now step #8 is the point of no return.
<b>8</b>. Now, if you are going onto this step, then there will most likely be no quarter for the enemy crew, unless your not for slaughtering crews, then if a man surrenders, you will give him quarter. The next step is boarding. Remember that most merchant crews are low in numbers, but some crews have some of the best sailors on board because they already know how to sail a ship. But then again, this merchant might be cheap and have a load of landlubbers on board. Also, that the captain usually has more men around him to defend him and to lead his crew. So it is important to take the captain out as soon as possible. The captain is usually located in the stern someplace. Most of the time it is a mix of prime sailors and landsmen. Boarding can be done 2 ways:
<b>A</b>) Boarding by boat: This is more common when in small ships like Sloops, Ketches, Cutters, and Schooners. Send a boarding crew big enough to handle the job of taking on the size of the crew left on the enemy ship. You would send the ship over, having your ship giving covering fire. You might even put a swivel gun on the bow of the
boat(s) you’re sending over for support.
When boarding by boat, DO NOT BOARD IN THE WAIST OF THE SHIP, YOU CAN (and most likely) BE SLAUGHTERD. If you board in the waist of the ship, you will be stuck in crossfire of the enemy crew. Board either by bow or stern, and choose wisely because it is most likely that were ever the captain is.
When your boarding crew hits the deck, they need to rush in as quick as possible, kill off any resistance as quick as possible, and continue to down the ship unit the ship is secured. Remember, the less time the crew has to resist, the less they resist surrendering.
<b>B</b>) Boarding by grappling: For small boats, this is not suggested. You will most likely do more damage and cause more trouble for yourself by doing this. First, get close enough to the enemy ship to throw grappling hooks, and shoot any enemy crewmembers trying to get rid of the hooks or cut them off the ship. Pull the two ships together and it is suggested that you use more crew than boat boarding, so you can cover all parts of the enemy ship with crew. It is important to secure either the bow or stern first, so crossfire into the waist of the ship is not possible. Like boarding by boat, once you hit the enemy, deck sweep through each part of the ship as quickly as possible.
<b>9</b>. This step is for after boarding a ship and securing it. After the ship is secure, if there is anyone who is surrendered, there are at your mercy. Now, if you have the captain alive, then deal with him first and immediately. Everything dealing with the enemy crew depends on your policies. If you have a “If you resist, I kill you,” policy, there should be no prisoners as of now. But let’s say you give temporary quarter to your enemy, and the enemy captain surrendered to you. The Captain should be made an example of what happens to people who resist you. You can do anything to him at this point. You could hang him, shoot him, drown him, mutilate him, or maroon him, and anything you can think of. If you take care of the captain, showing his remaining crew what happens to you if you resist you, they might respect your authority more. Now, one thing Pirates did with captured crews of their prey is offering them to be part of your crew. Pirate crews often were not their highest on numbers after being at sea for so many months. Sometimes you might press all the crew into service. If you only need a few crewmembers, you can do with the rest of what remains of the crew. You can maroon them, kill them in some sort of way, or make a profit off them and sell them into slavery.

<b>10</b>. After or while the crew is being dealt with, it is time to decide what to do with the prize. Depending on the situation, you can get the ship ready to sail again to sell her off to someone, but if you are doing this illegally, it can be a tricky situation to deal with. The cargo is the big prize. If you keep the ship, you can just keep it in the captured ship. If you are planning to sink the ship, load the cargo onto your ship, and if you don’t have a lot of room, just load the more valuable cargo on your ship. Some people may think of keeping the captured ships until you cash in the cargo, and then sink the evidence of the ship. Wrong. If anyone sees you in possession of that ship, there is more evidence against you at your trial. But that is all just for if you are a Pirate. If you are a Navy captain, or a Privateer, then bring it in as a prize, but it has to be during war and of the right country.

That concludes the basic steps in taking a prize.
 
WELL DONE! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/onya.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":onya" border="0" alt="onya.gif" /> <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_praise.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":bow" border="0" alt="icon_praise.gif" /> <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />
 
fun thread Captain_Python <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="cheers.gif" />:

I'd go for Gentleman Pirate but would use a deliberate show of ruthlesness once in a while to keep my crew in check, and make future victories easier.

But of course i'd be aiming to build a 'respectable' and legitimate dynasty - so i'd probably go along with wearing fancy frilly clothes(when not at sea) and paying to be educated(if i wasn't) so i could rub shoulders with all the Govenors(and their daughters) and those in high society. At the end of my pirate days, i'd aim to retire to some large plantation with a secure future for my children to inherit.

The tactics i'd prefer to use would be more like a bucaneer, than a true seadog. Combat on land just seems much more sensible to me? I'd choose to attack at night out of preference - to instill the most fear and confusion in my enemies.

Personal weapons would consist of a Dirk(or short double edged sword) in one hand and a Buckler(small hand shield) in the other, with my flintlock able to be held and fired on the buckler hand.

I'd use my status+connections in society to find out information of when+where the silver train was expected etc, all the while trying to keep my piratical background as quiet as possible.

At sea i'd favour speed and numbers, probably going for travelling with atleast `3-4` sloops in my floatilla, and i would change which one was my flag ship from time to time, keeping any loot on that one. This would make it important that each was kept in good sailing condition and each performed as well as the other(it might take a while to get the right combination of sloops).

At sea my targets would be merchant shipping + any enemy ships that i could use both my greater ship numbers and manouvability to get the better off. If outnumbered + outgunned i'd simply sail away(unless i knew the Captain of the ships was an incompetant coward <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> ).

I'd try to keep a constant and loyal core crew of about 100 men - all highly trained(and paid more). The other portion of my crew would fluctuate depending on the task at hand.
 
I think the best way to put what you said Thor would be, Interesting. You are the first guy I have heard saying that he would actually want to be a buccaneer. But what you are trying to build up there, 4 sloops plus a group of Core Crew, that would take a lot of hard fight to achieve, or a lot of money, or a good investor.

Your personal armorment sounds a little odd. A shield wouldn't do much against a pistol. And there is a nice easy way to get past that shield, just stick the pistol a little past it, maybe go above it or below, and fire at point blank range. That shield is more of a musketeer thing. Sheild sort of went out of style in the western world when the musket man and pistol came into major use. Sure, you can make armor and shields heavy enough to stand up to bullets, but the armor would make you very slow and unmaneuverable, and it is even worse at sea. The shield would be so heavy that you would want to get rid of it after a while. A Dirk is more of a knife. But the double bladed short sword is good, pirates would have used them.

But your future plans sound good.

You being a buccaneer reminds me of a tactic that a buccaneer would probably use. The buccaneers constantly were around the island of Hispaniola, and when the Spanish tried to push them out, they took to the sea. But they sticked to land a little more and they stayed around that area of Hispaniola and Cuba.

HOW TO BE BROKE AND STILL OBTAIN A SHIP

It was common to see bands of men of around 50 to 75 to either buy or steal some boats. These men most likely only had a few machetes, knives, clubs, and maybe a couple of pistols and muskets.
When a small ship would come, they would steal that. Or they might steal a bigger boat first. When the first small SHIP came along, they would first see what kind of ship it was. It would most likely be a Sloop, Pink, or other small merchant. If the ship was a fighting vessel, then it would be a bad choice to try and take it. The crew of a fighting vessel would be able to repel their attack most likely. If it was a merchant, then they would most likely not have much in the way of crew compared to their numbers.

If it was the right ship, they would attack. In the middle of the night, they would sneak up in their boat or boats, and sneak on board, kill any resistance, and secure the ship. You could either kill the crew, or just throw them on shore, or maroon them. On board would most likely be a few more guns, and edged weapons like cutlasses. The pirate crew now had a ship. The next step might be to go hide in some cove, hide in there, wait for another ship, and take that one in the same manner as the last one, except stealing this one would be to either get a better ship, or more weapons and supplies. A group like this might have to take several ships, or wait several months until they get the right ship, the right amount of weapons, even the right cannon, or get enough money to get cannon. After they get what they think is adequate for raiding at sea, they would either go on to raiding at sea, or continue their little raids on the coast.

things like that very commonly happened out in the Caribbean.
 
<!--QuoteBegin-Captain_Python+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Captain_Python)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I think the best way to put what you said Thor would be, Interesting. You are the first guy I have heard saying that he would actually want to be a buccaneer. But what you are trying to build up there, 4 sloops plus a group of Core Crew, that would take a lot of hard fight to achieve, or a lot of money, or a good investor.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I'm not a great swimmer - so fighting on land has long been a preference of mine <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />
But also having watched 'Master and Commander' recently on DVD - it just struck me how devestating battle at sea was, and how i'd feel much more comfortable with solid land `under-foot`!

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Your personal armorment sounds a little odd. A shield wouldn't do much against a pistol. And there is a nice easy way to get past that shield, just stick the pistol a little past it, maybe go above it or below, and fire at point blank range. That shield is more of a musketeer thing. Sheild sort of went out of style in the western world when the musket man and pistol came into major use. Sure, you can make armor and shields heavy enough to stand up to bullets, but the armor would make you very slow and unmaneuverable, and it is even worse at sea. The shield would be so heavy that you would want to get rid of it after a while. A Dirk is more of a knife. But the double bladed short sword is good, pirates would have used them.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

A 'buckler' could be very small, sometimes just larger than the fist with a few spikes on it to catch a blade. It was only really useful in `hand-to`-hand its main advantage being you could use both hands while still having a small shield type to help in defense, but as you say no defence from a musketball. Still if you survived the first volley or pistol shot, then in close quarters battle any means to catch/parry or turn a blade aside would be helpfull. And remember that pistols were often only fired the one time in these batles - everything went to `hand-hand` very quickly, and time to `re-load` your pistol wasn't often available.

And in close combat i'd just rather a shorter blade(somewhere between 2 and 3 foot long(around `50-70cm`)) - good for stabbing and hacking <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dev.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":d:" border="0" alt="dev.gif" />

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->But your future plans sound good.

You being a buccaneer reminds me of a tactic that a buccaneer would probably use. The buccaneers constantly were around the island of Hispaniola, and when the Spanish tried to push them out, they took to the sea. But they sticked to land a little more and they stayed around that area of Hispaniola and Cuba.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I guess i was inspired by some of the stories of Henry Morgan - he did a number of very succesfull land sorties <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pirate2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p:" border="0" alt="pirate2.gif" />
 
Thor, It took me a little while to realize what that shield was, so I can give you credit for that. But the type of sword fighting tactics you are talking about, or "fencing" to put it more exactly, can most likely not be very affective at sea. First of all, the fencing sword is long, and at sea there was no place for a long sword, that can't be used under decks well, and get tangled in rigging. Also, pirates do not "fence" they use their whole body to charge you, trying to make each cut toward you a killing cut, and yelling like crazy, scaring the sh*t out of any common merchant sailor. Pirates were also armed to the teeth with weapons (that ain't steriotypical, that was real). And having a pistol was common. And they commonly carried more than one pistol, so they had muliple shots and makes up for if they have missfires. The way they used a pistol was not from 20 yards away, 10 yards, or even 5 yards, but at point black range. They would take the pistol, stall your sword, put the pistol to your gut and pull the trigger. And after firing, it becomes a club, and can sort of be used as a "buckler" if you wanted to.
If you want a truely good book, get "Under teh Black Flag" by David Cordingly. Morgan in my opinion was one of the people who help start the Golden Age of Piracy. Also I found out that he agrees with me that the Pirate Golden Age was 1650 to 1725.
Thor, Right now, you may not think you are ready for sea, but if you hang around here long enough, you will learn the tricks of the trade.
 
<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> ah yes i'd forgotten that more than one pistol might be carried into battle.

Still as a buccaneer i'd do most of my fighting on land which would give me more room to manouver. Ship to ship combat i would only undertake if it was a more or less guaranteed a victory.

But i quite like the idea of taking ships at night while most of the crew were on land visiting the taverns - still it would also be mostly a land based operation, in that i'd be keeping my ship(s) well away from the scene or at least well hidden if near by.

What with the very confined spaces of ship combat and the damage close cannon fire could inflict(not to mention the sharks!) - combat at sea must have been incredibly risky. I'm not surprised many pirates lives were over quite quickly. Even the medical treatment was against you.

I've lived in the tropics for a number of years and even small infections get bad very quickly - luckily i didnt have to contend with pistol shot or mad grinning pirate cutlass blows <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Its quite amazing that people did live such a life style in such a hostile enviroment - they were a tough bunch for sure <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pirate2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p:" border="0" alt="pirate2.gif" />

In real life i'm a decent sailor, in that i've experienced big gale force storms and got some of my early sailing qualifications - still the sea by itslelf is worthy of huge respect.
Im glad i havent had to contend with boarding action, cannon fire + `hand-to`-hand combat - that would be truely crazy.

Still i love the stories about pirates and i guess if i got a bit more sea experience under my belt i'd feel more confident to give up my prefered Buccaneer life style in favour of the sea based Pirate life, but not just yet.

Maybe as you say, once i've hung around here a bit longer i might be persuaded to become a full on pirate - i'm enjoying the enthusiasm and great info on the era you regular guys are providing <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pirate2.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p:" border="0" alt="pirate2.gif" /> <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="cheers.gif" />:
 
no problem. So you say you're a sailor. What kind of ship(s) have you sailed on? Were do you sail? You might be able to relate to muddymonkey77, who sails too.

Anyways. I suggest you rent or buy Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly. It is worth reading, and easy to understand. A good part of it is on Buccaneers.
 
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