Ail wrote:Wouldn't you consider Captain Van Riese also a kind of pirate?
I always associated Ghost Ships to pirates, so that may be me, but I find he's a notable absent in the list above... unless I have misread it.
From his backstory, he was an explorer, which doesn't necessarily exclude corsair-type activities, but I don't think there is any mention of such in his background in Domains of Dread.
Well, that matches the backstory of the 'Flying Dutchman', but... well, there are many stories of pirates that are cursed to go on as ghosts, and it was a little stretch to cast Van Riese in that mould
Sargoss aside, are there any ready sources of pirates? The two seas, sadly, never got gazetters of their own, or even the hints we got on the Kargatine's plans for, say, G'Henna or Rokushuma Tayioo.
Out of all of the islands, Blaustien seems the most ready source of pirates. The people have the motivation(Get stuff/wives for their beloved leader), experience, and position. Liffe, Velchor, and Graben could all also be sources of pirates, for varying reasons. You could even have bands of caliban pirates sailing out of Markovia, looking for fresh bodies for Markov's experiments.
Liffe is doubtful, as the darklord has extremely strict laws and moral doctrines and would not tolerate such outlaws in his domain.
I suppose some could hide out in Vechor, if they can put up with its chaos. There's certainly plenty of valuables to be found there...and plenty of trade ships that pirates could attack, so even if the pirates aren't holed up in that domain, they'd certainly ply the sealanes around it.
Nebligtode/Graben I could see pirates working for the Grabens and/or Meredoth in a similar manner to the sailors in Ship of Horror.
Bluebomber4evr: The Justice, not you, since 2002.
Ravenloft: Prisoners of the Mist Persistent World for Neverwinter Nights: www.nwnravenloft.com
And of course there's the old Ravenloft standby; undead. If a ship passes over the spot where, long ago, a pirate ship and her crew were sunk, the pirates and their vessel might reanimate to attack the offender. Afterwards (either they win, are sunk again or their prey escapes), they sink again, taking the treasure with them -- and designating a new patch of open sea as their threatened area. If you accept that, any spot in the two seas could be a source of piracy.
I thought I would bring it up that Drusilla is planning to become the very first insane vampire pirate, sadly she misunderstands the whole thing and it patroling the bathroom, so stay clear until the screams die down and even then, give it a few days. It may get a bit pongy in the manor, but we'll be all the better for it.
Personally I think everywhere should have pirates, they can put their ships on wheels and have them pulled by horses. Ah, imagine the fun
I recall a image, perhaps in the style of 2e Ravenloft, of an undead pirate and his like crew who row up from the deep to attack the living. I know that sounds like Auden Beck, but I am not convinced that it is and I can't find the image in the material on him. Does this ring a bell for anyone?
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Wiccy of the Fraternity wrote:Personally I think everywhere should have pirates, they can put their ships on wheels and have them pulled by horses. Ah, imagine the fun
Well, you'd think the local farmers would know that I'm at large,
But just the other day I found an unsuspecting barge.
I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser:
I rammed their ship and sank it, and I stole their fertilizer.
A bridge outside of Moose Jaw spans a mighty river,
Farmers cross in so much fear, their stomachs are a-quiver!
Because they know that Tractor Jack is hiding in the bay.
I'll jump the bridge and knock 'em cold and sail off with their hay!
- Arrogant Worms, The Last Saskatchewan Pirate
(obnoxiously posted by Roti, who needs to reduce her dosage of cough syrup )
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
Mystery solved. It wasn't Ravenloft at all. The pirates I had in mind where from Dungeon Magazine 10 years ago and the article The Ghostship Gambit about pirates posing as the undead, a terror track in the making if I ever heard one.
Well, with all the talk of pirates and ships, bumping this with some more information on piracy in the Core. I was curious to know where pirates lived since that was brought up in the Blaustein topic, so I looked at the coastal domains to see if there were any mentions. Turns out there are quite a few pirate havens on the coasts of the Core and they tend to prey on towns and harbors.
In the Sea of Sorrows, Martira Bay is a pirate haven (Gaz II, Darkon section) because it is dotted with many small islands that are the lairs of pirates and smugglers. Recently, Azalin doubled the size of his navy and his biggest ship (whose name I forgot) is stationed right at Martira Bay.
Another one is in Lamordia "beyond the Heath, a strip of coastal plain continues to creep northwards. Gradually, the marshy shoreline rises up to become treacherous cliffs. Sea caves riddle the jagged coastline of the north, from flooded grottos to pirate havens high above the salt spray." (Gaz II, Lamordia, page 66)
And there's the Finger, many islands in the finger are supposedly pirate havens, harboring buccaneers (Gaz II, Lamordia, page 77).
Ludendorf is often the victim of pirates because of its bustling ship trade, fishing, trading, etc. The authorities know it and are building protection around the bay to protect the area.
There's quite a few pirates in the sea often attacking the small islands lost in the misty sea. And Mordent often asks some of these islands for help rooting out pirates. (Gaz III, Mordent)
The Nocturnal Sea also has a rising pirate population and a warship, the Waveprowler, has been commissioned to hunt down pirates affecting the trade of Nova Vaasa. (LOTB)
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IMC, Martira Bay was once home to a cult of Erythnul. The pirates worshipped him, but so did butchers, pit-fighters, surgeons, and anyone else who routinely spilled blood in his line of work. Maybe there are still some Erythnul priests running around, not really controlled by the EO?
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.
Considering the modest size of the seas in question, I have to suspect that lots of the pirates in Ravenloft aren't pure criminals, but opportunistic seamen who spend most of the time engaged in legal sea commerce. It's only when they're strapped for money, and stumble over a lavish prize they're sure they can capture in secret, that such sailors would turn to piracy ... but when they do, they might well be even more ruthless than professional pirates, lest they leave witnesses to their misdeeds.
"Who [u]cares[/u] what the Dark Powers are? They're [i]bastards![/i] That's all I need to know of them." -- Crow
"Pirate Havens:
It will first be noted where the pirate receives no succour. All that Mordentshire has to offer a pirate are a short drop and a quick stop proceeded by a fair trial. It is the same in Ludendorf and its authorities are gifted moreover at ferreting out the slightest irregularities in a ship’s papers. Martira Bay and Port-a-Lucine both have far more resources but opportunism in the former and corruption in the latter compromise significantly a principled fight against an avowed foe. That is not to say that a well known pirate or pirate ship should hope to be politely ignored or even protected in either port. Officials of both revel in the public spectacle of a pirate or of an entire pirate crew brought to justice and hung. In Martira Bay the problem is that some branch of the government itself seems to have gotten into bed with a select few pirates who take orders as to the vessels that are and are not to be attacked in return for immunity from harassment or worse for themselves at sea and for their agents in port. Sadly the chief constable of Martira Bay who brought this situation to light was subsequently obliged to quit his post and flee to Port-a-Lucine where there is more than enough work to occupy his time. For in Port-a-Lucine the problem is that far too many officials accept bribes from the agents of pirates charged with the sale of plundered cargos, the furnishing of supplies, the gathering of intelligence, the turning of ship’s officers, and the like. Ironically, the territorial waters of Darkon and Dementlieu are far better patrolled than those of Mordent and Lamordia. This is principally a question of resources as the personnel of the navies of Mordent and Lamordia are more worthy of respect than those of Darkon and Dementlieu. The situation then is this: a select few pirate ships, typically brigs, conduct business through intermediaries in Martira Bay and shelter with impunity about her offshore islands; several brigantines at least haunt these same islands and even the Jagged Coast of Darkon itself; brigantines shelter with near impunity, and brigs with more difficulty, in the contorted waterways of the Musard river delta in Lamordia; brigs risk the treacherous bays about the islands of the Finger within the territorial waters of Lamordia; a brigantine and a brig are known in particular to harbour at Baytown on the Isle of Agony; pirate ships of various sorts conduct business through intermediaries in Port-a-Lucine; brigantines appear from time to time off the coast of Dementlieu when corrupt landowners can be persuaded to play host to them; a few brigantines haunt the coast of Mordent well north and well south of Arden Bay; and brigs make brief visits to the most lawless of the handful of places south of Arden Bay where it is possible to dock. When eyes are cast out to sea the picture gets bleaker still. Any ship hawking useful supplies at a reasonable price is greeted amicably at the docks of Dominia. It is true that those docks afford no shelter from wind and wave, but a ship can ride out a storm in the lee of the island. The chain of five small islands to its northwest affords better shelter and greater privacy. Shelter from wind and wave is to be found easily in the bays of Markovia although the isle itself and its immediate vicinity have come to be widely feared as much as Todstein and its environs ever were. Lord Bluebeard has declared the harbour and docks of Blaustein an open port subject to the law that any vessel violating the peace shall be seized along with her cargo. Agreeing to not break the peace is a small price for a pirate ship to pay and small indeed when one considers that a foreign naval vessel pursuing a pirate into the harbour would find herself subject to the fire of the lord’s artillery and to seizure by the lord’s men. Blaustein then is a pirate port. Few brigs call it home although it is an obvious but distant destination for a brig fleeing pursuit or in need of significant repair. Principally it is home to caravels that raid coastal shipping between Mordentshire, Port-a-Lucine and Ludendorf and to carracks and galleons that prey upon the carracks and galleons trading with Paridon or more rarely Rokushima Taiyoo."
-SAILING THE SEA OF SORROWS: Ships, Tactics, Strategy by Retired Captain James Halloway and Retired Ship's Mage Ivan Klautnoff
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