If you were a pirate..

[DirtyJawa84]

<p>If you were a pirate, what would you like in terms of a pirate crew?  I'm forming a RP Pirate crew in EQ2 in Qeynos on Venekor soon.  Here are the ranks I was thinking about:</p><p>Captain (in command of battle, but uses a voting system for most things) Quartermaster (in charge of upkeep, takes command when captain isn't in) Mate (average crew member) Powder Monkey (new recruits or those being "suspended"<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>What do you think of these ranks?  I got them from history mostly.  I left out sailor/gunner/cook stuff because EQ2 doesn't have boats <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Should I add to these ranks?  if so, what names?</p><p>What do you think a good non-cliche crew name would be?</p>

[Axxon]

<p>heh - I run a pirate guild for alts of some guildies and other friends called Gunthak Pirates.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />  Pirate RP can be a lot of fun - we even have a tavern called the Wharf Rat where we hold regular open tavern nights.  there are links on the site.  Good luck with the guild, and check these out for some ideas:</p><p> <a href="http://gunthakpirates.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=169842&TabID=1437832" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Gunthak Pirates</a></p><p><a href="http://corsairs.guildportal.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Crimson Corsairs</a></p><p><a href="http://www.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=190642&TabID=1611010" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Stormbreaker</a></p><p> EDIT:  Ranks for my guild are:</p><p>Captain (leader), </p><p>First Mate (Senior Officer), </p><p>Quartermaster(Officer), </p><p>Buccaneer (member level 30 and above), </p><p>Marauder (member level 20-29), </p><p>Corsair (member level 10-19), </p><p>Swab (member level 1-9), </p><p>Stow Away (unannounced AFKs).</p>

[DirtyJawa84]

<p>that's an awesome name - Gunthak!  I like your site too.  I am trying to make mine as well thought out as your guild.  Also, what are some tips on recruiting?  I seem to have a difficult time so far.</p><p>Some names I'm considering are:</p><p>Black Sails Death on Board</p><p>Anyone like these?</p>

[Cocytus]

<p>My pirate guild (Stormbreaker) was actually based on my brigand, Romdao, stealing the Stormbreaker (yes in eq1 it was 1 word) and making a crew.</p><p>It recently became more than a crew and started hiring land positions (Traders, crafters, message carriers etc) to maximize profits, so ranks are a mix of crew members and land-bound position. </p><p>If you don't already have a name in mind, but have the basis of a theme, IMO you should write out a bit more about it and think of one then. I couldn't really make any suggestions myself until I saw the theme (with a bit more depth than just a pirate guild hehe).</p>

[Wildfury77]

<p><b><u><span style="color: #ff0000">I'm sad......You are forming a pirate guild? why are u betraying to freeport...<i>Brigands suck <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></i></span></u></b></p><p><b>Swashbuckler</b> is a term that came about in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">16th century</a> and was applied to rough, noisy and boastful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">swordsmen</a>. It came about due to the popularity of the fighting style using a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-sword" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">side-sword</a> with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckler" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">buckler</a> in the off-hand, which was filled with much "swashing and making a noise on the buckler".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swashbuckler#_note-0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[1]</a></p>

[Cocytus]

<cite>Wildfury77 wrote:</cite><blockquote><p><b><u><span style="color: #ff0000">I'm sad......You are forming a pirate guild? why are u betraying to freeport...<i>Brigands suck <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></i></span></u></b></p><p><b>Swashbuckler</b> is a term that came about in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">16th century</a> and was applied to rough, noisy and boastful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">swordsmen</a>. It came about due to the popularity of the fighting style using a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-sword" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">side-sword</a> with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckler" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">buckler</a> in the off-hand, which was filled with much "swashing and making a noise on the buckler".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swashbuckler#_note-0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[1]</a></p></blockquote> You think pirates aren't swashbucklers? You are a disgrace to our class. Quit EQ now.

[Wildfury77]

A pirate - is a sea brigand. pirates were horrible people who looted,killed and [Removed for Content]. A swashbuckler is a flamboyent swordsman. You choose whos the disgrace, if you truly believe "pirates" were romantics like Jack Sparrow then omg grow up. They murdered and [Removed for Content] -----> much closer to a brigand imho. Up to you dude.

[DirtyJawa84]

<p>In a fantasy-style game, do you want to be a "real pirate" or a fantasy pirate?  Do you want to be dying of scurvy and hunting for spices?  Or do you want to be healthy and mean, while hunting for treasure chests?  Are you playing this game to make sure everyone plays in par with historical documentation on Earth, or are you playing a fantasy game that takes place in Norrath?</p><p>You could be a ruffian at sea, a sea brigand as stated, and still be a rough pirate.  You could be a swashbuckler and still be a pirate because swashbuckling is simply a way of fighting with a sword, which so happens to resemble the fantasy world of pirates' fighting style.</p><p>Pirates have a long history - vikings, wokou, buccaneers, corsairs, cicilian, tyrrhenians, thracians, irish, polynesians, slavic invaders, narentines, ushkuiniks, and barbary pirates.  In what sense, are you arguing that it's not possible to be a pirate as a swashbuckler or a brigand in the world of Norrath?</p>

[Cloakentuna]

Plus, if we aren't pirates then why do we get uber pirate hats?  <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Axxon]

<cite>Wildfury77 wrote:</cite><blockquote>A pirate - is a sea brigand. pirates were horrible people who looted,killed and [I cannot control my vocabulary]. A swashbuckler is a flamboyent swordsman. You choose whos the disgrace, if you truly believe "pirates" were romantics like Jack Sparrow then omg grow up. They murdered and [I cannot control my vocabulary] -----> much closer to a brigand imho. Up to you dude. </blockquote>Wow - relax man.  Maybe his crew will be ruthless cutthroats, but maybe they will be priateers and adventurers who kill only when necessary.  And I submit  that any class can be a "pirate" for the purposes of starting a RP guild. 

[OutcastBlade]

<p>Okay, as a pirate myself, I feel that the pirates of 18th century history are being severely misrepresented. It must stop, [Removed for Content] you. It must stop... </p><p> hrrrm...</p><p>Pirates in the 1700's where the term swashbuckler came from, were not all horrible people. They were simply sailors with severe problems with authority, that had gone awol as a result of extreme abuse at the hands of the royal navy, and in so doing became outlaws. Since piracy was the only logical choice, they became pirates. They wanted to become rich. They wanted to live comfortably. And they wanted to acheive this at the expense of the established authorities.</p><p>As far as pillaging towns, yah I am sure that happened quite a bit... NOT. The only example I can think of off the top of my head, was when Blackbeard laid siege to a town because he was sick and needed medicine. So he blew the hell out of the town until he got a chest full of what he wanted. When he was done, he left without hesitation. And [Removed for Content] women was not a common past time for pirates. That's not why they were pirates to begin with. I am sure there were a few exceptions throughout history, such as when they got their hands on a commodore or an admiral, as all men are capable of extremely evil acts, but hey I can bring up school teachers and priests that have far worse track records than pirates when it comes to violating people's privacies. Heck, royal navy seamen who were captured became pirates themselves more often than not, because it seemed the most promising way to go. It was either that, or the plank.(well there was no such thing as walking the plank, but you get my drift. If you can't beat em, join em.)</p><p><u>Anyways, the reason piracy was cool: </u>-In most cases, pirates were incredibly democratic. They voted on everything they did. The pirate captain was a figurehead and also someone who provided direction, and it wasn't uncommon for pirate captains to be swapped out now and again if a pirate captain wasn't doing his job. Mutiny on a pirate ship was extremely rare as a result. -Being on a pirate crew meant that you were entitled to an equal cut of the treasure. No one person got more treasure than the other. There was no such thing as a pirate captain's horde. -So long as you served on a ship and remained loyal, you were all good. You could leave the crew whenever you wanted without fear of reprisal once you have amassed enough wealth to start over. -Pirates targetted merchant vessels out at sea, as well as Royal/Spanish navy ships since I can imagine most pirates held considerable grudges toward their former superiors.</p><p><u>The reason piracy was sometimes not the way to go: </u>-Weeks at sea with no women. Homosexuality must have been rampant on some ships. -When you were caught and had nothing to offer the authorities in exchange for a pardon, you could look forward to months of torture resulting in a humiliating and painful execution. (The cage, oh my!) -You were a social outcast, wrapped up in a stigma that made it difficult to attain a normal life. You were also an outlaw. I would imagine pirates would use fake names to counter this.</p><p>As a swashbuckler myself, I support your wanting to form a pirate's guild. Don't listen to the naysayers, swashbucklers are pirates too.</p>

[DirtyJawa84]

<p>ARRR</p>

[Axxon]

Kanolth@Antonia Bayle wrote: <blockquote>And [Removed for Content] women was not a common past time for pirates. That's not why they were pirates to begin with. </blockquote> /agree.  And actually, now that you mention it, I remember that the IC Pirate Code for the Gunthak Pirates (link above) was lifted almost entirely from an actual set of Articles that I found on a pirate-related website.  I can't remember which captain they go with now, but it was one of the more notable figures.  One of the Articles reads:  "If at any time you meet with a prudent Woman, that Mate that offers to meddle with her, without her Consent, shall suffer present Death."  So there ya go.  Many of the more famous crews actually took a very dim view of having women against their will. 

[OutcastBlade]

That's cool that your code is derived from historical docs. Kudos. As for your the ranking system suggested by the OP, I would say most definitely. If you want to kinda be a little accurate, don't forget if you really want to do it right, a pirate crew is very chaotic, so democracy is the only way to go. To appease your crew allow them to all vote on important matters (minus the powder monkeys). Also the capt (GL in this case) cannot assume total control of the guild by vetoing the crew's vote. The crew veto the captain, not the other way round. If the crew are unhappy with the captain, then there needs to be a new captain. So keep the captain seat fresh with people who want to contribute to the guild. When a captain doesn't relinquish his seat of power, his crew simply abandons him or takes his ship from under him. Unfortunately that's kind of bad in this kind of game. But I thought I would toss it out there. Anyways good luck with your guild? And if I were you, I would push for guild housing to also be a ship out at sea. You use the bells to get to your ship instance <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> It would be a nice touch if SoE added that kind of guild housing if you ask me.