A piracy paradigm

[Fritz_Brown]

Of course, all that would have to be well-hidden, or your patron would invite reprisals. So, having a patron isn't too great a help. Also, many privateers were still essentially on their own (in the day of sail) - a letter of marque only meant that country's government wouldn't be coming after you.

 

[Chaos]

Originally posted by Fritz88:
Of course, all that would have to be well-hidden, or your patron would invite reprisals. So, having a patron isn't too great a help. Also, many privateers were still essentially on their own (in the day of sail) - a letter of marque only meant that country's government wouldn't be coming after you.

Or the patron has to be big enough. If the Zho´s support a bunch of Vargr pirates like that, what´s the Imperium going to do? Risk *another* Frontier War over a couple of private/corporate ships?
No, they´re going to go after the privateers themselves, just as if they were regular pirates.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Good point, Chaos.

 

[aramis]

If there is no major economy of transport, then piracy is more likely to be profitable, as there is less to defende, and hence less defending it. A minor economy of very little movement, where larger worlds tend to be more self-sufficient and need less trade as an absolute, and need what they need faster, may be construed to trade less, rather than more.

Trade presumes both a surplus and a demand; if everything needed is locally available, demand will not generate significant trade flows unless the neighbors have severe excesses (and hence can sell for very cheap). It doesn't describe the OTU, at least not post Adv 4, but it is a viable model. Trade then becomes exorbitant exploitation of worlds with needs, by a scant few, rather than the massive interdependence generated by the traffic numbers indicated by later OTU materials.

Part of MTU is that the Imperium WANTS worlds to be independant, not interdependant; at each others throats rather than looking at slicing up "the big pie." Part of so doing is intentionally "overlooking" piracy on a small scale... Stolen Cargos here and there... but tracking down pirates who go all the way to stealing ships. Not every pirate was looking for the ship... often the loot was enough unless you pissed them off.

 

[jatay3]

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Icon 1 posted December 15, 2005 08:34 PMDecember 15, 2005 08:34 PM Profile for wordserpent Send New Private Message Edit/Delete Post Reply With Quote In an unpatrolled system it would be dog-eat-dog. Since there is no law protecting anybody then the biggest, best armed, fastest ship would have a distinct advantage. Ships that were evenly matched (i.e. two corsairs or two armed Far traders, ect) would risk losing too much to try and take another ship unless it was a sure bet you'd win.

Then there's the Ship's Boat option. A merchant, desparate to escape from a big, bad pirate ship could send it's ship's boat off in one direction (unmanned) and take off in the other, hoping that the pirate will chase after the boat for an easy win rather than risk taking a hit in combat. If the pirate ships outnumber the merchants then the merchant had better be travelling with friends (merchant convoys) or have multiple ship's boats.

This might encourage independent free-traders to band together for safety...
...thus begins the next shipping company...
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put a bomb in the ships boat.

 

[Lochlaber]

Piracy does not work without somebody to sell the loot too, period. If you take that 200 ton ship and cannot sell it, it is a dead loss.
Even real life pirates, such as Morgan, Blackbeard, Kidd, Lafitte, etc., generally had deals with local merchants who sometimes used the pirates against their opposition. Thus a Patron who provides shipping details, repairs, a fence, etc., can make it work.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

It is a web of criminality in my game. Enter the crooked Merchant Middleman and the "Spotter". The spotter or group of spotters is part middleman/ part cultural observer. He proceeds a Pirate Cruiser, Letting on who is buying what no questions asked. Some spotters enjoy High Social Standing, while most are streetlevel Criminals.

In some places, Like the Hinterworlds, there is little in way of higher end amenities, so in some cases Pirates have an almost Robin Hood public Image, as they often bring offworld goods beyond the average tech level of Nine.

 

[Liam Devlin]

Please also recall gentlemen the earlier part of this post about the kidnapping options--most pirates (wet-navy kind) historically raided ashore far more often than they took shipping.

In which case, raiding, kidnapping, and slaving becomes profitable for the pirate as well, especially against planets with no space defense force, planetary radar, etc..(TL-4 or less).

Jatay: and the bomb in the gig trick is a nice idea.

Baron: Agreed, there must be middlemen to dispose of loot, middlemen to fix the ship, and of course, a network of Spies, corrupt officials, planetary gangsters etc to glue it altogether makes a rum punch mix the players will have months of gaming (if not years) to unravel, be embroiled in.

 

[JAFARR]

Liam,

If I am not mistaken, your chosen name comes from a character who, while not a pirate, might well be aligned with those inclined to piracy. Is Jack Higgins a favorite author of yours also?

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Liam Devlin:
...and of course, a network of pies...

Maybe they're clown pirates?

(Best misprint I've seen in a long time! )

 

[Liam Devlin]

Originally posted by Andy Fralix:
Liam,

If I am not mistaken, your chosen name comes from a character who, while not a pirate, might well be aligned with those inclined to piracy. Is Jack Higgins a favorite author of yours also?

----------------------------------------------
Yes, and yes.

 

[Liam Devlin]

Originally posted by Black Globe Generator:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Liam Devlin:
...and of course, a network of pies...

Maybe they're clown pirates?

(Best misprint I've seen in a long time! ) </font>[/QUOTE]--------------------------------------------------
<grins> Corrected now, Black Globe!

And yes, if it makes you smile, then so be it for me to cast random acts of kindness and senseless humor about

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Liam Devlin:
<grins> Corrected now, Black Globe!

That's too bad - I pictured thirty clown pirates spilling out of a 10-dton fighter, sandcasters hurling lemon meringue pies, tiny flags that say "FWOOSH!" popping out of fusion guns...

Thanks very much for the chuckle.

 

[aramis]

Piracy does not work without somebody to sell the loot too, period.

That can be utterly wrong. If the loot is consumables for the pirate ship and crew, then no need for a purchaser is found.

Piracy of survival: normally part of post-holocaust settings, civil war settings, and similar. It's a valid regime for pirates.

In traveller, it means having to score sufficient life support and fuel to keep going, sufficient ammo to keep fighting, and sufficient parts to maintain the ship.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

And Food. We had an Alien destroy the Crew's food supply, and that made for a LONG few days in Jump. Basic commodities can be worth more than gold in certain environments.

 

[Plankowner]

Sounds like Mad Max in Space.

 

[aramis]

Plankowner: That's a good description of Milieu 1200 (TNE) outside the Regency, RC, and CoE areas. And much of Milieu 1130 (Hard Times).

 

[Plankowner]

I left active gaming before all that hit (CT only for me). But, I have been reading up on the additional future history and it sounds like it would be fun to play in.

 

[Liam Devlin]

That's too bad - I pictured thirty clown pirates spilling out of a 10-dton fighter, sandcasters hurling lemon meringue pies, tiny flags that say "FWOOSH!" popping out of fusion guns...

Thanks very much for the chuckle.

------------------------------------------------
IIRC there was a TNE-Challenge magazine involving pirates that actually turn out to be AI-cym (sentient Virus) robots that used t belong to an acting troupe that had Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" in their databases...
That turns out that they only want to capture the female crewmen, and the lark runs from there..

As ever was,
Liam

 

[Lochlaber]

Consumables, are you kidding? You attack a ship, take serious damage to your own, possibly lose a man or two when you storm the ship and all you care about is food and water? I doubt there would be a ton or so of said supplies, versus 50 tons of cargo which probably isn't food but needed somewhere, with somebody willing to buy, no questions asked, especially with a discount for no questions and for which sale you could buy a hell of a lot more and better supplies. If YTU is so lacking of natural resources that a ship's food supplies are a major prize, nobody would have ships since they cost so much and you wouldn't have a surplus to build them.

In real life, most, if not many pirates started out as privaters or naval vessels of one side or another and either lost the war or became a pain in the ass to their own side like Sir Francis Drake who was executed by his own side to placate the Spanish.

Since most merchant vessels were not heavily armed, compared to the pirate vessels, if they couldn't outsail the pirates, they surrendered and were looted, after all that is what insurance was for. The pirates might take some personal pretties, ask for volunteers for their ship and the like, then they let it sail on, mainly because they had nowhere to sell the ship, besides, it could be raided again on it's next voyage.