General Small Ship Pirates

[Madmax]

I have seen it mentioned in several Traveller sources that most Pirates do not have purpose built Corsairs or other military ships, they mostly have captured merchant ships converted/used for Piracy.
This is consistent with the history of Piracy here on Earth. Most pirates just used whatever ships they could get their hands on, which would be mostly merchant ships. This worked for them in previous centuries because most ship to ship combat (in the age of sail) was decided by boarding actions, so even a small schooner could be an effective pirate ship if the crew were willing/able to engage in aggressive boarding actions.
But how would this work in Traveller? While, say, a Far Trader could carry something like 20 armed brigands for boarding actions, it seems to me executing such boarding actions would be many orders of difficulty greater than was the case for wooden ship pirates 400 years ago. For one thing the weapons of the day (smooth bore cannon) had a very hard time stopping such an attacking ship before it could get close enough to board. However Traveller ship weaponry can almost guarantee that it can disable, if not destroy, a hostile ship before it gets close enough.
One possibility would be subterfuge, fooling the target into thinking your ship is friendly and allowing you to dock. This might work sometimes, but even when it does, the fact that the boarders are limited to only one entry point gives the defenders a substantial advantage.
Any ideas on how a Traveller crew, with a Far Trader or other small merchant ship, would go about being Pirates?

 

[Condottiere]

Depends on the type of pirate, and piracy involved.

If it's state sponsored, or tolerated, entrepreneurs have the freedom to build and outfit quite capable ships at military standards.

One famous referenced example is Space Viking.

 

[Madmax]

Depends on the type of pirate, and piracy involved.

If it's state sponsored, or tolerated, entrepreneurs have the freedom to build and outfit quite capable ships at military standards.

One famous referenced example is Space Viking.

Well, OK, but I would consider that Privateering, a bit different thing.

What I am asking is what if you are Refereeing a group that has a small merchant vessel, but want to be Pirates. How can they go about doing that?

 

[AtlanticFriend]

Any ideas on how a Traveller crew, with a Far Trader or other small merchant ship, would go about being Pirates?

Ah, there you're touching on a subject that I always found puzzling in space opera settings.The idea of lurking behind some asteroid ready to pounce on a potentially-armed trader is nice, but I'm not convinced it would work out for a pirate crew given the risk-to-reward ratio.

Unless the area has fallen into complete lawlessness, most pirate operations IMHO would be more like interplanetary heists than space combat operations. The lethality of the weapons on both the pirates' ship and their target cn only ensure tremendous damage is done to the attackers (and we're talking multi-million Credits and trained personnel here, not some Joes on a rusty fishing boat) or to the precious cargo (which kinda ruins the whole point), and probably both.

If I was a PC tasked with snatching some cargo, I'd probably focus on knowing what is about to leave the planet waaaay before it does, and try to hijack it before it reaches the starport, (let's face it, it's cheaper to operate a couple of armed G-carriers than a pirate ship, it's easier to evade the authorities planetside, and on-the-ground piracy doesn't require me to hire space-faring specialists). My "pirate" ship would be just another, perfectly legit far trader, ready to take off with fake cargo manifests. By the time I've been made, I'd have jumped space already.

If that was impossible to act before the cargo reaches the starport, I'd try stealing it there - also cheaper in terms of equipment and crew salaries. Barring that, I'd plan on either infiltrating/incapacitate the target trader's crew or to have its weapons sabotaged either at the starport or in flight, so when my ship pounce on it, the traders cannot force me into a costly fight (which would mean losses and large bounties for my crews, two things that wouldn't help us maintain our activies for very long).

If I cannot act before trader reaches space, I'd probably go for some deception, like sending a GK signal from a derelict ship to lure some of the traders away and take them hostage/assume their identities, or posing as an official "customs" ship so I can have a chance to board the trader without resistance.

One last option might be to intimidate the target Trader through sheer firepower, but only with a heavy heart because if they're not intimidated enough, both their much-desired cargo and my own ship are going to lose value fast and my business model would probably go through the window.

My last concern would be where to sell my wrongly-acquired merchandise, if I'm not working for a client/fence having its own ship/procedures. That requires either some accomplice in a nearby world (to allow me to sell it as legitimate cargo), some lawless starport (but that might cost me more), or going for some quick "cargo ramp sale" (which won't allow me to get as much from the stolen goods I suspect).

 

[The Oz]

Piracy begins planetside, with the pirates having agents scoping out possible targets. Priorities are 1: a target worth pirating (a cargo worth taking) 2: a target the pirates can catch (lower v and/or delta v at the point of interception) 3: a target that cannot resist (unarmed/lightly armed).

How the actual interception will be worked depends on the situation, but I imagine the pirate will try to deceive the target for as long as possible, probably be pretending to be something else ( a ship in distress, a police/customs ship, a passing free trader, an asteroid, something innocuous.

As long as the small ship pirates have surprise they should be able to close to shipboard weapons range. Once in weapons range the pirates would order the victim to maintain com silence and stop or change acceleration to allow boarding. If the pirates lose surprise they'll likely go away and try someone else, unless the target is really worth it. Pirates will generally avoid a space battle since there's no government to pay for expenses like missiles or holes in the ship.

Assuming the victim doesn't resist, the pirate will match velocities a distance away and send the boarding party over by a spacewalk or by small craft if the pirate has one.

 

[Fovean]

Some great observations so far.

As far as a pirate op devolving into actual space combat, Traveller really needs a good system for called shots, to be able to deliver "one across the bow" or as we see in The Expanse, a precision hit to the maneuver drives or power plant. I can't see any ship ever allowing a boarding action to happen unless they're disabled or absolutely completely fooled somehow.

At that point you could roleplay the desperate pirates (taking only cargo and supplies, perhaps a hostage, hey we're just trying to get by) vs the truly bad ones (spacing the crew and pax and taking the target ship itself).

 

[AtlanticFriend]

I can't see any ship ever allowing a boarding action to happen unless they're disabled or absolutely completely fooled somehow.

I agree entirely. Well, they could if convinced they face certain death if they don't (or at least that whatever they're transporting is not worth the risk), but that's never a given and I'm not sure a pirate could bet his ship and crew on it for very long.

Sabotaging the trader while on the ground, so the explosion disable the drives, then appearing out of nowhere with your ship "to rescue the crew and help with the repairs" could work, but mostly, I suspect, on supposedly safe quadrants, and mostly as a one-shot trick. Of course, if the trader is really in distress, no need to be subtle about it: it becomes a trade-off between their lives and their cargo.

Deception and pre-starport piracy would seem the best options. Lower risk, cheaper investment, and same reward.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Some great observations so far.

As far as a pirate op devolving into actual space combat, Traveller really needs a good system for called shots, to be able to deliver "one across the bow" or as we see in The Expanse, a precision hit to the maneuver drives or power plant. I can't see any ship ever allowing a boarding action to happen unless they're disabled or absolutely completely fooled somehow.

At that point you could roleplay the desperate pirates (taking only cargo and supplies, perhaps a hostage, hey we're just trying to get by) vs the truly bad ones (spacing the crew and pax and taking the target ship itself).

The Select-1 and Select-2 programs from the LBB2 starship computer rules do this. They trade off a reduced chance to hit for a 1/3 chance to target a specific ship system.

 

[Madmax]

Thanks everybody, really great suggestions!

Now the characters just need a to get a copy of
"How to be a Space Pirate"
by
"Ibe Knot Pi Rat"

 

[Madmax]

And, on a related note, why would pirates just take the cargo and let the ship go? The ships are worth tens, if not hundreds, of times more than any cargo they might be carrying.

The pirates don't even have to be bloodthirsty monsters. They can just hold the victims for ransom, or, if that is not expected to be worth the bother, drop them off at some minor nearby planet, perhaps even one with a starport, but that does not have any armed forces that will interfere with the pirate activities.

The only things I can see that would prevent the Pirates from taking the ship would be if onboard automated security might make taking control of the ship too difficult, and so the pirates reach a compromise with the ship crew to just accept the cargo instead of destroying the ship. The other possibility would be if the ship is not capable of jumping to the destination the pirates want to go to next. Even in that case the pirates might just strip anything they can carry from the ship (if they have time) leaving it adrift with many of its systems no longer functional. They could then give the crew the choice of staying with the now derelict ship, or being prisoners. Either would be a gamble.

 

[The Oz]

"Spacing" or otherwise killing crew is something I think most pirates (especially those operating without a foreign government as cover) would be reluctant to do.

Killing sentients upsets the authorities, gets you bad press, and encourages the next victim to fight (what do they have to lose?). If pirates do their best to minimize damage to ships and crew and take (as much as possible) freight, not speculative cargo, the ship's crew has a lowered incentive to resist.

Of course, merchies will have to strike a balance. Each cargo they lose will change the price of insurance for the next cargo on their ship, either driving up the price of speculative cargos (since the PCs have to pay the insurance, if they want it) or driving down the payment for freight (since the shipper has to pay for the insurance). Another detail for the ref to track, but leading to adventure possibilities.

A pirate who combined both options (if the victim doesn't resist they get the 'nice' treatment, while everyone who does resist is killed) might seem to combine the best of both approaches. However, such a pirate will attract the authorities and needs to move to new pastures after a while. That's probably a good modus operandi for any pirate: scout a new area, make a few quick captures, and then leave and go raid somewhere else.

 

[AtlanticFriend]

And, on a related note, why would pirates just take the cargo and let the ship go? The ships are worth tens, if not hundreds, of times more than any cargo they might be carrying.

Now that is very true - though they're probably more difficult to re-sell, whether intact or in the form of spare parts. Both options would require access to a secure dock somewhere with some form of shipyard/repair ability, where the ship could wait for a buyer). Plus, ships scarred with lasers are, I suppose, not very discreet, so there's an additional risk. Particularly risk-prone pirates might also use the first attacked ship as a lure to reel in another trader - THEY have been attacked by pirates, surely the second trader would send a rescue party and/or accept the crew of fellow traders down on their luck, hardy har har?

The pirates don't even have to be bloodthirsty monsters. They can just hold the victims for ransom, or, if that is not expected to be worth the bother, drop them off at some minor nearby planet, perhaps even one with a starport, but that does not have any armed forces that will interfere with the pirate activities.

Also true, at least as long as there is a significant difference between jail times for Grand Theft Spacio and murder, or if we're dealing with a "moral" kind of pirates.

The only things I can see that would prevent the Pirates from taking the ship would be if onboard automated security might make taking control of the ship too difficult, and so the pirates reach a compromise with the ship crew to just accept the cargo instead of destroying the ship.

The probable presence of many transponders/hidden transmitters sending "Under attack" signals, could also make the pirates think twice about getting the ship to their homebase IMHO, particularly if they don't have the expertise/time to find and disable them rapidly. That's also a concern with some cargo, but to a much lesser extent.

 

[AtlanticFriend]

"
Killing sentients upsets the authorities, gets you bad press, and encourages the next victim to fight (what do they have to lose?). If pirates do their best to minimize damage to ships and crew and take (as much as possible) freight, not speculative cargo, the ship's crew has a lowered incentive to resist. (...)

Quite true. Same as the pirates who have to balance brutality to penal consequences, the crew has to work out its own risk-to-economic penalty strategy.

 

[Condottiere]

SEA pirates prefer to use parangs, since robbery with a firearm is an automatic death sentence, if they are caught.

 

[whulorigan]

The probable presence of many transponders/hidden transmitters sending "Under attack" signals, could also make the pirates think twice about getting the ship to their homebase IMHO, particularly if they don't have the expertise/time to find and disable them rapidly. That's also a concern with some cargo, but to a much lesser extent.

A transponder code and distress signal would both be immediately transmitting, and unless the pirate has some way to effectively jam both signals immediately, local authorities will be aware (even if they cannot respond in-system due to light-lag and intercept-time constraints), and would likely send such information out on the X-Web alerting other starports across the Imperium (such "high-jump" information will likely run ahead of a "low-jump" captured trader). The pirates would need a "safe port" or secret base nearby that has somehow escaped the notice of Local and/or Imperial authorities. Otherwise, ship registries, transponder codes (w/ ship class and type information, owner information, etc) will be noticed if they are not altered somehow.

 

[AtlanticFriend]

A transponder code and distress signal would both be immediately transmitting, and unless the pirate has some way to effectively jam both signals immediately, local authorities will be aware (even if they cannot respond in-system due to light-lag and intercept-time constraints), and would likely send such information out on the X-Web alerting other starports across the Imperium (such "high-jump" information will likely run ahead of a "low-jump" captured trader).

Which would make capturing the ship a dangerous option as at some point the transponders and GK signals would have to be cut off entirely, not just jammed.

I suppose a high-jump capability would be an absolute must for a pirate ship, to ensure they stay one Jump ahead of the authorities.

 

[whulorigan]

Which would make capturing the ship a dangerous option as at some point the transponders and GK signals would have to be cut off entirely, not just jammed.

I suppose a high-jump capability would be an absolute must for a pirate ship, to ensure they stay one Jump ahead of the authorities.

Yes, but if they are planning to salvage and/or sell the prize-ship, they will be limited by the Jump-number of the prize (they have to get it to the safe-port), which for a merchant is usually low-jump.

 

[whartung]

Modern "pirate ships" are dirt cheap in contrast to their targets. A small boat and a couple of folks with small arms.

An armed merchant can deter piracy simply inflicting millions of Cr of damage to the intruder, even if in the end they are not successful and get boarded/captured/killed.

This possibility makes the proposition very high risk for the intruder.

Reputation also matters. If pirates are stealing ships and killing crews, there's no negotiation. No one will heave to in order to avoid damage, death, and loss. If pirates are only taking cargo, then merchants may be more willing to accede to demands. Why incur millions of Cr in damages for a cargo worth 100's of thousands of credits.

At the same time, in patrolled space, again, the local authorities don't even have to destroy or stop the pirates, just start doing damage that must be repaired (even if they get away) that makes the whole caper too risky.

I think that the circumstances that can make deep space piracy viable are very specific, and very rare in the TU.

 

[willtron3030]

I think piracy that goes as far as prize ships for resale/parts will end badly if it happens in Imperial Space, or anywhere that lays claim to the routes between systems. Those acts would directly flaunt the authority of the Emperor, and become a Navy issue. I don't think anyone wants even a fraction of their undivided attention.

I'm far more expecting piracy to be more pedestrian: Barratry; graft and corruption; scams that target shady independent trades.

I'd love to see a party arrange a three-or-more-way swap of cargo container data, double blind shipments, with the mis-labled and mis-directed freight getting sold off cheap as 'lost or unclaimed' in an orbital marshalling yard of a spaceport far distant from the point of origin to a throwaway shell company created by the PCs, so they have a legitimate claim to the freight. Goodness, the hacks, forgeries, bribes and favors they'd have to put together...

 

[Fovean]

The Select-1 and Select-2 programs from the LBB2 starship computer rules do this. They trade off a reduced chance to hit for a 1/3 chance to target a specific ship system.

Oh wow I forgot about Select! I've been using MgT2e for quite a while. Hmmm...

Cheers. Always good to back to the basics