Piracy, it's in the news, its on the screen, and its a perennial theme in gaming. Ah, to stand at the helm of a fast ship, the wind off your starboard quarter, yon fat merchant man wallowing along ripe for the taking. So draw your xiphos, call your men to action and row heartily sons of Greece!

As recent events have shown, piracy is not limited to the 'golden age' of 17th and 18th century Caribbean. From the first time humans put to sea with valuables, some one else wanted to take those treasures by force. The Mediterranean has been a hotbed of piracy at least since the bronze age. In his youth Julius Caesar was captured by Cilician pirates. The Knights Hospitaller, after being forced out of the holy land, took up piracy in the name of Christ to combat Muslim pirates preying on Christian shipping. One of the first major exploits of the infant United States Navy was to combat the Barbary Pirates of North Africa.

Pirates in Your Game

Piracy can be used in a wide variety of genres. The easiest is to pick a time period and set your game amongst the pirates of the then and there. A little more thought needs to be put into integrating pirates in a fantasy or sci-fi setting. First, you must educate yourself on the topic, as knowledge is the power that allows you to create a rich and exciting game.

Start with your local library. Following the popularity of The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, many libraries increased the size of their piracy collections. Also, a jump in the number of published books on piracy has provided a wealth of information, as well as more than a few traps for the unwary. Start with Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly. Although focusing on the 'golden age' of piracy, Cordingly touches on other eras. Another good source of piratey fun is Daniel Defoe's A General History of Pyrates and of course his novel Robinson Crusoe From there you should decide on what era you wish to draw inspiration from and search accordingly. Books on Ancient and Medieval pirates can generally be found, but the more obscure the time period, the longer the search. Care should be taken, however, because the recent popularity of pirates has brought out some rather poor histories and retellings of old misinformation.

Once you have picking up some knowledge of how pirates lived, fought and loved, its time to get to work. Piracy is one of those human endeavors that persists through changes in culture and technology. The lessons learned from one era can be applied to others or ripped out and sent across the multiverse.

Lessons from the History of Piracy

There's more to glean from the Golden Age of Piracy than some nautical terms and a love of rum. Contrary to popular belief, pirates were not just freewheeling sea rovers. Pirates can be divided into two broad categories: licensed and unlicensed. Licensed pirates include those holding letters of marque and reprisal (generally called privateers) and the legitimate navy. Letters of marque and reprisal are issued by one nation and grant the holder the right to legally attack and capture shipping belonging to a specific nation, or in some cases to unlicensed pirates. This can be as general as all French ships, or as specific as all ships belonging to a certain group or faction. Not generally considered pirates, legitimate navies have historically attacked attacked enemy merchant shipping in times of war. All other acts of piracy are unlicensed, however the victims of privateering rarely view their attackers as anything but pirates. In other words, even if you hold a letter of marque from England against France, there's little chance the French won't hang you as a pirate (and other nations may or may not recognize the letters). It was a lull in the ongoing European Wars that put a large number of privateers out of work and helped usher in the Golden Age.

Pirate ships almost always operated under contracts or covenants. These detailed how officers were selected, who and what would be attacked, and the division of loot. Details include punishments for committing such acts as murder or theft against a crewmate, treatment of female prisoners, and who gets to be captain. Also, these contracts detailed an early form of workmen's compensation, paying additional shares or cash for various injuries a pirate may suffer in the course of conducting his trade.

Ships were not the only thing attacked. Morgan, Myng, DeSorres, Drake and others all attacked costal towns. Drake even attempted to ambush the Spanish silver caravan that crossed the Isthmus of Panama. Blackbeard blockaded the town of Charleston and held it for ransom. Not all piratey fun must take place at sea, or even the sea side. Pirates established bases and havens, such as Port Royal, Tortuga and the Pirate Republic on Madagascar. The Pirate Republic was a legendary entity, though the island of Madagascar was used as a permanent base for many years.

Which brings us to the most important part of piracy, disposing of the loot. More often than not, the booty taken was not in the form of coin, but instead cargo. One of the most clever means of laundering the booty involved the Indian Ocean Pirates of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Loot was taken to Madagascar, where it was sold to middlemen in exchange for goods (cloth, powder, rum, native girls, etc...). Merchants from New England would sail in and exchange goods for the loot. They would then return to New England and smuggle in the bales of silk, gold, et al. Which was sold openly by 'honest' merchants.

Other eras and places can provide some further information. In the Ancient Mediterranean, and during the Middle Ages, piracy was not always a regular profession. Often the difference between a pirate and an honest merchant or fisherman was opportunity. During the early 19th century, piracy in the South China Sea and surrounding waters was dominated by Cheng I Sao. Cheng I Sao was the wife of one of the region's leading pirates and went on (after his death) to amass a pirate fleet larger than many navies. She dominated every aspect of the trade and died a rich old lady.

What We Have Learned

Let us apply this to some common game settings. If we are to build a background and system of piracy in our games, we need to do a little planning. This can be best summed up in five questions:

• Who has the booty, loot, goods, etc...?
• Where are they going to and from (and what lies in between)?
• Who wants the booty, and how will it be disposed of?
• Are the pirates organized, licensed, or random?
• Where do pirates go to rest, relax, debauch and refit?

Answering these will give you a foundation to build your piracy campaign or adventure around. Here's what I have come up with:

The Sons of Chalderoy

For my fantasy campaign, I have included mention of the dreaded Sons of Chalderoy, a pirate brotherhood the operates out of the Turtle Islands (inside reference: Tortuga is Spanish for Turtle) and preys on shipping in the Bay of Mantauk and surrounding waters. They operate under a contract, but are highly organized and lead by the infamous pirate Chalderoy (his lecherous nature has lead to many of the pirates being his progeny). The Bay of Mantauk sees traffic from distant ports across the Inland Sea, as well as coastal traffic from the bordering kingdoms and city states. Smugglers from the ports of Mara and Maricopea purchase the booty from the Sons and resell it. Booty takes the form of sugar, silk, cotton, cacao, coca, cola, tropical hard woods, and foreign objects d'art.

The Sons could easily be transferred to other settings. They could be operating from an asteroid field and attack starships traveling from nearby worlds to a jump point or other FTL spot. Change the names, and they're a fictional group preying on shipping in the Caribbean, Ancient Mediterranean, or Indian Ocean.

There are many ways to involve the Sons of Chalderoy (or your favorite pirate group) in a campaign. The most obvious is to have the PC's be captured. Do they join up, try to escape, rescue other captives (and perhaps liberate some booty)? Historically, if pirates needed men, they would offer employment to crew of captured ships. At times, when a specialist such as a navigator or carpenter was needed, this offer was one that could not be refused. Pirate trials abound with defendants entering pleas of impressment.

The PC's could be hired to put down the pirates. William Kidd, before turning pirate, was operating under a letter of marque to take pirate ships in the Indian Ocean. He played fast and loose with the rules and got hung (even though the King of England and other prominent members of government were his backers). They party may be offered a contract to retrieve an object or prisoner from the pirates, or they could be looking for a specific person or item that the pirates are known to have.

That's all for now, but I am sure to revisit this topic again at a later date. Until then, read a good pirate book and add a bit of history to your game. For those of you who are curios, a xiphos is your standard greek leaf bladed short sword.