Yar! Ye might think th' best holiday to focus on in September be Labor Day, but ye'd be wrong, ya landlubber! It's Talk Like a Pirate Day and, in a departure from the regular rhythm of this column's focus on horror movies, so this month's we'll focus on real life pirates.

Although they've become a beloved children's staple in popular culture, modern pirates are no joking matter. The first challenge in setting up a pirate scenario is having your player characters be on the ship in the first place. This isn't too hard; most well-armed characters aren't above guard duty of precious cargo, particularly if it's cargo they discovered in another adventure. For a real surprise, the characters could simply be on vacation on a cruise ship, which can put them at a serious disadvantage.

But modern pirates aren't always after a ship's cargo; pirates are more interested in what they can grab quickly than what they might have to sell later. Personal belongings are portable and more valuable in the short-term. The ship's safe is a prime target.

When pirates attack, they strike fast and hard, usually at night. They use speedboats not too far from shore and grappling hooks to board. There are also rumors of "pirate motherships" which pirates use as a home base to make strikes against targets further out at sea.

The one thing pirates have a lot of is weaponry. Grenades and rocket launchers are a favorite, using overwhelming force to terrify intended victims into submission. Once they have the upper hand, pirates can maroon victims, take hostages, or even kill. It's up to the player characters to stop that from happening. Ship captains have used everything from distress signals, to outrunning the pirates, to non-lethal measures like sonic cannons and fire hoses. Responding with firearms usually encourages an attack in kind, but that's never stopped player characters before.

One means of turning the traditional pirate attack on its ear is to have the players play the role of pirates. They may need access to rare cargo that is heavily guarded. In that case, game masters should feel free to throw the very latest technology at them, including electrified fences, stun guns, and maybe even the cargo itself – perhaps the intended target is actually a monster in hibernation, awakened by all the gunfire.

Your Turn: How have you used pirates in your modern game?

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Looking for more gaming inspiration? Buy Mike's book about The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, read his fantasy novel inspired by his role-playing campaign, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.