Pirates & Piracy

Any Questions or Confusion on these rules, please raise with the Arbiters as soon as possible so we can elaborate and improve!

IF YOU AGREE TO PLAY ON THIS SERVER, YOU AGREE TO THE RISK OF BEING PIRATED, AND YOU ALSO AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING RULES RELATED TO PIRACY.

Note that any company or individual can be a Pirate or perform Piracy - there is no requirement to declare this before, only to declare an action of piracy, as below!

The Rules Of Engagement

When performing piracy, in order to engage a vessel you wish to plunder, you simply need to fire a warning shot at the vessel, and be sure to hail them with a “friendly” greeting. This will signal to the vessel that they are now being hunted by pirates. If they choose to surrender, no further combat is necessary, however if they choose to flee or stand and fight, then you’ll have an exciting time on your hands.

The vessel you hunt may be escorted by a group of mercenaries, or a heavily armed warship supplied by the company that the vessel belongs to. You may end up fighting them off while the ship you hunt makes it safely to port.

An act of piracy 'upgrades' to a Fleet Operations when either side has more than 2 ships present. Please see Fleet Operations for more details.

If the vessel you hunt anchors safely in a friendly port, I.E., the central trade hub or their company (or allies) port, you can no longer pursue it, as it is then protected by the harbour authorities.

Remember, anchoring at an island coast does not count as a port. You must be in a populated area with other ships or an easily identifiable harbour. If unsure, consult an arbiter!

The Rules Of Surrender

Whether you’re a pirate or not, you can always choose to surrender, after which both parties cease combat immediately, regardless of ship condition or possible reinforcements.

In order to surrender in a battle, the ship surrendering must type in chat that they are surrendering, and come to a complete stop as soon as possible (if possible close all sails). This allows for surrender if incapacitated, or if you require to anchor immediately if sinking etc.

If you are engaging in piracy, ensure your on screen chat is active and visible!

Once a ship has surrendered, combat ceases and cannot continue unless agreed upon for RP reasons by both parties. (See Geoffery's Law for more information.)

A ship may attempt to lure pirates into close range of their guns by lowering their sails, but not providing a surrender in chat. This comes under the understanding that if you have not actually surrendered, the pirates are allowed to continue shooting you until you officially surrender, or sink, whichever comes first.

The Rules Of Plunder

If a ship surrenders, there are rules as to what you can take from them, and how much. Looting should be proportional to the fighting undertaken to secure it, however you must leave enough resources aboard the plundered ship to enable them to make repairs and get home.

Tames are OFF LIMITS as plunder, unless the plundered party agrees to part with them for RP or other reasons. (See Geoffery's Law for more information.)

Remember to not Stone Age someone through plundering. It’s not fun for the plundered company to have to climb back up from nothingness. Only take what you think is fair.

Anchored Piracy

Don🦄t.