Romantic Space Pirates

[Michael Hopcroft]

What is the best way to run a game in which the characters are space pirates, but not bloodthirty killing machines, but rather romantic rebels against a society within whose boundaries they cannot live?

 

These characters might actually be the heroes of the setting -- the Empire upon whose shipping they prey is corrupt, decadent, and denies freedom to the everyman. The only freedom to be found is in space, and the only safety in the ability to flght and flee. Wise merchants carry insurance, because cargo is easier to replace than crews or ships -- and previously law-abiding starfarers may have to go rogue themselves if the bank tries to foreclose on their ship as the trade consolidates in the hands of a few ultramegacorps while the Imperial authorities attempt to consolidate all power within their grasp.

 

The (relatively) "good" priates live by a code that is as unbrekable as any law. Each crewman gets their fair share of the booty. Disputes within the crew are handled within the crew, and a priate crew takes care of its own -- if one pirate's in trouble, his crewmates will not hesitate to come to his aid. Prize crews that do not reisst will be treated honorably, and even those that do fight and are defetated will not be slaughtered but will be set free on some planet where there is breathable air and a plentiful supply of food, preferably far from the reach of the Empire or their former employers (thus they've suddenly become colonists -- many colonies on the "fringe worlds" were founded in such maroonings). The only people to whom no quarter is ever offered are the Imperial authorities, because it is well known that it is standing orders in the Imperial navy that all pirates are to be executed by troture immediately upon capture. And if no quarter is offered, then none is given.

 

There is one captain in particular who has dedicated himself to the destruction of piracy. He is renowned as much for his cruelty as for his skill. If he has learned the identity of someone who even MIGHT be a pirate, he has been known to send word to have every person related to that pirate executed -- just for jollies. If he encounters a pirate ship, he will not blast it out of the sky; rather, he will find a way to board it, overhwlem the crew, and eliminate the survivors with the cruelty of a sadistic child. he has been known to do the same thing to "smugglers", whom he defines as any vessel that is not owned by one of the supercorps and thus under Imperial control, or "rouge colonies" which he defines as any group of people who are not under the domination of an Imperial military governor. His amibition knows no bounds, but most of it is his ambition to exercised as much sanctioned cruelty as he possibly can. As a result, not only does he hunt pirates but many pirates seek the resources to hunt HIM.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

I'm not sure what you're asking...looks to me like you have the beginnings of a great campaign....

 

If I have any input for you, it would be that the characters should start out as legitimate merchants. They should encounter this bad-guy Imperial captain somehow while he's putting some pirates to torture/death. Then, put the screws to them, so that they are eventually forced into piracy.

 

Maybe some unscrupulous shipper cheats them by supposedly shipping something valuable with them, but when it arrives at its destination, it is shown to be worthless...he then accuses them of making a switch, so that he can collect on the insurance. Or maybe they just slowly lose money over a period of time, and then come upon the opportunity to plunder some unsavory NPC's ship with (supposedly) no chance of discovery. Or maybe they're hired to carry a shipment of food (to be paid for on delivery) to some far-off planet in the throes of a famine, only to find out when they get there that it's under some sort of Imperial interdict...do they run the food in to starving women and children at the cost of their good names, or do they return with a hold full of rotting grain?

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

The "run-in with overzealous 'law enforcement'" was something I did to my players back when I was running a Spelljammer campaign. They were crewing a legitimate trade ship, but out in the wilds away from civilization this can mean having to sometimes go to extremes to protect yourself from the pirates, monsters, etc. Out of all the things and monsters they encountered, there are none they loathe more or had with more passion than the spacegoing elves in their Elven Armadas. On one occassion an Armada ordered them to heave-to and be boarded for inspection. The elves really drug things out, and did such nastiness as inviting the captain and his officers over for dinner, then drugging them and interrogating them during dinner. To the space elves, this was perfectly legit because these were all "lower" life-forms and since they weren't elves, were untrustworthy to boot. All in all it was a pretty ugly episode that left the characters with a passionate hatred for spacegoing elves of the Elven Grand Fleet, all the more so because there was absolutely nothing they could do about it...if they had tried to "defend" themselves, they would have been wiped out in a heartbeat.

 

Note that I didn't do this just to "get to" my players...as a matter of fact, they relished the tense role-playing and the righteous fury that worked itself up inside their characters. No, this was a set-up for much later, when they'd have the choice to side with a group of allied races -- including the spacegoing elves -- against a much larger, more sophisticated, and more powerful invading empire, or...would they side with the invaders, to get the chance of "even the score" with the spacegoing elves...?

[grymlocke]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

Captain Harlock saga, galaxy express 999, Queen Emaraldis....there are lots of others expamples of 'Romantic Space Pirates'....there was several on startrek TNG/DS9/Voyager too, but the names escapes me.....

[travellerne]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

For more flavor read or watch:

Zorro (rebel)

read The Three Musketeers (romantic rebels)

any Errol Flynn you can get your hands on (flashy swashbuckling)

any of the 1960's, 70's Hollywood pirate films (romantic pirate life)

even the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean"

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

Ah, yes, "The Outrageous Okona" -- ST:TNG's answer to Han Solo (although

Picard's former lady friend Vash had a bit of the space pirate in her makeup

as well). Ice Pirates comes to mind as well (if for no other reason than

that the film had the crappiest-looking robots in any sci-fi flick).

 

Major Tom

[Dr. Anomaly]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

Ice Pirates comes to mind as well (if for no other reason than

that the film had the crappiest-looking robots in any sci-fi flick).

You've obviously never seen Robot Monster, and old black-and-white. The robot monster of the title was a guy in a gorilla suit with a deep sea diving helmet on his head.

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

To me, the whole premise (in the original post) sounds like a very good premise for a campaign set in the late Terran Empire, probably centered around Venwordien (though Drago's Reach is also a possibility -- yet Venwordien seems to have an almost universal charm for many GMs).

[Vanguard00]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

I have to agree with the others, Michael. You definitely have the makings of a good campaign there.

 

Errol Flynn movies to watch would include "The Sea Hawk" and "Captain Blood". Great films for the pirate/swashbuckler genre. And "Robin Hood", of course.

 

The two sci-fi series that I can think that’ll fit your campaign are “Farscape†and “Fireflyâ€.

 

In “Fireflyâ€, you have a crew that is trying very hard to stay under the radar of the Empire, mainly because most of their business dealings aren’t particularly legal. The series didn’t last long enough to develop their relationship with the Empire, but for individual scenarios it’s a great resource.

 

“Farscapeâ€, on the other hand, has exactly what you’re looking for. The stars are escaped prisoners, out on the “frontier†of space and trying to avoid the “Peacekeepersâ€, the military might of known space. One in particular has a hard on for the star of the show, and he breaks many a rule in trying to track him down. He’s not in every episode, but his presence is usually felt in some way, even if it’s only in a “we must move before he finds us†way.

 

Your question is "what is the best way to run a space pirates campaign?", but I'm not sure I know what you're asking. That’s not gonna stop me from trying to answer it, though

 

I wouldn’t limit my thinking to the label “piratesâ€. Let them be pirates, adventurers, mercenaries and explorers all at the same time. They can take jobs that others won’t, go places others can’t, etc. Give them a good first mission with few real frills to help them cement their characters’ interaction. Then introduce your big baddie. A close call, one in which he doesn’t necessarily catch them or even know who they are, but reminds them of the consequences.

 

Next, begin a campaign. By this I mean have some long term goal that you’d like to see played out. Maybe they’re the start of a revolution, and slowly but surely they’ll build contacts and good will among the less-partisan members of the Empire. Don’t bring up rebellion, yet, but have it in the back of your mind. Give them a contact here, a favor there, etc. Nothing big, but little things. Then, later, hit ‘em with the big stuff. A planet has been “peacefully†brought into the Empire, much to the chagrin of the population. Their princess (or prince, or king or whatever) escaped, and the PCs get involved somehow (hired to take a mysterious passenger somewhere, for example).

 

Now the ruthless Imperial captain wants their hides, so the chase is on. Of course, now there’s growing sentiment against the Empire. They conquered a peaceful world and unleashed their crazy captain on a group who is relatively well-known and well-liked among the fringe groups. Next thing you know you got yourself a “Braveheartâ€, with people banding together in ever-increasing numbers to fight the Empire, one town, one starport, one planet at a time.

 

Hrm...rambling a bit, aren't I? Sorry 'bout that. I kinda got carried away...

[Guest Major Tom]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

You've obviously never seen Robot Monster' date=' and old black-and-white. The robot monster of the title was a guy in a gorilla suit with a deep sea diving helmet on his head. [/quote']

 

Actually, yes, I have; it's just that (until now) I had managed to forget that

waste of perfectly good film.

 

Then you had to go and remind me of it ....

 

Major Tom

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

I have to agree with the others, Michael. You definitely have the makings of a good campaign there.

 

Errol Flynn movies to watch would include "The Sea Hawk" and "Captain Blood". Great films for the pirate/swashbuckler genre. And "Robin Hood", of course.

 

The two sci-fi series that I can think that’ll fit your campaign are “Farscape†and “Fireflyâ€.

 

In “Fireflyâ€, you have a crew that is trying very hard to stay under the radar of the Empire, mainly because most of their business dealings aren’t particularly legal. The series didn’t last long enough to develop their relationship with the Empire, but for individual scenarios it’s a great resource.

 

“Farscapeâ€, on the other hand, has exactly what you’re looking for. The stars are escaped prisoners, out on the “frontier†of space and trying to avoid the “Peacekeepersâ€, the military might of known space. One in particular has a hard on for the star of the show, and he breaks many a rule in trying to track him down. He’s not in every episode, but his presence is usually felt in some way, even if it’s only in a “we must move before he finds us†way.

Although they very rarely indulged in much looting or pillaging (favoring the direct destruction of enemy military assets). Blakes 7 dealt with some of these themes. They even had their obsessive Federation captain (Travis) who had a personal gurdge against Blake, and later on the President of the federation had a very personal (to put it lightly) interest in one of the other heroes (mainly in getting him safely chained to her boudior to be used as a lesuire item). That series had the additional advanatge of exploring the very thinness of the lines between rebel, hero and terrorist.

[Polaris]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

Michael,

 

I think your idea seems like a real winner! For what it is worth, I would buy it (if it were written and put up for sale).

 

Polaris

[Carmen]

Re: Romantic Space Pirates

 

If you are planning on writing this up, you might find Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly (ISBN 0-15-600549-2) useful reading.

 

Granted, there aren't any spaceships, but there's information on pirate codes, privateers, buccaneers, pirate islands, and all that good stuff. It's also entertaining.