D&D General Hooks for Interplanar Piracy

[Hexmage-EN]

A player in my current 5E Spelljammer game has a pirate background. To try and flesh out my take on the setting more I am working on creating content related to piracy, such as perpetrators, targets, potential adventure hooks, etc. I thought it may be fun to share ideas related to this.

To start it off:

• A small group of unscrupulous dohwar wants some cheap goods for starting up a business after losing their stock in a Spelljammer crash. They are willing to buy new stock from pirates (or perhaps are the pirates themselves!).
• A ship crewed by devils and damned mortal souls is headed for the Nine Hells. Onboard is a soul headed for damnation that the forces of Chaotic Good believe should be liberated (maybe they willingly took on damnation so another could escape).
• Modrons are trying to close a color pool that they believe is unstable and threatens to let in intruders from the Far Realm. However, it is the fastest way to deliver value cargo to a particular planar location, so a ship is attempting to break through the modron embargo.
• Pirates loyal to Demogorgon are carrying Abyssal trade goods as contraband from Pazunia to a Wildspace system that has so far escaped the reach of the Abyss.

 

[Voadam]

A piece of loot from a successful PC pirate raid is a gith silver sword, the party of gith sent to retrieve it now turns their sites on the PCs.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

A fabulous treasure is on-board a very fast spelljammer. To catch the target and begin boarding to look for the treasure a deal must be made with an asteroid spider to secure the spelljammer.

 

[Shardstone]

Piracy is the result of outcasts, social pariahs, and (to be honest) people who were mentally unwell being oppressed and turning toward a lawless life because there was no opportunity for them whatsoever anywhere else.

So there'd need to be:

1. An oppressive society
2. Characters who are pariahs (regardless of the reason)
3. Really good booty to pillage from others
4. A feeling of personal agency in a world without

 

[Incenjucar]

My last campaign starred a dracolich ship with a geased crew who collected more crew so they could track down their granddaughter and daughter to turn them into a new heart and body respectfully in order to return to life and be free of being a ship.

 

[Stormonu]

Astral elves have been obtrusively boarding vessels, destroying “contraband” cargo, marroning crews on remote asteroids or holding individuals for ransom on bogus charges until someone pays the fines on the trumped up charges.

In retaliation, several individuals who have been wronged by the elves have formed a coalition to seek reprisals against elvin ships and their allies. They’re always on the lookout for those who are willing to aid their cause, whether by trafficking goods the coalition needs or joining a crew to strike directly at the elves.

 

[overgeeked]

Here’s a general pirate game advice video from the creator of Pirate Borg. His list of resources is fantastic and well worth plundering for ideas.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Can't you use the same hooks as for normal pirates? But probably interplanetary pirates have mechanical prehensile hooks.

 

[Shardstone]

My last campaign starred a dracolich ship with a geased crew who collected more crew so they could track down their granddaughter and daughter to turn them into a new heart and body respectfully in order to return to life and be free of being a ship.

This is pretty heat, and reminds me of the One Piece idea of pirate (where pirates can be heroic or emblematic of the story of the commons).

 

[Voadam]

Piracy is the result of outcasts, social pariahs, and (to be honest) people who were mentally unwell being oppressed and turning toward a lawless life because there was no opportunity for them whatsoever anywhere else.

There are a number of counter examples. Captain Kidd was a well off pirate turned privateer turned pirate married to one of the wealthiest women in New York city. Sir Francis Drake was not an outcast. The viking raids were piracy and not done by outcasts and pariahs of Scandinavia.