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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Switchblade" data-source="post: 3906723" data-attributes="member: 56246">Pirates, privateers and even navy ships rarely used cannon as they would damage the prize.  The last thing they would want to do is damage, for long periods of time naval action was based on being fast enough to close and board.Read some reports on old naval battles, they tend to read things like "lots captured, one sunk".How pirates would close is by trickery.  You don't hoist up the jolly roger at the first sign of pray, you fly a false flag and look like a merchantman who just happens to be passing until you have do.  Then you crack out all the sails only once they twig to close as rapidly as possible, preferably with the wind gauge on their side.All a privateer is is a pirate under a letter of marque, giving a cut to a government and avoiding their ships in exchange for legitamacy and legal protection.A good way to introduce a pirate antagonist is have them find a "merchantman" flying a flag from a foreign nation.  As they close thinking it is a jucy prize the ship raises it's own jolly roger and tries to capture THEM.  The sudden realisation that the wallowing merchant vessel is packed full of pirates and is tossing balast over the side to speed it up could lead to an intersting game of cat and mouse as they try to escape.Reefs, fog banks, the aforementioned sand banks lend some tactics to the chase, as does favourable position re the wind. I would bulk up on some more crew before this though as even a sloop would have a higher crew and as some are needed on the sails it doesn;t sound like the PC ship has many to spare for a prize crew.  Even a merchantman would have more crew than that, which is a little embarasing.</blockquote>

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