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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silverblade The Ench" data-source="post: 4415331" data-attributes="member: 19083">1) Any sane captain has a watch on his ship, they WILL shoot any bugger who acts suspicious...it's Tortuga, the only law is "what's acceptable".Threatening someone's ship by fire spell casting nearbye= the miscreant deserve a ballista bolt in the eye, and every musket ball in 50 paces! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />hey, they'll shoot you just in case..or maybe for fun!2) Bases are ALWAYS chosen for defenciblity, and maybe concealability.So, the geography will include a strong break water and other features.The real Tortuga, iirc, had a small but high island off the shore, with a small fort, protecting the port from hurricanes, and even it's small cannons could decimate anyone from their vantage point.So, your port won't have ships lying next ot each other, not ever, everyone knows the risks of that. Each will be berthed well apart.And captains would likely have rivalries, so again, they'd berth apart, and watch our for sabotage etc.A lot of pirates were ex-military or ex-sailors, so they either know about patrols, watches etc, or good ship handling and safety.A successful pirate crew is likely to be something like 1st lvl experts or commoners, and 2 levels of fighter and/or rogue.They weren't no slouches, not if they were successful.Also note, many pirates were NOT "sea battlers" they were actually marines. They landed and robbed towns, far more efficient and lucrative.So expect a few cannon or ballista loaded with langrage if a ship is beached and being careened, in that vulnerable state, cpatians make damne sure anyone so much as twitches near their pride and joy, they'll get diced!3) If the town has a ruling council, official patrols or the like may exist.An arcane caster with a wand of flame extenguishing (2nd ed) would rule, there's a 3rd ed spell, can't recall name, that launches a ball of water, that would be best.Gust of Wind just fans flames....4) Anyone doing what that character is up to, if caught, would suffer a horrible fate. Either keel hauled, impaled or covered in tar and set alight at the local "gallows point".Folk made spectacular examples of firebugs and those who threatened military bases and towns, as it's equivalent of high treason and/or a weapon of mass destruction (fire in old towns was a horrible danger).EVERYONE would be after his blood!5) Spies, informers, cut throats. odd sort of folk would get reported and noted, so he'd need ot be very good at escaping notice before attacking.6) Since fire is such a danger to ships, in a magical world I'd assume any half way decent captain would pay to get it protected with some form of fire resistant spells.So i'd imagine masts and sails marked with runic wards, that would give 5 fire resist, or absorb 20 hp of fire etc.More powerful captains may have a summon water elemental or the like.I can imagine a port liek that having a deal with some wizard or priest for an instant cloudburst, in case of fire.7) if you want ot use explosives, best realize that gunpowder was highly dangerous, slightest spark form *steel shod boots* (no sneakers back then, lol) or whatever could set it off if you're laying a bomb...or it coudl jsut fizzle..and then blow you apart when you go to re-light it.And if you do set of a ship's magazine...well, if you aren't 100+ yards away, high chance you'll get skewered by flying shrapnel.And don't even think about nitroglycerine or the like...the reality was that stuff was pure suicide for that kind of use (lot of folk got blown up tryign to clear wrecks and reefs with nitro, hence the demand for the much safer dynamite, Hell gate Reef in New york??? is one I vaguely recall they had that problem with).8) Fireships were often the best weapon against a harbour, buit you'd still need more than 1, unless the pirates were incredibly stupid and berthed close by each other.Filling the hold with barrels of tar, turpentine, naptha or cheap rum/brandy, mixed with gunpowder, such ships certianly did destroy a greta many vessels at anchor, chekc history books.But it' was very risky work, as the ship could go up under your feet, wind could shift direction, etc.etc <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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