Adventure, fame, and fortune?

That is what a pirate craves!

Especially the fortune!
-Recruiting pitch of Hando Headman Honzo
Leader of The Syndicate
Da Deff Islands
Under the Black Flag
The seas of Ammoriss have long been a
dangerous place. The storms, the shallows, and
rocky reefs make sailing a dangerous venture.
Only brave souls will take to the sea. That is just
as true on the eve of the 41
st
Millenium as it was
when Ammoriss was founded.
However, the threat of pirates make sailing the
oceans of Ammoriss even more dangerous.
Pirates are desperate men and women who take
to the sea to loot and pillage from their fellows.
Of course, loyal servants of the God Emperor of
Man see such predation as villainy of the worst
sort. However, The pirates will stop at nothing
to get what they want.
Pirates see themselves as loyal only to themselves
first, and anyone else second. To symbolize their
disregard for the standard authorities of
Ammoriss, the Pirate Fleets operate under a black
flag. Each pirate captain has a slightly different
design based on personal whim. However, they
always feature a white skull on a black
background.
The pirates themselves come from all walks of
life. Only two things unite them, a disregard for
the laws of the Imperium, and a desire for wealth.
If captured by the authorities, only death awaits
awaits them.
The Naval PDFs of both of the North and the
South were not only created to fight each other,
they also had to protect the sea lanes. The North
and South had vast networks of allies and
alliances across the atolls, island chains, and rigs
of Greater Ammoriss. These allies would trade
with their larger neighbors. Wherever there is
trade, there are raiders willing to steal to get
what they want.
The Pirate Fleets
The Ammoriss Ocean is a big place. It is dotted
with out of the way archipelagoes and atolls.
There are innumerable hiding places from which
pirate fleets can hide from unwanted eyes.
Early on, pirates acted alone. A single vessel
would chase down a merchant ship, capture her,
and sell the cargo and ship on the black market.
However, as both the North and South Ammoriss
fleets grew in strength, they began to make life
uncomfortable for the pirates.
As a result, the pirates began to band together
into larger groups and more organized groups.
This way, they could act in concert to draw away
escorts, overpower small naval PDF vessels, or
attack larger convoys of merchants. The pirates
also began to find ways to go under the waters to
escape pursuit.
Greater Ammoriss became a haven for such
activity throughout the years leading up to the
Battle for Ammoriss. As merchant vessels began
to gather into small convoys and arm
themselves, the raiders themselves had to
become more organized as well. In response
they pirate bands began to join together into
actual criminal organizations. The most famous
of which is The Syndicate on Da Deff Islands,
but many more sprung up in other less than law-
abiding parts of Greater Ammoriss.
These Pirate forces were dedicated to moving
quickly, attacking with little or no warning, and
then fleeing before a proper Naval response could
be organized. They survived by stealing loot,
selling salvaged ships, and extorting money from
scared locals. The Pirates developed a nasty
reputation.
Even by organizing into larger pirate fleets, the
captains of such vessels knew they are no match
for a true navy. Their best assets are surprise,
speed, and the careful application of firepower.
Pirate Havens
Pirates need more than just a ship to survive.
They need a place to build new ships, off load
their stolen property, and to spend their illicit
wealth without raising eyebrows. Luckily for
them, Greater Ammoriss is a poorly patrolled and
generally wild frontier of Ammoriss. :Local
rulers align with the North or South, but very little
is actually done to keep these small island chains,
atolls, and rigs in line. Some of these places are
in fact ruled by the pirates themselves!
The greatest of the pirate havens is Da Deff
Islands. This island chain has a long history of
loose justice and piracy. Da Deff islands were
established to mine a rare, yet unstable vein of
Adaconite. However, it turned into a rough and
tumble boom settlement. Then the hard times
came, and the inhabitants turned to whatever
they could to survive. piracy and gang warfare
became endemic.
Now, if a person wants to escape North or South
Ammoriss, they often end up on Da Deff
Islands. It is rumored that rogue elements of the
Red Tower brought unsanctioned and radical
STC designs to the workshops of Da Deff
Islands. Under the guise of legitimate cover
stories, such as the creation of ore transport
freighters; some of the first pirate vessels were
constructed.
The North Ammoriss PDF eventually learned of
the illicit ship building and staged a devastating
attack. By then, it was all ready too late. Copies
of the unsanctioned designs had spread across
Greater Ammoriss. Other rogue shipyards
sprung up. Upon discovery they were quickly
destroyed by the authorities, but the rogue
shipyards were quickly replaced. Even if every
copy of the rogue STC ship designs were
destroyed, there are enough marks and models
sailing to retro-engineer more vessels to supply
the pirate fleets.
Some of the most remote settlements in Greater
Ammoriss have geared their entire economy
around pirates. They provide a market, illicit
shipyards, gambling dens, and worse. The Zeek
Islands have made an economy around laundering
pirate goods for these smaller communities.
To make matters worse, the various factions in the
Ammoriss government would be complicit. The
officials would bribe favors and provide arms in
exchange fro free passage for their ships, and to
harass their opponents. The North or South
Ammoriss naval patrols might overlook certain
pirate activities.
However, pirates are an untrustworthy and fickle
lot. Such arrangements do not last long. Often
times, the side who provided the pirates weapons,
would find them being used on them.
The Syndicate
As North and South Ammoriss began to put
mounting pressure on the pirate fleets, the pirate
knew they could no longer act alone. They began
to band together into loose organizations for
mutual support. The largest such organization is
referred to as The Syndicate.
The Synidcate started on Da Deff Islands as a
counter to the rising power and influence of
Ork gangsters on the island. The Human gang
and pirate realized, to counter the growing Ork
menace, they would need to unify. As a unified
front, they acted as a check on the Orks, and
helped keep their numbers in check.
However, Da Deff Islands were one of the
greatest pirate havens on Ammoriss. As a
result, other pirates took notice of the lucrative
markets and deals The Syndicae were able to
extort. Their power on the island chain was
unmatched, and everyone that was part of the
group benefitted.
Enterprising, and increasingly hard pressed;
pirate captains began to join forces. They
created their own fleets to rival that of The
Syndicate. It wasnt long before these groups
began to take over the various Pirate Havens,
and a network of pirate factions spread across
Greater Ammoriss. Each a rival and ally of the
others.
However The Syndicate is still the largest, and
best organized. From their position in Da Deff
Islands, they have the most clout. Not even the
North Ammoriss PDF has dared to openly
challenge them.
The Battle for Ammoriss
During the Battle for Ammoriss, pirate activity
actual rose. Many of the communities in
Greater Ammoriss were put under intense
pressure to survive as the North and the South
were too occupied in their own struggles to
support them. In order to survive, they took to
the seas to raid what they could no longer trade
for. Even communities that had previously
been clean, were pushed in desperation to
piracy.
http://sypri.deviantart.com/art/Portrait-of-a-Sky-Pirate-
126553629
Sensing the moment, even the wealthy got into
the act. They would build or pay to outfit a pirate
ship in order to gain a cut of the spoilers. It was
even rumored that a minor member of the great
Pierefoy family of South Ammoriss had taken up
the trade.
However, with the Battle for Ammoriss raging,
many pirates remained loyal to the Imperium and
fought against those who would attempt to steal
Ammoriss from the light of the Emperor. They
would limit their attacks to traitors and xeno
vessels. Of course, other less than noble
characters joined or sided with the enemies of
mankind in a misguided sense of greed or belief.
Others, just looked out for themselves.
For example, The Syndicate focused their energy
on defeating the Orks In and around Da Deff
Islands. For such acts, the authorities in Imperial
Tower waived their status as a criminal
organization. However, their treacherous and
forceful expelling of North Ammoriss enforcers
made the Imperial authorities rethink the groups
designation.
Pirate Fleets
Pirate fleets are not organized like other naval
forces on Ammoriss. They are a barely
organized collection of vessels. Each craft is
unique and is answerable only to the whims of
its captain.
Typically, such fleets are led by a pirate King.
He is usually the pirate with the best ship,
biggest guns, and toughest crew. He is also
entitled to the largest haul of the booty. The
various captains acknowledge the Kings right to
lead, because to do otherwise would be to invite
destruction. However, in some cases, a fleet will
have rotating leadership, or a leadership council.
The organization of each fleet varies greatly.
Unlike other fleets, each ship is free to come and
go as it pleases. Of course, to leave is to invite
potential retribution from former friends, or to
lose ones share of the treasure. Everyone is
expected to fight, and everyone divides the spoils.
Pirate fleets do not have operational units, and
ships can band together in units as they see fit.
Pirate Fleets are ad hoc affairs. They represent a
marriage of convenience or tactical or strategic
initiative. The only goal of each pirate is to
plunder and live to fight another day.
The Pirate Fleets
Line-of-Battle
The following section details all of the various vessels and units associated with a Pirate Fleet.
This list will provide you all the information you need to play as pirates in games of
Aquanautica Imperialis.
Cruisers
Pirate Class Frigate
The Pirate class is the largest of the black market STC ships available. The schematics were
supposedly smuggled from the vaults of the Red Tower by an outcast adept. The adept fled to
Greater Ammoriss in order to consummate an illicit affair. At least, that is the legend. The real
method and reason the STC got into the hands of black marketeers, pirates, and neer-do-wells may
never be known.
The Pirate is relatively fast and maneuverable. Its armament is more than a match for most merchant
vessels, capable of reducing them to scrap long before help could arrive. However, the Pirate
typically will run from larger enemy craft using her speed, but packs enough firepower to best
smaller escort craft on her own.
Freebooter Armed Merchant
The hulls of merchant ships frequently
fall into the possession of pirates. Such
hulls can either be former prey,
legitimate merchants that have gone
rogue, or merchant hulls purchased under
false pretenses. No matter how the
merchant ship finds its way into a Pirate
Fleet, its days of hauling bulk goods are
over. The freebooter is one STC design
used by Pirates to turn a peaceful cargo
ship into a weapons platform
Corsair Modified Merchant
One method that pirates make use of merchant hulls is to simply slap cannons and weapons on them.
However, that isnt the only path that an enterprising Pirate captain can follow. Another method is to
load the ship with a desperate crew and as many small boats as possible. Then, these small boats
rush towards the target, attempt to board; and take over the merchant ship. The Corsair acts as the
mother ship, and deploys small boats to attack ill prepared bulk freighters.
Fire Ship Modified Merchant
An ancient tactic is to send a ship crewed by a skeleton crew loaded with explosives into the heart of
an enemy formation and detonate it. Pirate have used this tactic successfully to screen their retreat
from North and South Ammoriss forces, to blast their way past harbor defenses, and to cripple
powerful convoy escorts. The Fire Ship is an inexpensive and powerful tool in a Pirate fleet.
Escorts
Pillager
Like the Pirate Frigate, a Pillager is a dedicated
warship STC. It is speculated that this is a
second class design initially offered to the
South Ammoriss Navy by off-world Adeptus
Mechanicus. The South Ammoriss Navy
turned these designs down, but the Trogue
Tech-priest instead sold them to a
conglomeration of interested pirates.
The Pillager is larger than most other craft of
its type. However, it uses this space to add a
larger power plant, and an arsenal of light
weaponry. A squadron of Pillagers is more than
a match for escort craft and light convoy
escorts. In addition, their shallow hulled design
allows them to hug the coastline for cover, so
their attacks can spring seemingly from
nowhere.
Monitor
Typically, Monitors are used for coastal defense operations and close shore patrol. However, a Pirate
fleet will use anything with a gun to try and capture a merchant vessel. A Monitor is ill-suited for
deep sea operations, and have a tendency to capsize, sink, or flounder. However, most Pirates are
desperate men, and they are willing to take the risks of taking a Monitor out to sea if they think the
reward could be big enough.
Raider
Like the Pillager, the Raider is a purpose built warship. The STC design is clearly intended to act as a
fast attack craft, carrying far too much firepower for its light weight hull. The emphasis for the Raider
is to strike hard, fast, and escape. The crews of such vessels jokingly refer to them as the glass
hammers, as they are terribly vulnerable to enemy fire. Luckily for the crews their prey is normally
unarmed merchant vessels.
Skiff
The skiff is little more than a hull with a power plant. Pirates will make skiffs out of any available
salvage and wreckage they can find. They then, load it full of desperate cutthroats, half-crazed killers,
and cold-blooded bandits. They then take to the seas and try to board any unarmed vessel they can
find. It is not a sophisticated plan, but many Pirate captains have made their start with such vessels
and crews.
Blockade Runner
The Blockade Runner is a small, fast, and light vessel. Its sole purpose is to out run pursuing vessels.
Smuggling is a profitable endeavor, and far less risky than being a Pirate. However, in times of need,
Blockade Runners maybe unwilling drafted into a Pirate Fleet to act as a logistics ship, sneak into
guarded harbors, or just act as the eyes and ears of the larger fleet.
Submersibles
Marauder Submersible
One of the most popular craft for Pirates and smugglers on Ammoriss is the submersible. It allows the
Pirate to avoid detection and only engage enemies that it has a chance of defeating. The Syndicate on
Da Deff islands is notorious for its use of subs to smuggle illegal contra-band to North and South
Ammoriss proper.
The Marauder is the larger of the two common variants. It packs an impressive amount of firepower,
but at the cost of speed and maneuverability. Occasionally, Marauders will act independently of other
Pirate craft. However, it is more common for a pack of Marauders to patrol a sea lane, and then
converge when targets are sighted.
Assassin Submersible
The Assassin is a more subtle weapon then the Marauder. It is claimed that the Assassin was designed
by a mad pirate captain intent on finding and killing a large ocean dwelling monster. However, such
stories fill the salty lore of Pirate havens across Greater Ammoriss. The truth is unclear, but several
black marketeers and renegade shipyards offer the Assassin sub for a price.
The Assassin is a nimble and stealthy craft. It is more than a match for any other Submersible in the
deep oceans of Ammoriss. However, it is designed to be stealthy, fast, and nimble. The favorite game
of Assassin captains is to put well aimed torpedoes into the stern of unsuspecting Ammoriss Naval
PDF ships.
Pirate Fleet
Special Rules
This section will detail the special rules to use Pirate Fleets in games of Aquanautica
Imperialis.
The North Ammoriss Naval PDF can take
advantage of the following rules and upgrades
when choosing ships and squadrons from the
Line-of-Battle.
Flagship:
Pirate King +15 points
A Pirate King is the leader of the Pirate band.
Any ship he is assigned to will be at maximum
leadership, or 8. He allows 1 re-roll. Additional
re-rolls can be purchased for +25 points per roll
to a maximum of 2.
Squadrons:
Cruisers may squadron from 2-5 vessels
Escorts may squadron from 2-6 vessels
Subs never squadron
Fleet Restrictions:
You may only have 1 Cruiser for every 3
Escorts
You may only have 1 Fireship for every 1
Cruiser
You may have up to 3 Assassin Subs for every 1
Marauder Sub
A Pirate Fleet may not be over 1,500 points.
Fleet Upgrades:
If one ship in a Squadron has an upgrade, then
the entire squadron must have the same upgrade.
Cruiser Upgrades:
Boarding Attack +15 points
Las-battery +10 points
Q-Ship +50 points
http://www.coldseatproductions.com/WIP/pirate_01.jpg
All Ship Upgrades
Mine Sweeper +10 points
The Syndicate +10 points
Modified Engines +10 points
Special Rules
Pirate fleets are subject to the following special
rules. Typically, if a vessel is subject to the
special rule, it will be listed in the vessels profile
or be purchased as an upgrade.
Variable Leadership
All ships within the same squadron will use the
highest leadership within the squadron.
Determine and record the leadership of each
vessel before the game begins. The Leadership
of a ship can change in between games, but not
during a game.
Shallow
These craft can ignore potential grounding when
within 3 of land or in shallow water. They can
be grounded as normal if they come in contact
with land.
Explosives
A fire ship is a ship packed with explosives and
used to collide with or get close to opposing
ships, and then detonate. A large blast template
is placed on the ship, and any other ship
touching the template is hit as if they were struck
by a Defense Laser.
Explosives are detonated in the Battle Phase.
After all damage results are calculated, the Fire
Ship is removed from play. It is considered
sunk/destroyed.
If a Fire Ship is reduced to 0 DP before
detonating, it is treated like any other ship.
However, if the sinking roll indicates an
Explosion, the ship explodes as if the Explosives
had been detonated.
Boat Launches
A boat launcher functions like a torpedo tube.
However, instead of launching torpedoes, they
are deploying boats full of boarders. A ship
cannot have more boats deployed than they have
Boat Launches. Once Boats have been launched
a successful Reload Ordinance check is required
to launch them again.
Boats have the following Special Rules:
They can turn up to 45 degrees in the battle
phase they are launched and in all subsequent End
phases in which they move. Normal turning rules
apply, i.e. move 2 inches, pivot, and move another
2 inches.
Boats are considered Ordinance.
When a Boat comes in contact with a vessel, it
immediately makes a boarding attack with a Crew
rating of 0.
If the Boarding attack fails, the Boat marker is
removed from play and replaced with a Wake
marker.
If the boarding is successful, roll a d6. On a 5+
the boat can stay in play. If a 4 or less is rolled,
the boat marker is removed from play. The boats
are assumed to have split up and returned to their
ship.
Mine Sweeper
The ship is equipped with special equipment that
nullifies Mines. Any mine markers the ship
comes in contact with during the movement phase
are replaced with wake markers. They do not get
to attack the ship before being removed.
Once activated, the merchant ship drops its sensor
mask and false sides to reveal its
weapon systems. The Q-ship can move and fire
normally. It can now be fired on normally by the
enemy.
If no Merchant ships are in the scenario, the
enemy fleet does not realize that the Q- ship is a
threat until revealed. It cannot be fired upon until
it is revealed. Before being revealed, the Q-ship
can only be activated after ALL warships have
been activated. However, in this case, the Pirate
player may control the ships movement.
The Syndicate
This ship is part of the Syndicate from Da Deff
Islands. The Syndicate is a powerful coalition of
gangers, pirates, and other never-do-wells. Da
Deff Islands are the only place on Ammoriss
where Orks are native prior to the Battle for
Ammoriss. They have been integrated into the
The Syndicate as enforcers, pit fighters, and
goons. Any ship that is part of the Syndicate is
likely to have some of these Ork roughnecks
onboard. The ship gains +1 crew for Boarding
Operations.
Modified Engines
The Machine-spirits of the ships engines have
been roused and agitated for higher performance.
Of course, doing this is blasphemous in the eyes
of the Cult Mechanicus, but it does succeed in
squeezing a bit more speed. In the Movement
phase, the Pirate may choose to Rouse the
Machine Spirit as a Special Order. The ship can
go an additional 1d6 inches, and maneuver
normally. However, a roll of an odd number
(1,3,5) means that the Machine Spirit is angry.
The ship must make an armor save or suffer a
critical hit.
Boarding Attack
Pirates specialize in boarding other craft to try
to loot them. As a result, a pirate ship has all
manner of devices to aid them from grappling
ropes, gang planks, boarding ramps, lanyards,
etc. As a result, any Pirate ship with this
upgrade that ends its movement phase within
point-blank range of an enemy ship may launch
a boarding attack.
The Pirate ship is moved to touch the other
ship, as the ropes and grapples pull the pirate
up to the target. No collision or ramming takes
place. Instead, an immediate Boarding attempt
can be made by the pirate ship.
Las-Batteries
The Pirates have managed to beg, borrow, or
steal enough tech to replace the less
sophisticated weapon battery of a ship with the
more accurate and deadly las-battery. In order
to do this, the Las-Battery replaces two
firepower points of Weapon Batteries for every
1 firepower of las-battery. Therefore, to have a
Firepower 2 Las-battery, the ship would have to
pay the points and replace 4 Firepower of
Weapon batteries. The points cost listed is per
Firepower point.
Q-Ship
The Pirate fleet has managed to infiltrate one of
their modified Merchant ships into the
Merchant ships on the board. The Pirate must
make note of which ship is the Q-ship before
the battle. This ship will be activated and
moves like any Merchantman in the scenario,
i.e. after all warships have moved and
controlled by the player that moves the
Merchants.
During any activation phase, the Pirate may
choose to activate his Q-ship instead.