[Friend/Foe] The Pirate Lord

[ShneekeyTheLost]

This is the sort of character that would do well as either a BBEG, or a valuable contact, depending on how 'legal' your characters want to be.

He began as a Halfling pirate with an innate business sense and a gift for magic. He started out, as most pirates do, as a cabin boy when he stowed away at the tender age of 12 on a pirate ship. He earned his Captaincy by age sixteen. By his early 20's, he realized that he needed more than one ship to truely realize his dream.

His city is in an island. The outer rim of the island seems to look like your typical volcanic island from the outside, however part of the volcano's wall is an illusion which hides the enterance to the cove inside. Grates can be raised to block enterance, and archers and wizards can be posted on the wall sides raining down death and destruction as well, making his city nigh-impossible to take by direct force. Inside the island's high walls rests the town, many of the buildings are build right into the clif faces, with plenty of walkways built out of wood or stone (with good handrails). He knows a few good Conjuration specialized mages who owed him a lot to help him with the construction. The lagoon has plenty of fish, and there are enough artisian wells and magic users to create enough fresh water for the town to live indefinately during siege.

The town itself, named Coveport, combines the most colorful aspects of Tortoga (from Pirates of the Carribian movies) with a law enforcement agency more interested in bribes than justice.

In short, he owns or has the allegiance of over half the pirates on the open seas, and increases that percentage with every passing year.

He is, of course, simply known as The Pirate Lord, in fact no one really remembers his name anymore, he's just the The Pirate Lord to everyone.

He never ever confronts any threat openly. He uses a mixture of trickery and deciet (as well as lots of hired muscle) to take on any threats which might endanger his operation. Indeed, over half the pirates working for him don't even know who they are working for. They just drop off their percentage at a certain place at a certain time and things go smoother for them. Supposedly uncorruptable officials let them off on technecalities, lastest information on Corsair movements are supplied, merchant routes are found, with accurate schedules attached. Failure to leave their percentages usually results in Bad Things happening.

PC's who are somewhat less than honest could make a good living working for The Pirate Lord. He has a lot of operatives, many of them nowhere near the shore even. Tips on merchant movements, soldier movements, other dangers which might impact the operation, and so forth are well rewarded.

Of course, the defenders of truth and justice might stop a pirate vessel only to find the captain of the ship is working for some unknown person, and the hunt is on to find this elusive mastermind behind all the seaward crime. Layer upon layer of intregue, politics, and misdirection will need to be sifted through to finally find the location of Coveport and the location of the Pirate Lord.

If actually attacked, The Pirate Lord will use his considerable magical might to flee. He's got a LOT of traps down his escape passage which are designed to hinder the adventurers so he can make good his escape.

Oh yes, the stat block:

Fouxcour Prennage, The Pirate Lord
{table] Size/Type: | Small Humanoid (Halfling)
Classes | Rogue4/Sorcerer6/Arcane Trickster 10
Hit Dice | 4d6 + 16d4
Speed | 20 ft. (4 squares); Gaseous Form (10 ft, but can fly and seep through cracks)
Initiative: | +10
Armor Class | 22 (10 + 1 (size) + 5 (armor) + 6 Dex) touch 17; flat-footed 22 (uncanny dodge)
Base Attack/Grapple | +11/+7
Attack | As per spell used
Full-Attack | As per spell used
Space/Reach | 5 ft/5 ft
Special Attacks | Magic
Special Qualities | Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Sneak Attack +7d6, Impromptu Sneak Attack 2/day, Ranged Ledgermain, Mind Blank
Saves | Fort +10 Ref +20 Will +16
Abilities | Str 8, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 22
Skills | Bluff (Cha) +26, Concentration (Con) +15, Decipher Script (int) +10, Diplomacy (Cha) +20, Disable Device (Dex) +10, Escape Artist (Dex) +10, Gather Information (Cha) +22, Hide (Dex) +25, Knowledge (Arcane) (int) +8, Move Silently (Dex) +25, Profession (Sailor) +12, Sense Motive (Wis) +15, Slight of Hand (Dex) +28, Spellcraft (Int) +22, Tumble (Dex) +15, Use Magic Device (Cha) +13, Use Rope (Dex) +11
Feats | Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Eschew Materials, Leadership, Improved Precise Shot, Heighten Spell
Challenge Rating | 20
Treasure | Items of note on him: Ring of Invisibility, Cloak of Charisma +2, Rod of Metamagic (Quicken, Greater), +1 Mithril Shirt (Glamored, Twilight, Shadowed (Improved), Silent Moves (Improved) )
Alignment | Chaotic Neutral[/table]

{table="Head"]Level | Spells
0 | Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Ray of Frost
1 | Comprehend Languages, Feather Fall, Grease, Nystul's Magic Aura, True Strike
2 | Mirror Image, Leomund's Trap,Pyrotechnics, Scorching Ray, See Invisibility
3 | Gaseous Form, Major Image, Slow, Suggestion
4 | Illusory Wall, Locate Creature, Scrying, Solid Fog
5 | Feeblemind, Prying Eyes, Shadow Evocation, Wall of Force
6 | Dispel Magic, Greater, Guards and Wards, Permanent Image
7 | Project Image, Shadow Conjuration, Greater
8 | Mind Blank[/table]

physical description

In his true form (which he rarely takes), he is an average looking Halfling dressed in expensive silken clothing.

Combat

Combat style

He almost never confronts anyone directly. If he knows combat is on the way, he'll buff up with Miror Image, and use Project Image to talk to them from a safer location. He can use Shadow Conjuration to drop Walls of Stone down between himself and the party while he retreats. Mind Blank is effectively always on, to prevent people from scrying him. He uses Prying Eyes to keep tabs on any potentially hostile intruders. In actual combat, he uses his Rod of Quicken Spell (Greater) to quicken a Feeblemind at the opponent caster, followed by Slow to null the opponent tanks and rogues. Pyrotechics is used to make clouds of smoke to hamper vision while he escapes, with Solid Fog, Grease, and various Walls thrown up behind him for good measure. If he absolutely has to attack someone, he uses his Rod of Quicken, Greater, on True Strike, then Scorching Ray and Impromptu Sneak Attack on his target.

In short, he won't stand and fight. He'll use misdirection and trickery to escape and start over.

[Meat Shield]

Looks good so far Shneeky. I don't think we've had too many pirates fleshed out yet (surprisingly now that I think about it).

Can you go into more what kind of operation he controls - how many ships, favorite cargo, other hideouts, organizations he has his fingers in, enemies, special goals, etc?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Looks good so far Shneeky. I don't think we've had too many pirates fleshed out yet (surprisingly now that I think about it).

Can you go into more what kind of operation he controls - how many ships, favorite cargo, other hideouts, organizations he has his fingers in, enemies, special goals, etc?

I'd need to know more about the world setting to be able to give definate figures, but he owns a good percentage of the ships, either directly or through a networked web of allegiencies.

His doesn't really have a favorite cargo, although he has a grudge against the Feldarin Empire, and perfers hitting them to anyone else. He does tend to recruit halfling merchant ships rather than raid them, satisfied with taking a cut of their profits in return for protection. He is surprisingly good at that protection, although he won't shy from making a few happen to convince a captain it would be better to work for him than as an independant.

Other hideouts... well, Phil himself owns several small islands, each of which have places which have been made proof against detection and scrying for him to retreat to, however he primarily resides in Coveport, and rarely leaves his 'capital town' anymore.

What orginizations does he have his fingers in? Well, probably has significant penetration into the Port Authorities of most of the ports in the area, as well as local constabularies and important political figures on the local level (mayors and the like).

Enemies... well, this is kind of tough. You see, he's strong enough now that anyone who knows about him tends to either get recruited, or 'has an accident'.

As far as his goals... he's wanting to become something like a Mafia Godfather of the seas.

That's what I've got fleshed out for now, but this is still a work in progress, so expect to see more in detail as I work on it

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Organizations

The Hook and Pistol Flag

This is his flag, pistol and hook crossed, white on black background. All pirates who work for him fly this flag. This makes it easy to look them up with scrying, because they have an object familiar to him on board. Also, pirates who work for him may fly a different flag, one with a skull that has gems for eyes in addition to the crossed hook and pistol (looking similar to the Jolly Roger, in point of fact). These are only flown when they are moving under direct orders of The Pirate Lord personally, usually on an act of revenge. When you see this one, run. Not that it'll do ya much good, but hey... at least ya tried, right?

The Coveport Trade Association

This is the 'legitimate' side of his organization, and I do use the term rather loosely. He has decided that while piracy can make money, far more money can be made if one can convince merchants to send him a percentage for not hitting them. So he turned Mafia Godfather, and started the Protection racket.

In short, when his pirates hit a vessel, they are sometimes given an option: Join the Coveport Trade Association (and the percentage going eventually back to phil that goes along with it), or sink to the bottom of the sea. Sometimes he will target specific vessels, other times, they just hit whomever is handy. These ships fly the Coveport Trade Association flag, which is a depiction of a ship in a bottle. Any ship who flies the Coveport Trade Association are safe from any of his pirates... as long as their protection is paid up. Considering how many pirates now work for him... this is no small protection. It is a stastically proven fact that Coveport Trade Association vessels aren't bothered by piracy as much as others. Some captains even see this exchange as worth it. They simply pass along the percentage to the buyers and bask in the knowledge that they aren't going to be bothered as much by piracy. Also, Coveport Trade Association merchants can expect to have some Port Authorities (whom he has bribed) turn the other way when dealing in goods which might not, in the strictest sense of the word, be entirely legal.

The Pirate Lord has been taking to sending his pirate vessels against other pirates, and giving them a choice: join up or get sunk. He's beginning to resent 'independants' and is looking to muscle them out or make them join, further increasing his control.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Plot Hooks

A Good Deal
One of the party members has taken to dealing in illicit goods, or been active in shady dealings, in a port town. They finally catch the notice of one of The Pirate Lord's many people, who decides that the PC would make a good member. He lets the PC know about a caravan of goods that just docked and are set to leave on the next day, without many guards. He'll pay plenty for some of what they are carrying, if the PC can get it without notice.

The caravan in question is owned by a merchant who stubbornly refused to join the Coveport Trade Association, and was warned. The merchant in question is trading in highly illegal goods, and this will be the proof the CTA needs to blackmail him into joining or getting exposed.

Just another Brawl
The PC's decide to spend the night in a dockside tavern. While there, a fight breaks out. A particularly belligerant fellow (3rd level Warrior) decides to pick a fight with one of the party members, whomever looks toughest. The PC will likely clean his clock quickly, even if he doesn't draw any weapons.

As soon as the tough is bested, the local guard shows up and arrests the whole party, the guy involved with the fight for brawling and the rest of 'em for associating with 'em. No, it doesn't make much sense, it's not supposed to.

You see, the tough they just pasted is a member of The Pirate Lord's organization, and the guards in question are bought off, as is the local magistrate. They're run through a kangaroo court and charges with just about everything but starting the Plague. The GM is free to invent charges on the fly, the Magistrate certainly is, but at least Assault and Battery (if the PC refrained from pulling weapons), Assault with a Deadly Weapon (if he did pull ANYTHING other than using his bare hands), Attempted Murder (or Murder 1 if he did end up killing the tough), Possession of Unregistered Weapons (which means they're going to try and confiscate all the PC's weapons, including wizard's spellbooks), Public Intoxication (even if they weren't drinking), Causing a Public Disturbance, and are found guilty without the PC's being allowed to try to defend themselves. If the PC's do try to defend themselves, they will be told to be silent, a second outburst will result in an additional charge of Contempt of Court. The penalty will be: Stripping of all unregistered weapons and armor, and life in prison for the PC's (or death row if he killed the tough, and life without parole for the rest of the party). However, the court is not without mercy, so the life sentence will be commuted to life in the work gangs, doing all the nastiest scut jobs that no one else wants to do.

Clearly, they're being railroaded. The GM is encouraged to make it clear to the PC's that this is bogus and there's something fishy going on.

Right, so their first night in prison, they meet a most unsavory looking skallywag who informs them that he 'knows the right people' and can 'fix it fer ya... fer a price'. Yea, he's working with The Pirate Lord and the Magistrate too. Basically, he tries to extort as much money out of the PCs as possible, then get them off on a technicality... but now they owe him a favor for doing it (nevermind the fact that they already paid him), which is a plot hook for later on.

If the PC's can manage to figure out what is really going on, and can find proof of this, and confront the magistrate with this proof (preferabally with enough force to convince him that it might not be wisest to try and force the issue), then he'll back down almost instantly. In fact, he'll be impressed enough that he'll offer them a place in their organization.

Very smart PC's might make copies of the proof and go over the Magistrate's head. The local noble in charge of everything would be most upset at finding this, and send people out to clean up the mess.

Of course, the GM has the option of deciding that the magistrate's boss is als o 'on the take', and will act accordingly, if he just wants to really screw the PC's over.

An offer you can not refuse
Once you get an invite, turning it down puts the PC's permanently on the bad side of The Pirate Lord's organization (both the legitimate and the illegitimate). Merchants with the Coveport Trade Association just won't deal with them. Any ship they sail on gets hit by multiple pirate attacks. Pretty soon, word gets around that they're pirate magnets and no one will take 'em on their ship at any price. Joining up will soothe this, but not much else will.

A Pirate has a Boss?
Random pirates flying the hook and pistol hit the ship the PC's are on, and they manage to not only defeat them, but capture someone important (Captian, Bosun, bookkeeper...). In the course of interrigation, they find out that the Captian is working for... someone. Not even the Captain knows for sure, but they leave a share of the Booty at a certain place and a certain time, and things go smooth. Officials don't notice illegal goods and don't pester them with port fees. Merchant routes are sometimes found where they drop off their share, which always prove to be accurate. They find themselves getting off 'on technicalities' if they do go up before the magistrate...

So, who is this guy they're working for?

Well, the 'certain place and certain time' ends up an empty stone coffin. If the PC's put an object in it and closes the coffin, when they open it back up, the object is gone. This is an enchantment which is a variant of Teleport Circle, which only works on non-living objects, and activates when the coffin is closed. PC's attempting to go in and activate it will find that they are not teleported, nor will anything on them, but any unattended objects vanish. Mind you, this experimentation may alert The Pirate Lord to something screwy going on, which he then uses Scrying to check on, and finds strangers messing with his drop box...

Coveport Trade Association
A jealous captain lets on to the PC's that there's more going on with the Coveport Trade Association than meets the eye. He claims there's a connection between them and the pirates who fly the hook and pistol, and a connection between both of 'em and the local magistrate.

Of course, if the PC's are already working for the Pirate Lord, this could be bad news for this guy... they just inform the local 'drop' about him, and they take care of it.

But if the PC's have already been burned, like say, with Just Another Brawl plot hook, they may be very curious about this and want to investigate matters further...

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Coveport

Coveport is his main hangout, but how did it get started? That, my friends, is a good story. Pull up a chair and an ale (and one for me while you're at it) and I'll tell you.

When he first sailed as a cabin boy, the ship he was on ran afowl of a nasty storm. By blind chance, the waters happened to be high enough to toss them over the dangerous shoals and therough a feat of sailing never before or since seen, the captain manage to shoot through the small opening barely large enough for his ship to slip through without injury to boat or crew. The storm itself, however, did much damage to the ship as a whole. Well, of course, they were in a nice, calm cove. So after the storm blew over, they beached her and made sufficent repairs.

They decided that this place would make a good spot for a refuge and storage area, off the map. They had also built a crude and hastily-constructed dock to facilitate in the repairs. So they burried some of their treasure here, left the dock, and went about their way, noting all the hazards, and sending up prayers of thanks to <insert water diety here> that they had managed it all safely.

Years pass, and the ship uses this place on a fairly frequent basis, each time they add on more and more to it. One one trip, they make some huts. On another, they start putting together a dry-dock. On yet another, they blaze some trails in the tropical forest nestled within this very extinct volcanic island, within the mile-high sheer clif faces which ring the island. However, it was mostly used as a single-ship treasure depot and repair bay.

When he became Captain of his ship, he began to see bigger things for this little cove, which was quite large enough to house a significant population, however just how to use it still eluded him, it just tickled at the back of his mind that this is the key to his eventual success.

In a few years, he had a small fleet to call his own, and a fantastic amount of wealth. It was then that he finally had the idea that raiding is all well and good, but getting percentages from legitimate ships could make him far more. So he started his Godfatherish tendencies, working out of an office on <a halfling island city>. This worked quite well for a year or two, but his business began expanding fast enough that one office would no longer suffice for his needs. However, he was loathe to get more offices and buildings, for fear someone would find out what was truely going on. So, he recruited some builders, materials, and sailed off to his little cove. In six months time, he had the basic layout planned, with construction underway.

Now then, after a couple of years, one of the merchants whom he was taking percentages from, a very unscrupulous merchant by the name of Douval, found that the authorities were looking at him a lot closer than he'd like. The Pirate Lord didn't want them looking too close at him for fear of being found out himself. So Douval moved in with him at his burgoning cove town.

From there, a very few other merchants owned by him began trading to and from Coveport, using it as warehousing and resupply mostly. By now, pirates had brought in women, married, and decided to live there on a permanent basis. Finally, a call went out, offering dockside jobs and homes to those who wanted to raise families rather than raise havoc on the open seas. More housing was built, as well as more warehousing, and other businesses which are inevitable and necessary to any town, such as a temple to <the water diety>, bars and taverns, general stores, and other such establishments.


Fifteen years after the official founding of 'Coveport' (when he moved there on a more permanent basis after outgrowing his offices elsewhere), it was a bustling town of several hundred permanent residents.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Captain Cervantes B'armand

Captain B'armand is a free-spirited soul who took to the pirate life out of a sense of adventure. Yes, I'm serious. Yes, he probably is crazy, more proof in the fact that he still believes this to be true. While he can be ruthless to his opponents, he tends to take the position of 'charming, daring, and honorable pirate'. He is always polite, particularly to the ladies. He never causes needless death, and has in the past made examples of those who 'get carried away'. No, he didn't hang them from the yardarm, however suffice to say they'd rather have been hung, because then they wouldn't have to live it down.

A couple of years ago, he was offered to join The Pirate Lord. He politely refused. The next 'request' came with three man-o-war and was formed as being politely insistant rather than requested. One of the ships came back, two of the three masts broken, taking in so much water they had to have the bilge pump manned at all times, and having just barely enough sailors on board to make the journey home. Mysteriously, as soon as the ship docked, and the sailors were safely off the vessel, it immediately sank to the bottom, requiring dredging crews to clear the dock space. As the Pirate Lord became less polite, so did Captain B'armand. It went into some detail concerning the Pirate Lord's degree of intellect, wisdom, common sense, and infestation with certain social diseases; then went on to describe his sanitary habits, mating habits, propable ancestory, and propable attire. It went on from there. The whole recital took no less than a quarter hour. In fact, Captain B'armand was kind enough to have enchanted (or had enchanted by another, no one is sure) a bust of himself with a Permenanced Magic Mouth set to trigger the full recital whenever the phrase 'The Pirate Lord' is used within earshot of the bust.

I did happen to mention that most people consider Captain B'armand 'touched' at best, more commonly 'a loony', or 'stark-raving mad', right?

The Pirate Lord attempted to use magic to find the Captain who so flagrantly flouted the Pirate Lord's will in this matter... to no avail. This was the cause of no little vented fury. Captain B'armand's vessel is to be shot on sight by any of The Pirate Lord's people.

Currently, if anyone brings B'armand in to The Pirate Lord, they can name their price. The Pirate Lord is quite serious about this. Anything at all they ask for, The Pirate Lord will give it. Ask for women? No worries, you'll never sleep alone again. Ask for money? How many millions? Ask for magic items? Priority crafting from the best mages bought or bribed. Ask for his business? The Pirate Lord is of the opinion that anyone who can bring in B'armand is a fitting successor to his business, and will take him on and teach him everything, in five years The Pirate Lord will willingly retire and leave everything (save a generous retirement pension package) to the fellow.

Anyone having proof that they have killed B'armand (in the form of his head, as the only means of identifying him will be the similarity of the bust which was given to The Pirate Lord) will also be greatly rewarded. Custom Magic Items, Gold, Booze, Ships... anything within reason.

Captain B'armand knows this, and revels in it. That one of the most influential and corrupt individuals on the seas has it out for him is a never-ending source of amusement for him.

Captain B'armand has also found a connection between The Pirate Lord and The Coveport Trade Association, although he has no proof which can stand up in court, not even a legitimately honest one. As a result, he particularly goes out of his way to hit CTA vessels. Anyone who is an enemy of The Pirate Lord can expect Captain B'armand to be most happily cooperative in anything which will seriously annoy or hamper The Pirate Lord. People who work for The Pirate Lord, on the other hand, can expect him to be an implaccable foe.

Stats
I haven't written him up yet, however he is something like a Bard/Swashbuckler/Dread Pirate or somesuch. Lots of ranks in Performance, Bluff, and Diplomacy.

"Drink up, me hearties! This here is a very good brandy, curtesy of our good friends at the Coveport Trade Association. It fetches a price of nearly two dozen gold soverigns a bottle on the open market, but we got it for a steal! Let's see if it's worth the price tag!"