Secluded Pirate Cove

A Quiet Pirate Cove (#26/30; #116/365)

This secluded cove serves as one of several places along the Pirate Coast where buccaneers and corsairs surreptitiously put to anchor, to clean their ship's hull and take on supplies. In this particular bay, a trail runs from the beach, across the valley floor, and through the hills, up into a watchpost of the Bronze Serpent Mercenary Company, as it is here where the Orcs make contact with various pirate bands as needed. At the cove is a cairn of rocks with a signal pyre that is lit by either the Orcs or the Pirates when they need a rendezvous.

(The following information applies to the Skull Coast, which is a little further north, in the vicinity of Fire Island, but could equally apply to the Pirate Coast around Pellod)

The Skull Coast is a rocky stretch of strand that borders the desert wastes where they meet the waves of the Western Ocean. Long-famed for shipwrecks and sea caves full of ferocious monsters and weird demons, it is also the renowned haunt of various scurvy pirate crews. These criminal scum prey on the coastal shipping between Arantis and the northern lands, though some range further afield; north to Port Blacksand, south to Halak and Rimon, and west to distant islands in the far ocean. Their bases on the Skull Coast are coastal forts or excavated caves, with convenient anchorage for their sailing ships. Pirates rarely venture inland, into the wastes, except to bury or retrieve treasure (almost always with the aid of a map, though some devious captains have been known to get their crew to bury treasure chests containing naught but iron bars!)

Individual pirates will be clad in ragged sea-worn clothes, and brandishing either a cutlass or a club in combat. Most also carry a bandolier of razor-sharp throwing knives. Owing to their life-style, many pirates are fiercely individualistic and defined by key traits picked up during their bloody career. The below table offers some examples of what could have happened to a pirate in their short life so far, though for simplicity’s sake it is perhaps better to apply its rolls to only a few key buccaneers, such as the captain and his or her henchmen (roll one die):

1. Pet Parrot: Will defend its master (SKILL 4 STAMINA 3, Small Bite, -2 to Damage Roll)
2. Hook hand: ATTACKS 2, damage as per Dagger
3. Eye-patch: -1 SKILL
4. Peg leg: -1 SKILL, Can always be Escaped from
5. Gunner: Has a flintlock pistol (see Blacksand, p. 8)
6. Pet Monkey: Will defend its master (SKILL 6 STAMINA 4, Small Bite)

The number of pirates encountered will determine the type of ship they are sailing:

Pirates    Ship type
10+        Longship
20+        Cog
30+        Caravel
40+        Coastal Barge (as per Pleasure Barge)
50+        Galley
60           Galleon

Further details on ship types can be found in Blacksand (pp. 15-17). Sometimes the pirate forces may be split between two or more smaller vessels instead of all being on one ship. The pirate captains of the Skull Coast are both legendary and infamous. If 50 or more pirates are encountered, you can roll two dice on the table below to randomly determine which pirate captain the Heroes have had the misfortune of encountering (assume all ships to be Galleons):

2: Garius of Halak 'The Death’s Head'
3: Captain Bloodaxe 'The Troll'
4: Captain Barnock 'The Flying Toucan'
5: Agrat Longtooth 'The Skull in Splendour'
6: Forash Fearbringer 'The Blackheart'
7: Kullion the Crab 'The Blood Auk'
8: Captain Blackskar 'The Swordfish'
9: Agrat Longtooth 'The Dancing Dolphin'
10: Captain Gargo 'The Belladonna'
11: Captain ‘Skully’ Bartella 'The Black Swan'
12: Lord Azzur 'The Face of Chaos'

PIRATE OF THE SKULL COAST
SKILL: 6
STAMINA: 8
WEAPON: Cutlass (as per Sword), Club or Throwing Dagger
ARMOUR: None
NUMBER ENCOUNTERED: 10-60 (per ship)
REACTION: Hostile