Piracy Privateer

[Shadow Reaper]

1. an armed ship owned and officered by private individuals holding a government commission and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of enemy merchant shipping.

verb

1. 1.
   engage in the activities of a privateer.
   
   Kinda a good guy pirate. . .you get to kill things and take their treasure, but you don't have to feel badly about it afterward, squeek ARRRRR. . .ARRRR. . .wear an eyepatch or drool uncontrollably. You can be sauve and debonaire and artful, as you kill things and take their treasure.
   
   As noted in another thread, "The Descendents of Orion" are paying cash in Vega to hunt Vandal in Virgil and Tyber, and in another thread we have the Vanduul flying the very cool Void Bomber against a refueling depot in Oberon. It seems to me if you want to be able to steal player owned ships in UEE space and put them to good use, you need to be stationed outside UEE controlled space, and if you're gonna do that, why not kill Vanduul and steal their very cool ships?
   
   I can imagine a tight group of a few dozen folks keeping a task force with stollen Starfarer, Reclaimer, and Crucible for use as a group, hidden on some world in Oberon or Leir, but that primarily specializes in stealing stuff from the Vaduul. Reclaimed ship stuff can be sold at highest prices in Stanton, I believe. One could make a decent living off that and not run afoul of the UEE. If you want to punish The Corporation, you can take a ship in UEE space and jump out of their space before anyone is the wiser. You can stockpile fleets of Retaliators, Vanguard, Redeemers as much as you like, but when you fly into UEE space, take your Vanduul ship.
   
   If you specialize in taking ships, you don't need to buy them. Your finances are available for lots of other things, and you can get friends to play without having to pay much.
   
   Maybe I'm liking it just because I fancy putting Void Armor on a Void Bomber, improving the reactors, shields and weapons and using them to kick ass in UEE space. Maybe I'm just loving the idea of beating the Vanduul at their own game. They have proprietary boarding craft that fly off the Void Bombers, but they fight hand to hand with knives, and they make BIG targets for your electric shotgun.
   
   I say lets be pira. . .I mean heroes.
   
   One Cutlass and one Warlock is probably all you need to take down a Void Bomber and have all that Corvette kicking ass for you. Would be great fun to try.

 

[D3Mark]

Not to shoot down your idea, but didn't they say that Vanduul ships have a tendency to be a bit explodey when boarded? Privateers will definitely be a thing though in the long term (privateer is a fancy word for mercenary).

 

[DcTrojan72]

makes it all the more fun to try figure out how to capture a vanduul ship before the explodey part :)

 

[Shadow Reaper]

I had not heard they are all explodey, but that does bring to mind the question of just what cannot be disabled by an EMP. I had wondered before about this--not just the self destruct issue but life support and especially life support in a space suit.
Only way to find out is of board some ships, kill some stuff, die some. . .yeah whatever.

 

[D3Mark]

Coming from right here.

Six months ago, a United Empire of Earth picket lucked into a true prize: a Vanduul carrier-ship, henceforth referred to as X12, dead in space off Garron. Later analysis suggests that the warship suffered a disastrous engine failure which flooded much of the crew quarters with deadly anti-matter radiation and left the survivors unable to follow the standard Vanduul protocol of self-destruct when threatened with capture. A detachment from the 8th UEE Marine Division boarded the ship and was able to subdue the remaining crew with relative ease. Although no Vanduul survived for interrogation, the ship has provided a wealth of potential information about their culture and habits. What follows is an initial report.

I believe this is still the desired design for Vanduul ships.

 

[Mog_No_1]

Well I can loan myself and my Redeemer to help in the efforts of stealing some Vanduul shinies. Must tell you though, im allergic to dying! ;) Will give anything a go atleast once. Might be a good TESTie quest for a weekend every now and then. Sure we can get some numbers for this.

VOLUNTEERS PEOPLE? :rolleyes:

 

[Shadow Reaper]

The Redeemer would certainly be my first choice for a boarding craft, since after your crew of cutthroats boards any vessel, you're essentially holding on station in case reinforcements arrive, and the Redeemer is just so kick ass. One of my favorite ships. I want coffee mugs for home.

 

[DcTrojan72]

i got no problem bringing a Caterpillar kit for boarding to the party also!

 

[Blind Owl]

1. an armed ship owned and officered by private individuals holding a government commission and authorized for use in war, especially in the capture of enemy merchant shipping.

verb

1. 1.
   engage in the activities of a privateer.
   
   Kinda a good guy pirate. . .you get to kill things and take their treasure, but you don't have to feel badly about it afterward, squeek ARRRRR. . .ARRRR. . .wear an eyepatch or drool uncontrollably. You can be sauve and debonaire and artful, as you kill things and take their treasure.
   
   As noted in another thread, "The Descendents of Orion" are paying cash in Vega to hunt Vandal in Virgil and Tyber, and in another thread we have the Vanduul flying the very cool Void Bomber against a refueling depot in Oberon. It seems to me if you want to be able to steal player owned ships in UEE space and put them to go use, you need to be stationed outside UEE controlled space, and if you're gonna do that, why not kill Vanduul and steal their very cool ships?
   
   I can imagine a tight group of a few dozen folks keeping a task force with stollen Starfarer, Reclaimer, and Crucible for use as a group, hidden on some world in Oberon or Leir, but that primarily specializes in stealing stuff from the Vaduul. Reclaimed ship stuff can be sold at highest prices in Stanton, I believe. One could make a decent living off that and not run afoul of the UEE. If you want to punish The Corporation, you can take a ship in UEE space and jump out of their space before anyone is the wiser. You can stockpile fleets of Retaliators, Vanguard, Redeemers as much as you like, but when you fly into UEE space, take your Vanduul ship.
   
   If you specialize in taking ships, you don't need to buy them. Your finances are available for lots of other things, and you can get friends to play without having to pay much.
   
   Maybe I'm liking it just because I fancy putting Void Armor on a Void Bomber, improving the reactors, shields and weapons and using them to kick ass in UEE space. Maybe I'm just loving the idea of beating the Vanduul at their own game. They have proprietary boarding craft that fly off the Void Bombers, but they fight hand to hand with knives, and they make BIG targets for your electric shotgun.
   I say lets be pira. . .I mean heroes.
   
   One Cutlass and one Warlock is probably all you need to take down a Void Bomber and have all that Corvette kicking ass for you. Would be great fun to try.

I like your mind. I'm in. This is the kind of "grey man" operating I want to conduct. Never quite an all-out criminal, but definitely pushing the limits.

Well I can loan myself and my Redeemer to help in the efforts of stealing some Vanduul shinies. Must tell you though, im allergic to dying! ;) Will give anything a go atleast once. Might be a good TESTie quest for a weekend every now and then. Sure we can get some numbers for this.

VOLUNTEERS PEOPLE? :rolleyes:

I'm used to being "voluntold". So this asking thing, its real nice. Thanks.

 

[DcTrojan72]

So, i think the Test biker gangs, with their drunkie girl on back, storm the hangers over any vanduul carrier they find in an attempt to steal fighters, bombers, and whatever else looks shiny. this could then solve our problem of the explodey vanduul

 

[Shadow Reaper]

So, i think the Test biker gangs, with their drunkie girl on back, storm the hangers over any vanduul carrier they find in an attempt to steal fighters, bombers, and whatever else looks shiny. this could then solve our problem of the explodey vanduul

See now this is the kind of brazen, crazy bastard we need around here. I'll drink to that!

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Who here plans to own a Warlock? It will be hugely instructive to get a group together and let the Warlock EMP a handful of ships over and over so we can compile systematic data on how various ships recover. Does it take some longer than others? Do some systems take longer than others? Does distance from target determine how long? There are lots of questions to answer and a specific study would be good.

I'm sure this is best accomplished with several ships at once, with each owner recording exactly how long it takes for each system to recover. Can you extend down time on any given system, or all systems at once by sucker-punching a tazed ship? Would be great to get data on whether having an asteroid between the EMP generator and its target makes a difference, etc. If you can pulse through an asteroid, that opens up a huge dynamic all itself, and if you cannot, you can have boarding craft on site when you pulse, which is a huge big deal. Lots to consider and measure, and all that data should be considered proprietary Test trade secrets.

 

[Jim "Black Bones" Bundy]

I'd also prefer being able to visit UEE space without having loads of bounty hunters and police officers on my ass. I like your take on this.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

In order to court opportunity, one wants in general to be able to go into any space. Vanduul is the hardest, followed by Pirate. If you can stay out of specific kinds of trouble (by not getting caught) one hopes you can eventually visit all the known worlds.

I don't know who has been searching the galaxy map, but places like Trise, Geddon, Krell, Eealus, Tiber, Orion, Osiris, etc. are all calling for exploration and exploitation, whether you're a simple trader, an accomplished smuggler or a privateer hot on the trail of some new technology that others have mistakenly tried to keep from you. Seriously, did those folks think their double-strength, half-size reactor cooler that will fit on the Mantis GT so it never overheats, think I should't own twenty of them? What a mistake. . .

 

[CosmicTrader]

Kinda a good guy pirate. . .you get to kill things and take their treasure, but you don't have to feel badly about it afterward, squeek ARRRRR. . .ARRRR. . .wear an eyepatch or drool uncontrollably. You can be sauve and debonaire and artful, as you kill things and take their treasure.

Sounds exciting.

(privateer is a fancy word for mercenary).

Oh yeah. I am in the mood to put my Buccaneer to Pirat... I mean good use.

 

[Blind Owl]

Who here plans to own a Warlock? It will be hugely instructive to get a group together and let the Warlock EMP a handful of ships over and over so we can compile systematic data on how various ships recover. Does it take some longer than others? Do some systems take longer than others? Does distance from target determine how long? There are lots of questions to answer and a specific study would be good.

I'm sure this is best accomplished with several ships at once, with each owner recording exactly how long it takes for each system to recover. Can you extend down time on any given system, or all systems at once by sucker-punching a tazed ship? Would be great to get data on whether having an asteroid between the EMP generator and its target makes a difference, etc. If you can pulse through an asteroid, that opens up a huge dynamic all itself, and if you cannot, you can have boarding craft on site when you pulse, which is a huge big deal. Lots to consider and measure, and all that data should be considered proprietary Test trade secrets.

Are the warlocks available? If so, I'd grab one to test this out. If not, I'll happily be a guinea pig for this science!

In order to court opportunity, one wants in general to be able to go into any space. Vanduul is the hardest, followed by Pirate. If you can stay out of specific kinds of trouble (by not getting caught) one hopes you can eventually visit all the known worlds.

Just so. Hence me wanting to maintain a "grey man" status. I want to be able to enter pirate space, and pick up black market goods, and smuggle it into UEE space. I want a good enough rapport with the pirates to do business with them, and stay low enough on the UEEs radar to enter civilised space unobstructed. Well, mostly unobstructed. I do expect they will suspect me of being not too savoury. Just gotta make it hard to prove. ;)

 

[FortuneBlack]

I'm not really interested in piracy but privateering is interesting to me. It really would depend on the factions found within the 'verse and how they fit into the story line but I'm sure there's people other than the Vanduul to fight.

I'm thinking megacorp vs megacorp or battling shipping companies, etc.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Are the warlocks available?

I don't think so. The variants matrix says it is flight ready but not available, so one wonders if the EMP's will be restricted access. That would suck, but would be understandable; and would require that I steal one or ten. I must have one even more than I must have any particular ship. With the EMP, you can find ways to take any ship.

The piece explaining EM warfare some months ago made it sound that the Warlock would be available just like any other ship--not restricted access. Same with the Sentinel, which I think can also mount an EMP. The Vanguards are not stealthy however, so much harder to use the EMP.

 

[Blind Owl]

I don't think so. The variants matrix says it is flight ready but not available, so one wonders if the EMP's will be restricted access. That would suck, but would be understandable; and would require that I steal one or ten. I must have one even more than I must have any particular ship. With the EMP, you can find ways to take any ship.

The piece explaining EM warfare some months ago made it sound that the Warlock would be available just like any other ship--not restricted access. Same with the Sentinel, which I think can also mount an EMP. The Vanguards are not stealthy however, so much harder to use the EMP.

They were available at Christmas. And I believe guys were using them in the verse. We'll have to poll and see who has one.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

I'm not really interested in piracy but privateering is interesting to me. It really would depend on the factions found within the 'verse and how they fit into the story line but I'm sure there's people other than the Vanduul to fight.

I'm thinking megacorp vs megacorp or battling shipping companies, etc.

To the best of my knowledge there are at least 9 factions. 5 of them are governments in some sense: UEE, Xi-An, Banu, Vanduul and Krell. There is the "unaligned" world Leir (the Outsiders), which is termed "Lawless" but might consider itself under its own law since it has its own defense force. There are also at least three pirate factions operating out of Pyro, Cathcart and Fora. These last three probably don't have enough internal governance to be considered factions by every definition of the term, and likely don't operate in concerted efforts, so they make especially enticing targets if you want Drake products for any reason. I suspect there will be other groups that might qualify as factions and you could consider both The Corporation and Test as factions.

In a sense, Test is the largest and most powerful faction in SC, since it can field so many players. That is really where all the power is in this sort of game--numbers of players. And in fact this is why I noted that a privateering group starting down in Oberon could take Leir and all the unaligned worlds to the West, and eventually form its own empire because that's the sort of thing any group with hundreds of players could pull off. Test is so large it could put down roots in every part of known space, even Krell. Given Leir is unaligned however, stealing their ships and making them our own could really shift the balance of power in that region and if one could do that from Vanduul ships, the Outsiders (Leirians) would not even know who to complain about.