The Pirate Accords of 1217

Let me start out by saying I truly love Travance. I have made Travance my home away from the sea. It has provided a place for my brothers and I who started from nothing build a business empire. It has been the place where my crew and I have grown and strengthened our bond, and it has been the place I have made many friends. Though this may prove an utterly shocking and entirely unforeseen announcement to some, I am, in fact, a pirate. I sail the oceans with my crew and rob from corrupt, vicious, vile companies and people. Lately I had taken up work with the Kormyrian Navy as a Privateer Commodore using my skills of sailing and thieving in order to aid Travance and her allies. The work I do is much the same, yet for some reason in Travance I am hushed and told to use the word "privateer". Friends, I have seen trolls eat fallen enemies, torturers work on the guard, evil and corrupt officials serve in high stations, and now we have allied ourselves with a Litch, yet you balk to hear the word "pirate?" I will no longer hide this ill-kept secret of mine. And it is my hope that you will respect me and still see me as your friend and ally.

It is with this announcement that I present the Pirate Accords of 1217. It is a code of conduct for those who sail the oceans in search of treasure and glory. The laws of Travance will not be broken by my ship the Night Harrier. The ships of Travance and her allies are still under my protection. These accords are for those brave enough to call themselves buccaneers, pirates, and privateers to organize ourselves, strengthen each other, and hopefully start working together as a unified body.

For those of you who are about to be up in arms over this posting. I promise you I am not here to step on anyone's feet. I'm not here to rob you. I'm not here to take your power. I'm not here to start a fight. I seek only to organize a base of people in Travance the way the Witch Hunters have their meetings, the Druids conclave has theirs, the Mages guild has theirs, the churches of light and dark have theirs. I truly hope this to be a good thing for Travamce.

Cheers! And without further ado I present the Pirate Accords of 1217 as laid out by Cade Tanwyn, Captain of the Night Harrier and running for first Pirate King.

Article One: Court Functions
Working Jobs
. -a member of the court shall not attack another member of the court unless a duel has been declared.
-Jobs provided by the Court are subject to provide the court a fee the leading captain feels is fair. Captains are obligated to split the spoils with their crews in a fair and just way.
*Pirates are free to work independent jobs separate from their crews and from the court. Those jobs are not obligated to have the spoils cut with their crews or with the court.
*Captains are allowed to do independent jobs separate from the court. Those jobs are also not obligated to be cut with the court. However the captain is still obligated to cut their goods fairly with their crew.
Court Royalty
-Only the Pirate King/Queen or a majority vote from the Pirate Lords on the Council can declare war.
-Only the Pirate King/Queen or majority vote from the Pirate Lords on the council has the power to declare open hunting season on a target whether they be a nation, a corporation, crew, or an individual.
-When an open hunting season has been declared all targets are fair game. Any means may be used to hunt, rob, sink, and otherwise harm said targets.
-The Pirate King is elected once a year. They may be reelected the following year. After serving for 2 consecutive years they must take a year off. They are of course, still a Pirate Lord for life.
*Only the Pirate King/Queen can nominate a Pirate Captain to become a Lord. a vote is then held amongst the current serving Lords. All Lords will be given a chance to speak for our against the nominated Captain.
*The Pirate Lords serve for life.
*Only the Pirate King/Queen can call forth a vote to strip a Pirate Lord of their title.
*Only a Pirate King/Queen can call forth a vote to banish a Captain.
-Every August the Pirate King/Queen shall host a feast to honor the court and for the court to celebrate their leader.
-Every October the nominations for the Pirate King/Queen will be chosen with the election being held in December. Only Captains and up can vote for the position of King/Queen.


Article Two: A Pirates relationship to their crew.
Crime
-If a prisoner requests a parlay they are to be brought before the Captain and not harmed until the conclusion of the parlay.
*Mutineers cannot request a parlay. They will not be shown mercy.
* Disciplinary action against a pirate shall fall to their captain. Unless the grievance has caused too large a stir within the court. In that case a trial shall be held with the Pirate King/Queen acting as judge and the Pirate Lords as Jury.
*If a crew member has serious issue with their captain or first mate they can request the Pirate King/Queen to advocate for them.
Ship Life
-Disagreements amongst crew are to be settled by the Captain or first mate. If a the two feuding parties do not accept the conclusion they are to hold off on further escalating said disagreement till they reach land.
*Once on land they settle their disagreement with a duel.
*Seconds are to be chosen to make sure the duel is fair. And If one of the parties is currently injured or not a confident fighter they may choose a champion of roughly equal seasons to their opponent.
-Each privateer is responsible for the weapons, crafting supplies, and casting supplies. All shall be in necessary working order at a moment's notice.
-A Captain has the right to create their own rules and laws to govern their own ship with their crews confidence.


Article III- The Pirate Court’s Mission
-Freedom: The Pirate Court values freedom above all else. Freedom for all races, genders, sexualites, and relgions. We are a free people and we wish to fight to free other people.
*Slavery, and necromancy which is the greatest form of slavery, is not to be tolerated.We will stand as a force to be feared by those who enslave the bodies and minds of free people.
*If a member of the court decides they wish to work directly with a land through vassalship they are free to do so.
*If a member desires to work directly with a fellow organization such as a guild, business, or the Barony they are free to do so.
--Treasure: While some guilds operate in the darkness with the majority of their spoils being taken by the leadership we operate on the open seas dividing up our treasure fairly.
*The acclamation of wealth is the most tangible goal of the Pirate Court. Freedom is an ideal and hard to measure. Treasure is a visible sign of success.
*One’s value to the court shall not be measured strictly on numerical treasure. It takes more than good thievery to be a great pirate.
-Reputation: the final goal of the Pirate Court is to spread the reputation and story of the Pirate Court.Our power does not lie in our numbers or our weapons but the fear of our reputations.
*More than holding back a cut of loot or secretly practicing necromancy the greatest crime a member of the court can commit is hurting the reputation of the court.
* Each Pirate Lord must be a legendary pirate. And each Captain that becomes a member must be actively working on culminating their own epic story.
*The court is here to assist the captains in placing themselves within the pages of history.

These Accords have been written and signed by Cade Tanwyn, Captain of the Night Harrier and hopefully the first Pirate King.

Signed by Osprey, First Mate of the Night Harrier
Signed by Magpie, Sailing Master of the Night Harrier
Signed by Larrick and by Snow Black Water, prospects of the Night Harrier

I know necromancers who have done more for Travance, this Kingdom, and it's People in the last six months than you've done in your entire life.

Cousin, it is good to see someone in this town take action based on their beliefs and work towards them to the degree in which you have done, regardless of what others have to say about it. While not a pirate myself, I fully support your cause.

I'm glad you're friends with nice Necromancers. I think it's great that you've been able to see them help out Travance. Hopefully this union of puckish sailors and dashing swashbucklers will also be able to help our strange little town.

I wonder if you know what a Lich actually is, since you seem to lack the knowledge of how to spell it.

And perhaps you will oblige me a question: if it is evil to enslave the bodies and minds of free people, how does that compare to selling their souls? Is that permissible under these so-called Articles? Or are those people that you will fight to free as well?