Ideas for a Pirate Town

[Phantasm]

Okay, there's the obvious stuff: the ship repair crews, the tavern, the brothel, the boarding houses....

But what else would you expect to find or like to see in a town that's not near "established civilization" (say, in the Caribbean or along the African coastline) in a TL4-5 world that's a haven for pirates?

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Okay, there's the obvious stuff: the ship repair crews, the tavern, the brothel, the boarding houses....

But what else would you expect to find or like to see in a town that's not near "established civilization" (say, in the Caribbean or along the African coastline) in a TL4-5 world that's a haven for pirates?

Private housing, from fishermen's hovels to mansions built by successful pirate captains. Churches; just because you're a pirate doesn't necessarily mean you're impious.


Hans

[Anders]

Some kind of fence, who trades in stuff for gold.

[Crakkerjakk]

I would strongly recommend Freeport if you're looking to spend some money on such a thing. It's somewhat D&D inspired, but you can pull the fantasy races out and use it for generic carribean pirate town pretty damn easy, IMO.

[Anders]

A visit to the bathhouse and barber may make haggling with the prostitutes easier.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Okay, there's the obvious stuff: the ship repair crews, the tavern, the brothel, the boarding houses....

But what else would you expect to find or like to see in a town that's not near "established civilization" (say, in the Caribbean or along the African coastline) in a TL4-5 world that's a haven for pirates?

Don't forget the mansions of retired pirates and their bankers, warehouses, breweries or vinters or distillers, fishermen's boat-sheds and drying racks, and defenses against angry prey, their home countries, or the natives.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Some kind of fence, who trades in stuff for gold.

If it's a pirate town, then there probably won't be any laws against selling and buying stolen goods, and so almost all the traders will be potentail fences, the only exceptions being a few oddball ones.

Then again, many traders will be reluctant to buy famous individual items, e.g. the crown jewels of a particular country, because of rumours spread, the buyer might become the subject of a punitive expedition. So you could still have a kind of "fence", a trader who has (or thinks he has) the ability to purchase even very special goods.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

A visit to the bathhouse and barber may make haggling with the prostitutes easier.

The classy whores, sure. The common whores will probably be too desperate for business to be able to refuse anyone. A girls gotta eat, you know. And if being a whore sucks (and it almost certainly does if you're not near the top of the profession), then a girl gotta drink too.

Of course, that's assuming a professional whore model, as opposed to a model in which a few unmarried women and a bunch more married ones do some negotiable affection as a secret side business.

[robkelk]

I'm not sure there'd be a brothel.

I'm currently re-reading the Aubrey/Maturin stories, and there are a few scenes in those where the ships in port are visited by bumboats bringing various comforts for sale or rent - and the "comforts" include whores plying their trade. It's commented that the ports' brothels are patronized by the crews of ships where the captains don't allow women aboard. Patrick O'Brian was known for his historical research down to the smallest detail, so I'm willing to accept these depictions as accurate.

Pirate ships don't have the military discipline that a man-of-war has, so a "no women aboard" rule isn't likely to stick...

[vicky_molokh]

Arms and ammunition vendors/makers.

Depending on the local pirates' attitude towards slave-trade, either a notable number of freed slaves with nowhere better to go, thus settled here, or a slave market. Could actually be both.

Of course, brewers/distillers.