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Letters of Marque Mechanic

WhitejacketWhitejacket Posts: 87Member Beginner
General Discussion
Hello folks,

There has been an in-game situation brewing over the last two or three weeks and it has got me thinking about a game mechanic that should be added in. I am not sure if the code would allow it, but I thought I would start a thread anyway.

So it seems that the Ottoman Empire has expanded greatly in the Caribbean and along some parts of Western South America. Nothing wrong with this of course, generally speaking, but as a Venetian, I want the ports to be Venetian.

I saw an Ottoman player hovering around some ports, and I'm assuming he is investing large amounts of cash in these ports. He was white, I am blue.

Because I am affiliated with a company that does not allow piracy or privateering, I could not attack him. However, even if I attacked him, the intention would not be to pirate him per se, but to discourage investment in ports and keep him away from non-Ottoman ports. It could be any country of course, I am just using Ottoman as an example because this is the current situation.

In the Age of Sail, privateers had authorization from their governments (letters of marque) and had protection. There is no such mechanic here. Had I attacked the Ottoman, I would have turned orange, and would have been a "privateer," but not really a privateer in the true sense of the word. (Although, there is an argument that a privateer is still a type of pirate, but I am trying to differentiate an in-game privateer that is orange-named, from a player who would have a government endorsement and would not become orange-named).

So I am basically saying that there should be a mechanic where the following would exist:

- Players can get a letter of marque from their capital city and upon receiving it get a coloured name (I propose black, but any colour other than white, orange, red, blue, or green);

- Such a player could attack a ship near a port (with a predefined radius) where the privateer with the letter of marque can attack another ship without a "pirate penalty." The mechanic can be ironed out, but, in my example above, if the port is already Ottoman, I could not attack the player. (That is what the ESF is for.)However, if the port is say, 1) non-Ottoman, I could attack the Ottoman player, or 2) the port being guarded must be, in my case, Venetian, for the penalty not to apply. This second suggestion probably makes more sense.

- Any attack outside the port's sphere (the port being defended) by the sailor with the letter of marque would turn a player RED and he would lose his letter of marque immediately, and his notoriety would increase toward the nation he attacked as well as against his own nation.

- The letters of marque would expire after a certain period of time.

I know this may not make some traders or adventurers happy, but there are plenty of ways for traders and adventurers to avoid confrontation as other threads have mentioned (tributes, blue flags, etc.).

It would also allow for more strategic planning among maritimers, and it would give incentive for large battle fleets to protect sailors who want to invest in ports

What do you think? I welcome all suggestions, positive and negative. If there is something I overlooked, feel free to add it in.

IGN: Milvio

P.S. Please, no replies (and repeating) about how it would be bad for traders and adventurers. Most maritimers know where you stand, and there are other threads for that.
naginaginaginata
IGN: Milvio, Caroline, and Nasrin

Comments

  • WhitejacketWhitejacket Posts: 87Member Beginner
    One other comment I wanted to add:

    In the case of the Ottoman port above, if an Ottoman player would attack me while I am around the Ottoman port and I have a black name, the Ottoman player would NOT turn orange if he won the battle.
    IGN: Milvio, Caroline, and Nasrin
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