Pirates

**Pirates** are, broadly speaking, professional criminals that operates wholly or partially on the world's seas, especially people conducting criminal acts of robbery or violence by ship called **piracy**, typically at sea, and can also range from naval warfare and coastal raids.

Acts of piracy can be committed on land, in the air, or near bodies of water including shores. In most, if not all, cases they lead or belong to a group of like-minded criminals, known as a **crew**.

## Overview

Perhaps the trait most universal to pirates, beside their sea-going activities and general defiance of the law, is the Jolly Roger: a skull-and-crossbones symbol meant for intimidation, usually flown on black ship flags and sails, which exists in countless variants among different pirates. Such symbol's overall connotations are strong enough that the authorities have been known to attack ships flying it on sight, even if those onboard are not identified with any particular bounty or crime.

The (stereo)typical pirate is greedy, violent, and ruthless, willing to hurt anyone and destroy anything to gain what they want—be it treasure, power, or even personal amusement. For this reason, it is not uncommon for civilians to fear and detest pirates on principle, even if they have never personally met any.

### Crews

Virtually all pirates are part of some **pirate crew**, comprising other pirates willing to operate under the same Jolly Roger. These are typically led by a single **Captain**, who makes (or at least has final authority on) all major actions taken by the crew and often possesses the highest combat ability and notoriety.

Other positions common to pirate crews include:

* **First Mates** or **Vice-Captains**, who advises the captain, relays orders to the rest of the crew, and usually assumes authority in the captain's absence.
* **Combatants**, who specialize in fighting—whether with swords, ballistics, or their own bodies—and, depending on the crew's size and focus, may have no other skills.
* **Navigators**, **Chiefs**, **Doctors**, **Shipwrights** and other logistical roles common to any sailing ship.
* **Musicians**, **Pets**, and other roles meant to entertain.
* **Pirate Apprentices**, recruited at a young age, who may be used for anything from unpleasant chores to open combat.

### Ships

All but the newest (or poorest) of pirates sail on specialized ships that bear their corresponding Jolly Roger on the mainsail and/or flags; in most cases, the figurehead is also customized to reflect the captain's epithet or personal motif. Apart from this, a pirate ship may be of any size and equipped with any level of technology, depending on the skills and materials available to—and ambitions of—its crew.

### Territories

A sign of a pirate's threat is their ability to gain territory from a small island to a base over several villages. Often, to stay out of sight, they will keep their base hidden as well.

## Etymology

While the English word "pirate" is derived from the Latin *pirata* ("pirate, corsair, sea robber") and Greek πειρατής (*peiratēs*: "brigand"), the Japanese word for pirate—*kaizoku*—comprises the kanji for "**sea/ocean**" (海) and "**thief/robber**" (賊), in analogy to such terms as "**Bandits**" (盗賊, *tōzoku*).