What’s In A Name?

Act 1: The Voyage Begins
Runnin’ down to Cuba with a load of sugar,
‘Way, me boys, to Cuba!
Make her run you lime juice squeezers,
Runnin’ down to Cuba!
‘Way, me boys, to Cuba!
Runnin’ down to Cuba!

“Alright you scallywags!” You yell out, having emerged from the passage alongside Anna. Your fellow crewmates all turn to you, smiles on their faces and excitement in their bones. “No more lollygagging! We gotta get this ship properly running and start raiding some ships!” The other pirates all nod in agreement, and you quickly point to a few of them. “You lads! Head below deck and take stock of what we got in the ways of black powder, cannon and shot!” They nod and quickly dash off towards the main hatch to go below deck. You then gesture to another small group. “You lads go see what we have in the way of rations. I know we don’t eat, but the lass here does and I think we could all enjoy the taste of rum again, aye?”

“Aye captain!” they shout before following the first group below deck.

You then look at the remaining pirates before picking out a few more. “You men head below and figure out what supplies we have in terms of ship repair. The gods may have repaired this tub, but if fighting with adventurers has taught me anything over the years, it's that they like to break shit!” Anna gives a nod of acknowledgement and a shrug, all with the expression of “Can’t deny that.” The other pirates chuckle a bit at her reaction. “So I want to know what we got for repairs, and what we need to look for in terms of extra supplies.” The pirates nod and head below deck, leaving you with half of your crew still above deck.

“Pete,” you say, gesturing to the large pirate. “I want you to dive down and see if the snappers followed us up here. If not, then see if you can go back down and talk with them and lead them to the ship.” He nods and walks over to the railing of the ship before swan diving off the side into the depths from which you all emerged.

“As for the rest of you, I want you to keep watch and reacquaint yourself with the anatomy of a ship. Once we get everything figured out, I want to get us sailing as soon as possible. Understood?” The men nod, giving you a few “aye-ayes” before they start to disperse. One of them walks up to you, asking “Captain, where will you be if we got anything to report?”

You smile. “I’ll be checking out the captain’s quarters. Hopefully there will be some gifts from the gods in there to help make us proper buccaneers, or at the very least give us a push in the right direction of what to do next.”

He gives you a nod and a smile. “Hopefully. But I’ll be honest, you’ve given us a chance at sailing again. Even if we got nothing but a knife and this boat, I’ll gladly sail right into an imperial armada if you think it would work.”

Your eyes go wide in surprise, but you aren’t given a moment to question him as one of the other pirates calls to him and he quickly monkeys his way up the rigging into the tops of the sails. You’re just left there, mouth agape, as Anna walks up to you.

“Wow. Didn’t realize you would inspire that kind of loyalty.” She smirks at you. “Honestly, I didn't even think you monsters could be that loyal. But that might be more a result of my predetermined biases against you guys than anything else.”

You quickly recompose yourself and turn, walking towards your cabin. “Well, I think you’ll be seeing a lot of things you’ll have to reconsider about us monsters. Despite the categorization, we aren’t actually that monstrous, you know.” You give her a small smile as you open the door to your cabin for her. “Hell, maybe I was once an adventurer like you till I died and drowned.”

For some reason, she gives you a… well you can’t quite tell. A disappointed look? But not directed at you. Like something about that statement sat wrong with her, but none of it was from you. Before you can ask her, she quickly makes her way into the cabin and remarks: “Wow. Certainly an upgrade from the bottom of the ocean, even if it is a bit empty.”

You follow her in and, you have to agree, you certainly traded up in terms of living conditions. The room was easily the size of that cave you would sometimes relax in, although instead of dank darkness and dampness permeating the atmosphere, this room made you feel warm and calm. Like a roaring fire at the end of a day. In one corner was a rather large bed, draped in red and gold sheets with a solid number of pillows. You weren’t sure if you even had to sleep, as usually you would always be killed by the end of the day, but now you were most certainly willing to try if it meant using a bed like that.

On the opposite wall there was a large closet-wardrobe-looking thing, which was clearly designed to hold a myriad of clothes and items, though if you had to guess it would probably be empty. No matter. You’re used to wearing the same stuff everyday, a lack of options isn’t exactly going to kill you. Next to said wardrobe are a couple large wooden bookshelves, though they are bare.

‘Note to self. Steal some books whenever we do a raid,’ you think to yourself. Between the bed and the wardrobe is a rather large round table with 8 chairs, and instantly the memory of officers sitting around a table discussing strategy pops into your head. The faces are blurred as are any discernible features, but you know that this was meant as a meeting place for the officers of the ship.

Finally, to cap things off was the lighting of the room. Unlike your cave, which had only been illuminated by strange bioluminescent lichens, this room has two major sources of light. One is the multitude of lanterns all around, as well as a couple of candelabras. You have no doubt in your mind that once night hits, those will perfectly illuminate the whole room in a soft orange glow. However, what is currently lighting up the room is the giant glass window on the far wall. Almost taking up the entire space, it gives you a clear view of everything your ship will leave behind and, as you look through it, you can tell that said glass has some magical enchantment to make it less of a gigantic weak spot. You can see the slight ripple of magic across its surface, and you can’t wait to watch out that window as some adventurer’s ship sinks into the oblivion that you had just crawled your way out of.

‘Maybe I should look into getting some fine liquor. A good shot of brandy to drink while I watch my enemies drown and die, and to celebrate a raid gone right,’ you think smugly to yourself.

You look back over to the bed only to see that Anna has already laid down on it, letting out a sigh of content. “Daaaaayyyum. Who would have ever guessed that sunken ships revived via magic crystals had beds this soft?!”

You give her a gentle smile as she enjoys the bed, and for a brief moment the images of what to do with her on said bed pass through your mind. But before you can act on them, something else catches your attention. Specifically the ping of a notification that you had been ignoring for a solid half hour up to this point.

‘Well, good time as any to actually look into what being a boss gets me,’ you think to yourself, willing the first of many pop-ups to fill your vision.

Ship Obtained!
Please input a name for your new vessel

Makes sense. You know that the ship had no name when it was on the ocean floor simply due to the weathering of time. And what vessel could properly call herself a ship without a name?

You already know that, whatever name you gave to the ship, you will have to give some respect to the item that allowed you to even start all this. Not the Claimant Crystal, but the Black Pearl that gave you the luck you needed. But… for some reason you feel that just naming it “The Black Pearl” would be a bit too on the nose. Plus that name is probably already taken by another ship, and it’s best not to tread on other captains’ toes.

Maybe… The Dead Pearl? You are all undead after all. Nah. That doesn’t feel right either. The ship isn’t dead, so you shouldn’t call it that.

Then, as you’re thinking of your crew, the name comes to you. One that respects the history of both the ship, the treasure that started this whole thing, and the crew that will allow her to sail. And the moment the name solidifies in your mind, the pop-up changes to reflect your idea.

Ship Obtained!
The Drowned Pearl
Level 1 Schooner
Prebuilt Features
Poop Deck (Level 1)
Spar Deck (Level 1)
Gun Deck (Level 1)
Berth Deck (Level 1)
Orlop Deck (Level 1)

Huh. That is a lot of information to process at once.

The prebuilt features make sense. The terms are vaguely familiar, activating memories of sailing within your mind. But what do the levels mean? Can they be leveled up? How? With what benefits?

You decide to solve this by selecting the first prebuilt deck and seeing what it says.

Poop Deck (Level 1)
The highest elevated deck on the ship, found at the stern. This deck has the helm from which the ship is piloted and is frequented by the navigator as a spot of elevated perception. It also forms the roof of the Captain’s Cabin.
Level 1: Utilized for basic navigation
Upgrade to Level 2: Discover an uncharted island and sail to it

Oh wonderful. A nice hard-to-complete task that you will probably only be able to fulfill by accident. After all, with the amount of adventurers and cartographers out there, who knows how many islands have only been explored by one or two people but are still counted as “charted”?

Well, it will level up eventually. What about the next deck?

Spar Deck (Level 1)
The upper deck of the ship, and the last deck that is exposed entirely to the elements. This is where most of your crew will congregate and sail the ship from, as well as launch various attacks from.
Level 1: No bonus effects
Upgrade to Level 2: Successfully raid a mercantile ship

Now that is something that can be more easily fulfilled! In fact, once you get the ship ready and your crew prepped for battle, it will probably be the first thing you will do. After all, attacking a military ship right out the gate is suicide. Sure, you are all sailors and combat-hardened, but fighting on a ship again after so long will probably take some getting used to.

Gun Deck (Level 1)
Home to six 8-pounder guns, this deck is used primarily to damage, slow, and sink ships from afar. Perpetually smelling of black powder and shot, its also a useful area for your pirates to fight if pushed into the belly of the ship.
Level 1: 6 total cannons, each an 8-pounder
Upgrade to Level 2: Fire off 20 shots from cannons (0/20)

Again, not a big ask, especially considering you will be raiding many ships. Of course you will have to ensure that you have enough powder and shot to deal with said requirements, but you are sure that any one of your pirates that you have sent below will be able to give you an update on that.

To the next deck.

Berth Deck (Level 1)
The quarters for your crew. On this deck there are areas for them to sleep, a mess hall, cabins for the officers, and some tables and lighting for them to be able to relax during their time off if they wish to spend it below decks. Thank the gods that magic keeps the rats and weevils out, and the quarters nice and clean!
Level 1: 15 comfortable sleeping spots, 4 officer bunks
Upgrade to Level 2: Have a crew of at least 15 individuals (24/15)(Completed)
Yes / No

Well, looks like luck was on your side!

Berth Deck (Level 2)
Level 2: 30 comfortable sleeping spots, 8 officer bunks
Upgrade to Level 3: Have at least 5 officers signed on (0/5)

Huh. Alright. Well this just means that, somehow, you will have to figure out how to sign on officers. Maybe one of the papers on the table is a ship’s manifest? Or maybe you just need to have the members of your ship agree to be officers. Either way, having some help in running the ship will be paramount, so again this is something that you can easily fulfill given enough time.

Orlop Deck (Level 1)
The underbelly of the ship, and the main storage area for everything a pirate needs. From rations to black powder to rum to even the treasures you accrue, it is all stored within the belly of your ship, the Orlop Deck.
Level 1: Standard storage, no lock on treasure room
Upgrade to Level 2: Store at least 500 gold worth of items within the treasure room (0/500)

Damn. That is an awful lot of money to be thrown around, and until you manage to level it up, that room will be **** if you ever got invaded, possibly undoing any form of progress you will make. You will have to ensure that your treasure will be well guarded, as you know deep down that whatever improvements will have to be made to the ship, it will probably cost some form of money at some point.

“Hey Anna,” you ask, causing the woman in question to sit up on the bed. “You said that you were getting paid to get The Black Pearl from me?”

“Yeah. 150 gold that we were going to split between the two of us. Why?”

‘Damn. Not enough.’

“I just need 500 gold worth of treasure to upgrade part of the ship.” You say, moving around the table to take a look at the pages in front of the chair at the head of the table. “I was hoping that the pearl would be enough to get that upgrade.”

“Nope.” she says, popping the p with a bit of sass. “Frankly, I wouldn’t even guess the pearl to be worth that much. The reward was also covering getting the pearl, and the quest-giver is this old coot who gets rare treasures. He’s the only one who would even want the pearl, and so he’s the only one who would pay that much for it.”

“So it's practically worthless, at least in terms of monetary value.” You say, rubbing the bridge of your nose. “Alright. Looks like we will have to wait on that upgrade for a while.” Your attention then goes down to the papers in front of you, and you feel yourself raise an eyebrow in confusion.

Infamous Captains of the Arkusian Seas

1. ????????? (+?????? Fame)
2. ????????? (+233,000 Fame)
3. ????????? (+144,000 Fame)
4. ????????? (+89,000 Fame)
5. ????????? (+55,000 Fame)
6. Captain Scarlet (+34,000 Fame)
7. Captain Dodger Barnes (+21,000 Fame)
8. Captain Bonny Clyde ( +13,000 Fame)
9. Captain Redbeard (+8,000 Fame)
10. Captain Stoneface Duvos (+5,000 Fame)
11. Captain Jean The Lucky (+ 3,000 Fame)
12. The Dragon of the Sea (+2,000 Fame)
13. Captain Starshot Daniels (+1,000 Fame)
14. Captain Billy Bones (+1,000 Fame)
15. Captain Avery Matthews

More information that you have no context for. It is clear that this is a list of pirate captains, at least if your inclusion plus some of those names are anything to go by. But then the question remains of who these top 5 are, and how will you find out anything about them? Additionally, the top pirate not only has an unknown name, but unlike all the others he has an unknown amount of fame for… doing something to him? Maybe defeating him or taking his spot in the ranking? That makes the most sense.

But what the hell even is fame? Is it something on your character sheet now?

Captain Avery Matthews, Level 3 Drowned Pirate
Monster, Microboss, Undead, Explicit
Experience to level up- 100 / 300
Feats
(Micro)Boss - You are a leader of other monsters and owner of a lair. Unlocks the fame mechanic. You retain your current level after respawning, but lose all progress towards the next one

Alright, so you have access to the fame mechanic. But what is the fame mechanic?!

Fame: 175
Recent Activity

Defeated a hero: +10
Defeated a higher level hero: +1
Negotiated with a hero: +5
Stole a treasure: +5
Raised a ship from the deep: +25
Raised a crew of pirates: +15
People are talking about you: +14
Claimed a lair: +100

Alright. So you have fame, can obtain fame through doing various actions, and eventually you can defeat some various pirates and gain even more fame.

But what, exactly, can fame do?

Fame: 175
Captain of the Waves: 0/10 (10 fame)
Gift of Expertise: 0/(5*level of Captain of the Waves)(50 fame)
Empower Self: (100 fame, temporary)
Empower Crewmate: (100 fame, eligible crewmate required, temporary)
Check back later to see if you’ve unlocked more options!

Alright, more info. Let's take a look at those first two and see what they have in store. You put a bit of fame into the first one and see what happens.

Captain of the Waves 1/10 (Status Ability) (40 fame to advance)
Your name is spread in taverns and ports all across the seas of Arkus. Every time you run into a non-hostile monster, there is a small chance that they will have heard of you and want to join your crew. You also may receive favorable treatment from those who fear your reputation.

That is… vague. So you might, emphasis on might, have a chance to sway a monster to your side by being famous, or if they don’t join they might be nice to you out of fear? Well what is the chance? How “non-hostile” is non-hostile? For example, if you beat them in combat do they now count as non-hostile because you defeated them? And is it only in ports or can you recruit monsters just randomly out on the waves? Are you going to expect a freaking kraken to have heard of you and want to join up?

Well, all that can be figured out later. Time to look at the second option.

Gift of Expertise (50 fame, 0/5 used)
Gifts one of your crewmates with a form of expertise in running a ship. They will keep this knowledge after being destroyed and are able to impart portions of this knowledge onto crewmates they work alongside. If promoted to being an officer, they will gain even greater knowledge in their expertise and have a greater chance to teach the crew that works for them.
Select Expertise
Helmsman: Pilots the ship. Knows the ships draught, how wide the ship is, and how sharp a turn she can make.
Gunning: Aids in cannon fire and gun usage. Higher than average aim, good skills in reloading, and a good head for hitting targets.
Navigation: Aids in map reading and creation. Reads and corrects charts, utilizes navigational tools, and can often read the ocean to determine if a storm is on its way.
[Additional options unlock at higher Captain levels]

Now THAT is actually useful and understandable. You know that your crew can easily pilot this ship, but giving them a helping hand with some valuable knowledge will certainly make things a helluva lot easier. Especially for things like Helmsman and Navigation. Those are extremely necessary on a ship, and the gunner position would be well used if you want a long career as a pirate.

But what other possibilities lie in wait?

You smile to yourself and quickly pump in another 40 fame into Captain of the Waves, leaving you at 125, but unlocking an additional and very necessary expertise.

Carpentry: Repairs the ship. Knows how to best use the available resources to repair any hole in the ship, as well as notice problems before they become severe.

Again, another very necessary thing for the ship but… you only have 125 fame now. Sure the increased rank means you can endow up to 10 crew members with expertise, but currently you can only afford 2. So what two are more necessary than the others?

Gunner is probably off the table for now. You would love to have some top tier shooters on your crew, but that isn't ultimately necessary for sailing. Navigation is, though, if you have any hope of being able to find your way on the waters. But so is a proper Helmsman. And if you are planning on doing a raid, Carpentry would also be needed for basic repairs.

Then again… maybe you could wait on the repairs portion, at least for now. If you play your cards right, you might have a chance of boarding a ship and then revealing you are a group of pirates. It would save you repairs from your ships firing at one another, and leave it up to just good navigation and good helming to keep the ship afloat.

But who to endow with the knowledge? You will have to take a look at your crew and figure out who-

Just as you begin to think through your crew’s faces, the door to your cabin slams open, one of your pirates looking at you with exasperation and worry.

“CAP’IN! We got’s a huge problem below deck!”

You quickly stand up, worry filling you like water into a sinking vessel. “Damages? Are we taking on water?!”

“No, but we found the respanwer! But… But…”