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Contents
How to do Merchant Raids
Hey there, fellow pirates! Arrr you ready to learn about one of the most thrilling activities on the high seas? Well, look no further because I’m here to tell you all about merchant raids!
The Basics
Now, listen up me hearties! When it comes to merchant raids, it’s all about finding those unsuspecting merchant ships and liberating their valuable cargo. That’s right, I’m talking about stealing their loot! But hold your horses, or should I say, hold your swords, because there’s a proper way to do this.
The first thing you need to do is find the right target. Keep an eye out for merchant ships that are full to the brim with shiny treasure. Those are the ones you want to go after. But be careful, matey, because not all targets are created equal. Some may be heavily guarded while others might be a piece of cake to plunder.
Once you’ve identified a suitable target, it’s time to plan your attack. Look for any weaknesses in their defenses or patterns in their movements. This will give you the upper hand and increase your chances of success. Remember, a smart pirate is a successful pirate!
Executing the Raid
Avast ye! It’s time to put your plan into action and board that merchant ship. But wait, before you charge in like a raging sea monster, let me give you a few tips to make your raid more successful.
Tip: It’s always a good idea to have a crew of loyal pirates by your side. Together, you can divide and conquer, taking over the ship more efficiently.
Now, once you’re on board, it’s time to take control. Subdue any resistance and make sure the crew knows who’s the captain now. Search the ship high and low, checking every nook and cranny for valuables. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for hidden compartments or secret stashes!
Tip: It’s a pirate’s life, but that doesn’t mean you have to be heartless. Treat the crew with fairness and respect. A little bit of kindness can go a long way, me mateys!
Once you’ve gathered all the loot you can find, it’s time to make your grand exit. But be quick, my friends! The longer you stay, the higher the risk of being caught by the authorities. Remember, we pirates like to stay one step ahead of our enemies!
Final Thoughts
Arrr, my fellow pirates, merchant raids can be an exhilarating adventure that fills your pockets with gold. But always remember, with great plunder comes great responsibility. Understand that this life is not for the faint of heart, and there may be consequences to your actions.
Warning: Engaging in merchant raids is illegal and against the pirate code. The information provided here is for entertainment purposes only. Do not attempt these actions in real life!
So, me hearties, I hope you enjoyed this little journey into the world of merchant raids. Remember, it’s all about finding the right target, planning your attack, and executing it with precision. Now, go forth and conquer the high seas, but always remember to be a pirate with honor!
Guess what? I’ve got something exciting to tell you! There’s this cool thing called Merchant Tokens that represent merchants you can engage with and plunder. How awesome is that? So, here’s the deal: as you raid these merchants, the Merchant Tokens are taken off the board and put face-down on the Merchant track, which you can find on the game board.
Now, here’s where it gets really interesting. If the Merchant track has 8 Merchant Tokens on it at the start of a turn (before you even draw an Event Card), you get to blindly distribute them face-down again so that each Sea-Zone has one Merchant Token. Talk about a surprise!
Intriguing Merchant Nationality
Now here’s a twist. When you announce that you’re going to “scout” for a merchant (how brave of you!), you have to roll your Scouting skill. If you succeed, you can remove the Merchant Token from the Sea-Zone and uncover the nation on the other side. Are you ready for it?
So, the nationality of the merchant can either be the one shown on the token or the same as the Sea-Zone you’re in. For example, if you’re in the Santo Domingo Sea-Zone, the merchant’s nationality would be Spanish. Cool, right?
It’s up to you to decide which nation you want to engage with, or if you want to engage at all. If the available nations are not ones you want to mess with, you can let the merchant sail away. However, keep in mind that the token will still be removed and placed on the Merchant track.
Merchant Raids
Remember, you can only perform a Merchant Raid if none of your ship’s hit-locations are destroyed, meaning they haven’t been reduced to zero.
Merchant Raids involve drawing Cargo Cards. These cards determine the success of the raid, the cargo onboard, and the amount of Gold you will plunder. Follow these steps:
- Draw 3 Cargo Cards and place them face up in front of you.
- Roll your Captain’s Seamanship.
- Draw an additional card
- Discard a card or
- Swap a card
Remember, it’s okay to draw another card and exchange it if I have a success. I can discard or exchange the newly drawn card. Both discarded and exchanged cards go in the Cargo Card discard pile and don’t count.
Let’s see if I had a successful raid by looking at the icons in the lower right corner of the cards I have left.
Hit Icon: When you see a Hit Icon, it means that your ship is being damaged. The damage is done to the specific part of the ship indicated by the Hit Icon. If the Hit Icon destroys the Hull, your ship will sink and your Captain will die. But if any other part of the ship is destroyed, you will survive the attack. However, the raid will fail, and any additional hits to a destroyed part will be transferred to your ship’s hull.
Escape Icon: Here’s the deal: if the number of Escape Icons is the same as or more than how well your ship maneuvers, the merchant manages to escape. (Don’t worry, hits from hit-icons still count.)
Keep this in mind: half the cards have an Escape Icon, and half have a Hit Icon.
If the merchant doesn’t escape and you don’t destroy one of their hit-locations, that means your raid was a success.
Now, here’s the interesting part: on the remaining cards, you’ll see numbers from 1 to 5. The most common number is 3. These numbers are called “Plunder Value” and tell you how much gold you raid.
Oh, and one more thing: you can keep any of the remaining Cargo Cards that fit on your ship.
Glory Point: If you manage to plunder a merchant and get 12 or more gold, you earn a Glory Point. And guess what? That means you also get a Glory Card!
Special Weapons during Merchant Raids
When you roll your Seamanship skill, you have the option to use a Special Weapons token to turn a failed die into a successful one. If you want, you can use multiple tokens on the same roll. It doesn’t matter which type of token you use – they all have the same impact during Merchant Raids.
Hey there! So, let’s talk about Special Weapons tokens, shall we? These little things can be a bit pricey, costing 3 Gold each. But boy, oh boy, are they worth it!