A Blackbeard Variant

A pirate's life was brutish, nasty, and short, and Blackbeard models this fairly well. Even Teach isn't a favorite to live the whole game. The pirates of the movies, of legend, however, became more powerful as they gained experience. This seemed like an easy effect to model. Here are the results:

Pirate Experience Rules

  1. Pirates "make a level" immediately upon acquiring 20, 40, 60, or 80 notoriety. The effect of making a level is that he may add one to any of his characteristics. None may be improved to greater than five. If cunning is taken, the choice has no effect on the "Cunning Last Use" chit.
  2. Port combat strength is improved by 1. Notoriety for sacking or defeating the port, however, is computed based on the printed value. For example, Havana becomes an 11 combat, but is worth only (?) 20 to sack. (Plus the ten for the first defeat.) The additional combat is added after halving for sacking. (So Havana is a 6 to sack.)
I suggest using the 2nd rule even without the first.
Jeff Goldsmith, jeff@tintin.jpl.nasa.gov, March 9, 1998