Anyone like space pirate campaigns, and if so what kind of SF game do they belong in? Can you have space pirates in a 'hard' SF game and if so how?

Settings like star trek lend themselves to spacepirates what with the infamous cloaking device. Transhuman space has some space p[irates, but given the level of realism in the game's physics they never quite explained how it worked when you can trace a ship by telescope anywhere in the system. On instances of 'blackjacking' lead to the military stomping the base involved shortly thereafter.

I think pirates are really only beleivable in SF in the right conditions... technology would have to be easily enough maintened for small units to handle it, yet the situation would have to be such that naval forces would lack the capability to stomp such forces out AND that the pirates would be able to find and engage with the potential plunder.

Space pirates actually works better than normal pirates, if only because...

THERE'S SO MUCH SPACE

...warp to a point such and such lightyears from humanity until they're no longer looking for you. There ain't no way they'll find you.

That said, it isn't the navy that'll stomp space pirates. It's the process of boarding. That had better be a tight seal.

I can almost imagine a cargo ship with a door one foot bigger than standard on all sides, just to prevent boarding.

Quote from: beejazzSpace pirates actually works better than normal pirates, if only because...

THERE'S SO MUCH SPACE

...warp to a point such and such lightyears from humanity until they're no longer looking for you. There ain't no way they'll find you.

Yup. You'd have to come up with a space travel theory that somehow accomodates this... such as confined warp points... and at that point, it may feel so hand-wavey that it's not precisely "hard" Sci-Fi anymore.

I like them best in space opera settings, like Star Wars and Star Frontiers.  They have a place in Traveller, too, but I'd make them less flamboyant than their space opera cousins.

If you don't mind some fantasy in your sf you could always go with Dragonstar, though I'm not sure how they would deal with ships and boarding and such.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadI think pirates are really only beleivable in SF in the right conditions... technology would have to be easily enough maintened for small units to handle it, yet the situation would have to be such that naval forces would lack the capability to stomp such forces out AND that the pirates would be able to find and engage with the potential plunder.

Which brings up the classic idea of the person on the planet/station/etc. who lets the pirates know of ships passing that might have valuable carbo.  Such a person might even hire on if the ship is short handed..  always helps to have someone ready to disable the alarms and to open the hatch for you...

For some reason, whenever I think of Space Pirates, I kinda of think of the movie Flash Gordon, the one starring Sam Jones(?) and with music by Queen I would love to run a SP campaign in a setting like that. I would tone down the cheese a bit...nah, I wouldn't.

I mean Ming (Max Von Sydow (sp)) as a pirate king, demading tribute from all the other lesser pirates - all part of the space pirates code... more like guidelines, but you know what I mean.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: cnath.rmWhich brings up the classic idea of the person on the planet/station/etc. who lets the pirates know of ships passing that might have valuable carbo.  Such a person might even hire on if the ship is short handed..  always helps to have someone ready to disable the alarms and to open the hatch for you...

To be honest, this happened a lot in historical piracy.  There's not as much sea as there is space, but there's a still a hell of a lot of it

The problems with being a pirate wouldn't be so much staying hidden, because to the huge area to hide in and the difficulty in detecting and tracking a small manuverable object like a space ship.

The problems would be finding somewhere to resupply and maintain your ship, and finding the cargo ships to raid (after all they too have the vastness of space in which to hide).

The problems of resupply are sorted if you have friendly ports, either because of there being numerous independent planets or your ship being more of a privateer than pirate, being sponsored by a friendly government.

Find ships to raid can either be solved by how the system handles space travel. For example fuel could be expensive enough that ships only take the shortest routes, so their paths are predicatable. Or might use jumpgates (Fading Suns) so they will naturally gather at jump points.

Of course pirates would most probably have spies in ports to report when cargo ships leave and what they are carrying.

Boarding wouldn't be and issue (once you have disabled their engines), you make sure you are wearing vac-suits and then just punch a whole through their hull. Of course if a fight is likely most crews wear vac-suits then vent the air in the ship anyway, to prevent explosive decompression.

You'll probably want to have tactics and a reputation to encourage surrender instead of a fight however. Blackbeard for example didn't harm crews that surrendered without a fight, but slaughtered those that put up resistance.

My Classic Traveller campaign, which is gearing up for a start (at last!) in early October, will focus on a group of pirates...well, privateers in the employ of a local megacorp, to be more precise, but my players are already making plans on various ways they could strike out on their own.

We're using a homebrewed universe, and the game is taking place in a frontier-y sector featuring several small interstellar polities.  Since many of the smaller states can't afford extensive starship patrols or planetary defenses, piracy is fairly common.  Planetary governments and corporations also issue letters of marque as a means to resolve conflicts on a "low intensity" scale.

In addition to finding safe haven in less savory starports, some pirate organizations in our campaign also maintain hideouts on rogue planets in seemingly empty parsecs.  Navigation programs to reach them are very expensive and hard to find.

As I envision it, the game will fall somewhere between gritty (constant scavenging for parts, food, medical supplies) and glittery (lots of action and Errol Flynns in space).  I've been stealing a fair bit from Cherryh's Company/Alliance universe for inspiration, in addition to a few books about piracy in the 16th-18th centuries (and our own!).

Right now, everyone in the group is pretty pumped to begin playing.  So, yeah, lotsa love for space pirates here!

Another possibility would be to have space pirates operate within a certain sector of space. They could have communities in small isolated planets, where they eke out a living most of the time by legitimate means - farming, trading etc - and resorting to piracy as a side line. Certain members of the community may be recruited by individuals who have small heavily armed ships to go on raids to supplement their meager incomes.

This could be a cultural thing - spacefarers/plunderers - or it could be an economic issue - the sector devasted by war and  some communities -the ones on the losing side of the war - having to resort to piracy.

The authorities (whoever they are) could deal with these pirates in a harsh military manner or they could use a softer approach- heavy guard ships around cargo vessels and trying to lift these communities out of their poverty by introducing social programs.

Also, what of former military personnel? They could decide to use their skills, the old fashioned way. Steal a ship, and sail the night, living on their wits. This could include escaped military convicts, mentally damaged space marines etc.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: Dominus NoxAnyone like space pirate campaigns, and if so what kind of SF game do they belong in? Can you have space pirates in a 'hard' SF game and if so how?

Settings like star trek lend themselves to spacepirates what with the infamous cloaking device. Transhuman space has some space p[irates, but given the level of realism in the game's physics they never quite explained how it worked when you can trace a ship by telescope anywhere in the system. On instances of 'blackjacking' lead to the military stomping the base involved shortly thereafter.

I love a bit of space piracy.Alastair Reynold's short story 'Weather' has some in it.
In a hard SF environment they would hide behind moons or asteroids and jump out to attack nearby ships.Passive sensors on these moons/asteroids would alert them of a ship coming close by.
Passive sensors would give plenty of time for pirates to see military ships and get the hell out of the area.

Quote from: BagpussThe problems with being a pirate wouldn't be so much staying hidden, because to the huge area to hide in and the difficulty in detecting and tracking a small manuverable object like a space ship.

I hate to break it to you, but stealth in space, barring some kind of handwavium cloaking technology, is virtually impossible.  A space ship against the backdrop of cold, empty space stands out like a neon sign.

There Ain't No Stealth in Space

Atomic Rocket is really a good site if you're looking for some realism in your sci-fi.

Quote from: AnthrobotPassive sensors on these moons/asteroids would alert them of a ship coming close by.
Passive sensors would give plenty of time for pirates to see military ships and get the hell out of the area.

Passive (and active) sensor arrays, placed on or near such moons and asteroids and maintained whatever government or polity held sway in the region, would also wreak havoc with pirates' plans to go lurking about.  Sauce for the goose...

!i!