Law Abiding Privateers an Option?

[Jabborwacky]

Will this adventure path provide the opportunity for players to play as law abiding privateers and fight against pirates, or is it very narrowly focused on pirate characters only? I'm looking at the first adventure, and I don't see anything keeping the players from doing so as of yet (although they will require a bit more diplomacy to pull it off).

[Kydeem de'Morcaine]

It is very difficult to imagine law abiding, privateer, and fighting pirates.

Privateers are only law abiding by very loose interpritation and only in that one country that gave them the letters of marquee. To everyone else the are pirates because that's what they are hired to do. Hit the merchant shipping of some other country. They don't go after pirates because that is risky and not profitable.

The regular navy is the ones that go after pirates though they may do that with q-ships.

It was rare, but wasn't completely unknown for some rich dude to get upset and commission what was basically a private q-ship to go after pirates. However, that is not really within the definition of privateer. But I think that is about as close as you can get to what it sounds like you are looking for.

But as I understand it, that won't work very well for the AP because you are supposed to become a pirate king by the end. But I could be wrong about that. I've just read some of the reviews and intros.

[The Dread Pirate Hurley]

The second half of the AP is the aftermath of the PCs winning the Free Captains' Regatta, which is basically a race through the Eye of Abendego. From what I understand of it, the winners would have to be in "Kessel Run in 12 parsecs" territory of awesome. Winners get a spot on the pirate council, an island to call their very own, and they have to hold a feast for the other Free Captains.

So yeah, I can't really see anti-pirates working too well.

[Paladin of Baha-who?]

The GM would need to make a lot of changes to the storyline to accomodate anti-pirates.

[James Jacobs]

It's not really a question of can there be law-abiding privateers in the Shackles... there probably could be.

But this adventure path is not about them.

It's all about pirates being pirates. That was a VERY conscious choice we made in building this AP.

[Stynkk]

Could you be a Privateer with some kind of mission to disrupt pirate activity in the area? (as your background story)

Spoiler:

Then do all in your power to gain a foothold to return to your motherland? Heck, you could even abandon it at the end.

The line between privateers and pirates can be very thin, the difference is they are cleared to fight very specific enemies while a pirate has more free reign on their targets.

I am sure you can work that in, it may take a bit of effort, but its possible.

[Shisumo]

Without having seen the rest of the AP beyond The Wormwood Mutiny, it seems to me that you could perhaps manage a privateer relationship with Sargava and stick generally within the plot of the AP as it looks. Sargava already has a similar relationship with the Shackles overall; making a more formal link shouldn't really disrupt the PCs' connection to the Free Captains, from what I can tell.

Spoiler:

(It also seems like it would make the AP's climax even more relevant to the PCs, as Cheliax would be the target of their letter of marque already...)