Brethren Of The Coast

"Always chasing booty."

The Brotherhood of the Coast was a notorious Chapter of pirates that formed among English and French nationals who turned to piracy in the seventeenth century. This is known popularly as the classical age of piracy and the Chapter was the hallmark of that period.

Status: Active.

Facts:
-The BotC looks to the Order of Corsairs for its founding and the Chapter has always been highly favored by the Order.

-The BotC went down in history as vile pirates, practicing everything from torture to devil worship. But the truth is that many within the BotC were religious (oaths sworn to the Brotherhood had to be sworn on a Bible). The famous pirate Black Bart called for observance of the Sabbath for all men serving on his ship?

-The Chapter is based along teams, since the Chapter is composed of searfarers each team is a 'ship crew.' The team has a charter which states the rights and duties of every member. Positions within the team were to be voted upon and major decisions would require near-unanimous consent from the members of the Brotherhood present. The BotC practiced an early form of democracy largely alien to western civilization since the days of the ancient Greeks.

-The Chapter was born on the seas of the world, and there they remain. Rare is a member of the Brotherhood who spends much time on terra firma. The open sea calls to them and with it the wild, open life of a pirate.

-Don't expect members of the Chapter to fight fair - dirty fighting and trickery are all on the table as far as the Brethren are concerned. Whatever it takes to win the day and get the booty.

-Historically pirates are known for three things; raiding, sailing, and drinking (not necessarily in that order).

-Sailors have always been known for being superstitious, and the Brethren of the Coast were no exception. Even modern day members of the Chapter often subscribe to ideas of charm, luck and blessing which more modern people find silly.

-Sea Shanty = Most sailors were avid singers who passed the weeks and months away by singing popular songs while at work.

-The story of forcing victims to walk the plank appears to be pure fiction, there are no credible historical accounts of pirates making anyone walk the plank.

-The Kraken, the dreaded giant Octopus monster that prowls the ocean's depths, is the long-time enemy of the Chapter. Countless Adept sailors and Kraken have killed each other in intense sea-going struggles as the monsters attempted to pull ships down into the depths.

-While it's true pirates weren't the satan-worshipers they have so often been portrayed as, it doesn't change the fact that pirate culture was inherently mercenary. Truly, those who fell behind were left behind...

-Parrots are a favored pet among the Chapter, as much for the traditional aesthetics as for their helpfulness in passing long nights alone at sea.

-The Corsair, Anarch, Seeker, Barbarian and Traveler are most frequently found within the Brotherhood.

Articles of the Code:
The Pirates of the Carribean movie franchise popularized the idea of the Pirate's Code, but that bit of the franchise was actually quite accurate. The Brethren of the Coast kept contracts for every man and ship crew serving in the Chapter. Members had rights and privileges and responsibilities according to the captain and the code.

Some of the more central tenets to most pirates codes (each ship had their own variation usually) were...

1.) Each member shall receive a portion of goods stolen, particularly food and liquor.

2.) Punishment for betraying one's crew or the Chapter shall be marooning.

3.) Infighting among members was to be settled by dueling or contest, the nature of which was to be ratified by the captain.

4.) No drinking, gambling or staying up past curfew (yes, pirate ships actually had this rule) except when given leave by the captain.

5.) Most ship charters or agreements included a retirement clause - after serving so much time, any member could announce their intention to retire and be given an appropriate share of the present spoils and dropped off at a port of their choosing.

Buried Treasure:
Stories of Buried Treasure left by pirates, especially the more famous and prominent ones, also have much basis in history. Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, El Bussa, and many other pirates have openly boasted of hiding vast amounts of gold, silver, precious jewels and probably not a few items of power (Holy Relics, Dark Objects).

Of course, there are also stories of cursed treasure as well. Treasure cursed by evil spirits, Pagan Gods, or God Himself...

Cursed Pirates:
Tales of cursed pirates, doomed to sail the oceans of the world until the End of Days, are tales as old as time. Probably one of the more famous stories involves the mysterious Flying Dutchman, a ship of dead pirate-souls captained by an undead Corsair, the infamous Davy Jones.

These tales usually involve the pirates appearing as ghostly figures, or walking skeletons clad in the weapons and clothes of their days among the living.

There are encounters with such ghostly sailers even in modern times. Chapter leaders seem to know something of them and on occasion, usually when under the influence, will betray some of that knowledge. These die-hard pirates have chosen to sail God's oceans even after death, their vigor for life so stout not even death can loosen its grip.

Pirate Bays:
A Pirate Bay or Pirate Haven are secluded, out-of-the-way places around the world where pirates can congregate together and enjoy their plunder far from the arm of the law. Pirate Bays are not places for the faint of heart, violence and bickering are common (as much for sport as anything).

Pirate Bays are also, by definition, black markets where all sorts of ill-gotten goods can be bought and sold.

Sailor's Lore:
Sailors Lore represents the body of knowledge, stories and experience gained from life on the open sea. Sailore's Lore represents both an acute understanding of the art of sailing (including terms, technical issues, methods and the history of sailing) as well as legends, myths and other more colorful factoids concerning the history of sailing and the world's oceans.

Sailor's Lore will involve the following...

-How to be a sailor, for the start.

-The various parts and functions of a ship.

-History of sailing the various ships of the world.

-Nautical geology and history.

-Myths and legends of the ocean.

References:
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brethren_of_the_Coast