The Dutch Privateer Challenge

[Tom Pullings]

The Dutch Privateer Challenge

In which those who wish may download a saved game at the bottom of this post that is (very loosely) inspired by the daring exploits of Dutch privateer Laurens de Graff.

Starting in 1680 (Pirates Sunset), you are Laurens de Graff, at 18 already an Adventurer captain, with a skill at fencing. Unfortunately, as a result of the machinations of the EVIL Marquis de Montalban and his ring of spies and paymasters, each of the four Caribbean nations has put a large price on your head. As the save game opens, your war canoe Icarus, with its very happy (at least until now) crew of 75, is under the lee of the hostile Dutch ship of the line Odin. The Odin, 48, is escorted by the sloop of war De Otter, 16, and together the two ships have 64 guns to your 8. In addition, now an English pirate hunter is setting sail to intercept you. You and your men have been hoping to take a ship of force to further your enterprise, but this may be too much good fortune all at once.



http://www.divshare.com/download/5773639-2b2

The challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to take the Odin, or simply escape if you wish (really, though, it is not that hard), vanquish Montalban and his ring of seven henchmen (might be harder than it seems), rescue your family, and retire a governor (in other words with 103 fame points). To do this, you must choose a nation (other than Spain) to sail for, but you may seek amnesty and further rank and titles only from that chosen nation.

This is a bit of a cross between the Purely Piratical Challenge that Loki introduced and the It Could Be Worse Challenge. It is intended to allow players to shape their own strategies, and perhaps share them with others sailing for the same nation. If enough players participate, there could even be competition, or at least trash talk, between national teams. Depending on participation, there will be prizes at various stages, and a player may choose to compete for some or all of them. The rules and setting, including a bit of history for those interested, are explained in more detail in the narrative below.

Laurens de Graff

The historical Laurens de Graff (sometimes de Graaf or de Griffe) was the stuff of legends. Variously described as a tall blonde and as a mulatto, most accounts seem to agree that he was a Dutch slave in a Spanish galley when he escaped at some time around 1670. In 1672 he led a band of pirates in the capture of Campeche, and took possession of a wealthy merchantman when it sailed into the harbor unaware of his conquest. Later in 1679, he took the Spanish frigate Tigre, 28, making it his flagship. In several later engagements, he sunk or captured larger ships, including a heavily armed Spanish squadron led by the San Francisco, 40, which he also took as his flagship. He was described as a great and mischievous pirate by none other than Henry Morgan, who as governor of Jamaica actually sent pirate hunters after de Graff. For more detailed accounts of de Graff, see the links below.

http://pirateshold.buccaneersoft.com/roster/laurens_de_graff.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurens_de_Graff

In the present game, de Graff has been the victim of intrigue by the EVIL Montalban, who has well placed agents in various (mostly remote and heavily guarded) corners of the Caribbean. As a result, Spain and each of the remaining nations have established large bounties for the capture or death of de Graff. Set upon by a fleet of pirate hunters in the lower Antilles, de Graff has lost his flagship and barely escaped into the night in the war canoe Icarus. As dawn breaks, he faces two men of war, both holding the weather gauge, and a combined weight of metal eight times his own.

Rules and Prizes

While de Graff married a French woman and sailed primarily for the French (and, of course, for himself), for purposes of the challenge, you are free to choose the French or English, or even the Dutch. The Spanish are eliminated more to avoid the imbalance in friendly ports than for historical accuracy. You must choose one nation, though, and may seek amnesty, and further promotions only from that nation.

After downloading the save game, and confronting or fleeing the Odin, your challenge is to track down and capture the EVIL seven (the first quests at the top of your screen), vanquish Montalban, rescue your family, find and marry your intended, and retire a governor (i.e., with 103 fame points). With the three points you have already, and seven more from your chosen nation, this requires full points (less one) otherwise.

You may restart the game as many times as you like (you may want to keep one save of the game immediately after download for this purpose), but except to escape technical glitches, you should not reload between your start and retirement. Exception: After their first retirement, if there is interest, players may return to their last pre-retirement arrival to continue to compete for wealth and conquest of cities.

If there is enough participation, Howie has graciously offered to fund the prizes, to be awarded at various points along the way as described below. The entry deadlines are extended out a bit to give those with less time to play a chance, and, hopefully, to encourage some commentary along the way. You can post results early and often and let us know about your triumphs and pitfalls, as your chosen nation sweeps the Caribbean. Enter by posting with screen shots on or before each date indicated. If enough folks try this, there could be some healthy rivalry between the English, French and Dutch. So on to the prize money:

December 31, 2008
For youngest in game age to capture all of the EVIL Seven: First prize, 1,000 gold; second, 500 gold; third, 250 gold.

January 31, 2009
For youngest in game age to vanquish Montalban, and capture the Seven: First prize, 1,000 gold; second, 500 gold; third, 250 gold.
For youngest in game age to rescue all family members, and capture the Seven: First prize, 1,000 gold; second, 500 gold; third, 250 gold.

February 28, 2009
For youngest in game age to retire a governor, and capture the Seven: First prize, 1,000 gold; second, 500 gold; third, 250 gold.

March 31, 2009
For youngest in game age to conquer all of the Caribbean for their nation: First prize, 1,000 gold; second, 500 gold; third, 250 gold.
For greatest (second) retirement wealth at age 60: First prize, 1,000 gold; second, 500 gold; third, 250 gold.
As noted, players who have posted retirements may reload their last pre-retirement arrival screen to compete for these prizes.

Strategy

The challenge is designed to reward a balance of skills, including sailing and fighting ships large and small, swordsmanship, navigation, orienteering, land battles, and the often neglected skill of sneaking. It is also intended to allow a choice of strategies and gameplay.

Although the player starts with the initial rank of Captain with the French, English and Dutch, the rule requiring allegiance, amnesty and further promotions from only one nation insures that you will have to fight to make your way. And be warned, in this age the power of the national forces arrayed against you is more formidable. Pirate hunters are everywhere and on land garrisons of one or two thousand are common at the start of the saved game. In many cases you will need to sack or capture the city, or sneak to the tavern, in order to capture the EVIL Seven. On the positive side, you do start with a happy crew and some money, and with a skeleton key and signal flare if you get imprisoned or marooned.

In addition to the choice of a nation, which involves a lot of strategic considerations, there are some alternative strategies and choices almost immediately between when to go light, and rely on sneaking, and when to build a larger force to take cities. It also requires balance and choice in deciding whether to compete for all of the prizes, or only some, since the best strategy for one prize may not give you the best chance for another.

You are also free to choose whether and when to divide the plunder, and whether to advance to higher levels. It costs time, and some things become more difficult, but you may gain in the wealth calculation at retirement, which can also save some time accumulating fame points. Note the wealth calculator provided by Waxon.

(From the top banner, go to MODS, Other, bottom of list)

Sharing experience, and informative or amusing posts, is always appreciated. Questions are also welcome, though this challenge has not been given a full dry run, and I do not know how it will play out, so I will be learning or suffering with anyone else who tries it. The save game was created with the help of an early Phalzyr trainer, and while I know of no problems with the trainer or the savegame, like nearly everything else on the internet, you should make your own choice about downloading.

So what are ye waiting for, mate? Download saved game (sorry about all the ads):


http://www.divshare.com/download/5773606-9a1



_________________
'And there is little to be done with a thoroughly unwilling crew.'
'No,' said Jack. 'There is no forcing a willing mind,' and he added, 'It is a contradiction in terms'[img][/img][img][/img][img][/img][img][/img]

[Howie]

I stickied this topic. If I can be of assistance, please PM me.
_________________

[Roland]

This sounds like fun. I just downloaded the file, but it remains to be seen whether I will find time to play.

You did not mention what evidence we need to submit to claim a prize. Is a screen shot sufficient, or do you want to see the Captain's Log?

What is the upgrade status of the starter war canoe? Most important, does it have triple hammocks? If so, I'll probably evade my Dutch attackers and keep the war canoe as my flagship. With fencing skill at Adventurer level, I won't waste any time maneuvering and firing - I'll just close, board, and humble the opposing captain mano a mano. You can't beat a war canoe for that tactic. And without my usual navigation skill, I'll be wanting a fast vessel.

[Tom Pullings]

Hey Roland,

This should be a fully loaded war canoe and full, very happy crew. When I tried it the first time, I left the crew at 40. I was able to defeat and sink the escort and take the SOTL, but then lost her to a pirate hunter before I could get to a friendly port as I had lost two many crew to take both and did not want to give up the war canoe.

Although it is child's play to Rupert and many others, probably, I still find there is something satisfying about taking the big boat from a war canoe - even if I end up leaving it.

I also considered navigation as the skill, but thought that some folks might feel bad about not having fencing.

I was thinking screen shots would be enough evidence, but a captain's log might be simpler to show the capture of the EVIL Seven. I would have to go and figure out how to send a log myself.

BTW, if people think there should be changes in the rules and there is general agreement, I am open to it. Though in fairness to those who start, any major changes should be agreed soon.

[Tom Pullings]

Just a resource for anyone who is looking for help with taking screenshots:
here is a link to Rupert's sticky on the subject.

http://hookedonpirates.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2768&highlight=screen+shot

[Roland]

[Tom Pullings]

Roland wrote:

[loki59]

"vanquish Montalban and his ring of seven henchmen " Who are these "Evil Seven" you keep referring to? The specialists? Aren't there 8 of them? Anyway it's been a while since I've played and just started this challenge a couple of days ago. Those Spanish pirate hunters in their sloops, hounding me relentlessly, as soon as you attack them they run away.

[Tom Pullings]

Loki wrote:

[Roland]

Last night I had a go at the scenario. I was doing really well - I had amassed over 40,000 gold by mid-1681 and captured two of the evil seven. I had not yet been offered amnesty with any nation other than Spain, but I think I see how to remedy that. Unfortunately, I lost a battle to Raymondo and lost the Icarus, so I'll have to start over. I'm not used to having such a small crew, and I bit off more than I could chew when I ran into Raymondo while just outside the port I was bound for and attacked him. As the swordfight began I noticed that I had only 17 crewmen! I suppose most of my crew was manning the treasure galleon I had just captured and foolishly refrained from sinking since I was so close to port. I'll have to start the game over, but what I have learned in my first try will help me a lot.

I still have not decided which nation would be best to sail for, though I'm leaning French. And I realized a big problem with my initial plan to keep only the war canoe: with a capacity of only 20 tons, it will not hold enough food to keep my crew happy on a long voyage like, say, to Vera Cruz and back. I might have to keep that SoL as a cargo carrier! Alternatively, I could grab one or two of the many royal sloops that the Spanish pirate hunters have been sailing against me.

For anyone else playing this scenario, here are the origins of the evil seven:

- The attractive daughter of the Governor of Campeche told you about the criminal hiding in Havana.
- The attractive daughter of the Governor of Florida Keys told you about the criminal hiding in St. Augustine.
- The rather plain daughter of the Governor of Rio de la Hacha told you about the criminal hiding in Cartagena.
- The rather plain daughter of the Governor of Santa Marta told you about the criminal hiding in Port-de-Paix.
- The rather plain daughter of the Governor of St. Eustatius told you about the criminal hiding in Curacao.
- The attractive daughter of the Governor of St. Martin told you about the criminal hiding in Barbados.
- The attractive daughter of the Governor of Villa Hermosa told you about the criminal hiding in Vera Cruz.

The starting bounty on your head from each of the four nations is 335,000 gold. Everyone is at war with everyone else. Montserrat has been converted from French to Dutch. And the daughters in Martinique and Petit Goave are plain. That's about everything you can know at the start of the scenario.

[loki59]

I wanted to try this out with just the war canoe for a while so I passed on the SotL. While looking for a buried treasure east of Cumana, I got stuck on the beach just east of Zaragoza Nuevo. After some spinning around I ended up here at the red X,


BTW Tom, whatever did you do to Nevis? I've converted all the towns to English and they still won't let me in , I have to sneak in or attack

[Tom Pullings]

Hey Roland, I know the feeling. The game just jumps on you whenever you get too caught up in the action and forget about something like how many crew get siphoned off by the prize.

I started one game before the launch where I kept the SOTL in tow and did pretty well, though I am sure it did slow me down some. It allowed me to take a few cities on the way, but I ended up getting distracted from capturing the Seven as quickly as possible. I guess with a SOTL I just couldn't help myself.

Anyway, I decided to start over, take but sell the SOTL (ouch), and then go after the Seven, relying on sneaking. With the small crew and the 10,000 gold to start, I found that I did not lose morale and could keep going. I got the last of the Seven in September 1981, and had one battle with Raymundo. I got caught by the guards twice, but was able to escape with the help of the skeleton key. Probably won't get a chance to continue until the weekend.

Loki - not sure what it is about Nevis. Maybe it would be buried in the save game file log. Although I primarily attacked the Dutch, at one point I did attack the English for awhile, and perhaps that was mostly near Nevis. I actually had to play longer than I thought I would to get the SOTL to come out. Part of this might have been due to the trainer. I have the idea that it distorted the internal formula when I tried to use it to increase population and wealth of the cities.

BTW, cool flags in the Panama screen shot.

[Roland]

Well, I probably won't be the first to round up the seven. In my second start, I'm now half-way through 1681 and I'm about to pounce on my third criminal. But I've laid a solid foundation for the rest of the game. I have been promoted to major by the French, retired two named pirates, and amassed nearly 67,000 gold.

More than half of that gold came from two military payrolls. Did you do something to juice the payrolls, or did I just get extremely lucky?

This time I kept the sloop of war and sunk the SoL from the initial battle. I also kept Stede Bonnet's brigantine, so I have a fleet of three small ships. I hope to trade the sloop of war for Roc Brasiliano's royal sloop in the near future, and then I'll probably stick with that fleet for a while.

This scenario is forcing me to play very differently from my usual style. Normally, I never sneak into towns, so I'm not very good at it - but I'm learning fast! I usually swordfight with a longsword or cutlass, but I'm now using the rapier more often since 1) I need to finish fights more quickly with a small crew, and 2) playing at Adventurer level with fencing skill allows me to block with a rapier as easily as I can block with a cutlass at Rogue without fencing. And I typically keep every prize and every bit of cargo to sell, but without friendly ports nearby I am sinking most of my prizes and keeping only food in my hold. If you designed this scenario as a learning experience, it worked!

[loki59]

There are some pretty nice military payrolls sailing around. Most likely due to the large numbers of soldiers in the garrisons. I had three in a row (Spanish) that were 11,000, 11,000 and 14,000 plus.

[rupertlittlebear]