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The Pirate faction was designed to provide the Littoral Commander game framework with additional gameplay options for scenarios below the threshold of armed conflict; and in the case of specific educational learning objectives, for the instructor or facilitator to interact with the student players in a way that allows the instructor to implement learning objectives in a seamless fashion within the scenario. While “Black Flags Over Singapore” introduces the Pirate faction and associated mechanics, the Pirate faction was created with a broader intent to be usable on any Littoral Commander map, and we would encourage the community of interest to find new ways of doing so!
Pirate Unit Characteristics
The Pirate faction has 4 types of units: mother ships, reavers, decoys, and weaponized narco-submarines. Mother ships, reavers, and decoys are deployed on the game map in similar fashion to USMC and PLANMC units i.e. face-down in a concealed posture. The narco-submarines are deployed in a hidden fashion via the Submarine Operations Tracker.
Pirate mother ships have a HP value of 2, MP value of 2 and ZOR = 1 hex.
Mother ships provide a sphere of support to reavers and decoy units within 7 hexes. Up to 4 reavers, and an unlimited number of decoys, may utilize this sphere of support.
Pirate mother ships may not perform “Pirate actions,” but may perform certain activities described on the Violent Non-State Actor Capability Cards (VCCs).
Pirate reavers have a HP value of 1 and ZOR = 1 hex.
Within a mother ship sphere of support, a reaver has a MP value of 4. If outside a sphere of support, or if it in excess of the 4 reaver support capacity of a mother ship, a reaver’s MP value is reduced to 2.
Reavers outside of a mother ship sphere of support conduct “Pirate actions” at reduced success values and may not reconceal themselves.
Only reavers may conduct “Pirate actions.”
Pirate decoys have a HP value of 1 and ZOR in its own hex only.
Within a mother ship sphere of support, a decoy has a MP value of 4. If outside a sphere of support, a decoy’s MP value is reduced to 2.
Similar to the MILDEC units of the USMC and PLANMC teams, if a decoy is co-located with another Pirate unit (mother ship or reaver), it absorbs the first HP worth of damage inflicted by an incoming attack.
Weaponized Narco-Submarines have a HP value of 1, MP value of 3, and ZOR in their own hex only. Their unique attack capabilities are described on the associated VCC.
Pirate mother ships, reavers, and decoys may all re-conceal in conjunction with movement as a normal Core Action. Pirate reavers may conduct a “Pirate action” in conjunction with any movement. There are two possible Pirate actions: board for plunder or board for hijacking. Reaver units may only attempt these actions if outside the ZOR of any adversary naval units, to include the smaller ZORs of JCC-deployed naval units such as unmanned ships or patrol craft. The reaver unit must reveal itself to conduct a Pirate action.
(Note: for ease of gameplay, there are no specific unit counters representing civilian shipping—a Pirate reaver that remains outside of an enemy ZOR is considered to have the freedom to hunt down local targets of opportunity)
Board for plunder – a hasty attack intended to “smash and grab” valuable items that can be quickly carried off the target ship.
The Pirate player rolls two dice, only one of which needs to be successful to execute the action. If the reaver is within the sphere of support of a mother ship, success 1 – 11; if outside a sphere of support, success 1 – 8.
Board for hijacking – a more deliberate attack intended to take control of the target ship and hold its crew and cargo hostage to extort ransom.
The Pirate player rolls two dice, only one of which needs to be successful to execute the action. If the reaver is within the sphere of support of a mother ship, success 1 – 9; if outside a sphere of support, success 1 – 6.
If the hijacking attempt is successful – the Pirate player places 1 black cube on the reaver unit to indicate a “hijacked” status. The hijacked ship’s MP value is reduced to 2 and it cannot conceal itself; however it retains a ZOR = 1 hex.
Hijacked ships may only be targeted for VBSS or SOF takedowns, not LRS.
Violent Non-State Actor Capability Cards (VCCs):
Similar to Joint Capability Cards, VCCs represent unique capabilities that the Pirate player can employ, either singly or in combination. Conditions for the use of each VCC are described in the card text. VCCs may be used whenever the specific hex range, or other employment conditions noted on the card, are met, and do not count as an Action Point unless the VCC specifically states otherwise (exception: as the Weaponized Narco-Submarines are deployed as units, their movements and/or attacks are considered to use an Action Point).
The VCCs are also written to provide players and facilitators with a scaled difficulty level for the third player, dependent on how challenging they want to make any specific scenario. For this scenario, the table below outlines three different levels of difficulty that players and/or facilitators may choose from. To provide maximum flexibility to the facilitator/Pirate player, an allotment pool is used to distribute VCC cubes (with the exception of long-range missiles):
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