Basic Unit Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)
| Recruitment Cost | 150 | |
| Upkeep Cost | 50 | |
| Marines | 40 | 33% |
| Seamen | 10 | 5% |
| Hull Strength | 100 | 1% |
| Morale | 12 | 24% |
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Small, fast-moving vessel.
- Crew armed with bows and swords.
- Low morale.
- Poor range and accuracy.
- Very weak in boarding battles.
Description
Pirate light ships close rapidly with their victims, boarding them before they have time to react.
Piracy is all about profit, and the light ships have the ability to swoop down on unsuspecting victims, board them, and be away before events get out of hand. The crew are excellent sailors, although indifferent fighters: they are armed with swords and bows, but tend to have low morale because they want to live to enjoy their spoils. Faced with proper warships, pirate light ships should keep out of reach and live to fight another day. The Chinese were understandably outraged by Japanese pirate attacks in what they regarded as "their" waters. A Chinese trade embargo against Japan largely miscarried because the pirates did not stop their attacks. They became the sole source of desirable Chinese goods inside Japan instead. At one point Chinese ambassadors were sent to Japan to demand action: the envoys were killed at Court and the piracy continued. The Koreans were no more successful in suppressing piracy along their coastline. Given this history of piracy, it is surprising that the Japanese never developed into a powerful maritime nation as did the piratical English with their "sea dogs" in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Then again, the English never had to face the potential wrath of the Chinese empire.