Basic Unit Statistics (can be modified by difficulty level, arts, skills, traits and retainers)
| Recruitment Cost | 350 | |
| Upkeep Cost | 85 | |
| Marines | 60 | 50% |
| Seamen | 10 | 5% |
| Hull Strength | 200 | 2% |
| Morale | 11 | 22% |
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Medium-sized, average speed vessel.
- Crew armed with bows and swords.
- Low morale.
- Poor range and accuracy.
- Strong in boarding battles.
Description
Pirate ships attack by closing with the enemy, and then boarding in short, savage attacks.
There is only profit in a ship that is taken intact, so pirates specialise in boarding their targets to capture them. They can pepper their enemies with arrows as they approach, but this is only to weaken and dishearten their victims. Pirates are not as well-trained in combat as land soldiers, and more interested in personal survival, giving them shakier morale; profits from piracy cannot be enjoyed by the dead. Japanese pirates were a perennial problem for the Japanese and their neighbours, particularly the Koreans and the Chinese. Indeed, the Japanese word "wako" is a direct borrowing from the Chinese term for these enterprising and murderous businessmen. The Chinese even tried banning all non-governmental trade with Japan in the hope that this would drive the wako out of business, but it merely made them more inventive and aggressive. Naturally, the wako took full advantage of every period of instability in Japan to go raiding. They were also successful enough to be copied by other nationalities who attacked the Chinese and posed as Japanese pirates while doing so.