Capt Wolf

Very nice! I really like it! Well proportioned, nice rockwork, and as RocketSeason pointed out, it does have something of a Classic-Pirates feel.

Actually, I did miss it. Thanks! It has some similarities to what I'm working on, and might make some parts of my idea easier.

I think two things are getting conflated here: - Islands have natural bonuses for certain things. Anybody with an appropriate property can gain the bonus when building on that island. - Trade companies have monopolies. TC members can gain the monopoly bonus for appropriate builds anywhere. As for how ownership of a settlement is determined, each faction handles it differently. But for this discussion, the only thing that matters is whether the owner has a monopoly benefit, which is something unique to trade companies. EDIT: to make clear: Monopolies and Bonuses are two different things entirely.

Correct. If a settlement is owned by a TC and that TC has a monopoly bonus, the settlement would get the TC monopoly bonus for any properties owned by the settlement. Note that it's not just enough for the mayor of the settlement to be a member of a TC, but the TC must own the settlement. For example, in ESL, Bardo, Weelond, and Salda Este are owned by the MCTC, Pontelli is owned by the ETWC, and Trador is owned by MAESTRO. Other settlements have mayors that belong to these TCs, but the settlements themselves are not part of the TC.

--- From a quick look at the account summary, I see four black-flagged ships: Calamity Strikes (which was sunk this month), Komodo Dragon (also sunk), Morning Fog, and Viper. If sisterships of Calamity Strikes and Komodo Dragon are commissioned, they will begin as un-black-flagged (they are new ships). Two ships, Warped Wood and Killer Frog, do not yet show the black flag on the account sheet, but that needs to be changed because they sailed with the Komodo Dragon this month. @Captain Genaro, who is supposed to update the black flag status on the account sheets? And if any ships currently not flying the black flag sail with Morning Fog, Viper, Warped Wood, or Killer Frog this coming month, they will automatically become black-flag ships.

It looks like leadership needs to do a better job of both updating the account summary and posting black flag status each month. I'll take some of the heat for that. And I trust now that we all have a better understanding of how the black flag rules are supposed to work. Does anybody still have a question about how it is supposed to work?

Anything is possible, but I think it's likely that troop costs will remain the same. And if they do change, you wouldn't be the only person to have already purchased troops, so that will be something for leadership to consider.

Fair enough! Leadership is supposed to make sure that the status says black flag for ships considered black flag ships when running the MCRA program. And this is an area where I would agree that a lot of this could have been avoided if Prio had continued to seek redress diplomatically after the Palmetto was spirited out of the Corrie port. Prio assumed their position was understood, which it was not. They had filed notice with Corrington since the ship was in a Corrie port. Admittedly, the lack of any centralized Sea Rat authority makes it difficult for nations to know how to discuss matter with them, but I don't recall them specifically reaching out IC to any SRs after that. Granted, but at the same time, don't try to stand on technicalities when piracy results in consequences. All that said, I plan on making a post IC later tonight that might help resolve the matter. I'd just like to include a small build with it rather than just post some text. Can we agree to wait calmly for a few hours?

Actually, Prio did not need to mark their forms to attack non-Black Flag Sea Rat vessels. From the Black Flag rules posted in February: "When a player submits his/her MRCA orders and wishes to go "all pirate," but not have it reflect on the faction, he/she can choose a new "black flag" option on the ship's MRCA order. All ships listed on that order will then, rather than be considered Sea Rats (or whatever faction the player is from), be considered “black flag” pirates. Once a ship has been registered as a “black flag” pirate AND committed an act of piracy, it retains its “black flag” status until some external event (capture, trial, pardon, etc.) wipes its slate clean. A player won't be committed to being a pirate going forward, but each black flag ship will be." And from further in that thread: "IMPORTANT: Note that ships sailing in a convoy with a black flag ship will be treated as black flag ships. Don't mix black flag ships in with a trade convoy; the whole trade convoy will be treated as black flag pirates as a result." Note that this means that if there's one black-flag ship in a fleet, even if all others are not flying the black flag, all are considered to be black-flag ships then and in future MRCAs, whether still sailing with the original black-flag ship or not. Furthermore, the black-flag status cannot be voluntarily removed but must be resolved by in-game actions. If none of the original offending ships ever raised the black flag before they committed the act of piracy, they don't get to say "but we weren't flying the black flag" and are free and clear. They still committed an act of piracy, and the failure to raise the black flag prior to it simply stains the entire faction rather than just the offending ships. As with the black flag, they are considered pirates subject to retribution. If they never raised the black flag, then the faction should have taken action to make sure that their act of piracy did not reflect on the rest of the faction. Just curious, but, prior to the Sea Rat capture of the Palmetto, what did Prio ever do to suggest they were nasty toward the Sea Rats? So Prio, after requesting the return of the Palmetto and being denied, needed to give diplomatic notice before attacking the exact ships that were involved in the capture? Interesting argument.

Oh, for editorial oversights! I guess they are asking for the release of three innocent ships! But I am not an official Prio spokesman, just an overworked KPA editor. Perhaps we can get an official statement from Prio to clarify their current position.

You may. And I can see how the Sea Rats may have thought the matter was settled. But did you really think Prio would say "Oh, they got away. Oh well."? Is that what your reaction would be if someone captured one of your ships? And OOC that probably factored into the Corries letting you leave Jameston before they had to seize the ship. But getting away doesn't resolve the matter. So we've got a case of the scorpion and the frog? What attack does this refer to? The Dark Narwhal and Misfortune's Wrath were considered to be black flagged after they captured the Palmetto. That matter must be resolved with the offended party (i.e., Prio) before they are considered to be in good (non-black flag) standing again. Just lowering the black flag does not remove the status if offending acts have not been resolved. No, quite the opposite. What happened before does matter. Prio attacked the exact ships that had captured a Prio ship the previous month. They were not innocent vessels; the attack was a response to a previous attack. And that was a good negotiating stance, giving Prio a way to get their ships back without having to admit they were paying a ransom. And after still not getting admittance of guilt, return of the ship, or payment for it in the matter of the Palmetto, instead you detain the Peacock and Pearl (and note that they were not the ships that sunk the Dark Narwhal and captured Misfortune's Wrath). And now you're surprised that Prio has decided to arm itself against Sea Rat aggression rather than pay the Sea Rats some DBs and say "Thank you sir, may I have another?" That's how Prio sees it. You could always release the Peacock and Pearl. That's all Prio is asking for: the release of two innocent ships. That would end the whole thing.

You didn't. It did. Actually, it started in February, when the Dark Narwhal, Misfortune's Wrath, and The Drunken Monkey attacked a Prio trade squadron and captured the Palmetto (see "More Sea Rats / Corrington Diplomacy in our Future" here). When the Sea Rats snuck out of Jamestown to avoid the Corries seizing the pirated ship, Prio responded in April by sinking the Dark Narwhal and capturing Misfortune's Wrath (see "Prio Gets Revenge" here). In May the Sea Rats responded by refusing to let the Prio ships Peacock and Pearl (coincidentally, these were the other ships in the Prio trade squadron when the Palmetto was captured) leave Bastion, and they have been detained there ever since. Prio refuses to pay for the release of the Peacock and Pearl because they claim it is a ransom for piracy, while the Sea Rats claim it is the cost of an unpaid bar tab!

And add to that list: Romantica = name used in the game accounting for licenses and DB transfers

I'm not sure that the AMRCA could handle that, but in general I agree that the AMRCA is an overlooked gem for cool stories and rewards.

Bloody Bill is already looking forward to his new gunboats!