Ahoy Fellow Pirates,
A recent experience I had at my first attempt at a Fort of Fortune persuaded me to make this post. It also happened to be one of my many experiences with trusting people too easily only to be punished for it.
I usually play solo. I'm a pirate legend, so I have some experience and I've partaken in my fair share of thievery. So while I wouldn't say I'm an expert at this game, I can certainly hold my own and I've come out on top of many fights.
But, I'm also a softie pirate. It's hard for me to pull the trigger on someone who puts their most friendly pegleg forward. I've often found myself helping the friendly (or new) pirates that I find on the seas, even if I was originally planning on taking their hard earned spoils for myself. And so, I find it especially hard to lie about my intentions. Pirates who ask "friend or foe?" can trust my answer --and sometimes, my answer is, in fact, "foe".
However, it's a pirate game and pirates lie, cheat, and steal --anything for glittering treasure and glory. I recently crossed blades with some of these pirates, and after many similar experiences, I'm beginning to consider rethinking my comparatively honorable approach to thievery.
As I said before, I was at my first Fort of Fortune alone, and cutting down wave after wave of skeletons before another sloop anchored at the other end of the island. I approached them first, armed with my blunderbuss and Eye of Reach (I'm a double gunner. Garbage, I know). Ready for a fight, I asked them what they were doing here.
Two pirate legends jumped off the sloop and replied, "We're just getting supplies! For our boat!"
Immediately, and mistakenly, I eased. "Oh! Well, I'll leave you to it!" I replied. In hindsight, this was already naïve of me --most people don't go to an active fort for supplies.
They shouted back, "I appreciate that!" and for awhile we cleared skeletons, taking care not to catch the other with a sword swipe or a stray bullet. But, it wasn't long before I caught one of them swimming to my little sloop with a gunpowder keg. I asked him what he was planning but, he continually reassured me that he didn't intend to do anything nefarious.
This time, however, I wasn't quite so gullible. I dashed over to the ship and when I heard the sizzle of the lit fuse, I raced downstairs to the keg and disarmed it. The pirate who lit it cheekily said, "Oh! Just a misclick! It was meant to just be a gift!" before shouting "WE GO DOWN TOGETHER NOW" and swiping the keg with his cutlass, sending us both to the Ferry of the Damned.
When I got back, my ship was in flames. I was standing on my ship for a matter of seconds before the other pirate legend shot me in the back, quickly followed up with a blunder bomb, and sent me to the Ferry for a second time.
At first I felt cheated. They said they were friendly! But, we are pirates and pirates don't have rules. So I ask all of you, what do you think about lying about your intentions? What do you think of honor among thieves?
DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post because I thought it would be a fun question to ask. I am NOT writing this because I believe the pirate legends in this story did anything wrong (If you happen to be the pirates I am talking about, GG!). It's a pirate game and that means deceit and backstabbing are welcome. It's why I love Sea of Thieves. Feel free to tell me your playstyle and how you handle dishonesty in the game in the comments!
