Brethren of the Coast

We Take Our Share

More of an alliance of different pirate crews rather than an organized force, when all the pirates unite this is the name they give themselves. The great pirate war was brought to an abrupt end by King Lastlight when he forced all the crews to bend the knee or die.

A Pirate's Code

The Brethren of the Coast operate under a loose code, a set of principles that every member agrees to follow, though with plenty of room for the chaos and self-interest that define a pirate’s life.

Freedom Above All - Each pirate is free to pursue their own goals as long as they respect the shared interests of the Brethren and honor the code.

Spoils Are Shared, Loyalty is Earned - Loyalty to fellow pirates and the Brethren comes with the expectation that everyone shares in the loot. However, betrayal is met with swift punishment.

The Sea Chooses the Brave - Only the daring are welcomed among the Brethren, and only those willing to risk everything earn the respect of their peers.

Never Betray Tortuga - Tortuga is sacred to the Brethren, anyone who reveals its secrets or threatens its safety is cast out or worse.

Culture

The Brethren of the Coast are less an empire and more a living sea-current of pirate crews bound by salt, steel, and a code that prizes freedom above all else. Their culture is built on the water, shipboard life teaches a grim kind of self-reliance. Each captain is sovereign on their deck, yet loyalty to the Brethren’s pact earns respect and protection among the waves. Growth, gain, and glory; these are the truths they swim by, and betrayal or cowardice are sins punished with fire or water.

At the heart of their identity is The Pirate’s Code, freedom in pursuit of fortune, sharing of spoils, and respect among captains are at the core of their values. To the Brethren Tortuga is sacred, a symbol of what the Brethren are and must remain; wild, unchained, and united when threatened. Even as individual crews chase their own goals, there is a shared honor in offering sanctuary to those escaping the chains of kings or merchants, so long as they prove their worth and uphold the pact.

Tech Levels

The Brethren thrive not through cities of stone, but by bending the sea itself to their will. Their naval technology is unmatched on the Moon of Kenshi, sleek ships and hulking barges, retrofitted into floating fortresses, workshops, and traveling markets. Some are rebuilt as seafaring pastures, carrying goats, bone bulls, or even cages full of giant crabs that serve as both food and weapon. Others become foundries belching smoke across the waves, or prison-hulks where the Brethren keep their enemies chained.

No force rivals them in harpoon craft, their launchers are the terror of coastlines, capable of tearing through hulls, walls, or men with equal ease. These weapons are both practical and symbolic, reminders that no coastal fortress is beyond their reach. For many Brethren, a “city” is nothing more than a flotilla; dozens of ships lashed together, swaying like a drifting archipelago. Here, trade, drinking, and plotting mingle in chaotic harmony, governed only by the loose codes of captains. Yet not all who live by the sea are pirates. Scattered along the shallows are stilted fishing villages, humble places of nets and salt, where families live by the tide. These settlements often remain neutral, providing food and rest to sailors of any allegiance. While the Brethren rarely prey on them, they are never truly free from the shadow of pirate sails on the horizon.

A Pirates Pact

No king,
No chains,
No crown to obey,
Only fortune by the blade
And the right to have my say.
Steel is law, Salt is witness,
The sea is our home,
And the free have no master here.

No King, No Chains – We answer to none but the Brethren. No crown shall rule us, no lord shall command us. Each captain is a sovereign upon their own deck.
Fortune by the Blade – What is taken belongs to those who claim it, but the crew shares in all plunder. A captain hoards alone at their own peril.
Right to Have my Say - Every ship has a voice at the council, so long as its captain stands free and its crew sails true.
Steel is Law, Salt is Witness –A dispute between captains may be settled by vote or by duel, but no coward’s poison nor schemer’s dagger shall decide the fate of the free.
The Free Have no Master Here - Give sanctuary to those who flee the chains of kings and merchants, so long as they swear the pact and prove their worth.