Jomo wipes his nose on the edge of his coatsleeve, and snuffles loudly. He spits into a brass spittoon, and shouts “Aye! A hit!” when the gobbet lands squarely in the urn. He’s obviously had years and years of practice. Turning to your group, he changes countenance rapidly and snarls, “Teldar, that reprobate! He lives in Kobaden, named after the only man ever worthy of the title Pirate King. Thinks that livin’ there makes him bettern’ the rest of them poor sea dogs what works fer their livelihoods. What a fop, always wearin’ them lacey cuffs and fancy-schmancy turned-down boots. I dunno how he’s managed to ‘ang on all these years, and not get himself killed by a challenger what’s younger’n more leaderly-like. Did I tell yer about the time we took on him and the Kissing Maiden? . . . ”

The Pirates Isle is heavily protected. These protections include:

harbor chains —huge chains which can be raised from the bottom to block the harbor mouth. When raised, the harbor chains prevent any ship from entering or leaving the harbor. The chains are raised primarily to keep out attackers, although in a few instances they have been used to trap unwary captains in the harbor during the periodic factional wars which sweep Immurk’s Hold.

breakrocks —artificial reefs set in the harbor at strategic points just below the waterline. Only an experienced pilot who is familiar with the harbor at Immurk’s Hold can hope to sail a vessel of any size through the harbor without running onto one of these reefs. Thus, any invader who breaches the harbor chains must’ still find his way through the maze of underwater hazards before he can come ashore.

ramships —light galleys crewed by ten men (usually slaves or prisoners). These ships are little more than rams mounted on oared platforms; their mission is to ram enemy ships in the harbor. A loyal pirate is usually aboard, piloting the vessel and exhorting the oarsmen to the requisite speed. Although these ships are small, their low rams and high speed make them a threat to all but the largest ships. In desperate circumstances, they are loaded with combustibles, driven swiftly toward a target ship, and set aflame just before arrival. All of these defenses are coordinated from a large fortress set 80’ high in the cliff along the western side of the harbor entrance. This fortress is also the site of the

Octian bombards - mystical devices which fire a flaming projectile at enemy ships. The fortress has four of these monsters, which may fire at any target in their line between 120 yards and 480 yards away. Closer targets may not be struck, as the bombards cannot be lowered to aim at them, while the projectiles fall before reaching more distant targets. The bombards fire huge hollow stone balls filled with fluid purchased from the Red Wizards of Thay that, placed in the bombard, ignites and carries the flaming stone ball to its target. These bombards are wonders of the age, but are hampered by their size (each is larger than a manor-house in Waterdeep), the required fluid (which the Thayvians part with at a dear price), and their lack of accuracy.