Official:Crews

=Crews=

The Crew is the basic social group in Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates. Crews sail together on boats owned in common and share in the fruits of pillaging. Often they trade together. The hierarchy of Captains, Officers, Pirates and Cabin people keeps ships running smoothly, but the social structure of a crew is just a friendly group of mates.

By joining a crew, a Pirate gains access to the ships run by that crew and has the opportunity to become a crew officer or even a Captain. There are also a number of aspects of the game that are best experienced while in a crew. This section provides some pointers to some of those features, along with more detail on how to create and run a crew.


 * One of the most exciting aspects of crews is that, together with their allies, they can join together as Flags and seize control of an island.


 * The colonization of an island requires that a Flag create a blockade to master the waters around the island. Once seized, a Flag appoints the governor of the island.


 * Your crew is a great place to learn about being a Pirate. However, you can also learn more about the ways of Pirating by reviewing our etiquette page.



Start a Crew
If you are not a member of a crew, the Crew panel affords you the opportunity to Create a Crew. To create a crew, you must have reached at least Narrow experience in the Sword fighting or Rumble, Sailing or Rigging, Bilging, Navigation and Carpentry or Patching puzzles, along with Battle Navigation. You must also own a ship. Creating a crew costs 10 doubloons for Captain Badge holders (on Doubloon Oceans) but is free for Subscribers (on Subscription Oceans.)

As creator you become Captain; you may have a harder time recruiting Pirates to your banner!

Crew Articles
The creator of the crew must decide on a name and compose articles for the Crew. Names should be proper and piratey, and must not contain any swearwords or other such rubbish. Choose wisely!

The public statement can be seen by anyone, the private statement only by those who are members of the Crew. These statements and the Booty Shares can be changed by resolution of the crew.

Booty Shares
The Booty Shares determine the default proportions of Booty distributed when dividing the Booty, although the Officer in charge of the division can alter the amounts to suit the circumstances. Booty Shares are an important statement about how egalitarian your crew is with respect to sharing wealth; think carefully about them before deciding.

The Crew Cut in Booty Shares is the absolute minimum that will be retained in the hold of the Vessel when the Booty is divided. This money is usually used to cover the cost of rum, cannonballs and so forth. You are advised to keep the value around at least ten percent, but crews with as little as zero (whose Officers and/or crew fund all expenses) and even up to 30% crew cut have sailed.

Crew Politics
Perhaps the most critical choice in Crew creation is that of political structure.

Autocratic Crews
Autocratic crews are governed by their Captains, who alone can promote to Senior Officer, change the articles and otherwise order matters to their liking. Autocracies are popular amongst Pirates as they allow for swift decision-making.

Oligarchic Crews
Oligarchic crews are governed by the votes of the Senior Officers. Most decisions, such as to promote another Pirate to Officer, for example, can be made directly without vote by the Senior Officers. The Captain's status and other key issues, such as joining a flag, however, must be changed by a vote of the Senior Officers. If a majority of Senior Officer vote in favor of such a resolution then it passes immediately. If the issue lasts for three days without reaching a majority verdict the issue will time out and not pass. Senior Officers can propose Issues for the vote, but ordinary Pirates cannot.

Democratic Crews
Democratic crews appoint their Captain and take other major decisions by the free vote of every member of rank Pirate and above. Perhaps the hardest to manage, decisions in Democratic crews require a majority vote of the membership or will fail after three days. Because they are Democratic, any member of Pirate rank and above can post an Issue.

Crew Issues
Crews include a system for voting on issues as alluded to above. Decisions that will be given a vote in Democratic and Oligarchic Crews are:
 * Promotion or Demotion of Officers and the Captain.
 * Changing of the Crew Articles, including the Booty Shares or Politics.
 * Expelling a Member.
 * Crew Mergers

When you login an alert will show in the Ahoy! panel if there is an outstanding Issue to vote upon.

Merging Crews
It is possible for two like minded crews to merge together to become one crew. To merge a crew select 'Merge Crew' on your crew's info page. If the merge is successful, the crew that proposed the merger will be disbanded and all members will join the other crew at their present rank and title (the merging crew's Captain will be demoted to Senior Officer). If the other crew is in the same flag, all flag titles will remain. Otherwise, all current members of the merging crew will lose any flag titles.

Crew News
In addition to Issues, the Officers of a Crew can post News. These are brief informational announcements. When Pirates login they will be alerted to the presence of new News and given the opportunity to view it.

Crew Ranks
For reference, the ranks in a Crew are as follows:
 * Cabin Person, a provisional rank.
 * Pirate, a full member who can do all the duty Puzzles onboard crew ships.
 * Officer, a leader of Pillages, with authority to sail crew ships and manage their own vessel completely.
 * Fleet Officer, an officer with full hold access to the crew's fleet
 * Senior Officer, one of the crew leadership.
 * Captain, the crew figurehead.

Each rank can promote to the rank beneath.

Crew Titles
In addition to Rank the pirates in a crew may receive a title from their fellows. Pirates can give a title to any crewmember lower in rank than them, without needing a vote. The titles are:
 * Alchemist
 * Bait
 * Bilge Rat
 * Blacksmith
 * Bowsman
 * Builder
 * Card Sharp
 * Carpenter
 * Cook
 * Counselor
 * Damsel
 * Distiller
 * Drunk
 * Fisherman
 * Flirt
 * Forager
 * Furnisher
 * Gunner
 * Lookout
 * Mascot
 * Midshipman
 * Monster Hunter
 * Muse
 * Poet
 * Profiteer
 * Roustabout
 * Sailmaster
 * Scapegoat
 * Shipwright
 * Siren
 * Surgeon
 * Swordsman
 * Tailor
 * Urchin
 * Weaver
 * Wench

The following titles can only be granted to those of Officer rank and above:
 * Ambassador
 * Boatswain
 * Bosun
 * Cartographer
 * Diplomat
 * Explorer
 * First Mate
 * Lieutenant
 * Navigator
 * Politician
 * Purser
 * Quartermaster
 * Scribe
 * Steward
 * Strategist
 * Tactician
 * Taskmaster
 * Trader
 * Treasurer

Aside from their implications of rank, the Titles are largely honorary and their importance varies from crew to crew.

Crew Fame
Crews can have fame which will allow them to be recruited into a flag or form their own! This fame is based upon the frequency and length of puzzling by its members.

These ranks, from lowest to highest are:
 * Aspiring
 * Obscure
 * Rumored
 * Noted
 * Established
 * Renowned
 * Celebrated
 * Eminent
 * Illustrious

A crew can be offered an invitation into a flag when it is Rumored and form a flag of its own when Established.

Crew PvP
When players battle players on the high seas their Crew notoriety is affected. Those on the losing end of such battles face the shame of loss. The victors not only reap rewards of booty plundered, but also the esteem of their fellow buccaneers.

Crew PvP ratings are as follows, from lowest to highest:
 * Sailors
 * Mostly Harmless
 * Scurvy Dogs
 * Scoundrels
 * Blaggards
 * Dread Pirates
 * Sea Lords
 * Imperials