Flag
- This article is about the social construct which crews can belong to. For the blockade component, see buoy.
A flag is a collection of crews who ostensibly work together for mutual benefit or protection, but it is actually a social grouping more than anything else. They are the largest political units in the game. Flags are the only political units that can blockade an island to take control of it, and flags are also the only groupings that may go to war with one another.
On the Obsidian Ocean, flags are affiliated with one of two factions which are perpetually at war. Flags within the same faction default to peace, but are free to declare their own wars and operate normally.
Contents
Flag creation
The captain of a crew may create a flag if the crew has achieved Established or greater fame. On doubloon oceans, there is also a cost of 20 doubloons, and the captain must have a Captain badge for the function to be available. Flag names on English oceans consist of the letters [A-Za-z] only.
On the Obsidian Ocean, a newly created flag inherits the faction of the crew creating it.
Joining a flag
A crew may also join a flag rather than create one. A flag may invite any crew with fame of Rumored or greater. A crew with the required fame may also request such an invitation. Any royal of the flag may send a flag invite to a crew, and no flag issue is raised when an invitation is sent. On the Obsidian Ocean, flags cannot invite crews aligned with the opposing faction.
Once invited, the crew must then vote to accept the invitation. Voting follows the applicable voting procedures of the crew's politics.
It is best if one or more royals speak with at least the captain of a crew before inviting them to join a flag. Sending an unsolicited invitation is an easy way to annoy the invited crew, along with potentially souring the inviting flag's reputation.
Flag structure
By game mechanic, there are three ranks that may be awarded to any individual pirate within a flag.
| Flag Roles | |
|---|---|
|
Monarch |
|
Royalty |
|
Titled |
|
Member |
- Monarch - The Monarch will have the title of King or Queen and is usually the one in charge of said flag, though this is not always the case, and they may be merely a figurehead depending on the way the flag has been organized. Initially, the crew captain who creates the flag is the monarch, though the monarchy can be passed along. It is possible to have a flag without a monarch.
- Royal - A royal member of a flag will have the title of Prince or Princess, and shall vote on all flag issues. A pirate must be ranked officer or above in thier crew in order to be made a royal of a flag. An autocratic flag can exist only by not having royalty, leaving the monarch with the sole vote on those issues.
- Titled - A titled member of a flag is either a lord or lady of the flag. This position provides no advantage or additional functionality and is purely ceremonial. A pirate must be ranked officer or above in their crew to become a titled member of a flag.
All other pirates belonging to the flag are known as Members.
Royalty and titled member positions may be proposed by any royal within the flag using the "Propose Status Change" option on the flag page. A person may be stripped of their title by proposing to change their status to "Member". Any status changes must be voted on by the royalty. A simple majority is necessary for the change to carry.
Flag game mechanics
The most important mechanic for the average flag member is the flag officer chat channel. This chat channel is only available to and seen by members of the flag ranked officer or higher in their respective crews, making it easier to socialize with their flagmates. It is common practice in many flags to broadcast invitations to pillaging trips, requests for course charting or whisks, and pleas for help with trading runs. Flag policies do vary, however. A flag officer should always remember the distinction between the officer channel and flag officer channel, in order to avoid broadcasting confidential crew information to all officers in the flag.
Along with the flag officer channel, there is also a royalty chat channel. This channel is, obviously, only available to and seen by the royals of a flag. It is typically used to discuss flag issues without involving the officers or members of the individual crews. Classified or confidential flag information should only be discussed in this channel.
Royals and the monarch also have the ability to broadcast a flag-wide message using the fbroadcast command. Whatever is broadcast is seen by everyone in the flag, excluding jobbing pirates. This is a useful way to notify everyone in a flag of pillages, blockades, and sea monster hunts.
Locating a flag
In-game, flag information can be accessed through the /fwho command.
On the Yppedia, flag articles can be found by viewing the appropriate Category:Flags subpage. There is a subpage for each ocean. Flags with separate webpages can also list themselves in the Yellow Pages, again separated by ocean.
Renaming a flag
Flags can be renamed via the Rogue mark shoppe. Prior to the addition of rogue marks to the game, Ocean Masters provided this service.
Renaming costs are as follows:
- Full: 20 rogue marks
- Partial (Minor change): 10 rogue marks
See Official:Services for more information on renames.
Leaving a flag
Anyone who is able to vote on crew-related issues in the crew political system may propose that their crew should leave its current flag. They can do this by clicking the "Leave flag" button at the bottom of their crew info page. In autocratic crews, since only one person has a vote, the crew will leave the flag immediately. Pirates must have the appropriate badge of rank, or a subscription, to be able to vote on crew-related issues.
