Perhaps this will help. The following defines a large portion of what I want this hack to be.
[i]A Brief History of Sky Pirates
Long ago, sky pirates were vicious buccaneers that would maraud around the Edge pillaging settlements, steeling from merchant ships, and reeking havoc. The life of a sky pirate was looked down upon by all decent people in the edge.
Then, the Leagues were established. The Leagues were groups of merchants who formed monopolies in their areas of business on the Edge. Because the individuals running the leagues were so rich and well known in Undertown, they became prominent voices of reason and eventually took over Undertown. The leagues then wrote laws that made it illegal to do certain forms of business without having an affiliation with the appropriate league. The rouge merchants were hunted down and destroyed. Because of this, many sky ship crews were forced to resort to piracy.
There was a group of merchants that were cunning and skilled enough to do their business under the table. They met together in the taverns of Undertown. They formed a free market underground system where customers and venders could come alike to do business without facing the high prices or regulations of the leagues. Soon there was a substantial group of merchants and business men flying across the Edge and the leagues could not control or stop them. Because the merchants were breaking the law, the leagues declared them as sky pirates.
Today those free merchants wear the name “sky pirates” proudly. They continue to do business under the leagues nose and have become a force to be reckoned with, almost as big as the leagues themselves. Many of the leagues do under-the-table business with the pirates themselves, hiring them to do their dirty work.
Most citizens of Undertown look upon sky pirates as symbols of freedom, but there are those pirates that still resort to the original evils of piracy. It is in the nature of every sky pirate to be lawless. Even the noble pirates must fight the impulse to steal, swindle, backstab, and pillage.[/i]
The leagues are going to be a huge part of the game. They will provide sky pirates with some contracts and they will also fight against the pirates. But the main focus I want to emphasize is the conflict between being noble or being a pirate. Here is more about the sky pirate duties that the GM can use.
[i]Sky Pirate Enterprises
Proper Sky Pirates make there money from business ventures. If they are not supplying others with service or goods, they will not have enough money to pay off their employees or for ship supplies. This is what drives their lives. New pirate captains usually have payments to make on their ship. There is also the ships reputation to think of. If the ship fails to fulfill business agreements, they will have a hard time getting the best contracts.
Harvest Orders
There are many items in the Deepwoods that are needed by those in Undertown and Santaphrax. Paying the leagues for these items is very expensive so many submit their orders to sky pirates. The sky pirates have contracts they must fulfill before they will be payed of the goods. Most of these goods are incredibly dangerous to acquire. Creatures and plants are ordered alike.
Slave Trading
Undertown was founded to be a town of freedom and equality, and, even though Undertown is rarely what it claims to be, slavery is still a crime that is ruthlessly punished. Because of this, the leagues pay off sky pirates to transport slaves in from the Deepwoods so they will be spared from blame. Many sky pirates are joined against slavery and do everything in their power to eradicate it.
Trail Blazing
There are times when new trails and paths need to be made. Sky pirates are sometimes paid to set up routes to various areas of the Deepwoods. To do this they must set up way pointers and landmarks. They also need to install docking rings in the ground for ease of anchoring the sky ship.
Correspondence
Sky pirates can deliver messages to various places across the edge. Sometimes, if an important letter is being delivered to a dangerous remote location, large sums will be paid to sky pirates to deliver it.
Escorting
Journey by sky ship is the fastest way to travel on the Edge. Rich individuals are often willing to pay large sums to be taken along.
Sky Exploration
From time to time, sky ships are contracted by universities in Santaphrax to travel into dangerous weather and study the sky. Many times they take Sky Scholors to makes observations and conduct experiments that influence the weather. Sky Pirates also keep a close eye on the weather and report any signs of danger or a a chance or a new storm to Santaphrax. Storms play a huge role in the world of the Edge because they cause many risks to sky ships and Santaphrax. Some storms are majorly disastrous, causing problems with the ecosystems of the Edge. Rescuing Wrecked Sky Ships Sometimes sky pirates are paid to seek out other sky ships that have gone missing or individuals that have been lost in the Deepwoods.
Politics
Some sky pirates are involved in the politics of Undertown. They help out politicians that are trying to change laws in the sky pirates favor. They also attend events to rally the people of Undertown, hoping to overthrow the corruption of the leagues-men.[/i]
Does that offer any insight? In the world of the edge, the definition of sky pirate is a little different than ours. The poor people of the edge see sky pirates and a symbol of freedom. And there are some noble sky pirates that pride themselves in their work. But I wanted that evil pirate nature to still be remaining to be a central area of conflict in the game.