Meet The Faction – Pirates

Name: Captain Flint A.K.A. James Flint A.K.A. Joseph Flint
Faction: Pirates
Power: 7
Equivalent Chess Piece: Queen
Existence in Current Reality: Fictional
Greatest Attribute: Intestinal Fortitude
Greatest Fear: Poverty

Weapon of Choice: 36 Smoothbore Cannons and Some Grapeshot
Power: 5
Effect: Grapeshot was made of a mild steel canister filled with hardened ball bearings and bits of shrapnel. When shot out of a cannon the canister would break apart and the ball bearings would achieve velocity sufficient to penetrate human flesh over three hundred yards away. Lining up 18 cannon (the other half were on the other side of the ship) and firing a broadside into a gaggle of densely packed soldiers waiting on an enemy deck for a boarding action was an effective way to reduce resistance to a young pirates’ demands.

Disposition: Making his first appearance in Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novel Treasure Island in 1881*, Flint is the notorious captain of the pirate ship, The Walrus. Flint raped, pillaged, and plundered his way to an enormous treasure of gold and silver. Flint and six of his trusted advisers then buried the treasure on a secret island for future use. To make sure his treasure stayed safe, Flint murdered all the men who knew where the treasure was buried. He then made a map which he entrusted to his first mate Billy Bones. To see how that turned out, read Treasure Island. Flint has appeared in several other novels, films, and television shows. Always the hard-nosed, ruthless, and capable sailor, Flint is the only person strong enough to be made the Pirate King.

*This is Standard Earth Years.

OverNote: The only man Captain Flint has ever been afraid of was his quarter master, Long John Silver, who named his faithful parrot Flint out of ‘respect’ for his captain.

Should you take command of the Pirate Faction, you’ll command both Flint and Silver.

Meet The Faction – Ninja

Name: Mochizuki Chiyome
Faction: Ninjas
Power: 7
Equivalent Chess Piece: Queen
Existence in Current Reality: Historical
Greatest Attributes: Strength of will; Skill with edged weapons
Greatest Fear: Losing

Weapon of Choice: Smoke Bomb
Power: 1
Effect: The Smoke Bomb is a subtle weapon that allows for the set up of future attacks.  It will not often win the battle, but it puts the Ninja in position to win the war.

Disposition:  Chiyome was a 16th century noble woman and poet.  After her husband, Mochizuki Moritoki, a samurai lord, was killed in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima in 1561*, Chiyome had no choice but to live in the care of her husband’s uncle Takeda Shingen.  Rather than become another concubine in Shingen’s harem, Chiyome accepted the mission of recruiting and then training a network of female ninja known as kunoichi with the understanding that she would then employ them against her husband’s enemies.  Fueled by equal parts vengeance and loathing Chiyome embraced her new life with aplomb.  At the height of her power she commanded a veritable army of shrine maidens, wandering priestesses, actresses, prostitutes, and geisha.  The enemies of the Takeda clan continually found themselves out maneuvered and often dead.  In 1573 Shingen himself disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and at that point Chiyome vanishes from the historical record.
* This is Standard Earth Years.

OverNote: In addition to being a deadly assassin and an iron willed leader, Mochizuki Chiyome makes a damn fine batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Just be sure you have some narcan handy before you try them.