<!--quoteo(post=231236:date=Jan 3 2008, 01:13 PM:name=Morgan Terror)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Morgan Terror @ Jan 3 2008, 01:13 PM) [snapback]231236[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->wasn't deviding the plunder more of a piratical activity? although giving the nation you serve an income makes sense, paying your crew a salary would make sense too as you're now part of a navy.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well, in Cutthroats: Terror of the High Seas (a fun old pirate game if there ever was one), the way it worked was whenever you captured a ship or stole goods from towns/ships, as soon as you returned to a port of the nation from who you got your Letter of Marque, those goods and ships would be converted to cash, the government took 1/5 and you had the ability to buy back ships captured/cannons/goods, etc. Now that I think about it, there are some good features on player vs governor interaction that could be borrowed from that game.
Governor generates random quests for you of a personal nature which raise your standing with him (deliver letter, deliver people, kidnap people for him, capture pirate for trial, etc). These merely improved your standing with the specific port and not the nation (ie, goods in that port 25% cheaper, etc)
You could get caught by a hostile power and then thrown in jail to await trial. There you could bribe the judge to let you go by offering him treasure or otherwise you'd be hung (this could be simulated by modifying the existing loanshark, so that you get a promissary note whenever you deposit money)
There are probably more I'm missing, but then again, I played the game many years ago.