Reputation with underworld

[gunman]

I am playing the Flying Trader campaign and no matter what I do, I cannot increase the reputation with the underworld. I have given two of my ships to pirates, I have plundered a lot of ships myself, but the underworld still avoids me. Meantime I have achieved the rank of experienced patrician.

[knighttemplar1960]

I played one game early on when I didn't know what I was doing and I accidentally got my pirate reputation to "they consider you one of their own" by doing the escort missions in the side rooms of the taverns and attacking other pirates.

[gunman]

I had the impression that attacking pirates lowers the reputation with underworld. I will try that too if everything else fails. I also run a couple of smuggle missions and a failed burglary, and the underworld is still avoiding me.

[AlP]

Keep up the piracy. Capture ships, don't just plunder them, that may have a larger impact.

[gunman]

Finally I did it. I can't imagine why becoming mentioned by the underworld is so much more difficult than becoming a patrician. Looks like I had to become the most terrible pirate in the known world, and I think I have paid hundreds of thousands of gold in fines.

Now I guess I can get back to killing pirates...

[Uldra]

haha yeah the game gives little incentive being a criminal besides attacking cities.

[Emergent]

What does reputation with the underworld get you? I've never played that path before, so I'm curious.

[knighttemplar1960]

Originally posted by Emergent:

What does reputation with the underworld get you? I've never played that path before, so I'm curious.

Fines mostly. Unless you attack the cities.

[AlP]

Presumably it occasionally makes pirates avoid attacking your ships, and maybe gives you more hiding goods letters.

Nobody really knows if that actually works.

[macbraveheart68]

easiest is smuggling goods and avoid the man in black. Piracy is just to risky.

[russmiller4445]

Hi, you can do piracy, you just have to be clever about it. Start off by saving the game. Have a crayer waiting in the one of the rivers. Find the sweet spot. Not to close to town, or to close to be seen by other ships. Good to set out picket ships along the route, pick off the competition one by one. Save the game after each raid, then high speed time one month to see if you got caught. If so, reload before the piracy, if ok, reload after the piracy. Within a year, all ships but yours are off the map. I suppose one could say this is cheating, but it's better than paying fines you can't afford. Towns will be hurt for awhile until you get your trade ships going.

[Funatix]

buy and sell weapons in the tavern.