Admiral

Admiral is the name of one of the player Ranks available in all versions of Pirates!. European nations can give this promotion to the player if they are pleased with his performance on their behalf. In Pirates! (1987) and Pirates! Gold (1993), non-player characters such as pirates, pirate-hunters and evil Spaniards may also have this rank.

The rank of Admiral follows the rank of Colonel and precedes the rank of Baron.

In Pirates! (1987), Admiral is the 5th attainable Rank, following the rank of Colonel and preceding the rank of Baron.

Once the rank of Colonel is acquired from any nation, additional activity in support of that nation's policy will slowly advance the player towards the rank of Admiral. Once a certain quota of favourable activity is reached, on your next visit to a Governor of that nation, the governor will Promote you to Admiral.

In this game, Promotions primarily raise your Score at the end of the game. However, they also have subtle, hard-to-measure effects:


 * Higher rank slightly increases the amount of men who will be available for Recruiting in Ports belonging to the nation that promoted you.
 * The probability that the Daughters of this nation's governors will offer you a chance to duel their Suitors and subsequently marry them is also increased.

Many non-player characters can also hold the rank of Admiral. Powerful Named Pirates, Pirate-Hunters and Evil Spaniards may have a rank of Admiral or even higher. Unfortunately this does not seem to have any functional effect on their abilities or the ship they are sailing (if any), but will influence the amount of Ransom you can get for them.

In Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004), Admiral is the 4th attainable Rank, following the rank of Colonel and preceding the rank of Baron.

Once the rank of Colonel is acquired from any nation, additional activity in support of that nation's policy will slowly advance the player towards the rank of Admiral. Once a certain quota of favourable activity is reached, on your next visit to a Governor of that nation, the governor will Promote you to Admiral.

Visual Changes
On reaching the rank of Admiral, an Admiral's Hat is added to the player's national uniform, and will be worn whenever visiting Ports or Settlements belonging to the awarding nation.

The Admiral's Hat joins with the previously-acquired Captain's Epaulets, Major's Medal, and Colonel's Baldric to make the complete military uniform. From this point on, each additional Rank acquired from this nation will replace one of these items with an "upgraded" version. The Admiral's Hat will be replaced by the Duke's Hat once the Rank of Duke has been achieved with this nation.

The next Barmaid you talk to in a Port or Settlement belonging to this nation will complement you on your new attire. This is a free conversation, so you can talk to the Barmaid again for actual information or at least an acknowledgment that no information is available at this time.

Benefits
Once the rank of Admiral has been achieved, all Upgrades purchased at the Ports belonging to the awarding nation will cost half the original amount (which is based on the Ship Type you wish to upgrade). Note that once the upgrade is installed, it only raises the ship's sale value by the same amount as before, so upgrading a ship just to sell it for more money will still lose you a lot of Gold.

All benefits from previous Ranks are still in effect.

Fame
As with all other Promotions, achieving the Rank of Admiral will award you. With the three promotions that preceded it, the total bonus for attaining Admiral Rank is.

Daughters
If the player's character has the Wit And Charm Skill, a French Chapeau, or an Ostrich Feather Hat, the Rank of Admiral is sufficient for him to be invited to dance with a Beautiful Daughter. Naturally, if the player has more than one of the above, such an invitation may occur even before reaching Admiral Rank.

Without the skill and items, you may be invited to dance with both Plain Daughters and Attractive Daughters, same as with a Rank of Colonel.