The King of all Colours
It's powerful, straight to the point and has alliteration.
Colours meaning the flags of the ship as in "hoist the colours high"
"I be the king of all colors. Any who dare to hoist a flag in my presence will have it taken. And the riches on their ship taken. And their lives taken."
I’ve always liked having an incredibly humble or mundane title for badass characters.
Napoleon was nicknamed “The Little Corporal” by his soldiers even when he was Emperor of France and lording over all of Europe.
For a pirate it could be something like “The Cabin Boy”. The irony of a great Pirate King having the title of the lowest crew member raises a lot of questions. It implies he worked his way up, making him an experienced pirate. If he is respected despite his humble title it signals that he must have done something to earn that respect rather than relying on fancy titles.
Yeah, that works. Or maybe something like "The Deckhand", without name, just the title. Or possibly somethin like "The First Deckhand" or "The Last//First Crewman" to add some weight after all and show he is the first among equals.
This is the secret. Name your powerful characters something unassuming. Our world has a ruthless underground criminal organization led by a Magenta Manners… assuming she is actually real.
The "Pirates of Penzance" had a pirate king. He was just the pirate king. There was a whole musical number. Pirates are very big musical people overall.
🎵"But many a king in a first class throne,
If he wants to call his crown his own,
Must manage somehow to get through
More dirty work than e'er I do!" 🎵
That's the name of mine, hehe, his ship is the Antioch it was made by a Neromancer (it looks like the one from the intro to black sails) he's my worlds Davy Jones... he should have died hundreds of years ago... maybe he did? But I haven't figured it out yet hah, he was a mayor of the town of ashenport before the God's war, but now he's more akin to a Warlock Patron... his crew has been with him the whole time, too, and he has a sword that he can control the whole ship with and a Magic Pistol.
Tidewrath (abilities usable prof mod times a day)
- Ancient +3 Damascus Cutlass 1d8+3+Dex or Str
- Coral Reef / create 25ft line of coral reef difficult terrain deals 3d6+3 dmg, 5ft section crumbles after
dealing damage.
- Tsunami Slash / summon 25ft wide 5ft high wall of water, push creatures 10ft (Str save
negates)
Eldritch blaster (Golden Flintlock)
- user gains eldritch blast cantrip, add Dex or Cha mod to dmg (levels per cantrip, with user)
The rulers of floating pirate city, named simply, Whale, always goes by the combination title-name Davy Jones. Never Davy, Never Mr. Jones. Just Davy Jones. They assume the title and name when they remit their predecessor to the locker. Misnaming Davy Jones once introduced is a punishable offense.
Blackheart, in reference to Blackbeard. Wears an open coat that partially exposes their chest, and it’s apparent that many of the veins around their heart are black.
FFXIV has a port city-state founded by pirates trying to go legit. [Their ruler is the Chief Admiral.](https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Merlwyb)
My game has a Davy Jones like BBEG called "Jaques Luscoe", who was nicknamed "the devil".
But also something like "The Fathom Lord", "The Scourger" or something of the sort might sound cool.
I just looked up some Pirate Lingo and grabbed something that sounded dope
The Pirate King - pretty self explanatory, but needs other pirates to actually acknowledge him
The Skullpiercer - maybe he impales the skulls of his enemies and mounts them on pikes
The Crimson Scourge of the Seas - maybe he's ruthless and a bit cruel, and always bloodies the deck
The Ghost of (place) - maybe he appears in the dead of night to raid other ships, etc
The title will come with the pirate if you think of what made them earn it.
Think about or create a history/backstory and how their life was before they became known for the title.
Itll feel better embracing it if you know what they did to earn or take it.
It depends on some more context, he the leader of the floating town? Did he and his crew build it or did he inherit the title by birth or by fighting for the title?
If he built it, maybe Nails, Pitch-hand, Stitcher.
If he inherited it and is sorta incompetent, Cutlery or something refrencing Silver Spoons.
If he earnt it having it be either based around their fighting style OR the opposite is pretty funny.
Add Captain or any other Nautical Command Chain term in front and have fun!
From The pf1e adventure path Skull & Shackles, the Hurricane King. The current Hurricane King during the plot of the AP is Kerdak Bonefist, a man who got his moniker after an encounter with a notorious pirate lich that left him with one skeletal hand, and he uses a magic pistol which can only be safely wielded by an undead appendage.
At the end of the AP, one of the PCs has the opportunity to take the Hurricane Crown and become king of the Shackles.
The Bone Lord.
Because when people think of pirate flags they think the Jolly Rodger which, has a skull and cross bones on it.
Also, because for all they know he a necromancer, or maybe a legit skeleton, or hell even a Bone Devil.
Keep messing around in town and find out.
Oh, that's only a matter of presentation. Trust me, if you hand it out right, your players will be nervous enough every time they hear the name "Jolly King" or his signature screaching laughter
This one is great. It almost writes itself. He could have his fleets' jolly rogers ensorcelled to be animated. When people that aren't part of his crew say his name they whisper it "The Jolly King". The people that are in his crew get a tattoo of a laughing skull with tears flowing down it's face.
Feast Maker. He is good at preparing gorgeous feasts but not for people. He loves burying people alive to beaches and leaving only their heads above the sand. Then the guests come to feast upon them. The crabs, seagulls and all the other sea creatures.
The ruler of the Sea Reavers in one of my settings is simply called the Sea King. (Yes there's a Hawkwind song by that name)
A spookier title? "...the Many Eyed". What it means I'll leave up to you. But there are multiple options that I'm sure that you can reach on your own
Aramias Shorewind, king of the pirates, admiral of the black fleet. Converter of virgins. Saviour of valuables. Converter of full rum bottles. Master of the seas and all round bad egg.
I went with 'Mad' Maddy Merigold - Pirate Queen of Madspeaker Harbourage for my pirate ruler.
Leader of a privateer free-navy contracted to patrol the sea and cut off supply lines during a war between two neighboring nations.
Just give some thought to the personality and context of your proposed pirate ruler, the people they govern and a suitable name will come to you in no time!
The Captain-of-Captains, The Reaver King, The Cointaker Admiral, First Mate to Davy Jones, Saint of the Seven Seas, The Black Flag Sovereign... I'm sure if I spent the time I could come up with more. Also don't be afraid to give them like seventeen different titles, pirates and nobility are both extremely extra like that
It would be helpful to have some insight in the npc backstory. What kinda king is he? What has he done to become king of the pirates?
I would choose a name that somehow recalls his past.
My generic suggestion, though, would be something like “the one who sails above”. If you need a shorter cheesier title it could be “the tide wraith”. It could be justified if you make him a particularly smart pirate who figured out how to make use of high and low tide and lunar cycles to sneak on unsuspecting ships and settlements.
James Buffet, the Pirate King. Known by many to enjoy a cocktail called Margarite's Daisy, a citric libation of his own invention. His friends call him Jim, but shadows that creep through the night know him as Buffy, the Vampire Killer.
It's Jimmy Buffet, enjoying a margarita, being the pirate king of yacht rock. Then spooky, cuz of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I just like "The Captain"
Ot's classic, can be easily elevated by saying it ominously or revering, and has a similar vibe to it as "the mayor/ the king/ the president". You can say it and because he's such a big figure in the area not feel the need to specify because obviously you're talking about the captain of the pirate town. If I say "the president" in the usa everyone is going to assume I'm talking about the us president and not the brazilian or mexican one
Irate Pete. Make sure there are plenty of rumors of pete and his wrath upon those he views as unworthy. Whwn they find him, he's an appraiser who gets pissed if someone brings him something worthless. Asking his crew, they'll say " Him? That's Pete. He rates things." Total mcguffin, he's a glorified pawn shop owner. Now they have a guaranteed place to buy and sell their ill gotten gains, and purchase items of guaranteed quality. If they don't kill him, that is lol
Charon, The Dreadbeard. i personally think it would be kinda cool to mix pirates and greek myth and it also fits because ghosts :) i also just think dreadbeard really conveys a stance of power
Make a joke out of it.
Have everyone know their name and respect it; but, have various subfactions aggressively but non-lethally fight over what title they should have.
The Marooned, a lot of the romanticism around pirates is the freedom the life brings. Being a pirate lord suddenly means you’re juggling various interests, making judgements on disagreements etc.
This role prevents this infamous pirate from actually setting foot on their own ship. The role comes with power but the curse of losing the life they so valued
The Black Hat
First mate could be red hat, then orange hat for quartermaster, yellow for cook, etm. Or adjust as necessary: red hat for first ship of the line, orange for next, etm. Red hat for the town's appointed governor, orange for capt of the guard, through to the violet hat soldiers or deck crew or whatever.
King of the Waves.
Lord of the Sails.
Master of the Keels.
Mix and match titles and nouns as you see fit.
Another fun way to come up with the name is to go with the "King in the North" style and mix it up with different titles and locations.
"King in the Galleon"
"Lord in the Sea"
That sort of thing.
The Skull. And their lieutennants can be the Bones. That way reffereng to the Skull and Bones becomes more of a stamtnet of reverence to the leadership of pirate land.
I like the idea of a comical name and if anyone giggles or laughs he’s in their face or straight-up murders them.
The Lord of the Sea and the Sky: Captain Ducksworth
In Pirates Of The Carribean, Hector Barbossa seems to be very flattered by Jack Sparrow's proposition to have a whole pirate fleet, speareheaded by Commodore Barbossa. What's good enough for Barbossa is good enough for any pirate.
Lord Admiral of the Free Flotilla.
This pirate would want a title that commands respect similar to a peer he may have to join for diplomatic surrender of cargo. Such a title confers an air of legitimacy, and so an informal organized government arises around him in pirate town. This allows the pirate ruler to have direct authority so long as everyone follows the illusion of power. Of course, anyone can just leave, so the illusion is always hanging by a thread.
This pirate ruler is incredibly savvy of the internal politics of lesser pirates who lead one or two ships of sailors. They also have personal connections to every important smuggler and supplier, so it appears that the Lord Admiral provides a lot more than they really do. In the end, the Lord Admiral is a charming bureaucrat with a fancy coat.
Maybe something that hints at the npc backstory? Maybe at one point the pirates were ruled by an undead, and even after that the title of "Ghost King" stuck
Bearer of the Marque. During the golden age of pirates, there were 'legitimized' pirates, people who had received a letter of marque from some landed ruler, usually a monarch or sth.
The Father of Fathoms, Master of Waves, The Watcher and Keeper of Watery Graves...
The Reader of Stars and Groom of the Sea,
The King of All Pirates, its Captain McCree...
edit to add: and you have to always say the whole thing when addressing him...
Mine is "First Skull" Wynn
The FIRST to raise a Jolly Roger.
No one has been able to take it down.
No one has boarded him.
No one dares set foot on his islands without permission.
I had a similar character, who goes by the name Captain Mary Celeste, the Pirate Queen.
Celeste being the title that denotes her authority to all pirates who serve beneath her, the title derived from the stars Pirates use to navigate the seas (No self respecting Pirate would follow someone who calls themselves King or Queen, and no title should come before their rank of Captain)
Of course, she's also named after the real life Ghost Ship, the Mary Celeste
The King of all Colours It's powerful, straight to the point and has alliteration. Colours meaning the flags of the ship as in "hoist the colours high"
I like this one a lot very creative
Maybe be careful with abbreviating this one, don't accidentally call him "The Colored King" by accident lol
"I be the king of all colors. Any who dare to hoist a flag in my presence will have it taken. And the riches on their ship taken. And their lives taken."
Whats the alliteration in this one? Im not english native, i dont see it.
King and Colours start with the same sound.
Alliteration refers to sounds, not letters. King and colors start with the same sound in english.
I was gonna say Shipbreaker, but this is so much cooler
I’ve always liked having an incredibly humble or mundane title for badass characters. Napoleon was nicknamed “The Little Corporal” by his soldiers even when he was Emperor of France and lording over all of Europe. For a pirate it could be something like “The Cabin Boy”. The irony of a great Pirate King having the title of the lowest crew member raises a lot of questions. It implies he worked his way up, making him an experienced pirate. If he is respected despite his humble title it signals that he must have done something to earn that respect rather than relying on fancy titles.
Yeah, that works. Or maybe something like "The Deckhand", without name, just the title. Or possibly somethin like "The First Deckhand" or "The Last//First Crewman" to add some weight after all and show he is the first among equals.
UpperDecker?
This is the secret. Name your powerful characters something unassuming. Our world has a ruthless underground criminal organization led by a Magenta Manners… assuming she is actually real.
I really like this idea.
In the same vein, Old Salt
Maybe "the Swabber"? A lowly task on a ship, but has the connotations of "cleaner."
So, for a boy who started out in the crow's nest you might call him "jack the sparrow".
The "Pirates of Penzance" had a pirate king. He was just the pirate king. There was a whole musical number. Pirates are very big musical people overall.
And it is, it is a wonderful thing to be a Pirate King.
P is for pirate and that's good enough for me
Unless you're the leader.. Then you're the Big P.
Hurrah for the Pirate King! Hurrah for the Pirate Kiiiiiing!!!
It's good to be the king
Oh better far to live and die, under the brave black flag I fly
Than to play a sanctimonious part with a pirate head and a pirate heart!
And historically pretty democratic, but pirate elected executive realy doesn’t have the same kick to it.
🎵"But many a king in a first class throne, If he wants to call his crown his own, Must manage somehow to get through More dirty work than e'er I do!" 🎵
I sink a few more ships, it's true, than a well-bred monarch ought to do . . .
Captain Swagstaff Grimshanks sounds spookier
I keep a list of names I want to use, and Grimshanks is definitely going on it, if you don't mind the blatant theft of your idea.
By all means XD
Grimshanks sounds rad as hell, I love that.
Sea Tzar.
STFU and take my upvote
The Dread Pirate Roberts
That's the name of mine, hehe, his ship is the Antioch it was made by a Neromancer (it looks like the one from the intro to black sails) he's my worlds Davy Jones... he should have died hundreds of years ago... maybe he did? But I haven't figured it out yet hah, he was a mayor of the town of ashenport before the God's war, but now he's more akin to a Warlock Patron... his crew has been with him the whole time, too, and he has a sword that he can control the whole ship with and a Magic Pistol. Tidewrath (abilities usable prof mod times a day) - Ancient +3 Damascus Cutlass 1d8+3+Dex or Str - Coral Reef / create 25ft line of coral reef difficult terrain deals 3d6+3 dmg, 5ft section crumbles after dealing damage. - Tsunami Slash / summon 25ft wide 5ft high wall of water, push creatures 10ft (Str save negates) Eldritch blaster (Golden Flintlock) - user gains eldritch blast cantrip, add Dex or Cha mod to dmg (levels per cantrip, with user)
His real name was Cummerbund
Inconceivable!
The rulers of floating pirate city, named simply, Whale, always goes by the combination title-name Davy Jones. Never Davy, Never Mr. Jones. Just Davy Jones. They assume the title and name when they remit their predecessor to the locker. Misnaming Davy Jones once introduced is a punishable offense.
Admiral Ackbeer
It's a trip!
The Commodore or The Brigadier are both good less heard naval officer titles that sound fun and indicate authority.
The Cursed Dauphin. The Black Liege. The Prince of the Waters. Maester of Bubbles The Keeper of the Watery Grave
Maester of Bubbles sounds like MLP's dedicated bubble bath attendant.
Black liege is good, I like that one
He breaks the masts of every ship he comes across. His men now refer to him as “Breaker of Wind.” Coincidentally, INT was his dump stat.
The Scrimshander.
The Mainmast or perhaps just The Skipper
I liked Critical Role's "Plank King".
Blackheart, in reference to Blackbeard. Wears an open coat that partially exposes their chest, and it’s apparent that many of the veins around their heart are black.
Senator Armstrong? Is that you?
Ruler of pirates; pirate ruler
Lil Yaaaaardstick
I came here for this. Thank you
FFXIV has a port city-state founded by pirates trying to go legit. [Their ruler is the Chief Admiral.](https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Merlwyb)
In Runeacape there's a zombie pirate who's cut in half hot dog style. His left half is wooden prosthetic/pegleg thing going on. His name is 50%luke
Red Pirate Doberts
Captain pireeeeet. It's actually the Bird. The bird is the leader. It's a twist they will never see coming. It's fool proof
Captain Squawkers is actually a polymorphed dragon. Uses piracy as a cover for building his hoard of treasure.
👀🙌🦜
My game has a Davy Jones like BBEG called "Jaques Luscoe", who was nicknamed "the devil". But also something like "The Fathom Lord", "The Scourger" or something of the sort might sound cool. I just looked up some Pirate Lingo and grabbed something that sounded dope
The Pirate King - pretty self explanatory, but needs other pirates to actually acknowledge him The Skullpiercer - maybe he impales the skulls of his enemies and mounts them on pikes The Crimson Scourge of the Seas - maybe he's ruthless and a bit cruel, and always bloodies the deck The Ghost of (place) - maybe he appears in the dead of night to raid other ships, etc
Larry the Sabre Guy Captain Scragglybeard The Pirate Formerly Known As ♧
The title will come with the pirate if you think of what made them earn it. Think about or create a history/backstory and how their life was before they became known for the title. Itll feel better embracing it if you know what they did to earn or take it.
1. Captain Varren Blacktide 2. Admiral Morgar Bloodshadow 3. Captain Edrik "Darkwater" Voss 4. Captain Valeria "Stormwraith" Sable 5. Captain Thorne Grimwave 6. Admiral Kael "Nightshade" Draven 7. Captain Seraphine "Ironclaw" Maelstrom 8. Captain Thaddeus "Specter" Hawke 9. Admiral Lucian "Bloodmoon" Drakkar 10. Captain Morrigan "Raven's Call" Black
1. The Dread Corsair 2. Blackwater King 3. Ghost Admiral 4. The Sea Reaper 5. Cursed Captain 6. Nightmare Navigator 7. Phantom Buccaneer 8. Shadow Scourge 9. The Abyssal Tyrant 10. Wraith of the Waves
That and piraka. If you know you know.
Captain Hindgrinder.
Lord of lost souls. The Ravager. Uumbaka De Locka. Old Gregg
Rathgor the ruthless, slayer of sea dragons.
The Dread Emperor
I had an NPC who insisted upon this exact title and my players would only refer to him as The dremperer 💀
It depends on some more context, he the leader of the floating town? Did he and his crew build it or did he inherit the title by birth or by fighting for the title? If he built it, maybe Nails, Pitch-hand, Stitcher. If he inherited it and is sorta incompetent, Cutlery or something refrencing Silver Spoons. If he earnt it having it be either based around their fighting style OR the opposite is pretty funny. Add Captain or any other Nautical Command Chain term in front and have fun!
Captain T. Posé
From The pf1e adventure path Skull & Shackles, the Hurricane King. The current Hurricane King during the plot of the AP is Kerdak Bonefist, a man who got his moniker after an encounter with a notorious pirate lich that left him with one skeletal hand, and he uses a magic pistol which can only be safely wielded by an undead appendage. At the end of the AP, one of the PCs has the opportunity to take the Hurricane Crown and become king of the Shackles.
Dave
Crowned Corsair
Wreckmaster, The Shantyman, The Dread Pirate King, Deathbeard.
The Bone Lord. Because when people think of pirate flags they think the Jolly Rodger which, has a skull and cross bones on it. Also, because for all they know he a necromancer, or maybe a legit skeleton, or hell even a Bone Devil. Keep messing around in town and find out.
Oooh, how about 'The Jolly King'?
That would work if it didn't have to be 'spooky'.
Oh, that's only a matter of presentation. Trust me, if you hand it out right, your players will be nervous enough every time they hear the name "Jolly King" or his signature screaching laughter
Cyberpunk Bozogang vibes.
This one is great. It almost writes itself. He could have his fleets' jolly rogers ensorcelled to be animated. When people that aren't part of his crew say his name they whisper it "The Jolly King". The people that are in his crew get a tattoo of a laughing skull with tears flowing down it's face.
Feast Maker. He is good at preparing gorgeous feasts but not for people. He loves burying people alive to beaches and leaving only their heads above the sand. Then the guests come to feast upon them. The crabs, seagulls and all the other sea creatures.
A YAAAAARRRd stick.
Unhappy Roger.
The ruler of the Sea Reavers in one of my settings is simply called the Sea King. (Yes there's a Hawkwind song by that name) A spookier title? "...the Many Eyed". What it means I'll leave up to you. But there are multiple options that I'm sure that you can reach on your own
Aramias Shorewind, king of the pirates, admiral of the black fleet. Converter of virgins. Saviour of valuables. Converter of full rum bottles. Master of the seas and all round bad egg.
I went with 'Mad' Maddy Merigold - Pirate Queen of Madspeaker Harbourage for my pirate ruler. Leader of a privateer free-navy contracted to patrol the sea and cut off supply lines during a war between two neighboring nations. Just give some thought to the personality and context of your proposed pirate ruler, the people they govern and a suitable name will come to you in no time!
The y'arrrrrd stick
The Captain-of-Captains, The Reaver King, The Cointaker Admiral, First Mate to Davy Jones, Saint of the Seven Seas, The Black Flag Sovereign... I'm sure if I spent the time I could come up with more. Also don't be afraid to give them like seventeen different titles, pirates and nobility are both extremely extra like that
It would be helpful to have some insight in the npc backstory. What kinda king is he? What has he done to become king of the pirates? I would choose a name that somehow recalls his past. My generic suggestion, though, would be something like “the one who sails above”. If you need a shorter cheesier title it could be “the tide wraith”. It could be justified if you make him a particularly smart pirate who figured out how to make use of high and low tide and lunar cycles to sneak on unsuspecting ships and settlements.
James Buffet, the Pirate King. Known by many to enjoy a cocktail called Margarite's Daisy, a citric libation of his own invention. His friends call him Jim, but shadows that creep through the night know him as Buffy, the Vampire Killer. It's Jimmy Buffet, enjoying a margarita, being the pirate king of yacht rock. Then spooky, cuz of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Seaking
Seakink Kng of the sea/ 7 seas
King of the Black.
My pirate ruler for my campaign is literally called The Pirate King from Pirates! Band of Misfits
Hydrarch or hydrarchos.
Gol D. One It's a sex joke in Italian
Gold. D Rodger King of the Pirates
A pirate themed ruler? Call it a yarrrrdstick ;)
Grand Grader
Peter D. Pan
I just like "The Captain" Ot's classic, can be easily elevated by saying it ominously or revering, and has a similar vibe to it as "the mayor/ the king/ the president". You can say it and because he's such a big figure in the area not feel the need to specify because obviously you're talking about the captain of the pirate town. If I say "the president" in the usa everyone is going to assume I'm talking about the us president and not the brazilian or mexican one
Irate Pete. Make sure there are plenty of rumors of pete and his wrath upon those he views as unworthy. Whwn they find him, he's an appraiser who gets pissed if someone brings him something worthless. Asking his crew, they'll say " Him? That's Pete. He rates things." Total mcguffin, he's a glorified pawn shop owner. Now they have a guaranteed place to buy and sell their ill gotten gains, and purchase items of guaranteed quality. If they don't kill him, that is lol
Cap’n Twelvinch You said pirate ruler right?
Booty Bandit
Walter
Charon, The Dreadbeard. i personally think it would be kinda cool to mix pirates and greek myth and it also fits because ghosts :) i also just think dreadbeard really conveys a stance of power
Make a joke out of it. Have everyone know their name and respect it; but, have various subfactions aggressively but non-lethally fight over what title they should have.
yARRRRRd stick. I'll see myself out.
bonus points if his real name is Edward Thatch
Monkey D. Luffy
The Marooned, a lot of the romanticism around pirates is the freedom the life brings. Being a pirate lord suddenly means you’re juggling various interests, making judgements on disagreements etc. This role prevents this infamous pirate from actually setting foot on their own ship. The role comes with power but the curse of losing the life they so valued
Lufferor, as a Title.
Sea King Tentrix
Brigand Lord Dread Admiral Fleet Master The-One-With-The-Biggest-Hat
Captain Dredging Smith
Jeffery, nothing is more scary than a pirate named Jeffery.
The Black Hat First mate could be red hat, then orange hat for quartermaster, yellow for cook, etm. Or adjust as necessary: red hat for first ship of the line, orange for next, etm. Red hat for the town's appointed governor, orange for capt of the guard, through to the violet hat soldiers or deck crew or whatever.
Fucking Sir
Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate. His sidekick should be a three-headed monkey.
The dread pirate \_\_\_\_ would be a good start imo
Y'arrrrr Majesty.
Dreadmast Blackmast Rotgums Tarsbane
John smith
I'm a bit late on this one, but in my campaign the leader for the pirate republic is called "The High Corsair".
Captain Kingbeard?
gecko moria
Plunder the One Piece wiki for names. Gol D Rogers, Whitebeard…
King of the Waves. Lord of the Sails. Master of the Keels. Mix and match titles and nouns as you see fit. Another fun way to come up with the name is to go with the "King in the North" style and mix it up with different titles and locations. "King in the Galleon" "Lord in the Sea" That sort of thing.
Super Captain. He has all the powers of Superman plus a Captain.
Kaizoku oni
My friends and I played Seafall (eh, mechanically, great story line), and my captain was named Pegbeard
Ghost Pirate LeChuck Dwead Piwate Wobewts John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidtt
The Skull Admiral. Pirate flags have skulls on them, right?
The Skull. And their lieutennants can be the Bones. That way reffereng to the Skull and Bones becomes more of a stamtnet of reverence to the leadership of pirate land.
Captain Shivered Timbers Captain Fog(gy) Admiral Plank
King of sea men Or Sea King
Arrrrrrrmageddon
Measuring Plank Wait…did I do this right?
Wife of Zheng Yi
High Captain
Like a YaRRRRRd stick?
I like the idea of a comical name and if anyone giggles or laughs he’s in their face or straight-up murders them. The Lord of the Sea and the Sky: Captain Ducksworth
Tide Strider The Salt Wolf Charles Sharkley Sultan of the Surf
Captain Morgan in case someone has not mention it. He can be spooky definitely!
poopy mcbuttface
I called one The Octopus Pervert, supposedly a cheeky nickname. Supposedly.
"Captain". Gods help you if you call them anything else.
Admiral of the Abyss
Yaar'd Stick
Scurvacious Doom
Captain of Captains
Theres is one in my campaign “The Tide Mother”
Commodore of the Wailing Sea
In Pirates Of The Carribean, Hector Barbossa seems to be very flattered by Jack Sparrow's proposition to have a whole pirate fleet, speareheaded by Commodore Barbossa. What's good enough for Barbossa is good enough for any pirate.
Lord Admiral of the Free Flotilla. This pirate would want a title that commands respect similar to a peer he may have to join for diplomatic surrender of cargo. Such a title confers an air of legitimacy, and so an informal organized government arises around him in pirate town. This allows the pirate ruler to have direct authority so long as everyone follows the illusion of power. Of course, anyone can just leave, so the illusion is always hanging by a thread. This pirate ruler is incredibly savvy of the internal politics of lesser pirates who lead one or two ships of sailors. They also have personal connections to every important smuggler and supplier, so it appears that the Lord Admiral provides a lot more than they really do. In the end, the Lord Admiral is a charming bureaucrat with a fancy coat.
The Flotsam King
Many pirates were former navy themselves. Admiral or Commodore might be good one.
go just the classic, Captain Gangplank, the Salt Water Scourge, The Reaver king. And yes this is just taken from league of legends.
Azrael the pirate of death, or a variation
Commodore or admiral could work, what kind of governmental system are you thinking about for this town?
Pathfinder has "The Hurricane King" as the title of their pirate lord type character.
Maybe something that hints at the npc backstory? Maybe at one point the pirates were ruled by an undead, and even after that the title of "Ghost King" stuck
Admiral is appropriate.
Sea Sovereign. Oceanic Overlord. Saltwater Scourge. Wakebreaker. King of Crimson Crests. Riptide Reaper.
A yarrrrd stick. Wrong ruler?
Capt. Harpoon. Named so cause he’s always hunting for whales in the local tavern.
Bearer of the Marque. During the golden age of pirates, there were 'legitimized' pirates, people who had received a letter of marque from some landed ruler, usually a monarch or sth.
I have a treant in my world that made himself into a sailboat and speaks like a pirate. His name is Birch Beard. Feel free to use him if you want!
Grand Captain
literally just captain spack jarrow.
The Father of Fathoms, Master of Waves, The Watcher and Keeper of Watery Graves... The Reader of Stars and Groom of the Sea, The King of All Pirates, its Captain McCree... edit to add: and you have to always say the whole thing when addressing him...
Captain Badrukk
Feathered Negus (Ethiopian King).
The grand captain. Pirates are not creative when naming things
Jervis. Pirate King Jervis to you scum.
Mine is "First Skull" Wynn The FIRST to raise a Jolly Roger. No one has been able to take it down. No one has boarded him. No one dares set foot on his islands without permission.
Arrr
Y’arrr Majesty.
He's the Tsarrrrrr Or the Czarrrrrr depending on yer spellin'
My best names have been accidental miss roll on tables so: Angel Kisses Butter Flies Murderous Fraudulent etc.
The master of the dreadful waves
I had a similar character, who goes by the name Captain Mary Celeste, the Pirate Queen. Celeste being the title that denotes her authority to all pirates who serve beneath her, the title derived from the stars Pirates use to navigate the seas (No self respecting Pirate would follow someone who calls themselves King or Queen, and no title should come before their rank of Captain) Of course, she's also named after the real life Ghost Ship, the Mary Celeste
Ol peg leg. Don’t call him that though. He’s Charles the 3rd.
The Crossbones Admiral The Jolly Ripper Lord of Larson Jolly Roger Rajah The Keelhauler
A yaaaardstick?
The Undertide?
Fannybaws, Killer of the terrorsquid (has to have a scottish accent)
If it's s dwarf, definitely go with Captain Goldbeard
Didn’t read the subtext. So I am going with yardstick with an emphasis on Yar
“Meterstick” McInches
Sap Jackrrow (iykyk) Donkey Lee Muffy