Appearance
Privateers, Pirates, and Salvage
Marithel has a complicated relationship with violence at sea.
A ship can carry food, medicine, refugees, letters, tools, witnesses, treasure, bodies, debts, seals, or secrets. Any of those can make it valuable. Any of those can make it a target.
Some ships attack illegally and are called pirates.
Some ships attack under recognized authority and are called privateers.
Some ships raid under maritime states, old codes, or coastal war traditions and are called corsairs.
Some ships do not attack at all but recover what the sea has taken and are called salvagers.
Some crews move between those names depending on who is judging them, which harbor they enter, which papers they carry, and whether the people they harmed survived to testify.
In Marithel, the difference between pirate, privateer, corsair, smuggler, salvager, and rescuer is not always obvious from the deck of a ship under threat.
A banner may be false.
A letter may be expired.
A claim may be legal in one port and worthless in another.
A rescue may become debt.
A salvage claim may become grave robbery.
A privateer may behave like a pirate.
A pirate may save lives no lawful captain would risk.
The law matters.
So does what actually happened.
Player Summary
This page explains three connected parts of Maritheli sea life:
| Topic | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Privateers | Armed ships claiming legal authority to attack, seize, escort, inspect, or capture under specific papers or recognition. |
| Pirates | Sea raiders operating outside recognized law, often targeting ships, cargo, passengers, or routes. |
| Salvage | The recovery of wrecks, cargo, bodies, ship parts, evidence, and lost goods from the sea. |
These subjects matter because the campaign begins aboard the Azure Aviary in Maritheli waters, where legal and illegal violence may not announce itself clearly.
A ship approaching under flag may be offering warning, demanding inspection, seeking aid, claiming cargo, hunting a passenger, carrying news, or preparing to attack.
A wreck may be treasure, grave, evidence, trap, inheritance, or sacred site.
A sealed crate may be cargo, contraband, relief supply, body, record, or proof.
A privateering paper may be valid, forged, expired, misapplied, or recognized only by the people holding the weapons.
Players do not need to memorize maritime law. They only need to understand that Marithel treats violence, salvage, rescue, cargo, and ship claims as matters of law, reputation, power, and survival.
The Central Question
The central question behind privateering, piracy, and salvage is:
Who has the right to take what the sea exposes?
That question can apply to ships, cargo, bodies, passengers, routes, testimony, wrecks, and names.
| Situation | Question |
|---|---|
| A privateer boards a merchant ship | Is this lawful seizure or armed theft? |
| A pirate spares passengers | Does mercy change the crime? |
| A ship is found abandoned | Is it salvage, trap, or unfinished disaster? |
| A body is recovered from a wreck | Who may name, bury, examine, or claim the dead? |
| Cargo floats free after storm | Is it ownerless, stolen if taken, or rescue property? |
| A bell is recovered | Does it prove which ship sank, or expose a lie? |
| A passenger is seized as “cargo” | Is this law, fraud, slavery, or kidnapping? |
| A ship accepts rescue | Does aid create debt, obligation, or protection? |
| A wreck is sacred to families | Can salvagers still recover goods? |
| A route is controlled by armed escorts | Is that protection, toll-taking, or extortion? |
Marithel has many laws because every one of these questions has started bloodshed somewhere.
Privateers
A privateer is an armed maritime actor who claims legal permission to use force against defined targets under recognized authority.
Privateers may be hired by harbor councils, merchant houses, maritime states, wartime governments, freeport coalitions, corsair courts, noble remnants, or other powers that want naval force without openly declaring full war.
In theory, privateering is regulated.
In practice, it is often abused.
What Makes a Privateer Legal
A privateer usually depends on several things:
| Requirement | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Recognized authority | Someone with accepted power issued the permission. |
| Written commission | The privateer carries papers, letters, seals, or contracts. |
| Defined targets | The authority specifies who or what may be attacked or seized. |
| Limited methods | Not all violence is permitted. |
| Prize procedure | Captured ships or cargo may need court review. |
| Passenger protection | Noncombatants, refugees, witnesses, and protected travelers may have rights. |
| Harbor recognition | A port must agree the privateer’s authority matters there. |
| Accountability | Abuse can lead to loss of status, bounty, trial, or retaliation. |
A privateer without recognition is just a heavily armed problem.
A privateer with recognition may still be a problem, but one with paperwork.
Letters of Marque and Maritime Commissions
The most common symbol of privateering authority is a letter of marque, maritime commission, or similar document.
These papers define what the privateer is allowed to do.
A letter may authorize seizure of enemy cargo, pursuit of specific ships, escort of allied vessels, inspection of contraband, retaliation against named raiders, or capture of vessels tied to a hostile power.
What a Letter Might Include
| Detail | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Issuing authority | Who granted the right to act. |
| Captain and vessel name | Who is authorized. |
| Target category | Which ships, flags, cargos, or factions may be attacked. |
| Duration | Whether the authority is current or expired. |
| Route limits | Where the letter applies. |
| Prize rules | Where seized cargo or ships must be judged. |
| Passenger protections | Who may not be harmed or taken. |
| Required signals | How the privateer must identify itself. |
| Witness requirements | Who must confirm lawful seizure. |
| Seal and countersign | Proof against forgery. |
A forged or altered letter can be more dangerous than an open pirate flag because it can delay resistance long enough for violence to begin.
Common Letter Problems
| Problem | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Expired date | The privateer may be acting illegally. |
| Overbroad target | The captain may stretch authority beyond limits. |
| Forged seal | The entire claim may be fraud. |
| Wrong ship name | The vessel may be impersonating a legal privateer. |
| Unrecognized issuer | The letter may be valid elsewhere but not here. |
| Missing prize court | Captured cargo may be theft under another name. |
| Passenger clause ignored | Protected people may be unlawfully taken. |
| Target misidentified | The privateer may owe damages or face charges. |
In Marithel, a character who can read papers under pressure may save lives.
Pirates
A pirate is a sea raider acting outside recognized law.
Pirates may attack ships for cargo, ransom, revenge, survival, slaves, information, magical objects, medicine, witnesses, food, or sheer opportunity. Some pirate crews are brutal predators. Others are desperate workers, former privateers, mutineers, exiles, escaped prisoners, abandoned crews, or communities pushed out of lawful systems.
This does not make piracy harmless.
It makes it socially complicated.
Common Pirate Activities
| Activity | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Cargo seizure | Taking goods by force. |
| Passenger ransom | Holding people for payment, leverage, or exchange. |
| Ship theft | Taking the vessel itself. |
| Forced recruitment | Pressing sailors, specialists, healers, pilots, or guards into service. |
| Document theft | Taking papers, seals, passenger lists, letters, or registries. |
| Route extortion | Demanding payment for safe passage through threatened waters. |
| False rescue | Pretending to aid a ship before robbing it. |
| Wrecking | Luring ships into danger and profiting from wreckage. |
| Harbor infiltration | Selling stolen goods, buying information, or hiding among legal crews. |
| Witness silencing | Removing people who know too much. |
Pirate Reputations
Not all pirate crews are known the same way.
| Reputation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blood crew | Kills readily; feared by sailors and courts. |
| Ransom crew | Prefers live captives and payment. |
| Cargo wolves | Take goods and avoid unnecessary killing. |
| Wreckers | Use false lights or sabotage to create salvage opportunities. |
| Ex-privateers | Claim they were abandoned by law after serving it. |
| Refugee raiders | Desperate crews who began as survivors and became predators. |
| Route tollers | Demand payment and call it protection. |
| Ghost-flag crew | Uses false flags, names, and papers to confuse pursuit. |
| Harbor rats | Operate through docks, brokers, and stolen manifests. |
| Ideological raiders | Target specific factions, crowns, slavers, debt brokers, or ports. |
A pirate’s story may be tragic. That does not erase what they do to others.
Corsairs
Corsairs are maritime raiders or armed sailors tied to specific sea states, coastal traditions, corsair courts, or long-standing raiding cultures.
In Marithel, corsairs are often more formal than pirates and more culturally embedded than privateers. They may have codes, patron harbors, tribute rules, family fleets, ship laws, hostage customs, ransom procedures, and expectations around what targets are proper.
The Tidebound Corsair States are one example of maritime powers where corsair identity can be political, lawful, military, and personal at the same time.
Corsair Features
| Feature | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Patron port | Corsair ships may belong to or serve a specific harbor or state. |
| Sea code | Raiding may follow internal rules, even when outsiders reject them. |
| Tribute custom | Some routes may pay for safe passage or protection. |
| Hostage practice | Captives may be treated as bargaining pieces rather than disposable victims. |
| Prize ritual | Captured goods may be divided under formal custom. |
| Family fleet | Corsair identity may pass through kinship or ship lineage. |
| Public reputation | Some are feared, admired, hated, or romanticized. |
| Legal ambiguity | A corsair may be lawful at home and criminal elsewhere. |
For players, corsairs are useful because they blur the line between navy, privateer, pirate, clan, and state actor.
A corsair may honor a promise and still raid your ship.
Smugglers and Their Relationship to Sea Violence
Smugglers are not the same as pirates, but they often occupy nearby waters.
A smuggler moves goods, people, information, or money outside official channels. Smuggling may be done for greed, mercy, survival, politics, rebellion, or exploitation.
Common Smuggled Things
| Smuggled Thing | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Medicine | Needed urgently, illegally harvested, stolen, or restricted. |
| Weapons | Rebellion, protection, crime, or war supply. |
| People | Refugees, witnesses, fugitives, trafficking victims, defectors. |
| Papers | False names, seals, registries, debt notes, witness statements. |
| Living cargo | Ilyrian legal and spiritual concerns may apply. |
| Relics | Sacred goods, stolen temple items, dangerous objects. |
| Food | Famine relief, tax evasion, or price manipulation. |
| Spell components | Rare, controlled, stolen, or dangerous. |
| Court-marks | Vorrakian claims, defectors, proof, or threat. |
| Salvage goods | Wreck property sold before legal review. |
A smuggler may help the desperate escape a death sentence. A smuggler may also sell those same desperate people to worse danger.
The method is unofficial. The morality depends on the action.
Salvage
Salvage is the recovery of goods, ship parts, bodies, documents, bells, cargo, evidence, or valuables from wrecks, abandoned vessels, reefs, floating debris, sea caves, or sunken sites.
Marithel takes salvage seriously because wrecks are not only treasure.
A wreck can be a grave.
A wreck can be a crime scene.
A wreck can be evidence.
A wreck can decide ownership.
A wreck can decide whether someone is legally dead.
A wreck can prove a ship never went where officials said it went.
A wreck can expose pirates, privateers, corrupt captains, false lights, or broken routes.
Salvagers are workers, divers, sailors, clerks, priests, guards, mourners, opportunists, criminals, and experts in the sea’s aftermath.
Salvage Categories
| Salvage Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cargo salvage | Recovery of goods from wreck or sea loss. |
| Life salvage | Rescue of survivors, sometimes tied to reward or obligation. |
| Hull salvage | Recovery or repair of ship parts. |
| Evidence salvage | Items recovered for legal or criminal investigation. |
| Grave salvage | Recovery involving bodies, remains, or memorial duty. |
| Sacred salvage | Items tied to temples, rites, saints, or taboo. |
| Drift salvage | Goods found floating or washed ashore. |
| Deep salvage | Dangerous diving in wrecks, reefs, caves, or deep water. |
| War salvage | Recovery from battle sites, invasion routes, or military wrecks. |
| Hidden salvage | Quiet recovery before legal claimants arrive. |
Salvage is one of Marithel’s best sources of adventure because it combines danger, mystery, law, and moral pressure.
Salvage Law
Salvage law attempts to decide who may recover, claim, sell, bury, examine, or preserve what the sea has taken.
Different jurisdictions handle salvage differently, but several questions are common.
| Question | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Was the ship abandoned? | A living crew or owner may still have claim. |
| Were survivors rescued? | Rescue may create reward, duty, or witness testimony. |
| Were the dead present? | Grave law and rites may restrict recovery. |
| Was the wreck caused by crime? | Evidence must be preserved. |
| Who found the site? | Discovery may create salvage rights. |
| Who recovered the goods? | Labor and risk may create claim. |
| Who owned the cargo? | Original ownership may still matter. |
| Is the cargo illegal? | Recovery may expose smuggling or worse. |
| Is the wreck sacred? | Temple law may override profit. |
| Is the wreck dangerous? | Disease, curses, magic, unstable cargo, or predators may prevent recovery. |
| Is there a registry match? | Ship identity may decide all later claims. |
| Did false lights or sabotage cause the wreck? | Salvage may become murder investigation. |
A salvager who recovers goods without declaring them may be seen as thief, hero, opportunist, or practical survivor depending on context.
Wrecks as Graves
Many Maritheli people treat wrecks as graves if people died aboard or remain missing.
This matters because salvage can become desecration.
Families may oppose recovery.
Temples may demand rites.
Courts may require evidence.
Salvagers may need payment.
Merchants may demand cargo.
Refugees may need the records aboard.
A body may prove a death.
A missing body may keep a family in legal limbo.
Grave Questions
| Question | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Are bodies present? | Recovery requires respect, rite, and legal care. |
| Are names known? | The dead must be identified if possible. |
| Does a family object? | Mourning can complicate salvage. |
| Is the body evidence? | Burial may be delayed. |
| Is a body missing? | Legal death may be uncertain. |
| Did someone survive? | Salvage claim may be challenged. |
| Is a rite required? | Faith traditions differ. |
| Was the wreck deliberate? | The dead may require justice before burial. |
A character who treats every wreck as treasure will make enemies in Marithel.
A character who treats every wreck as untouchable may also cause harm if evidence, medicine, or survivors remain.
Wreckers and False Lights
Wreckers profit from shipwrecks, sometimes by causing them.
The most infamous wreckers use false lights, altered signals, fake distress calls, misleading buoys, forged pilot marks, sabotaged charts, or planted rumors to draw ships into reefs, shoals, ambushes, or bad approaches.
Wrecking is hated because it corrupts the trust that makes sea travel possible.
Wrecker Methods
| Method | Danger |
|---|---|
| False lighthouse signal | Ships steer toward danger. |
| Fake distress light | Rescue-minded captains are lured in. |
| Altered buoy | Safe channel appears elsewhere. |
| Sabotaged chart | Captain follows false information. |
| Forged pilot mark | Route authority is faked. |
| Disabled warning bell | Harbor or reef danger is hidden. |
| Staged survivors | Trap disguised as rescue. |
| Cargo rumor | Greedy ships are drawn to false prize. |
| Reef fire | Light placed to mimic harbor approach. |
| Signal bird interference | Message or route warning is altered. |
False lights are treated as especially vile in many Maritheli communities because every ship depends on signals.
A person who corrupts a warning system endangers strangers they will never meet.
Ship Claims
A ship claim is a legal assertion over a vessel, its cargo, its crew, its passengers, or its history.
Ship claims may arise from ownership, debt, salvage, privateering, inheritance, repair liens, registry errors, insurance, mutiny, abandonment, rescue, or crime.
Common Ship Claims
| Claim | Example |
|---|---|
| Ownership claim | “This vessel belongs to my house.” |
| Debt claim | “The ship is collateral for unpaid repairs.” |
| Salvage claim | “We found her abandoned and saved her.” |
| Prize claim | “This vessel was lawfully captured.” |
| Repair lien | “It cannot depart until repairs are paid.” |
| Registry challenge | “The ship is sailing under false name.” |
| Inheritance claim | “The owner died; control passes to heirs.” |
| Crew wage claim | “The captain owes wages and cannot leave.” |
| Passenger claim | “A person aboard must be surrendered.” |
| Cargo claim | “Goods aboard are stolen, sealed, or mine.” |
| Grave claim | “The ship is a death site and cannot be stripped.” |
| Evidence hold | “The vessel is part of an investigation.” |
A ship claim can trap a vessel in port, provoke a boarding, delay departure, or turn an ordinary harbor visit into a legal siege.
Prize Courts
A prize court reviews captures made by privateers, corsairs, or other recognized maritime forces.
In theory, captured ships and cargo must be brought before a prize authority to decide whether the seizure was lawful.
In practice, prize courts vary in fairness.
Some are serious legal institutions.
Some are political theaters.
Some exist to launder piracy into paperwork.
Some protect passengers and return unlawful seizures.
Some always favor the ships that feed them coin.
Prize Court Questions
| Question | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Was the capturing vessel authorized? | Without authority, the act may be piracy. |
| Was the target lawful? | Wrong target may require restitution. |
| Were passengers harmed? | Abuse can invalidate a claim or create charges. |
| Was cargo declared honestly? | Hidden cargo complicates judgment. |
| Was excessive force used? | Legal violence has limits. |
| Was evidence preserved? | Witnesses and records matter. |
| Which court has jurisdiction? | Different harbors may disagree. |
| Was the letter of marque recognized? | Authority depends on politics. |
Prize courts can be adventure sites because they combine wealth, violence, law, testimony, and political pressure.
The Salvager’s Reputation
Salvagers have mixed reputations.
Some are respected experts who recover bodies, evidence, and necessary goods at great risk.
Some are thieves with diving gear.
Some are mourners who could not leave the dead below.
Some are former pirates who discovered legal recovery pays better.
Some are desperate workers taking the only dangerous job available.
Salvager Reputation Types
| Type | Public View |
|---|---|
| Grave-honest | Respects the dead and works with temples. |
| Hard diver | Skilled, practical, unsentimental, trusted for dangerous sites. |
| Claim shark | Exploits legal loopholes to seize goods. |
| Wreck thief | Recovers quietly and sells before claims are filed. |
| Evidence diver | Works for courts, advocates, or investigators. |
| Family salvager | Recovers objects or bodies for mourning. |
| Reef runner | Knows dangerous waters and hidden wreck fields. |
| Curse-touched | Rumored to return with things better left below. |
| Wrecker-linked | Suspected of creating the wrecks they salvage. |
| Salvage priest | Combines recovery with rites for the dead. |
A player character with salvage background can be morally complex without being criminal.
Privateer, Pirate, or Salvager?
The same act may be described differently by different people.
| Event | One View | Another View |
|---|---|---|
| Armed ship seizes cargo | Lawful privateering | Piracy with paperwork |
| Crew boards wreck | Honest salvage | Grave robbery |
| Smuggler hides refugees | Illegal transport | Mercy when law failed |
| Corsair demands toll | Route protection | Extortion |
| Captain sells recovered goods | Salvage compensation | Theft from the dead |
| Privateer captures hostile ship | Wartime necessity | Attack on neutral trade |
| Salvager removes ship bell | Identification | Desecration |
| Pirate spares passengers | Unusual mercy | Ransom strategy |
| Harbor seizes ship | Legal hold | Political theft |
| Crew mutinies against captain | Survival | Treason |
These contradictions are useful for play. They let players ask not only what happened, but who benefits from naming it one way instead of another.
Player Character Connections
Player characters can connect naturally to privateering, piracy, and salvage.
| Character Connection | Hook |
|---|---|
| Former privateer | You served under papers you no longer trust. |
| Pirate survivor | A raid shaped your life and you remember details others missed. |
| Salvage diver | You recovered something that should have stayed lost. |
| Ship clerk | You know how violence becomes legal in records. |
| Cargo guard | You protect goods others may claim. |
| Refugee | Privateers or pirates changed your route. |
| Healer | You treated raiders, survivors, or wreck victims. |
| Priest | You perform rites for those recovered from sea. |
| Legal advocate | You challenge prize claims or defend survivors. |
| Smuggler | You know unofficial routes and dangerous brokers. |
| Corsair deserter | You fled a sea code that still claims you. |
| Merchant factor | You lost cargo or profited from risk. |
| Pilot | You know which wrecks were accidents and which were not. |
| Family seeker | Someone you love vanished after a raid or wreck. |
| Shipwright | You can tell whether damage came from storm, battle, or sabotage. |
A character does not need to be a pirate to have piracy in their story. They may be survivor, witness, hunter, healer, debtor, defender, or unwilling beneficiary.
Character Background Hooks
Use one of these if you want this part of Marithel tied to your character.
| Hook | Character Setup |
|---|---|
| Expired Letter | You once served under a privateering letter that may not have been valid. |
| Bell From the Deep | You carry or seek a ship bell tied to a disputed wreck. |
| Ransom Debt | Someone paid your ransom, and the debt remains. |
| Grave Diver | You recovered bodies from a wreck and saw something no one believed. |
| False Flag | A ship used your homeland’s flag to commit a crime. |
| Corsair Oath | You broke, inherited, or are hunted by a corsair code. |
| Salvage Claim | Your family’s future depends on a recovered object. |
| Wrecker’s Witness | You saw a false light placed before a wreck. |
| Prize Court Lie | You testified in a prize case and later learned the truth was different. |
| Pirate Mercy | A pirate spared you for a reason you still do not know. |
| Stolen Manifest | You possess a cargo record that contradicts a legal seizure. |
| Reef Debt | A salvager saved you, and now they ask for help. |
| Privateer Mark | A symbol on a crate, sail, or weapon means something to you. |
| Unburied Dead | You seek the name of someone lost at sea. |
| Legal Enemy | A captain, court, or claimant wants your version of events erased. |
Rumors About Privateers, Pirates, and Salvage
These rumors are player-safe. They may be true, false, exaggerated, or misunderstood.
- A privateer captain in Windrider waters carries three letters of marque and chooses which one to show after boarding.
- A ship bell recovered from the Drowned Reefs rings when brought near its true captain.
- One salvage court keeps a locked room for cargo that is evidence, grave matter, and contraband all at once.
- A pirate crew has begun returning passengers unharmed but keeping every document aboard.
- A Tidebound corsair once paid ransom for a child they had no reason to save.
- A wrecker’s false light was mistaken for a lighthouse signal by three ships in one season.
- A salvager in Windrider Freeport can identify a wreck by tasting the rust on its nails.
- A privateer lost legal status after seizing a refugee vessel under cargo law.
- Some pirates steal manifests before cargo because papers are easier to sell.
- A priest at the Salvage Steps refuses to bless any diver who will not name the dead first.
- A ship listed as sunk has been seen under another flag.
- A prize court ruling was overturned because the cook testified about the smell of the cargo.
- A wrecker marks safe channels with dead gulls when they want locals to stay away.
- A corsair fleet honors hostage law more strictly than some lawful courts honor guest law.
- A salvaged crate from a holy wreck was sold three times and returned to the sea each time.
- A privateer’s letter was written by an authority that no longer exists.
- A pirate hunter in the Gulf was once a pirate and still remembers every hidden anchorage.
- A Blue Lantern advocate is trying to prove a privateer raid was actually a kidnapping.
- A wreck near Stormgate Strait appears on charts only when copied by hand.
- The sea does not care whether the person taking from the dead has legal permission.
Character Questions
If your character is tied to privateering, piracy, or salvage, answer at least three of these.
- Have you ever been aboard a ship during a raid, boarding, or pursuit?
- Do you believe privateers are meaningfully different from pirates?
- Have you ever served under a letter of marque, corsair code, or armed contract?
- Have you ever salvaged from a wreck?
- Would you take cargo from a wreck if bodies were still aboard?
- What should happen first after a wreck: rescue, burial, evidence gathering, or cargo recovery?
- Has a pirate, privateer, corsair, or salvager harmed your family?
- Has one helped you?
- Do you know how to read a letter of marque or prize claim?
- What kind of ship would make you nervous on the horizon?
- What would make you board another vessel?
- What would make you refuse to board?
- What object from a wreck would your character never sell?
- What debt came from rescue, ransom, or salvage?
- Do you trust salvage courts?
- Do you trust prize courts?
- What sea crime do you consider unforgivable?
- What would make you break the law to recover someone from the sea?
Using This Theme in Play
Privateers, pirates, and salvage should make the sea feel dangerous without reducing Marithel to simple raiders.
A strong scene might involve:
| Scene Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Legal boarding | An armed ship claims right to inspect the Azure Aviary. |
| False flag | A vessel identifies itself under a trusted symbol but behaves wrongly. |
| Salvage dispute | A recovered object has three claimants and one hidden truth. |
| Survivor testimony | Someone remembers a raid differently from the official record. |
| Wreck recovery | The party must recover evidence without desecrating the dead. |
| Prize challenge | Captured cargo is being sold before a court can review it. |
| Wrecker hunt | False lights threaten ships on a busy route. |
| Corsair negotiation | A dangerous captain honors rules the party does not fully understand. |
| Pirate mercy | A feared raider spared someone, and the reason matters. |
| Legal corruption | A privateer’s papers are perfect because the court is compromised. |
The best maritime violence stories in Marithel are not only about who wins a fight.
They are about who gets to call the fight lawful afterward.