The Pirates of Thangobad

At the southern tip of the Eastern Continent, in a clearing on the coast, is fortress used by a band of pirates. Dragon Quest III doesn't really do a whole lot with the concept, but it's definitely something I'd like to expand on for The Saga of the Ortegids. In the game, the pirates mainly seem to be there to make use of the game's day-night cycle for a puzzle. They're out at sea during the day, so you can only speak to them at night. They don't actually give you any trouble, as they've heard of your exploits and respect you for them. But their existence does give some worldbuilding implications.

Obviously, the Eastern Continent must be a fairly lawless place for pirates to operate so openly. This makes sense given the only centralized kingdom we see there is Manoza, and the fortress is well out of its way. If one wanted to expand on this, you could easily imagine the southernmost region of the Eastern Continent as a lawless coast somewhat akin to the Carribean during the Golden Age of Piracy - a wretched hive of scum and villainy, well removed from civilized authority. If pirates can flourish in this area, there might be any number of mercenaries, gamblers, smugglers, and other rough types congregating here too. I'd put a number of free ports along the coast - the kinds of cities where crime abounds, where you should always keep watch over your shoulder, and where the guards are useless at best and corrupt at worst.

We might not see one in the game, but I think the area is begging for a big seedy pirate city to serve as a hub of black market trade and a place to find under-the-table work. I'll call it Thangobad - not really based on anything in particular, but it's got a good sword-and-sorcery feel to it. Much like Ashalam, a lawless city like this would make for a good home base for a more roguish party, and could generate a lot of adventure opportunities. As a port - especially one where someone could fly under the radar - it'd likely get traffic from all over, so it'd be a great place to get rumors from far-off lands, and the means to get there if the party desires. Plus, having so many unfettered ruffians in town could well lead to enough chaos and faction play to make the city itself an adventure site. Green Ronin's Freeport books might be of use here, but I've already used that for another setting, and Freeport is a bit calmer than what I have in mind here.

Interestingly, one of the pirates claim that they only steal from "scoundrels." I might be reading too much into this - it might just be an explanation for why they don't attack you - but we could use this as a justification for making the fortress belong to a band of privateers, who are hired by some power or another to keep raids in the area under control. Maybe Aliahan - one of them describes it as "a nice place." That, or they just have a code of honor - or are lying to avoid scrutiny. You could go with any of these options; if you expand the region, you could well have enough pirate crews operating to use multiple in the same campaign.

The crew in-game is led by a woman, who acknowledges that this is unusual for pirates. She respects valorous deeds, and if you return to the fort later in the game, she invites you for a drink to celebrate your victories. There are a number of potential effects here based on your character's gender and what dialogue options you choose, but one possibility, if you're playing as a male, seems to involve you seducing her. Given how I'm basing the Eastern Continent on sword-and-sorcery tropes and references, I think it's very feasible to reinterpret this character as a local equivalent of Belit from Queen of the Black Coast, the most famous of Conan's pirate adventures. If you need inspiration for how to play a fearless pirate queen who commands authority over an all-male crew and is easily swayed by strong men, there's plenty of literary precedent to fall back on.