The Dreaded Dotted Line

Sailor's Beware

There is nothing a sailor laments more than discovering the ship he has just signed onto is, in fact, a pirate ship. The fate of anyone caught out as a pirate is to be hung at the docks, something no sailor is eager to meet. Ever since the requirement of The Contract having a dotted line, it has become harder for pirate captains to trick, or hornswoggle, experienced sailors to join their crews, as seasoned sailors have learned to beware of the Dotted Line.
This has led to a rise in the kidnapping of drunken sailors and even a black market where kidnappers, known as press gangs, gather up drunken sailors to deliver to ships... for a fee. Press gangs, a legitimate business when hunting down wayward sailors who have run off from their naval ships, have grown in the market of under the table dealings.

Whether it be from willingly joining, being hornswoggled, or getting hit on the head and hauled aboard, every sailor who finds themselves working aboard a pirate ship must sign The Contract. The signature must be willingly made, no matter if the pirate is able to write or not. A blade to the throat, a threat of being made to walk the plank, or any other dire promise is not enough reason to declare yourself having unwillingly signed. Only when someone holds a pirate's hand to The Contract can a signature be considered unwilling and will hold up in Pirate Court. Of course, a pirate capable of surviving never signing The Contract long enough to reach Pirate Court is rarer than feathers on a dragonfly.

by Darkmoon_Art

To help pirates find the right place to sign on The Contract, a dotted line has become a standard addition. Many captains argued against this as they found it much more convenient for a pirate to sign anywhere on the bloody paper. Some further argued that, for those who could not read or write, where they signed could not possibly matter. The Pirate Court, however, insisted that signatures must go on the dotted line as further proof of it being made willingly. They have further decreed that if a Captain has any contracts not signed on a properly placed dotted line, it will be assumed to be forced and they will marked with the Black Spot.