Dread Pirates

The Dread Pirates (怖気の一味 Ozoke no Ichimi) are an up and coming pirate crew that originates from West Blue. It saw its founding by Captain Roberts and First Mate Sinbad.

Jolly Roger
The Jolly Roger of the Dread Pirates features a menacing skull with an ordinary set of cross bones behind it. The skull has four horns on its cranium, similar to the horns that the Captain has when he has fully transformed, and an amber circle behind both of its eye sockets. These circles are the same colour as the goblin fire the Captain produces, thus symbolizing this power on the flag.

Organization
"At the most, we need, umm… 4, 5, 6… 9, 10… 12… 11(?), no 12… 16! We need, at the most, 16 members. I suppose we can make do with at least… 13 members, but 16 would be ideal."

- Roberts explaining his plan for the crew.

The Dread Pirates have a fairly simple organization, as one would expect of a crew that consists of 16 people. Roberts considers his crew to be a traditional pirate crew, but with the fat trimmed off. This leaves each member with a specific position in the crew, and only one person in each position. Despite their small size, the Dread Pirates still have a hierarchy of sorts. The Captain stands at the forefront of the crew's command, however the majority of his authority is only seen during battles. During such times, Roberts' word is law. Aside from that though, his power is reduced significantly. Most important decisions are decided by the crew member whose job it is to follow through with it, such as the Carpenter deciding the ships design, but Roberts still holds a considerable amount of sway in such decisions, and should he choose to voice his opinion, they will usually collaborate towards the solution. The Captain is however, the sole decider on whether someone may join the crew or not.

Beneath the Captain in the hierarchy are the four "officers": First Mate, Quartermaster, Ship Master, Boatswain. The First Mate is the person who speaks with the Captain's voice when he is unable to himself. This gives Sinbad the same level of authority as Roberts would have in the given situation where he must act in the Captains place. The Quartermaster is considered to consistently have the highest level of authority amongst the "officers". He is in charge of the supplies, and distributing the booty amongst the crew. It is usually all kept together, but if someone should want it for whatever reason, Gordie will provide them with their share. Whenever they acquire new treasure, Gordie will portion it out as he sees being fit, then whatever is left over is given to the "crew's fund", which is used to pay for the things that affect the whole crew evenly. Finally, the Quartermaster is in charge of dealing out any punishments within the crew. This is barely ever needed, as Gordie only exerts this authority over large problems, ignoring the petty squabbles. The Ship Master is in charge of the ships navigation. He would deal with any maps, keep track of the log pose, and have the final say in the course they will sail. The Boatswain is in charge of all the activities on board the ship. Because of this, if the whole crew was leaving the ship to explore a new island, the Boatswain almost always stays behind the watch after the ship. The Boatswain is considered to have the least authority among the "officers".

The remaining positions in the crew are: Doctor, Chef, Carpenter, Gunner, Helmsman, Striker, Sailmaker, Musician, Chronicler, Powder Monkey, and Cabin Boy. Among these members, Dupri, the Powder Monkey, and Calvin, the Cabin Boy, are the lowest ranked members while the rest stand on even grounds. This results in a lower share in the booty, but that's not to say that they are underpaid. Despite the hierarchal structure within the crew, there isn't an over abundance of orders that get made, as everyone is on relatively good terms with each other and mostly treat each other as friends. There are some members who tend to work together more than others, due to the responsibilities of their jobs. This can be seen with the Chef and the Striker, the Gunner and the Powder Monkey, and the Ship Master and the Helmsman.

Crew Strength
Despite the small size of the crew, or perhaps because of it, the Dread Pirates are a considerably powerful crew when compared to their competition. This can be attributed to the fact that they are meant to be a highly specialized crew that is only composed of exceptional individuals. Due to them staying within West Blue for five years after its formation, those who joined early on had an abundance of time to improve themselves before entering the Grand Line. In a crew of only 16 people, they have a total of six Devil Fruit users among them and two fishmen, providing a vast wealth of power.

Santa Maria
The ship that the Dread Pirates used at the beginning of their inception, this was the last ship that Sinbad sailed on before becoming a pirate. After a falling out with the previous crew of this ship, he joined Roberts in stealing it. The Santa Maria was then re-outfitted to be used as a pirate ship after their Carpenter joined them. It was used until the time that their own ship could be made.

Behind the Scenes

 * This crew is partially based off of the Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride.