Too on the nose?

[ThisAdamGuy]

I'm thinking about making the bad guys in my pirate story sail around on black ships with red sails. They're a combination of religious Inquisitors and monster slayers, so the black and red would be their identifying colors. Maybe a little ceremony too, like "You're not truly an inquisitor until you bathe your sails in the blood of a kraken slain by your hand" or something.

On one hand, I've always liked it when the bad guys have their own specific color scheme. Maybe it's corny, but it's kind of a guilty pleasure for me.

On the other hand I can't help but think "Sure, of course the bad guys are black and red because those are the bad guy colors! You may as well name the villain Captain Puppykicker while you're at it!"

What do you guys think? Are black and red ships too on the nose?

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I think it's cool, really...though kinda quite cliche.

Give them with sick-looking weapons, like a falx, or an Egyptian scythe-sword. And some other pirate-stuff, like tattoos for every 'inquisition' they did.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Villains should be metal, so the heroes have to be more metal to beat them.

Strong flavors are good.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Nah, the cliche has become the evil church dressed in white, so actually, you are doing a reverse cliche and revivalizing.

 

[TASTYLEADPAINT]

Pirates mentioned ?????‍?‍?‍?‍❗️❗️❗️❗️❗️❗️??????

 

[Deleted member 172779]

Pirates you say? How about taking Assassin's Creed: Black Flag as a reference.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I'm thinking about making the bad guys in my pirate story sail around on black ships with red sails. They're a combination of religious Inquisitors and monster slayers, so the black and red would be their identifying colors. Maybe a little ceremony too, like "You're not truly an inquisitor until you bathe your sails in the blood of a kraken slain by your hand" or something.

On one hand, I've always liked it when the bad guys have their own specific color scheme. Maybe it's corny, but it's kind of a guilty pleasure for me.

On the other hand I can't help but think "Sure, of course the bad guys are black and red because those are the bad guy colors! You may as well name the villain Captain Puppykicker while you're at it!"

What do you guys think? Are black and red ships too on the nose?

The "colors" of a ship typically refer only to the flags, sails and maybe the figurehead/masthead on the prow.
If they're sailing around in Skittles-colored ships, that is just a tad too cartoonish, but if they are part of an organized fleet, they bloody well should be sporting flags and sails of the same colors. The figurehead should represent something specific as well - a creature the first captain of the ship defeated, a fantasy creature the ship builder admired (or desired), etc. and should incorporate those same colors, unless the ship was captured and repurposed by the order (then they would still boast their original paint scheme, or have had most or all of the paint worn off with age and salt damage).

Ah, though one point - most ships sailed under white sails with no obvious flags, and only "struck their colors" (put the sails and flags of their organization or country in prominence) when they either expected trouble or were coming in to port. This was not only how pirate (and privateer) ships managed to close in on their prey, but also how the ships assigned to HUNTING them managed to get close as well - and allowed several ships to pass through hostile territory safely if they were not themselves engaged in anything shady at the time.

Nah, the cliche has become the evil church dressed in white, so actually, you are doing a reverse cliche and revivalizing.

You have a point there.

 

[John_Owl]

black and white sails to show their "purity". upon their first successful hunt, they dye the sails red with the blood of their "inquisition".

Also, black and red are my colors. wait, let me double check. Yup. black shirt with red print, red basketball shorts with a black logo. seriously, 90% of my clothing is black, red, or violet, or some combination of those colors.

The "colors" of a ship typically refer only to the flags, sails and maybe the figurehead/masthead on the prow.
If they're sailing around in Skittles-colored ships, that is just a tad too cartoonish, but if they are part of an organized fleet, they bloody well should be sporting flags and sails of the same colors. The figurehead should represent something specific as well - a creature the first captain of the ship defeated, a fantasy creature the ship builder admired (or desired), etc. and should incorporate those same colors, unless the ship was captured and repurposed by the order (then they would still boast their original paint scheme, or have had most or all of the paint worn off with age and salt damage).

I could see a purple ship. Ever seen Purpleheart wood? when treated, it's literally vibrant purple. And if it's any sort of fantasy, even just alternate reality, I could see Adam making other color woods too. Not cartoonishly vibrant colors, but real world vibrant.