Many ship captains, particularly pirates and privateers, consider pressing sailors into service to be a practical and time-honored tradition. With willing and skilled recruits sometimes hard to come by, the hardened men and women of press gangs must ensure that their ships have the necessary crew. These individuals delight in “inviting” strangers to their new career at sea by way of a weighty club to the back of the head.
A press gang traditionally might frequent seedy dockside bars or taverns to pick up easy drunken targets, but they will also take what they need from the chaos of battle and impress waylaid adversaries on the spot. Only particularly callous and mean-spirited sailors excel at this type of work, and they generally rank among the least popular—albeit warily respected—sea dogs on a given vessel.