Basic Trope: Pirates are interested only in gold, jewels, and other treasure.
- Straight: The pirate crew of the Lady Death led by Captain Blood take enormous amounts of gold and jewels and bury it on deserted islands.
- Exaggerated: The pirates literally care about nothing but treasure. They run around naked, eat just enough to survive and find sex to be a waste of time.
- Downplayed: Once or twice, unable to carry off all the loot, the pirates bury imperishable treasure and come back for it later.
- Justified:
- They are actually all part dragon and desire only treasure.
- Actually, they bury treasure only in the graves of pirates, as grave goods, and to prevent the ghosts from walking and demanding their share.
- They are motivated by the evil of the empire they attack, and know that the gold and treasure will be crippling for lack of ability to pay.
- Inverted: Pirates steal food, clothes, and other essential supplies, and contemptuously leave the victims (who will starve) gold, so they can defend their acts as purchase.
- Subverted: Old Jack, who claimed to have the map to Captain Blood's treasure, was really luring people from town to enable a bandit raid.
- Double Subverted: The map someone gave him turns out to be real.
- Parodied: Captain Blood tries to steal Treasure but all the "treasures" he steals turn out of be worthless or metaphoric in nature.
- Zig Zagged: Some pirates steal for treasure, others for supplies; some spend their treasure, others bury it.
- Averted: Pirates would gladly get some gold, but they are rarely that lucky. They are robbing any ship that comes around and sell or utilize its cargo.
- Enforced: The Pirates pile up their gold and jewels because they're unable to fence them with out getting caught and executed.
- Lampshaded: "Hey why do these fishermen and merchants and mountains of Gold coins and jewels on board?"
- Invoked: The pirates intentionally create a legend about their insatiable desire for treasure to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies and deter potential attackers. They want to be seen as ruthless, greedy pirates to establish a reputation and maintain their dominance on the high seas.
- Exploited:
- Pirates are so greedy, that they make great mercenaries, as you can send them on nearly any Suicide Mission if you promise them enough gold.
- Princess Alixandre had her wizard change the actual treasure to look like supplies, and some rubbish to look like treasure; the pirates are thus easily appeased.
- Pirates let it be know that they buried the gold. Then they get all the supplies they need off the treasure seekers.
- Defied: Captain Blood isn't interested in Gold and Jewels because they're unpractical and prefers easily fenced cargoes of sugar and fabric.
- Discussed: They say Pirates love gold and jewels, they'll stack them both up in massive piles in their layers and look at them.
- Conversed: Pirates are always portrayed as searching for mountains of gold and jewels, but most lacked understanding of the worth of those cargoes and instead preferred easily fenced bails of cotton and Molasses.
- Implied: In a Sea Cave on an uncharted Island Captain Blood's skeleton is found surrounded by piles of gold and jewels.
- Deconstructed: Captain Blood raids a treasure fleet and steal piles of gold and jewels, but when he tries to spend his ill-gotten loot he is caught and imprisoned.
- Reconstructed: Captain Blood Raids the Emperor's Treasure Fleet and makes off with a fortune in treasure and fences it through corrupt merchants and the merchants of the rival nations of the Empire.
- Played For Laughs: Captain Blood and his crew are hilariously obsessed with finding treasure. They constantly come up with outrageous schemes and get themselves into comical mishaps in pursuit of gold and jewels. Their exaggerated greed becomes a recurring source of comedic situations.
- Played For Drama: The pirates' obsession with treasure becomes a central theme in the story. It explores the consequences of their relentless pursuit, such as strained relationships, betrayals, and moral dilemmas. The desire for treasure drives the characters to make difficult choices and face personal conflicts, adding depth and emotional weight to the narrative.
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