Any version of Poser will have some models already in it. Poser 5 features Don, Judy, Will, and Penny (and I think it has all the earlier ones). Poser Artist (aka Poser 4) features Posette and the Dork, their kids, and a slew of earlier models including skeletons and mannikins. You can also buy separate human models (Mike, Vicki, Natalia, Dina, Lori, Alexa....) which often have more polygons and they will also have separate wardrobes, etc.. One advantage of Poser 5 is that with the Face Room, you might be able to get the model to really look like you (but then avatars are often idealized so this might not be your goal). With any of these models, you will be able to dress them and pose them with props against any background of your choice. Finding the right clothes and props can be a challenge, and some models are easier to dress in certain styles than are others. You are lucky in that pirates are a popular theme. In fact, Kokopelli's site has a page of links for pirate stuff. I'd suggest checking the galleries using pirate as a keyword to see what other artists have done and noting the clothing/props they used. You can always contact them and ask "what hair?" or "where did you get that dress?". Carolly