I did a search, but it's a tangled mess.  I found a thread about intentionally losing rep with the Principi sen patrena, but I want to gain reputation.  ...Or, let me turn that around, does it matter from a story perspective?  I have decent reps with everyone, but I got lost in Neketaka and ended up having to fight some people in the undercroft.  I got to the exit with minimal fighting, but it put me at -3 rep with the Principi.  Now, I get attacked at sea.  No big deal so far, I just take the hit, board, and knock off people, but I don't know if I want to be at odds with them.  Luckily, I can still get into their city without hostility, but I'm at a loss.  If there's no avoiding being at odds with one faction or another and I just need to live with it, I will.  I was determined from the outset not to reload.  Fair enough, but I'm curious how to address this looking forward.

Rejoice. Only if you have bad reputation with the Principi (-3) you will be able to gain Gipon Prudensco, one of the best armors in the game.

Ah, I see.  So don't worry about being on the outs with the Principi.  I'm in Deadlight right now getting along with everyone.  My personal inclination is that if a bunch of pirates keep attacking me, I'll just end up with the loot I refuse to pilfer from other innocent folk.  In fact, while I won't outright steal based on the arbitrary "stealing" or not stealing based on the cursor, I'm pretty much filching everything in sight in Deadfire because it's probably ill-gotten anyway and I give to charity a lot.  Hell, I dropped 5 grand to help some old bastard I barely knew.  So, talk to the folks in the city but kill off any pirate who won't let me get away?  I appreciate the tips, mon frère.