Rigger Tasks (roll 1d6)
1 Rigging Repair: The ship’s rigging frequently gets damaged and must be repaired, requiring DC 10 Climb checks to reach the rigging 30 feet up, followed by a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
2 Line Work: Hard work hoisting and lowering sails, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
3 Upper Rigging Work: Work in the upper rigging, 50 feet up, requiring DC 10 Climb checks, followed by a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
4 Rope Work: Handling the ship’s ropes, including coiling them, stowing them, and securing them to cleats and single and double bollards, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
5 Lookout: A climb to the crow’s nest 60 feet up, requiring DC 10 Climb checks followed by a DC 10 Perception check.
6 Mainsail Duties: Tough work raising and lowering the mainsail, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Strength check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end
of the shift.
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Swab Tasks (roll 1d6)
1 Man the Bilges: Vile and sweaty work cleaning out the bilges (area A11), requiring a DC 12 Strength check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
2 Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks, requiring either a DC 10 Stealth check, Survival check, or Dexterity check to catch and kill enough rats, cockroaches, and beetles for a good day’s work.
3 Swab the Decks: Backbreaking work mopping the decks and scrubbing them with sandstone blocks called holystones, requiring a DC 10 Strength or Constitution check. Failing either check results in the PC being fatigued at the end of the shift.
4 Hauling Rope and Knot Work: Tying and untying knots in the ship’s ropes and moving heavy coils of rope from one part of the ship to another, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Strength check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
5 Runner: Passing messages to the crew and officers of the Wormwood in all parts of the ship except officers’ cabins (areas A4 and A5), requiring a DC 10 Acrobatics check and DC 10 Constitution check. Failing the Constitution check results in the PC being fatigued at the end of the shift. A PC with the Run feat automatically succeeds at this task.
6 Repairs: Things constantly tear or break aboard the ship and need repairs, whether sewing sails or splicing rope all day, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
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Cook’s Mate Tasks (roll 1d6)
1 or 2 Cooking: Assisting Ambrose Kroop in preparing the day’s meal. If Kroop is sober, no check is required. If Kroop is drunk, this requires a DC 10 Profession (cook) or Intelligence check.
3 Fishing: Catching tonight’s supper using the ship’s nets. A DC 10 Profession (fisherman) or Survival check provides enough fish. A failed check results in a day in the bilges as punishment the following day.
4 Turtle Hunting: Hunting leatherback sea turtles with harpoons, treble hooks, and nets. A DC 10 Profession (fisherman) or Survival check provides enough food. A failed check results in a day in the bilges as punishment the following day.
5 Bull Session: Drinking with Ambrose Kroop and listening to his stories. The cook’s mate must drink an additional rum ration, but is able to take an additional ship action during the day.
6 Special Occasion: Captain Harrigan is celebrating something today, and wants one of the ship’s pigs butchered and cooked for dinner. The PC must make a DC 10 Profession (cook) or Survival check to slaughter the animal, then help Kroop to clean, cut, and prepare the carcass. If Kroop is sober, no additional check is required. If Kroop is drunk, this requires a DC 15 Profession (cook) or Intelligence check.
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Daytime Ship Actions
Work Diligently: Gain a +4 bonus on any one check for a job’s daily task
Influence: Make normal checks for a job’s daily task and attempt to influence a single NPC
Sneak: Make normal checks for a job’s daily task and briefly explore one area of the ship (the PC can make a single Perception check or other skill check with no chance of detection)
Shop: Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and visit the quartermaster’s store (area A9)
Shirk: Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 10 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered (see below).
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Nighttime Ship Actions
Sleep: Go to bed early and sleep through the night (automatically recover from fatigue)
Gamble: Play or gamble on a game of chance or pirate entertainment
Entertain: Make one Perform check to entertain the crew
Influence*: Attempt to influence a single NPC
Sneak*: Take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 20 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered
Steal*: Attempt to open a locked door or locker. The PC must make a check to avoid being discovered.
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Pirate Entertainment
Perform: One way pirates amuse themselves is through songs and stories. Pirates love a good sea chantey, and characters with Perform skills quickly find themselves popular members of the crew. If a character succeeds at a DC 20 Perform check, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus on all Charisma-based skill checks made to interact with any listener among the crew for the next 24 hours. A Perform result of 9 or lower, however, indicates that the next time he attempts to use Perform to entertain the crew, everyone ignores him unless he makes a successful DC 15 Bluff or Intimidate check before doing so. Aside from telling stories, singing songs, and other recreations (all of which might be simulated with the Perform skill), these pastimes have two things in common: they are dangerous, and they are played for money. When betting on any of the following games, the minimum bet is 1 gp, and the maximum ready cash any NPC in the lesser crew is likely to have is 20 gp. Some people are bad losers—the ramifications of this are left for the GM to decide.
Arm Wrestling: Not merely typical arm wrestling bouts, such matches are usually conducted on a barrel top covered in broken glass, knives, or caltrops. Participants make opposed Strength checks, with the higher result determining the winner, and the loser taking an amount of damage equal to 1d2 + the winner’s Strength modifier as his hand and arm are pushed onto whatever lies on the table.
Hog Lob: Participants lob a lead ingot covered in a greased piglet skin, the “hog,” as far across the deck as possible. This game is resolved by d20 checks between any number of players, who agree on a bet beforehand. The hog counts as an improvised weapon, imposing a –4 penalty on all rolls using it unless the thrower has the Throw Anything feat. Checks are resolved as attack rolls using the character’s CMB. Characters toss the hog a number of feet equal to their adjusted rolls; for example, a character who gets a result of 22 throws the hog 22 feet. Some pirates claim to have participated in games played against Asmodeus using a live hog.
Heave: This potentially deadly drinking game is played with rum and takes place between any number of pirates, who bet to predict the winner beforehand. Each pirate drinks a half pint of rum in one swig. Doing so forces participants to make a successful DC 15 Fortitude save or have the damage dealt by the rum ration increase by +1. This DC increases by +3 for each consecutive drink. Pirates then take turns drinking until only one is left standing. Some tales tell of entire crews drinking themselves to death through this game, leaving ships of drunk ghosts wandering the shipping routes.