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Skull and Shackles References
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Nameless Vessel Positions:
Captain: The ultimate authority on any ship, his word is law to all on board. The captain chooses where to sail, what to plunder, and who fills the other stations aboard the vessel, among many other command decisions. Leadership often proves perilous, however, as a captain is, above all, meant to secure success for his ship and crew. Failing to do so increases the threat of mutiny.
Boatswain: The boatswain, or bosun (pronounced “bosun” either way), is responsible for the upper deck of the vessel and above. This makes the boatswain accountable for all rope, rigging, anchors, and sails. At the start of the day, the boatswain and those under her weigh anchor, raise the sails and report on the general condition of the ship’s deck to the captain. As she oversees many of the ship’s basic daily labors, the boatswain is often responsible for keeping discipline and dispensing punishment.
Cabin Boy/Girl: Servant to the captain and other officers, this low-ranking and typically young crew member assists other sailors in their duties and runs various errands across the ship, requiring him or her to gain a measure of understanding of almost all the ship’s roles.
Carpenter/Surgeon: No matter what enchantments or alchemical unguents augment a pirate ship, its heart and bones are still wood. This simple fact makes the carpenter one of the most important positions aboard any vessel. Carpenters are chief ly responsible for maintaining the ship below the deck, finding and plugging leaks, repairing damage, and replacing masts and yards. As the crew member most skilled with the saw, the carpenter typically serves as a ship’s surgeon as well—bones cut just as easily as timbers.
Master Gunner: The master gunner is in charge of all shipboard artillery, ensuring moisture and rust don’t ruin the weapons and that the crew knows how to use them. On board ships with firearms, the master gunner maintains the vessel’s cannons, firearms, and powder supplies; on ships without such weapons, she maintains the ballistas, catapults, and so on. Note, there are no such weapons located on the ship at the moment.
Quartermaster: The quartermaster oversees the supplies and items stored aboard the ship. She maintains the supplies of food and weaponry, oversees the disbursement of food to the cook, and doles out the rum ration to the crew.
Rigger: Riggers work the rigging and unfurl the sails. In battle, next to that of a boarding party, the riggers’ job is one of the most dangerous, as they pull enemy vessels near enough to board.
Swab: Any sailor who mops the decks. Also used as slang for any low-ranking or unskilled crew member.
Cook: While the quartermaster normally allocates the rations, the cook and his apprentices make and distribute meals to the crew. Although some better-outfitted vessels employ skilled cooks to attend to the captain and the officers, many cooks are drawn from crew members who have suffered crippling injuries, allowing them to still serve even after such trauma.
Master-at-Arms: Concerned with the security of the ship, the fitness of the crew, and the dispensing of justice, the master-at-arms typically is one of the most feared and dreaded of a ship’s officers.
A search of the ship yields unfortunately little treasure. The chest in Plugg's cabin yields only 400 gold, 300 silver, and 500 copper. All of it a hodge podge of currencies from the inner sea. The hold itself has arms enough for a handful more crew, such as cutlasses and whips (5 each). No armor to speak of can be found. Scourge was equipped with leather armor, two magical potions, some sort of poison, a punching dagger, a masterwork handaxe, a shortbow with 12 arrows, a silver ring, six gold teeth, a hefty waxed coat with many hidden pockets, oil of taggit, and a diamond stud. His personal stash of treasure includes 14 platinum pieces and 29 gold pieces.
The slain crewmen have little treasure, all told among them is 53 gold, 67 silver, and 177 copper. Their fall does provide the ship with 5 more cutlass', 5 saps, 7 daggers, 3 throwing axes, and 5 light crossbows with a total of 47 bolts.
The ship has plenty of rations and water to get you to the next port of call (provided it is not too far away) revealing that the search for water was never more than a ruse to get you all off the boat so that Plugg and Scourge could more easily eliminate you upon your return.
Each character can normally take two ship actions each day, one during the day and one at night. Characters can also attempt to take up to two additional ship actions during the middle watch in the dead of night (any nighttime ship action marked with an asterisk), but to do so risks being fatigued for the next day.
For ease and speed of play, time between story events will be condensed and I may ask for a weeks worth of daytime and night time activities. There will be mundane days actively roleplayed out for the sake of relationship building between characters, but if we RPed out each day individually, we'd take a year to finish the first chapter of book one!
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
Shop Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and visit the quartermaster’s store
Shirk Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and take time exploring one area of the ship
Nighttime Ship Actions
Sleep Go to bed early and sleep through the night to 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
Steal* Attempt to open a locked door or locker
Shirking, sneaking, and stealing all involve Stealth checks or Sleight of Hand checks (or both) and I will be rolling those. Disable Device checks will be rolled by the player.
Influencing will of course be determined by Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate checks based on what methods your character uses to influence others. These will be rolled by the player with opposed Sense Motive checks rolled by me when needed. Please include who it is you are trying to influence when you roll.
Entertaining the crew is a Perform check of your choice, rolled by the player. Failing a check means you may have to make additional checks the next time you try or be ignored by the crew.
Gambling comes in a few different forms aboard the Wormwood, and each requires a different check.
Arm Wrestling (Strength check) Usually conducted around broken glass and knives
Hog Lob (CMB) Toss the ol' pigskin-covered lead ingot across the deck as far as you can
Heave (Fortitude) Drink a half pint of rum in one swig until there's only one man left standing
Wormwood Captain and Officers:
Captain Barnabas Harrigan
~ The captain of the Wormwood with a vicious temper.
Mr. Plugg
~ First mate and second-in-command to Captain Harrigan with an equally unpleasant demeanor.
Master Scourge
~ Boatswain and master-at-arms of the Wormwood, he acts as Mr. Plugg's right-hand man and is responsible for all discipline.
Ambrose 'Fishguts' Kroop
~ A drunkard with a social streak and the ships resident cook.
Cut-Throat Grok
~ A no-nonsense half-orc woman with a scar across her throat and quartermaster of the Wormwood.
Pepper Longfarthing
~ Sailing master, sorceress, and an old friend of the captain.
Riaris Krine
~ Master gunner and a tough as nails woman.
Habbly Quarne, the 'Stitchman'
~ The ship's carpenter and surgeon.
Kipper
~ Gunner's mate and bootlicker for Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge.
Patch Patchsalt
~ A gnomish lass, boatswain's mate, and sycophant of Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge.
'Caulky' Tarroon
~ The captain's cabin girl.
Owlbear Hartshorn
~ Simpleton and 'pet' of Mr. Plugg.
Wormwood Crew:
Rosie Cusswell
~ A foul mouthed halfling best known for threatening to chop off the hand of anyone who messes with her beloved handaxe.
Crimson 'Cog' Cogward
~ A loner and a brooder whose neck turns crimson when he's angry and seems to like fighting.
Conchobhar Turlach Shortstone
~ A honey-tongued gnome with a ridiculous purple hat and a serial womanizer.
Barefoot Samms Toppin
~ A fisherwoman who never wears shoes.
Giffer Tibs
~ A one eyed gnome.
Jack Scrimshaw
~ A young lad with a knack for scrimshaw.
'Ratline' Rattsberg
~ A rat-faced halfling missing a few too many fingers.
Tilly Bracket
~ A bit of a joker with a drinking problem.
'Badger' Medlar
~ An older half-elf woman with hair shaved into stripes.
Shivkah
~ A tall woman and Mwangi ex-slaver.
Aretta Bansion
~ A harlot with a bad temper and big ears.
Fipps Chumlett
~ Bald, fat, and pushy!
Jaundiced Jape
~ A greedy, humorless, half-orc mute.
Maheem
~ A Rahadoumi with a permanent scowl plastered to his face.
Slippery Syl Lonegan
~ An unhinged woman who may or may not be fleeing murder charges.
Tam 'Narwhal' Tate
~ A dwarven friend of Master Scourge with a big broken nose.
Jakes Magpie
~ A thief caught stealing who got keelhauled.
