We start this Saturday.
"[D]does Savage Tide give special rules for proffestion(sic) sailor that make it accrually(sic) worth while to be really good at it?"
What can profession (sailor) be used to accomplish?
In "The Bullywug Gambit" Profession (Sailor) checks are made when sailing down to Kraken's Cove.
For the most use of Profession (Sailor) check out Stormwrack. It has several uses for it, though I can't recall what they are right now. I do remember a feat called "Old Salt" in Stormwrack that, among other things, allows you to make Sailor checks to predict the weather, rather then Survival.
We start this Saturday.
"[D]does Savage Tide give special rules for proffestion(sic) sailor that make it accrually(sic) worth while to be really good at it?"
What can profession (sailor) be used to accomplish?
He can make some extra gold in the time between adventures by working as a sailor. I'd also let him make special checks to attempt to speed up a boat during any high seas encounters.
Creative Director
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If you want to be captain of your own ship in the campaign, you need ranks in Profession (sailor). You should also have a navigator with ranks in Knowledge (geography) along on the trip.
At the very least, characters with lots of ranks in these two skills are going to make Adventure #3 a LOT easier on the rest of the party.
Having ranks in Swim wouldn't hurt either ^_^
Having ranks in Swim wouldn't hurt either ^_^
Amazingly, sailors are notoriously lowsy swimmers.
Having ranks in Swim wouldn't hurt either ^_^Amazingly, sailors are notoriously lowsy swimmers.
At least the sailors going on high seas - what is the point in knowing how to swim if the ship gets shipwracked on high sea with no chance of being saved ? It only prolongs suffering on the sailors part. With fishermen (who normally keep relatively close to the shore), it might be different.
Stefan
I can't say with certainty one way or another, but the "sailors were bad swimmers" paradigm might have acutally extended from their incredibly superstitious nature. Sailors are ranked pretty high for level of superstition, so a "don't know how to swim, it just invites the boat to sink" superstition seems highly likely.
I'd imagine most coastal fishermen knew how to swim just fine, and more than a few long term sailors knew as well, they just wouldn't tell anyone else about their "dirty little secret".
Well, I like heavy armored dwarven sailors... They are great swimmers but prefer only one direction: downwards :-)
Profession sailor should be useful for all kinds of stuff, assuming the DM doesn't just assume you know how to do it. Want to row a boat out to the Blue Nixie or Parrot Island? Make a profession (sailor) check to see if you can keep the boat pointed in the right direction and not splash about with the oars in such a way as to call attention to your lubberliness and attract the notice of Vark's thugs. Want to launch one of the ship's boats from the Sea Wyvern to head back to Sasserine? Make a profession sailor check or you're liable to swamp the boat and sink it. Want to cut a couple of lines that will drop a yard and its attached sail to the deck so you can distract the ship's crew? Make a profession sailor check. Want to determine whether the ship on the horizon is a pirate, warship, or merchant? Make a profession sailor check. Want to know how to save a ship from fire or sinking? Make a profession sailor check.
Basically, it is the skill that represents your seamanship, and if you don't have very many ranks, you're just a lubber or at best an ordinary seaman.
Cheers,
Peruhain of Brithondy,
Shellback
Having ranks in Swim wouldn't hurt either ^_^Amazingly, sailors are notoriously lowsy swimmers.
The point is to keep your ship afloat, not jump in the water, where you either freeze to death or get eaten by sharks. No coast guard in those days to pull you out of the water within a few hours. Druids, keep that scroll of quench handy.
I'm working on some spells for keeping ships afloat and rescuing sailors in distress, in connection with a PrC project. I'll post a few when I'm done.
All that being said, this AP has many occasions for swimming--ordinary sailors can't swim, but the heroes certainly ought to have that ability. Naval officers have to pass a higher standard of swimming today than enlisted sailors for a good reason.
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In case the defense against the crimson fleet adventure is still be worked on, I'd also mention that Craft(carpentry) may be useful. Jungles tend to have lots of trees. Also, in the real world, sometimes pirates would take the ship's carpenters prisoner, while the rest walked the plank. Even real navies might go easier on the carpenters, because you'd never know when you might need a replacement mast or rudder or other damage control.
Carpenters are crucial to the maintenance of a ship. Far more so than trained medics. After all, a doctor may be able to save a man, but the carpenter can save everyone. The trade off is that the carpenter may not actually be allowed to join in boarding parties, etc. as they're just too valuable, and this lack of fighting results in smaller shares of the loot. It's a;ways arguable which way a PC will fall on a treasure vs. survival balance...