Motivations for the individual pirates may differ, but this pirate ship's goal was to free and smuggle slaves away from the "bbe city" in the region. There is a large loosely affiliated group of these ships in the area they work out of (again true motivations of other ship crews may be completely different).
The crew in question were ambushed during a slave freeing raid. only one member was able to escape the ambush (along with one freed slave). Another member escaped later. Now they have found some allies and gained some power and they want to free their comrades.
So far in the crew:
(Player) A highly charismatic halfling bard / swashbuckler. Her nickname is "Rambler" as she never really stop talking. At one point she managed to talk her way out of combat with a hungry manticore.
(Dmpc) A bomb specializing gnome alchemist. He has severe tunnel vision when he is crafting, which is most of the time. He was mind controlled and sent after the "Rambler", but the party was able to break the mind control without hurting him. "Rambler" is the only person who really gets him and the only one he truly trusts.
The other relevant pc for this part of the story is a water kineticist/ paladin. She was the escaped slave that was freed during the ambush prior to the campaign. The wealthy noble she was being transported to is desperately sending bounty hunters to retrieve her for some unestablished reason.
Now I need to fill out the rest of the crew that needs to be saved (or not saved). While it's a gestalt game, personality ideas are more important at this point than class. I think a traitor of some kind needs to be introduced- maybe the first mate?
Who else should join this crew? Any other cool story ideas?
I'm figuring the first mate betrayed them as a way to take control of the ship, likely with one trusted lackey. This guy should be strong and brutish relying on intimidate to control the new crew as opposed to charisma. Something along the lines of slayer, thug, brawler.
His lackey should be some kind of caster, like a wizard or a witch - but something to make him less cool. He was probably someone who had been on the crew for a long time, but could never climb the hierarchical ladder. Something about this guy gives everyone the creeps.
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The lackey could be a Cabalist Vigilante. All smiles as the simple deckhand, but brutal as the mystical underling of the traitorous first mate, especially when his dagger shinks out of his strange tattoo, and he shows what those gestalt UnRogue levels can do with a surprised opponent. (Bleed AND Sneak Attack, oh my.) A lethal lackey if ever there was one, but not maybe one that anyone can trust. Too simple to take seriously in one identity, but much too creepy to trust in the other. Suits him just fine... the shadows are where he likes to play.
Are you asking for characters as in characters for us to play in this campaign, or just to add to the story?
Dot
Looking for flavorful characters I can add to the campaign either bad guys or friends of the party needing to be saved.
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An enthusiastic Catfolk ship's mate could be fun. Scampering up and down the fo'c'sle, leaving scratch marks in the mast... Does double-time as the ship's cat. She's a Rogue//Silksworn, and she loooves shiny things. She knows she has the magical talent; she just needs more shinies! No-one listens, but that's ok. She's happy just being helpful, assisting people with their silly magical trinkets; it's so easy when they let her do it.
The identical twin gunners with a friendly rivalry --- and sometimes not-so-friendly --- about which one is better at their guns. And possibly at other things.
A sailor who's a fisher who spends all their spare time trying to catch the best/most unusual fish. Fancy lures, weird baits etc. She might eventually succeed at which point you can roll out the battle mat. Could be a gnome but any race can be obsessive.
Merfolk or sahuagin wanting to ambush your ship might put up fishing bait of their own - a captured land-dweller on an isolated reef. The land-dweller might be anything but I like the idea of a thief who was trying to steal from the sea-dwellers.
Some people get all mystical about the sea. Perhaps you might have a monk come aboard, spouting weird poetry/zen koans etc. Either simply as a hire, or rescued etc.
A man who sails for the sake of freedom. Started out wanted to free slaves from slavers and masters, but eventually grew to see slavery inherent in society as a whole. The monarch owns the land, not the people. The people die in the wars of the monarch, not the rich and wealthy. An aerokineticist... who doesn't believe in Queens.
The identical twin gunners with a friendly rivalry --- and sometimes not-so-friendly --- about which one is better at their guns. And possibly at other things.
These would be fun as dwarves.
Character ideas:
Male, half-elf. Name: Quaya. Bit of gray hair at the temples. From the ship's crew. Quite wise, observant, reserved mostly, but low end avg intelligence. Works alternately as a rigger or as a carpenter aboard ship depending on current needs. Has a particular knack for firing a grappling hook w/rope from a crossbow. Will run the occasional dice game during voyages.
Female, human of 30 years. Name: Feenah. Rescued or not yet rescued slave from the failed raid mentioned above. Thinks of others around her first. Not overly heroic, but brave enough for small tasks to work against captors. Tinsmith by trade. Particular gift of good eyesight; can see details at distance others can not make out.
I like the twin gunners idea. Two dwarves just loaded to the teeth with as many different types of guns as you can think of. Trying to figure out where they would be taken once captured now.
I'm going to have the captain be a repentant former slave owner. A spoiled rich boy who saw the error of his family's ways. Upon his capture he was returned to his family as their prodigal son, but they wont allow him to leave again. He knows he cannot leave now or they will punish the slaves he is unable to take with him.
The cabalist is perfect for the underling.
Rylar,
Is the crew and/or slaves roles filled, or do you need a few more ideas?
Always open to more ideas.
A grumpy carpenter, who's only concern is keeping the ship in good shape. He'd do anything for the vessel itself, but doesn't care who lives or dies.
The entire crew of Firefly.
A mad bomber alchemist who is a very orcish looking half orc.
While not an orc there is already one bomb focused alchemist.
I could see using the firefly as the crew of another ship.
How should I build the gunner bros? Gunslinger is obvious for their first class but what about the second? Should they have the same secondary class? I'm thinking about putting them in a gladiator type arena where they are constantly getting killed and revived for the crowd's amusement.
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A mad bomber alchemist who is a very orcish looking half orc.While not an orc there is already one bomb focused alchemist.
I could see using the firefly as the crew of another ship.
How should I build the gunner bros? Gunslinger is obvious for their first class but what about the second? Should they have the same secondary class? I'm thinking about putting them in a gladiator type arena where they are constantly getting killed and revived for the crowd's amusement.
Different classes of around about the same effectiveness, I'd say. Perhaps one could be a Musket Master type with a tried-and-true method and Gestalted into a Sniper Slayer, while the other brother is a complete dual-wielding maverick with the Mysterious Stranger and Maverick archetypes, gestalted with a Spellscar Drifter (Dune Drifter) Cavalier or Trench Fighter (he needs the feats and the Gun Training).
One brother picks up the massive damage from afar, the other just peppers everything with a machine-gun spray of pain.
An allied ship's crew: Captain (or 2nd mate of the primary ship) Magnum, Navigator Higgins, Helmsman T.C., Scrounger/Quarter Master Rick. (the TV characters lend themselves real well to this) Do like the Firefly crew idea above too.
Deckhand "muscle" types (or slaves being rescued) that could end up either backing or opposing the first mate's takeover: Huey, Dewey, & Lucy. The two fellows are Shoanti. Lucy is a dwarf who swings a pretty mean belaying pin. They can alternate between dangerous and comedy relief. She might even be a love interest the twin gunners argue over.
Also been a while since I watched it but 1962 movie 'Billy Budd' provides a couple of good ideas. The young innocent, naive new crewman, Billy; and the sadistic master-at-arms(who may give you some fodder for RP'ing your 1st mate character who takes over).
Slave npc ideas...halfling brother/sister duo who look out for one another, still young--and slow to trust others. Another trio who farmed--but base them on Moe, Larry, and Curly. A matronly type who was used to running a household and used to others following her orders--a bit bossy but looking forward to freedom, even though few listen now. Also a young-ish gal who is a bit shell shocked overall, but is fascinated by/latches onto the catfolk crew member mentioned previously as a new friend once they meet.