Merchant Marine 3

You sailed on a seagoing vessel for years. In that time, you faced down mighty storms, monsters of the deep, and those who wanted to sink your craft to the bottomless depths. Your first love is the distant line of the horizon, but the time has come to try your hand at something new. You heard many a different language from crew and passengers and can recognise most, even learning 1 or 2 colourful phrases over the course of time.

As a Marine your duties were to protect the ship and the crew at sea while also maintaining discipline. When in port it was your job to gather the crew up out of the taverns and inns where they were causing trouble. Many a Watch is familiar with you as you bailed out your shipmates from jail.

At times you even worked with other ships Marines and even Naval forces to raid a pirate cove or a privateers stronghold

Discuss the nature of the ship you previously sailed with your Dungeon Master.  Was it a merchant ship, a ship of discovery, or a pirate ship? How famous (or infamous) is it? Is it widely travelled? Is it still sailing, or is it missing and presumed lost with all hands?

Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run? How many different skills did you learn through your more skilled shipmates?

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception

Tool Proficiencies: Navigator’s tools, vehicles (water)

Languages: With many diverse sailors aboard ship and many a passenger of finer bent, you are able to recognise which language is being spoken without difficulty.  Understanding anything more than a swear word or some rudimentary greetings or requests is a little beyond your knowledge.

Equipment: A belaying pin, 50 feet of silk rope, a lucky charm such as a rabbit foot or a small stone with a hole in the centre, a set of common clothes, a set of traveller's clothes, a tool kit and a pouch containing 10 gp

Suggested Characteristics

Merchant Marines can be a rough lot, but the responsibilities of life on a ship make them generally reliable as well. Life aboard a ship shapes their outlook and forms their most important attachments.

Merchant Marines helped out with the crews other duties when not standing a guard or enforcing discipline, gaining an appreciation for the skills of a full ship's company.  Sometimes even learning some of those skills themselves.

d8	Personality Trait
1	My friends know they can rely on me, no matter what.
2	I work hard so that I can play hard when the work is done.
3	I enjoy sailing into new ports and making new friends over a flagon of ale.
4	I stretch the truth for the sake of a good story.
5	To me, a tavern brawl is a nice way to get to know a new city.
6	I never pass up a friendly wager.
7	My language is as foul as an otyugh nest.
8	I like a job well done, especially if I can convince someone else to do it.

d6	Ideal
1	Respect. The thing that keeps a ship together is mutual respect between captain and crew. (Good)
2	Fairness. We all do the work, so we all share in the rewards. (Lawful)
3	Freedom. The sea is freedom — the freedom to go anywhere and do anything. (Chaotic)
4	Mastery. I’m a predator, and the other ships on the sea are my prey. (Evil)
5	People. I’m committed to my crewmates, not to ideals. (Neutral)
6	Aspiration. Someday I’ll own my own ship and chart my own destiny. (Any)

d6	Bond
1	I’m loyal to my captain first, everything else second.
2	The ship is most important — crewmates and captains come and go.
3	I’ll always remember my first ship.
4	In a harbor town, I have a paramour whose eyes nearly stole me from the sea.
5	I was cheated out of my fair share of the profits, and I want to get my due.
6	Ruthless pirates murdered my captain and crewmates, plundered our ship, and left me to die. Vengeance will be mine.

d6	Flaw
1	I follow orders, even if I think they’re wrong.
2	I’ll say anything to avoid having to do extra work.
3	Once someone questions my courage, I never back down no matter how dangerous the situation.
4	Once I start drinking, it’s hard for me to stop.
5	I can’t help but pocket loose coins and other trinkets I come across.
6	My pride will probably lead to my destruction.