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. All while thriving in front of an audience. You know how to entrance them, entertain them, and even inspire them. Your poetics can stir the hearts of those who hear you, awakening grief or joy, laughter or anger. Your music raises their spirits or captures their sorrow. Your dance steps captivate, your humor cuts to the quick. Whatever techniques you use, your art is your life. You might be a ship's captain, first mate, powder monkey or any sailor position, but the waves would not be home without a shanty, flute or strings to follow the beat of the sea.
Discuss the nature of the ship you previously sailed with your Dungeon Master. Was it a merchant ship, a naval vessel, a ship of discovery, an airship, or a pirate ship? How famous (or infamous) is it? Is it widely traveled? Is it still sailing, or is it missing and presumed lost with all hands?
What were your duties on board — boatswain, captain, navigator, cook, some other position, or just simply entertainer? Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run? What kept you on the crew for as long as it did?
- Skill Proficiencies: Skill Proficiency: Performance, Perception, and athletics or acrobatics
- Tool Proficiencies: Tool Proficiency: Navigator’s tools, vehicles (water) or vehicles (sea/air), Disguise kit, one type of musical instrument
- Equipment: A belaying pin (club), 50 feet of silk rope, a lucky charm such as a rabbit foot or a small stone with a hole in the center (or you may roll for a random trinket on the Trinkets table in chapter 5), a musical instrument (one of your choice), a token of appreciation from an admirer (love letter, lock of hair, or trinket), a set of common clothes, a costume, and a pouch containing 10 gp.
An artist has to be good and versatile to keep a crew entertained, spicing up every performance with a variety of different routines. Choose one to three routines or roll on the table below to define your expertise as an entertainer.
| d10 | Crew Entertainment |
|---|---|
| 1 | Acrobat |
| 2 | Actor |
| 3 | Dancer |
| 4 | Fire-eater |
| 5 | Water-breather |
| 6 | Instrumentalist |
| 7 | Poet |
| 8 | Singer |
| 9 | Storyteller |
| 10 | Tumbler |
When you need to, you always find secure free passage on a sailing ship, or airship, for yourself and your adventuring companions, with a certain expectancy for you to perform, but it depends on your reputation and fame. You might find refuge to perform in inns, taverns, circuses, theaters and even nobles' courts as well. At such a place, you receive free lodging and food of a modest or comfortable standard (depending on the quality of the establishment), as long as you perform each night. In addition, your performance makes you something of a local figure. When strangers recognize you in a town where you have performed, they typically take a liking to you.
When sailing, because you’re calling in a favor, you can’t be certain of a schedule or route that will meet your every need. Your Dungeon Master will determine how long it takes to get where you need to go. In return for your free passage, you and your companions are expected to assist the crew during the voyage.When you need to, you can secure free passage on a sailing ship for yourself and your adventuring companions. Though, performing for the crew might better their moods and bring you quicker to your destiny.
Spell List
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | message |
| 3rd | water breathing |
Suggested Characteristics
There is nobody more inclined to romance and high minded ideals about the practice or art appreciation of beauty than a successful entertainer at sea. Sailors 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 and successful entertainers have to be able to capture and hold an audience’s attention, so they tend to have flamboyant or forceful personalities. So it's can be a polar mixture of traits that create great balance... or utter chaos.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | My friends know they can rely on me, no matter what, especially with stories relevant to almost every situation. |
| 2 | I work hard so that I can play hard when the work is done. Nothing less than perfection is worth a break. |
| 3 | I enjoy sailing into new ports and making new friends, collecting local rumors and spreading gossip over a flagon of ale. |
| 4 | I stretch the truth for the sake of a good story and get bitter if I’m not the center of attention. |
| 5 | I never pass up a friendly wager . To me, a tavern brawl is a nice way to get to know a new city, and nobody stays angry at or around me for long, since I can defuse any amount of tension, no matter the kind. |
| 6 | I change my mood or my mind as quickly as I change key in a song. |
| 7 | I love a good insult, even one directed at me; my language is as foul as an otyugh nest. |
| 8 | I’m a hopeless romantic, always searching for that “special someone,” and often finding one or more in every port. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Respect & Beauty. The thing that keeps a ship together is mutual respect between captain and crew. And I perform, to make my crew the world better than it was and always more beautiful. (Good) |
| 2 | Fairness & Tradition. We all do the work, so we all share in the rewards. The stories, legends, and songs of the past must never be forgotten, for they teach us who we are. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Freedom & Creativity. The sea is freedom — the freedom to go anywhere and do anything, for the world is in need of new ideas and bold action. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Mastery & Greed. I’m a predator, and the other ships on the sea are my prey. I’m only in this for the power, money and fame. (Evil) |
| 5 | People. I’m committed to my crewmates, not to ideals. I like seeing the smiles on people’s faces when I perform. That’s all that matters. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Aspiration & Honesty. Someday I’ll own my own ship and chart my own destiny. Our ships and our art should reflect our souls; it should all come from within and reveal who we really are. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’m loyal to my captain first, and I would do anything for the other members of my old troupe, everything else comes second. |
| 2 | The ship is most important — crewmates and captains come and go. I want to be famous, whatever it takes. |
| 3 | I’ll always remember my first ship, just as I will always idolize a hero of the old tales and measure my deeds against that person’s. |
| 4 | In a harbor town, I have a paramour whose eyes nearly stole me from the sea. And my instrument is my most treasured possession, for it reminds me of those eyes. |
| 5 | I was cheated out of my fair share of the profits, someone stole my precious instrument, and someday I’ll get it all back. |
| 6 | Ruthless pirates murdered my captain and crewmates, plundered our ship, and left me to die. I will do anything to prove myself superior to my hated rival. Vengeance will be mine. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I’ll do anything to win fame and renown. My pride will probably lead to my destruction. |
| 2 | Once someone questions my courage, I never back down no matter how dangerous the situation. I once satirized a noble who still wants my head. It was a mistake that I will likely repeat. |
| 3 | Once I start drinking, it’s hard for me to stop. Which has lead to a scandal that prevents me from ever going home again. That kind of trouble seems to follow me around. |
| 4 | I can’t help but pocket loose coins and other trinkets I come across. |
| 5 | I’m a sucker for a pretty face. |
| 6 | I have trouble keeping my true feelings hidden. My sharp tongue lands me in trouble. |
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