Deepwater Slave

You spent part of your life in forced service beneath the water. Perhaps you labored aboard an aquatic vessel, harvested resources from dangerous waters, tended an underwater settlement, searched wrecks and ruins, or served creatures that regarded you as property rather than a person.
Life in the depths demanded physical endurance, adaptability, and constant awareness of your surroundings. You learned to work through exhaustion, survive hostile aquatic environments, understand the routines of those around you, and make use of whatever limited tools and possessions were available.
Your captivity may have ended through escape, rescue, revolt, purchase, abandonment, or the destruction of those who held you. Whatever happened, the skills you developed beneath the waves remain with you.

Ability Scores: Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma

Feat: Alert. Years spent in an environment where danger, punishment, predators, or sudden accidents could come without warning trained you to remain constantly aware of your surroundings.

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival

Tool Proficiencies: Navigator's Tools

Languages: Aquan and Undercommon. Aquan is commonly used among inhabitants and laborers of aquatic environments, while Undercommon frequently passes between traders, smugglers, captors, mercenaries, and other communities operating beyond ordinary surface society.

Equipment: Choose A or B: (A) Navigator's Tools, Net, Rope, Grappling Hook, Block and Tackle, Dice, Pouch, Traveler's Clothes, Signal Clacker, and 17 GP; or (B) 50 GP. 

 

Signal Clacker — 5 cp
A simple signaling device consisting of two pieces of wood, shell, bone, stone, or metal connected by a short cord. Striking the pieces together produces a sharp repetitive sound that can be used for simple signals both underwater and in air.
Different crews often develop their own patterns for commands such as stop, haul, danger, return, or gather.

Suggested Characteristics

Life in aquatic captivity affects different people in profoundly different ways. Some former captives become fiercely independent, while others find comfort in companionship after years without control over their own lives. Some become cautious and observant; others refuse to allow fear to dictate another decision. Your experiences may define you, haunt you, motivate you, or simply represent one chapter of a much larger life.

 

Personality Traits
d8
Personality Trait
1
I instinctively look for exits, hazards, and places where I could take shelter.
2
I dislike wasting food, tools, or anything else that might someday be needed.
3
I can find something to laugh about even during miserable work.
4
When given a task, I instinctively look for the safest and most efficient way to accomplish it.
5
I sleep lightly and wake quickly when something around me changes.
6
Games of chance are one of my favorite ways to pass idle time.
7
I am uncomfortable watching someone work themselves to exhaustion while others stand idle.
8
Having choices sometimes matters more to me than choosing the easiest option.
Ideals
d6
Ideal
1
Freedom. No person should be treated as property. (Good)
2
Self-Determination. My choices belong to me, even when others dislike them. (Chaotic)
3
Endurance. Survival means continuing when circumstances give you every reason to stop. (Neutral)
4
Order. Work, discipline, and cooperation keep people alive in hostile places. (Lawful)
5
Power. I will never again allow myself to be powerless before another creature. (Evil)
6
Community. People survive terrible circumstances by protecting one another. (Good)

Bonds
d6
Bond
1
Someone who endured captivity beside me is still out there, and I intend to find them.
2
I carry an ordinary object that once belonged to someone who never escaped.
3
I owe my freedom to someone who took a great risk for me.
4
I know others remain where I was held, and I haven't forgotten them.
5
I learned a valuable skill from another captive and refuse to let their knowledge disappear.
6
I once knew an underwater place as home, even if I never chose to live there.

Flaws
d6
Flaw
1
I react badly when someone attempts to order me around.
2
I hoard supplies because part of me always expects them to disappear.
3
I find it extremely difficult to trust people who hold authority over me.
4
I will take unnecessary risks rather than admit that fear controls my choices.
5
I sometimes treat relationships like exchanges of favors because that is how I learned to survive.
6
When escape seems possible, my first instinct is to save myself before thinking through the consequences.

 

 

d8	Personality Trait
1	I instinctively look for exits, hazards, and places where I could take shelter.
2	I dislike wasting food, tools, or anything else that might someday be needed.
3	I can find something to laugh about even during miserable work.
4	When given a task, I instinctively look for the safest and most efficient way to accomplish it.
5	I sleep lightly and wake quickly when something around me changes.
6	Games of chance are one of my favorite ways to pass idle time.
7	I am uncomfortable watching someone work themselves to exhaustion while others stand idle.
8	Having choices sometimes matters more to me than choosing the easiest option.

d6	Ideal
1	Freedom. No person should be treated as property. (Good)
2	Self-Determination. My choices belong to me, even when others dislike them. (Chaotic)
3	Endurance. Survival means continuing when circumstances give you every reason to stop. (Neutral)
4	Order. Work, discipline, and cooperation keep people alive in hostile places. (Lawful)
5	Power. I will never again allow myself to be powerless before another creature. (Evil)
6	Community. People survive terrible circumstances by protecting one another. (Good)

d6	Bond
1	Someone who endured captivity beside me is still out there, and I intend to find them.
2	I carry an ordinary object that once belonged to someone who never escaped.
3	I owe my freedom to someone who took a great risk for me.
4	I know others remain where I was held, and I haven't forgotten them.
5	I learned a valuable skill from another captive and refuse to let their knowledge disappear.
6	I once knew an underwater place as home, even if I never chose to live there.

d6	Flaw
1	I react badly when someone attempts to order me around.
2	I hoard supplies because part of me always expects them to disappear.
3	I find it extremely difficult to trust people who hold authority over me.
4	I will take unnecessary risks rather than admit that fear controls my choices.
5	I sometimes treat relationships like exchanges of favors because that is how I learned to survive.
6	When escape seems possible, my first instinct is to save myself before thinking through the consequences.