Character Creation:

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Spearmint
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Character Creation:

#1 Post by Spearmint »

This thread will be for comments and questions regarding character creation.

We have a Campaign ID: 466.

To start with, I am using the ADnD 1e Players Handbook. It covers all the races playable and classes. I advise players to read through the following notes on:
Character Creation and Playable Classes and Races

Please can everyone use a character sheet from the Unseen Servant. We are going to add a couple of sections as we develop the game but for now they can be included in the notes. When completed you can add it here for approval, I am easily pleased so you don't have to go overboard...

The method I favour is to use the standard: Roll [4d6c1] and assign the statistics in any order of preference. You may also racially adjust your ability scores if you are playing a non-human character. This is very much a game in which your starting abilities may go up and down, depending upon your actions, discoveries, skills and wounds.

Create a little backstory for your character. The quality of the story will be rewarded with points to score against your Reputation and Notoriety. This is particularly vital when dealing with Governors, officials, other ship captains especially Pirates. It might make recruiting a crew for a hazardous raid easier or more difficult, extracting secret information from the captain of the guard or tavern barmaid more precise. Towns may just quake and fear when you ship is in sight or send out the red carpet and herald your safe return to port.

Your players initial starting Reputation and Notoriety is equal to their charisma score modifier. Yes you can start the game with a minus statistic. Your reputation is enhanced or tarnished and your notoriety grows as you do heroic or infamous acts around the Carib.

Record your Reputation and Notoriety score in a section of the notes: some races or nations receive bonuses or penalties to their initial score.

Roll [2d6x10] to generate your starting gold piece allowance. A frugal amount, hence signing your life away to go adventure and make your fame and fortune on a pirate vessel. Equip your character, you may have a standard set of normal clothes, spellbook and spell materials for clerics and mage classes, a set of basic thieves tools for rogues and a basic backpack and bedroll free of charge. Everything else is book price. After character creation you will find significant in game increases in the cost of armour and weaponry.

All characters may start the game with maximum hit points plus or minus any constitution modifiers.

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Zhym
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Re: Character Creation:

#2 Post by Zhym »

Zoggrot Grumgut, Half-orc Fighter/Thief, in progress:


Will wait to equip until the house rules are up.

Spearmint
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Re: Character Creation:

#3 Post by Spearmint »

The peoples of the Carib:

Olmaic peoples:
There are many different indigenous native tribes who have settled upon the islands of the Carib. Each tribe may have a distinct language or dialect though all come under the common 'Olman' language root. They practice a tribal religion and tend to be led by native chiefs supported by tribal shaman. Generally menfolk are warrior types with some having ranger skills, women folk tend to more subtle crafts such a rogue or clerical gifting. Shamans have a mixture of clerical and arcane spells. Players may be a 'native' race character.

On the whole, these people have been robbed, raped and pillaged by settlers and colonialists for centuries and have either given up traditional land or retreated further into the interiors. Several peaceable settlements still dot the Carib and they may offer a variety of wares, selling spices, sugars, tradition healing potions, crafts and woodworking skills. Several religious missions have been set up to 'educate' and 'civilize' these native groups and on the whole these endeavours have been well received though 'conversion to a foreign religion is a long and slow process.

Native players will have a racial bonus +1 to their navigational skills and a bonus +1 vs natural poisons and venomous creatures. They suffer a penalty –1 on their intelligence and wisdom stat, and take a -d4 Reputation and Notoriety penalty.

Native spell casters being shamanistic, are treated in game purposes as clerics. They receive a +1 bonus 1st level spell and may choose their spells from both clerical and arcane listings. Additionally all native characters receive +1 to hit with a favoured class weapon such as axe, spear, blow dart, dagger, short bow or staff.

Native demi-human races:

Elven folk are from one of the western ports, Vera Cruz or Puerto Bello. 'Native' elves have a bonus Olmaic language proficiency. And a +1 bonus dealing with mainland native tribes for trade or in negotiations. Mages receive a bonus +1 1st level spell clerical spell, elven clerics receive a bonus +1 1st level arcane spell due to their familiarity with tribal customs. 1/2elven people are scattered throughout the islands and may benefit from one not both of the above racial boons.

Very small communities of native 1/2ling, gnome or 1/2orc races exists in the islands, now dwelling in scattered suburbs of major ports. The small kin also receive this extra native language proficiency and a +1 trading skill with all folk. Native ½ orcs receive a +1 sailing skill and +1 notoriety. Halfling get a +1 racial bonus to hit with slings.

Native Dwarven characters come exclusively from the island of Barbados. They receive a bonus +1 to gunnery skills and +1 to crafting or forging skill.

Settlers and Colonialists:

Many immigrants have come to live and work in the Carib from the 'Old World' hundreds of miles overseas. Most seek just to live in peace and prosper as humble tradesmen and farmers while others have become plantation owners and rule vast swathes of land on the islands. Others are here under Colonial governance as overseers or enforcers to foreign rule, tax collectors, soldiers, etc. Humans of all shapes and sizes live in the Carib demography. Immigrant demi-human races are also increasing.

The foreign powers are currently at war with each other in a race to dominate in the rich pickings from the Carib islands and mainland interior. There are four national powers in play, each with control over a limited number of islands and ports.

Bretons: constitutional monarchists, reformed ordained religions, lawful government, well trained but ill equipped military. Naval forces are small but strong, frigates, brigs of war. Letters of marque given to plunder Iberian assets. At truce with Gauloise, peace with Haldanes.

Breton characters have +1 reputation. Bretons have a +1 to hit with longbows and longswords. Breton spell casters have a bonus +1 1st level spell. Breton Captains have a +1 sailing skill, +1 crew morale.

Gauloise: republican nation, more ports function as independant states. Devotion to the state church but not state government. Does not have a big naval flotilla, more use of privateers. At truce with Bretons and Haldanes, at war with Iberians. Letters of marque given to plunder Iberian and Bretonian assets.
Gauloise characters have +1 Notoriety. Gauloise mages and clerics have a +1 bonus 1st level spell. Fighters or rogues have a +1 to hit with rapiers or pistols. Gauloise captains have a +1 bonus when dealing with pirates.

Iberians: absolute monarchist, religious zealots, biggest trading nation and has more ports on the mainland. Large naval assets but poor military command, big use of conscript labour. At war with everyone. Naval assets include large war galleons, ships of the line. To the Iberian, mages are seen as sorcerers and burned at the stake or made to walk the plank.
Iberian clerics have +1 1st level spell. Iberian fighters or rogues have a +1 to hit with muskets and boarding pike weapons. Iberian captains have a +1 gunnery skill, but due to use of conscript labour they also have a –1 penalty to crew morale.

Haldanes: Smallest trading nation in power. Very small naval fleet but commands an increasing number of native allied vessels. At war with Iberians, at peace with Bretons, at truce with Gauloise. Nation most into 'new age' religions, ancient cultures and 'spices and addictive tobacco leaf' smuggling.
Haldane mages or druids have a bonus 1st level spell. All Haldane clerics cast all healing spells at a bonus of +d4hp. Haldane characters have +1 bonus in trading skills and +1 reactions when dealing with natives. Fighter and rogue characters receive a +1 to hit bonus with crossbows.
Haldane captains have a +1 navigational skill.






Religion in the Carib:

There are several gods in play. Pirates are a superstitious lot anyway. Native tribes revere ancestral deities. I am not going to force particular tenets of faith on any player except to say I will be looking for religious devotion and 'in character' piety. Tithing of gold, donations to the chapels and the poor, sacrificial offerings, etc. As players advance in clerical levels, they will receive their new spells not by choice from a book list but spells gifted either from an elder in the church or through some form of divine intervention, such as a dream, prophecy, visitation, whatever.

Magic in the Carib:

There is plenty of mysticism, magic and ancient arcane relics to discover and use. Or even create your own lotions, potions, wands and spells. All you need is a bit of trail and error, a few gold pieces to spend on a laboratory and some cannon fodder to act as guinea pigs to focus on. You want to create a wand of cannonballs, go right ahead and try...

Spearmint
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Re: Character Creation:

#4 Post by Spearmint »

Additional Character Skills:

Your character is a budding hero, a valiant prince of arcane mysteries, a noble Templar of the waves, a deadly plundering menace...heroes and villains come in all shapes and sizes. As your character travels around the Carib on expeditions, his reputation and notoriety will increase or decrease according to the actions that he does. They will also gain a number of specific skills which contribute to the overall effectiveness of the ship and crew you sail with.

Personal character skills:

Reputation: As your reputation increases with colonial powers you may be offered 'Letters of Marque', titles or rank. Alongside this you may inherit land and estates which produce an extra income for you personally. Of course these need to be periodically attended to, especially if you visit the port again. As your reputation increases, so Governors will call you for aid, give you special envoy missions or ask you to complete certain tasks on behalf of the Government. You might even get to dance with the Governors' daughter at the Masquerade Ball. Reputation as they say is 'difficult to obtain but easy to lose'. Reputation is affected through relations with 'friendly' govt', sharing the plunder with crew well, rescuing folk from pirates.

Notoriety: Your notoriety is affected as you capture or raid ships, get ransoms for prisoners or make folk 'walk the plank'. It is the view of you held by 'non-friendly' govts, ports and pirates. Terrorize an island, sail through the hurricane or just leading through fear and pain will inspire awe of you in havens but be careful of mutiny.

Crafting and Forging Skill: Any time the character is required to create or mend an object, he may use this skill to enhance the effects. This might include forging a masterwork weapon, building a raft, repairing damage in a ships hull.

Devotional Piety: Cleric, Druid and Monk classes. Requires characters with 17+ Wisdom. This skill is used when the character is trying to summon divine help, receive new spells, discover celestial or diabolic relics or use them.

Arcane Discovery: Mage, Illusionist classes. Require characters with 17+ Intelligence. This skill is used when the mage tries to create a potion or spell unique from the normal list, or if the mage is trying to use a magic artifact or implement.

Spy Skill: Rogue class only. Requires characters with 17+ Charisma: This skill is used when the character specifically goes into a town or port to gather information. As they sneak about, maintain a disguise, bluff and intimidate their way around, they may be privy to information that is not widely known without magical aid.

Corporate crew character skills:

Sailing Skill: This skill enables the ship to sail more effectively, increasing speed, maneuverability. The number required to increase the ratio is dependent upon the size and class of the ship and number of masts. Generally each mast is manned by a certain number of crew to optimize its' performance in the weather conditions. The mast and sails on its yard arms are given a 'sailing value'. When that value is reached by the skills of the number of crew working in the rigging or hauling the ropes and jibs, then the performance of the ship increases. A single masted sloop may have sails of 10+ in value , while a war frigates massive sails value may be 20+. Each mast crewed beyond its' sail values increases the ships performance by 10 percent.

Gunnery Skill: Each cannon is loaded and fired by a crew. As written in the section on cannons, the gunnery skill of the crew involved is totaled up and if it exceeds a certain amount, then the cannon performs at an optimized rate or range. A Master Gunner may add his individual skills to the cannons under his command, such is his weight of authority and inspiration.

Navigational Skill: This enables the ship to be precise in its' location, and is vital when sailing through the stormy and rough Carib seas. You don't want to get lost and hit an unseen reef because you drifted off course. For each 10 points of combined 'navigational' skill on the ships bridge or helm, the ship can plot a truer course or location by d6.

Trading Skill: This skill enables the crew to barter and trade its' cargo 'en masse' to local warehousing establishments without having to sell individual boxes and barrels. For each 10 points of combined trading skill and shore party has, the better a trade and price the ship will get for the commodities it wishes to sell. This is also useful if the ship requires repairs and upgrades.

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