Officers And Crew

Officers and Crew

Each vessel requires people to run it: the officers in charge and the sailors who follow their orders.

Types of Officers

If you’d like to explore running a ship, it needs officers to oversee its operations — officers who fill six different roles. Some roles aboard a ship reflect the need for trained experts to direct a crew’s efforts. Other roles focus on keeping the crew’s health and morale in order. The roles are meant to provide a sense of the types of ability checks useful to managing a ship. Of these, though, captain is the only role that must be filled for the ship to function. A ship needs a single person to issue orders and respond to threats, otherwise a ship risks chaos and confusion during a crisis.

Each type of officer is described below, along with the abilities and proficiencies that help a character excel in that role:

Captain. The captain issues orders. The best captains have high Intelligence and Charisma scores, as well as proficiency with water vehicles and the Intimidation and Persuasion skills.

First Mate. This specialist keeps the crew’s morale high by providing supervision, encouragement, and discipline. A first mate benefits from a high Charisma score, as well as proficiency with the Intimidation and Persuasion skills.

Bosun. The bosun (or boatswain) provides technical advice to the captain and crew and leads repair and maintenance efforts. A good bosun has a high Strength score, as well as proficiency with carpenter's tools and the Athletics skill.

Quartermaster. The quartermaster plots the ship’s course, relying on knowledge of nautical charts and a study of weather and sea conditions. A reliable quartermaster tends to have a high Wisdom score, as well as proficiency with navigator's tools and the Nature skill.

Surgeon. The ship’s surgeon tends to injuries, keeps illnesses from spreading throughout the ship, and oversees sanitation. A capable surgeon benefits from a high Intelligence score, as well as proficiency with herbalism kits and the Medicine skill.

Cook. A ship’s cook works with the limited ingredients aboard a ship to make meals. A skilled cook keeps the crew’s morale in top shape, while a poor one drags down the entire crew’s performance. A talented cook has a high Constitution score, as well as proficiency with brewer's supplies and cook's utensils.

Crew Members

A ship requires a number of able-bodied sailors to crew it, as specified in its stat block. A crew’s skill, experience, morale, and health are defined by its quality score. This score can affect a number of general ship activities, like the crew’s ability to notice threats or contend with hazards. A crew starts with a quality score of +4, but that score varies over time, going as low as −10 and as high as +10. It decreases as a crew takes casualties, suffers hardship, or endures poor health. It increases if the crew enjoys high morale, has good health care, and receives fair leadership.

A typical crew member uses the commoner stat block in the Monster Manual.

Optional Rule: Loyalty and Quality

When dealing with an individual member of the crew, you might find it useful to use the optional loyalty rule from chapter 4 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. To convert a quality score into an individual’s loyalty score, add 10 to the crew’s quality score.

Mutiny

A poorly led or mistreated crew might turn against its officers. Once per day, if a crew’s quality score is lower than 0, the captain must make a Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check modified by the crew’s quality score.

If the check total is between 1 and 9, the crew’s quality score decreases by 1.

If the check total is 0 or lower, the crew mutinies. They become hostile to the officers and might attempt to kill them, imprison them, or throw them overboard. The crew can be cowed into obedience through violence, combat, or offers of treasure or other rewards.

When the DM ends the mutiny, the crew’s quality score increases by 1d4.

Shore Leave

Life aboard a ship is a constant wear on the crew. Spending time in port allows the crew to relax and regain its composure.

If a crew’s quality score is 3 or lower, the score increases by 1 for each day the crew spends in port or ashore.