Willem Triggs

Former PC

A pirate from the Cinane Islands. His most famous accomplishments are as part of the Bertie's Boys team that discovered and reversed the cause of Gylanese's disappearance. He went on to co-found the Merinots with Miltoneus Forscythe. And, as of 1231 CE, he became the 14th Pirate King of the Cinane Islands.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Willem ‘Bill’ Triggs was born out of wedlock to a tavern owner and the pirate captain Edgar Triggs who docked one night at the small port of Cuttlefish Cove in the Cinane Islands. He lived an uneventful life with his mother Maria in her tavern (The Hair of the Sea Dog) until, one night when he was eight, his father returned with his crew. Noticing the boy and his striking resemblance to himself, he soon realized that he was his son and had his men drunkenly lay waste to the tavern, kidnapping Bill in the confusion. He never learned whether his mother or the others in the tavern survived. Bill grew up aboard his father’s ship, The Silent Song; afraid and resentful of his violent drunken father and his similarly mannered crew. Edgar resolved to make the boy a man and trained him to fight, sail, and steal. Bill eventually learned to love the adventure and the action of his life but never forgave his father for his actions and resolved to be a better man than him. He gambled, drank, fought, and stole with the rest of the crew, even developing something resembling a friendship with a few, but avoided killing innocents whenever possible, taking no joy in the fear his father and his crew inflicted on those they pillaged. Bill learned from a young age to mask his insecurities and fears behind a false bravado. Despite this, he had a tendency for screwing up due to a mixture of clumsiness and anxiety. He dealt poorly with confrontation and often made mistakes in high pressure situations. This often earned him beatings and verbal lashings from his father which only exacerbated his issues.
One night, when Bill was 20, while on lookout in the crows nest, he fell asleep on the job and the ship hit a reef. Terrified of his father’s response to the damage done to his ship (the last time he had damaged the Captain’s property, he had threatened to have him keelhauled), Bill jumped overboard and swam for land. Luckily, they were less than a mile from a small island from which he stowed away on a trading vessel bound for Mienchola. Sneaking off the ship, he found himself on the mainland and away from his father. Exhausted from his ordeal, he also felt a strange sense of liberation and excitement. Now in control of his destiny for the first time in his life, he ventured into the world to see what it had in store. He vowed never to sail the seas again for fear of meeting his father and his old crew.
Bill spent the next few months traveling through the turbulent Kingdom. During this time, he leaned further into the disguise of the carefree pirate in the hopes that with enough time, he would begin believing it himself. He also began going only by his surname; a final act of defiance against his father who often told him he did not deserve to bear his name. Triggs told those he met that he had stolen cargo from his crew and left them marooned rather than tell anyone the embarrassing truth of his fearful flight. With his lifetime of pirating experience, he soon ended up making a name for himself as a man for hire, willing to go to great lengths to help anyone for the right price. Nobles paid him to rob their rivals and to protect them from mercenaries sent to kill them. While he would kill enemies in a fair fight, he still maintained his own moral code; refusing to kill innocents whenever possible. Despite making good money (which he mostly drank and gambled away), Triggs became bored, restless, and wary of the many foes he had likely made. Taking his few possessions with him, he ventured West in search of further adventure.

Captain: Edgar Triggs (Cap’n Triggs) First Mate: Bartholomew Tanner (Bloodshot Bart) Cook: Herry Gibson (Hogg) Navigator: Merry Swift (Keeneye) Quartermaster: Moroe Rivers (Skylark) Doctor: Eron Talbot (Cutter) Boatswain: Alban Runner (Shipshape) Crew Member: Layman Runner (Swab) Crew Member: Libbie Goodson (Goodie) Crew Member: Reggie Caruthers (Red)
He had especially antagonistic relationships with Edgar and Bart but he was also on bad terms with Skylark, Shipshape, and Swab. He was friendly with Hogg and Keeneye and relatively friendly/ambivalent with Cutter, Goodie, and Red.
Maria: Triggs’ mother. The owner of the Hair of the Sea Dog tavern in Cuttlefish Cove. After a brief love affair with a visiting pirate, she found herself pregnant and raised her son Willem alone in her tavern. Loving, caring, and fiercely independent, Maria raised her son to be kind, ambitious, and emotionally resilient. Triggs was kidnapped by his father when he was young and misses his mother deeply but is unsure of what happened to her and if she is even alive and is too afraid to return to Cuttlefish Cove to find out. He does not even remember her last name. He simply called her mother and everyone else called her only Maria.
Cap’n Edgar Triggs: A ruthless, cunning, and cruel man in his 40s with a vicious temper and a love for chaos and destruction. A great swordsman and immensely skilled sailor. Edgar has been captain of The Silent Song since he first stole the ship with Bart in their 20s and put together the beginnings of a crew. Having been fighting since he was a child, Edgar is immensely skilled with blades and wields a large cutlass and a dagger into battle. A handsome man with ounces of charisma; Edgar had encounters with women in most ports they stopped at. Most notably of these was his tryst with a tavern owner named Maria in his youth in the small port town of Cuttlefish Cove. He left the cove and did not return for almost a decade, but when he did, he noticed a young boy with a striking resemblance to him. Remembering his previous visit to the tavern, he had Bart lead the rest of the crew in an attack on the tavern and stole the boy, Willem, away into the night to raise him on his ship. He taught Triggs to fight, sail, navigate, and steal but also abused him, both physically and mentally, most often after his heavy drinking sessions. Triggs grew up terrified and resentful of his father.
Bloodshot Bart: An enormous beast of a man in his 40s who wields a massive great-sword into battle; slaughtering his enemies with ease. Immensely alcoholic and known to spend his free time in port drinking into the early hours of the morning and occasionally getting into intense bar fights. Often returns to the ship shortly before departure hungover or still drunk, with bloodshot eyes (hence his nickname). By far the strongest of the crew and one of the best fighters. Intimidating, impulsive, and deeply loyal to his captain. Despite his rash actions, Bart is not an unintelligent man. He is a keen strategist and battle commander, having led several successful raids and assaults for his captain. An old friend of captain Triggs, he was the first to join his crew and has been his first mate ever since. He has always disliked and distrusted Willem Triggs; believing he would usurp his position as second in command due to nepotism. As a result of this, he bullied and taunted Triggs routinely while he grew up leading to an intense rivalry and animosity between the two.
Hogg: A large, balding, older man in his mid 50s, slightly past his prime but still capable in a fight. Hogg is the cook of the Silent Song and is rarely in the forefront of the fray. Kinder and more compassionate than most of the crew, he is still generally liked and respected by most of them. One of the only crew members to show affection to Triggs growing up; the two developed a friendly relationship. Triggs would often sneak down to the kitchen when hiding from his father or recovering for a beating. Likewise, Hogg would often sneak Triggs extra food during and after meals. Despite his like for the boy, he was still loyal to his captain and never confronted him regarding his treatment of his son.
Keeneye: Smaller and weaker than the rest of the crew, but also faster and with unmatched aim and eyesight; Keeneye is the navigator of the Silent Song and is in his early 30s. Most often found consulting his maps and compass or looking out for land and trading ships in the crow’s nest. Keeneye was well trained in the use of small blades but struggled with larger weapons to his stature. As a result, he carries a short-sword and a pair of daggers into battle and occasionally acts as a sniper, picking off targets with a longbow from the crow’s nest. Occasionally hassled by other crew members for his lack of strength, he gets on well with Triggs and Hogg; considering them his closest friends on the ship.
ADDITION: Keeneye was the only crew that traveled with Edgar to the Gylanese ruins and to survive. He later became Triggs' first mate aboard the Merinoticus and finally retired to Yiradin when Triggs became the 14th Pirate King.
Cutter: A tall, slim, enigmatic, and eccentric man with a mysterious past. Age unknown but assumed to be in his 30s or 40s. Cutter once patched up Bart following a particularly nasty bar brawl and, as a favour, the captain offered him a position as the ship’s doctor. Cutter is the only member of the crew never to have been seen using a blade (aside from his scalpel) and does not accompany the crew into battle. While the rest of the crew drinks, gambles, fights, and makes merry in port, Cutter usually disappears for long stretches of time to gather ‘supplies’. Despite being an odd man out among the crew, he is well regarded and has saved most of the crew from certain death at least once. Spends most of his free time alone in his quarters or playing his fiddle on deck.
Skylark: A relatively large and well muscled man in his 40s, Skylark is the quartermaster of the ship; responsible for the supplies and upkeep of the vessel. One of the more vicious members of the crew, Skylark delighted in battle. Despite this, Skylark is one of the smarter and more self restrained members of the crew and despised indulgence. He was assigned quartermaster partially as he was the only one capable of organising rations. Rarely as drunk as the rest of the crew, Skylark nonetheless delighted in getting in bar fights alongside Bart while docked at part. Deeply disliked Triggs, who he viewed as a distraction and an unnecessary burden.
Shipshape: Shipshape is the boatswain; in charge of the crew’s equipment. A solid fighter but not as vicious nor strong as Bart, Skylark, or Cap’n Triggs himself. Shipshape was not particularly intelligent and was mostly assigned to his role because he followed instructions well and without question. Disliked Triggs because he thought he considered himself better than the rest of the crew. In his late 30s.
Swab: The nephew of Shipshape and a few years older than Triggs. His uncle took him on board the crew to do general menial tasks. Fairly average fighter with fairly average intelligence and no real aspirations. Dislikes Triggs because his uncle dislikes him.
Goodie: A young crew member in his 20s. A decent fighter and fairly strong. An affable fellow; Goodie had a decent relationship with most of the crew including Triggs. Occasionally played pranks on Bart while he was drunk or hungover.
Red: Another young crew member in his 20s. Timid and shy, Red mostly kept to himself and stayed at the back of the fray. Got on well with Triggs.
DISCLAIMER: The above information is paraphrased from the Player Character's history and all creative rights about this character's history remain in sole possession of that player.

Social

Contacts & Relations

The Bertie's Boys: Aximand Garro, Daeron Flamewatcher, Geldvan Trimalfiod, Leomer Bronwen, Miltoneus Forscythe.

Current Location

Yiradin

Species

Human

Year of Birth

1198 CE 32 Years old

Birthplace

Cuttlefish Cove

Gender

Male

Quotes & Catchphrases

"The Captain of the Silent Song, silent forevermore."

Aligned Organization

Merinots