The Sea of Kings Primer

Merchant vessels heavy with trade lazily sail through the Sea of Kings, ripe for plunder and misfortune. Free captains, buccaneers loosely banded together under a pirate code, spring forth from protected pirate ports, raiding the shipping lanes and disappearing back into the multitudes of islands and reefs. The Ymar Republic and other surrounding nations would like to remove the lawless cities and captains that taint the tropical waters once and for all, but fear uniting the free captains any further.

You Begin aboard the Black Caiman

Press-ganged onboard the ship of the Pirate Captain Joseph Bennet, you fight to survive and quickly learn the ropes of a pirates life. Only time will tell whether you become black-hearted miscreants, daring scoundrels and rogues, or heros standing up for the downtrodden. They say a life made from the being on the sea is true freedom, the choice is yours on how to use it.

Who Are You?

This is the age of sails, the perfect place to make a name for yourself, and for your crewmates. Do you work to make the lives of those around you better, or worse?

• You may be a follower of the god Otél, god of weather and nature.
• You may be a fisher, born to the sea.
• You might have come to the Sea of Kings with dwarven miners from far away, holding a King’s decree and eager to make your fortune.
• You might be a marine, a soldier of the sea pushing back the smugglers and slavers of the Republic.
• You may be a shipwright, building and repairing the vessels that keep trade flowing.
• You may be a smuggler, from Port Sulpher bringing in stolen elven wine under the darkness of a moonless night

Truths of the Sea

1. Spellcasters who can control the waves and winds are a rare and highly sought after resource. Displaying this type of primal magics often means you are forced into service and live lives of constant subjugation.
2. The sea is a harsh mistress, and home to unknown and mysterious forces. No one knows why, but within the Sea of Kings the very laws of nature can suddenly change.
3. Monarch Lyon of Doranilran is offering letters of marque and will forgive your crimes should you take one and serve him loyally.
4. A tenuous ceasefire between Dushor, Ymar, and Rucleau is in effect in the Sea of Kings. It's no secret though that each is looking for a way to take control of the sea for themselves and push the others out.
5. The Divine Souls (people believed to have descended from the gods) live in Ymar, and are given free-reign to do whatever they want. To oppose them is defying the gods and a death sentence.
6. Navel and pirate codes exist. While they may not be explicitly followed. It may save your life to know it.

Factions

Among the various islands and archipelagos that dot the Sea of Kings, there are several factions to be aware of.

• Dushor Trading Company. A team of merchants from the country of Dushor aiming to grow into the worlds first multinational corporation. Pursuing wealth and profits first, focusing on buying, selling, and moving goods. From spices to sugar to food to liquor to timber to oddities and sea monster corpse, if someone is willing to pay for it, the Trading Company gets it there.
• Ymarian Royal Navy. The Republic's naval warfare force. Aiming for marine supremacy they strike out and patrol the shipping lanes of the sea of kings. Seeing pirates no more than scum and a thorn in their side, they will shoot first and ask questions later.
• Rucleau Armada. Sailing in the name of their King, they provide safe passage for their often gold laden merchant vessels against both the pirates and Royal Navy.
• The Free Captains. True freedom is what holds this loosely grouped network of pirates together. Living without government or the rules of the main land, these thieves, murderers, and dreamers aim to carve out their own slice of land and live however they please within the rules of the freshly written Pirates Code.

House Rules

• Bonus Action Healing. You may use a bonus action to drink a healing potion, but a full action is needed to administer the healing potion to another character. Other potions remain the same as always.
• Free proficiency. Everyone is given simple firearms proficiency.
• Encumbrance. If you carry weight in excess of 10 times your Strength score, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10 feet. If you carry weight in excess of 15 times your Strength score, up to your maximum carrying capacity, you are instead heavily encumbered, which means your speed drops by 20 feet and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.
• Renown / Infamy. I'd like to toy around with this one, but let's discuss once we're at a point of implementing such a rule.
• Death. Coming back to life the way you were prior to death is a hard task. Whenever a character does die, a resurrection can be attempted but it requires a challenge. Detailed resurrection challenge rules can be found here.