Chronicle o' Piracy

Setting Assumptions

The world of Seabound differs in many ways from standard D&D settings. As such, there are a few assumptions you may have about D&D that don't apply here.

• Land. First and foremost, there are very few large landmasses within this world. The largest of islands are roughly the size of a Western European country. The world is loosely connected by four currents which serve as major routes of travel, though the average person probably hasn't traveled more than to the nearest major trade city.
• Gods. Within this world, the gods do not manifest themselves and do not directly communicate other than with a few select followers - and even that isn't universal. Even if the deity you follow is entirely real and powerful within the world, it's more than likely that 99% of people from other parts of the world have never heard of them.
• Government. In this world, most governments are relatively local, but most of the known world is somewhat united under a World Coalition (also called the Coalition for short). The Coalition isn't supposed to have absolute power, but since it controls the Navy that patrols the waters of the world, it in effect can make any demand of any country and be entirely uncompromising; if a country refuses, it's either burned to the ground or taken over.
• Knowledge and Superstition. People in the world come from disparate and distinct cultures with knowledge varying from person to person. Most know magic exists, but people feud on its exact nature and methods of practice while some from remote regions regard it as nothing more than an old wives' tale. Sure, everyone knows people who look like them exist, but not every half-orc has seen a Triton and so on. Proficiency in a knowledge-based skill makes you significantly more well-researched than the average person enough to possibly draw a crowd, but even your knowledge is colored by your origins. As a result, superstitions abound, but nearly all have roots in reality; remembering to blink three times and cross your heart before diving beneath the surface may have saved someone's life once upon a time.
• The Great Unknown. Things lurk the waters of the world that have only been heard in tales from drunken, untrustworthy sailors in seedy bars. Dragons large enough to swallow ships in a single gulp, cities of merfolk thousands of feet below the surface, people that can cleave islands in two with a single swing of an axe. Any crazy story you hear has a distinct chance to be real, and the further you get from known lands, the crazier things become.

Basic History

Civilizations sprung up individually over the course of history on the many islands and archipelagos of the world, forming their own cultures and governments as each developed its own ideals of civilization. Eventually, people began to trade and migrate, forming new communities, alliances, and enemies. Governments began to fund navies, privateers, and more to fight their enemies and fight with their allies, and the seas quickly became a bloody mess, all of the people of the world suffering with near-constant war between these thousands of nations as well as a sudden loss in trade.
In came the World Coalition. Faced with a strong need for peace, the major governments of the world all banded together to form a Coalition, sending one representative of each founding nation to create a treaty, bylaws, and a unified naval presence. All agreed to simple tenets: to not meddle in other countries' affairs, to trade freely with one another, and to use the navy to enforce these provisions.
For a time, peace reigned in the world, each small conflict quickly resolved with the combined forces of the largest players in the world. Disagreements still arose, however, and soon a country whose name has been erased from history spoke up to complain about the Coalition Navy's unfair treatment of its citizens in addition to the fact that one of the sons of a founding member of the Coalition had made demands out of accordance with the agreed bylaws. That country burned to the ground the next day, the World Coalition forming the city of Stormhaven in its wreckage while they simultaneously slaughtered the remaining members of its noble houses and claimed its citizens as their own. Stormhaven quickly became a capital city and the seat of power, located at the southern end of the .
Still, for most, peace continued, and a few unreasonable members of the Navy as well as the occasional demand for special treatment by one of the Coalition's representatives weren't worth risking your country for. The Coalition continued to consolidate power in the background. Its founding families became noble houses to be revered and worshipped while the Coalition Navy became something for children to either fear or aspire to become part of, and in the background, even more small nations fell to Coalition control. Still, the Coalition played its cards carefully, never formally claiming any of the large nations its noble families had come from and only taking or destroying smaller countries and territories to instill the necessary fear and respect.
This growing dissatisfaction without any governmental ability to resist ushered in an Age of Piracy. Men and women took up arms and sailed the seas, raiding merchant vessels that flew the Coalition's colors, fighting off the Navy ships that came for them, and forming a front against the Navy rooted in both greed and selflessness depending on the person. While the fighting continued, people continued to explore the world, and eventually, pirates and Navy both took to the Gold Run, the eastward current at the southern end of the world. The Run, it was said, held treasures and civilizations beyond anyone's wildest dreams, yet its rough waters simultaneously held danger from the depths of their worst nightmares. Over the course of decades, the Navy conquered many of the smaller, less traveled areas within the westernmost reaches of the Run, establishing cities, naval bases, and prisons along in order to control the pirates that defied their control.
At this point, it has been nearly a century since the first pirate dared to fly the skull and crossbones. Idealistic Navy cadets seek to bring order and peace to their waters while pirates seek freedom from tyranny. Simultaneously, pirates threaten and rob from innocents out of greed and malice while the Coalition forces compliance with unjust laws and enforces steep penalties. With the conflict between the two near the point of boiling over, there's a perfect opportunity for a party of idealistic up-and-comers to play their part in shaping the world.

Chronicle o' Piracy

This is where you'll roll some basic information for your character. To get the best experience out of this, go into it with no character concept whatsoever, not even a race or class, and see where it takes you.

Home Island

You'll begin by rolling your home current, each of which is detailed below in the relevant subsection. This is the closest major current to your home island; each represents a particular region of the world.

• (01-36) Cobalt Stream (Eastern)
• (37-60) Misty Reach (Western)
• (61-75) Moonlit Expanse (Northern)
• (76-88) Gold Run
• (89-00) Off-Current

You'll then roll your particular home island within that region.

Cobalt Stream (Eastern)

The Cobalt Stream, flowing from the North to the South, is the most populous portion of the ocean, containing the capital city of Stormhaven as well as many other very populous urban areas. Most of its cities consume goods from other areas and rely heavily on trade and manufacturing due to the large number of natural resources harvested in the past; efforts to repopulate barren islands are in progress but are estimated to take decades. In some places, steam-powered railways even connect large islands and run against the current, though this is relegated to the largest islands and their neighbors.

• (01-47) Stormhaven
• (48-62*)
• (63-68*) Silverstring Island - Halfling-populated island that's reasonably insular and surface-level friendly but distrusting towards others. Democratic-ish but only elects officials from the island.
• (69-76*)
• (77-82)
• (83-87) Naval Base
• (88-90)
• (91-93)
• (94-96)
• (97-00) Other Islands

*founding member of the Coalition

Misty Reach (Western)

The Misty Reach, flowing toward the North, ranks second in terms of population, with many trade centers and natural resources that have yet to be exploited. Rural communities, farmers, and fishermen are its primary themes, though it still contains a couple of cities that rank among the most traveled in the world. Many ships sail against the current or slightly outside of it in order to delivery goods without rounding the triangle entirely unless they've greased the palms necessary to gain access to the Inner Currents.

• (01-28*)
• (29-52*)
• (53-62*) Elamyar
• (63-69*)
• (70-75) Shatterleaf Naval Base
• (76-80*)
• (81-84)
• (85-88)
• (89-91) Land's Triumph Prison
• (92-00) Other Islands

*founding member of the Coalition

Moonlit Expanse (Northern)

The cold waters of the Moonlit Expanse, running West to East, hold mainly insular peoples and Naval bases. They can prove tougher to navigate than the waters to the south (excepting the Gold Run) as a result of the climate and the commonality of rogue winds. Still, many call them home, raising animals and crops adapted to the climate and trading the many subterranean resources for the goods they can't obtain locally.

• (01-18) Twin Sanctuaries Naval Base
• (19-31) Stillight Naval Base
• (32-46) Scalefoot Isle - Halfling and Kobold joint settlement, named as such to mark the friendly end to a war nearly a century ago
• (47-57) Dhohzok - Orcs, Half-Orcs, and Humans, in decreasing order of commonality; an island that was settled since the establishment of the Coalition
• (58-63) Iron Frontier Naval Base
• (64-68) Pavhik - Island with a central mountain run by a Goliath tribe that reveres the spirit of the mountain
• (69-74) Elonath - Under-ice Triton city mostly out of Coalition reach
• (75-79) Tribes of Gremmar - Dwarven nomadic tribes that live on the ice and come south during the winter
• (80-85) Agnun Archipelago - A group of small islands populated by goblinoids
• (86-00) Other Islands

Gold Run

The Gold Run is notorious for being mostly outside of Coalition control and possessing the largest number of uncatalogued islands in the realm. As such, few who end up navigating Coalition waters originate here, and those who do are almost guaranteed to differ significantly either in culture or appearance from the citizens of Coalition countries and islands - unless, of course, you're from one of the few Naval bases or The Pearlescent City, the seat of many members of Coalition nobility. If you're from here, it's extremely unlikely that you come from any further East than that, so no further islands are noted in this chart.

• (01-31) The Pearlescent City - The location of many Coalition nobles; the primary entryway to the closely guarded current leading directly back to the Cobalt Stream.
• (32-43) Norquinal - A large city surrounded by a coral reef primarily populated by sea elves. Celebrates the sharing of cultures. Also maintains a small population of Genasi, Lizardfolk, Tabaxi, and Dragonborn.
• (44-49) Blackhand Naval Base - Known as the largest prison on the ocean in addition to serving as a naval base. Holds political prisoners and murderous pirates alike.
• (50-52) Sandy Lagoon Garrison
• (53-55) Bellowing Isle - A mostly forested island populated by Tabaxi. There's a port and series of shops on the northern end maintained for trade with passers-by, but most of the occupants live without permanent housing in the jungles.
• (56-58) Caipi Island - An island covered in such dense plant life that you can't see more than ten feet past the shore. Satyrs are occasionally seen dancing or playing music on the shore, waving at passing ships, but on approach, they scurry back into the island and have thus far eluded direct contact by outsiders.
• (59-70) Undercurrent - An underwater city of merfolk several miles south and a mile or so west of The Pearlescent City, located on the ocean floor. Undercurrent is effectively a merfolk metropolis.
• (71-74) Relief Island - A small island town of human-looking people. Unbeknownst to most travelers, effectively all residents are actually Changelings.
• (75-78) Tidepool - The northernmost merfolk settlement, a large village a hundred miles or so east of the intersection between the Gold Run and the Cobalt Stream. Stays to themselves due to bad past experiences with folks above the surface.
• (78-00) Other Islands

Off-Current

Off-Current refers to those outside of the main thoroughfares of the Coalition and the known world. Most commonly, this refers to residents of the Inner Currents - the heavily Coalition-safeguarded circular current that runs counter to the main trio and is used for government/Naval tasks as well as those merchants who've paid their bribes to the right places - but it can also refer to someone who lives far enough off from a current that navigating the waters to civilization is a far more difficult task than most would be accustomed to. These islands are generally very small but self-sufficient, residing primarily in the more tropical waters to the south. They're also generally North of the Gold Run due to the difficulty inherent in crossing that current. Going far enough beyond the edges of any main current, populous islands get less and less common, so you're also likely to be at least within the known world.

• (01-14) Naval Base
• (15-26) Naval Base
• (27-36)
• (37-45)
• (46-50)
• (51-54)
• (55-57)
• (58-60) Prison
• (61-62)
• (63-00) Other Islands

On "Other Islands"

If you rolled a result of "Other Islands" on a table, that's your cue to work with the DM to come up with a unique, likely very rural or secluded place your character hails from. Pay attention to the culture and climate of your home current but otherwise feel free to get creative! If this isn't something you want to do, feel free to reroll from scratch or at least reroll your home island.

Backgrounds

Each character will receive a background which determines your character's place in the world. Roll a d20 to select from the table of setting-appropriate backgrounds below.

1. Acolyte
2. Anthropologist
3. Archaelogist
4. Charlatan
5. Criminal
6. Entertainer
7. Folk Hero
8. Guild Artisan
9. Hermit
10. Marine (Navy)
11. Noble
12. Noble (Coalition) - use Waterdhavian Noble as a base, but replace "Waterdeep or elsewhere in the North" with "any island which is a part of the Coalition"
13. Outlander
14. Sage
15. Sailor
16. Sailor (Pirate) - replace the feature with the variant feature "Bad Reputation"
17. Soldier (Local Government)
18. Spy
19. Urban Bounty Hunter
20. Urchin

Allies & Rivals

Each player should have 3 notable characters in their backstory. Players can choose how many of these are allies or rivals, allies being characters who have a positive effect on your life and rivals the reverse. The DM will privately roll on a table to decide their identity/occupation, revealing it to you if it's something your character would know. The DM may also tell you that you gain a Fateful Moment as a result of one of these identities; if so, note it for later.

Relationship

Your ally or rival's relationship to you in a general, writing prompt sense.

Ally Relationships

• (01-02) This person owes you a debt, and they don't like it. They'll help you out when you need it, but only to clear the slate.
• (03-04) This person cares for you, but you were never that close. They'll do anything to help you - as long as they won't be at risk of injury or death.
• (05-06) This person caused you to have a horrible accident. They still feel incredible guilt, which they would do anything to assuage.
• (07-08) This person was important to you but left long ago for reasons you don't understand or won't talk about. They promised to return one day.
• (09-10) This person has always loved you with all their heart and would do anything for you.
• (11) This ally is a loyal pet. Instead of rolling for an identity, choose one beast of CR 1/8 or lower as your pet.
• (12) This person once lost a bet to you, and, short on ability to pay back the bet directly, has decided you'd both be better off if they aided you sufficiently enough to make you owe them instead.
• (13) This person was once in dire straits. Through your actions, whether they be a gift of money or resources or another sort of act of kindness, they've transformed their life and owe it all to you. They want to repay your generosity however they can.
• (14) You shared a vice with this person - gambling buddies, drinking buddies, etc. As a result, their home is always open to you and your friends.
• (15) This person was once your mentor, but you left before you could complete whatever training you were undergoing. You're welcome to return and finish what you started, but only when you're ready.
• (16) You bonded with this person over a traumatic event such as a battle, raid, or robbery. If you ever tell them that you are in danger, they will try to aid you.
• (17) You and this person share a terrible secret, and you have sworn to never reveal it to anyone. They will help you keep this secret if it is ever in danger of being revealed.
• (18) This person shared a special relationship with you. If they aren't family, it's likely romantic; if they are family, it's a special bond between siblings, a parent and child, or possibly more distant relatives. Even if you didn't reciprocate that love, they still care for you deeply and consider you their closest friend.
• (19) You and this person were affected by powerful magic, and now you both share a magical connection, providing you a telepathic or similar connection that functions while you are within 1 mile of each other.
• (20) This person owes you their life. Even if they can't follow you everywhere you go, they will do anything they can to protect you.

Rival Relationships

• (01-02) You thought your actions led to this person's death, whether by accident or otherwise. You never expected to see them again, but now they're out for blood.
• (03-04) You insulted or offended this person so gravely that they left your life forever. If they ever return, it will be to settle the score.
• (05-06) You have always been better than this person at a particular activity. They grew jealous and abandoned you so that they could return and best you one day.
• (07-08) You uncovered a secret about this person, whether a tiny embarrassment or a life-changing scandal. They now seek to unveil your darkest secrets to get even.
• (09-10) You and this person have a friendly rivalry and are constantly trying to best each other in an activity, craft, or other pursuit. Whenever you visit, you make sure to test each other's skills.
• (11) This person believes that you murdered someone they cared deeply about. Regardless of your guilt or innocence, they are out for your blood.
• (12) You bested this person in a formal competition, but they believe you cheated or otherwise were undeserving. They long to prove that they are superior.
• (13) You broke a promise to this person, and it caused them to suffer greatly. Now they conspire to make sure your allies fail you in your hour of greatest need.
• (14) This person once shared a special relationship with you. If they aren't family, it was likely romantic; if they are family, it was a special bond between siblings, a parent and child, or possibly more distant relatives. Your actions or words broke this bond and hurt them deeply. They are now obsessed with making you feel the same pain they felt.
• (15) This person was ordered to arrest or capture you, and doggedly hunts you wherever you go.
• (16) This person believes you to be an impostor, possessed, or otherwise not the same person they cared for, whether due to a natural change in your character or something else. They believe that by defeating you, they'll be able to return you to their idea of "normal," regardless of if that's what you want.
• (17) You fled from a place that was once important to you under mysterious circumstances. This person is obsessed with finding out the true reason why you left.
• (18) You and this person tried to harness power beyond your control in an Icarus-style situation. It left them disfigured, disgraced, or otherwise unable to return to normal life, but they succeeded where you originally failed together. Blaming you for their earlier failure, they seek to make you suffer like they did.
• (19) You helped this person out once when they were down on your luck. Ever since then, they've depended on you for everything, taking advantage of your kindness at every perceivable opportunity.
• (20) This person has good intentions and wants desperately to be your friend, but they don't seem to understand that their involvement in your life has consistently hindered rather than helped.

Allegiances

Each ally or rival has an allegiance to a particular group. In general, this means that the character is a ranking member of that group (in case of "family", this means that the character is a part of your character's family).

1. World Coalition
2. World Navy
3. Pirate
4. Family (Your family, to be precise)
5. Religion
6. Local Government
7. Organized Crime
8. Independent/Other

Fateful Moments

1. Your parent(s) - or other parental figure(s) - were murdered in front of you. Roll on the Identities table to determine the type of person or creature that killed them. You have proficiency in the Stealth and Survival skills.
2. You took a drop of Devil's Nectar at some point in your life and it has shaped your life ever since. Devil's Nectar is a type of potion with a permanent set of magical effects, both positive and negative. A single dose is called a "drop." Devil's Nectar is generally found in small, ornate glass vials and visually resembles its effects. The methods of its creation were lost in long-forgotten history; nowadays, it's a rare resource recovered from ruins and fetching incredibly high prices on the black market. The substance is generally illegal to possess in the Coalition, but that doesn't stop it from being traded in secret. The DM can randomly determine the effects of your particular strain from a DM-only table, or you can work with your DM to decide on a particular option you especially like.
3. A stranger's gift saved your life. Determine the stranger's identity by rolling on the Identity table, and then roll on Magic Item Table B (the DM can help you with both references) to determine what item you were given. Reroll if you roll a consumable. This item also has special features as detailed in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide (the DM will roll these for you and explain the results).
4. You were caught in a terrible storm or other natural disaster but miraculously survived. You now receive dreams and visions from a powerful god, demigod, or other supernatural being that can offer additional information or insight in some situations, and you gain proficiency in either the Arcana or Religion skill.
5. A famous warrior, pirate, marine, or other renowned individual trained you with what has become your signature weapon. You have proficiency with a martial weapon of your choice, and you own one such weapon. It has special features as detailed in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide and is mildly magical, though it does not receive a bonus to hit or to damage. You also have the Martial Adept feat from the Player's Handbook.
6. You were the sole survivor of a cataclysmic event over the course of your lifetime, be it a monster attack, retribution from the Coalition for sedition or other crimes against nobility, a pirate raid, or any number of other tragedies. You have proficiency in the Stealth skill, proficiency with one martial weapon of your choice, and possess a book or scroll containing knowledge from your lost civilization.
7. A well-known magic user saw potential in you and tutored you in the arcane arts. You have a spellbook, an appropriate magical focus, and the Magic Initiate feat from the Player's Handbook.
8. While on a long journey, you were picked up by a traveling ship of artisans: a circus, a restaurant, a group of painters, or some other oddly-purposed crew of similar style. You spent a significant amount of time with them before disembarking, and as such, you have proficiency in one skill of Acrobatics, Performance, and Persuasion as well as proficiency with a disguise kit or set of artisan's tools of your choice.
9. You were transformed by magic and spent a significant portion of your life as a non-humanoid creature before being saved and returned to mostly-normal by a powerful magic user. Magic still lingers within you, though, and you can cast one of the following spells at-will: speak with animals if you were transformed into a Beast or detect magic if you were transformed into an Aberration. If you have an idea for another type of creature, discuss it with your DM.
10. You were press-ganged into service with the Coalition Navy or on a pirate ship, and were left shaken by what you experienced and what you saw on the battlefield. You have proficiency with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons, and you gain the Ship's Passage feature from the Sailor background. Additionally, you have a random form of indefinite madness, determined by rolling on the Indefinite Madness table in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
11. You were kidnapped by a group of ill-intentioned pirates, spending a significant amount of time as their captive. While aboard the ship, you developed a friendship with one of the members of the crew who helped you escape and taught you what they could to aid in this effort. You have proficiency with thieves' tools and proficiency in the Stealth skill, and you own one such set of thieves' tools as well as a trinket to remember your friend by.
12. You were visited by a powerful magical being in a dream: a powerful demon, fey, or dragon. You awakened knowing the find familiar spell and are now able to cast it as a ritual, but your familiar always takes the form of a quasit (demon), sprite (fey), or pseudodragon (dragon). You also have a random form of indefinite madness, determined by rolling on the Indefinite Madness table in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
13. While lost either on the seas or in the natural terrain of a less-traveled island, you had a chance encounter with a lycanthrope that affected the course of your life. If you were attacked by a wereboar, wererat, or werewolf, you narrowly escaped with your life but not before getting bitten. If you instead encountered a werebear or weretiger, the creature granted you the gift of lycanthropy as an honor and a sign of their belief in your potential. Regardless, you have a form of lycanthropy tied to your encounter.
14. You fell into the ocean and nearly drowned, sinking down further and further before blacking out. You were saved by one of the enormous, intelligent deep sea creatures known as the Ancients whose supernatural presence acclimated you to the ocean depths, physically augmenting your body with gills and slight webbing on your digits. You have a swim speed equal to your walking speed and can breathe underwater. Additionally, you can communicate simple concepts with creatures with a swim speed even if you do not share a language, and you can understand basic ideas they attempt to communicate with you (limited by their Intelligence).
15. You saved an exceptionally unusual creature from predators or otherwise developed a close bond with them. You have a pet or companion that is a Small or Tiny non-Beast, non-humanoid creature of a CR 1/4 rating or lower such as a sprite or a pseudodragon.
16. You nearly died from a seemingly incurable unusual magical infection, but were saved by a traveling scholar who gifted you an item that suppresses the symptoms of the condition, taking the form of a periapt of health. In addition, the item's effects result in a symbiotic relationship with your disease, granting you a minor ability dependent on the nature of your condition. For example, if you contracted a particularly nasty strain of sight rot, while attuned to the periapt of health, you gain 30 ft of Blindsight. Talk to your DM if you have other ideas.
17. You were accused of a crime and were exiled or imprisoned, regardless of whether or not you were guilty. Having spent time among criminals, you have proficiency in the Intimidation skill and you know thieves' cant. In addition, you gain the Criminal Contact feature from the Criminal background.
18. You saved an animal from predators that now serves as your mount. Choose a Medium or Large-sized Beast of CR 1/4 or lower. This creature serves you loyally as a devoted steed, and you have a saddle and the other accoutrements necessary to ride it.
19. Either through study, eavesdropping, pickpocketing, or otherwise, you've managed to obtain a map to a significant treasure said to exist within the Gold Run. You also are familiar with the legends, if any, surrounding this particular treasure, and its pursuit has become a major goal of your character's. You have advantage on any Intelligence (History) checks concerning knowledge of this particular treasure, and you have advantage on any Wisdom (Survival) checks made to navigate to its location.
20. You recently received a letter revealing that you were the secret child of one of the eight houses of Coalition nobility living within The Pearlescent City. They enclosed 100 gp to ensure your safe passage to the city, and a signet ring bearing your family's seal. You also gain the background feature from Waterdhavian Noble, modified as described in the Backgrounds section above.

Mysterious Secret

Stuff

Prophecy Goals

Stuff