[5e] Spell & Crossbones

[Quickleaf]

I have a race I'd like to PM to you, if that would be all right?

Sure, send it to me. I'll check it out.

 

[Piratecat]

Please allow me to say that this game sounds friggin' amazing. I can't wait to read about it as it progresses.

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

Tentative concept - A half-elf from Cozumel who is a slave to the captain, whoever picks up that role. She is a Wizard (Diviner) with the sacred relic bond, haunted and jonah ill fortunes, loa patron and magic trinkets good fortunes, and superstitious mixed fortune. She has prophetic visions and is not entirely sane. As she serves the captain directly as a seer, she doesn't have an actual function aboard the ship and the NPC crew avoid her as she's spooky and eccentric. I'd like to play up the slave aspect with the player of the captain if that player is willing and leave it up to that player as to whether they are cruel or kind to her.

 

[Kobold Stew]

There are a lot of fun ideas flying around.

Some initial thoughts:
* Somewhere win the party, I think we eventually need some rituals/third-level spells (water walk, water breathe); though realistically the wizard can do that, it still makes me want to play a ritual caster.
* Given the existence of munitions, I am wondering if there can be a "firearms expert" on par with the "crossbow expert" feat -- granting exactly the same bonuses but to firearms instead of crossbows. (Alternately, that crossbow could allow both). That makes a pistol-wielding fighter a viable build.
* I was really delighted at your new tool proficiencies. Just the other day, I was lamenting the absence of sailmaking tools.
* I love the thought of Tieflings as Austrians -- a Tiefling charlatan slumming around with an order to stir trouble would be lots of fun.
* this has also got me thinking about other spells at sea. Does Leomund's tiny hut sail with a ship? If so, there's room for a few more crew members on a small ship. If not (i.e. if it stays in place and the ship would sail on) then it actually makes a really good anchor in rough harbours -- you cast the spell and attach ropes/nets to that (like the immovable rod in 3.x, but way more ungainly).

Three character concepts occur to me right now:
* A charismatic fighter, the sort whom you want by your side in shipboard combat. I am currently thinking of a (variant) Human Battle Master, though Paladin (if the archery fighting-style were available to paladins) is also a possibility. (Possible Captain, but also gunner, or Boatswain)
* A high elf barbarian -- survivor of a shipwreck who fended for himself for far too long. It's a fun idea, but it would end up being a barbarian who can't leverage the benefits of raging -- since dex would be the highest stats. Is that too much to give up just to get eyes of the eagle at level 6?

I'll keep thinking. Clearly there are fun things to do here.

 

[Unsung]

Off to a very good start... Makes me wish I'd come across Skull & Bones sooner. Thanks for having me.

Two concepts I'm working on:

CN human Barbarian 1/Cleric 3 (Tempest domain)
Background: Sailor
Duties: Ship's gunner
Fortunes: Old Salt, Hangin' Look, Treasure Map, Jonah
Wiry and stooped, with the knotted muscles on his back so thick with scars from the lash that you can hardly see the map tattooed there-- one tough old man. The idea here is that he came by his worship honestly, no formal teaching from any church or temple, but amid the bosom of the Sea herself-- he's made the Sea his goddess, for she claimed half a dozen of the ships he's crewed on, but always spared him. So far, at least. He can't read, but he's got a way with words, and he's cobbled together a makeshift religion out of snatches of folklore from any and every seafaring nation.

CG human Warlock 4 ('Fiend' pact, reskinned)
Background: Charlatan
Duties: Cook/Crew?
Fortunes: Strange Luck, Devil's Own Luck, Magic Trinkets, Haunted, Loose Lips
That odd combination of the goodhearted, plucky naif and the layabout huckster, who lives by his wits and his silver tongue, but survives by only the sheerest possible luck. Quite literally, in fact. His pact is with himself, or rather, his luck. So he believes, anyway, and it's this belief that has him cleave to a peculiar code of honour: he must always keep his promises, and pay back every good turn done him, or his good fortune will surely abandon him. For this reason, he is loath to give his word or tell the truth where a lie will do. [The collection of trinkets he carries around are meant to have as much of a hold on him as any warlock's patron, though the character probably thinks of himself as a rogue who happens to have a great many magical knicknacks rather than any kind of magician. He's deluding himself, though.]

Is someone going to play a sahuagin? Kind of hoping that happens.

 

[Quickleaf]

Please allow me to say that this game sounds friggin' amazing. I can't wait to read about it as it progresses.

Thanks, mate!

Tentative concept - A half-elf from Cozumel who is a slave to the captain, whoever picks up that role. She is a Wizard (Diviner) with the sacred relic bond, haunted and jonah ill fortunes, loa patron and magic trinkets good fortunes, and superstitious mixed fortune. She has prophetic visions and is not entirely sane. As she serves the captain directly as a seer, she doesn't have an actual function aboard the ship and the NPC crew avoid her as she's spooky and eccentric. I'd like to play up the slave aspect with the player of the captain if that player is willing and leave it up to that player as to whether they are cruel or kind to her.

Love your concept! Definitely surprised me, but everything works together really well.

There are a lot of fun ideas flying around.

Indeed! I'll quickly address some of the questions/thoughts you had...

Given the existence of munitions, I am wondering if there can be a "firearms expert" on par with the "crossbow expert" feat -- granting exactly the same bonuses but to firearms instead of crossbows. (Alternately, that crossbow could allow both). That makes a pistol-wielding fighter a viable build.

Definitely I would allow a "firearms expert" feat mimicking the crossbow expert feat. Pistol-wielding fighters should be a thing

I was really delighted at your new tool proficiencies. Just the other day, I was lamenting the absence of sailmaking tools.

Great minds! I've stolen a lot from Skull and Bones, but the sail-making tools were strangely missing from that book so I added them based on my (very limited) experience being taught to use a sailor's palm for sewing canvas.

this has also got me thinking about other spells at sea. Does Leomund's tiny hut sail with a ship? If so, there's room for a few more crew members on a small ship. If not (i.e. if it stays in place and the ship would sail on) then it actually makes a really good anchor in rough harbours -- you cast the spell and attach ropes/nets to that (like the immovable rod in 3.x, but way more ungainly).

I'd say it stays in place. I actually was envisioning Leomund's Tiny Hut being used as a larger magical equivalent to those diving bells that were dropped so they held a pocket of air within them. I except some very creative spell uses from you guys

Three character concepts occur to me right now:
* A charismatic fighter, the sort whom you want by your side in shipboard combat. I am currently thinking of a (variant) Human Battle Master, though Paladin (if the archery fighting-style were available to paladins) is also a possibility. (Possible Captain, but also gunner, or Boatswain)

Sounds like there could be competition for Captain between you and [MENTION=8058]Queenie[/MENTION]! Could make for fun roleplaying?

And yes, making archery fighting style available to Paladins to accomodate a pistol/musket wielding character is fine by me.

* A high elf barbarian -- survivor of a shipwreck who fended for himself for far too long. It's a fun idea, but it would end up being a barbarian who can't leverage the benefits of raging -- since dex would be the highest stats. Is that too much to give up just to get eyes of the eagle at level 6?

Robinson Crusoe with anger management issues?

Off to a very good start... Makes me wish I'd come across Skull & Bones sooner. Thanks for having me.

Cheers!

CN human Barbarian 1/Cleric 3 (Tempest domain)
Background: Sailor
Duties: Ship's gunner
Fortunes: Old Salt, Hangin' Look, Treasure Map, Jonah
Wiry and stooped, with the knotted muscles on his back so thick with scars from the lash that you can hardly see the map tattooed there-- one tough old man. The idea here is that he came by his worship honestly, no formal teaching from any church or temple, but amid the bosom of the Sea herself-- he's made the Sea his goddess, for she claimed half a dozen of the ships he's crewed on, but always spared him. So far, at least. He can't read, but he's got a way with words, and he's cobbled together a makeshift religion out of snatches of folklore from any and every seafaring nation.

Great character brief! This would mean 2 Jonahs along with [MENTION=6755061]Kiraya_TiDrekan[/MENTION]'s character...that might be a bit too much of a penalty to crew quality...

CG human Warlock 4 ('Fiend' pact, reskinned)
Background: Charlatan
Duties: Cook/Crew?
Fortunes: Strange Luck, Devil's Own Luck, Magic Trinkets, Haunted, Loose Lips
That odd combination of the goodhearted, plucky naif and the layabout huckster, who lives by his wits and his silver tongue, but survives by only the sheerest possible luck. Quite literally, in fact. His pact is with himself, or rather, his luck. So he believes, anyway, and it's this belief that has him cleave to a peculiar code of honour: he must always keep his promises, and pay back every good turn done him, or his good fortune will surely abandon him. For this reason, he is loath to give his word or tell the truth where a lie will do. [The collection of trinkets he carries around are meant to have as much of a hold on him as any warlock's patron, though the character probably thinks of himself as a rogue who happens to have a great many magical knicknacks rather than any kind of magician. He's deluding himself, though.]

Love the re-skin of the Fiend pack to his own Luck! Some very creative ideas so far!

Is someone going to play a sahuagin? Kind of hoping that happens.

Heh, I kinda meant it as a joke... What happens when a Sahuagin walks into a tavern?

 

[Unsung]

@Kobold Stew- I'm fairly keen on exploring 5e's ritual system, so unless someone else wants to beat me to it, I'll volunteer for ritual duty. And you mentioned three character concepts. Unless the Battle Master/Paladin counted as two, I'd be curious to know the third.

@Kiraya_TiDrekan- Classic. 5e makes diviners seem a lot more appealing and playable than they have been in a while, it seems like.

@Quickleaf- Thanks again!

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

I'd be more than willing to take on rituals. They certainly fit my concept. There's no reason we can't have a couple of ritual casters, though.

 

[Unsung]

The more rituals the better, most likely. The cleric and wizard's spell lists are pretty different anyway, while the warlock can take rituals from any class, provided they aren't too high-level. Which should cover us either way.

I might switch Jonah for either Enemy or Wanted, in that case. I kind of like the idea of the old man being weirdly popular among the crew, if Kiraya's character is going to draw their scorn.

 

[Quickleaf]

I'd be more than willing to take on rituals. They certainly fit my concept. There's no reason we can't have a couple of ritual casters, though.

Ah! I just found a little tidbit for your character: Cozumel is the center of worship for the Mayan moon goddess Ixchel, who is decidedly not popular in the Church.