The Sailor

Greetings fellow sleepwalkers! Trim up the sails and batten down the hatches, we sail for adventure this week with a new class for your BX and OSR nautical campaigns! This week I bring you the Sailor, perfect for your nautical focused campaigns or adventures! An agile seabound warrior, the sailor is skilled in ropework, navigation, and a host of other useful skills acquired from their years aboard ship. Looking to start a nautical campaign? try the sargasso sea encounter generator. If your looking for something weirder, take a look at last week's article on Technomagical prosthetics! 

*Marooned Mariner by Howard Pyle

The Sailor

From the Argonauts of Greek myth to legendary explorers like Zheng He to the roguish pirates of literature like Long John Silver, sailors have been the antagonists and protagonists of many an exciting adventure story. Sailors are the skilled laborers of the seas, rivers, and lakes of the world. They are nimble fighters, scampering across rigging and up masts while the decks below pitch and yaw. Due to their years on the water, sailors are excellent navigators and survivors too. When the seas get rough and opportunities dry up, many find work on the land as tomb raiders and treasure hunters. Whether in port, on the waves, or down in a dungeon, sailors are a capable adventurers.  

 

Requirements: Minimum Dex 13, minimum Con 9

Prime Requisite: Cha

Hit Dice: 1d8

Maximum Level: 14

Armor: Leather, Mithril chainmail

Weapons: Club, crossbow, cutlass (sword), dagger, hand axe, long bow, short sword, spear

Languages: Alignment, Common, and either Dwarven or Elven

*A sailor sitting on a barrel and smoking. woodcut, early 19th century.

Combat:

Sailors most commonly use whatever happens to be available when drawn into hand-to-hand combat, be that a belaying pin (club) or a carpenter’s axe (hand axe). The more piratical sailors have been known to wield curved swords known as cutlasses that are easier to fight with across rolling decks. Due to a well-learned fear of drowning, sailors rely mainly on their nimble agility to avoid danger, donning leather armor when the need calls for more protection, preferring something lightweight over something that provides extra protection. Sailors who can get their hands on mithril chainmail, however, prefer to wear above all other armor as it grants protection without sacrificing weight. These properties are why mithril chainmail makes ideal protection for armoring up on dangerous voyages.

 

Nimble Fighter:

Sailors gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class at 4^th level due to their sure-footedness and agility learned from years aboard the pitching deck of a ship. At 10^th level the bonus increases to +4.

 

Sailor’s Skills:

Besides general proficiency in knot-tying and ship’s rigging, sailors can use the following skills with the chances of success shown below.

Climb: A roll is required for each 100 feet to be climbed. If the roll fails, the sailor falls at the halfway point, suffering falling damage.

Identifying Ships: A roll is required when trying to identify a ship’s class and likely compliment when the vessel is spotted within three miles or less of the sailor’s position, with perfect visibility.

Navigate: When plotting an accurate course to sail or when a party containing a sailor gets lost while traveling, the sailor may use this skill to help find a route back to their desired destination.

Open Locks: Requires thieves’ tools. A sailor can only try this skill once per lock. If the roll fails, the sailor may not try the same lock again before gaining an experience level.

 

Sailor Skills Chance of Success
level	C	IS	N	OL
1	3-in-6	2-in-6	3-in-6	1-in-6
2	3-in-6	2-in-6	3-in-6	1-in-6
3	3-in-6	2-in-6	3-in-6	2-in-6
4	3-in-6	3-in-6	3-in-6	2-in-6
5	4-in-6	3-in-6	4-in-6	2-in-6
6	4-in-6	3-in-6	4-in-6	3-in-6
7	4-in-6	4-in-6	4-in-6	3-in-6
8	4-in-6	4-in-6	4-in-6	3-in-6
9	4-in-6	4-in-6	4-in-6	4-in-6
10	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6	4-in-6
11	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6	4-in-6
12	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6
13	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6
14	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6	5-in-6

 

*Jack Rackham, 18th century woodcut.

Fishing:

A party with a sailor in it that stops for a day to fish has a 5-in-6 chance of catching something.

 

Swimming:

Due to their time on the water, sailors are excellent swimmers. A sailor gains a swim speed of 60’(20’).

 

Safe Harbor:

Sailors are far-travelled and have many opportunities to spend time in port towns and cities across the world. When a sailor finds themselves in a port town or city, they have a 4-in-6 chance of knowing someone who lives there who is willing to feed them and let them stay under their roof. Their friend in port always has someplace for them to stay, whether it’s space on the floor of a storeroom or a comfortable bed in a warm room. Sailors can only secure a meal and a place to sleep for themselves in this manner. The other party members will have to fend for themselves. The quality of the food and lodgings is up to the referee.

*La Salle's griffon - lost on the great lakes.1697, Father Louis Hennepin

 

After Reaching 7^th Level:

The Sailor may purchase a boat and become its captain. This will attract 1d10 1^st level sailors to crew the vessel.

 

Sailor Level Progression
				Saving Throws
Level	XP	HD	THAC0	D	W	P	B	S
1	0	1d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
2	2,250	2d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
3	4,500	3d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
4	10,000	4d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
5	20,000	5d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
6	40,000	6d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
7	90,000	7d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
8	150,000	8d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
9	300,000	9d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
10	425,000	9d8+2*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
11	550,000	9d8+4*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
12	675,000	9d8+6*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
13	800,000	9d8+8*	10 [+9]	4	5	6	5	8
14	925,000	9d9+10*	10 [+9]	4	5	6	5	8

*Modifiers from CON no longer apply.