Ship Actions, Rum Rations, and Pirate Weapons

Ship Actions

Life on a pirate ship is one of constant work, and for those doing the basic jobs of swabs, riggers, or cook’s aides, it leaves precious little time to themselves. Accordingly, for the purposes of game rules each day each player character will have a set number ship actions which we will resolve. A PC can normally take two ship actions each day: one during the day and one at night (think: evening). A PC can also attempt to take up to two additional ship actions during the middle watch in the dead of night, limited to those nighttime ship actions marked with an asterisk. To attempt these additional actions, the PC must make a successful Constitution check (DC 10 +4 per each action taken) or become fatigued.

The first ship action represents the daytime, squeezing in some actions while doing their daily task to keep the ship sailing. After the long, hard work day the crew assembles in the hour before dusk for the “bloody hour”—the time when punishments are meted out to the crew. This is followed by the rum ration, where each crew member drinks their ration of extremely strong liquor. The rum ration is mandatory, and the penalty for selling or spilling one’s ration is six lashes. They are then allowed to head to their bunks or other nighttime pastimes—the second ship action of the day. See the charts below for the various options for ship actions. 

I'm certain that rum rations on The Wormwood's deck will be this orderly...

Shackles Rum Ration: This strong drink is sugarcane distillate with lime juice, and it packs quite a punch. It gives a +2 Alchemical bonus to Charisma checks and the target gains the fatigued condition for 1d8 hours. For a result of one through four hours, the fatigue only affects the PC’s nighttime ship action. If the result is five through eight hours, then the PC counts as fatigued during any attempted middle watch actions (and thus becomes exhausted if they fail their middle watch action Constitution check).

Daytime Ship Actions
Work Diligently	Gain a +4 bonus on any one check for a job’s daily task
Influence	Make normal checks for a job’s daily task and attempt to influence a single NPC
Sneak	Make normal checks for a job’s daily task and briefly explore one area of the ship (the PC can make a single Perception or other skill check with no chance of detection)
Shop	Take a -2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and visit the quartermaster’s store
Shirk	Take a -2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 10 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered (see below)

Nighttime Ship Actions
Sleep	Go to bed early and sleep through the night (automatically recover from all fatigue and exhaustion). Cannot attempt any middle watch actions. Unless they have the Endurance feat, a PC who is exhausted must choose this action.
Gamble	Play or gamble on a game of chance or pirate entertainment
Entertain	Make one Perform check to entertain the crew
Influence*	Attempt to influence a single NPC
Sneak*	Take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 20 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered (see below)
Steal*	Attempt to open a locked door or locker. The PC must make a check to avoid being discovered (see below)

Being Discovered: Instead of determining where each NPC is located and having them make Perception checks when a stealthy action is taken on the ship, the following rules for secrecy will be used. PCs make one general skill check (usually Stealth or Sleight of Hand) against a set DC for that type of action.

Attempting a stealthy action in a crowd (casting a spell with verbal or somatic components without being noticed): DC 20

Attempting a stealthy action where there is a chance of discovery (exploring a room during the day, attempting to open a locker in a room while its occupants are sleeping): DC 15

Attempting a stealthy action under cover of a suitable diversion (attempting to open lockers or search rooms while the rest of the crew are working or on deck enjoying themselves): DC 10

Failing a check by 4 or less means the PC attempting the action is merely disturbed and unable to complete the action. Failing the check by 5 or more means the PC is caught red-handed and might be turned over for discipline.

Pirate Weapons

A quick update on the pirate weapons. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the PCs get one free weapon proficiency as they go in the campaign. They can select it to begin with, or anytime they wish later in the campaign. The players can choose firearm proficiency in either the dragoon pistol or the musket (see this blog post for info on the firearms options), or can pick the cutlass, harpoon, or boarding gaff. The info below gives stats for the other options. 

	Damage (S)	Damage (M)	Critical	Range	Type	Special	Category	Price
Cutlass	1d4	1d6	18-20/ x2	-	S	-	1 Handed Martial Melee	15 gp
Harpoon*	1d6	1d8	X3	10 ft.	P	grapple*	2 Handed Exotic Melee	5 gp
Boarding Gaff	1d4/1d4	1d6/1d6	X2	-	S	double, reach, trip	2 Handed Exotic Melee	8 gp

* Attached to 50 ft. of rope. If proficient with the weapon, on a successful critical hit when thrown you can grapple the target as a free action. You can only move or damage the creature with subsequent grapple checks on your turn

Plunder, Infamy, and Disrepute

Skull and Shackles

The following rules are the modification that we will be using from the Skull and Shackles Campaign book for the Plunder, Infamy, and Disrepute rules, and are taken directly from that book with some changes.

Not sure if these are pieces of eight or pieces of chocolate

Plunder

Pirates capture and steal all manner of treasure and goods from the ships they capture. Instead of writing down every crate of sugar, animal fur, or dyed linens and calculating the gold cost, we’ll be using the plunder system. It’s really easy: each cargo you capture has a certain number of points of plunder. Each point of plunder is worth approximately 1,000gp, whether it is a single crate of extremely valuable goods or a whole cargo hold full of cabbages. Plunder has two uses: selling at ports for wealth and increasing your infamy score.

Selling plunder is a negotiation, and how much you can get for it depends on the size of the port as well as the skill of the seller. Exchanging one point of plunder for gold requires one PC to spend a full day at port and making a skill check. Note that multiple PCs can sell each day, and in general that’s the fastest way to unload your spoils and get back to sea. Skills for trading plunder can be Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Profession (merchant)—though different sorts of checks will have different results in different ports. Intimidate might work better at the tiny hamlet while your ship blocks their docks, but it won’t work quite as well in Port Peril or Azir. Likewise, Bluff might be your only chance at Egorian, the upstream capital of Cheliax, where pretending you’re a legitimate ship is necessary to avoid the Navy’s wrath.

The following chart is the basic breakdown by community size, how much gold they will basically pay per point of plunder, the DC to increase the sale price, and the maximum sale percentage (with associated DC). Note that it’s not a “roll and see how high you can get” kind of situation. Rather, you declare the amount your character is trying for and seek to meet that—if you fail, you get only the base price.

Community	Base Sale % (gp for Plunder)	DC to increase sale	Maximum Sale % (Max DC & gp for plunder)
Thorp	10% (100 gp)	10 + 5 per 5%	20% (DC 20; 200 gp)
Hamlet	20% (200 gp)	10 + 5 per 5%	30% (DC 20; 300 gp)
Village	30% (300 gp)	10 + 5 per 5%	40% (DC 20; 400 gp)
Small Town	40% (400 gp)	10 + 5 per 5%	60% (DC 30; 600 gp)
Large Town	60% (600 gp)	10 + 5 per 5%	80% (DC 30; 800 gp)
Small City	80% (800 gp)	10 + 10 per 5%	90% (DC 30; 900 gp)
Large City	90% (900 gp)	10 + 10 per 5%	120% (DC 40; 1,200 gp)
Metropolis	100% (1,000 gp)	10 + 10 per 5%	140% (DC 50; 1,400 gp)

Infamy

Infamy is the measure of your pirate crew’s reputation. In most basic sense, it’s a measure of how many stories and rumors are being spread about your ship, your captain, and your crewmates across the Shackles and in broader Golarion.

To gain Infamy, you need: an audience, a deed to tell about, a storyteller, and perhaps proof of your deeds in the form of treasure or plunder. To make an Infamy check, the group determines one PC to spread word of their deeds for one day at a port (multiples are not allowed at once, and this person cannot be occupied selling Plunder that day). The PC then makes a Bluff, Intimidate, or appropriate Perform check (Oratory is most appropriate, but Act or Sing could be used as well). The DC for this check is equal to 15 + 2x the party’s level. If the character succeeds, the crew’s Infamy increases by 1. If the DC is beat by 5, the Infamy increases by 2. If the character gets a result of DC +10, then the score increases by 3. Three is the maximum any one check can raise the Infamy score. If the PC fails, then their time has been wasted. If they fail twice in a row in the same port, no further checks can be made in that port until they succeed in both raising their Infamy in some other location and completing a new deed to brag about (you can’t hang around the same port bragging poorly about the same deeds over and over).

The crew can only gain a maximum of 5 Infamy from any port, for each Infamy threshold (see chart below). Once a new threshold is met, the amount able to gain from each port is reset.

The crew can also use their Plunder to help make their deeds more real. The group decides how many points of Plunder will be used to support any given check. Instead of exchanging that Plunder for gold, it is removed but gains them a +2 bonus to the Infamy skill check. You can spend as many as you have, as the book says: “Even the most leaden-tongued pirate might win fabulous renown by spending enough booty.” If a check is failed, the party can choose to spend 3 points of Plunder to immediately re-roll the check. The second result stands, and the Plunder is spent even if the re-roll fails.

Note that certain events in the campaign may give a default Infamy increase—these are up to your characters to find and succeed at. And a few shameful or cowardly acts might result in loss of Infamy.

Title & Required Infamy	Benefit
Disgraceful (10+ Infamy)	The Captain may purchase disgraceful impositions
	The PCs choose one favored port. They gain a +2 to all Infamy checks in that port
Despicable (20+ Infamy)	The Captain may purchase despicable impositions
	Once per week, the PCs can sacrifice a prisoner or crew member to immediately gain 1d3 points of Disrepute. The sacrifice is always fatal, and returning the victim to life results in the loss of d6 disrepute.
Notorious (30+ Infamy)	The Captain may purchase notorious impositions
	Disgraceful impositions can be purchased for half price
	The PCs choose a second favored port. They gain +2 bonus on Infamy checks at that port, and their first favored port bonus rises to +4
Loathsome (40+ Infamy)	The Captain may purchase loathsome impositions
	Despicable impositions can be purchased for half price
	All crewmember PCs gain a +5 bonus on skill checks made to sell Plunder
Vile (55+ Infamy)	The Captain may purchase vile impositions
	Notorious impositions can be purchased for half price.
	The PCs choose a third favored port. They gain +2 bonus on Infamy checks at that port, and their second favored port bonus rises to +4, and first favored bonus rises to +6

Disrepute

In addition to the levels of Infamy, notorious Captains and Crews can leverage their impressive or nasty reputations to gain certain benefits: push their crew, menace a foe, or influence a port. This is called Disrepute. Each time the crew gains an Infamy point, they get a Disrepute point. They can also gain Disrepute in other ways, but Disrepute can never rise higher than the PC’s Infamy score.

Disrepute points can be spent to get various in-game bonuses, called Impositions. Disrepute can only be spent on Impositions at levels that the group’s Infamy is at or has passed. Being a pirate ship, the Captain of the ship is nominally the one who can spend Disrepute at her or his leisure. However, the crew can also choose to spend a point if they agree democratically (over half) even if the Captain does not. The problem with the latter is that Disrepute costs for each Imposition increased by +1 for each PC crew member who disagrees (including the Captain).

Disgraceful Impositions
Disrepute Cost	Imposition Benefit
2	Yes Sir or Ma’am: For the next hour, the crew completes any mundane tasks to prepare, maintain, or repair the ship at half the time, such as Craft or Profession (sailor) checks.
5	Walk the plank: Sacrifice one crew member or prisoner to grant themselves one of two bonuses: either a +2 bonus to attack rolls or +2 bonus to skill checks. This lasts for one day, and applies only while on board the PC’s ship. There is a penalty if the character is returned to life.

Despicable Impositions
Disrepute Cost	Imposition Benefit
5	Lashings: The speed of the PC’s ship doubles for one day.
10	Get Up, You Dogs: Every PC and allied character gains 1d8+5 temporary hit points, which last until lost or one day passes. This Imposition can only be used once per week.

Notorious Impositions
Disrepute Cost	Imposition Benefit
5	You’ll take it: The PCs can spend up to 5 points of Plunder in one hour’s time, gaining 50% of its value regardless of community size. This amount cannot be adjusted by skill checks.
5	Honor the Code: The PCs and their crew gain +4 to all Charisma-based skill checks made against other pirates for the next 24 hours.
10	Chum the Waters: The PC’s bloody wake happens to contain 1d4 sharks for each Infamy threshold they possess. Buying this Imposition means that the sharks happen to be swimming close to the ship at this time. These sharks are not under the PC’s control and they viciously attack any creature in the waters.

Loathsome Impositions
Disrepute Cost	Imposition Benefit
10	You’ll take it and like it: The PCs can spend up to 5 points of Plunder in one hour’s time, gaining 100% of its value regardless of community size. This amount cannot be adjusted by skill checks. Doing this in a favored port moves that port one down the ladder of favor: a first favored port becomes the second favored and replaces the first, and if the port is last on the list (second at Notorious, third at Vile) then it must be replaced with a different favored port.
10	Our reputation precedes us: Choose one enemy vessel that you can see. Stories of your Infamy have reached that vessel, and the mere sight of your ship fills them with fear. All sailors on the ship gain the Shaken condition until your ship is out of sight. Major character NPCs on the ship get a Will Save (fear effect) saving throw of DC 15.

Vile Impositions
Disrepute Cost	Imposition Benefit
10	More lashings: The speed of the PC’s ship quadruples for one day.
10	Dead men tell no tales: The threat of your menace causes everyone to be silent about your whereabouts. Any rumors of which port you might be at or where your ship is located are immediately ceased. In addition, the speak with dead spell results in no information about your whereabouts.
25	Besmara’s Notice: The goddess Pirate Queen Besmara herself takes notice of your ship and crew and grants a boon (one choice from the following list):     a) Control Weather cast in a way that assists the sailing of your ship     b) Heroes' Feast cast upon a meal from the galley     c) Find the Path cast upon the person manning the helm All of these effects are cast as if cleric spells by a 20th level caster.

Peg Legs and Eye Patches - Rules for Dismemberment

So the Pathfinder Skull and Shackles campaign player's guide (available here if you don't already have it) has rules on page four for dismemberment: what happens to player characters that requires the addition of a peg leg or an eye patch or leaves scars. While I like the concept of these rules, I think there are two main problems with them as they exist. First off, they happen only when someone takes massive damage (50 points or more of damage in a single moment). The problem with that is that NO low level pirates with such maladies would exist--imagine a first level expert or commoner and remember that they have five hit points total. They would simply die from the  hit point loss. Second, the chart is peculiar and any magnitude of attack can either sever a leg or lead to a tiny scar. Thus, I'm going to use an entirely different chart.

Who knew piracy required so many charts?

Dismemberment and Damage Rules
Whenever a character takes damage equivalent to 2/3 of their hit points in a single attack, he or she has taken dismemberment damage. A character must make a successful Fortitude save to prevent this damage from leaving him or her with a permanent scar or missing limb. The DC of the Fortitude save is 15, increased by +1 for every additional 5 hit points beyond the 2/3 point. For instance, a character with 30 hit points would have to make a Fortitude DC 15 dismemberment damage save if they suffered 20 points of damage in a single hit. If they suffered 25 points of damage, the save would be DC 16.

If the character fails the dismemberment damage save, then they must roll on the chart below. Note that a few modifiers to the chart apply. For every 5 points of damage above the 2/3 point, there is a cumulative +1 on this chart roll. So continuing the example above, a character with 30 hit points who suffered an attack that inflicted 35 hit points of damage would not only be left unconscious, but would have to succeed on a DC 18 Fortitude save or roll on the following chart with a +3 modifier to the roll.

Second, the type of damage can have an effect on the roll. Bludgeoning damage sources subtract -1 to the roll results, while slashing damage sources add +1 to the roll results. Special cases and magical weapons that are more effective in maiming foes might exist within the campaign. And one specific case of weapon inflicts particularly grievous wounds:Cannonballs. They will be seen in later adventures, and will have their own modifier to the table should a character be unlucky enough to be hit by one.

d20	Battle Scar or Amputation	Game Effect
1-4	Minor Scar	Interesting but cosmetic
5-7	Moderate Scar	+1 to Charisma checks for first scar only (treat two or more moderate scars as a major scar)
8-10	Major Scar	-1 to Charisma checks with all non-pirates, +1 to Diplomacy and Intimidate checks versus pirates
11-12	Loss of Finger	For every three lost fingers, -1 Dexterity
13-14	Loss of Toe	For every three lost toes, -5’ of movement speed
15-16	Loss of Eye*	-4 to sight-based Perception checks and -1 to Charisma checks
17-18	Loss of Leg*	Speed reduced by half, cannot run or charge
19-20	Loss of Hand*	Cannot use two-handed items (can still perform somatic components for spells)

* Pirate's Fate: Once a character loses a hand, a leg, or an eye they re-roll that result on the chart should they get it again. Once a character has lost an eye, a leg, and a hand, then they can no longer re-roll those results on the chart. A further loss of hand, leg, or eye leaves the character permanently crippled. They must immediately seek magical regeneration or retire to a short and hard life of begging on the streets of Port Peril. 

The Regenerate spell can completely repair all dismemberment effects suffered by a single target. However, as the affected portion regrows completely new and fresh, it may not match the rest of a suntanned, weathered, and aged body. A character with obvious regenerated sections of their body suffers a -1 penalty to all Charisma-based checks when those sections are exposed to the target of the interaction.

Eye Patches, Peg Legs, and Hook Hands
Players will notice that the chart is pretty simple, and there are three types of main dismemberment: eyes, legs, and hands. The following rules detail the most simple prosthesis choices available. More complex or magical choices may appear in game play, but any character with ranks in Craft (ships) can create the simple versions.

Eye Patch: These do not correct the vision issues caused by loss of an eye, but they do remove the penalty of -1 to Charisma checks. In addition, they provide a +1 to Diplomacy and Intimidate checks versus pirates. If a character wears one simply for that benefit and is found out to not have a lost eye, they will suffer a lasting penalty to their infamy score.

Peg Leg: Allows the wearer to run and charge normally. After extended wear (one year of game time) the wearer gets used to the prosthesis and the movement penalty is removed.

Hook Hand: Does not enable use of two-handed items, but the hook hand can be used for appropriate manipulation tasks (opening doors, loosely holding certain objects). In addition, the wearer gains a +2 circumstance bonus to Intimidate checks when the hook is used to threaten the target of the check. Finally, the hook hand is a simple melee weapon--see the Skull and Shackles Campaign Player Guide for statistics of the hook hand.