Following my efforts to expand Orcs into the sea, I thought I’d try to same with Dwarves, but coming at it from a slightly different angle. I had this awesome Naval Architect lifepath all set up, with skills that would cover everything from building aqueducts and locks to building treasure galleons, but then I realized the Craftsman Dwarf LP actually has shipwright, so I dropped that one. Maybe I’ll resurrect the lock and aqueduct and channel portion. Anyway, I thought it was odd that Dwarves could build ships but not sail them. So I came up with these:
Barge Subsetting for Guild
Barger
Time 15 years, Res 5, Stat +1 P
Leads Clan, Guild, Host
Skills 6 pts Seamanship, Block and Tackle (S), Mending, Knots, Brawling
Traits 1 pt:
Barge Master
Time 30 years, Res 30, Stat +1 M/P
Leads Guild, Host
Skills 4 pts Navigation, Pilot, Cargo-wise, Cataract-wise
Traits 1 pt: Old Man River
Requires: Trader, Barger, or Diver
High Seas Captain
Time 50 years, Res 40 Stat +1 M/P
Leads Clan, Guild, Host
Skills 4 pts Administration, Conspicuous, Command, Trade wind-wise
Traits 1 pt: Bills of Exchange, Sense of Direction
Requires: Barge Master twice, Craftsman, or any other Captain type lifepath.
Diver
Time 20 years, Res 15, Stat +1 P
Leads Clan, Guild
Skills 5 pts Scavenging, Sinking (S), Pearl-wise, Wreck-wise
Traits 1 pt: Iron Lungs, Wary
Block and Tackle: A supernatural Dwarfish skill that substitutes for Rigging on-board properly equipped ships, and which can substitute for Power in appropriate situations when you have a pulley system handy and time to set it up. Requires tools.
Old Man River: +1D to Piloting and Navigation tests when on a familiar river or lake.
Sinking: A Supernatural Dwarfish skill. Dwarves can swim, but being Born of Earth, they don’t float very well. They tend to sink. Some dwarves have turned sinking into an art form, and can sink particularly rapidly, and control how they sink. +2Ob if you don’t have your Sinking tools handy - dwarvish divers rely on their nose plugs, crystal eye protection, dive lines, and lead weights to sink safely.
Bills of Exchange [Die]: Ignore the penalty to Resources and Circles when far away from home if there are communities familiar with dwarves nearby.
Iron Lungs [Call On]: Forte Call On for resisting suffocation.
As always, questions, concerns, thoughts are all eagerly solicited.