The following rules are for the upcoming seacrawl I've been working on, Our Mother, the Sea, although some or all may be useful to anyone wishing to run a crew in a maritime setting. Further rules for ships, etc. are forthcoming. These rules are to be used alongside Violence, by Luke Gearing.

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A Note on Measures & Currency

Many standards of measurement have come and gone, but the handpound (hlb) is accepted at every port. An abstract unit of both volume and weight, it describes what can be easily held in one hand.

Steel pennies (sp) are the only currency that matters. Among friends, however, a trade of favours can always be arranged.

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Creating a Crew

The sea called. You answered.

By coin or circumstance, you have come into possession of a humble fishing trawler. With it, comes a promise: pennies, if you can earn them, and freedom, if you’ll take it.

Baptize your old life, and pick up your boots. It’s time to get to work.

AGE

You are 1d100 years old. Reroll results below 16.

PROFESSION

You used to do something to make ends meet, before you left your old life behind. Roll 1d20 to determine what it was, as well as what it left you.

All sailors begin with the most basic tools of their former trade. They may purchase additional equipment with their starting funds, if they wish – or keep the coin for future investments.

Each profession comes with its own peculiarities. Some are noted in the list below. Fill in more as they arise in play.

1. Antiquarian (1d100 sp): You bring your most prized possession: a random antique.
2. Carpenter (2d6+2 sp): You bring the remains of your stockpile: 2d6*10 sp of lumber.
3. Cook (2d6 sp): You can divide loaves and fishes. Use half the normal provisions to feed your sailors.
4. Fisherman (1d12 sp): You know the locations of the best fishing spots within 3 hexes of your starting location.
5. Hermit (0 sp): You know the name of a random leviathan, and how to summon it.
6. Lightkeeper (1d6sp): The light never leaves your eyes. You do not suffer stress at night.
7. Mechanic (3d6 sp): Your collection of spare parts has a 2-in-6 chance of containing what you need to make complicated repairs that would usually require a port.
8. Missionary (0 sp): You bring your holy radio, which is tuned to heavenly frequencies. Your tithebox contains 1d100 sp.
9. Photographer (0 sp): You bring your camera and enough film for 2d6 photographs. Your photographs reveal hidden details.
10. Poet (1d6 sp): You bring 2d6 bottles of alcohol or cartons of cigarettes. Your poems speak to the soul, treating those afflicted with stress. Such a powerful performance can be achieved only once per week.
11. Roughneck (1d6 sp): You gained an additional skill in the time you could steal from the job.
12. Shepherd (1d6 sp): You bring a dog and the remains of your flock: 4d6 sp of livestock.
13. Soldier (2d6 sp): You bring a firearm of your choosing. You still carry a wound from battle.
14. Surgeon (4d6 sp): You wear Theresa’s Cross around your neck. Do no harm, and none will harm you.
15. Surveyor (3d6 sp): Your maps are exquisite. When travelling a route you’ve mapped you cannot get lost except in low visibility.
16. Timberman (1d6 sp): You bring your trusty axe. 2-in-6 chance you’ve lost a limb.
17. Trader (1d20 sp): You bring the remains of your failed business venture: 3d20 sp of a random commodity.
18. Trapper (1d20 sp): You can always scrounge up food on land. Gain 1d4 hlbs of provisions for each watch spent.
19. Whaler (2d6 sp): Your eyes are honed to hunt. Add +3 to Injury Checks against whales and leviathans.
20. Zoologist (2d6 sp): You bring with you an encyclopedia of your own making. You can identify monsters and malformations on a 2-in-6 chance.

SKILLS

You picked up a number of skills in your life. They’ve been there for you in times of need.

Roll 1d4 random skills learned in childhood, plus an additional skill for every twenty years of life.

Rolling the same skill twice indicates a professional level of expertise – reroll further repeated results.

d100	Skill	–	Skill
1-2	Angling	51-52	Mechanical repair
3-4	Antiquing	53-54	Meditation
5-6	Biology	55-56	Melee weaponry
7-8	Building	57-58	Metalworking
9-10	Carpentry	59-60	Musicianship
11-12	Child-rearing	61-62	Navigation
13-14	Climbing	63-64	Pharmaceuticals
15-16	Cooking	65-66	Philosophy
17-18	Cryptozoology	67-68	Piloting
19-20	Diving	69-70	Pseudomythology
21-22	Dodging	71-72	Pugilism
23-24	Drawing	73-74	Radiotelegraphy
25-26	Electronics	75-76	Running
27-28	Explosives	77-78	Shepherding
29-30	Farming	79-80	Shooting
31-32	First aid	81-82	Spelunking
33-34	Foraging	83-84	Surgery
35-36	History	85-86	Surveying
37-38	Jumping	87-88	Swimming
39-40	Jury-rigging	89-90	Tailoring
41-42	Lifting	91-92	Throwing
43-44	Listening	93-94	Timbering
45-46	Lockpicking	95-96	Trade
47-48	Looking	97-98	Trawling
49-50	Mathematics	99-100	Wrestling

SHIP & CARGO

The crew begins aboard a fishing trawler, which can be built using the procedures found in the Ships section [forthcoming]. The ship’s hold is barren, save for the following supplies:

• 2d6 hlbs of provisions per person.
• 4d6 hlbs of fuel.
• 100 sp of sundries.
• 50 sp of a random commodity.

CREW ACTIONS

LABOUR

When the crew engages in an arduous task, the Referee determines the number of labour-watches required to complete it. A labour-watch is a unit of work equal to the amount a single sailor can complete in a watch.

Each watch the crew spends on-task, reduce the remaining labour-watches by the number of sailors contributing. Skilled labourers count as two sailors. Professional labourers count as three. Suffering labourers count as half.

Double the labour-watches required when working in poor conditions, such as at night, in freezing temperatures, during storms, etc.

DUTIES

Keeping your ship afloat is a labour of love, demanding constant care and attention.

Each watch spent travelling at sea, the following duties should be attended to. Each duty takes a single labour-watch to complete, save for deckhand duties which require a number of labour-watches equal to the ship’s tier.

Skipper duties cannot be reduced or increased, and always take the full length of the watch.

If these duties are not attended to during a watch, 1-in-6 chance catastrophe strikes. 

Duties	Responsibilities
Skipper	Helming the wheel, and making final decisions in times of conflict.
Quartermaster	Tracking and managing cargo onboard.
Cartographer	Drafting maps of explored territories.
Mechanic	Maintaining and repairing ship equipment.
Cook	Preparing warm meals for the crew.
Deckhand	Performing general tasks such as maintenance and keeping watch.

Each sailor requires at minimum two watches of rest per day, or else suffers from the affliction of stress (see Suffering section).

CHECKS

When the outcome of an action taken by the crew cannot be determined by discussion, roll a number of six-sided dice for each contributing crew member.

Roll an additional dice for each skilled contributor, or two for each professional contributor. Add/subtract dice according to situational advantages/disadvantages.

If a 6 appears, the crew is successful. Otherwise, they fail.

Elsewhere, this may be referred to as a Crew Check.

SUFFERING

Many a sailor would welcome a quick death with open arms. More often than not, the sea takes her time.

When a sailor suffers, either from affliction or injury, increasing their suffering level. The effects of each level of suffering is listed below:

Suffering	Effects
0	Healthy. No effect.
1	Difficulty performing strenuous or prolonged tasks.
2	Difficulty performing tasks requiring fine motor skills.
3	Difficulty performing tasks requiring basic motor skills.
4	Unable to perform even basic tasks without aid.
5	Unable to stay conscious for extended periods.

AFFLICTIONS

When certain conditions are met, sailors may suffer from an affliction. The appropriate treatment reduces the suffering it causes by one level.

Several common afflictions are detailed in the table below. The sea is endlessly creative – she has many more ways to kill you. Add or modify afflictions at your leisure.

Affliction	Conditions	Treatment (Per Level of Suffering)
Hunger	Going without food for a week.	Eating normally for a week.
Thirst	Going without water for a day.	Drinking normally for a day.
Stress	Overworking, or beholding the horrific.	Resting for 1d4 days or abusing substances.
Hypothermia	Being exposed to freezing temperatures.	Rewarming for a watch.
Infection	Treating wounds improperly, or eating spoiled provisions.	Resting for 1d6 days or taking antibiotics for a day.
Radiation Poisoning	Absorbing 200 rads of radiation.	None. Effects subside in 1d6 days per level of suffering caused.

INJURIES

When a sailor receives an injury, roll on the table below to determine the level of suffering it causes. Add the sailor’s suffering level to the result.

d20	Harm
1-6	Flesh wound. No suffering.
7-15	Injury. Increase suffering.
16+	Felled. Increase suffering twice.

Elsewhere, this may be called an Injury Check.

Injuries are not an abstract measurement of damage. Treat injuries as real – broken bones, debilitating wounds, blows to the head.

Felled sailors are incapacitated, and must make a Death Check.

DEATH

When a sailor is at risk of certain death, roll 1d100 over their age. Add +10 to the roll for each skilled sailor applying first aid, or +20 for each professional. Those whose suffering level would be increased beyond five automatically fail.

If successful, they are alive, but in critical condition. Otherwise, they die.

Elsewhere, this may be referred to as a Death Check.