Hagfish

SHIP: "The Hagfish", Tradesman
SR: 1, MC: D, AR: 5, 25 tons, min crew: 10, lgt catapult bow, med ballista stern.

Yet another merchant fish-ship. This one's at the bottom of the food chain, however. This ship will likely be filling the role of victim soon after being introduced to a campaign. But even victims are NPCs too, right? In addition, the Hagfish offers rock bottom prices for shipping and chartering. With a little haggling, they can undercut the competition by 10%-60%. As a suggestion, they will charge a minimum of 450 gp/month travel (to cover loan payments on the helm).

MODIFICATION: Minor helm. The general appearance of the vessel is shoddy. Rigging is patched and mended, brass fittings are missing or tarnished, and the hull is scuffed.

Crew

Captain Artemis Hound (Human Ftr Lvl 2)

A grizzled veteran spacer. White hair and beard (age 56, but looks older), frequently squinting. Although his limbs are intact, people tend to remember him as having a peg leg, hook hand, or eyepatch if they haven't seen him in a long time. His speech is peppered with cliched seaman talk: "argh, matey", etc. After a long career as a space-deckhand, he won possession of the Hagfish, its helm, and a 30000 gp debt to the Bank of Bral from his then captain in a card game 8 years ago. So far, they have survived on good luck, mainly. Hound is a dedicated alcoholic, and loves nearly all kinds of booze. He won't sail until the hold is stocked with such "liquid provisions," and will head to the nearest port when they run out. At any given time, he will be at -1 to -4 to all skills from the effects of drink. In general, he is an easy-going and good natured captain, but rather lax about discipline.

Incandex (Human Priest Lvl 3)

Helmsman and First Officer. CG priest of Ralishaz. 25 year old Oeridian male from City of Greyhawk, slight build. Usually wearing multicolored religious robes. Drinking buddy of Hound. Often engaging crew or passengers in gambling or games of chance. Proficient at Spelljamming. Typical spell selection: Cure Light Wounds, Bless, Silence 15'r.

Crenedor (Human Wizard Lvl 2)

Helmsman. Ancient, stooped, formerly mighty mage. Looks about age 85, but actually 110. He used to be the typical evil wizard, terrorizing the good folks of the planet Ginsel in Greyspace. Eventually, during an attack by some altruistic adventurers, his pet pack of wraiths was turned on him. He barely escaped with 2 levels remaining. The adventurers made off with his treasures and spellbooks. Degraded, he took up a job as a lowly helmsman. He seldom talks, preferring to spend his time off-helm sulking in his quarters. Oddly, he refuses to drink. Typical spell selection: Feather Fall, Sleep.

Thump (Midget Hill Giant)

Twelve feet tall, wears a sailcloth toga. In game terms, treat as a hill giant but reduce HD, damage and ranges by 25%. Rejected as a youth by his tribe because of his size, Thump was found by Hound while wandering the wilderness near a spaceport on Oerth. Thump is doggedly loyal to Hound, and will enthusiastically fight enemies of the Hagfish, thowing rocks or wielding a ballista bolt as a spear. He is also very useful for cargo handling. His drawback as a crewman is that he consumes 4 times as much food and air as a human. Drinks to be sociable, but doesn't like the taste, and is too big for it to affect him much.

Other Crew: The above characters are the core crew, which doesn't change from voyage to voyage. Turn over for the rest of the crew is high, either because they can get hired on safer ships with better pay, or because they have become too incompetant to sail even on the Hagfish. Although sometimes experienced sailors are found on the Hagfish, the overall crew quality is always Green. The ships armory can equip them with javelins and hand axes in case of trouble. They are generally at -1 or -2 to all actions due to liberal access to the grog barrel.

Current Crew: all are human males
Dingle (age 15)
Philip
Obilic
Cosic (6' 8" tall)
ChiTho (carries and wields nunchuks)
Barlas
Raymond (age 17, secretly female pretending to be male)