[Index]
Cypher Bestiary
Eccentric and weathered, pirates love freedom, gold, and adventures on the lawless high seas.
Health: 6
Damage Inflicted: Minor wound
Armor: 1
Movement: Short
Modifications: Deception, perception, navigation, and tasks related to ship upkeep as level 4
Combat: Pirates attack with knives, cutlasses, and sometimes single long-range shots with flintlock pistols.
Pirates may also engage in a range of additional tactics and attacks, including:
A pirate goes by their given name, or some combination of that and what their mates call them. Options include: Blades, Benji Hawkins, Josiah Fishmouth, Sara Sass, Needles, Jackie the Boot, Tom Lickspittle, Shaggy Joe, Phoebe Gull, Blind Cyrus, Eleanor Crab, Three-Eyed Jude, Dire Alice, Oliver Wott, Clementine, Joseph Starfinder, Lucy Nevershore, Hale Graham, Clementine, Blabbermouth Ted, Mabel Harkness, Rotten Henry, Greasebeard Jim
Many pirate ships sail the seas, including the following.
Sea Terror: level 5 sailing ship (Spanish galleon)
Captain Malice: as pirate captain; sharkskin whip (level 7 artifact, depletion: 1-in-1d10) inflicts a major wound and, on failed Might defense roll, flings target to new location within short range
Sea turtle: level 7, dodge as level 4 due to size; Armor 4
The Bleak Legion: When four or more level 3 sloops coordinate, treat them as a single level 6 ship.
Bleak Bill: as pirate captain; returns to undeath within a few days so long as a chest hidden on a distant island containing his preserved heart remains undisturbed
Angry Roger: level 5 sailing ship (brig)
Bluebell: as pirate captain, dodge as level 7 due to size; flies a short distance each round
The Sea Terror bristles with cannons under scarlet sails painted with a monstrous, fanged turtle. A crew of three dozen pirates answer to Captain Malice. The captain has a habit of feeding her defeated enemies to a colossal, voracious sea turtle she keeps in the hold. The threat of that is enough for most ships overtaken by the Sea Terror to give up rather than fight and become turtle chow.
Half a dozen small single-masted sloops painted night black displaying a gold kraken on the sails operate as a small fleet called The Bleak Legon. (Sloops are smaller and more maneuverable than brigs.) Each has crew of about a dozen pirates, all under the command of Bleak Bill. The captain is especially feared because people say he and his crew are already dead. But even worse, Bleak Bill doesn't hold with the "rules" of piracy and always kills everyone aboard any craft the Bleak Legion catches.
The Angry Roger claims to be the largest pirate brig sailing the sea. Once helmed by the notorious Captain Hook, the ship is now run (some might say overrun) by a crew of pirate foxes, wolves, and other misaligned beasts. A tiny faerie called Bluebell does her best to captain the crew——she has enough sense of mischief from her grandmother, Tinker Bell, to keep them all in line, mostly. Unlike many pirate vessels, the Angry Roger defends vessels from other pirates.
Pirates are usually encountered as part of a crew of dozens, all under the command of a notorious captain aboard an infamous pirate ship. They yearn for wealth, freedom, and whatever lies over the sea's horizon. They are equally thrilled by seeking hidden treasures, finding uncharted islands, and discovering drowned legendary artifacts as they are when a ship laden with potential booty heaves into view.
Pirates enjoy their bloodthirsty reputation but prefer that their prey surrender over fighting to the last sailor. If the targeted crew know the pirates will keep a promise of only plundering, not murdering everyone, they might give up rather than fight.
Individual pirates have unique pirate names and distinctive looks and habits, but all answer to a pirate captain.
The only difference between pirates and privateers is that privateers obtain a license for their tyranny.
Pirates are a disreputable lot, weathered and often wearing a patchwork of dress and style. But every pirate has a particular habit, distinctive look, or behavior that sets them apart, including:
| d20 | Distinction |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wears a lion-skin cape with lion.head hood |
| 2 | Smells of cinnamon oil and burnt gunpowder |
| 3 | One eye glows with silver light |
| 4 | Can't go a day without being struck by lightning |
| 5 | Seems to be a talking lemur in pirate clothes |
| 6 | Speaks eloquently with perfect diction |
| 7 | Talking blue-shelled crab on shoulder |
| 8 | Set of wooden teeth capped with ivory |
| 9 | Always strumming on a lute |
| 10 | Monstrously drunk; sobers up quick in a fight |
| 11 | Followed around by a seal in an eyepatch |
| 12 | Muscle-bound; sports knife-through-heart tattoo |
| 13 | Beard is a wooden prosthetic |
| 14 | Always shucking and eating clams/oysters |
| 15 | One peg leg always tries to take root |
| 16 | Wears a live rat strapped to head as a hat |
| 17 | Wields a cutlass that whistles and glows |
| 18 | Their swearing peels splinters from the deck |
| 19 | Wears a spherical diving helmet at all times |
| 20 | Never misses opportunity to mention they were once a "lost boy" |
More than gold, jewels, clothing, and art, pirate captains prize looted magic artifacts, including:
| d6 | Artifact (level 7; depletion 1 in 1d6) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Faerie caught in amber: Causes all flying creatures in a very long radius to fall from sky. |
| 2 | Cursed chest: Locking someone inside for a day transmutes them to a very expensive sum of coins. |
| 3 | Dagger of Endings: Drawing the dagger disintegrates all drawn weapons in short-range. |
| 4 | Spyglass of Sinking: User can sink a ship they spy within very long range. |
| 5 | Hand cannon: Magical hand-held cannon makes a long-range attack dealing a major wound. |
| 6 | Ice wand: Turns water to ice in a very long area, imprisoning nearby ships in ice for hours. |
Adventure Seed: A chalice of enchanted nectar, bound for a distant island ravaged by bad dreams, is stolen by a pirate ship. Getting the chalice back could ensure the peace of hundreds.
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