Playable Race – Human (Vagabond)

The Oceans of Contest are home to a large population of humans. These come in 2 primary factions; the Vagabonds that live under the protection of the 3 Pirate Lords, and the Herculeans of Athens. The Vagabonds live chaotic lives plundering and pillaging the territories of fellow humans and have adapted to excel on the high seas.

Rugged and Suave

Like other humans, Vagabonds can appear in any skin tone with hair colours ranging from dark blacks to bright blonds. They are diverse in their build and height, yet typically growing between 5ft and 6.5ft. It is common to have many tattoos that hold personal significance and don no small number of trinkets and jewellery across their bodies. Sea monsters, accidents, and war often leave Vagabonds with permanent injuries, however, this rarely slows their desire for adventure. Peg legs, eye patches, and hooks are often found in place of missing limbs or body parts. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and rarely live even a single century, with many falling prey to the dangers of the sea long before old age can claim them.

Choices and Family

Vagabonds have been raised in a lawless, self-serving society. They grow up being taught that you have to fight for what you want, however, this doesn’t mean they are purely selfish people. Loyalty, comradery, and teamwork are important values within Vagabonds society. One of the most important decisions a young man or woman makes when they come of age is choosing a crew.

This choice comes in two steps. First, they must decide which of the Pirate Lords they wish to serve and then they must pick which local crew they want to be a part of. Making the wrong choice can lead to an unforgiving and bleak life, as a Vagabonds crew becomes their family. A place where they belong and will be treated as an equal. There are no trials nor auditions when joining your chosen crew, however, if you come to regret the choice and abandon your crew, you are accepting a life of shame and hardship for no ship will welcome a deserter. They would amount to an exile in their own city.

Vagabond Names

While Vagabonds, like all humans, are given names at birth, it is an accepted tradition to choose (or be given) a nickname during your first outing with your chosen crew. These nicknames are usually based on the adventures undergone or the dangers survived. Once a nickname is given it becomes the persons ‘true’ name and it is considered offensive to use their birth name. You can choose from the list below or come up with your own option:

Masculine	Feminine
‘Two-Fingers’ Terrance	Coral ‘The Drinker’
Billy ‘Beater’	‘Left-Teeth’ Genie
Tab ‘Half-Man’	Barbra ‘Triple-Cut’
Martin ‘The Merry’	‘Siren’s Grin’ Bonnie
‘Face Half-Full’	‘First Lady’ Jillian

Human (Vagabond) Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.

Alignment. A Vagabonds alignment varies widely, depending on the Pirate Lord faction they are a part of. Due to this, they tend towards a neutral alignment.

Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one additional language of your choice.

Parley. As an action, you can cast the Calm Emotions spell without expending a spell slot. You can use this feature one before needing to complete a short or long rest.

Messy Escape. When you step out of a creatures reach, as a reaction you may roll a d6. On a result of 4-6 the creature cannot make an opportunity attack against you.

Pirate’s Proficiencies. You gain proficiency in Vehicles (Aquatic), rapiers, pikes, and spears. In addition, you can add your proficiency bonus to attacks made with improvised weapons.

An Eye For Loot. You can tell if an item is valuable (worth 50gp or more) by spending 1 minute inspecting it.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for reading about this new playable race! I hope you enjoyed the lore and fun mechanics of this race. I want each of the human races to feel unique and noticeably distinct in their lore and playstyle and I think I have achieved this so far. If you try playing as one of these guys, I’d love to hear how it goes either in the comments or in my community discord! Like the majority of the content on this blog, these creatures were created on my Twitch streams. Please come and join in the fun!

Have a great day everyone, and as always, may your next session be filled with glory!!