Praedaren
a ship flying the colors of a praedaren pirate fleet, don't think for a moment that you can out sail them, nor that you can win in a fray. The best course of action is to accept your fate, show no hostility, and to give them what they desire. Doing
so by no means promises your life, but it gives you a better chance than any you ever had.
-- Ever Brooks, Tales of Old Salt
Within rocky coves and coastal inlets, praedaren build their dens. Atop the blood-soaked docks these creatures call home, carcasses of great sea monsters are hoisted by net and harpoon, and the stench of iron and salt permeates the air. Longshoremen work tirelessly to load and unload their vessels, harvest the remains of slain beasts, and repair or dismantle ships that have been salvaged or captured by competing fleets.
These lands are barren and bleak, and largely inhospitable. As a result, the praedaren repurpose much of that they scavenge into their infrastructure. In this wooden, rusting bricolage, one might find any number of foreign ships repurposed for a home, archways carved from monstrous jawbones, or tattered sails strung up for some protection against the elements.
A Meaner Demeanor
Though their anatomy differs greatly amongst their differing blood-lines, all praedaren share a few characteristics. They wholeheartedly believe themselves superior to all other races. Moreover, they are inherently aggressive, and regularly flaunt this quality to a world which demands, and in their mind respects, complete dominance.
Muscled and cartilaginous terrors, the praedaren possess a shark-like humanoid figure, complete with dorsal fin, gils, and a large pair of beady, 'soulless' eyes. Their tails, which extend from their lower back, are powerful and used for propelling them quickly through the water, and their jaws are lined with rows of teeth that rapidly grow back when lost. Their placoid scaled skin is thick and textured like sandstone, but it is easily and often scarred. The praedaren's scars are worn with pride, and never hidden, for each tells a story of a battle that its bearer survived.
Forsworn Father
Praedaren are mutinous spawn of the shark devil-diety Sekolah, sculpted in his own image. Under his servitude, they acquired their taste for conflict and plunder, as they were tasked with ravaging Sekolah's prey. Despite the pleasure that praedaren experienced in his service, they were discontent. They sought freedom; freedom to form bonds of kinship and friendship, freedom to build their own society, and freedom to do as oneself desired. And so, once the opportunity arose, the praedaren escaped the clutches of Sekolah's influence, and fled his domain beneath the depths. To this day, the praedaren hold dear their hard-won freedom, and are regularly at odds with those who continued to serve their former master: the sahuagin.
Maritime Supremacy
Since their conception, praedaren have enjoyed their status as apex predators of the sea. They assert themselves in all aspects of nautical life, and unsurprisingly, their most common interests relate to pirating, racketeering, hunting, and salvaging. Their absolute dominance in these fields—often underscored by the competition between praedaren fleets—has earned them a fearsome reputation amongst other seafaring cultures. When a praedaren reaches maturity, they make the important decision as to which fleet they will join. Joining a fleet isn't always a lifelong commitment, though there can be serious repercussions for some who attempt to desert their crews.
Within praedaren society, station, power, and wealth determine everything. When multiple praedaren have disagreements, they settle matters with brutal, yet ritualistic fights, letting the outcome determine who is right or wrong. There are no real laws or law enforcers, and only after entering a fleet must a praedaren uphold any given code. For these reasons, as well as their own superiority complexes, the praedaren typically refuse to abide by any foreign laws.
Stalwart Professionals
If there is one thing that can humble a praedaren, it's a failure to do their duty. Praedaren acknowledge that their society rides on the back of each individual's ability to be productive. A failed job is like a swift kick to ones ego. If the salvage crews do not produce, the villages do not prosper. If the hunters do not find prey, the village goes hungry. And if the merchants do not find business, the markets become stagnant. This way of thinking is what motivates the praedaren to be unrelenting until the very last days of their long lives, and it serves as a unifying value shared by most of their race.
Praedaren Quirks
| d8 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You can't pass up a good challenge |
| 2 | You'll stand in harms way to protect a comrade |
| 3 | Rumors of treasure attract you like a fly to feces |
| 4 | You have countless tales to tell of the sea's dangers |
| 5 | You're impatient and have trouble remaining still |
| 6 | You're obsessed with keeping your teeth immaculate |
| 7 | Once you've taken a job, you'll always see it done |
| 8 | You remain confident no matter how dire the situation |
Praedaren Adventurers
| d8 | Reason for Adventuring |
|---|---|
| 1 | You were left stranded for mutiny |
| 2 | Your crew was lost to the sea |
| 3 | Your ship was attacked and sank by a kraken |
| 4 | You're fresh out of prison |
| 5 | You have orders from higher up |
| 6 | You're out to start your own crew |
| 7 | You're looking for new adventures and experiences |
| 8 | Your crews treasure was stolen by a dragon |
Praedaren Names
A praedaren has a given name, often a fleet name, and sometimes a rank or title. Usually, praedaren find themselves making their living among a fleet of ships, and more often than not, they take their fleets name as their own in respect of it. Thus, Minos, who captains a ship within The Great Gam, might call himself Captain Minos the Great, or Gilly, who makes her living as a pearl merchant in The Rising Tide, may call herself Gilly of the Rising Tide. Doing so binds them to others in ways that family or clan names do for other races.
Male Names: Arsenio, Brutus, Don, Emrik, Kawan, Kano, Mako, Minos, Nado, Rex, Ryker, Squall, Thresh, Wade, Zale
Female Names: Adira, Brighid, Ebba, Gesa, Gilly, Lana, Maajida, Mako, Mazu, Nahla, Nakhti, Sedna, Velda, Zarya
Fleet Names: The Apex Armada, The Feeding Frenzy,
The Great Gam, The Hunting Party, The Jaws of Sekolah, The Locker Jocks, The Red Wake, The Rising Tide
Praedaren Traits
Your praedaren character has a number of traits
in common with all other praedaren.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
increases by 2.
Age. A praedaren is fully grown and considered an "adult" at the age of 50, though most do not mature until their early hundreds. They generally live 300 or so years, withering with age, but only slightly, remaining strong and sharp until their very last days.
Alignment. Most praedaren are chaotic neutral, due to their insatiable thirst for wealth and power.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Abyssal Mariner. You ignore any of the drawbacks caused by a deep, underwater environment. Additionally, you gain proficiency with the Intimidation skill, and vehicles (water).
Bite. You have a mouth rowed with jagged, razor like, teeth, and it is a natural weapon which you can make attacks with. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier.
Blood in the Water. You can sense the general direction of a creature below half of its maximum hit points that is within 100 feet of you. Furthermore, when a creature you damaged on your last turn ends its turn further away from you than it started, you can use your reaction to move up to 30 feet closer to it.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Infernal.
Subrace. There are a vast variety of praedaren bloodlines, including; Carvers, Haulers, Looters, Seekers, and Sinkers. Each of these subraces play a vital role within a crew and its fleet. Choose one of these subraces.
Looter
Looters are much smaller than the other praedaren bloodlines. They utilize their size to maneuver through the tight confines present in shipwrecks and undersea caverns, where they're often tasked with retrieving treasure from. Besides their small size, looters also have protruding nostrils, sunken eyes, and a menacing grin, all of which contribute to them occasionally being mistaken as a goblinoid.
Size. Looter praedaren stand roughly 4 feet tall and weigh about 140 pounds. Your size is Small.
Trap Finder. You have advantage on Perception and Investigation checks made to detect the presence of traps.
Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with thieves' tools.
Seeker
This subset of praedaren have a distinguishing head shaped like that of a hammer. Seekers have retained much of their ancestor's sensory capabilities, and because of their usefulness in finding hidden treasures, they are treated like kings by their crew mates.
Size. Seeker praedaren average about 6 feet tall and weigh about 400 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Eyes of the Deep. Your eyes are well attuned to the dark, watery, depths. Whenever you make a Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check to see or find something while fully submerged under water, you have advantage on the roll.
Electroreception. You are aware of the presence of living creatures and metal objects within 30 feet of yourself but not their exact location. You can use your bonus action to identify their current location and track their movement until the start of your next turn. You can only do this when you're under the surface of water.
Carver
Carvers are most notably defined by their blade-tipped tail, which is twice the length of their entire body. As a carver, you will use your tail masterfully both in combat as a weapon to flay scale from flesh, and out of combat to cut through water at remarkable speeds.
Size. Carver praedaren average about 5 feet tall and weigh about 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Tail Whip. Much like the blade of an urumi, your lengthy tail fin is hard, pliant, and razor sharp, allowing you to use it as a natural weapon which you can make attacks out to 10 feet with. You use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for both rolls. If you hit with it, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your chosen modifier.
Cutthroat. When you roll an 18 or 19 with an attack using your tail whip, you can choose to score a critical hit. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Improved Swim Speed. You have a swimming speed of 40 feet instead.
Sinker
Known for their superior jaw strength, muscular build, and all around combat prowess, praedaren of the sinker type are considered the most fearsome foe to have on the sea. Sinkers get their name from their ability to rip holes in the haul of a ship using nothing but their own teeth.
Size. Sinker praedaren average about 7 feet tall and weigh about 440 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Improved Bite. You posses a maw capable of tearing through metal as if it's meat. Your bite attack deals 2d4 + your Strength modifier instead. Your bite gains the siege property. (your attacks deal double damage to objects and structures).
Sink or Swim. You have an indomitable attitude, which drives you to succeed in dire straits. Whenever you have below half of your maximum hit points remaining, and roll damage for your bite attack, make a Strength check, or a Strength saving throw, you may roll 1d4 and add it to the result.
Altruistic Aggressors
Although they hide it well below a surface of aggression toward friend and foe alike, praedaren care deeply about their companions. Praedaren consider their friends' safety to be their own responsibility, and in times of emergency, they will either save their companions or die trying.
Hauler
As a hauler, your responsibilities often involve the protection and transportation of important objects. Haulers are the largest of all the praedaren subraces. They have huge bellies that are surrounded by thick layers of fat. They use their large stomach and wide gaping mouths to swallow precious loot and store it for safe keeping. They've also been been known to repair metal objects using a salivary gland unique to their kind.
Size. Hauler praedaren average about 8 feet tall and weigh about 560 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Devour. As an action, you can make a bite attack against a creature of a smaller size than yourself that you are grappling in an attempt to swallow it whole. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside of you, and it takes 2d4 acid damage at the start of each of your turns. You can have only one target swallowed at a time. Your armor class when targeted by an attack made by a creature that is swallowed is 10.
If you become incapacitated the swallowed creature is no longer restrained and can escape using 5 feet of movement, exiting prone. Otherwise the creature can attempt to escape by using it's action as if attempting to escape a grapple. As an action, you can regurgitate a swallowed creature into an adjacent unoccupied space.
Once used, you must complete a long rest before you can use this feature again.
Store the Hoard. As an action, you can store metallic items in your gut for safe keeping. The space in your gut is equivalent to that of a large burlap sack. To retrieve an item from your stomach also requires an action.
Amending Acids. The acids in your belly have restorative properties for metallic materials. A metallic item stored in your gut for 1 hour is repaired as if effected by the mending cantrip.
Racial Feats
If your DM allows the use of feats from chapter 6 of the Player's Handbook, your praedaren character has access to the following special feats.
Avaricious Mind
Prerequisites: Praedaren
Your senses are finely tuned for the purpose of making you wealthy.
- Whenever you make an Intelligence check to estimate the value of a precious item, you are considered proficient in the relevant skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
- You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made involving trade or treasures.
Tooth and Tail
Prerequisites: Praedaren
A life filled with deadly combat has taught you to put your all into every fight, for each one could be your last.
- If you hit with your natural bite attack, you deal an additional 1d4 piercing damage.
- When you hit a creature with your bite attack on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target. A grapple check is a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
- Your tail provides you with advantage when making a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to maintain balance or when making a Strength (Athletics) check to swim in difficult conditions.
Credits
Created by Anthony Vallozzi, you can contact me on reddit as /u/ch33ri000z, or on discord as @Capt Hooks. You can find more of my work at gmbinder.com.
Special thanks to everyone in the Discord of Many Things who helped so much, especially @Jaekbad who kindly helped on the introduction flavor text.
Art in Order of Appearance
"Gangplank's Warehouse" by Riot Games Inc.
"Blackfin the Pirate" by RogierB
"Treasure Chest" by avatarfact
"Unkown" by GuangYi
"Pirates" by Khang-Le
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