"Now my sweet babes, today you will finally learn how to swim. I know it can be scary, but any child of mine, or any trueborn of Tansahore, will know how to swim."

-Merchant Sailor, Tammuz son of Tammuz

Nautical Upbringing

A Nautical life is a life of or on the sea. Sailors, sea-captains, marines, and fishermen are all obvious examples, but also those who don't leave port themselves but still find themselves in a sea-based profession such as dock-wardens, ship-builders, fishmongers, lighthouse keepers, and all manner of other merchants and laborers who work in a dock-ward or port-town. In this way, the nautical upbringing obviously blends with multiple other professions, such as Laboring, Mercantile, Military, and even Criminal - pirates live a nautical life if anyone did. Perhaps what defines a nautical life more than any other is a way of life and a way of thinking; an orientation at all times towards the ocean, which manifests as both a respect for its bounty and a fear for its power.

          A Nautical upbringing can, at its best, provide (perhaps counterintuitively) a grounding to something physical - knowing the ways of the ocean, how to swim, how to steer a boat, how to tie knots, how to look for storms, are all skills which a child will begin to learn at a very young age if they come from such an upbringing. These skills are rare and in demand, and can provide an easy transition into adult life. At its worst however, a nautical life is a brutal one. All too common do parents who fulfill these professions die early and painfully, being dragged down to the treacherous ocean which employed them. It is the providence of children from such a background to either embrace the sea for what it is, or to turn away from it, and walk inland until they find someone who confuses an oar for a shovel.

          Characters from a Nautical Upbringing will have a small sailboat, a Sailing Keelboat. The boat was likely left to the character from their family, or perhaps was begotten as a token of their old life. It is old and worn, but still in working condition. It can hold up two seven people at once, and can be crewed by 1-3 people at a time. It has a cargo capacity of a 1,000lbs, and a cabin with two beds and a desk. For more details on the makeup of the ship, see the Dungeon Master. The Sailing Keelboat could be kept in a port for a small fee each month, or on land for even cheaper, though moving the ship from land to sea is a logistical challenge.

If you choose the Nautical Upbringing, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Dexterity score or a +1 to your Wisdom score~

~A -1 to your Charisma score~

~A language of your choice, one taught to you by a parent, guardian, or mentor from your upbringing~

~A Sub-Discipline in every social skill on checks dealing with other members of Nautical Upbringing~

~A Sailing Keelboat left to you by your family~

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