Cloudskipper (Airship Captain)


It's been a while since I last posted an NPC for you guys. So, here's one I put together. I can't believe it's not a gnome, but alas I must follow inspiration where it takes me. Enjoy.

Cloudskipper

(CLOUD-skipper)
"(To The Flitting Crow) Schwiiinnng! Crsssh. Don’t worry, she’ll hold together. Rooo-aarr. Eeee. You hear me, baby? Hold together. Boom. Boom. Boom.”

 Cloudskipper (CN) is a flamboyant, 25-year-old, male kenku who craves outlandish outfits, risky endeavors, and the freedom to follow whatever whim tickles his fancy. Despite his outgoing nature, he forms neither deep nor lasting friendships with the people who collide with his life. His relationships are governed more by formal agreement than by feelings of attachment. When he binds himself to any such accord, he honors it with an inspired tenacity and he expects others to do the same. Outside of these agreements, he holds no expectation of personal or professional loyalty. While he maintains professional contact with every kenku flock he comes across, he has no flock of his own. (There are rumors of scattered remnants in a mysterious, distant land, but no one has ever verified whether these stories are true.) Perhaps that’s why his two closest relationships are with The Flitting Crow--a medium-sized airship he owns, captains, and calls home--and Lunch, a mercurial archaeopteryx that frequently perches on his shoulder.


Using Cloudskipper

Ideal: The open sky is freedom--the freedom to go anywhere, doing anything, and make a little profit at it. 
Bond: The Flitting Crow is nest--friends, crew mates, and clients are but passing clouds.
Flaw: Once I start gambling, it's hard for me to stop.

 Play Cloudskipper as a friendly, boisterous carouser who knows everyone but is friends with no one. This is your shield to keep others from getting close to you. Never be rude, especially to a client. After a contract is fulfilled, treat the party as valued clients (if they hired you--and paid on time) or as dependable contractors (if you hired them and they did their work), but never treat them as “friends.” Periodically hold one-sided conversations with The Flitting Crow, especially in times of stress or when working out a problem. Look upon games of chance the same way a hungry dog drools over a bowl of food but never gamble if doing so would break a contract or put The Flitting Crow at risk.
You’re not what others would call a pirate. Most of your work is in the legal transport of cargo and passengers so you don’t want to draw attention to yourself by brazenly breaking the law. You are, however, an opportunist and you do have ties to the criminal world so you have found yourself, from time to time, involved in less-than-legal activities but you always turn down work (when you can) that would cause you to lose The Flitting Crow.

 Lunch is an aloof but loyal companion who comes and goes as he pleases. Use your Mimicry to speak to Lunch in his own “language.” Send him on reconnaissance missions or have him spy on people you don’t trust. When in port, allow him to scavenge for foodstuff and shiny, but common, trinkets that are difficult to track back to their owners. Be sure to take a cut of his findings.

Recurring Appearances

You’ll most likely encounter the party in some capacity related to your work; either you will be hiring them or they will be hiring you. Never be more than a business associate. Never allow likes to influence whether to take a job that is against the party; it's only business. More likes lead to a willingness to take on increasingly dangerous jobs. More dislikes lead to a reluctance to work with the party. Pushed far enough and you will blacklist them in every port you visit.

 Strongly Like: fulfilling a difficult contract
Like: fulfilling a standard contract, respectful of The Flitting Crow
Dislike: trying but failing to fulfill a contract, disrespectful of The Flitting Crow
Strongly Dislike: disdainful of The Flitting Crow, violating an agreement, breaking a contract

One Off

Cloudskipper hires the party as extra muscle for a voyage. During the trip, the ship is attacked by one of the following: a criminal syndicate that wants to steal the ship, a rival who wants to scuttle the ship, a group of flying creatures that wants to eat the crew, bandits who want to steal the cargo.

Story Arc

Cloudskipper hires the party to do one of the following: steal back the Flitting Crow from the pirates who took her as payment for gambling debts, rid the Flitting Crow of an entity that is haunting her, discover who is trying to assassinate the captain and put an end to the attempts, undo the wild magic that is transforming the ship into a collection of complex, deadly traps.

Side Quest

While aboard The Flitting Crow, one of the following occurs: an infestation of tiny and small creatures wreak havoc below decks, the ship is hunted by one or more flying creatures, a high-stakes game of chance with Cloudskipper, cargo goes missing and must be found.

Gadget: Radiant Ballista

There’s a reason why really big crossbows are all the rage these days. They’re just cool. I mean, what’s not to love about throwing a gigantic arrow at a ship, dragon, or group of unsuspecting raiders. It just warms the heart.

 But there’s always room for improvement and we at Mega Military Mavins have done just that with our Radiant Ballista. This epic tool of war gathers the very sunlight from the sky, funnels that light through a series of Radiant Blast crystals (patent pending) into a reflective holding gem mounted at the end of the bolt. Fire the Radiant Ballista as you would any other ballista and then wait for the bright flash. Upon impact, instead of doing piercing damage, the gem shatters, releasing all that harnessed radiant energy in a bright flash. It's particularly pretty at night when you can gleefully watch your enemies pay the ultimate price for messing with you.

 The following is the stat block for this gadget, using the rules in my Epic Gnomish Inventing supplement available on the DM's Guild (link below).




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