PDA

View Full Version : Alternate names for magic users in a pirate campaign



Kol Korran
2011-10-07, 03:54 PM
hi there! i'm working on a new pirate campaign, and part ofthe flavour is that the main isles have only spontaneous caster, who draw their forces from various sources, but mostly from residual magic energy, binder stuff, haggling with entities, and more... the idea is that these are crafty people, who have a knack for magic, and... make their way into getting more of it!

they have some homebrew rules that govern them all, and i wanted to give them a bit of a different flavor.

so i called them "witches" / "hags". (males as well) this is mostly a name that came from a colonial- like empire to the islands, and the name stuck. they have a slight affinity to home brewed curse like effects, so it fits. :smallwink:

but i'd love to have some more names for them, slang of different isles, or self appointed names? currently there are 4 "groups" of witches- the Soul sworn, the Hagglers, the Dracos and the Whisperers. so uou get my general theme of thinking i hope. :smallamused:

this is for flavor only. any names/ titles (both complementing and demeaning) are welcome.

and if you have some other pirate based magic flavor, please feel free to throw it in!

thanks in advance, Kol.

(search word: piratewitch)

Jayabalard
2011-10-07, 04:44 PM
pirates => Caribbean => voodoo.

Ravens_cry
2011-10-07, 05:17 PM
pirates => Caribbean => voodoo.
Actually, quite a bit wasn't, even in the Golden Age of Piracy. For example, Blackbeard, pretty much the most famous real pirate, was captured and killed in North Carolina and operated in Virginian waters as well.
But on topic, witch and hag sound good. Weatherwright might be a good name for a specific kind of mage who controls the wind and waves, very important in the age of sail.

Mx.Silver
2011-10-07, 05:30 PM
Wiz-Arr-d?:smalltongue:

Neverman
2011-10-07, 05:46 PM
No matter the skill of the crew, in the open sea everyone is on the mercy of elements. Anyone with the slightest say on the weather would be welcomed on the ship with open arms. Be it through extended prayer, ritual tap-dancing or bleeding an ox on the deckboards, Weathermen can can make the weather much more... or less favourable.

Finding fish-rich waters by reading the flight of birds. Divining the direction using a bowl of water, two pieces of wood and a needle... Or possibly by consulting the stars. Magic is knowing that one thing others don't. Still, such knowledge might just be the beginning of what a skilled Navigator knows. Once leaving rum-indiced stupor, one might emerge with knowledge they shouldn't be able to learn.

Cuts? Scurvy? A souvenir from that wench last port? A Healer is there to help. Sure, being force-fed things with too many legs, turned into a living pin cushion or being touched there aren't most peoples ideas of good time, but it's usually better than the alternative. Many are even willing to undertake an exorcism, even if things get creepy fast.

Some people always seem to be in the middle of trouble, usually through no fault of their own. Trouble that indiscriminately strikes against them and anyone around. Regardless of whether cursed by a God, or born under an unlucky star, failure clings to them like a bad habit. Nobody wants to have a Jinx on their ship, but they just might to send them to an enemy's ship. Like catapulting a rotting carcass during a siege, employing a Jinx is fighting dirty, but it works.

Jayabalard
2011-10-07, 05:52 PM
Actually, quite a bit wasn't,I'm not saying otherwise; but quite a bit of it did, which means that connection is quite valid.
even in the Golden Age of Piracy. For example, Blackbeard, pretty much the most famous real pirate, was captured and killed in North Carolina and operated in Virginian waters as well.Eh, he got his start in the Caribbean, getting his start there (Martinuque iirc was where he wound up captain of the Queen Anne's revenge). He did quite a bit of his Pirating in the Caribbean.

Coidzor
2011-10-07, 05:53 PM
Stormcallers, Windmasters, Seawyrds, Doomsayers, Startalkers, Starreaders, Windriders, that sorta thing.

Ravens_cry
2011-10-07, 07:12 PM
I'm not saying otherwise; but quite a bit of it did, which means that connection is quite valid. Eh, he got his start in the Caribbean, getting his start there (Martinuque iirc was where he wound up captain of the Queen Anne's revenge). He did quite a bit of his Pirating in the Caribbean.
Not saying he didn't, just saying you can expand the possibilities of place and culture while still being authentic.
Going even further, you could include pirates of an Orient-esque persuasion as well as a lot of mystical traditions there of.
Blast-mage. Powder can get wet and can explode when you don't want it. A Blast-mage can give you the fire power of a good battery without (much) of the danger to your crew.

Seb Wiers
2011-10-07, 10:17 PM
An alchemist, while an oddity, would surely be welcome in any pirate camp. Same goes for an astronomer. Both are period appropriate, and would have useful (if perhaps not overtly spell-like) magic.