OSR: Background Table for Pirate Campaigns

Pirate campaign planning continues at a furious pace! Here are 1d100 Backgrounds for your pirate game. File off the serial numbers and reuse them wherever you'd like.

Wexland, Tarracon, Valois, and the Ranstead League are Old World powers detailed in this post.
Notes on the pirate Isla de Caracol can be found here.
Notes on the Golden Isles can be found here.
Notes on Chult can be found here.
And finally, notes on Yoon-Suin can be found here.

Character Generation

1. Roll on the big 1d100 Background Table. Alternatively, roll on the Simplified Background table below, but that seems less fun. Entries are somewhat unbalanced, but the overall distribution of stat rerolls is even. I've tried to make the entries gender-neutral. You can play any sort of pirate; chances are good life on the high seas is considerably more liberating than life back home (if certain 100% accurate documentaries are to be believed), so go nuts.

2. Roll your stats. You can reroll the stat listed with your background and take the higher result.

3. Write down your starting language. You don't need to pick your other languages yet. It's possible the group won't share a language. Hopefully, with some fiddling, everyone can translate back and forth. If you speak one of the Old World languages, you can muddle by in the rest for the purposes of ordering beer or shouting at sailors.

4. Pick your class.

5. Roll 1d10 for starting gold pieces. Spend them on items or guns.

1d100	Background	Reroll	Skill	Extra Languages	Additional Info
	Wexland	Language: Wexlish
1	Seasoned deckhand in the merchant fleet.	Str	Sailor		Start with abundant lash marks on your back.
2	Child of nobility, education just completed.	Dex	Literature	+1	Family will hate you for dishonoring their name.
3	Tipsy midshipman in the Wexlish Navy.	Con	Sailor		Start with 3 bottles of rum.
4	Religious separatist with impractical aims.	Int	Religion	+1	Start with 1 book and a holy icon.
5	Elder searching the world for something.	Wis	Wilderness		Start with a spyglass.
6	Political radical fleeing a failed revolution.	Cha	Literature	+1	Save when speaking of Wexland or get angry.
7	Former marine, out for better pay.	Str	Soldier		Start with a musket and a blue and white uniform.
8	Press-ganged slave-trader.	Con	Sailor	+2	Start with a surprising number of enemies.
9	Clerk in a colonial enterprise on Rat Leg.	Int	Bureaucracy	+1	Start with eyeglasses and a book.
10	Disgraced officer in the Wexlish Navy.	Cha	Courtesy	+1	Start with a bundle of old love letters.
11	Mercenary guard of a decadent trader.	Str	Soldier	+1	Start with a sword and 1 extra gp.
12	Disgraced lawyer accused of corruption.	Int	Law	+2	Start with a wig, a pistol, and 1 charge.
13	Experienced tavern-keeper.	Cha	Merchant		Start with 3 bottles of rum and 1 extra gp.
14	Newly pressed sailor from Wexland.	Dex	Sailor		Save or stare in awe at moderately unusual things.
15	Silver prospector with awful luck.	Con	Geology		Start with a pickaxe and itchy bug bites.
	Tarracon	Language: Tarraconese
16	Solider in the conquest of Chult.	Str	Soldier	+1	Start with a sword and a red and orange uniform.
17	Performer in traveling plays and songs.	Dex	Singer	+1	Start with a gaudy costume and 1 extra gp.
18	Exhausted villager from Refuge Point.	Con	Farmer		Start with a saw, 1 extra gp, and a leather apron.
19	Escaped religious initiate.	Int	Religion	+1	Incredibly naieve. Save in surprise at improprieties.
20	Engineer from the New Castle.	Wis	Carpentry	+1	Start with a hammer and chisel.
21	Intelligence service operative.	Cha	Spycraft	+2	Former masters and other nations want you dead.
22	Merchant sailor, just survived a shipwreck.	Dex	Sailor		Start with 2 bottles of rum and a sword.
23	Poet inspired to visit the new world.	Wis	Poetry	+2	Start with a book and no shoes.
24	Exiled scandalous lover of a noble.	Cha	Courtesy	+1	Start with a courtly costume and several enemies.
25	Assassin on a cancelled mission.	Dex	Poisons	+2	Start with a dagger and 1 vial of poison.
26	Blacksmith fleeing an accidental crime.	Str	Blacksmith		Start with a hammer and 2 extra gp.
27	Spice trader and gourmet assistant.	Con	Cook	+1	Immune to most less-than-lethal poisons.
28	Bankrupt beast trainer and fur trader.	Wis	Wilderness	+1	Start with an ragged spotted pelt worth 1gp.
29	Dance instructor, pupils died of fever.	Cha	Dance	+2	Start with a dancing master's whip.
30	Roving collector of folk songs.	Str	Singer	+2	Start with a book and a distrust of sailors.
	Valois	Language: Valoch
31	Veteran of wars in the Old World.	Str	Soldier		Start with a uniform, a musket, and 6 charges.
32	Noble officer with dueling scars.	Dex	Courtesy	+1	Save when insulted or fly into a rage.
33	Sailor, lone survivor of a pirate attack.	Con	Sailor		Start with a sword and a fear of pirates.
34	Shipwrecked genealogist with a grudge.	Int	Literature	+2	Start with ink and a pen. Save or obey noble orders.
35	Assistant on a lost hunting expedition.	Wis	Taxidermy	+1	Start with scissors, thread, and a needle.
36	Courtier inspecting the colonies on a whim.	Cha	Courtesy	+2	Pampered. Save to do disgusting things.
37	Astrologer to a superstitious captain.	Int	Astrology	+1	Start with a book.
38	Mercenary down on your luck.	Str	Soldier	+1	Start with a pistol and 6 charges.
39	Ship's cook without a ship.	Con	Cook		Start with an iron pot and 3 utensils.
40	Indigo merchant and inspector.	Int	Merchant		Start with a book and a bottle of indigo worth 1gp.
41	Unwilling partner of a dissipated noble.	Cha	Courtesy	+1	Start with 1 scandalous outfit and a dagger.
42	Junior rat-catcher, second class.	Dex	Sailor		Start with a small but vicious dog.
43	Ship's navigator dreaming of the horizon.	Wis	Navigation	+1	Start with navigation tools and a book.
44	Unpaid carpenter for a large plantation.	Str	Carpentry		Start with a saw, a hammer, and 10 nails.
45	Stable hand to a brutal noble.	Wis	Horses		Start with rags and a dagger.
	The Ranstead League	Language: League Tongue
46	Dockyard worker, couldn't take it anymore.	Str	Sailor	+1	Start with a club and a pearl earring worth 1gp.
47	Household servant, expelled for thieving.	Dex	Courtesy		Start with livery and a mild warrant for arrest.
48	Seasoned merchant navigator.	Con	Navigation	+1	Start with a wildly inaccurate map of the area.
49	Disgraced child of a spice trader family.	Int	Merchant	+2	Start with 2 fingers missing (taken for your debts).
50	Gold prospector and assayer.	Wis	Geology	+1	Start with a pickaxe.
51	Stoic but ambitious banker.	Cha	Merchant	+1	Start with a book, ink, pen, and 2 extra gp.
52	Survivor of the hurricane on Splinterpoint.	Con	Sailor	+1	Start with 3gp, a hat, ragged shorts, and a sunburn.
53	Intelligence service operative.	Wis	Spycraft	+2	Most nations want you dead.
54	Haughty overseer from Crimsontown.	Dex	Soldier		Start with a sword, a pistol, and 1 charge.
55	New minted bounty hunter	Str	Bureaucracy	+1	Start with a pistol and 6 charges.
56	Lawyer to a powerful merchant house.	Int	Law	+2	Start with a wig, gown, and many enemies.
57	Exotic dancer with a grudge.	Cha	Dance	+1	Start with a dancing outfit, 2 extra gp, and an enemy.
58	Card shark, caught and robbed.	Con	Gambling	+1	Start with 2 decks of card, 1 marked.
59	Hastily trained barber-surgeon.	Wis	Medicine		Start with a needle, thread, and a book.
60	Bitter alchemist turned assassin.	Dex	Poisons	+1	Start with a book and 1 vial of poison.
	Isla de Caracol	Language: Wexlish or Tarraconese or Valoch
61	Prize fighter without prospects.	Str	Gambling		Start with one Interesting Scar.
62	Ex-pirate without a crew or ship.	Dex	Sailor	+1	Branded with a pirate mark on your right hand.
63	Castaway, recovered from your prison.	Con	Wilderness		Deranged but hardy. Cannot die from drowning.
64	Barber-surgeon, fake or real.	Int	Sewing	+1	Start with a dagger, needle, and thread.
65	Keen-eyed urchin.	Wis	Pickpocket		Start with a lantern, a dagger, and a grey cloak.
66	Ambitious prostitute with vague plans.	Cha	Merchant		Start with 3 high-quality outfits.
67	Musician trying to find something else to do.	Dex	Music	+1	Start with a musical instrument.
68	Apprentice in an opium den.	Wis	Medicine		Start with an opium pipe and opium worth 5gp.
69	Spy for several of the Old World powers.	Cha	Spycraft	+2	Almost everyone, pirates included, want you dead.
70	Notorious liar, storyteller, or windbag.	Con	Sailor	+1	Start with a book and a very dubious treasure map.
	Golden Isles	Language: Zakharan
71	Lost from your fishing fleet.	Str	Sailor	+1	Start with a net.
72	Sometime merchant, sometime pirate.	Dex	Merchant	+1	Start with a sword and a red cloak.
73	Plantation slave from the Isles of the Claw.	Con	Farmer		Start with a pack of spices worth 5gp.
74	Religious scholar, not a demagogue.	Int	Religion	+1	Start with a book, 1gp, and fear of capture.
75	Nomad from the desert, sold into slavery.	Wis	Horses	+1	Start with a slave brand on the back of your neck.
76	Cartographer to the King of Gana.	Cha	Navigation	+2	Start with a sword, 4gp, and an air of superiority.
77	Goon hired to protect a now-dead merchant.	Str	Soldier		Start with 2 pistols and 6 charges.
78	Ornament of a court.	Dex	Courtesy	+1	Start with 3 elaborate outfits.
79	Ape Island trader in tapa paper.	Wis	Sailor	+1	Start with a barrel of very low quality gunpowder.
80	Old visionary from the Islands of the Claw.	Int	Wilderness		Take 1/2 damage from magic or sorcery.
	Chultan	Language: Chultan
81	Escaped from a massive indigo plantation.	Str	Farmer		Start with rags and an Interesting Scar.
82	Trusted household slave, dead master.	Dex	Merchant	+1	Start with livery and a dagger.
83	Miner from outside Port Nyanzaru.	Con	Geology		Start with a pickaxe and an uncut gem worth 10gp.
84	Child of nobility, caught in factional intrigue.	Int	Courtesy		Save or refuse to talk to scum or fools.
85	Advisor to a rebel group, sold to traders.	Wis	Soldier	+1	Start with a musket and 6 charges.
86	Owned a small business in Splinterpoint.	Cha	Bureaucracy	+1	Start with 2 extra gp and a box of trinkets.
87	Former pirate from Jahaka Bay.	Str	Sailor	+1	Start with a pirate brand on your right hand.
88	Illegitimate child of a Valois noble.	Int	Courtesy	+1	Your existence is very mildly scandalous.
89	Educated in the priesthood.	Wis	Religion	+2	Start with brown robes and a book.
90	Independant farmer driven off land.	Con	Farmer	+1	Start with a sword and a sack full of tubers.
	Yoon-Suin	Language: Yoon-Suin Trade Tongue
91	Deep jungle mercenary from Làhàg.	Str	Wilderness		Immune to most poisons.
92	Riverboat crew from the Yellow City.	Dex	Sailor	+1	Start with an enormous elaborate sunhat.
93	Escaped slave from Lamarakh.	Con	Farmer	+1	Tattooed with a slave mark on your right hand.
94	Indebted opium farmer from the Yellow City.	Int	Merchant	+2	Owe 20x1d10 gp to your Yoon-Suin creditors.
95	Street scum from the Yellow City.	Wis	Pickpocket		Start with 2 gp extra.
96	Exiled prostitute from the Yellow City.	Cha	Merchant	+2	Angry Yoon-Suin debt-keepers if you return.
97	Proud scholar from the Yellow City.	Int	Literature	+2	Save or refuse to talk to scum or fools.
98	Ghost-binder from Làhàg.	Cha	Religion	+1	Take 1/2 damage from magic or sorcery.
99	Eunuch slave of a wealthy family.	Con	Courtesy	+2	Immune to seduction. Start with 2 extra gp.
100	Survived a shipwreck on the Misty Isle.	Dex	Sailor	+1	Start with vague knowledge of the Misty Isle of Eld.

Peter Scott

Simplified Background Table

1d10	Origin	Language	Reroll	Stat	Skill
1-2	Wexland	Wexlish	1	Str	Soldier
3-4	Tarracon	Tarraconese	2	Dex	Sailor
5-6	Valois	Valoch	3	Con	Literature
7-8	The Ranstead League	League Tongue	4	Int	Farmer
9	Isla de Caracol	Wexlish / Tarraconese / Valoch	5	Wis	Courtesy
10	Golden Isles	Zakharan	6	Cha	Wilderness
11	Chultan	Chultan
12	Yoon-Suin	Trade Tongue of Yoon-Suin / Lamarakhi

1d10	Languages
1	Wexlish
2	Tarraconese
3	Valoch
4	League Tongue
5	Zakharan
6	Chultan
7	Trade Tongue of Yoon-Suin
8	Lamarakhi
9	Olman
10	Rhenish (like Latin)