OSR: Class: Pirate Financier

Pirate campaigns seem to have 3 stages.

1. Acquire Sufficient Ship. Go from a rowboat or no ship at all to a "decent" ship for the group's play style.

2. Acquire Sufficient Money. Get a huge score, one that removes month-to-month worries for the immediate future.

3. Acquire Sufficient Safety. Start an empire. Cut the hamstrings of the great powers and live by your own rules. The full counter-colonial heistcrawl bit.

Games can easily stall at the end of Stage 1 or Stage 2 unless the GM's got a plan for Stage 3. Sure, disasters and foolishness can strip a group of anything they've earned, but it's worth planning for the long game.

My current pirate campaign has hit Stage 3. I'm behind on the writeups, but the (surviving) PCs just got a huge stack of loot and two decent ships. They're off to forge a pirate republic. Maybe. If they survive a journey north during hurricane season.

Anyway, Daniel Dean (Basic Red) came up with the Financier Class and as usual it's excellent. Beloch Shrike (Papers & Pencils) added a few notes. Here's my GLOG-ified version, based on Arnold K (Goblin Punch)'s GLOG system adapted for a pirate campaign. It's definitely a novelty class but it might be fun.

Source unknown.

(Pirate) Financier

Starting Equipment: Secret Pistol, Dagger 
A: Driven by Profit, More Money Than Sense, Scatterbrained, +1 Attaché
B: Hirelings Shall Be Splattered, Root of All Evil, +1 Attaché
C: Obfuscate, +1 Attaché
D: Was it Southerby, Sedgwick or Sim?, +1 Attaché

Driven by Profit
The Financier starts with 1,000gp and may request up to 10,000gp (in installments of 1,000gp) from home or from any reputable bank before they are cut off. They cannot spend money on themselves except for luxuries or accommodations in civilization. All of their money must be invested in the continued success and profit of the pirate band or their ventures.

More Money Than Sense
At character generation, or when this template is selected, the Financier cannot have any Stat higher than 15. Any stats above 15 are reduced to 15. The Financier has a -5 penalty to Attack. The Financier may be elected Captain or Quartermaster but only receives XP from one share of treasure. They cannot improve Stats when they level.

Once per day, the Financier can fire their Secret Pistol during a surprise round. If they hit, the pistol automatically deals 8 damage.

Scatterbrained
Whenever the Financier wants to use an item in their inventory that's not in their 3 quickdraw slots, there's a 50% chance they've left it aboard the ship, dropped it overboard, traded it away, broke it, or otherwise ruined the item.

Hirelings Shall Be Splattered
The Financier can cower behind an Attaché to reduce the damage from one incoming attack by 2d6+2. The Attaché dies (messily). The Financier can replace the Attaché the next time they level.

Root of All Evil
The Financier gains a +1 bonus on a Reaction Roll for every 50gp they spend.

Obfuscate
The Financier has entangled the pirate crew's finances, status, cargo, and legitimacy to a truly baffling degree. If captured by an Old World power, there is a 50% chance the party and their ship will be released without harm.

Was it Southerby, Sedgwick or Sim?
In any settlement of more than 100 people, there's a 50% chance the Financier knows someone (or knows of someone) trustworthy, slightly disreputable, and completely broke: remittance men, escaped brides, travel writers, discharged officers, failed pineapple farmers, sunburnt missionaries, diplomatic widows, shipwrecked schoolmates, etc, etc.

Adam Sto

Attachés

Attachés are special hirelings. They can't vote, don't count as part of the Crew, don't require payment, and act at the Financier's direction. They're much better quality than a standard hireling of the same type. Generate names here.

Attachés have HP equal to the number of Financier templates the Financier possesses and 10 Defense. They cannot attack. They follow the Financier everywhere, even if it's inconvenient. If asked to do anything beyond their core capabilities, like tie knots, carry treasure, or reef a sail, there's a 90% chance they screw up catastrophically. Any dead Attachés are replaced when the Financier levels up, provided there's a reasonable way to recruit them. If not, they're replaced the next time the PCs reach civilization.

Valet / Lady's Maid
Valets secretly run the Financier's life. They clean, mend, assist, and schedule. The GM can use the Valet to remind the Financier of vital plot elements they've forgotten. Once per day, if the Financier rolls to use an item in their inventory and fails to find it, the Valet can automatically hand it to them.

Artist
Artists automatically know the value of unique works of art. The complete record of their adventures is worth 100gp per PC death if sold to a publisher.

Bodyguard
Bodyguards have Defense 12. If selected to take damage via Hirelings Shall be Splattered, they reduce the damage by 14 instead of rolling 2d6+2.

Biographer
Writes the history of the group. If everyone in the party dies, the new group starts with moderately accurate records of the old group, including hints to the location of buried treasure, half-finished schemes, etc.

Chef
Meals prepared by the Chef restore 1d6+2xLevel HP instead of 1d6+Level. The Chef will not prepare meals for the crew. They can evaluate the quality and worth of rations, rum or spices.

Companion
A lady or gentleman of negotiable virtue. If the crew is electing a new Captain or Quartermaster, there is a 50% chance the Financier can select the outcome of one of the elections instead. They must select both the election and the candidate before the crew begins debating.

Doctor 
Has the Surgery skill. The Doctor has a 70% chance of removing a Fatal Wound per round. Having a doctor on board during ship combat restores 1 Crew HP at the end of each round.

Fop
If the party would encounter a trap or an ambush, the Financier may choose to have the Fop blunder in instead, taking full damage or becoming the sole target of the trap or attack. The Fop can dance, write terrible poems, and mince oaths.

Lawyer
Has the Lawyer skill. If the party is on trial, the Lawyer will conduct an inspired defense. It might not help. The Lawyer knows if any act is legal or illegal by local law provided they've spent more than 24hrs in a region.

Navigator
Has the Navigation skill. Roll 1d10+ the number of Financier templates possessed. On a 4+, the Navigator knows a few vague facts about the area the PCs are visiting. On a 7+, the Navigator has basic charts. On a 10+, the Navigator has accurate charts and knows one obscure fact.

Priest
Has the Religion skill. The Priest can sooth the Financier's conscience.

Relative
Relatives are either panicky, drunken, or eccentric. They have 5 family secrets which the DM can reveal at any time. Sometimes they are useful, sometimes they start new and interesting trouble. Once per day, if there is a mundane item worth 10gp or less that the group needs, there is a 1-in-10 chance Relative has it on their person.

Translator
The Translator automatically speaks the same language as the Financier, plus Ancient Rhemish and Ancient Gronk. Roll 1d10+ the number of Financier templates possessed. On a 4+, the Translator can convert text over a few days or weeks. On a 7+, the Translator can speak a few words in the chosen language. On a 10+, the Translator is fluent in the chosen language and might be able to teach the Financier or other PCs.

Tutor
Choose two skills: Botany, Zoology, Poetry, or Literature. The Tutor can roll these skills with an Intelligence of 12. The Tutor can also wrangle disobedient children or lecture on a profoundly boring topic.

Carl Dobsky, Ship of Fools

Mechanical Notes on the Pirate Financier
This class hasn't been tested yet, so I may need to alter some bits and pieces. I wanted to avoid overlap with the Philosopher or the Smooth Talker, so some of the skills from Daniel's version were adjusted.

Weirdly, specialized hirelings are much less common in pirate games than in dungeon-crawling games. Not sure why. In a more traditional game, I'd be worried this class would become a chandelier-swinger, where all it can do is something the PCs could normally do, but I think it works here.