Smuggler

From Ghosts of Saltmarsh, page 34.

Overview
On a rickety barge, you carried a hundred longswords in fish barrels right past the dock master's oblivious lackeys. You have paddled a riverboat filled with stolen elven wine under the gaze of the moon and sold it for twice its value in the morning. In your more charitable times, you have transported innocents out of war zones or helped guide herd animals to safety on the banks of a burning river.


 * Skills: Athletics, Deception
 * Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (water)
 * Equipment: A fancy leather vest or a pair of leather boots, a set of common clothes, and a leather pouch with 15 gp

Claim to Fame
Every smuggler has that one tale that sets them apart from common criminals. By wits, sailing skill, or a silver tongue, you lived to tell the story — and you tell it often. You can roll on the following table to determine your claim or choose one that best fits your character.

Feature: Down Low
You are acquainted with a network of smugglers who are willing to help you out of tight situations. While in a particular town, city, or other similarly sized community (DM's discretion), you and your companions can stay for free in safe houses. Safe houses provide a poor lifestyle. While staying at a safe house, you can choose to keep your presence (and that of your companions) a secret.

Suggested Characteristics
In general, smugglers value survival, and then profit, above other things. One could be a part of a larger organization, or might run a small smuggling vessel of their own. Smugglers live the lies they have told, and they have a natural ability to recall all the falsehoods and half-truths they have ever spouted.

Personality Traits

 * I love being on the water but hate fishing.
 * I think of everything in terms of monetary value.
 * I never stop smiling.
 * Nothing rattles me; I have a lie for every occasion.
 * I love gold but won't cheat a friend.
 * I enjoy doing things others believe to be impossible.
 * I become wistful when I see the sun rise over the ocean.
 * I am no common criminal; I am a mastermind.

Ideals

 * Wealth: Heaps of coins in a secure vault is all I dream of. (Any)
 * Smuggler's Code: I uphold the unwritten rules of the smugglers, who do not cheat one another or directly harm innocents. (Lawful)
 * All for a Coin: I'll do nearly anything if it means I turn a profit. (Evil)
 * Peace and Prosperity: I smuggle only to achieve a greater goal that benefits my community. (Good)
 * People: For all my many lies, I place a high value on friendship. (Any)
 * Daring: I am most happy when risking everything. (Any)

Bonds

 * My vessel was stolen from me, and I burn with the desire to recover it.
 * I intend to become the leader of the network of smugglers that I belong to.
 * I owe a debt that cannot be repaid in gold.
 * After one last job, I will retire from the business.
 * I was tricked by a fellow smuggler who stole something precious from me. I will find that thief.
 * I give most of my profits to a charitable cause, and I don't like to brag about it.

Flaws

 * Lying is reflexive, and I sometimes engage in it without realizing.
 * I tend to assess my relationships in terms of profit and loss.
 * I believe everyone has a price and am cynical toward those who present themselves as virtuous.
 * I struggle to trust the words of others.
 * Few people know the real me.
 * Though I act charming, I feel nothing for others and don't know what friendship is.