I’ve been considering ideas for my next campaign once my Xyntillan Campaign finishes, and have been going back through some of my old files and notes. I really like the idea of an oceanic wilderness campaign, and have written a bunch of material for one in the past. I found this old file and thought some people might find it fun.

Twenty Sea Dogs

Here are twenty NPCs for when you need a pirate, buccaneer or sea reaver NPC. Roll 3d20, one for each column, and find a name, appearance, and sea based plot hook for your fantasy game. Make a reaction roll to determine their demeanour, add followers to their retinue to taste.

D20	Name	Quirk	Plot Hook
1	Alfson	Has a full set of gold teeth (worth 20gp) and his lips have been removed. Called the smiler.	Wants revenge on another pirate and will pay to have him assassinated (roll again to discover the target).
2	Walt Shelly	Has dreadlocks threaded with antique gold coins (30gp) and pearls (100gp)	Has fallen in love with a mermaid; but this is nonreciprocal. He wants to find the harp of mermaid control, and has a map to its location.
3	Renders Smithley	Kept under his pirate hat is a pet rat named Brahms.	Found out his grandfather is a deep one. Wants to break the curse by travelling to the isle of the Tempest and praying at the altar of Neptune. The isle is guarded by a cyclops.
4	Gornz	Shirtless; has tattoo on his chest of two men kissing whilst simultaneously stabbing each other.	Has genuinely fallen in love with the sea, and keeps trying to jump into it. Crew know that he has in-fact been cursed by a sea witch; they want her dead.
5	Heinrich Gork	Right arm missing at the elbow, replaced with a harpoon tip.	Sailed past a wreck with a strange statue on its deck; a man with the head of a whale, and a four tentacled phallus. It haunts his dreams and he wants it destroyed.
6	Whitebeard	Known as ‘The Plank,’ obsessed with throwing men overboard, also thick as a plank.	He once battled the giant crab known as the Red Claw and lost an arm. He knows its nesting location. Its shell is said to be encrusted with the treasure of a thousand shipwrecks.
7	Zed Bernsten	Wears an eye patch but doesn’t require one, swaps it’s position frequently.	His ship was lanced by the spire of a sunken city. He wants help to recover his booty and log.
8	Hamza Zwa	Nipples, nose, ears, and lip are all pierced. Each piercing is connected with a single silver chain (50gp)	Found a bottle with a scroll inside that he cannot read. It is a magic scroll of open gate to R’yleh. Several hooded individuals have been tracking him.
9	Shing-Xi-Farrouq	Face tattooed with skull design. He has a sigil on his forehead of the Demon Lord Asmodeus (MU + CL recognise)	Knows the location of the Cove of Scorn; where the burial longboat of an ancient Sea King rests. He lost a crew there battling its guardian and will not return, but will map its location for a price.
10	Riggs	Face painted in deep red; tongue has also been forked. Keen to show off tongue and act ‘demonic.’	Has a vulture that can write in common. It is a polymorphed princess, she wants to be taken to her father’s castle. He is willing to sell the bird as an oddity.
11	Talibar	Peg Leg made from the mast of his enemies ship; whom he defeated. Won’t shut up about it.	He once got lost in the triangle of woe. Whilst there he saw an island littered with golden totems to forgotten gods. The island was crowded with hairy, ape-like men.
12	Athan Mak	Keeps a pet gull on each shoulder. He’s known as ‘The Screech.’	Wants to sail through the Eye of Zagron, a strange alien rock formation in deadly waters. He’s  heard it can bestow terrible power, but no crew will go with him.
13	Bentley	Finishes all sentences with; By the Tail of the Sea God!	Believes a member of his crew is a doppelgänger and wants them found and destroyed.
14	Fritz Dupont	Is totally blind and has a small goblin on a leash to act as his eyes.	Has two potions of polymorph self. Believes he will be assassinated tonight and wants someone to stand in for him and catch the assassin. Will pay well.
15	Sha Tzu	Walks around lashing two whips in the air. Calls himself ‘The Mighty Scourge.’	Was once the servant to a decadent Baroness who went mad and exiled the staff from her coastal fortress. She now lives alone and her treasures are ripe for the picking. (She is now a hungry ghost.)
16	Ran Mussa	Has a huge trident and believes himself to be the avatar of Poseidon.	Heard tales of a strange isle home to a Bucca. The Bucca is said to sew black cloth filled with stars. When used as a sail, this cloth allows a ship to sail the sky.
17	Darton Hammond	Obsessed with catching the wind in a bottle, believes he can use it to fill his sails.	Once killed a manatee and found a baby boy in its belly. He raised the boy as his own but lost him in a slaver attack. Legend says the boy will be a true Lord of the Sea. He has an idea where the boy was sold and wants him rescued.
18	Mathers	Known for kidnappng the wives of nobles. Calls himself ‘The Widowmaker.’	Believes he is the best knife thrower on the high seas. Says he will pay a chest of gold to anyone who can best him. (Everyone who has beaten him has been brutally murdered in a fit of rage.)
19	Fowlsworth	Wears frills, lace, and large white periwig. Reads poetry and enjoys a good duel.	Obsessed with hunting the Sea Beast known as The Great Black Serpent. The beast is attracted to singing and he will pay good coin to anyone who can bring him a sprite or nixie that he can train to sing.
20	Nikitas Burou	Teetotaller; carries a book of rules on how to stay sober, known on the high seas as ‘The Dry.’	Found an ivory statue of a moon goddess but lost it in a game of cards. The port where he lost it has been struck with a number of virgin pregnancies, and the rise of a strange lunar cult. He feels culpable and wants help to end the menace.