The Boatsman

by Kendermage

Special:

Bonus Feats: 4, Sailor Lore, Seamanship +4, Dirty Strike +4d4, Back to Back +3, Aspect Traits (damage reduction 10/magic, resistance to acid, cold, electricity, and fire 10, SR 15, immortal, natural weapons and any weapons he wields are treated as good for purposes of overcoming damage reduction; Domain Mastery: Improved Initiative as bonus feat)

Immunities: Ability damage, ability drain, disease, energy drain, petrification, poison, polymorph, and mind-affecting effects.

Skills:

Balance +27, Bluff +27, Climb +14, Gather Information +25, Intimidate +7, Jump +12, Knowledge (geography) +24 (+26 to set/hold course), Knowledge (history) +24, Knowledge (local) +12, (Knowledge (nature) +22, Profession (sailor) +28, Spot +24, Survival +6, Swim +3, and Tumble +25

Feats:

Acrobatic, Combat Expertise, Education, Dodge, Heroic Surge (4/day), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Lucky, and Persuasive.

Languages

Common, Dwarf, Elven, Ergot, Solamnic

Spell-like Abilities:

At will – true strike, gentle repose
3/day – haste, freedom of movement, permanency
1/day – contingency, moment of prescience, foresight

Weapons:

+2 cutlass +20/+15/+10 melee (1d6+5 damage, crit 19-20/x2, slashing/piercing), or dagger +18/+13/+8 melee or +20/+15/+10 ranged (1d4+3 damage, crit 19-20/x2, range inc 10 ft., piercing)

Possessions:

Captain's Log, sextant, Talis (a compass imbued with the detect temporal anomaly spell from issue 4 of the Tobril, pg 32), astrolabe, spyglass, charts and maps, riverboat (the Wandering Son)

The Wandering Son
A theurgeme (pg 102, Stormwrack), that can enter, exit, and traverse the River of Time. The Boatsman constructed the vessel before he severed his ties to Zivilyn. It took most of his remaining power leaving him drained but with a vessel especially suited for traveling the River of Time.

Colossal vehicle; Seaworthiness: +2; Shiphandling +2; Speed paddlewheels 35 ft (good); Overall AC -3; Hull sections 28 (sink 7 sections); Section HP 150 (hardness 6); Section AC 3; Ram 4d6; Mounts 4 light, 2 heavy, ram; Space 70 ft by 20 ft.; Height 10 ft. (draft 10 ft.); Complement 40 (currently only the Boatman resides on the boat); Watch 1; Cargo 100 tons (speed drops to 20 ft if 50 tons or more); Cost Priceless

Description:

The Boatsman wears the vestments of a cleric of Zivilyn though he is not a cleric. He dresses in a brown cloak with green hood and green leggings. His cutlass and dagger are tucked into the belt of his robe. He always wears the hood up to hide his features. He is not ashamed of his looks, its just easier to focus on his mission. He does this both to remind him of his origins and to what he must one day return. He knows his time is limited and intends to use it to his best advantage until Zivilyn figures out a way to call him back. He feels slightly disdainful of freewill as it gives people an out not to do what is necessary or what they have a responsibility to do.

The Boatsman believes what he is doing is the right thing. He views Zivilyn and the other gods of Neutrality as uncaring observers of Krynn. He respects the Pantheon of God for attempting to set the world right but believes they unnecessarily hamstring themselves by playing by the rules. He holds the Gods of Evil as meddlers in the lives of mortals. However, his greatest hatred is reserved for Father Chaos, whom he blames directly for creating the cross currents in the River and necessitated that the Boatsman take action against his divine sponsor. It pains the Boatsman to be apart from Zivilyn, but he knows he must act or all will perish.

In the aftermath of the Crisis on Infinite Krynn's, the Boatsman becomes something of a meddler. He takes people from their timelines and prods them into helping him fix the currents of River of Time. After a time he returns the heroes to their home timeline, but most view him as impinging on their freewill.

Background:

The Boatsman is a rogue aspect of Zivilyn (Chaos Krynn). Once he was a greater Aspect of Zivilyn, Overtime he gained sentience and became willful at first then contemptuous of the God of Wisdom. Zivilyn was content to sit back and watch the River of Time and all its myriad channels; the Boatsman was not. He could not ignore all of the counter currents that were forming in the River which threatened to destroy it.

The Boatsman marshaled his powers and brought into existence the Wandering Son, a boat that would allow him to traverse the River of Time, and the Talis (a compass that would allow him to detect temporal anomalies). These items would allow him to put right those things made wrong by the counter currents. Once this was done, he severed his connection with the God of Wisdom. The creation of his boat, compass, and severing contact to the source of his powers drained him of most of his divine energies leaving him only a minor aspect of Time.

It should be noted that several times Zivilyn has attempted to recall his power from his wayward aspect but has failed each time. The Boatsman believes this is due to the energies of Chaos which infuse his home timeline of Chaos Krynn.

The Boatsman has recently detected a massive build-up in the number of cross currents in the River of Time. He has traced these cross currents to the timeline he calls Krynn Prime. He travels there now to set things right.

In Your Campaign:

In the aftermath of the Crisis on Infinite Krynns, the Boatsman has decided he needs help fixing the River of Time. He now gathers heroes from timelines affected by cross currents to be active parts in saving their timelines.

This item has been published here with permission from the author(s) and may not be reproduced without permission. This is a fan submission and its contents are completely unofficial. Some characters, places, likenesses and other names may be copyright Wizards of the Coast.