#primer
We will be using GURPS 4th Edition.

When building your character, you should aim to build someone who wouldn't feel out of place in a Pirates of the Carribean-style story. This also means so who's gimmick is "They're completely out of place in Carrouban", e.g. "A samurai", "An arctic explorer" are to be avoided. They should also feel like they're from Carrouban - tie them into parts of the world, and think of how they fit into the setting.

Your character should also be ready for action and adventure - if they're best described as "someone who loves nothing more than to stay where they are, in front of a fire with a good book, and doesn't care for leaving their living room ever", then they're probably not going to be right. They should also be someone others would want to travel and adventure with - they need to be able to pull their weight, and be able to work with others.

While Carrouban has a wide variety of flora and fauna (and other supernatural creatures hidden away), your character is human. This is not a setting of elves, orcs, and dwarves.

This page outlines the constraints of character creation:

POINTS

Characters are to be built to no more than 150 points, with up to 50 points of disadvantages (you do not have to take the full 50 points of disadvantages).

Bonus Points: If your character is deemed to fit the setting well (including theme), you will be given an additional 25 points. These 25 points are at GM discretion.

MANDATORY TRAITS

Sense of Duty (Party) must be taken.

RECOMMENDED TRAITS

Skills every adventurer ought to have
Useful social skills
Illiteracy isn't mandatory, but is suggested (see Language).

OTHER FEATURES

TECH LEVEL

Carrouban is TL4. Some parts of Carrouban will have a lower TL than this. If you wish to play an Azcelani who is not accustomed to Conquistadan-era technology, you should take a single level of Low TL (representing a TL of 2+1).

"REFERENCE" SOCIETY

To add later.

CAN YOU TAKE THE HEAT?

Carrouban, much like the real world Caribbean, has a warm and tropical climate - which can be oppressive to those not used to it! If your character has acclimatised to Carrouban's climate, take Temperature Tolerance/1 (warm) [1]. This is especially appropriate for any Azcelani characters, or anyone who has lived in Carrouban for more than a year.

WHAT I WANT DOESN'T EXIST?

GURPS is fairly comprehensive, but doesn't cover everything. If you wish to represent a certain facet of your character but can't find the appropriate rules, ask the GM. If deemed appropriate for the setting, he will stat it out in accordance to your description. Examples might include Talents, equipment, animals, etc.

STATUS AND RANK

You cannot start with more than x levels of rank or status (probably status 4).

LANGUAGES

All characters must be able to speak (but not necessarily read/write) Conquistan at an accented level.

CAPS

ATTRIBUTE CAPS

All attributes are capped at 14, except for ST.
ST is capped at 16. Those with Gigantism have a ST cap of 22! A character with a ST equal to their cap qualify for up to two levels of secondary ST (or three levels with Gigantism) - for example, Striking ST and/or Lifting ST.
See Attribute Level Descriptions for further detail on the meaning of different attribute levels.

SKILL CAPS

In general, there's a soft skill cap of Attribute+4, after all bonuses (not including bonuses from external sources, e.g. equipment bonuses). You must let the GM know if any of your skills exceed this.
See Skill Level Descriptions for further detail on the meaning of different skill levels.

The caps on skills and attributes prevent players from starting out as "the best swordsman alive". After character creation, characters may spend earned character points to improve these beyond the caps listed above.

OTHER CAPS

Many traits specify a maximum for "realistic humans" - use these as caps. For example, Night Vision/2 is a considered to be a realistic limit for humans.

ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES, OTHER FEATURES

Characters may not have any exotic or supernatural traits. There are very few exceptions to this - if you find a trait that seems relevant let the GM know, and leeway may be given.

THE CINEMATIC AND THE SILLY

Traits marked as "only appropriate for silly campaigns" are not allowed.
Cinematic rules are allowed, but with certain caveats. For example, Cinematic Combat Perks (e.g. Iron Body Parts), and Cinematic Techniques (e.g. Whirlwind Attack) are only accessible as part of a fighting style (and access to these cinematic techniques will require an advantage like Trained By A Master).

A NOTE ON FIGHTING STYLES

Some features are banned unless taken via a fighting style. For example, Bulletproof Nudity is not available by default, but practitioners of the Dance of Crimson Feet style may take Extra Option (Bulletproof Nudity), and access to skills like Light Walk.
Players may invent their own fighting styles, as described in "What I want doesn't exist?"

STARTING WEALTH

As is standard for TL4, your starting wealth is $2,000. Other (dis)advantages can change this. As a reminder, this is literally everything you own - if you spent all $2,000 on a fancy cutlass, you would have nothing to your name except a cutlass. You do get to start with a basic outfit for free (see DF).

BEING AN ATHEIST

Your character is almost certainly religious (if not, take the Shocking Affectation (atheist) disadvantage).

Your character should be suited for an action game. You can play an elderly librarian, but they need something to them that involves action in some way - otherwise you may end up finding yourself rather useless.

Overclock and end-of-session points are in use, under the name "Swashbucks".

Allies, enemies etc. - rules on these to stop someone taking an enemy grounded in one place.

List of recommended skills. See lower down on this doc for stuff for a pirate.

Items from Low-Tech and other sources may be taken, as long as they fit the setting. No samurai armour, boomerangs, spaceships, etc.

While magic exists in the setting, it is extraordinarily rare. This may be something your character could learn mid-campaign, but you can't start with it. Some supernatural traits are allowed.
May be worth adding stuff from impulse buys for generating swashbucks

In Carrouban, Rank and Status are the same thing. See GURPS 4th - Basic Set - Combined, page 31 (may change this actually).
Scope rules for status - a Conquistan knight gets no special priveleges in South Azcelani society. See pdf from Phantasm for inspiration for status and ranks etc. (http://dagwood.sandwich.net/docs/Ranoc.pdf)
Hobbies/RPGs/Carrouban GURPS/Rules/Optional Rule - Malfunction is in effect.
Skills are calculated as per By Default Skill Rules.
Wealth is done by PK's points for wealth rules.
Signature gear replacement as per wealth above.
Also remember GURPS 4th - Low-Tech, page 92 for rules on firearms getting wet.
We're also using Blunt Trauma and Edged Weapons
We're using the Damage to Shields rules.
Alternate benefits for talent.
Discounts on ST stuff (already in base rules)
We're using Extra Effort in Combat rules - except for Heroic Charge (and may reduce feverish defense).
Serendipitous Guidance instead of Serendipity.
Overclock and end-of-session points.
Weirdness Magnet is out!
https://enragedeggplant.blogspot.com/2022/12/training-animal-in-gurps.html for training animals and what they can do per IQ score.
Dungeon Fantasy Slam rules rather than basic set ones, as it's easier to calculate - see Dungeon Fantasy - Exploits, page 42
Cyanide, despite being listed as TL4 in Basic Set, is not available in Carrouban. It was first extracted from Prussian blue dye by French chemist Pierre Macquer in 1752, which is outside the 1450-1720 rough range for tech in the setting).

Assumed everyone starts with illiteracy. Language-wise, these are the available languages. Must be able to speak Conquistadan at Accented level.

Probably need something on reference society.

Cinematic perks that affect combat require Gunslinger (p. B58), Trained by a Master (p. B93), or Weapon Master (p. B99), as well as the appropriate style familiarity. Same for cinematic techniques.

See GURPS 4th - Supporting Cast - Age Of Sail Pirate Crew, page 20 for suggestions
Advantages
Appropriate advantages for any pirate include Acute Hearing [2/level], Acute Vision [2/level], Alcohol Tolerance [1], Ambidexterity [5], Combat Reflexes [15], Danger Sense [15], Daredevil [15], Less Sleep [2/level], Luck [15], Night Vision [1/level], No Hangover [1], Penetrating Voice [1], Resistant to Disease (+3) or (+8) [3 or 5], and Resistant to Seasickness (+3) or (+8) or Immunity to Seasickness [1, 2, or 5].

Note that Wealth is rarely suitable. Few pirates are rich, and when they do come into riches, they are quick to spend it on drink, women, and carousing.

Some cinematic pirates may have Appearance (Attractive or Handsome) [4 or 12], Charisma [5/level], Extraordinary Luck [30] or Ridiculous Luck [60], [5], and Serendipitous Guidance [15/level] would all be fitting advantages.

Able seamen might also have Fit [5] or Very Fit [15], Flexibility [5] or Double-Jointed [15], or Perfect Balance [15]. The Skinny [-5] disadvantage is fairly common.
Old seamen often have the Born Sailor Talent (p. 11). Physically, they might be Fit [5] . . . though some are Fat [-3] instead.
Boarders could benefit from Fearlessness [2/level], Hard to Kill [2/level], Hard to Subdue [2/level], or High Pain Threshold [10].

Disadvantages

Suitable disadvantages include Addiction [Varies], Alcoholism [-15], Appearance (Unattractive, Ugly, or Hideous) [-4,-8 or -16], Bad Temper [-10*], Berserk [-10*], Bloodlust [-10*], Bully [-10*], Callous [-5], Compulsive Carousing [-5*], Compulsive Gambling [-5*], Compulsive Spending [-5*], Greed [-15*], Impulsiveness [-10*], Lame (Missing Leg) [-20], Lecherousness [-15*], Missing Digit [-2 or -5], Odious Personal Habit [-5 to -15], One Eye [-15], One Hand [-15], Sadism [-15*], and Selfish [-5*]. (Point costs with a * assume a self-control number of 12. People who are more or less susceptible will pay a different cost; see pp. B120-121.)

All crew members of Adventurer’s Revenge have the dis- advantages Code of Honor (Pirate’s) [-5] and Enemy (Royal Navy; Hunter; 9 or less) [-20]. In other settings, the enemy may be different but pirates usually have someone who is out to get them; see Enemies of the State (p. 21) for more ideas. In addition, being a pirate carried a negative Reputation, although only a few pirates were famous enough to be known individually.

Skills

All pirates should be skilled with a pistol (Guns (Pistol)). While a cutlass is the usual weapon of choice, some crew members use boarding pikes or axes. These weapons require Shortsword, Spear, and Axe/Mace, respectively. Other combat skills that might be useful include Fast-Draw, Guns (Musket), Knife, and Throwing.

Sailors often have skills from their lives before they went to sea or gained in specialist roles on board ship. Practical skills might include Armoury, Carpentry, Cooking, Freight Handling, Fishing, Heraldry (to recognize the flags of many nations), Sewing (a prerequisite for a sail-maker), Smith, and Survival (Beach/Island). Hobby skills might include Artist (particularly sketching and whittling), Dancing, Gambling, Musical Instrument, or Singing.

Surprisingly few sailors can swim. A quick death by drowning is often better than a slow one waiting for exhaustion to set in or for circling sharks to become brave enough to attack.

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