PCs:Shelly Maroon
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Captain Shelly Maroon
Race: Human, M'Chekan
Class: Fighter/Rogue/Bard
Affiliations: Captain of the M'Chekan privateer vessel Caldera
Active Servers: Mikona
Contact him: Leave a message at the Dark Hawk
Appearence and Mannerisms
Shelly is a tall, broad shouldered man, with brown eyes and skin darkened by a lifetime at sea. One long scar runs from the corner of his right eye down to his jawline, and another crosses the bottom of his left ear. Dark hair hangs in a long tangle to his shoulders, and he usually goes unshaven. He typically wears a long coat and ruffled shirt, often choosing to go without armor even in close combat. He is confident with a wide variety of weapons, but favors the distinctive rapier that he wears at his hip. Shelly enjoys telling implausible tales, often embellishing his own role in events, or relating the activities of unusally-named acquaintences from years past. In general, Shelly is an agreeable person; quick with a joke and prone to indifference rather than outright anger. He is known to have an irrational fear of magical portals, and will not willingly travel long distances underground.
Reknown
As well as his growing reputation as a privateer and fighting sailor, Shelly is known as a teller of stories and as a musician. He was judged Southern Negaria's finest bard in the first and only Battle of the Bards, an (increasingly neglected) title which he still holds. He has penned a number of songs and poems, notably The Black Rose, the story of a Ghost Ship that is reputed to haunt the waters of the Silver Coast to the south of the Seven Cities. In addition, he has been known to perform weddings and give tours of the city, and he is a regular at Kero's Bar and Resturant in Mikona.
Recent Activites
Recently, Shelly has acquired a letter of marque from the M'Chekan admiralty, allowing him to operate as a privateer under the M'Chekan flag. He has conducted a series of operations against Drotid's privateers in M'Chekan waters, capturing or recapturing an impressive list of prizes, including the corvette Caldera, which he has added to his own fleet as a replacement for the Dark Hawk, which has been badly damaged.
The Dark Hawk
The Dark Hawk is a two-masted, Dubunat-rigged sloop of something over 100 tonnes. Her raked masts and long bowsprit make her visually distinctive, and allow her to carry a deceptive amount of canvas for her size. Although Shelly has boasted that his ship is the fastest south of Andarr, this is probably not the case. She is a handy vessel at all points of sailing, however, and her shallow draught and ability to sail close to the wind make her an excellent all-around performer. The Dark Hawk was originally built in the later years of the T'Nanshi-M'Chek War. She was constructed from cedar in T'Nanshi, but in a style more frequently associated with Dubunat's shipbuilders. Launched and operated as an armed tender and dispatch ship for as much as a year, the Hawk was then boarded and taken by a party of renegade Drotid slavers. The slavers refitted her with a Gaff Rig, and operated her successfully out of a camp hidden in Northeastern M'Chek for several years before she was captured by Shelly Maroon. Shelly restored her to her original rig and condition, strengthened the deck and structure, and installed 8 18-pounder carronades along with 2 9-pounder long cannon mounted as chasers. Allthough they have limited range and accuracy, the carronades gave the Dark Hawk a 72-pound broadside - a significantly greater weight of shot than most ships in her class. During a raid on one of Drotid privateering harbours, on an island Shelly refers to as 'The Maw', the Dark Hawk's hull was badly damaged. She escaped to Eastshore where repairs were made, but lasting damage to her deck and structure mean that it is likely she has seen her final combat action.
- Brigantine Unknown - Sunk South of M'Chek, Winter 2224
- Schooner Black Asp - Sunk off Toran Shaarda, Winter 2225
- Xebec Spitfire - Sunk off Western M'Chek, 17 July 2225
- Xebec Deer - Captured and scuttled off Western M'Chek, 17 July 2225
- Gun-Brig Spritely (fmr M'Chekan Navy) - Recaptured off Southeastern M'Check and returned to Mikona as a prize, 15 August 2225
- Successful raid on the Drotid privateer harbour at The Maw, 2 September 2225
- Corvette - Captured at The Maw, named Caldera
- Cutter Dasher - Captured at The Maw
- Cutter Dancer - Captured at The Maw
Caldera
In the same action at The Maw, Shelly's crew captured a brand new Corvette, as yet unnamed. Shelly took her as a replacement for the Dark Hawk, giving her the moniker Caldera. Caldera is an exceptionally well-built vessel, likely constructed in Andarr, but nothing is known of her history before being discovered in the hands of the privateers. She is ship-rigged on three masts with a dispacement of some 511 tons, and is constructed of seasoned Galdosian Oak, with Brekonese Mokharan Teak scantlings. Rather than a traditional copper bottom, Caldera is sheathed with mithril; a fabulously expensive alternative seen on very few vessels. She carries 18 32-pounder carronades on a single flush deck, giving her an impressive 288-pound broadside, four times that of the Dark Hawk. She is also equipped with chasers; two 12-pounder long cannons.