Suggested Player Archetypes

For those not familiar with the Historical period in which the game will start. I have some suggestions for a starting point for your characters. Details, of course, are up to you with GM approval.

Jacobite

William of Orange (a Dutchman) has just recently taken the throne of England. William is a Protestant (and a Dutchman!), and therefore all sorts of Catholics and traditionalists support the pretender James II. Your character could be a Scottish Highlander (levels in Barbarian class!) accused of some crime or another in the Old World and sentenced to deportation. Or, you could be a member of a Catholic English family (like the Calvert's of Maryland fame), or just caught in the middle somehow.

Maroon

During this period in history, all sorts of people who were deemed unacceptable to polite society formed groups in the mountains and swamplands of the New World. You could be an escaped slave, a wanted criminal or a Native American who joined such a new society.

Ruined Merchant

You, or more likely your family, were once successful merchants or craftsmen, but an untimely blight on crops, or a ship taken by Pirates without insurance, have reduced you to bankruptcy. In this time period there is no Government welfare, your options are to take to a life at sea or end up in debtors prison.

Disgraced Officer

There are all kinds of ways for Military personell to be disgraced in this time period. A Naval Officer who loses his ship, no matter the circumstances, is likely to never find a command again. A soldier who deserts or has been injured and cannot live on half-pay must find some means of making ends meet. Privateering or Pirating provide just such employment.

Creole Buccaneer

The Spanish have been the masters of most of the Caribbean for over two centuries. They had populated most of the Islands with sheep and pigs, even if they didn't maintain a military presence on the Island. Many groups of Buccaneers (from the French Boucan - a method of Barbequing pork on smoke racks) took up residence on such Islands. The Spanish have recently embarked on a campaign of purging their Islands of such groups. You could be one of many forced to the sea by the new Spanish policy. Works really well if you can pull off a Cajun accent!

Adventurer

England has recently erupted with a new form of Capitalism. However, in the Old World, your station in life is still determined by your class rank. You could have come to the New World in search of profit, which is nominally more important than rank. There is no Interpol in the 18th Century, and more than one notorious Pirate or Privateer has settled down to live the Squires life on a Caribbean Island.

Minor Noble

In the 18th Century, the oldest son still inherits the family fortune, leaving lesser siblings to suck of his teat or make their own way in the world. As a younger son (or daughter), your only choice, besides joining the Clergy, is to seek your destiny in the New World. You won't be courted by polite society, although you can move more easily than most through it. Lower classes who are used to obeying may see you as a natural leader...others will despise you for your privledged upbringing.