Vick Sloane



'“What’s the fucking point of life if you owe a piece of it to someone else? Shit thing is, it always ends up like that anyway. Take what you can get, and fuck everyone who hates you for it.”'

Vick Sloane was born in the town of Portsmouth to a large family of labourers, where a combination of her good looks, fiery temper and refusal to be demure in a patriarchal society got her into trouble throughout her youth. When a local noble’s son took a liking to her and saw her aggressive nature as akin to a wild horse to be tamed, he forced himself upon her, in the face of which she gouged his eyes out with her thumbs and then, in her adrenaline-fuelled panic and rage, cut his throat with a paring knife, not stopping until she’d sawed his head halfway off.

She stowed away on a ship that night with nothing but the clothes on her back, and after being discovered a few days later, earned her keep aboard the merchant vessel. The following year, it was attacked by The Riposte, a ship under the banner of Eustace the Pirate King. Vick was brought on board as a prize, and endured many tribulations over the years. Eventually, through sheer grit and tenacity, she overcame the “disadvantages” of her gender and clawed her way into a position of some influence amongst the crew.

Eventually, after a particularly profitable venture, she took a small number of the crew and purchased a small Cog, renaming it The Thorn. After one too many close shaves, she opted from then on to work as more of a merchant adventurer than an outright pirate due to its relative safety and consistency.

In 1193, she met Essel and Arianwen, who sought to enlist the services of a merchant crew to ferry them across Saint George’s Channel...

Description
Born: 1168 (aged 25) Height: 5'5" Weight: 119lbs Build: Lean Nationality: English

Vick Sloane is a lean and ill-tempered woman whose chief weapons are not her knives or her barbed tongue, but the rage that fuels her. She has a reputation for intensity and ruthlessness; a personality honed after years of operating within the brutal society of pirates and privateers. She generally remains quiet and stoic unless agitated, and when she does speak, it’s with a rough, gravelly tone and an unmistakeably urban, lower-class accent. She is incredibly reluctant to show vulnerability, and anger is one of the only emotions she often displays.

Notable Features: Scarred hands and back; from desperate fights and shipboard floggings, respectively. A mane of unkempt red hair, often threaded with jewellery.

Downtime: When Vick’s actually at the covenant, she’s often found lounging in the barracks or mess hall, sharpening her knives or (badly) whittling some wood. She takes frequent trips to The Red Boar and Nottingham, usually on her own, though she refuses to answer anyone brave or naïve enough to ask what she does in town.

Fun Fact: Vick Sloane is secretly a lover of music, though she’d never admit it. She also met Eustace the Pirate King, and punched him when he made a disparaging comment regarding the novelty of a female “pretending” at being a pirate, which he answered by breaking her nose and then applauding her grit.

Greatest Fear: Intimacy

Characteristics
Strength +1 Stamina +1 Dexterity +2 Quickness +2 Perception +1 Intelligence +0 Presence +1 Communication -2

Virtues

 * Knife Fighter
 * Merchant Adventurer
 * Tough

Flaws

 * Ability Block (Logic)
 * Raised in the Gutter
 * Wrathful

Personality Traits

 * Cynical +3
 * Resolute +3
 * Sentimental +1
 * Wrathful +2

Reputations
Dangerous Pirate 2 (South Coast)

Key Abilities

 * Brawl
 * Leadership
 * Swim
 * Stealth

Languages

 * English 5
 * Gaelic 2

Abilities

 * Area Lore: Britain (Sailing Routes) 2
 * Athletics (Climbing) 2
 * Awareness (Alertness) 2
 * Bargain (Services) 1
 * Brawl (Knives) 5
 * Carouse (Staying Sober) 1
 * Chirurgy (Herself) 1
 * Concentration (Vigilance) 2
 * Folk Ken (Criminals) 2
 * Guile (Concealing Items) 2
 * Intrigue (Criminals) 1
 * Language: English (Sailors) 5
 * Language: Gaelic (Sailors) 2
 * Leadership (Sailors) 3
 * Organisation Lore: Pirates (Britain) 2
 * Profession: Sailor (Captain) 210
 * Stealth (Sneaking) 3
 * Survival (Coasts) 2
 * Swim (Seas) 3

Combat
Soak: 7 Encumbrance: 1

Typical Gear
A ragged leather hat, a long coat, leather scale (part), two daggers, several rings and necklaces, and many knives balanced for throwing.

Opinions of Others
Crewmates Coleán Light-Touch – He’s a sound enough guy. Gets along with folk, what I ain’t ever been good at. Gets good prices an’ that, an’ he don’t pocket nothin’ extra for himself. Snail-Drum Sven – Guy ain’t much of a talker, but he knows his shit, he’s strong as an ox, an’ he don’t complain about nothin’, long as he don’t ‘ave to go too far from the ship. Elias – I’ve never seen a man put so much effort into doin’ fuck all, but the little shit’s useful. Got a weird knack for knowin’ the weather, an’ his eyes are damned sharp. Geoffroi – Smart kid. Don’t know why someone that posh is with us, but I ain’t complainin’; he’s been taught proper, an’ he’s the only one what knows his letters. Hann – I been with him for years an’ I still don’t know nothin’ about him. He seems content enough luggin’ shit around, an’ he’s good in a scrap, an’ that’s good enough for me.

Pirates Eustace the Monk – They say he’s made a pact with the devil. Lookin’ at the bastard, I ain’t sure I doubt it. Captain Wymond – He knows his arse from his elbow, but I don’t regret leavin’ the callous fucker for a second.