How to Impersonate a Sailor?

[Disliker of the mary sue]

In a character idea I mentioned in a previous thread where a Bard is on the run from either an entire country or giant monster (or both) an idea I been thinking of while taking a boat to another continent, disaster happened and the ship was wrecked and nearly the entire crew died. The bard managed to steal the clothing of the ship captain and some identification papers and managed to get a life boat to take him the rest of the way to land. Since the captain was a private individual not a lot of people have ever seen him so people buy that the bard as being the wrecked ship's captain.

So my question is what are resources I could find to read about how a sailor usually acted, how long could I keep such a charade going assuming the bard knows a few things about the profession, and assuming I am a magical bard with song magic how can I use my bard abilities in subtle ways to not break the disguise (assuming I am keeping it a secret from the party)

[Nereidalbel]

As long as you have the skills to actually fit in on a ship, you can keep up the charade until you get too drunk and let on that you stole some guy's identity, or you bump into his family.

[Disliker of the mary sue]

I suppose I more or less should say that at least in the start he won't be on a boat since the one he was supposedly the captain of sank and of course back then a big boat is not something any normal person can just buy on a impulse.

[Dalillama]

Edit because I realized this is probably a D&D character or the like, not GURPS

I think what Nereidalbel meant is that if you've got skills like Shiphandling and/or Seamanship (Or the equivalent), you are a sailor, and don't need to make any rolls to impersonate one. If you haven't, I'd make you roll against an Acting skill to pass when challenged.

Originally Posted by Disliker of the mary sue

So my question is what are resources I could find to read about how a sailor usually acted,

You personally, or your character? If the former, I'd go with any sort of rollicking sea story; the Hornblower books are perennial favorites, as are the Aubrey-Maturin novels, but there's an entire genre of them. The short of it is: Drink heavily, patronize prostitutes, swear a lot, and get into fistfights. (Also note that ship's officers are often expected to be less prone to the latter two, although they're stereotypically blunt and pugnacious).

how long could I keep such a charade going assuming the bard knows a few things about the profession,

As noted above, if you actually have the right skills, forever. If not, it depends on how much of the campaign takes place in or near ports; if you have to regularly interact with real sailors, the odds of your cover being blown are much higher.

and assuming I am a magical bard with song magic how can I use my bard abilities in subtle ways to not break the disguise (assuming I am keeping it a secret from the party)

Learn some sea chanties and develop a habit of singing them when not otherwise conversationally occupied.

[Disliker of the mary sue]

Originally Posted by Dalillama

Edit because I realized this is probably a D&D character or the like, not GURPS
.

Meh gurps, dnd, it really a character for anything I can play bard with magical competence of some sorts since it more of a brainstorming then something I am actually playing right now...I mean it would be silly to ask this question right when I submitted the character to a dm and the game's next week.

[The Colonel]

Bear in mind that a professional sailor, especially in the pre-modern era, is likely to have distinctive callouses on his hands and feet from the rope and rigging work. That, and tattoos were often give-aways for men trying to avoid the press.
Apart from that, he will have the appropriate skills (as already discussed), including knowledges and likely a sailor's way of walking that adjusts easily to a moving deck. There's a distinct cultural familiarity to be looked at as well. Being a foreign sailor might be a good cover for not knowing some things - or for dressing differently when you get a chance to get new slops but lack of core skills is going to get you laughed at at best - and if you try to bluff it out once caught, you're liable to be shunned as a liar (besides any punishment for deceiving whichever officer hired you at a false rate).

[Anaraxes]

Add to the first question some Area Knowledge skills (or the system equivalent) for the lands to which you supposedly travelled. Any deception skills (Bluff, Fast-talk, Acting, etc) the system supports, of course.

For the last question: why hide the magic? Just put it into sea shanties. There's nothing inherently incompatible about being a bard (class) and sailor (profession) in D&D. You learned fascinating songs from the sirens. You could claim you learned some simple tricks from a wizardly passenger, or picked them up in the far-off and exotic Arabian Nights lands.

It's a lot harder if you're trying to conceal the fact that you have magical abilities, and are pretending to be a "fighter" or "expert" or "commoner". If you're keeping with the bardic style -- songs or at least epic poetry -- then you'll have to be audible.

[Disliker of the mary sue]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Add to the first question some Area Knowledge skills (or the system equivalent) for the lands to which you supposedly travelled. Any deception skills (Bluff, Fast-talk, Acting, etc) the system supports, of course.

For the last question: why hide the magic? Just put it into sea shanties. There's nothing inherently incompatible about being a bard (class) and sailor (profession) in D&D. You learned fascinating songs from the sirens. You could claim you learned some simple tricks from a wizardly passenger, or picked them up in the far-off and exotic Arabian Nights lands.

It's a lot harder if you're trying to conceal the fact that you have magical abilities, and are pretending to be a "fighter" or "expert" or "commoner". If you're keeping with the bardic style -- songs or at least epic poetry -- then you'll have to be audible.

I figure if I on the run, being known as a bard could get me caught...espcically if the dead captain wasn't known for being a bard.

I don't know it seems like a captain who was also a trained bard would be something people in the know would wonder why they never heard of.

[jason taylor]

Is that necessary? Perhaps it is good enough to impersonate a harbor rat. Some ships are shorthanded enough that they are satisfied with human mules rather then worrying about actual skill.

[Murrkon5]

Just to emphasize, in pre-industrial times a sailing ship might be the occupation filled with the most jargon-technical skills and has the intense time pressure to employ those skills. Either as captain giving orders or the sailors acting them out.

"The nor-easter is blowing us to a lee shore! Loosen the stays on the for'ard royals!"

Standing around as a clueless noob could mean the ship piles on to the rocks or something. So, impersonating a sailing man on dry land is about the only way to do it.