Bragh

Bragh is a member and leader of The Crew. He is also known as the Adamant Admiral, running a legion of ships along the Sword Coast.

### Background

Bragh has been known by many nicknames among the crews he's served on, none of which he has cared for. Most recently, his fellow crewmates had taken to calling him the Green Devil, mostly behind his back. All those people are dead now, to Bragh’s knowledge.

Bragh was born in a rundown brothel in the Docks Ward of Waterdeep to an old half-orc prostitute who passed on not even so much as a last name to her son. He grew up on the streets and docks, and quickly learned how to fend for himself.

Bragh is 19. His skin, prematurely weathered and cracked by years at sea in the salt air, make him look a bit older than he would otherwise, and half-orcs age slightly faster besides.

Bragh is tall, athletic, and very strong. He  keeps his head and face shaved when he can.

Bragh is crisscrossed with tattoos of black tentacles which reach out from a dark portal tattooed on his back. The tentacles bind him at the wrists and ankles and twine around his limbs. They wrap over his shoulders and circle him about the torso under his rib cage. These are marks left by his patron, the Maw.

Bragh prefers the simple, comfortable garb of a sailor, and particularly appreciates a good pair of boots. In battle, he prefers lightweight medium armor that won't slow him down or impede his movement if he needs to move quietly.

In terms of weapons, Bragh knows the value of a sturdy, concealable dagger, but in a real fight he prefers especially long-bladed greatswords (like claymores) that would be unwieldy in the hands of anyone of lesser stature.

Bragh is naturally suspicious. He's been either feared or mistreated since he was a boy, and so he assumes that others are out to get the better of him unless and until they demonstrate otherwise. This suspicion has deepened to something closer to paranoia since his recent encounter with the Maw. A voice, whispering from the deep, urges him to violence.

Beyond that, he tends toward placidity. He is slow to rise to anger (a defense mechanism), and will tolerate a great deal of degradation and humiliation. He is also task-oriented: if he has a goal or objective he doesn't sit on his hands or wait for the perfect opportunity. He acts, and makes his own opportunities.

Loyalty is incredibly important to Bragh. He was a follower by nature, and so he tends to latch onto the first authority figure he meets that shows him kindness or shows that he is valued. In the past, these people have been his captains, and he has remained fiercely loyal to them.

Bragh is loyal to his fellow crewmen, as well. Even if they don't care for each other, Bragh knows that a successful crew must be loyal to one another.

Bragh is neutral evil. He's not evil with an agenda, but there's no line he won't cross if pushed up to it. He could be an agent for good or evil, depending on who has his trust. Once you break through his paranoia (which is its own flaw), Bragh will follow the orders of someone he trusts almost without thought. He’ll act without regard for what is right or wrong, what is prudent or dangerous. His personal safety does not enter the equation.

Meeting the two captains he's served under are by far the most impactful moments of his life. The first was an alcoholic merchant captain who could barely keep his ship afloat, and perhaps had the loyalty of no one other than Bragh. This loyalty was not returned, and Bragh was pawned off to Captain Savil, a far more competent captain who saw that the young Bragh would be a valuable addition to a privateer crew if he continued to grow as he had. Savil always treated Bragh with respect and trust, and he even found something of a friend in the ship's first mate, a tiefling named Azumel. Serving on these crews has taken Bragh up and down the Sword Coast, and instilled in him all the values he still holds.

More recently, Bragh's encounter with the Maw has set him on a new path. After being drowned in a shipwreck that may have killed the entire crew, Bragh awakened into the realm of a strange and ancient being of dominance, malevolence, and madness. Though he defied the Maw, it has left its indelible mark upon his mind and his body.

Bragh fears nothing but the Maw. His sanity is his one true and unshared possession. To lose it would mean the end of everything, in his mind.

Bragh has only ever truly loved the captains and a few of the crewmates he's served with. He does not know if any still survive.

Bragh has no secrets, but neither is he forthcoming about his past. Anyone who dares to ask him a personal question is liable to get an honest, if curt, answer.

His second crew is probably all dead. His first captain and crew may still be out there, somewhere, but Bragh doesn’t know what has happened to them, or if the captain is even still the captain. Bragh hasn’t seen or spoken to his mother in seven years, and feels no great urge to ever see her again.

Bragh is a capable sailor and a budding swordsman. He was most recently a crewmember of Mareweald’s Run, which was destroyed not long ago.

Bragh observes the deities that most sailors do, making offerings to Umberlee and seeking the protection and guidance of Valkur and Selune. He is not particularly devout, and any fear he might have held for Umberlee has been supplanted by his fear of the Maw, an entity from which he believes the gods can offer no protection.

Bragh is not an idealist and he doesn’t possess anything that could be called a philosophy. There are three core tenets that guide his actions:

1. People fall into two categories: they are enemies who will attempt to use and/or abuse Bragh, or they are allies who are to be defended. Most fall into the former category.

2. Loyalty is not only the most important thing, it is the only important thing between allies.

3. His only true possession is his own mind. Everything else, up to and including life and limb, belongs to his captain and crew.

After his encounter with the Maw, he passed out and awoke on the shores of the Dark Lake with some new tattoos and one hell of a hangover. Drow captured him shortly after he woke, with poisoned bolts.