Player-owned port/Captains and crew

A player recruits captains and crew through the crew roster interface. This is also where the player may get the most detail about individual captains or crew members. A player may have a maximum of 5 captains and 25 crew members at any given time.

Captains and crew members are assigned to ships through the Shipyard interface by clicking on the plus sign under the ship stats at the top of the window. At any given time, a ship may have only 1 captain, but may have up to 5 crew members assigned to it. Captains and crew members add their stats (Morale, Combat, Seafaring, and Speed) to those of the ship to determine a voyage's chance of success. They may also possess other traits that affect the rewards for success or penalties for failure.

Captains and crew members become better through experience gained by successfully completing voyages. The farther you progress into the Wushanko Isles, the better will be the captains and crew available for hire. Although there are free captains and crew members available, replacing them with better crew members hired using chimes and port resources will be critical to advancing through the game.

Using the Lifeboat perk from port Random events can save a captain or crew member from death.

Captains
A ship must have a captain before it can go on a voyage. Until a captain has been assigned to a ship, crew cannot be assigned to it and previously assigned crew will not be shown. Each ship may only have one captain assigned to it.

Only one visiting captain is available for hire at a time. If the visiting captain is hired, the spot will remain vacant until reset at 00:00 UTC unless a Captain Reroll is used. Captain rerolls are available as rewards for completing the port random event minigames. At reset, or when rerolled, the visiting captain (if any) is replaced by a new randomly determined visiting captain, and the current visiting captain is lost.

Base stats and specialities
Captains have base stats determined by their quality. Their base stats are the same for 3 stats while a fourth stat, their speciality, will be approximately double that value. The player starts with a free captain of the lowest quality. The first two tiers of captains are available immediately, but additional tiers of better, more expensive, captains become available as more areas are unlocked.

Some high-level bar upgrades increase your chance of attracting captains with particular specialities. These are not available until the Bowl region has been unlocked.

Your crew
The Crew Roster shows your currently recruited units on the left and a recruiting interface on the right. You may get more information about individual captains or crew members by selecting them in the crew display. Information on the selected captain or crew member is shown below your crew display. If the unit is not on a voyage, it may be dismissed from the roster by clicking on the icon and then clicking on the red button in the bottom left corner.

Captains and crew members are assigned to ships from the Shipyard interface.

Statistics
Each captain and crew member has statistics in Morale, Combat, Seafaring, and Speed. These are determined by four factors:


 * The base stats of the particular type of unit, which are shown in the recruiting interface. The base stats alone determine the xp gain of the unit.
 * The level boosts gained by the unit.
 * Any traits that the unit has.
 * Personal bonuses specific to an individual unit. These do not appear in the crew roster until the unit has been recruited.

When a captain or crew member has been highlighted in the Crew Roster interface, if you hover your mouse over the Stat name (Morale, Combat, Seafaring, or Speed), you can see how much of the stat value is due to base value, level boost, personal bonus, or named traits.

Level
Each captain and crew member has a level (which starts at 0) and can be increased by gaining experience on voyages. When captains and crew members gain a level, their stats are increased by 10% of their base stats. This level boost is not affected by previous level boosts, personal bonuses, or traits. Therefore, for example, a Smuggler (with a base stat of 70 Seafaring) always gains exactly 7 Seafaring per level.

The maximum level is 10. Captains earn half the experience a crew member would earn from the same voyage.

Experience
Voyages within regions earn a standard amount of experience for captains and crew depending on the kind of voyage undertaken. Captains earn half the experience normal crew members do (rounded down). Experience bonuses from Rallying Cry and Lotus Tint Spectacles stack additively, for a total of 20% bonus for the captain and each crew member.

All resource voyages within a region (including those offered by adventurers and Surula) earn the same experience. Story and trait voyages earn the same experience as standard resource voyages. Clue voyages probably earn this same amount as well, although this needs confirmation. No information is presently available for voyages which earn skill experience (e.g. Slayer XP). Scroll and trade goods missions may give the same XP but more data is required.

Voyages which partially succeed give normal XP. Voyages that have failed provide 1 XP (0 XP for captains).

Traits
Captains and crew members may have between zero and four traits, which are permanent modifiers given in addition to the unit's base statistics. It is possible to have the same trait in multiple trait slots, thereby stacking the trait's effect if the effect is stackable.

Some crew member types start with specific inherent traits, such as the Merchant trait for the Ardougne Shopkeeper, or the Staunch trait for Golems. Only inherent traits are shown in the recruiting interface under the picture of the crew member prior to recruitment. Any other traits are only shown after recruitment.

Captains tend to have a much higher chance of having traits at recruitment than crew members. Some voyages list a trait for your captain as a reward. If completed successfully, the captain used to complete the voyage will gain the listed trait. However, the traits are (as mentioned above) permanent, and can't be replaced once they have been gained.

Effects of the traits can be seen when hovering over the trait. The effects appear to be processed by crew placement from left to right, which can be important for abilities that do not stack. For example, if you have a First Mate and an Eastern Overseer on a single voyage (both with Solidarity), if the First Mate is to the left of the Eastern Overseer, his lower Solidarity bonus will be applied first and the Eastern Overseer's higher bonus will be ignored. The possible traits are:

Crew members
Only 3 crew members for hire are displayed at any one time. When a player hires one, a reroll is consumed and a new crew member is generated to fill the slot. Only 15 crew rerolls are available each day--if no rerolls are left, the slot remains empty. If a player does not want to hire a crew member, they may click the green reroll button in the corner of the crew slot, consuming a reroll to immediately forfeit them and generate a new crew member for hire. The crew reroll count is reset to 15 at midnight UTC. Any crew left in the three slots will carry over to the next day.

If there are empty slots and no available rerolls, at midnight UTC a crew member will replace that slot at the cost of one reroll.

Up to 5 crew members may be assigned to a ship. Only crew members assigned to a ship have an effect on that ship's voyage.

For the single-stat crew members, the dominant colour of the icon can be used to tell what type of crew member they are; green is morale, red is combat, and blue is seafaring. There are also unique crew members in each region. Every region has an unlockable crew member (Cyclops, Siren Whalerider, Chimera, Sea Witch, Judge of Dice, Oxhead and Horseface, Wisp and Kharidian Exile). Most regions also have a Golem unit, which costs fewer chimes but more of that resource of its type (for example, a Slate golem costs 400 chimes, but also costs more slate than a single-stat crew-member like a Golden Katana Clansman). Many regions have a unit with the Solidarity trait, such as the First Mate, which will boost stats based on the number of unique units aboard their ship. Some regions also have a unit with the Rallying Cry trait, offering bonus experience to everyone aboard when they are sent on voyages. Some regions have a unit with the Merchant trait, offering extra resources to the port if the voyage is successful. Finally, there are units with dominant speed traits, enough to make voyages in the new region faster to complete.

Not all crew types are available to the player at the start of the mini-game. As the player unlocks new areas and accomplishes certain voyages, more (and often better) crew types will become available. For example, one of the first additional unlocks is the Cyclops, which is received when the Island of Cyclosis voyage is successfully completed.

Upgrading your lodgings increases the chance of attracting crew of higher quality. Upgrading them to a specific type of lodging adds the lodging's effects to the current effects it has. (e.g. a Swashbuckler lodging would increase the chances of better crewmembers by 7%, while those who focus on Combat have a 3% bonus, increasing it to 10% for Combat crewmembers).

The base statistics, costs, and other data for the crew types are listed in the tables below.

1 If a unit with the Resurrects trait is aboard, a failed voyage resulting in a lost captain or crew member may instead result in the lost captain or crew member being replaced by an Indentured Zombie.

Flavour text
Every crew member has a flavour text providing information about his or her personality or history. These flavour texts have no effect on the crews performances.


 * A little less briny than the sea.
 * Ate a cake, and has it.
 * Reference to the phrase "You can't have your cake and eat it too".


 * Ate a whole shark in one bite.
 * Reference to the fact a lot of large fish are single-bite food items in RuneScape.


 * Ate all the pies.
 * Refers to the song "Who ate all the pies?"


 * Believes penguins are our friends.
 * Refers to the penguin quest series and Hide and seek activity.


 * Believes penguins are our enemies.
 * Also refers to the penguin quest series and Hide and seek activity.


 * Black belt in troll-fu.
 * Carves spoons from teak.
 * Claims to have invented rope.
 * Reference to Ned's similar claim.


 * Dances a fair hornpipe.
 * Dances when nobody's watching.
 * Dances, whenever, whatever.
 * Reference to a song by singer Shakira.


 * Dedicated follower of fashion.
 * Reference to the 1966 song "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" by British invasion band The Kinks.


 * Demands additional biscuits.
 * Didn't get custody.
 * Didn't really solo Nex.
 * A reference to an old saying by players that they "solo Nex", before doing so was possible.


 * Doesn't know port from starboard.
 * Nautical version of the phrase "doesn't know his left from his right".


 * Drank the spittoon for a dare.
 * Earned the Fremennik name 'Farstink'.
 * Pun on "farts stink"


 * Eats only hardtack [sic]
 * Enjoys long walks on the beach.
 * Reference to flavour texts and descriptions found on dating sites.


 * Gets terrible land sickness.
 * As opposed to sea sickness.


 * Getting over a bad breakup.
 * Gives love a bad name.
 * Reference to the song "You Give Love a Bad Name" by the band Bon Jovi.


 * Got scurvy before it was mainstream.
 * Referencing to the "... before it was mainstream" Internet meme.


 * Grumbles only mildly in inclement weather.
 * Reference to the game Dwarf Fortress.


 * Had a cake, and ate it.
 * reference to the saying "Having your cake, and eating it too".


 * Has a butterfly tattoo. Don't ask where.
 * Reference to a "tramp stamp", which is often a tattoo of a butterfly.


 * Has a citadel in the sky.
 * Reference to Clan Citadels.


 * Has a phobia of the ship's wheel.
 * Hunts sea monsters for fun.
 * Is a connoisseur of fine cheeses.
 * Is currently reading YOUR stats page.
 * Is constantly dropping the bass.
 * Reference to the musical technique of a brief stylised pausing in percussion instrument(s) and resuming with a large scale burst typically alongside with other bass instrument(s).


 * Is constantly dropping the shark.
 * A pun on the flavour text above, as Bass and Shark are a type of fish.


 * Is constantly jumping the handcannon.
 * Referring to the common saying "Jumping the gun", with a Handcannon being the closest equivalent in RuneScape.


 * Is constantly jumping the shark.
 * Referring to the "Happy Days" television episode which coined the attention grabbing gimmick phrase.


 * Is secretly a vegan.
 * Is the evil twin.
 * Like the evil twin random event, this is a reference to the old folk-belief, that one twin will be good and one will be evil.


 * Is the fly in the ointment.
 * Is the reason the rum is gone.
 * Reference to the hit movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in which Captain Jack Sparrow asks "Why is the rum gone?" This quote is itself referenced in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.


 * Is the symptom; not the cause.
 * Reference from Rocky Horror Picture Show ("I'll remove the cause, but not the symptom")


 * Is wearing rainbow-striped pants.
 * Keeps cats on board.
 * Knows about the puppy.
 * Reference to a flavour text below.


 * Knows that wasn't rum.
 * Knows where the bones are buried.
 * Usually when pirates hide their treasure caskets they killed part of the crews that helped digging, so no one would discover it.


 * Knows why the rum is gone.
 * Reference to the hit movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in which Jack Sparrow asks "Why is the rum gone?" This quote is itself referenced in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.


 * Lied about being a pirate.
 * Lied about liking rum.
 * Lost a party hat [sic] in a shark attack.
 * Loves life in all its forms.
 * Makes earwax scrimshaw.
 * Not a fan of pies.
 * Not to be underestimated.
 * Once ate the whole thing.
 * Reference to Homer Simpson's high school yearbook quote "I can't believe I ate the whole thing".


 * Once dated a mermaid.
 * Once married a mermaid.
 * Once divorced a mermaid.
 * Once gazed into the Abyss.
 * Reference to Friedrich Nietzsche's quote "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an Abyss the Abyss also gazes into you."

Possibly a reference to the metalcore band 'iwrestledabearonce'.
 * Once got King Roald's autograph.
 * Once punched a porpoise.
 * Once had a wash.
 * Once threw up off Brimhaven Dock.
 * Once wrestled a bear.
 * Once wrestled a shark.
 * Once wrestled a moral dilemma.
 * Pun to the other "wrestled"-lines.


 * Passionately hates tea.
 * Reference to Truth Tea pun


 * Plays the flute. Badly.
 * Prefers the helm over the aft.
 * Reference to the saying "Has their head up the ass". The aft-end is the rear of the ship.


 * Ran away from the circus.
 * Reference to old Circus workers.
 * Whenever children would run away long ago, they would often travel with a travelling circus.


 * Reliable only when drunk.
 * Reliable unless drunk.
 * Saving up for a top hat.
 * Likely a pun-based reference to the Achievement Banner personal message "Working towards a Phat", as Party Hats are significantly more expensive than Top Hats.


 * Seventh child of a seventh child
 * Reference to the folk belief, around since the Middle Ages, that the seventh son of a seventh son is born with tremendous magical and/or healing powers.


 * Sings a fine shanty.
 * Smells remarkably like an admiral pie.
 * Sometimes comes on too strong.
 * Survivor of five keelhaulings.
 * Reference to a form of punishment given to sailors at sea, in which a sailor was dragged under the hull of a ship by a long rope. Few people managed to survive this punishment.


 * Thick as two short planks.
 * Proverb, meaning "Exceedingly/Very stupid".


 * Thinks nobody knows about the puppy.
 * Vicious and heartless.
 * Voted 'Most Hairy' at nursery school.
 * Wants a pet unicorn.
 * Wants to be a captain.
 * Wants to be a hero.
 * Wants to be buried at sea.
 * A reference to a common burial method for pirates and seamen.

Trivia

 * The unit Oxhead and Horseface is a reference to the traditional Chinese guardians of the underworld of the same names.
 * Prior to the Player-owned ports update on 7 January 2014, the Oxhead and Horseface had base stats of 600 for all characteristics except for a speed of 0. These were then lowered to the current 500.
 * During a failed voyage resulting in a lost captain being replaced by an Indentured Zombie, it is possible to have more than 25 crew members. Once a captain has been replaced by an Indentured Zombie the 26th crew member will be inaccessible until one of the twenty-five visible crew members have been dismissed. At the moment the number of crew members attainable from captains being replaced by an Indentured Zombie is unknown.
 * It's possible for a Sea Witch to die in a voyage, resulting in said witch resurrecting herself as a Drowned ghost.
 * The Drowned ghost's dismissal button has the word "Dismissed" replaced with "Jettison". This does not apply to other crew members.
 * It is possible to have two opposite traits that cancel each other out (such as plucky and cowardly), have multiple of the same traits, and having traits on captains that do not make logical sense, such as mutinous (chance of killing the captain) and loyal (chance of saving the captain).
 * The Zhonghu Player crewmember plays the Zhonghu, a Chinese stringed instrument developed during the 20th century.