Assigning Player Characters

Casting the Campaign

The Keeper should not assign player characters until she’s familiarized herself with the campaign, read the player character profiles, and skimmed “Player Character Secrets and Development.” There are many twists and surprises in White Leviathan, and most of the characters are more complex than they initially appear. Once the Keeper is ready, she should distribute the “Cast Sheet” and provide the players with time to read the public descriptions of each character. It’s likley the Keeper may have specific players in mind for certain characters, in which case she may discuss characters privately, perhaps offering strategic details from their extended profiles. The following guidelines may help assign characters:

Tobias Beckett
Beckett is the basic “investigator” character, and must endeavor to remain concealed as long as possible. He should be played by someone who likes snooping around, assembling clues, and solving puzzles—a Scooby Doo type. Of course, he’s probably doomed. In terms of moral alignment, Beckett might be considered “lawful good.”

Mr. Joseph Coffin
This character is third in command of the Quiddity, and should be played by someone confident giving orders and making command decisions. Coffin is also a Dreamer, which offers him a slender reed of hope against his tragic fate. Coffin’s player should do some research into whaling, even if that’s just watching a film of Moby-Dick. Coffin might be considered “neutral good” with “lawful” tendencies.

Ulysses Dixon
A wounded warrior, Dixon is ambitious but deeply traumatized. His character arc is designed as a slow burn. Dixon’s player must be willing to play a character with flaws, and should enjoy the more hack-and-slash aspects of roleplaying, such as hunting whales and combat. Dixon might be considered “neutral good” with “chaotic neutral” tendencies.

Montgomery St. John Lowell
Lowell is for experienced players who enjoy horror, and have a comfortable familiarity with Lovecraft. Missing nine months of his life, Lowell will unravel this mystery when the Quiddity reaches the Galápagos—and the results won’t be pretty. Lowell’s player should enjoy morally ambiguous characters, and be willing to embrace the Sanity-draining aspects of the Mythos. Lowell might be considered “true neutral” with the capacity to become “neutral evil.”

Leland Morgan
A Deep One hybrid on the cusp of the Change, Morgan should only be assigned to a player eager to embrace this challenge, and willing to roleplay a “monster” with a complicated personality. Obviously, familiarity with the Mythos is useful, particularly Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.” Morgan might be considered “true neutral.”

Quakaloo
This harpooneer offers a player a chance for creative tinkering. A native of an imaginary island, Quakaloo may constantly surprise the rest of the cast with his bizarre customs and rituals. He can also use magic. Quakaloo may be given to a player eager to try something unique to this setting, but sensitive enough not to transform the character into a caricature. In terms of moral alignment, Quakaloo might be considered “neutral good.”

Milton Redburn
An erudite scholar and brilliant polymath, Redburn should be played by someone who likes “fish out of water” characters. Familiarity with Melville and other eighteenth-century literature is a plus. Redburn has few secrets and no hidden agendas, and is something of a wild card. Redburn might be considered “chaotic good.”

Rachel Ward
Another challenging character to play, Rachel is ambitious, morally ambiguous, and has the potential to become extremely powerful. Rachel is best tackled by an experienced player interested in using magic, and is not afraid to take risks. In terms of moral alignment, Ward might be considered “chaotic neutral.”

Customizing Characters

Once characters have been assigned, each player should receive the corresponding player character profile. The Keeper should issue the “Main Glossary” and “Period & Setting 1844-1846” handouts at this time as well. If the Keeper is feeling up to the task, she may provide additional information about sailing ships, whaling, and nautical customs, whether adapted from White Leviathan, photocopied from resource books, or printed from the Internet. All such materials should be distributed before the first game date, which allows players time to thoroughly review the information. Players should read their character’s stats, descriptions, and notes; then speak privately with the Keeper to discuss questions and propose alterations.

Minor Alterations
The Keeper should allow players to tweak their character’s skills and possessions, but not their core characteristics. For instance, if Mr. Coffin would rather play the mouth harp than the concertina, of if Tobias Beckett wants to possess a gold fountain pen instead of a pocket watch, that’s fine. The Keeper may award each player 20-50 additional percentile points to spread around. Maybe Redburn’s father taught him to shoot a musket, or Quakaloo learned to play chess from Robert Thompson, or Rachel Ward learned some Portuguese, etc.

Major Alterations
Players are free to expand their character’s histories, alter their physical descriptions, and strike out unwanted details. However, these pre-generated characters have been carefully balanced to ensure cohesive gameplay over a sustained campaign. Players seeking to make significant alterations must obtain approval from the Keeper, who best understands the campaign and its future scenarios. For instance, perhaps a player is uncomfortable with Morgan’s sexual urges. Something like this may be changed without damaging his character; however deciding he’s not really a Deep One renders the character pointless.

Changing Gender, Ethnicity, and Nationality
Even though White Leviathan is set in a world of magic and monsters, the campaign endeavors to be as historically authentic as possible. The mid-nineteenth century was not a particularly enlightened time, and New England whaling ships followed a very predictable social structure. While the harpooneers, idlers, and sailors were quite diverse, the officers were overwhelmingly white. The crew was exclusively male, and the only women allowed on a voyage were the officer’s wives. The cast of White Leviathan reflects this reality; however, the Keeper should allow players to make reasonable alterations. Certain character profiles suggest such possibilities. For instance, Morgan may be a Creole of African descent, or Professor Lowell may be played as female. In the end, it’s up to the Keeper and players to decide where historical authenticity should be honored, and where it should be breached for the sake of enjoyable gameplay. More details may be found under “Notes on Sensitivity” in the “Introduction.”

Sources and Notes

The image in the header is William Blake’s Job Rebuked by His Friends, from 1805-1806.

White Leviathan > Keeper’s Information
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Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 19 October 2021
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]