(You'll start out on your own, but you might have a crew someday. You do literally start being chased by pirates then falling into a river, so all you have items, skills, and perks.)
[Reserve: Sheet in Progress]
I was born by the River.
My father was the tribe's law-man, my mother was a doctor.
When I was little, my father was famous. He was the greatest fighter in the entire tribe, and he was the chief's decapitator. He cut off the heads of 131 criminals. It was a bad time for the tribe, the chief just stayed in his palace and never came out. People said his brain was infected with demons. My father would come home at night, and he'd forget about the killings. He wasn't scared of the chief, but the chief was scared of him. Maybe that was the problem. One night, the chief sent his royal assassins to our house. But they didn't. That was the night everything changed...
Long story short, I spent my childhood running through jungles and islands to escape the onslaught of assassins out to kill my family. Ironically enough, to save my family I turned to a life of crime and piracy.
Your early life was fractured in two. On one side, love and glory as the son of the tribe's most valued man below the chief. On the other side, piracy and crime. The name of your father years after his death can make citizens who know him bow in respect. Now he's dead, and you killed your first man when you were eight. It was a rather split second decision. It's amazing how easy these things come. You could never consider yourself becoming a pirate. Contorting with pirates was a significant reason for execution. They were bad people in the jungle, which you never entered. Now you're in the jungle, and now you see why no-one wanted to enter.
Perk gain: Respect. Helps diplomacy with citizens of tribes.I was born into a wealthy family in Sweden.
In my childhood I fought with my two elder siblings, learned to read early, was spoiled by my parents and began to develop a lifelong love of travel.
In Sweden, things were pleasant but dull. You were a happy child who loved reading, even though you were mocked for it by your elder siblings. When you first traveled to Spain when you were 5, you loved the experiences you found there, and started a love of travel that never really stopped. It helped that your parents were rich enough to afford holidays every few months. As you traveled, you picked up a few basic abilities, including the ability to survive outdoors. You never really went far from an official campsite to really worry about survival, but your father taught you how to build a fire, make a shelter, ect. That was good enough.
Skill gain: +2 to outdoorsmenship.I was born the only son of a rich British Admiral.
I was raised to be a sailor with all the skills and equipment I'd need to survive and honor my family then sent out into the world at 18
Ah, yes, the royal navy. What better family history? Your family have been sailors since ships were made. Hell, your family crest is an anchor crossed with ropes. You lived in comfort in a big old manor bought with money from raiding Spanish ships in the 1700s under the Queen's orders, with your father always breathing down your neck to "get learning" on how to pilot a ship. You were 6. He was quite overbearing, but some information about sailing and swimming got into your head thanks to his constant badgering and lessons. At least it's a skill.
Skill gain: +2 to sailing most kinds of boatI was the son a highly trained assasin. I spent my early years stelaing and fighting
Your family didn't talk about it's business. Some people said vague hints as to it's nature, but they were vague hints and nothing more. You feel ashamed to say that you didn't get the hint until you were about six when you realized that your father probably doesn't supply concrete shoes for people to go paddling around in rivers. Your father and mother dearest carefully cultivated an atmosphere of hate and fear in that household, and you might as well have been in the jungle for all the infighting between your many siblings. At least you learned how to stay quiet and avoid any unneeded attention.
Skill gain: +2 to stealthI was born on an island, a very small island, in a resort. My mother died in a plane crash, 5 years after my birth. My father was scarred for life and moped around the house. It was up to my older brother to care for me, and since he did, we formed a bond.
Your older brother did everything for you. You cannot thank him enough. In that resort for the dead and dying, you were still both alive but with no real idea of where to go. At least your brother managed to keep you busy with games and stories instead of just moping around reading books. Both of you avoided the long gone gaze of your father, though. Even your combined strength couldn't measure up to the hollowness within his eyes. One day, your brother took you aside and pressed a compass into your hands. It was gold-plated, and quite pretty.
"This was dads... He wanted me to have it, but I think you need it more." He smiled at you and walked off, leaving you to stare at the compass in your hands.
Item gain: Compass heirloom. Helps navigation.Of course, things changed, as things do. Some things for the better, others for the worse. The question is
What happened when you grew into a teenager, then an adult?