Lore:Crafting Motif 116: Drowned Mariner Style

Book Information
Seen In:	Elder Scrolls Online (Lost Depths)
Up	Crafting Motifs
Prev.	Y'ffre's Will	Next	Firesong

Crafting Motif 116: Drowned Mariner Style

by "Growler" Silaine, Marine Salvager

A guide to crafting armor and weapons in the Drowned Mariner style

---

There's a bounty of salvage in the Graven Deep! Divines willing, it can be ours! If we're to make it out of this wrecking expedition alive, we'll need to be able to protect our ships and our spoils. Or become the wrecked ourselves! Let old Growler's knowledge be put to page, and we'll see if we can make proper mariners out of you filching wreckers yet!

AXES

Hear me: the best-fashioned axes sport a hook or spike astern of a nice, broad bit. It's dead useful for prying, climbing, boarding, picking, gouging, whatever you might put your keen mind to. Adorn it with some flashy spoils, a coin, or some ribbons, and you'll catch eyes in more ways than one.

BELTS

The most important part of a sailor's ensemble, and I'll hear no word otherwise. When the sea's churning, you've got enough ways to lose your footing without your breeches hung round your ankles! Above all else, that belt should hold fast as a barnacle and keep your treasures safely stowed.

BOOTS

I'll not have some knife-toed dandy slicing lines while climbing the rigging! Rounded toes, waterproofed seams, and spats or folded-over tops. No need for fancy runes to keep your footing: score your soles for traction, and thank me later.

BOWS

An oft-forgotten weapon at sea, on account of the skill needed to account for the wind and waves. Mariner's bows are crafted with springy driftwood, if you can find it, and are adorned with cloth or feathers above the grip to give an eye for the direction of the wind.

CHESTS

Sailors fare best in lightweight, loose-fitting garb. You'll do well in a long coat and a breathable shirt. Metal? Reinforcements? You planning to play anchor if you're pitched overboard? What, you think frogmetal grows on trees, do you? Deck yourself in something that lets the wind blow through and takes musk and moisture with it. Your shipmates will thank you.

DAGGERS

Daggers. Now, there's a weapon after my own heart. And yours, if you're not careful. I like a dagger near long as my forearm, and thin enough to clamp between my teeth if need be. Mine is a deceptively simple design; no one's tried to steal it yet. If someone's going to nick it off me, it better well be off my corpse.

GLOVES

If you don't understand why a mariner needs these, I'd say you're not fit to set foot on a boat, let alone sail one. Cover your fingers or keep 'em free, it matters little to me. At the very least, wrap your hands in scraps of sailcloth. Even the most callused-up old salt will shred his palms trying to man the rigging without a good pair of gloves.

HELMETS

With head coverings, it's a simple matter of you versus the weather. Even a bundled shirt or scrap of sailcloth will do fine enough against all manner of sun, wind, and brine. A well-made hat with an upturned brim is undeniably toothsome, and with ear coverings, it's practical to boot.

LEG GREAVES

Comfort is key here. You want to contend with tight wet breeches while you're being tossed round the ship like a battered fillet? I thought not. Fashion these bits to be light and breezy, and you'll soon see them mold to you like a second skin.

MACES

Love these blessed beasts. If you've a steady arm, they'll make mincemeat of any foe that might cross you. The two-handed mariner's mace can also double as an anchor in a pinch. It's come in handy for me more often than you'd think, and I like to wrap a net of rope around the head of mine for just such needs.

SHIELDS

Craft your shields round as the sun and flat as the doldrums. Set it atop a barrel for a game of cards. Bash a boarder in the face. Nail it in place to seal a hull breach. Hold fast to stay afloat if the ship's going down. Your shield's your best friend. And if you let it out of your sight, it might become someone else's.

SHOULDERS

Sure, you don't want to get cleaved like a pheasant. But a sailor who can't raise his arms for fear of getting his head cracked like a nut is no use to anyone. Make 'em fit snug, so it's easy enough to give some monkey-handed boarder the brushoff when he tries to bury his axe in your chest.

STAVES

The mast of magic! Our staves are fashioned with the head of a three-pronged fish spear, but I'll encourage no practical use with that. That burnt fish smell tends to linger. Frost, fire, lightning—it all feels different channeling those elements down the fine tines of a trident. See if you don't feel the same!

SWORDS

The longer your blade, all the more length to keep sharp. Craft it to a size you can manage. More power to you if you can handle a heavy two-hander. Me, I prefer something simple and swishy—a blade so plain, the world underestimates her razor-fine bite. That's the cutlass for me.

Prev: Y'ffre's Will

Up: Crafting Motifs

Next: Firesong