Ever since the advent of exploration, there has been an intrinsic need for navigation; To know from whence you came and where you are going is integral to not getting lost; This became an essential skill as early as a species began their nomadic travels to keep up with their needs; When different planets discovered travel across their respective seas, the navigation would become more difficult. It became the domain of specialised Navigators. These individuals would develop tools to keep track of direction and routes as they aided their crews in surviving the treacherous seas and oceans. Now with the age of space travel, navigation has gained a third dimension to consider and Navigators continue to adapt and develop new tools. As more species and peoples flock together and exchange their knowledge, more and more Navigators find their way of thinking and performing their measurements to be an oddity to others. These points of difference have lead to conflict as much as they have lead to amalgamation of practices; With prolonged exposure, certain ideas and archetypes have started to settle within the minds of people across the galaxies. While none of these are hard and fast rules, they represent the general shift in which cultural practices around navigating have developed:
Traditionalists
These represent Navigators who rely primarily on purely physical tools such as the surprisingly universal compass. While 'tradition' means something else to every species and culture, Traditionalists view the practice of navigating as a merely mechanical practice of consulting maps and using electromagnetic orientations. As such Traditionalist Navigators often seem not too different from their crew members. If maybe a bit bookish, they are the easiest to mistake for any other member of the crew. That said there are plenty of exceptions, especially when their practice places them within a unique social class that demands to distinguish them from others.
Mystics
Considered a bit weird by most people Mystics are similar to Traditionalists. Making use of maps and physical tools, but unlike Traditionalists they see it as a mystic craft. To them a star map is like a sacred relic, their occupation a celestial calling. Each bit of knowledge and practice carries something ceremonial within it. As such they find common ground with the Technomancers in some aspects. They often resemble almost religious personalities, training their apprentices in hushed tones, keeping their maps away from prying eyes. In terms of looks and their ideals, they tend to stand apart from their crews. Mystics may be hired, but just as often offer their services in return for passage to yet uncharted systems. Exceptions exist here too and there are also monasteries of mystic Navigators who dispatch their faithful to serve and recruit new apprentices from faraway galaxies.
Mutants
Mutations, if controlled, offer untold potential. As such Mutant Navigators undergo such mutations to expand their skills. Enlarged organs for adaptation to space travel, sensory organs to perceive the electromagnetic waves sent out by planetoids are just two of the endless potential mutations. This potential only grows with every new species these gene-crafters encounter, able to unlock new abilities hidden within other species' DNA. If considered as an actual group despite their uniqueness, then the Mutants fall into either of two camps; They may be individuals who choose to undergo mutations and pick up genetic adaptations throughout their life to meet the various challenges of navigation. Whether or not they are able to perform them on themselves or are helped in their endeavour is down to the individual Navigator. Alternatively they may be the result of a breeding program specifically created to serve their role. These bred Navigators often get assigned their crews and are not really considered members on equal footing, but a tolerated lesser. As such these Navigators tend to not really pick up new adaptations as they and their crew would lack the knowledge necessary. No matter which type of Mutant, these Navigators are eyed suspiciously for their everchanging nature, but eagerly desired for their often impeccable abilities. Especially bred Navigators have become a commercial export of entire planets.
Technomancers
On a similar wavelength as the Mystics, Technomancers rely entirely on technological navigation algorithms; They have the same almost religious reverence for Navigation, but in opposition to Mystics believe themselves as living beings to be entirely incapable of making good navigational calls. They put their faith into machines and technology. Why would they call themselves Navigators then? Well Technomancers often culture their very own Navigational algorithm or AI; They bind this machine to themselves, becoming its custodian and maintenance worker. As such they believe they must pretend to be Navigators to facilitate an easier communication between crews which may not understand the Technomancer's ways. A side effect of their beliefs is a tendency to depersonalize. In an attempt to strip themselves and their biological failings from the communication between machine and crew, they often hide their features or surgically alter them entirely. As such Technomancers may appear insidious or creepy to anyone but themselves.
No Matter which archetype of Navigator, they make form an essential cadre of societies, keeping the traffic and trade between planets open. As such Corsair crews always have at least one Navigator amongst their ranks. Some are recruited through the same ideals espoused by their captain, while others are press-ganged or enslaved to the bureaucratic whims of the Bosun.
If you create a crew for Space Corsairs 28, you should give some thought to what type of Navigator they would employ, if they 'employ' them at all. You might want to include one amenable to your crews' ideals who would happily join them. Maybe a traditionalist who is an old school friend of your captain joining them in their adventures. On the other hand, allies of convenience always make for an interesting story; Imagine a Mystic who is in search of a new apprentice in the far flung reaches of space and only tolerates the lawless behaviour of their crew. Lastly there are always the purely malicious crews, buying a cheap gene-bred Mutant Navigator from one of the flesh markets across the galaxy.
As of writing this, there is no actual playable Navigator in the game, but I have plans to include them on a mechanical level in the future. This is the first in an ongoing series of posts, that aim to establish concepts I am working on without me having to update the rules proper.
