You start Sunless Sea by creating your character. Or not, depending on your preference.
Captain's Making[]
At this stage, you have two options:
- Choose a past, allowing you to generate a character.
- A Past Wreathed in Shadows, which allows you to start a game instantly and bother with the pesky past later.
View the Captain's Making event.
Who were you?[]
Here you select the background of your Captain. This affects skills, starting Crew, and Echo.
All characters start with 25 x Hearts, 25 x Veils, 25 x Pages, 25 x Mirrors, 25 x Iron, a Comatose Ferret, 7 x Zailors (8, if you include yourself), 50 x Echo and a Ligeia-class Steamer.
| Name | Description | Bonuses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A street urchin! | Your urchin-gang cast you out when you grew too tall. You took to sea rather than graduate to larger crimes. That last big score was enough to buy a ship. |
 +1 x Longshanks Gunner
 +10 x Echo
 +25 x Veils (If ≤ 50) |
Game note: Talk to her to find out why she went to zee.Game note 2: This will give you a bonus to Veils, the skill of subtlety and evasion. |
| A poet! | An educated and articulate soul seeking sensation at sea. How lucky you had a legacy to spend. |
 +1 x Sly Navigator
 +25 x Pages (If ≤ 50) |
Game note: Talk to the Navigator to find out why he went to zee.Game note 2: This will give you a bonus to Pages, the skill of trickery and knowledge. |
| Veteran of the Campaign of '68 | You fought in the invasion of Hell. London's armies lost. You survived. Your loot and your pension have bought you a command. |
 +1 x Shady Cook
 +25 x Iron (If ≤ 50) |
Game note: Talk to him to find out why he went to zee.Game note 2: This will give you a bonus to Iron, the skill of causing direct damage. |
| An ordained priest | You fell from grace. There is nothing left ashore for you. An anonymous benefactor has found this way out for you. |
 +1 x Gall-Eyed Engineer
 +25 x Hearts (If ≤ 50) |
Game note: Talk to her to find out if she'd like to die anywhere in particular.Game note 2: This will give you a bonus to Hearts, the skill of healing and morale. |
| A natural philosopher | Your peculiar theories on time, blood and starlight brought you down to the Neath, the cavern where London lies... and now they take you out to zee. |
 +1 x Plausible Surgeon
 +25 x Mirrors (If ≤ 50) |
Game note: Talk to him to find out why he went to zee.Game note 2: This will give you a bonus to Mirrors, the skill of detection and perception. |
View the Who were you? event.
Choose an Ambition[]
What drives you, oh Captain? This selection determines the winning condition for the game.
- Immortality: Eternal life sounds like something you'd enjoy. And it's said that the Presbyter -the ruler of the Elder Continent- has lived forever.
- Requires Zubmariner.
- Fulfilment: Gather a hundred tales. Learn all you can of the zee. Write a masterpiece. Retire.
- You have to become London's most venerated explorer to win.
- Alternatively, you can always return to Fallen London and retire, but not without writing the masterwork you so desire.
- Wealth: You know how it is to be poor. Now you want a mansion, servants, fine clothes. A family, perhaps.
- You have to upgrade Your Lodgings to a mansion and retire, after amassing a sizable retirement fund, of course.
- Your Father's Bones: Find where and how your father died, and return his remains to London for a decent burial.
- When you've found your father's bones, you can retire to victory. Explore Fallen London to find your first clue. (Released 29 December 2014)
- The Uttermost East: Find what lies beyond the map's edge.
- Not available in the current build.
View the Choose an Ambition event.
A last scrap of paperwork[]
"Captain! Captain! An irregularity with the Harbourmaster's Office! They wish to know - what term of address do you prefer ashore?"
Note: Your actual gender is entirely up to you.
- Madam: More zee-captains choose this than you might expect.
- Sir: Sir it is.
- Citizen: A term of address popular among those of egalitarian sentiments.
- my Lord: Perhaps you really do come from a noble family. Who's to know?
- my Lady: Perhaps you really do come from a noble family. Who's to know?
- Captain: Captain will do perfectly well ashore as well as at sea, thank you.
View the A last scrap of paperwork event.
Cameo[]
The selection of an appropriate cameo finishes the character generation and you're free to launch into the Unterzee!