What do we know about Klabautermen?

Question

From the research that I've done according to TibiaWiki - Klabautermen, not much is known about Klabautermen besides NPC Marcus saying that Ferumbras is the father of all klabautermen. Also, there's a book in Nargor that states-

"The klabautermen are a race of impish, mischievous beings that live on ships. Using invisibility and other magic, they remain unseen most of the time. But be warned, if you antagonise the klabauterman of a ship, his harmless pranks will turn dangerous. In general it is a smart move to keep your klabauterman happy with little presents and a lot of rum"

However, Mogh on TibiaQA in the related answer said Captain Waverider also reacts to the word Klabauter:

"Of course I know about klabautermen. They are little spirits that are invisible most of the time. They live on ships and haunt those that they don't like. If you befriend a klabauterman though, he might become an useful ally."

Are there more NPC responses, books, or any additional clues about these beings?

Comments

A small step forward. I guess we should look to Svargrond for the answer.

22:01 Mogh [343]: rumours
22:01 Captain Breezelda: Last week a ship sunk between Svargrond and Carlin. Rumour has it that a ship's kobold was the reason for it.

---

When you wrote Svargrond I reminded myself book "Marcia Rugby's travels in the north".  Not sure if it is related, but might be also a hint towards something- considering missing reason of her disappearance afterwords.

---

Thanks for bringing this book to my attention. I will try to research this topic later.

Answer 1

Hello, Shawtay!

Even though both NPC's (Marcus and Waverider) tell us about Klabautermann and a book says so, I personally don't think they truly exist.

Klabautermann is an ancient legend from the Northern Seas that tells us that sailors in duty that are in great danger and love their ship are often rescued by those mythic creatures. Since men from the north were always in need of sailing and if the ship was misguided and/or poorly taken care of it would mean death for them, usually sailors expressed immense gratitude to their ships.

According to the legend, many sailors were rescued by them and this was the only time in which they could see the Klabautermann. Even though they were supposed to be good and mischief only people they didn't like, to see one was an omen that you were doomed. The traditional representation of a Klabautermann was a small sailor in yellow with a tobacco pipe and woolen sailor's hat, often carrying a caulking hammer.

There are a few movies/series in which we can hear of a Klabautermann, being One Piece probably the most famous one.

With this introduction, allow me to formulate 2 hypothesis

1) There is no creature in Tibia

We know that NPC's and even books are biased and even though they tell us important stories of Tibia, they tell what they believe or what they want you to know and not always this correspond with the truth.

I believe that when Marcus says that Ferumbras is the father of all Klabautermann he is meaning that once you saw Ferumbras you were doomed, since his powers were almost death sentences to anyone who approached him.

Not only that but both Marcus and Waverider are sailors and, as we saw before, sailors were the main source about these creatures, making a hard belief of it.

Even the book is in a place such as Nargor, a pirate's island so, again, full of sailors. Because of it, I really believe that this creature (at least for now) is only a myth that is passed by experient sailors to novice ones, perpetuating it. Not knowing any other place where we can check any information about them for me is pretty evidence that this is the answer. 

If there is any chance to find any new information about it I'd agree with Mogh that Svargrond may be the best place to search for, since the original legend in real life is based on the Northern Sea. Since Svar is also based in the nordic culture, maybe there we will find any hint.

2) Captain Waverider is a Klabautermann

Okay,, before I even start, let me tell you that this is a long shot and I do not truly believe this is the answer. But there are certain similarities that may trigger a little doubt.

As we saw before, in the old legends in real life Klabautermann were described as a small sailor (checks) in yellow (also kinda check), with a tobacco pipe (ok, this doesn't check but I don't even remember seeing tobacco in Tibia at all) and a woolen sailor's cap (kinda check, I mean, there is a cap and I definitely can imagine its material being wool).

Not only the appearence is in agree but also the description of both the book and Waverider itselfs kinda matches. In the book we read that a Klabautermann remain unseen most of the time (thinking metaphorically, not literally, Waverider passes by as a common man through the eyes of the governors of Liberty Bay). We also read that you can keep a Klabautermann happy with lots of rum and Waverider sprite is the same of a pirate cutthroat, who drops bottles of rum as loot.

Captain Waverider also tells us that Klabautermann lives on ships (so does he) and if you befriend one he'll become an useful ally (so does he, helping you through The Shattered Isles Quest after you acquires his confidence and showing you the  path to the secret Treasure Island.

As I said before, I personally don't think that this is the answer, but at least for now, as Klabautermann remains a mystery in Tibia, I think the mysteriando lets us to formulate some theories.

Hope my answer helped a little bit  XOXO