Boatman

The boatman is the first non-player character the inspector meets in the game. He is also the only living character besides the inspector who appears in the real time of the narrative. The boatman takes the inspector to the Obra Dinn to perform their insurance inspection.

The boatman wears a cap and has a beard. He sits in a rowboat the whole game and moves with it as waves rock the boat. He is otherwise immobile, just like all NPCs in the game.

Story and fate
An East India Company employee orders the boatman to take the inspector to the Obra Dinn in a rowboat. As they get to the ship, the boatman says that their arrival is a bit late, implying that the ship has been at Falmouth for a while already. They bring a heavy box with them, and the inspector asks the boatman to haul it on board.

A little later, the boatman complains that the box is too heavy and tells the inspector they should open it in the rowboat or haul it up on their own. As the inspector climbs back down, the box has moved, implying that the boatman at least tried to move it. The inspector takes a catalogue and a pocketwatch from the box and climbs back to the Obra Dinn to conduct their investigation.

Later, it starts to rain, and the boatman tells the inspector they should head back to Falmouth before a storm hits. The two then leave the ship, the Obra Dinn sinks in the storm, and the epilogue sequence starts.