diff --git a/e2e/smoke.spec.ts b/e2e/smoke.spec.ts
index 2a0e819..a103a25 100644
--- a/e2e/smoke.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/smoke.spec.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ interface PlanetDto { id: number; name: string; type: string; hazard: boolean; e
 interface InventoryItemDto { kind: string; name: string; qty: number }
 interface SystemState { systemId: number; systemName: string; planets: PlanetDto[]; inventory: InventoryItemDto[]; turn: number }
 interface FoundItem { kind: string; name: string; qty: number }
-interface ExploreResult extends SystemState { outcome: FoundItem[] }
+interface ExploreResult extends SystemState { outcome: FoundItem[]; crewFound: unknown }
+interface CrewDto { id: number; name: string; role: string; traitGood: string; traitBad: string; origin: string }
 
 test('landing page loads with the SpaceWanderer title', async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto('/');
@@ -119,6 +120,25 @@ test('exploration yields finds that accumulate in the inventory', async ({ page
   }
 });
 
+test('CREW tab renders real roster cards, each showing both traits and an origin', async ({ page }) => {
+  const roster = (await (await page.request.get('/api/crew')).json()) as CrewDto[];
+  expect(roster.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2); // starting crew is always seeded
+
+  await page.goto('/');
+  await page.getByRole('tab', { name: 'CREW' }).click();
+
+  for (const member of roster) {
+    const heading = page.getByRole('heading', { name: member.name });
+    await expect(heading).toBeVisible();
+    // The card is the third div ancestor of the title (flex row → CardHeader → Card).
+    const card = heading.locator('xpath=ancestor::div[3]');
+    await expect(card.getByText(member.role)).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(card.getByText(member.traitGood)).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(card.getByText(member.traitBad)).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(card.getByText(`ORIGIN // ${member.origin.toUpperCase()}`)).toBeVisible();
+  }
+});
+
 test('GET /api/version reports the app version as JSON', async ({ page }) => {
   const res = await page.request.get('/api/version');
   expect(res.status()).toBe(200);
diff --git a/e2e/state.spec.ts b/e2e/state.spec.ts
index 4958300..f0d2a75 100644
--- a/e2e/state.spec.ts
+++ b/e2e/state.spec.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ interface WorldSystemDto { id: number; name: string; x: number; y: number; disco
 interface WorldState { systems: WorldSystemDto[]; edges: [number, number][]; turn: number }
 interface PlanetDto { id: number; name: string; type: string; hazard: boolean; explored: boolean; parent: number | null }
 interface SystemState { systemId: number; systemName: string; planets: PlanetDto[]; inventory: { kind: string; name: string; qty: number }[]; turn: number }
+interface CrewDto { id: number; name: string; role: string; traitGood: string; traitBad: string; origin: string }
 
 test('app survives a container restart (stack + volume persistence)', async ({ page }) => {
   test.setTimeout(180_000);
@@ -47,6 +48,10 @@ test('app survives a container restart (stack + volume persistence)', async ({ p
   expect(exploreRes.status()).toBe(200);
   const sysExplored = (await exploreRes.json()) as SystemState;
 
+  // Crew baseline: the roster (starting crew + any finds so far) must survive too.
+  const crewBefore = (await (await page.request.get('/api/crew')).json()) as CrewDto[];
+  expect(crewBefore.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2); // starting crew is always seeded
+
   // Restart the app container mid-run — the named DB volume must survive it.
   execSync(`docker compose ${composeArgs} restart space-wanderer`, { cwd: repoRoot, stdio: 'pipe' });
 
@@ -77,6 +82,10 @@ test('app survives a container restart (stack + volume persistence)', async ({ p
   expect(sysAfter.turn).toBe(sysExplored.turn);
   expect(sysAfter.planets.find((p) => p.id === targetPlanet.id)?.explored).toBe(true);
 
+  // Crew roster survived too: same members, traits and origins (no re-seed on restart).
+  const crewAfter = (await (await page.request.get('/api/crew')).json()) as CrewDto[];
+  expect(crewAfter).toEqual(crewBefore);
+
   // The page itself serves again with the landing title.
   await page.goto('/');
   await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'SpaceWanderer' })).toBeVisible();