Devil-spawn and Demon-taint: A Fiendish Take on Skull & Shackles (Inactive)

Game Master Mark Sweetman

Press-ganged to serve aboard the Wormwood, the crew with the outsider's touch must struggle to stay alive long enough to sate their desire for revenge...


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Female Tiefling Witch 4, HP 26/26, AC 13/T13/FF10, F/R/W +2/+4/+3, Per -1

Cedrick, when did you become a barbarian?


VC - Sydney, Australia

When we realised that Cavalier was a complete waste of time in this game :P

Was a poor fit really, relies on heavy armour, the Teamwork feats never got used, the list went on. Total waste.


Female Tiefling Witch 4, HP 26/26, AC 13/T13/FF10, F/R/W +2/+4/+3, Per -1

I can see that. Doing my last post I looked up and saw 'Barb 4' and realized that I had no idea when that had happened. Thus a frantic mental search for the transition occurred, which somehow led to remembering where I'd stashed my favorite tie. Brains are weird.


VC - Sydney, Australia

LOL yeah it was getting pretty frustrating - he was weak, brittle, a poorly equipped character in a heavily gear dependent class, with Teamwork abilities that no one used, and frankly it came down to I may as well just sit back and let the non-gear dependent Druid and the Necro do all the fighting while I sipped pina-coladas.

Without the appropriate equipment (WBL), most heavy melee are pretty much useless - its like wizards with half a spellbook and only low level spells.

Cedrick was running around at L4 in a 10gp suit of non magic leather armour and a hand axe - for a two hander heavy tank build. Yeah.

So it had to go.


Stats:
AC 16/12/14 HP 13/21 F+1 R+8 W+3 Init +4 Per+4

Sounds like a good call Shifty. I'm beginning to wonder about daredevil bard versus straight bard myself, but I'll stick with it a little longer. Fits Nachni, but her buffs aren't as useful to the rest of you as a straight up inspire courage would be.


Female Tiefling - Oni Spawn Druid(aquatic)/4 - HP 35/35; AC17/19 w/shield, FF15, T12; F+6,R+3,W+8; Per+11; Init+3

Losing Inspire Courage is one thing that I have a terrible time with with Bard archetypes. I like the different flavor, but Inspire Courage is like taking away Martial weapons from a fighter or Hexes from a Witch. It just does not feel like the same class anymore.


Web 1/1

I love the Mad Dog Barbarian. My biggest beef with Barbarians is that the majority of Rage powers are awful, so losing half of them and a few rage rounds for a full blown animal companion is fantastic.

By the looks of things the new improved captain of the Revenge is a bonafide badass.

As for Nachi, I actually think Daring Do is a pretty neat ability, but because the whole group is pretty good in the Dex department (because I think we all knew we'd need to make balance checks on ships), it's an ability that doesn't really shore up a party weakness. If it added to Climb checks that would be different because three of us are crappy in the strength department, but unfortunately it doesn't add to the skill we are the most lacking in.

If you went to a standard bard or a different archetype how much of Nachi's fundamental character would be lost? What are the pros and cons?

Sovereign Court

M Tiefling (Pit) Barb 5 HP:67/67, - AC: 18/T:12/FF:16 - Perception: +8(+10)(Dark Vision) F: +6/R: +3/W: +2 - CMB: +7 - CMD: 19, Speed: 40ft, Init: +4

Yeah I have a soft spot for the Mad-Dog, you give up a few extra bits too, but totally worth it.

He's now much more the headstomper I was hoping for.

Cav just wasn't going to cut it.

That said, it is bye to Tindalos, yet Hello! to Ulthar.
Sharp eyed Lovecraftians might still pick the theme :)


Stats:
AC 16/12/14 HP 13/21 F+1 R+8 W+3 Init +4 Per+4

Dodge bonus to AC will still help if you all keep mobile. Reflex saves also helpful, but agree that the high dex hurts both that and the skills benefit.

Voice and I have already agreed to trade off Canny Foe and Versatile Performance.

Scoundrel's Fortune (which she picks up at 5th level) is nice. Can roll two dice instead of one for skills checks. Only once a day though initially, then increases as she levels.


Female Tiefling Witch 4, HP 26/26, AC 13/T13/FF10, F/R/W +2/+4/+3, Per -1

I too understand the pain of flavor over utility. What could be better in a pirate campaign than a sea-witch? Unfortunately, almost any other kind of witch. Same thing, to a lesser extant, with the feral tongue and water lung hexes. They are useful, don't get me wrong, but not as obviously useful as misfortune/cackle or evil-eye.

I like Fish the way she is though.


Web 1/1

I think keeping Tindalos and then just using the cat stats instead of the dog stats would keep the continuity of the story. Tindalos is only barely a canine anyway, being how fiendish he was. Mechanically he can be anything, but it seems wrong to me to swap him out after the plot and story stuff that's been invested into him.


VC - Sydney, Australia

Had that chat, and a pouncing dog just seemed 'curious' at best.


Minor Crab-beast

I offered Shifty the option of looking at upsizing the bite attack in some way to compensate, but he preferred to go with the full frontal of a cat pounce.


VC - Sydney, Australia

Dogs/Wolves just aren't top tier, they are a mediocre choice, and given the hardcore monsterness of this party I'd just be dicking myself - that would suck - no room for suboptimal here :)


Web 1/1

Funny, I don't look at this group as being overly optimized. I know I'm definitely not. I've been shining a bit lately because I got lucky with controlling a ghoul, but that's not going to last forever.

As for Tindalos, what I was saying was, you might consider keeping the narrative that has been established so far and just switching over to cat mechanics. If your Hellhound suddenly started climbing the mast and pouncing on people, I don't think any of us would bat an eye. We'd just chalk it up to "fiendish nature" or something.

Besides, in the stories, the Hound of Tindalos was way more like a cat in behavior than any kind of dog.

It's your character, you can do things however you like. It just seems like a shame to toss out all the great story that's happened so far just for a mechanical upgrade. Especially when there's no real reason you can't have both.


VC - Sydney, Australia

I think the undead we are throwing around are significantly powerful, and the Druid was running about melee'ing significantly more effectively than the tank - better ac, better to hit, miles more damage, with reach the whole lot. I'd say Cedrick may as well have sat out the last fight, but he did, getting one rounded with ease - simply put he was pretty much on par with one of the summoned undead, yet they were rolling three deep.

The martial caster disparity os pretty strong in this party, hence Cedrick had to kick it up a notch, and the AC has to be top tier - the undead monsters certainly have been more effective than Ced/Tindalos, and with the departure of the Joneth flank buddy combo it is certainly important to get beefier.

Noted on Tindalos, but yeah I wanted the stronger animal, story line is great, but self-gimping to do so sucks :)


Female Tiefling - Oni Spawn Druid(aquatic)/4 - HP 35/35; AC17/19 w/shield, FF15, T12; F+6,R+3,W+8; Per+11; Init+3

Obi is also a strange animal with the Aquatic archetype. On top of that, I have a funky domain, which gives me a familiar instead of a animal companion. She has been doing nice damage, but that is almost entirely due to Enlarge Person/Shillelagh.

All things considered, none of us are particularly optimized, but I like the characters and the style of play.

Regarding Cedrick's puppy/cat, for some reason I have a vision of the catlike dogs from Ghostbusters stuck in my head and they really were pretty infernal looking with cat and dog traits.


VC - Sydney, Australia

Yeah I remember those, they were great :)

I suppose a Shillelagh & enlarged staff looks pretty good when all you got is a hand axe for four levels...!

ZUUL!


Minor Crab-beast

Well enlarge and shilleagh is now a non-starter :P

The terror dogs from Ghostbusters didn't seem very catlike to me though...


Female Tiefling Witch 4, HP 26/26, AC 13/T13/FF10, F/R/W +2/+4/+3, Per -1

True.


Web 1/1

When I think of Tindalos I actually picture the scaled cat things from the prison scene in Chronicles of Riddick.

Given how much their demonic nature has been emphasized, it might be an interesting bit of game fluff to have Tindalos occasionally enter some sort of demonic chrysalis and come out a bit different. It would be interesting and explain the rapid changes that animal companions tend to go through over the course of a game.

Maybe Tindalos and his breed quickly adapt to their environments or something? There are lots of story reasons why he might become something else rather than just being replaced.

As for the optimization issue, I can see how frustrating it must be to play Cedrick recently. Pretty much since we hit third level the casters have been more effective than the martial characters, not because of optimization, but because we could counter our lack of gear with spells. If you think back though, you'll remember the early part of the game where Cedrick, fighting with whatever he could get his hands on, was responsible for saving all of us at least once each. Deader got knocked out in almost every fight. I honestly didn't think he'd survive this long.

By the numbers, the new improved Cedrick looks like the most powerful character in the group. I think that's awesome. He's the captain, and the only non-caster among us. He should be a terror in a fight. It isn't Cedrck who's going to have to step up his game, it's the rest of us.

Sovereign Court

M Tiefling (Pit) Barb 5 HP:67/67, - AC: 18/T:12/FF:16 - Perception: +8(+10)(Dark Vision) F: +6/R: +3/W: +2 - CMB: +7 - CMD: 19, Speed: 40ft, Init: +4

He's certainly much more solid now, the first level or two were ok, but yeah by the time we hit the island the lag had really kicked in.

Now he's a monster.


Web 1/1

You're going to have a hard time convincing pirates to wear uniforms...

Sovereign Court

M Tiefling (Pit) Barb 5 HP:67/67, - AC: 18/T:12/FF:16 - Perception: +8(+10)(Dark Vision) F: +6/R: +3/W: +2 - CMB: +7 - CMD: 19, Speed: 40ft, Init: +4

They are free to come up on deck and dispute it with the Capn, or see if Deader has a spot in his 'Marines' where clothing isn't such an issue.


Female Tiefling Witch 4, HP 26/26, AC 13/T13/FF10, F/R/W +2/+4/+3, Per -1

'I see, so you're the good pirate.'
'You are mistaken. I am the 'bad' pirate. He is the worse pirate.'


Web 1/1

I was mostly talking about Fish and Obi. Given their aquatic nature, I can't imagine them being comfortable in so many layers. Deader's jacket might be a little outside the usual uniform also.

In that video you linked, it looked like only the officers wore uniforms. The rest of the sailors were pretty simply dressed. That might work on our ship, except that the majority of the officers are the ones who will have the hardest time wearing normal clothes.

For the sake of our inhuman natures, it might be a good idea to stick with a certain marking or color that would still allow for some variance but keep a unifying theme, rather than a full blown uniform.


VC - Sydney, Australia

Whooooa, who said anything about US having to wear said outfits?

The good thing about double standards is that they are twice as good as no standards at all.

The Party can dress how they want, but the lollygagging crew will be neat, they will be tidy, they will be clean, and they will be clearly identifiable in a scrap. We don't have room for sartorial flair and bits of haute couture amongst the riff-raff.

And yes, uniforms can be simple (ie the sailors jackets and breeches) but they will be consistent. Cedrick will obviously wear his bits and pieces, as the Cap'n should.

Simply put, its about making a visual impact, if we are going to be legendary pirates of awesome we need a few good gimmicks, and this ones an easy one - to set us apart a little, and start building the reputation as an organised and efficient bunch rather than look like some yahoo - yeehaw people on a riotous cruise around the pond :)

TLDR - wear what you want, but the rank & file will be getting what they are given.


Stats:
AC 16/12/14 HP 13/21 F+1 R+8 W+3 Init +4 Per+4

That's what I figured you meant. You'd be getting challenged already if that extended to Nachni :) She's ok with the crew in uniform though. Might even have to come up with some special touches.


Web 1/1

Heh. That makes a lot more sense.


Female Tiefling Witch 4, HP 26/26, AC 13/T13/FF10, F/R/W +2/+4/+3, Per -1

All this talk of clothes made me realize that Fish has probably been naked... a lot. 0_0

It cannot be unseen!

Sovereign Court

M Tiefling (Pit) Barb 5 HP:67/67, - AC: 18/T:12/FF:16 - Perception: +8(+10)(Dark Vision) F: +6/R: +3/W: +2 - CMB: +7 - CMD: 19, Speed: 40ft, Init: +4

..and yet none of us looked away.

It's all fair game after a week at sea.


Web 1/1

I'd have said something, but then you'd have gotten dressed...

Sovereign Court

M Tiefling (Pit) Barb 5 HP:67/67, - AC: 18/T:12/FF:16 - Perception: +8(+10)(Dark Vision) F: +6/R: +3/W: +2 - CMB: +7 - CMD: 19, Speed: 40ft, Init: +4

Little touches Nachni?

I'm thinking some kind of skull motif embellishments - the whole stylised Skull motif on black uniforms, a nod to our 'Silent Crew' of Deaders Boys we sail with.

Actually 'The Silent Crew' sounds rather catchy and ominous.

I like all these Marketing Gimmicks!


Female Tiefling - Oni Spawn Druid(aquatic)/4 - HP 35/35; AC17/19 w/shield, FF15, T12; F+6,R+3,W+8; Per+11; Init+3

Obi really does not care what she wears. She will wear something that marks her as the helmswoman, and signifies she is part of the Revenge. Probably a matching skull together with something fishy or octopus related.


Web 1/1

Skulls and octopus-things are pretty much deader's symbol too. Maybe we can merge these concepts.

Black flag with a white skull-octopus?

Something like this?


VC - Sydney, Australia

Yes. But can you now put the Taldane crown on it too? Preferably at a jaunty angle.


Minor Crab-beast

Tangentially related a lass is Kickstarting some more 'interesting' cameos which include the piratical, undead and octopoidally related.

Update is coming soon - just working it into my working afternoon.


VC - Sydney, Australia

Lacks Cthulhu.


Minor Crab-beast

Yeah but Cthulhu is getting more than enough love...


VC - Sydney, Australia

Ive been running the Blackros series of PFS face to face; its like Giger, Lovecraft, and Barker had a threeway passion of love and created a lovechild and he wrote them.


Minor Crab-beast

So basically an amalgam of Pett and Logue?


Web 1/1

Another version

And another


VC - Sydney, Australia

Yeah I'm liking that vibe.


Female Tiefling - Oni Spawn Druid(aquatic)/4 - HP 35/35; AC17/19 w/shield, FF15, T12; F+6,R+3,W+8; Per+11; Init+3
John Rhasp wrote:

Another version

And another

I like the first one.


Web 1/1

I think the skull-squid would make an awesome pirate flag. :)


Web 1/1

GM, do you want me to come up with a background and personality for the Ghoul, or do you want to do it and let me run with it later?


Minor Crab-beast

Sick bub tonight...


Minor Crab-beast

So after staying up till 3 am last night with bub, today was punctuated by man flu... and midnight fireworks for Malaysia's independence day waking everyone back up again... so I won't be able to squeeze in a post tonight.

Deader - I'm hesitant to give too much character to the ghoul, as it should predominately be a depraved undead creature whose hunger for manflesh is only barely restrained by your imposed control. But feel free to characterise it how you like.
He was a sailor on board a chelish ship (that had the ghoul whores that you saw on it) that shipwrecked before being captured by the grindys and lacedonized.


Web 1/1

That's enough background, and pretty much exactly what I was thinking of in terms of personality. The ghoul is not suddenly going to become a happy crewman, but I have some ideas on how to make him more interesting and entertaining.


Web 1/1

Ok, I'm all done talking to myself now. :)

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