danmasucci's page

Where is a watermarked image of the final map? And the other side?

Yes, please post!

Thank you for adding the sample art!

I really like both sides, i would only wish for future releases, that the ships would be left away, as it is easier to add them (with flip-mat ship & pirate ship or map pack boats & ?) than to hide them (with flip-mat multipack basic terrain & waterside tavern). ;-)

This will be a buy for me, none the less.

I agree!

Good move making them all 6X6. I'll be checking these out!

$19.99 for this? Is the price for maps really about to make a $5 jump?! If so, the library may be my last Paulo map purchase.

To me, this looks like the place where the inhabitants of the outpost gather to eat, spend the evening or guests are greeted/received. I imagine removable benches and tables are set up for these occasions.

The suit of armor could even be a (small) iron golem.

Ruyan.

That's a thought. I could add a table and benches for sure.

Wondering what others make of the large hall in the "outpost"- the room with the suit of armor, chair and rugs. What the hell is it supposed to be and more importantly what the hell would you use it as if the rest of the building is a watch garrison?

Has anyone taken a pic of the maps connected? I ordered my Hamlet map but would love to see it all together, now.

YES!!!!

THIS IS THE MISSING 4TH PART OF THE "MEGA FLIP-MAT"!!!!

PART 1: WAREHOUSE
PART 2: PUB CRAWL
PART 3: RED LIGHT DISTRICT

THIS MAKES IT A MUST-HAVE FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS THE OTHER 3 (which are excellent)!

THX PAIZO!

I would love to see a series for NPCs and set dressing like they did with the Undead Horde and We Be Goblins. This way it would be 24 specific minis to pad out background players and set pieces!

If this was designed in such a way to be compatible with Eberron airship designs, that would be FANTASTIC. Very much looking forward to this one. Please make it sooner ;)

Announced! Product image and description are mocked up, and subject to change.

Nothing changed : (

I can't find the stats for the Star Knife. I have a player that is going to be a cleric of Desna in my upcoming campaign and wants to use one. Thanks for any help!

Thanks for explaining the design concept Mike.

IMHO I find the combo really sells the weapon short. Most Dex based characters would be uninterested in the weapon as it doesn't play into their strengths, while most strength based characters would not be able to make the dex check to acquire without help. Further I find the knife discard functionality to be of extremely limited value. In fact I don't think I have ever used it. If it were a recharge I would be far more willing to take advantage of it. I could also see a character power that would turn knife functionality into a reveal and thus making it a duel wield weapon. But that is just my opinion.

Thanks the great game Mike.

I can't find the stats for the Star Knife. I have a player that is going to be a cleric of Desna in my upcoming campaign and wants to use one. Thanks for any help!

Definitely a double map set so you can include a second floor, and please give the roof character. If you're going to create a map with so large a roof, don't make it boring. There's no gargoyles, things to hide behind, etc.

And the rooms inside are cramped and there for flavor but not practical for real encounters.

It may look like the Pathfinder Lodge house but it's not. Nor is the cover the PF lodge. This map is not as useful as it could be. It really needed a ballroom, and some open spaces... rooms where encounters can take place. We already have a very similar map from Paizo.

moon-beast wrote:

Nice! It sorta reminds me of the Pathfinder's Lodge house? Anyways, the building could be very useful, serving either as a villain NPC's mansion…. or even the estate of a high-level PC who's made it into the epic levels. He better surround his mansion with tons of bodyguards…. because he's probably earned tons of powerful enemies by then.

The shown placeholder cover is indeed from the Pathfinder Lodge.

I imagine this could be useful for AP 99 or 100...

I'm a disappointed. The exterior is a lot of roof with little features. There should be gargoyles and other things that could be useful for encounters. The interior is even more disappointing. It contains plenty of rooms like we've already seen on previous maps. There are a lot of small rooms where encounters would not be good. I was really hoping for a ballroom for party scenes, a place with detail and yet an open space. There's no awesome library or dining hall.

The art, as usual is great. This map would be useful, but I don't believe it's going to live up to its potential.

Howdy,
Quick question about the AP's. I'm currently running Rise of the Runelords for an inexperienced gaming group and Skull & Shackles for a ridiculously experienced gaming group. It seems to me that the AP's are written for intermediate to inexperienced players. Is that so? I'm making this guess based on how easily or difficult the challenges are met by my groups.

For example- during the Free Captain's Regatta in the S&S AP, my PC's met every challenge with zero resistance. Their skill checks to navigate the seas and hazards posed no difficulties whatsoever. They tailored their characters using the resources available through the AP, the AP's Player's Guide, and the items given in the AP.

Thanks for your time!

Dan

Where in which book did it say that every PC becomes a pirate lord? Thanks! I didn't remember it saying specifically that each PC is granted the status of pirate lord.

Also, if they were all lords it would certainly make the challenge of swaying votes almost meaningless. Their numbers would largely shape every decision the council would vote on.

All PC can become pirate lords depending the outcome of the events in Book 4. If the players achieve the 15+ total respect, they each gain their own seat on the Pirate Council.

It really isn't that vague. By the end of Book 4, the PCs have either only no seat, one seat or each of them have seats on the Pirate Council.

Up to that point, just being a Free Captain doesn't mean they have a vote or chair on the council.

See my post above. It also covers a reply to your response = )

I think that later in the adventure path a group of pirate lords come to assess which of the PCs become pirate lords. So that implies to doesn't necessarily have to be the Captain. Because they are only awarded the Isle of Eyes, after the regatta. Not an automatic seat on the Pirate Council.

I would assume that if the Pirate Council find two or three PCs capable then they all could be granted the title of Pirate Lord.

I have only read through the whole AP once, and I'm only in book 2 so I'm a little fuzzy on the actual details.

But from what I can remember, it seems like every PC has a chance to become a Pirate Lord.

This is a fairly vague part of the story. It seems like it leans toward all PCs being pirate captains and later pirate lords to appease players who don't want to be left out. It really seems silly to me that the First Mate, Quartermaster, and the Chief Medic/Carpenter should be pirate lords let alone free captains. The writers had to anticipate players griping because one PC has the authority. But, in my opinion, that is where good role playing comes in.

I'm standing by my decision to keep only one captain (and thus one pirate lord). My campaign's Pirate Lord can sponsor the other PCs and they can raise plunder to become Free Captains. I'd say that they needn't go through the tests because their infamy has become great in the Shackles.

danmasucci wrote:

Are all the PCs supposed to be granted the title Free Captain and later Lord? Are each of the PCs supposed to gain a seat on the pirate council?

I have a player who says that if it doesn't specifically say that, they it is the intention of the writers that all players are Free Captains and Pirate Lords.

Even if that was the intention, I won't allow it. I think it's cheap. No other Pirate Lord has a crew of officers that are also captains and lords.

Not too sure on that really. I would say you are right and that it's the captain of the ship who gets free captain and pirate lord honour. BUT it does say on the letter of marque:

"Lawful letters of marque are issued to
specific ships, not individuals, but in the
Shackles, they are granted to a specific
captain and his or her officers."

which somewhat implies they are sort of free captains but not really
i see nothing wrong with advisers though

Are all the PCs supposed to be granted the title Free Captain and later Lord? Are each of the PCs supposed to gain a seat on the pirate council?

I have a player who says that if it doesn't specifically say that, they it is the intention of the writers that all players are Free Captains and Pirate Lords.

Even if that was the intention, I won't allow it. I think it's cheap. No other Pirate Lord has a crew of officers that are also captains and lords.

The final two books have seen heavy reworking on my part, mainly because my players are conniving and find ways to change the landscape on a daily basis.

However, we are preparing for our final S&S Session soon.

About to run this book. Would love to hear about how you modified the story. I have had plenty of side trek role playing and encounters tailored to my PCs. But tying those story lines up need to take place after this book.

I'm glad Neil provided some clarification on the final encounter in Sumitha, but there was still much that was vague. The walls either vanish or go incorporeal but that is confusing since the players had to ascend stairs to gain access to where the Eye was. Is that supposed to mean that everything moves to ground level or that the platform where the pedestal rested was incorporeal? Sigh. I made it incorporeal for spells and the enervation ray. But I made the pedestal remain solid, which meant that it was really a thirty foot high column. One of the players jumped off the platform and ran through it at ground level to take cover behind the pedestal/column. One of the stone columns chased him down the stairs but be unable to see through the wall- only having access to the same line of sight as the dreamstone. That saved the barbarian.

And also, one player blinded himself but there was no real detain about what would be seen after he did so. I did just fine describing the scene, but it is nice to have details provided.

I switched out the Gholdaki with the stone columns and ran the Gholdaki encounter earlier. That saved my game from. Turning into a TPK. The battle with the two Gholdaki was extremely challenging for my group. So for the third time since first entering the ruins, they ran back to their ship to heal and rest for the night.

In the end, two our of four players died and the other two lived only because I showed mercy in a way that was seamless and didn't let on that I was granting mercy.

My players are so good at optimizing their characters that they generally blast their way through encounters so I was thankful that there were some challenges in Sumitha for them.

The adventure book says it takes several weeks to make the journey from Port Peril to the Island of Empty Eyes. How is that possible? My players can sail at 6mph that's just 6 miles shy of the 150 mile journey. They could do it in. Two days tops.

The AP has loaded the adventurers up with items that increase their sailing speed and ability, not to mention, my group is experienced and optimized their characters as hardcore sailors. It's one reason why they breezed through the regatta in the last book with a final score of 46.

I'm hoping this book provides a better challenge since they are off their sea legs.

Thanks very much! Do you have a campaign journal? Would be interested in hearing how your story unfolded.

Best,
Dan

QUOTE="Riggler"]

As a GM I find your advice here pretty useful. Did I pass by the rules for finding crew? How many at each port?

Are you suggesting that to put into any port will cost one plunder point? What is that based on? I am not sharp shooting you, nor do I think it's a bad idea. Just trying to see it all the way through.

As for the bigger fish, the ship combat doesn't seem to do much, especially with wizards and "mending." Placing some high powered NPCs would do the trick though.

I really appreciate your message and thoughts regarding this.

I don't know if you passed on the rules for finding crew or not. I don't have the books available. It's either the support articles of Wormwood Munity or in the support articles or adventure for RotFS. I think it's a roll of Bluff, Intimidate or Diplomacy for a chance to recruit 1d4+4 crew members in a port (all day work) or to make a roll once a ship is captured. If it occurs during a ship capture, basically the rest of the crew chooses, slavery, walking the plank, death, etc. -- but not joining the crew. I restrict the crew recruitment to once per port of call, as that is not specifically said. But the logic there is that it is all the abled-bodied that the PCs can find to coerce into joining the crew at that time. I use the crew gets restless, ready to go, attrition side of things if they just camp out and relax in port until more people come through. Then they aren't playing a pirate game, they are playing WAR.

As for plunder, that is also included in this AP as a suggestion. I also forget which of the first two modules this was in, since I don't have the books, but the suggestion is 1 point of plunder to the crew every time they go into port to "keep them happy." This is also a way to keep ships down, either they are having to haul a ship back to port, thus losing the gains of the raid or else sell the ship in order to afford the "crew happy tax."

As a GM I find your advice here pretty useful. Did I pass by the rules for finding crew? How many at each port?

Are you suggesting that to put into any port will cost one plunder point? What is that based on? I am not sharp shooting you, nor do I think it's a bad idea. Just trying to see it all the way through.

As for the bigger fish, the ship combat doesn't seem to do much, especially with wizards and "mending." Placing some high powered NPCs would do the trick though.

I really appreciate your message and thoughts regarding this.

danmasucci wrote:

My players have been capturing ships and recruiting a lot of sailors. The rules make it difficult to sink ships so when it comes to ship to ship combat they trounce the opposition presented in the books (finishing Raiders on the Fever Sea) and take their crew and ships.

This is making them become pretty high powered. I want them to feel like heroes but I feel like the AP isn't challenging them. Especially developing a fleet so early. Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

It's a shame some of these GM reference threads get way off base and into campaign logs. Makes it difficult to find GM reference material.

Once you go down the path of allowing a group to create a "fleet" I can imagine that it would be difficult to go back. This is one aspect of the RotFS that DMs need to keep a close eye on. For other GMs that might experience this, first I'll into how to stop it from happening.

1) Adhere strictly to the Crew recruitment rules. Allow crew recruitment rolls once per port of call and once per ship captured. Influxes of slaves (if players choose that option) suffer supply vs. demand price fluctuations.

2) If players stay in ports all the time instead of pirating to increase crew members, crew members may abandon the ship. Get restless. Get into trouble. In other words, attrition.

3) Ships require crew. Assume the crew compliment allows for a day of travel and not around the clock travel unless they double the crew of a ship. Bad things can happen on a ship in the ocean when no one is prepared. Like attrition, for example.

4) Every port of call should have you paying 1 point of plunder. That reduces plunder, which reduces benefits. If you do get to the point where they keep a ship instead of selling it for plunder, which means you've probably let crew get out of hand, charge them a plunder per operating ship.

5) Discuss with your players that right now, the AP is about a group of upstart pirates. If they want to be accepted among the Free Captains....

My players have been capturing ships and recruiting a lot of sailors. The rules make it difficult to sink ships so when it comes to ship to ship combat they trounce the opposition presented in the books (finishing Raiders on the Fever Sea) and take their crew and ships.

This is making them become pretty high powered. I want them to feel like heroes but I feel like the AP isn't challenging them. Especially developing a fleet so early. Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Four years after this thread began... All I can say is I'm grateful to have found it. I'm beginning the campaign this weekend. The only thing I didn't see here that I plan on including in addition to these wonderful ideas is a riddle contest run by either Brodert Quink or Veznutt Parooh.

I've already preordered my case. Freaking love this set so far! I've been running the AP so the minis will be awesome to use. Thanks for more good stuff Paizo!

Awesome man! Keep the pics coming!

This will be the last update before this section is completed. As you can see I've done away with the round rooms to make it simpler to play on and to build. All that remains to be done is the pit room, the collapsed stairwells, building up the walls, and the meditation room. And then it all needs painted and detailed. All before Tuesday night.

Taking shape now

This is great! I haven't played this AP but I just scored my anniversary edition and have been reading through it in anticipation of running it after I'm done with S&S.

NobodysHome wrote:

You're citing one of my main 'regrets' of the AP -- they give you these wonderful background stories to help you better-roleplay the NPCs, but the players rarely learn them.

I have a tendency to let my players read the AP post-campaign so they can compare 'what happened' to what was written. They love it, but you have to be careful to keep them from reading any spoilers.

In fact, this isn't the intended case.

We give that much background for ALL the NPCs and history of the world because in any one game, we can't predict what the player characters will do.

If you don't have anyone in a group who can cast charm person, you my well have a group that goes through the entire adventure wihtout learning anything about the NPCs they fight. But if you do, eventually a PC is going to successfully charm an NPC. We (and you the GM) don't know which NPC or when that will happen... so for all the more important NPCs, we give personality and history stuff.

As for how the PCs can learn background information... Knowledge checks and by talking to knowledgable NPCs. There's a sage, Brodert Quink, in Sandpoint who's more or less in town for this exact purpose—if the PCs don't figure something out that you want them to know about Thassilon, Brodert can tell them in the form of a theory or guess or just plain knowledge. Different NPC allies in different specializations can tell them more. Shalelu and goblins, for example.

And if your players have Knowledge checks, when they start making them, having all that background information at your disposal lets you as the GM respond to those checks in a dynamic way that makes sense for whatever the PC is asking about.

If you're lucky and fortunate enough to have a group who is very interested in finding out the background info of an adventure, LET THEM. They have skills (Diplomacy, Knowledge, etc.) and spells (divination, commune, charm person, legend lore) that allow them to learn; reward the curious players for using those tools by...

Yes, there is the ship's wizard and he has Craft- ship building.

Of course they don't have the tools or man power to do the job.

danmasucci wrote:

About to begin this book but I may run into some trouble. My players want to spend 20 days on Bonewrack Isle and raise the Invernus from its watery grave instead of go to Rickety Squibs. They want to skip the chop shop and refit the Man's Promise by themselves.

I want them to be able to do things they want but I'd sure like them to get to Rickety Squibs.

My initial thoughts are that even with their talented wizard and his make whole spell, they don't have the right tools on the ship to refit the ship and "squib" it.

Anyone have thoughts or have players skip Rickety Squib's?

Do any of the players have any profession or knowledge skills regarding carpentry or shipbuilding? I believe the player's guide has info on modifying ships, as well as the necessary skills and skill DCs.

Now that they have taken over the ship we will be heading to Raiders of the Fever Sea. I'm going to start looking at the message boards for that adventure now to anticipate what may come up.

I also agree with sabedoriaclark. I'll have to bump things up a bit.

One of the problems I have with this AP is that the PCs have very skilled NPCs who could make things very easy for them. I broke the fourth wall during the mutiny to say, "Basically, Sandara and the others will handle the rest of the crew while you guys deal with Plug and Scourge." Honestly, I did not want to handle the battle rounds for every NPC on e ship. I know this is mentioned somewhere in one of the books for the campaign but when you have NPC allies that could seriously alter encounters it becomes touchy.

Love to hear some thoughts on how people handled that.

Thanks gang!

While I applaud player sneakyness, I would not let them get away with it that easily. I am 'on board' (har har) with sabedoriaclark about letting Plugg and co being a bit smarter. :)

That said, 24 AC, that is not bad at all. Very nice indeed.

Good luck on the campaign, keep us posted! :)

Figured it out...
Iron hide feat, Cat's Grace, Shield of Faith, Mage Armor, two weapon defense but that only brings it to 24. Still, that's pretty well buffed up!

danmasucci wrote:

The group's tank had cat's grace, Mage armor and already had a 17 AC not too mention an 18 dexterity. Combine that with some bad rolls and the fact that to PCs were invisible for a few rounds. The one using the wand was invisible. I really should have had him come out of invisibility after using the wand. I know he'd argue that he wasn't attacking but it sure was offensive!

Mage Armor grants an armor bonus to AC, which is the same type granted by armor, so they don't stack. Based on the 17 AC with 18 dex, it looks like his armor bonus to AC is a +3, so Mage Armor would've only made his AC 18. Cat's Grace would've put him at 20, but that's without calculating his armor's Max Dex Bonus. Not sure what he was wearing, but if memory serves, armor with a +3 often has a +5 max dex bonus, so half of Cat's Grace would be wasted. Without looking at any specific armor entries (or knowing what he was wearing), quick calculations put his max AC at that point should be ~21. With the +10 to attack someone mentioned, that is still a pretty good chance to beat down the tank.

I think I've got all that as correct as I'm able...

The tank is a half Orc barbarian that wears studded leather armor and has an 18 dexterity. I have trusted my players since they are experienced but I think I need to question what they do more.

Thanks to everyone for your input!

danmasucci wrote:

The group's tank had cat's grace, Mage armor and already had a 17 AC not too mention an 18 dexterity. Combine that with some bad rolls and the fact that to PCs were invisible for a few rounds. The one using the wand was invisible. I really should have had him come out of invisibility after using the wand. I know he'd argue that he wasn't attacking but it sure was offensive!

Mage Armor grants an armor bonus to AC, which is the same type granted by armor, so they don't stack. Based on the 17 AC with 18 dex, it looks like his armor bonus to AC is a +3, so Mage Armor would've only made his AC 18. Cat's Grace would've put him at 20, but that's without calculating his armor's Max Dex Bonus. Not sure what he was wearing, but if memory serves, armor with a +3 often has a +5 max dex bonus, so half of Cat's Grace would be wasted. Without looking at any specific armor entries (or knowing what he was wearing), quick calculations put his max AC at that point should be ~21. With the +10 to attack someone mentioned, that is still a pretty good chance to beat down the tank.

I think I've got all that as correct as I'm able...

I have GM fatigue from argumentative players and players whose goal it is, is to break the game. I find that I have the most fun running for inexperienced players. There is still magic for the inexperienced and they are willing to try things that are exciting.

Sigh.

Yes, they slipped up next to the Wormwood on a jolly boat covering their approach with a silent image of the sea masking them. They padded the oars and made a group stealth check, all in the middle of the night- I called it dim illumination.

I mentioned something about using the wand would alert the enemies but the player said it was a silent action and you didn't have to vocalize anything.

In older editions you always needed to speak a keyword to enable magical wands and staves.

Sounds like I was snookered.

danmasucci wrote:

Anyway, as the adventures are written, I could see my group walking through the encounters like they have so far.

Anyone else facing these challenges?

Generally Bonewrack has been a nightmare for most groups, but if you're group walked through it I would expect you'll need to tweak a lot of the encounters in the next book to be a challenge. As always player skill and GMing style trump the mechanical difficulty of the encounters. If you have experienced, tactically skilled players they will defeat a lot of encounters easier. You may want to tell them you're switching to the slow XP track and adding enemies to make it more challenging.

Of course, it can also be a GMing issue. As Mort pointed out some of the tactics you describe seem unlikely. The pirates should have been able to gang up on the stirges and take them out pretty easily. Plugg should have taken stirges out quickly. Or they could go below deck or in the cabin, close the doors/hatches and wait the spell out. Also, why would they allow the PC's to sit out of the battle summoning in stirges? Casting with wands makes plenty of noise.

Were the PC's sitting in a longboat beside the Wormwood during all this? In my game the pirates dropped heavy barrels on them from above, dealing 3d6 damage in a 5' radius. Or drop an alchemist fire in their dinghy and see how they like it.

If they get on ship have multiple guys gang up to bull rush them overboard. Anyone in the water might meet a Jigsaw Shark or a Giant Moray Eel. Plugg and Scourge have sailed with these PC's for weeks now. They know who is strong and who is weak and they would go after the weak ones. Why tangle with the tank if they can kill the wizard? etc...

Sweet! The PCs in my game have completed the mutiny but are going back to inspect the Invernus so I think I'll use this idea!

The PCs are in Giant Squid territory and come across an abandoned ship. Within are zombies, a kuru cannibal Druid, ghouls and vermin. To cap it off a dying giant squid starts tearing the ship apart as the PCs find the treasure within, tentacle doom awaits your 2nd level PCs!

I'm newer to running PF, having converted recently from 4E which I know well. I didn't realize the stirges provoked attacks of opportunity, and I trusted the player to handle the spell and its duration which clearly was a mistake. He used six summons and averaged high on his rolls.

The group's tank had cat's grace, Mage armor and already had a 17 AC not too mention an 18 dexterity. Combine that with some bad rolls and the fact that to PCs were invisible for a few rounds. The one using the wand was invisible. I really should have had him come out of invisibility after using the wand. I know he'd argue that he wasn't attacking but it sure was offensive!

danmasucci wrote:

However, the Players had the wand of Summonng Nature's Allies from the Brinebood Queen which they used to keep summoning stirges each round until the enemy crew was subdued. Plug and Scourge were hidden in the captain's cabin. After triggering traps, the PCs got in, but with the aid of several stirges, Plug was quickly reduced to a weakling.

I find that pretty surprising. I mean, the wand would only summon an average of 2 stirges per use. Even if those stirges aren't killed (likely, given they provoke AoO whenever they enter an opponents space and have terrible AC once attached), they only drain 1 Con/round each (and only last 3 rounds). That means you are looking at almost 2 entire castings just to take down a single pirate, assuming none of them ever miss or are killed.

If the stirges aren't killing with constitution damage, they are doing the equivalent of 2 damage every other round against a normal pirate, or 5 damage every other round against Plugg. I can't imagine a DPR of 1 to 2.5 made that huge of a difference for you guys.

Quote:

Also the PCs had their wizard buff their tank beyond being able to be hit. In fact he was only hit twice... The last strike against him was Scourge's death blow, a natural 20 that was confirmed.

What spell was that? I mean, Plugg has +10 to attack. Given the lack of strong armors or the opportunity to shop in the adventure, it would take a pretty thoroughly AC focused character to make that never hit. I can't imagine such a character would have enough resources left to be a credible offensive threat, and Plugg could just walk around the side and start stabbing the wizard directly.

Quote:

Anyway, as the adventures are written, I could see my group walking through the encounters like they have so far.

If they walked through all of Bonewrack Island, your fears are probably justified. That place is a meatgrinder, and I can't think of anything in the next couple of adventures that even comes close (especially with all the...

Anyone else find that the mutiny went too easy? The Players in my group wanted to sneak back to the ship in the dead of the night. I had the Player's friendly NPCs tied and gagged on the deck after having tried to mutiny while the Players were absent. Plug intended to maroon the PCs so Ambrose staged a failed mutiny. Then Plug and Scourge lay hidden in wait, buffing themselves with their potion of Blur and Black Adder poison.

However, the Players had the wand of Summonng Nature's Allies from the Brinebood Queen which they used to keep summoning stirges each round until the enemy crew was subdued. Plug and Scourge were hidden in the captain's cabin. After triggering traps, the PCs got in, but with the aid of several stirges, Plug was quickly reduced to a weakling.

Also the PCs had their wizard buff their tank beyond being able to be hit. In fact he was only hit twice... The last strike against him was Scourge's death blow, a natural 20 that was confirmed.

Anyway, as the adventures are written, I could see my group walking through the encounters like they have so far.

Now they want to stay on Bonewrack Isle for 20 days and use the wizard's Make Whole spell to raise the Invernus and skip Rickety Hake's , believing they can customize the Man's Promise by themselves.

Anyone else facing these challenges?

About to begin this book but I may run into some trouble. My players want to spend 20 days on Bonewrack Isle and raise the Invernus from its watery grave instead of go to Rickety Squibs. They want to skip the chop shop and refit the Man's Promise by themselves.

I want them to be able to do things they want but I'd sure like them to get to Rickety Squibs.

My initial thoughts are that even with their talented wizard and his make whole spell, they don't have the right tools on the ship to refit the ship and "squib" it.

Anyone have thoughts or have players skip Rickety Squib's?

iPad use old be great! This all sounds fantastic but for me, nothing will replace the real tabletop experience. I love Paizo's physical maps.

That bing said... Their approach to this is why they keep coming up on top of the RPG scene!

Love, love, love Parhfinder nd the Paizo team!

Ayup, knowing whether this is going to work on tablets would be great...

The writer makes it hard for the PCs to like these louts and makes them completely enjoyable to run as a GM.

I had a PC- half Orc barbarian- who tried to chum up to Scourge which presented a quandary since all PCs are supposed to hate the duo. The others hated them right away, but Scourge picked in them right away.

I dealt with the half Orc easily enough by having Sandara fall for him which in turn made Scourge jealous. He began doling out punishment to the half Orc and not so slowly did their thoughts turn to mutiny. I'd say the first book of the AP went pretty much as scripted.

There are plenty of chances to make sure the PCs hate the NPCs. Just ham up the acting as GM to engage your players and they won't feel railroaded since they get to actually role play!

Well crap. My players, instead of being horrified at the keelhull, loved it, and now want to influence Scourge and Plugg. They've been whipped, beaten, etc., and they STILL want to befriend the two main baddies. One of my players got ticked that they just couldn't befriend these guys, saying it was a thinly veiled railroad instead of a sandbox, the inability to side with these two.

On a related note, if the players don't act out, and don't screw up, why would Scourge and Pluggs not like them? Especially if the players want to be their little cronies?

Did I miss something somewhere?

I like this idea. The sahuagin subplot seemed too similar to the grindlylows in the first AP book- at least from encounter standpoint... Go inside aquatic creature lair and crawl...

My players are loving it so far, the muntineed before getting to bonewrack in book 1 and the last time we left it they had been shipwrecked (on hold for a month due to holidays),

I'm also finding this book fairly easy to change around and keep the good bits. Rickety Squibs I kept, the piracy sandbox im keeping, tiderock is being kept (I'm having Pegsworthy and Kroop explain the background of it so it makes more sense for them to want it). The whole Shaughin subplot is going and I'm replacing the reason for the attack at Tiderock by Inkskin as a reprisal by Harrigan. I figure he is a bit miffed by having his new ship stolen which has thrown him into a rage (the start of his decline in to madness in book 5). He is lashing out at anyone and just wants the lady of the Rock dead and the rock finally his. Inkskin is his weapon as he is elsewhere (gives me a chance of having Harrigans presence in the book which I think is lacking, it seems a shame to not have him somewhere in it as his is a major villan).
This will also mean that I could have Inkskin change sides and become an NPC fairy easily. The map on her back Im using to get them to the Bonjo Tomo Isle adventure in Dead Mans Chest which is a really good jungle island with cannibals, apes a Giant Ape god and a really good cave/dungeon with good traps and puzzles to get to the treasure. I plan to finsh it with the Death Knell chasing the party being the dead crew claiming their treasure back and wanting them dead.

I use this often and it works great. My PCs start thinking about what the answ could be. They come up with great ideas and sometimes I use them. After all they are putting thought into the game, it would be a shame not to reward them. And sometimes one of their thoughts will trigger cool plot devices I hadn't thought of before.

This is really how good collaborative storytelling while playing RPGs goes down!

The catch-all GM answer:

"Yes, that is mysterious isn't it?"

(And then say no more, leaving the answer a mystery)

I agree 100%. Great addition to the thread for those laboring over this!

I have a question regarding elapsed time and the apparent spread of information about the PCs' actions. This isn't a particularly big deal to me personally, but knowing my players someone is going to tally up elapsed time between various events and start asking embarassing questions.

** spoiler omitted **

As I say, I'm happy with RAW but I know my group... ;D

I'm about halfway through the Wormwood Mutiny and wanted to share a couple of things that other GMs might find useful.

First, even though I have over 1,800 minis, I bought the PDF paper minis for this adventure and find them extremely useful. I used the images for each one to create an NPC packet for the PCs to look through. By having the pictures and names together, they could get a better sense of who was on the ship and make notes as they win the crew members to their cause or make deadly enemies.

During the storm, I had Rosie fall overboard. The PCs rescued her but also saw it as an opportunity to get rid of Fipps Chumlett, the NPC who has been Scourge's toady in my game. They felt accomplished getting rid of him and getting away with it. I think by letting them achieve this victory it will help prolong Plugg and Scourge's life, ensuring the mutiny is the big finale.

Right now, they just fought the reefclaws. I placed that encounter on a very small island so they want to explore for a bit. I'll set up at least one more encounter there. Since I'm just leveling the players up at plot points, rather than assigning XP, this won't be a problem.

Can you tell me a little about the Salvage Operation?

I think I'm going to cut most of the Grindylow dungeon except for the boss fight, and replace it earlier on with the "Salvage Operation" adventure from Dungeon issue 123.

Thanks to Dudemeister for the idea!

I'm gearing up to run this. If I run four players for four or five hours, how far should I expect to get? I know it varies but I'm just looking for a ballpark of where others got. Thanks.

There's flogging around the fleet where the convicted would be sentenced to hundreds of lashes, split up among the ships. A surgeon would travel with him and determine when the flogging needed to stop for the day. Such a punishment could take weeks to be completed.

Now bring in magic. A particularly cruel captain with access to a cleric, or other means of healing, could flog a crewman to, or near, unconsciousness, have the cleric heal him, and continue.

Especially cruel if the cleric and transgressor are PCs. The cleric could be under threat of the same, or double, if she doesn't perform the duties. An excellent way to make the PCs despise Plugg.

Love the idea of the cap'n making a PC cleric work under pain of the lash. I'll be using this when I begin the campaign next month!

Love the AP so far. One thing that keeps bothering me is the map on page 33 of Tidewater Rock. The staircase does not seem to match from floor to floor. Anyone else troubled by this?

Otherwise, great continuation and I too enjoyed the cover art!

Nice art but this looks like it might be hard to assemble into a large area for fighting. Instead you end up with a lot of single card encounter areas that look similar.