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Okay, I have just started this adventure path and it has gone pretty well. My party is a group of 5 and they are very well versed together in tactics and the like. I have a half orc sorcerer with the trip feat for his magic missles, and druid that started out with 1 wolf companion and now has two and they trip also. I must say that there really haven't been to much of a challenge up so far, they took out the main bandit camp and Kressle was tripped and thus was totally neutralized. The big bad boar was tripped and routed easy. I must say the only part the have thus far had a challenge to was when they were second level when they went against the mites in the Old Sycamore. They have cleared out almost everything except the Stag Lords camp and I think the boggards lair and they havn't found the dead Unicorn yet. They are 4th level now with not a lot of magic items, a +2 sword and a keen scimitar. Other than that not much. It's all the trips that make a challenge really turn into a route. I am wondering what else I might be able to throw at the party without really cheesing it up with things that ie can't be tripped and not getting out of hand and make them go up against a chain weilding monk trip monster. Any suggestions.

Here we are starting this adventure modual up for the first time. My PC's are really excited that we are doing a 17th level adventure. Now the way I know my players they are going to bring the pain. I did have a few rules to follow, only 1 stat item increase of +6 and only 2 +4's and nothing with LUCK. There are 5 guys going through this and their characters are:
1. A straight Bard 17th
2. A Straight Barbarian 17 battle rager, also has come get me feat and suprise attack.
3. A grapple Monk, yes he can grapple large and huge things with ease. His AC is insane to0 41 or 43.
4. An arcane caster Witch 17th level
5. A Cleric of light, aka Jesus Christ. His DC's against anything non good are crazy like roll 2 times DC34 or die and the barbarian is up front so even if they do save they are stunned or blinded so he is going to make them hurt.

Now my questions are, if this gets out of hand where these guys are walking through stuff easy, is there anything in the modual that might give them a challenge?
The first part of this is the Frost Giant camp. It took 6 rounds to chew through the Giants and the wooly Rhinos, the Monk choked out a few giants and it just was funny. After the 6th round the Giants wanted to surrender and the PC's let them. So more to come of this possibly silly adventure.

Now, there are a lot of PC's deaths and such that go on through out an adventure path. In Souls for Smugglers Shiv I have found 3 good spots to help 'start out' new PC characters. One is the Thrunefang camp, easy enought, they were captured by the cannibals. The second and really the easiest is that they meet up with new PC's onlong the shore being the only survivors of their shipwreck. I am wondering of any other easy 'starting points' for this adventure path.

Name: Bear and Necromancer
Race: Dwarf and Human
Classes/levels: both 3rd level
Adventure: Souls for Smugglers Shiv
Location: Thrunefang Camp
Catalyst: The NPC woman were kidnaped
The Gory Details: After coming back from one of their many excursions into one of the many shipwrecks they came back to their cave hideouts to find that there was a struggle and that Jask was butchered and the two women NPC's were gone. On their quest to find them they came upon the Thrufang Camp and their crazy leader. The cannibal leader Klorak. The PC's saw them on the ridge and new they couldn't out run them. They picked their spot and waited. The Halfling Ranger was up in a tree, the barbarian was enlarged and waited. The witch, drud, and necromancer all waited. Klorak and about 12 of the cannibals came running. The PCs didn't have that hard of a time but just couldn't produce the damage output of the cannibals. The barbarian never advanced and Klorak raged and took out the necromancer after a crit and stood toe to toe with the PC's barbarian. Klorak needed only a 6 to hit and after a ray of enfeelbement he needed just an 8 to hit the PC's. After killing the druids animal companion and then the druid the witch was taken down by the rest of the cannibals party after Klorak finally fell to the Pc's barbarian. Out of healing the halfling and barbarian ran leaving the witch, who was only unconcious and the rest of the party. Running to to shoreline, and there they met up with a newly shipwrecked crew. (yes the dead PC's made new characters)

Yeah, my guys are 3rd and still have to make it to the temple, granted they lost 3 out of 5 people taking out the cannibals, and I do believe that they will be 5th if not very close to 5th when they leave the island.

The easiest way I found to handle gunslingers or just plain old gun users is a little spell called heat metal, the first round they have no idea the second round or 3rd round it most likely will explode or at least they can't use it. I know this may have nothing to do with the actual topic but over all the gunslinger class isn't bad until you get past 12th level I feel. Cause I had one in the Second Darkness AP and in the last two modules everyone had high AC's but the gunslinger hit them all the time cause he hits touch AC. That is my only problem with this class otherwise I always make my PC's role if they want to make ANYTHING.

I have a first level witch PC in the party I am running. Now he really doesn't do much but the ability to put something to sleep and his other hex misfortune are pretty tough. He is now 3rd level and going up against the cannibals. What are your thoughts on the class witch in general and for this first part of the the Serpents Skull AP.

First time running this AP and first time any of my players played in this one. I told them to prepare well and make sure you have swimming. So we have a party of 5. A Rogue, a druid, bear shaman, a witch an inquisitor and one cleric necromaner guy (totally forgot right now)
I had them wash up on shore with next to nothing and they did a good job foraging for stuff and they were smart when salvaging anything from shipwrecks like tying themselves off so if they got into trouble the other PC's were able to pull them up. The first death was from wandering monster tables and the NPC Gnome Gelik was pounced upon by the Red Mountain Devil. They had spells create food and water which they cast everyday. Eventually they made it to second level with all the other NPC's in tow. The first PC death came looking for treasure. Area K The Treasure Pit and the 2 lacedons. My PC's made a primitive hoist so when they were able to chop through the wooden plug no one fell down into the hole. The inquistor being the only real melee type person went down 20ft and cast light on a pebble dropping it in. It looked clear and he took a chance, dropped the rest of the way in which was only D6 for damage due to the water and all. When the lacedons attacked the first one missed then inquistor missed and then became paralyzed. The rest of the part tried for 2 rounds to stop the lacedons and the Necromatic Cleric finally stopped one of them. Ishirou (NPC) and the Cleric made their way down into the pit and while controling the lacedon and Ishirou they were able to take out the other lacedon. They found the treasure and after 4 days they were able to find the treasure and get it out. The cleric was going to keep the inquisitors body as a zombie but thought better of it. The PC eventually made a 2nd level barbarian that only uses primitive weapons which was brought in as a captured sacrifice of the vegepygmies which the PC's now have eliminated. When they made it back to camp both woman NPC's and Jask were gone and the blood trail leads deeper into the jungle. The PC's are now 3rd level and are going after the cannibals.