Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (GM Reference)


Serpent's Skull

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daemonslye wrote:


I just sent an email to you, I would sincerely appreciate a copy of these.

Thank you,

Berwick

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Yeah; as cool as those are... the ones that use images we haven't posted online aren't allowed via the Community Use License.

The Shiv checklist is a great idea though.


Got it - Picture book is down. Sorry about that.

~D

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 4

daemonslye wrote:

Got it - Picture book is down. Sorry about that.

~D

He meant the map too.

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32, 2012 Top 4

daemonslye wrote:

Got it - Picture book is down. Sorry about that.

~D

Props to you for the Shiv Checklist. I'll be using that for sure! Thank you!

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

I took some links and contact instructions out of posts. Redistributing our maps and images outside of the Community Use Policy is not kosher.

Sovereign Court

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I've made a map people can use of Smuggler's Shiv on maptools- i'm assuming this is ok to post as it's my own work.

MAP LINK

Its a bare bones outline and designed to be spoiler free.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Yup; Alexander's version of the map is fine.

And again... we DO want folks sharing their creations and tools for running APs. They're a HUGE help to other GMs running these things. There's just a fine line to follow when it comes to redistributing the actual text or actual images from the products is all.


Well, I really wanted to get a hex map up but everything I did started to look like a "derivative work" somehow.

So, I made my own map (it may look familiar to you) - it still has the general shape of a shiv. Well, assuming a shiv looks like... uh, that. Depends on the starting material of the shiv I suppose. But I digress.

Go gentle on me - this is my first map and I had to teach myself about text effects (strokes), inverse selections, and a few other things. So, probably not something you want to use, but an educational journey none the less. I tried to make it relatively printer friendly just in case.

DM Map (with terrain detail) -> CLICK HERE
DM Map (with less terrain detail) -> CLICK HERE
Player Map -> CLICK HERE

Enjoy

~D

The Exchange

daemonslye wrote:
Well, I really wanted to get a hex map up but everything I did started to look like a "derivative work" somehow.

Using the method you used to do these maps, I think would be fine to recreate the Smuggler's Shiv maps. James said Alexander's MapTools map was fine, and it's a pretty close copy. Seems the issue is with using the art/cartography pulled directly from the PDFs.

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 4

What are some ideas for rewarding XP for overcoming diseases? Serpent's Skull seems a situation where this might be a good idea.

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32, 2012 Top 4

Scipion del Ferro wrote:
What are some ideas for rewarding XP for overcoming diseases? Serpent's Skull seems a situation where this might be a good idea.

I was thinking along those lines myself. Diseases, at least how they're encountered on Smuggler's Shiv, really do resemble traps.

Has anyone considered granting each of the disease types a CR rating?

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32

I've got a group doing character creation for this AP on Sunday, and I've been thinking about starting equipment. Letting them start with everything they want (normal starting stuff) seems to diminish the "shipwrecked" feel, but having them have no starting equipment except what I give them makes me concerned that I could accidentally screw over someone's concept. I'm thinking that giving them minimum starting money might be a good comprimise - it should make them feel underequipped, but they will still get to choose what they have themselves. This is a very experienced group so I don't have a problem letting them know we will open with a shipwreck, and they can assume that their characters used to have more stuff that sank into the sea. Does anyone see any problem with alloting them the minimum from their class' dice range?


I think that sounds like a good compromise. Myself, I'm planning on being a lot harsher. I'm going to let them purchase maximum starting value equipment and then make them lose most of it, to really make that shipwrecked feeling pop. haha. But I know my players like a challenge and won't be inappropriately upset by this.


TerraZephyr wrote:
I think that sounds like a good compromise. Myself, I'm planning on being a lot harsher. I'm going to let them purchase maximum starting value equipment and then make them lose most of it, to really make that shipwrecked feeling pop. haha. But I know my players like a challenge and won't be inappropriately upset by this.

I'm doing something similar. I'll lat them buy stuff as usual, then I'll remove everything they wouldn't normally carry on their person during a formal dinner and have to scavenge the missing equipment from certain beach locations and the wreck of the ship. I've written down most of th lost equipment on notes and will have the pc's draw the notes from a bag as they make their perception checks to search for useful items. I've also included other items, both useful and useless that might have drifted ashore from the Jenivere or other ships.

Dark Archive

whats the recommendation for a schematic for the wrecked jenivere???

i was recommended on another thread the pirate corvette from the game mastery map pack boats and ships....

The Exchange

I have a question about area z4 (both a, b and c) in the temple of blood. I just cant figure out why would anyone construct three trap pits in his hallway - its sort of silly, like booby traping your bathroom. you are the only one likely to get hurt by it.

I can accept the ancient cultists being paranoid enough to actually hinder themselves with pits, but only if there is a simple, quick way for a person who is familiar with the mechanism - a hidden preasure plate or something like it. nothing of this sort is mentioned however. is there a rational behind that?

Dark Archive

ryric wrote:
I've got a group doing character creation for this AP on Sunday, and I've been thinking about starting equipment. Letting them start with everything they want (normal starting stuff) seems to diminish the "shipwrecked" feel, but having them have no starting equipment except what I give them makes me concerned that I could accidentally screw over someone's concept. I'm thinking that giving them minimum starting money might be a good comprimise - it should make them feel underequipped, but they will still get to choose what they have themselves. This is a very experienced group so I don't have a problem letting them know we will open with a shipwreck, and they can assume that their characters used to have more stuff that sank into the sea. Does anyone see any problem with alloting them the minimum from their class' dice range?

as to my game which will start wed night, i am just going to let them purchase 14 gp of stuff to reflect what is carried off the boat during the wrecking, because there is plenty of adventuring gear awaiting to be discovered, and if it gets them in the mood early that most of the adventure path will be in the wilderness then they can create characters that do not require tons of stuff to survive in the wild

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Scipion del Ferro wrote:
What are some ideas for rewarding XP for overcoming diseases? Serpent's Skull seems a situation where this might be a good idea.

For overcoming a single disease... no XP.

If the PCs manage to get to a point where they can manage the diseases by using a system of Heal checks and well-planned campsites, so that they're essentially no longer really in danger of them, I'd give them a 600 XP story award.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

ryric wrote:
I've got a group doing character creation for this AP on Sunday, and I've been thinking about starting equipment. Letting them start with everything they want (normal starting stuff) seems to diminish the "shipwrecked" feel, but having them have no starting equipment except what I give them makes me concerned that I could accidentally screw over someone's concept. I'm thinking that giving them minimum starting money might be a good comprimise - it should make them feel underequipped, but they will still get to choose what they have themselves. This is a very experienced group so I don't have a problem letting them know we will open with a shipwreck, and they can assume that their characters used to have more stuff that sank into the sea. Does anyone see any problem with alloting them the minimum from their class' dice range?

One thing to keep in mind is that by having the PCs wake up with their gear neatly stacked on the beach with them, you immediately inform the PCs that there's something more than a mere shipwreck going on. If they just wake up on the beach with the clothes on their backs, they won't necessarily realize that something bigger is going on.

By placing their gear on the beach with them, that is a subtle but effective way to pique player interest and to encourage them to seek out answers on the wreck of the Jenivere.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Another Screen Name wrote:

whats the recommendation for a schematic for the wrecked jenivere???

i was recommended on another thread the pirate corvette from the game mastery map pack boats and ships....

The Jenivere is about 75 feet long. The ship flip mat works very well, but using one of the larger ships from the map pack and simply not including the bow portion of the ship works great too.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Lord Snow wrote:

I have a question about area z4 (both a, b and c) in the temple of blood. I just cant figure out why would anyone construct three trap pits in his hallway - its sort of silly, like booby traping your bathroom. you are the only one likely to get hurt by it.

I can accept the ancient cultists being paranoid enough to actually hinder themselves with pits, but only if there is a simple, quick way for a person who is familiar with the mechanism - a hidden preasure plate or something like it. nothing of this sort is mentioned however. is there a rational behind that?

Originally, I had some text in there that spoke to how the cultists, back in the day, navigated their traps, but it got cut for space. Often, I'll cut stuff from an adventure if there's no way for the players to ever have a chance to learn the information in favor for things that directly affect the PCs or that they DO have a chance to figure out.

But originally, the only time that the cultists would need to navigate the trapped hallways was when they would come to area Z8 for a mass—that only happened once a week or so. Most of the cultists lived in area Z1–Z3 and didn't stray far from those areas. When they DID need to go to area Z8 to attend a sermon from their high priest (who navigated the traps when necessary via his magic, be it air walk or whatever), they used planks of wood laid across the traps as bridges. Those planks have long since rotted away; it HAS been 10,000 years or so.

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
Another Screen Name wrote:

whats the recommendation for a schematic for the wrecked jenivere???

i was recommended on another thread the pirate corvette from the game mastery map pack boats and ships....

The Jenivere is about 75 feet long. The ship flip mat works very well, but using one of the larger ships from the map pack and simply not including the stern portion of the ship works great too.

thanks for the response --- now i have a choice hmmm....

flip map or map pack :-)

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
Another Screen Name wrote:

whats the recommendation for a schematic for the wrecked jenivere???

i was recommended on another thread the pirate corvette from the game mastery map pack boats and ships....

The Jenivere is about 75 feet long. The ship flip mat works very well, but using one of the larger ships from the map pack and simply not including the stern portion of the ship works great too.

I haven't got my smuggler's shiv in front of me but don't you mean bow? I mean that is the part of the ship that would have taken the brunt of the damage when it hit the rocks. Besides if the stern was gone how would it have been possible to

Spoiler:
loot the captain's cabin?

I used both maps btw. The map pack ship for above decks, I wanted to emphasize the ships current condition, then the flip map for below decks. Worked quite well.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Yes, I mean that the bow is missing. I'll correct my previous post.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32

James Jacobs wrote:


One thing to keep in mind is that by having the PCs wake up with their gear neatly stacked on the beach with them, you immediately inform the PCs that there's something more than a mere shipwreck going on. If they just wake up on the beach with the clothes on their backs, they won't necessarily realize that something bigger is going on.

By placing their gear on the beach with them, that is a subtle but effective way to pique player interest and to encourage them to seek out answers on the wreck of the Jenivere.

Oh I definitely meant to keep the clues that the gear was brought there by another person. I just figured Alton didn't have time to get all of their belongings, just the stuff he thought would be most important.

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
Yes, I mean that the bow is missing. I'll correct my previous post.

No worries, I'm not trying to be a smart ass or anything.

BTW did I mention how much I'm enjoying this AP? I seldom DM but I couldn't resist this one. This adventure is the strongest start to an AP yet. I'm thinking about subscribing soon as a result.


Wolfthulhu wrote:
Using the method you used to do these maps, I think would be fine to recreate the Smuggler's Shiv maps. James said Alexander's MapTools map was fine, and it's a pretty close copy. Seems the issue is with using the art/cartography pulled directly from the PDFs.

Hmmm. Thanks for the suggestion Wolf, so would this work? A player's map -> CLICK HERE

Sovereign Court

daemonslye wrote:
Wolfthulhu wrote:
Using the method you used to do these maps, I think would be fine to recreate the Smuggler's Shiv maps. James said Alexander's MapTools map was fine, and it's a pretty close copy. Seems the issue is with using the art/cartography pulled directly from the PDFs.
Hmmm. Thanks for the suggestion Wolf, so would this work? A player's map -> CLICK HERE

Thats nice, except its upside down. And yeah the map would be fine. Creating your own map that looks like the artwork is fine, just not using the map itself.

JJ wheres this darn blog map? :P

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32, 2012 Top 4

Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:


JJ wheres this darn blog map? :P

JJ said it would be up on Monday.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alexander Kilcoyne wrote:


JJ wheres this darn blog map? :P

It's going up on Monday. I ended up being in meetings from 1:00 to 5:00 or so on Thursday, which means I missed the deadline to put a blog into the process, which is why Sutter had to hire Tom Rex.


DM NOTES:

Spoiler:

Started this today. Checklist worked well - still a chore to keep track much less run all of the NPCs (and I like that sort of thing).

I started them "by the book", so to speak, so the group really didn't have particularly hard feelings for Ieana even after reading the captain's log. So there is a bit of "muddiness" in terms of what they want to do next. They are certainly going after the NPC goals as they discover them, and, given they rolled high on their lore checks, they are most certainly planning a campaign to find the lighthouse. So I suspect they will find their way along soon.

It may be worthwhile to actually start play on the ship where they can foster a dislike to Ieana and see her interaction with the captain (perhaps more like a series of vignettes rather than starting the game there). Story-wise its not necessary, but emotionally, the group doesn't have the connection if you know what I mean.

As noted elsewhere, I started the group with partial gear (based on percentages assigned to the gear and likelihood of being dropped or washed away). It seemed to work OK and the group rolled with it. They noticed the wreck right away and noted Alton's tracks.

It could have helped to have a map of the cove given the group awakens during high tide - they wanted to climb to the top of the ridge, then climb down to the wreck. The ridges are noted to be 100ft high, so the group split up - sending those that could climb up while the rest waited below. A spider swarm encounter as they moved across the ridge cut short that trip.

I liked the rules around campsites, it worked out very naturally - I was originally concerned it would feel stilted somehow. Just the opposite, it gave them a good way to interact with the NPCs. Nice idea.

Another observation: Given the dangerous environment, the PCs don't want to leave the NPCs alone, but they don't want to traipse around the jungle with them in tow. Without a clear objective (e.g. The brine demon is said to be "over here"), they are venturing out slowly (go half a day out and then back to camp, etc.). Not a big deal but thought I'd mention it for other DMs - Perhaps a "dead village" close to the crash site could be found with some information to get them going. Just a thought.

~D

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
daemonslye wrote:

DM NOTES:

** spoiler omitted **...

You made some good points. I worried about these as well. I was thinking about having 1 boat missing from the wreck. Pointing to the Captain and Illena abandoning the ship to its fate on the rocks. Making seem less an accident due to poor navigation, and more a deliberate act.

Pete

Liberty's Edge

daemonslye wrote:

DM NOTES:

** spoiler omitted **...

I had a somewhat similar experience with my group yesterday

Spoiler:
They did not want to leave the other castaways on their own. Jask wanted to help as he was freed, but the others wanted to stay on the beach. However the PCs reasoned that they would be sitting ducks on their own. A feeling that has been reinforced by how dangerous the environment is. So they have been exploring with NPCS in tow as dead weight. Unfortunately for Gelek if proved fatal as the gnome was caught in the blast of the shocker lizards.

Without a real safehaven, like an abandoned cave in the cliffs or something like that, I don't see many PCs willing to leave the castaways on their own.

As for Ieana, they also felt a little muddied on her involvement, but with some of the dreams they are more and more suspecting her treachery. However they have yet made any concerted effort to find them. Rather they are hunting cannibals as they are sick of traps and ambushes. :D


Not sure if its useful, but here is a "journey map" of the Jenivere for the last part of the trip. It's a little big at ~3MB.

Journey Map -> CLICK HERE

~D

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 4

Someone had fun with Photoshop.


Scipion del Ferro wrote:
Someone had fun with Photoshop.

Heh, yeah - I am attempting to obfuscate the original so as to avoid the gendarmes.

~D

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32, 2012 Top 4

Stormrazor2000 wrote:
daemonslye wrote:

DM NOTES:

** spoiler omitted **...

I had a somewhat similar experience with my group yesterday

** spoiler omitted **

We played last Sunday, with somewhat different results...

spoiler:
The PCs caught on fairly quickly that it was important to befriend the NPCs. They won over Ishirou, Jask, and Gelik right away, but they botched the diplomacy rolls with Aerys and Sasha so they both remained indifferent and moody.

Things got interesting when they won over Ishirou and he showed them his treasure map on the sly. With three of the five PCs being greedy dwarves, they immediately decided to abandon the NPCs (except for their new partner and bestest buddy, Ishirou) and strike out to claim Captain Quellig's treasure.

Not sure what I'm going to do with the 4 NPCs left behind at base camp. I already had the Red Mountain Devil leave a drained monkey in the trees near the camp on the first night, so the PCs know something is stalking them. I may have the Devil stalk the NPCs for a few nights. Maybe poor Gelik will get carried off.

As for Ieana, they definitely believe she and Captain Kovack are to blame for wrecking the Jenivere and stranding them on the Shiv. The combination of the nightmares and reading Capt. Kovack's log has them hungry for revenge against the pair.

We play again next Sunday. I can't wait to see how this unfolds!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

As long as the NPCs stay at camp... they should be safe. Whether or not the PCs realize this, of course!

The Exchange

daemonslye wrote:

Not sure if its useful, but here is a "journey map" of the Jenivere for the last part of the trip. It's a little big at ~3MB.

Journey Map -> CLICK HERE

~D

Yeah, I did something similar with a printout of the Inner Sea map and a red pen.

I mean, it had to be a red line... right?

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 4

Is there a major problem if any of the NPCs die? I may have used the random disease chart from Heart of the Jungle and now Aeyrs is blind from Blinding Sickness and Ishirou has Brainworms with 5 Wis, but no one knows he's sick yet...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Scipion del Ferro wrote:
Is there a major problem if any of the NPCs die? I may have used the random disease chart from Heart of the Jungle and now Aeyrs is blind from Blinding Sickness and Ishirou has Brainworms with 5 Wis, but no one knows he's sick yet...

If the PCs are having fun interacting with the NPCs and they die, then yeah; that's a problem.

But the adventure itself does not place any load bearing responsibilities on ANY of the NPCs. If an NPC turns out to be an enemy, they can become recurring villains in the campaign. If an NPC turns out to be an ally, though, that can come back to really help the PCs later on with additional benefits and quests and stuff... none of which is required to "win" the AP, of course.

As for Ishirou's brainworms... once someone's down to 5 Wisdom, they SHOULD be starting to exhibit some pretty obvious physical symptoms. It's not fair to keep that type of information away from the PCs, even with the excuse that they haven't tried to diagnose the NPCs. After all... you the GM are the only window the PCs have into the world. If you don't give them hints that their NPCs have the sick, how are the PCs to know they should be helping them?

(And as an aside... I deliberately didn't put a lot of the tougher diseases on Smuggler's Shiv; it's not really fair to inflict the really bad diseases on 1st-3rd level characters when there's pretty much NO chance for them to do anything about it.)

Grand Lodge

daemonslye wrote:

Hey there - I went ahead and put together an updated player and DM map if anyone wants it.

I added a hex overlay with numbering. The size works out to be a little over half a mile each.

Here is a SAMPLE -> CLICK HERE

Also (hoping it's ok), I have put together a couple of "DM aids":

Shiv Checklist -> CLICK HERE
Picture Book -> CLICK HERE

Enjoy

~D

I'm not 100%, but I'm reasonably sure that you can put your map back up as there is now the untagged map on the blog. Hopefully James will come by to yay or nay it.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Andrew Betts wrote:


*snip* Hopefully James will come by to yay or nay it.

I'm pretty sure Tom Rex ate James...


1 person marked this as a favorite.
masshysteria wrote:

I made some player handouts and GM aids. They are in jpeg format and standard letter size (slow internet connections beware). If you have a home printer that can handle borderless printing, I suggest you set it to that when printing them out.


A chart for tracking the attitude and morale of the castaways

The Smuggler's Shiv map without location markers

Handout #1 - A

Handout #1 - B

Handout #2

Handout #3

Here is the community use policy that goes with the above material.

Thanks to the map on the blog, the link to the map now works.

Finally, I'm hoping to start the adventure in next week. Are there any other GM aids that haven't been made that may be helpful?


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

What date in the Golorian Calendar does the Jenivere crash on Smuggler's Shiv?

Grand Lodge

Briccone wrote:
What date in the Golorian Calendar does the Jenivere crash on Smuggler's Shiv?

I believe its whatever day you pick. A lot of the APs have open things like this to fit your Golarion best.

RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32, 2012 Top 4

Briccone wrote:
What date in the Golorian Calendar does the Jenivere crash on Smuggler's Shiv?

It doesn't give a specific date, but the "Shipwrecked!" section (page 57) mentions the adventure takes place during "the height of summer".

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Briccone wrote:
What date in the Golorian Calendar does the Jenivere crash on Smuggler's Shiv?

The exact date of ANY AP start is more or less left up to the GM. Sometimes, we'll provide suggestions (Runelords starts at the beginning of autumn during the Swallowtail Festival, for example, and Serpent's Skull does suggest late summer).

We don't hardwire actual start dates into any of our adventures, though, because we want folks to be able to play them in any order. You can follow up your Serpent's Skull game with Curse of the Crimson Throne if you want and it all still works fine.


Great start to an AP and am looking forward to running it. I really like open ended adventures like this but my group tends to need some direction or they all fight and go off on their own goals. It will be interesting to see what happens with this...

Anyways, the reason I'm here... I know I've probably had some evil cleric strike me with blindness but I can't for the life of me see how the party is suppose to get into the Caves of the Mother. I assume it is through V19, but where is the top of the pit at V19 topside?

How is the party supposed to know it's there?

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