I was the first one to suggest this name, do I get a cookie? :)You'll note we took the "s" off the word Skulls in your suggestion... so it's an ENTIRELY NEW TITLE.
I'll see about getting you a cookie anyway though. :-P
I have to admit, I like Jason's "Shackles and Bones". Not sure why. Just rolls off the tongue better. Skull and Shackles. Hmmm. Either way, it will be awesome. :)
Clark
1. Undead/skeleton/ghost/zombiefied pirates
2. Ghost ship(s) +1
I'd like to put a vote in for a ghost ship too.
Actually - ANY ship with a history would rock. One thing I loved about Rogue Trader was the ship creation rules - every ship had a quirk and something in its history that set it slightly apart from ships in it's own class.
I'd like to see nods and references to other APs, like have a characer be Aryes Mavato's brother, or something simmilar from savage tides.
Are there rules for combat while swinging on ropes or chains? If not, this is the perfect time for them to make an appearance.
I want a minor NPC who works as a diviner in maritime trade, predicting prices for goods in a far off port.
Didn't Blackbeard strand most of his crew on a sandbar, then sale off with the treasure to get "help"? Might be nice if you could hunt him own, avenge his crew andtak his stuff.
Sneaking into a hostile port to do something.
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I've heard something about cookies.
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
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I would like to see the party come across an island with a crazy castaway, possibly a very dangerous one. Having the party deal with someone who trapped the entire island, or who trained all the animals to attack strangers would be a pretty cool encounter.
Lots of exotic monster encounters. I really want to see the flying plant monster that was created in the "Monster Design" panel at PaizoCon. More primates, colorful birds, and dangerous flora would would be great.
On that note, an NPC who is a traveling naturalist going around cataloging the different exotic animals and plants would be fun to have. He could even give the party missions to capture dangerous specimens for his studies.
I want to see sea caves, not just because I have had the opportunity to explore them in person, but also because they are a staple of pirate lore. They are very dangerous places, but great spots to hide valuables. Being in a sea cave when the tide rolls in can be deadly, not just because you can end up drowning, but because the tight quarters can cause you to be crushed if a large wave rolls in suddenly.
Dead men telling tales. However, having a bad guy who has a way to keep the dead from telling tales is scary. Imagine finding a corpse who has their hands and tongue removed, and who has had a dark magic that does not prevent them from being raised, but does prevent the hands and tongue from being restored. Possibly the magic could even prevent spells like "speak to dead" from working.
An encounter with guardians of treasure with a clear pirate theme is a must. One idea is have the guardians be the undead crew of sailors hanged on the gallows near the treasure. They could be ghosts cursed to guard that spot until they can find someone to replace them in the gallows.
Another idea would be having something almost right out of the Disneyland pirates ride, with skeleton pirates all over the beach, cutlasses through their mid sections and gulls nesting in their hats. As soon as the party enters the area, they pull the cutlasses from their ribs and attack.
two questions : which one is greg a. vaughn writing and can richard pett do one. i understand they are both quite busy but i'd be very interested to see what either of these titans can do with pirates :)
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Kingmaker being my least favorite of all the APs, I was very disappointed when I heard at the Banquet that Skull and Shackles was going to follow a similar format.
Been hoping for a Full Pirate AP for a long time and I felt so upset about this news.
Oh well will just have to enjoy the APs I love now.
Well... Skull and Shackles might be an AP that I ask one of my regular players to GM and let me play in it. (I'd have to be really, REALLY good and not read any of the adventure parts. (It'll be tough, but I'm sure I can do it).
Seeing the art for the sea witch archetype in Ultimate Magic... has me jazzed about playing one during "Skull and Shackles". Yes... yes... that will be my character. :)
I'd like to put in a request for Reaper Miniatures to make that witch archetype... PLEASE. (Or failing that... and hoping that WizKids pre-painted plastic does well... to have him done by WizKids). :)
Thanks,
Dean
Creative Director
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Kingmaker being my least favorite of all the APs, I was very disappointed when I heard at the Banquet that Skull and Shackles was going to follow a similar format.
Been hoping for a Full Pirate AP for a long time and I felt so upset about this news.
Oh well will just have to enjoy the APs I love now.
Don't overreact quite yet...
We'll have more information eventually about Skull and Shackles. It's not just going to be "Piratemaker."
Of course... There's a LOT of different stuff in Kingmaker, so it's hard for me to say if you'll be pleased or disappointed in Skull and Shackles.
In any case... about 6 months from now, we'll have a lot more to say on the topic.
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A Nock Gun for any firearms inclined characters!
Good call, Sgt. Harper, but I think what we all need are the sailing ship multi-dimensional models with 1" square grids. You know, like what used to be sold by Paizo. I sure do hope they are planning to partner up with Laserfire Crafts again to sell these ships as part of their well-rounded marketing campaign.
The more I think about it, the less I think an undersea adventure fits. Yes, I get the sunken ship/treasure aspect, but it just doesn't feely -- piratey enough. Ship crashed on the rocks, sure. Ship sunk to the murky depths, not so much.
I really think undersea adventuring would receive better treatment in its own AP.
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The more I think about it, the less I think an undersea adventure fits. Yes, I get the sunken ship/treasure aspect, but it just doesn't feely -- piratey enough. Ship crashed on the rocks, sure. Ship sunk to the murky depths, not so much.
I really think undersea adventuring would receive better treatment in its own AP.
Exactly my thought as well, so ... +1 :)
Also, while I recognize that my preference for a diminished/downplayed role of firearms in this AP has little chance of being a reality, I fervently hope that Paizo focuses it's ships and naval warfare on addressing the changes in construction & tactics that magic brings to the table.
I don't want to see "Firearms are very rare on Golarion, even in warfare. Except on ships and port towns, of course, due to the genre-requirements-filter. I'd much rather see the genre-setting-requirements-filter win out. By a ginormous margin.
Enchanted hulls, sails, anchors, and other nautical gear.
Better weather rules.
A fuller take on weather manipulation magic.
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Creative Director
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Another thing I'd love in this AP: expanded information on the rest of Garund (the area south of the Mwangi Expanse). I don't honestly expect to see this, as I doubt this AP will venture that far down the Garundi coast, but... it doesn't hurt to ask.
This AP will be very focused on the Shackles. After a meeting Rob and Erik and I just had, it's even more focused on the Shackles right now than it was 4 hours ago, in fact.
Another thing I'd love in this AP: expanded information on the rest of Garund (the area south of the Mwangi Expanse). I don't honestly expect to see this, as I doubt this AP will venture that far down the Garundi coast, but... it doesn't hurt to ask.This AP will be very focused on the Shackles. After a meeting Rob and Erik and I just had, it's even more focused on the Shackles right now than it was 4 hours ago, in fact.
i'm very pleased to hear this.
I have wanted a pirate AP for along time and with the addition of the firearms rules in Ultimate Combat, we can get some awesome, cannon blasting ship to ship combat!
Just do us all one favor:
Make sure that the ships are more than just a way to get from adventure to adventure. I was so disappointed in the Savage Tide AP when there wasn't more cool stuff to do on the ships.
My rogue/swashbuckler/dread pirate, Jake Raven, was so much cooler on a ship than on dry land!
Another thing I'd love in this AP: expanded information on the rest of Garund (the area south of the Mwangi Expanse). I don't honestly expect to see this, as I doubt this AP will venture that far down the Garundi coast, but... it doesn't hurt to ask.This AP will be very focused on the Shackles. After a meeting Rob and Erik and I just had, it's even more focused on the Shackles right now than it was 4 hours ago, in fact.
I know you stopped doing the "set peice" thing back in Legacy of Fire. But if the Kingmaker boards are any indication, people really like padding out their sandbox campaigns with other modules and quests. If all of SAS takes place in the Shackles, what do you think about releasing a module (as per the module line) that takes place in the Sodden Lands, or otherwise would make a good companion or filler to the SAS plotline?
Frickin awesome!!
Now I get to bring back my elf wizardress pirate with plans of world domination back! Mai tae will rise again!!
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Im a little lost on the "shackles" part. What book is this in? I want to buy it during free rpg day if possible.
Thanks.
The Shackles are described in the Inner Sea World Guide.
They are the chain of pirate inhabited islands that serves as a buffer zone between the southern nations of Garund and hungry nations such as Cheliax looking to expand back in that direction. The pirates who rule the Shackles are reknown for their familiarity with the Eye of Abendego, the never-ending massive hurricane north of the Shackles, and use it to escape pursuit when they plunder ships as far north as the Arch of Aroden.
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Just do us all one favor:Make sure that the ships are more than just a way to get from adventure to adventure. I was so disappointed in the Savage Tide AP when there wasn't more cool stuff to do on the ships.
I'm sure that's one reason the vehicle combat rules are being put out in Ultimate Combat which I can't wait for. I'm wondering how it will all work together.
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There will probably have to be a discussion on running this for non good characters. Pirates are generally not nice folk. Betrayal, skullduggery, and really bad eggs!
You know players will want to be bad guys for this. I absolutely know mine will want to be vile criminal types. I personally hate evil and chaotic stupid PC's, but overwhelmingly I hear players want to play this way.
--Vrocky wants a cracker
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I've never really fallen into the "evil is cool" camp. Quite honestly, it's been a pain in the butt when I've seen it done. When everyone is evil though and aware, I'd imagine it's less of a problem.
I have to agree though. Some sort of dialogue on how to successfully play in a campaign that has no real moral compass might be in order.
Although I know gunpowder is canon [ETA: pun not intended!] in Golarion, there are (as I am sure these boards have made you aware!) a large number of players of Pathfinder who don't want anything to do with it and won't have it in their games. One expects some inclusion of gunpowder weapons in a pirate-themed AP, but the occasional sidebar of advice for people who would like to edit them out would be very welcome. For example, if ships sport cannon, you might have a sidebar discussing magical and mundane alternatives to them. Likewise, if people are carrying pistols, you might take a moment to mention a level-appropriate option to it. I certainly don't begrudge the gunpowder-lovers their time in the spotlight, but the odd note here and there would go a long way toward keeping the product usable by the largest number with the minimum of reworking.
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Creative Director
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Although I know gunpowder is canon [ETA: pun not intended!] in Golarion, there are (as I am sure these boards have made you aware!) a large number of players of Pathfinder who don't want anything to do with it and won't have it in their games. One expects some inclusion of gunpowder weapons in a pirate-themed AP, but the occasional sidebar of advice for people who would like to edit them out would be very welcome. For example, if ships sport cannon, you might have a sidebar discussing magical and mundane alternatives to them. Likewise, if people are carrying pistols, you might take a moment to mention a level-appropriate option to it. I certainly don't begrudge the gunpowder-lovers their time in the spotlight, but the odd note here and there would go a long way toward keeping the product usable by the largest number with the minimum of reworking.
Check out the entry for "The Shackles" in the Inner Sea World Guide. We're pretty explicit and clear what role gunpowder and firearms play in that region.
The current ruler of the Shackles, the Hurricane King, has a magic pistol. His ship, the Filthy Lucre, is outfitted wiht several cannons. He's probably got a few more firearms in his possession and handed out to his favorite minions. Beyond that, there aren't a whole lot of firearms in the Shackles, and that will be carried through in the Skull and Shackles adventure path.
Indeed, the fact that the Hurricane King has magic guns and cannons at his disposal will be a pretty key part of certain adventures in this Adventure Path.
We'll PROBABLY include a sidebar in the Skull and Shackles Player's Guide that talks about how to handle the presence of guns in the Shackles if, say, a PC wants to play a gunslinger, but the adventure path itself will assume no gunslingers and very few guns.
(It's worth noting that the vast majority of the pirates of Golarion don't try to sink ships; they try to board and take over ships.)
Although I know gunpowder is canon [ETA: pun not intended!] in Golarion, there are (as I am sure these boards have made you aware!) a large number of players of Pathfinder who don't want anything to do with it and won't have it in their games. One expects some inclusion of gunpowder weapons in a pirate-themed AP, but the occasional sidebar of advice for people who would like to edit them out would be very welcome. For example, if ships sport cannon, you might have a sidebar discussing magical and mundane alternatives to them. Likewise, if people are carrying pistols, you might take a moment to mention a level-appropriate option to it. I certainly don't begrudge the gunpowder-lovers their time in the spotlight, but the odd note here and there would go a long way toward keeping the product usable by the largest number with the minimum of reworking.Check out the entry for "The Shackles" in the Inner Sea World Guide. We're pretty explicit and clear what role gunpowder and firearms play in that region.
The current ruler of the Shackles, the Hurricane King, has a magic pistol. His ship, the Filthy Lucre, is outfitted wiht several cannons. He's probably got a few more firearms in his possession and handed out to his favorite minions. Beyond that, there aren't a whole lot of firearms in the Shackles, and that will be carried through in the Skull and Shackles adventure path.
Indeed, the fact that the Hurricane King has magic guns and cannons at his disposal will be a pretty key part of certain adventures in this Adventure Path.
We'll PROBABLY include a sidebar in the Skull and Shackles Player's Guide that talks about how to handle the presence of guns in the Shackles if, say, a PC wants to play a gunslinger, but the adventure path itself will assume no gunslingers and very few guns.
(It's worth noting that the vast majority of the pirates of Golarion don't try to sink ships; they try to board and take over ships.)
Here's a big, honking "THANK YOU" thrown Paizo's way and to James, in particular!!
(It's worth noting that the vast majority of the pirates of Golarion don't try to sink ships; they try to board and take over ships.)Of course. A sunken ship's, not worth anything. =)
Funny how often this truism is overlooked by PCs in RPGs, though, isn't it?
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I would love to see the party becalmed in the Eye of Abendego or at least a daring ship combat in the giant hurricane.
Please avoid the merman attack attempting to sink the ship, it's been done.
Ditto! The Eye of Abendego HAS to be in this one, with some neat combat modifiers and skill checks!
I'm not averse to mermaids, per se. Just the kind I saw in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." There are plenty of other monsters to use as aquatic foes that have not had so much exposure lately. What about some old-fashioned killer sharks? We need those for walkin' the plank!
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Funny how often this truism is overlooked by PCs in RPGs, though, isn't it?
You know, I don't know. Honestly, I've never done any naval combat and if I had it probably wouldn't have been piratical in nature... It's worth thinking about and I assumed that was the norm. Is that what people do? Just sink the ships? Is that fun? I mean, vengeance, justice, and whatever aside.
Things I'd love to see in a Pirate AP (in no particular order) are below. Some are broad-ranging, some are crazily niche, but heck, I might as well get them off my chest.
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- Treasure maps, especially the opportunity to create such using (of all things) create treasure map. That would be cool.
- The opportunity to include gunslingers. Notes on how to adapt the adventure to do it would be fine, the gunslingers don't need to be baked in.
- Plenty of ship-to-ship combat opportunities.
- I love the idea I read about (not sure whether it's accurate) that the PCs would start this AP with nothing but a loincloth. That's awesome.
- At least one complex pirate character who doesn't just read like a caricature. Of course, the presence of such caricatures would also be cool, but it would be nice to break the trend at least once.
- Underwater adventures.
- An opportunity to explore the past of Lirgen/Yamasa, or better yet, Ghol-Gan.
- A long lost Vancaskerkin. ; )
- An acknowledgement of the effects of magic on sailing. The Eye of Abendego may have an effect on sailing locally, but I assume there are plenty of NPC magic-users out there who will cheerfully cast alter winds for a fee--or better yet, would be part of a ship's standard crew.
- A pirate NPC who turns out to be different to their fearsome reputation (e.g. Dread Pirate Roberts), or turns out to be a totally different character class than expected.
- Horrific sea monsters. Read The Scar by China Miéville for inspiration.
- An ancient and possibly immortal pirate captain. Could be an elf, could be something altogether more horrible. A lich-pirate?
- No carbon copies of events or characters from Pirates of the Caribbean please. GMs who want to create those can do it themselves. I mean, undead pirates are cool, but we don't need them to be in the form of little easter eggs. It would be much better to have the adventure stand on its own without referencing modern pop-culture pirates.
- Having said that, old school pirates like Mr. Edward Teach &c. are absolutely fair game.
- An opportunity to play evil characters. Certainly don't build the AP around them, but for many APs, evil characters don't work so well unless there's wholesale editing by the GM. This seems like a good opportunity. A little 'how to run this chapter of the AP for evil parties' sidebar outlining possible personality or motivation changes required for key NPCs would do wonders--although it should probably be accompanied by a health warning against including too many PCs with CE alignments.
- A ghost ship. A properly terrifying ghost ship that PCs have to explore, not one that is crewed by the dead. As a bonus, having the PCs exploring the ghost ship and then having one that is crewed by the dead show up while they're exploring belowdecks would definitely be cool.
- Underwater adventures.
- Make aquatic base-form eidolons a viable option. That will then in turn mean that aquatic-based familiars or animal companions would also work.
- Grindylow!
- Weather, and the effects thereof. A 'random encounter table' for weather would actually be pretty cool.
- Seagoing quests--'sail here' instead of 'ride a horse here'.
- A guide to ship parts for those who aren't able to tell their mizzenmast from their fo'c'sle. Not to mention an explanation of the difference between a ship and a boat. And the explanation of other nautical terms like 'port' and 'starboard'.
- An apparatus of the crab. Whether as an opponent, as treasure, or as a MacGuffin, who cares?
- Rivals! : D
That's all I have for now.