So I previewed the SS adventure path beforehand and noticed that it wasn't as necessary to run heroic(good) PCs as in APs previous. Therefore, I allowed for any alignment.
My players took the ball and ran with it. All evil party. The only stipulation was not to play Chaotic Stupid, stereotypical evil or anything with designs to wreck a campaign. In fact, they had to be creative and have a fully fleshed out character with backstory, motives and ambitions.
The party is as follows:
- Matt, human Chelaxian colonial shielded fighter- slave trader
- Yigga Bibi, Mwangi synthesis summoner (Pathfinder Unchained) with Devil type Eidolon - slave trader who was a former slave
- Doctor Horron Skaxus, Chelaxian tiefling priest of Zon Kuthon, chief torturer for nobility in Cheliax during macabre plays, felt like a bird in a gilded cage and sought escape.
- Lograim, Halfling ninja with ties to Red Mantis and started AP by accompanying Sasha
- Xardrick, human sorcerer with fire elemental bloodline, boards the ship with no memory of his past and no knowledge of his sorcerous powers until they flare up in roleplay
It is important to note that we are an older aged group and love grey roleplaying areas and darker themes.
I also started the players with prelude roleplaying sessions. The first individual to each player and a few aboard the ship to get to know each other as well as the other NPC's.
It has been a blast. On several occasions the party has done unexpected things and caused me to grow my DM chops. Perhaps, I will detail some of their exploits in future posts if anyone is interested. They are currently midway through the second installment.
However, I have a question.
Have any of you ran this campaign for an evil party in whole or in part? And how did you handle some of the challenges of the third adventure?
I would love to hear from you!
I have/had an evil character in my game and, as long as the evil is justified and not stupid (which you've already taken care of), they can totally work with this AP.
I would say that this should cause some very interesting interactions with the NPCs who join the party at the start of the adventure and whether or not they survive to the mainland, but it sounds like you've got that in the bag.
Good luck moving forward.