There's adventure to be had on the high seas when a group of press-ganged strangers seizes a ship and becomes embroiled in the plots and politics of the Shackles—an infamous island chain dominated by pirate warlords. But as these new swashbucklers make names for themselves, rival scalawags, enemy navies, legendary sea monsters, and the infamous Hurricane King himself seek to see them walk the plank. Who will survive when there's glory to plunder?
Daytime Ship Actions:
-Work Diligently: Gain a +4 bonus on any one check for a job’s daily task
-Influence: Make normal checks for a job’s daily task and attempt to influence a single NPC
-Sneak: Make normal checks for a job’s daily task and briefly explore one area of the ship (the PC can make a single Perception check or other skill check with no chance of detection)
-Shop: Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and visit the quartermaster’s store (area A9)
-Shirk: Take a –2 penalty on all checks for a job’s daily task and take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 10 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered.
Cook’s Mate Tasks:
1 or 2) Cooking: Assisting Ambrose Kroop in preparing the day’s meal. If Kroop is sober, no check is required. If Kroop is drunk, this requires a DC 10 Profession (cook) or Intelligence check.
3) Fishing: Catching tonight’s supper using the ship’s nets. A DC 10 Profession (fisherman) or Survival check provides enough fish. A failed check results in a day in the bilges as punishment the following day.
4) Turtle Hunting: Hunting leatherback sea turtles with harpoons, treble hooks, and nets. A DC 10 Profession (fisherman) or Survival check provides enough food. A failed check results in a day in the bilges as punishment the following day.
5) Bull Session: Drinking with Ambrose Kroop and listening to his stories. The cook’s mate must drink an additional rum ration, but is able to take an additional ship action during the day.
6) Special Occasion: Captain Harrigan is celebrating something today, and wants one of the ship’s pigs butchered and cooked for dinner. The PC must make a DC 10 Profession (cook) or Survival check to slaughter the animal, then help Kroop to clean, cut, and prepare the carcass. If Kroop is sober, no additional check is required. If Kroop is drunk, this requires a DC 15 Profession (cook) or Intelligence check.
Rigger Tasks:
1) Rigging Repair: The ship’s rigging frequently gets damaged and must be repaired, requiring DC 10 Climb checks to reach the rigging 30 feet up, followed by a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
2) Line Work: Hard work hoisting and lowering sails, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
3) Upper Rigging Work: Work in the upper rigging, 50 feet up, requiring DC 10 Climb checks, followed by a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
4) Rope Work: Handling the ship’s ropes, including coiling them, stowing them, and securing them to cleats and single and double bollards, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
5) Lookout: A climb to the crow’s nest 60 feet up, requiring DC 10 Climb checks followed by a DC 10 Perception check.
6) Mainsail Duties: Tough work raising and lowering the mainsail, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Strength check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
Swab Tasks:
1) Man the Bilges: Vile and sweaty work cleaning out the bilges (area A11), requiring a DC 12 Strength check. The PC must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
2) Rat Catcher: Catching rats and other vermin belowdecks, requiring either a DC 10 Stealth check, Survival check, or Dexterity check to catch and kill enough rats, cockroaches, and beetles for a good day’s work.
3) Swab the Decks: Backbreaking work mopping the decks and scrubbing them with sandstone blocks called holystones, requiring a DC 10 Strength or Constitution check. Failing either check results in the PC being fatigued at the end of the shift.
4) Hauling Rope and Knot Work: Tying and untying knots in the ship’s ropes and moving heavy coils of rope from one part of the ship to another, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Strength check. The PC
must also make a DC 10 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued at the end of the shift.
5) Runner: Passing messages to the crew and officers of the Wormwood in all parts of the ship except officers’ cabins (areas A4 and A5), requiring a DC 10 Acrobatics check and DC 10 Constitution check. Failing the Constitution check results in the PC being fatigued at the end of the shift. A PC with the Run feat automatically succeeds at this task.
6) Repairs: Things constantly tear or break aboard the ship and need repairs, whether sewing sails or splicing rope all day, requiring a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity check.
-Sleep: Go to bed early and sleep through the night (automatically recover from fatigue)
-Gamble: Play or gamble on a game of chance or pirate entertainment
-Entertain: Make one Perform check to entertain the crew
-Influence*: Attempt to influence a single NPC
-Sneak*: Take time exploring one area of the ship. The PC can take 20 on a single Perception check or other skill check, but must make a check to avoid being discovered
-Steal*: Attempt to open a locked door or locker. The PC must make a check to avoid being discovered.
-Perform: One way pirates amuse themselves is through songs and stories. Pirates love a good sea chantey, and characters with Perform skills quickly find themselves popular members of the crew. If a character succeeds at a DC 20 Perform check, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus on all Charisma-based skill checks made to interact with any listener among the crew for the next 24 hours. A Perform result of 9 or lower, however, indicates that the next time he attempts to use Perform to entertain the crew, everyone ignores him unless he makes a successful DC 15 Bluff or Intimidate check before doing so.
Aside from telling stories, singing songs, and other recreations (all of which might be simulated with the Perform skill), these pastimes have two things in common: they are dangerous, and they are played for money. When betting on any of the following games, the minimum bet is 1 gp, and the maximum ready cash any NPC in the lesser crew is likely to have is 20 gp. Some people are bad losers—the ramifications of this are left for the GM to decide.
-Arm Wrestling: Not merely typical arm wrestling bouts, such matches are usually conducted on a barrel top covered in broken glass, knives, or caltrops. Participants make opposed Strength checks, with the higher result determining the winner, and the loser taking an amount of damage equal to 1d2 + the winner’s Strength modifier as his hand and arm are pushed onto whatever lies on the table.
-Hog Lob: Participants lob a lead ingot covered in a greased piglet skin, the “hog,” as far across the deck as possible. This game is resolved by d20 checks between any number of players, who agree on a bet beforehand. The hog counts as an improvised weapon, imposing a –4 penalty on all rolls using it unless the thrower has the Throw Anything feat. Checks are resolved as attack rolls using the character’s CMB. Characters toss the hog a number of feet equal to their adjusted rolls; for example, a character who gets a result of 22 throws the hog 22 feet. Some pirates claim to have participated in games played against Asmodeus using a live hog.
-Heave: This potentially deadly drinking game is played with rum and takes place between any number of pirates, who bet to predict the winner beforehand. Each pirate drinks a half pint of rum in one swig. Doing so forces participants to make a successful DC 15 Fortitude save or have the damage dealt by the rum ration increase by +1. This DC increases by +3 for each consecutive drink. Pirates then take turns drinking until only one is left standing. Some tales tell of entire crews drinking themselves to death through this game, leaving ships of
drunk ghosts wandering the shipping routes.
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Shackles Rum Ration Type: ingested; Addiction: minor; Fortitude: DC 5
Effect: variable; +1d4 alchemical bonus to Charisma and fatigued for 1d8 hours; Damage: 1d3 Con
Ship Areas
A1. Foredeck: :
This raised deck stands some 10 feet above the main deck (area A3), immediately behind the bowsprit, which is shaped like a rearing dragon. The foremast rises 30 feet above this deck.
A2. Poop Deck: :
This raised deck stands 15 feet above the main deck (area A3). The mizzenmast rises 30 feet above this deck. The ship’s bridge protrudes forward of the mizzenmast, and holds the ship’s wheel. The wheel is 3 feet across and has 10 spokes decorated with silver inlays, its bolts carved to resemble kraken heads.
An iron cage hangs from the side of the mizzenmast, containing the body of Harmak Gruft, a pirate who beat the captain at dice. Gruft is dead, but his ugly parrot Pluck perches atop the cage, still waiting for its master to awaken. The aptly named Pluck, which has lost more than few of its feathers, could make a good pet or familiar if it can be lured down (such as with magic, a successful wild empathy check, or a DC 20 Handle Animal check). Pluck is considered unfriendly and possesses a considerable vocabulary of appalling curse words.
Captain Harrigan and Mr. Plugg spend most of their time on this deck. When the captain is on deck, the poop deck is off-limits to everyone but officers.
A3. Main Deck: :
The ship’s main deck runs between the foredeck and poop deck. The mainmast rises from the center of the deck, extending 60 feet into the air and topped by a crow’s nest. Rigging connects the mainmast to the ship’s other masts and can be crossed with DC 10 Acrobatics or Climb checks. Several strands of thick rope are secured to the foot of the mainmast for use as a whipping post. An Escape Artist check (DC 20 + the binder’s CMB) is required to escape the bonds. The ship’s clock, a macabre brass-andcopper object depicting worms writhing through whale corpses, hangs from the mast above the whipping post. Not only does the clock keep time, but its bell strikes at dawn and dusk to signal the beginning and the end of the workday.
Two 10-foot-square hatches sit in the deck fore and aft of the mainmast. These hatches are thick wooden grilles (hardness 5, hp 30, DC 25 Strength check to lift) and open onto the middle hold (area A6) 15 feet below. At the fore of the ship, two doors lead into the officers’ quarters (area A4), while two doors aft lead to the captain’s quarters (area A5).
A large wooden box bound in iron sits just beneath the bridge. This sweatbox, used to torment sailors, has just enough room to hold one Medium creature (and can be altered to confine a Small creature). It is locked with a good lock (Disable Device DC 30); Captain Harrigan and Mr. Plugg have the keys.
A small jolly boat (same statistics as a rowboat) sits on the deck next to the port rail. It has two sets of oars but no mast. Although designed to carry four Medium passengers, the jolly boat can fit six at a push.
A4. Officers’ Quarters::
The ship’s officers occupy the hammocks and sleeping mats in this cramped cabin. A set of steps descends sharply into the middle hold (area A6) below. The two narrow doors leading to the main deck (area A3) are locked with good locks (Disable Device DC 30; all of the occupants have keys), and are trapped with harpoon traps (see page 11). The officers store their possessions in footlockers, each with an average lock (Disable Device DC 25). Roll on the Crew Lockers sidebar on page 14 for the contents of the officers’ lockers.
Mr. Plugg, Master Scourge, Riaris Krine, Peppery Longfarthing, and Habbly Quarne sleep here at night, and at least one of them may often be found here at any given time during the day as well.
A4a. Armory::
This tiny chamber is crammed with chests and neatly ordered weapon racks. The armory is secured with a good lock (Disable Device DC 30) and trapped with a harpoon trap (see page 11). The weapon racks hold 20 clubs, 12 heavy crossbows, 20 cutlasses (see Pathfinder Player Companion: Pirates of the Inner Sea), 50 javelins, 12 shortspears, and 20 grappling hooks each attached to 50 feet of rope. Two chests contain 500 heavy crossbow bolts each, while three other chests each hold 12 flasks of alchemist’s fire.
Four other chests each contain a breastplate, chain shirt, and buckler. The ship’s master gunner, Riaris Krine, is meticulous in her job and quickly spots any obvious thefts, in which case an immediate search of the crew’s lockers is made. Anyone found in possession of stolen items from the armory is given six lashes with the cat for a first offense, or is keelhauled for a second offense.
A4b. Peppery Longfarthing’s Laboratory::
The ship’s sailing master and resident sorcerer, Peppery Longfarthing, uses this chamber as her laboratory. The cramped cabin is overwhelmed with curious and often unsettling objects that Longfarthing is studying. The door is secured with a good lock as well as an arcane lock spell (Disable Device DC 40; only Longfarthing has the key), and is trapped with a shocking grasp trap (see page 11).
A5. Captain’s Cabin::
Captain Harrigan’s cabin is richly decorated, its walls covered with intricate carvings depicting krakens devouring whales. A quartet of portholes allow light to drift in, and a bed that can double as a navigational or dining table when the mattress is rolled up sits against the aft bulkhead with a chest at its feet. Two rich carpets flank the bed. A flight of steps leads down to the middle hold (area A6). The two doors leading to the main deck (area A3) are trapped with shocking grasp traps, while the door on the stairs is trapped with a crossbow trap.
All of these doors have superior locks (Disable Device DC 40; Harrigan has the only key). The portholes are very narrow, but a DC 30 Escape Artist check would allow a creature to squeeze through. The chest is locked (Disable Device DC 30) and contains Captain Harrigan’s personal possessions, including a selection of nautical charts (which grant a +2 circumstance bonus on Knowledge [geography] checks made within the Shackles).
Captain Harrigan usually entertains his officers for dinner here, and sleeps here at night.
A5a. Cabin Girl’s Quarters: :
The captain’s cabin girl, “Caulky” Tarroon, sleeps on a small cot in the starboard compartment.
A5b. Captain’s Storage: :
The captain stores his personal booty in the portside compartment, locked with a superior lock (Disable Device DC 40). Inside is a pair of iron chests, covered in a thin wood veneer. Both chests have superior locks (Disable Device DC 40) and poisoned dart traps (Core Rulebook 420), and they contain coins, jewels, and other treasures worth almost 10,000 gp in total.
A6. Middle Hold: :
This is the ship’s main cargo hold. The hold is mostly empty at the start of the adventure, save for the 14 pigs; normally kept caged, they periodically escape and run loose within the hold. In the forward section, a flight of wooden stairs climbs up to the officers’ quarters (area A4), while a second set of stairs descends into the lower hold (area A10).
Owlbear Hartshorn is invariably chained to the foremast here to keep him from causing trouble and to keep people out of the officers’ cabin.
Another flight of stairs in the aft section next to the galley leads up to the captain’s quarters (area A5), but it is common knowledge among the crew that the door is trapped. Stored near the mainmast are two light ballistas, a disassembled light catapult, and 12 barrels containing 20 gallons of oil each.
A7. Quartermaster and Cook’s Cabin: :
This tiny cabin contains two beds and two footlockers. The Wormwood’s quartermaster, Cut-Throat Grok, and ship’s cook, Ambrose “Fishguts” Kroop, share this cabin with several of Kroop’s chickens. Grok sleeps here at night, as does Kroop, who is found here during the day as well if he is insensibly drunk. See the sidebar on this page for the contents of the lockers here.
A8. Galley: :
The galley is the domain of Ambrose “Fishguts” Kroop, the drunken ship’s cook.
The cramped and chaotic kitchen holds two wooden worktables, several wooden cupboards, and two small stoves against the port wall, as well as virtually every cooking utensil imaginable and a frightening array of meat cleavers.
A score of chickens and three goats wander freely throughout the chamber; the goats are meant to be caged, but have a distressing tendency to escape their bonds.
The kitchen is a madness of dirt, food, and knives, and finding anything in here requires a Perception check.
The stoves are perpetually lit, and large cauldrons bubble away atop them all times.
A huge array of spices mingle with barrels of rainwater, two tuns of rum, cupboards full of ship’s biscuit and salted beef, barrels of sauerkraut, and a small supply of fresh vegetables picked up in Port Peril.
Despite the chaos, the entire galley functions as a set of masterwork tools for Profession (cook) checks.
Several items of value are lost among the ruin and squalor in the galley, each requiring a DC 10 Perception check to discover: a masterwork dagger being used as a butcher’s knife, a pair of handaxes used as meat cleavers, 11 knives, a short sword, a vial of holy water, a good lock hanging unused off a pantry cupboard, 2 pounds of soap, four waterskins, a barrel of poor wine, six bottles of good Chelish brandy worth 20 gp each, three bottles of magnificent rum worth 12 gp each, a large cookbook worth 125 gp (using the tome while cooking grants a +1 circumstance bonus on Profession [cook] checks), a prosthetic leg made of wood and edged with a silver band worth 45 gp, and 12 sp fallen behind a cupboard. In addition, a trio of harpoons , a spear, and Kroop’s steadfast grapple hang on the walls.
A9. Quartermaster’s Store: :
This cramped storeroom is detailed below.
A10. Lower Hold and Crew Berths: :
Sixteen pillars support the deck above this spacious hold. At night, the Wormwood’s common pirates tie their hammocks between the walls and pillars and sleep until dawn. Two of Mr. Plugg’s toadies, Kipper and Patch Patchsalt, have claimed the far forward section of the hold as their own, and their hammocks are strung between the foremast and the stairs leading up to the middle hold (area A6).
A trap door just behind the mainmast opens onto the bilges below (area A11), and requires a DC 10 Strength check to lift. The hold is currently empty of cargo, but several footlockers line the walls. Each member of the crew has a locker, equivalent to a small chest. At the start of the adventure, only 18 of these lockers are in use (see the sidebar on page 14 for their contents), while 22 empty lockers are stacked along the walls.
