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Greetings you godless curs and welcome to my recruitment for the Skulls and Shackles AP. If you are reading this then it is safe to assume that you lily livered landlubbers are sick of your safe and stable lives and you thirst for a touch of adventure.
I am new to DMing PbP, this will be my first game, and although I have run Skulls and Shackles before, I do ask for patience. I am also not all that consistent, I can be flaky and absent, but I will not disappear for more than a day or two at a time, I can promise that. If you can deal with both of these small details, then I can offer you a (hopefully) fun game. I am big on party building and heavy role playing, but not to the exclusion of roll playing, if you catch my meaning. With the success of the Humble Bundle (Everyone should be proud of that. Well done guys!), we have a lot of new people on the site, so I am going to cater to them but not exclude more experienced players at the same time. I am looking for interesting character ideas and party dynamics, rather than an ironclad knowledge of the rules.
So without further adieu, let’s get down to brass tacks -
The Skulls and Shackles AP is a Sea Based piratey adventure that will see you shanghaied at the start of the first book, and forced to work on the decks of the Wormwood, the flagship of Free Captain Barnabas Harrigan.
Races- All Core races accepted but I will allow non standard races on a case by case basis. I am pro Human I will say, but that does not mean I am anti any race. Except for Drow. I am not a fan of Drow, just my personal feelings. I will still accept a Drow character, if they have an interesting enough concept behind them.
Ability Scores- This recruitment will be using the point buy system, detailed here on the table titled “Ability Score Costs”. You have 20 points to spend as you will. Furthermore, no character may have a score higher than 20 or lower than 8, after racial bonuses and negatives have been applied.
Accepted Material- I will accept any and all Paizo material* but will have to accept 3pp only after looking it over thoroughly. I haven’t used much of it so I am not comfortable with it. I will say that Path of War is a no go for me.
*Technology guide doesn’t really fit in this part of the world but I can be convinced
Classes- As stated above I will accept any and all Paizo material, with the exception of the original Summoner. Unchained Summoner is fair game and replaces the original Summoner. Archetypes tied to the Technology guide may not make much sense, but I could be argued around to them.
Skills- I really like the use of background skills, I think it brings a new depth to characters when they have extra skill points for the option of profession skills and the like. Background skills and their explanation can be found here.
HP- Full HD at every level. You are badass sword swinging pirates not sniveling dogs who can be killed easily.
Gold and Equipment- Full gold for your class at first level but you do not start with access to your gear, as per the AP.
Traits- Three traits, one of which must be a Campaign trait, from the Skulls and Shackles Players guide, and one drawback. Characters, like people, should have flaws so choose one that makes sense and build it into your PC.
Alignment- No CE allowed. That leaves you 7 other viable alignment options to go for, so it isn’t that big a deal. CE usually ends up just being disruptive and annoying, in my opinion, so I don’t want it. And as this is a pirate based campaign, LG is also not really something that makes sense.
If there is anything I have forgotten here, please let me know.
Mechanics are a small but important part of character creation. Listed below are the Fluff aspects of your character I would like filled out -
Backstory- A short backstory, telling me how your character came to be in this position, why he is in a position to be shanghaied. Also name drop one NPC from your background, who your character has some bond with.
Appearance- Height, weight, hair colour and eye colour. Does your character have any defining scars? Do they wear any jewelry or have any tattoos? How do they dress?
Motivation- What drives your character in general? Revenge? A need to be famous? A thirst for gold? What goals do they have before being shanghaied and now after the fact?
Favourite Colour-
Favourite Meal-
Theme Tune-
The last three are just for fun, but are a good exercise in terms of trying to feel more tied to a character.
So I think that is mostly it, just one thing left to do and that is deal with formatting. There are a lot of different ways to format a character sheet on the site, and I do not think my way is the best, but it is the way I am most comfortable using so… I have spoilered a template below, that can be copy/pasted into a profile and filled in.
_____________________________________________
[b]Race[/b\]
[b]Gender[/b\]
[b]Age[/b\]
[b]Class[/b\]
[b]Init[/b\] +; [b]Senses[/b\] Perception +, Survival +
_____________________________________________
[b]BUFFS AND CONSUMABLES[/b\]
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
[b]DEFENSE[/b/]
_____________________________________________
[b]AC[/b\] +, touch +, flat-footed +
(+ Armor, + Dex)
[b]Hp[/b\] [b]Temp hp[/b\] []
[b]Fort[/b\] +, [b]Ref[/b\] +, [b]Will[/b\] +
_____________________________________________
[b]OFFENSE[/b\]
_____________________________________________
[b]Speed[/b\]
[b]Melee[/b\]
[b]Ranged[/b\]
[b]Special Attacks[/b\]
_____________________________________________
[b]STATISTICS[/b\]
_____________________________________________
[b]Str[/b\] , [b]Dex[/b\] , [b]Con[/b\] , [b]Int[/b\] , [b]Wis[/b\] , [b]Cha[/b\]
[b]Base Atk[/b\]; [b]CMB[/b\] ; [b]CMD[/b\]
[b]Feats[/b\]
[b]Traits[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]SKILLS[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]Skills[/b\]
[b]Background Skills[/b\]
[b]Languages[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]SPECIAL QUALITIES[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]SQ[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]EQUIPMENT AND GOLD[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]Load[/b\]
[b]Gear[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]APPEARANCE[/b\]
____________________________________________
[b]Height[/b\]
[b]Weight[/b\]
[b]Eye Color[/b\]
[b]Hair Color[/b\]
[b]Region of Origin[/b\]
[b]Deity[/b\]
*Remove the \ in each set of closing square brackets.
So that is everything. I will leave recruitment open for a week, so closing will be on the 12th of March at Midnight (UTC-3:30).
I look forward to seeing all of your applications.
- The Changing Tide (DarkestHeart)
Dotting for interest
Yessss finally Skulls and Shackles! Dotting :D
Sweet! Looking forward to this!
I'll bite...
Dotting for interest, but unsure of whether I'll have the time to create and post a character.
If I cannot, I'll let you know :)
interesting indeed
hello GM, tis I, your friendly little gnome, Kayla
I am dotting for interest here but unsure what to play yet.
I have a tiefling sorcerer
or a human brawler
Thanks for all the interest guys!
Hey Ed, good to see you. Looking forward to seeing your submission.
Sidewinder - Undine are all good.
Thinking up Noonan, invulnerable rager barbarian who goes around with a parrot. Who is smarter is up for debate.
You mentioned a point buy... but not how many points
Ability Scores- This recruitment will be using the point buy system, detailed here on the table titled “Ability Score Costs”. You have 20 points to spend as you will. Furthermore, no character may have a score higher than 20 or lower than 8, after racial bonuses and negatives have been applied.
Originally I hadn't but it is there, it is 20 points.
thanks
gotta re-work my character for this
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How do you feel about age categories, i.e. starting at middle age?
While I admit there would be (small) mechanical gain, the idea I am working with works best flavor wise with a character that is a bit older. Of course, I can make it work without, should you decide against it.
The concept: Undine Monk, with the Qingong, Ki Mystic, and Sensei archetypes. Her "Monkness" is less an official monastic order, and more a manifestation of how she worships/perceives the nature of the sea. She "feels the sea" move her to where she needs to be, and I'd like to angle for a character motivation along the lines of, after being press-ganged, she feels like she could escape easily enough but believes she is where the sea wants her to be, assisting the rest of the PCs (Whether or not this is actually the case is academic: she believes it to be so.)
Mechanics-wise, she'd do very little outright punching or anything. Out of combat, she'd be skill focused, perhaps with some party-face capabilities, and extremely proficient at handling things underwater via the Aquatic Ancestry feat. In combat, she'd provide party buffing via the Sensei's Baric Performance analogue, battlefield control via Hydraulic Push and the Hydraulic Maneuver feat, and occasional spell support through various Qingong abilities.
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I like the idea and have no problems with players playing with the age categories when creating their characters. If you want to be middle age, that is perfectly okay.
interested
Dotting this, maybe I can finally play that 3pp sahuagin/Malenti if permitted.
Ooooh, nice! I've wanted to get my pirate on for some time now. I'll probably have something up and fleshed out for this by Monday night.
Am I correct in assuming that this will be 1st level with standard starting gold?
It is all noted up above, in the mechanics spoiler, but yes, first level. Maximum gold per class.
Curious would you allow a Deep One Hybrid?
It totally does say that, lol. I'm good at reading. :P
I'd need to see the build, but I am open to most everything.
I'm a bit confused on animal companions. Do I grab the stats straight from the bestiary or use the stats from the Ranger/Druid page? I'm trying for a vulture
Use the stats from the ranger/Druid page, they should be listed there. I know there is a Vulture listed on the d20pfsrd site.
Yea, there is a beastiary write up but I got confused on which I use. Do they get dex bonuses as well as Natural Armor Bonus?
Noonan - Yup. They function like characters so get Dex, Natural Armour and Armour bonuses to AC, if they wear armour.
Sidewinder - I like the idea, I'll take a look at him now.
Deep One Hybrid Hunter
He would be Venerable and uses his Companion when combat begins, Using the animal focus to buff that companion.
Using his age to try and bluff his wisdom and experience.
That's a no from me. Sorry. The Venerable boost is way too good. And will totally come in to play with only 2 months.
The only reason I would go Venerable is due to the fact his physical stats are gonna take a -6.. in the case of Dex its -8
So to buy enough points to keep the stats overall balanced even with Veneral and the +2 to Wis, using the point buy I used had him at 19 Wis.
But fair enough.
Okay, got a first draft up of Noonan and his loyal vulture Polly.
Okay King Without Land, I will look him over and give him the same consideration I give every other character, build him up.
Noonan - Looks good. You are missing a trait however.
I have been absolutely dying to get into a Skull and Shackles game, color me curious!
I am a more experienced and venerable player of the boards, and I do have an ironclad knowledge of the rules that you refer to. However I focus on the roleplaying aspect - that's what we're here for! - instead of the mechanics.
However, I want to test the waters before jumping in. The character I'm wanting to play is one I've had bouncing around my head for a while, and he's never gotten to get a good campaign experience that I think he deserves. Aviz, my strix fighter.
For this campaign his background would almost be entirely the same (all under the linked alias), except that at the end he would abandon his life in Cheliax to go hunt down his father's killer, and would end up ambushed and dragged to a life at sea as a result. I think that flavorwise he would be a very good fit for this campaign, and tweaking his mechanics to fit the character creation guidelines would be no problem. Also the lawful neutral alignment wouldn't be an issue. He's more of a "follow his own strict moral code" kind of guy, not a "the law must be followed and enforced" kind of guy.
However I do know that the strix race raises two major flags with most GMs: flight and hatred of humans. Let me address the easier one first, the hatred of humans.
Hatred of humans is without a doubt a very powerful racial trait. Most people faced in most adventure paths are humans after all. Plus hating humans comes across as very difficult roleplaying-wise. There are two possible solutions to this.
1) I take the cautious brawler alternate racial trait which replaces it. Simple and easy.
2) I replace hatred of humans with hatred of elves, which works considering his backstory (an elf killed his adopted father). Definitely houserule territory, but I like the flavor and it's another easy fix.
The other problem is flight. Having a decent fly speed at low levels can feel very overpowering. In a campaign where we're prisoners on a ship, even more so. For this I have three proposed solutions.
1) I promise not to abuse it. I know that means putting a lot of faith in me, especially considering I'm not a player you're used to playing with. However I think something like the captain keeping the weapon from his backstory hidden from him could very easily persuade Aviz to not fly away. That weapon means everything to him.
2) I can take the wing-clipped alternate racial trait. It keeps the power of flying in check and requires two feats to get back to full strength. I'm not a big fan of this option, but it's there if that's your preference.
3) Another houseruled solution. I had a GM once that let me play a strix with the following rule: During his capture (for a WotW game), his wings were badly damaged. At 1st level, the wings were useless, serving no purpose but to remind him of his pain. At 3rd level they began to heal, gaining a very slow fly speed with poor maneuverability. At 5th level (where other classes gain access to flight), the wings are fully healed and function as normal.
I know this is a lot to work with, but it's a character I've really been wanting to play and just never had a chance to yet. Let me know what you think, and if you think it's something you can work with I can start working on tweaking him.
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Here is my submission! He is not 100% complete as he lacks a second trait, a second language and a theme song.
Added Destructive Blows trait
Spade - One of my largest complaints about the software of the Paizo forums is that you can't nest spoiler tags. To be fair it is semi-difficult to program.
Personally I use a series of spoilers that contain everything in my character in usually 4-6 spoilers (depending on spells and complication of the character). I shamelessly recommend my own personal guide for formatting characters on the Paizo forums.
Here's my submission! Yarrr! GM - I hope it's okay to submit a Goblin. I love these little pests, you know. If it's an issue, feel free to let me know and I'll adjust accordingly.
A quick question: must we choose a favored class?
Nephew's first birthday today, will have a build up by tonight.
Looking good so far guys, I'll have more of an indepth look a little later.
Ythiel - No, but your Class choice will do that for you, as the class you choose most will be your Favourite Class. What about not choosing it do you like? If you want, you can take your first class in something else and designate that you will be taking a different class the following level.
Greetings Camping Carl. To answer your questions (The exact two I would have had a problem with yes):I like option 2 and option 3. Let's say you have hatred for Elves, and your wings are badly damaged. If you can work the damaging of your wings in to you being shanghaied, even better.
Farren and Space, I'll look over your characters now, but looking good.
Somebody tell Bleepos I'm okay with Goblins, I know he won't / can't read this or it might steal his soul. :-P
Looking good guys. Ill check back in in awhile.
Perfect! In that case I will get down to altering Aviz to be S&S ready and will have something for you later today!
Lucille was leader of the witch’s coven, and probably the most selfish. Lucille sought only one thing, to be immortal and to serve Orcus for eternity. The rest of the coven saw Lucille’s desire a boon to their coven and a sure way to get Orcus’ favor.
For several years, the coven sought the secrets to making Lucille a Lich but to no avail; until by happenstance the coven acquired a book that held the secrets they were looking for. Where the book came from may never be known nor how the coven came to possess it.
The rituals contained with were long and complex and it would take time and lots of patience to decipher; time that Lucille was unwilling to take. In a hurried ceremony, Lucille and the coven performed the ritual to begin the process of conversion. Unbeknownst to the coven, the ritual called forth Orcus himself to grant Lucille her desire.
In their haste the coven failed to complete the needed containment runes and Orcus was not fully under the coven’s control. Orcus realized this but allowed the coven to make their request.
Lucille demanded from Orcus the power of un-death. Orcus thought a moment of her request but was not one to be ordered he decided to grant her request but with a payment to him. Lucille agreed there was nothing that she would allow to stand in her way now.
Orcus released a rotting ghoulish worm from his hand and it came at Lucille its mouth open and it latched itself to Lucille’s belly draining her soul but giving her the seed that would soon become Sasha.
Orcus told Lucille that the child she would bear would kill her and upon her death her wish would be fulfilled. Orcus told Lucille that just as the child’s birth would bring you what you desire; the child’s death would be your destruction. And with that Orcus left, returning to the Abyss.
Days passed and it soon became apparent that the book that the coven had acquired was stolen from the Red Mantis stronghold and they wanted it back. The first coven member to fall at the hand of an assassin’s blade revealed the rest of Orcus’ plan. As each Coven member died they were reborn as undead loyal to Lucille.
The coven member banded together and fled Ilizmagorti, booking passage on a merchant ship bound for the Mwangi expanse. There they hoped to hide in the jungles of the expanse until the child was born and the promise is fulfilled.
It was not more than 2 days out of port, a terrible storm developed and in the turbulent seas Lucille gave birth prematurely to a baby girl. There was but one healer on board the ship, a cleric of Besmara. He saw what was happening and thought it best to destroy both the mother and the child. He channeled Besmara’s energy to destroy them both but it seemed that Besmara had other plans.
While the energy killed Lucille it blessed the child. The next stage of Orcus’ promise now fulfilled. Besmara saw to it that Lucille’s death would remain connected to her bidding as well as Orcus’ Lucille became a Sea Lich bound to the waves taking the souls of those killed at sea fueling her growing undead army to be protected by the remainder of her coven as they each left the realm of the living and passed on to the realm of undead.
The remaining members of the coven seized control of the priest and bound him to their will (use of hexes and enchantments). The priest saw to it that Lucille’s body was committed to the sea where the transformation would be completed. The child was given the name Sasha Neville (Neville being the name of the priest that would become her surrogate father). Sasha was given a locket that once belonged to Lucille.
The merchant ship had to make port at Port Peril and the Coven, with Neville and the baby in tow, disembarked to find some refuge in this city. It was decided that the coven should split up and Neville along with Coven Member Jasmine would care for the child.
12 years passed with Jasmine and Neville making the best of a bad situation being forced to sail from port to port evading the Red Mantis where ever they went. But eventually The assassins caught up with them. They demanded the book but they were unable to produce it. The book was buried at sea with Lucille.
Neville and Jasmine were slain by the red mantis and as payment for the book they were to take Sasha. The last of the Coven now dead Sasha was the last of any bloodline associated to the cult of Orcus in the Shackles.
Sasha was to be escorted back to Mediogalti to be converted to one of the Red Mantis as there was little to fear from a mere child. Once the ship left Port Sasha struck killing her escort and managing to either kill or extort the remaining crew (note that this was not a pirate ship) Sasha learned to control the magic that flowed in her blood and make use of the blessing Besmara gave her. The ship soon made port back at Port Peril where Sasha disappeared back into the streets of the city.
A few more years went by Sasha became more and more attuned to her natural abilities. Sasha would always have a yearning for the sea feeling the call of Besmara.
Finally, she could not take it anymore she needed to find purpose in her life besides this existence. She returned to the place where the only parents she knew, Jasmine and Neville, were killed. There she found a diary that detailed everything concerning her birth and the truth of her mother. Sasha knew it was time to find a way to return to the sea and find the Sea Lich, the one she would call Mother.
Sasha decided the best place to find a ship would be the Formidably Maid in Port Peril.
Note: Sasha has no idea that the locket that she wears is actually her mother’s Phylactery and thus that is how the final phase of Orcus’ promise would be fulfilled “Sasha’s death would mean Lucille’s destruction”
Appearance- portrait
As a tiefling, Sasha is not your traditional demon spawn, her horns are actually rather small and are more on the top of her head as opposed to her forehead. She typically hides them in her pig tails hair style. She has a thin black tail that ends in the classic spade shaped point. While the tail is not really functional as an appendage she has been known to use it to cause a little mischief no and then, also it could be considered sexy to some. Sasha’s mouth looks normal most of the time, but when needed her lower jaw splits open to increase her bite and allows her to feed on a victim’s blood. This gives Sasha a minor bite attack ability.
She typically wears an old jester’s outfit. Most of the time it is covered on old dried blood from previous victims. To survive she occasionally would stalk and kill some drunk or other commoner, and feast on their corpse.
This lifestyle has made her a little crazy and many times she does not take things too seriously. That is not to say that she does not recognize the seriousness of situations when necessary.
Motivation- Shasha only recently heard the tales of what happened to her mother and her transformation to some sort of Sea lich It is her goal to reconnect with her someday but to do that she must set sail and find her.
3 question that need to be answered-
1. What position do you see yourself eventually in on a ship?
Sasha hates confined spaces but knows that that kind of thing is not likely on a ship - unless you know where to look. she has desires to be in the rigging feeling the sea air, smelling the ocean salt. becoming a master rigger or sail master.
2. How do you feel about piracy in general? (This includes stealing, killing, plundering, etc.)
Piracy is a means to an end. killing, stealing, does not matter. her goal to meet her mother and provide souls for her. This may lead to her becoming undead herself and feeding the souls of those that die at sea to her mother, even if their death is at her hand. Of course Sasha is a little nuts and she likes to have fun along the way. Killing, death, blood? It’s all a normal part of life.
3. Which campaign trait are you selecting and why?
Besmars's blessing was chosen because of the circumstances of her birth and the attempt to kill her at childbirth. it was Besmara that stepped in and saved her. but lost her mother in exchange (such was the deal between Besmara and Orcus).
Personality- Sasha loves to cause mischief and chaos whenever she can but she knows when to keep it in check. when she needs to, she is a conniving manipulator attempting to lure victims in when she is hurt to feed off of them as she needs to. She would never hurt those that she deems as friend and would give all she can to help them (well usually, she may like to lick their wounds-literally.)
She is a mash-up of Wednesday Addams, Harley Quinn, and Jinx (from League of Legends)
Favourite Colour- Red, it’s like blood
Favourite Meal- raw flesh
Theme Tune- Tough one and believe it or not, I spent most of my time on this question, anyway, I am not quite 100% on this one – this song seems like fun
Who is Sasha? A demon Spawn Tiefling sorcerer (wildblooded Sanguine bloodline) possible multi into bard (Dirge bard)