Crusty's Skull and Shackles Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Crustypeanut

Alrighty guys, use this discussion thread to talk to me and each other aboot your characters. I'll get to work setting up the campaign tab itself.

Oh sod it, I had a good post going for the campaign portion and apparently I took too long. DAMNIT.

*Edit* Wait, I clicked back and it saved it.. WHEW. Note to self: Write this on a notepad first next time.

Question: Do you guys want to use Hero Points? Or do you not really care? I'm not used to using them, but I feel that this campaign could use them from time to time.. especially since I'm not a very forgiving DM ;)

Ar'Zarrcal here - regarding Hero points I have no opinion.

I am pondering potential ideas. What are your thoughts on the Waveblade Magus Archetype and the Deep caller summoner Archetype found in Wayfinder #8?

Some Paizo class ideas I was pondering - Bard (Animal Speaker or Dervish), Barbarian (Sea Reaver), Cavalier (Musketeer), Rogue (Pirate or Swashbuckler)

I will be pondering a character idea and then likely choose something within the above list that fits.

Hmm I haven't heard of those archetypes, lemme check them out, then I'll get back to you shortly on that. I've also posted some info in the campaign tab finally, though I'm not 100% done there.

Arrr! Matey's! Ordrud here.

Hero points were vital to character survival in my current Skulls campaign. Primarily, because we don't have a full caster in the party. The APL+2 encounters almost TPK us every time. For a more balanced group, I don't think hero points are that big of a deal. Frankly, it's the first D&D game that I've played with hero points. My group got used to playing with them playing Star Wars Saga Edition with Destiny Points.

@Lurking
Styvanus offered to play a rogue (pirate), but I don't know how firm he is.

Korbo is a full cleric with Chaos (Protean) and Trickery domains. I'm open to change/modify if I hear a better concept. I'm already playing a Gunslinger/Ranger (freebooter), so I want to play a caster in this game.

cheers

Hahaha Boat Shield.. that is awesome. Why have I never seen this book before :X Haven't found the archetypes yet, but so far this Wayfinder is pretty damn awesome. Damn good art, too.

Alright Lurk, I'll allow the archetypes from Wayfinder #8. They all fit the campaign thematically really well, and they don't seem too strong. This is including the Argonaut, Marine, Commander, Shoal Runner, and the two you mentioned.

You guys will likely be seeing stuff from this, now that I've got my hands on it. It looks very well made, even if it is technically 3rd-party.

Edit: Yeah I saw Styv's submission, his looks good. And your Cleric looks great, as well, though I haven't looked into great detail on everything on it yet. As for Domains, both Trickery and Chaos[Protean] are good choices. Two of Besmara's other domains, Water and Weather, are pretty damn good for this campaign too.

As for your concepts, unless I see something really out of place, they'll probably be pretty good. I'm not even going to require you guys to have any semblance of a balanced party, if you so choose.

I can also make recommendations on classes/feats/skills and such if you want. I've already ran this to level 5, so I know how the entire first book plays, even if my own players kind of slaughtered it.

Hello there! It's Talavuc.

Hero Points: I use them for every game I run at this point, so I'm good with them.

For character ideas: I play a caster in nearly every game I'm playing and have played in the past. I'd like to play a Fighter with the Brawler archetype. Race wise, either a half-orc or a vanara, depending on whats allowed and how they build (I like the monkey-men). I may have missed it, but what races are allowed.

Wayfinder #8 looks pretty awesome. I like the argonaut. I may grab stuff for my own S&S games.

Most races are allowed. Vanara are good. I just don't want people having fly or swim speeds. XD

Which races are allowed is on the campaign tab.

I have not yet settled on a character concept. Still pondering stuff and working out someone I would enjoy to play. I'll avoid Rogue and Cleric since those are handled unless I really must be one for a character idea. I have also considered a Drunken Monk (tailored to the theme - probably more of a drunken brawler) though it seems Talavuc is leaning that direction as well. I also want to read over my Paizo Animal Companion guide this evening and see if anything from that strikes my interest. I bought it and haven't yet had a chance to use anything from it.

Race wise I am leaning human, though I did have some ideas that mingled with Sylph, Suli, or another half-blood.

Well, no matter what class/race you guys pick, there are a few skills that are extremely useful in this campaign.

These include: Swim, Profession (Sailor), and Climb, although plenty of other skills will see use too. I'd avoid a few things when it comes to classes: Alchemist's cannot use their extracts underwater, although I think their bombs work. Their formula books, in addition to spellbooks for wizards and magi, are more susceptable to water and can really screw a person over if they're destroyed by water. Gunslingers, although very thematic, have the issue of not being able to fire their guns underwater without magical aid.

For those who haven't played this, there -will- be underwater combat, and you will almost always be around water. Heavy armor.. is less than recommended for those reasons.

Dont' forget that underwater, blunt and slashing weapons are at a major disadvantage, as well. Same for spellcasting, actually. You have to make a Concentration check to cast a spell underwater, unless you can breath water. And don't get me started on fire magic :P

That being said of course, those classes that are hampered underwater will do fine above water. Theres more above water action than underwater, but they'll just be less than useful underwater, without aid.

@Crusty

I read over your Campaign Info and have only two issues FWIW:

Hp I detest rolling for hit points. I think the half plus one hit points per level is one of the underestimated evolutions of the game. Before that, I felt that every character I played had less than average hit points, which aggravated me to no end. Please give the option.

Death I'm not a big fan of putting the replacement character one level behind. At first blush, it appears to motivate the player to avoid death; however, I believe all good players are significantly motivated to keep their creations alive. I feel that the policy actually penalizes the party who now has one character one-level weaker than the average. Yes, at higher levels the gap effectively closes, but until then it can be painful. I would suggest the replacement character comes in at APL with average party wealth.

This being written (i.e. that being said), I completely respect your decision to run the game however you want, so take my comments for a couple of coppers.

cheers

#1: Actually I usually allow that if the player wishes, anyways. I totally forgot to write it down in the rules though.. thank you for reminding me. So yes, you may either roll or take average +1, up to you.

#2: Hmm.. I'll give it some thought. Since we are going to be heavily roleplaying, in addition to having intense combat, it is true that you guys are likely to try and avoid death anyways. I've never had enough deaths in my campaigns to decide which I like better anyways.

What are your thoughts on being at the Average Party Level, but being behind one level when it comes to wealth? Its very likely the other players will have salvaged your previous character's loot, so it might be bringing in too much money to the party if I gave you full WBL.

What are your thoughts on being at the Average Party Level, but being behind one level when it comes to wealth? Its very likely the other players will have salvaged your previous character's loot, so it might be bringing in too much money to the party if I gave you full WBL.

First, thanks for the positive reception of my comments.

My skulls campaign is at 7th-level, and we're WAY behind Wealth By Level (WBL). Maybe we're doing it wrong or investing too much in our crew and ship.

I think any replacement character should NOT be wealthier than the average party, which is why I wrote average party wealth, as opposed to WBL. Besides "average party wealth" will be a bit subjective, because who really accounts their character's wealth in total gp value all the time? Not me.

cheers

Thats true. My own players are above their WBL, with 6 players, but I did add a little bit of extra loot at the end of Book 1.. still, they also did not put too much effort in their crew or ship, although they're working on adding a full compliment of cannons to their ship at 3000 gp a pop (They can craft them). They have.. four? so far. They just hit 5th level last time we played.

Then again, they're also very book-keeping oriented, and loot EVERYTHING they can get their grubby little hands on and don't let even a silver piece get away. They're even planning on having the Summoner pick up crafting feats for magic items, since his Summoner is all but useless except for the odd spell. His Eidolon does all of his work.

So I guess to keep it simple we'll do that - new characters brought in will be of average party level and will get average party wealth, unless it ends up giving you guys too much money. But I guess if you keep dying, and adding new characters, you might NEED the extra gold he he he.

I'll change the campaign tab to reflect this.

And no problem about the positive feedback, I'm both a lenient DM and harsh DM at the same time.. but for all the different reasons. I enjoy feedback about how I'm doing or certain rules, as long as its constructive. When I played my Roll20 campaign, I had a guy constantly looking at the book, messaging me about things I wasn't doing according to the book, and complain about other things I did. Granted, one thing I did was my fault for sure, and that was for the past few years, even after moving to Pathfinder, I was stuck with the idea that a natural 1 on a skill check was a auto-failure and an natural 20 on a skill check was an auto-success (within reason). I was not aware it wasn't the case for skills, as it was so ingrained in habit for both me and my RL players. He got pissed off when three people fell from climbing due to natural 1's.. him from 50-feet up, to boot.

Won't be using that in this, though.

Late to the party, I'll be able to post something far meatier when I get home tonight. I love hero points (mostly because I'm a big Savage Worlds fan, I think).

I will say briefly that I would like to avoid any arcane-influenced character of any sort. I just finished playing a Witch in a table-top game, and have a sorcerer and a necromancer (Fenyx) going elsewhere right now. If we're hard up for something in the vein of divine casters, I am not opposed at all to Clerics or Oracles.

We have a cleric already, though if you want to go with a cleric with vastly different skills, I can't see there being a huge issue. Korbo's cleric is a flighty, agile Tengu Cleric of Besmara with the Chaos and Trickery domains, apparently with plans on getting Crane Style.

Clerics and Oracles can be made into so many different styles.. you could do with an entire group full of them and be alright. I've certainly been wanting to try a Bad Touch Cleric sometime myself.

Theres also a Rogue with the Pirate Archetype, unless Styv changes his mind on that.

The other two are looking at some kind of CQC types.. though Ar'Z did mention a Magus or Summoner.

Theres also the Druid.. which can easily blur the line between offensive caster, support caster, and melee brute. :P

*Edit* In fact, I'd highly recommend a druid, either a Storm Druid or Shark Druid. Both's skills would be amazing in this campaign, and would fill a niche different than the cleric. Much of this campaign is out in the open, where a druid can shine.

Styv here(or Bi0philia)

here's the rogue.

I'll work on updating the character tomorrow.

All of you, don't forget to use the stat block I provided right under the Character Creation. It makes it a ton easier for me to read if you use that format. I've done the worst of the work for you, all you need to do is replace Kain's info with your own :P

I think I've settled on something. Shackleborn Tiefling (Kyton-Spawn); Oracle of Metal. Haven't settled entirely on the non-Kyton portion of the heritage. Initial concept was half dwarf, but I might end up switching that up.

(And yes, the irony of it being a shackleborn race that is not actually from The Shackles in an AP called Skull & Shackles is not lost on me; I'll just say it's a sign of approval from those on high.)

Quick question—and I'll go ahead and post the rolls in case the answer is yes—if I wanted to take Fiendish Heritage as a Feat, would that be okay? I won't be heartbroken if the answer is no, but I just wanted to check before I completely sold myself on that route.

And now for teh rolling:

1d100 ⇒ 45
1d100 ⇒ 61
1d100 ⇒ 9

Yeah go ahead and take that feat, I'z no problem with it. Also nice rolls.. bonus to disguise checks (potentially useful in this campaign), instant shield, armor, or gauntlet spikes, or a bonus +2 to Cha! Nice rolls indeed XD

No ETA on the campaign yet, but you guys aren't in any rush. I'm just trying to get Teladon to join now, in addition to continuing to make adjustments and organizing myself, which sadly I did not do the first time I ran this. I regretted it.

Also, Styv, I didn't mention this, but I do like your rogue so far, though how did he get that Dodge bonus to AC?

Actually, Kage, you don't need to take that feat. Since Aasimar have something similar, without needing to spend a feat for it, I'm going to rule the same thing for Tieflings.

So just pick your Tiefling Heritage and use those three rolls. Anyone else who wishes to pick Aasimar/Tiefling may do the same, use three rolls.

My own Aasimar in Lucent's Roll20 campaign I did this with. He's an Emberkin and got the +2 to Strength alternate racial. He's a Cleric of Fire and Artifice, who plans on building a Clockwork Soldier and modify it so he can use it as armor. :3

Edit: Also don't forget to roll on that alternate physical feature list. Might turn out to add a few interesting things ;P (You don't have to, though)

It's just his combat expertise bonus factored in.

I considered making him an emberkin though. I'll see what the dice might say about variant abilities.

Rolls

interesting, if i go that route it'll either be the first or last option.

All of you, don't forget to use the stat block I provided right under the Character Creation. It makes it a ton easier for me to read if you use that format. I've done the worst of the work for you, all you need to do is replace Kain's info with your own :P

I can modify my stat block to yours if necessary. But it won't be until Monday.

So do we need an arcanist? Or at least someone with area of effects? My current Skulls game has no AoE caster. We should have been TPKed twice when the flying, invisible sorcerer attacks. The GM gifted us with some Monty Haul gifts and stupid sorcerer tactics for us to prevail. Not being able to have character death removes the challenge of the game for me, which is aggravating.

I'll run a sorcerer if no one volunteers, because it's my issue.

cheers

Well, don't expect NPCs to be stupid just for the sake of your lives in this campaign. I'm going to be playing them as I'd expect them to act, even if it ends up being quite ruthless. Though some will act stupid, depending on the NPC or creature.

And I know what Sorcerer you were mentioning.. I was getting close to that encounter and wanted to run it so badly.

Do remember that, if you do not have an AoE caster, you can somewhat make do with alchemical weapons. Acid, Alchemist's Frost, Burst Jar, Fuse Grenades, Pellet Grenades (I love those last two), etc. Also, a rogue with a good UMD skill (Your rogue is charismatic enough to do that, Styv) can work well enough if you can get a hold of scrolls and wands.

I'm a huge fan of playing smart with alchemical weapons, personally. You guys should've seen this tribe of goblins I made for a homebrew campaign I'm semi-working on. They are scary, and they're only level 1 warriors. Half of them use heavy metal shields with torch sconces in one hand, and Keros oil in the other, fighting defensively and having roughly 20 AC and still a +1 attack (Touch) with fire. Their allies behind them are throwing flasks of oil and alchemist's fire. The floor is littered with caltrops and marbles, which means double the chance of something happening to you. I love those goblins :3

It's just his combat expertise bonus factored in.

Ah gotcha. Well, do remember that the combat expertise bonus only applies once you've made some kind of melee attack, rather than all the time.

I can modify my stat block to yours if necessary. But it won't be until Monday.

No rush at all, I'm just reminding everyone that I'd like it done. Makes it far easier for me to read it, and so I'll have a less of a chance missing things.

Fair enough. Blaster sorcerers are not my favorite, and I'd prefer to play Korbo. It's just the lack of AoE blasters is painful in a particularly wide-open combat settings that are typical for Skulls, as opposed to dungeon crawls.

cheers

alright so I'm really not trying to play another "captain" type character, and that's the feel I'm getting with him as a rogue. I'm going to give the character a reboot and build him as an arcanist.

So he'll be "Red Beard"Runolf the Sea Witch.

Thats true, he did seem like he'd be an awesome Captain. Sea Witch sounds good, and solves the problem of arcane caster all at once!

And Korbo can stick with his Tengu Cleric if he so wishes :P

And one more question, what does our alignment lineup look like? I'm currently trending towards NE with what little backstory I've drummed up thus far, but I don't want to force a sociopath on a group that can't tolerate it.

As it stands, Korbo and Redbeard are both CN. I'm unaware of the others.

I'll go ahead and slate her as thus, but if it raises concerns I will alter it to something less eeeevil.

Haha up to you! I had a mix of good and evil players in my RL group. Then all of them took the dive to neutral or evil after a certain event. It was glorious that I was able to create such hate for a certain few characters that would drive the players to do what they did.

I'm eyeballing Ship's Surgeon, but the Craft (Carpentry) is pretty far afield from the character. Can I swap it for Craft (Clothing) and go with the whole needle-and-thread wound-stitching route instead?

Well you do have a lot of piercings I'm assuming.. so go ahead. It would mean you were the guy to go to for fixing sails and the like, instead of carpentry. Makes enough sense, and its a simple change from one craft skill to another, so they're equal enough.

All of you, don't forget to use the stat block I provided right under the Character Creation. It makes it a ton easier for me to read if you use that format. I've done the worst of the work for you, all you need to do is replace Kain's info with your own :P

Done. A couple issues with your stat block:

cheers

Ah yes, Marcellano doesn't have spells and the like.. I should probably add that in for you guys.

Vertical lists for skills and items is fine. I just want them to be in the right area so I can find 'em easy.

I'll add the spells stuff for you guys so you can see how I want it. In fact I'll probably use an alternate character, who has that sort of thing.

Can you copy my format for spells?

I was using the base Beastiary stat block for spells, and I've got it up on the campaign page. Feel free to use yours as well, though, if it helps you out. I don't mind extra stuff at the bottom or below the main stat block, as players who want to put notes and stuff are perfectly allowed to do so. I just need the main stat block for ease of DMing. If its not in a familiar format for me, I'm more prone to missing things.

I've also added the Favored Class as requested, its near the Experience Points.

(Kage/Fenyx here) I should have everything statted up and ready tonight, but I think I'm settled on the tiefling oracle for sure. Went with human as a base rather than dwarf, for previously mentioned reasons. Will still be going tentatively Neutral Evil, though as I said before, if any one thinks they might take issue with that, let me know and I'll budge on it.

Will still be going tentatively Neutral Evil, though as I said before, if any one thinks they might take issue with that, let me know and I'll budge on it.

I personally don't have a problem with any alignment in the party. For me, it's always how the character is played with respect to party cohesion. If players play their characters such that they WANT to stay connected with the party, then there is never a problem. Obviously, IMHO.

cheers

I want to ask you guys - how dark and gritty of a campaign are you alright with? Are there any particular themes, especially those you might see with pirates, that you are not ok with?

I just want to ask now so I don't accidently include something that upsets my players. That being said, I'm also fond of humor in my campaigns.. dark humor, usually, though. My sense of humor is warped from Dwarf Fortress and it's associated forums... XD

And yes, I do agree with Korbo. You can play a group with good, neutral AND evil players if you so wish - whats more important is group cooperativeness. Just look at our RoW campaign as an amazing example of that. We have Three Lawful Neutrals, all of which seem closer to Lawful Evil than Lawful Good, then we have Four Chaotic Goods, and a Neutral Good. Kind of a nuts party, but we've been doing very well so far.

In a nutshell, she'll just lack a conscience. I figger that won't be much of a problem in a very pirate oriented game, but wanted to play it safe.

I want to ask you guys - how dark and gritty of a campaign are you alright with? Are there any particular themes, especially those you might see with pirates, that you are not ok with?

I don't know how to answer. Can you give examples to describe what you call "dark and gritty?"

Do you want to play with Wounds and Vigor?

I've looked at Wounds and Vigor, and I'm not hugely fond of it.. it doesn't look like a bad system, but I'm fond of good ol' simple Hit Points. I think I will allow Hero Points though.. I'm still deciding on that.

As for what kind of dark and gritty, heres one thing I'm somewhat worried about adding: First, I'm removing most of the women onboard the ships presented in the games. I'm going with the idea that women on board ships is considered 'bad luck' - I'll have a detailed description of why that will most likely be described in-game. The reason I'm doing this is because, I see pirates as being.. none too respectful of women's rights. The few women on board would have to be strong enough to take care of themselves and avoid any of the male crew's advances. There might come a time where some of the male sailors try to take advantage of a woman, and although I won't let it get 'too' bad.. you can see where I'm going with this. That being said, I'm not disallowing women characters of course! Players who play female characters just might have some issues where males would not.

Other things include mutilation, torture, gore, and just general lack of respecting basic human rights. They're pirates.. and plenty of them will sink low enough for these kinds of things. I honestly doubt the gore part would bother anyone here, as Lucent's already shown plenty of that, what with the zombies, keg of gunpowder, and my character blowing someone's jaw off. But I wanted to mention it, at least.

sorry for the flipflopping, but the character wants to be a rogue pirate so who am I to deny inspiration? : P

I'll put some ranks in UMD so that wands and that sort of thing can be an option down the road.

Hmm. Women. DnD has always been much more progressive in civil rights than real life (RL). One could always make an argument in a fantasy setting that the absence of the male dominating RL practices (church & feudalism) could remove or lessen female discrimination. Is there a particular reason you want to go that way?

Hey in RL all male prisons, prisoners "try to take advantage of" other prisoners all the time. Even in the US military, crew-on-crew violence is higher than the regular population. I would suggest crew-on-crew conflict would be shaped with the alignment of the captain and average crew. Evil crews would probably act like prisons. Maybe the neutral crews would act like the military. Maybe good crews would act like the Boy Scouts? Just saying...

As for "other things," write your story how you want. I'll play. If you do cross some line that I can't imagine at this time, I promise to PM you to let you know.

cheers

Hmm. Women. DnD has always been much more progressive in civil rights than real life (RL). One could always make an argument in a fantasy setting that the absence of the male dominating RL practices (church & feudalism) could remove or lessen female discrimination. Is there a particular reason you want to go that way?

Hey in RL all male prisons, prisoners "try to take advantage of" other prisoners all the time. Even in the US military, crew-on-crew violence is higher than the regular population. I would suggest crew-on-crew conflict would be shaped with the alignment of the captain and average crew. Evil crews would probably act like prisons. Maybe the neutral crews would act like the military. Maybe good crews would act like the Boy Scouts? Just saying...

As for "other things," write your story how you want. I'll play. If you do cross some line that I can't imagine at this time, I promise to PM you to let you know.

cheers

seconded!