GM of the Apes presents: The Serpent's Skull (Inactive)

Game Master R0B0GEISHA

[dice=Kara]1d20+6[/dice]
[dice=Amboy]1d20+4[/dice]
[dice=Imhara]1d20+2[/dice]
[dice=St. John]1d20+2[/dice]
[dice=Cethel]1d20[/dice]
[dice=Adornis]1d20+3[/dice]

Current NPC Attitude & Morale

Aerys Movato: Unfriendly & Shaken
Gelik Aberwhinge: Unfriendly & Shaken
Ishirou: Indifferent & Shaken
Jask Derindi: Friendly & Shaken
Sasha Nevah: Indifferent & Shaken

Survival

FOOD AND WATER:

A Medium creature requires a gallon of water and a pound of decent food each day to avoid starvation - in hot climates (such as the tropical climate of Smuggler's Shiv), characters need twice as much water each day. Small creatures require half the amount of food and water that Medium creatures do, while Large creatures require twice as much.

Smuggler's Shiv is relatively hospitable when it comes to game and fresh water, and 4 hours of hunting and foraging allow a character to attempt a Survival check. With a DC 10 success, a character provides enough food and water for himself every 2 points by which he exceeds this DC provides food and water for an additional character.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS:

Shelter is important on Smuggler's Shiv, if only to give you a place to rest and recover their strength after a day of hunting, exploring, or adventuring. There are two environmental effects on Smuggler's Shiv that shelter can help protect against: disease and heat.

Disease: Smuggler's Shiv is rife with biting flies, mosquitoes, gnats, ants, and other pests - many of which carry disease. Each day at sundown, each PC has a 25% chance of being exposed to mindfire or red ache. Sleeping in a shelter reduces the
chance ofexposure to any disease to 15%.

Heat: "Souls for Smuggler's Shiv" takes place during the height of summer, and despite frequent rainfall, the days can become very hot for 3 hours from 12:00 to 3:00 P.M. A character can avoid having to make Fortitude saving throws against the heat's effects by spending those hours in shade or shelter and not taking part in strenuous activity-but even one combat is enough to trigger a Fortitude save for hot conditions.

ESTABLISHING A BASE CAMP:

Creating a safe camp to sleep, eat, and relax in can make the difference between survival and death. A base camp needs to be located in a safe and stable location, and must adequately provide for shelter from the environment and protection against wildlife. Locating a suitable site and building a shelter requires a DC 12 Survival check and takes 8 hours. Lack of building tools imposes a -5 penalty on this check. The time required is reduced by 1 hour for every 2 points by which the Survival check exceeds DC 12, down to a minimum of 1 hour.

Once a campsite is established, it provides a safe place to rest out of the relentless heat of the sun, while the shelter and smoke from a campfire helps to ward off insects (reducing the chance of being exposed to disease to 10% per day). In addition, there are five roles that PCs or (more likely) NPCs can take up as part of their daily duties to further enhance the effects ofa campsite, as detailed below. In order to fill one of these roles, the character must spend the entire day pursuing the role.

Defender: A defender works to set traps, shore up a shelter's walls, and see to the safety of the campsite. The first time in a day that a wandering monster or hostile creature attacks the campsite, the defender's traps inflict 2d6 points of damage-divide the damage done as equally as possible among all attackers. Each additional defender assigned to a campsite increases this damage by 2d6.

Entertainer: An entertainer helps to raise hopes for rescue each entertainer grants NPCs a +2 bonus on Will saves to increase morale (see below).

Guard: Each guard reduces the chance of a wandering monster attacking the camp during the day or night by 5% (minimum chance of 5%).

Hunter: Each hunter provides enough food and water for eight Medium creatures per day.

Medic: Each medic reduces the chance of being exposed to disease by 5% and increases the number of hit points healed naturally during a night's rest in the camp by 2.

The Other Castaways

ATTITUDE:

Each NPC castaway has an initial attitude toward the PCs dependent on the PCs' backgrounds. The PCs can attempt a Diplomacy check to adjust a given NPC castaway's attitude beyond this initial attitude once per day.

The stress ofbeing shipwrecked makes it difficult to adjust an NPC's attitude to helpful during this adventure - an NPC will become at most friendly until the PCs complete that NPC's personal quest, at which point the PCs can advance her attitude to helpful. Barring abject betrayal or violence from a PC, an NPC who is adjusted to helpful in this manner remains helpful to the end of the adventure. In addition, each helpful NPC castaway reveals a secret to the PCs and grants a boon that can aid them in escaping Smuggler's Shiv.

How the NPCs act and relate to the PCs depends on their current Attitude, as outlined below:

Hostile: The NPC takes a foolish or aggressive action that may cause problems for the rest of the castaways.

Unfriendly: The NPC is standoffish and refuses to help with campsite duties.

Indifferent: The NPC is willing to serve in one of two campsite roles, based on their capabilities.

Friendly: The NPC will reveal their personal subquest.

Helpful: After completing the subquest, an NPC will become and remain Helpful for the duration of the adventure. A helpful NPC will accompany PCs on their explorations and offers PCs a one-time permanent bonus to saving throws, attacks, or the like.

Morale:

The NPC castaways react to their near-death experience in different ways, and if the PCs don't bolster their morale, they could easily fall prey to despair. Although the shock of the wreck is enough to mute their personalities initially, clashes amongst the NPCs could occur as early as the first night.

Morale has five categories: hopeful, normal, shaken, frightened, and panicked. Events can adjust each castaway's morale in one direction or the other.

Adjusting Morale: Every morning, an NPC castaway will make a DC 15 Will save. If successful, the NPC's morale will change one step towards hopeful. If the save fails, it will switch one step towards panicked. If an NPC reaches hopeful, he will no longer need to make these saves, but special events can still move his morale downwards.

Effects of Morale: Each level of morale has a different effect on the NPCs:

Hopeful: The NPC functions normally, and does not need to make Will saves to adjust morale. Diplomacy checks to improve the NPC's attitude receive a +2 bonus.

Normal: The NPC functions normally.

Shaken: The NPC is shaken.

Frightened: The NPC is shaken. Diplomacy checks to improve the NPC's attitude receive a -2 bonus.

Panicked: The NPC is shaken, and during any attack by hostile forces, she immediately becomes panicked and flees the area, heedless of danger. Diplomacy checks to improve the NPC's attitude receive a -4 bonus.

Smuggler's Shiv Legend

A. Castaway Beach
B. Wreck of the Jenivere
C2. Predator Den
D1. Shipwreck
I1. Camp
I2. Camp
L. Giant Crab
X. Dormant Volcano