GM Rednal's Skull & Shackles (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Very true, I think the only consideration is that if I want to use Scarlet Throne, it's not native to the Privateer archetype, so I'd have to use one of my starting traits to swap for it. Either way, I'll start getting Lucas' profile page set up.

I think I'm about settled. I apologize for not posting anything lately, my wife was out of town this week and I was juggling child with everything else and completely forgot.

I do have everything finished and mostly moved to an alias. I'll get it set up post-haste today (I hear the child giving the cry of his people and my wife is napping from her over-the-sea adventure so maybe not now).

I think I'm gonna use Steel Serpent for my melee option; as a switch hitting build, I'll be starved enough for feats that I don't want to add in the Galactus-sized hunger that is TWF, and passing on Scarlet Throne will let me grab Disable Device as a class skill with a trait, plus, as I said, SS plays into that snake thing I've got going. :-)

Alright, I think everything's all set.

I'm getting there. Got a few things I have to work out and enter manually, mainly due to the Privateer archetype not being in Hero Lab. But I'm close enough to ready that I feel good here.

Rednal, Privateer has a class feature that adds 1/2 level as a bonus to a few skills, among them several Knowledge skills (dungeoneering, geography, & local). It's not typed, so I'm assuming it stacks with the bonus from Bardic Knowledge, yes?

(EDIT: gotcha, and I get it on Profession (sailor), which I've been led to believe you check against like, a gazillion times)

P.S. Very important. I'm going bananas trying to decide on a forum avatar for this guy. If any of you see ones you think work for this, I'm open to suggestions!

The general rule of thumb is that gestalt shouldn't give bonuses higher than you would normally be able to achieve. Doubling your bonus on something is definitely going higher, so I'm afraid that one's gonna have to be a "no".

(You still get the bonus on swim checks, though! ...And in a Nautical campaign, that's probably still worth having. XD)

@Felix I know what you mean about the avatar. I'm not having much luck finding a decent replacement for Ambrose; all the demony-looking ones are a little too demony, what with the red skin and all.

That one looks pretty cool for Lucas, though.

EDIT: There's one called simply "Wizard" that's a profile view of a snake-man with his lizard tongue out. If you apply the Male filter, it shows up near the top of page 18.

I've been known to use the Items/Symbols avatars instead, and just include the picture I WANT to use in my profile. XD

Good point, Rednal. If I come across a picture that better conveys Lucas, I'll do that. Until then, I'll stuck with this one. (And yeah Hurley, I took a look at that fellow you found, but of the two I think I'll stick with the current one.)

Lucas still needs one final pass, I may tweak a starting feat/spell/maneuver/etc. s/b done by EOB today, but the core of him is set.

In light of the "final pass" referred to above, I decided to go more for archery than swordplay. I'll adjust Lucas' sheet accordingly tonight (for instance, Feat will become PB and Precise Shot, I might ditch the rapier).

All set! I think.

Hurley? Are you set?

Quite. I've looked at some other options, but I'm pretty satisfied with the build I've got. I flirted with going cavalier instead of swashbuckler to eventually PrC into Battle Herald, but that gets...messy.

Pipe us aboard!

Nn. XD In that case, could I trouble you to add the descriptions of your abilities to your profile? (It makes finding stuff muuuuuch easier when I need to reference it.)

I'll get the first post up soon!

Sure thing!

Aaaaaand we're off! o wo

I have a question. I tried to do a cursory amount of research before we started, and most of what I was reading made it sound like pirates didn't often shanghai crew when in port. Most of what I read made shanghai-ing and the press gangs to be tools of navies and merchant marines, especially the British.

To a Golarion native (especially one trained in Profession (sailor)), would our current predicament seem unusual?

EDIT: filing under J for, "Just go with it, Felix". :-D

The Shackles do basically whatever the Free Captains feel like doing. Forced labor onboard ships isn't terribly unusual in the region, although it's considerably less likely to happen if you're already known to belong to someone's crew. Each Captain has their own way of recruiting.

Based on my own research and experience with the AP, most pirate fiction is rife with historical inaccuracies. A lot of it is complete bunk. This AP is no different.

The most immediate example I can think of is the trope of the quartermaster acting as representative of the crew and providing a check on the captain's power. Buried treasure is another big one.

Just something to keep in mind going forward.

From my reading, the gold standard for historical fiction in the age of sail is Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels. The movie Master and Commander was based on them.

@GM Rednal The statblock is updated with descriptions of special abilities as requested.

Aaaaand don't forget that this isn't even pretending to be historically accurate - it's Golarion, not Earth. XD They may use pirate tropes, but it's with a hefty dose of magic and fantasy on top.

Nn. XD In that case, could I trouble you to add the descriptions of your abilities to your profile? (It makes finding stuff muuuuuch easier when I need to reference it.)

I'll get the first post up soon!

How much detail would you like? I try to provide near word for word sections in the spoilers below the primary reference sheet in my profile. I too forget things easily and prefer if they are easily accessible XD.

I'll probably get around to hyperlinking more of the information later like I did with Divination (Far too much to copy+paste for that one).

Everything that's relevant. o wo b The whole point of a character sheet in your alias is to serve as a quick and easy reference. The fewer clicks, the better.

...

Which is why things besides the daily abilities count don't need to be hidden behind spoilers. XD

...Well that was a pretty poor first showing for Atsadi. Nice rolling from Lucas though!

Everything that's relevant. o wo b The whole point of a character sheet in your alias is to serve as a quick and easy reference. The fewer clicks, the better.

...

Which is why things besides the daily abilities count don't need to be hidden behind spoilers. XD

Spoilers removed :P

I've always been a fan of them for acting as page breaks in a way. I do suppose just drawing a line of ----- and making certain text bigger would do the same.

I do suppose just drawing a line of ----- and making certain text bigger would do the same.

FWIW, if you make a long line of characters, dashes, equal signs, whatever, please break them up every so often with a space? If it's one titanic line of text it makes things difficult for some mobile browsers.

Raven, I don't think you fall unless you miss the DC (10 here) by 5 or more. I don't think you fell the second time.

(Feel free to correct my faking-it rules mastery here...)

That's correct.

A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained.

EDIT: Ambrose's dialogue should instead read, "That one will make a fine rigger." Because, you know, falling :P

I swear I read that roll as a 5.

I'm obeying the rules for phobias as presented here.

@GM Rednal I hadn't intended to force the issue, at least not this soon, but how do you interpret the interaction of energy resistance and damage from environmental sources? Does Ambrose's fire resistance grant him protection from the sweatbox?

I did some searching, and while the closest thing I found to an official clarification comes from James Jacobs here.

Claxon wrote:

James,

Can you make a ruling about the effectiveness of cold/fire resistance and evironmental dangers of heat and cold? Does cold/fire resistance negate the dangers of cold/heat? Does it reduce the lethal damage one would take if the fail the associated save? Does one get a bonus to fortitude save for their resistance? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Damage from cold temperatures is cold damage. Damage from hot temperatures is fire damage.

(Sits back and waits for someone to run with this post and cause a big scene over in the rules forums.)

Asking for rules clarification isn't forcing an issue. XD As players, seriously, feel free to ask about any rule at any time. In this case, though, I'd say Mr. Jacobs is right. Among other things, it makes sense that creatures with cold resistance wouldn't die from being in cold climates, for example, and generally wouldn't need to make saves just to live normally.

Also, "Any creature with fire resistance is immune to the effects of the sweatbox." (This is referencing the nonlethal damage you'd take - but it's still uncomfortable as heck, and they're not above dehydrating you in it. Fire Resistance won't stop that.)

And Raven, if we're gonna talk bad die rolls, you're still a long way from the ignominy that was the Zohruk/Ardis Slap Fight Fiasco. That effing scarred me for life. :-)

Hoo boy, that one was fun to watch!

Raven, you want cook duty or you want me to take it? It looks like neither of us can cook, but Ambrose at least has prestidigitation to make things tasty. Plus, that'll make it two Ambroses in the kitchen.

Hoo boy, that one was fun to watch!

Really? That was so disheartening to play out, I guess I'm glad someone got some entertainment value out of it. :)

On the plus side, my Hell's Rebels vigilante, Domitius (aka Dukkan) is riding a hot streak that's just about the perfect oopposite of that. Everything he swings his falcata* at, dies, often messily. His batting average makes Ted Williams look like, well, like Zoh. :)

*If you've never played a character who wields a falcata, I can't recommend it strongly enough. That 19-20/x3 crit is just beuatiful.

You take the cooking duty. Atsadi will just burn everything.

And yes...I hesitated to bring up that incident. Hopefully you can keep the streak you made with your climb checks, Redblade!

You might be on to something with 'Shackled'. Gonna mull that one over a bit.

And out of character, feel free to call me Felix. :)

Speaking of things burning, I should tell you guys about the time another three-player team of gestalt characters I was running died to a couple of burning skeletons...

Speaking of things burning, I should tell you guys about the time another three-player team of gestalt characters I was running died to a couple of burning skeletons...

*Ghostly Apparition* Yes. Yes, tell them of our fate. Let it become theirs...(to be fair, you gave them surprise, won init, and rolled max damage :P)

Aaaah! Lurkers!

Quick, grab them and hold them for ransom! o wo/

"Eli, don't go spooking people in random private games. Sorry Yiddy, I'll just snatch him and we're on our way. I just came by to bring you some Blueberry Pie and he kind of tags along since his unfortunate run-in with those burnybones! I'll...just leave the pie on this Tiefling. On second thought he seems dirty so I better just leave it on the floor! Have a nice decade!"

Wikipedia tells me that "shanghaiing" was called that because Shanghai was a very common destination for ships, especially those with captive crews. A synonym contemporary with that phrase is "crimping", as men who forced sailors onto ships in this manner were called "crimps".

It might be helpful to explain the daytime/nighttime action system and how all that works. If you feel like throwing it into the Campaign Discussion tab, here's an example that you could copy.

Oh, I plan to - we just haven't actually gotten there yet. XD

I vaguely remembered the actions from the one time I ran this years ago. Ish. Kind of.

So what you're telling us is that we don't want to lose initiative, and should put Jeggare in front to take max damage first so the rest of us can run?

So what you're telling us is that we don't want to lose initiative, and should put Jeggare in front to take max damage first so the rest of us can run?

I have no idea where you're getting that idea. Maybe there was an unfortunate lost-in-translation moment ;)

Also, remember that idea I had for a Dahak dragon cultist? There's a counterpart to that concept that doesn't have to be CE by default. There's a copper dragon ghost in Rahadoum that has an ongoing feud with the cult of Dahak. He occasionally dispatches mortal agents, which would require one to travel to the Shackles to battle the cult. Rahadoumi copper dragon sorcerer pirate anyone?

Atsadi Tonga wrote:

So what you're telling us is that we don't want to lose initiative, and should put Jeggare in front to take max damage first so the rest of us can run?

I have no idea where you're getting that idea. Maybe there was an unfortunate lost-in-translation moment ;)

Also, remember that idea I had for a Dahak dragon cultist? There's a counterpart to that concept that doesn't have to be CE by default. There's a copper dragon ghost in Rahadoum that has an ongoing feud with the cult of Dahak. He occasionally dispatches mortal agents, which would require one to travel to the Shackles to battle the cult. Rahadoumi copper dragon sorcerer pirate anyone?

Well ain't you just chock-full o' cool ideas. ;)

Well I had an interesting day. FBI called me because one of the probationers I work with is convinced his family, his former boss, the housing authority, and his girlfriend's family are in a conspiracy to kill him for his life insurance policy. It should be noted he has no health care and doesn't have any life insurance policies. Now he won't leave the house due to fear of death.

...I love/hate this job some days. Hilarious stories. Mind-boggling situations.

Write a book about them. o wo/ Inside stories of the mental health industry and suggestions for what could be done to help.

This is my second certifiable, far out there, paranoid client. I'd much rather someone else had them on their caseload! I'm not equipped for dealing with mental health offenders long-term. Then again, I'm mostly hoping to get a position working with research/statistics/GIS.

As an aside, between finding the angry, sulky pirate and falling down the mast, Atsadi's not doing so well on this ship so far! Poison indeed!

Nn. XD

...I actually was randomizing who you met, by the way. The important thing to know is that as you meet more people (and crew you HAVE met are being added to the info tab!), you'll have more control over who you focus your interactions on, and can start to really take control.