GM WhtKnt's Open Water - A Skull & Shackles Adventure Path

Game Master WhtKnt

top left Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (5) + (4) + (1) = 10 LN STAR Queen Mother
Top Middle Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (3) + (9) + (1) = 13 CE SHEILD The Waxworks
Top Right Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (5) + (5) + (1) = 11 N STAR The Owl
Middle left Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (1) + (7) + (2) = 10 LG HAMMER The Paladin Inverse
Center Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (2) + (8) + (1) = 11 NE KEY The Sickness
Middle Right Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (6) + (9) + (2) = 17 CE CROWN The Liar Inverse
Bottom Left Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (5) + (4) + (1) = 10 LN BOOK The Inquisitor
Bottom Middle Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (1) + (4) + (1) = 6 Bottom Middle Reroll: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (4) + (5) + (1) = 10 N BOOK The Forign Trader
Bottom Right Card: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (1) + (7) + (2) = 10 Bottom Right Reroll: 1d6 + 1d9 + 1d2 ⇒ (4) + (2) + (1) = 7

Harrow readings tell 3 story's about the past present and future of an individual, each is a line on the mat, the left card is the past middle is present and right is future.

A young elven woman walks up to a lone table carrying a tarot box and mat, she pulls a chair up and seems to enter a trance for a moment incanting in Alko "ଆମେ କୁଆଡେ ଯିବା" (Where shall we go now my friends) before drawing her deck out of its box carefully and shuffling. after 13 passes she lays the deck out and draws the first card on the top left of her mat revealing a gilded card depicting a huge formian queen sitting in a throne on the shoulders of 4 workers "Ah the queen mother for my recent past, an all to familiar sight. I suppose my friends the Fates want my path to diverge from the overruler then?" she murmurs to herself as she draws the next card.

this one flips into a grewsome scene of a torture chamber with 3 of what you can only assume are humanoids being torn to shreds on the wrack which she quickly drops into its place next to the Formian queen. "the Waxworks" she starts with a slight grimace before continuing "I suppose I'll have to go to some unsavory places to find the group I'm looking for then, I'll have to manage" she moves on quickly flipping another.

As she turns the third card it uncovers a silvered owl gliding down from a tree top which she places to the right of the chamber card, "But I suppose at least I'll be able to get the understanding I seek in this place." she says as she finishes the first line

She then moves her deck down to the middle of the mat and draws a 4th card laying down a Holy knight clad in radiant full plate with a glowing sword upside down on the left of the mat "Paladin in inverse, interesting, I suppose I have skirted my duty a bit" seeming to want to brush past that Cassandra continues.

drawing a card of a black and green cloud coming over a port town she places it directly in the center of the mat. "Sickness" She looks up for a moment and says "you really want me to suffer here don't you" before looking back down to the task at hand "Onward we press I suppose" She finishes before drawing again

She uncovers the next card placing it center right in inverse revealing a Jester in greyscale whispering into the ear of a king "the liar, I suppose you want me to take you more at your face value huh." Cass says as she looks up gesturing towards the heavens "Well maybe if you prove yourself to me a bit longer I will" she finishes before moving on to the final row

She continues and draws out the final card of the past revealing a priestlike figure clad in black white and red wielding a whip of chain and a book Cass lets out a short and soft chuckle before mumbling to herself "Damn, well if it isn't "insult the Tyche name" day up there huh? leave my old man out of this, he was never worth the skin on his nose anyway" she finishes before grabbing at the deck and knocking aside the two top cards.

She grabbed one before she could tell if it had been on top or the second and placed it down center bottom, when she flipped it the card reveled a beautiful mosaic of colors in a shop in a hut "The foreign trader, I guess its time for change huh" she says before thinking for a moment "Just hope its a move up but if the rest have been any sign I doubt it"

Finally Cass draws the last card and places it bottom right reveling a centaur clad in what looks like trash but the longer you look the more it seems to glitter and glow. "The wanderer? well I think I may know what's happening here" She starts "You"[b] Cass says as she points up to the heavens once more [b]"want me to go back and embrace my heritage huh, do what I always said I was going to" she takes a moment to think S~~*, this is a bad idea, it has to be a bad idea. But I suppose who am I to fight Fate and would I forgive myself if I tried to? [/b]You want me to be a pirate.[/b]

Cassandra was born in Absalom or at least that's what her parents told her, when she was very young too young to remember she was thrown into a cargo ship bound for the Mawangi expanse by her birth parents in secret who wanted to be rid of her but the ship was taken by Pirates who found her and took pity, 2 older Pirates decided to retire and raise her. they told her that her father was a judge who had been killed in the raid that they found her in. they were quite fond of the Occult and taught her how to read harrow from a young age, she became quite good at interpreting and told peoples Harrows from all over in taverns inns and everywhere she could. She made good money simply reading fortunes but found that she wanted more so she started working as a witch helping to heal a town but found that bad luck seemed to strike her whenever she stopped Harrowing, so she shifted to follow the whims of the Harrow and do what she interpreted her fortune to be each morning, she started learning more spells from her deck and then was able to help people and hurt others depending on her daily harrow.

Cass works as a buff/debuff specialist, she also has some battlefield control stuff but mostly buff/debuff.

Rogar v2
Dwarf alchemist 10 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 26)
N Medium humanoid (dwarf)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +15
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Defense
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AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 93 (10d8+40)
Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +5; +2 vs. poison, +4 vs. spells and spell-like abilities
Immune poison
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.
Ranged blinding bomb +10/+5 (blindness) or
. . bomb +10/+5 (5d6+5 fire)
Special Attacks bomb 15/day (5d6+5 fire, DC 20)
Alchemist Extracts Prepared (CL 10th; concentration +15)
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 5
Base Atk +7; CMB +7; CMD 19 (23 vs. bull rush, 23 vs. trip)
Feats Brew Potion, Healing Hands, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Signature Skill (Heal), Steel Soul[APG], Throw Anything
Traits barroom talespinner, precise treatment
Skills Acrobatics +7 (+3 to jump), Appraise +9 (+11 to assess nonmagical metals or gemstones), Craft (alchemy) +18 (+28 to create alchemical items), Diplomacy +11, Fly +10, Heal +19, Knowledge (arcana) +18, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge (planes) +15, Perception +15, Profession (cook) +6, Profession (sailor) +6, Spellcraft +18, Survival +6 (+8 while at sea), Swim +5; Racial Modifiers +2 Appraise to assess nonmagical metals or gemstones
Languages Common, Dwarven
SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +10), discoveries (blinding bomb[UM], bottled ooze[UM], fast bombs, infusion, tumor familiar[UM]), mutagen (+4/-2, +2 natural armor, 100 minutes), poison use, saltbeard[ARG], swift alchemy
Other Gear alchemist starting formula book
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Special Abilities
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Alchemy +10 (Su) +10 to Craft (Alchemy) to create alchemical items, can Id potions by touch.
Blinding Bomb (1 min) (Su) When the alchemist creates a bomb, he can choose for it to detonate very brightly. Creatures that take a direct hit from a blinding bomb are blinded for 1 minute unless they succeed at a Fortitude save.

Creatures in the splash area that fail t
Bomb 5d6+5 (15/day, DC 20) (Su) Thrown Splash Weapon deals 5d6+5 fire damage.
Bottled Ooze The alchemist has learned how to preserve a sample of oozes in a sealed bottle, which he can prepare for use as an extract. When the alchemist activates the extract, he actually throws the bottle at a square within 30 feet, releasing the ooze, which
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Familiar Bonus: +2 bonus on CMB checks to start and maintain a grapple You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Fast Bombs (Su) Throw multiple bombs as a full-round action.
Greed +2 to Appraise to determine price of nonmagic goods with precious metals or gemstones.
Immunity to Poison You are immune to poison.
Infusion Create an extract can be used by anyone but takes up a slot until used.
Mutagen (DC 20) (Su) Mutagen adds +4/-2 to physical/mental attributes, and +2 nat. armor for 100 minutes.
Point-Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Poison Use You do not risk poisoning yourself accidentally while poisoning a weapon.
Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2.
Saltbeard +1 to attack/+2 to AC Gain bonus to att/AC vs. aquatic/water foes. +2 to Sailor/Survial checks at sea.
Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch.
Speak with Animals (Ex) Your familiar can communicate with animals similar to itself.
Speak with Familiar (Ex) You can communicate verbally with your familiar.
Steel Soul Hardy's save vs. spells and spell-like abilities becomes +4
Swift Alchemy (Ex) Construct alchemical items in half the normal time.
Throw Anything Proficient with improvised ranged weapons. +1 to hit with thrown splash weapons.

I am an experienced poster who generally can post once a day to every two days. I will communicate when I can't post or if I have concerns that can be easily resolved through civil discussion. I can point to prior GMs and players who can vouch for me as a player if needed.

I've also gotten into disagreements with some GMs--and left games as a result--over one of two issues:
1. I advocate for player agency; save for obvious circumstances (consented-to botting, mind control, GMs summarizing combat actions already declared, GMs doing GM-appropriate things like rolling Perception checks), players should describe their own PCs' actions, feelings, and reactions, and others shouldn't write those things for them.
2. Given we are in a public global forum full of strangers, I do not wish my PCs to engage in scenarios involving flirtation, propositions, romance, affectionate or intimate touching, sex, abuse, or harassment. If someone *really* wants to go in that direction, I ask they speak to me first, out of character, before posting it IC.

Besmara? She is a good goddess to follow for any pirate and I honor her, but I am not her priest. Gozreh, they of two forms takes her sea she shape on the waters, and only a fool mocks them, but the only god of the sea or sky, and I am not a priest of they, no. So many gods sail the seas, if you but look, but only one calls the Tengu his people. He is Hei Feng, Duke of Thunder, he of the smoking feathers, the sword of lightning in his hand, and gentle blessed rains and terrible storms are his to gift: I am his priest.

I remember many of my father’s words of wisdom before I was taken from my family. Words such as “Before you judge another, you should walk a mile in their sandals. That way when you judge them, you are a mile away and have their sandals”, “Don’t sweat the small things and don’t pet the sweaty things” “Life is an onion, you peel one layer at a time, and it makes you cry.” I would later learn father stole these sayings from many sources, but that’s wise too. Bits of Wisdom are like pearls on a shore, if someone was stupid enough to forget them, they’re free for the taking.

But I digress. One wisdom my father told me was this “Don’t let any human tell you what a Tengu is, they haven’t the beak or the brains for it.” And suddenly, my heritage was not something PRESSED upon me that I would rebel against, but a prize non-tengu might strip away; and like any youth I became rebellious and held to it tighter. I embraced the worship of Hei Feng at a young age. I chose to be a priest and learned what I could. I had not gotten far when I was abducted as a youth by pirates who drugged me, and took me upon their ship as their ‘Jinx Eater’; a task I had heard of but had little idea how to perform. They dubbed me Murkcrest, and I have kept the name save when talking to other Tengu.

I wasn’t treated unkindly, by pirate standards. Indeed, I am sure many had it harder than I. Their belief I was somehow a bringer of luck also meant they did not abuse me. I had been taken, but I had on me at the time a holy symbol of the Duke of Thunder and enough holy writings that I continued my studies. No one else on the ship spoke Tengu, so they didn’t under my conversations with Hei Feng, and in his teachings I found enough wisdom to help the crew with their bad luck. Often what they called bad luck was merely the fruits of their own stupid actions. I just had to explain it to them diplomatically. Consequence is the guest you invited but are still surprised to see when he is at your door at dinner.

They were surprised the first time I healed one of them. So was I. My value grew, my popularity too. But they had stolen me, and when my power grew enough, I left. They could not stop me. Piracy had gotten into my blood though; I LIKED it! Why shouldn’t I have pretty things as long as I apologize for taking them from foolish merchants as my god would have. Why shouldn’t I embrace the passions of living instead of sitting in some moldering shrine? Hei Feng kept answering my prayers; so I knew he agreed. I joined more than one ship, until I settled on a ship with a Tengu captain. She was a raider, a thief, a gambler and a drinker. She was wild and untamable…
and I loved her. I loved her like a gemstone loves light.
She was quick to any prize, and that proved to be her undoing. We had robbed a Cheliaxian galley, laden with more shiny trinkets than most Tengu see in their lifetimes. Oh she dripped with them.

Barnabas Harrigan must have gotten word of our success. Perhaps he wanted something on the Cheliaxin vessel for himself? Perhaps my lady captain had angered him in some private feud. I don’t care. His ship attacked by ambush while we were drunk and happy and heading to port. It was something of a blur, but the shortness of it is she died, and our ship was badly damaged. I called out to Hei Feng for help, and he answered, the ocean swelling and parting our ship with the enemy. We lost a lot overboard. Much of the treasure, a few crew members, and the body of she who I worshiped second only to my god. So I could not raise her.
When we got to shore we split what treasure we had, mourned our dead, and went on with our lives. A new Captain would be found, the ship would be repaired, and nearly half the crew would have to be replaced. I left. It was just too painful to stay on that ship no matter how much they refitted it.

Then, I learned of another ship, the Kiss of Vengeance they called it. Vengeance against who, I wondered? Stories arose that hinted at an answer. It was enough. I signed on, not as a priest but as merely a sailor who played the drums and could entertain (I am rather good with the drum, actually, and I hope it pleases the Duke of Thunder). It wasn’t like any of them seemed to recognize the holy symbol I had partly hidden anyway. My god encourages flamboyancy but I want to make sure the officers hate Harrigan almost as much as I do before I offer my full services. I think they do. And I think that time is coming.