Skull and Shackles (Inactive)

Game Master Mimesyne

Welcome players!

Dot this thread, use it for chit chat and what have yous. Dot the gameplay thread, too, while you're at it.

So, here's the deal: you all have homework. Three whole homeworks, actually.

Homework 1
I need you all to change your stats. Yup. I'm sorry. I 100% f+~*ed up the stat rolling, but it's okay because I think this actually benefits most of you. You are going to be changing your stats to a focus and foible system. You will set one stat to 18, then another to 8. Then you will have 10 points to spend on your remaining four ability scores. You cannot use points to change the static 18 or 8, but you can lower and raise any of the remaining four ability scores as you see fit.
It comes to a 25 point buy total.

Homework 2
Read the Skull and Shackles Player's Guide and make sure you are familiar with the setting and your selected trait. You should consider exactly what it was you were doing the night before you awake on the Wormwood based on the campaign trait you've selected. There's always some room for a flavor wiggle, but do your best to stay true to the theme of the trait!

Homework 3
Continue reading the Player's Guide and go over ship to ship combat. It's detailed and a long read, but you have a good chunk of time before you really need that info. I'll give some notice before it becomes super important.

Now, some things to consider:
Do we want to start the campaign awaking on the Wormwood, or would you like a chance to perhaps interact the night before at the Formidably Maid?
Did anyone have any changes they wanted to make to their characters? It's assume that your general focuses will stay the same, but I'd accept changes to race, gender (dear god we got a lot of female human pirates here), and perhaps archetypes.
Are there any requests, concerns, or anything else you may want to pipe up with before we get started?

And lastly, I'm going to be hijacking/replacing one of the NPCs and using her a little more actively within the campaign. Primarily she'll act as a tour guide, because I hate those moments of limbo when you just have no clue where to go because you missed a plot hook somewhere. I can only imagine it's twice as bad when things take longer like they do in PBP.

Okay, I believe I have fixed her stats. If my math is right. The +2 from being human went into Int. Also I would love to start at the Formidable Maid! It seems like it would be so much fun!... Well before the knocking out of us.

Thanks for the selection, GM Besmara! I'll be updating Cueta's stats shortly. Otherwise, I'm going to stick with the character as is, mostly because I played a variation of this character for 1000+ posts, and I quite like her.

We've got a lot of skilled characters in this group - should be fun with everyone having 4+int+background skills or more...

I'm good with starting at the Formidably Maid. Due to her specific circumstances, Cueta has no real plan in place, and I doubt she's in the frame of mind for romance, as the trait states. I'm thinking Cueta ends up in the Formidably Maid (rather than any other nearby pub in Port Peril) because it has a good reputation among sailors, she's been there before, and she's not looking for any new experiences - she's just happy to be back on land and plans to get really drunk before looking for a respectable job anywhere but on a ship in the morning. Is that an acceptable re-fluffing of the trait?

GM Besmara, I'm in Bel-Sullium's Tales of Ascanor B Group - I noticed that you're in his A Group this morning as I've been reading over the A Group's gameplay thread. I'm digging the dynamic you all have going on - it is very different from ours.

I'm looking forward to gaming with everyone!

EDIT: OK, that was easy enough - I changed out Cueta's 9 cha for an 8 cha. Everything else works out exactly for a 10 point exchange, if I put the floating human +2 bonus into Int. Which I did. Stats done!

Ah! You pick that one too hmm?

Ah! You pick that one too hmm?

I did indeed, Esmarelda. We've also got two barrom talespinners and two Shackles seafarers in our group.

In my KM game, the original party of four had three bastards in it, which is the most I've seen of one trait in a single game.

Esmarelda Valarie wrote:

Ah! You pick that one too hmm?

I did indeed, Esmarelda. We've also got two barrom talespinners and two Shackles seafarers in our group.

In my KM game, the original party of four had three bastards in it, which is the most I've seen of one trait in a single game.

Nice! It would make a little more since here. You know, pirates and all? This is going to be so much fun!

^ Haha, it sure would! I'm looking forward to this game very much. Always wanted to play S&S.

Same here! I'm a rather big fan. Though to be fair I romanticize it a bit more then I should... But then again every does that with something no?

Port Peril! I thought as I strode through the fabled waterfront. What is that smell? I thought next. I couldn't rightly place it, but it was horrid. But no matter. I was here! After so many weeks at sea with the most dreadfully dull crew of sailors one could ever meet. They actually didn't want to meet a pirate vessel! All they wanted was to slip through these waters unnoticed and deliver their cargo.

I suppose that's the perspective of the other side of things, but I myself found a voyage through the legendary Shackles without an encounter of piracy to be exceedingly disappointing. When I voiced my complaints, the crew on the Jeniveve nearly locked me in my cabin. At least they promised that if we did encounter a pirate ship, I would be the first one to meet them.

My destination was a tavern that my father frequented in Port Peril. I inquired a few of the old salts that seemed to know such locales, but none had ever heard of Le Petit Foie Gras. I could only wonder what tragedy had befallen such a place, especially one which was no doubt made more famous due to its role in my father's adventures.

An idea struck me; perhaps my mother decided to protect the establishment's true identity from the many dastardly enemies my father had accrued. Of course. That had to be it. The owner, Gaspar Raison, was a good friend. Even he may have a different name.

I pondered. Quite the quandary. I suppose I must go from tavern to tavern, and perhaps regale the locals with the tales of Captain Poisson. Eventually, someone will make contact with me. No doubt.

I looked up at the first tavern I found. The Formidably Maid. That doesn't make any sense. I disregarded the name, and stepped over a couple of drunken bodies into the dingy interior.

Oh, that's what that smell is.

Dot. In other news, Artevious is just as funny in the Discussion thread. This is great. Sorry to break the trait trend, that bonus to Sailor and Perception is just too good to turn down. Also, wow, I feel like a special snowflake. Only non-human of the bunch. Hope I can blend in well enough.

I can already tell I am going to like you all! ^^ And don't worry Gall, Es has a thing for men taller then her! XP

Good luck with that. He's not going to be the most friendly guy for the first little while. Half-giants are notoriously against slavery, so he's gonna be all sorts of grumpy when he wakes up.

I'm joking dear Gall. As will be Es, well mostly... she does like to flirt which is a bit of her problem. After all it is what got her into this mess huh?

Well, hopefully she will be making a batch of friends very soon to keep trouble from getting to her. That said, I have a question for you all. As a ranger with combat styles, I get a few necessary feats for free, which means I have some spare slots open. Do you all want me to start picking up feats for siege weapons to take care of that deal once we get a ship of our own? Or was someone else planning to do so?

You should totally pick them up! Because the big guy should be using the big guns! I can totally see it!

I hate to be the voice of dissent, but I actually would prefer not starting out at the Formidably Maid. Outside of that scene above -- me stepping into the dingy interior of the tavern -- I'd like to cut immediately to the ship.

That way, we all have to get to know each other through the hardships and travails.

At least, that's my vote.

Well he does have some what of a point. If we start at the Maid, there is a high chance none of us will even speak to one another. But if we start upon the ship, wormwood by the look of the campaign info, we have to interact with one another or so the thought goes.

Yeah, I'd be down to wake up abruptly on the Wormwood. Maybe just a brief portion of our first post can be an introduction of how the evening prior went? That way we can get a bit of both.

Yeah, I'd be down to wake up abruptly on the Wormwood. Maybe just a brief portion of our first post can be an introduction of how the evening prior went? That way we can get a bit of both.

Sounds good to me.

I think I am going to change my campaign trait to Besmara's Blessing (makes a bit more sense, since Cueta's father wasn't a Free Captain, but just a pirate of some disrepute). I'm also going to grab a boarding pike instead of a longspear - didn't realize they were simple weapons.

Alrighty, I've settled for sure on Google Drawings for maps. But, I'd rather not have it open for public editing via the link so I'd like all your Google account emails or what have you so I can add you for editing. You can PM me those so you aren't plastering your email all over the forums for all to see.

I'll have tokens on the map for start time. Although I totally understand that the icons here are not the most ideal representatives of our characters, they are what I'm going to use as tokens for the sake of simplicity. It'll make it easier to link the icon with the poster. Perhaps after I have some time to get comfy in my GM role here we can look at getting a more accurate representation out on the board.

OH! I ALMOST FORGOT! Please read the Expectations section of the Campaign Info tab! It has some vital information and expectations. Don't worry, nothing particularly strenuous. You're free to familiarize yourselves with the Campaign Reference section as well. It's there to make keeping track of what's what once you're on the Wormwood (but your character shouldn't know every crew member by name the moment they step on deck!)

If any of you have character images, I encourage you to do what Gall has done and link it in the Gender section of your headline where your name is. Wow that sentence makes no sense until you read how I want you to create your headline...
[ url=http://website.com/image.jpg]TN Name of Character[/url ]

Feel free to ask questions about any of it, and I'd like to hear what your expectations (or at least hopes) for me are.

For now, I'd like you to all go ahead and make an introductory post in the gameplay thread about your night in at the Formidably Maid. Artevious, you're welcome to cut and paste yours in or write a new one if you're so inclined (I just want them all in the same place). You can do it any way you wish, lead into the black out or cut it off before then. Don't be shy about spotting another of the party in the room. Might give you a hook later on the boat :P

But yeah, it looks like you are all good with starting on the Wormwood, so once those are all up we'll get started there!

I'm going to give Harmony a bit longer to respond to being selected before I consider what to do next on that front.

Hey guys, I'm around but I'm on a two-week vacation in Greece right now, so only checking around about once a day. Starting on the 29th I should be around very actively. If that's too long a slow period to start with, I completely understand looking for an alternate. For now, I can provide one RP post roughly per day, but adjusting stats and such, I would prefer to do it when I get home so I can focus fully on it, but I will make the time for it immediately if I have to.

Either way, thank you for selecting me, and I look forward to playing with you if you will nonetheless have me!

If I'm in, I am on board with starting directly on the Wormwood. I think it would feel awfully contrived if the people who had interactions at the Maid previous night just happened to be the exactly same ones who wake up on the Wormwood.

Regarding character images, I pretty much built this character around the avatar image, so the avatar image is 100% accurate. Here is a bigger one. (I'll put the link on my profile as well once I'm back from Greece.)

That said, I have a question for you all. As a ranger with combat styles, I get a few necessary feats for free, which means I have some spare slots open. Do you all want me to start picking up feats for siege weapons to take care of that deal once we get a ship of our own? Or was someone else planning to do so?

I'd say if you want to pick them up, go for it! I'm not going to have any open feats for a long while, going the switch hitter route. I still need rapid shot, deadly aim, power attack at least.

Pure freaking gold

This is fantastic. Kudos!

Thanks for all the praise; Artevious is a favorite of mine.

Looking forward to playing with everyone. So far, I've seen some fantastic writing. That's great, since that tends to get everyone to up their game. This should be a lot of fun!

GM Besmara does that bottle breaking thing on the side of a ship on its first voyage.
"First story post is up, lads! We're settin' sail!"

Map is up and populated. Each room and NPC (and PCs for that matter) have a comment labeling who or what that specific place or person is.

As always, don't hesitate to ask questions. I still need Artevious and Harmony to PM me their emails so I can add you to the list of people who can edit the map.

Keep in mind while you move your tokens that you can also move everything else on there. Please don't! If you accidentally end up moving something other than your token, simply ctrl+z or undo the edit.

Prehistoric shark found near Japan.

Figured it was apropos for a pirate game. That shark is freaky looking!

AWESOME! That is so freakishly cool!

What gets me is that they found this critter that's absolutely ancient and then kill it. I get that it's so they can study it better, but it just seems a silly way to do that with something they thought was extinct. Definitely does look all sorts of bizarre for a shark, though. Very cool.

I know right? couldn't they have just put a tracker on it like we do with most sea life?

That got me too. Reminds me of the scientists that cut down the oldest living tree a year or so back. Ugh.

Hopefully there's more fringe sharks swimming around out there. Those teeth, though - that's nightmare fuel.

I'm half-tempted just to take a level of druid to get one as an AC.

I would totally take a shark as an animal companion because that's all sorts of awesome, except they suck stat-wise. :\ Just you all wait to see what I end up going for instead, though. It'll be great, I promise.

How do I denote different languages? Like if she picks a different language she know to curse someone out in? Just for future use.

One of the better ways is to go to Google translate, pick a random language and have your phrase translated. Then cut and paste the foreign phrase into your post. It also helps to put the translated phrase in a spoiler in case it matters what you said and there's anyone around who may have understood it.

Oh! Sweet! I shall keep that in mind, thank you.

How do I denote different languages? Like if she picks a different language she know to curse someone out in? Just for future use.

There's a couple ways to do it.

If no one understands the language you're using, you can merely describe it:

Under her breath, Esmarelda uttered a few choice words in her native tongue. Hopefully no one else spoke Varisian.

In her frustration, Zeviel broke off into a long elvish rant, seemingly unaware her companions could no longer understand the words coming out of her mouth.

Another option, and more practical when someone else speaks the same tongue as you, is to use the ever so useful Google Translate in conjunction with a spoiler:

Ben , bir gün bu lanet tekne almak benim kelime işaretlemek olacak!

مقدار هورمون تستوسترون در اینجا بسیار چشمگیر است. من عملا می توانید آن را بو ! ... صبر کنید ، آنها داشتن در حال مسابقه گاز؟

FYI: I knew Artevious beat me to it, but I was putting so much work into the post I felt the need to post it anyways >.>;;

I would totally take a shark as an animal companion because that's all sorts of awesome, except they suck stat-wise. :\ Just you all wait to see what I end up going for instead, though. It'll be great, I promise.

As long as it has a Scourge-sized belly, Cueta will be happy!

How do you know your roll before you post?

You type out the dice roller and then hit the preview button. You can also go back and edit your posts within the first hour after posting.

Oh! Okay! ^_^ Thank you very much!

GM Besmara, who else is in the bilges? Or did they send her alone?

"Turtles. Aye, turtles it is. Let's just see if we can't get some of the right gear for the job, shall we?"

Glad we're having turtles for dinner, and well, not...

"You can go fetch me some turdles."

GM Besmara, can you give us the names of the NPC new recruits? Cueta wouldn't know them, but if I know who they are, I can put her next to them on the map/have her seek them out/etc.

Thank you!

GM Besmara, who else is in the bilges? Or did they send her alone?

All by yourself. Punishment for speaking out of line to Scourge.

GM Besmara, can you give us the names of the NPC new recruits? Cueta wouldn't know them, but if I know who they are, I can put her next to them on the map/have her seek them out/etc.

Thank you!

Will do soon as im home. I have to move some bits on the map around. I been neglecting it >.<

Then everyone ignore the part of looking at other people who where there!>_<

Gall, when you say other pair my assumption is you mean Harmony and Esmarelda yes?

Yep! Sorry, that was pretty vague. Glad you were able to puzzle out what I meant.

I figured but I just wanted to ask first, after all when you assume you make an ass out of you and me.

Don't mind my thirty eight different edits because I'm awful at formatting or anything. Nothing to see here. >.>;

Don't worry! I'm dyslexic so I normally have someone go over my post... though I now I am alone so, that's a no go.

Gall's strength check, take two!

Strength: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Original artist of the image Esmaredla is using of her character. An amazing artist.
Evelet of The Lost Kids by Artgerm