Fresh from your ship's maiden voyage and run down the Chellish Admirality sends orders for you to meet in the admirality's halls for a special mission captain. Young and eager you hurry to answer the call but are you prepared for what lies underneath the hurried and strange new orders?
Seeking 4 or more players (there will be 4 ship captains, others will be considered for first mates or important officers)
This is a naval campaign, there will be ship combat involved.
level 5 charectors
Races allowed - Human (chelish decent) or maybe tiefling very very possibly sli...err halfling. All others possibly considered but man your story better be good.
prefered ship type (lets make it simple scout, screen or heavy)
A link to the other charectors will be smiled upon, It could be you went to the naval academy together, served together under an older captain, once served under the other etc...
Starting Wealth - 8,500 gp - yes its less than what a 5th level adventurer would start out with... being military doesnt make your rich,
Recruiting until hmm... lets say October 31st, although if i get enough good applicants I will cut it short.
25 point buys, hp max at level 1, 3/4 the rest of the way.
Any questions ask away
So, four ship captains... does that mean that we're all operating our own ships, crew, etc. rather than playing "together"? ... Trying to get an idea of what normal gameplay would be like. Navigating the ship, commanding an NPC crew?
What are you doing for traits? Are there any campaign traits for this?
You will be operating your own ship is fleet type battles on a mission for the empire. I havent looked for any campaign traits but if there is a campaign traight you would like to have reflavored for it i will certainly consider it. Certainly navigating the ship, on deck battles possible shore excursions depending on the circumstances...
Its not not going to be straight combat i promise. There are adventuring spoys planned and foreign ports of call to visit.
Cool. I've never done a sea battle, but will be interesting to try. I'll come up with something. Thinking maybe a former pirate that was captured in battle and given a chance to join the navy instead of execution. (Maybe given the chance by one of the other characters.)
Hmm... Sounds interesting.
Are you using hero point, background skills, VMC?
Any class limitations?
Seeing how it is Cheliax, I'm assuming evil alignment is allowed.
What level do you see this going to by the end. Some builds would be pointless if it never gets to their 'good' levels.
Would you allow a beast rider cavalier with a swim speed?
Does a ship captain need to be a martial character? I usually prefer at least partial spell casters.
Any details on the ship types?
Ships have cannons or other siege engines?
Crew with firearms or just muscle powered?
No background skills, hero points or VMC looking to keep it somewhat simple.
Evil is allowed it is Cheliax, I am hoping most of you are the lawful to neutral sort, Chaos would have a rough go of it. You are affiliated with the military and following orders is sort of a thing they like.
From what i have planned we will get to probably about nine? it might go further as things progress and who knows along the way more inspiration may hit but 9 is the planned stoppage area.
Beast cavalier with a swim speed? I suppose but thats all on what sort of mount you want.
And the ship captain does not have to be martial. You may be a caster. Hell if you want to you can be an NPC class, I hear sometimes young 2nd or third child aristocrat nobles wind up in the clergy or the officer corp of the militaries.
The ships will be a mix depending on type. they heavier ships have a higher chance of cannon, the crew will be mixed, if some of you want to say use some of your starting wealth on upgrades for crew or ship let me know and we can work that out as well.
...
Beast cavalier with a swim speed? I suppose but thats all on what sort of mount you want.
...
if some of you want to say use some of your starting wealth on upgrades for crew or ship let me know and we can work that out as well.
Probably Orca or maybe one of the aquatic dinosaurs.
And yes, I would probably be interested in upgrades to ship and/or crew.
So four characters on four ships or four characters on one ship?
At least four charectors on four ships, if there is enough interest, there could easily be additional crew on the ship. Like for instance on Elter Ago's ship he could be captain and he could have a first mate played by you etc. . .
Sheesh so many ideas.
Siege mage on a heavy weapon ship.
Spellslinger with additional rifle crew on one of the screening ships.
Beastrider cavalier on an orca for a scout ship.
And I'm just starting to think about this.
...
Races allowed - Human (chelish decent) or maybe tiefling very very possibly sli...err halfling. All others possibly considered but man your story better be good.
...
What about Gnomes from Brastlsewark? The biggest Gnome city in Avistan is in Cheliax.
Hmm... What about a Red Mantis agent trying to infiltrate the Cheliax?
A gnome would be fine, you bring up an excellent point about Brastlewark... of course why he is a loyal officer of the Chellish navy will be up to you. AS for the red mantis agent infiltrating I suppose you could go that route, be careful about discovery >.>
Preliminary Idea: Tiefling Nobleman, and memeber of the Godclaw Hellknight Order. Rules his ship with an iron fist, with crew members who are chosen for their religious fanaticism. Often seen patrolling the ship in his hellknight Armor, with his greatsword resting on his shoulder. He will be lawful neutral, and will of course be loyal to Cheliax.
Str (18) Dex (13) Con (14) Int (8) Wis (10) Cha (18)
Race: Demon Spawn Tiefling
* Stats (+2 Str, +2 Cha, -2 Int)
* Fiendish Resistance (cold electricity fire resistance 5)
* Darkvision
* Soul Seer (deathwatch at will)
Traits
* Fate’s Favored (+1 luck bonuses)
* Two World Magic (prestigitation)
Feats
Lvl 1: Noble Scion of War (+2 K-Nobility and class skill, Cha for initiative)
Lvl 3: Power Attack
Lvl 5: Armor of the Pit (+2 natural armor AC)
Class: Psychic Searcher Oracle
* Inspiration (+1d6 to Diplomacy, sense motive, and some knowledge rolls)
* Mystery: Godclaw
Lvl 1: Instant Armor (hellknight plane proficiency and can don/remove as immediate action twice per day)
* Lvl 3: Investigator Talent (TBD)
* Curse: Deep One (You reduce your base land speed by 5 feet. You gain a swim speed equal to your land speed, and if you already have a swim speed, you increase it by 10 feet. At 5th level, your natural armor bonus increases by 1 as your skin thickens)
High Cha. Nobility. Physically imposing. Able to swim if needed...seems like he will make a good ship captain.
...
...
No background skills, hero points or VMC looking to keep it somewhat simple...
I think I'm dropping the gnome and mantis ideas, they were coming out too close to other characters I've played.
Lieutenant Stefan Mathur reporting for duty!
Cleric 5 (Asmodean Advocate)
"Under the circumstances, the Imperial Naval Regulations, paragraph 6, subsection 2, authorize me to relieve you of command. Sir."
A devout middle-class merchant's son from Westcrown, Stefan Mathur was a natural for the Navy. He found himself a surgeon/chaplain's apprentice on the cutter Fangs of the Viper, and whiled away his boredom by reading his mentor's (possibly incomplete) set of naval regulations, meanwhile selling the crew health insurance at ... Asmodean rates. Which often meant information rather than money; a ship's chaplain is confessor and informer as well as healer and jailor.
It served him well on patrol in the Arch of Aroden, when the i]Fangs[/i] met a Rahadoumi corsair. The captain died when the corsairs stormed aboard. Both lieutenants were killed in the fierce counterattack, whereupon the lone remaining midshipman ordered the Fangs to break off.
Stefan relieved him of command on medical grounds ("Cowardice is a sort of insanity, isn't it?") and the crew backed him up. (Stefan had known corsair-captain Alhandar usually took fewer sailors than other corsairs, so as to divide the loot more narrowly, and realized the corsair must be in worse shape than the Fangs. Also, the subsequent court-martial never asked just how many of the sailors who swore the midshipman was shaking with cowardice had been treated by Stefan, before or after.)
Technically it wasn't legal, but Stefan's mentors in the Church of Asmodeus were quite willing to protect him, and the Navy knew who had captured an infamous corsair. So they acquitted Stefan, gave him a lieutenant's commission and ... in the inevitable tradition of naval bureaucracies everywhere, transferred him off sea duty to the Office of Provisions and its interminable victualling contracts. Mathur spent a couple of years intriguing his way back to a ship's deck. After all, he'd joined the Navy to get away from contracts!
Three more years at sea, and Mathur has been assigned to a new expedition. Mathur's first real command, and he's a little inexperienced, but he knows the regulations inside and out, and he's determined to rule his crew by the book. After all, the Navy's job is to protect Cheliax, punish Cheliax's enemies ... and provide an opportunity to spread abroad the strength and glory of the Dread Lord. And he treats the men well ... after all, they're less likely to betray you then, and more likely to believe you when you have to sacrifice them to cover your ass.
Anyone from Westcrown might know Stefan's family. Someone with a sailor or corsair (not officer) background might have been on his first voyage. Almost anyone could have dealt with him at the Office of Provisions, or his second voyage. Stefan would like to be captain of a small vessel (he's not really high-ranking enough to command a big ship) but he might be assigned as chaplain or healer or first mate on any ship.
Still working out the crunch. Is it reasonable to expect a trained naval officer to have one or two teamwork feats, and have a few other people on his ship with one of those feats? Also, how does the Chelaxian Navy regard the creation of undead? (Assuming legal licenses, of course.)
Profile is filled out, bar some minor adjustments. Will get better fluff up soon.
Gotta admit I'm intrigued, not sure I'd like to be a captain though. A crewman maybe, or the captain's "personal attendant".
There is always room on Aurilous’ ship. Though it’s partly because of his attitude being based off of Vhailor:
“Mercy is for the weak. Punishment breaks souls and makes them worthy of service to their superiors. When the number of martyrs is great enough, rebellion crumbles.”
Stefan could work independently or as someone else's subordinate -- deliberately built that way. He might have some differences with Arilous' command style, though. "Subtle, subtle is the way of our Dread Lord."
Aurilous watched as his newest crew were led to his ship in chains. He stood tall and proud in his hellplate armor. These men and women were criminals. Thieves, murderers, insurectionists, deserters, heretics. All had been given a choice. Accept their punishment under Cheliax law...or serve their sentence upon The Penitence. Those who survived would be pardoned and would be allowed to go free. Many joined thinking this was the easiest option. He listened as a man screamed. The mark of Arabar was being burnt onto his face. He could hear weeping, begging, cursing, in the line of men. This was why they were chained. The marked man had forged business documents and had been caught. The choice of marking was chosen based on his crime. There were two kinds of men on his ship. The Marked and The Scourged. The latter were marines, there to keep the ship safe from both outside and internal threats. Most of The Scourged were once Marked themselves, choosing to stay aboard.
There were five deities that made up his order, and as such he had five mates. Abadar, Asmodeus, Iomedae, Irori, and Torag. Each mate wore a breastplate engraved with the holy symbol of his god.
Standing next to him was the Quartermaster. In charge of supplies, food, and water, it was an important position. He bore the mark of Adabar.
Then there was the sailing master. In charge of navigation and piloting, Aurilous demanded perfection. He bore the mark of Irori.
Following him was the Master Gunner. She was a battle hardened woman with the scars to prove it. She, and her marines, wore the symbol of Iomedae.
And of course every ship needed a carpenter. In charge of repairs, Aurilous had hired a dwarven Cleric of Torag. He was the only mate not to have once been Marked.
Finally there was his first mate. The man in charge of discipline aboard the vessel. Aurilous watched as he branded yet another man. He always insisted on doing this personally. His robes were the color of Asmodeus.
Silently Aurilous left, turning his back on the terrified newcomers. It was unfortune that this was needed, but they had lost many men in their last boarding action. These ones would have to be broken in. But, he reminded himself, that they were fortunate to be here, even if the fools could not yet see it.
Count me in as interested! Will work on the background over the next couple of days, but Malen would be the captain of a screen ship, with the intent of working his way onto a command position of a capital ship at some point.
Alright, so I got the OK to propose this if any one would be interested in working with it. The basic concept follows:
She is an oracle with the legalistic curse who at one time was attending the officers academy. Unfortunately for her she made a random statement as a joking wager to become a willing love slave and servant until she died for another cadet (one of the PCs) and lost the "wager". Not knowing of her oracular powers until then she found herself bound to her wager when she lost the bet and submitted to her new life leaving her role in the academy and training in medicine instead. She has followed her Captain and Master since, dutiful as a good slave should be, and supporting them in their command as best she can whether it be through tending to the crew's wounds or as a means of "improving morale" by serving as a reward for outstanding service.
Effectively she would be made to serve as the ship's "morale officer/doctor". Does anyone have an interest in the character as a part of their command?
Alright, so I got the OK to propose this if any one would be interested in working with it. The basic concept follows:
She is an oracle with the legalistic curse who at one time was attending the officers academy. Unfortunately for her she made a random statement as a joking wager to become a willing love slave and servant until she died for another cadet (one of the PCs) and lost the "wager". Not knowing of her oracular powers until then she found herself bound to her wager when she lost the bet and submitted to her new life leaving her role in the academy and training in medicine instead. She has followed her Captain and Master since, dutiful as a good slave should be, and supporting them in their command as best she can whether it be through tending to the crew's wounds or as a means of "improving morale" by serving as a reward for outstanding service.Effectively she would be made to serve as the ship's "morale officer/doctor". Does anyone have an interest in the character as a part of their command?
Well why the heck wouldn't I? :)
Although, to be fair, I'm planning on being a screen captain, at least to begin with, so she might want to serve on a capital ship.
With that being said, it fits the way I portray my character managing his crew through mainly positive instead of negative reinforcement, so if you're willing, I'm game.
Stefan would be interested. Fits right in with the whole "trickery" and "legalism" things that are so much part of his character. Probably no sharing, though. His slave wouldn't be someone else's toy.
Meanwhile, down on the docks...
The lieutenant in charge of the draft stood by, clad in a crisply ironed naval uniform with the special red-and-black trim of a chaplain-officer. Fear is a mighty weapon, but it is only part of our Dread Lord's arsenal. They will follow while his eye is on them, fleeing the fear of pain, but such as these will break and run when his eye looks elsewhere. Flawed tools are weak, and make for weak work; it takes subtlety and skill to make them will to follow orders.
"Be strong," he tells the prisoners. "Your weakness brought you here. Endure this pain, obey, serve your sentence, join the Navy, and you could rise to be the one holding the brand, or even standing on the deck. Remember the words of our Dread Lord: 'Endure what you must to gain power.' I was below decks on a ship like this, once, and look at me now."
Below decks, aye, in the infirmary, but as surgeon's mate, not in chains or branded. No need to tell them that. 'Forge chains of hope; hope drives a man from within. Forge chains of ambition; ambition is a whip that does not cease. Forge invisible chains of expectation; men will never think to break what they do not feel.'
He walks down the row of prisoners, looking for one with a calculating eye, a desire to endure, and occasionally reaches out to turn a man's head toward him, whispering counsel. For some of them, advice to endure. "Ships are like prisons, but you can drown if you don't do your job." For another, "We are strict but fair. Do your job, don't steal from your mates, and it's not so bad." For a greedy man, "There's plenty of plunder out there, when we take down pirates or corsairs. Chests of treasure, slaves, women. Think of the prize money." For the best of them, "A tough man rises, a weak man pumps filth out of the bilges." And a small spell to set desire in the heart. 'Look at him; I want to be in the Navy, like him.'
Dropping out of this recruitment. Enjoy the game.
If you're uncomfortable with it as a player Stefan then best not to do it.
Malen, I think we can work with that. PM me if you want to discuss details and coordinate so we don't clutter up this thread. At work for the next 9 hours or so but I'll respond to you as I can.
Tbh it is a little...adult? Will this be kept pg-13?
I don't have any intent of posting explicit sexual content or graphic violence, if that's the question.
Of course it will be kept within acceptable bounds.
I didn't see it mentioned but are we allowed traits? If so how many?
Also, a couple of questions I asked earlier...
Is it reasonable to expect a trained naval officer to have one or two teamwork feats, and have a few other people on his ship with one of those feats? Also, how does the Chelaxian Navy regard the creation of undead? (Assuming legal licenses, of course.)
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Also, a couple of questions I asked earlier...
Is it reasonable to expect a trained naval officer to have one or two teamwork feats, and have a few other people on his ship with one of those feats? Also, how does the Chelaxian Navy regard the creation of undead? (Assuming legal licenses, of course.)
Paizo must have ate my response... or I somehow didnt hit send,i recall typing one out though... wierd.
As long as you are not making undead from fallen crew whom have given consent to be raised, a ship of undead fodder would be fine. Some of your more traditional navel brethrn might give you sideways glances, but nothing from the upper admirality which is most important. As for the teamwork feats... its your crew if you want them all trained in teamwork tactics I will assume you will. Unless you are terrible on your roll that I will have you all make once i get the ships finalized you could probably count on most of your crew being able to assist you in your teamwork feat usage
I would say Malen is mostly done. Might need some tweaks to the backstory, but otherwise he's ready.
I'll be finished today, shouldn't take much more as I'm mostly finished.
Here is Drogeney's character. The image will change once I finish tweaking her description but the crunch and all other fluff is in there.
I’m creating a half-elven sorcerer to be a captain (or a first mate if the captain positions are filled). Casarus the Kharijite. Mostly focused on the background at the moment. Hopefully I can post it tomorrow morning.
Other captains and submissions, would you care to loosely tie in with Malen and Morrigyn? Perhaps as rivals at the Academy?
Stefan could have interacted with Morrigyn during her training as a physician.
Possibly the three of them were together on the same ship later on - a long trip at sea, perhaps down towards Sargava, would have fit into both their backgrounds. Can I suggest that they were part of a small squadron on anti-pirate duty? Plenty of room for intrigue and games on a long deployment.
Stefan tends to be charming and amiable, and enjoys a few pleasures of his own - music, fine wine and food, and putting together jigsaw puzzles.
Here is Victor Cachat. Haven't spent all his wealth yet. Might want to use some to upgrade the ship or for other capabilities. Certainly will wand some scrolls and a healing wand. Still tweaking his background and skills a bit.
He could function as a scout ship captain or easily as an officer (especially over the marines) on a larger ship. If desired, one of you could be the Captain whose life he saved a couple of years ago.
Male devil-spawn tiefling inquisitor of Asmodeus 5 (Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Fiends 21, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 38, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 264)
LE Medium outsider (native)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10
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Defense
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AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 47 (5d8+15)
Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +7; +2 trait bonus vs. charm and compulson
Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee fire-forged steel sawtooth sabre +7 (1d8+2/19-20)
Ranged darkwood composite longbow +6 (1d8+2/×3)
Special Attacks bane (5 rounds/day), hell's corruption (2 rounds, 6/day), judgment 2/day
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +6)
. . 1/day—pyrotechnics (DC 13)
Inquisitor Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +8)
. . At will—detect alignment, discern lies (5 rounds/day)
Inquisitor Spells Known (CL 5th; concentration +8)
. . 2nd (3/day)—blistering invective[UC] (DC 15), discovery torch[UC], see invisibility
. . 1st (5/day)—bless, disguise self, heightened awareness[ACG], interrogation[UM] (DC 14)
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, detect poison, guidance, light, sift[APG]
. . Domain Evil (Devil[APG] subdomain)
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Statistics
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Str 15, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats Escape Route[UC], Exotic Weapon Proficiency (sawtooth sabre), Fiendish Facade, Weapon Focus (sawtooth sabre)
Traits birthmark, criminal, trap finder
Skills Bluff +5, Climb +5, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +8, Disguise +8 (+13 to impersonate Human), Intimidate +12, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4, Knowledge (local) +1, Knowledge (nature) +4, Knowledge (planes) +4, Knowledge (religion) +4, Linguistics +1, Perception +10, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +11, Sleight of Hand +6, Spellcraft +4, Stealth +5, Survival +7, Swim +5; Racial Modifiers +2 Diplomacy, +2 Sense Motive
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal
SQ fire-forged steel, fire-forged steel, monster lore +5, paranoid, solo tactics, stern gaze +2, track +2
Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds; Other Gear fire-forged steel chain shirt, darkwood composite longbow (+2 Str), fire-forged steel sawtooth sabre[ISWG], handy haversack, bandolier[UE], bandolier[UE], belt pouch, disguise kit, ear trumpet[UE], earplugs[APG], masterwork thieves' tools, silver unholy symbol of Asmodeus, spell component pouch, wrist sheath, spring loaded, wrist sheath, spring loaded, 363 pp, 7 gp, 9 sp, 7 cp
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Special Abilities
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Bane (+2 / 2d6, 5 rounds/day) (Su) Make the weapon you are holding a bane weapon.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Detect Alignment (At will) (Sp) Detect chaos, evil, good, or law at will.
Discern Lies (5 rounds/day) (Sp) Discern Lies at will
Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Energy Resistance, Fire (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks.
Escape Route You do not provoke attacks of opportunity when moving through spaces adjacent to allies
Fiendish Facade (Human) You are easily mistaken for a member of another race. Your fiendish physical traits are normally hidden by clothing or appear to be markings of another race.
Prerequisites: Tiefling, must be taken at 1st level.
Benefit: You get a
Fire-Forged Steel Dwarves stumbled across the secret of crafting fire-forged steel in an effort to make forge-friendly tools. It didn’t take them long to adapt its unique properties to arms and armor. Fire-forged steel channels heat in one direction to protect its w
Fire-Forged Steel Dwarves stumbled across the secret of crafting fire-forged steel in an effort to make forge-friendly tools. It didn’t take them long to adapt its unique properties to arms and armor. Fire-forged steel channels heat in one direction to protect its w
Hell's Corruption (2 rounds, 6/day) (Su) Touch attack inflicts -2 save vs. your spells and take the worse of 2 rolls for skill checks.
Inquisitor Domain (Devil (Evil))
Judgment (2/day) (Su) Variable bonuses increase as the combat continues.
Monster Lore +5 (Ex) +5 to Knowledge checks when identifying the weaknessess of creatures.
Paranoid Aid Another DC 15 for attempts to help you.
Solo Tactics (Ex) Count Teamwork feats as if your allies had the same ones.
Stern Gaze +2 (Ex) +2 to Sense Motive and Intimidate.
Track +2 Add the listed bonus to survival checks made to track.
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Victor is a feindish bastard from a lesser noble family. He managed to get through the Academy primarily because most thought him to be human (fiendish facade). While he is a decent, though not spectacular sailor, He has demonstrated superb politcal reliability. Also, a knack for leading shore parties for stealthy mayhem or the gathering of information on targets, their locations, and their security.
Has many tatoos of the creatures he has defeated. Including a Sahaugin, Squid, and Sea Drake. The one he is most proud of (and loves to tell the story) is of the Mantis assassin that he drove off when it tried to kill his former Captain several years ago. The Captain granted him the Mantis's sawtoothed sabre (that had been stuck in his leg) as a battle prize. He has since learned how to properly use the blade. He likes to promenantly display the sword and his tatoo, just daring the Mantis to come after him.
He is practiced at telling the tale and drawing out the suspense and conclusion. It is always good for a few free drinks in nearly any seaside bar.
Looking good so far everyone :) Yes you have time tom tesserae and I believe there is still a captaincy availible or 2
Well I have an interesting idea for this >:)
What would you think of a skeleton ship?
There is a spell called Skeleton Crew that allows one to animate an entire crew of skeletons for a ship for days/lvl.
With that, I could be a Wizard Necromancer that has animated a dead crew for his dead ship, sailing around in a somewhat more tame version of Pirates of the Caribbean. I could have an understanding with the Cheliax government; I work for them, I get immunity, that kind of deal.
For all other instances where appearances matter, there is always illusion magic ^_^
Now there are a few things about this idea I would have to work out.
Firstly, Skeleton Crew is too high a level for me to cast, so I would have to work something out with you along the lines of a ritual or something that must be conducted every week.
Secondly, Skeleton Crew are useless in combat. They cannot attack or defend, so I will have to Animate some permanent skeleton defenders and attackers to stay on the ship and fight for it! Lesser Animate Undead would give me up to 20hd of low-level crewmembers to man the ship.
All in all, that's about 10-14 fixed skeleton crew and 10-20 mobile 1st or 2nd lvl mobile skeletons.
How big of a crew were you expecting to have? I was hoping to be able to sail a Heavy ship, but I might not be able to crew it completely.
To further augment that, I am also planning on taking the Skeleton Summoner feat, allowing me to summon skeleton versions of creatures.
*Disclaimer now normally a pet class is hard enough to do in pathfinder, and a horde summoner is downright impossible simply due to the amount of extra time and work it takes to do, especially since the time it takes for one player to take his turn can slow down the game to unplayable levels.
With this game, that shouldn't be the case, most of the skeleton crew will remain in the background, and the nature of the game will be more 1 on 1 with the GM, making any increased time less noticeable.
Plus I have impeccable bookkeeping and I can keep all the moving parts organized and neat, you won't have to worry about that!
You up for helping me make this work?
Sounds good I will get back to you on that gobbo horde :)
Stefan up above had a simular idea, perhaps between the two of you could work something out? I have an idea for a ship that could suite you both perhaps
Lets see here we have
The Impeccable Brevet Captain Malen Arturian
Morrigyn - Ships Morale officer and doctor.
The Penitence - Captain Aurilous
Abrogail's Resolve Brevet Captain Stefan Mathur?
If not I can work out why their are two skeleton ships about.
Victor aka ElterAgo did you want to first mate officer or are you looking for your own ship?
Well from what I can tell, Stefan is all about redeming the living whereas mine would be a ship of the dead.
Still thinking how to best pull it off, but Wizard seems best.
Would you allow me to take the Effortless Trickery so that I could disguise my ship and crew more easily if I need to?
Scene: Admiralty, a quiet office in the fourth floor
Several men in naval uniforms are looking over a proposal. The room is richly appointed, with maps of the shores of Cheliax all along the walls interspersed with propaganda pictures of the triumphs of House Thrune and major Chelaxian naval victories; there are shelves of reports and charts filling the walls beneath the northern windows, and the tables are of elegant wood inlaid with ivory from Garund and gold from Osirion.
"I think it would work," the lieutenant in the garb of a chaplain-lieutenant said. "We would need several castings of the spell to generate a full crew, even working from a chapel dedicated to Our Dread Lord. I would of course be able to retain control of all of them." I must make sure to keep a few protective spells available, too. Just in case the wizard tries something.
"One would," an older man in a captain's uniform pontificated, "need some living crew for, um, non-lethal interactions with the living. Boarding parties and inspection crews, for instance. Diplomacy. Seeing to the needs of the officers aboard. All honor to the Church of Asmodeus, of course, but we might need some folk skilled in various crafts and trades as well beyond those of the simpler sailor."
Can we recast skeleton crew on the bones after the duration has expired, or do we need a steady supply of fresh corpses? Stefan can create 20 skeleton crew at a time (5th level, doubled, doubled again for desecrate.
Also, it's not clear if one can control more than one bunch of skeleton crew at a time -- it looks from the wording of the spell as if one could, but that might be an oversight.
Creating additional undead from either of us would certainly be possible.
To give you some ideas, here's a list I researched for a friend,
giving the crew list for Captain Cook's voyage around the world in the Endeavour in the 1770's. Cook was probably a bit over-manned as he was going round the world well away from replacement sailors, but keeping a ship going for months at a time required quite a bit of work, talent, and training. Also, this was a warship -- a transport crew sailing a week or two between friendly ports could probably handle the same ship with a dozen men all total and do most repairs in port. Warships had to be able to fight and sail the ship at the same time, plus extra crew for damage repair and faster ship-handling.
Captain and servant, clerk (keeps records, payroll, writes letters, etc.)
3 lieutenants, each with servant
Armorer (weapons, blacksmithing)
Boatswain and servant, 2 mates
Butcher
Carpenter and servant, 1 mate
Cook and servant
Gunner and servant
Master (navigation, cartography, detailed shiphandling) and servant, 3 mates
5 midshipmen (some promoted from AB or to master's mate)
Quartermaster (provisions, supplies)
Sailmaker
Surgeon and servant, 1 mate
A.B.'s (sailors) (51)
Marines: sergeant, corporal, drummer, privates (10)
A civilian said slowly, "Can we obtain fresh corpses abroad? We can deliver enough dead paupers to the ship, but if the spell cannot be recast on their bones afterwards, or if they are destroyed in combat..." He twirled a pen above his copy of the proposal, ink-stained fingers and quill-calluses betraying a long stay inside the Office of Provisions, and no sea-going experience at all. "I understand the mission is classified, but a long voyage is different than a harbor pleasure cruise." The shot went home as the captain winced; he had not been to sea in a decade.
"Our dead enemies will still serve the greatness of Cheliax," the lieutenant said stiffly. "And I can draw up the enlistment forms for the living crew quite carefully. A checkbox for 'refusal to deny permission leave for postmortem service in lieu of prize money' on page three among the pay withholding requirements should be missed by many of the illiterates. Silence implies consent, yes?
The captain thought for a while, then nodded. "If the experiment works, we can expand it. If not, little harm done. And as you are so confident of success, you may command the mission ... Brevet-Captain Mathur."
There will be a fifth ship with an admiral nominally in charge leading this but you folk with have some leeway in the application of your orders.
while its supposed to be fresh corpses from how I understand it, I would be okay with multiple usages on the same set of bones ... assuming they are still somewhat whole. You can have some spares stored away in boxes somewhere too i would wager.
I will be changing the name, we now have a long term NPC in my home game named Victor and I'm already getting them confused.
If you have enough captains, he will probably do better as a first mate. But if you don't have enough captains, I will adjust his personality a bit to make him more captain-ish material.
Quick note: do guns/cannons exist in this campaign? (My character is not planning to use any of them, just for information's sake... and to wonder if skeletons can be equipped with muskets.)