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As far as I can recall, this is the first time anything actually came out of a rift ... I can't find the strip number right now, but in one of the early "crayon" backstory comics when the first Rift was found part of the Snarl came through and impaled and killed the significant other of one of the group of wizards that built the Gates.
Definitely has the potential to be something good.... it's so hard to get a real feel for the film itself from trailers anymore.
Saw it, liked it a lot. I went prepared to have to cut it some low-budget slack, but it's actually quite well done for an indie and pretty funny and entertaining. See it if you get the chance.
So is this available on DVD yet? The short trailer (30 seconds) doesn't show much other than the actors but says it will be available on demand and as a DVD in February. Going to see it tonight with some friends.
Outside of some of the larger holdings like Quent, Bag Island and Port Peril (which is sort of the brass ring at the end of the ride) I'm not sure very many of the various pirate holdings are intended to be totally self-sufficient economies. Most of the choice, larger locations are already occupied, and the smaller places like Tidewater Rock, Gannet Island or Isle of Empty Eyes are more a base of operations to be supported by the plunder taken by the pirate fleets based there (or the trade therefrom) rather than a prime site for colonization.
Which makes it essentially worthless in game/campaign terms. Spoiler:
So, as written, a year from now the first PC uses his wish to free the Marid. Thereafter, each year, one more PC gets his wish until the "one wish per PC" limit is reached. Given even the assumed basic four-PC party, this means four game years will pass before everyone has their wish. (In my campaign it would be at least six years, as we have a larger group of players.) Unless you grossly pad out the AP or have a group (and GM) willing to write years worth of further adventures once the AP has concluded, the campaign will never run long enough for the PCs to benefit. I'm not looking at the Marid as a "source of unlimited wishes", but this idea doesn't fly either. I'll stick with the idea of a Ring of Wishes, thanks all the same.
This is fairly brilliant, actually. I'll be lucky if I get my group through the basic modules (let alone side quests) but this is a great idea.
Hero points are a great idea to add to S&S, particularly on Bonewrack Isle.
I thought "I guess I've got some nerve causing a commotion" to be a fairly marvelous double pun, myself. :D
This appears to have been an oversight in the original artwork - if you look through the "GM Reference" thread for the Wormwood Mutiny module you should find several references to this. In my case I added another companionway stair set into one of the main deck cargo hatches that connected to the lower decks and called it good. Having the entire crew have to troop through officers' country to get to work each day just makes no sense at all. Good luck with the AP - it's a lot of fun! I'd suggest reading all the "GM Reference" threads before you begin, as the campaign can be quite deadly at first to unprepared players and a number of folks have suggested ways to improve, add to or modify the basic storyline that are quite creative.
See, now that's roleplaying!! ;D
I'm wondering how other DM's handled ** spoiler omitted ** When my group reaches this part of the AP and Spoiler: (presumably) frees the Marid I will have her return briefly to her home plane and then come back to present the PCs with a ring containing the promised number of wishes (no book handy, and I can't recall offhand how many we're talking about).
You are correct that in RAW a Marid can only grant one wish per year, but this solution sidesteps that restriction while avoiding the "access to unlimited wishes" temptation for the PCs
This one. The first thing your players will think upon hearing the supposedly dead king is still on the throne is "undead", and MS's idea will lead them off on a merry chase to figure out what's really going on. In this sort of situation some sort of necromancy is often suspected, so give them the unexpected instead.
Very nice, FM. Let's see some more from other folk's campaigns! :D
In my game (at least) the Wormwood had anchored in the shallower waters of the reef area for repairs, and also for Riaris to do her training session (which my players failed abysmally. :( ) This made more sense for the Reefclaw fishing encounter, and also would logically allow for an attack by the reef denizens. Perhaps they climbed up the anchor cable, or the reef is home to an aquatic druid of some type who doesn't appreciate interlopers and used a spell to deposit them onboard. You know..... "Dragons". ;D
I did a giant squid attack on the Wormwood as a way of demonstrating how dangerous Harrigan is. I ran it as a bunch of tentacles, each treated as an individual creature, flailing around trying to grab people off the deck to eat them. The body of the creature was directly under the ship while the tentacles came up on both sides to create the classic image of the Kraken dragging down the stricken ship. The PCs fought off a few tentacles until Harrigan went underwater and just gutted the thing. Oh, I reallylike that idea.... a classic sea encounter and a chance to ram home "don't mess with Harrigan". Yoinked, and thanks!
This is a great idea, and folds nicely into the idea of Cheliax trying to gather information on current conditions in the Shackles. Spoiler: You could even tie the Infernus into this, with her being an advanced scout from the rest that lost her Token during the storm that wrecked her on Bonewrack Isle.
Hear, hear!!
THIS is 95% of life, distilled into two sentences. I stand in awe. ;D
Where do I have to move to be at your table Vikingson. Evil little man, isn't he? ;D
I like that one. Sad but true (as all my folks were apparently "quick enough".) ;D
Aussie Citizenship Test: ...and all this time I thought they spoke English in Australia.... ;D Great post. I own a pair of Ugg boots... does that count?
10. At port a seed trader sells on of the crew a cute little ball of fur reportedly from the continent of Acadia. The little buggers reproduce at an incredible rate. They also have voracious appetites and are not above chewing wood. Problem: THE SHIP IS MADE OF WOOD. Incidentally they are calm and often purr when almost any race pets them they however screech horrifically around orcs. You are an evil, EVIL man. What an absolutely marvelous idea! When my players start howling for blood I'm going to point them in your direction.... ;D
I ran into the same problem with my group. We're on book six and each player has had no less than four character deaths. They created a persona called the crowned captain and had a black crown specially made. It's like a shout out to the dread pirate Roberts from the princess bride. We also agreed that since there are many days at sea and pirates love stories that each new character would hear the tale of how they got their ship and how terrible Harrigan was. This way we could continue the story and not feel too much pressure with keeping certain meta gaming knowledge from the table. THIS is a marvelous, elegant solution. My group is nowhere near this point of the adventure as yet, but with the overall potential deadliness of the AP I can well see this situation arising. Great idea! :D
As a general rule I would go with one of these two, with a bias towards (2). However, as CB and others have said, the best answer is probably "Whatever best serves the plotline the GM is creating".
I have not played or GM-ed this situation myself, but a good friend GM-ed a (male) player/character who had multiple (but distinct) personalities due to (IIRC) a cursed item the PC had picked up along the way, including that of a six year old little girl. Each campaign day the player rolled on a specific chart to see which personality was "in charge" for the next 24-hour period, and the player role-played each personality as it appeared to the best of his ability. Perhaps a variation of this might work for you, with an pre-arranged limit between you and your player as to what his "voices" would and would not tell him to do? Unless your player was experienced and you had complete confidence in him not leading the campaign over a cliff "because the voices told him to" I would be VERY cautious before I left a decision like that entirely in the hands of a player.
I'm with Shaun on this one. As a kind and forgiving GM ( ;D ) I might refigure the loot for my players - ONCE - if the tracking player lost their records (it happens) or if there was a long hiatus between games, but other than that it's up to the players to document this stuff. Unless the item in question is absolutely vital to the plot, if you have a specific item but forget about it or can't be bothered to write it down among your possessions, it's gone.... your character absentmindedly set it down somewhere and walked away, someone picked your pocket and you never noticed, whatever. I've had this done to me by a GM in the past, and I can tell you it does a remarkable job of sharpening a party's inventory-tracking skills thereafter. Of course, the flip side is that the GM is responsible for making sure the party clearly understands what they have and have not acquired, particularly when they may go through one part of an adventure but not others. (This is why I don't want players reading through modules they have already completed - there often are items or information there they may have missed that might influence later play.)
"I'm more of a meat buckler." Gotta remember that one...... great line! (See, you're not the only one here... ;D)
Normal is overrated.I couldn't agree more. I'd always seen it as "Hear, hear" (as an agreement with what has been said, or "Listen to this!") until computers and spellchecks came along to confuse everyone.
That's right - nothing! ** spoiler omitted ** Almost nothing. The GM has the option of letting each character keep one small item they have hidden away - spell component pouch, a few coins, a dagger, etc - but other than that they have their clothes and nuttin' else.....
Nice. Well, evil, actually, but very Chelaxian! ;D A good spot to add in some more hints about Chelaxian plans for the Shackles, too. Like it!
..... I think I might have screwed myself. I rather think you might have, too. This is why there are no-save railroad situations from time to time. ;) I can think of three possible alternatives:
Spoiler:
(b)Figure out some way to sow dissention between your PCs and Harrigan so that he demotes them back into the crew, and go from there, or
(c) Run with what you have, and plant the idea of the PCs gaining their own ship and pirating careers. When the Man's Promise comes along get them to use Plugg's idea of making off with the ship (which will make Harrigan their enemy) and then proceed with the AP as written, skipping the mutiny as the PCs will already have the ship. Good luck! :D
PS: I love dbd's "Jaws theme" idea too. Reminds me of Gary Gygax's reputed "Are you sure you want to do that?" line..... although I never had the chance to play in any of his games, if I heard Mr. G. say that my PC would be heading for the nearest exit so fast it'd make all of a hydra's heads spin. ;DNot really my idea. But said friend both has too much ...experience (?) and obviously an overly chaotic and addled group for the last few years. Or groups.. Fair enough. Your "suggested untried hint", then. ;D
By jingies Gnomezrule, you're right. That is exactly what the Chelaxian flagship looks like! ;D Great find... thanks for the "Yoink"!
THIS. Actually, all of Gnomezrule's suggestions (and others above) are very good, but most importantly this. You are the DM. You are the storyteller. YOU need to be in control of the game, not the dice. Although I know a lot of folks nowadays eschew DM Screens, if you do not give yourself the option of fudging a die roll once in a while you are leaving your entire game at the mercy of random dice rolls, and that invariably kills characters, player interest and finally campaigns sooner or later. Besides this, making random hidden die rolls from time to time keeps players on their toes and adds to the sense of drama or uncertainty you are trying to create. The sound of the DM rolling dice behind his screen is a great tool to get things moving if players get sidetracked into OOC discussions, or if PCs are taking forever to figure out who's going down the path first or who should open the combat with those Orcs in the next room. Behind my screen I keep a sheet with my PCs' current hit points and stats for listen rolls, perception rolls, and so on. From time to time I'll ask everyone to "roll a d20" without telling them why. Sometimes it matters when a combat is just about to begin, sometimes it relates to something a few rounds down the road, sometimes it determines if someone notices a relevant sound or item, and many times it's for no reason at all. The point is that the players have no idea which is the case, and that helps keep things interesting. If you take away the DM screen and play with all your cards on the table (as it were) you give up that element of uncertainty and your ability to tweak the game when necessary to avoid disaster. This AP in particular can be very deadly in the early stages, and while it sounds like your players could use a bit more familiarity with the concept of "the better part of valor" you need to use all the tools available to you as DM as well to keep things going. Letting your PCs' fate rest entirely on open die rolls has done you little good so far, and will finish your campaign off if you don't make some changes. Good luck! :) PS: I love dbd's "Jaws theme" idea too. Reminds me of Gary Gygax's reputed "Are you sure you want to do that?" line..... although I never had the chance to play in any of his games, if I heard Mr. G. say that my PC would be heading for the nearest exit so fast it'd make all of a hydra's heads spin. ;D
Harrigan is aware of the PCs' mutiny before Port Peril. Spoiler: When the PCs meet Merril Pegsworthy at Rickety's Pegsworthy recognizes the Man's Promise from her Rahadoumi lines and has heard tales of someone taking her away from Harrigan. As Pegsworthy doesn't think much of Harrigan this raises the PCs considerably in his eyes, and he promises them the secret is safe with him. (RotFS, pg.13)
If there are dockside tales of Harrigan getting taken by a bunch of noob pirates you can bet ol' Barnabas knows about it too. There was a series of posts in an earlier thread wondering just how the word had spread so quickly given sailing times and the time frame of the AP prior to Rickety's, but that's a whole different kettle of fish.
You know when fluoridation first began? Nineteen hundred and forty-six. 1946, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works. I can't be the only person who got this one.......
Time travel stories are hard to do well, it's true. However, there have been a few good ones. Poul Anderson has a series of books (the "Time Patrol" stories) that are quite well done. (Anderson is one of my favorite SF authors, so that helps.) Also, Simon Hawke has six or eight books in his "Time War" series that are a lot of fun to read. The premise seems a bit trite at first, as they are all based on well known historical novels (The Scarlet Pimpernel, King Arthur, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and so on) but his rationale for the series and how he develops it over time are actually quite well done. In film, IMHO among the best are actually the Back to the Future movies. Despite their light tone they actually are among the few works that make a serious attempt to work out the results of changes (intended and unintended) that time travel might cause in the timeline, and apply those results consistently to the story as it develops. For sheer blow-em-up special effects fun Terminator I and II are a hoot, but they contain one of the biggest "Shoot your grandfather" closed loop paradoxes I can ever recall seeing in a time-travel film. Still enjoyable, though.
I haven't read ahead more than 1 Chapter. I don't want to know too much of an AP in advance of running it or I'll get bored with running where the PCs currently are. However, a very close PC relationship with Grok could play out to a devastating twist in later editions if I understand what I've read on these boards --- as long as Grok is made to stay on the ship with Harrigan when the Wormwood and Harrigan's new ship part ways prior to the mutiny. Yes. Having a PC in a relationship with Grok can provide a HUGE hook against Harrigan later on Spoiler:
particularly if you rewrite the Garnet Island episode so that Harrigan escapes to be dealt with later in the final confrontation with the Chelaxian fleet. In another thread folks have wondered how to make Harrigan truly hateful - this is one of the best ones in the adventure, although it is a seed that will only bear fruit much later on. I understand the problem of DM boredom waiting for your group to advance to later, more challenging modules, but I think this AP in particular has so many opportunities for "loopback" plot points that it really needs the DM to be at least generally familiar with the overall campaign story in order to make the most of it. You don't have to memorize the whole thing (I know I certainly couldn't pull that off) but I think both you and your players will enjoy the AP much more if you read ahead so you can tie bits together rather than just throwing them at your players as they happen. You may also want to modify the storyline to suit your own group's style (as a lot of posters here have done) and a good general knowledge of the entire plot is key in that case. Good luck! :D
Do you have any kind of penalties for spell-casting on board the ship? When I was reading I did not see anything mentioned about it. I may have just missed it. I don't have my books handy, but IIRC I don't think there is a specific ban on spellcasting onboard the Wormwood, but judging by accounts posted here a lot of GMs (myself included) have imposed one. There is a DC check mentioned to cast a spell without being noticed (as there is for dumping the rum ration) so the inference is there that spellcasting without permission is frowned upon. You can rationale this however you like (worry about new "recruits" having unknown capabilities that could be used against the ship or crew, Peppery Longfarthing not wanting the competition, whatever) but such a restriction makes sense until a new crewmember has shown they can be "trusted" not to go against Harrigan or his officers. A specific punishment is pretty much up to you, but I would suggest it be at least as severe as that for dumping the rum ration. In my case I made it plain that spellcasting without permission was banned, and it has worked out well so far. My PCs have talked their way out of repercussions after one use during the "Laying Down the Law" scrimmage, and then asked permission to heal Owlbear after that fight. It's no secret on the Wormwood that a couple of them have magical abilities, but so far they're being circumspect.
Re: Convincing the PCs that they can't take Harrigan.... (snip) That is very, very good, FM. Consider it "Yoinked"! ;D As to "saving" lashes, there is actually some "real world" historical basis for this. While some punishments were truly horrendous (like the Royal Navy's "lashing around the fleet", in which the subject would receive a certain number of lashes from every ship in a given fleet and which could easily result in being beaten to death) it was not unheard of for punishments to be deferred or postponed until the subject was sufficiently healed to survive the remaining lashes. Although there certainly were captains (and particularly pirate captains) who might lash offenders to death, it could be more practical from both a morale and practical standpoint to severely punish an erring but useful crewman but to spare his life "until next time". There was even a phrase for this - "keep one for the captain" - which meant the last lash of a beating wasn't given but was held back to be administered at the captain's pleasure should the crewman deserve it at a later date. That's a rather brutal way to attempt to keep someone in line, but apparently an effective one judging by historical accounts.
I haven't gotten much farther in with my group than you (we're currently on hiatus) but I think the best way is to play Scourge and Plugg to the hilt as vindictive, brutal bullies and Harrigan (to the lesser extent of interaction the PCs have with him) as a cruel, ruthless b@stard. This AP gives the DM a rare opportunity to really dump on the PCs in a situation where they can (initially, at least) do little or nothing to respond. Take advantage of that. Make it plain by his actions that Plugg resents and dislikes the PCs (perhaps seeing one or more of them as competent threats to his position onboard ship) and wants to see them fail in their duties or be otherwise humbled. Scourge is Plugg's dog and is in a position where as the cowardly bully he is he can lord it over others without fear of reprisal (he thinks) and can carry out Plugg's every wish, so play that to the max .... have Scourge or his toadies make the PCs' lives misearble by sabotaging their daily work (an "accidentally" spilled bucket of tar on just-cleaned decks, loosened knotwork after the PCs have secured something, and so on....) all of which leads to Bloody Hour. It doesn't have to be major but it needs to be consistent and ongoing, and it shouldn't be too hard for the PCs to figure out who's ultimately behind it, and why. Harrigan is a little tougher to make hateful, as the PCs don't personally interact with him much. Your best avenue there is through stories of experiences with the man told by Fishguts or Sandara Quinn, or by Knowledge:Local checks by the PCs to recall anything they may have heard about Harrigan's exploits. This is mainly hearsay, though, so you may find it necessary to add in a chance for Harrigan to show his true nature in some direct way, perhaps by casually butchering another prisoner or a NPC crewman who seriously displeased him in some way. As to the mutiny, make it clear that Harrigan completely backs his officers - an attack on them is an attack on Harrigan - and let the PCs know that Harrigan is high enough level to chop them all into mincemeat without even breaking a sweat. Use Fishguts and Sandara to counsel patience until the time is right to act, but let the PCs plot and plan to keep the idea of mutiny on a low simmer so that once they are out from under Harrigan's direct control they'll be ready to act. Keeping that balancing act going without the PCs saying "F**k it" and acting too soon is tricky and is the primary challenge you face as DM in the first book, but the tools are there for both sides of the balance for you to use. Good luck, and sorry for the Wall O' Text. ;D
You have GOT to be kidding me. Paizo had a Reefclaw figure in the pipeline but left it out of the Skull and Shackles set (where it is a fairly significant early encounter) but put it into Legends instead? So now to get the ones I need I have to crapshoot by buying boxes of Legends figures that I don't want or need in the hopes of scoring a Reefclaw, or else wait and try aftermarket?
Lame. Utterly, completely lame.
With apologies to Riggler, I would ban Lawful GOOD alignment PCs rather than a blanket ban on "Lawful" per se. IIRC there are LE pirate NPCs scattered among the six AP modules, and I know there is at least one CG NPC on the Wormwood. I think the overall average alignment bias of the Shackles would be CN at best, with a definite lean towards CE or LE. (After all... "Pirates!" ;D ) This is not to say that you and your players can't run things as you see fit, but without a great deal of rewriting the AP really isn't suited for LG types.
It also sets up a power struggle between bloated entrenched pirate lords like Kerdak and upstart "honest pirates" earning plunder by the sweat of their brow. "... and the strength of their backs." Don't forget that part of the speech! ;D
It was also suggested earlier that the main trade route to Tian ran around the south tip of Garund and up the west coast to reach the Inner Sea from the west. This route was preferred because it bypassed the undead and the slave raiders who frequent the waters to the east. That would generate a huge amount of additional shipping to plunder above and beyond that coming directly from Sargava and the Mwangi Expanse.
It really sounds like you're letting your players run over your campaign. The shouldn't have the Dominator, certainly. If it was so easy to go from poverty and obscurity to wealth and infamy via piracy then everyone would do it. This. In spades. I have absolutely no clue how your campaign got to this point so quickly, but something is very, very wrong somewhere.
Landships has downloadable First World tanks you build from card including a Mark V in REd Army colours. Not sure how big they are, but you could always shrink/enlarge the plans to the size you want. Excellent find, PoV. Thank you very, very much! :D
"Of course, one might still simply abolish "track ship" ^^" That would/will probably be my solution to the problem. I sometimes suspect all the in-campaign consequences of a spell or item are not considered before they get added to an adventure. (My Gawd.... did I just agree with Vikingson?? ;D ) Really like the Figurehead idea. "Carved from a Dryad's tree" really will not go over well in certain quarters, but hey.... "pirates".
This how my various groups have handled this for years, going all the way back to 1st Edition. Magic Items go to whoever can get the best use out of them, any unclaimed Items get sold, and the proceeds plus the value of any coin, gems or jewelry get evenly divided among the PCs. This may not be strictly canon these days, but it has always worked for us. As Diego says, casting directly from a spellbook (essentially treating it as a collection of bound scrolls) goes back to 1st Edition days as well. We used to call it "Combat Casting" in our group, and it definitely was a desperation tactic to be used only in extreme circumstances due to the difficulty and expense of acquiring or replacing spellbooks. Nowadays spellbooks and (particularly) scrolls are much easier and cheaper to come by, and this is probably the part of the 3rd Edition/Pathfinder revision of the D&D magic system I am most pleased with. We would probably still allow Combat Casting from a spellbook if the circumstances demanded it, but so far that need hasn't happened.
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