A few short weeks ago, your group of six adventurers came together for a common goal. For whatever reasons, every one of you has agreed to a plan to capture a ship, and use it to wreak havoc on the surface of The Shackles, a notorious region of the Arcadian Ocean off the coast of Mwangi.
Between the six of you, the mermaid Sinmara has taken charge, enforcing her authority by her possession of the Chime of Besmara, a mysterious brass chime she refuses to explain the origins of, but insists is an unholy relic of the Pirate Goddess herself.
You've made your way to the shallows near Bonewrack Isle, a hellish pit of monsters that you, thankfully, have no intention of exploring. As if by providence, you've discovered a ship nearby, bearing the name of the Man's Promise. It seems to have run aground, but its crew have nearly fixed that. If you can make it there before it leaves, it should be trivial to take the vessel for yourselves, shouldn't it?
And here we are! I'm excited to get things started. While I prepare everything, I suggest everyone figure out what role they want to have aboard the ship, once you've taken it for yourselves. Most importantly, we'll need to figure out who the captain is going to be, but there should probably also be a boatswain, maybe a master-at-arms... and probably also a cook.
It's time to take the fight to the landlubbers! Skull & Shackles is already an adventure on the high seas, but this time around, our party is rising up from under the seas. Your group of scoundrels and scalawags have decided to rise up and take a ship for yourselves, and damn any surface-dwellers who get in your way. Here's how it will work.
Races: AMPHIBIOUS RACES ONLY! This includes Merfolk, Aquatic Elves, Gillmen, Skinwalkers of the shark variety, and Undines. Undines will be given the Amphibious alternate racial trait for free, and do not have to give up their spell-like ability to get it. If you figure out another race that can be amphibious, let me know, and I'll tell you if it's okay.
Classes: Any Paizo official, plus a FREE variant multiclass, meaning you do not have to sacrifice any feats for it.
Alignment: Evil is welcome! Good, on the other hand, might want to step back for this one.
Starting Level: We will be starting at level 5.
Point Buy: 25 Point Buy. Limited race options is a bit painful on the ability score front, so I think 25 PB is more fair.
Hit Points: Max first level, then average.
Skills: No background skills this time, sorry!
Traits: Don't bother with the campaign traits. Two traits, plus a third trait if you choose to take an appropriate drawback. I reserve the rights to reject certain drawbacks, but I will probably be lenient.
Money: 10,000 gold. This is slightly below WBL, but to compensate, the group as a whole will be receiving a very nice homebrew item for free. Or at a discount, at least.
Very Nice Item:
The Chime of Besmara Aura Faint Necromancy; CL 5th Weight 1 lb; Price 5,400 gp
This simple brass chime is emblazoned with the skull and crossbones, the holy symbol of the goddess of piracy. Once per day, under the light of the moon and while on a seaworthy vessel, the chime can be used by striking it nine times (once for each of the seas of Golarion) at the appropriate parts of a specific prayer to Besmara. When used in this way, any corpses aboard the same ship as the chime's holder rise, as the spell skeleton crew, save that the holder does not need to touch the corpses. The normal maximum number of skeletons raised applies (in this case ten, or twenty if used in the area of a desecration spell), and each one has a Profession (Sailor) modifier of +6. If there are more corpses aboard the vessel than can be raised, the chime affects the closest ones first.
I will most likely be accepting five or six crew members, and we will decide on roles, including captain, before beginning. As you may have guessed, we will be skipping (almost) all of book one and beginning with a slightly tweaked battle for the Man's Promise. This is my first time running a PbP, but not my first time GMing, and I'll try to keep things challenging.
Edit: Some friends of mine have been pre-accepted, which brings us down to 2-3 new spots. Expect them to post soon with their characters.
