|
I am a new GM and had only a PFS scenario under my belt when I started GMing for a home game that runs every other weekend. I read up on the AP as much as I could and felt a little dread over how deadly it could be for those who did not take things carefully.
It took a few months to find a crew that could work the AP into their schedule and I still may have one more on the way in the near future. I was still concerned because at least one stated that he was not sure if he would like it or not and might drop if it was not quite his cup of tea.
I setup a little bit of 'Net for the adventure via Epic Words. I did not use a heavy hand in what was and was not allowed. I banned LG, Evil, and Paladins stating that it could make things a bit difficult. I also disallowed the trait that gives you wealthy parents and made sure that they knew that one of the core assumptions is that they have always wanted to be pirates. The players took this and ran with it.
The crew consists of dwarven brothers with differing views on life (one is a Zen Archer and the other is a Brawler), the universe, and everything. Their father was a pirate so they had a pretty good idea what to expect. A kitsune bard found herself on board and is quickly learning that the pirate tales told in books and by word of mouth do not even come close to the gritty reality. A young, calculating Water Elementalist comes from a shipping family has settled in rather nicely. A Taldan of Mwangi descent who is slowly coming into his own controlling bits of pieces of storms rounds things out.
As the title implies, it has been a laugh riot of epic proportions. Every single session (okay, there have only been 3 so far) has had a lot of good time and laughter. Much of the time it is due to the interplay of the dwarven brothers who love battle. The other times it is usually at the expense of Fipps and/or Slippery Syl. Poor Syl, she was just trying to stick with the strong guys and help bully the new ones and has found herself beat up, mugged by the PCs (one that needed a gold piece to wager during the night's entertainments), and now has to watch her back on the Man's Promise since the majority of the crew back the PCs.
Meanwhile Rosie has been trying to teach the bard's new familiar, Pluck, new and more creative ways to utilize curse words. Words that will quickly be used should the bard fumble her diplomacy checks. Rosie has also been trying to draw the naive bard out of her shell and teach her a few songs that are a bit more appetizing to the rough and tumble pirate crowd.
The adventure has been dangerous. Lashings and the sweat box have taken their toll and a reefclaw almost had PC stew for dinner one night. Even when being dropped or taking a serious hit the PC crew has found the humor in the situation and kept on going.
As a newbie GM (I do not count my AD&D 2ed days, those were long ago) I am learning the ropes myself and try to be fair. I reward creativity and make the PCs work for their rewards. It has been such a great time so far and I cannot wait for the group to progress through the AP.
~FV~