Pathfinder Adventure Path #37: Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (Serpent's Skull 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

4.50/5 (based on 15 ratings)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #37: Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (Serpent's Skull 1 of 6) (PFRPG)
Show Description For:
Non-Mint

Add PDF $19.99

Print Edition Out of print

Non-Mint Unavailable

Facebook Twitter Email

Chapter 1: "Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv"
by James Jacobs

Only the Strong Survive

A deadly storm shipwrecks the passengers and crew of the Jenivere upon infamous Smuggler’s Shiv, an island off the coast of the jungle realm of Sargava. If they’re to have any hope of escaping the notorious pirates’ graveyard, the survivors will need to band together to outwit the isle’s strange beasts and legendary menaces. But can the PCs unite the swift-to-squabble castaways, especially when several seem to have mysterious goals of their own? And does Smuggler’s Shiv hide secrets even deadlier than its desperate denizens?

    This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path and includes:
  • “Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by James Jacobs.
  • A detailed look at the personalities marooned on Smuggler’s Shiv, by James Jacobs.
  • Revelations into the history, ways, and world-spanning schemes of the serpentfolk, by Clinton Boomer.
  • An introduction to the wisdom and dangers of the jungle in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Robin Laws.
  • Five new monsters, by James Jacobs and F. Wesley Schneider.

Pathfinder Adventure Path is Paizo Publishing's monthly 96-page, perfect-bound, full-color softcover book printed on high-quality paper. It contains an in-depth Adventure Path scenario, stats for about a half-dozen new monsters, and several support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set.

ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-254-8

Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Sanctioned Content
Souls for Smuggler's Shiv is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild.

Download the rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheets — (495 kb zip/PDF)

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

Product Availability

PDF:

Fulfilled immediately.

Print Edition:

Out of print

This product is out of print.

Non-Mint:

Unavailable

This product is non-mint. Refunds are not available for non-mint products. The standard version of this product can be found here.

Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

PZO9037


See Also:

1 to 5 of 15 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | next > last >>

Average product rating:

4.50/5 (based on 15 ratings)

Sign in to create or edit a product review.

Really Strong, Self-Contained Adventure

5/5

I think this has a lot of the marks of a great adventure. The hook is great (you're all castaways who washed up on an island). There's interesting NPCs to play with, with cool mechanics. There' a great gimmick for the book-- it's a mixture of wilderness survival, mystery solving, with classic "jungle"-style encounters. The encounters are fun. The survival mechanics are fun but-- crucially-- you can dial them up or down depending on what your group finds interesting. There's a sense of mystery and exploration that pervades the entire book in a very appealing way.

A great thing about the adventure is how modular it is. It's extremely self-contained, and you can vault from this book into just about any adventure. That makes this book easy to recommend.

The modular nature can work against it in one way: I find that it doesn't feel like an important part of the Serpent's Skull adventure path in general. The GM has to do some work to think about how the book links to what comes later.


Serpents Skull

4/5

This was a pretty sweet module! I just finished running it and I loved the flavor of it. However, that said there are a few problems, some of the battles have combos that are nigh on impossible to escape unscathed. The darkness plus paralysis in the caves of the mother and the sheer numbers of the cannibals left my players party in shambles. I love how it sets up the rest of the campaign and the NPCs were very fun to play. My players even managed to keep two of them alive. So I'd say with a little tinkering to make some of the encounters less deadly, this is a great start to an AP.


Excellent adventure... Stand alone or as part of the path

5/5

This is an excellent adventure where the players felt like they had complete control over their own destiny. It does take a significant amount of work and role play skill from the GM. So if you're a lazy GM or your players don't care about story there are better options for you. But as far as a sandbox style adventure that is capable of standing on its own this was excellent.

spoiler:
as for the puzzle that everyone says was so difficult I simply drew a stick figure picture of the hieroglyphs that are described in the book. Made the puzzle very easy for my players because they could actually see the pictures instead of having me try to describe them to them.


Great Start

5/5

This is one of the best AP books of all time.

Pros:
- Great get the party together hook
- Amazing setting
- Sandbox style adventure leaves room to play

Cons
- There was a tricky puzzle that my players had a tough time figuring out

Overall its just doesn't get better than this. My players loved it for its sense of mystery, menace and suspense. I can't wait for this to become PFS legal to get a chance to play it and run it more.


This AP is HARD

5/5

Spoiler potential ahead, so be warned.

My players and I (the GM) loved this book. Having played through Kingmaker and experienced the sandbox style they presented there, I can safely say Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (SfSS) balances that sandbox exploration feel with what I think Kingmaker lacked - a good sense of progression. Certainly you can go around the island and kill off random encounters and animal lairs and explore shipwrecks, but you very quickly pick up on the hooks of a plot and an idea of how to progress it at the pace the players want. And trust me, they should pace themselves, because this AP is hard as hell.

The DCs are a bit too high here and there (Swim and Climb Checks of 20 at level 1? Knowledge DC 25s?? DC 30 Perception and Escape Artist checks???) but that's easily tweak-able. The Cannibal camp really ramps up the difficulty if they're not careful, and Mother Thrunefang was an almost TPK if you run her as it describes tactically. Also, 6 skeletons vs a level 1 party with minimal means of dealing bludgeoning damage is extremely deadly; proceed with caution. Endure Elements is a must have (luckily there's an NPC with the capability to cast it if the PCs can't), and I even threw in the rules about getting lost, which made for some desperate (and fun!) struggles in the island. All this, combined with the dangerous wildlife, gives a very visceral feel to the deadliness of the Shiv, and my players and I loved it.

The mystery as to how they got there and why is also a fun little game we had, and any GM worth his/her salt should take time to read up on each of the NPC castaways and play them according to their personalities. Gelik and Ishirou remain two of the more memorable NPCs they encountered, mostly because both of them gave them the most trouble. Jask was almost immediately helpful when the paladin convinced everyone that he was innocent, Aerys was also convinced to be more helpful especially after they got the berries, and Sasha got her animal companion but unfortunately contracted Red Ache early on and was mostly incapacitated for the adventure (I plan on detailing her further in the coming books).

The "Campmaker" rules were a little too gamey for my tastes, but it worked out after we assigned roles and started getting back into roleplaying. Trying to win over the favor of the NPCs was quite fun as well. Overall, a very fun AP, especially if they're looking for a challenge. I highly recommend it!


1 to 5 of 15 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | next > last >>
51 to 100 of 232 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | next > last >>
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Lord Fyre wrote:
Are you volunteering to write said Mega-Adventure? (Right now, were would you find the time?)

My only writing deadline right now is Nov. 30th. That's 18 days away. After that, I have nothing on the schedule. Besides, Paizo doesn't even have such a mega-adventure on their schedule either. And you can't just plop something like that into the product line at the drop of a hat anyway. So that should give me plenty of time to convince my wife to give me time away from the kids to knock out a 64-page module, right? ;-]

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4

I think after all these months of Paizo keeping you busy, convincing your wife to let you just hope back on the computer for another two month ride should only be a CR23 level encounter. That sound about right?

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Oh, easily. It's an epic level adventure, for sure. Should provide quite the inspiration for a mega-adventure that starts at 18th level, right? ;-)

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4

I have to say I admire your bravery more than your skill.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

Oooohhh... Serpent's Skull Adventure Path... Hmmm I know I said I was thinking about trying to GM two games... one of which might be Kingmaker (or Second Darkness)... but Serpent's Skull sounds really awesome and intriguing too.
~Sigh~ sooo many AP's... so little time. ;-)

TMW


If you want to do an AP above 1st level why not base it off of one of the level one to 3 modules? That way a DM and group can start at level 1 and the AP can pick up where the module leaves off. OR they can just do the AP starting at level "X".

Edit:

Plus it allows you to keep the AP's at numbering 6.


Robert Miller 55 wrote:

If you want to do an AP above 1st level why not base it off of one of the level one to 3 modules? That way a DM and group can start at level 1 and the AP can pick up where the module leaves off. OR they can just do the AP starting at level "X".

Edit:

Plus it allows you to keep the AP's at numbering 6.

This has been suggested, basically they don't want to mix the two lines, and it's not really an ideal method for them.


This looks very very cool. Huge pirate fan, especialy if the setting in question is done in a very gritty manner. This will likely get me back subscribing to the AP line...whether I can afford it or not.

One thing I'm very curious on though, is the character on the cover. New iconic or NPC? Either way, makes me really wish someone in my area (beyond myself) would DM pathfinder, as I really Really REALLY want to make a summoner proficient with a whip and in the possession of a monitor lizard eidolon...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The art on the cover is all placeholder art; in this case, both images were taken from an adventure in Pathfinder #14, I believe. The final cover will have entirely different art. We haven't even ordered the art for the cover yet, in fact...

Silver Crusade

Man oh man am I glad to see the Mwangi Expanse get some AP love. I'm chomping at the bit for this one.


*drool*

THIS I can't wait for...Wish this was before Kingmaker personally...


Serpent's Skull eh? I assume this is a reference to...

Possible Spoiler:
Ydersius, the dead god of the serpentfolk. He was decapitated ages ago, but may be resurrected if his skull is reunited with his body.

This isn't the only Serpent's Skull though.

In the WOTC sourcebook Elder Evils, there's a section on Sertrous, demon lord of snakes. Sertous was slain, but "his will persists in his severed head," and it's through this head that he will be able to resurrect himself. Oh, did I mention that James Jacobs designed Sertous? Hmmm...

So where did the motif of an evil, decapitated snake god come from? Does it have a literary/mythological foundation? I seem to recall there being an evil snake god in Conan the Barbarian who was trapped in an alternate dimension, but I only watched the cartoons so I'm not sure if this was true to the books.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The motif of an evil snake god who gets decapitated but isn't killed is actually from my homebrew campaign... as is Ydersius, in fact. I used SOME of the elements of his backstory for the work I did on Elder Evils (but I wasn't really all that happy with how it turned out there, alas... too many restrictions on what I could and couldn't do), but what you see about Ydersius in Golarion is more or less exactly how he appeared in my homebrew world of Baria.

The Exchange

Very exciting indeed! Not only do I love the concept of this upcoming AP, but I am incredibly happy to hear the intention of having the next two APs run to 17/18th. Consider the check in the mail, Paizo!

Owner - House of Books and Games LLC

James Jacobs wrote:
The motif of an evil snake god who gets decapitated but isn't killed is actually from my homebrew campaign... as is Ydersius, in fact. I used SOME of the elements of his backstory for the work I did on Elder Evils (but I wasn't really all that happy with how it turned out there, alas... too many restrictions on what I could and couldn't do) ...

That may be, but even so, that book is one of the bibles for my campaign :)


Pathfinder LO Special Edition, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I am some what new to Pathfinder, I enjoy what my GM has run our group through. Reading about this new AP, I know I want to play through it. It says expected August 2010... I wonder if I will be able to pick it up at Gen Con...

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

ANTHONY VANWEY wrote:
I am some what new to Pathfinder, I enjoy what my GM has run our group through. Reading about this new AP, I know I want to play through it. It says expected August 2010... I wonder if I will be able to pick it up at Gen Con...

Welcome! We intend to release it on the first day of Gen Con. See you there!


Uuuuh... Mythical ruin hunting on the Jungle... *grabs hat and whip*

Can't wait to see what pops out on this AP

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Heheheh...if you only knew...

::evil grin::


This is the AP I've been waiting for...


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Rauol_Duke wrote:
This is the AP I've been waiting for...

Same here.

This line in the description, "an overview of the ancient serpentfolk of the Mwangi Expanse and their eerie magic," has me terribly excited.

I'm hoping the serpentfolk are a continual threat throughout the Adventure Path and not just reserved for one chapter or worse, a long dead race that have left behind only ruins and artifacts.

Bring on the snakey goodness Paizo!

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Torpedo wrote:
I'm hoping the serpentfolk are a continual threat throughout the Adventure Path and not just reserved for one chapter or worse, a long dead race that have left behind only ruins and artifacts.

James can probably come along and speak to it in more detail, but for what it's worth, I think you'll ultimately be quite pleased with the Serpent's Skull adventure path.

Contributor

NSpicer wrote:
Torpedo wrote:
I'm hoping the serpentfolk are a continual threat throughout the Adventure Path and not just reserved for one chapter or worse, a long dead race that have left behind only ruins and artifacts.
James can probably come along and speak to it in more detail, but for what it's worth, I think you'll ultimately be quite pleased with the Serpent's Skull adventure path.

I know I'm looking forward to it. :D

I got to touch on the region and something related to the AP in my last assignment, so doubly looking forward to seeing where it all goes. Of course I have nothing on my plate at the moment, so I'm doing a good job on the waiting. ;)

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

The first half of this AP reminds me of Sierra's Quest for Glory III: Wages of War, but it sounds like it won't be near the savanna parts of Mwangi, which is a shame. A were-panther ally against the ape-folk might be nice, and so would a wemic paladin.


I've been hooked on 'serpent folk' ever since the übercool Snakemen from Masters of the Universe (way, waaaaay back in the 80's).
And the setting fits that mysterious continent on my campaign world like a glove (again).

Gotta run this one as well!


I hate to ask, but when might we expect the Player's Guide to come out? Prep time is everything.


DragonMunchie wrote:
I hate to ask, but when might we expect the Player's Guide to come out? Prep time is everything.

If it is anything like previous AP's, it will be available at about the same time the first volume ships.

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
The motif of an evil snake god who gets decapitated but isn't killed is actually from my homebrew campaign... as is Ydersius, in fact. I used SOME of the elements of his backstory for the work I did on Elder Evils (but I wasn't really all that happy with how it turned out there, alas... too many restrictions on what I could and couldn't do), but what you see about Ydersius in Golarion is more or less exactly how he appeared in my homebrew world of Baria.

Would you consider Yig to be a big influence on Ydersius? Is Ydersius an incarnaion of Yig - does he (the Father of Serpents) even have presence on Golarion?

Answersss please.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Auxmaulous wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The motif of an evil snake god who gets decapitated but isn't killed is actually from my homebrew campaign... as is Ydersius, in fact. I used SOME of the elements of his backstory for the work I did on Elder Evils (but I wasn't really all that happy with how it turned out there, alas... too many restrictions on what I could and couldn't do), but what you see about Ydersius in Golarion is more or less exactly how he appeared in my homebrew world of Baria.

Would you consider Yig to be a big influence on Ydersius? Is Ydersius an incarnaion of Yig - does he (the Father of Serpents) even have presence on Golarion?

Answersss please.

Absolutely. They both have the same first letter of their name, and in appearance they're pretty identical (save that Ydersius has no head or no body, depending on where you're at). At one point I considered just using Yig, since he's in the public domain and all, but decided against it because Yig is really closely tied to Earth and it would be weird to have him on Golarion. Someone like Azathoth or Yog-Sothoth, on the other hand, they're all over the place. But Yig? He's a local guy.

Dark Archive

Well yeah, you are right about Yig and his ties to earth. I was thinking sword and sorcery/Hyboria - but that still is ancient earth isn't it?

Maybe Ydersius as an avatar/incarnation of Yig on Golarion? Yes, that will do the trick.

I have to say I have not run one single AP or module from Paizo yet - I do use the creatures. It's the Serpent folk or the occasional old school monster write ups which keeps me hooked. HOOKED.

I might have just have to run this AP as a tribute to the Isle of Dread (first module I owned - my other buddy had the basic set, I bought the expert boxed set).

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Auxmaulous wrote:
I might have just have to run this AP as a tribute to the Isle of Dread (first module I owned - my other buddy had the basic set, I bought the expert boxed set).

If you liked "Isle of Dread," you should check out the "Savage Tide" adventure path we published in Dungeon from issues #139 to #150... particularly issues #142–#145.

The Exchange

I'm really looking forward to this AP- more than Kingmaker, more than Council of Thieves even. I'm having a blast with CoT, but I love nothing more than adventures like this one. And it comes out just in time for my birthday, too.

Now just to try to get CoT finished before then....


Pirate, ancient city, serpent people, serpent god who's name starts with a Y... sounds perfect for a Freeport campaign.

If you don't know Freeport check out Green Ronin's site. Very cool setting for pirate adventuring fun.

Only wish it was coming sooner.

Shade325

Liberty's Edge

So which Iconics will be featured in this one?

Dark Archive

James,

Will this whole AP have a lot of travel on ship, seeking treasure, etc? That was the biggest let-down with Savage Tide. It eventually devolved into this "stop the world from impending doom from demons" thing. BTW...Savage Tide was still awesome.

I for one would like this AP to be nothing but high seas, high seas, treasure hunt, and high seas with plenty of backstabbing and mistrust within the story arc. That includes the players as well.

:)

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

William Bryan wrote:
I for one would like this AP to be nothing but high seas, high seas, treasure hunt, and high seas with plenty of backstabbing and mistrust within the story arc. That includes the players as well.

Clearly, I'm not James. But I'll give a go at answering your question. Sadly, I'm afraid Serpent's Skull won't meet your wish. The initial chapter includes a seafaring scene to it, but I believe the action swiftly moves inland for most of the rest of campaign. Rather than imagining this as a high seas campaign, reimagine it as more of an Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, jungle safari, ancient ruins exploration kind of campaign.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

William Bryan wrote:

James,

Will this whole AP have a lot of travel on ship, seeking treasure, etc? That was the biggest let-down with Savage Tide. It eventually devolved into this "stop the world from impending doom from demons" thing. BTW...Savage Tide was still awesome.

I for one would like this AP to be nothing but high seas, high seas, treasure hunt, and high seas with plenty of backstabbing and mistrust within the story arc. That includes the players as well.

:)

There's pretty much zero ship travel adventure in this adventure path. An adventure path set entirely on the high seas would be cool, but it's absolutely not what "Serpent's Skull" is about. "Serpent's Skull" is more about jungle exploration and lost cities and the like.


I have a few bits about the pirates that may or may not be in this adventure.

How much does this have to do with pirates?

If it is quite a bit can we not have pirates that are similar to the common misconception of them? I would much rather have an adventure that had a pirate atmosphere that is more historically accurate. Not only would it be much cooler than the romantic version of them... but it would surpise most players.

But, if pirates are a short-lived aspect.. keep the romatic version as delving deep into actual pirate character would make more sense if they're only around for an adventure or two.


If I'm reading the vibe right, this AP begins with characters in Sargava rather than traveling there from Cheliax or otherwise, yeah?

Just some idle curiosity of how this one kicks off. Savage Tide really had that traveling to a strange realm to explore vibe. I think that's what I enjoyed the most about it. I actually lost interest in the Path once things got pointed towards Serpent Cove and the Abyss. If this one's all-exploration, I'm super-stoked. Maybe I can fudge in some of Savage Tide for some "getting there" style adventures.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Paul Ackerman 70 wrote:

I have a few bits about the pirates that may or may not be in this adventure.

How much does this have to do with pirates?

If it is quite a bit can we not have pirates that are similar to the common misconception of them? I would much rather have an adventure that had a pirate atmosphere that is more historically accurate. Not only would it be much cooler than the romantic version of them... but it would surpise most players.

But, if pirates are a short-lived aspect.. keep the romatic version as delving deep into actual pirate character would make more sense if they're only around for an adventure or two.

The "Serpent's Skull" adventure path is about the PCs racing to discover and then explore a legendary lost city in the jungle. They're racing against several other factions that also want to be the first to reach and explore the city; those factions are the Red Mantis assassins, the Pathfinders, the Aspis Consortium, and the Free Captains of the Shackles. That's pretty much the major role that "pirates" play in the AP overall—they have agents as one of those four factions. The first adventure takes place entirely on a jungle island—there are a lot of shipwrecks to explore and some pirate-themed elements ON the island, but there's not any nautical battle or open seas element to the Adventure Path at all.

As for historical accuracy—while Golarion takes a LOT of cues and inspiration from history, it's not a world where we're trying to be historically accurate. The presence of magic more or less prevents that from happening.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Fletch wrote:

If I'm reading the vibe right, this AP begins with characters in Sargava rather than traveling there from Cheliax or otherwise, yeah?

Just some idle curiosity of how this one kicks off. Savage Tide really had that traveling to a strange realm to explore vibe. I think that's what I enjoyed the most about it. I actually lost interest in the Path once things got pointed towards Serpent Cove and the Abyss. If this one's all-exploration, I'm super-stoked. Maybe I can fudge in some of Savage Tide for some "getting there" style adventures.

As I mentioned in my previous post, there's not really any nautical journey element to this AP. The AP begins with the PCs in Sargava (sort of... see spoiler below), with the "Serpent's Skull Player's Guide" describing the voyage south along the west coast of Avistan and Garund. Basically, the PCs will be able to pick their home ports where they boarded this ship, and in so doing will determine their Campaign Traits for the AP.

The Serpent's Skull AP has a LOT of exploration—be it exploration of lost cities or primeval jungles or sinister islands. There's no nautical voyage or nautical exploration to it though.

As for how the Serpent's Skull AP starts... Spoilers for the start of the 1st adventure follow!

Spoiler:
"Souls for Smuggler's Shiv" begins just after the PC's ship that they read about in the Player's Guide crashes on the island of Smuggler's Shiv. The first adventure is all about the exploration of this mysterious island and getting rescued, and along the way discovering the location of a legendary lost city so that when the PCs ARE rescued, they'll possess some valuable knowledge that no one else really has and they'll be the center of attention as a result.


I am so waiting for this AP.

We are currently playing Legacy of Fire and will finish up next March (or so). At that time, I bloody get to PLAY !!! One of my guys wants to try his hand at DM'ing so we will be running two APs, alternating Sundays. One week, I will continue to DM and run Kingmaker, and the other week he will run this.

I haven't played in 15 years, so I am psych'd for this. I've already made 4 characters, now to pick.

-- david
Papa.DRB

ps. My first love is Rangers, so that is probably what I will play.


James Jacobs wrote:
** spoiler omitted **

I likey. I think after we play Kingmaker, it's going to be my turn to run an AP. I was considering doing Rappan Athuk, because I'm evil like that. But this sounds like it has real possibilities.

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16

James Jacobs wrote:
In any event... keep up the feedback! The reason we're going to 17th or 18th in Kingmaker is 100% because of customer feedback, and if it turns out there's just as many or more complaints about going to 17th level as there were for NOT going to 17th level... we'll absolutely listen and continue to vary the length of the APs.

Not to derail too much, but just to throw my hat in the ring: Please remember those of us that can't do high-level play. I know some groups exist that can do it well, but we can't get combats to take place in under 2 hours, and the math just gets too complicated and there's just too many rules at work at once. The game breaks down for us just past 10th level or so. And cutting our APs short because of this is sad times.

What's doubly sad is that those of us that disdain high-level play are also those of us that LOVE the stories. And there's been this tendency with AP structure that the first book has nothing to do with the core plot, then the 2nd book just starts to tie you in. And you don't get the awesome showdown with the legendary BBEG until the final book. We'd like to do the awesome stories too, but that seems excluded to our skill set. We value the stories more than we do the grinding and number crunching. And the current AP format doesn't support our style of play.

Again, I mean to take nothing away from those wanting high-level play: they should be catered to as well. But I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring as well.

Liberty's Edge

James Jacobs wrote:
Fletch wrote:

If I'm reading the vibe right, this AP begins with characters in Sargava rather than traveling there from Cheliax or otherwise, yeah?

Just some idle curiosity of how this one kicks off. Savage Tide really had that traveling to a strange realm to explore vibe. I think that's what I enjoyed the most about it. I actually lost interest in the Path once things got pointed towards Serpent Cove and the Abyss. If this one's all-exploration, I'm super-stoked. Maybe I can fudge in some of Savage Tide for some "getting there" style adventures.

As I mentioned in my previous post, there's not really any nautical journey element to this AP. The AP begins with the PCs in Sargava (sort of... see spoiler below), with the "Serpent's Skull Player's Guide" describing the voyage south along the west coast of Avistan and Garund. Basically, the PCs will be able to pick their home ports where they boarded this ship, and in so doing will determine their Campaign Traits for the AP.

The Serpent's Skull AP has a LOT of exploration—be it exploration of lost cities or primeval jungles or sinister islands. There's no nautical voyage or nautical exploration to it though.

As for how the Serpent's Skull AP starts... Spoilers for the start of the 1st adventure follow!

** spoiler omitted **

Exploration as in KM style exploration? I must say, while the exploration element is nice to have, it's not all that great for my group's playstyle. They prefer a more linear type story, so hopefully there will be less emphasis on exploration than there was in KM.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Xpltvdeleted wrote:
Exploration as in KM style exploration? I must say, while the exploration element is nice to have, it's not all that great for my group's playstyle. They prefer a more linear type story, so hopefully there will be less emphasis on exploration than there was in KM.

Not really Kingmaker style exploration. Serpent's Skull is a bit more linear than Kingmaker, but there ARE large areas to explore; those areas don't really overlap between adventures much though.

The AP we'll be doing after Serpent's Skull will be returning to an even more linear path. We'll be varying things up like that form now on, basically.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Erik Freund wrote:
Again, I mean to take nothing away from those wanting high-level play: they should be catered to as well. But I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring as well.

Actually, I can't think of a single one of our APs where the first book doesn't have anything to do with the whole plot. That said, we do try to make each adventure somewhat closed so that, if you want, you CAN adjust things to end at any point along the AP rather than take things through to the expected end. Which for the most part, folks seem to be asking for higher level ends.

That said, we will periodically do "shorter" APs. Council of Thieves, for example, ends at about 13th or 14th level, so you might want to check that one out.

The nature of the AP, though, is that they're usually going to be heading into at least 15th or 16th level.

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16

James Jacobs wrote:
Erik Freund wrote:
Again, I mean to take nothing away from those wanting high-level play: they should be catered to as well. But I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring as well.
Actually, I can't think of a single one of our APs where the first book doesn't have anything to do with the whole plot. That said, we do try to make each adventure somewhat closed so that, if you want, you CAN adjust things to end at any point along the AP rather than take things through to the expected end. Which for the most part, folks seem to be asking for higher level ends.

For what it's worth, it doesn't seem that way to me. In RotRL, you saw seven-pointed stars and whatnot before then, but didn't really get into learning about the Runelords of Greed until the end of the 2nd book. In LoF, you really only learn of Jhavhul starting at the beginning of the 3rd book. In KM, the first book didn't have have kingdom-building, that comes starting in the 2nd. And here, in SS, it looks like the first book will be "prequel" material and the remaining books will actually be about going after the Seven-Speared City.

And I'm talking about "how it feels to the players" not "what it reveals in the GM notes." I dunno, maybe I've just played too much Final Fantasy in my day, but the "core plotline" seems to not really develop until the 2nd or 3rd book, giving the first book a standalone or prequel-style to it. Not that prequels are bad, but it'd be nice to have an AP sometime with a more "unified" plot.

And I understand "for the most part" people want it at the higher end. I'm just making sure you don't think it's everybody. :-p

Paizo Employee Creative Director

But there's more to it than that. There are themes and elements and other stuff in all of those first adventures that inexorably make them a part of their Adventure Paths. I guess what I'm taking exception to is the concept that in order to have something to do with the "plot" an adventure has to have concrete ties to the main bad guy of the entire campaign.

An adventure path is much more than its big-bad-end-guy, in other words.

Rise of the Runelords is as much about the peril facing Sandpoint and by extension Varisia as it is about the Runelords itself. And Legacy of Fire is as much about the "legacy" of the old genie war (including the reason Kelmarane was founded in the first place and why the old monastery does what it does) as it is about Jhavhul.

Dark Archive

I like the idea of a 'capstone' adventure that continues on from the events of one of the APs, for 17th+ level characters.

Just when you thought you'd won...

51 to 100 of 232 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Paizo / Product Discussion / Pathfinder Adventure Path #37: Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (Serpent's Skull 1 of 6) (PFRPG) All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.