Pirates take whatever they please, whether it be ships, plunder, or people! The adventurers wake to find themselves press-ganged into the crew of the pirate ship Wormwood, the vessel of the nefarious Captain Barnabus Harrigan. They’ll have to learn how to survive as pirates if they’re to have any hope of weathering rough waves, brutal crew members, enemy pirates, ravenous beasts, and worse. But when fortune turns to their favor, it’s up to the new crew to decide whether they’ll remain the pirate’s swabs or seize control and set sail for adventures all their own.
This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path and includes:
“The Wormwood Mutiny,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by Richard Pett.
Details of life aboard a pirate vessel and rules for becoming the most infamous scallywag to sail the seas, by Jesse Benner, Richard Pett, and F. Wesley Schneider.
Revelations on the daring faith of Besmara, goddess of pirates, strife, and sea monsters, by Sean K Reynolds.
Death and plunder in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Robin D. Laws.
Four new monsters, by Jesse Benner, Sean K Reynolds, and Steven D. Russell
Each monthly full-color softcover Pathfinder Adventure Path volume contains an in-depth adventure scenario, stats for several new monsters, and 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 world's oldest fantasy RPG.
ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-404-7
The Wormwood Mutiny is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (479 KB zip/PDF).
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
I've had this ever since it was first released. I've wanted to run it for a long time and finally got to start it last year. Next to Rise of the Runelords it's been the AP I've wanted to run most.
The story is very compelling. The antagonists are really well done in that your group should definitely grow to hate them. Once the inevitable happens, it's quite the payoff for the group. They'll make lots of friends and those friendships will payoff and create an awesome tapestry through the AP. They'll also make some enemies who will be there until the end.
That being said this isn't for everyone. The group starts out press-ganged on to the ship. Which is another way of saying they are enslaved. Their freedom is very limited and they are punished for the slightest infractions. It can be extremely oppressive. It is a roleplaying heavy volume of the AP. Not a lot of your typical action happens for pretty much the first half of the book. It is a gold mine for those who love roleplaying.
The PCs are also put face to face with some very high level and dangerous people. Groups who feel they can resolve everything with violence are going to be in for a surprise if they step out of line at the wrong point. If they try to mutiny too early, it's going to be the end of them. A mutiny is the expected outcome of the volume, but they need to do it as the right time.
There are a few encounters that are really dangerous and potentially deadly especially as groups have very little access to tools to deal with them. So it takes a bit of work to either modify the scenarios or try to find a way of getting something to help them in their hands.
This volume introduces a fair amount of water based encounters. If you aren't familiar with the rules for swimming and the effects of water as an environment, or you don't like them, this AP may not be to your taste either. A lot of encounters through the entire AP are set in the water.
Ultimately by the end of the book, if all goes well your group should be in command of their own ship with a loyal crew, no longer enslaved to their old captain, and charting their own destiny on the High Seas.
Recently I`ve bumped into Mr. John Compton`s inquiry about reviews on Paizo products https://twitter.com/Archaeotagh/status/1072706185613082624
I`ve GM-ed Wormwood Mutiny and liked it - couple new mechanics, survival sandbox for players, huge number of NPCs to hate and oppose. But heres my spoon of tar in this barrel of honey: map (Riptide Cove) with 1 square = 10 feet grid.
If your artists can draw "1 square = 10 feet grid" - they definetly can draw smaller "1 square = 5 feet grid" so GM-s do not have to learn picture editing and spent time on it.
One might say, that it is because of printed book version page number limit, editing problems. Maybe. But why they keep "1 square = 10 feet grid" in interactive map PDF? Theres no space (page) limit there.
Maybe your artist and editor never GM-ed it, never prepared this particular map for game session - I am sure, that even after one such time with grid-editing "1 square = 10 feet grid" into "1 square = 5 feet grid" they definetly never did such thing for others.
I ran a group of mid-level gamers through this module. I find the feedback of other gamers to be incredibly useful and mostly agree with the other comments. A few things I didn't see, but made running the module difficult:
1) The information is way too scattered. If you need a specific NPC's stats, you'll thumb through about 16 times in order to find it. Same with the rules for Plunder, Infamy, Ship to Ship combat, etc. It seems to be an Achilles' heel of the AP overall. Now that it's out of print, my suggestion to Paizo, if they ever decide to compile it as a hardback in the same vein as earlier APs, is that they consolidate the heck out of it. Lump all the NPCs together in one section. Put all the new rules together. Etc.
2) Where it drags on--day by day as pirates--can be a drudge. You'll have to work with your players, and do a bit of homework as a GM to make it interesting.
3) For a group playing a "non evil pirates" campaign, be prepared to swap out some encounters. This is a bigger challenge in Module 2, where people can be sold into slavery, but still worth mentioning here.
4) Make sure your players have enough resources to survive swarm encounters before they get on the island! I had to cheat a little bit by stuffing a few flasks of alchemist fire and acid in some of the treasure on the island. Otherwise it would have been a TPK after 1-2 botfly encounters.
5) The final encounter is a weird setup that you will have to adjust. Plugg and Scourge give the PCs a short amount of time to get supplies, but at the same time there's no way to run through all the encounters in that time. Maybe make it one of the reasons they are mad at the PCs?
6) The ghouls deserve a story! I made the underwater encounter a bit more interesting and added some plunder for recovering the wreck, otherwise there's absolutely nothing there for anyone.
I ran this adventure for a group of 5 new players. I cut some encounters and used the fast advancement track due to time constraints. Including building and leveling PCs, the adventure took 20 hours to run.
Richard Pett provides great information to build on here, with 8 fully detailed NPCs (friend and foe) and over a dozen more with enough information to inspire the GM. Even the mundane treasure is interesting. As a GM, though, you'll need to figure out how to introduce a number of the NPCs on your own. Instead of using space to provide advice in this area, the adventure has rules for daily job roles that can quickly get tedious.
The supplementary material for the adventure is solid, although one of the magic items is a bit expensive for the level range. The Life of a Pirate article contains more campaign-specific rules that I found confusing and hard to convey to the players. SKR's article on Besmara is up to his usual high standard, and the fiction should inspire a magic item or 2. The monsters compliment the adventure well, but the pirate familiars are missing any mention of bonuses (or lack thereof) for those who choose them.
Summary: Can be a blast to play, but only if the GM puts in the prep time. Most of the back matter is good quality.
Reading it is Brilliant, Playing it is a Different Story
I read this module and it immediately hooked me as a GM. This is an excellent, nay brilliant adventure that has much going for it. I put in massive amounts of work to encourage the players to get excited to play this and they were.
But I had not realised the effect this module would have. This module basically is about kidnapping the players, grind them down and subject them to a harsh ship experience. Sure, in the end they rise up and get a ship of their own and escape the yoke of the evil Captain and his minions but the lead up can be very depressing for players that get seriously into character.
This module nearly broke my group. The players in my group got tied up in their characters and it was not pleasurable to see how they attempted to balance who would get the beating and who would not. I felt for them as they felt the helplessness of their characters. In the long run it ended in a massive argument and the group nearly broke up for good. I had to spend a good amount of time rebuilding burnt bridges and assuring them that they were moments away from a great resolution to the module.
In the end I loved how this module read, hated how it played. So this review puts it right in the middle of the ratings. Consider running it (and the AP as a whole is awesome) but be aware of the dangers that lie in it.
I have much fate in you guys that this will be the BEST Adventure Path this far, a huge task as most of the others are already extremly good!
I really hope you keep the current art-style non-touched, It would be a nightmare to see a totally new artstyle in the books as the current one was sooo good! (I didn't really liked the art-change in one adventure path, the one with the Springheel Jack in it... that artstyle was too gothic for my personal taste... I hope we don't see that back again!)
But anyway
Charybdis and Scylla, Sirens and Loreleis here we come!! (Don't forget to look-up the Symplegades from Greek mythology, those would be welcome in this sea-based adventure with much ships, blood and pirates.
Now, we just need for this AP to have two great "Pirate" themed adventures, then abruptly switch to an Underdark campaign.
Uh, why do we need this? I'm assuming that it is some sarcastic reference to one of the other APs, though I'm not placing it immediately.
I'll be happy with a large pirate themed game, myself.
Second Darkness:
You begin taking over a gambling den in a lawless pirate town, then end up running around the world (and darklands) nobly saving everyone from a terrible conspiracy.
Which actually was one of the most unsatisfying APs by paizo, ever.
bits and pieces salvaged from this rotten badly-sewn-togerther monstrosity crept up "in exilium" in other campaigns of mine, but that one.... *shiver*
Though I felt similarly after the change of focus in the "Serpent's Skull" AP after the islandish introduction.
As for this AP - will the .Pdf be out on time in mid-march ? or will taht be delayed due toe the chinese holiday as well. As a European subscriber, I am used to my "print" copy turning up several weeks after the online version (nice to have, though), so please, publish the pdf on shecudle, will you ?
As for this AP - will the .Pdf be out on time in mid-march ? or will taht be delayed due toe the chinese holiday as well. As a European subscriber, I am used to my "print" copy turning up several weeks after the online version (nice to have, though), so please, publish the pdf on shecudle, will you ?
Subscribers get their PDFs when their corresponding print edition ships, and non-subscribers can purchase the PDF on the book's retail release date.
I though the players guide's came out like a week early.
I believe that is because it comes out when the Subscribers are shipped their copies, which is usually about a week before the official release date. :) The benefits of being a subscriber.
This will be my first time subscribed from the start of the Adventure Path though, so I may be wrong there.
I though the players guide's came out like a week early.
I believe that is because it comes out when the Subscribers are shipped their copies, which is usually about a week before the official release date. :) The benefits of being a subscriber.
This will be my first time subscribed from the start of the Adventure Path though, so I may be wrong there.
Avast! Ye be right!. Subscribers get t' PDF as soon as their cargo sails, which be usually a week early.
That ship still puts in at t' End o' March at t' soonest.
Here is my question in regards to this AP. I don't understand how it will fundamentally work (especially towards the end of the first installment). A pirate ship... has ONE captain. How can it be the basis for a party adventure.
Here is my question in regards to this AP. I don't understand how it will fundamentally work (especially towards the end of the first installment). A pirate ship... has ONE captain. How can it be the basis for a party adventure.
Just like a kingdom having one king/queen was a basis for Kingmaker :)
Here is my question in regards to this AP. I don't understand how it will fundamentally work (especially towards the end of the first installment). A pirate ship... has ONE captain. How can it be the basis for a party adventure.
Just like a kingdom having one king/queen was a basis for Kingmaker :)
More detail please. I haven't read/played Kingmaker. I own it, being a charter subscriber but my gaming group gets together approximately once every two MONTHS due to all of us being to busy with work and other obligations. I've got all these AP's and havent been able to use ANY of them because we can't finish a campaign.
In Kingmaker, one plays the role of King/Queen. Others play other roles, Spymaster, Magister, etc. Your kingdom gets a bonus on certain rolls by having people filling various positions. Here, in all likelihood, one will be the captain and others first mate, etc. I don't know if they'll carry forward similar mechanics.
If you own a pdf with the logo somewhere in it you can use Some PDF Image Extract to... well... extract the image :) That's how I get neat unkeyed battle maps from my modules.
Is the late April ship date a delayed ship date for this product? I'm a bit confused, I know Jade Regent jumped a month but shouldn't this be in the March product stream?
Actually looking at all 6 of these it seems compressed, April, May, May, June, June, July?
Is the late April ship date a delayed ship date for this product? I'm a bit confused, I know Jade Regent jumped a month but shouldn't this be in the March product stream?
Actually looking at all 6 of these it seems compressed, April, May, May, June, June, July?
As I've preordered Slumbering Tsar, the new Rappan Athuk, the Pathfinder minis (pawns and plastic), and the Rise of the Runelords hardcover, over the course of April - June my bank account is going to scream "Uncle!"
Any idea how soon we'll see the Player's Guide released for this Adventure Path?
We generally release the Player's Guide at the same time that the first volume of an Adventure Path becomes available, so I would look for it in mid to late April.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Oh, late April now. Last we heard it was "early April, possibly late March". That means almost a quarter of a year between the last delivery and this one, that's really quite a lot. Ah, well.
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber
Lord Fyre wrote:
Now, we just need for this AP to have two great "Pirate" themed adventures, then abruptly switch to an Underdark campaign.
To be fair, they advertised Second Darkness from the beginning as a drow campaign. Which means of course it will go to the Darklands. Last I checked, there were indeed drow in every volume.
It just happened to start in a pirate town. I will admit letting the PCs get settled in before sending them on the road was probably a mistake. On the other hand, most epic adventure stories involve the heroes leaving their home for one reason or another. Part of that mythic cycle and all that.
I may be biased because Second Darkness was the first AP I read, but I happened to like it. I think it's way underrated. If Second Darkness is the worst Paizo can do, then it's silver being compared to gold.
Oh, late April now. Last we heard it was "early April, possibly late March". That means almost a quarter of a year between the last delivery and this one, that's really quite a lot. Ah, well.
Here's the thing-- Paizo knows that Gencon is when they need to release a new AP. It excites people and creates word of mouth. So, we're going to be seeing Shattered Star in mid-August. This is pretty much a given.
It's like an accordion of AP volumes. Usually it's stretched out, but it's going to squash together soon. 6 of them are going to come out between "late-April" and August 16th. And the RotRL book is going to come out. And Shattered Star #1. 13 AP volumes worth of material in 5 months.
Oh, late April now. Last we heard it was "early April, possibly late March". That means almost a quarter of a year between the last delivery and this one, that's really quite a lot. Ah, well.
Any idea how soon we'll see the Player's Guide released for this Adventure Path?
We generally release the Player's Guide at the same time that the first volume of an Adventure Path becomes available, so I would look for it in mid to late April.
So we are not actually going to see this even in .pdf form for another month, or rather 40 days (typing this on March 16th) ? Due to printing constraints in China ?
Not even the "never in print" Player's Guide ? Don't even begin to see the logic in this, and having the AP delayed for up to approximately six weeks....(pdf is now listed as available April 25th...) nevermind than having the actual print copy stuck in the mail to Europe for another three weeks. Make that May ?
That's a major nuiscance, especially for those waiting to actually start that campaign. I don't really suppose that the authors did not finish their scripts months ago and I could care less for the PR at GenCon.
If I was Paizo management I would hopefully be thinking of one definition of insanity: Performing the same actions over and over but expecting different results. They (Paizo) were caught unprepared by a combination of weather and Chinese holidays. So be it; good companies will learn from this painful experience and prepare contingency plans for the next time.
If, come Dec 2012 - Feb 2013, Paizo (and by extension, us the customers) experience these same issues, my respect for Paizo's leadership would take a significant hit.
Or to look at things another way, the Chinese holiday will happen again, the same time every year. Extreme weather is not a matter of if, but when. Accounting for these occurences is not necessarily cheap in terms of time, scope and resources (re: money and people), also known as the holy triad of project management, but it has to be done.
Or they can start looking for printers in countries that don't celebrate Chinese holidays.
I don't have a clue as to the cost of changing from a Chinese printer to one in a different country but I do hope that, going forward, the fact that Chinese holidays can impact Paizo's shipping schedule is accounted for.