Not all adventures take place on land—the ships that sail the waters of the Inner Sea and surrounding oceans provide countless sources of excitement, plunder, and naval exploits. Whether the adventurers are simple passengers attacked by pirates or intrepid sailors running an enemy blockade, the ships presented in this book give Game Masters the tools they need to run fantastic adventures on the open sea.
Inside you’ll find seven unique ships, each with a captivating history, a detailed map with deck-by-deck descriptions, and backgrounds and statistics for the ship’s captain and crew. Whether they’re part of the Skulls & Shackles Adventure Path or a seaworthy campaign of your very own, the following vessels are sure to spice up any nautical adventure:
The Burnt Saffron, a slave galley said to have strange powers granted by Asmodeus in exchange for spreading slavery throughout the Inner Sea.
The Cetaceal, an Andoren ship serving the Gray Corsairs, the naval branch of the abolitionist Eagle Knights.
The Hu-Hazhong, a Tian junk from the distant Dragon Empires, traversing the waters of the Inner Sea with ambitions of lucrative trading.
The Impervious, a Chelish man-o’-war carrying a contingent of merciless Hellknights and part of the blockade against Pezzack.
The Kraken’s Spite, a viking longship built from the wreckage of a doomed invasion fleet, now serving no king and calling no port home.
The Mark of Yunnarius, a ghost ship captained by a vengeful banshee, haunting the edge of the Eye of Abendego.
The Ravishing Ruby, a pirate ship with a ruthless captain intent on retrieving her stolen magical treasure map, no matter the cost.
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Ships of the Inner Sea is intended for use with the Pathfinder campaign setting, but can be easily adapted to any fantasy world.
Written by Benjamin Bruck, Paris Crenshaw, Chris A. Jackson, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Philip A. Lee, John Mangrum
Cover Art by Alex Aparin
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-702-4
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
Though I've been running and playing Pathfinder for years, I've still never managed to do much in the area of pirates or naval combat. I read Ships of the Inner Sea more "just because" than because I was actively planning on using it anytime soon. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It's a great full of interesting NPCs and adventure ideas. Someday, I'll get around to some naval adventure, and when I do, I'll definitely pull this one out.
Ships of the Inner Sea is a 64-page, full-colour, softcover. The front cover features the Iconic Skald fighting a "fjord linnorm"--it's okay in my opinion, but nothing memorable. After some important front matter, the book then provides detailed coverage of seven different ships--including full deck plans, an overview of crew, custom NPCs, a full stat block for naval combat, a discussion of tactics, some new magic items, and some adventure hook ideas on why the PCs might encounter the ship.. Here's what's inside:
* Introduction (2 pages): This section provides a brief overview of the seven ships that are covered, noting that all of them have been built in accordance with the ship-to-ship combat rules in the Skull and Shackles AP--I always appreciate coordination like that. There's also a little pointer to some other resources GMs could use if running nautical adventures--it's incomplete, but it's a start.
* Sailing the Inner Sea (4 pages): Written by Chris A. Jackson (a Pathfinder Tales author who has extensive real-life sailing knowledge), this is an excellent primer on nautical terms, different types of ships one might encounter in the Inner Sea, trade routes, and dangerous regions. There's a useful full-page map showing the trade routes and trade winds, which would be useful for GMs who really want to add detail and "realism" to their games.
* Burnt Saffron (8 pages): The first ship we get detailed is the Burnt Saffron, an Okeno slave galley. It has a really cool backstory, and is definitely a ship to fear! It'd be perfect for a random encounter, but there are also some good adventure hooks if the GM wants to use it in a more involved storyline. The ship also has a (supernaturally?) mysterious aura around it--for example, freed slaves often try to return to it, and it's been reliably reported sunk on numerous occasions!
* Cetaceal (8 pages): Our second ship is the complete opposite: the Cetaceal is an Andoren slave-raider operated by the Gray Corsairs. It's a hit-and-run skirmisher that can be easily disguised so it can dock at hostile ports, and is commanded by a Paladin. It'd be a good ship to make a "timely" rescue if the PCs ever find themselves over their heads in a naval battle (or taken prisoner).
* Hu-Hazhong (8 pages): The Hu-Hazhong is a merchant ship from Tian Xia. It has a fantastic backstory, with some beautifully-written NPCs and accompanying flavour. It's the sort of ship PCs could book passage on for some excellent role-playing opportunities. It's also the sort of ship the PCs could rescue from pirates (or attack themselves, if they're being pirates!).
* Impervious (8 pages): Impervious is a classic Chelish man-o'-war, the sort of ship that shows up to make it clear that the Empire is not to be trifled with! Packed with Hellknights and a captain who's a level 16 magus, this is the sort of ship that PCs should run away from unless they're also nearing the end of their adventuring careers. There's an adventure hook involving the blockade of Pezzack, which could be of interest to GMs running a certain adventure path.
* Kraken's Spite (8 pages): I could see a whole campaign modelled on the premise of the Kraken's Spite. This Ulfen longship is crewed by former raiders who have decided to turn to exploring the Inner Sea. Along with the great backstory, I have to recognise the opening flavour-quote--it's the kind of dialogue every player wishes they could improvise during an encounter.
* Mark of Yunnarius (8 pages): Ghost ships are a staple of the fantasy genre, and the Mark of Yunnarius is likely the most fearsome that Pathfinder PCs will ever encounter. Full of banshees, baykoks, and drauger, this ghost ship haunts the Eye of Abendego. It features a classic backstory of treachery, love , and mortal. With a CR18 Captain, this may unfortunately be too high-level for anything other than an end-of-campaign big bad.
* Ravishing Ruby (8 pages): A more traditional pirate ship, the Ravishing Ruby has a bit of a twist in that the captain is obsessed with retrieving a lost bauble that she thinks holds a treasure map to immortality. It'd be fine as a random encounter, but could certainly be woven into a larger storyline.
Overall, Ships of the Inner Sea is an impressive, well-written, and detailed book. For GMs interested in this corner of Pathfinder gaming, it's definitely one to seek out.
I generally like these kinds of sourcebooks as they provide material that GMs can draw on when they need something last-minute, while also being supplements they can build entire campaigns around. For the most part, Ships of the Inner Sea doesn't disappoint. There's a good variety in the types of ships presented and all of them contain enough ideas and adventure seeds to keep any group occupied for some time. It's certainly a resource I will turn to if I run a seafaring campaign at some point in the future.
A must have for the Skulls & Shackles Adventure Path!!!
This book is simply amazing! with careful pruning of your PC's equipment with a thieving encounter or two while your PCs are off the ship, you can insert these ship encounters seamlessly and without increasing PC wealth too much.
The ship themselves are beautifully detailed and I see the dilemma of my players as they wonder "should we sell this ship or keep it? it's SOOOOOOO coooooooooooool!"
1) are some of these ships well balanced for level 4-5 PCs (i.e. 1/3 of the way into Chapter 2 where the PCs are doing lots of naval battles, increasing plunder points, etc.)
2) can you provide a general idea (no stats please) of what these items do?
** spoiler omitted **
-Skeld
Is the Funerary Crown thing a continuous bonus? Or if you don't fill the requirements once every so often, does it give you the penalty instead?
1) are some of these ships well balanced for level 4-5 PCs (i.e. 1/3 of the way into Chapter 2 where the PCs are doing lots of naval battles, increasing plunder points, etc.)
2) can you provide a general idea (no stats please) of what these items do?
** spoiler omitted **
-Skeld
Is the Funerary Crown thing a continuous bonus? Or if you don't fill the requirements once every so often, does it give you the penalty instead?
Spoiler:
The item description only says that the curse takes effect when "...placed on the brow of one who has never slain a
linnorm".
Disclaimer Two: I'm typing this right now from my bunk in the great cabin of a replica 17th-century Dutch jaght. There's a cannon roughly seven feet directly below me, and I know how to use it. :)
This above post is why I love reading through the Paizo forums. :D
I am really looking forwards to this. More maps/deck-plans is ALWAYS a good thing.
And, really... it's always a good thing to know how to use a cannon. :P
Personaly I was eager to play Skulls and Shakles for the oportunity of playing naval battles, but I was disapointed after reading the player guide: all was centered in naval gunship, not boarding. That's senseless (in my opinion) becouse a pirate is always more interested in capturing a ship than in sinking it. Also in a world with (few) firearms, grappling and boarding is more common. Does that new book do something about it?
Personaly I was eager to play Skulls and Shakles for the oportunity of playing naval battles, but I was disapointed after reading the player guide: all was centered in naval gunship, not boarding. That's senseless (in my opinion) becouse a pirate is always more interested in capturing a ship than in sinking it. Also in a world with (few) firearms, grappling and boarding is more common. Does that new book do something about it?
Personaly I was eager to play Skulls and Shakles for the oportunity of playing naval battles, but I was disapointed after reading the player guide: all was centered in naval gunship, not boarding. That's senseless (in my opinion) becouse a pirate is always more interested in capturing a ship than in sinking it. Also in a world with (few) firearms, grappling and boarding is more common. Does that new book do something about it?
i came here to scream about ruby being 5th level too. good to see is 8th, and that apparently the other ones i havent read yet (that was my first) are not also crack.
