Didn't I hear/ read some place that the pirates of the Crimson Fleet all have flamming red eyes? Maybe that's just the captains???
I rather like the idea of a pirate crew that all has a similar "vile" Feat like Willing Deformity: Red Eyes.
Jib, you read that in the Savage Tidings article in Dragon 349. It was in the What Do You Know: The Crimson Fleet section. As a rumor, it's not necessarily the truth (at least as presented in the article).
Does every captain in the fleet have red eyes (I assume we're talking half-fiend here)? I have an NPC from one of my character's backstories that I want to be captaining one of the ships attacking Farshore, but I don't really want him to be a half-fiend as that would detract from Vanthus's transformation.
Is this a willing deformity or enhancement?
IMHO it is just a feature of the half-fiendish look. :)
So only the captains with the half fiendish template (dare I say 'the Elite'?) have the read eyes?!
You average Crimson Fleet swab is just a normal (although very immoral) sailor?
Creative Director
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So only the captains with the half fiendish template (dare I say 'the Elite'?) have the read eyes?!
You average Crimson Fleet swab is just a normal (although very immoral) sailor?
Corrrect. In fact, a fair number of the pirates in the Crimson Fleet are simply mercenaries who work for the Fleet and aren't technically members. Only the leaders have red eyes, but that's certainly enough for rumors to spread.
Anything else besides red eyes that identifies a Pirate of the Crimson Fleet as he strides through the filth of Scuttlecove? Style of dress? tattoo? Unholy symbol boldy worn in the open?
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Creative Director
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Anything else besides red eyes that identifies a Pirate of the Crimson Fleet as he strides through the filth of Scuttlecove? Style of dress? tattoo? Unholy symbol boldy worn in the open?
Yup; it's pretty much all laid out in "Serpents of Scuttlecove" and "Tides of Dread." They're half-fiends, after all, complete with horns, wings, scales, and stingered tails.
half-fiends, after all, complete with horns, wings, scales, and stingered tails.
Speaking of which, I'm curious about the decision to go with the nearly generic image of the scaly, bat-winged, be-horned, bifercated tail image for the half-fiends like Vanthus. Setting aside that I believe it's a bit climax-skewing to finally face the wicked Vanthus after only seeing him once and having him be all suped up demonic (which, come to think of it, is exactly how I felt about our 10-eyed friend in SCAP), but it's such a generic image of fiendiness that it doesn't even seem scary any more.
Was this image really the most appropriate design to whatever fiend is sponsoring their transformations? Are they the tools of Demogorgon who should be showing other, more two-headed-monkey style fiendish mutations? What plot element am I missing that makes the bat-winged devils the best form and what would I screw up by changing it to something more frightening?
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It may be a generic or cliche look, but it's also a tried-and-true look. There's plenty of unusual-looking bad guys in the Savage Tide adventure path (ranging from the savage creatures to the koprus on up to Demogorgon himself), so it's actually a little refreshing, in my opinion, to also face classical and familiar foes like pirates and bat-winged demon people. It allows us to present Vanthus as a complex character in his personality and motivations without getting hung up on a really weird appearance that's too distracting.
It's also not the final stage of Vanthus's transformation; he returns later in the campaign with a new level to his looks in part 9: "Into the Maw."
If you say so. I suspect you have many more hours of playtesting this than I do, but I just have this premonition that my players won't be as horrified by his newly fiendish nature as they might be if he were more unique looking.
If there's more fiendish body-twisting to come, though, I may actually hold off on Vanthus being a half-fiend at all in Tides o' Dread. In my mind, the party is going to want to confront the bastadge that burried them alive, and I'd like to have that first confrontation be as pure as possible. I'm going to look into having Vanthus be un-fiended for ToD and then allow him to come back as a half-fiend for a rematch after the party kills him at Farshore.
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Creative Director
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Vanthus becoming a half-fiend is actually more important to the overall plot than just to give him a CR bump, but at the same time, there's a bit of wisdom to keeping him humanoid for longer. In the end, though, you should absolutely adapt and change the campaign as you need to in order to make it the most fun for your group. If that means making Vanthus look more unusual and strange when he becomes a half-fiend, by all means, go for it!
Didn't Vanthus die in the raid on Farshore? How can he come back? My players might make certain that he can't be raised from the dead.
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Creative Director
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Didn't Vanthus die in the raid on Farshore? How can he come back? My players might make certain that he can't be raised from the dead.
Yep; he does indeed die during the Farshore Raid. And since we mentioned this in the Campaign Summary in issue #138, I suppose it's not really a spoiler any more... but if you don't want the surprise development at the start of "Serpents of Scuttlecove" revealed... read no further!
Spoiler
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Vanthus gets turned into a death knight by Demogorgon.
Nice!