I'm reviewing the Serpents of Scuttlecove, and I have a few questions for the author, or editors, or those who have already run this section of the AP.
1. What is Harliss Javell's precise relationship to the Crimson Fleet? In the Bullywug Gambit, she was portrayed as a Crimson Fleet captain, but it is apparent in Serpents that she is not part of Cold Captain Wyther's inner circle--he didn't bring her to Lemoriax to be transformed, unlike his other captains. Serpents indicates that all of Wyther's captains faced a choice of serve the Big D or hang from a yardarm, and presumably this happened before the Crimson Fleet started shipping shadow pearls, so if Harliss were a Crimson Fleet captain as of BG, she should have been transformed into a Lemorian already. Should she be portrayed more as a smuggler who fences goods for the Crimson Fleet, or something like that? That would seem more in keeping with her ignorance of the shadow pearl plot during BG.
2. Where do the active Crimson Fleet ships anchor when they are visiting the Fleet's home base on Sekorvia? The creek that houses the base is only 10 feet deep in its deepest parts--a caravel (average draft 10 feet) would have difficulty maneuvering in these waters without running aground, except perhaps at high tide. And the layout of the docks is such that there isn't really enough lateral clearance to move caravels in and out. The caravels by D3 and D7 must have been pulled in at high tide and had the docks built around them. Is there an outer harbor where the captains ordinarily anchor their ships when visiting? How did the six ships that form the strange structure of areas E-I get where they are? By their dimensions, they were originally the size of greatships (draft 20 feet). Were they moved to their positions via telekinesis? They certainly could not have been sailed in, and it's unlikely that they could have been dragged in.
Perhaps I'm a bit too hung up on consistency and verisimilitude here, and I can certainly concoct my own answers to these questions, but I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of Rich, Nick, and/or James on these questions, if you have time to share.
I realize I'm not Rich, Nick, or James, but can give my somewhat educated assesment.
Harliss is a merc. The crimson fleet supplements itself with mercs for run-around missions like transporting individual shadow pearls, or general menacing of smaller, undefended villages. Real assaults on defended areas, and transportation of the "last minute" shadow pearls would be done by "true" Crimson Fleet ships and captains.
As for the Crimson Fleet base, I'd presume that the ships mostly anchor in the Scuttlecove harbor; the secret base is only for buisiness that can't be conducted in Scuttlecove. Skiffs can be used for mundane transport, and most of the "people with clearance" to be there could be teleported there by Bar-Lguras (Yay abduction!) Ultimately, if you have a huge fleet of ships that can make you a metric butt load of money, something would be really wierd to demand even a fraction of them returning to the secret base. Besides, it won't remain a secret base for long with a lot of traffic coming in and out.
After typing it, I'm almost certain a convienient network of the "Bar-Lgura Astral Railroad" is how they move around quickly and secretly.
Creative Director
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Short answers, cause it's late-o-clock and I'm sick:
1: Harliss is a mercenary. Most of the Crimson Fleet is mercenaries, and most of them have never been to Scuttlecove. Her role kind of changed between conception in "Bullywug" and in the end, which is why there's a little bit of a disconnect. But yeah, she's a mercenary captain.
2: Active Crimson Fleet ships anchor in Scuttlecove; they don't go to the headquarters. The captains and certain high-ranking crewmen then head up there either on foot or in skiffs or small boats, under cover of night to keep the location secret. The ships you see on the map of the hideout are decommissioned and used as homes/barracks etc. One of the original conceits was that Crimson Fleet ships anchor in the harbor beyond what is shown on the map, but is still hidden by the illusion magic.
Get well soon *hands a cup of warm redcurrant juice* :)
Thanks James (and others!)-- Hope you feel better. If it's not the G-I thing that is making the rounds, have a hot toddy and sweat it off. (Grandma's home remedy, works well for nasty colds and such).
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I made an alteration of sorts to Bullywug to account for Harliss switching sides later in the path. I disassociated her from the Crimson Fleet entirely and said she was a freelance pirate. She plundered a merchant ship that was carrying the pearl to Sasserine to deliver it to Rowyn's mom (name escapes me now). Later, the Kellanis made contact with Harliss to recover the pearl (Harliss didn't know what she had in her possession). Vanthus is tasked with actually doing the deal. Being a creep among creeps, he decided to pocket the Kellani money and steal the pearl from Harliss, thus triggering subsequent events.
IMC this worked out better for Vanthus' motivations as well. Since he's really been in league with demons all along, I wondered why he would end up in the position of accidentally thwarting Demo's plans by stealing the pearl and prematurely triggering a savage tide. This way, he's actually trying to further Demo's plans by recovering the pearl and delivering it to its original intended destination.
I have no idea if this plot change is going to bite me later, but I'm starting to think I'll get away with it. I need to read Into the Maw.
I've read into the Maw and don't see how it conflicts with anything there. Good idea. Might have to yoink this one, Luke.