The Savage Tide Adventure Path was perfect to fit into my campaign as an adventure series. What I've changed is this:
1. The Crimson Fleet is actually a group of privateers raised by a particular noble family, enemies to the republic the pcs come from.
2. To be consistent with my overall campaign, the kopru are replaced with a Crimson Fleet-Drow-Yuan-Ti alliance. (this alliance is attempting to gather Shadow Pearls to use as a weapon in war)
3. The adventure order goes like this for the Isle:
- Here be Monsters
- Building up Farshore/Reclaiming the ship
- Zotzilaha's Wrath
- Temple of the Jaguar
- City of Broken Idols
- Lightless Depths
- Crimson Sunset
In no small part I've done this because my pcs thought of the AP this way. I liked this; rather than using Lavinia as the main motivation for doing everything, I'm going with the pcs' own motivations and ideas. They will have a chance to make allies from Rivenskull Cave in the Zotzilaha's Wrath adventure. I'm simply going to have the idol among the treasures in the plateau. It was taken to remove one of the last remaining Olman deities' influence.
4. The climax will join elements of "Serpents of Scuttlecove" to "Crimson Sunset" to level things up. (more Yuan-Ti, higher level pirate commanders)
5. The city of Thanaclan is reduced in population but still the remnant of a great civilization. I'm blending elements of Conan with Burroughs' Opar and the game material.
- Skinwalkers lead the evil cult.
- dire apes act as footsoldiers
- mercenaries from the Crimson Fleet and certain savage mainland tribes act as slavehunters for population replenishment and slaves.
- the actual population are like lotus-eaters. They are decadent and dreamy, barely aware of what evils are being done. They now and then dreamily wander through the inner city but never venture out. The basic work is done by slaves directed by skinwalker overseers.
- The Drow/Yuan-Ti force have led a troglodyte supported expedition into the Lightless Depths to gather material for Shadow Pearls. There are a smaller number of these in the old pyramid guarded by Skinwalkers.
- the god/demon prince is Dagon instead of Demogorgon. The pcs have encountered 3 different major servitors including the Green Mother, Yibb-Still in the Shrine of the Black Ones, and a secret shrine in Farshore operated by people loyal to Vanthus Vanderboren.
The only problem I see here is getting Vanthus to rise from the dead to Capture Lavina, but otherwise it's looking very cool. Well done.
Also, How will you lead them to the city of broken idols and the the lightless depths without Vanthus's journal?
Among the outside adventures I inserted was one from Mongoose OGL called "Isle of the Black Ones" where they found some sinister informatin.
I'm not sure I'm going to have the kidnapping, since my campaign ultimately isn't about a confrontation with a demon prince, but we'll see. What I mostly wanted to do is to run an adventure set on the Isle of Dread that suited the needs of my campaign.
Ah, I see.
If I wanted to use this method, what would be a good place to do it? Olangru?
Olangru could work, or possibly the Rats' End pirates could have more information. Barring that, perhaps the encounter with the couatl at the Temple of the Jaguar. (as an emissary of the gods or something)