Creative Director
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Ahoy, ye land-lubbers and scallywags!
Just a quick heads up... we've settled on the final AP title for this outing:
"Skull and Shackles" Adventure Path!
Thanks to everyone for their feedback on the 99% (but not 100%) name for this pirate-filled AP, and I'm pleased that we've got a name for this AP that not only has no hits on Google for previous products, but ALSO has an obviously Golarion feel to it (since the flag for the Shackles is the skull and shackles, after all).
So! Folks can redirect their energy now from the name of the AP to furious predictions and requests for what kind of things they'd like to see us cover in the AP.
I always wanted an adventure that revolved around a mutiny aboard ship.
With the p.c.'s directly joining one faction or another, or playing them off eachother, and taking direct part in the mutiny/fighting off of the mutiny......
Ahoy, ye land-lubbers and scallywags!
Just a quick heads up... we've settled on the final AP title for this outing:
"Skull and Shackles" Adventure Path!
Thanks to everyone for their feedback on the 99% (but not 100%) name for this pirate-filled AP, and I'm pleased that we've got a name for this AP that not only has no hits on Google for previous products, but ALSO has an obviously Golarion feel to it (since the flag for the Shackles is the skull and shackles, after all).
So! Folks can redirect their energy now from the name of the AP to furious predictions and requests for what kind of things they'd like to see us cover in the AP.
SWEET! James I like the "new" name for this AP. "Skull and Shackles" is far and away a better fit... for all the reasons you mentioned.
From what little I've heard (back and forth on the various threads about this) I liked the idea of a fame/infamy (sub)system, a loot/plunder (sub)system, making your own fleet... and I for one am glad that it is for heroic swashbuckling mariners... and less for salty scoundrels. :)
I am looking forward to this one.
Thanks,
~Dean
My group will probably be chomping at the bit to play the scurrilous scaliwags by the time they hit this AP (after CC). So sidebars on doing so would be much appreciated!
Edit: how about "Skulls and Shackles"?
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Creative Director
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Not my favorite of the suggested titles, but much improved from Skull and Bones. Thank you.
Skull and Shackles has the added benefits of being pretty short, so we have a LOT more creative freedom in designing a neat title (long titles like, say, "Curse of the Crimson Throne" are unnecessarily constraining for title design).
A fight, on a dead man's chest, against 18 something. It can be orcs, whatever.
hmm...
well, i'll steal a few bits from Kingmaker. I'd love to see exploration/discovery be a big part of the adventure path. clearing map hexes is something my players LOVE from Kingmaker and I suspect that finding and exploring islands and/or sea hexes is something they would love to do as well. so anything of that nature is a big plus in my view.
economy - I'd love some sort of system that rewarded players not just for killing, looting and pillaging enemy ships, but something that rewarded them for building a colony somewhere and developing trade routes. it doesn't have to be specific or in depth but something along the lines of what worked in Kingmaker's kingdom building rules - players building colonies and eventually being able to build their on fleets of ships would rock. again, i'm not looking for a copy of the Kingmaker AP set at sea, but something that reflects the different environment/focus of the pirate empire ideal.
settings. god, did I ever love Scuttlecove. i'd LOVE to see something like it make an appearance. I loved it in all it's scummy dirty glory. it made even my evil inclined players feel icky and want to wash their souls off after they spent time there. I want my players to experience that sort of sordid good time fun once again. But, y'know, make it kid friendly! (joking!)
one thing that always seems to work for my players is a concept I stole from the Fantasy Flight games folks in my Rogue Trader game - rivals! give me a rival captain and/or ship crew. someone they meet in the first module. someone who they'll HATE. In kingmaker, that was Gregory. Give me something like that in this AP! I can go places with that.
ship upgrades. not necessarily just ship combat rules or mass combat rules, but 'cool things' that players can find/develop for their ships as they go up in levels. ship classes, ship designs, weapons, crew types, levels of crew abilities...anything along those lines that make players go 'wow! I want a ship and crew like that!' I don't think my players will care much about the rules crunch (I will but that's just me) but if my players can put together a ship that looks badass, they'll play the game 'till their eyes bleed.
that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'll ponder it a bit more and post if I think of anything else.
A Cheliaxian treasure fleet to plunder.
Some crazy stuff by Richard Pett.
I think he can handle it; I wouldn't dream of giving suggestions.
I always wanted an adventure that revolved around a mutiny aboard ship.
I think this would be a great ending to book one of two as a way for the PCs to get their own pirate boat
Gotta include the Free Captain’s Regatta in one installment.
I think an undersea adventure, or part of an adventure would be cool. A lot of people I've gamed with really dig those.
Gotta include the Free Captain’s Regatta in one installment.
According to what was said at Paizocon it plays a significant part in your characters storyline.
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I'll re-post my comments from one of the future-AP threads I posted back in march:
(1) Exploration below the waves! Sunken treasures, diplomacy with undersea civilizations, and some aquatic dungeon delving!
(2) A mercantile trade/plunder and ship improvement mini-game! Like Kingmaker, I want to build a mercantile empire (or a corsair-piratical one), construct new ships, and improve existing ships with modifications and enchantments!
(3) Ship-to-ship combat! Starting with a humble coastal schooner, by the end of the AP I want to be able to sail my mighty flagship at the head of a fleet of united free captains against a great and rising evil!!
(4) Yes, pirates! Whether the players join them or hunt them, having to choose which faction to join should be a pivotal part of the campaign! So which will it be chum? Scaliwag or Freebooter?!
I want to take a moment and thank Paizo for bringing exactly the kind of AP I've been wanting to play/run for a long, long time! Swashbuckling nautical campaigns ftw!!
I've said it before, I'll say it again: an in-depth look at the Sodden Lands. I'm most interested in the cannibal necromancers of Yamasa, but I guess you could detail those astrologer dudes as well.
Also, since the Shackles is built on the ruins of Gol Ghan, some info on that ancient cyclops empire would great.
Maybe a gazeteer on the ocean as a whole? Essentially treat the entire Arcadian ocean (I think that's the western one...) as a country, and give details on major cities, races, lost ruins, etc.
Lastly, like so many others, I'd love for an adventure to take place primarily underwater.
Yeah; I like all this too.
I'd really like to see the core pirate tropes supported. I'm running the Freeport Trilogy for my group, and it's kind of irritating how little piratical adventure is in the trilogy until part of the third adventure, and even then, it's still in the form of a dungeon crawl.
In a pirate AP, I'd like to see:
* Hunting for buried treasure, including a map with a big freakin' X on it, and having to DIG IT UP WITH SHOVELS
* Ship to ship combat, including boarding
* Cannons, or an equivalent (especially if said equivalent can be replaced with black powder, for those who use it in their games)
* One-on-one fencing
* Fights in the rigging
Beyond that, I'd take a few pages from Tim Powers' wonderful On Stranger Tides novel:
* Voodoo zombies
* Sea-based magics (including necromancy)
* Magically improved ships
And I echo the call for at least one subaquatic adventure.
Really looking forward to this!
In Skull and Shackles, I want to see a system similar to what we have been told will be in Jade Regent, but slightly different - romance. However, I don't want NPCs to necessarily fall in love with the PCs, but rather more focused on my scoundrel pirate's lust and ability to seduce NPCs - perhaps even as a vehicle to accomplishing some of the political intrigue we have been told would be in the AP. I just want a system that allows and encourages my PC to try his/her hand at seducing NPCs. You know, the concept of "having a woman in every port" with angry paramours that come back for more even though they know you cheated on them - they take a swing at you and then swoon in your arms with the right turn of phrase. Now that would be piratey.
... Or is this what you already had in mind when you mentioned an infamy and booty system for the PCs... ;P
Is this the same skull as in the Serpent Skull AP? Would be interesting if they are linked somehow by legend.
I'd name it Planks and Shackles tough.
Ahoy, ye land-lubbers and scallywags!
Just a quick heads up... we've settled on the final AP title for this outing:
"Skull and Shackles" Adventure Path!
<snip>
What did you mean by "final AP title"...
Just curious...I don't want to jump to any conclusions.
I like the idea of underwater cities and exploration, but the idea of building up a ship appeals more.
I like the in game world building stuff so getting a ship and working on it and developing a crew would be awesome. Particularly with the chance to generate trading routes and get into ship on ship combat. I realise that some of this is definitely not for everyone, but it would be great to see it even if it was a PDF add on to the AP.
And yeah I like the idea of getting to choose whether you sign up with one of the different pirates groups, go independent or navy/pirate hunters.
I suppose you could go:
Book 1: Many different ways to kick it off, but ultimately it ends with the PCs acquiring a ship in need of some serious work.
Book 2: Take the ship on a trade run up/down the coastline to deliver something. Challenges along the way and you pick up a map to hidden treasure or special location.
Book 3: Pursuit of hidden treasure or special location
Book 4: Take on a pirate ship/s, learn of huge raid and race to prevent it.
Book 5: ????
Book 6: ????
Skull and Shackles is growing on me. It's definitely a good title given its the emblem for the Shackles and all.
As someone who doesn't care much for pirates but still likes the idea of something different on his shelves, the one thing I'd beg NOT to see is cannon. Please, by all the gods old and new, no cannon!
This is the first AP since Kingmaker that has got me really excited, and I don't even like Pirates that much! Well, I like pirates at least as much as everyone else, so that's ... um... Arrr!
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Ahoy, ye land-lubbers and scallywags!
Just a quick heads up... we've settled on the final AP title for this outing:
"Skull and Shackles" Adventure Path!
<snip>What did you mean by "final AP title"...
Just curious...I don't want to jump to any conclusions.
The name for the Adventure Path being discussed has been finalised.
Well, feel free to use any of my suggestions from the other thread as issue titles.
I've just re-read the entry on the Shackles in the Inner Sea World Guide, and I would love to see a lot of face time for the disgraced Chelish admiral and lord of Hell Harbor, Arronax Endymion (who may be my favourite thing in the world right now).
A Nock Gun for any firearms inclined characters!
I think the three essentials are:
Seas, Ships, and Skullduggery.
As for specific suggestions:
I would love to see some raiding of the drowned ruins on the Sodden Lands. The Knights of Abendego are really atmospheric.
A visit to Raptor Island? Development of Port Peril? Sea Devils (sahaugin) on the rise?
This'll be a year late for my current freebooter campaign, but the World Guide entries for the Shackles, Sodden Coast, and Mediogalti are packed with salty goodness I'd like to see detailed.
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I'd like to see some krakens myself. :)
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Contributor
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Definitely need to see information on sea trade and ships of the Inner Sea.
If I recall there's this free magazine that comes out every six months or so. I believe issue number 3 of said magazine has some information on a few ships. I think an expansion on that material would be great.
Maybe you can find your way to that article and check it out? ;-)
Old and sunken Azlant, Aboleths, the very deep sea... Dagon?
And of course the pirate bit of "Savage Tide".
If it hasn't been said yet, it needs to be. *ahem* LUSTY WENCHES! AND RUM!
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One thing I would like to see is that any new rules subsystems should mesh with (and ideally expand upon) any related ones from previous systems. I was somewhat surprised that the Serpent's Skull did not use the Kingmaker exploration rules, for example.
According to what was said at Paizocon it plays a significant part in your characters storyline.
Kewl! In that case here's my idea:
There is indeed a traitor among the free captains who seeks to betray The Shackles to Cheliax. One of them has uncovered evidence of this and clandestinely hires the PCs to root the traitor out. The treacherous captain (who has Thrune agents in his employ) learns of these plans of course, and attempts to thwart them. I see all sorts of opportunities to inject the various elements being suggested here, with a finale involving a major sea battle between the pirate fleet and the Chelish navy.
Personally I prefer Skull and Bones. But I can understand why Skull and Shackles is better in this instance. I am really looking forward to a Pirate AP.
There are several things I'd like to see in this AP. In no particular order:
1 - Kraken. I think they're too iconic not to have at least one.
2 - Rival(s). Someone mentioned it earlier, but I'd love for the PCs to be up against some rival pirates.
3 - Ghost ships. Always a classic.
4 - Treasure hunt, map and all. - Far too iconic not too have.
5 - Undersea adventure. - Though I think it should be one adventure at the most.
6 - Ship combat! - This is a must.
7 - Customizable ship. - I'd really like to be able to customize and upgrade the ship throughout the AP. Maybe the crew too.
8 - Chelish slave/treasure ship/fleet - I'd love to face off against a Chelish fleet. I can just imagine fighting to free a ship of slaves being shipped for sale.
Just thinking about this AP makes me think of Sid Meier's Pirates. I might have to go load that up.
-Kcinlive
I want to see a Ghost Ship, or better yet, hunt for a ghost ship based on putting together old legends.
Multiple (sandbox-style optional) Treasure Maps, with "X marks the spot." Sometimes these are ripped into pieces and you have to assemble them. Sometimes, they're tatooed on people's skin.
Riddles and omens and other "mysterious magic."
An outdoor dungeon-delve in the Sodden Lands, where the extreme weather is an essential part of the crawl.
Upgrade the ship as you play.
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I was the first one to suggest this name, do I get a cookie? :)
How about an obwarzanek instead? :)
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I was the first one to suggest this name, do I get a cookie? :)How about an obwarzanek instead? :)
Dziękuję :)
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Creative Director
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I was the first one to suggest this name, do I get a cookie? :)
You'll note we took the "s" off the word Skulls in your suggestion... so it's an ENTIRELY NEW TITLE.
I'll see about getting you a cookie anyway though. :-P