Ahm, first thing - How did the Man's Promise get into the Fever Sea? The Rahadoumi already seem to be playing a chancy game running goods through the Cheliaxan Arch, but then to navigate the whole way through pirate country? And for what?
For that matter, and secondly, what is a Cheliaxan ship doing wrecked down there? Then, assuming there was a reason for them to be there, why would a military vessel from an obsessively lawful domain be keeping whores on board?
I'm not trying to knock the AP - in fact, I'm quite looking forward to running it - but I don't want to have to make something outlandish up to explain these events, and then retcon it later because it is a total misfit with your [very thorough and well-established] setting.
On that note - would there be any major malfunction if I rerolled Sandara as a paladin? I was actually thinking of her as a bawdy, boisterously good-natured Holy Gun of Besmara. Chaotic Good - I've never paid attention to paladin alignment restrictions, anyhow. Probably, she'll even trade off Diplomacy for Bluff, as the 3.5 variant did. Thoughts?
Ahm, first thing - How did the Man's Promise get into the Fever Sea? The Rahadoumi already seem to be playing a chancy game running goods through the Cheliaxan Arch, but then to navigate the whole way through pirate country? And for what?
For that matter, and secondly, what is a Cheliaxan ship doing wrecked down there? Then, assuming there was a reason for them to be there, why would a military vessel from an obsessively lawful domain be keeping whores on board?
Rahadoum is a very large country. If they dock in Azir, they don't need to travel under the Arch of Aroden. Presumably, they're traveling south to Eleder to trade.
The Chelish tried to control Sargava and Eleder. Eleder was once a colony of Cheliax. Then, after being pushed around a lot, Eleder hired all of the pirates of the Shackles as bodyguards to push the Chelish back. There were a couple big brawls and now Eleder is woefully indentured to the Shackles pirates for their rescue, and the Chelish no longer count Eleder as a colony. The Chelish hate the Shackles pirates because of this and constantly peck at them for it.
Lawful people can't have whores? What's your thought process on that? They're not paladins, and there were no Hellknights on board. Why wouldn't they like a bit of friggin' in the riggin'?
Rahadoum has has many ports on its western coast as it does its northern. Let's assume Man's Promise likely set sail from Botosani.
It seems that Chelish ships range far-and-wide. If you've played Serpent's Skull book 1, you'll notice there is a rather prominent wreck, Thrune's Fang, and that's as far south as Desperation Bay! What I would assume is that Chelish ships take the long route west, going out past Mediogalti island and far west of Ollo. As for how a ship ended up at Bonewrack Isle in the south Fever Sea, I would assume they were doing trade with Senghor, and got blown off course.
There's nothing unlawful about prostitution. (Evil, perhaps, but that's not an issue for Chelaxians.) Slavery, even sex-slavery, is legal per the laws of that country.
I don't see any major problems making Sandara a Chaotically-aligned Holy Gun. Just bear in mind that he is garunteed to get her powder wet in the battle against the Brineblood Queen, and thus not as big a help in the final confrontation(s).
if you are traveling on the high seas, wouldn't it make sense to carry waterproof cased alchemically treated rounds?
Alright, so the prostitution issue may have been badly framed. It isn't strictly unlawful and it certainly isn't Evil, but the Chelish do seem, oh...uptight. Add that to my general curiosity - I wasn't aware of any such historical practice, and I don't see any obvious reason to change that. The slavery point actually makes the most sense - and happens, also, to be a particular political issue I'm using to illustrate the severity of ideological differences between Cheliax and the Shackles.
I'll have to look into pirates and gunpowder...while I'm not a particular stickler for historical accuracy - especially concerning pirates, cause boy would a bunch of leering gangrenous thugs get boring - I do like to do my research.
Lastly, for now - how common could that trade route be? Sailing down the coast, past the Eye, through the Shackles to Senghor? Senghor, which is almost too close to the Shackles *not* to have some natural trade/association with them already? I still can't see that making a profitable trip for the Man's Promise. Then, on the off chance that it is - how did Harrigan know to find them there? Is Senghor a major trading port? (I can't use Eleder, because Sargava is under Shackles *protection* - they'd hardly scare off the trade there and cripple it's economy. If nothing else, it's self-defeating, as then Sargava won't be able to pay.)
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Alright, so the prostitution issue may have been badly framed. It isn't strictly unlawful and it certainly isn't Evil, but the Chelish do seem, oh...uptight. Add that to my general curiosity - I wasn't aware of any such historical practice, and I don't see any obvious reason to change that. The slavery point actually makes the most sense - and happens, also, to be a particular political issue I'm using to illustrate the severity of ideological differences between Cheliax and the Shackles.
Oh, the Chelish are not especially uptight when it comes to *that* sort of thing. I'd say they're a bit like the ancient Romans when it comes to combining lawfulness with sexual license.
Lastly, for now - how common could that trade route be? Sailing down the coast, past the Eye, through the Shackles to Senghor? Senghor, which is almost too close to the Shackles *not* to have some natural trade/association with them already? I still can't see that making a profitable trip for the Man's Promise. Then, on the off chance that it is - how did Harrigan know to find them there? Is Senghor a major trading port? (I can't use Eleder, because Sargava is under Shackles *protection* - they'd hardly scare off the trade there and cripple it's economy. If nothing else, it's self-defeating, as then Sargava won't be able to pay.)
Yes, there's something to that. Perhaps there's simply no better route between the two countries, and there's some particularly lucrative trade good that makes the danger worth it.
Or maybe it's just a matter in which one shouldn't examine things too closely.
I like your point about how it's self-defeating for the pirates to raid traders with Sargava since they're basically just stealing gold from themselves. :)
On the other hand, maybe the Man's Promise really was bound for Sargava, but since Harrigan has his own secret agenda, he decided to raid it anyway.
Possibly...also, a trade ship so far out of the way is a tasty target. They could only really run to Sargava or up through the Shackles, and won't even be noticed missing for some time, regardless. Not that he cares, but anything so low-profile must have its attractions for him at this point.
Incidentally, I don't know a whole heck of a lot about Rahadoum. I get a sort of curry-flavored-yet-matriarchal-ish sense. Do we know what 'Man's Promise' means? I thought up a satirical saying - 'A man's promise is worth it's weight in gold' - which would suit a predominantly female crew. Oh, and while I'm there - the older nameplates it has? Is this common, to be able to see what a ship was last, or is it indicative of some special history? Perhaps it was the Motley before this particular crew commandeered it? Or perhaps they changed the plates and masqueraded as pirates to get it through the Shackles? Motley has an amusing sort of joke, you know - either referring to pirates as fools in motley, or telling everyone that they're only playing the part?
This all would increase the sort of cheeky, roguish nature of these particular Rahadoumi, helping me to both explain their presence in a dangerous trading situation, and also engender some sympathy - making the PCs dislike Harrigan all the more for picking on charming (and female) roguish merchant-types when there are plenty of Chelish asshats up north to plunder. (I'm planning on allowing Stealthy checks to help the Rahadoumi escape on the boats - without the wrong eyes noticing - rather than slaughter them...should the PCs be inclined. They'd get full XP for each one, but I'm not going to tell them that until it happens. If they think of it at all.)
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Incidentally, I don't know a whole heck of a lot about Rahadoum. I get a sort of curry-flavored-yet-matriarchal-ish sense. Do we know what 'Man's Promise' means? I thought up a satirical saying - 'A man's promise is worth it's weight in gold' - which would suit a predominantly female crew.
Rahadoum is an atheist country. They deny the authority of all the gods, and all clerics/paladins/oracles are arrest (if not kill) on sight. They believe that religion is slavery, and that the Rule of Man guides their peoples. They use "Man" in many of their terms, talking about the Laws of Man, the Power of Man, the Supremecy of Man, and so on. All of them related to the idea of being against the gods.
It's a medieval-style, non-gendered "Man" (like "mankind") that refers to the whole race.
But hey, it's your campaign: you can make them feminists instead if you'd like ;-)
As for how a ship ended up at Bonewrack Isle in the south Fever Sea, I would assume they were doing trade with Senghor, and got blown off course.
The book mentions it's a Chelish scouting ship, more than likely connected with the Adventure Background of the AP.
Actually, the Chelish ship is easier to justify than the Rahadoumi...although I may put a twist on that, myself.
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There's nothing unlawful about prostitution. (Evil, perhaps, but that's not an issue for Chelaxians.) Slavery, even sex-slavery, is legal per the laws of that country.
Evil? Sex-slavery, yes! Prostitution, no! Legalising the world's oldest profession here in NZ means anyone working as a prostitute is protected by the law. It seems that denying them the protection of the law "for moral reasons" is the evil act.
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There's nothing unlawful about prostitution. (Evil, perhaps, but that's not an issue for Chelaxians.) Slavery, even sex-slavery, is legal per the laws of that country.Evil? Sex-slavery, yes! Prostitution, no! Legalising the world's oldest profession here in NZ means anyone working as a prostitute is protected by the law. It seems that denying them the protection of the law "for moral reasons" is the evil act.
Let's go ahead and not derail this conversation, shall we?