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Alright so my gaming group starting gaming about two months or so ago, maybe just a month. If you read all of this, you get a brownie point.
We originally started out on the Serpents Skull Adventure Path and made characters accordingly via the guide book.
Your band of characters begins the Serpent’s Skull
Adventure Path as passengers on a cargo ship called the
Jenivere, headed south to Sargava. The voyage promises
not only to bring your characters together as you face
adversity, but also to set you on a path into the very heart
of one of Golarion’s most feared regions in search of
wealth, fame, and ancient secrets. PCs in the Serpent’s
Skull Adventure Path are not limited to origins in Sargava
itself. In fact, characters in this campaign may be from
just about anywhere. Countless motivations draw the
daring, curious, and downright foolhardy to Sargava with
the hope of attaining personal fame and fortune, and your
PCs likely boast a variety of backgrounds and decidedly
different reasons for traveling to Sargava’s capital city.
The Serpent’s Skull Player’s Guide is intended to provide
characters with a reason to be on the Jenivere, whether they
are from a distant part of the Inner Sea journeying to a new
land or natives of Sargava returning home. The following
suggestions provide basic information on potential PC
origins, but focus on motivations to bring characters of all
races and classes to Sargava. Use this guide as a starting
point to give your PCs a reason to be aboard the fateful
voyage that launches the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path.
The following pages outline qualities of typical members
of all seven core races, all 11 core classes, and the six classes
found in the Advanced Player’s Guide. Characters of all
alignments, religions, and homelands can play a vital role
in this campaign, and the following suggestions should
serve to spark a concept or background for your PC. You’ll
also find several new traits specific to the Serpent’s Skull
Adventure Path to better customize your characters and
link them to the campaign’s setting and plot.
I made a Tiefling N Ranger. Hes a native tribesmen of the Bas'O tribe and in the subgroup Zenji ( spelled correctly i think? ), there is more to his back story than this but basically he is not a naturally born Bas'O he was adopted by a Bas'O man who raised him in their tribal ways, claiming him in full as his child. Despite my characters desire to be Bas'O he and his father were forced to live outside the main camps, whenever camp was struck. No woman would have him and the friends he had slowly drifted away.
Over the years many of the younger hunters in the tribe who didn't like Jarvaxius, more like hated him began plotting ways to remove this 'taint' on their tribe. Its a imperfect world, the Bas'O people are no different. There were several 'accidents' over the years. Sometimes when Jar' would kill a elk or other animal that he was hunting and moved in to claim his prize. He was instead met with one or more of his fellow hunters. They would then claim he took one of their kills, stating that they had infact been tracking this animal for some time and marked it. A fight and death of one of more of the people would happen, Not because they or he were evil but because of pride and hatred. They are a tribal culture after all, they have some brutal laws that are considered totally legal i would imagine, as all of this is character fluff and there is no detailed writing on their cultural laws and how things are handled. This happened 3 times over the coarse of my characters life amongst them.
My character eventually decided that his presence was ruining his fathers life. Not to mention the battles with fellow Bas'O, which made me hate myself for being a 'monster'. On one moonlit night I had a dream of another group coming to kill me, this time no pretence or accident, they wanted me gone. And if my father had to die, so be it. Obviously they are the radicals of the tribe, not the norm. So in the middle of the night right after i woke up I gathered my things and left to find his own path. - the dm gave my Teifling a precognition ability that he cannot control ad least not very well. He ended up getting captured and sold into slavery by pirates, luckily the person who boat him was Captain Kovack, and he made him a indentured servant for 3 years.
Which is the end of the back story and the start of the adventure. The changes i made to him are, that being a sailor / smuggler of illegal but not harmful things on a merchant vessel made him more of a sailor now, so less tribal but still different. Likes to drink and smoke and party at the local brothels and taverns just like all sailors.
Ok, now we did some of the AP of Serpents Skull, mainly just the first place, no spoilers, but if you know it you know it.
Now, before we go to the next part, wanna state a few things. My guy is tribal. Tribal cultures have some strange laws. And he is no different in that he has a set of laws that guide him ( he became LN over the course of the adventure turning back to his tribal heritage and trying to rekindle his former nationality .) The Bekyar are the rival tribe of the Zenji - which the Bas'O are in. The Bekyar are slavers, robbers, raiders, killers, demon worshipers, and pirates. Their tribe and mine do not ever get along. The Bas'O are hunters and nomads, but also a warrior culture. They prefer to not act violently, but will do so over insults, offenses and other various tribal things, they are suspicious of foreigners and don't like people who rob graves and in general bring bad luck by taking cultural treasures.
My character, is a dirty dirty fighter. He would use poison if he knew how, he has used traps, he would slit a sleeping persons throat, he has slaughtered a entire village of people because they had been trying to kill him and eat him since he met them, and he is willing to steal and take what is most certainly not his, so long as hes taking it from people who he thinks have it coming or are his enemies.
He has cut the heart out of a particularly strong foe and taken a bite of it to show his dominance over the dead man and absorb some of his power ( all flavor, no in game benefits .)
Being a sailor for many years he doesn't like Chelaxians given their devil worship and pension for slavery. Infact pretty much doesn't care for any kinda slavers at all. Is willing to commit acts of piracy, and that does make him a pirate in all honesty, but for reasons he can justify. Such as sacking a merchant who is a slave trader, sacking a military vessel of a nation he dislikes, sacking another pirate ship, ransoming a captured prisoner, and making sure they are not mistreated while in captivity. Blowing up a shipping yard, with civilians inside if the mission calls for it given the circumstances.
All in all, my guy is a dirty bastard. But.. He is not a Raping and Pillaging and plundering, anything he can get his hands on pirate. And thus is where we run into my problem folks.
The AP has now switched to Skulls and Shackles.
are filled with fat merchant vessels laden with
trade goods both mundane and exotic, as well
as the pirates and freebooters who prey on them. Under
the banner of their Hurricane King, these buccaneers
sally forth from that archipelago of lawless pirate ports
and anchorages known as the Shackles, plundering the
shipping of countless countries and trade consortiums,
then vanishing back into the maze of islands and reefs they
call home. The nations of the Inner Sea would like nothing
more than to end the pirate menace once and for all, but
the eternal hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego has
thus far shielded the Free Captains of the Shackles from
the threat of retaliation.
In the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, the PCs take
on the role of pirates, but they must make a name for
themselves in piracy, plunder, and disrepute to truly
become infamous Free Captains of the Shackles. The
most important thing to keep in mind when creating
your character is that piracy plays a significant role in
this Adventure Path—your character should want to
become a pirate, or at least not be opposed to the idea.
This guide offers some tips about the types of characters
that will be best suited for adventuring in the Shackles,
as well as campaign traits to flesh out those characters’
backgrounds. Finally, it provides rules for ship-to-ship
combat (including sample ships) that will play a major role
in the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path as the PCs captain
their own ship in search of plunder and infamy!
Skull & Shackles Characters
Characters of almost any race or class can be found in the
melting pot of the Shackles, so long as they have a reason
to embrace a life of piracy. In fact, the only class that is
probably not a good fit for the Skull & Shackles Adventure
Path is the paladin, whose alignment restriction and code
of conduct are in direct opposition to the themes of piracy
and plunder in this campaign.
And my character, Jarvaxius is simply not willing to be a pirate in the stereotypical sense, and while i do not know how the adventure will unfold or how my DM will change things I'm being left with the impression that the campaign has drastically changed. We lost a player because of the text in the adventure guide alone.
He was unwilling to make a character that would be a pirate in any way. We gained a new player and while I think the new guy is pretty cool, his character is a stereotypical pirate. He is of a evil alignment ( yes i know not all pirates are evil, stereotype here. ) he has intimidated the npc crew into following him and has the backing of a powerful npc vampire that the crew is even more afraid of. I've been found and tied up and gagged.
The Dm has decided to be nice and rather than just kill me for being a stow away; the vampire is a former npc companion and took pity on me? Declaring to the evil pc that I was to not be harmed (cause he wanted to kill me for being a stowaway), so long as I made a choice to either become a pirate and serve him -vampire, and as a extension of that servitude, obey the evil pc whom he has placed in charge. Or get off the boat at the next opportunity and don't make hostile actions.
My character and the other ranger, ironically we are both tieflings, are very much so opposed to the idea of being a stereotypical pirate's, which has been made OVERLY and CRYSTAL CLEAR in game by things pc's and npc's have said. That that is where the campaign is heading. This other ranger is also hiding right now / lost because of a storm but is returning( missed a few sessions because of personal things .)
The only person my character knows is the human fighter from the survivor group who has embraced piracy and is 100 percent behind his new captain and change in lifestyle. We agreed next session his character and mine would have a talk about why it is ok for me to be a pirate ( thus my character stays in the game ) or just in general him trying to convince me to come to their side in this matter.
A change in lifestyle... That's basically what this is. The Dm is telling me that even though I made a character for another AP, he said that this changeover was going to happen and that my attitude and argument is wrong. I and another player distinctly recall him saying the AP was NOT going to switch and then never bringing it back up until all of this happened.
I'm in this AP now, and the dm says that I have no reason to be 'forcing' my character to have this ideological confrontation. That I am the one with the problem, that I am the one causing the problem. He has even sited an example about why I am wrong in this entire situation.
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/tll307KmEm4H9k6efFP.html
Stating that as the Player it is my job to curb my characters entire life to meat the adventure path and the fun goes on, and the group keeps playing. And in all honesty i agree, if only i had made a character for Skulls and Shackles, not Serpents Skull. I put a LOT, way more than required, into taking time to make this character and now I'm having arguments / heated debates about how I'm essentially causing a disruption to the group by voicing that my character is not going to be a pirate, ad least not the kinda pirate that seems to be where the AP is pushing. - the player of the evil pc has stated that slavery, vice and everything a pirate is known for is what he is, and what he will push the crew towards, and punish those that do not agree.
I don't have a single problem with the new guy's character or the new guy. He came into the group for Skulls and Shackles. Don't get me wrong, my character and his as of right now probably wont get along well, but they haven't even had a chance to meet because of the various circumstances surrounding the last few games, the continuing argument revolves around the one line in Skulls and Shackles Pc guide that only PALADINS can absolutly possibly have a problem with being a pc in this AP, that no other class combo or alignment could possibly ever have issues in this campaign with being a pirate.
- for snarky remark, see the Sea Dragons sub section in Faiths of Balance under Abadar, LN clerics of the god who will tolerate slavery, WILL NOT work with pirates, they actively hunt them, they are actively planning on a way of destroying the shackles. I sited this example to him as the new character i had considered making until i read that. As i am completely willing to make a new character that better fits with the group. And his response was to say he'd change how Abadar is so i could play one and be a pirate if i wanted to play one. While i appreciate this Dm's willingness to alter the Game world, I'd rather not go that far as it seems wholly unnecessary. And just make a Cleric of Gozreh.
Again i don't know what the DM is planning or where the AP actually goes but at this point I've been given the option to either make a new character and retire this one or have him become a pirate and break his people's moral code relating to slavery and not hurting those he doesn't see as deserving it, but rather those I'm ordered to hurt by a captain who controls via fear and a whip. And while I've considered him breaking his code and just changing his mindset and trying to find a way to justify it based on past events, i really cant figure a way to do it. Mainly because I've already slowly changed him during the first AP, he went through a physical and mental metamorphosis, his time on that island change him in many ways and I've move him forward on a path that has led him to his current moral issues.
So all in all, here is my question. Is there a way for me to justify why my character Jarvaxius should change his lifestyle to become a pirate, keeping in mind the type of pirate he is going to be forced to become if he says yes. Or am i totally wrong and just need to shut up? Or should i just roll up my new cleric of Gozreh, who likes doing anything that's fun and involves destruction of civilization.
Links for incite into your choice.
http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Mwangi_%28human_ethnicity%29
http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Mwangi_Expanse
http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/17789/wikis/mwangi
Side note: If you are in my game, if you are the Dm, if you are reading this and who know who i am. Do not infer anything from this article. I am purposely leaving out names and specific events as they are not needed to understand the situation, this is not Jerry Springer and I am NOT interested in starting a debate with any of you on THIS forum, we already have enough of that going on with the Facebook stuff.
All should be just fine and I would think you would fit in perfectley. The campaign will take any alignment and outlook on life apart from LG. Remember you are being forced into being a pirate its not something you would necsassrily want to be that what happens when you get pressganged, just embrace it. The AP gives you the chance to be a pirate in whatever way takes your'e fancy, you don't have to be a ruthless SOB and rape and pillage and take slaves if thats not what you want, to do. You could become privateer types if you so wish, in the end its up to you as a group.
To be honset from what I can see form ceratin parts of your'e background it will work better than you think, trust me Im dming it myself.
In my campaign I have a N storm driud of Gozreh, a CG swashbuckler and a NE or N wizard (dependent on his feelings as the time) all fit in great and they are having a blast and apart from the Wizard none of them have had any overtly evil thoughts at all.
Then again if you feel you are bing forced into a game you don't want to play or a style you don't want then you may have to evaulaute and talk to the GM it see how you can make it work (the ap as it states indciates that for players to get the most out of it then they will need to want to play a pirate, the whole ap is based around this assumption, if its not what you want you won't enjoy it im afraid).
But, trust me it is great fun to play.
Humble sympathy.
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@ Ferrinwulf, i should have included this in my post but after writing so much and editing for spelling and grammar several times i just didn't have it in me.
This issue has been in debate for so long in the group and the situation in game is this. A vampire has taken over the vessel, he has one true ally - the evil pc, he has several ally's of choice, one pc and many npcs, anyone else has been intimidated into service. I am locked up in the hold and although free of my bonds have no reason to try and escape as My character doesn't know of any way to escape. There are no islands or places of even remote safety nearby, that he knows of.
Going down fighting is something he has thought about but he feels more weighed down by the lost and confused feelings. Again i don't know where the campaign pushes the pc's but at this time based on everything my character knows, the ship is 100 percent pirate. And i have been given a ultimatum to either convert and do as i am told or get off at the next port, which will be at the beginning of the next session.
And your saying Ferrinwulf that despite the evidence pointing towards the fact that the ship i would be a sailor on is intent on enslaving and pillaging in every way a pirate can, that my character who has strong objections about slavery will function just fine with a group of people who want all of those things?
Edit: Oh and he has been informed that there is a port nearby, that they are going to, where he can get off. Maybe i posted this on the wrong forum section?
MMM then i can't comment really as the GM appears to have deviated radically to the AP so there is not much I can help you with sorry. Nothing agaisnt the GM as im sure he has a top niotch story up his sleave.
It does sound like the odds are stacked against you and I really don't what to say other than It sounds like you will need to talk to the GM and sort this one out then if you don't think the pc will fit. In my opinion its a bit unfiar if you have put a lot of work in to the pc only to be told that the game is changing. You're GM in my opionin should be working with you to make it fit, afterall he changed the story mid flow.
I can tell you that IF you playing it by RAW then enslaving and pillaging is not the main thrux of the story, yes you can do it but its up to you what you do.Plunder can be taken in anyway, by it sacking villages, pillaging ships (you don't need to sink the ship or kill the crew,to do this) to hunting treasure. You DO NOT have to enslave anyone though and Im suer my group wont, they will recriut sailors to fill the ranks.The thing is with slaves, there is the danger of mutiny,
Think Jonney Depp's version of a pirate, that's one way you could have gone, it does look to me like you don't have a choice here though.
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What Ferrinwulf said. It seems that your GM has deviated substantially from the plot of the AP and I can see your objection to being somewhat inelegantly railroaded. I would handle this by a talk out of game with the GM if possible. Either ask for him to open up space for your character to continue in the story or take the option to leave at the port and make a character you think will be fun to play given how the story appears to be going.
Though I'm only getting your perspective on this, if a GM permits a situation to go on which radically privileges one PC over the others, it is bad GMing. There is no reason why Skull & Shackles can't accommodate a party of diverse alignments. Yes, you are pirates and you ought to be okay with a little armed robbery on the high seas, but you don't have to be slavers or murderous pillage and burn types. Indeed, there are pirate NPC's in the book who take a semi-noble path - targeting slaver ships, or the "evil" Chelish navy, or the unscrupulous Aspis Consortium. You can play a robin-hood type if you want.
Indeed, in my group there are a couple PC's who are pretty much down with killing and kidnapping and ransoming and slaving, and a couple PC's who have drawn some moral lines and they've worked it out just fine. The nobler PC's have learned to look the other way once in a while, and the scurvier pirates are cool with having their base instincts curbed by the captain's orders most of the time. Even for a Chaotic Good pirate captain it can be useful to keep a couple real thugs around for times when you need to communicate that you mean business. "Krug, teach our friend here why disobeying orders is bad for his health."
Oh just so you can get the jist of how Pirates in the AP work. Besmara is the pirate goddess and she is CN not E by default. She has a small write up faiths of balance and a large one in the AP and Pirates of the Inner Sea if you are intersed.
So just to ver state, you do not have to be Evil to be a pirate nor do you have to enslave people.
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yes I'm very much aware that not all pirates are evil. And there there are pirates who strive to be as good as they can be with their actions yet still do pirate things such a plunder and what not.
And yes you only do have my side of the story here, but i've done my best to not be bias but I'm sure if he was to read this article he would have something to say.
I will take your advice and ask the dm about making space for my character. If you have any further suggestions feel free to keep posting them i will continue to monitor this thread for a bit. hell we only ever play 1 game in a two week period so its not like i dont have time.
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i re posted this in the advice section to get a larger group of viewers. if your interested click Here
Wait, you say your group of players already lost *a player* over the AP switch? It sounds like they might lose another.
I did not read your Serpent Skull spoiler as I am currently playing it. I'm set to run Skull and Shackles when we're done with Shackled City.(We only play APs with that include the words "shackle" and/or "skull" apparently. :-p We alternate DMs/APs, playing the same one every other week.)I've just started reading Part 6 of S&S.
1. Pity you switched AP - sounds like your character is built admirably for Serpent Skull. We're into Part 2 now and very much enjoying it. Did you finish Part 1? I don't want to spoil any of it for you. Part 1 of SS does flow very nicely into Part 1 of S&S; it may be your DM had planned that all along. (Though it would have been considerate to prime the *players* for piracy if that was the case.)
2. Part 1 of Skull and Shackles is called The Wormwood Mutiny. It is expected the PCs will mutiny at some point. Your DM has clearly tailored some characters to suit his campaign. WARNING: What follows is pure conjecture (if that's the right word); I take no responsibility if this leads to TPK/group dismantlement/unintended spoiler: It may be the new player with the evil PC was recruited deliberately to be mutinied against. This may be someone's idea of fun. I know some DMs that like to foster player betrayals - not everyone's cup of tea.
3. Needing a lot of people to talk you into talking your character into piracy is too much work. SS is about exploring/adventuring and it sounds like also saving the world. S&S is about adventuring and exploring (and perhaps saving the Shackles)... at other people's expense as a pirate. (You can certainly dictate to a degree who those people are...)
A. If you won't enjoy playing a pirate, consider asking the DM to reconsider the AP switch.
B. If you won't enjoy playing as a tool for a player-run evil character, consider asking the player not to play a (censored).
C. If everyone else is on board with the switch and the dynamic of a fellow player calling the shots as an evil pirate *for ever during the life of the AP*, maybe leave the group and find the other player who left as you two may have more fun with alternate arrangements. On the other hand,
D. If the rest of the group is on board with being tools for a player-run evil PC who is calling the shots *for a limited period of time* then maybe, just maybe, see how much you can enjoy having your character survive those conditions while secretly plotting with the other players against the evil PC and *bide your time for the opportune moment...* You might suddenly find yourself free aboard a vessel, master of your own destiny, in an archipelago surrounded by nations keen on putting you back into slavery. In that case, Hoist the colours high! and have fun.
4. FYI - not a spoiler - the S&S player's guide manages expectations advising players they start *pressganged* on a ship. Try not to take it as personally as your character surely would. Part 1 is certainly more enjoyable from a masochistic approach: just how bad can it get before you snap or conditions change?
Good luck. (edit - unintended repetition. And sorry for the long post. Take your brownie point back.)
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@ Uri Meca, thank you I will consider what you have said for the upcoming session. The group is split down the middle. The type of pirate that the evil pc wants to be is one side. And on his side is the vampire, the intimidated crew and our CN Fighter. The fighter is willing to try and convince me to come to his side of the argument next session.
On the other side, is My character. Who wants to be more of a privateer or ad least a non slaving pirate and who does not know where any of his allies are at this time and knows that he is a prisoner of a vampire and a bunch of pirates. The other Ranger is also on his side, although unbeknownst to my character as they have no way of communicating currently and have not seen one another for about 3 days now.
Edit: How can i put this.. without giving away spoilers..
Ok, the Big RED THING is dead, the wart covered old lady has left the building. After Ship 'The B D ' took us safely off the island we were set adrift by a accident involving a hole in the side of our ship. Then the worm wood pulled up to us after a few days at sea. They sent over people to ask if anyone was aboard and then came back to press gang us. So I'm fairly certain we only did the first part of the SS unless that's all of it.
EDIT 2: I've decided to prep a new char, i will still have my discussion in character but based on the rather a$$h0leish way the dm has communicated in the past recently i get the impression he just wants me to shut up and stop fighting him. I doubt my main character will continue to be in the game and quite frankly the 30 mile drive, gas money and the 4 hour sessions, only once every two weeks are other reason to not play.
I think you should join up with the group, but then subversively begin to destroy things from the inside out. Partially cut ropes so they'll break during storms, find a way to bore some holes in the hull of the bilge, etc.
A vampire on the open ocean should be more cautious about who he brings aboard. Wait until you're more than a day from port to spring your plan into action. Sabotage lifeboats and dinghies (or blow things up and set the sails on fire) so the vamp can't easily escape.
If your character hates slavery, why turn your back on these guys? Think of the future slaves you're abandoning to their fates. Have your character act as an agent of destruction and bring these slavers down. If he dies, at least he does so cleaving to his beliefs.
I'd seriously reconsider playing with the group, sorry to say. The GM seems to have taken a fancy to the new player's characters and "dominant" concept... so you are basically not only resisting the Other character, but the GM who intends to change the entire campaign.
Big surprise for your GM - a campaign in an inherent trade-off between the players and the GM , and not some autocratic exercise by the later. Players and GM should want to play the same type of campaign, with a certain level of guts and glory, and with a set level of humour and waht-so-ever.
And - supposedly - there should be some debate over what you are playing and what you want the campaign to be. Especially if things switch.
Besides, a new player should basically be there as not to rock the boat, but strengthen it. Seems like the new player (and all the guys he has intimidated so far) is not at all about it. And being a "new" player, the rest of the group might feel a little uncertain how seriously to take his ingame action. With the background as described, that character is anything but (and it amkes me wonder what the combination of the GM and character is) and it actually seems like the AP was switched to Skulls and Shackels toaccomdate that player.
So... I don't think you will enjoy (as a player )the setup and development of the group, sow hy exactly are you going to stay ?
Oh, and some small advice : Quoting as you GM did Rich Burlew's absolutely inane and "head against brick wall" sorts of advice on gaming.... shows how little the guy (GM an d/or Burlew, take your pick) actually knows and understands about roleplaying and possibly principles (whatever they may be).
just my 2 cents
Yeah I go with Vikingson here, sorry but the GM sounds like he's an arse. In my opinion anyway.
Great Idea using the smugglers Shiv bit from serpents skull as a starting point and having the players bushwacked to start Skull and Shackles...
But executed in a very poor way with no consideration for his players.
He should have made it clear from the get go that you would be playing a pirate game. Instead you all made charcters up optimizing for a jungle based ruin ap so as far as I can see without radiclly altering backgrounds and skills etc the pc's will be at a severe disadvantge before you even start. What use is a ranger class built for a jungle environment on the sea? Mosty class builds would be next to useless not to mention all the effort you went in to building the background (very good by the way).
You can't change the premise of the game and expect everybody to be happy about it, it won't work.
As for the new player aspect, to be frank it just stinks of favoritism. I really don't see what the GM is trying to achieve by adding a vampire in the game either but maybe he has some kind of agenda so I'll leave that for now, and having an evil antagonistic PC in the game is a recipe for campaign implossion in my book.
Advice, leave if you can and find a better GM its a shame as you could have made the PC work but I really don't think its worth the time and effort for you to invest in it.
Who knows he could change his mind again and try another ap halfway through.
Echoing Vikingson and Ferrinwulf. This whole thing is sounding quite unfortunate for you.
I'd be interested to hear the other side, mostly because I'm curious on the GM's thought process. Switching the campaign to something else without forewarning, a group vote, or any other disclaimer whatsoever is poor form. Very poor form. I might be able to see what he was trying to achieve if he was going for a bait-and-switch, but even then, it was executed incredibly poorly.
To top it off, it doesn't sound like it was actually the master plan of the GM all along. It does seem like it was done at the drop of a hat to accommodate the new player. There is definitely favoritism or some kind of relationship involved here. A GM shouldn't put all the power in the hands of one player unless the entire group agrees to such things in advance. That's my experience anyway.
Finally, I don't get what the deal with the vampire is. The GM obviously deviated from Serpent's Skull to play Skull and Shackles. That part almost makes sense (not really). But I find it strange that he'd then deviate from S&S so greatly as well. What's the point of shifting the campaign from one AP to another if you're just going to modify it heavily anyway? If that's the case, why not just throw pirate ships and vampires into Serpent's Skull? I don't get any of the logic here.
Wish I could help you more. Like I said, I'll echo the advice of those above. Good luck to you.
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I appriciate all of your advice, The reason i continue to play in the game is that the in game sessions, up untill the last few have been very fun. The Dm's attatide suddenly changed however over a off week where we switched from 1 game every monday to 1 game every 2 mondays. It literally flipped around and now i honestly wounder if he just wants me gone, or unhappy as punishment.
The Dm and the Player of the CN fighter, who is a Dm for other games agrees with him about how i need to curb my character to fit with where the AP is going. And.. I just truly do not agree with their logic. Yes when you make a character you make it for that AP and so he can function in the party but then suddenly flip flopping the game to something new and as the new player joins basically saying that all the old characters either have to get on board or be removed from the campaign just seems rude.
I dunno, as I've said to him perhaps just over the horizon at the next plot hook is a way that this ship can function so that all of the party members from the old AP and the new player character can function together but my character just doesn't see it.
And The Dm's argument has never been that there is a way for us to function together despite my observations that slavery is going to be a part of the plunder taken, but rather than I cannot possibly have a reason my character cannot function with the way the AP is going, and that Its me, not my character that has the problem.
I am interested in what he has to say to all of your questions. But i doubt he actually read any of these forum posts. Although I did link them both to him. I'll advise him to do so now however given your responses and questions. I'm not interested in spoilers so I'll advise him to open a new thread or something, but i doubt he will. He will most likely think that he doesn't need to check anything out as he has done nothing wrong.
And who knows, maybe just around the corner is this big thing he has planned that will make it all work. But that's not the feeling i get at all, either from his attitude or what he has said.
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Alright. I've done some reconsidering of my actions and words. There are things going on outside of this forums scope that I'm unwilling to post about as they are not appropriate here. But basically it boils down to this. I've over reacted about what i have perceived as going on.
The Dm and I have been friends for a long time, and as friends do sometimes we fight or clash on our points of view. And as I don't work as much or have a family life to attend to i have more free time to think and fester over certain things than a person who has these things does. I could go into more details but it isn't require on here.
This isn't a spoiler because he has taken his own path with the adventure as most dm's do in their own ways. based on your questions regarding the vampire, Jask from SS, the Cleric of Nethys is the Vampire. Circumstances led to him being slain via blood loss by Big Red and weather or not that's coherent with rules doesn't matter, given that story is usually more important than rules anyhow.
So anyway. Base on recent communications and very need apologies on my part given my words have been somewhat over the top and spiteful recently, I've been informed that it's more than likely that my character will be able to adapt to the situation as it is presented.
And btw he has read both postings of my question here and to paint him in a less than 'evil overlord' light I will quote something he has posted on our Facebook group.
"Ol Bes smiles on the freedom of the sea n that whov pledge their lives to it. But not all who brave the waves do so for tastes of glory. Some seek to plunder no other than the freedom itself.
SLAVERS I say!. . and spit on their kind, for they bring not glory nor fame but the fate of chains upon us all.
In life I knew not but the shackle and the chase of crimes for others greed. By Nethys' hand, I now sail upon the night's black sea cursed as a slave of undeath until none shall know more the cuff or whip..
..My crews shall profit from the fatten'd merchants, whose haughty galleons float their ways back to the greed of the North Not a coin shall I keep form myself, for this not be my part of the game. But of the cowards of the fleshtrade and them devil kissin' Chels who drive it, be ye warned cross my bow and it'll be a sea hell for all'v ya!"
~fro the marks of Jask Derindi(risen)-Dread Vampire & Pirate at large!
That happens.
Jask as a vampire made me laugh, hahaha nice! From shackled slave cleric to undead anti-slaver, such irony only to be found in sea-bound curses. I'm just glad he wasn't a vampire when we were playing Souls for Smuggler's Shiv.
Happy sailing and good luck!
Good on ya for staying classy. I've seen personal grievances aired out in public forums before and it's never pretty. The vampire being Jask makes more sense to me now.
As for everything else, hope it all works out for you. Cheers.