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I'm going to be running a homebrew game where the PCs command a ship and have various naval, coastal, and island adventures (similar to Skull & Shackles). I'm trying to put more emphasis on Law vs. Chaos than is typical, and the first session should show some of that. The PCs start out on a merchant ship that has been off course for days, and through some role play and skill checks, they can learn of a mutiny being planned by some of the crew members. The issue is that the group is mixed law/chaos, which has similar issues to mixed good/evil for most games. Generally I expect the lawful characters to support the captain, and the chaotic ones to join the mutineers.
How do I handle this? Can I assume the PLAYERS will force the characters to be a "group", or is PvP an inevitability? If they do fight each other, must the losing side reroll, or can the characters become a group, even after the tensions of the first session? Is there a way to encourage the PCs to make a decision as a whole apart from OOC, "hey guys, you should reach one decision, no PvP?"
Any and all advice is appreciated, as I am excited to run this game and don't want it to die due to inter-character aggression.
IMHO something like this should have been addressed at character creation. Running a campaign with a high focus on chaos vs. law is definitely something the players needed to know before they create their characters. If you have a mixture of lawful and chaotic characters and you start off with what amounts to a "choose your side" along with a possible fight to death, you've just created a fractured table. At this point you might want to tell the players (as long as none of their class features are dependent upon alignment) that they can choose their alignment after some introductory role playing has taken place. At least that way you give the table the opportunity to form a cohesive group either lawful or chaotic. At that point if they choose to divide themselves, at least it was their choice, and those players whose characters die, had full knowledge that that was a possibility. Again, that only works if none of their desired class features are restricted by alignment.
My 2cp
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Have you got a lot of prior experience with these players? We can't say anything about what to expect from a distance, that depends entirely on your players.
In fact, it's a good idea to have a short talk OOC about how much in-party conflict you want in this campaign. It's a whole range, from never ever having any, to PvP. Somewhere in between there's gentle and not so gentle pranks, secret backstabbing, or on the other hand "we can disagree with each other, but always present a unified front".
You don't need to work it out in detail OOC, but it's probably healthy to get people thinking in roughly the same direction from the start. If everyone's okay with PvP, that's fine; but if some players are and others aren't, that's not so good. Better to agree OOC on how far it's okay to go IC.
Also, if the party is already formed, it's also going to be different than when you're using the first session as a group-bonding experience. If the characters already have a bond with each other, they may be more inclined to work out one common approach rather than everyone doing something else.
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The initial campaign guide specifically called out law vs. chaos as an important thing, and several classes had their alignment restrictions lessened as a result (even to the point of LN, LG, NG, and CG paladins).
I don't want to stop them from diversifying their group alignment, as even normally I think good and evil characters make a fun group. I'd like to have the conflict, just with words and not swords. Maybe they just need time to bond together before something creates conflict...
EDIT: I have been playing with this group for several years, and they tend to be very co-op inclined. I like the idea of them already being friends more or less, but don't have many ideas on that.
Alternatively, put them almost immediately in a situation that threatens them. FORCE them to work together merely to SURVIVE.
Fire-Forged Friends can often hold together regardless of countless differences, simply because they know "if it wasn't for this guy/gal I can't manage to agree on near anything with, I'd probably be dead". Keep dropping situations on them like that, keep them on their toes, give them reason not to break up. It's an ocean/sailing/pirate game, you said? Danger's behind every wave. There's no time for mutiny and faction on the high seas - your crew is your family, love them or hate them, and you have to depend on each other or Davy Jones comes calling.
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Have the PCs decide how they know each other. It's simple, you say:
"You guys have known each other for while, decide how."This doesn't restrict them, but forces them to figure out how they have gotten along so long.
This will give them reason for avoiding PvP actions.
That could work well, as they have potentially spent several weeks at sea together already. Of course that also includes weeks at sea with the ship NPCs. I want them fairly fresh, not an established group. Maybe they spend alot of the first day and night together away from the NPCs for some reason. Maybe add some dire rats to the mix. Adding dire rats is always good.