I have considered buying and runing this ap. I was wonder what people that have ran it or played in it have thought about it?
Really good, but VERY tough especially book 1. It's not for everyone though and some parts of it need some work, there are penty of good suggestions in the boards though, like switching the 2 parts of part 6 around
I think the thing I have found with this adventure is that its one of the first that has given me new ideas to add and embelish it to make it truley great. Serpent Skull esp part 3 was a real chore to get right and work (I ended up burnt out and the campaign folded)but I have had so many good ideas by reading through this AP once or twice that it's becoming a labour of love. I would suggest if you did get it to read it through make notes including the NPC backgrounds. There is quiet a complicated story in the background that is not emblished as much as it should be. Weave the plot in to some of the earlier episodes and make more of some of the NPC's. I think most people agree that Inkskin is underused and should really play more of a role.
Its different and as I say not for everygroup. It's a very skills based game too so involves a fair bit of thinking as well as hitting stuff to get through it.
My group is really enjoying this AP, we are only about 1/3 through book 2 at the moment it is one of their favorite AP's (this is our 5th) I've played it pretty much as written but I changed it to the slow track and have added various things into the AP.
I think sprucing up the first 20 days with a couple extra encounters was needed. Also my players thought the jobs rolls were pretty tedious so I glossed over those after our first session. As far as the Rum rations, I wasn't to strick on that as soon as a player thought of a creative way to avoid it I allowed it.
Thanks sounds like it is worth taking a look at. I had my resavations about it because ss went horrible for us, three sessions stuck on the island and my group voted thet hated the ap and wanted something new lol.
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I'm really enjoying this AP. I will second what was said above about it being pretty deadly at points. Book 1 especially.
It is also true that this AP probably requires more finessing than some others. There are sandboxy elements and lots of optional encounters in every book. For some of us this AP was a little dungeon-heavy and a little piracy-light. But there are plenty of threads in these forums for how to tweak that.
Overall I recommend it.
1) The drinking rules are REALLY bad. I would gloss over them or look at the board for different suggestions.
2) I could tell by around Day 11 my players were getting sick of life on the Wormwood, so I compressed the last week into a few days. So, I would say don't be afraid to adjust on the fly depending on the temperament of your players. I'm not very familiar with Serpent's Skull, but the players are basically stuck on the pirate ship for a good majority of the first book. Their egos will be bruised, but hopefully they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
3) Social skills are awesome in this AP and especially in the first book, let your players know that CHA is a bad choice for that dump stat this time around :) Personally, I really enjoyed the social emphasis in the first book, very rare for a low lvl adventure.
The group I GM for is about to finish book 2. As a GM, I have enjoyed this AP greatly. It is just enough sandboxy to allow for some open play without getting too out of control. As stated above, read all the books and weave in some of the metaplot early on.
Love the interactions and vivid areas that the PC's can visit. Rickety Squibs and Bloodcove were two areas I really fleshed out.
I give it a big recommend.