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After reading Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, I wasn't really much of a fan of the introduction of the adventure and was thinking of a different method for the PCs to become castaways.
This is an alternative beginning for Serpent’s Skull that I’m considering for my campaign. I plan to run this adventure path sometime in July. Any suggestions or ideas to expand upon this would be appreciated.
The PCs wake up on the beach and meet one another, which also includes the NPCs: Captain Kovack (captain of the ship), Alton (the first mate), Israel Hands (the cook), Aerys (bounty hunter who was watching over Jask), Ishirou (shipmate), Ieana (mwangi scholar), Gelik (scoundrel), Sasha Nevah (merchant)
Option: One (or more) of the PCs is suffering from memory loss. This could occur from a bolt of lightning during the storm. This PC could very well be a Serpentfolk (she or he doesn’t realize it until the last adventure in the module series or until a PC gains access to true seeing [potentially level 9 or 10th level spell caster]).
The Captain orders the group to build a base camp (he gets into a fight with Sasha). Alton asks the PCs help in gathering supplies from the wreckage of the Jenivere. Aerys asks the PCs help in searching for Jask.
Alton, Aerys and the PCs find the Jenivere submerged in the reefs and Alton recommends returning during low tide in the morning. They gather what supplies they can from the beach and return to camp.
If PCs insist to swim up to the Jenivere, allow them to retrieve what they can before they encounter an aquatic danger in the water (such as sharks or scavengers).
The PCs and NPCs speculate on what may have occurred, and determine their watch schedule. Yarzoth receives a dream from the serpentfolk god and is inspired to find the hidden temple on the island. Divine class-related PCs (such as Oracles, clerics, etc) receives nightmares warning them about the Serpent folk.
In the morning the PCs and Alton fight a poisonous scavenger on the Jenivere. Alton should be poisoned in this encounter and later perish. They find the remains of Israel Hand and realize there is an imposter in the group. The PCs return and find that the Captain, Ieana, and Israel Hands are missing. The other NPCs have been rendered unconscious from a spell.
PCs must figure out what to do. The discovery of a doppelganger inspires paranoia among the group.
The PCs begin to track the missing NPCs to area V. They find Jask in area F. PCs must determine what they plan to do with Jask.
The adventure continues as normal
In Caves of the Mother encounter, have the Mother let slip information dealing with the Red Mountain…
“Are you also here looking for the Red Mountain?” or something along those lines.
In the final encounter with the Serpentfolk, have the Captain and Ieana there. Ieana and the Serpentfolk were both busy transcribing the markings on the wall. The dominated Captain fights the PCs along with the Serpentfolk while Ieana cringes and hides. When the PCs defeat the Captain or the Serpentfolk, Ieana can inform the PCs about the ruins and explain the importance of this discovery.
This bait and switch allows Yarzoth to survive and continue to journey with the PCs as the big bad. She eventually leaves the group in Book 3 in order to organize the other Serpentfolk. This allows her to return in Book 6 as one of the big villains of the story. Optionally she attempts to persuade the PC serpentfolk (if he or she survives) to join her.
This storyline also introduces a secret society that will do all they can to stop the PCs and the other Factions as they perceive them to be villains (ala similar to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’s Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword).
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I have to admit, I don't really like your set up as much as the books. If the ultimate goal is allowing Yarzoth to be the big bad, I did that by just giving her smarter tactics during the final fight.
Instead of posing as some other crew member that mysteriously ended up in this sealed up room ahead of the PCs, who had been captured before but still somehow managed to slit Yarzoth's throat, she used an actually good disguise.
The PCs were never sure that Ieana was actually Yarzoth or if Yarzoth was just controlling her. Yarzoth fled into the small room as mist, then posed as Ieana, acting helpless but dominated by the serpentfolk. She was begging at the hole in the ceiling, "please, take me with you, mistress!" When the PCs had taken Ieana essentially captive since they thought she was dominated, at some point when in sight of the nearby bay, they caught a glimpse of a smart major image: Yarzoth being eaten by a shark.
From there, Ieana "suddenly snapped out of it" and started telling the PCs about her "harrowing ordeal." Nobody can beat Yarzoth's bluff score at level 3 or 4. Then, she offers to help the PCs with the research they found, since she is a scholar and all, and essentially uses them the whole time to get her to Savith-Yhi.
Your alternate intro ideas sound pretty cool.
If you're looking for ways to expand or enhance your Serpent's Skull campaign, you might consider checking out the Grimoire Viperian from Magic Skull Games.
The book has a great deal of snake-themed material ideally suited for the adventure path, and a ton of generic-themed material that can be dropped into any campaign.
Just some of the snake-themed material from the book:
A new base class focused on shapeshifting abilities such as alter self, shapechange (similar to a druid's wildshape - so many snake forms are available), forms of the mythical beast, dragon form, giant form, special form powers, favored form ability enhancements, and more.
The class is perfect for many of the villains in the adventure path, especially the serpentfolk. It also makes a great class for characters.
New deadly venomous snake types with much more powerful poison and realistic poison side effects. Drop these into nearly any Serpent's Skull encounter, especially the wilderness sandbox areas.
These are much deadlier than their standard Bestiary counterparts and will rightly put new fear of serpents in your players and make combat with them exciting and memorable. There are also suggested rules for using these deadly snakes in summoning spells and with druid shapechanging abilities.
Black Mamba
Krait
Gaboon Viper
King Cobra
Spitting Cobra
Rattlesnake
dire version of all the above
Other new snake-themed monsters include...
serpentine medusas
scaly otyugh
trog ettin
trog troll
xocouatl (evil necromantic couatls)
Monster templates such as...
half-serpents
sentient serpents (with levels or sorcerer or other classes - these make great minions for serpentfolk bosses, or can even be introduced as new sub-bosses - they're the last thing most players will expect!)
vampiric serpents
amphisbaena serpents
hydran serpents
serpentine undead
snake-vomiting undead
viperian dragons
Supernatural Signs of Evil templates such as...
Sign of the Vile Serpent (apply this template to any of the serpentfolk or their minions to create unique foes with unexpected and cool serpent-themed powers).
Sign of Death
Sign of Evil, and others
Serpent Warlock, Serpentine Necromancer, Serpent Temple Warrior, Serpent Druid, Silent Adder, Python Master, Cobra Master, Snake Clan Warrior, Snake Cult Leader, and Viper Assassin.
Any of these can be used to spice up the Serpentfolk adversaries and their minions, or allow your players to pick them for their own characters.
Serpent Strike, Amphisbaena Call, Speed of the Mamba, Summon Snake Swarm, Summon Venomous Snake Swarm, Serpent's Wrath, Virulent Venom, Ghost Serpent, Serpent Reflexes, Serpent Sneak Attack and Serpentine Whip, and Wall of Serpents.
These spells are great for a serpent-flavored campaign, and many are designed to go along with the prestige classes and other new material in the book.
Secrets of the Beast and The Secrets of Terror.
Cobra Scale Armor, Mamba Scale Armor, Viper Scale Armor, Serpent Scale Cloak, Python Spear, Serpent Strike Weapons, Snake Flail, Strangling Snake Whip, Weapon of Deadly Venom, Snake Animal Totem Headdress, Banner of the Supernatural Sign.
And as I said before, a ton of additional material from all these categories that is not specifically snake-themed.
Thanks from Steve at MSG!
The issue I have here is that your new beginning has the NPCs directing too much of the action. The captain fights with Sasha. The captain orders everyone to set up a camp. The first mate goes with the PCs where he's poisoned. The objective of any adventures is to allow the PCs direct the action, and for the main plot to follow them. By having them already on the island and waking up with no real recollection of what happened, THEY have to figure out what happened, THEY have to figure out what to do about shelter, etc etc, but at each turn, the decisions are theirs.
The way the adventure is written, the PCs start off trying to find a way off the island, and after finding clues, realize that something is going on with Ieana, and after the "thunder" that arises from her opening the temple, is the only point at which they realize that she's serpentfolk.
In your version, the NPCs hold too prominent a role. They should be people at a loss as to what to do, until the PCs help them. Also, the NPCs as are, set up several of the modules after this one, so stripping them of their affiliations cuts out the foundation of upcoming adventures.