My party has had a few rough encounters. Luckily, replacements are readily avaiable, it's simply a matter of a crewmember stepping up and joining the officers circle. So it's not as such a problem to introduce replacement characters.
But since the latest encounter in Mancatcher Cove, I have now unfortunately killed off everyone who ever served under Captain Harrigan. As he is cast as a recurring villain, this means I now have a main foe whom my PCs has no relation to, and he has none to them.
Does anybody have any ideas how to solve this? I'm at the end of AP 2.
um don't kill everyone off so easily maybe next time?
Not sure, just add in a few new encounters between the end of book 2 and in the middle of books 3 with harrigan maybe, or just add something into the new palyers backgrounds to say they have tangled with him before?
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You know that happens to us like every time we try to play an adventure path. Been playing them for a while and haven't had a single character survive past 2 books yet for the games that didn't unfortunately fall apart.
You just kind of roll with it. The whole reoccurring villain thing is pretty much already ruined unfortunately. Special bonuses for later on are wasted, important items lost.
Kinda depressing when I think about it all at once but the only other option really is to just stop playing the adventure path or really extremely to start over. >.>
Well Ap 3 brings Harrigan back.
You can play up the fact that even if they squibbed the Mans promise, and there's no one left of his old crew aboard, Harrigan still blames them for mutiny and wants their skins.
That's the beauty of Harrigan, the more you get to know him, the more you hate him, he's vindictive and paranoid.
A few dirty tricks and outright attacks on them before and during the regatta and they will be looking to finish him.
DBH
Have the players find some ravaged survivors left behind by Harrigan, drifting famished and at their wits end on a raft - rescued, they might be giving pointers of how utterly dangerous he is and indicate that there is something wrong with his intentions for the Shackles.
And have you killed off ALL the mutinous NPC from taking over the Promise ? Harrigan might just decide to come after Sandara, Rosie, Kroop or other NPCs - how does he - in meta-game terms - know the ex-PCs were the protagonists ? Methinks he will readily slay or maim anyone who was involved in the mutiny and killing Plugg ? Also everyone now semi-famous and associated with the mutiny would be a target for his ire. So the remaining crew will have areason to stick together and pick individuals capable in helping them escape the "Curse of Harrigan" as their leaders... aka the PCs.
Just for reputation's sake
You killed off the entire crew or just the players? As others have suggested, use some of the other NPCs as targets if they are still around. Either that or someone could have heard of Harrigan and let the players know who and what he is like.
It's just the PC's who's dead. I didn't have a TPK, they've just been taking casaulties in the fights they've been in. So over the course of AP 2, every player has had one character death, which is just enough to ensure none of the original cast is alive.
They still have 8 of the Wormwood NPC's around, so I guess they'll be the bearers of bad news. :)
No doubt a shaggy dog tale but I heard a story about how some characters were going up a magic elevator disc to fight the big boss of the campaign. Monsters who loved to bull rush showed up and started BRing the characters off the disc. New characters could get on at every floor but at the end, all original PCs were dead leaving only characters who had no idea about the original reason for being there.
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You can tell them that new characters need to have some experience with Harrigan. Perhaps you could make up a new batch of Campaign traits that give each character reason to hate/fear Harrigan.
Sweatbox Delirum- You were once a conscript of the infamous Barnabas Harrigan a chance remark landed you in the sweatbox. You do not recall for how long. This experience would have killed most however you have by luck or some unexplained reason developed a resistance to hot weather. You gain a +2 to saving throws dealing with hot weather.
Lost legacy- You have learned that your father left many years ago to take up the life of a humble sailor to earn his fortune and provide for your family. Word has reached your family that he was killed brutally at the hands of the infamous pirate lord Barnabas Harrigan. You set out against your mother's wishes to chase down the scoundrel. Your desire for vengeance consumes you and developed in you a sense of unrelenting purpose granting you a +2 to all will saves.
Scorned Dream- You grew up in a port town in the shackles. Seeing the pitiful existence of city life scraping ends off the scraps of pirate tables you longed to enter the sweet trade. You were weaned on pirate tails. Still young you signed on as cabin boy aboard the ship of the pirate captain Barnabas Harrigan. Your turn aboard ship was not as glamorous as you hoped you learned that Harrigan was brutal, wicked and not unwilling to betray those closest to him. This experience taught you much about human nature granting you a +2 to sense motive and sense motive is always a class skill for you.
These are just a few examples I would look at the characters they are thinking of playing and revamp the benefits of other traits with a story that makes Harrigan an important part of their story.
Thanks Gnomezrule. That was some excellent suggestions. :)
No problem happy to help. I just finished playing Curse of the Crimson Throne all of the campaign traits were about hating one dude to get the players in the game and he dies in the first encounter. So why not revamp traits that pull the PCs into hating a reoccurring villain.
I ran into the same problem with my group. We're on book six and each player has had no less than four character deaths. They created a persona called the crowned captain and had a black crown specially made. It's like a shout out to the dread pirate Roberts from the princess bride. We also agreed that since there are many days at sea and pirates love stories that each new character would hear the tale of how they got their ship and how terrible Harrigan was. This way we could continue the story and not feel too much pressure with keeping certain meta gaming knowledge from the table.
I ran into the same problem with my group. We're on book six and each player has had no less than four character deaths. They created a persona called the crowned captain and had a black crown specially made. It's like a shout out to the dread pirate Roberts from the princess bride. We also agreed that since there are many days at sea and pirates love stories that each new character would hear the tale of how they got their ship and how terrible Harrigan was. This way we could continue the story and not feel too much pressure with keeping certain meta gaming knowledge from the table.
THIS is a marvelous, elegant solution. My group is nowhere near this point of the adventure as yet, but with the overall potential deadliness of the AP I can well see this situation arising.
Great idea! :D
Thanks! But as the players decided on the idea as a group, I can't take full credit. :)