Alternate start to Skull and Shackles -- SPOILERS!

[dromanin]

I like the books, but to get my group to hate Harrigan I had the following thoughts.

The starting premise is that the party will own a shipping company that can expect to be attacked by pirates. (thus the info in the Players Companion is still helpful).

As newly formed shipping company, they had the ship Wormwood commissioned. (I am going to let them modify it a bit so they feel a connection to it.) I plan to have them actually build a playmobil ship that I found on craiglist.

To start the adventure, Harrigan's fleet attacks them on their maiden voyage. Steals the Wormwood and strands them on a deserted island for a week+.

Harrigan returns to press gang them into service in return for rescuing them. (start the Mutiny part 1).

Then after they take the Man's Promise (and are headed to Squib's refitting) they are captured by Chelish authorities and put on trial for piracy for being in possession of the Promise. (Harrigan will somehow be involved in them getting convicted.) After they are convicted and labeled pirates (so they can not return to the shipping company), they are to be hanged.

I plan to have Sandra give some of the party a potion that will ease the pain of hanging and allow her to save them after they "died". At this point, they have to become true criminals. Once they escape on the Promise, I will continue with the books.

To me, stealing your ship, getting you hanged and turning you into a pirate seems like good reasons to hate Harrigan.

I am looking for guidance from those who have run this before. Is this plausible. What could I do to fit this concept into the book structure better.

[ferrinwulf]

sounds OK but really you don't need to go to such lenghts to get the party to hate Harrigan. If you do the job right on the Wormwood the players will hate him easy enough and be itching to mutiny, mine were and I only did 12 days on the ship. They can't wait to meet him and send him to Davey Jones later on.

You just need to make their life pure hell on the Wormwood, yes Plugg and Scourge are the Ones doing it but they are just Harrigans Lackeys, play him up to be a bastard and you can't go wrong.

[Gnomezrule]

Yeah I am looking at things and Harrigan is easy to hate from what I have read from other campaigns my worry is that you kill him in book 5 only to face Bonefist be the REAL BBEG but without much reason.

[Time-Scout]

I agree, it's a nice alternative story, but you don't need to do it.
Of course, Mr. Plugg is the main focus on board and reason to mutiny, but if you catch them by surprise and let harrigan pick up a helpful NPC and send her to the sharks with no real reason... You will see, the main focus will at least be devided between Plugg and harrigan.

[Diamond B]

Gnomezrule - I had the same issue about Bonefist's sudden appearance as the BBEG I. Book 6. While I'm not going to have my players in direct conflict with him until then, I am introducing them to his "evil". I'm using an intro similar to Dudemeisters, instead of being press ganged in Port Peril, they are going to be crew on a merchant vessel. Bonefist's is going to take their cargo, disregard the parley agreement and blow their ship out of the water. PCs will be ignored survivors that are later picked up by Harrigan. This will give the PCs a nice intro to Bonefist, and be powerless to truly touch him for quite some time, let them feel the firepower of a cannon armed warship and hopefully start a simmering dislike for the current Hurricane King.

As for Harrigan, book 1 gives plenty of reason for the party gain a healthy dislike without my help.