Any thoughts on the location of Tarin's Crown (from the AP PLug-In of the same name from Legendary Games)? I'm still trying to sort out what goes where in the Shackles.
Geoff (my partner in piracy for this one) might have his own ideas for this, but I was thinking that if you wanted to put Tarin's Crown in the Shackles it would be on the edge of the unnamed isles south-southeast of Rickety's Squibs, south of the Slithering Coast. *link to map*
The location is fairly flexible, so feel free to relocate the island to suit your campaign.
That sounds right to me. Tarin's Crown is used by most Shackles pirates as a navigational marker, so putting right in the Shackles themselves wouldn't make much sense. As that particular archipelago is outside the Shackles and on the main route between the ports of Senghor and Bloodcove, that is where I'm putting it.
Still, what Matt says about flexibility is very true. I may have created the place, but where you put it is entirely up to you.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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That's the beauty of any of the Islands of Plunder adventures; they're ISLANDS! You can drop one anywhere in the middle of the sea you'd like. There's always an uncharted isle somewhere over the horizon.
Thanks for all the input! I wasn't expecting to hear back from the writers/publisher--I was just curious where people were dropping it. Page 15 mentions its considerable distance from other settlements, and I had no real feel for what that meant.
Thanks again, both for the answers and for this line of AP Plug-Ins!
Yes, which is a shame since an option within that adventure is to use it to link with another part of the series. And I'd really like to know how the two fit together better since I know that's the option my PCs would take!
But I like this little "side trek" for the PCs I think they are going to enjoy cutting through enemies in Tarin's Crown.
There are two that I am very curious as to their reception. ;)
The ones I'm talking about haven't come out yet and I'm not sure how much Matt wants out and I don't want to step on his toes because I'm excited and impatient.
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Here's the next three in the Islands of Plunder series:
Islands of Plunder: Flesh and Spices - A 4th-level adventure by Matt Goodall with James F.D. Graham.
Islands of Plunder: Scourge of the Steaming Isle - A 9th-level adventure by Matt Goodall with Joshua Root.
Islands of Plunder: Raid on the Emperor’s Hand - An 8th-level adventure by Matt Goodall with Joshua Root.
All three of these are in development and we are hoping for 'Flesh and Spices' to be out in May.
Legendary Games also has other Pirate Plug Ins coming:
Treasury of the Fleet - A cavalcade of magic items both nautical and piratical by Jason Nelson and the Legendary Games Design Team.
Fort Scurvy - A fully detailed pirate king’s fortress, suitable as the high seat of any worthy pirate king… or a worthy challenge as an adventure for PCs of 14th to 15th level, by Jason Nelson.
Pirate Codex - A rogue’s gallery of seagoing NPCs, from buccaneers to naval officers, captains to gunners by Jason Nelson and the Legendary Games Design Team.
Nautical Heroes - What series of Adventure Path Plug-Ins would be complete without a collection of vividly described, richly detailed, and gloriously illustrated pregenerated characters by Neil Spicer.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Thanks for all the interest in Tarin's Crown. Matt was doing some expansion of the original manuscript for Flesh and Spices and we also had some delays on artwork and maps, but things are starting to come in again so we are still on track for the second adventure to come out this month. I've also gotten the artwork from James Krause for Treasury of the Fleet, so I'll be turning the crank up on that one as well. Things are a little over halfway done with writing on that one. I got a good start in but had to take a break to deal with a couple of undisclosed projects (and that little Kickstarter thing we just finished), but things are turning back around to pirate land again, so we should have some more products coming your way soon.
P.S. If any of you guys have a few minutes to post up a review of the adventure, we would be most appreciative!
Islands of Plunder: Scourge of the Steaming Isle - A 9th-level adventure by Matt Goodall with Joshua Root.
Islands of Plunder: Raid on the Emperor’s Hand - An 8th-level adventure by Matt Goodall with Joshua Root.
Are the ones I'm waiting for. Although,
Treasury of the Fleet - A cavalcade of magic items both nautical and piratical by Jason Nelson and the Legendary Games Design Team.
Sounds eight shades of amazing.
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Nautical Heroes - What series of Adventure Path Plug-Ins would be complete without a collection of vividly described, richly detailed, and gloriously illustrated pregenerated characters by Neil Spicer.
This one is over half-written at this point (in terms of stat-blocks), and I was just looking over everything yesterday with an eye towards providing character descriptions for art orders to get underway. I am still holding off, however, on completing the text until the Advanced Class Guide comes out, because I want to include the final version of a swashbuckler as one of the pregen PCs.
Also, who came up with an adventure name like Flesh and Spices, but left me off the contributor list? ;-)
You would be correct TritonOne.
Not me, Mr. Spicer sir. I had nothing to do with it. It was him. *points at random dude*
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I plan to make Taryn's Crown an optional quest at the beginning of "Tempest Rising" in my game. The set up is going to be helping a newly ascended Pirate Lord, Nathaniel Moorehead, regain his Besmara statue that Taryn stole. Taryn, on the other hand has a counter offer: if the PCs can learn the true name of Moorehead's mother, his wizard navigator has a plan to kidnap her through magic and lure Moorehead to the Crown where his ship will be chewed up in the gullet.
If the PCs take to Moorehead, he may serve as an alternate choice to following Tessa Fairwind for more cut-throat crews. I have changed some names from Taryn's Crown, but it should be obvious who is who. Below is Nathaniel Moorehead's story and his set up for Taryn's Crown. He uses the stats and image of the "Pirate King" from the NPC Codex.
BIOGRAPHY:It's said that Nathaniel Moorehead only loves two things in the entire world: His mother and his sea cats. Those who know him also know he loves power. Born to a low prostitute after a fling with an elven sailor, Nathaniel Moorehead grew up in the Beggarbriar slums of Port Peril. It was a tough life and the boy learned early on the struggles and tragedies of the desperate women in his mother's trade. For her part, she loved her son dearly and swore to get him out of Beggarbriar and into something better. She was viciously protective of him and he became equally viciously protective of her.
She used her wiles to gain him the position of cabin boy aboard a pirate ship of low regard called the Beast when he was 14. She impressed upon Nathaniel that he needed to be the best sailor and the fiercest fighter he could become and most of all, to make himself "harder than the world". She also demanded that he write her every month. It's said her letters to him were guidance on how to gain influence on the ship, and by the time he was 17, he led a mutiny and became captain of the Beast himself. He was named a free captain in short order. Soon thereafter, Nathaniel returned to Beggarbriar for his mother. As far as anyone knows, he has secreted her away somewhere in the Shackles and a good percentage of his booty goes to keep her in luxury.
He next set out to make the Beast feared, but its captain had been so lax for so long that the ship was held in incredibly low regard. Neither Avimar Sorrinash, The Master of Gales nor Tessa Fairwind would even consider the Beast for their respective fleets. He ended up sailing in the services of Bradesmar Watch, a "Pirate Lord" in the loosest sense of the term, of Maidenspool. Watch's brother Taryn captained the other ship in his "fleet", the Silver Narwhal. The Beast's raids brought more riches to the small town than it had seen in years and Moorehead quickly became Bradesmar's majordomo. For his part, Moorehead loathed the Watches, who he felt were doing nothing to improve their status in the Shackles.
Recently, Bradesmar was said to have gone soft in the head and had been acting increasingly erratic. In a heated argument, Bradesmar made the mistake of threatening Moorehead's mother. As he left the room to get a drink, Moorehead casually stood from his seat, walked up behind his lord and destroyed his knee with a blow form his boarding axe. He then loosed his sea cat on the man, finishing the bloody job. He named himself the pirate lord of Maidenspool, and his crew began purging those few loyal to the Watches.
When he found out about this, Taryn Watch (who was out to sea at the time) swore vengeance. In a daring raid on Maidenspool, he stole a treasure of great value from his brother's former manor and fled to his tiny island fortress called Taryn's Crown, off the coast of Drenchport. What happens next is anyone's guess, but Nathaniel Moorehead is sure to not let this challenge to his new authority go unanswered.
It's a poorly kept secret that Moorehead's ambitions lead to one day succeeding the Master of Gales as Lord of Drenchport and may eventually lead to a play for the Hurricane Crown. The one gift his wastrel of an elf father gave him was a long lifespan that the avaricious young man is sure to take advantage of.
I am planning on starting Skull and Shackles soon. What adventures would people suggest in tying in with the AP? And is the AP open enough to allow this easily?
Shaun, I really like your take on Tarin's Crown. It is very interesting and inspiring.
I already tossed out the basic plot hook, but none of my PCs took the bait. I think something like you came up with might help entice them, as I really want to get them into this little island.
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I am planning on starting Skull and Shackles soon. What adventures would people suggest in tying in with the AP? And is the AP open enough to allow this easily?
Aside ftom the Islands of Plunder series, there's an older post about adding side quests to S&S. I'll come back with a link later, but four now, try a keyword search of this board for 'Dungeon Magazine'.
There are some parts of Skull & Shackles that are wide open for adding side quests. Other parts are more linear, but you can still find ways to add things to most parts of the AP.
They just arrived today and it looks like a lot of opportunity to open it up for a sandbox feel. Thanks for checking.
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You're welcome.
Here's one of the older threads about expanding S&S. Here's another. There may be more buried in the messageboard archives.
Definitely check out the stickied GM threads for all of the modules. Some of them are very long, but they contain tons of helpful suggestions for fine-tuning the modules.
Back on the topic of this thread, how is Flesh and Spices coming along?
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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You're welcome.
Here's one of the older threads about expanding S&S. Here's another. There may be more buried in the messageboard archives.
Definitely check out the stickied GM threads for all of the modules. Some of them are very long, but they contain tons of helpful suggestions for fine-tuning the modules.
Back on the topic of this thread, how is Flesh and Spices coming along?
Pretty well. We had a couple of day job-related delays on contributors, but I should have the art in hand by the beginning of next week. Pretty sure maps are in. Should be able to have it together by the end of the month.
It's been too long since I've heard the name of the spice in Dune to recognize it, but I do at least remember glitterstim.
I plan to make Taryn's Crown an optional quest at the beginning of "Tempest Rising" in my game. The set up is going to be helping a newly ascended Pirate Lord, Nathaniel Moorehead, regain his Besmara statue that Taryn stole. Taryn, on the other hand has a counter offer: if the PCs can learn the true name of Moorehead's mother, his wizard navigator has a plan to kidnap her through magic and lure Moorehead to the Crown where his ship will be chewed up in the gullet.
If the PCs take to Moorehead, he may serve as an alternate choice to following Tessa Fairwind for more cut-throat crews. I have changed some names from Taryn's Crown, but it should be obvious who is who. Below is Nathaniel Moorehead's story and his set up for Taryn's Crown. He uses the stats and image of the "Pirate King" from the NPC Codex.
** spoiler omitted **...
A very cool take on the fleets surrounding the Crown! And yes, definitely a more vicious patron than Tessa could be of great use. My players are on the "good" side of things, so Tessa should be fine for them but seeing something for less benevolent pirates is great! :)
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Flesh and Spices on approach. Matt says text is done, maps are done, one illo left to come in. Should be heading into layout in the next few days and available by the 1st of June if not sooner, barring any unforeseen complications!
I should be able to get Treasury of the Fleet out the door not too long after that as well!
Excellent news! Thank-you, sir!
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Just approved the proof from layout. One or two minor corrections and I should be able to upload Islands of Plunder: Spices and Flesh to the Legendary Games webstore either tonight or tomorrow! We should have print copies available by early next week as well!
Running Tarin's Crown right now for my Skull & Shackles group and so far they're enjoying it. Can't wait to try the rest, they're a little high level for Spices and Flesh but the other two will be right up their alley, any hints as to when those will be ready to go?
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Running Tarin's Crown right now for my Skull & Shackles group and so far they're enjoying it. Can't wait to try the rest, they're a little high level for Spices and Flesh but the other two will be right up their alley, any hints as to when those will be ready to go?
Artists just started work on their parts of those two, but maps and writing are getting close to done. Hopefully we can get both out in July.
Still waiting on final layout of Spices and Flesh, but should be available soon.
Running Tarin's Crown right now for my Skull & Shackles group and so far they're enjoying it. Can't wait to try the rest, they're a little high level for Spices and Flesh but the other two will be right up their alley, any hints as to when those will be ready to go?Artists just started work on their parts of those two, but maps and writing are getting close to done. Hopefully we can get both out in July.
Still waiting on final layout of Spices and Flesh, but should be available soon.
Looking forward to it! My group finished Tarin's Crown last night and I must say that the final series of encounters can be fairly brutal. I switched it up a little bit from what was printed to further an on going story thread vs the Chelish (specifically the Dominator) that my party has but they greatly enjoyed it all and are looking into the logistics of the island to either raze it (Vegepygmies are creepy!) or do something else with it.
Did anyone other than Shaun say which Pirate Lord was the previous owner of the Pearl? I don't want to add any new lords (since twenty-seven of the thirty seats have already been filled, and I want to leave the remaining three open in case the PCs luck out).
Did anyone other than Shaun say which Pirate Lord was the previous owner of the Pearl? I don't want to add any new lords (since twenty-seven of the thirty seats have already been filled, and I want to leave the remaining three open in case the PCs luck out).
The only Pirate Lord mentioned is the one on Steam Island, an upcoming Adventure Path Plug-in. This project was originally to be one publication with several adventures. Matt, Joshua Root, and I bounced ideas off each other and connected the two adventures. This connection had to be reduced to very optional when it became a series of short adventures.
So if you don't intend to use Steam Island, any of the established Pirate Lords will do so pick the one that fits your group best.
Intriguing! Is there a Lord of Steam Island, then? Is this Lord intended to be one of the twenty-seven, or someone new?
Did anyone other than Shaun say which Pirate Lord was the previous owner of the Pearl? I don't want to add any new lords (since twenty-seven of the thirty seats have already been filled, and I want to leave the remaining three open in case the PCs luck out).
Bought Tarin's crown a few days ago, looks cool, and this was the question I had, just out of curiosity.
I like Tempest Rising, but one thing I wanted to change was the fact that the two opening leads for the spy ring investigation conveniently have the information that the other is seeking. I think instead I'm going to have Tarin's crown sculpted to depict Besmara and Calistria embracing and it was made as a gift for Tessa Fairwind (who is a worshiper of Calistria but, I think, would still have a healthy respect for Besmara). My destruction conditions would require a pirate captain devout worshiper of Calistria having to forsake his/her life of piracy, choosing to retire in anonymity, take a spouse, and work the land. Upon his or her uneventful death of old age, the crown dissolves.
Tessa doesn't have the time to personally go and retrieve it (investigating the spy ring and all), and she disdains crowns anyway. But she recognizes that her rep will suffer if she doesn't get the crown back, so she sends the PCs to get it. Upon the retrieval of this sacred object, Tessa asks the PCs to aid her in her efforts to find spies. The church of Calistria is willing to impart some info they've heard about the spy ring, especially to the people who just recovered the object sacred to Calistria.
Bought Tarin's crown a few days ago, looks cool, and this was the question I had, just out of curiosity.I like Tempest Rising, but one thing I wanted to change was the fact that the two opening leads for the spy ring investigation conveniently have the information that the other is seeking. I think instead I'm going to have Tarin's crown sculpted to depict Besmara and Calistria embracing and it was made as a gift for Tessa Fairwind (who is a worshiper of Calistria but, I think, would still have a healthy respect for Besmara). My destruction conditions would require a pirate captain devout worshiper of Calistria having to forsake his/her life of piracy, choosing to retire in anonymity, take a spouse, and work the land. Upon his or her uneventful death of old age, the crown dissolves.
Tessa doesn't have the time to personally go and retrieve it (investigating the spy ring and all), and she disdains crowns anyway. But she recognizes that her rep will suffer if she doesn't get the crown back, so she sends the PCs to get it. Upon the retrieval of this sacred object, Tessa asks the PCs to aid her in her efforts to find spies. The church of Calistria is willing to impart some info they've heard about the spy ring, especially to the people who just recovered the object sacred to Calistria.
I actually ended up using Tarin's Crown as the culmination of the spy-ring arc. I had the pearl be an object that the spy-ring was trying to smuggle out of the Shackles. The stealing of the pearl became a heist from a Besmaran temple, and being the fickle and easily angered goddess she is, I declared that Besmara was angry at the whole of the Shackles for it. Tarin and his crew became Chelish naval deserters that were attempting to use the pearl as a means to buy pardons from Cheliax and House Thrune (it also allowed me to bring the Dominator for Book 2 back). Lots of double-crossing involved, and the alchemist battle in the shop was saved til later (she already got away and was used as the navigator for Tarin's ship). It also allowed a handy way for there to be a reason for the PCs to care about Tarin in the first place and another test for Tessa.
Intriguing! Is there a Lord of Steam Island, then? Is this Lord intended to be one of the twenty-seven, or someone new?
I'm enjoying hearing how people are fitting Tarin's Crown into their campaign.
I've left it vague as to whether the leader of the Steam Island pirates is an actual pirate lord. It's up to you and your campaign as to whether you make him a actual member of the pirate council or he is right on the cusp of becoming one.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Islands of Plunder: Spices and Flesh now available!
P.S. If you've enjoyed Tarin's Crown, please do take a moment to write a review, like or share post about it on FB, and otherwise spread the good word however you can. We certainly appreciate your support and hope you enjoy this adventure as much as the first, if not more!
Islands of Plunder: Spices and Flesh now available!
P.S. If you've enjoyed Tarin's Crown, please do take a moment to write a review, like or share post about it on FB, and otherwise spread the good word however you can. We certainly appreciate your support and hope you enjoy this adventure as much as the first, if not more!
Done and done, any clue when Spices and Flesh will be up on the Paizo store?
Fort Scurvy - A fully detailed pirate king’s fortress, suitable as the high seat of any worthy pirate king… or a worthy challenge as an adventure for PCs of 14th to 15th level, by Jason Nelson.
The whole list sounds good, but that one sounds especially promising. Just from the name alone.
Saturday!
Though we always encourage folks when possible to shop directly with us, getting more of your gaming dollar into the hands of the people who create the products you enjoy!
I couldn't wait so I went ahead and picked it up on the site. I noticed this one doesn't have a scaling up/down section like Tarin's Crown does.
I'll give further impressions when I have a chance to sit down for a longer read through but it looks quite interesting so far. Wish I had it back in book 2.
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I also picked up a copy of Spices and Flesh from the Legendary Games site on Friday. This looks like just the kind of adventure my players are looking for. I plan to add it to Raiders of the Fever Sea as soon as the party finishes The Stink and sets sail again.
Spoiler 2: For the second half of the module, I found a good mapping tool for the sea hag's lair: Ground Set #18 - Seabed from Lord Zsezse Works.