Well, its not the starting with no gear. i was fine with that. it was the 2 months or so of real time just spent being tortured. literally 2 months of games just where our characters were tortured helplessly. i can't stand that.
Well you are supposed to Loathe the Crew of the Wormwood and the Captain. There is a very good reason for that (Without giving Spoilers)
I played the AP and had a blast. Our DM did stop doing ship to ship after a certain point where our team could take/sink any ship they wanted too due to our groups Magical resources Mid-Late game.
I feel the Campaign gets better once your off the Wormwood and doing what ever you want to do instead of being forced to be a slave Pirate.
It depends a lot on how the GM deals with it anyway. If he focuses too much in making the characters feel harassed and tortured without making an effort on focusing a bit in the good sides of being a pirate (pirate games, hanging around with the crew...) the first part can be harsh.
I tried to make my players love the pirate life but hate their officials like Harrigan, Plugg and Scourge and some people from the crew. They loved being pirates but feared being at the Wormwood.
The bard and Sandara ended sleeping together at nights because they feared being attacked while sleeping, but before they went to sleep they enjoyed telling stories and singing pirate songs.
The Wormwood Mutiny is a different kind of story and not all players enjoy it. Also, it has to be carefully handled by the GM.
What do my players enjoy the most about being pirates? They are free. They do what they want and sail wherever they want. They don't have to fit into stablished morals. They just let go and enjoy.
I might ask the bard's player, who is an active forum member, to give some advice so you enjoy. I can only give the POW of a GM.
As long as you say "Aaaarrrh, Jim Boy, Aaaarrrh!" every few minutes, you're golden.
Oh, and don't forget to get ready for International Talk Like A Pirate Day in September.
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I too really couldn't get into the campaign. I think it was due to the GM focusing so much on the first part and the inter-crew actions. the torture section was fine, because as an adventurer, not everything is roses and candy. sometimes you get screwed over.
we literally spent 5, 4-hour sessions just doing ship actions and mundane skill checks. it was maddening since the skill checks literally do nothing. the only penality for a failure was being fatigued, but since we didn't fight anything it didn't matter </rant>
my recommendation would be to gloss over the first part of the story and get to the pirate action sooner.
The most interesting part of The Wormwood Mutiny is the social interaction, but it must be handled wisely by the GM. Making it only be dice rolls is boring, and putting too much focus on it makes the game too much talking and not enough acting. I think the best way to do it is mix the action encounters with the social interaction so it all seems more balanced and less boring.
The whole AP has a lot of roleplaying scenes with not a lot of action and scenes that rely more in skill checks than in combat checks. It's not easy to handle it and it's definitely not for all kind of players.
I might ask the bard's player, who is an active forum member, to give some advice so you enjoy. I can only give the POW of a GM.
I've been summoned! Quite a strange feeling!
I must be one of that strange players who loved the first book. Yes, in that book you are pretty screwed, but if you play your cards with subtlety you can do a lot. Just be wary of the officers and spend most of your time with the commoners. It was a nice chess play with the officers trying to find a reason to punish me and me trying to not being discovered while... ehmmmm... spoilers! Of course, your GM has to balance the "Fear" theme with the "Hope" theme.
I have just finished the 4th book and I LOVE this AP!!!
By the way, this AP is great for a Bard.
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I finished GMing Skull and Shackles all the way through last summer and my players had a great time. The first book was rough (it's so dis-empowering), but once it opens up (and boy does it) players in S&S have all the freedom in the world (provided their GM is game).
I did what was posted above: I emphasized the how nasty the officers were and how much the crew began to admire and respect the PCs as things went along. If your GM is game, you have to build relationships with your NPC crew members. This will make the back half the first book well worth it. (Trying to remain spoiler free).
If you didnt like the beginning because of the unfair/amoral situation of the start of the book, Skull and Shackles is probably not for you. This is the meanest, douchiest AP there is. Everything is made to make your players paranoid psychopaths. That is just the start.
That being said, my favourite AP! So, the best choices here is to really stick to maritime archetypes with a lot of fluff and take your time to play with your environment. You are in a boat. Incorporate the lines, the buckets, everything nautical and pirate-y into your descriptions and dialog (even as a player).
It doesnt really matter what your choices are, so long as you carry them out with panache and a mixture of comedy and cut throatyness (because "pirates" as perceived in fantasy are that instead of the professional disenfranchised sailors looking for alternative options).
Check the S&Shackles subforums. Good stuff there.
Well, its not the starting with no gear. i was fine with that. it was the 2 months or so of real time just spent being tortured. literally 2 months of games just where our characters were tortured helplessly. i can't stand that.It's mostly a personal perspective really if you enjoy it or not. I just finished the third book I think? Starting off with nothing sucks and is a surprise, but you get your stuff back relatively quick, the ship battles and raiding towns are fun. We just finished taking over an island to make our stronghold on. I've never really been bored or didn't enjoy a part of it.
I also played a Sanguine/Undead bloodline Sorcerer, not really pirate themed, but you can turn yourself into one and play it out. I even pumped my Knowledge Geography to the max so I could be the one to control the boat. Always fun setting it up to ram another ship lol
Historically life at sea was very much this. Except for the majority of someone's life. Whether pirates or navy, they would often be press ganged and then the ship would function like a slave labour (which still exists today in many environments). Thus, it is a very accurate portrayal of the tribulations that you'd face as a new arrival.
Story wise, those (horrible) times in the Wormwood are very essential, both for the over arching plot as for your character development. I suggest you take them in, learn to loathe and love the crew, make every little thing that happens YOURS, every slight, every show of pity, or compassion. (Hope you have a good GM for this, and if not, help out).
It is perhaps the most human of all the APs.
It is perhaps the most human of all the APs.
That's why I chose to GM it, even though I don't specially like pirates. The Wormwood Mutiny looked exactly the kind of story me and my players enjoy.
What is special too is that you're not a hero. Your goal is not saving the world. Of course there is a danger that you have to deal with but that's not the real focus. The real one is self achievement, rising from a slave to the best of the best, from having nothing to having it all. It's in that sense the most personal of the APs.
My players have felt rewarded in each step of the adventure. First, they gained freedom and a ship of their own. And each book they grow more and more as pirates and lords. And they always say: «I can't believe we are here. Not so much time ago we were press-ganged nobodies».