I would like some help from anyone who has run S&S
I understand that you can potentially enter the AP at Book 3 after completing Plunder and Peril
However what I did not realise is that the rivalry with Captain Harrigan from Book 1 threads through books 3, 4 and 5
My group have not played 1 and 2 (did Smugglers Shiv and Plunder and Peril)
Can I still go into S&S? How do I make all the Harrigan stuff make sense? The close race in 3 won’t have any heft. The saboteur in 4 won’t really make sense (but could potentially flow from fixing book 3)
If it makes any difference I don’t have to move my group instantly from Plunder and Peril into Tempest Rising. Indeed I was thinking of picking out a couple of bits of piracy from Book 2
Any tips would be welcome.
If my players don't burn Jemma Redclaw's body I guess I could bring her back as a Graveknight or something. And just make her the recurring villain. But the subtle sabotage from Book 4 wouldn't seem to fit that
I guess what I really need is ways of adding interactions with Harrigan in an interlude between P&P and Book 3 and also during the other parts of Book 3
Or would it work to just have this angry guy who is desperate to be a Free Captain get petty after losing?
My thought is to change Plunder & Peril so that Warvil Lanteri isn't actually dead and have him be Captain Harrigan. (Undecided on which name I'll use).
The main points would be:
-Captain Varossa Lanteri marooned her husband (or left him for dead) prior to Plunder & Peril starting
-The PCs get the Magpie Princess at the end of P&P
-Warvil Lanteri / Captain Harrigan wants his ship and treasure back
Yes, it'll make it so that the characters don't see Warvil / Harrigan before the regatta, and won't hate him, but it gives a reason to Harrigan to want to get the PCs.
That being said, I read the AP and module a little over a year ago and have run the second half of an AP, and most of the rest of another one since then, so I'm probably forgetting some things and missing details that might matter...
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How did you transition from Smuggler's Shiv to P&P?
My thought is to replace the last dungeon of Smuggler's Shiv with the one at the end of WWM and then someone rescues them before going to the festival at the beginning of P&P with the rescuers having the group find their way from there.
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I also remembered, Harrigan being mad about losing the regatta and going after the PCs because of it could easily be explained as him needing the island for his plans to have a higher chance of success. This would mean that he's not necessarily going after the PCs, but instead going after whoever possesses the island they win, which just so happens to be the PCs.
Sorry kind of late to this but I was reading this forum looking how some folks were handling a scene... but in case anyone else reads this thread....
I replaced Book 2 with Plunder and Peril but we still had played Wormwood Mutiny, so I didn't have this particular problem, but let me think...
I agree that just trying to build a rivalry during the Regatta could work.
One of the easiest things I can think of is have some of the crew you gain from the Magpie know or have a history with the Wormwood/Harrigan. Perhaps Harrigan had a big rivalry with the Lanteris, and he sees the Magpie Princess as rightfully his. Maybe Varossa and/or Warvil killed Plugg and Scourge in this version of the story, and he wants revenge. It doesn't matter if he doesn't know you personally, or even if you killed Varossa--if you've become the owners of the Magpie you have what he sees as rightfully his.
Another option, which is harder because you'd have to finagle the end fairly carefully: Jemma Redclaw's treasure is supposed to be famous. Perhaps Harrigan wants to go after it for his own gain, and having heard Varossa Lanteri is going for it, he tries to hunt her down using both scrying magic and information gathering. He eventually figures out where you're all headed, but he doesn't get there until after you've dealt with the Big Bad and Varossa. The trick is how to have him encounter the party, show how scary he is, but not have him destroy the party or vice versa. If the party managed to get along with Kelizar the dragon, maybe Kelizar also happens to have followed the party and swoops in and scares Harrigan away (I also happened to put Kelizar's Atoll much closer to Warvil's Folly and Brightglass as I felt like that made more sense for the story, so he could also just be flying by). Or maybe after the Big Bad is killed, there's a huge swarm of incutilises living in the bay that, realizing the boss is dead, flee and swarm Harrigan's boat in the process. Whatever happens, something that forces him to want revenge on the party and/or possession of Redclaw's treasure/arm/ship that then carries through to the rivalry during the Regatta.
A third option is Harrigan simply targets them because the party enters the good favor of Tessa Fairwind, who he sees as a rival for the Hurricane Throne (or some other major free captain the party allies with).
My thought is to change Plunder & Peril so that Warvil Lanteri isn't actually dead and have him be Captain Harrigan. (Undecided on which name I'll use).
The main points would be:
-Captain Varossa Lanteri marooned her husband (or left him for dead) prior to Plunder & Peril starting
-The PCs get the Magpie Princess at the end of P&P
-Warvil Lanteri / Captain Harrigan wants his ship and treasure backYes, it'll make it so that the characters don't see Warvil / Harrigan before the regatta, and won't hate him, but it gives a reason to Harrigan to want to get the PCs.
That being said, I read the AP and module a little over a year ago and have run the second half of an AP, and most of the rest of another one since then, so I'm probably forgetting some things and missing details that might matter...
******
How did you transition from Smuggler's Shiv to P&P?
My thought is to replace the last dungeon of Smuggler's Shiv with the one at the end of WWM and then someone rescues them before going to the festival at the beginning of P&P with the rescuers having the group find their way from there.
I meant to reply to this ages ago but had account issues. It wasn't a smooth transition. Yours would be
Mine was just that they liaised with the pathfinders to sell the secrets from the island. They went on a couple of side missions - the two PFS 2E scenarios in that region involving Iruxi and then sailed to Lilywhite. They basically really wanted a drink so a beer festival worked well
Your fixes would be good. Especially tweaking Harrigan
I had Harrigan show up at the end of part two of Plunder and Peril (i think). I know he shot their little rowboat out of the water but it was not long after they got the horn that summoned the Hippocampus. So I think it was the end of Part 2. He told them they were in "his waters" and to get out of them. And then shot a hole in their boat
My brother's character was so furious with this completely illogical step that he completely hates him without any need for Book 1.
I also had him press gang Aerys and Sasha from SfSS who wandered off on Lilywhite - to get Aerys away from all the alcohol. So that helped raise the animosity.
I kind of want them to escape though to both remove the cliche damsel in distress thing and to give more ally options for the beginning of Book 5 when recruiting since I cut Books 1 and 2 and also cut Piers and the pub part in Book 3. So thin on the ground on that front
Although writing this has just reminded me of their Pathfinder allies who I might be able to use somehow. And the Iruxi from the side quests