Ship Tasks and Roles

Okay, so the one rule about starting skills is that no one can be trained in Profession (sailor) at level one. The idea is that none of the characters have skill at this seafaring thing yet. That said, there are plenty of skills that might come in handy on a ship. Some people asked about various tasks on a ship, and what skill will be appropriate. I want you to find out what skills work well, rather than build characters who are already perfectly equipped and split up by role on the ship to begin with. The module is built around an organic development of characters, so keep that in mind--your character learning either what skills to learn the hard way, or what use they can put an existing skill toward is part of the game. Some things to ponder though:

Basic Ability
For almost all tasks, you can swap the base ability score in rather than the skill.For example: swabbing the decks, a task of mopping and cleaning the wooden surfaces with sandstone blocks called holystones, can either be done with a Profession (sailor) check OR a Strength check.

Doubling Up
I know that the temptation is to say "okay, you be good at this and I'll be good at that and we'll be more effective." Unfortunately, the nature of life on a ship means that there might be times when EVERYONE on board the ship has to take part in a given task. In a blowing storm, almost everyone has to be working on the lines and rigging to keep it both intact and the ship sailing. So rigging skills like Climb, Athletics, Profession (sailor), Perception, and various Craft skills, could be handy for everyone to dabble in.

There's a lot of diversity in a good crew, but also a great deal of similarities

Who Actually Makes the Ship Go
There are more than a few roles that happen on various sailing ships. Not every one is required, but many are essential to the process of sailing, commerce, war, or discipline. A list of who does what on a ship will at least help players understand the kind of people they are working for and with, and who has what authority (and set of skills). All of the following descriptions are taken directly from the materials presented to the GM in Book One of the Skull and Shackles adventure path. The size of the boat determines how much crew is needed to make it sail.

Botswain (also called Bosun): Runs the upper deck of the ship, and is responsible for all the rope, rigging, anchors, and sails. Directly oversees most of the ship's daily labor, and is such often a key part of the discipline of the ship.

Cabin Boy/Girl: Servant to the officers and runs errands.

Captain: Ultimate authority of the ship, who decides the plan for the ship as well as who fills the other stations of the ship.

Carpenter/Surgeon: Mainly responsible for taking care of the below-decks well-being of the ship, plugging leaks and repairing damage. Typically also the ship's surgeon, as Craft (wood) can be a default for Heal checks for certain tasks on the ship... such as the sawing off of injured legs.

Cook: Makes and distributes the food that is stored on the ship to the crew.

Master-at-arms: Concerned with the security of the ship and the fitness of the crew. Keeps order on the ship, administers punishments during the Bloody Hour (the hour before dinner when punishments are conducted with the full crew present), and trains the crew for boarding and deployment as a fighting force.

Master Gunner: Commands all ship-board artillery, and ensures that the crew knows how to use all the weapons on the ship. Ability to craft siege engines and knowledge of engineering is critical. How martial they are depends a lot upon the type of weapons used by the ship, as they might need to know how to fire everything from a sling to a musket, fight with any and all weapons longer than a dagger, and fire everything from ballistae to catapults to even cannon.

Quartermaster: Oversees the supplies and items that are stored on the ship. Every bit of food and weaponry, plus all the plunder, are coordinated and counted by the Quartermaster. They are also responsible for distributing the rum rations each day.

Rigger: These folk climb the rigging and unfurl the sails, which is dangerous work even in calm water. When fighting enemy vessels, their role is one of the most dangerous--having to pull enemy vessels close in preparation for boarding.

Sailing Master: This crew member is the one who commands the moment-to-moment direction of the ship. While the Captain determines the course, the sailing master is the one who guides it. They may work the wheel themselves, or have a helmsman to do the actual piloting. Likewise, they may command the positioning of the sails, or let the Botswain do that task while they mind the general course of progress.

Swab: Any sailor who mops the decks and does generic low skilled work on the ship.

You might be asking, "wait, where's the mate? I know that there are mates on a ship!" True, but only on merchant ships where they are the various levels of deck officers. As the characters are on a pirate ship, the call of "Ahoy matey" is much more about boarding a vessel that is prey than about saying hello to a buddy on the same ship.

Character Creation: Traits, Power/Paths, and Pirate Weapons

I posted some general thoughts on character creation in the first post (check it out here), but I wanted to make a few more points clear as people start to think out their characters. One discussion is about the background traits for the campaign and one is about power level and path. Finally there is a little section about bonus weapon proficiency that I will be giving to characters. First up, the campaign traits--otherwise known as how you ended up on this ship.

By H.R. Department we mean "Hammer Resources"

Traits
On page four of the Skull and Shackles Campaign Player's Guide (which you can purchase and download for free from Paizo at this link) you will see a section on Campaign Traits. Each character must choose one of these campaign traits, and gets to choose one other trait (listed here) to help shape the background of your character. Traits relate to where your character comes from, how they behave, and what they learned in their life before setting out on adventure. Note that traits are a great way to get "class training" in a skill that you don't already have for a class (e.g. "Sure, you're a book learned wizard but you grew up rough so you know how to Intimidate with the best of them."). While your personal trait choice is pretty open, the campaign traits all set up the reasoning why you were at Port Peril and shanghaied by a press gang from the sailing ship Wormwood.

I would generally prefer that we have variation on campaign traits, as they will really help distinguish between characters. So that said, I want to make many of the traits exclusive--it doesn't make sense to have everyone show up on the ship named after a famous pirate, for instance. Everyone should message me via e-mail with two campaign traits they would be okay with using, and I will arrange them as best I can to your preferences. The following lists have the traits and the quick-and-dirty "why you're in Port Peril" description. Any comments on the trait will be in parenthesis afterward.

Only One:
Barroom Talespinner - Decided to make a few coins telling old sea stories you've heard in Port Peril (preferably outside of archetype--so not a bard or rogue)
Besmara's Blessing - Just seem to have the luck of the pirate queen
Bucaneer's Blood - You have the surname of a famous pirate, and thought you'd try to follow in the footsteps of your forbearer
Eye For Plunder - This one we'll adjust slightly, saying that you've been in on a few heists in your day, but never on the high seas
Peg Leg - You're not a huge fan of sharks because one bit off your leg, but hey you're in Port Peril anyhow (I love this one, btw)
Ship's Surgeon - Grew up as a tradeswoman or carpenter, and turned a natural hand to being a sawbones from that experience

Any Number:
Ancient Explorer- Looking for treasure and ancient ruins
Dockside Brawler- Grew up on the docks of a port city
Touched by the Sea- Just have an affinity for the ocean

Prefer None:
Ilizmagorti Native- This one is really to connect to other prior adventure paths in the pathfinder series.

As players select them for their characters, I'll update a "character options" post which will list who is playing what, and has what trait.

I don't want to deploy a pirate crew of brain eaters against you but I will...

Power and Paths
Because we have a big group, I think that the goal really should be to play an interesting character rather than a super tricky exploitative combat character. To that end, I ask that players be generally reasonable. Central to this are a couple of things:

1) I think that I would like to have no characters that multi-class or take a prestige class in this adventure. Paizo has really made it possible to do single class builds that are very different using their archetypes system (and have been pretty publicly against multi-classing with their game rules). Given that we'll have a rather big table, to be certain that no one crosses into other folks' territory too much I am going to ask that everyone just play a single class character. If this changes your thinking on what you would play, no one's plans are set in stone yet so I ask that you just consider something that works within a single class. I think that will not only help develop clearer personas, but it will also decrease nonsense from a GM point of view (see #2).

2) Don't play the power-gaming game. Don't focus your character on being a one-combo killer, or on one particular mode of tricks to game the system to be completely powerful. The results of that are just that the DM has to either take away your toys every fight so you get frustrated, or dial up the power level such that your over-poweredness is equalized. No one wins in the second version, so prepare for the first version.  Instead, just focus on an effective but diverse character. Because selling out to combat alone means that you'll have less to do in the game (see #3).

3) Skills are of equal importance to combat ability. This module has plenty of fights, but skills and roleplaying will be a big part of every session. You can lose your ship and have every character die just with skill checks alone. Unlikely, but I know one player's ability to roll 1's. Having lots of characters who can support the ship in various roles and work with NPCs in a variety of ways will be huge.

4) Prepare for lower build points. We've got a larger group of players (6 or maybe 7), and that means lower point buys to start. The campaign is written for everyone to have a 15 point buy for ability scores. I might have us go down to that, or be in the 16 or 17 range rather than 20 as I said in the first post. Just an FYI.

Hit 'em with the curvy end!

Pirate Weapons
I think that almost everyone should be able to use a cutlass, a pistol, and/or a harpoon after their time on the ship. So for the purposes of this campaign, each character will get one "bonus weapon" choice in the course of play. You don't have to decide it now, but you can choose to either be proficient with a cutlass, harpoon, boarding gaff, or pistol when you want to pick one (normally the cutlass is martial and the pistol and harpoon are exotic) if you are not already proficient in that type of weapon. I'll record the choice when you select it, but it can be from the very start if you wish. The point of this is to encourage you choosing weapons of these types, as you can be certain that more magical cutlasses, gaffs, harpoons and pistols will appear in the game than other weapons.

Finally of course, a bit of Pirate-themed music for fun. This time everyone's favorite Pirate-Metal band Alestorm, playing my favorite tune of theirs: Keelhauled.

Firearms in Skull and Shackles

My "Very Early" firearms rules for Skull and Shackles. Enjoy listening to "Pirates" by Bullets and Octane while reading (video below, of course).

One Hand	Damage (small)	Damage (medium)	Critical	Range	Misfire	Type	Price
Dragoon Pistol	D6	D8	X4	20 ft.	1 (5 ft.)	B and P	1,000gp

Two Hand	Damage (small)	Damage (medium)	Critical	Range	Misfire	Type	Price
Musket	D10	D12	X4	40ft.	1-2 (5 ft.)	B and P	1,500gp

Item	Cost
Bullet	1 gp
Dose of Black Powder (each dose is one shot)	10gp
Silver bullet	25gp
Gunsmith’s Kit	15gp
Powder Flask or Horn (+5 to dryness rolls, holds 5 doses)	30gp

Amazing dragoon pistol done by the cool artists at Johnson Arms

Proficiency: Using a firearm well requires training, but many decide to use them anyways. When using a firearm, users suffer a -2 to hit and misfire ranges are doubled (so 1-2 for the dragoon pistol and 1-4 for the musket). Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms) removes these penalties.

Armor Penetration and Range: Classical armor is of little use against a firearm. When firing, the attack resolves against the target's touch AC when the target is within the first range increment of the weapon. This type of attack is not consider a touch for purposes of feats and abilities such as Deadly Aim. Outside of that range, use AC as normal and apply range increment penalties. Also note that maximum range for a firearm is five increments. 

Misfires and Very Early Firearms: If the dice result on the attack roll with the weapon is within the numbers of the misfire result, the firearm explodes. Pick a corner of your square to be the origin of the burst explosion, with the size listed in parenthesis after the misfire value. Any creature inside this burst (including the wielder of the firearm) takes damage as if they had been hit by the weapon—a DC 12 Reflex save halves this damage.

Reloading:  From what I’ve read about the era, preparation takes about 30 seconds from an experienced shooter for a flintlock pistol or musket. In game terms, that’s five rounds. To be a little more dynamic, we’ll say that the reload time for a firearm is six full rounds—three full rounds if you have the Rapid Reload feat for that weapon.

After Shooting: Given the “shoot once then club” nature of early firearms, note that each counts as a partially improvised club when used in melee. The Dragoon Pistol inflicts a d4, the musket a d6. There is a -2 penalty to using them in this way, but they do not provoke attacks of opportunity like other improvised weapons. Use the same misfire numbers, if a misfire is rolled the weapon’s firing is permanently ruined (bent barrel, smashed mechanism, etc.).

Dryness: Water is an early marksman’s worst foe, and pirate ships are surrounded by water. Each time that water would contaminate a weapon’s powder, you must do a dryness check. The check is DC is 10 for incidental contact, DC 15 for getting doused, and DC 20 for being submerged. The check is a straight D20 roll, with modifiers for circumstance and a powder flask/horn. 

Much of this is taken directly for the Pathfinder SRD ruleset and adjusted to my own game. Seems like fair use via the Open Game License.

Avast Ye!

So the gaming group is finally finishing the Kingmaker series, and the next thing we’ll be running is the Skull and Shackles adventure path, a story of piracy on the high seas. There are a few things to clarify in starting this path.

Will you be as infamous as Edward Teach?

Campaign Info:
First, it’s slightly slower progression than we’ve had. The whole path will run from level one to level twelve. The focus is equally on skills and roleplaying as much as combat.

To get a sense of the campaign, you should download the free Skull and Shackles PDF from the Paizo website and read it over. You can get it here. Note that it's free, but you still have to checkout--it doesn't cost anything tho!

As you will see, the module begins with each of you shanghaied in a port city where you just arrived and were considering trying your fortune as part of a sailing crew. Characters should be interested in piracy but without real ship experience. So at first level, I ask that no one take Profession (Sailor). You may take a campaign trait that gives you a bonus to this skill—representing growing up near the sea, and you may even take Skill Focus Profession (Sailor) at first level if you really wish (appropriate for a character who has lots of book learning about the profession). But you cannot have any ranks, as your characters have never actually sailed.

Or a colorful rogue like Calico Jack?

I may be substituting a different ship-to-ship combat system than the one presented in the player’s guide. If you would all give those rules a read-thru at your leisure and let me know your thoughts. The only real complaints about this module path I have read have revolved around those, so we might swap to something else (like Wooden Ships Iron Men). Note that we will be using the scars and peg legs optional rules for character wounds. 

Characters, Races, and Classes:

Character races can be any from the player's handbook. Characters use a 20-point buy system for their ability scores. Hit points are max at first level, and then half-plus-one for all subsequent levels. Starting gold is the average as listed for the character class. As for classes, I think they fall into some general categories, which I have broken into these categories. As always we will be using only the main rulebook and the advanced character guide. 

Best Options:

Barbarian, Bard, Cleric of Besmara (goddess of pirates), Cleric of Gozreh (goddess of nature and ocean), Druid*, Fighter, Ranger, Sorcerer, Rogue

Okay Options:

Cleric of Desna (goddess of freedom and luck), Wizard*, Oracle (not ideal, but they’ll certainly work)

Poor Options:

Clerics of other non-lawful Gods, Monk, Alchemist, Summoner (these all face serious handicaps in the game)

Terrible Options:

Clerics of Lawful Gods, Paladin, Cavalier, Inquisitor, Witch* (just please don’t play these)

*Note that druids, witches, and wizards must acquire their animal companions or familiars through play, so you will not start with them.

Become queen of the seas like Anne Bonny?

Skills, Feats, and Traits:

So a few skills come up more often than others in this one. Strongly consider having at least one social skill (Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate). Other good skills: Knowledge (engineering), Climb, Craft (cloth), Craft (ships), Craft (siege engine), Knowledge(local), Knowledge (geography), Profession (cook), Survival, and Swim. As for feats, ones that enhance these skills could be especially useful (Skill Focus and Athletic). The player’s guide lists some others, but we won’t be using Ultimate Combat, so don’t fret those. Finally, every character starts with one campaign trait from the guide and one character trait of their choice.

Items:

You can check out the new pirate weapons in the player's guide, and while you probably won’t start with any they would be very characterful (and you’re far more likely to find magic versions of those types of weapons than others). You might also think twice before becoming a heavy armor wearer—as a ship is not always safe for such a garb. There will also be firearms, though they will be highly rudimentary. I will be making a set of house rules for the available guns, and you will see that they conform to the very start of blackpowder. In short, reloading in combat will be a slow, almost never, situation. Instead, characters might carry a brace of pistols to fire as they close on foes. The guns will be comparable to crossbows and the like, and a trained crossbowman will likely outshine a gunman every time.

Or a noble-ish privateer with proper letter of marque like Sir Henry Morgan?

Putting the Scale in Scallywag:

Finally, there is the matter of alignment and attitude. This module series requires your character to be a pirate, no doubt about it. You don't have to be out-and-out bloodthirsty, but you do have to be ready to sail the seas for plunder. This means sacking ships and killing sailors. I don't want a group of stone cold killers though. Rather, I think that Long John Silver in Treasure Island is a good example. He's bad and nasty, but he does care about the people he has a bond with such as Jim Hawkins. So work with your friends, but make foes walk the plank.

Blog

I'll be using this blog to do general announcements so that we can keep things in one spot. I will also use it to track status of friends and foes, as well as the characters' infamy throughout the campaign. Plus, I'll be painting up a few pirate crews to challenge the heroes--and displaying them plus the heroes' own miniatures and characters here.