Skip to main content

Monday Night Pathfinder Pirates: Not the Wormwood

I just really like the backstory of the Wormwood Mutiny, and though it isn't the campaign I was to run, the first book is an excellent resource to introduce players to pirating.  I take my own artistic license to GMing it though.

So the group starts out in the Cutlass tavern in Luskan.  Jacen, a human rogue, and Kyte, a maenad magus, have arrived in Luskan looking to join a sea-faring crew after escaping as slavers in the Blinded City, the city of the followers of the four gods Myrkul, Bane, Bhaal, and Cyric that is found in the Anauroch Dessert.  Vladyr Stormwalker, a dwarven druid, has come to the tavern, as well, looking for a home on the sea.  A half-giant fighter name Durgen who thinks he's a dwarf is also present with a siege weapon strapped to his back, wanting to find a crew to join.  Sheena, a human ninja, also awaits for a chance to hit the waves.

At the appropriate time, Captain Johnston of the Wormwood, calls the sailors-to-be out to test for their positions on the Wormwood.  All find positions, though some are disappointed to join as swabs.  They are told to meet on the docks at sunrise.

Some of the new crew enjoys too much ale.  Others get jumped.  They all awake on a new ship at sea, shanghaid for a different crew.

Durgen's climbing skills earn him a spot as a rigger.  Sheena becomes the cook's mate.  The other 3 take on swab jobs.

Jacen talks up a man, Jake, held in the brig, trying to find a way off the ship, ever fighting his captivity.  He is saddened to watch the man later be keelhauled and fed to the sharks.

The ground finds a friend from the bar who offers them an idea to get some of their stuff back.

Sheena checks the galley and finds a weapon and some supplies.

The crew make enemies quickly amongst the crew.  Five men, led by a former slaver, first pick a fight with them in the crews quarters at night.  Later 4 of them start a fist fight under direction from the boatswain Scourge.  The characters successfully hold off the attack, but each get 3 lashes each for being late to their work.

Next week we will see what day 3 holds aboard their ship.

---

General impressions thus far:

  • The character group is overpowered for first level, probably because they have good stats and there are 5 of them.  I need to keep that in mind in future encounters.
  • Wormwood Mutiny book is hard to use at the game table.  Too much information is too scattered.  I desperately need to add tabs to the book to get around more quickly.
  • It is hard to roleplay someone else's characters.  I don't get them, and it takes to much info for me to get them.  I guess I think differently that the usual GMs when I consider what is important to roleplaying a character.
  • The players are taking their time in understanding the importance of making friends on the ship.  Jacen is working at that, but the others aren't.
  • Pathfinder Pirates is going to be a much heavier NPC campaign than I've ever tried before.  I need to build up a good deck of NPCs with stat blocks for moving ahead.
  • If the PCs get their own ship, they are going to need a lot of people to run it besides their 6 characters. What approach is best -- having a ton of NPCs, using magic to eliminate the need for the extra crew, giving the players extra PCs (maybe light PCs?), or something else?
  • There are a lot of rules the group (including me) don't have down yet.  Still working on that.
  • Still don't have my setup ready to go.  I didn't have enough room on the table for what I needed as a GM tonight.  Laptop needs to be more effective.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5E Starting Gold and Equipment for Higher Levels

The DMG has a rough recommendation for starting gold and equipment for higher levels, but with my groups running one-shots, we wanted to nail it down to level by level. Here's my DMG-inspired table. Generally I allow equipment to be traded in during character creation for half book value, where applicable. I also, as a GM, offer to make custom magic items for players who can't choose. A list of magical items by rarity can be found here  with stats available in the DMG. I also generally allow players to buy healing potions (2d4+2) for 50gp and greater healing potions for 250gp (4d4+4). PHB items are available at book cost at creation. I do not allow other equipment to be purchased except in game. This is generally based off the "high magic" campaign. Level Starting Gold Starting Equipment / Magic Items 1 - 160gp  OR Standard starting equipment 2 210gp Standard starting equipment 3 285gp Standard starting equipment 4 365gp Standard sta...
3 comments
Read more

Rules for Flying Creatures in 5E

I'm not one for just throwing my players willy-nilly into something new without an idea of how it would work.  Flying races are on the horizon for one of my games, so here are my clarifications for flying creatures: A flying creatures requires a minimum space of at least 3 times their height in all directions in order to flight. For example, a 6 ft tall flying creature requires a room to be at least 18 ft in all dimensions before they can fly in it. A flying creature can attempt to grapple a creature.  If the the target or grappler are flying, grapple attempts are at disadvantage. If neither are flying, grapples are per RAW.  The state of flying or walking is determined by the last square you have moved.  To change between walking and/or flying, you must use at least 1 space of movement.  Movement rules per RAW apply (PHB pg 190 "Using Different Speeds") A successful grapple check by a flying creature can allow the flying creature to potentially carry th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Exploiting Weakness in D&D 5e: A Guide for the Evil Plotting GM

I wrote a similar article to this on Pathfinder, and though this is a pretty evil topic, it has been of use to a lot of folks out there.  So, now, I think, is the time to start a similar article for D&D 5e.  This will be a living document to be updated with suggestions and more information as I find better methods. In general, 5e is a lot more challenging for a GM, because the classes are reasonably balanced and because the game mechanics don't have a lot of scale over the 20 levels. Here's a general list of things to increase the difficulty for the party: Increase the number of foes and the CR (ignore the book CR system if it isn't offering a challenge) Spells against the PCs low saves.  A high level sleep spell, for example, could take out a party with no elves. Drag out the opportunity for the long rest.  After 2 short rests, the 3rd battle of the day is tough. Hit the most vulnerable PC first. It almost always forces another teammate to take an acti...
1 comment
Read more