Starting Disclaimer - This is the 3rd time I have tried to get this game going here...and both other times it fell apart mostly because of me and private mental health issues. I have those sorted now that...or rather it is an ongoing thing, but I am in a good place right now and plan to do the work to stay there. And I absolutely love this Adventure Path...so I really want to try again. Having failed twice before though, I want to come in with open honest about that and start with an apology to any of the players of those previous games if they are still around. Trying to do better.
Now that that's out of the way...on to the gaming stuff!
"The shipping lanes of Golarion's seas and oceans are filled with fat merchant vessels laden with trade goods both mundane and exotic, as well as the pirates and freebooters who prey on them. Under the banner of their Hurricane King, these buccaneers sally forth from that archipelago of lawless pirate ports and anchorages known as the Shackles, plundering the shipping of countless countries and trade consortiums, then vanishing back into the maze of islands and reefs they call home. The nations of the Inner Sea would like nothing more than to end the pirate menace once and for all, but the eternal hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego has thus far shielded the Free Captains of the Shackles from the threat of retaliation."
Skull & Shackles Player's Guide
Welcome to Golarion's Inner Sea! If you are interested in joining the crew of this adventure please submit a level 1 character that would have a reason to be in Port Peril, the capital of the Shackles. Imagine a sea version of the "Hive of Scum and Villany" that is Mos Eisley in Star Wars. You do not start associated with any ship perse, but if you want to build a character that has sailing experience or is interested in becoming a sailor, pirate, smuggler, or freebooter that would not be amiss. We will be looking for 6 adventurers on this voyage.
The Rules:
Ability Scores: We will be going with Standard Arrays or the Point Buy Equivalent. While I love rolling for stats, it can create winners and losers and starting at level one those differences seem to be even larger.
Races: Most WotC races are fine with a few caveats. 1) If your race can fly then we are going to change it slightly...at first level so long as you are not wearing medium or heavy armor you can use your innate flying ability to negate falling damage and get advantage on athletics and acrobatics checks that involve jumping and climbing. You will not have a fly speed until level 3 though.
2) The following races do not exist in this world: Its a short list, and I am open to revisiting if you had your heart set on one of them...but Kender, Spelljammer Races, Leonin, Verdan, Loxodon, Simic Hybrid, Vedalken, Gith (-yanki and -zerai)
3) In addition, since you will be at sea, consideration should be given to aquatic type races...What you will mostly run into is humans, but sea elves, tritons, water genasi, air genasi, Tortles, and Locathah would not be amiss as they might be further inland. A swim speed is not a requirement for this adventure, but there will be times when it will be an advantage.
Class: I am down for any Class and Subclass that has been published by WoTC, including artificer. No homebrew or UA. (Is there even any UA out there pending at this point that isn't One D&D?)
Previous Knowledge: There are a lot of plot twists and turns that come up in this adventure path. As such I think it is difficult to separate player and character knowledge on a second playthrough. I would prefer players that have not been through Skull & Shackles before. But, if you have that is okay, please just let me know so we can work together to keep you honest on the knowledge front.
Skills: S&S uses a lot of skill checks. The campaign starts of skill and RP heavy and then moves into more combat later on. As such you might want to consider getting proficiency in one or more of the following skills (in no particular order):
Athletics or Acrobatics, generally but not always interchangable
Sleight of Hand
Stealth
Investigation
Nature
Insight
Perception
Survival
Deception
Intimidation
Performance
Persuasion
In addition, the following tool/vehicle proficiencies might be useful as well:
Cook's Utensils or Herbalism Kit (interchangable for cooking)
Carpenter's tools
Musical Instrument
Navigator's tools
Vehicles (water)
Leatherworker's tools or Calligrapher's Supplies (not really, but what is a pirate game without some sweet tattoos)
Backgrounds & Traits: It is strongly recommended you adopt one of the backgrounds found on this list of Homebrew. These are backgrounds adapted from the campaign traits from the PF version of this setting and will set you up for a good start in the world. If none of them are to your liking though you are welcome to use any WotC publish background instead. For backstories, the most important part is understanding what has brought you to Port Peril. Are you interested in becoming a privateer? Are you fleeing the royal navy? Are you looking for the sailor that left your sister with a bun in the oven? What's your story matey?
Alignment: Spoilers, you WILL be becoming pirates during the course of this adventure. Choose an alignment that is able to make that life choice. Other than that I am open to just about everything so long as you can play with the rest of the party. If you are CE/Stupid and just want to watch the boat burn that will not work.
HP, XP, and Anything Else: HP will be max at first level, later levels we will roll for HP and reroll 1s should they come up. XP leveling up will be done by milestone so I don't have to keep track of the yucky XP math. For source books, I am freetoplay here on DnD Beyond, but I have a pretty large selection of Homebrew versions of materials that are in most of the books, including all of the subclasses, feats, and spells up through Fizban's I think. And I am pretty good at using the Homebrew engine here on the site, so if there is something in a published book that you want to use but don't own, I can probably build a free-ware version of it to use in the campaign once your character is selected.
If there are any other questions I will answer them down thread. Let the character creation begin.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Founding Member of the High Roller Society.(Currently trying to roll max on 4d6)
This post reserved to document any particularly good questions and their answers. It will be edited through the course of recruitment.
As promised - Questions asked that would be good to cover
"I was in one of your previous S&S campaigns...can I reapply?" You may! We did not get very far...so there isn't too much player knowledge that we would have to watch out for. If you still have the same character and want to resubmit it that is fine, or come back with something entirely different. Either way, please repost the character as a new submission, just so I don't have to go back into the post archives to find your character's details.
"When will recruiting close?" I typically like to leave recruiting open for about a week to give everyone that is interested in the campaign a chance to figure out what they would like to play and get the character put together. I know from experience sometimes it takes a bit to figure out what you want to do. For this campaign recruiting will likely close on Thursday, 4/20. I will then probably take the weekend to figure out the 6 crew members and set up the thread and everything. We will probably begin play on Monday, 4/23.
And now for the current applicant roster. This is as much for me to be able to have easy access to all the applicants as it is for anyone that might be interested in joining...they can see that 98 people already submitted human fighters and decide to play a half-elf fighter instead, for variety.
Berry Belkra - the Feylost Fairy Fighter Mamawati - the Touched by the Sea Water Genasi Paladin Lucian Willwater - the Far Traveler Sea Elf Warlock Sasha Varkaris - the Human Pirate Warlock Anmita - the Tabaxi Fighter with an eye for plunder Character by Frandal Silvereyes - a tiefling rogue (swashbuckler) - please resubmit full character Hakarl - the Dragonborn Druid Cook - please submit character sheet, does not have to be finalized until accepted and game starts.... Kirun - the Dhampir Bard with a penchant for Barroom Talespinning Darvas Ughedath - The Triton Rogue with Buccaneer's Blood Doc Ward - the Human Artificer that has served as Ships Chirugeon
I am not saying that we need submissions from every class...but just providing this in the event that you want to submit something that no one else has yet. I would say once any class gets to 5+ submissions you should probably really consider going with something else instead.
Background: Feylost (The pitch is that while not born fairy, he got lost in the fey wild as child and lived there for longer than his memory serves. The fey wild magic turned him into the fairy that he is now.)
Brief Backstory: His forest has long since been a gateway for Fey to enter the Material Plane and Berry had always been itching for a longer visit. One day, a horse carriage, probably having taken a wrong turn somewhere, passed close to the gateway where Berry just so happened to brawl with a badger. Just for fun, mind you, he would not harm the poor creature. Anyway, in a snap decision, he decided time has come to explore a new world and he hitched a hike to wherever that carriage would go. Certainly some place exciting. Hours later they arrived to Port Peril.
Ability Scores: Point buy. Though, I’d like to add that I also like rolling for stats but know well the problems that come with it. To get the best of both worlds, I always advocate for a method I dub Party Roll. In that method everyone rolls according to one chosen standard method, then all rolls of all players are thrown into a pool and distributed fairly among all party members. Just offering an alternative, I’m fine with point buy.
Brief Backstory: Mamawati was born from the waves as far as she knows, though likely she was discarded by her Marid mother for some childhood slight. Regardless her earliest memories are of the orphanage and sneaking down to dive into the waves at every opportunity. One did not survive in the childrens home without knowing how to fight though her slight frame always put her at somewhat of a disadvantage that she was careful to pick her fights where she could. After aging out of the orphanage she took jobs on the docks and on coastal boats, never managing to escape from Port Peril...though with the ocean at her door...why would she want to?
Brief Backstory: Lucian Willwater used to be a Wood elf living on an island under his parents. His family were the only ones on that Island. His parents were overprotective, and Lucian was never allowed to go near the ocean, even though he has always wanted to. As a teenager, he got into a fight with his dad about that, and he had had enough! He went to the water and started weeping. He then heard a voice speaking. It was unknown what this voice was, but he knew that it came from the depths of the deep ocean. Was it a Kraken, a water spirit, or some other thing? He never knew. But it offered Lucian a life on/in the Ocean as he always wanted. In his emotional state, he accepted and was instantly converted into a sea elf! He went into the Ocean and spent the next few years just living amongst the sea creatures and traveling as far away from his home Island as possible. After a while, he found port peril! He knew how society works from the homeschooling of his parents, but this would be his first time actually talking with other people, not to mention that there was some sort of force luring him there from his patron. He spent a few weeks there getting to know the town and its people, and then the game would start.
If anyone wants to connect their backstory with Lucian's, then either they've encountered him at sea before, or they first met at Port Peril sometime before the game would've started.
Name: Sasha Vakaris Race: Human Class: Warlock (Fathomless) Backgrond: Pirate Brief Background: By the Seawraith, how did I end up like this?Sasha wondered as she woke up aboard the Wormwood. Well at least I'm at sea againShe thought chuckling to herself as she tried to stand up before that whip came any closer. Sasha Vakaris had lived most of her life at sea, raised by the infamous Free Captain Blackstorm aboard the equally infamous The Furious Kraken. Blackstorm had raised her as her own and she learned everything a pirate should know by an early age. She didn't see herself become captain of the Furious Kraken though as one fateful day chelish battleships hunted them into the Eye of Abendego. The ship and it's crew went down but Sasha survived, saved by Besmara herself, or so she thought. She eventually found her way back to Port Peril to start over again, prepared to make a long journey towards captaining her own ship one day. And then fate set her on a course of fantastic adventure in the Shackles. Link to Character Sheet: Sasha Vakaris's Character Sheet
Brief Backstory: Anmita is seeking treasure and answers. She isn't even sure what it is but it is calling to her. Somewhere, out at sea, it calls to her. Why her? Why now? She doesn't know. What she does know is she was trained well by her father on how to take care of herself. She is quick and deadly with arrow and sword. He was training her because there seems to be something drawing their family to sea. First it was her mother. An unknown call and a feeling of something valuable that she needed to find. Leaving her family behind in the care of their father. They all believed she would return but... she never did. After some time it was Anmita's older brother that began to feel the call. Like a summoning they couldn't resist, although they tried to at first. Despite a good try to not seek this treasure he ended up leaving too. Very much against the wishes of the family. He was the oldest sibling. When he vanished was when Anmita's father began to train her. Her father being surprisingly well versed with sea voyage and in particular navigation and treasure hunting. Skills she would find handy on her journey. Once he was satisfied she had enough knowledge to look after herself (especially with a blade) he setup a meeting in a port town for her to sail to sea. He had some connections to a place called Port Peril and was forced to let her go as the call intensified. When she first laid eyes on the ocean the call seemed to lessen almost like it was the sea itself. However, there was a slight nagging sensation deeper inside her that what she seeks is out there. With the call fading she felt more free to think and observe. A moment to ponder: What happened to her mother? What happened to her brother? She is the next oldest after her brother. Does this mean they are dead? She hopes not but if that is the case she will find out why at the very least.
Name: Hákarl Species: Dragonborn (Blue) Class: Druid (Circle of Land Coast) Background: Cook Backstory (more details and such can be added if picked but this is hopefully just a small looksee at what my brain is thinking about right now): Born in Port Peril Hákarl's family has run a dockside tavern there for years, the Hook n Line. A staple in the community the tavern is known as a rough and tumble place where sea dogs can stop and enjoy themselves before going back out onto the harsh waves. The youngest child of three Hákarl didn't hate the family business but he was definitely not a people person. While his older sister entertained via song and his older brother kept the fighting to nothing life threatening Hákarl preferred to be left alone in the kitchen. He found people irritating and never straightforward with what they want. There was always an angle that they were trying to play and Hákarl had been on the wrong side of that angle one too many times for his liking. He preferred to be left alone on his small fishing vessel out on the open waves just him and the big blue sea. He felt the most himself there, and the sea seemed to agree, gifting him with some magic that he hasn't really explored yet. If he couldn't be at sea Hákarl would be trying to cook up whatever he caught in the tavern's small kitchen where most people left him alone. Hákarl's family was not without trouble's though. Sir Hector owned the land that Hákarl family's tavern was built on and it seemed like every time he visited he kept raising the land tax he was demanding. While Hákarl's parents just kept paying it the dragonborn couldn't take it much longer. He thought about going straight to Sir Hector to handle it himself but knowing that would just make it worse he decided to try a different route. He is going to raise enough money to buy the land contract from the man. He knows he would need a lot of money to do that though so he does the only thing he knows that could earn a lot of money quickly, adventuring/pirating. So that's what Hákarl is going to do, and as soon as he has enough money he's going to buy the land from Sir Hector.
Name: Kirun Race: Dhampir Class: Bard Background: Barroom Tailspinner Backstory: Kirun comes from humble beginnings, but that is not the place he aspires to be. His adoptive family lives on Devil's Arches island and in the largest town of Hell Harbor. It did not take long to figure out that Kirun was different as he prefers blood over a well cooked meal. His foster father truly loves him while his foster mother tended to be cold and gruff. Though still willing to teach him how to live through a fight from her time as pirate. His ambition to be among the wealthy elite drove him to the opera house as Pirate Lord Endymion was a fan of arts. It was there he learn the musical arts and how to tell a story full of embellishments. He thought he was on his way to the top, but was betrayed by a fellow performer Angroth, who accuse him of stealing from a wealthy pirate. No one would believe his innocents as soon he had to leave or meet a grisly end. Kirun fled to Port Peril in hopes of starting anew. Though such a betrayal has left a dark stain on his soul and he is not above shedding blood if that is the most direct way of attaining wealth as status. Now he spends his day earning coin by spinning tales and sharing songs in taverns.
Name: Darvas Ughedath Race: Triton Class: Rogue (depending on the party/campaign likely going mastermind) Background: Buccaneer's Blood Backstory
What seems to be an age ago the name Ughedath struck fear in the hearts of many. Few that travelled through the Golarion seas would go without paying a tribute to captain Ughedath, either voluntary or by force. One day Ughedath came to his son Darvas's room in Port Peril as he would often do to share some spoils. This time he gave his inheritance (can discuss what this would be).
The next trip the captain went on his ship disappeared leaving behind his family, a wife, daughter and the son Darvas. With the protection of a known pirates name fading as news of his disappearance spread the family was no longer safe and travelled aboard several ships seeking passage to a safer place. However the pirates would offer room on their ships freely and the family had to exchange most of their belongings and work to pay for their travels.
After coming of age Darvas was still keen on seeking answers. With his mother and sister safely away from the pirates he would seek voyage back to Port Peril working on a few ships before reaching his destination. Trying to gather information about his father while trying to not raise any suspicion on who he was. Hearing various rumors Darvas does not yet know what to think, some say his ship got destroyed by the nations of the inner sea.. others that the captain got careless and sailed to close to the Eye. The truth however remains difficult to find in such a place.
Possible hooks (to be discussed):
Finding clues about what happened to his father (can be various from accident, betrayed or many things we could come up with)
His inheritance can provide clues in multiple ways (could be a map, or a trinket/jewelry linking to the disappearance like stolen from another pirate or being a piece to a puzzle).
Upon revealing his last name it could provide positive or negative reactions in pirates.
Backstory: Doc, which is more of a nickname then a true title, grew up a in a magical household. His father was a mage and mother a Cleric in the temple. Doc learned a liitle weaving of the arcane, and a little of treating the I'll from his parents but neither of their livelihoods really connected with him. They lived in a costal town and he would spend most of days as a youth working down at the ship builders with his uncle. Doc found a passion for creating and building, and found he had a talent for it. Always tinkering with things that didn't always need fixing. When he got older he worked full time at the docks for his uncle and did most of his tinkering as a hobby. When his uncle decided to sell the business, Doc decided he too should move on. After a few failed business ventures, mostly based on his gruff demeanor he developed over the years, he found all he had to show was white hair and old, but good, tools. After a random meeting in shady tavern, Doc found himself signing on as a crew member to a ship about to set sail.
I typically like to leave recruiting open for a week or so... new campaigns pop up on here so rarely, I want to give anyone that might be interested a fair chance to get a character together.
In the meantime I will be review character sheets and posting the current submissions in a list by class to let later Applicants see what has already been submitted.
Not right now though, on my phone posting as a passenger in a car. More in a bit hopefully.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Founding Member of the High Roller Society.(Currently trying to roll max on 4d6)
Current submission roster. I am too tired tonight to look over character sheets...but I could at least throw this together.
Also, post #2 has been updated with this info as well as a couple of questions that have already been asked that I felt like should be pinned.
Berry Belkra - the Feylost Fairy Fighter Mamawati - the Touched by the Sea Water Genasi Paladin Lucian Willwater - the Far Traveler Sea Elf Warlock Sasha Varkaris - the Human Pirate Warlock Anmita - the Tabaxi Fighter with an eye for plunder Character by Frandal Silvereyes - a tiefling rogue (swashbuckler) - please resubmit full character Hakarl - the Dragonborn Druid Cook - please submit character sheet, does not have to be finalized until accepted and game starts.... Kirun - the Dhampir Bard with a penchant for Barroom Talespinning Darvas Ughedath - The Triton Rogue with Buccaneer's Blood Doc Ward - the Human Artificer that has served as Ships Chirugeon
I am not saying that we need submissions from every class...but just providing this in the event that you want to submit something that no one else has yet. I would say once any class gets to 5+ submissions you should probably really consider going with something else instead.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Founding Member of the High Roller Society.(Currently trying to roll max on 4d6)
I have to ask: Since Frandal didnt post the char info yet i didnt see a rogue so i went for that. But it seems that was someone in the previous run.
I must ask if you intend to favor old members. This would be understandable. Just want to know if id get a fair chance or id be better of applying with another char.
Mine is a very different subclass so can be fine with 2 but can be a tricky situation for recruiting.
backstory: After serving in some ships as a mariner his last ship was the Indomitable were he was an steemed member of the crew. The ship sank and few survived, the captain decided to retire and he is looking for a new ship. He is in a hurry for he has adquired a gambling debt with a loca mob moss. The rumors that he had seduced his daughter too are yet to be confirmed.
Thanks for sharing about your situation, and I appreciate the warning about previous adventure that didn't go through. At any rate, this sounds like a great adventure. If you're interested in having a Goliath Sorcerer, Count me in !
Name: Vroki Stormcaller
Species: Goliath
Class: Sorcerer (Storm)
Background: Shipwright (Prof. in Carpenter's tools)... but I can change for one of your list if needed
Brief Backstory: Vroki came from the mountains in the North of the continent. Raised by a single mother, Vroki always felt a bit different than the other kids. Obviously his size was one thing, being the tallest of the children but oddly not the strongest. But he also loved to run in the mountains during thunderstorm, observing the lightning crashes and standing tall under the strong rain. Being surrounded by loud thunders always gave him a strange confort. Some of his tribe says he was half Goliath half storm giant, but he never paid attention to these rumours. Shortly after his fifteen birthday, he started to show magical skills: sparks of light from his fingers or the ability to call thunder when hitting with his mace. The shaman of the tribe could not explain these powers and encouraged Vroki to start exploring the world to find a mentor who could help him. After months of wandering, he found himself in Port Peril, the "Hive of Scum and Villany". He did not find a mentor in arcana but one in carpentry. Vroki was not the brightest but he worked hard and learned quickly how to to be a great shipwright. Since then, he is usually hired by captains who needed some strong sailors that can repair the ship while in sea. But deep down, he keeps wondering what is the origin of these strange powers.
Race: triton (I only have the legacy version! happy to use either version)
Class: wizard (thinking bladesinging but unsure)
Background: eye for plunder
Backstory + sheet:
Viridian's life story is simple, for they really don't know much outside of their home, the Bloodhound, and whatever books the motley crew could get a hold of. They were an orphan who was taken in and raised on the patchworked ship. The crew took on simple, modest transport jobs and lived paycheck-by-paycheck.
Their captain was an unremarkable elderly human man who was surprisingly well read for a person who spent 90% of his time over salt water (perhaps he was a mage keeping a low profile to live a life outside the complicated high society?). The captain saw potential in Viridian and led them on the path of arcane arts. Fed with tales of wondrous magical feats, they aspire to carve out a lavish life with the rest of the Bloodhound's crew.
However, this life was disrupted one day when the crew was wrongly accused of theft (Ok. Perhaps Viridian has nicked a few coins here and there from passerby but not to the extent of the accusation!) and smuggling. Viridian was luckily out on a errand and narrowly avoided arrest.
Hook/Relation to the story:
They are in need of money 1) for spells, 2) to bail/break their captain and some crewmates out of jail, and 3) ultimately better living.
Find out why their crew was wrongly accused (or rightfully accused! who knows, would love to flesh out their backstory with the DM if selected
They know they can't accomplish this alone so they need a crew who aren't averse to fighting for what they want.
Starting Disclaimer - This is the 3rd time I have tried to get this game going here...and both other times it fell apart mostly because of me and private mental health issues. I have those sorted now that...or rather it is an ongoing thing, but I am in a good place right now and plan to do the work to stay there. And I absolutely love this Adventure Path...so I really want to try again. Having failed twice before though, I want to come in with open honest about that and start with an apology to any of the players of those previous games if they are still around. Trying to do better.
Now that that's out of the way...on to the gaming stuff!
Welcome to Golarion's Inner Sea! If you are interested in joining the crew of this adventure please submit a level 1 character that would have a reason to be in Port Peril, the capital of the Shackles. Imagine a sea version of the "Hive of Scum and Villany" that is Mos Eisley in Star Wars. You do not start associated with any ship perse, but if you want to build a character that has sailing experience or is interested in becoming a sailor, pirate, smuggler, or freebooter that would not be amiss. We will be looking for 6 adventurers on this voyage.
The Rules:
Ability Scores: We will be going with Standard Arrays or the Point Buy Equivalent. While I love rolling for stats, it can create winners and losers and starting at level one those differences seem to be even larger.
Races: Most WotC races are fine with a few caveats.
1) If your race can fly then we are going to change it slightly...at first level so long as you are not wearing medium or heavy armor you can use your innate flying ability to negate falling damage and get advantage on athletics and acrobatics checks that involve jumping and climbing. You will not have a fly speed until level 3 though.
2) The following races do not exist in this world: Its a short list, and I am open to revisiting if you had your heart set on one of them...but Kender, Spelljammer Races, Leonin, Verdan, Loxodon, Simic Hybrid, Vedalken, Gith (-yanki and -zerai)
3) In addition, since you will be at sea, consideration should be given to aquatic type races...What you will mostly run into is humans, but sea elves, tritons, water genasi, air genasi, Tortles, and Locathah would not be amiss as they might be further inland. A swim speed is not a requirement for this adventure, but there will be times when it will be an advantage.
Class: I am down for any Class and Subclass that has been published by WoTC, including artificer. No homebrew or UA. (Is there even any UA out there pending at this point that isn't One D&D?)
Previous Knowledge: There are a lot of plot twists and turns that come up in this adventure path. As such I think it is difficult to separate player and character knowledge on a second playthrough. I would prefer players that have not been through Skull & Shackles before. But, if you have that is okay, please just let me know so we can work together to keep you honest on the knowledge front.
Skills: S&S uses a lot of skill checks. The campaign starts of skill and RP heavy and then moves into more combat later on. As such you might want to consider getting proficiency in one or more of the following skills (in no particular order):
In addition, the following tool/vehicle proficiencies might be useful as well:
Backgrounds & Traits: It is strongly recommended you adopt one of the backgrounds found on this list of Homebrew. These are backgrounds adapted from the campaign traits from the PF version of this setting and will set you up for a good start in the world. If none of them are to your liking though you are welcome to use any WotC publish background instead. For backstories, the most important part is understanding what has brought you to Port Peril. Are you interested in becoming a privateer? Are you fleeing the royal navy? Are you looking for the sailor that left your sister with a bun in the oven? What's your story matey?
Alignment: Spoilers, you WILL be becoming pirates during the course of this adventure. Choose an alignment that is able to make that life choice. Other than that I am open to just about everything so long as you can play with the rest of the party. If you are CE/Stupid and just want to watch the boat burn that will not work.
HP, XP, and Anything Else: HP will be max at first level, later levels we will roll for HP and reroll 1s should they come up. XP leveling up will be done by milestone so I don't have to keep track of the yucky XP math. For source books, I am freetoplay here on DnD Beyond, but I have a pretty large selection of Homebrew versions of materials that are in most of the books, including all of the subclasses, feats, and spells up through Fizban's I think. And I am pretty good at using the Homebrew engine here on the site, so if there is something in a published book that you want to use but don't own, I can probably build a free-ware version of it to use in the campaign once your character is selected.
If there are any other questions I will answer them down thread. Let the character creation begin.
Founding Member of the High Roller Society. (Currently trying to roll max on 4d6)
This post reserved to document any particularly good questions and their answers. It will be edited through the course of recruitment.
As promised - Questions asked that would be good to cover
"I was in one of your previous S&S campaigns...can I reapply?" You may! We did not get very far...so there isn't too much player knowledge that we would have to watch out for. If you still have the same character and want to resubmit it that is fine, or come back with something entirely different. Either way, please repost the character as a new submission, just so I don't have to go back into the post archives to find your character's details.
"When will recruiting close?" I typically like to leave recruiting open for about a week to give everyone that is interested in the campaign a chance to figure out what they would like to play and get the character put together. I know from experience sometimes it takes a bit to figure out what you want to do. For this campaign recruiting will likely close on Thursday, 4/20. I will then probably take the weekend to figure out the 6 crew members and set up the thread and everything. We will probably begin play on Monday, 4/23.
And now for the current applicant roster. This is as much for me to be able to have easy access to all the applicants as it is for anyone that might be interested in joining...they can see that 98 people already submitted human fighters and decide to play a half-elf fighter instead, for variety.
Berry Belkra - the Feylost Fairy Fighter
Mamawati - the Touched by the Sea Water Genasi Paladin
Lucian Willwater - the Far Traveler Sea Elf Warlock
Sasha Varkaris - the Human Pirate Warlock
Anmita - the Tabaxi Fighter with an eye for plunder
Character by Frandal Silvereyes - a tiefling rogue (swashbuckler) - please resubmit full character
Hakarl - the Dragonborn Druid Cook - please submit character sheet, does not have to be finalized until accepted and game starts....
Kirun - the Dhampir Bard with a penchant for Barroom Talespinning
Darvas Ughedath - The Triton Rogue with Buccaneer's Blood
Doc Ward - the Human Artificer that has served as Ships Chirugeon
Artificer - 1; Barbarian - 0; Bard - 1; Cleric - 0; Druid - 1; Fighter - 2; Monk - 0; Paladin - 1; Ranger - 0; Rogue - 2; Sorcerer - 0; Warlock - 2; Wizard - 0
I am not saying that we need submissions from every class...but just providing this in the event that you want to submit something that no one else has yet. I would say once any class gets to 5+ submissions you should probably really consider going with something else instead.
Founding Member of the High Roller Society. (Currently trying to roll max on 4d6)
|| Tryncaryn - Halfling Monk/Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak || Berry - Fairy Barbarian - Deathworld: Lost Mine of Phandelver || Taya - Mysterious Fighter - Echoes of Empire || Myrla Stardust - Wood Elf Rogue - After the Fall ||
https://ddb.ac/characters/98354191/H5npjB
https://ddb.ac/characters/98358605/7OWaUc
Osborne Goodluck | Level 1 | Halfling | Sorcerer (Wild Magic) | Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Name: Sasha Vakaris
Race: Human
Class: Warlock (Fathomless)
Backgrond: Pirate
Brief Background: By the Seawraith, how did I end up like this? Sasha wondered as she woke up aboard the Wormwood. Well at least I'm at sea again She thought chuckling to herself as she tried to stand up before that whip came any closer. Sasha Vakaris had lived most of her life at sea, raised by the infamous Free Captain Blackstorm aboard the equally infamous The Furious Kraken. Blackstorm had raised her as her own and she learned everything a pirate should know by an early age. She didn't see herself become captain of the Furious Kraken though as one fateful day chelish battleships hunted them into the Eye of Abendego. The ship and it's crew went down but Sasha survived, saved by Besmara herself, or so she thought. She eventually found her way back to Port Peril to start over again, prepared to make a long journey towards captaining her own ship one day. And then fate set her on a course of fantastic adventure in the Shackles.
Link to Character Sheet: Sasha Vakaris's Character Sheet
Anmita is seeking treasure and answers. She isn't even sure what it is but it is calling to her. Somewhere, out at sea, it calls to her. Why her? Why now? She doesn't know. What she does know is she was trained well by her father on how to take care of herself. She is quick and deadly with arrow and sword. He was training her because there seems to be something drawing their family to sea. First it was her mother. An unknown call and a feeling of something valuable that she needed to find. Leaving her family behind in the care of their father. They all believed she would return but... she never did. After some time it was Anmita's older brother that began to feel the call. Like a summoning they couldn't resist, although they tried to at first. Despite a good try to not seek this treasure he ended up leaving too. Very much against the wishes of the family. He was the oldest sibling. When he vanished was when Anmita's father began to train her. Her father being surprisingly well versed with sea voyage and in particular navigation and treasure hunting. Skills she would find handy on her journey. Once he was satisfied she had enough knowledge to look after herself (especially with a blade) he setup a meeting in a port town for her to sail to sea. He had some connections to a place called Port Peril and was forced to let her go as the call intensified. When she first laid eyes on the ocean the call seemed to lessen almost like it was the sea itself. However, there was a slight nagging sensation deeper inside her that what she seeks is out there. With the call fading she felt more free to think and observe. A moment to ponder: What happened to her mother? What happened to her brother? She is the next oldest after her brother. Does this mean they are dead? She hopes not but if that is the case she will find out why at the very least.
https://ddb.ac/characters/98369680/b6VhUJ
Hello there good to see you are back!!
your lovely tiefling swashbuckler is ready to follow you into the seas captain!
PbP Character: A few ;)
Name: Hákarl
Species: Dragonborn (Blue)
Class: Druid (Circle of Land Coast)
Background: Cook
Backstory (more details and such can be added if picked but this is hopefully just a small looksee at what my brain is thinking about right now): Born in Port Peril Hákarl's family has run a dockside tavern there for years, the Hook n Line. A staple in the community the tavern is known as a rough and tumble place where sea dogs can stop and enjoy themselves before going back out onto the harsh waves. The youngest child of three Hákarl didn't hate the family business but he was definitely not a people person. While his older sister entertained via song and his older brother kept the fighting to nothing life threatening Hákarl preferred to be left alone in the kitchen. He found people irritating and never straightforward with what they want. There was always an angle that they were trying to play and Hákarl had been on the wrong side of that angle one too many times for his liking. He preferred to be left alone on his small fishing vessel out on the open waves just him and the big blue sea. He felt the most himself there, and the sea seemed to agree, gifting him with some magic that he hasn't really explored yet. If he couldn't be at sea Hákarl would be trying to cook up whatever he caught in the tavern's small kitchen where most people left him alone. Hákarl's family was not without trouble's though. Sir Hector owned the land that Hákarl family's tavern was built on and it seemed like every time he visited he kept raising the land tax he was demanding. While Hákarl's parents just kept paying it the dragonborn couldn't take it much longer. He thought about going straight to Sir Hector to handle it himself but knowing that would just make it worse he decided to try a different route. He is going to raise enough money to buy the land contract from the man. He knows he would need a lot of money to do that though so he does the only thing he knows that could earn a lot of money quickly, adventuring/pirating. So that's what Hákarl is going to do, and as soon as he has enough money he's going to buy the land from Sir Hector.
Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/37022964/CsR9Q9
Name: Kirun
Race: Dhampir
Class: Bard
Background: Barroom Tailspinner
Backstory: Kirun comes from humble beginnings, but that is not the place he aspires to be. His adoptive family lives on Devil's Arches island and in the largest town of Hell Harbor. It did not take long to figure out that Kirun was different as he prefers blood over a well cooked meal. His foster father truly loves him while his foster mother tended to be cold and gruff. Though still willing to teach him how to live through a fight from her time as pirate. His ambition to be among the wealthy elite drove him to the opera house as Pirate Lord Endymion was a fan of arts. It was there he learn the musical arts and how to tell a story full of embellishments. He thought he was on his way to the top, but was betrayed by a fellow performer Angroth, who accuse him of stealing from a wealthy pirate. No one would believe his innocents as soon he had to leave or meet a grisly end. Kirun fled to Port Peril in hopes of starting anew. Though such a betrayal has left a dark stain on his soul and he is not above shedding blood if that is the most direct way of attaining wealth as status. Now he spends his day earning coin by spinning tales and sharing songs in taverns.
Character Sheet: https://ddb.ac/characters/98382817/MHHK2K
Used Point Buy
Appearance in Spoiler
Name: Darvas Ughedath
Race: Triton
Class: Rogue (depending on the party/campaign likely going mastermind)
Background: Buccaneer's Blood
Backstory
What seems to be an age ago the name Ughedath struck fear in the hearts of many. Few that travelled through the Golarion seas would go without paying a tribute to captain Ughedath, either voluntary or by force. One day Ughedath came to his son Darvas's room in Port Peril as he would often do to share some spoils. This time he gave his inheritance (can discuss what this would be).
The next trip the captain went on his ship disappeared leaving behind his family, a wife, daughter and the son Darvas. With the protection of a known pirates name fading as news of his disappearance spread the family was no longer safe and travelled aboard several ships seeking passage to a safer place. However the pirates would offer room on their ships freely and the family had to exchange most of their belongings and work to pay for their travels.
After coming of age Darvas was still keen on seeking answers. With his mother and sister safely away from the pirates he would seek voyage back to Port Peril working on a few ships before reaching his destination. Trying to gather information about his father while trying to not raise any suspicion on who he was. Hearing various rumors Darvas does not yet know what to think, some say his ship got destroyed by the nations of the inner sea.. others that the captain got careless and sailed to close to the Eye. The truth however remains difficult to find in such a place.
Possible hooks (to be discussed):
Using standard array: https://ddb.ac/characters/98380826/uGVJCi
Name: Doc Ward
Race: Variant Human (Feat: Healer)
Class: Artificer
Background: Ship Surgeon
Backstory: Doc, which is more of a nickname then a true title, grew up a in a magical household. His father was a mage and mother a Cleric in the temple. Doc learned a liitle weaving of the arcane, and a little of treating the I'll from his parents but neither of their livelihoods really connected with him. They lived in a costal town and he would spend most of days as a youth working down at the ship builders with his uncle. Doc found a passion for creating and building, and found he had a talent for it. Always tinkering with things that didn't always need fixing. When he got older he worked full time at the docks for his uncle and did most of his tinkering as a hobby. When his uncle decided to sell the business, Doc decided he too should move on. After a few failed business ventures, mostly based on his gruff demeanor he developed over the years, he found all he had to show was white hair and old, but good, tools. After a random meeting in shady tavern, Doc found himself signing on as a crew member to a ship about to set sail.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/98363915
How long is the recruitment going to open for?
Also.....I didn't make a character sheet yet but will if I get picked (or if you say something about needing one first)
I typically like to leave recruiting open for a week or so... new campaigns pop up on here so rarely, I want to give anyone that might be interested a fair chance to get a character together.
In the meantime I will be review character sheets and posting the current submissions in a list by class to let later Applicants see what has already been submitted.
Not right now though, on my phone posting as a passenger in a car. More in a bit hopefully.
Founding Member of the High Roller Society. (Currently trying to roll max on 4d6)
Current submission roster. I am too tired tonight to look over character sheets...but I could at least throw this together.
Also, post #2 has been updated with this info as well as a couple of questions that have already been asked that I felt like should be pinned.
Berry Belkra - the Feylost Fairy Fighter
Mamawati - the Touched by the Sea Water Genasi Paladin
Lucian Willwater - the Far Traveler Sea Elf Warlock
Sasha Varkaris - the Human Pirate Warlock
Anmita - the Tabaxi Fighter with an eye for plunder
Character by Frandal Silvereyes - a tiefling rogue (swashbuckler) - please resubmit full character
Hakarl - the Dragonborn Druid Cook - please submit character sheet, does not have to be finalized until accepted and game starts....
Kirun - the Dhampir Bard with a penchant for Barroom Talespinning
Darvas Ughedath - The Triton Rogue with Buccaneer's Blood
Doc Ward - the Human Artificer that has served as Ships Chirugeon
Artificer - 1; Barbarian - 0; Bard - 1; Cleric - 0; Druid - 1; Fighter - 2; Monk - 0; Paladin - 1; Ranger - 0; Rogue - 2; Sorcerer - 0; Warlock - 2; Wizard - 0
I am not saying that we need submissions from every class...but just providing this in the event that you want to submit something that no one else has yet. I would say once any class gets to 5+ submissions you should probably really consider going with something else instead.
Founding Member of the High Roller Society. (Currently trying to roll max on 4d6)
I have to ask: Since Frandal didnt post the char info yet i didnt see a rogue so i went for that. But it seems that was someone in the previous run.
I must ask if you intend to favor old members. This would be understandable. Just want to know if id get a fair chance or id be better of applying with another char.
Mine is a very different subclass so can be fine with 2 but can be a tricky situation for recruiting.
Yo make it more official;
Name; Dekket Kakrow
Race Tiefling
class: Rogue (swashbuckler)
background: Pirate
backstory: After serving in some ships as a mariner his last ship was the Indomitable were he was an steemed member of the crew. The ship sank and few survived, the captain decided to retire and he is looking for a new ship. He is in a hurry for he has adquired a gambling debt with a loca mob moss. The rumors that he had seduced his daughter too are yet to be confirmed.
Character sheet:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/63235724
PbP Character: A few ;)
Thanks for sharing about your situation, and I appreciate the warning about previous adventure that didn't go through. At any rate, this sounds like a great adventure. If you're interested in having a Goliath Sorcerer, Count me in !
Since then, he is usually hired by captains who needed some strong sailors that can repair the ship while in sea. But deep down, he keeps wondering what is the origin of these strange powers.
Currently Playing: Regdus Ironfist (Greyhawk) Lvl 1 Storm Sorcerer ; Goraseth Drerjoxian (Icespeak) Lvl 3 Paladin Oath of Glory; Lerak (The Wild Beyond the Witchlight) Lvl 3 Barbarian Wild Magic
In Pause: Grimnir " Shadow-Feet", Lv 11 Owner of "The Basilisk & the Monk" (OotA) - Kurma Kappa, Lv 8 Priest of Oghma (ToA)
Currently DM'ing: Princes of Apocalypse >> Tomb of Annihilation
Name: Viridian
Race: triton (I only have the legacy version! happy to use either version)
Class: wizard (thinking bladesinging but unsure)
Background: eye for plunder
Backstory + sheet:
Viridian's life story is simple, for they really don't know much outside of their home, the Bloodhound, and whatever books the motley crew could get a hold of. They were an orphan who was taken in and raised on the patchworked ship. The crew took on simple, modest transport jobs and lived paycheck-by-paycheck.
Their captain was an unremarkable elderly human man who was surprisingly well read for a person who spent 90% of his time over salt water (perhaps he was a mage keeping a low profile to live a life outside the complicated high society?). The captain saw potential in Viridian and led them on the path of arcane arts. Fed with tales of wondrous magical feats, they aspire to carve out a lavish life with the rest of the Bloodhound's crew.
However, this life was disrupted one day when the crew was wrongly accused of theft (
Ok. Perhaps Viridian has nicked a few coins here and there from passerby but not to the extent of the accusation!) and smuggling. Viridian was luckily out on a errand and narrowly avoided arrest.Hook/Relation to the story:
They are in need of money 1) for spells, 2) to bail/break their captain and some crewmates out of jail, and 3) ultimately better living.
Find out why their crew was wrongly accused (or rightfully accused! who knows, would love to flesh out their backstory with the DM if selected
They know they can't accomplish this alone so they need a crew who aren't averse to fighting for what they want.
Character sheet: https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/98427965
thanks for the opportunity!
Sorry, but I'll have to withdraw my application.
Osborne Goodluck | Level 1 | Halfling | Sorcerer (Wild Magic) | Waterdeep: Dragon Heist