Sailors on the River of Worlds- Update

[JoeGKushner]

And while we're talking about NPCs, you mentioned that "The current captain is a man by the name of Kirst Damenly, a minor son of a noble house with big dreams of bringing fortune back to his family."

Now this may sound stupid, but is he the captain or the owner? Just because you own the ship, doesn't mean you know how to captain it. Ship owners are often not the best of captains as proven in Robin Hobb's Liveship Trader series. Then again, don't forget you need a first mate and some other roles filled too.

Will Kirst be a man of the planes himself or just another victim of the kidnappings?



What type of ship have you decided on? One of my favorites from the FFG series was the Blade Trader as it was a fast moving ship. The wizard who owned it in my campaign basically had a portal that lead back to his home dock so he was in essence providing almost instant transport and always had a way off the ship.

 

[Psion]

And while we're talking about NPCs, you mentioned that "The current captain is a man by the name of Kirst Damenly, a minor son of a noble house with big dreams of bringing fortune back to his family."

Now this may sound stupid, but is he the captain or the owner? Just because you own the ship, doesn't mean you know how to captain it.

More, the owner. If you have En Route II, the former captain and first mate described under Figurehead were still aboard; Kirst bailed them out of a debt and took command of the ship. But he's a noble, not a seasoned seafarer. He knows a bit about navigation, but really relies on his first mate and officers (the PCs).

Will Kirst be a man of the planes himself or just another victim of the kidnappings?

We'll see. He knows nothing about the planes; whether he is aboard for the transition thereto remains to be seen. The transition to the planes will be very much played by ear, because I don't know right off if it is the PCs or the Yuan Ti who will be sailing at swordpoint. If anyone. A third alternative is that the players merely steal the portal key from the yuan ti and sail under the contract of the Memento Mori.

What type of ship have you decided on? One of my favorites from the FFG series was the Blade Trader as it was a fast moving ship. The wizard who owned it in my campaign basically had a portal that lead back to his home dock so he was in essence providing almost instant transport and always had a way off the ship.

It's a small merchantman from Seas of Blood. I forget if it was the orca or the next bigger one. I do know that it was smaller than the one that Seas of Blood called an "excellent exploration ship." Kirst is in dire straights.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Another plot element you might want to steal from Robin Hobb's Lifeship Traders is that the ships themselves are made of a special wood, one that is in essence, a cyst for a sea serpent that undergoes a change to a dragon.

This wood is of a certain hardnesss and chemical type that allows it to sail into places other ships can't go.

Perhaps there are branches of the River of Worlds that need a certain type of hull to withstand?

 

[Psion]

Perhaps there are branches of the River of Worlds that need a certain type of hull to withstand?

Ouno (the realm for BCD with acid seas) comes immediatley to mind, though I was thinking about a having the players learn that one the hard way... Many of the possible options in the Portals and Planes random realms have alternate waterways (like living, slime, acid, etc.), and some of those may be a possibility.

I've not read this series (heck, I've not read anything but gaming books in a long time...), yet reading the primer on the web here makes them sound interesting. Do you think in general these would make good inspirational material?

 

[JoeGKushner]

The Liveship Traders? Oh yea, some good stuff in there. It was one of the reasons I was thinking of doing a merchant campaign.

If you were going to read it though, I suggest the whole series. The first series, The Farseer Trilogy, is Robin's best work. The Liveship has some good ideas for any RPG and the third series, the Tawny Man, wraps up everything nicely.

 

[Psion]

What's in the other books? How dependant are the books of the Liveship trilogy on those?

I dunno... the Liveship trilogy sounded pertinent enough that it might have been worth spending the time to read. A nonology... I don't think I have that much time, especially not in time to make a credible difference in the game.

 

[JoeGKushner]

In that case, you're better off just reading the Liveship Traders as it does stand on it's own. The last series has some interesting ideas in it and does involve a lot of the plot elements of the LIveship Traders, but if you're pilfering for your game, then yea, the Liveship is the way to go.

 

[Maester Luwin]

Have you thought of combining the "River spirit" idea (from earlier in the thread) with that of the living ship as a means of traveling the River of Worlds? The "River Spirit" could be an agent of Law & be leading the Pc's from place to place to save the "River" & it's many worlds from destruction. The 'River Spirit" may be able to possess a member of the crew or Pc to give them clues of the various worlds & may be the key it self to open the portals (which the followers of chaos have found an alternate way of doing the same thing). I'm not quite sure how to tie in the 'River Spirit" to the Living Ship but maybe there is more than one Living Ship & each has their own spirit to guide it? Or maybe the ship is only alive when the "River Spirit" possess the ship itself? Just my two coppers. Thanks Maester Luwin

 

[JoeGKushner]

Will you be using Freeport as a stopping place in your campaign? One thing I've played with is having Freeport be a little like Tanelorn from the Michael Moorcock Eternal Champion series in that it's accessible from a wide vareity of worlds.

 

[Psion]

Have you thought of combining the "River spirit" idea (from earlier in the thread) with that of the living ship as a means of traveling the River of Worlds?

Actually, the chances are real good that neither aspect will make it into my final storyline. If the living ship thing came into play, it wouldn't be until after the players lose their current ship (most likely in Ouno).

The "River Spirit" could be an agent of Law & be leading the Pc's from place to place to save the "River" & it's many worlds from destruction.

The idea has merit. The players may be frustrated by its efforts, but ultimately, it could act as a patron.

Thx.