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Your experiences with "Skull & Shackles"
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<blockquote data-quote="billd91" data-source="post: 7821790" data-attributes="member: 3400"><p>I've played Skull and Shackles and have read it. I think it's a thoroughly enjoyable AP - some of the challenges are a bit tough at the start, though, when healing resources are likely to be light. I've also found that relying on a summoner as your arcane caster has problems since their spells are pretty heavily stacked on the shorter range. </p><p></p><p>About some of your specific points: </p><p></p><p>A lot of the mini-games/abstractions are intended to allow the players to interact with the fiction without being bogged down in mechanics. We didn't feel any lack of officers-running-a-ship minigame. Our players picked the positions they took on the ship and we hand-waved the day-to-day so we could focus on the decisions on where to go and who to get cozy with. </p><p></p><p>That worked quite well for us - same with the shipboard combat aspect where we focused on the opposition officers while our crews duked it out. None of us wanted to push 20-odd tokens around the board, rolling for each one's attacks. Our GM narrated the rest based on the buffing we gave the crew compared to the resources of the opposition. And if he narrated one of our particular favorites getting in trouble (like Barefoot Samms or Rosie Cusswell, that gave us a chance to effect a rescue.</p><p></p><p>I mention this because I think we were better prepared for the assumptions of the campaign than you seem to have been. Much of this is covered explicitly or implied in the player's guide. And it fits our style of play fairly well.</p><p></p><p>But, yeah, you've noticed a couple of things. The scale of the sea is tight, particularly if you want to think Caribbean Sea - it's not as bad if you're thinking of the density of the Philippines. Still kind of tight but that's easily adjustable. </p><p></p><p>The issue with paying the crew not scaling - they probably assumed players would continue with crews on the scale of the Man's Promise - about 20 sailors. Now that you've spotted it and have 80 crewmen, you know to drop 4 points of plunder paying them off when you sell in port rather than just 1. </p><p>And yes, taking ships is more lucrative. But you don't have to split the party if you've built a trustworthy crew (i.e. not like Scourge and Ploog) to sail it home with a prize crew - it's also a good excuse for PCs to take the Leadership feat. I was playing captain in our campaign - as soon as I was able to take Leadership, I took it and we made Rosie Cusswell my cohort. I gave her a prize ship to captain and started to build a fleet... which you will eventually want if you ever want to be Hurricane King.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="billd91, post: 7821790, member: 3400"] I've played Skull and Shackles and have read it. I think it's a thoroughly enjoyable AP - some of the challenges are a bit tough at the start, though, when healing resources are likely to be light. I've also found that relying on a summoner as your arcane caster has problems since their spells are pretty heavily stacked on the shorter range. About some of your specific points: A lot of the mini-games/abstractions are intended to allow the players to interact with the fiction without being bogged down in mechanics. We didn't feel any lack of officers-running-a-ship minigame. Our players picked the positions they took on the ship and we hand-waved the day-to-day so we could focus on the decisions on where to go and who to get cozy with. That worked quite well for us - same with the shipboard combat aspect where we focused on the opposition officers while our crews duked it out. None of us wanted to push 20-odd tokens around the board, rolling for each one's attacks. Our GM narrated the rest based on the buffing we gave the crew compared to the resources of the opposition. And if he narrated one of our particular favorites getting in trouble (like Barefoot Samms or Rosie Cusswell, that gave us a chance to effect a rescue. I mention this because I think we were better prepared for the assumptions of the campaign than you seem to have been. Much of this is covered explicitly or implied in the player's guide. And it fits our style of play fairly well. But, yeah, you've noticed a couple of things. The scale of the sea is tight, particularly if you want to think Caribbean Sea - it's not as bad if you're thinking of the density of the Philippines. Still kind of tight but that's easily adjustable. The issue with paying the crew not scaling - they probably assumed players would continue with crews on the scale of the Man's Promise - about 20 sailors. Now that you've spotted it and have 80 crewmen, you know to drop 4 points of plunder paying them off when you sell in port rather than just 1. And yes, taking ships is more lucrative. But you don't have to split the party if you've built a trustworthy crew (i.e. not like Scourge and Ploog) to sail it home with a prize crew - it's also a good excuse for PCs to take the Leadership feat. I was playing captain in our campaign - as soon as I was able to take Leadership, I took it and we made Rosie Cusswell my cohort. I gave her a prize ship to captain and started to build a fleet... which you will eventually want if you ever want to be Hurricane King. [/QUOTE]
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