GM help. What do I do with my party?

[Buddha's_Cookie]

So me being new to GMing in my group, I ask what game they want to run and we all agreed to pirates. Ok, cool I can work with that. So the first session rolls around and I have combat and such ready to go and I get the following list of characters. What follows is my perception of these characters as they described them to me.

1) An "angry" half drow Alchemist with the Chirurgeon archetype. Only one that looks like a party healer. Acts like she hates everyone, but knows enough out of character to not screw over the party.

2) The Ranger, also generally grumpy. Human. uses a bow. (honestly don't remember much of his character off the top of my head)

3) The Cleric, only player to clear his character with me before the game. Neutral alignment bending towards necromancy.

4) The Rouge, he has played several rouges over the last few games I have played with him. They have either been chaotic staby or pyros both love to tinker and prod at science. I am a little wary of how he will play this one.

5) And the Sorcerer, *sigh*, this guy. He currently runs another game on another day of the week for the same group. His sorcerer is a dual blooded (arcane/abyssal), and described him self as a bit of a pacifist that just wants to be accepted, and so far has played super submissive.

So yea, this is the bloodthirsty band of pirates I have to work with for the summer and no idea what to do with them. No real specific question just looking for advice.

[Callin]

Did they meet at the Weenie Hut Jrs?

Seriously if I said Pirates Themed Game I would of wanted PIRATES!!! Buckling my Swash on the High Seas. Raid and Pillage in night shore raids. Boat on Boat action. CANNON Fire and swinging from the Yardarm.

Character concept would be anywhere from Blood Thirst Hooligan to Explorer to Dashing Swordsman.

Now as to advice. I say play a few games on shore and see how they play and then work it towards Piracy or Pirate Hunting. After a few game if it seems like they are not shaping up to be what you expect, ASK them if they want to switch to another type of game and ditch the concept and run with what they got going.

[Buddha's_Cookie]

Seriously if I said Pirates Themed Game I would of wanted PIRATES!!! Buckling my Swash on the High Seas. Raid and Pillage in night shore raids. Boat on Boat action. CANNON Fire and swinging from the Yardarm.

That's what I was thinking.


Now as to advice. I say play a few games on shore and see how they play and then work it towards Piracy or Pirate Hunting. After a few game if it seems like they are not shaping up to be what you expect, ASK them if they want to switch to another type of game and ditch the concept and run with what they got going.
Yes I think I was going to go for this route, but I don't want to railroad them into a ship wreak. Party is currently being chased into an unnatural storm.

[Telonius]

Did you make it clear that you imagined they would be the pirates, or might they think that they'll be fighting the pirates?

[Yanisa]

Or pull a Skull and Shackles and have them kidnapped by a famous pirate dude so they have to start as deck swapper and slowly prove themselves worthy. And if they don't cooperate keelhaul them! :smalltongue:

[AdamantlyD20]

Start them off as captive prisoners aboard a pirate ship of one of the most feared pirates of the seven seas. Have them be deck hands and have the first officer of the ship flog anyone who tries to speak out of turn. Our group hated being aboard the ship and knew the penalty for mutany was death. (Pirate captain much higher CR than the party could handle) we took the opportunity to revolt anyway. We spent a week in game using high diplomacy rolls convincing other captives that when the next ship raid happened, we would sabotage the pirate ship we were on and rope swing across to the merchant ship in the middle of the "battle" when everything was hectic (having volunteered to be part of the boarding party to get more ships for the pirate captain's fleet)

But instead, taking said ship and through a mix of good die rolls and some weather -changing magic we managed to get away with our new ship and half of the old crew serving under the joint leadership of the party members as "captain" of the ship. we fled the area and planned to hunt down the original pirates when we gained more levels

[Buddha's_Cookie]

AdamantlyD20 and Yanisa - Yea... well the setup of thet game are far past that point, so no.

[Airk]

So why wasn't "And what would this character be doing on a pirate ship?" a required question to complete chargen? :P

This is right up there with "We want to play a game with politics and social maneuvering" and then everyone brings a barbarian or a wizard who can't/won't talk to other people.

Why did you "clear" the cleric? What did he tell you that you're not telling us?

[AdamantlyD20]

We have to find a reason why they'd need to be pirates. Maybe an artifact they want or already have has been taken by a powerful nation so they try to get it back, they are beaten back into fleeing from the nation, and have to build an army to take over the trade ships and military vessels and force the return of the item?

[Buddha's_Cookie]

So why wasn't "And what would this character be doing on a pirate ship?
I actually asked my players to write how they got on this pirate ship as part of their back story. And I cleared the cleric because he had some interesting ideas about uses for undead that did not involve a zombie crew for the ship.

[Trasilor]

I actually asked my players to write how they got on this pirate ship as part of their back story. And I cleared the cleric because he had some interesting ideas about uses for undead that did not involve a zombie crew for the ship.

Did it involve a bunch of zombies running on the ocean floor pulling the ship along? Because that would be cool too :smallamused:

[Segev]

What's wrong with a zombie crew? >_> <_<

More seriously, they're playing pirates. These share an element with villains (not coincidentally, many pirates ARE villains): they often are the instigators of plot, rather than heroic answerers of the call to thwart the villains' plots.

Therefore, don't force plot on them. Ask them what they want to do. Come up with some juicy ships for them to plunder...if they choose to do any investigation into finding out about what plunder is potentially out there. Design some exotic locales where adventure could happen (really, a few dungeon crawls are all you need) when they sail around and discover them.

Pirates are pro-active! Let them choose to act. Encourage them by asking them what their plans are, rather than by telling them what plot there is to try to hook them.

[Airk]

I actually asked my players to write how they got on this pirate ship as part of their back story. And I cleared the cleric because he had some interesting ideas about uses for undead that did not involve a zombie crew for the ship.

Did they? Because it sounds like some answers to that question would go a long way towards figuring out what they want to do now...

[Dawgmoah]

Have them all sitting about "Ye Olde Slimey Fishe Tavern" when a local runs in screaming that "Black Beard Captain Morgan Sparrow the Red" and his band of marauders have landed and are raiding the town! Most of the locals and other towns folk run for the hills knowing they cannot stand up to fight against a captain with a long name and many epic kills to his name.

Do the player characters run away with the rest of the townsfolk? If so, they're really wanting to be pirates so can pack away the eye patches, peg legs, and parrots.

If they stand to fight, or get involved with the pirates: there is hope for them yet in a pirate based campaign.

You can then play the "Are you worthy to be one of us?" with a test (Stay alive on zombie island and we'll be back in the morning to see if you still live.) or take them prisoner and let them prove their worth to the crew.

Once on a ship, and you want to split them from the main group of npc pirates, call up a storm and have them either survive the sinking of the ship, the ship is abandoned with the pirates going to other ships in the "fleet" or just have a few swept out to sea clinging to a keg of rum or something.