Thalnawr
2016-10-01, 09:24 PM
So, I've been running the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path for a few months now. My game has finally gotten to the point where a new ship is captured, and the party along with various allies and enemies are sent to sail the prize to port and sell it on behalf of their captain.
However, due to their actions, I've got a bit of a conundrum. Essentially, in the days leading up to the capture, my players started working for change aboard the Wormwood, including a vote by the crew to replace the current first mate, Mister Plugg, with one of their own. They convinced the captain to go along with it, and allow all of the non-officers to vote for who would be first mate, with his one condition that they hold off on the vote till the next day.
Now, Mister Plugg is an abusive sadist, who has murdered and wormed his way up through the ranks, so the next day he assigned their candidate to bilge duty along with a few of his cronies, so that he could get rid of the competition. However, instead of letting them disarm him and quietly going to his duty, he stood his ground and drew steel. Mister Plugg and his cronies did the same, and it was about to be all-out warfare on the main deck, which could have ended the game right there. So I conjured up some hand-wavium, and had a high-level NPC sorceress on ship put most of the instigators to sleep, then the captain locked up everyone involved in the bilges to think things over a bit. So, two of the party members, along with Plugg and the bosun, Master Scourge were locked up, and the vote was put off.
Anyhow, after they were let out and they took the new ship, one of the players reminded me of the pending vote. Now things have changed a little bit, because the surviving crew of the Man's Promise joined the crew, but the party still had enough votes to win the day, after an impromptu bit of their diplomacy opposed by Plugg's intimidation tactics. So now, the party is in charge of the ship, and the potentially pending mutiny could come from Plugg, Scourge, and their supporters, rather than from the players like the script expects.
TL/DR: The players have diplomancered their way into taking control of a newly captured ship, that the captain wishes them to sell in port on his behalf, rather than what the story expects. I need advice on the following things:
1) First, the story expects that the players will keep the ship. I think they will decide this, but I need suggestions in case they somehow decide to keep to the captain's orders.
2) Second, I'm debating whether or not I should make it possible for them to win over their enemies, rather than have them mutiny.
3) Finally, I feel I have to give them a chunk of role-playing XP, for finding alternative and creative solutions. I'm just not sure whether or not I should give them each the amount they'd need to level up to 3rd, about 700 apiece.
Anyone familiar enough with Skull & Shackles to provide suggestions/comments?
However, due to their actions, I've got a bit of a conundrum. Essentially, in the days leading up to the capture, my players started working for change aboard the Wormwood, including a vote by the crew to replace the current first mate, Mister Plugg, with one of their own. They convinced the captain to go along with it, and allow all of the non-officers to vote for who would be first mate, with his one condition that they hold off on the vote till the next day.
Now, Mister Plugg is an abusive sadist, who has murdered and wormed his way up through the ranks, so the next day he assigned their candidate to bilge duty along with a few of his cronies, so that he could get rid of the competition. However, instead of letting them disarm him and quietly going to his duty, he stood his ground and drew steel. Mister Plugg and his cronies did the same, and it was about to be all-out warfare on the main deck, which could have ended the game right there. So I conjured up some hand-wavium, and had a high-level NPC sorceress on ship put most of the instigators to sleep, then the captain locked up everyone involved in the bilges to think things over a bit. So, two of the party members, along with Plugg and the bosun, Master Scourge were locked up, and the vote was put off.
Anyhow, after they were let out and they took the new ship, one of the players reminded me of the pending vote. Now things have changed a little bit, because the surviving crew of the Man's Promise joined the crew, but the party still had enough votes to win the day, after an impromptu bit of their diplomacy opposed by Plugg's intimidation tactics. So now, the party is in charge of the ship, and the potentially pending mutiny could come from Plugg, Scourge, and their supporters, rather than from the players like the script expects.
TL/DR: The players have diplomancered their way into taking control of a newly captured ship, that the captain wishes them to sell in port on his behalf, rather than what the story expects. I need advice on the following things:
1) First, the story expects that the players will keep the ship. I think they will decide this, but I need suggestions in case they somehow decide to keep to the captain's orders.
2) Second, I'm debating whether or not I should make it possible for them to win over their enemies, rather than have them mutiny.
3) Finally, I feel I have to give them a chunk of role-playing XP, for finding alternative and creative solutions. I'm just not sure whether or not I should give them each the amount they'd need to level up to 3rd, about 700 apiece.
Anyone familiar enough with Skull & Shackles to provide suggestions/comments?