Skull & Shackles

Unofficial rules compendium

Skulls and Shackles is a pirate Adventure Path by Pazio. The local campaign is set in the World of Greyhawk|.

Background

See the external links for the official campaign guide, including campaign-specific traits. The campaign is run in Greyhawk, in the island chain just south of the main map. The traditional inhabitants of this area is Suel colonists, with a recent influx of people of the Common culture. Olman and Tuov humans make up a colorful native background, along with lizard folk and many and varied unusual species. Under-water folk might get mixed up in the action but are not allowed as player characters, at least not initially.

Rules

Further information: House Rules

A Pirate's Fate: When a character would ordinarily die, they can choose to suffer a random lasting injury (as described in the Shackles Player's Guide). Each such scar gives a +1 bonus on Intimidate checks, and Intimidate never suffers any penalties that otherwise apply to Charisma-based skills.

d20	Battle Scar or Amputation	Game effect
1–5	Minor scar	Interesting but otherwise cosmetic
6–8	Moderate scar	Cut on face, +1 bonus on Charisma-based skill checks for first scar only, subsequent cuts count as a major scar.
9–10	Major scar	Severe cut on face, -1 penalty on Charisma-based skill checks
11–14	Loss of finger	For every 3 fingers lost, –1 Dex
15–16	Impressive wound	-1 Con
17	Loss of eye	-4 penalty on all sight-based Perception checks
18	Loss of leg	Speed reduced to half, cannot charge
19	Loss of hand	Cannot use two-handed items. Losing a single hand or arm does not affect a spellcaster’s ability to cast spells with somatic components.
20	Loss of arm	-1 Str, cannot use two-handed items. Losing a single hand or arm does not affect a spellcaster’s ability to cast spells with somatic components.

Character Creation

Characters are created on build points, starting with 20 points. All starting characters gain an additional feat and 0-4 background traits, as specified below.

Alignment

No evil characters. Lawful characters are allowed, but discouraged. Neutral Good, Chaotic good, Neutral, and Chaotic Neutral characters get 1 extra trait.

• Patrons - The following gods make good patrons for pirates
  • Besmara - CN Common god of piracy - Chaos (Protean), Trickery (Thievery), War (Tactics), Water (Oceans), Weather (Storms). Weapon: Rapier.
  • Kord - CG Suel/Common god of challenges, strength and bravery - Chaos, Good, Liberation, Luck, Strength. Weapon: Greatsword.
  • Norebo - CN Suel god of luck and gambling - Animal (Fur), Chaos, Charm (Lust), Luck, Trickery. Weapon: Dagger.
  • Procan - CN Oerdian god of storms and oceans - Animal (Fur), Destruction (Catastrophe), Travel (Exploration), Water (Oceans), Weather (Storms). Weapon: Trident.

Class & Race

• Recommended Races: Human (Common, Suel, and Tuov).
  Members of these races get an additional trait at character creation. Note that these human sub-races have racial traits. Also note that the campaign takes place in the Common language region, so Common humans gain an additional trait as compensation for getting no native language.
• Recommended Classes: Alchemist, Bard, Fighter, Oracle, Ranger, Rogue, Summoner, Sorcerer, Wizard.
  Members of these classes get an additional trait at character creation.
• Discouraged Classes: Cavalier (except new archetypes from here), Monk, Inquisitor, Paladin.
• Class Options besides those in official Pathfinder

New Class and Archetype Options

These are suited to the campaign. More are available at Apath.

Full Base Attack Bonus Full Base Attack Bonus Cavalier Heart of Oak Officer Figher Bravo Fencer Militant Paladin Divine Liberator Ranger Child of the Wild Dispassionate Hunter Nomad Courier Spellsword Swordmage ¾ Base Attack Bonus Bard Dandy Divine Bard Cleric Crafty Cleric Druid Magus Robe Magus Oracle Rogue Mountebank Summoner Robed Summoner ½ Base Attack Bonus Sorcerer Battle Sorcerer Crafty Sorcerer Wildcard Sorcerer Theurge Wizard Tantrist Wu Jen Traits Characters get 0-4 traits from a combination of alignment, race, and class. As opposed to the normal rules, a character can take more than one trait from each category. Number of traits Campaign-friendly Race Common human +2 Suel human +1 Tuov Human +1 Campaign-friendly Alignment +1 Chaotic Good Chaotic neutral Neutral Neutral Good Campaign-friendly Class +1 Alchemist Bard Fighter Oracle Ranger Rogue Sorcerer Summoner Wizard Map Guide to Traits Map Guide to Race and Regional Traits Human Race Traits Humans Common Baklunish Suel Flan Oerdian Olman Rhenne Other Humans Other Race Traits Humanoids Dwarves Elves Half-Elves Gnomes Half-orcs Halflings "Furries" of Nippon Kitsune - Fox Rakasta - Cat Nagai - Snake Netsumi - Rat Tengu - Raven Vanara - Monkey Other Traits Regional Traits Skulls & Shackles Campaign Traits Combat Traits Faith Traits Magic Traits Social Traits Equipment Traits See Also Apath - Abbe's Pathfinder musings Pathfinder External Links Pazio Campaign Guide - free download