Post by Charles Warren on Mar 19, 2013 16:07:50 GMT -5
Journey of the Jenivere
The Jenivere makes numerous stops on its nearly
4-month journey from Magnimar in Varisia to Eleder
in Sargava. It has thus far taken the following course
and is nearing its final destination. This itinerary
should help characters determine where they boarded
the Jenivere, potentially influencing their backgrounds
or character traits.
Port of Call
Magnimar, Varisia : Departed
Kintargo, Cheliax: 2 days in port
Pezzack, Cheliax: 3 days in port
Corentyn, Cheliax: 7 days in port
Ilizmagorti, Mediogalti Island: 2days in port
Ollo, The Shackles: 7 days in port
Quent, The Shackles: 2 days in port
Port Peril, The Shackles: 3 days in port
Bloodcove, Mwangi Expanse: 4 days in port
Senghor, Mwangi Expanse: 3 days in port
Days at Sea 71
Total Journey 104 days
Magnimar, Varisia:
The city of Magnimar (pronounced MAG-nih-mahr) stands as one of the two major city-states of southern Varisia.Founded by Korvosan dissenters in 4608 AR, the City of Monuments now stands as a rival to Korvosa in an open war of coin and words. The people of the city are termed 'Magnimarians' and they call Korvosa: 'Little Cheliax'. The adjective used to describe something of Magnimar is 'Magnimarian'.
Kintargo, Cheliax:
Kintargo is a northern Chelish city situated on Nisroch Bay at the mouth of the Yolubilis River. It is the main harbor for ships heading north to Varisia and west to Anchor's End. Unprotected by any natural barriers, the city and its citizens are among the most cosmopolitan in Cheliax, and the infernal influence, so prominent in other cities of Cheliax, is not nearly as noticeable. The city is also the only place in which the otherwise nomadic man hunters of the Hellknight Order of the Torrent make a home.
Pezzack, Cheliax:
Within the sharp-peaked hills of the Devil’s Perch stands the large town of Pezzack, a hotbed of sedition and plotting against the new aristocracy of Cheliax. Strict naval blockades and a years-long siege cut off Pezzack from the rest of the world, but city’s the winged folk always manage to escape the periodic destruction of their town.
Corentyn, Cheliax:
The Chelish city of Corentyn (pronounced KOHR-ehn-tin)[1] is located on the far southwestern tip of the country.[2] Founded as a military outpost, the Arch of Aroden forms the western border of the city, and a 50 foot high limestone wall continues on around the northern and eastern landward sides. Also known as Port Indomitable[3] and the City of Nine Forts, Corentyn has survived dozens of wars, and remains a major trade center and military outpost in the new, infernal Cheliax of House Thrune.
Ilizmagorti, Mediogalti Island:
The city of Ilizmagorti (pronounced ihl-izz-mah-GOR-tee) is the only settlement of any size on Mediogalti Island. Known to its foes as Scum Tide City, and to its friends as the Black Pearl of the Tropics, the city’s exact location is unlikely to appear on any map thanks to the efforts of the Red Mantis to remove it from all records. Many of the ships who dock in the harbour are pirates, but the port is also used by a number of (comparatively) honest merchant vessels. The population is also assumed to include a large number of Red Mantis assassins, which means a certain wariness is probably advisable when dealing with strangers
Ollo, The Shackles:
The town of Ollo is one of the largest settlements in the Shackles. It is ruled by the cruel pirate Avimar Sorrinash, one of the members of the Pirate Council. Ollo is on Shark Island, and is plagued by raids from the sahuagin who live in the sea near the island. These raids are carried out with Sorrinash’s permission, and the people of Ollo live in daily fear of a sahuagin attack
Quent, The Shackles:
Quent is the second largest settlement in the Shackles. It is on the north coast of Motaku Isle, the Shackles’ largest island. It is known as one of the liveliest and most welcoming of the ports in the region. It is also known for the House of Stolen Kisses, where the sacred prostitutes of Calistria ply their trade; they also double as the Shackles’ most well-informed information brokers. The city is ruled by the popular pirate lord Tessa Fairwind.
Port Peril, The Shackles:
Port Peril is the largest port in the Shackles and its de facto capital. It is situated on the mainland, rather than on one of the outlying islands, on the edge of the Terwa Uplands and overlooking Jeopardy Bay. The city is protected by walls, and the stronghold of Fort Hazard. All manner of vices can be found in its twisting streets, and its busy markets thrive on the sale of stolen goods. Rumour has it that the plunder from decades of piracy is hidden in sea caves beneath the city. Despite being the capital of the Shackles Pirates, merchant ships sometimes dock here to trade. Those flying the flags of Inner Sea nations are not welcome, but unaligned vessels are permitted to dock.
Bloodcove, Mwangi Expanse:
Bloodcove is one of the few bastions of civilization on the Fever Sea. Bloodcove borders both the trackless Fever Sea and the vast Mwangi Expanse—two huge wildernesses at the very edge of civilization. Its nearest neighbours are hardly much better. To the south there is the former Cheliaxian colony of Sargava, beset on all fronts by its former owner Cheliax, the greedy Shackles pirates who protect it and its own rebellious Mwangi population. To the north lies the pirate haven of the Shackles, an island chain filled with pirates and the remains of whatever cannibalistic society dwelt there before them. Bloodcove is truly a lone bastion of civilization.
Senghor, Mwangi Expanse:
The city of Senghor is a port on the Bay of Senghor, which is part of the Fever Sea. It is on the western end of the peninsula known as the Kaava Lands in the southern Mwangi Expanse. The Kaava are a pygmy tribe of kech. The city’s market is the major site for the sale of quality goods from the Mwangi Expanse to merchants of Avistan for a fair price; this is in contrast to Bloodcove, where arguably the region’s raw materials are shipped off north in exchange for shoddy goods and cheap alcohol. The local guards, in their distinctive black and scarlet uniforms, make sure that the market is a safe place in which to do business. Cheliax has attempted to establish a trade embassy in Senghor, but has found that communications have been plagued by bad luck and constant pirate attention. So far, none of this has been traced back to the Senghor government. The Senghor navy boasts several dozen ships, and ensures that no piracy takes place within their territorial waters. However, they are indifferent to what goes on elsewhere in the Fever Sea, making Senghor a popular destination for those who are deemed to be pirates everywhere else.
Eleder, Mwangi Expanse:
Eleder is the capital of Sargava and the country's only deepwater port. Its government remains stable and Eleder's military is capable of policing the city. Its incredible wealthy trading companies contribute to Eleder's political value being capable of protecting their investments. Aspis Consortium hold little power in Eleder due to the power of Eleder's trading companies. At present, Eleder has only three-fourths as many inhabitants as Kalabuto. The overland route between the two cities broke down completely when Kalabuto's trading companies began shipping goods down the Korir River. Despite Kalabuto's growing exports trade, Eleder remains a stronghold for the nation's political structure. Eleder's economy is divided between its shipping industry and the trafficking, and processing of gemstones, gold, silver, and salt brought in from miners in the Bandu Hills.[2]
The city is showing signs of decay caused by the country’s perilous financial position. This decay does not extend to the docks, however, which claim to employ some of Garund’s best shipwrights. Merchants and Free Captains alike use the facilities, and their maintenance is given top priority.
At one time the city boasted the Grallus Ball, but all such celebrations have been canceled due to lack of funds.
Campaign Traits
Campaign traits are tailored to a specific Adventure Path
and give your character a built-in reason to begin the first
adventure in a new campaign. Campaign traits assume a
lot more about your character’s backstory than do normal
traits, but they are meant to help serve as inspiration for a
player working to create a detailed and interesting history
for her character. You have a certain amount of leeway in
adjusting a campaign trait’s expected backstory once you’ve
selected which trait is right for you; just be sure to get your
GM’s approval before you run with a modified history.
All of the following traits revolve around characters with
a reason to travel to Sargava on the Jenivere, a trading vessel
whose fateful journey south through the Arcadian Ocean
launches the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path. You can take
a look at these traits to get a general, spoiler-free idea of
the types of foes and challenges your character might
encounter over the course of the Adventure Path. Knowing
that there are going to be elements of jungle exploration,
the discovery of ruined lost cities, secret alliances, ancient
magic, and the like should help you build a character that
fits more organically into the campaign you’re about to
join. Each trait also suggests options for the port in which
your character might have boarded the Jenivere, though
with the exception of the various “boarded in” traits,
players shouldn’t feel like the have to match a trait with a
specific port.
Boarded in Cheliax: While you aren’t necessarily a native
of Cheliax, you boarded the Jenivere at one of that country’s
port cities. As the people of Cheliax generally know the
Mwangi Expanse as a near legendary land home to strange
beasts and exotic treasures, your views of the region have a
distinctly romantic tinge, and the desire for fame, wealth,
and adventure likely motivate your travels. You begin the
campaign with a detailed map of the Mwangi Expanse
(this grants +2 competence bonus on all Knowledge
[geography] checks made regarding this region) and 200
gp worth of mundane equipment to aid your exploration
of the jungle.
Boarded in Mediogalti: Your travels have brought you
to the Jenivere through the dangerous port of Ilizmagorti, home to both pirates and assassins. Perhaps you’re f leeing
a price on your head, perhaps you’ve jumped ship from
another vessel, or perhaps you’re merely looking for a new
start in a land where the dangers make themselves more
obvious. Your familiarity with subtle slayings and toxins
grants you a +2 trait bonus on all saves against poison. In
addition, you can pick one type of poison listed below to be
immune to, having undergone a long and painful process
of building up an immunity to its effects: blue whinnis,
giant wasp poison, medium spider venom, small centipede
poison, or spider vine poison (a poison derived from a toxic
plant native to the Mwangi Expanse).
Boarded in the Mwangi Expanse: You boarded the Jenivere
in the Mwangi Expanse, where you’ve lived or recently
traveled through. You harbor no illusions regarding the
deadliness of the jungles, the creatures that inhabit it,
or the peoples that make their home therein. You gain
Polyglot as a bonus language and receive a +1 trait bonus
on all Knowledge (nature) checks regarding the jungle.
Boarded in the Shackles: Your last home was in the
Shackles, a dangerous land of pirates and treachery, but
also of fantastic opportunity. A life of weal and woe on the
sea and amid the pirate controlled lands has toughened you
to a variety of hardships. Pick one of the three categories
of saving throws—you gain a +1 trait bonus on all saving
throws of that type.
Boarded in Varisia: Traveling from lands far to the
north, you likely have little experience with the jungle,
its denizens, or its strange forces. Just as the lands of
Garund are wild and exotic to you, so are you to them. This
unusualness manifests in one of two ways. Choose to gain
either a +2 trait bonus on all Bluff checks made against
inhabitants of the jungle, or treat your spells with the
mind-affecting descriptor as being +1 caster level higher
when cast against creatures and natives of the jungle.
Colonial: You come from a long line of Sargavan
colonists, stretching back to Cheliax’s original expansion
into the land during the Everwar. While your people’s
control of Sargava wanes every day, and Eleder has
functioned independently from Cheliax since House
Thrune brought diabolism to the political forefront, you
nevertheless maintain a hardy Chelish constitution and
natural sense of survival. What took you away from home
is up to you, but you return to the land of your birth on
the Jenivere in the hope of putting Sargava back on the
map. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (local) checks
relating to Sargavan settlements and politics and a +1 trait
bonus on saving throws against disease.
Characters with this trait are Sargavan natives and
might be returning via any city, but especially from the
Chelish ports of Kintargo, Pezzack, or Corentyn.
Get the Cargo Through: Sea trade is never safe, even
on the highly trafficked waters of the Inner Sea, but the
way to Eleder is more perilous still. The ever-present
hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego blows hundreds
of ships each year off course, into jagged rocks, or directly
to the sea f loor. Pirates operating out of the Shackles
Isles wait on the other side to take cargo from ships lucky
enough to traverse or bypass the storm. Your job is to
ensure a precious cargo aboard the Jenivere arrives safely
in Eleder—what form this cargo takes and the nature of
your relationship to it are up to you and your GM. Your
character’s history as a merchant or mercenary has earned
her a respectable living, and you begin the campaign with
an additional 300 gp in starting wealth.
Characters with this trait likely boarded in Magnimar,
Corentyn, Ilizmagorti, Port Peril, or Bloodcove.
Jenivere Crew: This trip to Eleder is just one of many in
a long career as a sailor aboard the Jenivere and other cargo
vessels. Whether you joined the crew with the hope of one
day captaining your own ship, as the means of paying your
way to a foreign port with sweat and blood, or as a slave
or indentured servant, you now call the ship home. Pick
one of the following skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Knowledge
(nature), Knowledge (geography), Swim, or Survival. You
gain a +1 trait bonus on that skill, and that skill is always
treated as a class skill for you.
Characters with this trait have likely been on the Jenivere
since it departed Magnimar.
Mwangi Scholar: The Mwangi Expanse is one of the
richest regions in all of Golarion, and also one of the most
mysterious. Despite its history of countless years and its
fostering of nameless empires, very little is known of the
Mwangi Expanse by outsiders or even natives of the primeval,
jungle-covered land. You have long studied the region and its
lore, and count yourself among a small handful of genuine
experts throughout the Inner Sea. The Jenivere promises
to take you to the very subject of your fascination, and you
eagerly await firsthand investigation of the deep jungles and
cyclopean ruins of Garund’s interior. You gain Polyglot as a
bonus language and receive a +1 trait bonus on all Knowledge
(history) checks regarding the Mwangi Expanse.
Characters with this trait likely boarded the Jenivere
in Ilizmagorti or one of the cities of the Shackles or the
Mwangi Expanse.
Stowaway: Not all passengers on seafaring vessels are
legal or even known to the captain and crew, and the Jenivere
is no exception. Whether too poor to book legal passage
on the ship or fearing discovery by customs officials in
your home port, you or an ally stowed away on the ship in
secret. This may mean that the crew doesn’t know you’re
on board, or perhaps they do now but didn’t when the ship
set sail. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Stealth checks and
Survival checks to find food.
Characters with this trait might have boarded the Jenivere
at any port, but especially in the cities of the Shackles.
Traveling Aboard the Jenivere
The Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path begins with the PCs
all aboard the same vessel, the Jenivere, a ship making
the journey from Magnimar to Eleder. After days or
weeks of time aboard the comfortable vessel
The Jenivere is a large merchant ship, a Wyvern-class
vessel commonly used by the Inner Sea nations for trade,
exploration, and even war, valued for its combination
of seaworthiness and capacity for carrying numerous
passengers. Wyvern-class ships have made the dangerous
journey to Azlant, Arcadia, and even around the southern
tip of Garund, but the Jenivere and her crew run less
perilous voyages. For the past several years, Captain
Alizandru Kovack has made the western run between
Magnimar to the north and Eleder to the south and then
back with few complications, despite the fact that his route
carries him through waters controlled by the piratical
Free Captains of the Shackles, brushes with the eternal
winds of the Eye of Abendego, and into periodic conf licts
with the Nidalese navy. Although Captain Kovack’s crew
appreciate this record, the baseless fear that the Jenivere
has robbed luck’s coffers one too many times lies heavy
on the hearts of many.
While the Jenivere is a merchant ship, primarily
concerned with delivering goods to and from Sargava,
she’s traditionally kept several compartments open to take
on paying passengers. This trip is no exception. At the
start of the campaign, the PCs probably number among
these passengers, along with six other travelers aboard the
vessel. As the characters have spent some time aboard the
Jenivere, they have at least passing familiarity with these
others making the passage to Sargava, and a few notable
members of the Jenivere’s crew.
Aerys Mavato: This severe half-elven woman boarded in
Port Peril, where she immediately got into a scrape with
a crude sailor. She spends most of her time in her bunk,
seeming to purposefully avoid fraternizing with the ship’s
other passengers.
Alizandru Kovack: A Chelish man whose family has
made the Magnimar to Eleder run for generations, Captain
Kovack is pleasant enough with his passengers, but a strict
disciplinarian when dealing with his crew.
Alton Devers: The Jenivere’s first mate is friendly with
both passengers and crew, but he sometimes seems to
chafe under the strong discipline of Captain Kovack.
Gelik Aberwhinge: A sharply dressed gnome from
Magnimar, Gelik spends much of his time writing in the
ships’ common areas, and takes every opportunity to tell
long-winded stories, boast of past journeys, or quip about
anything in his field of view.
Ieana: A bookish Varisian scholar who tends to keep
to herself, Ieana is traveling to Sargava to explore the
ancient ruins there. Rumors aboard the ship alternately
suggest that she’s the Jenivere’s owner, a Chelish agent,
or Captain Kovack’s secret lover. Ieana keeps mostly to
herself, and grows more intent on her studies with each
mile the ship travels closer to Eleder.
Ishirou: A scruffy human of Tian heritage, Ishirou
boarded at Bloodcove and waits to reach Sargava with a
quiet eagerness. Aloof but not rude, he gives the impression
of one who has had a hard life but find himself currently
without direction.
Jask Derindi: A prisoner loaded aboard in Corentyn,
Captain Kovack sees to this taciturn human’s needs with
curt courtesy, but insists he be left alone, sequestered in
the ship’s brig.
Rambar Terillo: A taciturn man from Senghor, Ship’s
Cook Terillo has served in that capacity aboard several
ships, though apparently not on account of his culinary
skills, which seem to be limited to watery soups.
Sasha Nevah: This red-haired human boarded the
Jenivere in Ilizmagorti. Since leaving Mediogalti Island, the
woman’s somber demeanor has gradually faded, revealing
a boisterous and optimistic personality. None have yet
questioned her about her missing left pinky finger.