# DM Soanso's Serpent's Skull: (spoilers)



## soanso (Feb 3, 2012)

If you are reading this, I've done everything correctly.  Win!

I am DM Soanso of Abcimiximab and peteinmaine's campaign- here's the link to Arendel and Max's journal:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/story-...pents-skull-journal-updated-01-20-12-a-6.html

Incredibly funny and insightful- and well RP'd by both.

My goal is to bring you through the challenges of Paizo's Serpent's Skull as a DM.  Or GM, whatever.  This is intended for DMs or those thinking of DMing Serpent's Skull.  Players are advised to avert their eyes.

I am running my first campaign in over a dozen years.  I have the graces of both the Paizo AP and a great group of players who always help out the newbie.

My goal for this blog is to relay my experiences as a DM new to Pathfinder and rediscovering the fun of tabletop game play.  I won't tell DMs how to play this AP, but I'll offer my advice.

*Scope*:  Serpent's Skull is huge and a potentially daunting AP to run.  My first advice is that DMs read #37, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, about a dozen times, front to back.

Notice the choices available, the nuances of the set encounters, and above all- know your players!  A bunch of strangers?  Play it as written, use the NPCs to foster allegiances among them.  Seasoned players that run in familiar groups?  I kinda hammed the NPCs up a bit, knowing they'd never impact the campaign but did provide cursory boons and side quests.  Nevertheless they have and may still reappear along the way.

I think the players enjoyed Ishirou's Treasure Map, and that's a mechanic I will totally use in another setting.

I'm willing to field any questions regarding this campaign.  A bit of a bore to start, but once I get the hang of it, I'd like to create a working template for DMs on Serpent's Skull.

My next post(s) will focus on key encounters of the first adventure, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, me vs book and all else in between.  Till next!


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