Once more Obi takes the helm and guides the ship expertly back out into the ocean carefully scanning the sea ahead for signs of sails while Shadow glides overhead alerting her when he sees sign of a ship or anything else noteworthy.
Perception(Shadow):
It takes a few days at sail before anything of interest is found. In the early afternoon with reasonable winds and the Revenge is tacking to the East and near the shallows. A spot on the Southern horizon is seen that coalesces into the rough outline of a Chelish caravel in the distance. Land at your back and sharp eyes of some of your crew you wager it's a decent chance they haven't seen you yet... and you might be capable of choosing the terms of engagement...
Deader blew the combat muster on the bosuns whistle. "All hands on deck! Pikes and pins, ladies and gents! We've got our first catch!"
Deader slid down the banister and dashed down into the hold, yelling at the crew and shoving his way to the bilge.
"If any of you slack jawed bottom suckers are still down here by the time I get back topside, you're going to get assigned to my squad during the raid!"
The luck of the damned seems to be with you this morning, as the Revenge slips out from the shallows and makes for wind and deeper waters. Minutes pass as you coax every ounce of wind that you might from the sails... but astonishingly the Chelish caravel seems to have not noticed you and remains with sails set at a cross path and not seeking to outrun you.
By the time they finally react, you're confident you have the measure of them in speed - and are approaching from their stern at pace. Grapnels are readied, blades sharpened... and blood ready to be spilt.
Deader had come back on deck a changed man. A new facet of the ship's unpredictable Bosun showing it's face.
Or, rather, faces.
The bleached jacket he wore had two of them, one on each shoulder They snarled silently and slowly gnashed fang-filled mouths as they looked around balefully. Behind him more than a dozen tendrils swayed and reached looking like a cape that had been slashed to ribbons and given life.
They were Grindylows. He was wearing them.
His pale hood was up but his washed-out eyes still managed to catch the light reflecting off the water.
He wasn't smiling.
Obi looks to Cedrick as they approach the boat.
Cap'n you want me at the wheel? If you would like, I can call on some nice friends to harass their boat before we board. I was thinking a swarm of bats would really annoy them. Hard to beat without fire, and, well, lets just say fire is not usually used on ships.
Deader's arrival has a definite impact... but as well as what the opposition might feel when they see it... a third of the crew looks horrified and afraid, and another third pale and whiten seemingly upon the cusp of losing their lunch.
I can keep the bats as long as necessary. I cannot control them, so any crew member who goes near them may get attacked.
"As we approach, I will enspell you and Obi Captain to fight even stronger than usual."
Though you still have the Chelish caravel's measure, it does ready a catapult upon it's stern to lob stones your way as you make up ground upon it. Kroop looks to you to find it there is a means to still it... or if a bit of bludgeoning might just need to be endured.
Near to the ballista is a man is a man holding a staff and upon the crows nest is a shirtless half-orc with a talisman around his neck.
Perception:
Captain, they have a catapult and looks like a few trained soldiers one mage and a priest. Not gonna be easy. My bat spell is not that long. But, I can make the boards come to life and entangle the deck of their ship. Should hinder the use of the catapult.
Assuming Cedrick gives the ok, Obi will cast Entangle centered in the middle of the ship. 40' radius should get the whole deck. I am assuming that even the best ship has some mold and moss and other plant life growing on it. In addition, vines could easily spring forth from the wood itself bringing it back to life.
Cast: Entangle - DC15 or entangled, makes whole ares difficult terrain
Obi looks to Cedrick.
It will not last long, but I can create a small elemental of air to attack the men manning the Catapult.
Convert (open slot) to Summon Nature's Ally II.
Summon Small Air Elemental which will fly to the ship and attack whoever is manning the catapult.
Obisyth calls upon spirits of nature to hearken to her, causing a coalescence of air into solid form that is sent to pester and harass the catapult crew. It causes a small disturbance, slowing their preparations for a span of seconds... before focused fire from nearby disperses the spirits easily. But the distraction still slowed both the catapult's rate of fire as well as incidental bowshot from the vessel.
Catapults:
As the catapult before you releases stone shot at your vessel, it gets it's aim right from the outset - two stones in succession falling amidships and splintering some wooden planks and clipping crewmen. No deaths, but one of the recent mwangi hires suffers a crushed leg when he was too slow to react.
The third stone, released just before you pass close enough that the arc of the catapult is rendered ineffectual is a direct hit to the command deck near to the wheel....
Reflex:
Obi manages to dodge the flying debris.
If this is going to be a regular occurrence, I'd better come up with some way of affecting these ships from a distance. Nachni impatiently paces and shifts on her feet waiting for the ships to draw closer together.
The ships get too close for catapult fire and though the exchange of arrows and bolts continues, it is desultory and does not cause too much of harm. Coming upon the prey from astern the Revenge is guided to slide along the quarry's port side and the strain of timber on timber is groaningly loud. The ship beneath you shakes as the stout frame weathers the force and the vessels become wedded by released grapples from both sides.
The fray is joined, and sailors from both sides prepare to leap across ship and spill blood. The targets from the opposition that seem to leap out at you are:
- A shirtless half-orc bedecked with talisman atop their mast.
- The opposing captain, with a few well armed marines around him.
- A robed mage upon their foredeck.
Not sure about distances, but I would like to drop the Summon Swarm(spiders) onto the robed mage.
"Kill that robed fellow." Deader says quietly to Mr. Haight. "And help Greedy and Buddy across. They don't climb so well."
Cause Fear
Murderous Command
Summon Monster 1 x2
Lesser Animate Dead
Summon Monster 2 x2
Mr Haight just nods and picks the two little creatures up by the backs of the armor Deader had stitched together for them.
Cedrick isn't able to avoid the catapult stone and is clipped as it careens through.
Nachni leaps forward toward the enemy ship's mast, seeking to get within range of the half-orc and the enemy rigging. Once within 15 feet of the mast, she works a spell, focusing on the half-orc up on top of the mast.
See I don't think its cop out-y, I get a bit miffed when designers pad in what amounts to random encounters just to add weight to AP's - the problem with PbP's is that such padding becomes obvious and a little frustrating as time is extended out (spending 6 months on random encounters just for XP and level grind) and the actual main story doesn't move. We know Captain jack Sparrow is a cool pirate with mad xp and such, but we didn't go to the movies to see him mug 1000 fishing trawlers for sardines; a little bit of trimming is almost a necessity. Curiously its the thing that got people up in arms about Dragons Demand, allegedly its a bit flex with XP - but how else do you get 6-7 levels of adventure in a 64 page book?
So truncate away, cut to the action if you please, allocate levels, xp and or loot 'between episodes' as you like to keep us on the curve, and if it means we actually get to finish an AP in a reasonable time (or even finish!) so be it :)
Oh and keep in the bits for our chronicles :p
A couple of months pass as the Revenge plies the relatively safe waters south of the Shackles. Reaving passing caravels for plunder and seaside villages for fresh recruits you slowly build a reputation - middling by Free Captain standards... but perhaps the start of something more? Troublingly you encounter the sea devils once more - as they come upon you soon after you investigate a half-sunken hulk of a vessel. The markings seem similar to the ones you saw before also...
It is late in the evening with the dying of the sun as you begin sailing back towards Tidewater that a ship suddenly comes into view, sailing across the setting sun. The glaring light behind it makes the details of the ship difficult to make out, but its lines suggest a whaler riding low in the water. As the last light of day disappears below the horizon, the distant ship also drops from sight in the gloom of twilight.
It is only then that you pause... the whaler was sailing straight into the wind... but was gliding with a speed that your hulk would strain to match...