Aubrey's Other Eberron Campaign

Game Master Aubrey the Malformed

Rayne's eyes widen as the intel is gathered and the call to arms goes out. Thinking quickly, he intones one of his innate powers (spiderwalk) and skitters up the main mast to the crow's nest where he could rain his blasts down all over the deck and into the nearby waters.

Colvare, does your empathic link give you more information about our enemy? A flier, or even someone high in the rigging should be able to give us warning if they start coming up somewhere other than the stern.

Empathic Link (Su)

The master has an empathic link with his familiar out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The master cannot see through the familiar’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content can be communicated.
So not a great deal of help, no....

Search;Listen (1d20+1=9, 1d20+3=20)

"Theres something coming from the stearn!"

[ooc]I am assuming that being with the capatin, I am on the quarterdeck, with the wheen, and I intend to stay there.....[ooc]

Mirra forces away her nausea and grabs her handcrossbow and rapier. "I am guessing that the creature in front of us is a giant squid." Mirra quickly mutters under her breath and her armor glimmers for a second.

Cast Mage Armor.
Current AC: 20

I'm afraid Mage Armour doesn't stack with your mithril chain shirt - they both provide an armour bonus. If you know Shield (don't know if it is on the Beguiler spell list or not) that would work (as it, appropriately enough, gives a shield bonus to AC).

Thanks for the map, Luke. We will break it down by coordinates, as before, A to D across the top, 1 to 10 down the side. The fo'c'sle deck (at the front) is B-C/1 and A-D/2-3, the main deck is A-D/4-7 and the quarterdeck (at the stern) is A-D/8-9 and B-C/1. The map is fairly cunningly drawn so that there are very few squares you can't enter easily. The hatches to the lower deck are all closed, so you can move over those fine. The steps up and down to the fo'c'sle deck and quarterdeck, however, are steep and therefore require two squares of movement to negotiate, and the two upper decks are about 10' above the main deck. The masts provide cover (+4 AC) if you are diagonally opposite your target. I'm assuming it is about a 10' drop to sea level from the the main deck, and therefore 20' from the upper decks.

There are eight sailors assisting you, plus Jum and Garton. You are free to manoeuvere and place them where you wish in this fight. However, given that you are supposed to protecting them, placing them in the line of fire to protect yourselves at their expense might be bad form (plus, I'll give you bonus xp depending on how many survive). The ordinary sailors are not exactly tough guys, but Garton and Jum are a bit more resilient.

Please place yourselves as appopriate on the map. Assume you have two rounds of preparation, and then we can roll initiative.

Place Colvare in C9, assuming Shagrat is up here with the captain, he will use one charge of the wand on Shagrat, and one on himself. If not, Shagrat's charge can go to another player up here,or failing that, the captain. (How many charges are left? i should not this down....)

Colvare takes a step to his friend, and lets one charge of the wand envelop him for a moment in green light which fades almost immediately. He then does the same to himself, and concentrates on what is to come, and what Lenore can see.

Init (1d20+2=18)

Okay, I took the liberty of placing Garton and Jum (Garton is on the quarterdeck, Jum on the maindeck). I also placed crewman 1 at the wheel (someone should be). Shagraat will start in C10, next to Colvare, and will gladly accept the mage armor dose. I'll wait for the rest of the players placements, then fill things out with the other 7 crewmen. Who's placing Andrei?

Shagraat's init is d20 + 7 for 27! Hmm, I think the last time that happened I pretty much died...

Search; Listen (1d20=11, 1d20=5)

Urthona lets his sword swish through the air. [i]Time to earn our keep. Ah hope we will have some more afterwards.[i]

Place Urthona at the mast to be able to charge both ways.

It'll take Benedetto a round to get to C2 in the fore-castle, and get his sling ready. Put two crew members up there with him.

OK, looking for a position for Mirra. Assume that Andrei, as the gallant type, will be with her. Then you can place the other crewmen, though they will generally cluster in groups closer to the PCs.

At the moment, we have:
Colvare C9
Shaggers C10
Benny C2
Urthona in a square next to the main mast (Luke can decide if Oliver doesn't specify)
Mirra ? (if Dreamweaver doesn't say otherwise before combat begins, let's put her on the main deck near Urthona)

Init 2+2 = 4
Mirra is starting in B9
I thought that Mage Armor didn't stack with any magical bonuses to armor. Whoops, well disregard that spell.

I presume I'm able to reach the crow's nest with little difficulty? How tall is the main mast (i.e. how much distance to the deck from where I stand)?

(Let's say it is 30' high.)

And one more question: Would spiderwalk enable me to stick to the sails as well? Meaning that I would be able to traverse them in order to get in range of targets farther from the main mast?

INIT: 11 + 2 = 13.

Okay, the map's up to date. It's available here. Garton is at D9 and Jum is at C6.

And one more question: Would spiderwalk enable me to stick to the sails as well? Meaning that I would be able to traverse them in order to get in range of targets farther from the main mast?

INIT: 11 + 2 = 13.

I guess so.

OK, I have put statistics for the crew of the Morgata up on the profile of my Demented/Malformed avatar, so you can operate them effectively, and I have done the same for Andrei too (based on his profile page – I haven’t changed anything, just written it in my standard style and put it there for easy reference). Someone please roll initiative for Andrei, Jum and Garton; the crew will go on 10 – once we have that, could someone please do an initiative chart? I’ll rely on you to have an idea what the NPCs hit points are – keep a track of the ones closet to you.

With a rasp of claws on wood, four sea devils suddenly haul themselves up to the level of the railing at the back of the ship. These are no drunken sots lost in a human city, but sahuagin warriors in their element and intent on murder. Their gills pulse as they climb, their tridents slung on the backs and attached to their shark skin war harnesses, the setting sun painting their green-grey hides red and purple.

The sahugain are at A10, B11, C11 and D10. This is sort of a surprise round, tough no one much is surprised, I suspect. They are currently clinging to the hull with their claws and trying to get on board. However, the sahuagin can’t do much other than climb up this round, and are rather precariously balanced until they actually get on the deck. Anyone in melee range gets an AoO, then we go to initiative. The sahuagin have an initiative of 3.

Listen check, DC 10:

"Looks, like we have company! More coming from all round the ship folks, keep a good eye out!" Colvare shouts.

Listen (1d20 3=12)

Init:
Colvare: 18
Andrei: 16
Rayne: 13
Shagraat: 13
Garton: 12
Sailors: 10
Mirra: 4
Sahuagin: 3
Jum: 3

Colvare isn't close enough for the AOO...

Initiative -- 1d20+1: [1,1] = (2)
Listen -- 1d20+2: [8,2] = (10)

"Look alive, sailormen. We got us some company."

How far away is the giant squid eye? In what direction?

Just to point out in case I haven't made myself clear: you are running the NPCs, not me. I am just running the sahuagin (and maybe the squid - see how I fell). At least one sailor is close enough to AoO an sahuagin at the back there, for example. Look lively, men - England Expects!

The squid is submerged and circling maybe 30' out. Rayne can see it best from his height - it's big.

My initiative is 27, not 13. I have a +7 and I rolled a nat 20. I think I'm probably entitled to an AoO, but I can't take it until I get home tonight.

Shagraat seizes the moment as the first scaly adversary's head crests the gunwale. He aims a round-house kick at the nasty creature. AoO vs. the Sahuagin in C11. d20 + 3 = 18. d6 + 2 = 5 pts of damage.

I'm thinking someone not in the immediate fray should get to run crewman 1, who should get an AoO as well. As should Mirra, Colvare, Garton & Andrei. The map is updated.

The sahuagin loses its grip at the hobgoblin kicks it in the face, and plops back into the sea.

I'm thinking someone not in the immediate fray should get to run crewman 1, who should get an AoO as well. As should Mirra, Colvare, Garton & Andrei.

Not being in the immediate fray, I'll be happy to roll for Crewman 1 and Andrei.

Crewman 1
Attack with light mace: would hit AC 13, for 6 points of damage.

Andrei
Attack with longsword: would hit AC 20, for 6 points of damage.

Andrei's blow propels another boarder back into the sea, but the crewman misses. Garton stabs another and it too slips from the rail into the water. By the way, you guys roll for Garton and Jum too.

OK, start of the round proper. Init reprise:
Shagraat: 27
Urthona 19
Colvare: 18
Andrei: 16
Rayne: 13
Garton: 12
Sailors: 10
Mirra: 4
Sahuagin: 3
Jum: 3
Benedetto: 2

Edited for Urthona's post below. Shagraat's up. Just to check - has anyone given him Mage Armour?

sry. Init is:
Init (1d20+3=19)

Just to check - has anyone given him Mage Armour?

Yes. Colvare gave me (and I think himself as well) a dose. We need to look back at when we purchased the item to see how many charges it had. I'm pretty sure those are the first two charges we've used.

Shagraat follows up with a clawed blow at the monster the crewman at the wheel missed.

d20 + 3 = 20. Damage is d6 + 2 = 7.

Shagraat hits his foe smartly, but it clings on to the rail and reaches behind it to unlimber its trident.

Urthona.

Urthona picks up his crossbow and fires at a sahuagin not yet engaged in hand-to-hand combat (if that is not the case, the one Shagraat has clawed).

Light crossbow; damage (1d20+5=18, 1d8=8)

Urthona picks up his crossbow and fires at a sahuagin not yet engaged in hand-to-hand combat (if that is not the case, the one Shagraat has clawed).

Light crossbow; damage (1d20+5=18, 1d8=8)

Probably difficult to get a bead on any due to the difference in height between the main deck and the quarterdeck and the press of people standing around up there. You could delay, if you want, until a more amenable target comes in sight?

Will do.

Andrei.

Andrei.

Ahem!

Then my turn...
Atk;Dmg (1d20 2=12, 1d4 1=4)

Now andrei...

Andrei hits AC 17 for 10 points of damage.

He looks around and calls out how many Sahuagin he sees scuttling around the ship. "We appear to be in a target-rich environment, my comrades!"

Ahem!

Ah, did I miss you out again? By the time of your second attack, there are no sahuagin in immediate range, and since we know that Andrei deals with it, you might want to delay too.

Colvare blows seem to bounce off the thing's hide doing little damage. Andrei slices into the thing's side and with a hiss it slumps over the gunwale.

Rayne:

And it is Rayne's go.

"Four more on each side!" Rayne calls out as he extends a hand over the side of the crow's nest, releasing a purple-and-black jet of arcane power at one of the climbing sahuagin.

Eldritch blast (60' range) at one of the ones climbing up the port side of the ship: 13 + 3 = 16. Damage: 4.

Colvare wrote:

Ahem!

Ah, did I miss you out again? By the time of your second attack, there are no sahuagin in immediate range, and since we know that Andrei deals with it, you might want to delay too.

Actually, I'll take the chance to use the wand on the captain, as Mirra cast on herself, and he is the only other friendly up here...

"Four more on each side!" Rayne calls out as he extends a hand over the side of the crow's nest, releasing a purple-and-black jet of arcane power at one of the climbing sahuagin.

Eldritch blast (60' range) at one of the ones climbing up the port side of the ship: 13 + 3 = 16. Damage: 4.

Another sea devil slips and fall from the ship.

Actually, I'll take the chance to use the wand on the captain, as Mirra cast on herself, and he is the only other friendly up here...

That increases Garton's AC by 1.

Garton shouts out, "Look lively, lads - there's more where they came from!"

That's his action. The sailors ready actions to hit a sahuagin if it comes in range - that's their action, though some will probably go again after the sahuagins' turn on the chart.

Mirra.

Still waiting for Mirra.

Mirra will delay until more targets arise.

Clutching tridents, a veritable tide of sea devils heave themselves on board the Morgata.

OK, sahuagin at A1, A4, A5, A6, A7, B1, C1, D1, D5, D6 and D7. They all provoke AoOs from those nearby, but these ones have actually got on board and won't conveniently fall back in the sea if damaged.

Once the AoOs are dealt with, Mirra, Urthona and the nearby sailors have either delayed or readied actions.

Clutching tridents, a veritable tide of sea devils heave themselves on board the Morgata.

Once the AoOs are dealt with, Mirra, Urthona and the nearby sailors have either delayed or readied actions.

Attacks of Opportunity:

Sailor 2 attacking from C2 to C1: Would have hit AC 7 for 5 points of damage.

Readied Attacks:
Sailor 3 attacking from B2 to B1 (assuming it's still up): Hits AC 14 for 5 points of damage, 5 foot step to A3.

Sailor 2 attacking from C2 to C1: Hits AC 17 for 5 points of damage, 5 foot step to B3.

Attack of Opportunity
If Sailor 4 gets an AoO against the Sahuagin below him in A7: He would likely miss (hits AC 8 for 1 hp)
Sailor 5 attacks from B5 to A4: Misses
Sailor 6 attacks from C7 to D7: Hits AC 13 for 2 points of damage
Sailor 7 attacks from B7 to A7: Hits AC 13 for 6 points of damage
Sailor 8 attacks from C4 to D5: Misses

Readied Actions
Sailor 4 attacks from A8 to A7 (or moves to A7 and attacks A6 if the sahuagin in A7 is dead): Hits AC 20 (critical against AC 16) for 4 points of damage and laughs maniacally.
Sailor 5 attacks from B5 to A4: Hits AC 18 for 4 points of damage and shouts "Yarrgh!".
Sailor 6 attacks from C7 to D7: Hits AC 16 for 4 points of damage and whistles through a gap in his yellow teeth.
Sailor 7 attacks from B7 to A7: Would hit AC 10 for 2 points of damage, and swears a curse to the sea.
Sailor 8 attacks from C4 to D5: Would hit AC 10 for 3 points of damage, looks around, and shudders.

The sailors hack at the sea devils with a fury born of terror. They down two, two sailors downing one on the port side and Jum and another crewman taking down another on the starboard. Mirra steps forward and fires her hand crossbow, but the shot is wide and disappears over the side.

OK, the sahuagin in A7 and D7 have been taken down, and Mirra has had her delayed action. I think Urthona also has a delayed action, but for speed and due to time difference we will assume that Benedetto goes first (though since they are in separate fights it probably doesn't matter anyway).

Revised initiative:
Shagraat: 27
Colvare: 18
Andrei: 16
Rayne: 13
Garton: 12
Sailors: 10
Sahuagin: 3+
Mirra: 3
Jum: 3--
Benedetto: 2
Urthona 2-

Benedetto fires his sling at the Sahuagin in front of him, C1. (That's the Sahuagin who has already taken 5 hp damage.)

His bullet would hit AC 21, for 3 points of damage.

He then moves to B2, between the crewmen and the four Sahuagin. He draws his mace as he does so.

Benedetto's sling stone hits the creature in the eye, and it hisses menacingly.

Urthona.

map updated

Urthona drops his crossbow and draws his longsword. With a snarl he tries to take down the first sahuagin, that gained foothold directly in front of him. "Raaaahhhh."

Rage on, Shift on
Attack (longsword);damage (1d20 8=21, 1d8 5=13)
sigh. No cleave...

I'm assuming that's the sahuagin in D5.

Urthona's sword slashes deep into the sea devil's fishy face and it spins and falls from the deck back into the sea.

Shagraat.

Shagraat blows by the captain, launching into a flying roundhouse halfway down the steps to the main deck aimed at the remaining sahuagin on the starboard side.

Move ends at D7, attack is d20 + 3 = 5!

Behold, the pint of blood technique!