For story purposes, I am not sure Aaron should be included in the division of the loot. He is a newcomer and, besides, the duo of Plugg and Scourge were your characters' nemesis (at this point in time, anyway). Not only that, but as far as WBL goes, he is closer to it than you folks, a fact that perhaps should also be considered.
But since it is being talked about, I will give my two cents about it.
He could indeed use the +1 keen rapier, dual wielding it with a short sword or dagger. He is planning, however, to replace his short swords with wakizashis as soon as he is able to (meaning, as soon as he finds the appropriate weaponsmith or weapons seller), either by reforging them or selling them and then buying the new weapons. So, he could use the weapon until they get to a port and then they sell it, splitting the money perhaps?
As for the +1 studded leather, he does not need it, as he is already wearing a mithral shirt.
Oh, and I am not entirely sure the mage armor spell stacks with the +1 bonus of the +1 padded armor (as it basically grants a +2 armor bonus to AC, while a mundane padded armor grants a +1 armor bonus), to be honest, but I could be wrong.
If you found a smith, you could reforge it to a dagger for Doran.
So there will be a total of 17 votes - the 6 of you, the 7 named NPCs, and the 4 unnamed NPCs. I guess I'll go back and figure out who each of the named NPCs might vote for, and settle for dice rolls on those who I can't figure out.
Will there be declared candidates or will they all be write-ins? I've never been involved in an electoral campaign in a PbP before!
I like the rapier reforging idea, by the way.
Perhaps diplomacy checks required by anyone hoping to be captain to sway the NPCs?
Ollivor is just glad they get to vote on it. He's not going to throw his own hat in. He hasn't got the temperament or the experience at sea.
I think at this stage, Doran and John are the obvious contenders.
For those whose votes I won't be able to figure out, I'll randomly determine if they value Diplomacy or Profession: Sailor more, then do opposed checks.
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Reforging the rapier seems to be the best use of the weapon. I would hate to see something like that go to waste and it makes sense. As far as the voting/naming of captain goes, I'm onboard with the plan for the NPC's. Just like Ollivor said and what we agreed upon during our hike upto Aaron's cabin.. everyone would have a chance to vote for the captain of the ship and the Articles of Agreement would be signed by the new crew.
DM Barcas, how much are you planning to use advanced naval combat rules? I know this has not been brought up before, but it's worth asking since we are getting closer to having a ship.
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A shame we shall never see Captain Owlbear in action
"They freed our slaves, scuttled our ship...and...damn me, there's not a single biscuit left!"
:)
Funny, Olli!
Barcas - I'm not sure how much I want to be captain, but I'll think about that. Mechanically, when you roll the Diplomacy and Profession (sailor) checks, will Doran get to use his trait that allows him to roll a Profession (sailor) check twice and take the higher result?
I don't see why not, for at least one voter.
Hey John - how much of the plan you laid out is stuff you're coming up with and how much of it is stuff you agreed to with Barcas in person?
I'm just trying to figure out if that's the broad outline of the next phase of the campaign, as agreed to you by you two, or your vision of it.
We've spoken at length about possible avenues, but it is ultimately a group decision.
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*nod* Barcas, Thorn and I all discussed several different potential paths that the campaign could take while still following the spirit of the AP over a lunch. What I wrote up is one of the paths that was talked about for possible development. It allows us to still be the good guys, follow the AP and continue several story arcs.
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The following is some material as presented in Pirates of the Inner Sea, I think that it is worth looking over right now since it may apply to us.
Ships cannot function without order and structure. Every captain has her own preferred rules and enforces those edicts in different ways. While the rules may vary from ship to ship, pirates as a group have developed general codes of conduct. When pirates capture an enemy ship, they sometimes offer the crew a choice: join the pirates’ crew, or face slavery or death. A crew willing to turn pirate must sign or swear to a code of conduct. Some articles of a code of conduct mention the most common punishment to be delivered if a sailor breaks a specific rule. Others leave such matters to the captain’s discretion. Punishments include whippings, being put ashore at port, marooning, keelhauling, and death—naturally, vicious and criminal captains tend to gravitate toward more sadistic punishments.
A pirate put ashore at port is dismissed in a loud and obvious manner, so word soon spreads of her disgrace, inhibiting her ability to sign on with a new crew. Marooning involves putting a pirate ashore on a deserted island with nothing but a canteen of water and a knife. These islands are often tiny, with little vegetation and practically no animal life. Marooned pirates face a slow death by starvation, or a quick death through suicide. Keelhauling is the practice of running a long rope underneath a boat and tying the offending pirate to one end. The pirate is then dragged overboard and under the ship, which is often encrusted with a coat of sharp-edged barnacles. If the pirate is dragged quickly, the rapid passage along the barnacles results in deep cuts and occasionally limb loss or complete decapitation. In contrast, by pulling slower, the crew can allow the offending pirate to sink farther and avoid most risk of lacerations, but this greatly increases the risk of drowning.
Pirates killed at sea are most frequently stabbed and unceremoniously thrown overboard, where they are devoured by the sharks that tend to follow boats. Another, more theatrical execution style involves binding and sometimes weighting down the condemned sailor, then forcing her to step off into the sea and drown—the infamous “walking the plank.”
Most ships adhere to elements of the sample codes presented below, with captains picking and choosing as befits their individual inclinations.
Pirates Code
Privateer’s Code
Often called a “privateer’s code” or “gentleman’s code,” the following strictures are usually adhered to only by officers or those sailors whose captains consider themselves to be more than simple criminals—most frequently buccaneers who operate with government approval.
Shipboard Conduct
Many of the following rules are common sense, and may be enforced on pirate, military, and merchant vessels.
Interesting stuff, John. If we adopted some, we'd have to tweak them a bit. For example
Anyone who shows cowardice in the face of the enemy or deserts in battle shall have his throat cut or be marooned.
, if this were shown to Ollivor, he'd point out that he's got magic that scares folks against their will, and they might eventually met foes who could do much the same and it wouldn't exactly be fair to punish folks for that.
While Ollivor will respect the chain of command, he'd likely like something like a regular meeting for officers to voice concerns/complaints to the captain now and then. Harrigan's rule of 'Don't ever talk to me' is still firmly in his memory after all.
Oh... Oh, good grief. Heh... Somebody please tell me this is how we are negotiating from now on.
So here's an idea...
You could have a democracy. "Senior crew" (the PCs) get two votes, "junior crew" get one vote. In times of combat or negotiation, you can break into a designated heirarchy.
I think this is an excellent idea, Barcas. It makes the game run more like most RPGs, where the party as a group decides on actions. And the way you've proposed the votes, if the party is united in a decision, we'll outnumber the NPCs, so we'll decide what happens rather than the NPCs - which make sense, eh?
Since Doran and John are the two who have expressed interest in some kind of leadership, maybe the designated hierarchy you propose could include John taking the lead in combat and Doran in sailing/shipboard emergencies - there are a number of us who could lead in negotiation.
That said, I do like the Mal Reynolds style of negotiation from Aaron's link - but I'm not sure I'd want it to play out in the party.
I miss Firefly so much.
I rather like the idea as well. And I also like Doran's proposition of a shared leadership between John and himself, with the former being a bit more in charge in times of combat and the latter in times of sailing.
As for those occasions where negotiation and/or questioning is in order, most -if not all- have ranks in at least one of the skills involved (Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Sense Motive). And I do plan on having Aaron invest in Intimidate and, perhaps, a little less in Diplomacy and/or Bluff.
As for the clip, well... a lack of jet engines makes it difficult anyway. :-P
I miss Firefly so much.
We say this in my house a lot. I was irrationally pleased yesterday when the DM in another PbP said "Shiny!" when pleased about something - and it was said with just the right frisson of irony.
Glad you like the thoughts I put out there, F. And while we might not have jet engines, we've got a sea full of sharks...
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*smiles* I watched an episode of Firefly a couple of nights ago. It was the one where the crew defends the whore house and Mal finds out that Innara has feeling for him. Such a shame that the series ended. I still want to use the quote from mal.. "We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty." Such a good line.
Anyhow, I read the stuff in the discussion thread and the proposal that Barcas fielded and then Doran's idea. I think it's a good compromise. After your suggestion about diving authority, I went back and read some historical references from Pirate Crew Roles.
Some of the things mentioned..
"Pirates didn't trust authority and therefore saw no reason to let all the power of a ship rest on one man."
Other ideas or random thoughts.
Anyhow, just some random thoughts.
At the risk of our ship foundering under a sea of Firefly quotes:
Jayne: (after refusing to help strangers without pay) "I don't know these folk and I don't care to."
Mal: "They're whores."
Jayne: "I'm in."
Some great ideas in your post, John, and I really like that the historical aspect matches so nicely with what we have in mind. Thanks for the time and effort to look into it all.
And I'm glad we're working this out so peaceful-like, since we're out here at the corner of no and where, where we need to take extra care to survive.
Jayne: "You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin charge here."
Relevant to this discussion.
Relevant to this discussion.
And funny too!
I can see a quiet contest to work Firefly quotes into this game, but they have to be relevant.
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The information I provided came from Isle's of the Shackles Campaign Setting Book. The only change was the mention about Hell's Harbor and who controlled it. In cannon it is listed as under the control of Arronyx Endymion, but that has not happened in this game as Arronyx is still loyal to Cheliax. I also dropped in some NPC's and ships for DM Barcas to use if he wanted to for foreshadowing.
Sorry folks, I missed the part where the vote got tabled so I was thrown off and waiting for it to occur.
Get your final posts in to decompress from Plugg's death and your freedom before I launch us into Chapter II! I'm not going to create a new thread - just continue this one.
Ready to set sail into Book 2! Good luck with the move, John.
John, thanks for the great setting information. It really helps me understand pirate behavior versus privateer conduct . Good luck with the move.
I am first up on the murder board at the moment, so there's an excellent chance I will get something this week. If this happens, I may be AWOL for a few days.
They have announced the sergeant's test as July 25th. I've been studying heavily, and will continue to study heavily until then. Expect my posting to be sporadic.
Very understandable -- Good luck!!
So with my test approaching in six weeks, I am placing both my games on temporary hiatus. My Kingmaker game is going to use the time to build the kingdom with the kingdom building rules. Do any of you have an idea of a way to keep things moving while I study?
Good luck on your test.
As for ideas... I'm not sure. We could try to help you flesh out the NPCs a bit, at least the ones who aren't already so. I had Ollivor dance with a Faiza Bensmoor , and I used her partially because she seemed a blank slate so far and thus easier to slip into that role.
How is everyone doing?
Pretty well. Waiting for that pesky test of yours to be done with so we can get back to the actually important stuff. :-P
In all seriousness... Good luck with the test!
Also doing well. Had a very fun time at PaizoCon, currently on vacation with the family so posting is a bit limited anyway. Ready to set sail again once you ace your test!
I had to go to a funeral recently for an aunt. She was a good woman, but I wasn't that close to her. Mostly I went for my father's sake. It went as well as can be expected.
Now I'm playing catch up on all sorts of other campaigns
I return with good tidings of a high score. I should be high on the list. Are we ready to resume? I need a few days to re-acclimate myself to my normal schedule, but we should be able to pick back up and head to Rickety's soon if everyone is ready.
I can't speak for the others, of course. I'll be traveling tomorrow back home (Visiting family, and thankfully THIS time not for a funeral) but by monday if not sunday night I'll be able to post again. So yes, I suppose I'm ready.
Congratulations on the good score!
Congrats on the high score, I'd expect no less. I'm ready to set sail again! Spent last night on the Throaty Mermaid, ready for some more maritime madness.
Ready and willing.
Congratulations on your test.
Vrunyar is ready to sail as well.
I've checked in with Thorn, which means that we have all our players. I will get my creative thinking cap on and get something up tomorrow! Looking forward to getting started.
John promises a post up soon. I want everyone to get that initial post in to reconnect with the game before I kick us along.
Come tomorrow I will be going on vacation for about a week or so. I will probably have internet access, but even if I do, it will be with a phone or tablet. Long story short, I will try to post, but if I seem to be taking too long, please DMPC as necessary
I will be camping from Tuesday to Saturday, 8/12-8/16, likely with no cell signal. I expect I will be unable to post until I'm back, feel free to bot me as needed.