DM Dr Evil's PFS 00-02 The Hydra Fang Incident (Inactive)

Game Master DM DoctorEvil

Telekenetic Fist: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Archibald curses, balling his gnarled fingers into a fist as a splash forms on the surface of the water, well off of target.

Sahuagin Surprise - Round 2

Just so the encounter seems a little less random...

The remaining Sahuagin calls out in thickly accented common, "Your captain burnt Whittlesssshine, and we jusssst missssed him. You will do asssss an alternate. Die like those he burnt."

Not one to mince words, Milo sends a ray of frost at the enraged attacker, hitting him full force, causing him to grunt in pain as needles of ice form on his skin.

From his distance away on the other boat, Elael can only watch as the others struggle with the sahuagin. At this range even throwing his dagger is unlikely to hit.

The frustrated elf is pleased to see the tag-team of Darvan and his pet tear into the scaly attacker, both the scimitar and the dinosaur score hits, rending the flesh of the sahuagain and resulting in it's demise.

End of Combat

In the Tier 4-5 version there are 5 sahuagins. That's probably more of a challenge for this party with it's pets etc. On to Act 4.

After leaving the corpses of the revenge-minded sahuagin behind, the party navigates the rest of the harbor maze without incident. Arriving near berth 14, they see the Hydra Fang at anchor. From the distance you sit, you can see activity on the decks including one who looks to be the pirate captain himself. It is not near any dock or quay, and the only means of approach is by small craft. The distance between your resting spot and the ship is over 100 ft of open water, with no cover available. Sailors, tars, and lookouts cover the deck, going about the business of making repairs and stowing goods and gear. That beehive of activity makes it hard to imagine covering the distance without being spotted.

From here, you can also see the battle damage sustained by the ship in it's previous infamous engagements. Large holes are evident in the lower decks of the small galliot, and it rides lower in the water than you'd expect. It looks seaworthy, but maybe only barely so.

"Where's a tower shield when you need one..", the half-elf mutters.

Would an enlarged person fit in these boats? And if so, would the increased muscle capacity make one row faster? *laughs*

Hurray!

"See, ain't a gob in this part a the world what don't what this Du Moire's head on a pike." The gnome mutters, with a slight chuckle. "We're doin' everyone a favor."

As the finally come within sight of their quarry (or at least his ship), the Milo observes the situation with the others, scowling.

"How long it gonna take 'em to get that tug movin' once they granny us?" He asks. "We ain't gonna outrow that, if it comes to a race."

GM: How long will it take us to row that 100 feet of open water? Not sure how fast we're moving in these things

"Can toss enough fire ta make any what poke their heads up think twice... but will run out eventually if we don't close the gap right quick."

shrug, not sure what the best line of approach is. Looks like we might have to make a break for it. The sob is probably easily spooked, given the entire inner sea seems after him.

We're not a ranged-heavy bunch, with just a couple of slings and some daggers, but milo's got 4 rounds of flame he can toss with a 120' range, plus 4 more rounds of small bursts via Snapdragon Fireworks (400' range) ... which might be enough to cover us on the way in, but the later might start setting things on fire if he's not careful... which he might not be.... =)

Gonna be quite the lightshow to see from a distance if he does though!

No real good guidance on rowboat speed that i can find. I would suggest a base rowing rate equal to 20' per round and add 5' per round for every two your rower exceeds a DC 10 Strength check? Makes sense? If he rolls an 17, then you get an extra 5' per round. If he fails by 5 or more, you lose 5' for every two. Sound fair?

There are rowboats listed under vehicles in Ultimate Combat, see here. Dunno if these are the same sorts of boats

"Let us see if we can plan this safely." says Elael, crouching in his rowboat alongside his Pathfinder compatriots. "We should open up with Milo firing his new firework trick - that doesn't seem like it uses up much of his spell-energy and he can keep them occupied for as long as we approach. The ship doesn't look too seaworthy, but I'm sure a fire or two on her would dissuade an escape from the only nearby dock." He strokes his little elven chin. "I've got a potion I can make myself unseen with...Probably gonna drink that as we approach. I'm a lot more dangerous when I'm unseen. Other than that we oughta just hunker down behind shields and row hard."

We have shields? =)

Milo's eyes glitter as visions of fiery destruction dance through his head.

"Sounds fine. I'd lob some stones at them too, but I should probably row," the halfling says. "Hey do either of you have some rope? Getting Tug up onto that boat might be a chore."

Tug's ears perk up at the mention of his name.

"I can enlarge one of us when we get closer. That person can put the other onboard if necessary?"

WE can use these vehicle rules so kindly brought to us by THE Milo. The max speed is 30' per turn, but the acceleration is 10'. In order to accelerate requires a drive check which will be DC 10 STR checks. You can also "Keep it Going" as a move action. Need to decide who the drivers for each boat will be.

ONce the drivers have been identified, they can start the action with a note, then we'll roll initiative and act in order with the boat moving on the driver's count. Until then, you are watching the ship.

Whoever has the decent strength scores gets to row, of course...

Perhaps just keep the same boat setup we've already got, (Milo, Tobi, and Elael in one... Darvin, Jalias, and Archi in the other?), with Darvin on oars in the 1st boat, and Tobi working the oars in the 2nd? For simplicities sake?

Milo will pre-cast his Produce Flame spell-like ability as they head out, ready to toss!

I got more STR than Tobold .. and very limited ranged options seeing as that Acid Splash only has 25f range at this level :D might be handy to have me row.(

Shrug, switch Elael and Jalias then?

When given the sign, the half-elf starts rowing with all the strength he has. The boat has to get into motion real quick if they want to stand any chance at all to make it to the ship. The boatsmen were far out of the reach for his spells and if they had bows or crossbows, well, they were sitting ducks.

STR check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

I checked and he has some nice to hit modifiers with a ling that also happens to do some damage. I'm not sure if it will matter much (probably not, since we're making a big fuss about it, ha), but one can never be too meticulous in these matters :')

Archibald sits, arms folded, sulkily wringing out the hem of his robe.

Archibald has only close range magic, so unless we want to try to burning hands the hull, Archibald will be useless until we're on the ship proper.

I'm confused - is Darvan rowing the other boat?

You were volunteered as the muscle of the group. =)

K, I just thought that Jalias was in my boat, but he's rowing...

Strength: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Darvan sits and grabs the oars. When the others have confirmed their readiness, he begins pulling on them, moving the boat closer to the ship with each stroke.

Just so we are clear, Boat 1 has Tobold (driving), Elael, and Milo (and tug). Boat 2 has Darvan, Archie, and Jalias (and the dinosaur). Darvan has the most strength in Boat 2 and is the official driver as of now. I separated the two pets before the Sahuagin attack. Can't see all those people/pets in one little rowboat.

Act 4: Boarding the Fang - Round 1

Boat 1 (Tobold, Elael, Milo) 100ft
Boat 2 (Darvan, Jalias, Archibald) 100ft
Status - unseen

25 Milo
21 Tobold
18 Brigands
13 DuMoire
12 Elael
11 Archibald
10 Darvan
5 Jalias

Milo and Tobold to start. Per the vehicle rules, the boats move on the drivers count. Standard action and a driving check DC 10 to do simple actions like accelerate, turn, stop, etc. Higher DC for complex maneuvers. Move Action to "keep it going" at whatever speed you've accelerated to, max 30' per round from zero to start. Rest can call out ranged actions or whatever, as necessary. Good luck, hope it's clear...

Not quite...
Boat 1: Elael, Archibald, Darvan (driving), and Sahba.
Boat 2: Milo, Tobi, Tug, and Jalias (driving)

Mile stands in the prow of the rowboat, as Jalias rows. One hand grips the gunwale with white knuckled ferocity while a fierce glowing flame burns brightly in the other, flickering.

There is a gleam in the gnome's eyes as fierce as the flame in his hand, as they scan the upcoming ship intently.

He mumbles subconsciously under his breath in draconic, though what exactly is not immediately evident.

Milo is sticking to his part of the assault... that being covering fire!

So, readying an action to throw fire at the first person on the boat that looks like they might be preparing to repel boarders! At this point in the approach, that means anyone that shows a ranged weapon that they might be thinking of firing our way... he's not going to be too discerning! If he sees no one with a ranged weapon, he'll target anyone that appears to be trying to get the boat under sail... and failing that, anyone who looks like this Du Moire bastard!

Currently: 4 shots remaining on his produce flame

If and when it triggers:
Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 3 - 1 = 15 for 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 fire damage

Archibald, noisily, conjures a scroll of obscuring mist from the depths of his robe. He taps the bridge of his nose and grins conspiratorially to Elael across from him. "... In case things go, what is that expression... pyriform?" he says, turning to Darvan. "... and DO row faster, would you?"

I immediately thought of Archy when I discovered that there's actually a technical term for "pear-shaped".

heh, I have no doubt this is going to go pyriform either! Either that or we row all the way up and no one notices us... As Jalias pointed out... we probably overthought it. =)

But for now, I like the image of the amphibious landing party storming the beaches under enemy fire! (though backwards, of course... more like the beaches storming the amphibious assault... hmmm)

So it looks like the drivers ended up last on the initiative count. Checking if Elael or Tobold have any real actions before the boats move the first time?

As Milo readies his spellcasting, and Tobold prepares his sling, activity on the deck continues as normal.

Archibald takes out his scroll and the boat drivers, Jalias and Darvan, but there backs into it trying to get the boats moving.

Nah, Elael's just gonna switch to one of his mundane daggers this round.

As the rest of the party prepares for battle, Elael does his own preparations by sheathing his favorite dagger and drawing one of his mundane ones. He has many daggers, and the shick of the blade is evident as he grasps one of the many hilts protruding from his armor.

Elael's eye darts to Archibald's scroll when he draws it. "Just don't interfere with my knife work," he says.

Act 4: Boarding the Fang - Round 1 - concluded

Both the drivers push their boats forward. The boats accelerate to 10'/round and then continue at that rate as a Move Action.

End of Round 1

Act 4: Boarding the Fang - Round 2

Boat 1 (Tobold, Elael, Milo) 80ft
Boat 2 (Darvan, Jalias, Archibald) 80ft
Status - unseen

25 Milo
21 Tobold
18 Brigands
13 DuMoire
12 Elael
11 Archibald
10 Darvan
5 Jalias

Milo and Tobold up first if any new actions. If they pass, the brigands aboard the ship are unaware of the little crafts approaching so far. You can see they are still moving supplies to repair the ship.

The enemies on deck get perception checks where the DC eases the closer you get. So far they have failed. Drivers need Drive check to accelerate to 20' or just move actions to keep it going at 10'/rd.

Still confused - you've still got Darvan and Jalias in the same boat...

Milo will continue to just do the same thing each round until they are spotted. ie: ready an action to fire the afore mentioned fiery missile.
So just keep that going til its happens, or its no longer relevant.

Ha, I now see that this goes on survival, meaning I got a -1 on it. Maybe we should let Darvan drive this damned thing xD

Darvin's driving the other one!

Stop your bellyachin', and row!

Assuming the GM is okay with the seating change...

Darvan tries to accelerate the small craft, back straining against the oars.

Strength: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Yes, I am ok with seating change, I had it wrong. Milo's list is correct:

Boat 1: Elael, Archibald, Darvan (driving), and Sahba.
Boat 2: Milo, Tobi, Tug, and Jalias (driving)

Boat Driving for these boats is a STR check only. Need one from Jalias if he wants to accelerate to keep up.

AS the rest of the group sits nervously by, waiting to be noticed on their open-sea approach, Darvan strains against the current pulling the small craft faster through the water.

Boat 1 speeds to 20'/round.

Tobi readies his sling in case they are seen.

Jalias rows and rows, but the worrying sight in front of him - that of a ship, manned with sailors, who are most likely armed and soon to be aware of their approach - somehow ain't motivating him the way it should.

STR: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

The second boat with Jalias rowing lags behind the other as the wizard is unable get the speed his boat up.

ENd of Round 2

Darvan again accelerates the small craft, sending it flying across the water.

Strength: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Act 4: Boarding the Fang - Round 3

Boat 1 (Darvan(driving) Elael, Archibald) 60ft away -speed 20'/round
Boat 2 (Jalias (driving), Milo, Tobold) 70ft away - speed 10'/round
Status - unseen

25 Milo
21 Tobold
18 Brigands
13 DuMoire
12 Elael
11 Archibald
10 Darvan (driving)
5 Jalias (driving)

As the party readies action, expecting to come under fire at any moment. They can see the figures on deck much closer, and those with sharp eyes can see the dashing figure of Darseille DuMoire on deck encouraging the repairs to move faster and pacing like a caged lion.

Suddenly one of the crew cries out, pointing in your direction, and DuMoire races to the gunwale shock registering on his handsome face. You have been spotted! The captain and crew scramble for bows preparing to fire at the amphibious assault team.

Following Initiative Counts, let's get your readied actions going. Drivers don't forget STR checks to speed up. It's a move action to "keep it going", but evasive actions are also a check. AS you close in on the ship, you might need to consider slowing down, or risk hitting the bigger boat at full speeed. Slowing is also a STR check.

Annoyed by his inability to get the boat going, Jalias adds a secret ingredient to the mix: frustration.

STR: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
I know it ain't my turn (yet), but this is what Jalias will do once it IS his turn. Row row row the boat ..

Now that they've been spotted, Elael will draw and drink his potion of invisibility, hoping to avoid harm before they board and perhaps to get the drop on somebody later on.

Invisibility, three minutes.

Milo's afore mentioned continued readied action will trigger, as he hurls a ball of flame towards the first sailor to point a ranged weapon at them!

The young gnome standing in the prow of the second rowboat suddenly animates as they are spotted. With a string of angry cuss words and insults all in orcish, he starts flinging magical fire with his free hand, the flames easily sailing across the interposing distance.

He seems completely oblivious to the fact he is making himself a rather apparent target for those same crewmen.

As the commotion on deck becomes apparent and Milo starts tossing flames, Tobi's finally lets fly the sling bullet he'd prepared.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 5 - 2 = 10
Sling Damage: 1d3 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Unfortunately the distance allowed his target plenty of time to avoid the missile.

Act 4: Boarding the Fang - Round 3 - continued

Seeing the crewmen react, Milo launches flames across the water at them. The flaming orb strikes one of the crewmen consuming him quickly in a ball of flames, he falls over the side burned to a crisp.

Nearby, Tobold fires a sling at another crewman, but the long distance shot cannot find an accurate mark.

From the deck, DuMoire directs another crewman's fire at the nearest boat. The crewman sizes up targets and chooses to fire his missile at Darvan, who is crewing the boat and unable to dodge easily.

Many other missiles and thrown objects fly at the oncoming boats, but none of the distance or accuracy to worry the oncoming Pathfinders.

On his boat, Elael blinks out of sight, consuming his potion of invisibility.

Darvan and Jalias both speed their crafts up, the first boat now at max speed flying across the water, the second boat slightly behind.

Crewman arrow, vs FF AC: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Darvan damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Will see if Archibald posts an action tomorrow. If not, we'll move to the next round, so ready your actions for that slot.

Next round, Milo will continue to throw fire!

This time targeting the bastard that shot Darvan.

Currently: 3 shots remaining on his produce flame

Ranged Touch in bright light: 1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 3 - 1 = 19 for 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 fire damage.

Invisible Elael taps Darvan with his healing wand in an attempt to keep the druid awake and rowing. They needed him to row! Elael certainly wasn't going to do it.

UMD: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
Healing to Darvan: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

The half-elf hoped that whatever arrows would come their way, weren't come his way. And that's all he could hope for.

STR: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Rowing and accelerating.

Darvan, seeing the larger vessel approaching rather quickly, decides to begin decelerating his craft.

Round 4 action: Slow the boat
Strength (Slow boat): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Archibald will ready a Telekenetic Fist for whenever he's within 30ft.

Touch Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3