DM Immortal's Blood Red Roses: A Skull & Shackles Campaign

Game Master imimrtl

When Jiro chimes in about the boarding rarity, Variel realizes that he hasn't given that aspect much thought yet. Who should be involved with the boarding party? It seems that most of the crew are going to be needed to help Rain maneuver the ship correctly. That might just leave some of us for the actual task of capturing a ship. Correct me if I am wrong, Dhaavan, but I think you would prefer to stay here and use your summons from safety. Depending on how your crew is doing at the ballista Flynn, you may or may not be joining in. That leaves Jiro, Valeros and myself to lead the boarding action. Rain and Flynn would probably be able to join in moments later. Looking to Jiro and Valeros at this point, Do you think we three can hold them off until Dhaavan, your eagles show up and Rain and Flynn arrive?

Valeros you have the healing necessary to keep upright and in a fight. Jiro, I have seen you wing from the yardarms and I know you can position yourself favorably. I can rely on my magic for the first couple of seconds. Do you think then this is the best plan until we find the ship itself of course?

Pondering, Dhaavan notes, "There's only so much a Charm can do. There's very little control I can exert, but if the Captain's in a place where he'd want his crew to live, I Might be able to push 'im ta ordering his folk ta cooperate. Now in terms o' what to do with the boat, I think it'd be a waste ta sink it, unless it's a wreck already. Hate ta waste a particular fine craft."

"While I don't think we need or would want a second ship, we could try to sell it at port, or trade it for loot. If we lock most of their crew in the bilges to man the oars, then it should only take a few of us to man the captured ship, and any what turn-coat can replace our mates here on the Lady. That way we can get both ships to port easy enough. Then again we could also simply set the un-manned boat loose to float away"

"crippling the ship so it can't give chase can work too. There'd be survivors to tell how we took the ship, but didn't go murderin' all o the crew like savages. May help the reputation, if it spreads that we let any what surrender loose to crawl home, so sailors'd be more likely ta do so."

"That's assuming their ship even has oars.... If not, and if we can't manage both ships, we can always just let them go without their cargo. They'll be free to return to port and tell the tale, furthering our reputation as both pirates, and merciful ones at that."

"As for boarding parties, I think three or four of us is too few. But once the ships are close enough for boarding to be possible, we probably won't need a gunnery crew any more and they can join the boarding party, as can some of the sailors, as we won't need any swabs and fewer riggers until we're ready to make way again. Just seems ta me, anyway."

Pondering, Dhaavan notes, "There's only so much a Charm can do. There's very little control I can exert, but if the Captain's in a place where he'd want his crew to live, I Might be able to push 'im ta ordering his folk ta cooperate. Now in terms o' what to do with the boat, I think it'd be a waste ta sink it, unless it's a wreck already. Hate ta waste a particular fine craft."

"While I don't think we need or would want a second ship, we could try to sell it at port, or trade it for loot. If we lock most of their crew in the bilges to man the oars, then it should only take a few of us to man the captured ship, and any what turn-coat can replace our mates here on the Lady. That way we can get both ships to port easy enough. Then again we could also simply set the un-manned boat loose to float away"

"crippling the ship so it can't give chase can work too. There'd be survivors to tell how we took the ship, but didn't go murderin' all o the crew like savages. May help the reputation, if it spreads that we let any what surrender loose to crawl home, so sailors'd be more likely ta do so."

”Lad – this ship don’t have oars; we’re a sailing ship – and to get the job done we need sailors on the deck working with us to change halyards and refasten lines; that sort of thing.”

”Meantime, let's think it out here; I mean - do the math, eh? If we lose more than five lads on here, we’re not sailing at full crew capacity, right?”

”If they have less lads than us, chances are that they won't be at full capacity when we find them – and if we kill the few that they have – they certainly won’t be at full crew compliment.”

”If they have more than us – who says we win that fight?”

Horatio rubs his chin thoughtfully at the prospect.

”I think maybe before we try capturing a ship that we end up getting more men. The math don’t add up otherwise.”

Horatio glances at Seijiro regarding the reputation suggestion as he continues to chomp on the tobacco quid.

”Good thinking, Red – if we let ‘em live to scare up a reputation, that might not be too bad a thing, neither.”

”We take the valuables and leave them food and necessities only – and maybe a warning to the effect – If you see us on the high seas and surrender; we spare your lives, let you keep your ship and lives, and even give you some of the coin – I mean, not all of the loot, but just enough that they can get into town and disappear if needed.”

”One that tale gets out, you may even find lads who will want us to find them; we pirate them and they can keep some of the loot without much a fight, they live – and they return to their bosses and say – Yo, chief – what do you want from me? We got pirated, and lost everything – it happens! – and than they can take the little pay-off we gave them and maybe give us a tip on when a really big haul is coming by, so there ain’t no guesswork.”

Horatio grins easily at the suggestion on how to cripple a ship.

”Crippling a ship’s easy – just use "hot shot" against her sails, and while they scramble to put out the fires – they ain’t sailing anywhere, and we got ‘em. Also – sails are pretty easy to replace. Most ship’s carry at least a spare set or two on board; for an emergency, be it bad storms, pirates, or whatever…”

”Failing that – we fire "chain shot" at their masts. Again – I never heard tell of a fighting ship without at least a spare mast on board in case the main mast snaps in a storm. If that happens you can lash the replacement to the stump and sail with it – crude, and slow – but a mast is nothing to the cost of a new ship.”

"But the thing is - before we do that, I reckon we need more men."

Rain listens as Flynn takes the floor again and voices possible issues.

"So, Flynn, are you saying then that we should plot a course straight to Bloodcove, recruit additional crewmen and then return to hit the shipping lanes?"

Rain is attempting to get the first part of Flynn's concerns straight in her mind as he has a roundabout way of speaking. She needs a clear statement one way or another.

Rain listens as Flynn takes the floor again and voices possible issues.

"So, Flynn, are you saying then that we should plot a course straight to Bloodcove, recruit additional crewmen and then return to hit the shipping lanes?"

Rain is attempting to get the first part of Flynn's concerns straight in her mind as he has a roundabout way of speaking. She needs a clear statement one way or another.

"Nope - I'm saying if we want to take a ship and keep her as our own; to sell, to to use, or whatever - aye; then we'd need to get more crew."

"If our only plan is to attack a ship - fight them until they surrender, take their valuables - leave them a bit of supplies and what-not; then we got enough to give that plan a whirl right now."

He looks at her with a sly grin.

"Now; what I was asking was if you all wanted to try to pirate a ship to take her outright and sell her, or keep her - or whatever; or if you like Plan B - which was the bit about taking their loot and stuff and leaving them alive."

His fingers twirl absently in his hair, as if it is habit.

"Of course; the way I see it, if we left them alive on a beat up ship; with less than a full crew; hell... I don't see how we can take their captain hostage, on account of the fact that they won't be able to get home, which means - unless we take them all with us; if we leave them without a captain in the middle of the ocean - they gotta know they're dead unless they manage to beat us."

"So if we talk about ransoming the captain or the pilot - or whoever; I think that's not a good plan. It feels a bit too close to slavery for me; and it forces an enemy to figure - It's a fight to the death; if I don't win, I'm dead as they'll take the captain and I can't navigate home, which means that I can't surrender, or I'll be dead very quickly. - You see what I mean?"

"Hell, I like Plan B better - I don't think we got enough lads to take another ship to keep - but if we want to play nice with them, we have to at least convince them they have a chance to live if they surrender, and that means we can't take the only folk on their ship who can get them home."

Okay, so Flynn was originally alright with killing all the enemy crew but he's opposed to taking the Captain as hostage/bargaining chip because it's akin to slavery? Confusing philosophy.

Rain sighs inwardly. She does not trust herself to speak lest her ire show. She is silent a full minute or two after Flynn is done speaking, again.

She looks at Jiro, firstly, and calmly speaks. "Your plan to elevate our reputation, by leaving the opposing crew alive with fair warning, is a sensible one and has merit. Because of our shortfall in crewmen and my moral conscience, I vote to simple take their cargo and leave the opposing crew alive to tell the tell."

Rain then goes quiet and waits to see how the others will vote.

Before I answer your dilemma Flynn I would ask Jiro and Rain a question first. Do they feel adequatet to sailing a vessel with a shortened crew? If so, then it may be possible to still pilot two ships to port to sell one of them. I think the risk would be worth it if they feel up to the task.

DC: 5 to sail normally during the day with no problems. At half crew -10 penalty to the check but can take ten. With the modifications to the Lady we should not have an issue with Jiro being the pilot and rain with her driving feat and ranks should be able to pilot the other ship. The only problem is if we get attacked or if the weather turns bad.

Okay, so Flynn was originally alright with killing all the enemy crew but he's opposed to taking the Captain as hostage/bargaining chip because it's akin to slavery? Confusing philosophy.

Thinking over Variel's questions carefully, Seijiro replies with an emphatic nod. "Hai, Variel, I think that could be done, given fair weather and clear seas. But if we run into trouble, I'm not sure that it's a good idea. Rain, with her sense of such things, can probably predict our weather well enough to decide if we can do this. But no one can predict the paths of other free captains on the waters, and we would be an easy mark for sure."

With your current crew complement the only way you would be able to take a ship at this point is to force the captured crew to work the ship for you. You could split your crew but then you would have two ships vulnerable to weather and opposing ships.

Before I answer your dilemma Flynn I would ask Jiro and Rain a question first. Do they feel adequatet to sailing a vessel with a shortened crew? If so, then it may be possible to still pilot two ships to port to sell one of them. I think the risk would be worth it if they feel up to the task.

DC: 5 to sail normally during the day with no problems. At half crew -10 penalty to the check but can take ten. With the modifications to the Lady we should not have an issue with Jiro being the pilot and rain with her driving feat and ranks should be able to pilot the other ship. The only problem is if we get attacked or if the weather turns bad.

I think at this point we have 25 on the ship - we need 20 to sail her decently, and we need at least half of that to sail her at all.

If we meet another ship with 25 guys like us - that's a total of 50. If each side loses only 5-10 men, that's cool. If we lose more, we'll be hard up - and so will they.

Also - regarding a rule clarification - don't we need to squib a ship before we sell it or something? I could be wrong here, but I thought we did. On the other hand, if we sell an "unsquibbed" ship via a "hot item" - we may get less than it's value from a buyer, but it's better than nothing.

Sorry - the squibbing thing is just confusing to me is all; I don't know if we have to do that each time we take a ship, or not. If you have any follow-up on it, I would appreciate it, as I haven't been able to find stuff on it; if we decide to capture another ship at all, that is.

With your current crew complement the only way you would be able to take a ship at this point is to force the captured crew to work the ship for you. You could split your crew but then you would have two ships vulnerable to weather and opposing ships.

Ninja'd by the GM :)

The squibbing is for those that want to keep a ship and not open themselves up for revenge like with Harrigan. Now when you go in, you aren't the men that stole the man's promise from harrigan, you are the crew of the dread lady who have nothing to do with those thieving bastards, etc. Now if you come face to face with Harrigan he's obviously going to know its you but until then you are just another up and coming pirate crew.

Flynn: your knowledge local was enough to get the rest of the Tidewater Rock story. It refers to a small castle called Tidewater Rock that commands a small, protected harbor on a remote island south of Motaku Isle. It is said that anyone who can claim Tidewater Rock as her own will
have good luck, as the castle makes a strategic watch point from which one can strike the nearby shipping lanes. Most Free Captains have better things to do than pursue old wives’ tales, but a new pirate captain would surely find a boost to her reputation were she able to claim that she
had “cracked the Rock.”

With your current crew complement the only way you would be able to take a ship at this point is to force the captured crew to work the ship for you. You could split your crew but then you would have two ships vulnerable to weather and opposing ships.

Exactly, possible,but fraught with danger. High risk, high reward situation.

To answer your fourth point Flynn, your right when it comes to pirates and the like. No one would probably pay a ransom for them. A merchant ship though would have better connections and thus the ability to pay the ransom of a good captain. Further I think that on a merchant ship with crew tat gets paid a wage, they are not going to continue fighting if they see the captain has been captured. If they respect and honor their captain then the threat of us killing their captain may keep them from fighting more. Comes down to perspective I guess. Variel wants to keep the bloodshed to a minimum to prevent our crew from being injured. Easiest way to do that and accomplish our goals is to take the captain down quick.

The squibbing is for those that want to keep a ship and not open themselves up for revenge like with Harrigan. Now when you go in, you aren't the men that stole the man's promise from harrigan, you are the crew of the dread lady who have nothing to do with those thieving bastards, etc. Now if you come face to face with Harrigan he's obviously going to know its you but until then you are just another up and coming pirate crew.

Flynn: your knowledge local was enough to get the rest of the Tidewater Rock story. It refers to a small castle called Tidewater Rock that commands a small, protected harbor on a remote island south of Motaku Isle. It is said that anyone who can claim Tidewater Rock as her own will
have good luck, as the castle makes a strategic watch point from which one can strike the nearby shipping lanes. Most Free Captains have better things to do than pursue old wives’ tales, but a new pirate captain would surely find a boost to her reputation were she able to claim that she
had “cracked the Rock.”

Sounds like a plot hook to me. First hit a ship for loot, then port for crew and supplies, third Tidewater Rock.

Rain looks to Variel as she answers his question steadily. "The ocean is an unpredictable mistress. Aye, as Jiro said, I can gleam the weather fair enough but not the movement of other ships on the lanes. If something unexpected were to occur, I do not know if I could manage a large, overloaded merchant vessel on my own without assistance so we can reach harbour with little to no damage. To trust or rely on the opposing crew to aid me as I pilot their ship is a dangerous venture. It seems the risks are very high, Variel."

DM Immortal wrote:

With your current crew complement the only way you would be able to take a ship at this point is to force the captured crew to work the ship for you. You could split your crew but then you would have two ships vulnerable to weather and opposing ships.

Exactly, possible,but fraught with danger. High risk, high reward situation.

To answer your fourth point Flynn, your right when it comes to pirates and the like. No one would probably pay a ransom for them. A merchant ship though would have better connections and thus the ability to pay the ransom of a good captain. Further I think that on a merchant ship with crew tat gets paid a wage, they are not going to continue fighting if they see the captain has been captured. If they respect and honor their captain then the threat of us killing their captain may keep them from fighting more. Comes down to perspective I guess. Variel wants to keep the bloodshed to a minimum to prevent our crew from being injured. Easiest way to do that and accomplish our goals is to take the captain down quick.

Eh, again - a lot of "ifs" to me. I mean, I figure that most merchants aren't naval captains. For example, in the Dutch East India Company they would often have a skilled and competent captain hired on to control the ship - but the ship was "Company Property" and subject to the needs of the company, so they would also have a "Company Agent" on board; who would have legal control over the ship - except for matters of sailing, in which a captain could override him - but only for the safety of the ship at sea.

It's also kind of like the "Political Officer" on board Soviet naval vessels - he was the one who had the main connections; the skipper ran the ship, but always with the knowledge that the "Political Officer" would make sure the skipper didn't overstep his bounds, except for matters of seamanship.

I don't know who is right about what we'll find, but this is what my character would have guessed is all.

Horatio would assume that if we attacked a merchant ship specifically we'd probably find some grizzled and tough captain who knows his ropes, handles a sword, knows navigation and the like, and maybe has some financial stock in the company, but he spent his life learning to fight and sail. But if it's a decent merchant house, I'd assume the real "boss" would be some fat merchant who spent all his time reading accounts and reports and learning how to make money, not sail or command men. Multi-classing is a risky business; why hire have a captain "talk business" when they get into port to do the deal, instead of a specifically trained merchant who works for the company and can make the deals when they reached their destination? So like - if the captain said "Guy's we had it - surrender" - I would think that stodgy merchant might say "Fight on you fools; I can't afford to lose this cargo! A 1,000 gold pieces to the man who obeys me when we reach port!" - So at that point I'd figure we need to find someone like him to go after; if we threaten him enough, he may order the others to back off to save his own neck.

Also, I would assume that such a man would be on-board the ship with a private body-guard (maybe) - but his job would be to make sure the "cargo" (whatever that is) is protected and that the captain and his men treat the cargo with "respect" (as in "Oh, be careful with that you dolt! That's a very rare so-and-so); and also that when their ship reaches port that the merchant-type guy would instantly meet with the other merchants to get down to business via Appraise and Diplomacy/Intimidate and Profession checks out the whazoo.

I would also assume that he would be more important in the merchant company (as he knows all their financial secrets, or likely most of them), easier to capture (if he wasn't cowering behind a closed door) - and that if we captured such a man, we'd make more money ransoming him than the captain (captain's are easy to find; a man who can run a successful merchant house - not so easy), and I'd also suspect he would be able to "order" the captain to quit fighting; if we threatened him.

If a fat, rich merchant was pulling the strings, I'd also wager that the relationship between him and a captain would be similar to the one between any military man and a pencil-pusher, and the captain may be just as happy to work for us, rather than the merchant, if we're not jerks to the captain.

In game I would think that if we attacked a merchant ship - we may get lucky; than again - it may be pirate ship we attack accidentally; and we won't know until we fight her.

I would guess that a merchant ship may not have weapons on her - but it's likely she will, for protection, especially if she's rich; so from a distance I don't know if we would be able to tell she is a merchant ship or a pirate ship.

Anyhow - those are all guesses on my part, just thoughts and ideas. I'm posting them here again because it's something my character would have tried to have made more clear, but I don't always explain things very well :)

But in case, it's all good - you guys decide what we do; just tell me when to pull the trigger ;)

The squibbing is for those that want to keep a ship and not open themselves up for revenge like with Harrigan. Now when you go in, you aren't the men that stole the man's promise from harrigan, you are the crew of the dread lady who have nothing to do with those thieving bastards, etc. Now if you come face to face with Harrigan he's obviously going to know its you but until then you are just another up and coming pirate crew.

Flynn: your knowledge local was enough to get the rest of the Tidewater Rock story. It refers to a small castle called Tidewater Rock that commands a small, protected harbor on a remote island south of Motaku Isle. It is said that anyone who can claim Tidewater Rock as her own will
have good luck, as the castle makes a strategic watch point from which one can strike the nearby shipping lanes. Most Free Captains have better things to do than pursue old wives’ tales, but a new pirate captain would surely find a boost to her reputation were she able to claim that she
had “cracked the Rock.”

Dude, if that's real and not a rumor, and we can take it over, we could make that like our own base of operations or colony. I thought the island where we found the Grindy's was a good place - it had fields and a good position on a mountain, and lots of other stuff. But this sounds a lot better for sure.

GM - if that's true, I got to say "Fracking Sweet'!"

After listening to Jiro and Flynn's assessments, DHaavan replies, "When we attacked with Harrigan, we had a more Shock-and-Awe strategy, and it worked. If we have some of the less hands-on sort stay on board, and man the sails till we are able to board, then they can attack at range. We can get a few folks up on the fighting top, like Ratline, have them give range support. I'll be up there and cast summons onto the deck, Have my birds attack the helmsman, then let my hounds wreak some havoc on deck."

Glancing at Rain, at first, Dhaavan "The problem with sailing for Bloodcove, Flynn. We can try to get more men, but we got a spear, and that's about it. Sure it's worth a lot of coin ,but without the promise of loot where are we going to get folks. Wath we scored from Plugg was nice, but think about it, we roll into Blood Cove with a rhyme and a song, we may not find any decent sailors willing to join up."
I wrote all that a bit ago but guess it didn't post and i'm not deleting it

"We don't have oars on our ship, but if the ship we find does, it may be possible to crew it with minimal investment, but there's no way of knowing that. Although if it were a small ship with extra crew to manage it, then there may be enough considering casualties."

Out of Character, beating the captain in combat is how we win a ship-to-ship battle according to the rules. If they win, their crew wins. if we win, our crew wins. that's how the combat works according to the guide. so the captain is our target.

All this talk about what to do with the ship and debating about options based on variables that there is no way of anticipating is somewhat tiresome, and seeing the potential for debate about options that may or may not work based on things we don't know, Dhaavan chimes in, "Ideally, we capture the captain and the crew surrenders. I'll be able to get the crew to obey us using Charms on the Captain, perhaps ransom, and we will be able to get both ships to port, one to sell off. That sounds like the best possible scenario." Dhaavan looks for nods of agreement in that this way we havethe most to gain.

"We try to capture the Captain and do it quick, avoid damaging the ship too much bayond what we have to do to keep it from getting away from us. Worst that happens, we got a crew willign to fight to the death, kill the captain, put down the crew and sink the boat, any what surrender we can keep supervised doing menial work here till we cut 'em loose at port." WIth the extremes covered, we have priorities.

"Whatever of these goals we can manage, we go for, and when it's over we'll know what we have to work with and can figure out what to do with it?"

Horatio lifts a glass to his mouth and spits a stream of tobacco juice into it.

He suddenly notices a point in the conversation he hadn’t been paying attention to, and it confuses him.

”Wait – what do you mean ‘boarding party”?” he asks.

”I may be wrong, but learning always told me that a boarding party was a group that was sent from one ship to another – generally via a longboat or cutter – and they’re the lot who boards the enemy vessel and does the knifework.”

”It sounds like you’re talking about how we want to attack a ship full on?”

Horatio glances around the room, looking at the others.

”Makes no difference to me, but what’s wrong with what we did before? I mean – shoot ‘em at range with weapon and spells, tack course to move to flank and give her full broadside to soften her up – than tack back closer ‘till we’re in range of grapples; toss grapples, rush across and do the job – neat as neat?”

”Hell – if we do it that way, we keep folk on the Fighting Top – them like Dhaavan or any with a ranged weapon to cast or hit at distance with cover; than we move to send over the melee fighters from our main deck to theirs; and keep others in the rear to man the artillery and fire into the thick of the enemy; or – if things are going bad – to either cut grapples and get the ships apart, and everyone on the other side dives in to be hauled up – or they leave the artillery and simply rush over as back-up; where the fighting is thickest?”

Horatio glances at the others, curious as to what they’ll say.

Maybe I just ask too many questions that they kind of don’t pay much attention. I don’t think half of them are listening to me. Like, did you notice not one of them said anything on your question about what do we do with the magic gear we got before we get to port? Should we just leave it in a locker gathering dust, or lend it to the one best suited to handle it in a fight until then?

He grins a bit.

Eh – to hell with it. You already asked – if they don’t want to answer about that, or other things, well – that’s their business. But that being the case, I reckon I’ll have to make sure before we hit an enemy that I help myself to that gear; at least for a fight before the next port - unless they say something on it...

If someone don’t like it – a pox on ‘em! I asked once, if they don’t care, I reckon I’ll just take it; what harm will it do, so long as I don’t keep it. We’ll likely need every bloody advantage we can get – why not dish it out?.

Yeah, if they would have had a problem with that idea, they'd have said something before...

After listening to Jiro and Flynn's assessments, DHaavan replies, "When we attacked with Harrigan, we had a more Shock-and-Awe strategy, and it worked. If we have some of the less hands-on sort stay on board, and man the sails till we are able to board, then they can attack at range. We can get a few folks up on the fighting top, like Ratline, have them give range support. I'll be up there and cast summons onto the deck, Have my birds attack the helmsman, then let my hounds wreak some havoc on deck."

Glancing at Rain, at first, Dhaavan "The problem with sailing for Bloodcove, Flynn. We can try to get more men, but we got a spear, and that's about it. Sure it's worth a lot of coin ,but without the promise of loot where are we going to get folks. Wath we scored from Plugg was nice, but think about it, we roll into Blood Cove with a rhyme and a song, we may not find any decent sailors willing to join up."
I wrote all that a bit ago but guess it didn't post and i'm not deleting it

"We don't have oars on our ship, but if the ship we find does, it may be possible to crew it with minimal investment, but there's no way of knowing that. Although if it were a small ship with extra crew to manage it, then there may be enough considering casualties."

Out of Character, beating the captain in combat is how we win a ship-to-ship battle according to the rules. If they win, their crew wins. if we win, our crew wins. that's how the combat works according to the guide. so the captain is our target.

All this talk about what to do with the ship and debating about options based on variables that there is no way of anticipating is somewhat tiresome, and seeing the potential for debate about options that may or may not work based on things we don't know, Dhaavan chimes in, "Ideally, we capture the captain and the crew surrenders. I'll be able to get the crew to obey us using Charms on the Captain, perhaps ransom, and we will be able to get both ships to port,...

Damn this infernal Ninja'ing... Wait, "Infernal" - Dhaavan speaks Infernal... Oh no!

Also - I didn't realize that beating the captain was the de facto endgame of the combat. That changes things Out of Game - in-game I don't understand why a captain would matter on a merchant ship, instead of a powerful merchant who runs the show - but also, in-game - it doesn't really matter either way. If that's the plan, than that's the plan.

Very well put Dhaavan. Does this work for everyone then? One last thing, should we keep Sandara in the middle of our vessel as she can heal those around her that may get injured. At the least hopefully she can prevent a death here and there, friend and foe alike.

GM - Quick question - we've played before that "channeling healing" works in a "sphere" around the caster, effecting people above and below (very useful in the water, I would think). The ability seems to suggest some sort of circle around the caster - not a sphere. This hasn't formally come up before - but how do you do it in your game? It will likely effect tactics a bit...

Flynn, we can still soften them up at range, but someone is going to have to lead the charge to capture the other ship. Fi Rain needs a full compliment of crew to get into position for grapples, then that leaves only a few of us to start the boarding process. That is all that I meant. I don't expect to use the jig and cutter to row over and climb up the side of the ship. Twenty crew and Rain leaves 5 of us. Dhaavan and you provide the ranged support while Jiro, Valeros and I are the first to board. Hopefully the ships are tied up and Rain, you and some of the crew follow us over. Like Dhaavan said though, not much else to plan until we see and know what we are getting into.

After listening to Jiro and Flynn's assessments, DHaavan replies, "When we attacked with Harrigan, we had a more Shock-and-Awe strategy, and it worked. If we have some of the less hands-on sort stay on board, and man the sails till we are able to board, then they can attack at range. We can get a few folks up on the fighting top, like Ratline, have them give range support. I'll be up there and cast summons onto the deck, Have my birds attack the helmsman, then let my hounds wreak some havoc on deck."

Glancing at Rain, at first, Dhaavan "The problem with sailing for Bloodcove, Flynn. We can try to get more men, but we got a spear, and that's about it. Sure it's worth a lot of coin ,but without the promise of loot where are we going to get folks. Wath we scored from Plugg was nice, but think about it, we roll into Blood Cove with a rhyme and a song, we may not find any decent sailors willing to join up."
I wrote all that a bit ago but guess it didn't post and i'm not deleting it

"We don't have oars on our ship, but if the ship we find does, it may be possible to crew it with minimal investment, but there's no way of knowing that. Although if it were a small ship with extra crew to manage it, then there may be enough considering casualties."

Out of Character, beating the captain in combat is how we win a ship-to-ship battle according to the rules. If they win, their crew wins. if we win, our crew wins. that's how the combat works according to the guide. so the captain is our target.

All this talk about what to do with the ship and debating about options based on variables that there is no way of anticipating is somewhat tiresome, and seeing the potential for debate about options that may or may not work based on things we don't know, Dhaavan chimes in, "Ideally, we capture the captain and the crew surrenders. I'll be able to get the crew to obey us using Charms on the Captain, perhaps ransom, and we will be able to get both ships to port,...

Hearing Dhaavan's words about oars, Horatio glances over at him.

”Nah – oars are worse than sail for investment, but that’s just math.”

”Because for forward momentum you have rowers, not sail, but they have to be close to the water; real close – and that means open hatches for the oarlocks. If the oar is too high for the water, it needs to be extended so long that the fulcrum for the lever at the oarlock will make rowing damn near impossible.”

”If it was a sailing ship with oars on the lower deck, that wouldn’t work well; on account of the fact that as it was next to the water, every wave and swell and pitch of water would keep flooding into the middle of the ship – they’d be bailing faster than they could row. And the water wouldn’t sit on the middle deck, it would go to the lowest deck, which is beneath the deck aligned to the water, on account of the fact that the keel needs to give the ship drag so it doesn’t up-end during a storm, and that pulls deeper into the waves, meaning a deck below the rowers for all that water to rush into.”

He spits a stream of tobacco juice into the cup.

”If you’re talking about a straight galley – they look more like a barge, so it’s easier to bail the water out of her, and they don’t have much of a keel, if any, because they are skimming across the water – not through it; so they don’t need the weight to pull their nose into the waves to slice through the water like a knife.”

”But I reckon a galley would be pretty unlikely, though; they’re more used and useful near coastal waters, not the deep.”

”There’s a lot of reasons, but one of them is because the rowers need to eat – and you’d need a lot of rowers to move the ship. But since the ship is built like a barge – or a raft, if you will, it doesn’t have a deep hold beneath the main deck to fill with lots of gear, not normally.”

”And rowing ain’t like sailing when all you do is just climb rigging adjusting ropes – rowing all day? Hell, that’ll wear you out; it’s backbreaking. The lads who do it aren’t fit to fight when they’re done, which is why most of the time they’re slaves; and even if they weren’t – they need plenty of grub on account of all that rowing works up an appetite.”

”So to store enough food or water on the ship to feed those oarsmen would mean more weight on the ship, which means they’d be slow moving; to offset the weight of such gear they generally keep closer to the coast so if they need food they can hove too and send out a boat to the land and bring back some casks of water and game for the men.”

”Depending on a galley, they can even drag it up onto the beach, if they want. I doubt we’ll face one, and I hope we don’t face one - but the point is – if we face galley, we’re in trouble.”

He spits again.

”We move as fast as the wind, and have to waste time tacking back and forth to get the wind; they don’t - they can move to flank us, or come about hard, and move around us from behind even as we’re praying for wind on a still or windless day…”

”If that happens, we’re in trouble – because if they have one piece of artillery on us and get behind our stern they can blow our rudder apart; and we got no sternchasers as of now, though I wish we did.”

”But I like your plan about shooting from a distance,” Horatio adds with a smile and a “thumbs up” sign.

Flynn, we can still soften them up at range, but someone is going to have to lead the charge to capture the other ship. Fi Rain needs a full compliment of crew to get into position for grapples, then that leaves only a few of us to start the boarding process. That is all that I meant. I don't expect to use the jig and cutter to row over and climb up the side of the ship. Twenty crew and Rain leaves 5 of us. Dhaavan and you provide the ranged support while Jiro, Valeros and I are the first to board. Hopefully the ships are tied up and Rain, you and some of the crew follow us over. Like Dhaavan said though, not much else to plan until we see and know what we are getting into.

Horatio nods appreciatively.

"Ah - gotcha. Well, I mean, to be fair - I've seen that strategy before. You know, with boats and away team? I mean; get a good group near a ship that's anchored somewhere, slide a small group of lads over in the dark, we get some boats to the side of her hull, toss cables and shinny up it to knife the men when they sleep and take the ship before the alarm sounds."

"It's a good plan - it happened to us almost - when the Grindy's attacked us... but I see what you're saying," he adds with a grin.

"As for the planning - just a few quick questions for me and my lads..."

"First - you want us to aim to cripple the ship, or to try to sink her, or aim for the crew in general, or what? Like - we can fire things at their sails to get them dead in the water maybe - or we can aim for the lads on the main deck waiting for us and cut them down before boarding. What's your pleasure?"

"Next - Sandy's our best healer - so leaving her back so she don't get hurt and can heal the rest of us that need it - I'm all for it. But I reckon we best not leave her alone too much; she may need a guard or two to keep an eye on her - and so will Rain, I reckon."

"Nothing personal," he says, turning to the blue-hared elf "But if you're manning the helm and five guys charge over and rush you all at once - I'd rather have someone there to back you up."

"So - short question; who do we want as 'rear-guard'?"

Turning once to Dhaavan, he says with a shrug - "I wouldn't have Rat in the Fighting Top - he's a good guy, got a lot of heart and spirit - but with only one hand, I don't know how he's going to be able to use a ranged weapon. And with only one leg - don't know how skillful he'll be in a melee fight, either... But what do you think, though?" he asks, solicitously.

"Other than that... Well, I guess I don't really have any more questions," he says with a grin, and twinkle in his eye, as if smiling at a private joke.

Totally don't get what you're talking about RE the boat, and RE talkign about magical gear, I'll say out of character that when we gear up for the fight, I'm sure someone will use it. We'll see about that then.

Blinking a moment, Dhaavan asks, "You lost me there. If the ship we raid has oars, then we can chain most folk down and get em rowing. Means we need fewer loyal sailors on the boat. not sure what sort of investment anyone is making. And of the ship has oars, then it has oars, and I'm sure they work jsut fine however they were made."

"Good point abotu where to shoot. Since we have Ballista, I'd say we can either shoot at their weapon crews, or folk waiting to defend. Hitting things like sails would make sense, rip em open, and they'd be eas to repair if we want to. I'd say those options, and then we decide when we see our prey."

"We may need to use a smaller complement to man the ship while we're fighting. Once we get momentum going, we can hit the ship, and get as much of the crew as we con over to the other side and overwhelm them."

GM: This is your call, what does Having crew engaged in combat do to mannign the boat, and tactical movement for ship to ship combat? What's the ruling on that, cause it determines how we attack and stuff, based on the rules. i don't want to give an interpretation on my own

"Doubt that Ratty would be much good boarding, so I'd say on the fighting top he may be able to get some shots off with a sling or hand-crossbow. Maybe not all that fast, but it's likely the best help he can give, especially if he's a good shot."

"Not only does Ratty have a problem with ranged weapons having only one hand, and climbing is probably not his forte either, so getting up into the fighting top might not be too easy for him... I'm sure we can find some task for him on deck level that he can handle just fine."

Seijiro shrugs, looks a bit embarrassed at having brought up Ratty's shortcomings, as Ratty isn't the only one of the crew with such problems, though he's the only one missing two limbs.

"Maybe put a blade in his hand and he can help defend the helm, should we get boarded. Wouldn't hurt to have the pilot defended."

If you have less than the required crew doing their tasks then you will take the penalty until you stop sailing.

Channel energy is a 30 foot burst but that means that if you have total cover from the person doing the channel then you are not healed. i.e. it doesn't go around corners like a spread.

Totally don't get what you're talking about RE the boat, and RE talkign about magical gear, I'll say out of character that when we gear up for the fight, I'm sure someone will use it. We'll see about that then.

Blinking a moment, Dhaavan asks, "You lost me there. If the ship we raid has oars, then we can chain most folk down and get em rowing. Means we need fewer loyal sailors on the boat. not sure what sort of investment anyone is making. And of the ship has oars, then it has oars, and I'm sure they work jsut fine however they were made."

"Good point abotu where to shoot. Since we have Ballista, I'd say we can either shoot at their weapon crews, or folk waiting to defend. Hitting things like sails would make sense, rip em open, and they'd be eas to repair if we want to. I'd say those options, and then we decide when we see our prey."

"We may need to use a smaller complement to man the ship while we're fighting. Once we get momentum going, we can hit the ship, and get as much of the crew as we con over to the other side and overwhelm them."

GM: This is your call, what does Having crew engaged in combat do to mannign the boat, and tactical movement for ship to ship combat? What's the ruling on that, cause it determines how we attack and stuff, based on the rules. i don't want to give an interpretation on my own

"Doubt that Ratty would be much good boarding, so I'd say on the fighting top he may be able to get some shots off with a sling or hand-crossbow. Maybe not all that fast, but it's likely the best help he can give, especially if he's a good shot."

Horatio’s eyes look almost dull at this statement and he takes a deep breath before answering.

”Lad – we sailed together for a while, you and I – so I think it’s fair to tell you something, as it’s kind of bugged me, and I reckon you didn’t know it, but maybe you ought to know it.”

”You can put a boat on a ship, but you can’t put a ship on a boat. That’s why you have “rowboats” and not “rowships” and that’s why we’re sailing on a “ship” and not a “boat”; because this ship is able to hold boats on it. Now, I got to tell you this; when you keep tossing around “boat” and “ship” for the same vessel, I got no bloody idea what you’re talking about – and it doesn’t make sense – and if you’re going to keep sailing, please – for the love of the gods – at least learn the difference between a ship and a boat; you’re the first officer, if you keep using that jargon, people will think we don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground and it’s bloody embarrassing.”

”Now about a ship with oars? That a ship called a “galley” – it’s a class of ship in this case, and not the boat; even though many boats have oars. And just because you think it will work fine; well, I’m sorry to tell you – it won’t.”

”If you have a galley, you need the guy who is rowing to be about level with the water. If he isn’t level with the water, it means he’s somewhere above it; and that means that the oar gets really, really long. It also means if he wants to pull the oar and make it row, that there’s no leverage to pull it, because when he puts his weight behind the oar, most of the energy he uses to move the oar is lost on moving this massive oar around, and hardly energy is used in pushing the oar through the water.”

”In short, it would be like you trying to touch the top of our mast with a really, really, really long spear. You may be able to lift it, but as it stretches up for your body, it tips, and twists, and you spend most of your energy keeping it straight, and don’t have much energy to do anything with it once it’s up there.”

Horatio stares hard at Dhaavan. His lecture seems somehow harsh, and almost rude, as if he is maintaining a lot of patience over something that Dhaavan did to upset him. He says nothing on it, but continues.

”If you keep the rowers level to the water, that means they need to cut holes in the side of the ship for where the oars slide through. But a galley’s not like a regular ship – a regular ship has massive sails and a lot of weight on the top. It has so much weight that the whole ship will just flip over on its side – unless you have something called a keel – which is a big metal plate affixed to the hull, like a counter-weight attached to the bottom of the ship so it doesn’t flip over on it’s side – and it’s also where you get the term “keel-haul” – as they are literally hauling you over the barnacled encrusted keel - which huts a hell of a lot, if it don't drown you outright.”

”A galley doesn’t have a keel, and doesn’t need a keel. It’s more like a raft. And even a galley with a big sail in the middle looks kind of like a strange pyramid in its shape – that’s because the bottom of the galley is broad enough and heavy enough that it acts like a natural counterweight.”

”But if you have that much weight to offset the huge sails, all it means is that the decks will travel beneath the waves – like; down by the bilges?”

”And if a ship like ours has oars – with big holes in the side of the ship s that the oar can pass through – than that means that water will be pouring in those holes.”

”In a normal galley, it’s pretty easy to pump the bilges - you put a hose on the floor and stick it out one of the little holes that the oar goes through, and keep pumping all day before it collects too much.”

”However – in a sailing ship all that water would just sluice through the deck into the deck below the water line, and collect there until the lowest deck was so full of water that it would sink the bloody ship.”

He adds the last with some finality, takes a deep breath, than continues.

”And that’s the bloody difference between a ship and a boat, and a galley and a sailing ship,” he adds, his eyes grinding into Dhaavan.

”Now – I’m going to say this one time – and only once; we ain’t getting oars – not because of all that hash I laid out – but because a lad rowing it would be physically exhausted from the work… and you did hit the nail on the head; to get them to work on the oars, we’d need to chain them up to it, aye.”

”So maybe you can see my problem, eh? You put men on oars and force them to work, with them chained to the oar - they don't leave and they're stuck their in their own stink and filth all day and night. Meantime, as you suggested, they may not want to work, and then maybe you’d... what – lash them; while they’re in irons; chained to oars; the whole time you're yelling at them to keep working – and them with no bloody free will in the matter?” he adds, his eyes glinting somewhat fiercely.

”Lad, I'm telling you that don’t sit well with me, not well at all. But maybe you didn’t mean it – or maybe you’ll rethink it, eh?"

"Come on now, lad, you don’t really mean to say you want us to be a bloody slaver, do you?” Horatio says, staring hard at Dhaavan.

Ah – about the magical items – I think may have made an error. I write my stuff in word, then edit-copy-paste it into the game, so I can spell check it, and have a record and that sort of thing. In this case I had a post when I asked everyone what we would do with the magical Harpoon before battle, and other gear, and I read it over on my Word Document, and realized afterwards I forgot to paste it in! Damn, for all that preparing that was pretty stupid :)

Anyhow, sorry about the error – basically I wanted to know – as we were selling the harpoon and other magical gear – if any of it would be useful in a fight before hand, and if so – what would we do about it?

"Not only does Ratty have a problem with ranged weapons having only one hand, and climbing is probably not his forte either, so getting up into the fighting top might not be too easy for him... I'm sure we can find some task for him on deck level that he can handle just fine."

Seijiro shrugs, looks a bit embarrassed at having brought up Ratty's shortcomings, as Ratty isn't the only one of the crew with such problems, though he's the only one missing two limbs.

"Maybe put a blade in his hand and he can help defend the helm, should we get boarded. Wouldn't hurt to have the pilot defended."

Horatio seems to be calming down a bit after his tension with Dhaavan.

He turns a quick glance at Seijrio.

”I figured the same myself, I reckoned we could maybe mount block and tackle to hoist him up there, if he wants to go – but that’s aside… As for him in a fight? I don’t know – I haven’t seen him fight yet… I wondered maybe if he could be running interference on the decks, though, you know?”

”You know, if he carries a sack with healing potions and someone goes down, he could move to them – not that fast, I know – but he could bring them a potion and aid them and get them back on their feet, and let those who have more chance of hitting and hurting do their thing without having to stop and heal a lad that needs it.”

Horatio shrugs, casually, though his eyes tack over to Dhaavan with a cold gleam in them, as if weighing the sorcerer, clearly not happy about chaining men to oars; galley's being a veritable death trap for sailors, and a horrible place to be.

”That’s just a thought though, whatever you want to do is fine,” he adds, politely to Seijiro.

Seijiro shrugs... "It was just a thought, but running healing to those that need it would be a good task for him as well."

"Ratline and I have good concord, so whether he stands by me, protecting me at the helm or is running healing potions to those wounded and unconscious, I think he will be up for either task."

"And Flynn, I took no offence to your suggestion of a protection detail while I am piloting the Lady. It is a prudent idea."

Rain has been quietly thoughtful with all the conversation moving around her. She speaks with a clearness and calmness that she did not possess a little earlier.

"Flynn? I would not see any person chained to the oars in their own filth, imprisoned in such a fashion either. It does reek of bondage. The shortage in our crew number is of considerable concern. We need to be more clever in the solution."

BOred by the lecture on ships, Dhaavan snacks as FLynn speaks, still listening, but rather frustrated by the whole thing. "I don't particularly care what you call it, but if ti bothers you that much then I'll try to watch my words," Dhaavan says with a sigh. "That last bit was really all i needed to hear. So if we run across a whatever the hell kind of watercraft with oars we either move on, ow plan on not bothering to sell it, or go with my plan to put a minimal crew on it."

Dhaavn then goes through what he was saying line by line, as he doesn't think Flynn and he are talking about the same thing.
"I'll try to say this one more time. We come a cross a vessel that uses oars and currents to move."

"We take it."

"We work the rowers on said boat till we get to port"

"Nowhere in there did i ever say anything about trying to make the Lady use oars. So the design of the lady or a vessel with oars is really of no concern to me. If a galley or whatever has oars, it will be driven by man-power just fine cause its made to be."

"If you have a problem with chainin' prisoners in their own ship to get their ship to port where we can sell it off, then it's not worth worryin' about. Just saw that as a solution to not having enough loyal sailors to pilot two Ships"

BOred by the lecture on ships, Dhaavan snacks as FLynn speaks, still listening, but rather frustrated by the whole thing. "I don't particularly care what you call it, but if ti bothers you that much then I'll try to watch my words," Dhaavan says with a sigh. "That last bit was really all i needed to hear. So if we run across a whatever the hell kind of watercraft with oars we either move on, ow plan on not bothering to sell it, or go with my plan to put a minimal crew on it."

Dhaavn then goes through what he was saying line by line, as he doesn't think Flynn and he are talking about the same thing.
"I'll try to say this one more time. We come a cross a vessel that uses oars and currents to move."

"We take it."

"We work the rowers on said boat till we get to port"

"Nowhere in there did i ever say anything about trying to make the Lady use oars. So the design of the lady or a vessel with oars is really of no concern to me. If a galley or whatever has oars, it will be driven by man-power just fine cause its made to be."

"If you have a problem with chainin' prisoners in their own ship to get their ship to port where we can sell it off, then it's not worth worryin' about. Just saw that as a solution to not having enough loyal sailors to pilot two Ships"

Horatio's grim tone and expression - and their motivation - are now clear; his long speech was a way to decompress - he felt that Dhaavan was actually suggesting they become slavers, and didn't want to get angry, so he used a lecture as a way of "Counting to Ten" so he could calm himself down...

He fixes Dhaavan with a look.

"I'm saying the very nature of a galley is almost always to be a slaver; I've never heard of a galley where men row all day as part of the crew. If one man quits, or stops rowing, it throws the whole forward momentum out of alignment - and it causes the ship to turn or the oars to jam into each other - so no lad can leave or stop; even to take a piss, never mind trying to relax - unless they all do; means they have to sit their at their post all day - if they piss, it's on their own feet and with the water slopping in - pretty soon you have men sitting ankle deep in salt water filled with piss and dung, and likely vomit from when they're sick on the smell."

Realizing that Dhaavan knows little about galleys in general, and wasn't trying to be intentionally cruel, he softens a bit.

But it's more than that, mate - he is supposed to be a bloody officer on a sailing ship - specifically the first officer. How will it be when he meets with a captain like that Pegsworthy, and calls a ship a "boat" or talks about things like galleys as if it was simply a method of moving, without knowing the facts?

If I was Pegsworthy and looking for an easy mark, I'd think that if the first officer didn't know things about sailing, than the crew wouldn't either - I'd think the crew would be easy prey; and I'd make it my business to go after that crew and pirate them - just like a lad who plays whist or poker, and doesn't know the difference between a "spade" and a "club" - if he don't know that much, I'd take him to play poker and clean him out.

"Galleys ain't like our ship is all - they can't be; the physics don't let it be. If a man leaves his oar to get up and stretch, or scratch or go smell sea air - that messes everything up; he can't even do it because the oar won't just hang there, it drifts back and forth to smash into the others, which is a problem too."

"So it's propelled by the lash - and by fear. You row - or you die. I'd not see any man suffer that..."

"That was my point, though."

"Ratline and I have good concord, so whether he stands by me, protecting me at the helm or is running healing potions to those wounded and unconscious, I think he will be up for either task."

"And Flynn, I took no offence to your suggestion of a protection detail while I am piloting the Lady. It is a prudent idea."

Rain has been quietly thoughtful with all the conversation moving around her. She speaks with a clearness and calmness that she did not possess a little earlier.

"Flynn? I would not see any person chained to the oars in their own filth, imprisoned in such a fashion either. It does reek of bondage. The shortage in our crew number is of considerable concern. We need to be more clever in the solution."

Horatio turns a tired look from Dhaavan to Rain.

"Aye, I want Rat to be helpful too; but not just to be an asset to us... when a lad loses a limb - it can be bad, eh?"

"He starts seeing all the good another lad with both limbs can do - he starts to feel like he's less that what he was - that he's a burden, or useless, or a problem."

"In the end he feels a growing sense of depression and self-loathing or self-pity - and lots of times lads without limbs get burned up with hatred or envy - and many of them take their own life."

He sighs.

"I'd not see that for Rat - I want him to feel important, to feel useful - not just for us as a whole, but his own sake. I don't want him to feel that he needs us to take care of him; I want him to feel like he can contribute and be part of something and do things on his own."

"If he stands by you and can fight good - well, I say so much he better; if not, I want him to do something when he can contribute - but that's more for his mental health than anything else is all..."

He rolls his shoulders, feeling a bit claustrophobic at this point.

"As for a galley - I wouldn't worry too much about them."

"Galley's aren't normally used in the deep; I mean - they can be. And yes - they could even have free men use them - aye. But the men need to sleep at their oars, or close them, as the design of the ship doesn't afford much in the way of space."

"The rowers flank the sides - the center is where the gear is stored - and maybe the officer has a cabin in the lee of the ship - maybe, or maybe just a covered bunk."

"They're not good ships to be in the Shackles - the water here has too much chop when you get closer to the Eye - means that galleys are more likely to take on too much water and flounder."

"Anyhow - my point is; I don't think we'll see a merchant ship that is a galley, and if we see galley - being that she can run circles around our sides - depending on the wind, I say we just stay clear of her."

"We want a nice big fat merchant ship - her hulls bursting with loot; no escort to run interference - not bloody warships."

"But that's just my opinion..." he says with a tired voice "I ain't planning on telling anyone what to do here," he adds.

Variel continues to listen to the discussion around him. He takes Flynn's discourse in stride. Yet something he said stuck with Variel. Wait, wait a second Flynn. You said that ships powered by oars required massive man power. That man power was usually provided by slaves you said, correct? Well then if we do run across a galley, that would be the perfect ship to capture.

Variel let's his words weigh on their minds seeing if they come to the same conclusion he had. if we capture such a ship, then we won't have to worry about crewing it or a mutiny. We simply tell the rowers that their freedom is at hand when we arrive back in port. Along with that we tell them that when we well the ship they get a small fee to help them find berth on a ship as a free sailor. Many of them might want to join us as well if they feel that they owe us a life debt. We could swell our crew to two or three times its size just from the reed slaves.

I know the meeting isn't over yet, but I have some actions to take when it is and I don't want to miss my window of opportunity - so this is kind of future con, if you will... just fit it in when it SHOULD happen...

When the meeting is over, Seijiro lingers a bit, looking slightly nervous... if Variel doesn't ask anyone to stay for a private talk, he asks if he has a few minutes to speak then. If Variel does ask anyone else to stay, Seijiro whispers to him softly. "If you don't mind, Variel, I need to have a few words with you when you have time. Please let me know when you're free."

He will meet with the captain at his convenience.

"It'd almost certianly be easier to get a crew of slaves to join up as free men, and I'd bet I could convince a crew on a galley to row their port if I promised freedom and a portion of the gold we get from selling off the thing"

Pausing a moment, he adds "although there is something fitting about putting a crew of slavers to work at the hands of their former slaves."

Variel continues to listen to the discussion around him. He takes Flynn's discourse in stride. Yet something he said stuck with Variel. Wait, wait a second Flynn. You said that ships powered by oars required massive man power. That man power was usually provided by slaves you said, correct? Well then if we do run across a galley, that would be the perfect ship to capture.

Variel let's his words weigh on their minds seeing if they come to the same conclusion he had. if we capture such a ship, then we won't have to worry about crewing it or a mutiny. We simply tell the rowers that their freedom is at hand when we arrive back in port. Along with that we tell them that when we well the ship they get a small fee to help them find berth on a ship as a free sailor. Many of them might want to join us as well if they feel that they owe us a life debt. We could swell our crew to two or three times its size just from the reed slaves.

Horatio tugs at his beard, considering Variel’s suggestion.

”Aye – I like it – a good idea. And besides that – we may even receive more than just active sailors. Some of those lads may come not be good at sailing, but once they’re free they may be grateful in other ways. If they have connections at home, they may want to offer us discounts if we bring them back safe and sound, for example…” he says, giving Variel a grin at the plan.

”But just remember; while I’m all for freeing slaves, you all know that, well, a galley ain't generally used for naught but combat. It’s not as economic as a sailing ship. Our own vessel can hold a lot of weight, tons of freight and cargo – but she only needs about twenty lads to crew it."

"A galley will have a lot more lads; generally two men to an oar, and roughly twenty to forty oars a side, that could be around eighty to a hundred and sixty men just to row it. And that'll mean that they need at least some food and drink for the rowers, and the marines on board who fight. That takes a lot of room - and it's not too likely that they will have extra room for trade goods.”

He frowns a bit, considering.

”They normally don’t put a galley into deep waters anyhow, on account of its build – though we may find them closer to land, I guess… But I’d be surprised if a galley was a merchant ship.”

”If we want to free slaves and kill slavers – I’m for it, no about it. Also – like you said, it’ll swell our ranks, once they’re healed up."

"Now, if they’re not good sailors – they may be willing to help us other ways; not that it matters much, freeing slaves is something I’ll do for free,” he adds with a cold smile, as if relishing the thought.

”The only trouble is – as I see it – a galley can move all around us if the wind is weak. They aren’t restricted to the wind like we are… that could put us at a disadvantage.”

”Also – as most galleys are military grade – if we see one, chances are there won’t be much loot; and they’ll have marines on board to fight hard, and we’re not really equipped for that yet…”

”I’m not saying “no” – I’m just saying those are some things to consider if we come up on one is all.”

Right – sadly, my knowledge of ships and the rules are probably way off here. A galley was great against a sailing ship near the coasts where the winds could buffet off the land – assuming it was a windy day – and a galley could row all around a sailing ship even as she struggles to turn her weapons on it. I don’t know if that is how the game mechanics work in this, though.

Also – in real life – a galley wouldn’t really be good for choppy waters where a storm could spill into it; like the waters of the Shackles; more for calmer waters. Sometimes you’d get crafts like Viking ships, but they would have the water smash onto the top of the open galley (there really wouldn’t be a top deck for the water to be trapped under), and just slosh right off again on the other side of the deck – kind of like a canoe. I don’t think in real life we’d see a galley this far out at sea – but again, in “game mechanics” I have no idea.

Finally – since the galley needed to do things like ram a ship, the slaves would be below and the marines on top ready to board. Roman triremes would actually have something kind of like a drawbridge with a big iron hook on the bottom of it. When they rammed a ship, and the ram was stuck in the enemy ship, they would drop the “drawbridge” and advance across like a typical Cohort Maniple formation. But all of that style and technique were designed mainly for warships. I would think a galley would only be a warship, not a merchant ship. But that’s just guessing on what I know about history – not how the game actually functions. If my guesses don’t follow the rules of the game, I feel like I’m just giving counter-productive advice – as it stands, I’m hoping that it’s good advice, but as it’s based on history not mechanics, I just don’t know…

"It'd almost certianly be easier to get a crew of slaves to join up as free men, and I'd bet I could convince a crew on a galley to row their port if I promised freedom and a portion of the gold we get from selling off the thing"

Pausing a moment, he adds "although there is something fitting about putting a crew of slavers to work at the hands of their former slaves."

Horatio turns a calmer look to Dhaavan.

”Sorry for all the heat there, lad – I just got a bit riled on the slaving part – I didn’t think you meant it; but I’ve seen a galley before… and what it does to a man… it ain’t pretty.”

”After a month or two at sea – if you live that long – your spine and back start warping and twisting when you’re at the same oar all day, and pulling in the same direction all day. If you don’t rotate the slaves to the other side of the ship at least once weak – some of their muscles atrophy and others grow much thicker – it can ruin a man’s body…” he trails off, shaking his head in disgust at the men he had seen that were twisted from galley work.

"Sorry, sorry... I just don't like seeing slaves, and I've seen what galleys can do to a man who's slaved to one..."

"No hard feelings, eh mate?" he adds in a somewhat more friendly voice.

Horatio glances up at everyone.

”Right – so the thing I needed to know is this: what the plan is? After you all talk, and offering my own thoughts – I think I know what we’re going to do”

”If you’ll indulge me, I’ll go over the run-down, as I see it – and you correct me any place I’m wrong.”

Pausing, he runs his hands through his hair, gathers his thoughts, and begins.

”Right – as we move close to attack I order crews to shoot to disable the vessel, not sink her – never mind the damage to disable her, if we take the ship, we can fix it after the fight.”

’Once the ship is damaged and has trouble moving, the next job for the ranged fighters is to take shots at enemies who look nasty while we move in to close with her – spellcasters first, I’m guessing – and if we see the captain, shoot him – if he dies outright, fine – if he’s wounded, he may be more inclined to surrender.”

”Once we close up – the ranged folk and casters hold positions at artillery pieces and offer cover fire as the first wave boards. Ranged fighters and casters will continue to maintain holding position until melee fighters get across and are thick in it – all the while offering aid with range at them who may be needing it.”

Taking a breath, he continues.

”Now, the whole time that happens the ranged fighters are readying themselves to grab melee weapons as soon as they need them. While they do that – when the first wave is charging across, the secondary job of the ranged fighters will be to act as defense and they’ll repel boarders who may try to charge onto our own ship during the fight.”

”As soon as the first wave is across and ready, and our ship looks safe – the range fighters will have switched to melee weapons and they’ll move in hard to follow you up – but they’ll move specifically to the position where you need it most, and to offer you the most aid and assistance. So if you need extra lads on the aft of the enemy ship – they’ll be there; if you need help on the foredeck – that’s where they’ll charge in – to reinforce any place that needs it most; and they'll know that because they'll be watching the fight and try to gauge where you need the most help before they charge across.”

Call it a few rounds maybe - depending on how the fight is going.

Horatio looks up, glancing at the others.

”Right – so that means, if I’m right in my understanding – the primary groups need to be divided into two types: the first "boarding party" will be melee fighters only, with at least one healer in the middle to aid them, I’d recommend Valeros for that as he can heal and fight in the middle.”

”The second group is those folk who are good at shooting at range and casters – they’ll be back here doing their thing and ready to swap range weapons for melee and charge across to help after you secure the main deck and open it up – plus they’ll be offering you cover fire, and watching to see where you need help – that’s where they’ll board.”

”Now – as for healers, I don’t recommend sending Sandy across – the reason is, she’s our best healer. If she falls, we’re all in trouble – also, she’s a good pilot besides. So she needs to be safe. If any lad needs help, we can try to stabilize him in the fight and carry him back over for safety.”

”So when you talked about boarding party – I think that the first wave should be melee fighters, the second wave is ranged fighters carrying melee weapons; but before they charge over, they’re using weapons to aid at range.”

He lets out a deep sigh.

”Well – that’s how I see it. Tell me if I’m missing something, or a way we can improve on things and I’ll do it. Otherwise, I’ll go round up the men and divide them into two groups; one for ranged and one for melee.”

”I’ll take the ranged group and make sure they know what they need to do on our ship as the melee group charges – and whoever leads the melee group, I’m assuming it’s you Nightstorm?” Horatio says, giving the elf a deferential nod, completely aware of Variel’s expertise with a sword ”maybe you want to assemble those lads and make sure they understand the plan when we attack – and maybe train ‘em in any tactic you want before we board?”

Yeah – the “Training” bit is more of a back-up in case the GM needs to NPC those guys; then we’ll have a loose frame of reference set up for him to know what we want those guys to basically do, and eliminate the guesswork, if possible.

”Anyhow – that said; what do you guys think?”

Right – and one more thing for “tactics”: I really don’t know the mechanics for fighting a galley verses a sailing ship, except what I’ve read in books about military tactics for naval battles in the 16th - 18th century.

I would think if we fought a galley we’d need to do a Knowledge: Nature check to check the wind and find out how much wind is blowing; and to check the waters, to see how choppy the waters are. I would also think if we captured one and freed the slaves, they’d probably be happy to help us row to land as free men, knowing they are rowing for freedom, but they would also probably be pretty sick and weak, and that’s something watch out for.

Finally – again, this only based on what I’ve read about sailing and naval battles – I don’t think a galley will have much “Plunder” on it – but I think it could give us some great “Reputation” as we’d be probably be knocking off a warship for some nation (again, I've read most galleys were warships primarily - excepting the Viking ships, but generally they weren't filled with lots of loot; just the gear they needed to survive). Also,if we free slaves – who knows? There might be a nobleman who is so happy for freedom he “rewards” our efforts with a special treasure if we sail him home, or something like that.

Again, I don’t really know the tactics too well for naval battles in-game; if I’m wrong or misjudging stuff on how a galley works verses a sailing ship regarding wind and water problems. I apologize for the confusion. If you guys know a better tactic for naval battles against galleys, please let me know.

As for the boarding party idea for tactics, well, I think that idea is good, and I’ll stand by it because those tactics make sense. But if you guys have a better plan on it; just let me know so I know what we’re going to do and I'll do it. Anyhow, thanks for your patience :)

"We should attempt to damage her enough so she falters, slows in the water and cannot outrun us. If you do extensive damage to the sails, it will take us longer to repair her before we can make a run. We do not have that kind of time, especially if the shipping lanes are congested." Rain throws her thoughts into the mix.

Listening to Flynn's plan of two waves of fighters, Rain enquires to both he and Variel, "Where do I come in? Do you want me to remain at the wheel all through battle, or, am I to come in the second wave of melee fighters? Once I have the Lady close enough to grapple the other ship and the main boarding party moves across to the other ship, I can have Jiro man the helm so I can aid in the fight in the second wave, if you should seek my presence. I could attempt to take control of their wheel."

Rain left the finer details to those more knowledgeable in the art of battle. She would aid where best she could.

"We should attempt to damage her enough so she falters, slows in the water and cannot outrun us. If you do extensive damage to the sails, it will take us longer to repair her before we can make a run. We do not have that kind of time, especially if the shipping lanes are congested." Rain throws her thoughts into the mix.

Listening to Flynn's plan of two waves of fighters, Rain enquires to both he and Variel, "Where do I come in? Do you want me to remain at the wheel all through battle, or, am I to come in the second wave of melee fighters? Once I have the Lady close enough to grapple the other ship and the main boarding party moves across to the other ship, I can have Jiro man the helm so I can aid in the fight in the second wave, if you should seek my presence. I could attempt to take control of their wheel."

Rain left the finer details to those more knowledgeable in the art of battle. She would aid where best she could.

"Oh it's all good to me, Rain - my thinking was on if we have two waves; one of melee fighters, one of ranged fighters who swap to melee and move up as support."

"If we stick by that plan, the question I got is - do you think you'd be a better on the first wave charging in with Nightstorm - or do you want to hang back with a bow or something - shoot for support and protect our ship a bit - then, when we see where they'll need aid, charge in after them on the second wave with swords drawn and bow dropped?"

"That assumes that no one has a problem with the plan to begin with. But if everyone's set on it - where do you want to be?"

Horatio brushes his hand through his hair a moment.

"This also assumes you want to charge in, or man the wheel in the first place; after all - you're the pilot anyhow. If you want to charge in, just pick a time - if you want to man the helm - it's your call, too."

"I just want to know what's going on when and if it happens."

He pauses a bit, considering something.

"Of course, if you're going to run over there, maybe you want to leave Jiro-san the hat if he'll be at the wheel, eh? That way he has more of an edge."

Remember, too - it's probable that the person on the helm will have/need less of a position in the actual combat as they'll be "manning the wheel", if that matters.

All this talk about two waves is impressive, but we forget that we don't have the manpower for a strong first wave. The entire crew will be needed helping get the ship into position and holding her there while the first wave goes in. Only once the first wave is across and the ships are guaranteed to remained locked in position can the second wave, constituting the crew, join in. Otherwise Rain is going to have too hard of a time keeping The Lady in position with a depleted crew if they join in the first wave. -10 to her sailor checks and CMB to grapple the other ship.

If we can time it right, Dhaavan's eagles show up the moment we attempt to board the ship. The more the better to distract and confuse the other ship, the better chance we have of that first wave making an impact. After that, I don't think it matter where Rain and Jiro are since we won't need much of a pilot until the fighting is over. Besides, Rain has that weapon that can expand the gap between the ships.

Flynn, I would first try to limit the damage they can do to us. If they only have 1 or 2 seige engines, then target them to reduce the threat. IF there are more than that, then I would try to disable the other ship without crippling it. We want to try and salvage as much of the ship as we can. You will have to work fast though as too many of their weapons will be directed at us that we need to board her and silnce them quickly. Beyond that, you will have to use your own judgement, as will we all in the midst of the fighting. To answer your question from earlier, yes I plan on leading that first wave. Outside of the pilot, that will be the most dangerous spot and I won't order anyone to be forced into that position on our first boarding attempt.

All this talk about two waves is impressive, but we forget that we don't have the manpower for a strong first wave. The entire crew will be needed helping get the ship into position and holding her there while the first wave goes in. Only once the first wave is across and the ships are guaranteed to remained locked in position can the second wave, constituting the crew, join in. Otherwise Rain is going to have too hard of a time keeping The Lady in position with a depleted crew if they join in the first wave. -10 to her sailor checks and CMB to grapple the other ship.

If we can time it right, Dhaavan's eagles show up the moment we attempt to board the ship. The more the better to distract and confuse the other ship, the better chance we have of that first wave making an impact. After that, I don't think it matter where Rain and Jiro are since we won't need much of a pilot until the fighting is over. Besides, Rain has that weapon that can expand the gap between the ships.

Flynn, I would first try to limit the damage they can do to us. If they only have 1 or 2 seige engines, then target them to reduce the threat. IF there are more than that, then I would try to disable the other ship without crippling it. We want to try and salvage as much of the ship as we can. You will have to work fast though as too many of their weapons will be directed at us that we need to board her and silnce them quickly. Beyond that, you will have to use your own judgement, as will we all in the midst of the fighting. To answer your question from earlier, yes I plan on leading that first wave. Outside of the pilot, that will be the most dangerous spot and I won't order anyone to be forced into that position on our first boarding attempt.

Horatio looks at Variel a moment.

”Right… well, I can see how you don’t like my plan…”

”Luckily, you have a different plan.”

”Now, to make sure I understand it – you recommend that you lead a group across to an enemy ship; kind of like a “wave” of men… albeit a small group.”

”Meanwhile – you suggest that the rest of the lads stay behind on our own ship to do various things – like; help protect our ship from damage and floundering – and also, if possible – to help your group by firing into the enemy group with weapons or magic.”

”You also recommend that as we move toward them that our primary job should be to shoot at the enemy; preferring things like their artillery – be it mundane or magical – and if possible try to cripple their ship – but after their artillery is taken out…”

”Then, you suggest that once we have grappled and the first group has rushed over and is fighting and the ships are bound together tightly – then anyone who’s been protecting our ship and using range weapons hurries after as some sort of backup to the first group…”

Horatio sighs briefly, than he suddenly thumps the table hard.

”Well gods damn, Nightstorm – I got to say, that’s a hell of a plan – I love it,” Horatio responds briskly.

”Oh – as for who comes with us; be it Rain or Jiro-san – that’s up to them, I reckon; but I figure we need someone at the helm. But I wouldn’t it to be Sandy, as if she is at the helm, she’ll be unable to run around healing those who are wounded.”

Right at this point I’m not sure – but I believe we need someone at the helm.

Uncontrolled (no action): When the pilot does nothing, if there is no pilot, or if the ship has less than half its crew, the ship is uncontrolled. An uncontrolled ship does nothing except take the uncontrolled action until it stops or someone becomes its new pilot. An uncontrolled ship moves forward only (it cannot move forward diagonally) and automatically decelerates by 30 feet. – Right, I’m not sure if that means we need someone at the helm or not – but it may.

Also – even with half crew; that means that Rain will be at a -10 to her Profession: Sailor Check. However – I’m not too worried about that. The rules for Grappling work one of two ways – the first is that both ships want to grapple, in which case it’s automatic, of course.

The second rule pits Rain’s CMB – which, in this case, is her total Profession: Sailor check plus the ship’s CMB bonus. Our ship is a standard sailing ship – which means that bonus is a +8; so her total bonus (with all bonuses combined) is going to already be well over 20 to start with.

Now – the fun thing is that if she tries to Grapple – here are the rules: If only one pilot wants to grapple, she must make a combat maneuver check against the target ship’s CMD, using the base CMB of the ship plus the pilot’s sailing skill modifier (or Wisdom skill modifier if she is using that ability to control the ship) as the total CMB of the grappling maneuver. If the check is successful, the target ship is grappled. On the next round, the two ships are moved adjacent to one another, and the speed of both ships is reduced to 0. If a ship has less than its full crew complement, the pilot takes a –10 penalty on her combat maneuver check to make a grappling maneuver.

The reason that is awesome is because – as those rules are written – the enemy ship does not get a bonus to their CMD based on their captain – just the ship. If it’s a standard sailing ship, like ours, their CMD is a total of 18. Even with a -10, Rain can nail that in her sleep because she’s got moxy :)

Personally I would have assumed that the CMD would be modified by the captain’s skill also – but I can’t find one rule in the book that confirms that. SO I may be wrong. If I am – please let me know. If I’m not, that will make a huge difference later on regarding how we plan combat and strategy.

"I will remain back, keeping the Lady steady and in position. Once we have grappled the merchant ship and the first group led by Variel has boarded, I will then hand Sandara's tricorne to Jiro and come across to assist in the fight or with taking control of the other vessel. This is dependent on whether or not we can take their pilot out."