You must understand that our party also followed Thren into an opera house, so it's likely to work out if the opportunity presents itself :)
We love side-quests! ;)
Here's an updated list of loot. Please check under your name and tell me if I missed anything. The loot sheet is also updated.
Also, let me know if y'all have any better ideas for the few things I listed as "convert to cash." Chad & Chakam, any of this interesting as a "signing bonus?"
------------------------------
Convert to Cash?
-a wand of scorching ray
- +1 kukri (of Garundi make)
-mithral buckler (engraved with the image of a flame)
-Potion of Inflict Moderate Wounds
------------------------------
------------------------------
Threnody
- +1 mithral breastplate
-A quiver of 20 mithral crossbow bolts
-cold iron dagger (hilt is burned off, but otherwise of fine make with a maker's mark from Quent)
-magical pillow, eternally clean, soft, and fluffy
-Masterwork Light Crossbow, 20 bolts (Sandara)
------------------------------
------------------------------
Kahuranga
-bracers of armor +2 (appear to be made of some kind of coppery metal usually used by underwater races)
-Campfire Bead
------------------------------
------------------------------
Lark
-Tanglefoot bag
- +1 mithral chain shirt (some of the links have been treated with some kind of mineral to take on shades of blue)
------------------------------
Also, also, I'll be out of town this weekend. Don't look for me to post from Friday night through Monday.
My general plan plotting wise is to push us back onto the AP's plotline when you guys are ready to go.
That said, if the players really want to push in a certain direction, I am always happy to follow. (I think the only time I balked was when the party already had about four plot threads to follow and one was trying to invent a fifth by taking extreme interest in the origins of a treasure I had generated randomly and I wasn't quite ready to add another thread to the several I was already trying to weave together.) I will certainly bear in mind any plot threads PCs/players want to drop me otherwise.
On treasure:
First, new players should definitely not feel shy about requesting loot from the recent treasure haul if there is something you can use. As thermopyle (Lark's player) notes, it can always be considered an incentive payment for joining the crew, etc. And...
For everyone... do not interpret this as my implying you SHOULD do this. However, I want to remind you, simply as an option, that you can also reward even fairly nice treasure to your NPC crew, especially if you think someone will make use of something, or it can go toward your ship or stronghold's defenses. E.g., you could give the wand of scorching ray to Lee and that would improve his ability to defend Brightglass Island. (It is also however worth a decent amount of money so cashing it out could be helpful, especially as it is good to have Plunder to spare.)
Nothing on the list of available items would really be useful to Chad, so I am ok with whatever happening to them (cash, going to an NPC, etc).
Finding what happened to Chad's mother (or, for that matter, Kahuranga's father) would be an interesting thing if it happens, but I personally won't be up late at night asking: Where is Chad's MOTHER!?!?
... now wondering what happened to Zuko's mom, on the other hand...
Thren wants the bolts for Sandara if they're suitable, so she'll have some "silver" bolts. I forgot to ask if they're light crossbow bolts or not. If not, into the armory as far as she's concerned.
Crossbow bolts are crossbow bolts.
Sorry guys! Extra busy work week here. I’ll have a post tonight.
Folks, a vast number of you besides Threnody and Chad have grown quiet. I want to be sure you are still here.
Reminders:
1. Posting expectation is at least once every 1-2 days
2. If you within that time period feel you have nothing to do/say (but are happy to let the PCs run with whatever's happening), to please post in discussion that very thing (so we know you haven't left or aren't trapped under something heavy)
3. When you feel ready to move on, please say so. Particularly in this segment I had said I would move us on when you were done roleplaying. As I have sadly not yet developed telepathy, this means I need you to actually tell me when you are done roleplaying.
Thank you.
I'll gladly stop talking whenever and I knew Lark would be out of town this weekend. I figured being a living recap machine works well for a bard.
Sorry, been in a bit of a funk, I'll try to keep up. February weather is getting me down.
Dude, I totally get it. Between the weather and work, pbp is one of few things keeping me sane at the moment. But it can also be hard if your creativity is drained. If you need a break, all you need to do is say so. I can bot you till you get back, just don't want folks to disappear.
Loving the rp. This has been really fun to read. I'd give you all hero points but I think you're all topped up. Meals and inn stay will be free for the night at least.
GMDQ, do I recall correctly you're going to take us into OOC downtime in order to cover some of the errands we need to run? Here's my rough to-do list:
1. Last call for shopping in Hell Harbor.
2. Deliver the Gryphon Unfettered to Kelizar.
3. Visit Brightglass Isle, drop off supplies, check on the stronghold and the Fearsome Tide.
3.a. Remember to roll influence checks for NPC crew members (up to two npcs, three rolls each and/or perform a favor)
4. Port Peril & a date with the Hurricane King
To everyone: what what else should we be doing?
Yes, thank you for getting started what I was logging on to post about! :)
Story-wise, I want to move us soon to Book 3 proper, which starts when you dock in Port Peril.
But I know there are a number of errands to run and loose ends to tie first. So as Lark (thermopyle) is starting, list what you want to get done. For the most part, whatever you want to do, you can do, though I might ask for a few checks (obviously if you figure you know what to roll, go ahead and roll).
You may wish to review what projects you had ongoing at the stronghold and initiate new ones. (Are there any parts for the stronghold you needed to buy while you are here?) The Stronghold is the ancient lighthouse-temple of Ghoral Rey (if you've played other versions of S&S, this replaces "the Rock" in book 2).
If there is something you want to RP by all means but for the most part I'm prepared to handwave through to get us back toward the main adventure.
I do think that we've got 2 scrivener's kits and likely an associate or two that might like one; I feel that's a good gift to build influence with Yamtisy or possibly Belina. I'm at least thinking the one with the darkwood case would be good to give the woman who likes doodling in her notebook.
Stronghold projects: Thren left directions to get certain things done. Unless something went wrong, we should arrive to find the kitchens, lodgings, and common room ready to go for our crew. I suggest that Lark's quarters get underway next, based on previous discussions. Do we want to get the lighthouse up and running now or later? We're in a decent-sized settlement now, so fixing it might be an option. Might make us a target too.
I approve Lark's ideas and the order; this is just me adding some details.
Are we considering purchasing or installing siege engines on the main ship? And I like the idea of repairing the lighthouse.
We haven't considered new siege engines for our ship really.
Regarding the lighthouse: our home base is still under construction. We've generally opted to delay it because until we're Free Captains we're fair game if another pirate captain comes along. We want it done, and who knows when we'll get the chance?
Perhaps we could price it out and get the repair parts ordered, given they will likely take some time to get assembled and delivered, likely by around the time we are talking to the King. Besides, we can get the parts to repair it without ordering it being repaired immediately. (At least, that is assuming you have some place to store them safely. Like maybe that chest of holding y'all found, ;) )
If you're looking at siege engines, check out the rules and prices here.
You've got two light ballistae. You have room for two more Large siege engines (like light ballistae) on the foredeck, or one Huge siege engine. You can purchase any non-firearm siege engine in Hell Harbor. (There are some firearms in this AP but they are rare.)
You have 28 bolts currently. You could also consider purchasing more ammunition. You can also buy magical ammunition... if it can be applied to a crossbow bolt, it can be applied to a ballista bolt, but of course at one per bolt rather than a stack. Light ballista bolts cost 10 gp each.
Reading through the rules - if we're going to do ship combat a little more seriously or frequent (and more than just trying to outrun the other ships to board or flee), then we might consider some options (if we can afford):
- A corvus to help board;
- A ram to help disable if the ships approach;
- A catapult - they're not expensive, and with my knowledge (engineering) I can probably shoot well against its DC. If we can afford, the bombards take less time to aim.
- If we can afford, a cannon to really pull that damage, especially in the cases we want to simply sink certain ships
I have the siege engineer feat, so I can use them all and I don't mishap with a natural 1. Hopefully in the future I'll get some of the other feats to really make us shine on this matter if we want to.
Can't buy cannon or a bombard right now.
My only potential needs are to buy a 3rd level scroll or two. Not a necessity, but it would make me more useful, perhaps. I was looking at fly and hostile levitation. I can fly, but I can't currently cast it on anyone else. Not a big deal either way. I'm pretty cash poor at the moment.
Lathiira or GMDQ - do y'all remember off the top of your head if we expect the Fearsome Tide to be ready by the time we get back to Ghoral Rey? If you don't I can dig through the thread later, but I wonder if that would represent an upgrade from the Whim.
Kahuranga - how much do scrolls cost at that level? I expect we'll be selling off a bunch of random loot to buy supplies and cover expenses (e.g. pay the crew). Anything left over belongs to the PCs.
BTW, we last paid the crew at Arena Town on the way to Hell Harbor. I think that means we're actually good for a bit on that front.
I don't remember if the Fearsome Tide will be ready or not. Sorry, I'm finishing a 9 day run at work with an overnight shift tonight so I'm toasty.
Scrolls are 25 gp times the caster level times spell level. Plus expensive material component cost, if any.
I cannot find what I told you earlier. The Plunder and Peril module says the Fearsome Tide takes 2 weeks to fix and a cost of 1,000 gp. I have no idea if that's the actual amount of gold I charged you or I houseruled something (I have a vague memory I toyed with the cost because the math of what they said it was worth in various states wasn't adding up). I also honestly can't remember if your crew finished clearing off the goop from it first (which also takes a few weeks) but I think they did.
Anyway, to make it easy, if you spent the 1,000 gold, the ship should be ready when you get back. It is a better ship than Besmara's Whim as it is the same ship more or less but has armored plating, an extended keel, and 4 smuggler's compartments. (Though you also hopefully have enough plunder you could also upgrade the Whim to your liking. Chad's dad could certainly be hired for that. Upgrades are listed in the Skull and Shackles Players Guide which hopefully all of you have.) You can spend 500 gold to hire a generic, low-level (Rog 1 pirates and/or Expert 1/Warrior 1 sailors) crew to man one of your ships if you like as well. Although you may want to hold off staffing a fleet until you become a Free Captain (but you don't have to).
If someone proposes buying something, make sure the rest of you agree or disagree so it is known whether the purchase is made.
3rd level scrolls cost 375.
I propose we get a corvus and a ram. If we have the manpower and can afford, a catapult. Either from the plunder/party loot or we pulling together from our pockets. What do you guys think?
Also, as the IC conversation is slowing down, I'll push us forward after you agree on your shopping list.
I propose we get a corvus and a ram. If we have the manpower and can afford, a catapult. Either from the plunder/party loot or we pulling together from our pockets. What do you guys think?
I personally think this might be a wise idea. Assuming the other ship is ready, perhaps we should leave the Whim to get these upgrades and use the Tide to pay our visit to the Hurricane King.
That said, I am new here, so it really isn't money that I have earned that we would be spending (though Chad is willing to stay in port hunting imps a bit longer if we need donations for the "make the Besmara's Whim more capable of ship-to-ship combat" fund) so I would not say that my vote means that much, ;)
The idea of taking the Fearsome Tide to Port Peril does have merit!
So, let's sum this up and get going. We want to buy:
1) Corvus
2) Ram
3) Spell scrolls, including fly
What else?
You need to decide what to do with your two ships. You can't leave Besmara's Whim in Hell Harbor and then go to Ghoral Rey, because you will have no ship. You can fix up the Whim here and wait. Or you CAN sail back to Ghoral Rey and swap ships, leaving the Whim at your fancy brand spanking new drydock and let your carpenters go to town. You can also hire a team of craftsmen here from Chad's dad (but they will want to be returned to Hell Harbor eventually).
You also need to decide how you are getting the Gryphon Unfettered to Kelizar. You can tow it to the Atoll but that will incur risk while you are towing the ship (I'm not inclined to RP this out but there would likely be money burned to reflect supply use to fix ship and crew damage). You can try to contact Kelizar and have him come pick up the ship or do with it as he pleases--probably would be sensible to do this from Marin's Rest (Yoha's Graveyard) rather than the heavily populated city.
In the interests of helping you move forward, here's what I propose:
- Purchase an appropriate messaging spell to contact Kelizar, have him meet you to pick up the Gryphon Unfettered
- Sail to Brightglass Island and swap ships if need be, as well as drop off supplies, trade crew, make introductions, etc. etc. Set up any future plans.
- Head to Hell Harbor
By all means change this up, I am not trying to railroad you, just trying to keep us from totally stalling out.
You need to decide what to do with your two ships. You can't leave Besmara's Whim in Hell Harbor and then go to Ghoral Rey, because you will have no ship. You can fix up the Whim here and wait. Or you CAN sail back to Ghoral Rey and swap ships, leaving the Whim at your fancy brand spanking new drydock and let your carpenters go to town. You can also hire a team of craftsmen here from Chad's dad (but they will want to be returned to Hell Harbor eventually).
You also need to decide how you are getting the Gryphon Unfettered to Kelizar. You can tow it to the Atoll but that will incur risk while you are towing the ship (I'm not inclined to RP this out but there would likely be money burned to reflect supply use to fix ship and crew damage). You can try to contact Kelizar and have him come pick up the ship or do with it as he pleases--probably would be sensible to do this from Marin's Rest (Yoha's Graveyard) rather than the heavily populated city.
In the interests of helping you move forward, here's what I propose:
- Purchase an appropriate messaging spell to contact Kelizar, have him meet you to pick up the Gryphon Unfettered
- Sail to Brightglass Island and swap ships if need be, as well as drop off supplies, trade crew, make introductions, etc. etc. Set up any future plans.
- Head to Hell HarborBy all means change this up, I am not trying to railroad you, just trying to keep us from totally stalling out.
All of this seems reasonable, one amendment: Wouldn't we be going to Port Peril vice Hell Harbor? ;)
This all sounds good to me so far. I do lean toward using the Fearsome Tide. I like the idea of inaugurating our next adventure with a new ship, especially one with a cool history.
I will do some math tonight on the loot sheet and get a list of things to sell to fund all this. I'm pretty sure we can afford it all.
Chakam - can you get the costs for the corvus and ram?
Yes, Port Peril! I knew I'd end up accidentally switching the two.
So, we already had a couple thousand gold in the ship treasury for expenses and use by the party. We can bring that up to 10,454 GP by selling the loot listed below. There's more yet, so if someone needs a nice quarterstaff we can keep it and sell something else ;)
We also have a bad habit of not claiming and/or using all the scrolls we find. Please see the list further below. Who can use those?
To Be Sold
------------
Banded Mail +1
hide armor +2
quarterstaff +1
composite longbow +1 (+7 Str) with 32 arrows
2 unworked obsidian stones
2 unworked abalone shells
2 unworked rhodochrosite
bloodstone
garnet
rhodochrosite
Scrolls!
-----------
divine scroll of neutralize poison (CL 7)
divine scroll of barkskin (CL 3)
arcane scroll of daze (CL 1)
arcane scroll of water breathing (CL 3)
arcane scroll of comprehend languages (CL 1)
Not interested in those. I admit I could use a good bludgeoning weapon but that just means a trip to the ship's armory. I say sell it to fund our future ventures.
Otherwise I'm good with the current itinerary.
About the only thing I would have use for is the arrows (+7 STR modifier on a compound bow is insane... lets it do some real damage, mind you, but requires having a minimum of 24 STR to use.)
I have 40 regular arrows already (plus a few special materials ones) so no real need for them... but you can never have too much ammunition either. I will let the more magically inclined folks fight over the scrolls.
The bow came from, well, that's it's own story :)
Here's some shopping list items. Cost in gold pieces, of course. I know it's taking a while, but I do feel like we're getting close. Hopefully we'll shortly be able to synthesize the to-do list with the shopping list and move on at least to Brightglass Isle.
200 - Sending (to Kelizar)
100 - Corvus
300? - Ram
550 - light catapult (if the ram doesn't take a siege engine slot)
750 - scrolls for Kahuranga
xxx - supplies for stronghold projects (lighthouse!)? (we still have 20 goods' worth of marble, wood, and fittings for building from Yoha's Graveyard)
What else?
We have 35, actually, for goods. 20 and 15. I'm slating the marble and stuff for Lark's quarters specifically. As captain you should have the nicest quarters! Which, hopefully, can be the next project when we get to Brightglass :)
Other items for purchase: if we get the catapult, ammo, of course. We've got plenty of food and drink. I'd say if there's any useful healing items for sale, maybe snag them. I'm thinking mostly of status clearing items to deal with poison, disease, etc.
IIRC the bow came from a fight with the cyclops, which reminds me to tell the new folks a quasi-houserule -- almost all magic items will resize for the user (but sadly mighty strength bonuses will not adjust accordingly). Exceptions would be items very clearly intended for a specific creature (which won't happen often). I keep the usual rule that if something is designed to work with a particular body part you have to have the bodypart to use it in your natural form (no horseshoes of the zephyr for you).
Things for sale at Hell Harbor:
Infinite cure light and cure moderate wounds-based items, up to 10 cure serious wounds-based items and 1 scroll of mass cure light wounds. You can get up to five of what I would call typical healing potions of up to 3rd level -- things like various remove and restoration-based spells. If there is something specific you have in mind that is not listed, ask.
You can also get any +1 typical weapon or armor (by "typical" something you commonly would see in the Shackles, like scimitars and bows, but not necessarily a gnome hook hammer). There is a good chance of finding anything of typical special materials like mithral, adamantine, alchemical silver, or cold iron. Common 1st level potions and scrolls can be easily found (e.g., magic weapon or shield of faith).
Other specific magic items of note (ignore the stuff about "clue indicates function"; this is included in the random generator I used and I'm too lazy to delete it):
Magic Items
Minor Items
[4,500 gp] wand of alter self (CL 3)
[8,330 gp] +2 shortbow [no light or external clues]
[4,500 gp] wand of see invisibility (CL 3)
[4,655 gp] burglar's buckler
[7,000 gp] instant bridge [no external clues]
[4,157 gp] +1 bashing heavy wooden shield
[4,500 gp] goblin fire drum (greater) [no external clues]
[5,000 gp] summoning shackle [no external clues]
[5,400 gp] necklace of fireballs (type iv) [clue indicates function]
[7,400 gp] bag of holding (type iii) [no external clues]
[4,500 gp] wand of bear's endurance (CL 3)
Medium Items
[4,175 gp] +1 spell storing studded leather armor
[4,157 gp] +1 grinding heavy wooden shield
[9,155 gp] +2 defiant padded armor
[8,300 gp] +2 sling [no light or external clues]
[11,000 gp] rod of cancellation [no external clues]
[13,000 gp] rod of the python [no external clues]
[20,000 gp] stone of good luck [no external clues]
Major Items
[41,600 gp] staff of bolstering [clue indicates function]
[44,000 gp] ring of energy resistance (greater) [fire] [clue indicates function]
[82,000 gp] staff of necromancy [no external clues]
Hey guys, just an addendum - the siege engines actually cost half for us if we have the time to craft them, since I have the craft skill itself (at +13) and the simplest siege weapons are DC 20. Considering their combined cost is less than 1000 (and using the 1000 gold/day craft thing), then maybe I could build them in one day for us.
If we decide to get the catapult:
I don't know if I can build the ammunition for the catapult (would it be Craft Ammunition instead?), but we could start with like 20 of it, maybe?
One small little thing to bring up: we can enchant the siege weapons in the future - if we make them masterwork now, but it'd cost more (300 extra in each), and it would raise the DC to 25.
Or we can simply get the non-masterwork versions now, and in the future just build new ones.
I do not know the "1000 gold/day craft thing" you are referring to, but you do not have access to a siege engine workshop here, and this sounds like a gamey shortcut that doesn't make a lot of narrative sense here otherwise. I am going to rule it would take a very long time to both build a functioning siege engine even if I only very loosely interpret standard craft rules.
As you folks have plenty of gold (you need to have about 5-6 Plunder in reserve for the next adventure, and you have twice that), I'm going to say let's keep things simple. You can purchase the engines and get them installed in a day or two.
This said, I know Chakam was asked if he was paying for it; I do not know if he has the funds but this is something that benefits the entire crew, so seems reasonable to put party funds toward it.
You need to purchase ammunition separately.
==========
I am headed out of town. Talk amongst yourselves, and I am going to push us forward Sunday night or Monday using whatever has been decided by then to proceed.
Have a good weekend!
Likewise GM. Hope that whatever your plans are you have fun.
I know I asked this IC, but what do we want to do with all that food?
I was taking the rules from a combination of different links:
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/siege-engines/
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/craft/
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/item-creation-feats/craft-wondrous-item-item -creation/
http://legacy.aonprd.com/coreRuleBook/magicItems/magicItemCreation.html
To be honest, if I have the crew and the materials, it's not a stretch to craft the siege weapons, especially if I'm trained on it. Regardless, if that's the ruling, at least I guess I can still use the craft skill I trained to repair the engines if they break.
Keep the food. We can take it back to our home base (they need stuff too I'm sure).
Siege engines aren't inherently magical so regular crafting rules should apply. The 1000gp/day is magical item creation.
That shortbow is tempting....
GMDQ - I hope you had a good trip :)
Kahuranga - did you buy scrolls of Fly and Hostile Levitation, or did you decide on something else?
Chakam - Hopefully we can put you to work at some point in our dry dock on Brightglass Isle. Eventually we should build siege engines to defend the stronghold and for our other ship(s). For now, we'll just get some "off the shelf" here in town.
Lathiira - I like the idea of Thren having that nice bow. Let's get it!
We sold a ton of stuff for 13,350 gp
We spent 10,230 GP
We have 6,000 GP, two very nice tapestries (2 plunder), Jemma Redclaw's prosthetic arm (~6400 gp) and a few other things (Stalker's Mask, +1 trident, bunches of masterwork and regular weapons in the ship's armory, etc.)
Purchases
------------
200 - Sending (to Kelizar), 100 - Corvus, 300 - Ram, 550 - light catapult, 750 - scrolls for Kahuranga, 8,330 - +2 shortbow
To Be Sold
------------
Banded Mail +1, hide armor +2, quarterstaff +1, "+1" kukri (of Garundi make), mithral buckler (engraved with the image of a flame)
composite longbow +1 (+7 Str) with 32 arrows
2 unworked obsidian stones, 2 unworked abalone shells, 2 unworked rhodochrosite, bloodstone, garnet, rhodochrosite
divine scroll of neutralize poison (CL 7), 2000, divine scroll of barkskin (CL 3), 375, arcane scroll of daze (CL 1), 25, arcane scroll of water breathing (CL 3), 375, arcane scroll of comprehend languages (CL 1), 25
If I were narrating our next steps, it might go like this. Hopefully this isn't too far off the mark:
The group goes on a huge spree of commercial activity. Chad is thrown in the deep end of his new job as quartermaster. Chakam is busy mounting their new weapons on the ship.
The Besmara's Whim sails east back to Yoha's Graveyard, once again towing the Gryphon Unfettered. Soon after some people report seeing an ominous shadow passing eastward as well. Surely that wasn't a dragon flying near Hell Harbor...
The Besmara's Whim, now with nothing in tow, sails west to Brightglass Isle.