GMG's PbP: Shackles adventures (Inactive)

Game Master Magabeus

Scratcher, now with a foe in front of him, grins through his armored mask. "Yo, bird fer brains, this aintcha ship!". Scratcher swiftly calls for Milani to enhance his aim as he looks to remove the tengu's weapon.

Swift action to use Fervor to buff self with Divine Favor

Flurry Disarm @ Tengu: 1d20 + 12 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 12 + 2 - 2 = 19

Short sword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Short sword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Scratcher disarms the tengu and follows up with a nasty uppercut! The two halflings step in while drawing short swords. Grisaia easily fends of both attacks.

Initiative
Link for GM
A staggered creature may take a single move action or standard action each round (but not both, nor can he take full-round actions). A staggered creature can still take free, swift and immediate actions
Emmett: staggered 22/22 hp
Tori: staggered
- - -
Tengu -7 hp
- - -
Grisaia: 30/38 hp
Xasay: 1 STR damage, 20/20 hp
Scratcher: 38/38 hp
- - -
Female halfling -6 hp
Male halfling

Bold can act

Are we still staggered due to a spell or some other condition? It seems like an awfully long time.

"Seriously, how did these people get on the boat?" Tori asks with annoyed confusion as she steps five feet to the southwest and fires an arrow at the Tengu.

+1 Longbow + PBS - DA: 1d20 + 12 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 12 + 1 - 2 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 1 + 4 = 14

Sorry Tori, it is an awfully long time indeed. But it is correct.

Tori shoots an arrow into the captain's cabin, past Scratcher and she hits the tengu right in the left eye. Without a sound he collapses. After that the two halfling are quick to surrender themselves. It turns out that they climbed aboard through a window in the stern of the ship and then moved below decks. You indeed find a small boat tied to the rudder of the ship.

What do you do with the tengu and halflings?

Tori moves as quickly as she can towards the halflings despite being staggered. Pointing her bow at one of them, she says, "Talk. Who are you and why were you trying to take the ship?"

If a social check is required, I'll defer first to someone who wants to try diplomacy before making an intimidate check.

"Your willingness to cooperate and make amends will determine your fate." Grisaia informs them evenly, clearly holding her anger in check.

"Ask him!" the halflings say and point to the Tengu "he was our leader, promised us all a greater share in plunder than Varosa gave us!"

"Well, in that case," Tori says as she lowers her bow and pulls out her healing wand, "We better stop him from dying if we want any answers."

Speaking isn't Emmett's strong suit - so he just stands by trying to look intimidating. He doesn't do that very well either, coming across more as a doofus.

Intimidate Aid: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

He is good at searching things, though, so he will make sure the halflings have no hidden weapons and check out the cabin they came from.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Xasay looks up at Grisaia.

"Do you wish to take point? I get the feeling you're a bit better at this sort of thing than I am."

Also, it's up to you if you want to use a spell to heal the Tengu instead of wand charges.

I can use a fervor, depending on how negative he is.

Scratcher ties up the tengu and places a hand on the birdman's wound.

Fervor: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Scratcher looks at his hands, frowning under the metal mask. "Tink it's bloody busted."

You stabilize the tengu and when he regains his consciousness he hisses at you. "I will only speak to Lanterni, not to her mercenaries!"

However you insist, you can not get him to say anything else. The next day Captain Lanterni arrives at the ship. She sees the tengu, who you bound to the mast, and quickly draws her rapier.

"Hyrix! You know the punishment for mutiny is to die!"

Seeing the drawn steel, Grisaia steps forward, free hand raised in supplication. "Before punishment is meted out, Captain, it may be wise to hear the cause for mutiny."

She scoffs "Hyrix and his companions are mutineers and should have already been keelhauled! I won't have them misleading you as they did part of my crew!"

Give me a diplomacy check please

"It would be a show of good faith and confidence in your rectitude, Captain. The mutiny may not have been justified, but such things never happen without a crew that has some cause to be unhappy."

aid Grisaia's Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

"And if greed was all that motivated them, then justice can be delivered with a clear conscience."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 2 = 27

Emmett watches the scene unfold, not really sure what to do.

"Ok, he can talk. But in my cabin, the rest of the crew shouldn’t have to hear his squawking anymore. And afterwards he will have to walk the plank"

You enter her cabin with the tengu. As soon as he is able he turns to you "She’s shot her husband and cocaptain, Warvil Lanteri and then stole his share of the key to the fabled treasure of Jemma Redclaw! She is bound to kill you to when you have done what she hired you for!"

Captain Lanteri doesn’t deny it, but points out she did say there’d be more work to do before you all earned gold and glory. She also points
out to Hyrix that Warvil pulled a pistol on her before she killed him, and that the jinx eater incited a mutiny on a ship legitimately owned by Varossa Lanteri.

Hyrix admits to both points, but warns you that Captain Lanteri is not to be trusted and you should kill her now...

"Well, the captain here did hire us, and wasn't the one that attacked us. I get that you don't want to walk the plank, but you aren't saying anything here to convince me differently."

"Well, why did your husband pull a gun on you?" Tori asks Captain Lanteri, her voice full of tension.

"I understand your grievance with the captain, but wish you had spoken to us before you turned to violence. While she may turn against us as you say, you have already done so." Her gaze is regretful as she regards the mutineer. "And I promise you that if the captain does as you have, the result shall be the same." At that Grisaia turns to Captain Lanteri. "The Eternal Rose teaches redemption, and it would ease my heart if no further blood were shed. By our agreement, I will abide your decision."

"Count Ranalc teaches that there are worse things than treachery, and that if one would avoid its pain, it is best not to do anything to earn betrayal. I would humbly admonish both parties, captain and mutineer, that whoever we sail with would do well not to turn on us -
but I, for one, feel more inclined to trust the mutineer. You have both been honest in this exchange, but of the two of you, only the captain has, to date, hidden anything from us."

Varosa Lanterni fixes the small wayang in her eyes "And what kind of captain would not hide some things from her crew? Are you really saying that you will start another mutiny?"

To Grisaia she nods "I am willing to put him and those two halflings on a deserted island were they can find plenty of food. It is then up to Desna if they can ever leave that place"

"As to why my husband pointed a gun at me? He did not want to seek out the treasure of Jemma Redclaw. I loved the man, but when it comes to living or dying I prefer to be alive."

"So, what will it be, another mutiny or abiding by our agreement?"

"Why didn't your husband want you to look for the treasure? Furthermore, why did that require him threatening you with a gun? If he didn't want to get involved, I don't see why he couldn't just leave you to you fate." Tori adds, apparently not satisfied with Varosa's answer.

She rests her hand on her pistol and frowns "I have indulged you already, Do I need to remind you who is captain here? I will answer this one and then I want to know whether you are loyal to me."

"As the co-captain next to me he felt that the risks outweigh the reward. As for not getting involved: that is quite hard when half the ship is yours. I would never let him go somewhere without me either. Why he felt that he needed to pull a gun on me: I have no idea."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

"I will stand by your decision, captain. I have already offered my counsel, no more, no less."

Sense Motive, Shadow Speaker: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Can you aid another with Sense Motive? Grisaia ninja-posted me.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Waiting to find out the status of Xasay's Sense Motive as well as the reaction of some of the others.

Xasay: not in this instance. You have no opportunity to discuss what you see / point out irregularities to each other. Note that even if you could aid her it would be Grisaia's sense motive that succeeded, so she would gain the knowledge under the spoiler.

"That certainly is good enough little shadow. With that being said: back to business! The ship is almost ready, we can sail soon and will leave this piece of scum on an island where he can spend the rest of his days."

She removes the hand from her pistol and walks towards the door of her cabin.

"Whew! That got a little tense, didn't it? I mean, I didn't know if guns would start blazing or what! Still, gad these fellows ain't gonna be fed to sharks or keel-hauled, but deserted on an island seems awfully fair for mutineers. Don't you think?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Emmett smiles knowingly at the Captain's response, but doesn't say anything. Later, out of earshot from the rest of the crew, he mentions his suspicions to the others.

"I think she knows why he used a gun to make his point, but she isn't going to give up that information easily..."

"Very well. I will talk to the crew tomorrow morning and we will set sail shortly afterward."

The end of Part 1

Start of Part 2

The next morning you cast of. The captain informs you that she will speak to the crew after the tengu and halfling have been marooned on an island. A few days later that is done and once the ship is on a outbound course, she gathers the crew on deck.

"Listen up! We are on our way to secure the legendary treasure of Jemma Redclaw! I have one part of the key to that treasure, we only have to found the other three parts. For that task I have hired these specialists" She points at the pathfinders

"I have some good ideas where and how to find the other parts. I am sure we will get to them in the coming weeks. After that we will retrieve the treasury and live our lives in such a luxury that the hurricane king will seem to be a pauper!"

The crew cheer and she cheers with them "Now get back to work while I brief our specialists!"

You are invited in her cabin where she places a bottle containing a weathered piece of parchment on the table, then carefully extracts the parchment and unfolds it for you to read see map. Written with charcoal, the short letter includes a rough sketch of a short, twisted musical horn at the bottom. After you have read it she puts the parchment back in the bottle.

Varossa explains that her husband was stranded on an island he named “Warvil’s Folly,” and wrote the note when he thought he was going to die there. He later managed to escape the island, though Varossa has no idea how, but he kept the letter as a memento of his dedication to her and she found it among her things after she died. Varossa says that she needs your help to find each of the pieces, and that more detailed plans can be made as the Magpie Princess gets closer to each piece.

"It will probably take approximately a week before we get in the vicinity of the first piece"

"A week? Anything we should be doing while we wait?"

"Yeah, okay. Any chance you can give us a little bit of background on our first destination?" Tori asks, although a bit more subdued in her manner around Captain Varossa after recent events.

"Mingle with the crew, hone your fighting skills and be ready. As for some background, I will tell you when we are closer" she replies.

You spend the next day doing just that. At the end of the day you find yourself on deck with six other sailors on deck when you approach to a few hundred feet from a rock spire that rises majestically out of the ocean. Its limestone spikes are too steep to have beaches or allow a boat to safely dock with them. The officers or in their cabins and below deck. An enchanting song suddenly flows from from the spire...

I rolled your saves and failed all of them, which I though is really lame. 1 round of actions if you made your safe.

A pity Grisaia doesn't have silence prepared.

Will save, Shadow Speaker: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

"Listen to that. Somewhere out there is a virtuoso - no, a fledgling divinity of song! What if she's trapped? We should help her!"

Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

"I've heard tales about sea sirens before, but I don't know anything real about them. It's always bad, though." Tori says warily as she arms herself with her bow.

Will ready an action to attempt to restrain someone if they appear to be doing something out of the ordinary.

Will Save: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19 Bloody hell, that was close...

"May Shelyn grant us the luck to persevere against them then." Grisaia breathes, readying her glaive.

Buff: Beacon of Luck.

Yes, this is a lot better than all of you failing and going to meet your doom! After Emmett and Scratcher have reacted we will move forward

Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

"That voice... it's beautiful!"

Still on vacation until the 12th, although I will have better reception from the 7th - 11th, barring that I can't update the map on my phone. Will: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

"What lovely lass be singin' ta me 'art through ma ears?"

-Posted with Wayfinder

Oh dear, that would be 3/5 of us....

folio reroll: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Shucks. Emmet? Scratcher? You have rerolls of some sort?

Do you get re-rolls for GM Stars? I don't have any t-shirts, etc., and just checked chronicles but to no avail. I have never used a re-roll before...

Link to reroll items

Out from the spire a creature with the body of a hawk and the head of a beautiful woman with long, shining hair flies towards the ship. It flies fast, but can't close the distance yet.

1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

One of the crew points to it and shouts "What is that!?" while the others are captivated by the continuing song "She is so lovely...."

Initiative
Obsession: An obsessed victim becomes defensive of the siren and does all he can to prevent harm from coming to her, going so far as attacking his allies in her defense. The victim is not controlled by the siren, but views her as a cherished ally. This is a charm effect.
Grisaia
Torry
Emmett - obsessed
Xasay - obsessed
Scratcher - obsessed
Crew 5 obsessed, 1 not
- - -
Siren @100 feet distance

"Is it an angel?"

Yep, no re-rolls for me.

Is it obvious the others are under some sort of effect? If not, is there a roll to make to determine that? If not, I'll guess Tori will just attack and I'll get ready ooc for a beat down. :)

Yes, this one is obvious. Also you always know when you are required to make a save, although you do not necessary know what the source is

"Uh, are you still good, Grisaia? Apparently this song only works on males. I don't really want to have to fight off the other guys, so if you have some bright ideas, I'm all ears." Tori says with some tension.

I'll probably delay this round unless Grisala has something that can free one of the others from the song. If we can get it down to just two PC's attacking, I think I can handle it for awhile.

makes sense