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GM Jlighter's Serpent's Skull Campaign (Inactive)

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Male Human Paladin/1

Darius moves in with a swing of his mace.

heavy mace- 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 151d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Sorry about the hold-up. A lot of overtime. Should be clear now. Will post much more frequently.

I was was waiting for the scorpion's move. I thought it had initiative, sorry. You can go ahead and run combat if I take too long. This time z'Graggen's tactic's are straight forward: Skewer the beast!

Spear (2 handed) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Piercing Damage if applicable. 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8. No rage this time.
Master

Ah. Sorry about the mix-up there. My bad.

The Ship:
The sea-scorpion scuttles forward, lashing out with its stinger as it comes within range. It hits the deck between z'Graggen and Darius. z'Graggen cooly sticks it with the spear, and Darius crushes what passes for its face.

As you take stock of the situation, it seems as if the sea-scorpion was trying to get to the source of the dark fluid seeping from under the door. The fluid turns out to be blood, and it turns out the door has warped shut. After a concerted effort and a lot of grunting, you manage to burst the door open. Inside is the supply room, and slumped against one wall is first mate Alton Devers, dead. It seems the blood is coming from his body. His body has a number of wounds, although there seem to be two different kinds. One set is made up of small puncture wounds, while the other is a set of raw, inflamed holes.

z'Graggen:
Examining the wounds closely lets you identify the first set as puncture wounds from a rapier or similar weapon. The second set seems to be a poison sting, likely from more of the sea-scorpions like those you just faced. It was this set that likely killed him.

Search the Room:
Upon further investigation, this turns out to be the supply room. A number of things have survived intact that could be useful, consisting of the following items:
  • 1 block and tackle
  • 3 large canvas sheets
  • 2 fishing nets
  • 1 grappling hook
  • 2 bullseye lanterns
  • 12 flasks of lantern oil
  • 150 ft hemp rope
  • 5 shovels

    Examination of Devers's body reveals that his armor, although pierced in a few places, is mostly intact. Gear that can be stripped from his body consist of:

  • 1 Mwk Studded Leather Armor (Medium size; Craft DC 13 to re-size within one size category)
  • 1 Mwk Short Sword (Medium-size; rough equivalent Small Longsword or Large Dagger)

    • Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Would it be possible to recover my crossbow bolt from the floor? (these might have to last a long time) Is the captain's cabin the only other surviving structure/doorway on the wreckage?

    z'Graggen unceremoniously strips the man of his armour. As he does he examines the corpse - while chatting with it congenially...

    "Well, matey. I hope ye don't mind me taken' yer stuff. By the Beard o' the Smith some one stuck you up pretty bad with a sword before the scorpions put ye down fer good. Of course. Ye wouldn't mind would ye. 'Cause yer stone dead! Poor bloke. At least we got shovels to bury ye with. Hey. I could use this 'ere armour. It looks pretty decent. Any objections, boys?"
    Master

    Aerys: Ammunition is destroyed roughly 50% of the time when used, including crossbow bolts. In cases like this, it will likely end up being a roll high/low break-down. I rolled for you this time, so you do recover it.

    z'Graggen:
    [ooc]I'm half-tempted to make him talk back to you, but I can't. :P
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Aerys picks up his backpack and moves down to pry his crossbow bolt from the floor. "So the first mate was stabbed first and then left to the scorpions? Given the rapier seen on the captain, I'm again inclined to suspect him. Perhaps he had made some deal to drug us and deliver us to someone? Slavers possibly? The first mate opposed this and was then killed? But if that is the case, why leave us with our weapons, and then disappear? On the other hand, if the ship merely wrecked due to the storm, why were we drugged first? And why would the first mate have been killed? Or perhaps the crew mutinied, either taking or killing the captain?"

    Aerys shakes his head in confusion. "Perhaps we should check what is left of the captain's cabin?"
    Male Human Paladin/1

    Darius kneels next to his body and closes his eyes. His lips begin to move in a silent prayer. When he stands, his eyes are misty, but with a swipe of his hand, the smile returns.

    "Let us continue on, my friends, and seek out the cause of this evil deed."

    "Let's look about the rest o' the ship. Then we can figger out a way to get this stuff to shore. 'Oy. Do we even know if the tide's comin' or goin? "
    Male Human Paladin/1

    "I am no sailor, good dwarf."
    Darius Pope wrote:
    "I am no sailor, good dwarf."

    "Then let's not waste time! Who knows what we may get washed away! You go have a lookabout yerself. I'll start haulin' gear up to the deck. Then we can rig up a line with the block n' tackle fer to send the gear ashore. But first let me git this armour on. How's that sound to ye, soldier? Holler if ye git into trouble. As fer Greasemonkey here. Ye can help me or ye can help him."

    z'Graggen gets to work.
    Master

    While z'Graggen arranges to haul stuff to the upper deck, the remaining intact areas of the ship include the larder (accessible through the galley, partially intact) and the Captain's cabin. Aerys, Darius, where you headed?
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Aerys shrugs. To Darius he says, "Perhaps we should visit the captain's cabin next? We might find something to shed light on this. If we have time, an examination of the galley and the larder would be in order after that. Perhaps we can find the cook's special recipe for his soup - Varrick might find that of interest."
    Male Human Paladin/1

    "Agreed." Darius makes his way towards the captain's quarters.

    Step 1Once he has donned the armour and shortsword, z'Graggen piles as much gear into a makeshift sack made of canvas as he can and carries it up to the deck where they landed aboard. He does this until all of the gear is there.

    Step 2: Assuming nothing unusual happens before then, he will then check on his companions before commencing with Step 3

    Step 3: His plan is to string a line with the block and tackle from the ship to the shore along the path exposed by the low tide (hopefully still reasonably low). He'll string up the gear in canvas sacks to be hauled along the "causeway" to the beach. The line will serve as support for others to cross safely.

    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    if the door to the captain's cabin is closed when we get there, Aerys would do a perception check to listen at the door

    Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
    Male Human Paladin/1

    Darius pats Aerys with his large hand. "Anything?" He whispers.
    Master

    Aerys:
    Though the door to the captain's cabin is closed, it doesn't seem to be stuck. Through it, you can only hear the sound of waves coming in through an opening, such as an open window.

    z'Graggen:
    To clarify, are you trying to set up a zip-line that you can run your make-shift sacks over, or are you trying to use the block-and-tackle to haul the remains of the ship to shore? The former would take 5 minutes to set up the rope +1 per sack to be transported, and two Acrobatics checks. The latter would take closer to 30 minutes to set up the rope, and then a massive Strength check in addition to three Acrobatics checks. Just trying to clarify.

    I was thinking of setting up something like a clothes line....but for that I would need to sets of wheels. A zip line would be simpler under the circumstances. Z'Graggen will set up a zipline.
    Here are the Acrobatics checks 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12; 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

    Master

    Ah. That makes sense, and a block-and-tackle could be used that way, I suppose. The rope isn't quite long enough, though. 100 feet to shore, so you'd need 200 feet to go both ways. Good thinking, though.

    With several minutes of hard work, z'Graggen manages to tie one end of the long rope to a secure anchor point on the ship. Then, picking his way back along the ledge to shore, he finds a suitable tree to tie it to. Climbing back out to the ship, he begins to prepare several make-shift sacks with the sheets of canvas to use to transport any rescued supplies across to shore.
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Aerys seems to consult briefly with Nyx, then shakes his head. "Silence. Although the sounds of the ocean are quite loud, as if a window has been left open. Perhaps how the captain left his chamber last? Or maybe just a hole that's been bashed in during the Jenivere's wreck."

    Aerys steps back and nudges the door open.
    Master

    As the door swings open, it quickly becomes apparent that the latter possibility is the correct one. A large hole is in one side of the room, and it looks as if most of the room's possessions went out. Caught up against the hole, though, is a large, overturned desk. It looks as if it was too large to go through the hole. A large footlocker has come to rest against it.
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    "The only thing that would have restored my faith in our good captain would be his mutineer-stabbed body laying here. As it stands..." Aerys' voice trails off as he looks at the wreckage. "I would not put it past him to have lain traps on his belongings - perhaps we should just drag the footlocker back to our camp? At least then we can open it in closer proximity to healing... The desk, however, I assume must be searched here."

    Aerys would cast Detect Magic from the doorway, doing a scan of the room, then the footlocker and the desk. If nothing lights up like a Christmas tree with magical traps, he'll then look for a scrap of wood or something that could be used to hook in the drawer pulls (if their design allows) to hopefully open them while avoiding contact poison/needles/venomous reptiles or whatever other deadly trap the captain has waiting for us. He'll also do a perception check of the desk:
    perception 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

    If nothing is overtly going to kill him, Aerys would try to carefully search through the drawers, either using something to open them, or if that is not feasible, with as minimal of contact as possible...
    Master

    Aerys:
    In one of the lower drawers of the desk are roughly a dozen potions. There are two more potions in the footlocker. Other than that, however, it seems like there's nothing magical present. Unfortunately, there are no convenient scraps of wood long enough for what you're thinking, although I suppose you could break something to make one. You could also ask Darius, since his armor should have protective gauntlets. However, the desk doesn't seem to be trapped at all. It just seems like a heavy desk that fell over, with the lower drawer locked.
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Is that the entire contents of the desk? If not, open all check all the drawers. If it is, transfer everything to the footlocker for carrying, then ask Darius to help pull open locked drawer
    Male Human Paladin/1

    Darius sees Aerys struggling to open the lower drawer. He places a gentle hand on his companion's shoulder. "Shall I try, my friend?"

    str-1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
    Master

    It's not the entire contents of the desk. There are other things in there, too. Opening the upper two drawers reveals:

  • A ring with several keys
  • One map of the west coast of the continent
  • One map of Desperation Bay
  • The Captain's Log
    If you transfer those to the footlocker, the footlocker already contains:
  • A well-crafted dagger
  • A suit of leather armor
  • Two bottles that you recognize as the potions you detected earlier
  • A holy symbol of Nethys
  • A spell component pouch
    Unfortunately, Darius, not strong enough to break it open.

    •
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    "The maps and the captain's journal may prove quite interesting." Aerys examines the ring of keys, and then tries them on the locked drawer

    After that, Aerys might quickly scan thru thru the journal if there's time before z'Graggen returns. If not, he'll just wait until return to camp
    Male Human Paladin/1

    If the keys don't work...can Darius use his mace to smash it open? If no, or after, Darius follows Aerys back to camp.
    Master

    Fortunately, one of the keys proves to be the one required to open the lower drawer. Inside, there are a number of items, as follows:

  • A bottle of fine brandy
  • A darkwood model of the Jenivere in a glass bottle
  • A small coffer containing 350 gp.
  • A long leather satchel that holds a dozen bottles of liquid.

    Aerys:
    The potions in the leather satchel are as follows:
  • 4x Cure Light Wounds
  • 1x Cure Moderate Wounds
  • 4x Restoration, Lesser
  • 1x Remove Disease
  • 1x Water Breathing
  • 1x Water Walking
    There is also a larder to examine before you head back to camp.

    • Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    If possible, can all the items we've found be put in the footlocker for carrying? If not, we'll try to group it all in with the stuff z'Graggen is preparing for transport back to camp.

    Turning to Darius, Aerys frowns. "Despite my distrust of the captain, isn't it odd he would have left the ship without at least taking these potions with him? Perhaps we should check out the larder and then return to camp." Aerys grins. "By now, they probably have a quaint little village built..."
    Master

    They can be gathered into the footlocker for carrying, yes.
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Drag the footlocker out to where z'Graggen is gathering stuff, then go check out the larder
    Male Human Paladin/1

    Darius scratches his jaw, thinking a moment, before responding to Aerys. "I am not so sure of the Captain's guilt. I agree that more investigating is in order."
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Aerys nods thoughtfully. "Perhaps the first mate was behind it all, and the captain discovered this? Still, the captain's avoidance of the soup at dinner implies involvement at some level. Or were we drugged for own safety for some reason? When we get back to camp, perhaps his journals and charts will shed some light on this."

    Aerys would make sure his companions are aware of all that was found in the desk/footlocker if they aren't already
    Master

    Upon entering the larder, you are immediately aware of the body of the cook. He has bite marks on his neck and shoulders, but you can't identify what they are from. He is decidedly dead, though. Upon further inspection, you discover enough preserved rations to keep one person fed for 24 days.
    Male Human Paladin/1

    "Curiouser and curiouser," Darius says as he kneels next to the cook.
    Master

    Darius:
    You do notice that he has been dead for roughly a full day.
    Male Human Paladin/1

    Darius stands and heads out the door. "Perhaps we should head back to shore and discuss are findings with the others."
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Aerys nods his assent and moves to help z'Graggen finish his preparations.
    Master

    With help from Darius and Aerys, the work to load the supplies goes smoothly. With one trip each, you manage to take the supplies back to shore. z'Graggen then goes back out to the ship to untie the end of the rope and brings it back to shore. As you walk back down the beach, lugging your findings, you make it back to where you woke up to find that the others have been busy. There are several shelters arranged, and that Varrick is attempting to open up the prisoner's shackles. As you walk up, Alexi walks out of the jungle with several large fruits and a dead deer.
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Aerys walks over to Varrick as he works on the manacles. Kneeling beside him, he hands over the ring of keys he found in the captain's desk. "Perhaps one of these will help."

    Aerys looks over at the other passengers. "I had hoped to find Ieana still aboard the Jenivere, but that was sadly not the case. She was absent at dinner last night as well - can anyone recall the last time they might have seen her?"

    After their responses, Aerys would try to find time to read through the captain's log. He would also spread out the maps/charts that had been found for his companions. "Do these reveal to anyone what our captain's destination truly was?"
    Male Human Paladin/1

    Darius kneels down to looks at the charts.
    Master

    The Charts:
    Two of the maps are sea charts. One is of the entire west coast of Garund (southern continent), and the other is a more detailed map of the Desperation Bay area. The route is marked on both maps, leading to the port town of Eleder in Sargava. On the small map of Desperation Bay, an island named Smuggler's Shiv is marked, along with an indication of danger. No details are penned in aside from the general outline.

    Captain's Log:
    Over the course of years worth of logs, Captain Kovack proves to be a very meticulous record-keeper. This pattern continues up until the last month or so of the present run from Magnimar to Eleder. The closer you get to the present, the more infrequent entries become, and there are several places where there are multiple days between entries.

    In this same period, the entries become shorter and focus less on the journey. The captain seems to become obsessed with Ieana, the Varisian scholar. A handful of entries are poor attempts at love poems to her, while several others are laments that he seems unable to please her. In the last week, the entries take a dark turn, talking about how several crew members seem to be eying "his Ieana." In particular, he seems to suspect the first mate of being in love with her, and that he wishes Devers would just have an accident.

    The last entry is the most revealing of the reasons for your present circumstances. Kovack writes that he has changed course for Smuggler's Shiv at Ieana's request, and that he hopes the two of them will be able to make a life together on the island. His does note that the crew seem to be growing more agitated at the new course, and considers several possibilities for how he might "do something about them."
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Aerys sits cross-legged on the sand, poring through the captain's journal. Towards the end of the book he begins reading even more intently. "Well, this is certainly unexpected. It would appear our current difficulties are the result of the captain's infatuation with Ieana. Apparently she was interested in the island marked Smuggler's Shiv on the charts, and we were apparently drugged so that the ship's course could be changed in an effort to please her. He also mentions seeing the first mate as a rival - we've seen how that played out. To the captain's credit, he at least gave us our equipment & drug us to dry land to increase our odds of survival. I would then assume he and Ieana and the rest of the crew went off in search of whatever the island holds that interests Ieana?"
    Male Human Paladin/1

    Darius looks around at the others. "So what is our next move?"
    Half Elven Witch/1
    Darius Pope wrote:
    Darius looks around at the others. "So what is our next move?"

    Foolishness. Alexi couldn't believe someone would ask such a question.

    "Survive."
    Male Human Sorcerer 2 Arcane Bloodline

    Did Varrick have any luck with the keys for jask's manacles?

    "Perhaps we should camp for the night - I for one would appreciate the chance to shake off the scorpion's venom and regain my spells. In the morning do we want to see if we can find the captain and the crew? It might be our chance off of this island. But we've also seen what the captain is willing to do if he thinks we'll interfere with his hopes for Ieana." To Gelik Aberwhinge he asks "You seem to have some knowledge of this island - do you have any idea what they might be looking for?"
    Master

    Varrick:
    If you try the keys in the manacles, you find that one of them fits perfectly and opens the manacles. Once he is free, Derindi asks if his effects were recovered from the ship. He guesses they would have been in the captain's cabin, since they were given to the captain by his jailers during the transfer to the ship.

    z'Graggen:
    As a side note, the First Mate didn't die of the rapier wounds. It was the second set, the sea-scorpion stings, that killed him. The remains of the ship's launch were fastened to the side of the boat as well, but there are no tracks on the beach aside from those left by your group.
    Male Gnome Bard-2

    The Gnome sits back to think for a minute, then leans forward again. "When Cheliax first settled this area, they put up a lighthouse on the south end of the island to try and warn people away from the rocks so they wouldn't wreck. They were planning on starting a colony here, but the settlement that they managed to put together failed just before it was completed. The rumors that made it back to shore spoke of curses, haunts, and cannibals. Since then, every attempt to start a settlement has failed, and more rumors come back about ghosts and ghouls and other nasty things living here."
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