GM WhtKnt's Open Water - A Skull & Shackles Adventure Path

Game Master WhtKnt

Excellent. All right, then! Follow-up: can we only aid a Survival check with Survival, or can we add a Knowledge (nature) check with Survival?

I'll go ahead and make the Profession (sailor) checks now, but I'll hold off on aiding (presumably) Dantes for a bit until I know whether I can successfully aid.

I'm not sure why its showing my old level 7 profile. I'll see what I can do about getting the right one pasted in there.

In this instance, I'll allow the Knowledge (nature) to cross over for purposes of aiding.

Just checking in--do you need anything else from us for this leg of the race, GM?

No, just got behind is all. Will be posting today.

All: Navasi has just informed me that they will be withdrawing from the game due to personal commitments. If you all wish, I can fish (no pun intended) for a replacement, or we can carry on with the four that we have.

Reminiscent of the broken mast-as-sea anchor scene in Master and Commander. Lucky Jack Aubrey had to make the tough call.

We could put out a call for an extra player, but I think the remaining four have most of the bases covered.

I would say if we go with a fifth, a full Cleric or a Skill-Monkey of some sort would be a good choice.

Sorry to see you go, Navasi.

As the newest player, I'll defer to the others in the party. But I also feel like we have our bases covered fairly well.

I need to watch Master and Commander again! I haven't seen it since I saw it in the theater.

I'm good in either case.

I don't have a preference myself.

Checking our skills, our potential deficits, where our numbers are limited, are Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Handle Animal, Survival, and Use Magic Device. Carmelia has healing hands and is a trapspringer with versatile spellcasting. Chumtooth is strong and intimidating, and a helluva captain. Dantes is a librarian, with the most versatile spellcasting in the game. Faengrim is deadly with a bunch of useful skills to contribute. If there's anything I feel like we could benefit from, it's a face/charismatic spy. We could live without, but it could be fun.

A Shantyman-spy-information broker-type might not go amiss.

I see the Recruitment net has been cast. Let's hope for a great catch!

How much would our prospective new officer know about the Kiss of Vengeance and our reputation?

Is there a Rumors list we could generate that would be fun for them to play with on first meeting that we could post in the recruitment thread?

That sounds like a blast!

I'm thinking of something like the Rumor List that appeared in the old Keep on the Borderlands D&D adventure module. Some of them were true and some of them were false. We could see how well we've cultivated our reputation. I'm just wondering if DM WhtKnt could give us some direction on the ratio of true to false, and also if we should make up the false rumors, or if he wants the honors of doing so.

Sounds like fun! I'd be down for this! Shoot me some stuff you folks would like to see on it, and I'll salt in a few of my own.

So what does everyone else think? I'm really liking "Mad" Marvin Dundlerock myself, but Randall McNally and Prasi Marin would be good fits as well. I'm on the fence about Cassandra Tyche, simply because I have never had a harrower in any of my games. She sounds like an interesting character, though.

Prasi Marin and Zube were the two that seemed like good fits to me. I have no objection to Randall McNally or "Mad" Mavin if the majority prefers either of them. Cassandra is more of a Buffer and less of a Face, and I think we're in more need of a Face. I liked her concept, though!

"Mad" Marvin is an interesting character (they all are!), but doesn't really add much to the party. Prasi Marin, Zube, and Randall McNally all bring something new that would be useful.

Of those, I'd lean towards Prasi, then Randall.

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As for rumors, something about each of the four of us would be fun, like how Chumtooth bites out the tongue and chews off the fingers of certain victims. Carmelia is still relatively new to the crew so as to likely not have earned too much of a reputation yet (though she's hoping to change that with the regatta). Maybe a rumor about her associations with the Red Mantis Assassins?

My work schedule has kept me from reading the submissions. I'll have to defer to you guys.

I'm not quite sure how to get Prasi into the action. The easiest and most believable way is to say that she was among the crew and is elevated to the status of ship's officer with the loss of Navasi. What do you folks think?

How close are we to the end of the race? If it’s almost finished, you could have Prasi watching through a spyglass from shore or a small boat near the end of the course. She could then approach us at the end of the race.

Granted, if we’re halfway or less through the race, the field promotion idea probably would be smoother and faster.

Hi team, hi GM! Thanks for the invite!

Don’t worry, I can wait until the right moment. I like Chumtooth’s idea - maybe Prasi was sent there because the Kitharodian Academy heard about the rumors (the funny ones you were creating!) and wanted an extra pair of eyes on the race.

Thanks again for the opportunity! Excited to join.

Welcome, Prasi! I kind of like the idea that Prasi is one of our recent recruits who has a chance to step up.

You're probably a little more than halfway through. I'd hate to make her wait through several posts.

I just gave the order to make best speed with the remaining sails, so introduce Prasi by having her do some amazing acrobatics in the rigging to secure the lines.

Oh, I can pole dance the hell out of those rigs!

Please do and Carmelia will fangirl.

Not trying to steal the moment from our newest party member, but I noticed Prasi doesn't have any ranks in Climb or Profession Sailor.

Perhaps she can do an Acrobatics check to walk the yard-arm and offer an assist, or maybe she is inspired to sing a shanty to keep the crew's morale up? Inspire competence would add to everyone's rolls going forward, which would definitely get her noticed!

Hi team - sorry, I’m a little under the weather today. I’ll be posting something useful tomorrow evening. Apologies again on the slowness today.

Hi team! So, I was reading the action, and curious if I could/should post anything. I didn't see the GM authorizing me to do so, and I don't want to mess with you guys' action! Prasi can't really do the profession sailor or shipwright checks, but as Chumtooth noticed, she would be dancing around and running some inspire competence if she was allowed :) Like I mentioned above, I wasn't kidding about pole dancing on the rigs!

It sounds like an interesting way to get introduced to the party impactfully enough to be invited to join the leadership, while it would imply that she had been with them on the ships, and therefore could hypothetically even know a bit about one or another.

Faengrim is the primary liaison between the officers and the rank and file crew. He would be the one most likely to know Prasi beyond just face and name. Faengrim was also a field promotion from the rank and file, if I recall correctly.

I think I just jumped straight in with an intro when I joined (after I confirmed some character choices). So I'd say join and we'll get you sorted in.

Yes, sorry Prasi, please do jump right in! We'll get it all straight!

Faengrim was a field promotion.

QUESTION:

Do we know where we are postion-wise in the race? Are we in the lead? If so, by how much? If not, how close are we currently behind the lead ship?

You can't be sure, but you are definitely among the leaders. There may be one of two ahead of you, but it is impossible to know for certain. At this point, you are not going to risk anything by taking the easier path on this obstacle, and even if you decide to avoid one or both reefs, you can still make sailing checks to increase your race score.

I want to hold off on casting potentially redundant spells until 1) Dantes casts his batch, 2) Carmelia determines what she knows about lightning elementals.

I've been keeping an eye here to find out when it's Prasi's turn to act again.

My ask is that everybody please make sure to consider everything Prasi cast/used on their rolls! Haste, Good Hope, performances, etc.; details on her post in game. It would be impossible for me to keep track for everybody, so please make sure you're making good use of all the fun bonuses :)

A quick question: do I need to devote any actions to keeping the ship on track?

And a longer question: is it possible to do a sailing action to do anything fun environmental like smack the elemental with a beam or bring someone closer/further away?

Also, how far away is the elemental from each of us?

The elemental is currently about 30 feet from Chumtooth and Carmelia, five feet from Faengrim, and about 20 feet from Prasi and Dantes. You don't need to make a roll to keep on course right now. Left to its own devices, the ship will travel in the direction it has been heading (and Hap can handle keeping it steady). If you want to try a sailing action to do something specific, let me know what you are attempting and give me a roll.

Perfect. First things first, then I'll try to get creative.

Pinging Faengrim and Dantes.

I'm going to ask for a pass for a couple of days. I found out today that my best friend since high school committed suicide on Thursday. When we didn't see him at our Friday night game and couldn't get him on the phone, my wife and I went over to check on him today and found out. Please grant me a few days to process this.

Very sorry for your loss, mate. Please take how much ever time you need, don't bother with the games.

Of course. I am so sorry. Take the time you need.

So sorry to hear about this. Take whatever time you need.

I am so sorry to hear, WhtKnt. Please take all the time you need. If there is anything that internet strangers can do other than offer condolences and space, please let us know.