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

Game Master WhtKnt

Change Shape: Land
Con +2 (+12 hp, +1 fort); Ferocity; Bite +8 1d6+2

Faengrim changes into his land-shark form and begins climbing up to the creeper.
Climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Bump for Dantes and Satinder.

Dantes makes his way up the side of the ship, relying on any lines that may be hanging from the side.

Climb 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (13) + 0 = 13

Sorry, hospital..
Is there any way to get higher? We are at the top of the mast now, right? I want to get up there!

From the top of the mast, you are able to reach the canopy. I suppose that you could grab the canopy and climb in, but that would be extremely dangerous with the creeper up there.

Got it!
Satinder readies herself for when one of the tendrils come down, to hack at it as best she can!

At the top of the mast, Chumtooth ties off his harpoon and hurls it, striking the central mass of the creeper. Satinder waits in anticipation for the tendrils to come down. Dantes climbs aboard the vessel, as Faengrim begins heading to the rigging. The creeper extends vines towards the three crew members in the rigging, wrapping around them. You may attempt to sever the vines; vine tendrils have 10 hit points, DR 5/slashing, and a Break DC of 21. If you fail, you are grappled.

Chumtooth gnashes at the vine with his teeth.

Attack: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 9 - 1 + 1 = 18

Damage: 1d8 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 - 1 = 6

He also slashes with his kukri.

Attack: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 9 - 1 + 1 = 18

Damage: 1d4 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 - 1 = 5

Faengrim continues to climb up to the creeper hoping to get an attack on it.

Climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Claw: magic, silver
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Dmg: 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 2 = 7
Satinder will make this her prey for today, since it seems to be a worthy foe!
--
Probably no sneak attack? :-D

Dantes works on climbing up to the deck.

Climb 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12

No, no sneak attack.

Chumtooth is grabbed by one of the vines, fighting as he goes. He gnashes with his teeth and slashes with his kukri, finally managing to sever the vine. Dantes hauls himself aboard the deck. Satinder is grabbed by a vine and plucked from the rigging as a tick might be removed from a dog. Faengrim, drawing near, is also pulled free by a vine and hoisted into the air! (Chumtooth and Satinder each take 4 points of damage and lose a point of Strength. Faengrim takes 3 damage and loses a point of Strength.)

The party is up!

To clarify: Satinder and Faengrim are being held by vines in midair. Dantes is on the deck below and Chumtooth is hanging on the rigging.

(Question for GM: Is the harpoon embedded in the vine creature?)

What can Faengrim attack? The 'arm' holding him? The main mass of the creature?

Claw: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 1 = 14 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Claw: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 1 = 21 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Bite: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 8 + 1 = 19 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Bite: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 1 = 10 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Faengrim wants to wait to attack the main body, but doesn't want to be grappled while doing so. If he can't get to the main body, he'll settle for the tentacle.

Dantes plucks a flask from his bandolier and pitches it as high as he can, trying to get it into the foliage above.

Throwing a flask of alchemist's fire, trying to hit the creature above.
To hit 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Damage 1d6 + 0 ⇒ (1) + 0 = 1

Negative, Chumtooth. RAW, the harpoon only grapples on a critical hit.

Faengrim, at the moment, you are grappled. If you can get free, you may climb into the canopy to attack the main body of the creature, but that would be extremely dangerous.

Chumtooth reels-in the harpoon and hurls it at the creature again.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

In that case, Faengrim tries to escape and climb.

CMB: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 1 = 25 w/haste

Climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

I am correct in assuming I can attack the vine holding me?
Atk: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 8 + 2 = 171d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9
Atk: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 2 = 161d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9

Satinder tries to use her blade to slice at the vine holding her, above her head. She is mildly succesful, not being able to use her hips limits her range of movements.

"MAGE!" she cries out in reflexive anger as a glass vial ziffs past her face.

Yes, Satinder, you can attack the vine.

Chumtooth hurls his harpoon, slamming it home into the central mass of the creature again. Satinder slashes at the vine holding her, cutting it away from the main body of the creature. Faengrim tries to slip free of the vine holding him but finds himself held fast. Dantes hurls an alchemists fire into the canopy, but it misses the bulk of the creature. The crew continues to pepper the creature with arrows, even as it reaches for more crew members.

The party is up!

Chumtooth reels in the harpoon again and heaves it at the creature.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Dantes casts a spell, engulfing himself in invisibility, and moves over to where Chumtooth is so he can bolster him further.

Cast invisibility and move to Chumtooth.

Faengrim gives up trying to escape and chooses to chew his way out.

Bite: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 1 = 21 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Bite: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 1 = 14 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Bite: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 1 = 16 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Atk: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 2 = 241d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 2 = 12
Atk: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 2 = 121d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 2 = 10

Satinder continues slashing and bashing with all her might, and loves the feel of ichor splashing on her face. She lets her blade slice to the core of the vine.

Again Chumtooth spears the beast. Satinder slashes at the vines that surround her, preventing any from making contact. Dantes begins climbing into the rigging (need a Climb check, please Dantes). Faengrim resorts to biting his way free and quickly cuts through the vine holding him.

The creeper continues its assault on the ship, vines snaking down to grab two more hapless crewmen, even as they hurl arrows at the creature.

The crew is up!

Chumtooth reels in the harpoon and hurls it at the creature again, trying his best to get the barb to lodge in its body.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Change Shape: Land
Con +2 (+12 hp, +1 fort); Ferocity; Bite +8 1d6+2

Climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25 Faengrim tries to climb up to the creeper, attacking if he can.

Claw: magic, silver, haste
To Hit: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 1 = 22 To Hurt: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Atk: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 2 = 161d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 2 = 10
Atk: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 2 = 191d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 2 = 11

Satinder's fury takes the upper hand, bolstered by her pain and stemming from fear the creature will once again squeeze the life out of her. She keeps going, relentlessly, and her face is ashen as she strikes, again and again.

How many rounds of haste left?

Standing invisibly next to Chumtooth, Dantes imbues his captain with Strength, hoping it will help him land a critical blow with his harpoon.

Augment to Chumtooth, giving +2 enhancement to Strength for three rounds.

With Faengrim in the canopy, attacking the beast directly, and Chumtooth and Satinder hitting pretty much every round, along with the crewmen firing arrows into it, I'm going to say that the creature is soon defeated. It only has 120 hp left, and is losing 10 hp per round to the crew, plus what you folks do to it. At best, it will last another 10 rounds, and probably less than that. So...

Combat over!

At long last, the creature is defeated, bringing the battle to a close. You have lost several crewmen but their numbers, bolstered by the crew from the other vessel, are still enough to run the ship.

Chumtooth raises his fist in victory as the horrible plant creature writhes through its final death throes.

"Drop anchor and secure the rigging!" he shouts to the crew.

He unties the harpoon line from the mast, then makes his way back down to the deck.

"Who has wounds?" he asks his officers. "Let us treat the injured, then make plans to go ashore and seek the treasure."

Satinder feels sluggish after the effect of the spell has worn off. She is intrigued, as the feeling of such pure energy rushing through her veins leaves her wanting more.

She snaps out of her thoughts as the captain bellows his order.
"You heard the captain! Uninjured to work, injured line up and let your wounds be inspected."
She looks around for someone in particular, and adds "Yes even you Timmy! A shallow cut can still prove fatal!"

The anchor cannot reach the bottom of the deep hole over which the ship floats. The sun has set now, and dark settles in. The ship's cleric has his hands full seeing to the injured.

"We need to move the ship out of the bay, to shallow water, and take small boats to shore," Chumtooth says to the officers.

"We can seek the treasure with the sunrise."

He looks to his officers, clearly offering them a chance to state their opinions.

Dantes cannot seem to take his eyes off of the island.

"Yes, captain. Of course. That would be prudent. Yes, indeed."

Despite his words, the dwarf seems a heartbeat away from diving overboard and swimming to the island!

But he sets about to preparations, pulling aside a couple of crew members to see to the provisioning of the longboats.

Faengrim nods his agreement and starts helping getting the ship and especially her new crew members into top shape.

Any help with the healing?

The cleric has his hands full, but he will rest the night and see to the party's healing in the daylight hours unless someone is critically wounded. We'll assume that you can be fully healed before heading off to the island.

Comes the dawn and with it, the lookout calls, "Cap'n!"

The crew rushes up onto the deck. As the first light of dawn peeks into the darkened cove from the east, the jungle cliffs come alive with patterns of shadow and light in a thousand fanciful, ever-shifting shapes. When the sun is fully up, the cliffs will return to their normal appearance, but for these few moments, they are almost magical with this display of shadow art. In the shadowy half-light, a group of caves and crevices on the cliff face takes on the appearance of a grinning skull. As the morning sun illuminates the shadow that resembles the skull’s mouth, a previously unseen glint of gold sparkles brightly in the sunlight, as if the skull has a gold tooth.

"From blue bight’s embrace, spy the Grave Lady’s prize tooth with the Dawnflower’s first kiss. Climb the Captain’s wayward orb to claim old king’s hoard," Kroop breathes, reciting the lines from the poem.

Chumtooth nods in acknowledgement of Mr. Kroop's recitation. "The treasure waits for us in the skull's eye," he says. "Bring rope, spades, and bags to carry out the gold."

He looks to his officers. "To the longboat!"

"Yes, let's be off!"

The dwarf seems feverish in his passion to find this treasure.

He studies the view of the skull, looking for landmarks or any distinguishing features that will help them find it when they are actually up close to the terrain.

Faengrim is eager to get to the treasure. He gets some digging and climbing tools. He grabs a machete too, in case they need to clear some jungle.

The longboat is lowered and the quartet of officers (and a small band of men) rows towards shore. Thirty feet above the beach, two caves open into the cliff face where the skull’s eye sockets would be. Ascending to these caves reveals the rotten stub of a wooden boom (invisible from below) that was likely used to hoist heavy loads up to the caves.

You are faced with a choice; will you enter the right or left eye socket, as you are looking at them? (To clarify, the left is the skull's right eye and to your right is the skull's left eye.)

Q: Does the skull appear to be looking more towards our right or to our left?

Straight ahead.

Q: Does the "tooth" appear to be beneath the eye to our left or the eye to our right?

Heh heh heh. Clever. It appears to be beneath the eye to your left (the right eye of the skull).

Change Shape: Land
Con +2 (+12 hp, +1 fort); Ferocity; Bite +8 1d6+2

Faengrim will be the first into the eye.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

Sorry, still here, just smashed at work.

Satinder is distracted through the night and the following morning. She goes about the place, throught her routines, but her mind wanders.

When Faengrim changes his appearance, she simply blinks and continues on her path.

She mumbles in Kuru.

”Wayward means ‘away from,’ yes?” Chumtooth says, looking for linguistic confirmation. ”The eye away from the Tooth in the song is that one,” he says, pointing at the skull’s left eye, to the party’s right.

From blue bight’s embrace
Spy the Grave Lady’s prize tooth
With the Dawnflower’s first kiss
Climb the Captain’s wayward orb
To claim old king’s hoard

"As I recall, the captain in question was missing his right eye. As I interpret the verse, we would need to explore the cave representing the captain's right eye."