Responsibilities and expectations aren't a factor.
What about a small business owner? If you own a small coffee shop that employs a handful of people and is run by your manager because you're rarely around, are you no longer the owner? Of course you're still the owner! If you show up one day and I want to fire someone - you can. Your power and authority doesn't disappear just because you're absent 95% of the time.
So if we can pool our money in a few levels, let's just do that. The Raging Storm spends a few levels trolling around the sea under whoever Bjorkus puts in charge (likely Ragnar or Luthor). In a few levels when we've got the funds we'll have it docked somewhere and get it upgraded so we can cruise around in style!
Responsibilities and expectations aren't a factor.
False.
What about a small business owner? If you own a small coffee shop that employs a handful of people and is run by your manager because you're rarely around, are you no longer the owner? Of course you're still the owner! If you show up one day and I want to fire someone - you can. Your power and authority doesn't disappear just because you're absent 95% of the time.
Again, an unfair comparison. Just because another role has authority does not mean it's akin to being a ship captain.
A ship captain's authority is not something granted to him by any sort of higher power, and it is not defensible in any sort of way from an outside source. If the shop owner comes back and somebody says "He's not here most of the time, he can't do that!" he will show the papers and proof that he owns the shop and that he has that authority. If a ship captain comes back and somebody says "He's not here most of the time, he can't do that!" the only thing the captain can do is say "Well it's my boat and since it's mine my word is law." It's circular logic, the only authority that exists is the kind you've created. It's on too much of a small scale to be upheld if you're gone.
The authority of a pirate captain is from the rule of "Might makes right", and absolutely nothing else. That is why your comparisons are not relevant.
So are you suggesting that Bjorkus's crew will abandon him if he's gone for an extended period of time?
Perhaps you can go legit and just be the ship's owner for the time being.
So are you suggesting that Bjorkus's crew will abandon him if he's gone for an extended period of time?
Yes. Groups of law-breaking thieves and murderers do not listen to an authority that isn't present.
And the fact that Bjorkus's crew was written to be loyal and as admiring/respecting him has no merit here?
Considering Bjorkus was a small time pirate with very little power and influence, no. That's not to say they have no loyalty, the three of your crew that were still present sided with you. When you come back to reclaim power, you would have to go through a bloodbath like what just happened every time to reestablish your authority. That's just how lawbreakers operate.
The more I learn about S.H.I.E.L.D. the more I compare it to the Aestherics. A secret multinational espionage organization that deals with sensitive matters, and their leader is constantly under suspicion for having too much power and questionable motives.
You missed the lack of oversight! But yes it's a very good comparison.
Was Dalton able to land his Scrying on Luthor?
The accused lack of oversight :P
Working on it.
So you guys will have three weeks on the Raging Storm, and a significant portion of it will be downtime. Please tell me here what you want to get accomplished during this time, and where you plan on making port.
So you guys will have three weeks on the Raging Storm, and a significant portion of it will be downtime. Please tell me here what you want to get accomplished during this time, and where you plan on making port.
Dalton does not know how to make port, but he is adept at drinking it.
Are all those locations that look like they're near the water port towns?
I kind of need Dalton to make contact with Luthor before we fully plot a course.
Ianna plans improve her headband, so enchanting.
I believe we are headed to that city to meet that smith?
I’m trying to move things along here.
Can Bjorkus find something that belonged to Luthor lying about the ship to aid Dalton’s next scrying attempt(s)?
Dalton will get through his scry on Luthor on the third day of trying.
I guess we need to spend an extra day in Balgradash getting supplies together anyway.
Are we good to skip to that in gameplay?
If nobody has anything else to do.
Oh and we should get around to tracking the ship's supplies, as you mentioned earlier. Currently you have enough food to feed 20 people for 2 days, and almost no freshwater. Beyond that your supplies are all but non-existent...perhaps that's why Blakros had to make port?
I'll put together a spreadsheet.
How much were those drugs worth?
Ah, that is going to be a very complicated matter to handle. Rilka and Dalton have the expertise to price the drugs, but they need proper tools and some time (weighing, testing purity, etc.). Also selling illegal drugs is not as simple as selling a harvest or metal or some other kind of good. You can't walk through the streets or find just any merchant to handle it. You either need to slowly sell of the drugs yourself, or you need to find a dealer. The trouble with finding a dealer is finding a trustworthy one who also trusts you. And once you do that you have to settle on a price, convincing him of the drugs worth, and make sure he's willing to get it all in bulk...
Long story short, it's not like selling off typical loot. I can't just hand-wave it and say "Sure you find some merchant" because of the difficulties and risks involved.
Bjorkus asked Quincy to take the illegal stuff.
We can't get the legal stuff weighed and sold in the day of downtime we have in Balgradash?
Oh. Well in that case you're all set, because it's all illegal.
Seriously? I thought Rilka determined that there was a mix of legal and illegal drugs?
Rilka slips into the cargo hold, and sees a disturbing sight. Twenty bronze-skinned men and women dressed in rags and sporting various wounds, most of them from whips. They look malnourished, beaten, and terrified, jumping even at the non-threatening sight of Rilka. In addition there are containers everywhere, and the open ones reveal all sorts of drugs, a lot of them illegal.
Well laws vary across different governments so you could try your hand selling them in different places. Gesthil is not a very structured place, but it also has nearly non-existent drug trade. Yenrick has more opportunities but the laws in each part of that can change by the day due to chaotic monarchy.
So here, in Balgradash, none of the remaining drugs are legal for sale?
Correct. Andril has very strict drug laws.
Fine. I’ll just pay for the supplies out of my own pocket.
Bjorkus is picking up the following to supply 20 people for three weeks.
Wandermeal x3 per day
One common meal’s worth of salted fish/meat and pickled veggies
That comes out to 138.6 gold.
Strangely enough rum isn’t on the booze table but I’m going to assume it’s priced as dwarven ale.
200 servings of rum is 8 gold.
This will be supplemented by whatever fish the crew manages to haul out of the ocean and whatever fish Kal can pull up. He likes to spend his morning hours wildshaped into an enormous sea bird.
Is the ship good on supplies for normal wear and tear like rope, sail material, spare lumber, nails, etc?
Good number crunching, that all looks sound.
You have supplies for wear and tear that would on average last two weeks. There's a good chance you'll have to pick something up along the way, but it's nothing to be worried about right now.
I'll get that spreadsheet handled when I get home from work.
We're probably good to move ahead to that scrying.
CC, that was adorable.
I feel like I have to read through all skills now. That's such an arbitrary bonus, not to mention that Unchained is throwing all sorts of wrenches into the mix.
CampinCarl was too many letters. =P
Unchained has made me want to go back to my characters that are really good at specialized useless tasks. My group calls them the Seinfelds when I make one.
Hrm. I was hoping this was a Sixth Sense thing where telling them they’re dead was enough.
I suppose he could be a doppelganger.
It is possible Luthor was lying.
I suppose but why would he lie?
Also I assume Bjorkus would pick up on that. He's got a pretty good sense motive.
It's a mystery!
I still think the tragic ghost pirate thing would have been nice.
Unfortunately you can't retroactively roll skill checks.
I wasn't sure you were rolling for me or not.
If you decide not to roll, you decide not to roll. I want roleplaying to come down to more than the luck of the dice and who put the most ranks into social skills.
Okay. Can we just say that Bjorkus is always taking 10 on sense motive?
I literally just said I don't want roleplaying to come down to nothing more than numbers.
Do you walk around every day scrutinizing every person you meet for questionable activity?
In terms of sussing out if they're lying or telling a half-truth - yes.
It's something most people do passively.
No, it really isn't. Plus it's a weak cop-out of roleplaying.
I'm confused. So what's is it supposed to be used for then?
For exactly the kind of situation that you used it for with Ragnar. Something felt/sounded off, so you actively tried to discern if he had ulterior motives.
Got it.
But the bluff/sense motive interaction doesn't exist in your game? As in you don't get a roll to oppose someone's lie unless you have a reason to suspect something is up.