The brown are buildings, lighter brown are covered porches, green is jungle, blue is water, grey are docks and boardwalks. Purple are PCs, light blue are members of your crew, pink are locals, red are wasps. “d” indicates a door into a building. The wasps are currently all 10 to 30 feet up in the air (in some cases flying above buildings)Roll for initiative. Baldrick and Jillian will need to make perception checks to realise anything is going on. Once they do, they can try to recruit other crew members who might be inside the bar to help them if they want (diplomacy, intimidate or bluff checks required to recruit one crew member of your choice).
The crew members out in the open are random un-named crew members – they are unlikely to be much good in a fight, but Urgoth or Haldron can try to direct them too.
Cody hears some commotion outside and heads towards a door to see what he can see, unslinging his bow as he goes.
Those members of your crew caught out in the open gape in shock at the incoming wasps, not seeming to quite register the danger they are in. As the wasps come closer and it slowly dawns on them, they begin backing away and drawing weapons.
Urgoth swings his bow of his shoulder, knocking an arrow. "Fury crew, to me!" He yells before aiming and letting fly.
Urgoth’s arrow strikes one of the nearer wasps, which buzzes angrily.
Those locals nearest the wasps scatter and run, some making for doors to buildings which they wrench open but don’t have time to enter. Others hide behind buildings or duck under awnings. Those further away look about in confusion, not really comprehending what is going on.
The wasp that Urgoth fired at dives down and attempts to sting him.
Another wasp buzzes angrily around Urgoth and Haldron, but cannot get a good opening to attack.
Most of the wasps sweep south, some flying over roofs, some attacking locals or members of the crew, others hovering threateningly above them.
Baldrick rushes to the door of the taproom, taking in the carnage outside. He casts his mind to his knowledge of the creatures, while he starts casting.
These horse sized wasps are as aggressive as their much smaller cousins. Humanoids are seen as prey, but it is rare for them to attack settlements unless they are under food or environmental pressures. They normally sting their prey enough to kill or incapacitate them, then pick them up and fly them back to the nest to feed to their grubs. They are very strong and tough and have no particular weaknesses. They are not at all smart and act purely on instinct. Their poison is quite powerful and can cause paralysis with enough stings (assuming the sword-sized stinger doesn’t finish you off first). They probably don’t like fire but are not intelligent enough to be scared of it.
At the first screams, Jillian's attention darts over to the windows of the pub, but she takes a moment to work out what the threat is. When she sees the wasps charging down, she stands and scans the bar for sign of allies. Seeing the Besmaran Priestess, she yells out to her crew mate.
'Sandara, the villagers and our crew need your help. Mind your own safety, but see what you can do for them.'
Moving over to the door, she calls on her own mystical powers, calling for protection against the giant insects before venturing out among them.
A little slower to react, the wasps are upon Haldron before he can seek out a missile weapon to target them. He immediatley strikes at the one that has flown down to him, first with one of his handaxes, then with one of his cutlass.
'Calling the crew out here in the open is folly, Urgoth,' Haldron gasps in between strikes. 'We need them to find cover and battle the wasps on more even footing.'
At the first screams, Jillian's attention darts over to the windows of the pub, but she takes a moment to work out what the threat is. When she sees the wasps charging down, she stands and scans the bar for sign of allies. Seeing the Besmaran Priestess, she yells out to her crew mate.
'Sandara, the villagers and our crew need your help. Mind your own safety, but see what you can do for them.'
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20 + 12
Moving over to the door, she calls on her own mystical powers, calling for protection against the giant insects before venturing out among them.
Both of Haldron’s blades cut deeply into the exoskeleton of the giant insect buzzing about above him.
Ichor drips from the twin wounds, but the wasp does not fall.
Cody sneaks out the door, nocking an arrow to his bow, staying close to the wall of the building, then fires at a wasp in his line of sight.
One of the nearby crew members heeds Urgoth’s cry and charges forward, slashing at the wasp threatening Haldron and Urgoth with a scimitar.
Others duck for cover, or dive into the harbour.
Urgoth feels the familiar tingle of anger start to spread over his body, and allows the feeling to grow. Roaring in rage, he drops his bow and pulls out his boarding pike (non-extended) and stabs up at the wasp he hit earlier with the arrow.
Urgoth strikes the hovering insect a glancing blow.
Most of the locals remaining out in the open rush into buildings – several pushing past Baldrick and Jillian and the entrance to the Commons – or try to hide. One who was injured by a wasp manages to stagger into the relative safety of the boat shed. Another is attacked as he tries to get into the same building.
Most of the locals remaining out in the open rush into buildings – several pushing past Baldrick and Jillian and the entrance to the Commons – or try to hide. One who was injured by a wasp manages to stagger into the relative safety of the boat shed. Another is attacked as he tries to get into the same building.
He doesn't make it.
Several of the wasps chase fleeing locals, one buzzing around the porch at the front of the Commons, seemingly hesitant to fly under the low-hanging awning. Others pick up and fly off with their unconscious or dead prey.
The wasps attacking Urgoth and Haldron keep attempting to find openings to sting their prey.
Haldron grimaces as the stinger of the wasp pierces through his armour, and he feels it's poison spreading through his body, slowing his reaction times.
He shrugs off the pain and let's fly another two blows at the wasp before him.
Jillian fights her way through the tide of people fleeing into the pub and emerges to find one of the gigantic wasps hovering just outside the porch area. Beyond, she sees another wasp bearing down on one of the village people.
She wracks her brain to try and determine what the natural enemy of wasps are.
The wasps hover about, antennae twitching.
Jillian knows that normal sized wasps have many predators – various types of insects including certain species of preying mantis, dragonflies, beetles, even other wasps – and also many types of insect eating birds. She’s not sure what would eat giant wasps – possibly even more giant versions of the things that eat normal wasps?
Haldron grimaces as the stinger of the wasp pierces through his armour, and he feels it's poison spreading through his body, slowing his reaction times.
He shrugs off the pain and let's fly another two blows at the wasp before him.
Haldron continues to slice at the wasp, at last felling the giant insect, which crashes to the ground nearby.
Urgoth screams in fury at the hit, but shrugs off the worst of the poison
Baldrick finishes casting, summoning a small air elemental which launches itself at the wasp menacing a nearby villager.
Baldrick then launches into another casting of Summon Natures Ally 2
Urgoth roars in rage, thrusting at the wasp that just struck him with all the power he can manage, clenching the boarding pike tightly in both hands.
Baldrick finishes casting, summoning a small air elemental which launches itself at the wasp menacing a nearby villager.
The elemental strikes the giant insect with fists of solid wind.
Sandara, after collecting her rapier and tricorn, hurries after Jillian, pushing out onto the porch before stopping to stare in shock at the situation.
Cody takes another shot at the wasp bearing down on him …
... then turns and ducks back inside.
The brave crew member – Barefoot Samms – dashes up to stand beside her captain and stabs at the wasp above.
Another crew member struggles in the water … ... well, actually swims very well ...
Urgoth roars in rage, thrusting at the wasp that just struck him with all the power he can manage, clenching the boarding pike tightly in both hands.
d20 + 10 -2
d8 +6 +6
Urgoth stabs upward fiercely with the boarding pike, skewering the insect through the thorax. It beats its wings rapidly for a few seconds then dies.
Several of the locals dash about. One is attacked by a wasp as he tries to get to safety within a building.
The local is injured but manages to escape.
Wasp 1 stabs at the air elemental with its stinger.
Wasp 2 lands and crawls up onto the porch to attack Sandara.
Wasp 8 buzzes towards Urogth and Haldron.
Wasp 10 attacks a local.
Both Sandara and the local are hit and injured.