el-Hadid? Yes, but your guilds should give you a +2 bonus to your knowledge (Royalty and nobility) check.
El-hadid: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
2. El-Hadid comes from a wealthy family in Airya. He has used his wealth to build a small trade empire in Ilien, Roesone, Medoere, and Diemed. You compete with El-Hadid and his exotic imports from Khinasi (and probably Basarji).
3. He's as ruthless as Ghoere.
"The man is ruthless and relentless, he has probably seen a weakness he can exploit. But, if we take him out of the picture, I could move in to take his place. First in Roesone, than in his other concerns. I could make sure your lands are well supplied and I do not see myself as the kind to consort with pirates."
"Taking his place may not be so easy, but it may become necessary if he proves himself disloyal... For the time being, I believe that we should focus on understanding his motives and plans. Why does he want me to engage the pirates? Does he hope to see me dead, or does he simply want me out of Ilien?"
Aglondier thinks upon it, then continues, "In any case, we will need irrefutable evidence if we are to condemn him."
He shrugs, "Let us make our plans, and make sure that our plans remain obscure..."
Be sure to carry treasure, because of the Sea Drake. He will want your treasure as tribute.
One third of the treasure you carry.
Sorry for the delay in posting. Really busy these days. Simple question: should we simply bring 1 Gold Bar?
In any case, here are the two court actions that I would like to take before we embark:
1. Announce the campaign with pomp, specifying that any and all who conspire with the pirates will be deemed traitors and suffer swift justice. The objective here is to sway public opinion clearly against the pirates and their allies.
2. Start a rumour that Aglondier will be switching ships to confuse his enemies.
Sounds like a plan. Is there anything the Lady Barad wants to do in Roesone before taking out the pirates?
Not that I can think of.
With great pomp and circumstance, the Lord of Ilien and his retinue, along with Lady Adriana Barad and her brave and proud warriors, walk through the city to the port and board a caravel – the galleon that will accompany the mission is already at sea, flying the flag of Ilien.
It is rumoured that the count will secretly disembark from the caravel to board the galleon, but no one knows how...
As they set sail, Aglondier makes a point of being seen waving to the crowds and then disappearing below deck. When the ships are well out of view of Ilien, he commands the heavy galleon to hide in a bay while the faster caravel continues its journey around the Isle, hunting for pirates...
You find the pirates' ship, secluded in a bay. It looks empty. As if there were no pirates on the ship.
It's on the island, and the pirates are camping on the shore.
"We should take their ship," Aglondier proposes, seeing the unmanned vessel and the pirates on the shore. "They will be hard-pressed to attack our merchants if they cannot set sail!"
"Unless it's a trap," he considers, scanning the deck from a distance.
"If it is a trap, would it not be better to spring it on our own terms? Setting fire to the ship from range would take the fight out of the enemy without endangering our men."
"True," Aglondier concedes, "but it would be a pity to set fire to a ship, rather than to claim it for ourselves. It would be a welcome addition to our fleet. What if we attack the pirate camp from a distance? Without a full crew, they will be hard-pressed to engage in a naval battle, and we may be able to capture the ship without risking the lives of our men..."
With that, Aglondier pulls scrolls from his satchel and casts two arcane spells, hoping for the best but preparing himself for the worst.
Briefly a magical aura surrounds you, and your eyes glow. This is only for the briefest of moments.
Aglondier looks to Lady Adriana expectantly...
"Lord Rogr, I do not know what that look is for, but you should rethink it. I am not a warrior queen or some grand wizard, I am merely a noble woman with a sharp wit and deep pockets I work hard to protect. If you are expecting anything more than this of me I will gladly leave you to your own devices and pocket book. Now, my men are at your command, so... command."
Aglondier looks to Lady Barad, to her men, and then to his own. "You are right, Lady Barad," he heeds her council. Quietly for fear of losing the advantage, he commands his archer to draw their bows and prepare flaming arrows. He turns and faces the enemy ship with a determined look.
A rain of fire falls upon the enemy ship's sails and cargo.
As they fire, he places his ship in position to ram, rather than board, the enemy ship.
The ship begins to burn, thanks to the flaming arrows. Your ship is prepared to ram the other ship. That does not take a lot of time, and you're ramming the ship.
Oh.
Alright, the pirates are all scrambling to their ship, to put out the fires.
Aglondier commands his archers to fire at the pirates who are scrambling to reach their ship and extinguish the fires. Likely, few will make it as far as the ship. And fewer still will survive fighting the fires while suffering a rain of arrows...
Ah.
The rain of arrows you are firing at the pirates are all finding their mark. Some of them are stuck to the ship, while others hit the pirates trying to put out the fires.
When the pirates are obviously beaten and there are too few remaining to sail the ship, Aglondier halts his assault and gives his enemies an opportunity to lay down their weapons and raise the white flag... If they refuse, they die.
They all refuse. The pirates are pirates, and they want to be free to pillage as they like.
Aglondier sighs, and commands his men,
The arrows rain down upon the pirates until not a single one is left standing... If they succeed in putting out the fire and in raising a sail or manning the oars, he commands his sailors to ram the enemy ship.
The good Lady braces herself as best she can.
You slay all the pirates, except for those below. The pirates manages to get their oarsmen to the oars and start rowing.
I need you to roll an attack with your lead skill as a bonus.
The wind is going at a Westerly direction (from the west). It's blowing against you and the pirates. Alter Winds can help.
Aglondier pulls out a scroll and casts a spell. Above the ship, the wind changes in their favour...
The maneuver proves difficult...
Maybe your captain was a little scared.
Yes, yes you are in position to board the enemy ship.
Before commanding his men to board the enemy vessel, Aglondier orders another volley of arrows to be fired on the pirates...
As the archers let loose, Aglondier looks for the pirate captain or commanding officer...
The captain or commanding officer is not on deck. For all your scanning you also have no idea where he is.
The Commanding officer is on the ship somewhere, but where?
"This is too easy. Now I am waiting for whatever trap they have planned to bite us on the hand."
Again heeding his ally's warning, which echoes his own concerns, Aglondier opts for a heterodox strategy. he commands the sailors who disengage from the enemy ship, row backwards, and turn into the now favourable wind...
As the sailors enact the maneuvers, Aglondier looks upon the pirate's ship, ready to command another volley of flame arrows if required to sink the enemy...
Well, you won't recover the ship for your fleet if you do that.
Aglondier holds his command and searches the horizon. Lady Barad is right. This is too easy...
Two more ships appear around the bend, each bearing the skull and crossbones flag. These ships are allied with the pirates and are coming around to stop you.
he commands the archers to cripple the already hindered ship.
he then commands his sailors, guiding his fast caravel towards the enemy ships with the intent to veer port at the last minute rather than ram as would be common practice. His plan is to sail along the starboard side of the leftmost ship in order to rip its sail and break its oars and rudder.
he commands the archers once more as they sail by the enemy...
Warcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
Sailing: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Archers: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 1 = 25
You rolled a critical strike with your archers. Do you wish to confirm it?
Lady Barad gathers her guards around her, ready to lay down their lives in case they are boarded.
One of the pirate ships is rammed, but not hard. The pirates take the opportunity to swing on your ship to start melee.
Roll initiative.
Well, considering the pirates just boarded your ship, mayhap is time to take lives instead of burning sails.