Shisumo's Cult of the Ebon Destroyers (Inactive)

Game Master Shisumo

Nesipho once again places a mast between himself and the approaching ship for cover while he readies for what is likely to be a much longer fight.

Spell recall to relearn Vanish and Shocking grasp - 2 Arcane points
Assuming we aren't made into pin cushions from ranged attacks will cast shield and mirror image ~30 seconds before we are being boarded.

I'm not very good at fixing things, but I am very good at breaking them. That invisibility spell seemed very useful. If you're willing to hide me, I could sneak over to their ship and disable it--or at least slow it down, he suggests.

Before the arrows start flying from the other ship, Markis casts entropic shield and shield of faith . Soon, he is surrounded by a coruscating riot of colors as he brings up his wards.

"I can transport two people with me, up to about 700 feet or so. Anyone game? I can also make you invisible Markis, but I have to come along."

How far is the ship at the moment?

The opposing vessel is, at the start of the 20 rounds, about a quarter mile distant, but it is closing at a rate of 60 feet per round.

At the notion that he could be brought aboard the ship, Breccia furrows his brows and looks back to Tania, then slowly shakes his head. "The stone waits for the water." Turning back to the approaching vessel, his rock-clad fingers grip tighter around his drawn bow. He seems content to let the opposing force of the ship crash against him like a wave.

"Gather close," Prashant says as he watches the pirate ship slowly approach theirs. "When the time is right, I will ask Irori to turn aside what blows He can. The rest will be up to you."

"My vanishing trick wouldn't last long enough for you to be able to break much, Markis... is it?"

"When they get closer Miss Teg, perhaps I'd take you up on that offer so we can surround them, but I for one do not fancy being in the midst of them without our other ship mates."

Still planning to cast shield and mirror image during rounds 15-16 while keeping a mast between myself and the opposing ship.

Markis it is. And the same trick I pulled on the efreeti's sword, I could do to a rudder, or the ship's wheel. But if a lengthy veil is beyond us, that is understandable.

He hesitates a moment, and looks somewhat abashed. If the fighting gets bad, well, I hope you will not consider me an enemy. Some of my spells can be somewhat... disconcerting.

As you consult with one another, the other ship grows closer. Breccia maintains his focus on his distant foes, waiting for them to come into range.

One round gone, with the conversation. Tick tock, gentlemen and lady...

"I can make you invisible Markis, for a few minutes. You and I then? No other? Ok, I'll start with you. Stay near so I can touch you to teleport. In fact, perhaps we should hold a rope between us. I often do this when I use it with Ashaka, but he doesn't like it..."

She moves her fingers as she hums softly, and Markis disappears. "I have one more spot. Anyone else?"

Next round she will ask Ashaka to guard Prashant and she'll herself disappear. She'll then wait for the ship to move in range (about 600 feet) to dimension door on its deck, back part, as Markis mentioned the rudder.

"How much arcane energy would you like to burn? Could you take us all over in a couple of trips? I could use my vanishing trick on myself and one other - it would be sufficient to take them all by surprise I think." Though probably leave her feeling a bit exhausted expending that much effort. The mental drain associated with spell casting was something Nesipho well understood.

"I could make two trips... So I could bring four and myself, or two, myself and Ashaka!" she says, with a mischievous smile.

Shisumo: probably need to have the talk now rather than in the thick of things to determine what will break the invisibility. I'm not even going to try to say that shatter against an attended object won't break it, but what counts as attended? The ship's wheel? Its rudder? How about a siege weapon?

I'm still here, he calls out underneath the veil. Now that he's hidden from sight, he'll manifest his wings.

From the ship combat rules in the Skull and Shackles Player's Guide: "Creatures can attack ships with spells. Ships are objects, so spells that can only target creatures have no effect on ships. However, because a ship is actively crewed and piloted, it can make saving throws against spell effects. Ships are immune to most spells that require a Will save. A ship without a crew is considered an unattended object and cannot make saving throws." So the ship's wheel and rudder would definitely be counted as attended objects under these conditions. A siege weapon, however, requires a wielder to be considered "attended," so it would be attended if there's a sailor manning it, and not otherwise.

Hmm. Well, I suppose the next question would be, would an unarmed attack against a component of the ship also count as an action that would end the invisibility?

As a general rule, my definition of "attack" is something that requires an attack roll, requires a save (and isn't "harmless"), or applies a negative condition directly to the target. So yes, punching the ship counts.

I can work with that.

Ready when you are, Tania, he calls out.

"Anyone else?"

Nesipho scowls, "I'm not sure this is wise, two against their entire ship, it could turn ugly very quickly."

Nesipho speaks in another language, that of his home, "Inyanya thinavikela."

"Okay, I'm coming with." A faint shimmering field forms in front of him, coalescing. Cast shield

"Let me know when you are ready to take us over so I can disappear." Readied action to cast vanish at Tania's signal.

Nesipho slips easily into another tongue, "Aku akan menonton punggung Anda, tapi mendapatkan kita keluar dari sana jika hal gilirannya jelek."

Tania vanishes, leaving the memory of her mis hievous smile. Then Nesipho feels a hand on his shoulder. "Now."

And the three are brought to the ship.

The opposing vessel gets within Tania's dimension door range 12 rounds before it reaches the Fare Winds. The ship will be within 4 range increments of Breccia's bow 6 rounds later, 6 rounds before contact. Under the circumstances, I'm inclined to keep track with a countdown.

Round -12

The three appear on the sterncastle of the ship, overlooking the sailors and within just a few feet of the ship's captain, who stands arrogantly, one hand on the wheel and the other holding a spyglass rather like the one carried by Captain Harwood. He mutters something in Vudrani, then shouts some orders to his men.

As per the spell's description, your turn basically ends after the casting of dimension door.

Round -11

You can take your actions now.

Unfurling his massive -- and thankfully invisible along with the rest of him -- wings, Markis takes to flight, keeping pace with the vessel as she bears down on the Fare Winds. He casts detect magic and scans for dweomers.

Presuming the ship is now in range of bow barrage:
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Seeing the vessel closing in, Breccia lifts his bow, first honing in on the man carrying the spyglass, one hematite eye shut. After a moment's consideration, the Oread raises his massive bow skyward and in that same motion fluidly draws back the string with an arrow notched. He waits for a heartbeat, then lets the arrow sail at a sharp angle up into the sky.

With practiced speed and steadiness, Breccia reaches back and snags another arrow before the other has even reached its target, angling his bow a few degrees to the left before firing again.

___________
Arrow 1: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16
 + Damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Arrow 2: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
 + Damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
What a terrible series of rolls.
Composite Longbow range is 110 feet, so there may need to be modifiers depending on how many feet out the ship is. Also, I don't think after as many rounds as it's been Breccia is still under the effect of any beneficial spells that boost his attack or damage.

Where are other crew members of the ship, particularly someone like a first mate or who looks more threatening than a typical sailor? I'm looking for a possible opportunity to hydraulic push someone over the railing.

Tania does her best to remain unseen, but wishes to help her colleagues. She takes out a wand.

Casting Haste and getting a wand out.

Markis detects the presence of magical auras. A couple of arrows fly through the air, well over the heads of anyone onboard the ship, causing the nearby sailors to shout in surprise.

Breccia - you're currently at 6 range increments out, which will drop to 5 increments next round and by one additional increment every two rounds after, more or less, assuming the ships continue to move as they are. So you're basically crit-fishing at the moment.

Also, I apparently screwed up my tags earlier, and this whole bit of descriptive text (which would have answered Nesipho's question) got hidden behind a spoiler bar. So here's the repost:

Although most of the crew are armed and seem ready for a fight, three figures along the main deck have crossbows out and are clearly waiting for the Fare Winds to get into range before they start firing. Two more are aiming what look like massive crossbows - ballistae - at the Fare Winds as well, one just behind the your group and the other on the forecastle at the opposite end of the ship. Nearby, you see the ship's nameplate, written in the looping, flowing Vudrani script.

Markis keeps pace with the ship and concentrates on the auras.

Nesipho moves quietly towards the back of the ship and positions himself near the crewman on the ballistae.

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

He continues to prepare for the upcoming battle, invisible hands gesturing.

Using magus arcana silent spell to cast mirror image. Once visible he will have 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 mirror images.

3 rounds remaining on vanish.

Forgot to add +20 to stealth for being invisible, so another +20 on that.

As the ship slowly begins to close in, Breccia continues his bombardment of the deck with arrows. Each shot he re-aligns his aim, considers the wind and distance. The rock does not move to the tide, Breccia had said, he seems quite resolute about that. The arrows soar between the boats, flying impossibly long tracks through the air, most of them plunging into the sea of the deck of the opposing ship, but the constant barrage serves two purposes, to potentially thin out the herd of the other vessel and to intimidate the other crew.

______
Since there's quite a few rounds, I'm just going to throw out several rounds worth of arrow attacks. If at some point either all of the targets on the opposing ship are dead or people have begun to board, Breccia will switch tactics and we won't need to resolve the other attacks. This is just for efficiency's sake. Breccia will be targeting the Captain, and if he falls or disappears from line of sight, he will pick a single crewman to focus on until he either goes down or out of sight, then move to the next, etc.

This might help speed things along:

Markis tries to identify the different magical auras when his divinations allow.

Tania studies the movements of the crew to find out where her controlling spells would be most effective, wondering whether she should make the floor slippery, cause webbing to catch the sails, or perhaps the sailors. She bites her lips as she realizes this would turn her into a visible target... Perhaps it would be best to start by increasing her defenses. Reluctantly, she softly hums and gestures to force light to split and duplicate her mien.

Casting Mirror Image: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 images.

Would casting Detect Thoughts make me appear? It requires a save on the third round...

Markis should have acted by now, what the blazes is he doing? This was supposed to be a simple jaunt over to the ship, cause as much damage to its steering and maneuverability as possible in as short amount of time as possible, then move on.

If we get to 2 rounds of vanish left before Markis acts let me know... I'll have to take further actions at that point.

Sorry! Shatter doesn't work on magical things. Need to figure out what's a viable target first before making myself a target!

@Markis, no worries. Nesipho will still be annoyed with you, but I'm good.

Sorry for the long silence. This weekend was a con weekend, which was then followed by con crud, which I am still trying to get over. But back to the game!

Nesipho carefully adjusts his position, while he and Tania both cast defensive spells to make themselves harder to pinpoint when combat finally comes.

Tania: yes, I think it would.

Round -10

Two more arrows fly through the air from the Fare Winds - despite the distance, one very nearly hits the captain, whose armor just barely manages to turn the shaft at the last moment. Annoyed, the captain shouts an order to his crew, and the three crewmen with crossbows take aim and fire at Breccia, despite the range.

Crossbow #1: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (5) - 4 = 1, damage 1d10 ⇒ 4
Crossbow #2: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (1) - 4 = -3, damage 1d10 ⇒ 8
Crossbow #3: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (10) - 4 = 6, damage 1d10 ⇒ 1

On the sterncastle and forecastle, the two pirates manning the ballistae also take aim at the large form on the deck of the distant ship; the one on the forecastle has no difficulty firing, but the one nearest the group does not realize Nesipho is standing right next to him as he concentrates on his shot.

Ballista shot #1: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (20) - 3 = 17, damage 3d8 ⇒ (6, 4, 2) = 12. Crit confirm 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (8) - 3 = 5, damage 3d8 ⇒ (5, 5, 4) = 14.

Will wait on ballista #2 until I know whether Nesipho wants to take his AoO or not.

Otherwise, everyone but Markis and Breccia, who have already acted, can all take your actions now.

No AoO for now.

Defiantly positioned aboard the deck of the Faire Winds against the return barrage, Breccia stands amidst a hail of crossbow fire, most of the shots flying far wide of his position, riddling the side of the vessel and the deck. His hematite eyes narrow and his chin alights ever so subtly as he tries to correct for wind and distance, recalling the lash of a taskmaster across his back when he first held a bow in hand. Concentrate! the voice in his mind rings out, the lash is the least your enemies will do to you!. Brows furrowing with a grinding stone-on-stone sound, Breccia reaches back for another arrow.

As he does, the resounding noise of a ballista launching echoes across the water almost as fast as the spear-sized bolt flies. Its huge, serrated fins rip thorugh the air and slam into the oread, sending him toppling backwards head over heels in a clatter of rock across the deck. As he rises up, a loud groaning noise accompanies a swift motion of his arm that shatters the weapon off at the haft before the remainder is wrenched out and thrown to the deck with a loud clang and a spatter of dark blood.

Lifting his bow again, Breccia focuses his aim once more despite the crack in the abdominal plates of his armor and the blood flowing from within. The lash is the least that your enemies will do to you.

Tania keeps muttering softly, increasing her capacity for survival. she then lifts slowly from the deck, making sure she keep following the ship's movement.

Casting Fly and moving 15 feet up to be out of reach of most weapons.

Second ballista attack: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (8) - 3 = 5, damage 3d8 ⇒ (6, 6, 6) = 18.

Not quite - Nesipho still has an action. As does Prashant, if he wants one, although he doesn't have a lot of options relevant to this particular situation...

Sorry, thought we were still on the round I cast mirror images.

Time is burning. Well better take down their captain quickly if we are going to have a full on fight here.

Move action, or double move as needed, to move at half speed. Moving to stand next to the captain Stealth: 1d20 + 35 ⇒ (4) + 35 = 39

That's why I've been silent. I'm meditating on the fight to come or something.

Nesipho slips silently up to stand next to the captain, who shows no signs of noticing. Aboard the Fare Winds, Breccia regains his feet and send another volley of arrows arcing toward the captain while the two ships continue to close.

Round -9

Breccia's arrows fly over the head of the captain, who basically ignores them, still scanning the deck of the Fare Winds through his spyglass as though searching for something. All around, his men begin reloading crossbows and ballistae in preparation for another volley, but none are able to get prepared soon enough to act immediately.

Nesipho, Tania - you're up.

I'm not quite sure how many rounds have passed since we came aboard. I *think* at this point I'm down to my last round of vanish. If that is incorrect then delay my actions below till we are at that point.

Times up.

Nesipho's weaving of magic is loud and clear, his voice cutting across the deck. His form popping into site as his rapier, crackling with lighting, aims towards Captain Danava's heart.

Swift action: arcane point to give rapier an additional +2 to hit/damage.
Standard action: casting shocking grasp.
Free attack using spellstrike (opponent denied dex): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20 + 3 more if he is wearing metal armor due to shocking grasp.
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 + spell 5d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 1, 1, 3) = 13 + sneak attack 2d6 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6

This all assumes this is a surprise round so I'm limited to a single standard action.

And because I'll need it I'm sure.... Init roll 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13