Skull and Shackles: Waves of Steel PBP Game Thread (Inactive)

Game Master blackaeon

It's certainly going to make things interesting one way or the other, that's for sure. It was a ballsy move on his part.

Number of wrenches thrown: 1

Oh this is gonna be delicious.

Hope I didn't disrupt your plans too much :) I don't think my character would passively accept capture if he thinks he can improve his position through trickery. I understand that this will likely not end well for him :)

Hey man, I say you gotta do what you think your pc would do. If that's his character then so be it.

Makes it interesting for sure. And also a bit nerve wracking. Which is what makes it interesting. :)

Edit: I will say this: you really ought to put a rank in Bluff. Not sure what gives me that idea; probably just a hunch. ;)

Starting to think Javell's suggestion has some merit to it. To be fair, you needed to roll a natural 20 to succeed on that check anyhow. I do have to give you credit for a clever, and entertaining, decision though :D

For the climb checks is it just 4 success vs DC10 or is it 4 success in a row? IE you fail and fall (unless you make a Reflex save)?

For the climb checks, it's just 4 successes vs DC 10, unless you roll a 5 or less, in which case you fall if you fail the Ref save and (hopefully) get caught by the crew below you. Then you'll have to start climbing again

Does Edgard's bad hand come with a grappling hook at the end of it?

And poor, poor Jagray. Probably would be a good idea to carry some knotted ropes in the future, eh?

It may as well, judging by those rolls.

@Edgard: Pretty amazing bustin' out 2 Natural 20's on that. I'm like, "You gotta be kiddin' me." That was just cool.

Now is it simply 4 successful rolls? I ask because Jagray has 6 successful rolls and was curious as to why. Just wanna make sure I haven't missed something somewhere. That happens to me a lot.

Actually, Jagray has 8 Climb rolls, four which failed, and four which did not. He had to make two saves to keep from falling; I decided to give him the one that got 13 as a freebie because I'm not sadistic enough to try and kill you a half-hour or so of consciousness into the game.

I'm almost that sadistic, but not quite.

The Reflex save! That's what I missed. You see! I miss things. I just figured they were all climb checks. Okay, gotcha. Thanks for the clear up. I was nowhere near thinking about a Reflex save on a fall. Completely forgot about that.

Oh and thanks. For not being that sadistic. Heck, I wasn't worried anyhow. *Pulls out handkerchief and wipes sweat from brow* Nope. Not me. Not one bit. No sir. :P

Jeez, Edgard! Let's hope your good fortune here doesn't get you killed later on.

These flashbacks are painfully difficult to write, and I'm afraid they're just as painful to read. I welcome any constructive criticism anybody has to offer.

I actually thought it was pretty decent, myself. Of course, the distraction had its own particular drawback to it for Ambrose, but it was still entertaining.

Criticism? Heck, I'm actually curious as to where these flashbacks might lead and what they're about. But obviously on a "me" level. :)

Rolls needed for everyone (don't forget to declare your ship action for the daytime when you make 'em!):

Ambrose: DC 10 Stealth, Survival, or Dex check to catch enough vermin (your choice)

Black Dhugal: DC 12 Strength check to pump the bilges
DC 10 Con check to keep from being fatigued at the end of it

Sh'torek: DC 10 Acrobatics check to navigate the ship while being a runner
DC 10 Con check to keep from being fatigued at the end of the shift

Edgard: DC 10 Profession (Sailor) or Dex check to lower/raise sails
DC 10 Con check to keep from being fatigued at end of shift

Boldwin: DC 10 Profession (Sailor) or Str check to knot/haul rope
DC 10 Con check to keep from being fatigued at end of shift

Javray: Bull Session (drinking with Kroop); must drink an extra ration of rum, make DC 10 Fort save to avoid Con penalties/shorten fatigue, increases save vs. ration of evening rum by +2 (hardly tough for a dwarf!)

Don't forget to declare what sort of actions you'll be up to for your daytime ship action. We'll rp out small bits of what happens during the shifts accordingly

Looks like you got a bit of the copypasta from the other game in here GM; there's just a wee mention of Xiakon. :)

Duhr hur hur and here I thought I was being clever! I have been using snippets from one game in the other, because you seem to be vying back and forth in terms of where you're at in the timeline of things. To be honest, I'm doing it because I can kind of get away with it right now, although I've been subtly changing things in both games (different NPCs showing up in different places, slightly different personalities, etc). It's one luxury I'm indulging myself in right now, because after the first main adventure in this, I'm pretty certain I won't get it anymore.

Thanks for pointing it out, though, fixed that bit.

He mentioned Ambrose in the other one too. Quid pro quo and all that.

If the flashbacks aren't bothering anybody, I'll take that as a good sign.

EDIT: You might copy-paste the write-ups of daytime and nighttime actions, as well as the checks associated with the different jobs, into the Campaign Info tab for convenience.

They daytime shift actions are the ones we get to choose that you listed and I asked about earlier, correct?

@Ambrose: Not me, bud. Rock on I say.

Yes, the daytime shift actions are the ones I listed earlier. I'm working on taking care of that. Honestly, I'm going to tuck in soon, so I'll likely have them up tomorrow. I spent most of my day writing iterative loops using multiple mathematical methods in Java, and I keep wondering why I'm forgetting my curly brackets. I also typed half a post into Netbeans before I realized what I was doing, too.

As a side note, nobody in the other party has been beaten yet, but that may change soon. The rogue (Xiakon) got caught stealin' in the kitchen. Bum-buh-buhhhh!

Another side note, the names I confuse most are both for Chelish characters. Damn devil-worshippers.

That's what I thought. I went ahead and copied/pasted them under Sh'torek's alias. That way, we don't have to keep zapping back to look for them.

Actually, I'm Korvosan :P Can't wait for somebody to make that mistake in game.

That's right, I actually re-read his bio :P It's the Jeggare that throws me.

I went ahead and put the information on Tasks and Ship Actions up in the Campaign Info thread. Also, Jagray gets an extra ship's action for the daytime (since he basically gets to drink and shoot the bull with Kroop, lucky lubber him).

Drunk-time!: 1d3 ⇒ 21d8 ⇒ 1 First number is for Con damage on Jagray, second is for hours fatigued. Also, as I'd mentioned, he'll get an additional ship's action for the day.

Eh, that's not so bad. Also, go home Jagray, you're drunk!

Edit: Forgot the bonus to Charisma Cha bonus: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Not so much a friendly drunk, is he?

I clicked on Campaign Info and I can't find anything. Am I not looking in the right place?

Thanks for pointing that out. I'd tried to post it there, but obviously it didn't take. All of the rules/rolls for tasks and ship actions can be found in my profile now.

I'm loving the dialects. They're always such a pain for me to type.

The Influence action always seemed a bit problematic to me. It seems weird to declare an influence attempt on NPCs we haven't met yet. Do we use the action and name the target and let you handle coming up with the actual encounter?

You can either name the target or just specify something like, "the first female crew member Ambrose bumps into" or the like. Especially since there hasn't been a ton of interaction betwixt PC and NPC characters, that'd work well to start, and as you get to know names, then you can name the names. Does that help?

Yeah, that'll work. As long as we're not waiting for an NPC to be introduced before we interact with them, we should be fine. We'll meet a lot of people at dinner, too.

That was exactly my rationale, as well as afterwards belowdecks. Plus, tonight's meal will be palatable at least, which is more than I can say for the other party! They'll be ending up with too much spice and the occasional feather in their fish stew.

I've got magespice, so I'm not too worried about it one way or the other.

I'm going to hazard a wild guess and say you've actually been through a part of this campaign already, Ambrose. Or possibly run it at some point in the past? Just curious 'cause you seem to know your way around this AP fairly comfortably(well, this part anyway).

Yes, I've been through Book 1. That was in my application, but I'm now realizing that that was PMed, and thus not public. My last group had quite a struggle through this first part, and there were a lot of things we learned that would have been helpful to know beforehand. I'm familiar with many potential problems and confusions, and I'm trying to get them cleared up before they affect us. I don't have any interest in metagaming, and the structure of the first book makes it pointless to do so, so no need to worry about that.

Oh wow. Dhugal, you poor, overzealous bastard. You're going to have the piss whipped out of you.

Yes, I've been through Book 1. That was in my application, but I'm now realizing that that was PMed, and thus not public. My last group had quite a struggle through this first part, and there were a lot of things we learned that would have been helpful to know beforehand. I'm familiar with many potential problems and confusions, and I'm trying to get them cleared up before they affect us. I don't have any interest in metagaming, and the structure of the first book makes it pointless to do so, so no need to worry about that.

Oh heck no! I ain't got no worries. I was just wondering. Obviously you're not the only one to sign up for a game you've been through already. No matter how much or how little.

It's all good with me, bud.

Did you make it all the way through to the end of the Book?

Okay, I'm guessing Dhugal is making a daytime check. If you read what it says:

Sneak: Make normal checks for a job’s daily task and briefly explore one area of the ship (the PC can make a single Perception check or another skill check with no chance of detection).

So I would take that as you aren't required to make a Stealth check. It says a SINGLE perception check OR another skill check with NO CHANCE OF DETECTION.

So I don't think the stealth check is actually required, right? It seems to be only at night is when it's required.

I'm just trying to save the dude a little skin if that's at all possible. :P

You may be right. During the day he has a plausible reason to be walking around. But he may still have to explain why he isn't working.

But also I think it would depend on where you go. Because he said this to you:

Motioning to the staircase down to the hold that they'd initially come out of, he said, "Thar's a barrel down thar o'er a trap-door inna floor. Move it, 'n head down t'the bilges 'n work the pump. Don't try t'come up 'til yer called, or ye'll be sorry."

So I would gather you're down somewhere where you're probably alone. At least that's my guess. Unless, of course, you decided to go upstairs like he told you not to. Then it is gonna be all kinds of ugly. :P

I tell you, it reminds me of a movie in where you root for the good guy to escape, but he gets caught and then pummeled to near death. And then you're like:

"Oh CRAP! Why did he do that!"

You know, the 'mad' you get at him for not succeeding more so than attempting it. You want him to try but then you don't for fear of failure.

Continuing on in that essence:

"He was so close, dangit! Man I hope he gets out and just KILLS that guy!"

Good stuff. :)

Yes, the game fell apart during a lull between Book 1 and 2. I've finished Book 1 entirely, none of Book 2.

I may have contributed to the confusion with the Stealth check. That check was for my duty, killing vermin. While Scourge did threaten you, I doubt that the GM had intended to restrict your actions. Plus, he can always fiat a narrative reason for you to be out for the short moment that sneak takes. Of course, the standard 'I am not the GM' disclaimer applies.

Working up a new post now. Fell asleep and woke up to a sick wife :(

Take care of that bride of yours, bud. Hope she gets to feeling better.

Seconded. Happy wife, happy life.

Much appreciation. I ended up working about 3/4 of the way and having my computer shut down on me, so I'm re-jiggering things right now.

Do you have info on gaining fatigue/losing fatigue and becoming exhausted? Is the only way to clear fatigue, aside from magic, to rest or does it decay normally with time? Oddly I've never had to really deal with fatigue in depth.

Fatigued

Not all that much info there besides the 8-hour recovery. The GM has houseruled the rum rations, and part of that houserule appears to include the altered fatigue duration from the rum ration, to play more like actual drunkenness that is alleviated as you sober up.

As I understand RAW/RAI, fatigue and exhaustion don't decay normally with time without rest. You're fatigued due to lack of adequate rest; not resting isn't going to solve that problem.

Just poking this to say I'm still alive; I have a bad habit of making my characters pass out without interacting with everyone else. I'll have to rectify that in the future.

Still here as well, Jagray is set on trying to get a lay of the land on the ship as much as getting to know his new shipmates.

Yeah, it seems that we're just waiting on the DM now.

Also, 100!