Skull & shackles (Inactive)

Game Master DBH

Sailor Ra2 Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 He flinches under your eye.

Sailor Ro1 attacks Marnir with her boarding pike suddenly extending to 20 feet in length as it strikes at you. Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 She spits in anger as it flickers passed you then returns to it's normal length.

Marnir, Ghilda, Jane and Kung can act now.

Forced to duck the suddenly enormous boarding pike, Marnir steps back towards the ship's mast. As he moves, he points his axe at the deck beneath the new arrivals' feet and calls out "Iss!" A film of slippery ice coats the boards, threatening to cause the sailors to fall.

5ft step back to N5, Standard Action to cast my Ulfen-themed grease (using the old Norse for ice as my verbal component) on squares P5, P6, Q5 and Q6. DC 13 Reflex saves to avoid falling.

Ra1 Reflex save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Ra2 Reflex save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

Ro1 Reflex save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

All three stagger a little but keep their footing.

There go all my good attack rolls!

Sailor Ra2 attacks Kung. Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Between the hex cast on him by Barnabas and the slippery footing he misses with a strangled cry of dispair.

Ghilda, Jane and Kung Get their actions now.

Round 1, Init 5

Kung looks the sailor in the eye before taking a swing. "Sneaky to come up from below. Don't like sneaky."

Greatsword, power attack, fatigue: 1d20 + 6 - 1 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 6 - 1 - 1 = 18
Damage, power attack, fatigue: 2d6 + 6 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (5, 1) + 6 + 3 - 1 = 14

Jane will toss another bomb at the nearest group of foes. this is my 4th one of the day.

Alchemist Bomb: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22 Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
splash damage of 4 for those around the target. DC 13 reflex for half

Sailor Ra2 doesn't get to apologise for being sneaky, Kung slashes him down with one brutal strike.

Ro1 hisses in pain as she is hit with acid.

Sailor Ra1 reflex save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 And joins the officer in howling in pain as he is splattered with acid.

Ghilda casts Murderous command on Sailor Ra1 to keep him tied up.
Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15 He saves, and steps up to attack Marnir. Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 Missing again.

Order. Map updated. White lines show the ice slip.

Barnabas II. - 21

Ro1. - 17

Marnir. - 15

Ghilda. - 11

Jane. - 6

Kung. - 5

Ra1. - 4

Barnabas & Marnir actions please.

Barnabus laughs again....
"Surrender or die!"

Barnabus eyes the oncoming sailors looking for a leader to us his evil eye on...

Will save DC 16 or -2 to AC

The enemy sailor seems sure-footed and moves across the slippery ice towards Marnir, who parries the man's blow with his shield. "That was your last mistake," he laughs at the man as his axe comes slashing down.

Axe attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

The blow misses as the boat rocks, and Marnir readies himself quickly to continue the fight.

The Rahadoumi officer (Ro1) catches Barnabas's eye. Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Cursing as she feels his magic weaken her, she lashes out at Barnabas, her boarding pike once again lengthening to reach him where he stands. Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Confirm crit?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Barnabas you have just taken 16 HP damage as her thrust nearly takes your heart. You slump to the deck unconscious.

Critical damage X3 is nasty.

On her action Ghilda slips behind Marnir and makes to O5, coming to heal Barnabas.

Jane and Kung your actions now.

Round 2, Init 5

Kung eyes the remaining sailor and officer, trying to decide his target. Stabby-stabby guy is in that ice, and I might slip. But his stabby-stabby can reach out of the ice, so I have to try. His mind settled, the half-orc steps onto the patch of ice. (5' step to P6)

Acrobatics DC10: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

He finds sure footing and makes his attack.

Greatsword, power attack, fatigue: 1d20 + 6 - 1 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 - 1 - 1 = 20
Damage, power attack, fatigue: 2d6 + 6 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (4, 1) + 6 + 3 - 1 = 13

Jane takes aim at one of the remaining sailors and tosses another bomb.
Alchemist Bomb: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Alchemist Bomb: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20 Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

The officer is still howling in pain from Jane's acid bomb when Kung carefully steps up, his peg leg skidding a little on the rime coating the deck.

His blow cuts her down, ending her brief defiance.

Seeing her fall the last sailor drops his weapon and raises his hands, a bleak look of despair on his face.

The fog thins away showing the same scene being repeated over the the deck as the last resistance crumbles. The Mans Promise is now taken.

Ghilda gets to Barnabas II and stabilizes him, between her magic, and his own when he is revived Barnabas is soon healed and back on his feet. (Plenty of time to heal up properly. Not going to worry about the details.)

You do have time to loot the bodies of those you defeated.

Sailors.

Studded leather armor. 12
Cutlasses or short swords. 12
Heavy crossbows. 6 (90 bolts remaining)

Officer

Chain mail shirt.
Boarding pike. (Magic)
MW short swords. 2
Heavy crossbow (20 bolts)
Colorful clothing set with small pearls (75gp)

"Yeah, good idea," Marnir states as the last sailor drops his weapons and raises his hands. Slinging his shield on his back, Marnir slips his axe back into it's sheath on his belt then grabs the surrendered sailor by the arm and drags him towards the rail.

"I'm sorry lad, you're the captain's now," he says, then whispers "but I'll put in a good word for you. No-one deserves to serve under that tyrant, but maybe things'll be better for you if you stick with us."

The aftermath.

Marnir As a thanks for warning Harrigan you receive an Amulet of natural armor +1

As a group you all receive 350 gp each. Plus 3 potions of Cure moderate wounds and a potion of Invisibility.

This comes from:

250 gp each for taking the stern castle in under 6 rounds.

25 gp for each sailor captured or killed. (300/5)

200 gp for capturing an officer. (200/5)

Marnir graciously accepts his reward. The amulet appears to be a small brass figurine sculpted as some kind of turtle-like creature hanging from a leather cord, which Marnir slips around his neck.

Barnabus smiles at the turtle effigy not everyone can have an actual turtle....

"Perhaps I was too sparing in my use of magics, though many more than I thought were able to resist the evil eye."

Kung smiles at the captured sailors as they're brought aboard. When he sees the officer, he tries to catch her eye. "No hard feelings. Just following orders. You strong, fight good."

At dawn, a few hours after the celebration finally winds down, the ship’s bell sounds, calling all hands on deck.

When the crew is assembled, a long line of captured officers and sailors from the Man’s Promise is brought on deck and paraded before the crew.

Captain Harrigan addresses the captives first, offering a place on the
Wormwood’s crew for any who want to throw their lot in with pirates.

Several of the Rahadoumi sailors step forward; Master Scourge cuts their bonds, and the sailors take their places among the Wormwood’s crew.

Harrigan then turns to address the Wormwood’s crew. “All right, you scurvy tars! You’ve done a right good job by me—we’ve got a second ship now, and she’s quite a prize from the looks of her. But I still have only one crew. So here’s the plan—the Wormwood will sail on to our planned destination with our new shipmates here, while Mr. Plugg will pick a skeleton crew to sail the Man’s Promise to Port Peril, where she’ll be worth a pretty penny as salvage."

“As for these fine fellows here” Harrigan gestures at the remainder of the captured ship’s crew“some of them will no doubt be worth a hefty ransom from their families back in Azir. And for the rest, if the life of a pirate’s not for them, they can spend the rest of their lives at sea!”

To make his point, Harrigan grabs one of the Rahadoumi sailors and throws her overboard to the accompaniment of cheers and laughter from the Wormwood’s crew.

As the unfortunate woman sinks beneath the waves, many of the remaining sailors scramble to swear their loyalty to Harrigan. The others are led belowdecks and the crew begins to disperse to their daily tasks.

As they do, Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge pick out several of the Wormwood’s original crew, telling them to be aboard the Man’s Promise within 10 minutes to set sail for Port Peril.

You are all chosen to join the skeleton crew as well, and Scourge smiles evilly at you as he picks you.

You have enough time to grab your gear, say goodbye to Cutthroat Grok and hurry aboard the Mans Promise.

Plugg and Scourge seem to have arranged to stack the crew, all those hostile to you are aboard with them. Along with your gang from the Wormwood. Including Fishguts Kroop.

Kyra, the Rahadoumi officer seems to have decided to take her chances with you, rather than on the Wormwood with Harrigan. Simply remarking she doesn't have any family wealthy enough to ransom her back home. While not friendly, and keeping to herself she clearly has already taken a dislike to Scourge.

The Man’s Promise is a three-masted sailing ship, 105 feet long and 30 feet wide. A minimum crew of 20 is required to sail her.
Unless otherwise indicated, interior walls on the ship are of wood, 2 inches thick (hardness 5, hp 20, Break DC 20). Doors are of good wooden construction (hardness 5, hp 15, Break DC 18). Interior rooms are unlit during the day (except for those with windows or portholes), and usually
have a single hooded lantern for light at night.

Day 1.

As the Man’s Promise sets sail, acting captain Mr. Plugg and his first mate Master Scourge gather the crew together to inform them that although this is a new ship, the rules are the same, though discipline on the Man’s Promise will be a good deal harsher than on the lackadaisical Wormwood, all crimes are now punishable with the cat instead of the whip.

All of the crew keep the same jobs they had before on the Wormwood, but they will have to work a good deal harder, as the crew is smaller. From now on, the DC to avoid fatigue for a daily task increases by +2, and PCs must now make DC 8 Constitution checks to avoid fatigue for those tasks where no fatigue chance previously existed.

Master Scourge ensures that the PCs continue to have the worst jobs of the crew for the remainder of this journey (you should assign the PCs the worst duties or the duties they most hate every day rather than rolling randomly).

As night falls, the sails of the Wormwood disappear over the horizon. Mr. Plugg does not believe in crew entertainment or rum rations, and anyone caught above decks after dusk without leave gets six lashes with the cat.

Quietly to his friends....

"Me thinks it likely we might be disposed of at the port and fresh recruits taken in our stead."

The barbarian hustles to gather his belongings, gathering together quite an armload of geat to carry over to Man's Promise. He makes a point of saying goodbye to Owlbear, and hopes the simple man will be treated well.

He listens to Barnabus, then looks around to be sure they're not overheard. "Maybe we could do the disposing instead. Plugg is no Harrigan. Need be careful; Plugg brought all of his friends."

Owlbear is coming along, he's owned by Plugg.

Marnir hurries to empty his belongings into a sack and follows his ship-mates to their new home. An undercurrent of displeasure is clear among most of those being transferred. He joins in with the conspiratorial whispers. "Working for Harrigan was pretty s@~$ty, but there's no way I'm working for Plugg and Scourge just so they can take the credit for capturing this prize." He looks around at his friends. "We have to do something. We're the minority here, and there's a good chance we'll never make it back to shore if we don't act first."

Jane looks at Marnir, "I know two women who would be on our side. How many do you have?"

After wishing Fishguts a fond goodbye, Ghilda goes below on Wormwood to pick up the rest of her things and brings them over to Man's Promise. Quickly checking that her friends only can hear, "This is our chance to honor the Pirate Queen...let's take stock of our chances and act quickly, I say."

"Not enough I'd wager. Particularly if the other side has the backing of Plugg and Scourge." He looks at Ghilda. "The dwarf lady has the right of it I think, though I still don't know much about your pirate goddess. We should get ready to strike the first blow, before Plugg and his bootlickers can get themselves organised and take us down first."

Am I right in interpreting that we have 9 friendlies, 9 hostiles and the new Rahadoumi officer on board? As well as us, Plugg and Scourge of course.

Yes, that's about the split.

The first night on the Mans promise Plugg and his supporters have a meeting in the captains cabin while you are in the crew quarters.

Fishguts Kroop is worried, worried enough the be almost sober. "This is bad!' He mutters in a low voice. "Plugg is planning something, an I don't think it'll be good for anyone who ain't puckerin up to kiss his ringpiece."

The new day starts and everyone can make a Profession (Sailor) or Knowledge (Geography) DC15.

Kung doesn't have ranks in either skill.

Still speaking away from unfriendlies, Kung offers a suggestion. "We could just wait outside the meeting. They open door, we go in. Nice and quick."

"I don't feel good about taking them all on in a pitched battle. We need to pick our fights, maybe have a few of those a@*+!&#*s 'fall overboard' or 'slip from the rigging' to whittle down their numbers," Marnir replies to Kung's suggestion. "Maybe we should wait and see how Plugg's first day in power turns out, then make our plans from there."

The night passes quietly and a new day begins on a new ship under new masters.

Profession (sailor): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Jane paces the room. "We might not win a drawn out fight... And if they are planning something for us, we might want to strike out right..." she continues to pace. She stops and looks towards the group. "Be on guard and we will see what will come... Several more days, then we will know if we should strike or not."

P. Sailor: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Profession (explorer) 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

"Removing the serpents head might be the most efficient method."

Ghilda sleeps, somewhat comforted by the fact that Fishguts is with the new crew. Chorley seems to sleep with one eye open.

As the new day approaches dawn, Ghilda meditates quietly, in preparation for what the day may bring.

Profession (Sailor): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Jane & Marnir both notice the change in course the Mans Promise takes the second day away from the Wormwood.

Others do as well, Kyra, the former Rahadoumi officer seems very troubled when the ship starts an easterly course. Swallowing her distrust of you she has a quiet conversation with Marnir. "We should be heading northwest to be making for Port peril." She whispers when you are alone. "East lies Bloodcove, and the damned slave markets."

Fishguts has been a pirate for a longtime, he also has a bad feeling. Talking to Ghilda he believes Plugg plans to make himself Captain permanently, and rid himself of anyone who doesn't bow to him as he thinks they should.

An uneasy air settles on most of the crew during the second day, except for Plugg's group, who seem to have found a new drive.

Quietly to Fishguts, "I too sense Plugg's ambitions - would you be happier with him and Scourge gone?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Ghilda attempts to quietly meet with each of her mates to learn anything new and to impart what Fishguts told her.

Fishguts looks at Ghilda as if she were insane. "Girl, I'd almost give up the drink if it meant ridding meself of those two!"

He gets more serious. "Just be careful. They'll be as twitchy as a pig running in a wolf pack now they've made their play."

Kung continues to spend time with Owlbear on the new ship, deepening their kinship. As they speak together, Kung will pose the following questions. He's trying to gauge whether Owlbear would assist our group if things blow up, or whether he'd stay loyal to his master. These questions are asked over a period of time, during different conversations.

"Do you like working for Plugg?"

"Is Plugg a good master?"

"What kind of food does Plugg feed you?"

"Does Plugg ever beat you or whip you?"

"Would you like it if Plugg were gone?"

"Does Plugg pay you?"

"Would you like to work for someone nicer?"

"Would you like to get paid (or more pay, depending on previous answer) for your work?"

"If Plugg were gone, would you like to stay on a ship and work for yourself?"

Knowing that battle will soon come, Jane does her best to craft some potions in her free time. She will try to make 4 cure light wounds, level 2 and an enlargement potion.

"Bloody Plugg, son of a troll-whore!" he swears as he discusses their course change with Kyra. "I've no desire to be sold into slavery, nor for Plugg to make me into fish food. I assume you don't either?" he asks the Rahadoumi woman. "Stick with us," he suggests, "and we'll see you through this s#*$heap."

"How far to blood cove, then? For we have little time to act and little time to strike, first."

"Any chance we can seal Plugg in and deal with first the crew and then but-plug and scrounge in turn?"

"I don't know how far this place is, but I'm sure that Plugg and Scourge will want to scurry off like the rats they are before Captain Harrigan discovers what they've done."

Marnir looks around at his friends to make sure that they're all comfortable with what they're about to be involved in. "Make no mistake, we have to do this right the first time. There are no second chances for mutineers. If this goes wrong, we're all dead."

Sandara. "Lets do this now, while they're still plotting. We can't let them get set and ready!."

Crimson Cogword. "Fighting?" Smiles.

Rosie. "Time to f~*& those spineless s~~$heels up properly!"

Fishguts. "Make sure you time it right, and you know who's in charge when you win? Seen a few mutinies where they immediately turned on each other over who was gonna be captain."

Kyra. "Five days to Bloodcove, depending on the winds. Best do it soon, before you start running into shipping heading there."

Everyone else is ready to move on your lead.

So someone come up with a plan and let me know when you're starting the slaughter.

The orc looks around at the group. "Right now, we're the same as them. In number, I mean. Right? We should try to split them up so we can deal with smaller groups. If we can defeat Plugg and Scourge first, maybe we won't even have to fight the others?"

"You're right," Marnir replies with a grim-looking smile, "if you cut off the head of the rat the body dies. I doubt they're guarded, particularly at night. Maybe we can sneak in tonight and solve all our problems with two swings of the axe?"

"Unless they are luring us into a trap of their own. Seal them up, spike the door, and get all the crew who is not with us dealt with and then deal with Plug and Scrounge."