There be lootin' to do - Skulls & Shackles

Game Master Spazmodeus

Ah.. I see. Edward ninja'd my last post. I was wondering what you guys were talking about :) Plus, he went a little out of order....but hell he's a pirate, what are you gonna do!! :) And yes that was one hell of a cure, Diana!

Edward's potent potty-mouth creates a circle of fear...and death. At least 20 wrecker crew caught within the area of his spell immediately flinch in fear....and then catch fire; most of them managing to fling themselves in to the sea!

Edward does hear a yelp of surprise and fear come from a spot in the air some 20ft distant, but none of the telltales of being aflame can be seen.

Jaina and Isaac can act. Gareth, need to know if you're risking running through the circle of fire, or if you're changing your action...

So, I just remembered I have the Fire in the Blood racial trait, so I gain Fast Healing 2 whenever I take fire damage, for a number of times per day equal to my level. So I gain 4 HP back!

Can I try to put out a fire I can reach?

Nice...I forgot that as well! Not many actual fires for you to put out, Jaina. The curtain of fire surrounding Gareth still burns, it has scorched the deck but any nearby rigging/sails have burnt away already. Those wreckers set aflame by Edward are in the sea...or dead.

Hmm... I'm wondering what I can do. Could I try to go up the rigging? I'm a bit hesitant since the invisible enemy is tossing fire like it's their day job.

I'm not sure what I can do either. The invisible caster isn't in range for me to punch, and I don't know if I can reach them from the rigging...

All sorts of things I can do IF I can get close to pinpointing the caster. With a single caster we likely only need to survive long enough for them to run out of spells. If you have not targets, put out fire maybe?

Gareth will risk. Do I roll some save, or maybe acrobatics, to have a change to avoid some damage?

Gareth, no saves. Unless you can go over (20ft high) or under the flames , you'll get burnt. but if you stay, you'll also continue to take flame damage. Isaac and Jaina, need a decision on what you do this round....

Ok. I’ll still try to go under as previously stated. Staying where I am just makes me a sitting duck as I only have two throwing axes.

Could i point Jaina a general area of where i heard the 'yelp' from?

Jaina grumbles and starts scrambling up the rigging to try to put some of the fires out.

Climb: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Or, rather, she WOULD if the rigging would stop thrashing about and trying to throw her off.

Could i point Jaina a general area of where i heard the 'yelp' from?

Yes, of course....

Seeing Edward and Jaina climbing up the rigging, Isaac realizes that, despite having a shortbow, he's not the best shot with it. Making his decision, he runs to take cover behind the mast to avoid being out in the open.

Edward calls out to Diana. Typed the wrong name before.

"Jaina! The fire caster is somewhere up there, maybe 20ft from me?"

Edward cries out , trying to show where the invisble , flying caster is in the sky.

Jaina begins to clamber up the rigging, but finds it tough going, as it continually sways back and forth from the Shike crew and wreckers fighting on it...

Isaac takes cover behind the mast.

Gareth grits his teeth and leaps through the curtain of fire, gasping at the pain! 15 damage

Waves of heat continue to push out from the ring of fire! Isaac take 7 damage, Edward take and Jaina take 2

The caster shouts towards Edward, "No..no..no! No telling! and from near to where Edward had indicated to his friends, a shimmering , grey beam emerges from the sky....missing Edward, but striking a wrecker fighting in the rigging 10ft below. The wrecker clutches his eyes, screaming "I can't see!" before being run through by one of The Shrike's crew.

Combat Order
xxxCutthroats (half-orcs)xxx
Edward
Isaac
?????
Diana
Jaina
Gareth

Everyone may act! Jaina and Isaac saw where the beam came from in the air...

Using both Edwards's directions and the grey beam origination point Diana fires off a Glitterdust, trying to catch the invisible caster. Will Save DC 17 or be blind. Be revealed regardless.

A Globe of glittering dust takes form in the air where the beam had emerged, settling over nearby rigging, wrecker and crew. Most importanly, the shimming form of the caster is revealed!!

The caster shrieks in frustration, both from being discovered and from the motions of her outline....suddenly becoming blind!

The caster is 45ft up

Jaina glares at the now glowing spellcaster and starts scrambling up the rigging.

Climb: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Climb: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Edward weaves a few arcane words into his inspire, casting Cacophonous Call, after moving up the stairs.

Range is 40ft. DC 18 willsave vs 7 rounds of nausea.
Is she still shaken?

Gareth and Issac can act....or hide! :)

Seeing the caster finally revealed, still in the air, Isaac decides to hold his position.

Holding action to see what happens next. And to stay safe.

Gareth already moved to hide - is it possible for me to try to search the cargo for some sort of healing point or kit?

Isaac stays in the relative safetly of the shadow of the main mast, even though waves of heat still pour from the steadily burning ring of fire.

Gareth, smoldering and smoking, makes his was below decks where he finds Sandara Quinn had created a hospital of sorts, tending to wounded crew. She sees Gareth and motions him over to a bench, pulls out a scroll and quickly reads the contents, holding her jeweled hand over the burnt dwarf. Healed 15

Satisfied with her work, she asks Gareth, "How do we fare up there?" as she turns and binds a cut on a nearby sailor, slapping his back to send him back up into the action.

Up on deck, the senior crew can see the caster frantically wiping at her face, trying to remove the glitter dust that was blinding her, then she's hit by Edwards very loud spell. Immediately, she begins retching uncontrollably, her ring of fire becomes smoke and dissipates! She stops wiping her face, and with a look around obviously decides that saving her own skin is more important...flies away to the east!

The wrecker crew seeing their captain abandoning them, either raise their weapons and surrender or cast themselves into the sea to escape!

The crew of The Shrike cheer and begin the task of disarming those wreckers surrendering...

The glittery form of the caster can be seen, flying towards a small nearby island...

The caster is currently still 45ft up and 30ft off the starboard railing

Most of my spells are short range. That said, I think she makes her glitterdust save at the end of her round. If that is correct she only gets a single move and that at half speed because she is blind. Is she still that far away?

Yup...that's right. So she's only at the railing....not 30ft out!

Nice. That gives me options. Will delay. If someone else damages her then Diana may try to hit with two Admonishing Rays. Not sure that can bring her down though. If She is the only one attacking she will try a Punitive Tranformation. The issue is that even if she fails her fort save, I think she can still fly away if she makes her will save.

Combat Order
xxxCutthroats (half-orcs)xxx
Edward
Isaac
Sparkly Caster
Diana
Jaina
Gareth (below deck)

Ok, Diana's delaying...So Jaina, Edward and Isaac can act against the caster, Gareth can return to above decks this round should he desire to...

Edward starts a new inspire and, through some odd way, a few words fly at the caster like sonic projectiles.

Range touch, inspire: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11 Sonic dmg: 4d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1, 5, 5, 5) + 4 + 2 = 22

The ripple of air from Edward's inspirational attack, misses the flying caster by a small margin....but misses all the same...

Does the missing +2 from inspire, for range touch 13 total, make any difference?

It makes it a closer miss :)

Isaac, Jaina and Diana can act!

Checking in regularly but staying in delay til I know what Isaac and Jaina can do.

Would I be able to jump on the caster and grab her to keep her from running away?

Are we still going off the map positions? I assume so due to the fact we are still in combat.

Yes, still in combat. Jaina, since you were climbing, I'll say you managed to gain the spar that lay at 30ft. You can run the spar to the other side of the ship, with a DC20 Acrobatics Check. If you fail, it means you lost your balance and had to stop half way, succeed and you're on the other side of the ship, but 15ft below the caster.

My breastplate slows me down and I was not sure where above the ship the enemy was. Even with a move action none of my spells can reach her except another glitterdust.

Diana moves closer and fires her heavy crossbow at the caster.

Heavy Crossbow: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 2 = 191d10 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Not sure how long she can fly. Can we follow her somehow?

How long would it take to get the Shrike ready to follow her? If nothing else, we can interrogate the crew she left behind.

The Shrike has run aground on the reef. It will take quite a long time to get her free...

Diana's crossbow bolt takes the sparkly , flying caster in the shoulder causing her to scream out in pain!

Need an action: Isaac, Jaina...and Gareth

Jaina starts running for the spar on the far side of the ship, hoping to catch the caster before she escapes!

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

Never mind.

Hopefully, just a last annoyance, Sandara. Thanks for the patching up, but I fear I might need a little more. - says Gareth, asking for more healing and getting ready to move up - Does any of you have a bow or crossbow laying around so I can shoot the annoyance out of the skies?

He didn't know if Sandara or any of the other people down the deck would have a ranged weapon with them, but he thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

Edward points at his back.

"Shortbow, but you're too far away, i reckon.", with the bard being up in the ropes.

Isaac runs towards where the enemy flew off. While running, he draws his shortbow into his free hand. He stands next to Gareth. "Well, we'll nev'r be knowin' iff'n we don't try. Her', Gareth. Me shor'bo'. Got som' arrows iff'n ye need 'em." He then turns to his crew. "Alrigh' now! Our enemy be runnin' an' we'r run agroun'! All hands! Ge' th' Shrik' afloa'! Mak' wha' repairs we can! Tally th' dead!" He then turns to the surrendering enemy crew. "As fer thes' dogs...I wan' 'em strip'd o' their gear, in th' brig, an' und'r guard."

Edit: I only took one move action. I still have a standard action. Spazmodeus, if I were to use my cutlass's hydraulic push, would I be able to hit her?

Yup, you'd attempt the bull rush on her as a usual Combat Maneuver. If successful, she'd have to make a Fly check to keep her current orientation and speed... Jaina and Diana , I moved your icons on the combat map for you. Guys, Gareth asked that question of the people, Sandara especially, down below...

Before he comes back up on deck, Sandara shrugs and says, "This is all I have left..." and uses another scroll. 10 healed

Then she reaches down and slides a heavy crossbow and quiver of bolts across the table to Gareth, "I want that back in one piece, you hear?"

Gareth you'll need a double move to get to the railing from below deck. You're done this round.

At Isaac's sharp commands, the crew of The Shrike spring into action: two longboats are lowered to begin pulling the grounded ship off of the reef, others set to disarming the wreckers still on board, still others begin swarming the ship, checking what was damaged, what could be salvaged.

One bright lad runs up to Isaac, oblivious to the sparkly opponent up in the air, "Cap'n, what should be do about that? " he say pointing at the wrecker's ship at anchor nearby.

My mistake. Isaac will have his short bow still sheathed then.

Seeing the young lad run up to him and ask about the wrecker's ship, Isaac looks back at the enemy ship. "Don't be movin' on it ye'. Bu' be keepin' an ey' on it. An' we still hav' th' enemy abov' us. Be sur' to tak' cov'r when ye spread th' wor', lad."

Looking at the sparkly target, Isaac levels his cutlass at her and, using the innate magic in the blade, shoots a torrent of water at her!

Hydraulic Push (from Tidewater Cutlass): 1d20 + 9 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 9 + 3 = 21

The jet of water hits the flying wrecker squarely, sending her head over heels....

Unfortunately, the wrecker's skill at flying prevented her from falling into the sea. She recovers around 15ft above the water, then continues travelling away from The Shrike, not before uttering a few curses in Isaac's direction.

She double moves 80ft...

Combat Order
xxxCutthroats (half-orcs)xxx
Edward
Isaac
sparkly wrecker
Diana
Jaina
Gareth

All can act , if they can....or you can let her go and we'll end combat...

Diana gives orders to her siege crew to fire upon the glittery target as she casts Bless. Should already be loaded with deck clearing shot.

Siege engineering: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Jaina glowers and starts climbing back down the rigging.

Climb?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Diana strides down the starboard beam shouting at the three ballistae crew who had done well to protect the valuable weapons from the attacking wreckers.

The Oracle stops briefly with each crew master, pointing with her arm at the fleeing , flying wrecker. Given a target, each crew master set to aiming his ballistae at the cowardly pirate. Crew furiously cranked handles to elevate the ballistae , until halted by their master. Then a quick shouted conversation between crew masters set their intent to fire at the same time...THUNK, THUNK, THUNK...three large bolts are flung into the air!

One almost immediately fall into the sea, it's ballistae's throwing arm must not have been working properly. The other two bolts fly towards the fleeing pirate, each of them tracking fine, leading the target...until impact! But two flashes of light reveal that the caster was possessed of magical protection and was unharmed by the bolts, which fall harmlessly into the sea.

Garth, Isaac, Edward....any actions?

GM, a character who is nauseated can take but a single move action. She couldn't double move.

And holy heck, protection from ballista bolts?