Might and magic, Lords of the Contested Lands

Game Master Chyrone

Estelle, meanwhile, remains behind on the dry part of the hold. "Um... usually, I can swim okay... but this armor weighs me down a lot. It's why I climbed up rather than risking the water. But, if anyone pushes the cargo crates closer to here, I can pull it towards me with my polearm and lift it up?" she offers.

Not risking swimming at a -2 with Estelle's luck. See the climb checks. She'd probably drown!

Astella nods and pushes boxes towards Estelle rather than taking them up the stairs herself. It seems to speed things up a bit.

Daniel will wade into the water, his armor providing mild issue, but he manages it well enough.

I'll go check the other crates

take 10 on the swim checks for 13

perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
stealth: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3

Does Daniel have a lightsource? :)

Light eminating coin between the fingers of one hand, Astella retrieves a small sized box, and another caught in the way of swimming, coming back to the stairs.

Estelle and Daniel take them up and set them aside.
The latter then also decides to venture into the liquid unknown below......

Deciding that it was high time that she pull her own weight, Brunhild joined Daniel in the liquid. Given her own lack of armor, she figured that she was the ideal candidate to help keep the man safe.

take 10 on swim for 12

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Likely one of his gloves getting a light spell cast upon by Estelle, Daniel goes underwater, headed for the back.

Anyone else going in?

Daniel sees a few crates tucked in a corner, bearing an unclear seal, a number of large wooden barrels, and heavy looking metal crates.

I think everyone except Estelle is in the water, and she wouldn't go in unless there was an emergency.

As Astella rounds up multiple crates and nothing bad seems to happen, Estelle relaxes slightly, then turns around to keep watch over the stairs behind them. With the light on Daniel moving further away with his movement, she takes an oil lamp from her backpack and lights it, placing it on one of the recovered crated to her side. "I'll watch out backs, too. Be careful everyone. Don't go too deep by yourself - we have no idea if something's down there."

I was assuming that Daniel had a light source since I said that I handed off the coin to whoever was in the lead, but cool with me this way too. And didn't know we could take ten on the checks... that will make things much easier. :)

Astella isn't sure if any of her attacks will work underwater if it comes to that, but seeing Daniel and Brunhild set off into the area near the holes, she stops herding boxes and follows them underwater to give what support she can.

Swimming further to closer near the cargo, the three see multiple bodies in sailor outfits, caught off guard when the water rushed in from the holes.

Brunhild, but a mere 10ft from Daniel, sees something swim by. 2 things, and they briefly halted, looking inside towards whatever lightsource was inside. From what she gathers, those were two dog sized fish.

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
She instinctively ducks behind a barrel, but both she and Daniel were noticed.

But a moment later, two 3ft long fish, with sharp teeth, enter the cargohold.

The hold is about 40ft wide, by 60ft long. Cargo is at 30ft length, hole and fish 20ft further.
Map coming later today.

Finned menace, round 1

Brunhild
Astella
-------
Fish
-------
Daniel

Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Astella has never fought underwater before, so she isn't sure what will work. She tries a spell.

Looks like you need a concentration check to cast underwater which is DC+spell level.

Concentration: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 (fail)

Unfortunately, she is unable to make it work.

Readied Action Punch: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Brunhild's eyes widened as she saw that there was a predator under the water. She fervently hoped that it would not see them as food and that it would just swim away. Such luck could happen...right? She held her ground, ready to wildly flail at it should it try to attack her.

Light radius added.

Holding her breath, Astella tries casting a spell. As she does, a little bit of water gets into her nose, and she loses focus.

Brunhild holds a punch, which she swings as the first fish comes by.

Cyan swim by attack vs Brunhild: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 Dmg: 1d4 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
Red swim by attack vs Daniel: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13Dmg: 1d4 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0

Both fish advance with quick pace, both making a bite attack, but only against Daniel does it hit. Thankfully, his hand wear takes the impact, leaving but a bruised feeling instead. 1 nl.

We're here =====> Daniel
=============================

Finned menace, round 2

Astella & Brunhild

Whoops, nl dmg goes to Brunhild instead of Daniel.

Daniel draws his javelin and readies to strike.

poke em: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

readied attack when they near, piercing damage so no negatives

Daniel's ready to do some spear fishing, but will it work?

As first up are Astella and Brunhild.

Hit: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Hit: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Brunhild likewise waited, arrow drawn, for the fish to come by again. Once it was close enough, she planned to send her arrows into it…

I don't know if it matters, but javelins always take a -4 when used in melee as they are not designed for it. At least, according to the weapon description. Maybe a dagger or spiked gauntlet works better?

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Far away on the dry end of the ship, Estelle keeps watching the entryway into the hold, unaware of the threat below...

Astella tries again to cast her spell

Concentration: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

but fails again. Maybe it is trying to tread water and hold her breath at the same time? She tries to calm her mind.

Brunhild likewise waited, arrow drawn, for the fish to come by again. Once it was close enough, she planned to send her arrows into it…

10ft, i take it? Not provoking aoo that way.

Finned menace, round 2

Being unaccustomed to fighting underwater, Astella is making a mental note to focus on her concentration, for future situations like this, as the spell fizzles.

Brunhild draws her bow, ready to put an arrow at the fish upon its return.
-----------------------
Cyan makes a turn to swim past Brunhild again.
As it gets within 10ft, an arrow propels itself at the fish.

The +1 extra attack from a readied arrow makes the difference.
The arrow loses momentum as it goes, but was still quick enough to hit the fish. It wriggles in injury, losing speed as it draws close.

Fish is staggered.

The other fish swims to bite Daniel.
What the animal didn't suspect, was getting skewered upon a javelin.

Essentially combat over!

Seeing the fish defeated, Astella gratefully swims back to the stairs for another breath, and then back again to help retrieve the boxes (and the fish if everyone wanted them for eating/selling purposes). She wasn't sure if they were good to eat or not.

Estelle, not having noticed there had even been a fight, keeps helping with pulling the crates out of the water. "Anything interesting down there? Or just any sign of the crewmembers?" she asks as the first person comes back with a haul.

These metal crates are too heavy to effectively move, under water.
Aside from them, two proper wooden crates with a seal, 4 larger sized barrels, 1 regular sized(medium), two medium wooden crates.

If you would like to try retrieve part of the cargo by hand, it would come to multiple swim checks combined with strength checks, for each container.

"So... agressive fish and the bodies of three sailors. And more barrels and crates," Estelle muses as she is informed of the situation. "What do you think? It will take us a while to get the rest of the heavy stuff out. Maybe we should leave this for later and return after the contest is over? Though... I suppose we could retrieve the bodies and bury them, so that they're not eaten by fish or lost? They might have something that identifies them for their families, too."

What is left of the bodies? If they are skeletons then sure, Brunhild would retrieve them. Bloated water soaked corpses? No way in hell. That would be beyond disgusting for every sense. Taste included, because it would smell so bad you could taste it

The bodies are at an in-between state. There are some small injuries that enabled the gas from decomposition to escape the corpses. They are discolored, but not bloated.
The water not being warm kind of helped, as well.

"Oh... right; they would be at least partly decomposed..." Estelle says when their state is decribed, slightly embarassed. "It doesn't feel right to me to just leave them, but I'd understand prioritising more crates or heading to the capain's quarters upstairs."

Brunhild nodded. Feeling slightly queasy after interacting with the bodies, even so briefly, she came to the surface and shuddered. "To the captain's quarters then."

They will turn to food either way.. for the creatures of Earth or the Sea. My only concern is that they will never be identified. He says, with a surprising solemn expression before following the others. Seemingly still considering what his final decision for the bodies would be.

Low acro roll to jump from deck to the safe spot near the captain's quarters.

Inside captain's quarters:

This 20 by 15ft room is, despite being smaller than larger vessels, still of neat interior, though more practical than posh. Albeit that furniture is more close to others. Given the cause for the vessel's stranding, it isn't surprising.

A rug lies underneath the captain's desk, and a big bookcase stands at one wall. At the other, a bed, wardrobe, and a personal footlocker.

With all her friends now present, Estelle, not wanting to strip yet another time, attempts to reach the captains quarters wearing her armor. If there is no way to hang from the deck above and simply drop down safety, she attempts the jump.

acrobatics: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (13) - 4 = 9

What happens?

Nothing, the distance was a mere 5 ft, and merely minor fall damage upon failing.

Oh, ok. I remember the DC as being above a 9 in an earlier post, so I figured it failed. But that works for me :)

Estelle clears the distance and enters the captains quarters, waiting for her companions inside partly to make room for their own jumps. "Hm... well, we're looking for a hat. So... we should probably check the wardrobe first? But just in case..."

She peers at the ground to see if there was a trap or hazard of sorts. Maybe the captain would want to keep his possessions protected from the crew during the trips at sea, after all.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

If she finds nothing she opens the wardrobe.

Daniel takes a few moments to find a good angle and makes the leap. He lands with a loud Thud! but manages to stay on his feet.

He will walk around without worry towards traps.

taking 10 for the acrobatics for 12. Taking 1 for trap perception for -2 ;)

perception to find something nice?: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Take 10 acrobatics for 12
Perception +2 for stone: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Brunhild sighed at the antics of the tall-folk. Quietly and studiously she went to work, looking through the room. As she did so, she felt ‘in the zone.’ Like a natural, she meticulously took the room in, and searched it in an orderly, efficient and thorough manner.

The wardrobe is unlocked.

Inside are a set of spare men's shoes, size 13.5 you'd guess.
Spare clothing, typical men tailored, its main showcase a stylish marine blue overcoat. And an old battered tricorne, far from fancy quality though.

A quick look over the bookcase shows topics on a variety of topics, such as navigation, ports, one labeled 'Crew Log 2', and some of likely personal interests.

On the desk are knocked over writing materials. The little ink left in the pot now staining a piece of paper and part of a sea chart.
The desk has two drawers in it.

The whole place seems as if only essentials had been taken.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Not noticing anything immediately off about the room, Estelle grabs the Crew log book from the shelves and glances through it for any worthwhile information, also throwing an eye on the charted route and following it back to the starting point to see where they came from. "If nothing else, this probably contains the names of the entire crew. We could take this back to where they sailed from and hand it as a proof of their demise of sorts. Might give their families some closure at least."

Is there any interesting information in the log or any that can be gleamed from the route the ship took?

Afterwards, when the battered Tricorne hat is found, she grimaces. "Well... it's, ah, something, at least? Maybe we could buy magical services at the temple to have it restored to better condition... and maybe add some embroidery of our own to make it fancy? Sally probably knows a good local weaver who might help."

I'll roll searching the room for hidden items/compartments to take place somewhere during our stay in the room, before leaving.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

This crew log is like a thick journal, every page has names and roles to them, such as crow's nest, deckhand, and general assignment.
Every two pages have names, date, and destined journey, for the vessel's most recent journey.
The latest crew size stands at 18 men, with six names assigned to cargo & general duties.

Daniel will take the coat and hat, trying on the hat.

Well, at least I look dashing now. He says, trying to lighten the general atmosphere.

As lovely as the hat is, I doubt we could make it pass for... fancy . Sadly.

That hat looks good on you, Daniel.

As for the boxes / crates / barrels in the hold... I think we gave up way too soon. Why not retrieve them? We don't even know what is in them. There still could be a hat in there somewhere.

”And worst come to worst we can make a hat fancy. Nothing says that it had to originally be.”

Estelle finds no further secrets hidden within the confines of the captain's quarters.

What shall it be. Three of you propose a plan, one has not decided on further action.

My original plan was to find Sally, see if the hat could be restored by magic if need be, and ask her for a local weaver to make it fancy. How much time do we think it costs to get the remaining crates? It was stated as multiple str-checks and multiple swim checks, I believe. Can we take 10 on swim checks while moving the heavier crates too?

Edited previous. :)
You can on swim checks, but a strength check is rolled for.
I'll get the specifics done later today.

Containers potentially salvageable.
Medium sized: 1 barrel, 2 unmarked crates, 2 seal marked crates.
Large(r) sized: 3 barrels.

The medium sized cargo are at distance 30, 35 x2, 50 x2.
Large barrels are at 30, 35, 40.

Moving a container occurs in 5ft every successful strength check.
DC 15 for a medium container, 18 for a large one.
The stairs up is at 10ft from the front of the hold.
Would a strength check not pass by 5 or more, it could get stuck.
Aid another is very much possible.

I'm definitely not the strongest, but I'll roll aid rolls to see how much help I can lend.

Then, after we see how far each one got, I can roll more to help finish them off.

____

I can cast Mending on the hat if that would help.

When the plan is to head back down to the barrels first, Estelle pouts as she starts the process of wringing herself out of her armor again. But with the boat presumably clear now, she then jumps in and begins assisting the others with getting everything on land.

That is, unless Estelle can make aid checks as in heaving them onto dry boat still in her armor.

If not: well, here goes then! I'll pass for Daniel to roll the main checks since he's Daniel :)

Me Daniel. Me man. Me stronk. Feel free to check Daniel's success rate vs excepted. I'm far too tired after setting up these rolls XD. In respective order as listed, med1 all success with flying color(many doubled the DC), med 35 ft 5 success, 1 fail>DC-5, med50A 7 success 3 fail(2<DC-5) (3>DC+10), 50ftB 6 success, 5 fail, (1 fail <DC-5, 1 success greater DC+10) large30ft, 4 success, 1 fail<DC-5. Large35ft 2 success, 1 fail<DC-5. Large 40ft 4 success, 2 fails<DC-5. I rolled five nat 20s vs two nat 1s if that helps at all. Please check my tally, as I easily could have messed up somewhere.

Daniel showboats(cuz he is on a boat) around with the first few, moving them without much trouble at all, however, as they reach the larger ones, the extra weight and tiring muscles begin to take their toll as he begins to struggle, even with the help of the others.

Let's see what Brunhild makes of it, before resolving.

Brunhild put her back into it, helping as best she could. There was no showboating, but rather a silent acceptance that this was but part of life. That, and it was better to move the cargo than the bodies...

I was trying to compile the rolls, but realized I don't know how everyone else is doing this... I rolled 61 times I believe because it is one roll for every 5 feet of distance with a total of 305 feet.