DM Fern's Skull & Shackles (Inactive)

Game Master Evriani

Atia listens to Dreamer's orders and goes to grab her weapon. She hopes she doesn't need to use it and that her magic would suffice.

She returns to the deck and stands near Joran, nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of her robes. They are light blue, trimmed with white, and stitched with silver thread. She had barely worn them before she had been press-ganged, but she dreaded to see how it would look after extended exposure to sun and salt.

She listens for Dreamer's orders, starting to feel a pit of anxiety forming in her belly. All Chelaxian nobility were trained to some extent in martial skills, but hers had been more...theoretical. Asmodeus is accompanying her, perching on her right shoulder peacefully.

"'Nother ship, I suppose. Nowhere on land to go, so may as well keep sailing." She looked around surreptitiously to be sure they weren't overheard. "Preferably not with this Captain."

Terry nods. "Nothing wrong with your head, anyway. This is the wrong place to be. We'll figure something out."

Samms smirked, the strain clear in her voice. "Damn shame a wave didn't come along and sweep the lot of the bastards off the deck. Wormwood could use a deep cleaning."

As tired as he is, this strikes Terry as terribly funny, and he just laughs out loud for a good minute and a half before managing to calm himself back down.

Sandara looked Terry to Des and back again. With a wry look, she answered him. "If we're being honest, I thought he'd take my eye. I'm...not sure which would have been worse." She nodded her thanks. "I appreciate the sentiment. Just promise me one thing." She lowered her voice. "That if the time comes to do something about him, I get to be a part of it."

Terry frowns a little before responding. "If I realize the opportunity comes up, I don't intend to wait. If we have to build the opportunity, I'll do everything I can to save him for you. I hope that's good enough."

Shrugging and giving a grin, "Hey, they're part of the crew. That's enough for me." He nods, giving a wink as he moves along.

Under his breath, not trying to force more praise on the big man, Terry mumbles "There's too many on this boat where that just wouldn't matter."

---

As they chase, Terry calls out significant updates. "Yep, heavy merchant, ripe as can be!", "She's tacking, trying to catch better wind. Still heavy and slow!", "Large crew, think I count 32!"

Or whatever number is appropriate!

---

On Seadreamer's orders, Terry dons his armor, rapier, bow, and quiver of arrows. Then he climbs up into the rigging and prepares a rope to swing between ships for a quick boarding. He ties his bow loosely into the rigging, so that when he drops it, it won't fall into the sea.

Once the ships are close enough together (120'?), Terry will start taking pot shots at the opposing crew, trying to drive them back from where his team will be boarding as much as he's trying to reduce the number of active fighters they will have to face. He's not in a hurry to use up his arrows, he just wants to give the team some room.

As he is taking his time working the enemy, he begins singing a little song.

"I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be a Pirate too.
I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be a Pirate too.

I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be a Pirate too.
I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be I wanna be, I wanna be a Pirate too."

Full recording

Once he returns, Dreamer looks at the group.

Sharkbait, you help me get this plank across. then we charge. yu, then me, them the rest

He wave his hand to the rigging.

I see Terry will try to keep a spot for us

He steps to the rail as he watches the other ship.

at 300 yards he draws his crossbow and looks at the opposing crew.
Terry aim at the quarterdeck

Syl looks at Joran with a gaze that could freeze lava. "Interesting," she said coldly. "I'd like to gut you like a fish and feed you to your lover. If that's okay." She stalks away.

Rolling his eyes, he reaches out, grabs her by the arm, and turns her around. "C'mon, Syl, please?! Look, if you walk away I'm going to follow you and talk to you anyway. So we can either talk with a little privacy or we can walk and talk. Doesn't matter to me. Your call." He lets go of her, ready to continue the conversation in whatever manner she decides upon.

Once he returns, Dreamer looks at the group.

Sharkbait, you help me get this plank across. Then we charge. You, then me, then the rest.

Nodding, "Aye aye, skipper." Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

Roll 20 link in case Lanni and Mateo need it.

----With Syl, Earlier---
”You have about three seconds to let me go, or I’m going to stab you somewhere that will make Atia awfully disappointed. Go away. Or I’ll go tell Scourge you got touchy feely with his woman and we’ll see what happens.”

—--Approaching the Merchant Ship —-----

Some special mechanics here, bear with me and read them.

After twelve hours of pursuing the merchant vessel, which you could now see bore the name “The Man’s Promise”, the two ships come within range to assault one another. Banks of fog immediately cover the deck of the Promise, as the Wormwood’s resident wizard finally earns her keep. "FIRE! A rain of arrows and crossbow bolts fill the air between the vessels….

There are 4 rounds until the ships are close enough to board one another. Not going to worry about initiative here – all of you will take a turn, then I will. All sailors on the opposite ship from you have cover, +2 to AC and +1 to reflex saves. Those on the sterncastle, which Dreamer's team has been ordered to secure, have +4 to AC and +2 to reflex do to having the high ground (insert prequel meme here). There is also a 50% miss chance targeting the opposite ship, due to the fog cloud.

Mateo and Lanni, you can designate any of the folks on the Crew slides as your targets. I know you know who the a#+!&@~s are, and judging by looks alone you very well might target them over little Tiffer or Jack or the like, lol. I trust you two not to metagame toooooo badly ;) Wormwood gang, there are sailors or officers to target. I am putting a simplified map on roll20. I’m not putting 60+ tokens on there, lol. You are NOT that close yet either. Just a way to track HP for the sailors and such.

You all are up first. This round the ships are 120 feet away. You'll get 30 feet closer each round.

----With Syl, Earlier---

”You have about three seconds to let me go, or I’m going to stab you somewhere that will make Atia awfully disappointed. Go away. Or I’ll go tell Scourge you got touchy feely with his woman and we’ll see what happens.”

Letting her go and unconcerned with her threats, "Yeah yeah yeah, I've heard it all before, Syl. Gut me, stab me, tell Scourge on me, whatever. I'm sure you'll do all three, I've no doubt. I'm not leaving, Syl. If you want to walk away, go for it. That is one of your options. Of course, I have mine as well. I will continue to annoy the hell out of you until you take a moment to listen. All I ask is for a moment of your time, and if you give me that, I won't bother you any longer. And the next time we talk will be on the battlefield, which is where you can try your luck at gutting me if you haven't already given it a shot before then. That's got to sound pretty good to you, right?!" He throws out his hands, acting as if that's a no-brainer.

"All you have to do is listen to me now and I won't bother you any longer! That also has to sound like a dream come true to you, right?! Probably everything you've ever wished for, Syl! Well, except for the gutting me part of course. I know how high that is on your list."

Narrowing his eyes, "I mean, think about this, how many other guys are knocking on your door wanting to tell you how sorry he is for hitting you, hm? Because I am really sorry, Syl. I wish I could take it back but I can't. Hell, I wouldn't have remembered it if Atia hadn't reminded me of it. And I still vaguely remember it. It's all kind of fuzzy."

"And how many other guys do you know want to Thank You for saving his life?! Hm? That's right, I said 'Thank you, Syl' for saving my life! Which I also wouldn't have known unless Atia hadn't told me. I still don't know why you did it. Why did you do it, Syl? It was there for the taking and you let it pass. Why? I could barely breathe in that thing as it was. Being full of water I wouldn't've stood a chance!"

"You know, Joran, I know exactly how to even the scales." Syl draws her arm back and punches him directly in the groin, as hard as she can. "I doubt a blow to your jaw would lay you out flat like you did me, so. Let's call it even, shall we?" She spun on her heel and strode away.

It was somewhat comforting to be back with all of her supplies again. It made her feel all the more safer, especially since they will be in combat for the first time. Then again, she hadn't really experienced this kind of battle before.

She figured that she wasn't going to be all that useful slinging arrows, but she did decide to give Dreamer's side an edge in battle. So she spoke a prayer as divine energy washed over those nearby.

Casting Bless, +1 to attack rolls and saving throws.

Atia backs away from the edge of the deck and positions herself more towards the middle. She shifts her light crossbow to her other hand for a moment, pulling a small bit of cured leather from her spell components pouch. She holds the bit of leather up, the component floating slightly in the palm of her hand. She murmurs a few words and seems to absorb the leather into her skin, a brief shimmer rippling over her body before dying down. It would have to do for now, she thinks--everything else she had handy was better at closer range.

Casting Mage Armor on Atia. +4 to her AC.

AC: 17; Mage Armor duration: 2 hours; HP 14/14.

As the pirate ship begins to close in distance, the sound of casting could be heard from the other side. The humid air condenses around them, leaving them in a thick fog that was near impossible to see through. Mateo cursed as he held his crossbow, trying to peer through the mist.

"Stay behind me Lanni. Or in front, I could use a mount for the crossbow." He whispered slyly, taking aim where he saw the ship before. It was almost impossible to see it through the foggy haze.

AC for the first three rounds is 17. It is 19 with the cover bonus.

50% Miss Chance. Lower Is Good: 1d100 ⇒ 14
L. Underwater Crossbow: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 - 2 = 14Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5
Random Target: 1d31 ⇒ 21

~~2nd Round ~~

50% Miss Chance. Lower Is Good: 1d100 ⇒ 20
L. Underwater Crossbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Random Target: 1d31 ⇒ 20

~~3rd Round~~

50% Miss Chance. Lower Is Good: 1d100 ⇒ 71
L. Underwater Crossbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6
Random Target: 1d31 ⇒ 26

~~4th Round~~

Mateo, knowing the ships draw close, lets his crossbow hang from his being before drawing his rapier and preparing for battle.

as the ships are closing, dreamer fires
attack: 1d20 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 2 + 1 - 4 = 5
BAB, Dex, Bless, cover
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6

attack: 1d20 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 + 1 - 4 = 4
BAB, Dex, Bless, cover
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8

attack: 1d20 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 + 1 - 4 = 6
BAB, Dex, Bless, cover
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

He then drops his crossbow and picks up the plank for the last 30 yards.
as soon as the ships grind together he drops the plank to give them a route to run across.

Damn the dicebot isgoing back to its me hate

Lanni is initially a bit startled when the fog springs out of nowhere. Then realizes that it probably isn't natural.

"Stay behind me Lanni. Or in front, I could use a mount for the crossbow."

"Hah. Only if you want your crossbow mount to fall over when shot."

"And I would rather be behind something more sturdy than even you - for similar reasons." He looks around the deck of the ship. "Though it doesn't look like there is much available."

Is there anything like a Take Cover action to gain more cover than is normally provided?

As they get closer, Atia hoists her light crossbow and takes aim towards where they'll be setting their plank, straight ahead, where she thought she might have seen some sailors before the fog rolled in.

Round 1 was mage armor; round 2 is an attempt to hit with her light crossbow...

50% Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 25
Light crossbow, to hit plus bless: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 1 = 23
Crit confirm?: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 1 = 15 Alas, no.
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 1

Round 3

50% Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 90
Light crossbow, to hit plus bless: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Round 4

Atia will keep hold of her light crossbow and move to board the ship when the plank is down.

Looking around, Lanni sees a small water barrel lashed to the side of the ship. "Well, I guess that is better than nothing." He moves and takes cover behind the barrel as best as he can. He draws his dagger and watches and waits, checking if there is anyone nearby who needs help.

No ranged weapon at the moment, so saving most of his actions in case Mateo or another nearby sailor takes heavy damage from the arrow storm.

The only person hit with the crossbow was the half-orc. Despite this, she rushed over to his side to take out his crossbow... a bit harder than she needed to.

"I'd call that karma." She gave him a hard slap in the back before her hand worked its healing magic on him.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

LOL, not even Desna's all that forgiving for him. That will be her actions for those rounds.

"You know, Joran, I know exactly how to even the scales." Syl draws her arm back and punches him directly in the groin, as hard as she can. "I doubt a blow to your jaw would lay you out flat like you did me, so. Let's call it even, shall we?" She spun on her heel and strode away.

Eyes going wide as his hands go straight for the family jewels, the barbarian falls to his knees and mutters as loud as he can through pained breath, "You never answered my question!" Taking several moments to wait for the pain to subside, he manages to finally rise. Shaking his head, You can run, Syl. I do not easily give up. You're nothing compared to Naomi. Joran turns and leaves, walking a little funny as he does, to go and prepare himself for the coming battle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As the battle begins and the arrows fly, Joran simply awaits the time it's time to help SeaDreamer move the plank across and surge forward.

Terry lets 3 arrows fly, aiming in the general direction of the sailor closest to the lifeboat. The arrows all seem to keep tight to the target.

As everyone else prepares to move, he drops the bow (trusting the knot to keep it in the rigging), gets a good hold on his prepared rope, and prepares to swing over . . ..

Shortbow 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Miss chance (Low Good): 1d100 ⇒ 14

Shortbow 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Miss chance (Low Good): 1d100 ⇒ 1

Shortbow 3: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Miss chance (Low Good): 1d100 ⇒ 42

WOW! Without the fog killing his sneak attack dice, that could have been EPIC.

Oh, double wow. I didn't use the Bless bonus, either!

As the ships approach one another, a hail of arrows, bolts, and sling bullets, as well as a few spells, fill the air with death. Shouted orders, screams of pain, and cries of battle as men and women fill with adrenaline and prepare to fight close act together to create a cacaphony of sound out in the midst of the wide and lonely sea.

Destinie blesses those around her, and each feels a little less anxious about the fight to come, their aim growing true. She sees both Fipps and Jape hit by the aim of an especially skilled merchant sailor, and hurries over to Jape to assist him. As she goes to mend his wound she flashes back to the night in her hammock. His hands pawing at her while Fipps kept her silent and cowed with a dagger, the half orc's grin as he sought the poison vial upon her person. She almost chooses to let him bleed...but settles for tearing the bolt from his body and using a rough touch to mend his injury.

Atia casts magical armor to protect herself, then steels herself to fire upon people she knows to be largely innocent. One of her shots find's its mark, and she hears the man cry out as the crossbow bolt sinks deep (it did crit, their AC is low, but that only made it 2 damage, lol...guess you hit them where it hurts but isn't fatal...). A bit shaken by the sound, her next shot misses, which doesn't trouble her greatly. She prepares to board the other ship, detemined to be helpful and to keep Joran and the others safe.

Mateo fires off shots at two of the more brutish looking pirates aboard the Wormwood. His first shot is aimed at a fat man, the next hits a half orc. He sees a pretty woman rushing to save the latter and takes a shot at a nearby officer instead of her, but with the fog, this last shot misses. He confidently draws his rapier and prepares to carve a swath of death through these pirates, and ensure at least a few of them pay with their lives for the attack on the Promise.

Seadreamer has had cause to fight at sea before, and he knows opening volleys like this can do much to chum the waters, but ultimately, especially given the fog, both sides would be hurt equally. It would be in the melee that his fight was truly decided. So he took a few half-hearted shots, not really trying to hit anyone. Those men were just honest folk transporting cargo. As his family had been. And the Wormwood was being helmed by men much more deserving of a crossbow bolt between the eyes. He moved the boarding plank into position and turned to call out for the others to charge forward and board the Promise...when an arrow tore clean through him, entering between two ribs in his back, the tip bursting out through his abdomen. His words died on his lips, then a second shot joined the first, albeit less deeply. The rest of you watched as Dreamer collapsed to the deck, unconscious. Des only took 2 of her 4 rounds of turns, and can spend 2 seeing to Dreamer if she wants, before the first round of real combat starts.

Joran waited, great sword in hand. His mind raced, thoughts of his sister, and of Syl, fresh in his mind. He noticed Syl, halfway across the ship, taking aim at a man with an eyepatch from the other vessel, screaming in frustration when the fog denied her a kill. The sheer rage in that sound. Men would die to her weapons this day, and he wondered if she'd be picturing each one as him. He absently touched an old scar as he recalled Syl promising to gut him. Then, suddenly, Dreamer was falling to the deck, Joran reaching out to break the man's fall and ensure he didn't topple overboard.

Terry was more used to this than some of his companions. While he did not enjoy killing men who were just doing their jobs, he knew that in a situation such as this, one fought, or one died. Regardless of the disposition of these merchants, they would kill him and his allies if they were not stopped. SO, he did what he could to stop, or at least hinder them. He fired three shots, each one hitting a man aboard the Promise, softening them up a bit. He moved forward to board when he saw Dreamer go down.

Lanni bided his time behind the barrel, and was glad he did when he heard an arrow THWACK into the far side of it. Whether it was aimed at him intentionally or was merely a stray shot, he did not enjoy imagining something entering his body with that sound. A member of the Promise's crew tok a couple of bad hits about 25 feet away from him towards the aft of the ship... You can use these pre-combat rounds to help the fellow if you want!

Letting Cass chronomancy a turn later, but...
Cass saw Dreamer fall and moved to help, but entered the line of fire in the process. A crossbow bolt thudded into her shoulder painfully.

See Roll20 for the map. You can move your tokens. There are closer to 30 sailors and officers on the ship, but seven men in particular seem to be between you and control of the sterncastle. There are sharks in the waters under the boarding plank (no roll needed to cross, just for added drama, as anyone thrown overboard will have a bad day). You can take liberties with your actions -- there are ropes to climb, sails unfurled, and other piratey tropes around, if you want to let your inner Jack Sparrow out. Your orders were to take the sterncastle but you do you. In the heat of combat who is to say whether the merchants or you killed certain people, after all >.> All of you can take a turn, then I'll follow it up. Initiative would just be a hot mess on this one.

Lanni bided his time behind the barrel, and was glad he did when he heard an arrow THWACK into the far side of it. ... A member of the Promise's crew tok a couple of bad hits about 25 feet away from him towards the aft of the ship...

Lanni startles a bit when the arrow hits. "Yeah, these guys aren't messing around." He pokes his head around the barrel and sees that his own crew has dropped one of the commanders of the other ship and injured several others. "Looks like neither are we."

:⁂ ‼:

"Where?" :⁂: "Bleached days. Well, looks like I'm up."

Lanni spares a glance at the opposing ship to see if anyone is taking aim at him, then springs from his position. He hurries over to the injured sailor. "The blessings of ... my god be upon you," he says, momentarily forgetting the actual name of the deity whose holy symbol he is holding. "Keep up the good work."

Cure Light Wounds, seance boon: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 = 9

Lanni then ducks behind the mast that is nearby.

Stabilize: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 DC 12

I Guess I will lie here and bleed a bit. :)
I don't worry about the dice, it happens

-1 hp on my next round unless stabilized.

Atia sees Dreamer go down and feels a vague panic wash over her. She looks around and spots Des, then casts Message, whispering into the woman's mind to avoid calling attention to the need for healing on their side. "Des, Dreamer went down. He needs help!" She doesn't stay to wait to see if she helps and moves across the ramp, sticking behind Joran. She vaguely remembers one of her first thoughts on this ship--that finding the biggest, loudest guy to stand behind is a good way to keep herself safe--and hopes that it holds true in combat.

Joran hasn't moved yet, but when he does, Atia will stick close-ish to him. If It's alright, I'll wait to move her token until I see where Joran heads.

The boarding planks fall upon the Man's Promise as the fog begins to slowly dissipate. As it rolls back, the shadow of a man dressed in fine studded leather, a brillantly made buckler, and a rapier that shined in the daylight with maintainance and deadly intent. He brandished it with skill, a dangerous smirk coming across his face.

"You pirate types follow that Besmara, don't you? Who shall step up and be the first to meet her?" Whichever was the first pirate to enter into combat with him would taste his blade.

Mateo will take a readied action to strike at a pirate that enters into his melee threatened range. He will Power Attack whoever does so.

Readied Power Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27Critical: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 12 = 20
F%##ing. Ouch.

The first foe that approaches Mateo quickly has their weapon parried away and the rapier is buried halfway into their chest. When the swashbuckler draws his weapon away, the pirate is already dead before they tumble down into the drink below. Unless they live. Which in that case. Ignore this. <.<

Mateo prepares himself but there is a grin on his face that only can exist on a man who enjoys the violence he was surrounded by. They were outnumbered and outmaneuvered but he would not let that take away from the enjoyment he now felt.

Actions: 5ft Step. Readied Attack.
HP: 20/20; AC: 18

Atia sees Dreamer go down and feels a vague panic wash over her. She looks around and spots Des, then casts Message, whispering into the woman's mind to avoid calling attention to the need for healing on their side. "Des, Dreamer went down. He needs help!" She doesn't stay to wait to see if she helps and moves across the ramp, sticking behind Joran. She vaguely remembers one of her first thoughts on this ship--that finding the biggest, loudest guy to stand behind is a good way to keep herself safe--and hopes that it holds true in combat.

Joran hasn't moved yet, but when he does, Atia will stick close-ish to him. If It's alright, I'll wait to move her token until I see where Joran heads.

Destinie jumped in surprise when she first heard the message, but nodded befor replying. "I'm on my way.

The oracle moved and knelt down besides the dwarf, putting her hands on the wound in order to let the healing get its full effect.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Spitting a bit of blood out, Seadreamer looks at Destinie.

Not a good start for me, is it, but my thanks, even on this thankless batch of termite infested flotsam.

He rolls over behind the barrels and stands up, picking up his battleaxe at the same time.

Will wait behind the rail for one more round

Lanni watches from behind the mast as the crew of the pirate ship begins crossing.

:⁂: "I am not." :⁂: "OK, maybe a little. But going out there and dying isn't going to help anything either."

Holding actions for now.

With a solid grip on his prepared rope, and his rapier, Terry leaps from his perch and out into the air, circling around counter-clockwise, landing just inside the rail on the quarterdeck, and using his momentum to push the blade (hopefully) through his opponent.

Rapier Charge: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 2 = 27
Piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 6
Sneak (if appropriate): 1d6 ⇒ 4 Potentially 10

Confirm?: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 = 13
Piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 2 Potentially 8 or 12

He looks to the other sailors nearby. "You could just surrender, and this will be easier for everyone." No action left to demoralize, but, hey.

AC down to 15

Chronomancy a bit.

Seadreamer falls

Eyes going wide as he just manages to catch his dwarven buddy from falling, "'DREAMER'S DOWN! HE NEEDS HELP!" Joran yells, laying him down and turning his focus upon the crew of the Promise.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Normal time

Stepping across the plank and onto the ship, he moves in front of Atia and readies to strike the nearest enemy.

Readied action: Greatsword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 6 = 9

AC 14; Hp's 25/25

A dozen of the Wormwood’s crew throw grappling hooks on chains over the bow of the Promise, locking the two ships in tight and hooking off the tethers. Planks are thrown down to span the gaps, locking into slots on the Wormwood side so they can’t be dislodged with the ships bound as they are.

Atia calls Des over to see to Dreamer and get the dwarf back on his feet, though he is far from full strength. Joran and Terry stem the flood of merchant sailors who were ready to rush the site where Dreamer fell. Terry rappels down from above, his blade skewering a man clean through and dropping him instantly. The two nearest sailors look on, stunned, as their friend falls dead. Joran’s entrance to combat is more direct and less flashy, but just as dangerous to the Promise’s crew as he brings his massive sword down across a man’s torso, carving a deep slash from shoulder to hip. Not a smile, though. The thought came unbidden.

Atia follows behind her love, feeling more out of her element than she’s ever been. She sees others from the Wormwood boarding around her, engaging with men from the Promise. Samms fights like a whirling dervish, her cutlass dancing with the shorter blade of a sailor. Tilly seems to prefer her bare hands, throwing kicks and punches meant to debilitate and not kill – which, given the circumstances, Atia envies. These sailors did nothing to warrant their deaths, after all. Jack is couched on the Wormwood’s rail, still firing shots into the mist, and aiming a bit too high on purpose. Syl slits a man’s throat, his blood bubbling forth from his mouth. Everywhere she looks there is violence.

Still on the Promise, Lanni hurries to heal one of the men hurt in the initial volley, then hides, watching for opportunities to help his side without getting himself killed. He sees the man the big barbarian slashed open, still alive but not for long, and thinks he might be the one most in need of assistance.

Mateo is going to take some of these pirates down with him, and he leaps onto the Wormwood, choosing the first one he sees – a little rat-faced halfling, who looks down in surprise, dying with the expression frozen in place before toppling over into a sudden feeding frenzy of sharks below..

Cass, her eyes tearing up from the pain of the arrow, is about to cast a healing spell on herself when Scourge grabs her and carries her to relative shelter across the deck –and away from her friends. Her spell fizzles as he breaks her concentration. ”Are you okay?” he asks, distraught. The man completely neglects the battle raging around him – one he is supposed to be helping to command – as he gets tunnel vision over her safety. ”Stay right here. Don’t you risk yourself, you hear me? I’ll get help.” She opened her mouth to say she could help herself, but he was gone.

Syl grinned at the one-eyed man who’d just made a dramatic entrance to the fight nearby. ”Finally. Someone with skill that I’m allowed to kill.” She grinned and squared up to Mateo, grinning maniacally, head tipped forward and eyes looking up from under her brows at him. ”Wanna dance? She held a viscous looking dagger, and wasted no time in slashing at him in rapid succession with it. She was a skilled opponent, and he noted she was careful to leave little opening for a retaliatory strike. (fighting defensively to gain +2 to AC)

attack1: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 9 - 4 = 25
Crit confirm?: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 9 - 4 = 23
damage to Mateo: 2d3 + 6 ⇒ (2, 3) + 6 = 11

attack2: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 9 - 4 = 25
Crit confirm?: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 9 - 4 = 12
damage to Mateo: 1d3 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Jeeeeezus

Syl grins at Mateo and licks his blood from her blade. "Looks like I'll get to gut someone today after all!" she giggles.

A pair of sailors rush Terry, seeing their friend drop from his attack.

Sailor 1 attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Damage to Terry: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 ZERO, fog cloud

Sailor 2 attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

One of the men nearly scores a small hit against the half elf but the fog interferes, the other misses widely.

One man charges toward Joran, hoping to distract the big man from the wounded sailor he just struck.

Sailor 3 attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

He misses widely, and his nervousness is plain upon his face. Joran sees the fellow's knees quaking, as he suspects he's about to feel what a greatsword feels like from the wrong end.

The man Joran wounded drags himself a step backwards, trying to stem the bleeding.

The three up on the sterncastle unleash a barrage of crossbow bolts on you all from above. (-4 for firing into melee)

sailor 5 vs. Atia: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 2 - 4 = 6
sailor 6 vs. Joran: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 2 - 4 = 0 (lol)
officer vs. Terry: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 5 - 4 = 18
damage to Terry: 1d10 ⇒ 9 ZERO, fog cloud

Terry uses the cloud around him to his advantage once more, a very near, very deadly near-miss sailing by overhead.

You all are up again!

Mateo was caught off-guard after the first one, some ratty little halfling, died easily on his rapier. The woman with a mad look in her eye though, she radiated danger and the swashbuckler would do his best to keep her back. She pushed him though, getting on the inside of his defense and striking at his vulnerabilities. When she pulled back and licked the blood off of her knife, Mateo would cough out a bit of blood and give a grin.

"Well, you all aren't worthless afterall. You might not want to lick that though, darling, I was quite popular with the whores of Ostenso. In fact...have we met?" When she came back in, his hand that was holding the stab wound at his side would flick a spray of blood to her face to keep her back.

She was fighting defensively, carefully, trying to make sure that she didn't end up like her comrade. Mateo would do the same, taking a defensive stance as he struck but there would be no opening or weakness to it. He strikes back against her, aiming to try

Mateo will use Combat Expertise to add a +1 dodge bonus to his AC. Because of Threatening Defender, he does not take any penalty to his attack.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

The pain is distracting and he calls out to his comrades as he takes a defensive step back onto the Man's Promise.

Mateo will prepare to counter any further attacks coming his way until he runs out of Panache. Roll will be spoiled below.

Actions: Attack. 5-Foot Step Back.
AC: 19; HP: 5/20

Atia looks around in the chaos, indeed entirely out of her element, and spots someone to her left (Sailor 4). She grimaces a little bit and holds out a hand, casting Acid Dart at the poor sailor.

50% Miss Chance, Low=Good: 1d100 ⇒ 14
To hit, Acid Dart: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Acid Dart damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 Too bad that probably doesn't hit. Max damage roll!

She's decently sure her attack went wide; her cushy training at the University didn't involve real battles, especially not on a pirate ship. She grits her teeth a little bit and sticks close to Joran, watching his back to the best of her ability.

Still on the Promise, Lanni hurries to heal one of the men hurt in the initial volley, then hides, watching for opportunities to help his side without getting himself killed. He sees the man the big barbarian slashed open, still alive but not for long, and thinks he might be the one most in need of assistance.

”Finally. Someone with skill that I’m allowed to kill.” She grinned and squared up to Mateo

Syl grins at Mateo and licks his blood from her blade. "Looks like I'll get to gut someone today after all!" she giggles.

Lanni looks between the two friends that both need his help. "Dominic, or Mateo?" :⁂: "That's true, but I'm not sure that 'giant with a huge sword', or 'crazy vampire lady' is any easier of a choice."

Finally he makes a hard decision and darts out towards Mateo. "Here. Don't die on me now."
Armor failure 5% (high fails): 1d100 ⇒ 64
Cure Light, Seance Boon: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 2 = 10

If I could, I will use my last turn to heal up Seadream a bit more.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Mateo breathes in with a wince before he hears his gnomish friend from behind him. A deep breath of relief escapes his lips as a warmth resonates deeply within his wounds. The pain ebbs and stops, the flow of blood slowing down slowly before leaving the man in a much better state.

"Thank you Lanni, you're a good man." Mateo says, looking over and seeing the state of dominic. He tightens his grip upon his rapier and readies to engage the addled woman once more.

Once again, my thanks

Gripping his axe in a 2 handed grip, Seadreamer crosses over the plank and drives his axeblade at the closest enemy to Sharkbaits side.

He then readies an attack for anything that comes their way.

readied attack: 1d20 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 3 + 1 = 9 Miss Low Misses: 1d100 ⇒ 44
BAB, STR, Bless
Damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

HP 11/20 - I guess I will flail around when someone comes near :(

Once it seemed like Seadreamer was ready, she got to the plank herself... rather hesitantly.

Okay... you can do this. The plank's steady enough so you won't fall dozens of feet into shark-infested waters... LET'S NOT DELVE THAT DEEP INTO IT!

She took her time and walked across to the other side. And right into where her instincts kicked in once more. Eyes blazing white again, she positioned herself next to Joran in order to give him an easier time. Her touch to Joran gave him a bit more clarity on where to strike.

Casting Guidance on Joran. +1 on the next attack roll, saving throw or skill check.

Busy with irl PF this evening so I’m going to post a chunk now and a shorter one later after Joran and Terry post =) Doing Syl’s attacks now since they aren’t likely to be affected by anything Joran or Terry do.

Mateo lunges for the crazed woman, but spins aside from the thrust, biting her lower lip, a grin wide on her face. In the same motion, she steps closer, flipping her dagger upside-down in her fist to twist around and stab Mateo in the side, then she turns to face him for a second stab but he parries the blow and attempts to strike her in return. Syl manages to hook an arm around his and twist it, preventing his riposte from landing and bringing him in close. Her eyes sparkle with amusement. ”Not yet. You’re still breathing, after all. I don’t leave loose ends.”

Attack 1: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 9 - 4 = 21
damage to Mateo: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Attack 2: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 9 - 4 = 13

Atia winces and barely looks as she leans out beside Joran and fires off acid towards one of his enemies, not registering the fact he was retreating. The man screams in agony as her spell melts the flesh from his face, and in a moment his body lies twitching on the desk.

As Lanni is trying to choose who to help, he sees Dominic is beyond saving. He rushes to Mateo’s side, hoping the scary lady doesn’t slip past the larger man to attack him. A tall lanky pirate leaps from ship to ship beside him, and Lanni feels a blade press against his back. "Do you wish to live, gnome?" the man asks with a scratchy voice. "I saw you heal that man. I have need of your magics."

Destinie pours the last of her healing into Dreamer just as Sandara steps up beside her, having fought off a sailor trying to leap aboard. She smiles at Des, seeming a little more like her usual self in the midst of the battle. ”We should get over there. Don’t need another target on our backs, after all. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” She follows Des to the other ship, keeping a hand on her to steady her as they crossed the planks.

Dreamer, feeling more like himself, hefts his dwarven weapon and takes a deep, short breath that he exhales quickly before rushing across to the other deck and backing Joran up. The nervous man that had come to try and save Dominic freezes up as four of you suddenly cut him off from the rest of the deck.

Still Terry and Joran's turn!

Mateo and the crazed woman become tangled for a moment and though her knife ends up sticking into his side, the smile still remains on his face. It was wide and joyful, not as mad as hers but there was something similar in it. Two killers meeting each other by pure chance.

"Its strange, you know. I know you're threatening me but I really feel like we're flirting a bit. Are you sure we haven't slept with each other?" Mateo asks, his eyes glancing to the side as he catches the tall, lanky man settle onto the boat behind his little friend. The smile fades at that as he turns back to the woman and winces.

"As it always seems to be; some older and uglier man comes and interrupts my dates. Sorry love." Mateo apologizes, looking over his shoulder. "You! You ugly, mangy, storm-worn, rat-bearded, piss-smelling, yellow-toothed, crooked-eye, dropped child of a whore! Leave my little friend be!"

A bit of a retcon, but the action still stands.

Des took a moment to watch in awe at the redhead in combat. It was nice seeing the woman back at her old daredevil self and her nerves disappeared, both for Dreamer and Sandy who were both feeling better.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be," she replied with a small smile in return. The walk through through the plank was much more pleasant with the avatar of Besmara by her side.

Lanni feels a blade press against his back. "Do you wish to live, gnome?" the man asks with a scratchy voice. "I saw you heal that man. I have need of your magics."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Lanni turns slowly to look at the guy who just leapt the distance between the two ships. Seeing him, and feeling that blade against his neck makes him feel drastically outclassed. "Uhh... Well, right now I am trying to keep this guy alive. So... I guess if you stop trying to kill him...?"

Lanni looks over at Mateo. "Though convincing him to stop trying to kill you may be a bit more difficult."

A quick bit of math shows Terry that he outran his support, and the odds are getting bad. "Don't slip on your friend, there, mate. It would be a shame if you joined him." The threat is a bit pedestrian, but Terry's focused on his next steps instead of the conversation. "First things first." he notes as he tries to slow the man standing over his last target.

Rapier @ Sailor 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 4
20% miss, high misses: 1d100 ⇒ 60

And again the fog prevents sneak dice. I'm feeling hampered over here! <grin>

"Now, reconsider your employment. We could use HEALTHY men. Wounded ones not so much." He comments as he steps down the stairs to avoid letting them surround him easily.

If 4 was enough to drop the sailor (unlikely), he will stay where he was instead, and look Sailor 2 in the eyes as he makes the comment.

Back up to normal AC.

Wishing there was another way to handle this besides killing everyone, Joran brings his greatsword out wide and brings it hard across the chest of the nearest sailor.

Attack #3

Greatsword: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 = 25 +1 guidance
Damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 5) + 6 = 15

Miss chance 20%: 1d100 ⇒ 79 Whew! That was tight.

AC 14; Hp's 25/25

Scourge sneered at the little gnome, but looked to Mateo and his new girlfriend. "Syl. Leave that one alone unless he's stupid enough to keep fighting you." His gaze met Mateo's. "Captain could use more good fighters. Stand down and you'll be brought on instead of thrown overboard to the sharks."

Syl clenched her teeth and half-growled, half-screamed with rage, but shoved away from Mateo and stalked off in search of less forbidden prey. Scourge looked down at Lanni. "Over onto the other ship. Move." He quickly returned his eyes to Mateo.

Further aft, Terry scored a painful but not fatal hit on the sailor he threatened, and Joran cut down the nervous man nearby, reminding himself Atia was right behind him and not wanting to take any chances.

The two men near Terry both attempted to strike the nimble half elf, but they had clearly never been in real combat before and were shaken, both attacks missing.

Sailor 1 attack vs. Terry: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Sailor 2 attack vs. Terry: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

The officer called to the men near him to move to block the other stairs. "Target the big son of a b*+*$, he just killed Dominic and Hadley!" A barrage of crossbow bolts are fired in Joran's direction...

Sailor 5 attack vs. Joran: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Sailor 6 attack vs. Joran: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
damage to Joran: 1d10 ⇒ 6
officer attack vs. Joran: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

One bolt sticks into Joran's upper arm, painful but not serious.

Sandara engaged with a man who lunged towards Des, parrying a blow then running him through with frightening precision. A loud boom drew some of your attention toward the front of the ship, where Tiffer had chucked a small explosive device of some kind. Fipps was wrestling with a man on the deck, and Shivikah twisted a man's neck and snapped it in one smooth motion, her expression unreadable.

Then Captain Harrigan strode out of his cabin, and took a moment to survey the scene before him.

Back to all of you!

Scourge looked down at Lanni. "Over onto the other ship. Move."

Lanni startles a bit at the sound of the explosion. Then looks over to the other ship and sees someone truly terrifying come out of the captain's cabin.

He starts trying to squeeze past Mateo on the planking between the ships and whispers to him, "Sorry, I don't know what else to do. I don't think we are going to win this one."

He goes across to the pirate ship and looks back to his unnamed assailant, then shrugs questioningly.

Scourge, still eyeing Mateo, called to Lanni. "Smart lad. There's a woman by the cabin doors there. See to her wound." He pointed and waited to see how this skilled one-eyed swordsman would respond before withdrawing, in spite of his desire to return to Cass's side. Every moment away from her was like torture. But he had long since stopped questioning her hold over him.

Atia catches sight of the officer and purses her lips, pulling a couple of components out of her pouch to cast Summon Monster 1. She reaches her fingers into the tiny pouch and pulls a Dire Rat from another plane of existence, flinging it so that the dire rat appears right in front of the Officer.

"Get him, rattie!" Atia shouts at it, and the rat lunges at the officer's ankle.

Rat, bite: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Bite damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Rat AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 size); HP 5

I'm going to guess that doesn't hit, but if it does, the dire rat has a diseased bite. Here are the details. Due to augmented summoning, the rat lasts three rounds. So, 2/3 rounds left after this one.

:⁂: "Well, don't ask me. I have no idea."

Lanni walks farther down the ship towards the cabins. He finds an Elven woman there glaring at him. "Uh... Are you the one that Corporal Smiley wanted me to ... Oh hey, you have a Harrow Deck. That's so cool. Can you do a reading for me?" He bounces on his toes for a second. Then looks around at the ship again. "Well, maybe later." :⁂: "Healing. Right. Dingbat said that you need healing."

Contrary to what it looked like, the oracle had things well at hand. Or at least she saw the help from Sandara from the future. She instinctively moved away from where the two briefly fought while guiding her arm on where to strike from behind.

For a brief moment she froze to witness the carnage, yet even in her possessed state Sandara could see a bit of red on her cheek... possibly from the close contact together. But it was only briefly as she was already on her way to support Terry, giving him some guidance of his own.

Ah, the best part of a pirate invasion; negotiations. Mateo watched as Syl lost her cool and strode off in search of others to fight and gut, a somewhat thankful smile coming across his face.

"Oh my, you cucked her. I take back half of the things I said then. Spur of the moment anger and all that." He said with a tip of his hat, patting Lanni on the back as he passed by.

"No fault of your own, friend. We're outclassed here." He whispers to the gnome, regretfully looking back at his shipmates. He hoped the battle was quick and vicious; an easier chance for survivors to live and be taken captive rather than executed. Long fights were always guaranteed to have more death. "I hope for a fair share once we're on." Mateo would call out as he wiped his blade clean of blood and quickly sheathed it onto his side.

Lifting his arms, he would cross the gangplank to the other side and would keep his hands upwards the whole time just to be sure no others had any idea of gutting him out like a fish. He would follow the little gnome though, eyeing the pirates that watched him.