GM Imperius' Skull & Shackles

Game Master Robert Henry

Heal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
"I'm not sure. My guess is still the wasps. Maybe there are some with a deadlier poison, like a queen or something.
We should give him a proper burial."

MacLaren tries to judge if it will be possible to carry the man down the ladder. If that seems unreasonably difficult, then he will suggest getting some ropes from Rickety to lower Lyle's body down.

Well I certainly won't be the only one to stay on the ground.

Heal: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

"It was the wasps," Ellie says gravely. "I've seen those symptoms before. He was allergic."

She looks around. "You're right, he deserves a burial. And Rickety's going to want to know what happened here. Anything on this guy we can bring back with us?"

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

As the captain and her officers look around the platform, it's obvious by the amount of empty bottles, dirty cloths and scattered chicken bones, that Godwin, was probably more intent on waving his flags, than keeping things orderly. Having gotten used to the strangers in it's loft, the Parrot, sit's on it's previous master grooming itself.

The only thing of value or interest here is the MW Mace and the parrot. There are several ways to get the body down, we'll figure out the skill rolls the best we can once we decide what to do

"I know that some clerics of Besmara keep parrots, similar to how wizards have familiars. Maybe Sandara Quinn would like this one."

He holds out his arm to see if the parrot will alight on it.

"We could probably manage to climb down the ladder while carrying the body. But it is a risk. Someone might fall. I think we should just go back to Rickety, report what happened, and come back with ropes. We are not in a rush here."

"I have some rope, but not enough. We could lower him half way, tie him off, and lower him the rest of the way. Not easy, but we could manage it."

He'll use his steadfast grapple to secure the poor man and he'll help haul him down.

"I'm with Mac here - better to come back with enough rope that take unnecessary risks. I'm not opposed to Tucci's suggestion though, as long as we can try to do it without endangering anyone."

"I had forgotten that Tucci had that rope!
I think it is a great idea and it should work. But to avoid the need to tie him off, I can be at the bottom. I can be about 12' tall with my magic, and can reach up a bit above that."

MacLaren will descend to the bottom and cast Enlarge Person once he is safely on the ground.

Should have, what, 16' vertical reach?

Should have, what, 16' vertical reach?

Maybe 15 ft since we go by 5 ft squares, but I won't quibble. Still plenty of reach if he's on a 5 ft rope hanging from a 60 ft platform. Work out the details and someone post it.

He'll first pick up the body to see if he can carry it.

(Basically seeing if he can take-10 (13) the strength check to lower the poor man.)

Tucci ties the end of the rope to the dead man. Hopefully he won't drop him. He'll then hook the grapple in the wood and slowly lower the dead man to the waiting arms of Brother MacLaren.

He strengthens himself by taking on the aspect of the bear for one minute, before quickly lowering.

Strength: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 2 + 1 = 15 (focus)
Strength: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 2 + 1 = 19 (focus)
Strength: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 1 = 20 (focus)

"I still think we should've left him for the locals to deal with." Ellie offers her assistance in the macabre task. "They seem to like us well enough, but something happens to the body and we might end up blamed for his death."

Aid Another (Strength), DC 10: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Aid Another (Strength), DC 10: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Aid Another (Strength), DC 10: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Yikes. Guess Ellie's lack of enthusiasm is apparent here lol.

"I understand your concerns, Ellie. But I think Mac's idea of using his spell to help out at the bottom is a pretty good one that will let us get the body on the ground safely."

Veronica lends her strength to the task as well.

Aid another(Strength): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Aid another(Strength): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19
Aid another(Strength): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

The burly halfling, with the aid of the Captain and first mate, lowers the body to the even burlier enlarged Caydenite. Moving the body down the trail took a little time but was not too difficult. Seeing the officers of the 'Charm' carrying Godwin's body, several of the locals come and help carry him, shaking their heads seeing the awful welt the allergic reaction caused.

As Rickety approached he looks at the wound on Godwins neck. "So 'e been killed by a bug." Looking up, he gives a weak smile, remembering his old friend. "I thought 'e would 'ave died from gettin' three sheets to the wind an' fallin' o'er the rail." Breathing a sigh, he looks to the Captain and her officers. " I gave 'im a fancy mace, if ye found it, why don't ye keep it, consider it a 'thank ye' from all o' us fer bringin' 'im 'ome."

later in the evening
Between rescuing Sara from the giant wasps and returning with old Lyle Godwin, the officers of the 'Charm' are the center of attention in the villa's great room.

once again, feel free to add +2 to any infamy rolls, or recruitment rolls for hiring crew.

Tucci helps carry the man back respectfully over the rough terrain and return him to his people. He’ll thank Rickety for the mace, though he suspects they’ll just sell it. He feels a bit odd about that.

Later he’ll suggest to the officers, ”Maybe in a day or so, since we’ll be here a while, we could investigate the wasps. Maybe push them deeper in the wilderness and further from civilization, such as it is.”

He spends his evening carousing with the others, though he worries over Kasin’s poisoned state. He’ll take MacLaren aside sometime that night, ”People come first surely, but if you could spare a lesser restoration tomorrow, I’d really appreciate it. Kasin is very wobbly.”

When someone works the crowd to improve their infamy, Tucci tries to aid.
Bluff/Intimidate/Perform: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (20) + 0 = 20 vs DC 10 for +4 on the next roll to improve infamy.

I think we could use more crew also. We have 25, including the officers, and require 24 to function with our current rather light siege weapons. We’ll almost certainly want more firepower someday, and we should have a bit of cushion in case of trouble, kidnapping, death, keelhauling, etc. :)

"He should recover some of his strength with rest, Tucci, but I can prepare that spell for both him and Veronica."

Brother MacLaren will conduct funeral rites for Lyle Godwin, with Rickety and any of the others who wish to participate.
Being a Caydenite, his funeral services resemble an Irish wake, with those who knew Lyle swapping stories, offering toasts, and generally celebrating the man's life. MacLaren keeps the ale flowing.

He'll approach Ellie afterwards.
"Ellie, I think Tucci is working the crowd to increase our fearful reputation. But I think we also need to explain what a good life it is on the Charm if we are to attract more crew. Care to join me?"
He is looking to Aid Another on a Diplomacy check to recruit more crew; even with the +2 circumstance bonus, he's unlikely to make the DC 20, but Ellie has a far better shot.

Brother MacLaren works the crowd in the evening, offering anecdotes about how greatly improved things are on the Charm.
"Oh yeah, this ale? Plenty of it. And the rum isn't bad either."
"Floggings are down 90% since the change in management. Haven't had to keelhaul anybody."
"Look! See those lines! Silk sails! Silk! Have you ever seen such a handsome ship?"

Diplomacy to Aid: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 2 = 18

Veronica offers her help to Mac in preparing Lyle's funeral where she can, and mostly listens to the stories about the man, not knowing much about him.

Infamy(Intimidate): 1d20 + 11 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 11 + 2 + 4 = 24

With Tucci's aid, I figured we'd have a pretty good shot at maxing out our infamy here, but it seems we need another day.

As the evening sets in, she recounts the team's previous battles to Pegsworthy's crew, while adding the fights against the wasps and boars that happened today for the benefit of her previous audience.

Something seems to be on the Captain's mind however, and her stories seem to only leave an impact due to Tucci's excellent effort in working the crowd.

As her audience disperses, Veronica looks for Captain Pegsworthy and offers him a drink, asking for a few words with him.

"Something you said earlier today stuck with me. You told your crew that "the apple didn't fall far from the tree" when we met. You were comparing me with Harrigan back then, right?"

Veronica waits a bit for confirmation and smiles as she hears Mac's comments about things aboard her ship. Gesturing towards the cleric, she continues.
"Mac's being entirely honest about things on the ship, you know? We've all tried to run things differently than they were on the Wormwood. And it was mostly how we got the whole crew on our side as well. Sure, we had to intimidate some of them as well to get them to listen first, but fear would only get us so far - in the end, they knew we cared about the wellbeing of the entire crew, not just our own."

Her smile fades as she looks at the other captain again. "And yet, I can't deny there's some truth to your words as well. Acting though and scaring people into submission comes much more easily to me. But if I keep that up, I'm bound to drag everyone into a fight we could have avoided."

She looks at her officers again and smiles as she looks at Ellie "Heh, maybe it's my turn to ask Ellie for lessons."

She looks back at the captain, her mood clearly improved. "Thanks for listening, captain, and sorry to take so much of your time."

Just some IC reasoning to start investing in Diplomacy as well, following our discussion on discord the other day :)

We started with 1 infamy, we added three with Veronica's second roll, and tone with her third roll. The infamy is now at 5 and you can earn one more infamy @ Rickety's

Sitting at a table with his first mate, Pegsworthy see's Veronica approaching, looking to his officer he nods his head, and the half elf, get's up, tipping her hat to Veronica as she leaves. Pegsworthy lifts his stein and answers, with a crips, well-educated, andorian accent "I've already got one, but I'll let you buy the second."

As Veronica questions about the 'apple' reference, the admiral gives a slight smile and a light shrug. Sipping his ale as she talks, looking towards her officers as she mentions them by name. Chuckling at the comment about 'so much of your time' he sets the ale down, "It's good you're willing to listen to your officers and coming over here proves you're not like Harrigan."

He gestures towards the sailors around the room. "Whether navy, merchant marina or pirates, you'll sail with all sorts. Some will love you and follow you the gates of hell itself. Some will do what their supposed to for the right amount of money and others will only hold up their ends because of the fear of the lash."

He points a sausage sized finger at Veronica, "It'll be up to you and your officers to know which is needed when. Sometimes you need to put the fear of the gods in them." He gives a wicked smile, "Ultimately the responsibility falls on the Captain, always remember that."

His smile turns friendlier as he lifts up his stein, tipping it to show it's empty, "Now how about that drink?"

Ellie takes Mac's lead and goes from there, talking up the crowd between drinks. "We keep our crew well hydrated, that's for sure. None of the swill that usually passes for drinks among upjumped cabin-boys. You sail with us, you'll be the envy of every pirate from here to Abendigo!"

Diplomacy + Tucci aid + Mac aid (take 10): 10 + 9 + 4 + 2 = 25

"He should recover some of his strength with rest, Tucci, but I can prepare that spell for both him and Veronica."

"Thank you that's very kind!" (Yeah, he'll heal 1 but he's down 8 now so Tucci’s worried)

Tucci enjoys his evening and sleeps oddly again without the sway of his hammock under him. He manages however, and rises early the next day. As is typical these days, he puts on Kasin’s training harness and works him through his paces. It’s odd training as he’s learning how to be stealthy, so it’s mostly Tucci and Kasin moving around the tiny village ‘hiding’ behind various buildings.

Dunno if it’s the next day yet or not, just going with the flow on our warm island get-a-way.

Dunno if it’s the next day yet or not, just going with the flow on our warm island get-a-way.

I was waiting to see if anyone posted, will move us forward.

After spending the evening celebrating with the thankful people of Rickety Squibs our Captain, her officers and he crew head to bed in the rooms provided in the southern end of the Villa.

Rising late the next morning, it appears to be a warm dry day, with not a large bug in the sky.

Starting day three, feel free to roam about or begin to recruit or gain infamy.

Brother MacLaren awakens, says his prayers, has a breakfast beer, and then heals Veronica from the lingering effects of the poison.

Lesser Restoration: 1d4 ⇒ 2 Dex damage restored. Should be full with the 1 she got back overnight, correct?

Then he will repeat the spell on Kasin.

Lesser Restoration: 1d4 ⇒ 4 Dex damage restored.

He goes to find Leaky and Hell'a. "Looking for a particular item. There are times when I want a hand free, but still be able to fight with it. Thinking maybe a cestus. Leather gloves, with metal plates and some spikes. Good for up-close combat. Got anything like that?"

Cestus is 5 gp, and if they have all standard mundane gear, that should be no problem.

I would like to craft some more ammunition, which takes a full day of crafting with the Gunsmithing feat.

Ellie spends most of the third day gathering the right raw materials, convincing their current owners that she does in fact have a use for such substances and no she would not prefer less volatile alternatives, and gets to work replacing her spent ammunition. I haven't encountered a single other person who knows how to use one of these, which means keeping enough bullets and powder is even more crucial than I thought before.

Mac, I'll give you the component cost in gold if you can cast masterwork transformation on my pistol. And my rapier while we're at it.

Veronica returns the captain's smile as she hands him the promised drink and thanks him for his wise words. Now in a much better mood, she talks a bit more with the experienced sailor, asking him about his more recent accomplishments, before joining her crew in the festivities.

---

Veronica thanks Mac as his spell heals the last of the poison's damage. With the day starting out without incident, she decides to dedicate some time for magical research, going over some of the spells on the whale skull they found on the grindylows cave and adding them to her spellbook.

Adding Black Tentacles, Slow and Vampiric touch to the spellbook. I prepared Read Magic today, so deciphering them is automatic, and then it's a DC of 19, 18 and 18 respectively, and the process takes one hour per spell. I can make the DCs by taking 10, if it's allowed.

After she finishes with the spells, she decides to look for Ellie, hoping to ask for her help following her talk with Pegsworthy last night. But as she finds her focused on crafting, Veronica opts not to interrupt her.

With some more free time available, she decides to head over to the general store, hoping to find what she needs to do some crafting herself, of a magical kind.

Assuming the components necessary can be found at the store, I'd like to craft a lvl 1 pearl of power. It should cost 500 gp in materials, and if I craft it at the minimum caster level, it should be an automatic success even if I rush it to only take 4 hours (1d20+10 vs DC 11)

Mac, I'll give you the component cost in gold if you can cast masterwork transformation on my pistol. And my rapier while we're at it.

"I can only prepare one such spell today - some of our group got themselves stung pretty bad yesterday, and it took much of my focus to heal them.

The spell takes an hour, and a great deal of concentration.
"Interesting weapon."
He turns it over and looks at it as he concentrates on the spell.
"Shall I make it look like a true work of art, or is it better for it to appear battered? Are you the type to proclaim your greatness, or to try to catch the foe unaware?"

You decide if the object’s appearance changes to reflect this improved quality.

When he is finished, he hands the weapon back to Ellie. "I'd ask you to check to make sure that I have done it correctly, but I know your ammunition is difficult to acquire. So we will have to proceed on faith."

Brother MacLaren then pays another visit to Leaky and Hell'a, and gets the herbs he needs for a special concoction.
100 gp of herbs to potentially brew 4 such potions; he had 517 from the distribution, and has now spent 105, leaving him with 412.

Spellcraft DC 6: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

As brewing a potion that costs less than 250 GP only takes 2 hours, he then tries again.
Can prep a second Enlarge Person in the 2nd-level domain slot.

Spellcraft DC 6: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
This one doesn't go as smoothly - it's not quite like brewing beer - but he manages another success. And 2 sets of components to try again tomorrow.

It's been a lengthy day of magic for the cleric, with five solid hours spent on spellcasting and potion-brewing. He gets up, stretches, puts his vials in his belt, and wanders around the island a bit.

Tomorrow he'll prepare another Masterwork Transformation.

Kasin brightens up considerably under MacLaren’s ministrations. ”Thanks for that! I appreciate it.” Tucci grins.

Tucci spends the day largely at rest, though as he sees everyone else so busy, he wonders if he should pick something up too.

I don't have any craft-like bits. Anything you guys think I should do? Maybe craft wand, for cheap healing? Any better ideas?

As the heat of the day begins to cool, Tucci wakes up a bit. Yawning he heads into the only place to get a meal, decent or otherwise, and chows down. He buys a round for the room before the captain comes in tellin' stories.

Aid Another: 1d20 ⇒ 19 vs DC 10 fora +4 to get infamy

Without thinking too hard about components, it seems like nothing is overly expensive, so I'm fine with the crafting. As for time, it feels like the first few hours (looks like 7 is the max used) which leaves another nine to try and recruit or gain infamy.

While the crew of the 'Charm spend their morning, recovering from hangovers, or laying about or playing ninepin the officers busy themselves crafting items what will aid them and theirs. At the end of the day the folks from Rickety's Squibs pile into the Villa's great room, for rest and relaxation.

A thought occurs to Brother MacLaren in the afternoon as he is wandering around the island.
The boars.

He goes and gets the carcasses, bringing them back to the Villa's kitchen (one at a time if necessary). He then begins dressing the boars.

If they have started to go off in any way, he will cast Purify Food and Drink.

Once MacLaren has them dressed, he will hang them to prepare for the next day.

We are going to have a pig roast for everybody tomorrow.

What are we looking at, maybe 100 people total? I didn't get the impression this was a very big settlement. With a Pathfinder boar being 200 lbs, and getting about 50% of that in meat after dressing it, then we should have 200 lbs of meat between two boars. That should be plenty even if we have 200 people.

All that preparation, plus his potion-brewing earlier, takes him enough time that he probably misses most of the evening's entertainment. He pops in for a late bowl of stew (3 sp, leaving him at 411.7), then heads to bed.

After a busy day making perpetrations the officers of the Charm eventually make there way to the great room of the villa, for a brief meal and a few drinds theyand the crew head to the rooms provided in the southern end of the Villa.

Rising early the fourth morning, it appears to be another warm dry day, with not a cloud in the sky.

MacLaren makes the rounds first thing in the morning after his prayers. In addition to any of the officers who might be interested, he will also find Ambrose Kroop, Owlbear, Sandara Quinn, and any others who might wish to help.

"I've got something in mind. We killed a couple of boars two days ago, and there's a lot of meat. My idea is a pig roast for all of Rickety's Squibs plus all of our crew. Figure it can't hurt to make the people here like us just a bit more. And the boar's never going to taste better than we can make it taste here. Dried salted pork just isn't the same as what I have in mind - a recipe from that cookbook from the Wormwood galley.

Ellie, I will get to your rapier as soon as I can. That spell takes a while and I can't afford an hour delay in getting started on this. But if I have an hour of downtime when the bread and pork are both cooking, I can do it."

Profession (Cook) Take 10, Cookbook: 10 + 9 + 1 = 20 Plus an Aid Another check from Kroop I would expect, and perhaps MW tools depending on how much we brought from the Wormwood or how much they have here.

I don't think I can aid Professions I'm unskilled in. Time to take a cooking class!

Tucci spends most of his day, when he’s not running errands and teaching Kasin, hovering over MacLaren’s shoulder, under his arm, and even between his legs once. He’s watching the master at work, and trying to learn what he can.

He knows he’ll never be that good himself, but he learns what tools Mac needs and when, what spices might be helpful and when, how to stir the pot while the chef works elsewhere - in short how to be a useful assistant. It’ll take some time, but he hopes to be able to help out in the kitchen properly someday.

He’ll also talk to folks about how great it is on the crew of The Charm trying to soften the ground for the hard press for crew sure to follow.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11 vs DC 10 to aid another (+4 gained) to gather crew

Sorry, wasn't as clear as I should be - Tucci totally goes off into the jungle to hunt down whatever MacLaren desires!

Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Survival: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Several of the crew are happy to help out, Owlbear, Jaundiced and Tam all grab shovels, While Fipps watches pointing out spots the others missed. Ambrose hurries off to his private stash of spices and adds several items to the rub. He then helps with the placement of the leaves, as well as telling Fipps that if he doesn't help more, he wouldn't get any pork. Much to everyone's surprise, Fipps jumps in the hole and grabs a shovel, helping dig.

Ambrose, aid another: profession (Cook): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Veronica waits for a moment where Mac seems a bit less busy to approach him with a smile. "Thanks for doing this, Mac. I think it's a brilliant idea. Can't think of a better way to spend our last full day here before we set sail in our new ship."

"Is there anything you'd like me to do to help? Not sure I can be of much help with the bread. I was thinking of going along with Tucci. I have a bit of knowledge of plants as well, I'm sure between the two of us we'll be able to find something that fits your needs. And I'd rather he didn't go alone, in case there are any more wasps flying around."

Unless there's something Mac feels would be better suited to her, Veronica will accompany Tucci into the jungle

Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Aid another(Survival): 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (15) - 2 = 13

Mac's observation in Discord is correct, he effectively gives everyone a + 2 to recruit or build infamy

It seems the whole Island has turned out for Mac's lūʻau style party. With the help of Ambrose Veronica, Tucci and Ellie the pig roast is a great success. Giving the officers a perfect audience for any stories or recruitments.

Infamy(Intimidate), Take 10, aid: 10 + 11 + 2 = 23

With this being their last night on the island, and opportunities for this kind of party bound to be rare, Veronica tries to enjoy it as much as she can, eating and drinking with everyone else.

Although she has no new stories to share, she instead recounts some of her ancestor's most famous achievements, while showing off her cutlass and making it clear that she intends to follow her grandmother's footsteps and build upon her legacy.

This might be our last day on land for a while, Ellie muses. Not that it's a bad thing, but I might as well enjoy it. She spends the day helping Mac party, getting as much face-time with the crew as possible and helping Veronica do the same. A captain that's well-liked gets followed. And a mate that's well-liked gets obeyed.

In the evening, with the help of food and drink, she makes one more pitch to the locals to bring any last reluctant sailors on board.

Diplomacy (recruitment), take 10: 10 + 9 + 4 = 23
Crew: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Mac's lūʻau style party was the hit of the island, everyone came and enjoyed the pork. It was the perfect opportunity for Vernonica, Ellie and Tucci to spread some good will for themselves and the 'Charm'.

Having stayed up to the wee hours of the morning; the captain, her officers and the crew all got out of bed late the next morning, the last day they were at Rickety squibs. The small haven was buzzing about, the 'Charm' getting ready to release her from her moorings in the dry dock. Shortly thereafter Captain Pegsworthy, in all his finery, joins them at the 'dry docks.' Before the chocks are released and the ship slides down into the estuary, a bottle of Sargavan wine is smashed upon its keel. Captain Pegsworthy offers this bit of Shackles lore as a toast before the PCs set out to make their fortunes: “Good fortune and sure sail await what one can crack the Tidewater Rock.”

As the ship 'Charm' comes to a stop in the estuary, Rickety's crew drops the 'ship's boats' into the water, sailing them to the docks for the captain, her officers and her crew to begin the process of loading. The officers notice many new faces along with the old, some faces are missing; both Tempest and Mellie had decided they'd had enough of the pirate's life and were headed inland with a 'pathfinder' they'd met.

After several hours of loading crew and supplies, The 'Charm' is ready for her maiden voyage.

Tucci rises relaxingly late, but he works with Kasin until the boat is ready to launch. He cheers as loud as anybody at the celebration, and hears what the wise captain said.

Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 vs DC 15

Unsure what it means, he’s sure the officers will have a plan. He helps carry supplies and stows them all on board and readies to set sail again! His face is flushed with the excitement of heading back out to sea.

So apparently I’m supposed to make my Handle Animal check half way through the training rather than at the end. I’m on day 5 of 7, so I missed that. However, with the boost from the training harness, I cannot fail the training for this trick, so it’s a moot point.

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

"Thank you for everything, captain" Veronica nods at the captain's words. "For the christening of the ship to your wise words, now and the other night." She grins as she watches the Charm leave the docks, already plotting a course to their next destination.

"I'm sure you'll be hearing about how a new pirate captain and her crew "cracked the Rock" in no time" She turns back to the captain with a confident grin on her face. "When that happens, feel free to drop by."

As they board the ship, Veronica can't help but be disappointed when she notices the absences among the crew, Melli and Tempest's in particular. They were good friends and she knows she wouldn't be here without their help. Hopefully their paths would cross again in the future. For now, she should focus on their own path.

She calls for Mac and Ellie, her remaining officers, as well as Kroop and Tucci. Kroop had proven to be a solid advisor up until now, and Tucci and Kasin had certainly more than proven their usefulness the last few days. It wouldn't make sense to try and take the Rock without their help as well.

She lays down a map on her dining table as everyone arrives and addresses the group.

"While the crew gets the Charm ready to sail, I figured we should decide where we're taking her on her maiden voyage. I was thinking of following captain Pegsworthy suggestion and take us to Tidewater Rock, a small island south of Motaku Island" Veronica points to an island on the map and moves her finger down to a remote island some ways south.

"There's supposed to be a small castle on the island, overseeing a small, protected port, making a great spot from which to attack nearby shipping lanes. And taking it for ourselves is bound to increase our reputation by quite a bit."

"But I'm open to other suggestions, if there's any where else any of you would prefer to sail to. So long as we avoid the Shackles until we get ourselves a charter."

Ellie says goodbye to Melli and especially Tempest, surprised as she is that someone with sea blood in her veins could have fallen in love with the landlocked life. I have a feeling Tempest'll be in want of another ship before too long.

* * * * *

"Works for me. If this Tidewater Rock keeps us out of reach of the Shackles I think that's a good place to make our first stand. And folks seem to think highly of it. Is it dangerous?"

Tucci scampers quickly to the captain’s cabin when summoned.

He studies the map, glad to be in the room where decisions are made. Gotta avoid the Shackles until we’re bigger huh. He ponders. After listening to the others, he agrees with the captains plan.

”That sounds like a good idea to me! It wouldn’t be famous if it wasn’t dangerous, at least a little.” Tucci muses. But he doesn’t seem too worried about it. He looks at the officers, a fine bunch!

Tucci doesn’t volunteer for night watch. At least not right away…

I think we assign a half dozen crew to be night watch. That should more than cover it. Two fore, two aft, and two wandering the ship. They can swap out their duties during the night so it's not as boring.

Mac likewise says his farewells to Tempest and Melli. While he suspected that the sorceress may have been slightly mad (a reincarnated demigod?), there was no doubt of the power of her magic. And he had done so well with Melli winning the crew to their side through charm.

"Good fortune and exciting travels, my friends. May we meet again."
If either player finds themselves back in the PbP world again (or Beryl's player) I'd be happy to welcome their characters back to the Charm.

---

He listens to Veronica's plan. "Let's find out what we can about the Rock first, before heading there. Does anyone occupy it now? And if not, why not? If it is haunted, for example, I imagine my skills will be needed. If it is trapped, well, even then I might be able to do a few things.
You've seen some of my magic, mostly what I prepare every day to be ready for a variety of conditions. I hope it has been helpful. But if I know I have a specific problem to address, and can tailor my magic to the situation, we will be in an even better position."

A cleric with knowledge of a situation and time to prepare can be amazingly effective, given that he will have the full cleric spell list to pick from.

"Kroop, have you heard any rumors about Tidewater Rock?"

Captain Pegsworthy smiles at Veronica's kind words, when she adds to 'feel free to drop by' he chuckles and adds, "I may take you up on that. When you meet Agasta, give her my sympathies." Saying no more, the Andorian nods politely and moves towards Rickety to discuss squibing his own ship.
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Ambrose gives Mac a sideways look "The Lady Agasta Smythee lives the'er noo, but that's a story be'ah caggy fer later. when we settle dowl after gruub I'll aks Conchobhar ter tale the tale."
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True to his word, after they'd dropped anchor and served dinner and some rum, Ambrose had the crew, new and old, gather round. "I was asked ter yav the tale of 'the rock' told, so i'm guin ter turn the deck over ter ar story teller, Conchobhar."

Taking a sip of his grog, Conchobhar takes center stage and starts his tale. "When a Free Captain named Magna Stormeyes discovered the natural 'arbor on windward isle over Bo-le of Glue centuries ago, she immediately recognized that it would make the perfect 'aven from which ter launch a pirate fleet. startin' wif just wahn 'appeny dip and a small encampment on windward’s 'arbor, she began ter ply the trade of piracy. wif the plunder from 'er initial 'auls, she set abaht buildin' a keep, which she called tidewa-ter rock. from the vantage point atop the rock, she found she could pick aahhht particularly ripe targets while receivin' ample of warnin' of 'ostile ships approachin'."

Pausing, he winks at Abrose, then continues. "Over nickle and dime, Stormeyes’ successes enabled 'er ter build a sizeable fleet, as 'eaven and 'ell as more strongholds on several different islands. she became the bloomin' scourge of the southern Housemaid's Knee lanes and eventually claimed the 'urricane Crown as 'er Jack Jones. Shortly after becomin' the 'Urricane Kin' and relocatin' ter Port Peril, she was assassinated by rival Free captains. Stormeyes’ burgeonin' fleet fell apart among its squabblin' captains. Gerta Frome, Damien First Mate of Stormeyes’ flagship, the 'Cocksure', seized control of the rock. within only a few Donkey's Ears, Frome became a powerful Free captain 'erself, and the legend of tidewa-ter rock as bof a powerful good luck talisman an' a impregnable bastion was born."

Pausing his sips his grog again. "Over the chuffin' many Donkey's Ears since, control of tidewa-ter rock 'as passed from from 'and t' 'and,, and its strategic location and practical defensibili-y 'ave enabled its owners ter enrich themselves substantially. Wif the bloomin' rebellion of Sargava and its ostensible alliance wif the Free captains, tidewa-ter rock became of less strategic importance, and its owners came ter be of less prominence, but the age-old axiom of “good fortune and Bobby sail await wot wahn can crack the tidewa-ter rock” 'as stood the test of nickle and dime among the pirates of the shackles and is oft-quoted, if seldom 'eeded, even today"

Pausing for effect he looked across the deck at the crew. "The bleedin' most recent lord of tidewa-ter rock was Bertram Smythee, captain of the Bloomin' Vale and carpet ovver brigs. loike 'is predecessors, 'e 'eld tidewa-ter rock as 'is seat, but controlled a few ovver small castles on surroundin' islands as 'eaven and 'ell. Over a decade ago, “Iron Bert” Smythee went ter Housemaid's Knee wif 'is small fleet in a feud wif Free Captain Carola Antiochus and was never Pearly Queen again. Dicky Bird came Hammer and Tack that Antiochus 'ad lured Smythee into the bloody edges o' the Eye of Abendego and ambushed 'im wif the 'elp of a previously unknahn ally—one Barnabas 'arrigan, and that Smythee’s fleet was cut ter pieces between the enemy fleets. though captain Smythee managed ter sin' Antiochus’s "Pergador', 'e was Present and Past Pearly Queen on the deck of the crippled and sinkin' 'Vale' at the Piccadilly Percy of the eye’s 'urricane winds."

Laying a finger to the side of his nose Conchoghar finished the tale. "Captain 'arrigan claimed the remainder of Antiochus’s fleet and took control of several of Smythee’s undefended castles. 'e made an attempt ter take the tidewa-ter rock as 'eaven and 'ell, only ter discover that Smythee’s able wida 'ad taken charge of its defenses. she managed ter fend off 'is attack wif such alacrity that 'arrigan decided ter leef the wida ter rot in 'er tower."

Having finished his tale, Conchobhar smiles and nods to the Captain and her officers, before he returns to his seat.

Now that we've dropped anchor and the sun has set, are we going with the watch Tucci recomended or does anyone want to do something else?

"If Lady Agasta Smythee was able to drive off Barnabas Harrigan, then either she is very formidable, or the Rock's defenses are, or both.
If we approach in peace and tell her of our history with Harrigan, we might find her a worthy ally.
We did, after all, kill Harrigan's right-hand man and steal a prize out from under his nose.
She might not see that as quite sufficient revenge for what Harrigan has done to her family, but it's at least a start."

"If Lady Agasta Smythee was able to drive off Barnabas Harrigan, then either she is very formidable, or the Rock's defenses are, or both.
If we approach in peace and tell her of our history with Harrigan, we might find her a worthy ally.
We did, after all, kill Harrigan's right-hand man and steal a prize out from under his nose.
She might not see that as quite sufficient revenge for what Harrigan has done to her family, but it's at least a start."

Brother MacLaren looks out over the dark sea.

"I'll take a watch with the crew. It might be reassuring to have the officers around.

And I think we should have more crew on the watch shifts, just not all at once. We've got 33 crew? Then three lucky folks sit tonight out. For the rest, six at a time, in five two-hour shifts so that even those on watch can still get eight hours of sleep. Shift changes at 10, midnight, 2, and 4."
So the shifts are 8-10, 10-12, 12-2, 2-4, and 4-6.
"Nobody does that well trying to stay alert for too long in the dead of night. Plus, we can't have them sleeping all day.

I'll take the last shift. I am up at dawn for my prayers anyway."

We can do whatever we want regarding watches, but for immersion I think we should do what sailors have been doing for centuries.

"Huh. So Tidewater Rock has changed hands lots of times, and established captain's avoid it now because... they have better things to do." She chuckles. "That's actually pretty funny. And it definitely sounds like we have an in-lane there-- if Lady Smythee still holds it, of course.

"And then... what? Do we kill her? Take the place for ourselves? If all we want to do is 'crack the Rock,' can we still say we did that if the holder is an ally?"

Ship's bells sounds great to me! So that looks like three overnight shifts, each 4 hours, between 8 pm and 8 am. Mac has prayers at dawn which might be 6 am, so he can be sort of on watch - he can get interrupted, jump heroically into a fray, and not have Cayden Cailean frown on him.

"Uh, no... not kill her... make an alliance and secure the right to use the Rock as a base."

Tucci agrees with the wise and learned officers. "Yes, let's forge an alliance if we can. That'll be stronger for both parties." He likes that idea a lot!

Ships bells is good for me, though Tucci wants fewer night shifts then he'll get. Maybe he'll find crew to swap with...

"Mac is right - If she drove off Harrigan, trying to take the rock by force won't be easy. Forging a pact with her might be the better option."
Veronica ponders a bit before continuing.

"And that's not all: Say we kill her and take the Rock, what do we do then? I'm not sure we have the crew to station there holding the castle and running things whenever we set sail. If we get Lady Smythee on our side without a fight, then we don't have that problem. And she's already proven she can keep the Rock safe."

"I do share Ellie's concern though, about others viewing it as "cracking the Rock". Still, getting to use it as a base would be a boon. There's always other ways to build our reputation."

On the matter of watches, I like the ship's bells idea as well. But I went ahead and added the Keep Watch spell if we want to make use of it as well

Until we sort how many crew are up all night, to get things moving I'm going with Tucci's recommendation of six for now. Also, is the captain the only officer sleeping in the aft cabin? I assume the rest of you are in the fore cabin.

In the wee hours of the morning, just after Mac and his six sailors took the watch. Tam, with his blessed dwarf eyes, spots something coming over the aft side. Calling out "Brither Mac! we hae somethin' climbin' ower th' gunwale, Ah believe it' Sahuagin" This scaly humanoid has a long, fish-like tail. Its arms and legs end in webbed claws, and its piscine head features a toothy maw. Tilly chimes "Ah beleev 'e's reet sir, scourge o' t' seeur thee are." The pirates, freeze for a second, looking towards Mac to sort out what to do.

Round 1 Bold may go.
Mac
Tilly
Tam
Maheem
black
grey
white
After Mac goes and gives some direction, the pirates, then Sahuagin will go.

Is the ship's bell up on the stern where I had been? If so, Tilly is closest to it.
"Tilly, ring the bell! Everyone else, bows or thrown daggers! Focus on this one!"

Brother MacLaren moves up to the nearest Sahuagin, drawing his rapier as he moves.

He stabs one hard.
Attack, PA: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 7 - 1 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 2 = 12

Confirm?: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 7 - 1 = 9
Crit Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 = 8

While it might not be as lethal a wound as he hoped, he expects that he has drawn the creature's attention.

Mac moves off the aft deck, Wounding the yellow Sahuagin badly.

Seeing Mac rush towards the reptiles, Tilly's eyes light up, she turns to the other Black sailor, pointing at the bell, "Theur 'eard t' bloke, rin t' bloody bell!" The black fellow steps to the bell and begins to ring it as Tilly draws her cutlass. Moving towards the orange Sahuagin she chops at it, hitting the wood rail instead. As Tam moves down the fore-steps, drawing his dagger, throwing it at the nearest purple Sahuagin, but watches as his dagger flies into the sea. Maheem meanwhile moves across the deck, stepping beside the Caydenite chopping at the same orange creature the officer wounded, but missing. The new White crewmember following Maheem also draws his cutlass and chops at the middle green Sahuagin, cutting it deeply. While the other new grey crewmember did not follow Tam's lead, and instead drew his cutlass and ended up right beside the final purple attacker.

The wounded Sahuagins roar in defiance, their blood frenzy getting the better of them. Both attacking the humans that wounded them, the middle green Sahuagin attacks the newest whie member of the crew with tooth and claw scratching him badly on the shoulder. While the Orange end Sahuagin attacks the officer, thrusting it's trident at Mac, but missing by a hairs breadth. The other purple Sahuagin, hearing the other crewmember waking, decides it is better to live and fight another day, slips over the rail back into the dark water from whence it came.

Round 2 Bold may go.
Ellie
Mac
Tucci
Veronica

Tilly
Tam
Maheem
black
grey -5 HP
white

Brother MacLaren attacks the Sahuagin again.
Attack, PA: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 7 - 1 = 10

Luck is against him, but he sets his feet and draws his tankard for next round.

He shouts at the new crew member (White), "Attack and step back! Close ranks to cover him!"