Rising Shadows: Moonshae Isles (5e) (Inactive)

Game Master Donnell "The Fox"

Braith inhales deeply, clearly muttering a prayer to herself casts Guidance on herself, and motions to the others to continue on.

Moving aft, you enter the Crew Quarters:

This large room is filled with hammocks, cots, and footlockers. The boggles appear to have taken advantage of their shipmates’ absence to
set practical jokes for them.

Practical jokes like eggs under their pillows and hammocks twisted in knots; not, like, actual traps...

Are those doors leading to the port and starboard sides?

Yes. Sorry if I misunderstood -- thought you wanted to go all the way aft. There are two doors port and two doors starboard. The doors on the port side are where the quartermaster and first mate emerged, so you assume they are cabins. Port side smells like the mess.

No, I did. I thought maybe they connected to the sides, but I want to clear out this level before going up the stairs.

It takes Braith a few seconds to figure out why the crew's stuff is like that, but even in their dire situation she chuckles out loud before clamping her mouth shut.

Looks clear she says to the others. Shall we continue up? and motions to the door nearest to them. If there's a choice, she'd gesture to the port door.

Toki nods and moves to check the port door.

The first cabin to port is the Officer's quarters. This is the room that Rungrin emerged from. There are two sets of bunks (i.e., four beds), but nobody else is in the room. There are a few personal items lying about, including a framed drawing of a Ffolk woman with the inscription “Dearest Sandra Taggard. Lily of Moray.” The picture frame is silver (value 5 gp).

Let me know how thoroughly you are checking these rooms. From here, it sounds like you are basically poking your heads in to see if there are any baddies and then moving on. If you're doing a more thorough search, let me know.

Toki will take a moment to give it a once over, but not longer than a minute...

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

If there is something that "can help the church" and would fit in a pouch/pocket, Braith would grab it, otherwise yeah just popping our heads in. The frame she would pass up, but if it had been coin, yoink.

Well, you have to imagine that most of the coin has gone ashore with the sailors, and whatever has been left behind (if anything) has been well stashed. I think, on second thought, the framed drawing was under a pillow, so you can't be sure if it's someone's sweetheart or if it was stolen and hidden.

Anyway, if you aren't doing a more thorough search here or in the Crew Quarters, I'll move on to the next room:

The next room on the port side is the room that Ferdeth, the first mate, emerged from. In addition to Ferdeth's bunk, there are two desks covered in vials of unknown powders, crucibles, alcohol lamps, a mold for making small lead pellets, and other assorted experimental equipment. The walls of the room are charred and sooty.

The desk closest to the bed has Ferdeth's spellbook and a small lockbox.

Gideon immediately moves towards the lockbox.

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26 Investigation (Looking for traps)

If he doesn't find one:

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14 Disable Trap (Thieves Tools)
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24 Open Locks (Thieves Tools)

"Looks like some of this guys experiments backfired on him. Looks like there is an intact spellbook here however".

Nice rolling!

Gideon does not find any traps on the small lockbox and quickly deals with the lock. Inside are 30 gp and a potion of healing.

Note sure if anyone is interested in the spellbook, but it contains:
C: fire bolt, mending, prestidigitation
1st: burning hands, detect magic, shield

Since there's not much to see, I'll give a quick run-through of the starboard side of this deck:

Room 7: Mess
A long table with ten chairs fills this room that is otherwise empty.

Room 8: Galley
An elderly commoner cook is here preparing for the next meal. He calls for Rungrin when you enter the galley, and when there's no response, he surrenders immediately. He is a non-combatant.

9. Pantry
Holds much of the ship’s food stores.

Room 8 Toki tastes some of the food and laughs before heading out to the next area, up the stairs!

Nice! she tells Gideon, assuming he'll pocket the lot as in she would not assume to split it. She idly flips through the spellbook and decides to take it if anyone else wants it though, it's yours.

Braith tells the cook he should find better employ, and also takes some food, following Toki up the stairs as she shoves it in her mouth and leftovers in her pockets.

Seeing a book as a part of the booty in this room he will run up and try to read it
I do so love books! he says.

lol I'll let the two of you fight it out over the book.

The ship's cook stays backed into a corner with his hands raised as you sample his half-finished stew (not bad!).

Climbing the companionway, you note that the main and poop decks are empty. The captain's cabin is next to you, with the door closed.

The pirate ship and the Shantu are docked on what appears to be a small island. A rowdy tavern is nearby on shore.

Since everyone saw Gideon find the coin he would share.

Got to remember to be sneakier going forward. :-)

Toki looks at everyone else before moving to the door of the Captain's Cabin. While everyone is gathering, the raider will listen at the door...

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

You can't hear anything specific, but you definitely get the impression that somebody is in there.

Cap'n, yeh might want ta see this! Toki calls out with confidence.

Would my Sailor / Raider background help me with this Deception check? ;p

Deception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1 >.<

Are there pirates hats around?

Are there pirates hats around?

I'll say you can probably find a beat up tricorne, but most pirates with hats are wearing them on their shore leave.

Captain Blutovich slams open the door to his cabin in a fury: "This is an outrage! Slaves must learn their place!"

A reminder that Bluto is a giff -- picture a 7' tall hippopotamus on two legs, wearing a worn military uniform, filled with rage, and wielding a longsword. There's also a blunderbuss tucked into his belt.

Round 1
Jacka-Lope

Cap'n Bluto

Braith
Toki
Jaylen
Gideon

Jacka-Lope is up first!

He is going to put on the pirate hat and randomly close one of his eyes so it is like he has an eye patch,

The bunny sees the hippo and issues a curse, switching which eye he has closed to get a better view or even keeping them both open

Arr, ye scaliwag, may the sirines ferget to sing ye a song as ye pass bye

BA Action cast curse with Dex being the ability score
You place a curse on a creature that you can see within range. Until the spell ends, you deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage to the target whenever you hit it with an attack. Also, choose one ability when you cast the spell. The target has disadvantage on ability checks made with the chosen ability.

If the target drops to 0 hit points before this spell ends, you can use a bonus action on a subsequent turn of yours to curse a new creature.

He then attempts to strike the hippo with an eldritch blast in the shape of a triton

AAAR me harty, may Triton's trident take ya down to Davey Jone;s locker he says as he gives a Popeye like laugh

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23 eldritch bolt
1d10 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 force
1d6 ⇒ 5 nectrotic

Nice hit! Note that I moved your character icon behind Jaylen, otherwise you would not be able to see the pirate.

Captain Bluto is taken back a step by Jacka-Lope's trident, but recovers quickly. Furious, he takes a couple of steps back, then lowers his head and charges out the door, crashing into Toki.

@Toki: DC 14 STR check or take 2d6 ⇒ (3, 5) = 8 damage and be knocked prone.

Round 1
Jacka-Lope

Cap'n Bluto -15

Braith
Toki
Jaylen
Gideon

Everyone can post their actions!
Jacka-Lope, you can post your Round 2 action if you want (though understandable if you want to wait a bit)

Str save or check?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 add 2 if it is a save. >.< Nevermind.

Toki curses and stands, Fine, let's play it your way.

Second Wind: 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 Back to 18/20 hp

Handaxe: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 After two natty 1s in a row, this feels good.
Crit!: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 1) + 4 = 10

Action Surge!

Handaxe: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 Worth it!
Crit, no. 2!: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 3) + 4 = 13

May Hel take you to her rotting breast!

Yes, STR Save -- sorry about that! It occurred to me to say "but you're prone" which... seems like a pointless attack now that I think about it. I mean, you just stood up and he's right next to you :P

Also, 2 crits! Amazing. Geez, I hope he survives Round 1

Yes, STR Save -- sorry about that! It occurred to me to say "but you're prone" which... seems like a pointless attack now that I think about it. I mean, you just stood up and he's right next to you :P

Also, 2 crits! Amazing. Geez, I hope he survives Round 1

Yeah, well, I did have two nat 1s RIGHT before the two nat 20s... XD

LOL now you're rolling like my favorite orange dice - lots of top scorers peppered with lots of 1s

Braith's eyes widen, she had almost forgotten how imposing this captain is. But seeing him charge Toki, she raises her mace and...
Mace attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
...while she hits true, he probably barely even noticed.

Frowning, she raises her mace to try again from a different angle. And that would be next round.

Jaylen ascends the decks along with everyone else, slithering along behind them. sss ssss ssss” the snake almost sounds like it’s chuckling when Gideon opens the lock. The poor cook is even more concerned to see the rather large viper rear back and lick the air with its tongue nearby the stew pot to get a sense of the aroma.

Topside, Jaylen appreciates Tokis attempt at subterfuge with the call to the captain but is unsurprised to see the young warrior on his back as recompense for his actions. But the fury in which Toki responds is impressive and Jaylen can’t help feeling his cold blood warm just a little as the urge to strike wells within his coiled body.

Bite attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Piercing: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
DC 11 Con Save, half on save: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 4) = 12 poison damage

Gideon moves to get a better angle on the hippo-brute.

"Hey. Nobody told us we were playing tackle".

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17 Thrown Dagger
1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Dagger tip

Technically, we are adjacent to your target, so you should get your Sneak damage too!

Braith is distracted, watching Toki slide past her across the deck and misses her attack. Toki springs back to his feet to launch a vicious series of attacks. The accompanying snake bite and sneaky dagger (where did they come from!) leave Bluto feeling angrier than ever!

CON save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Sneak Attack: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Round 2
Jacka-Lope

Cap'n Bluto -65

Braith
Toki -2
Jaylen
Gideon

Jacka-Lope is up

He will repeat his actions, making the eldritch bolt appear as a fish that jumps out of the spell and slaps him with its tail

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 eldritch bolt
1d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 forece
1d6 ⇒ 1 necrotic

The captain almost gets out of the way of the fish, and is staggered at the force of the blow.

Shakily, he pulls the fancy blunderbuss from his belt and points it at Braith's face: "Leave now and no one will bother you. I don't know if you are familiar with these weapons, but I assure you that they make a lot of noise -- enough noise that my crew will come swarming back here when they hear it. Just go -- you'd make terrible slaves anyway."

Gesturing with his chin toward the other side of the dock: [b]"Take the Shantu and I can promise there will be no pursuit. Kill me, though, and you will be hunted by all the ships in the Silver Fleet. "

I have a counter-offer, Toki grins mischievously, You pay us a weregild and we leave you alive and don't burn down your ship. I guarantee that we will be gone by the time your crew gets here.

Intimidation: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11 Come on, baby! Not terrible...

Captain Bluto makes irritated harumphing noises through his moustache, but then backs up to the desk in his office. Waving his blunderbuss, he indicates a chest next to the bed: "Take it, and leave."

Toki moves to the chest and hefts it after stowing his weapon and shield. As he passes Bluto, he flashes a grin to his companions and says to the Captain over his shoulder, Pleasure doing business with you, Captain.

Then he walks out the door, Grab our captain and crew, and let us take the Shantu.

You make your way across the dock to the Shantu and quickly untie Captain Poppie and her crew. The halfling prisoners scamper across to join you. As the ropes fall away, you hear the sound of Bluto raising the alarm, and see the pirate crew returning quickly to their ship.

"Away!" cries Poppie, and her children push quickly off the dock, seeking deeper waters. This time you have enough of a head start (plus a fair amount of luck / desperation) that you are able to get away and stay away.

Congratulations!

Not the encounter I thought it would be, but a cool twist!

Well. That happened. Is everyone alright? Though out of spells and in sore need of a good long! rest, she checks everyone to make sure they don't need bandages or healing in the morning.

Later, she asks Toki what's in the chest, and what a "weregild" is. Unless that's something my char would know, then she would just make a bad joke about it. Never heard the term before, 'man price'.

Toki laughs, It is something that the people of this land paid my people to stop raiding them! It is an old tradition, one that they found wasn't a long-term solution...

Toki is only down 2 hp, but a short rest would be good for him.

Let us get some rest... Where is the next town? We can spend some of this to fill our bellies with some hot food!

What do we have left to do? Toki will crack open the chest to see what they have gotten!

The bunny will go to the end of the ship facing the hippo's ship and wave goodbye to the hippo and his crew, using his hat to wave good bye saying Toodles!

Gideon is both pleased and surprised at the way things turned out.

"Well done Toki. You're not just all muscle and Sinew. Glad you're on our side".

As a final parting gift, Bluto's chest contains a poison gas trap, giving you all the poisoned condition for an hour and, because it's a particularly stinky gas, disadvantage on Stealth :P (Obviously, no real affect as we are between mini-adventures, but might be fun for you to RP)

The chest contains 200 gp and a pistol to match the blunderbuss that Bluto was carrying

Captain Poppie (indeed, any of the crew) refuses to talk to you until you've had a bath. By the time it's safe enough to do so, she's gotten over the experience of being captured and is back to her jolly self:

"Well, those 'arflings make fer a good crew. But sounds like they're headed back to famly 'n Caer Callidyrr, so we'll drop anchor there. You still planning to head ashore there too?"

The last of the four bits of prophecy would have you headed south (inland) from Caer Callidyrr, toward Lehigh. This was on Poppie's recommendation -- Lehigh has recently suffered several attacks from goblins and the rumour is that the Great Druid Antola Pilark has been asking for help.

Eye of the goblin, keeper of wrath,
Its power grows with every dawn.
Paltry in stature, it challenges no path;
Through rage they become its pawn.

Blasted pirates! Toki coughs through the cloud, I think I'm going to be...

The raider, looking green, rushes to the rail and ejects the contents of his stomach!

Yeah, we can go ashore, see if we can help this druid...

Oh why not...Con save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21 hahahaha

Braith is not amused at being doused with poison, but she does find humor in Toki's reaction. Bah, it's just a >cof< >cof< little stink bomb. Good thing we >cof< hadn't eaten yet >cof<, She continues to cough, laugh, and wash up before talking to Poppy and enjoying a nice meal. And then sleeping!

200g split....there are 5 of us, right? 40 each?

When we go over the clue again, Braith will mutter something about gods being too cryptic, and then immediately say a prayer to atone for the deific slight.

Right. One druid, needing help, and some goblin trash. This should be interesting!

The bunny holds his little twitchy nose PEEE YOU, this is stanky

Con: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

The instant the trap explodes all over the deck Jaylen, who was merely watching bemused at the greed of his companions, rushes for the deck rail. Not quite making it to the rail wretches all over the deck. He then stumbles to the rail almost slipping on his puke and then releases again.

No longer bemused, the Druid makes his way back to his hammock is not seen for the rest of the day as he recovers from the terrible ordeal.

Later, he is quite amenable to get off the ship when the moment presents itself as previous events seems to have unsettled his stomach and it’s almost like some time on solid land is the only thing that can settle it.

figured Id RP up that crit fail even though we don’t normally play with crit failures thank the gods

1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6 CON Save

"Why don't you let me check that chest for..."

Before he can get the words out of his mouth Gideon, feels the bile rise in his throat. He looks down and finds one of the buckets used for swabbing the deck, and discreetly if rather rambunctiously addresses the contents of his evening gruel.