GM Knightmare's Besmara's Bastards [Skull and Shackles]

Game Master TheChelaxian

For what it's worth I don't expect Lily to stay LE. She'll be influenced by those around her to bring her out of her upbringing. Exactly where she lands will depend on the interactions she has. Having been press ganged, effectively a slave, will color her opinions of the practice.

I should probably consider how Izkaen's alignment is going to play into things, or whether I should just go CN. One big thing is that our crew can't engage in slavery, though, whatever his alignment - it's one of his edicts.

I figure we should probably discuss this before it becomes an IC issue, as our crew has a wide spectrum of alignments.

I will take this moment to say that Jacquelyn is CN leaning good, and will certainly draw the line at some point. She is fine with general piracy obviously, but while the exact spot of that line will likely be discovered organically, slavery and wholesale slaughter of innocents would certainly be past that point (not that anyone has suggested that second one yet, just as an example).

I think having a blend of alignments is really cool, and can lead to some awesome inter-party interactions as the group figures out where we lie on various issues, and possibly influences each other to be better/worse as Lily mentioned.

So, your character by all means, but for my money, having a CG member of this party is something I think will be really cool.

Greetings! The GM reached out to me and offered me a spot in the crew. I'll try and catch up, get something posted later tonight - work's been killing me, but I'm glad for the opportunity.

And let it not go without saying, welcome to the crew! I hope you enjoy your stay :D

I wanted to say, with the alignment spread here, the game should be pretty wild.

Can't wait.

I noted in Jacques's profile that while he is evil and wants to pursue evil ends (specifically necromancy!), getting press-ganged will have a dramatic effect on his willingness to engage in the enslavement of other human beings. I could split hairs and say that getting press-ganged isn't really slavery (the captain doesn't actually own the crew as his property), but Jacques will still refuse to use physical force or magic to compel other (living) human beings to do his bidding, including spells like magic jar/possession or dominate person. I hope that this is within the spirit of Izkaen's edict, enough that we won't have actual inter-party conflict. :)

While I doubt Izkaen would be happy with necromancy, the compulsion bit seems to fit right in with his edicts. I definitely don't want huge disputes, but tension is something we can explore.

I'm fully on-board with that. Why bother with crimes against humanity when crimes against nature are so much more fun and interesting? Doctor Ramada might be on the pro-necromancy side when these discussions arise, but slavery, wholesale slaughter of the innocent, et cetera he wants no part in. (The not-so-innocent, however, might end up sacrificed to Great Cthulhu, but we'll cross that gaping moral chasm when we get to it.)

He may be an insane cultist and nascent Deep One who takes a cavalier approach to medical ethics (but then again, what alchemist doesn't?), but he still has some standards.

Hefty post today, but we are officially underway! Everyone gets a hero point for their patience (total of 2).

Aamu, you are tasked with rigging repair, Plugg making a comment about the monkey feeling at home. To reach the rigging you need to succeed on a DC 10 Climb, then to perform repairs either a DC 10 Profession (sailor) or DC 10 Dex check.

Not an issue. Just a note, I do have climb speed 20ft, putting my climb skill to +13, and the following trait:

Having trained from a young age, you’re capable of amazing feats of daring. You gain a +1 bonus on Acrobatics checks, and you take only a –2 penalty instead of the normal –5 penalty when using the Climb skill to attempt an accelerated climb.

Accelerated Climbing: You try to climb more quickly than normal. By accepting a –5 penalty, you can move half your speed (instead of one-quarter your speed).

A creature with a climb speed has a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks. The creature must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC higher than 0, but it can always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened while climbing. If a creature with a climb speed chooses an accelerated climb (see above), it moves at double its climb speed (or at its land speed, whichever is slower) and makes a single Climb check at a –5 penalty. Such a creature retains its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while climbing, and opponents get no special bonus to their attacks against it. It cannot, however, use the run action while climbing.

Source - Climb Skill

~~~~~~~~~~~

Just putting this out here so that you know I won't be making climb checks if they're DC10. It's 14 on a nat1 and 23 while taking 10, -2 for accelerated puts it to a 12 and 21 respectively.

How tall is this thing?

How tall is this thing?

Forgot to say, my bad. It's 30 ft.

All good. To clarify, the two ship actions are the daytime and nighttime actions, or is it 2 ship actions + 1 day + 1 night?

2 total, one during the day, one during the night

Not an issue. Just a note, I do have climb speed 20ft... Just putting this out here so that you know I won't be making climb checks if they're DC10.

Good a time as any to echo this sentiment for swim checks. I have 30ft swim, and between the racial +8 and a rank I'm at a +11 total, and per swim rules:

The creature can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered when swimming.

Swim rules

If the swim DC is 21 or less, I can't fail without penalties.

We're using Elephant in the Room, right? I just realized that one of Izkaen's class features gives him Weapon Finesse (and allows him to use it with katana, glaives, and naginata). Not sure whether it should be adjusted, given that everyone can use it by default in Elephant in the Room. GM, should I just roll with it, or is there something else I should do there?

We're using Elephant in the Room, right? I just realized that one of Izkaen's class features gives him Weapon Finesse (and allows him to use it with katana, glaives, and naginata). Not sure whether it should be adjusted, given that everyone can use it by default in Elephant in the Room. GM, should I just roll with it, or is there something else I should do there?

Since those weapons aren't finesse weapons under elephant, the ability should probably be changed to make them finesse.

Which is more or less what it does already, though it does specify they're not changed at all other than being able to be used with Weapon Finesse. Not sure if the finesse quality has any other effect than "use Dex rather than Strength to roll attacks."

I'm not aware of any other mechanical qualities of Weapon Finesse as is, so I'm going to say - for now - just roll with it. If an issue arises, we shall adjust accordingly. Hard for me to do without data or references otherwise.

Most EitR games I’ve been in give swashbuckler-like characters a bonus combat feat in place of swashbuckler finesse. That’s how I built Jacques.

I think unless Lily has anything else to say, Jacquelyn is content to move on. And other than learning names where possible, I don't want to spend much time for idle chatter while taking the "work diligently" option.

Good to move on.

All good to continue on - there's not much else I can really do at the moment.

Likewise, Izkaen's just hanging around on the crow's nest. Not much he can do otherwise.

Jacques is also ready to continue, if it wasn't obvious.

I do find it amusing that Izkaen's slightly at arms length from the other characters for now. It feels like it makes some sense, though, as he's trying to assess the situation for now. Very elfy, I guess. I will have him jump in once he's either found he can't get his swords back or has gotten his swords back. Possibly that will mean tomorrow (in game).

GM, I'm not sure if I'm missing something or if Izkaen's attempt to find out who he should be speaking to for his swords failed, but I fear you missed mentioning his attempt in that post.

Sir... Sir? Sir, excuse me!

What do you mean thinly-veiled? I thought I was laying it on pretty thick.

^_^

I'll catch up in a bit. My 40k tournament on Saturday gave me con crud.

I am prepared to continue onwards. Izkaen didn't hear that Sandara is willing to help them get weapons, and would rather do it on his own besides.

Damn! 16 damage on a level 1 punch, that was awesome!

Lol I did roll almost max damage. And I can only do that 3/day. I'll catch up in a bit.

Happy Holidays, everybody.

Happy Holidays, friends!

Happy Holidays!

Good a time as any to say: I'll be traveling starting tomorrow, and likely mobile only till Sunday. I'll keep up on my phone, but might be a bit slower.

Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas is enjoying it!

@Aamu, I had forgotten you had provided a "token" in your profile. Appreciate you updating that. If anyone else has custom/preferred images for their tokens, feel free to provide/place them in the google slides.

@Crew: I also added the list of Daytime and Nighttime actions, along with examples of games your fellow crew may be willing to bet on.

Sincerest apologies for the delay - the holiday period's a bit hectic. I should be all caught up now, though unfortunately, there's not much room for Ramada to interact with other characters on rat-catching duty.

Anyone want the weapons I found lol?

Thank you. Aamu's hands are registered weapons and he can't drop them on the ground. More for the rest of you.

Anyone want the weapons I found lol?

Jacques, being a swashbuckler, can't effectively use a heavy mace. But selling them might be a good way for us to get money to buy things from the quartermaster?

Yep and I think everyone else either can't use them or just got their preferred weapon. I'll trade them in tomorrow.

Having an option to do bludgeoning might not be a bad idea for Izkaen, but at this time, I think the money (or credit, it's not super clear whether we've got an actual exchange of cash) would probably be more useful for now.

Its crazy how bad this party is at using heavy maces specifically. Two of the only classes not proficient and a swashbuckler and samurai who both want to use finesse weapons, meaning 4/6ths of us actively want to avoid it. I agree with the consensus of selling them when able, assuming Lily and Ramada don't want one.

Actually, I'll take one if the offer's still on the table. Ramada has a trait that gives a bonus with daggers, but he's still a Strength-based alchemist.

Actually, I'll take one if the offer's still on the table. Ramada has a trait that gives a bonus with daggers, but he's still a Strength-based alchemist.

It's your then tonight after duties. I'll take another and trade in the 3rd. I assume that I won't have time to do so today.

I know I took the leather armor but if anyone else wants it feel free. Lily won't wear armor with an ACP unless she's expecting trouble beforehand, at least until she gets some more climb and swim ranks.

Best wishes in the new year, everyone.

I have a request - can we get a list of our NPC crewmates somewhere? I'm not sure I remember most of the crew we've met yet.

It'd also be nice to know generally where we stand with them too, so we're not wasting actions on someone who's already part of our crew.

Fair call. I've added a list of the dramatis personae of the Wormwood. Those in "Plugg's crew" are the one's who've tried to jump Lily on the second morning or have escorted Plugg and Scourge on their rounds.

@Lily and Jacques: I think Round 2 refers to the arm wrestling contest, which only had one round. Unless I'm mistaken, Lily, you only wrestled Jaundiced once?

No after I won the first contest I doubled down in my last post. If he wants to back out or there's no time for it that's fine. I took your last post that he wanted a rematch.

OH! I see where we went wrong.

What I meant by "rematch" was the thief wanted to get even from you gut-punching him for stealing your archstar. He would not have wrestled you again if you beat him. You could challenge someone else, but you only wrestled Jape once.

Can I have let it ride to the next challenger then? Not that such a small amount of money will make that much of a difference.