Lodestone's page

Hi guys.

Sorry I haven't been able to post... My PhD work has kicked up (another) notch, and I don't unfortunately have time to continue running this game.

I'm really sorry to have to leave it because all your characters are great, and you're all brilliant RPers. Hopefully I'll have time to begin a new game (not an AP) in a couple of months time.... If I do I'll PM you all to let you know.

Thanks for being great!

Sorry for the delay everyone,... Lizard collection should be slowing down for a few weeks, so hopefully my posting rate will improve. Thanks for your patience!

As he moves forward, Diego once takes up his song whilst Shaeda steps forward to attack the Rahadoumi officer with her rapier, wickedly wounding the woman and causing a red stain to blossom on her white linen shirt. Alessandra steps up next to her small companion and delightedly stabs at the officer with her short swords, however, neither of the blows lands. Doc, seeing the Rahadoumis clumped together, hurls another package at them, however, this time, his aim is off, and the foul-smelling goop lands next to Shaeda, exploding in a tangle of mucous-like fibres. Both the sailor caught in the vile stuff (Sailor 3) and the Officer manage to avoid becoming entangled, however, both are hurt by the searing substance which also engulfs Shaeda.....

Shaeda: Ref (DC13) or entangled and 3 damage (Ref 13 save for 1/2) - I think this is right Doc?

ROUND 12

Managing to avoid becoming entangled by Doc's foul bomb, the officer slashes at Shaeda with her sword and drawing blood (4 Damage)

INIT:

Officer
Alessandra
Shaeda
Diego
Sailors
Doc

ROUND 8 (cont.)

Alessandra's dagger streaks forward and takes the Sailor in the throat leaving an impressive wound that showers blood over the Captain standing below. The sailor, himself, is dead before he hits the deck. Pausing only to run a wounded sailor on the deck through with his sword, the captain turns, his steely gaze meeting Alessandra's and he gives a small nod of recognition before the fog once again swirls about, obscuring your view of the rest of the ship.

ROUNDS 9/10

As the noise of battle seems to be moving mostly below-decks, the fog swirls and you wait, guarding the wheel and aft-deck from any attackers,... although all that emerges from the fog are the wailing cries of the wounded. That is, until, the noise of a mighty explosion from somewhere below shakes the whole ship, accompanied by the sound of splintering wood as the mainmast crashes down.

ROUNDS 11

Moments later, three sailors and an officer, adorned in a long silk blue coat stained with blood emerge from the mist with their swords drawn. Seeing you, they pause in their flight and the officer yells, pointing at the boat being guarded by Rogar: "Take the boat! The Promise's lost!"

MAP Sailors are 1, 2 & 3,.. Officer is "O"

Assuming that you all readied actions to guard, you can have initiative!

Rogar, Alessandra and Shaeda move to the boats whilst Diego stands back, guarding the ship's wheel.

ROUND 8

From the mist comes the sound of fierce fighting, although you are unable to see more than the corpses of several of The Man's Promise's crew littering the deck. That is until, as the fog shifts, and reveals the figures of Captain Harrigan, Riaris Krine and Kipper rushing towards the stairs leading below-deck, slashing and hacking as they go....

Sorry for the delay - I'm organising for summer field work and don't have a lot of down-time. Posting will be intermittent for a little while.

Boats are labeled B5 on the map,... located roughly at A3 and F3.

Before anyone else has a chance to act, Shaeda stabs at the sole remaining sailor with her rapier. The blade takes the poor man in the throat and, reaching to his neck in a futile attempt to stop the flow of bubbling red froth he tips backwards over the rail into the sea.

Still in combat rounds,... Shaeda has acted, everyone else can take the opportunity to reposition before round 8.

ROUND 7

Alessandra, as Diego moves out of Doc’s way, steps forward and slashes forward with her two blades. Although one swings wide, the other slashes across the sailor’s neck, raising a plume of crimson as the sailor drops to the ship’s deck, dead. Almost immediately Doc launches another lump of filth at the two sailors on the raised deck. The missile impacts against its target and his shipmate is caught in the explosion of sticky gunk, unable to avoid any of its effects. Both sailors choke on the oily, smelly substance and, coughing their last, slump in death, morbidly held to the ships rail by strands of stinking ichor.

Looking around, the only remaining sailor frantically yells out for help as he slashes at Shaeda with his shortsword. In his desperation, however, his strike misses the Halfling. Meanwhile, through the fog blanketing the rest of the ship, eerie shadows of combat shift and move. A light breeze shifts a little of the fog, revealing a Rahadoumi sailor cowering near the ship’s rail, next to the body of one of her shipmates. Jape and Fipps suddenly emerge from the cloud and hurl the poor woman overboard into the shark infested waters , laughing as the fog once again closes, obscuring the rest of the boat.

MAP

The only remaining sailor is #3 who is lightly wounded and has Shaeda's Bane affecting him.

Yep, Diego's up.

As the Sailor (#3) moves past Shaeda to flank her, the spry halfling manages to slash him with her sword, she turns easily and slashes at the already wounded sailor between Alessandra and herself, dropping the sailor immediately to the ground, dead. Through the fog blanketing the rest of the ship's deck, cries of pain and suddenly chocked-off screams provide evidence that the fight for the rest of the ship continues unabated...

Alessandra, Doc and Diego still to act. Shaeda's bane target is now Sailor #3 since #2 is dead, and everyone has +1 To Hit and Damage from Diego. All the sailors show signs of being wounded, #4 and #6 are entangled, #5 is glued. #5 is hurt more than the others.

MAP and Shaeda gets an AAO on Sailor 3.

Sorry for the delay - will have a map up ASAP

ROUND 6

Rogar steps forward and throws a ball of,… something at the sailors still around the cannons. The projectile impacts and bursts covering a wide area with foul-smelling goop. Sailor 5 is stuck fast to his cannon by the sticky mess (glued), whilst both of the others seem to be struggling against its clinging tendrils (entangled), one (#4) seems particularly affected by the noxious substance whilst the other (#6) seems to have avoided the worst of it. Shaeda shouts out as she scampers around the stairs behind the second sailor as Alessandra closes in from the front. Stabbing at the Sailor, the half-orc manages to find his chest with her blade, causing a bright shower of blood to coat her arms. Despite the gaping wound he somehow manages to stay upright and tries desperately to strike back at his assailant. Somehow his desperate strike lands, but the weak blow does little against the half-orc (2 Dam).

Sailor #3 moves down the stairs to B6 and slashes at Shaeda, joined by #4 who steps forward onto the stairs (B7) themselves and likewise attacks the halfling. The agile halting, however, manages to dodge easily away from both strikes. Meanwhile, the sailor next to Diego (#6) stabs forward at the bard. Somehow, despite being restricted by the noxious glue of Doc's projectile, the sailor's short sword finds its target, drawing a nasty wound across Diego's flank [ooc] (6 Dam).

Sorry for the delay everyone, I've been at a conference all week and have had surprisingly little time for anything (apart from HUGE quantities of alcohol).. will try to get a post up by the end of today.

End of Round 5
As the ships close together with a sickening crash of splintering wood, The Wormwood's crew drop planks and either run, jump or swing across the gap separating the ships, and screaming a bloodthirsty battle cry. They enter the heavy fog blanketing the other ship's deck, and, through the thick haze, you can just about make them out engaging the crew of the Promise, dropping several before they even have time to react. Shaeda manages to easily leap to the other ship's jollyboat as Doc, Diego and Alessandra swing over the water with its waiting sharks, ready to confront the Rahadoumi sailors who forget about the cannons, drawing shortswords, and prepare to face your onslaught.

MAP

YOU have the initiative! - but note the stairs for higher ground advantage. Actions will take place in posting order. Arrrrrrrrrr!

Round 4:
As you hit the deck, the closest of the two cannons aboard The Promise is swung around and its mouth erupts in a fury of smoke and noise. The blast of shrapnel from the thing's maw - a load of grapeshot, peppers the deck and catches both Badger and Tilly who were too slow to duck behind cover, both drop to the deck screaming in pain, where they are soon joined by Peppery and Grok who begin tending to their wounds.

Round 5: (taking your round four rolls as your attacks)
As the ships near each other, Shaeda's 'spider' flies up into the Promise's rigging, where the small mechanism grips the other ship's ropes. The fog rests heavy over the deck of the other ship, as the Wormwood’s crew throw lines across, and haul to bring the ships, finally together.

The Promise’s main deck will have many sailors, from both ships’ crews fighting each other, so the best way to get across is via grappling hooks or via one of the options above... Shaeda acted in round 5 (shot the spider - you can tie it off in round 5 too.), - Are the rest of you shooting or throwing grapples in round five?

... What do you do when Shaeda yells to hit the deck Rogar, Diego?

How many actions this takes? One standard to throw the grapple, and a move to swing across? In any case, Doc would stop shooting in round five to put his crossbow away. So Rogar should be there by the end of round six. Now I just hope the other get there too :)

Yep, 1 standard action to throw, 1 move action to swing.

Shaeda: Round four actions haven't happened yet - waiting to see how everyone responds to your order. Boarding info was just so that people can plan ahead.

The MAP should help... this is positions as of the START of round 6.

(R = Rogar, D = Diego)

Just in case anyone wants to change their round 5 action, The Promise’s main deck will have many sailors, from both ships’ crews fighting each other, so the best way to get across is via grappling hooks, swinging or jumping:......

- you may want to throw them in round 5 rather than firing weapons if you want to be in combat in round 6. Remember that throwing a grapple requires a ranged attack, treating the grapple as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10 ft. The Promise's rail is AC 5, so the 'target' number is 5+6=11 at 40 ft. Once you have hit the rail you need to tie off the rope (move action), and then shimmy across (DC 15 Climb checks, 10-15 ft to climb once the ships are together - they taper off, and away from each other at the stern and bow).

Alternatively, you can throw the grapple up into the rigging (AC 4) and try to swing across - if you try this you don't have to tie it off or make a climb check to get across, instead you make a DC (distance -2) Acrobatics check but, if you fail by 5 or more you end up in the water with the sharks, unless you manage to catch yourself (DC 15 climb check), in which case you end up swinging in the air between the two ships.

As a final option, you could just attempt a running jump - Acrobatics DC (distance), or a jump without a run-up (Acrobatics DC distance x2) but if you fail by more than 5 you're in the drink. If you fail this check by 4 or less, you can attempt a DC 20 Reflex save to grab hold of the other side. If you want a run-up, you'll want to move back from the ship's rail at least 10ft.

I'll post a map as soon as I can

Round 1:
Shaeda's arrow flies towards the Rahadoumi sailor, striking him in the arm viciously. Doc's crossbow bolt flies towards its target, burring itself in the rail of The Promise joined by Alessandra's arrow. The other ship's cannons, once-again bark out their thundering shots, tangling yet more of the Wormwood's rigging.

Round 2:
None of your second shots strike a sailor, Shaeda's buries itself in the rail, whilst both Doc's and Allesandra's fly well wide of their targets. The Wormwood's cannons bark out their reply, again hitting the other ship's rigging which drops the mainsail's spar crashingly on two sailors as the two ships' crews exchange musket fire.

Round 3:
Shaeda's third shot flies true, once again striking the sailor, this time in the waist. The sailor grabs his side, which is streaming blood, and yells at his compatriots to return fire, whilst Alessandra's shot flies wide. The man's shouts are cut off abruptly, as Doc's crossbow bolt slams into him, dropping him to the deck. For whatever reason- possibly the din of exploding musket fire, the other crew seem to fail to hear him, and continue reloading the cannons. Several of both ships' crews are struck by musket fire, and the screams of wounded from both ships fills the air, as Peppery finishes whatever preparations she was making, and releases the arms of the "catapult" she was fiddling with. A small oblong brass shape arcs across the gap separating the ships, trailing a thick smoke. The object strikes The Promise's Deck and immediately the whole of the ship's stern is enveloped in thick smoke. Anyone firing at, or from, the other ship has 50% miss chance because of (total) concealment.

Keep your rolls but say if you want to change actions because of what's happened this round.

Alessandra: Pretty much any mundane weapon you want is available.

Shaeda: You will have chances for ranged attacks. (see below)

As the ships draw slowly closer the atmosphere fills with the electric edge of adrenalin coursing through your veins. As the gap closes, Riaris thrusts a "spider" into Shaeda's hand, with a final gruff, and obscenities-ridden warning not to break it, and the captain has the slaughtered bodies of three pigs thrown overboard to attract sharks. The ships seem to close at once too slowly and much too fast, and within what seems like moments, the sailors on the other ship resolve into recognisable figures - four on the sterncastle, aiming cannons, and 2 on the aft deck. manning the wheel. Many more are forward on the main deck and the foredeck, ready to repel boarders. Meanwhile, on the Wormwood's deck, Peppery Longfathing is busying herself with another of her contraptions - some kind of catapult, as Riaris and the gunner's mate "Kipper" bellow instructions at the pirates manning the ship's small cannons. From the other ship - The Man's Promise" comes the sudden bark of cannons as the sailors aboard fire - much too soon, as it turns out, and the chain-shot falls short of its target. After several more minutes, Riaris seems to decide that the gap has closed sufficiently, and the Wormwood's twin cannons punch out their reply. The chain-shot launched in return flies true and mangles the rigging of The Promise's mainsail. The effect is immediate, as the gap begins to close faster, and the cannons of each ship sound off once-again. This time the Promise's shot damages the Wormwood's mizzen, whilst its own mainsail is damaged still further. As the gap closes to 200 ft., the Rahadoumi's sailors fire their muskets uselessly at the Wormwood and begin frantically reloading.

The ships are closing at 40ft. per round and are currently 200ft (musket range x 5 increments (-8 to hit); so there's five rounds of shooting (if you want to have a go at this range). Initiative will mostly not matter since combat has begun, and it'll just be alternating between them and you.

Anyone on a ship has partial cover (+2AC and +1 on Ref saves) while those on The Promise's stern castle (your target - where the wheel is) have cover (+4AC and +2 on Ref saves)

Let me know at what range you want to start firing (if you do).

Days 13 – 23

The following day The Wormwood is repaired and, early on your 14th day aboard, the sails are, once-again, raised and the ship makes for the open sea. As the following days pass it becomes clearer and clearer that the crew are becoming ever more polarised and the mood aboard ship descends into a tense, hostile atmosphere. The weather, meanwhile, begins to warm and, at the end of each day the crew are sweaty, tired and frequent small fights break out, both between the two opposing camps, and even within them. Plugg and Scourge begin to take an even more personal interest in you, soundly abusing you whenever the opportunity arises and, more days than not, you are sent to the bilges to sweat away in the oppressive heat. The ship seems to be heading north, skirting its way between small islands and reefs as it make its way closer to the shipping lanes that traverse the northern edge of The Shackles.

On your 22nd day aboard in the late afternoon when, for once, you are all working at your tasks above deck, heads down in the seemly endless monotony of a sailor’s life, there is a sudden shout from above. Looking up you see “Ratline” gesturing off towards the North-West as he yells the words that all aboard have been waiting to hear – ”Ship Ahoy!. Immediately the atmosphere on board changes as The Wormwood puts on extra sails, increasing its speed in order to intercept the other boat. As the evening wears on, the Wormwood gradually gains on its target and, by dawn, less than a mile separates the two ships. Weapons are brought up from below, including the two cannons and swivel guns from the middle-hold, and a brace of muskets, pistols, cutlases, short-swords, daggers and crossbows. As the two ships draw closer, the atmosphere becomes electric with pumping adrenalin.

When the Wormwood closes to within half-a-mile of the other ship, a Rahadoumi Merchant vessel with the name Man’s Promice painted on its bow, Riaris Krine summons you to the Wormwood’s poop deck (Area A2). Standing in front of you she grins. ”Well now you f#!~ing sorry excuses for bloody bilge-rats. Now I think we’ll f+**ing see what you’re really made of! You pipsqueak” she directs at Shaeda ”are in, f&%%ing charge. Try to make sure they don’t trip over their own f$+*ing feet! You lot are to take their f$~+ing wheel. Got it? Just take the wheel and guard their jollyboats. Kill anyone who tries to get away on one of them. Don’t move from the f%*%ing wheel until the fighting’s done, or you’ll have me to f@+!ing answer to… Oh yeah, as we get close its going to get cloudy – one of Peppery’s little surprises. Just stick to what I told you to do and you’ll be fine. Any f!%!ing questions?”

You can select a SINGLE weapon from the ship’s stores for the duration of the fight….

As the crew go about their various entertainments, you approach some of them, trying your best to befriend a few more. Whilst Diego seems to get along well with Barefoot (Now Helpful), Doc doesn't get anywhere with Badger, and Shaeda positively angers Tibbs, who rewards her interest by spitting in her face and telling her to "F+@# off" (Remains Hopstile). After Doc, disappointingly leaves Badger's company, however, Plugg approaches her, whispering something in her ear which makes her face glow red. After the vile man leaves her, she approaches Doc and leans down to whisper "Why that s~@@! He can't tell me who's me friends and who's me enemies! I'm on yer side and f%@% whatever Plugg thinks he can do to me! (Now Helpful). As all this is going on, Scourge is having words with Conchobar. Although it is difficult to figure out what effect these have on the dapper gnome, when Alessandra approaches him to talk, he seems a little standoffish. As the half-orc chats with him, however, he seems to rally. When the two part company he kisses her hand goodbye with a flourish... (Now indifferent)

DAY 12: Light winds and sunny skies

Attitudes have hardened and the crew are seeming more and more divided - two camps who eye each other uneasily throughout the working day and who quickly separate at meal time and in their entertainment (those "helpful" to you vs. those "hostile"). You can no longer influence crew, other than Conchobar who remains (mostly) indifferent.

PROPOSAL: Rather than play through the next week or so of game time, I would like to speed things up a little. If you are all amenable, I will summarise the next week of game time so that we can move the story along. What does everyone think? Do you want to have the opportunity to search the ship and interact with NPCs a bit more, or is it time to move on?

The attitudes are up to date - until tonight,... :)

Diego and Shaeda take careful aim at the looming shape of the ship, and in quick succession Shaeda, then Diego squeeze the trigger mechanism and the small boat is, once again, enveloped in a cloud of white smoke accompanied by two loud bangs. As the smoke clears in the slight breeze, it is clear that something has gone wrong with Diego's weapon. The projectile catches in the barrel and, rather than sending the spider flying towards The Wormwood all of the devices' force is flung back against him, sending him rocking back, and over the side of the jollyboat into the water, "spider" still in hand. Shaeda's shot, however, flies easily through the air towards the ship, trailing its strand of thin white rope behind it. As it nears the ship, the strange bundle of metal strips unfolds revealing four jointed legs. The spider-shaped object lands on the deck next to Doc and, almost immediately scuttles to the rail, which it wraps it's legs around in a tight embrace. Once attached, the device sends out a wailing whir as it draws the white strand attaching it to Shaeda's device tight.

Shooting Diego a dark look, Riaris turns to Shaeda. "F@*@ing well done. At least one of you s&%!s are good enough to hit a f~*%ing barn door! Now, see the f@&*ing hook there on the prow? Right, just attach the f*+#ing gun to it and then you're ready to climb over. F&!~ing clever hey? Now as fer you yer f*@*er" she shouts at Diego as he splutteringly climbs back into the small boat. "Yer on f!##ing bilge duty from now till the f#+@ing end of f@#!ing time! That spider you're holding better still f+@&ing work or Peppery'll be f%$$ing furious!

Once Diego is back aboard, he is directed to row the boat back to The Wormwood where he is greeted with a hail of laughter from the assembled crew.

Everyone can make rum and evening actions when ready.

Like their compatriots, by the time Doc and Alessandra reach the boat, they are covered in a thick layer of stinking rotten fruit and vegetables. Doc seems to have got the worse of it, as an apple thrown by Shaeda explodes on impact, releasing a writhing mess of grubs. The assembled crew laugh at the two climber's misfortune as Riaris once again brings the jollyboat closer. With yet more cursing she directs Shaeda and Diego to join her and rows back out. This time, she says that you don't have to climb to the ship. She merely wishes to see whether the two of you can do any better than the others with the "Spiders". Quickly she runs through the instructions, and directs you to see whether you have any more success.

Reminder:1 shot each, counts as a firearm (martial weapon proficiency), with a -2 modifier. Target AC: 2, no range penalty at this range, but try not to roll a 1 :)

You've got to be kidding!

The 'spider' feels strangely heavy and somewhat badly weighted, being crafted from hardwood and brass. being such a large target, however, The Wormwood should be difficult to miss. Alessandra, somewhat nervous about the strange device, shuts her eyes, aiming vaguely in the direction of the ship, whilst Doc takes careful aim. Together they pull the trigger mechanism, and immediately a cloud of white smoke envelopes the small boat, accompanied by a loud bang. The two projectiles sail upwards as Doc, unbalanced by the kickback and the gently rocking boat, stumbles backward onto his seat. The projectiles; oddly shaped shafts of metal connected by rivets and gears, trail strands of thin white rope behind them. Unfortunately, both fly wide of the towering shape of the ship, Alessandra's plops into the water well short of its target, whilst Doc's flies past the ship's figurehead.

As Shaeda stumbles off her bucket, engulfed in waves of laughter, Riaris turns to the two hapless figures in the boat with her. "What the stinking, f#~+ing, s##%ting f~#* was that? I've never seen such bloody piss-bloody-poor-bloody stinking poor f*$%ing excuses for f%!*ing 'pirates' as you to f%~%ing s!%+-brained f#+*ing f%!*s! Why, I should f+~#ing throw the two of you useless bastards over the f*$+ing side right f$+@ing now for the f@&!ing sharks! They'll f#++ing tell stories of this f+$%ing display from here to f!!+ing Tian Xia! Get in the stinking f%~#ing water NOW and get the f*+*ing spiders f~+!ing back! You won't be f*!$ing getting yer f$%~ing hands on them again, let me f~#&ing tell you!

Alessandra and Doc are abused until they climb into the water and swim down to retrieve the 'spiders'. Once back on the boat (and accompanied by the laughter of the whole crew - all of whom have gathered to laugh at the sorry display), Riaris hands you very normal grapples. "Since a f*&%ing simple, f~!!ing gun seems to f#%$ing complicated, lets f%$+ing see how you f#%~ing go with a f%&*ing grapple!"

Throwing a grapple requires a ranged attack, treating the grapple as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10 ft. The Wormwood's rail is AC 5, so the 'target' number is 5+6=11.

Alessandra and Doc: Make as many attack rolls as it takes to hit, then a number of climb checks till you get 8 all together.

Shaeda and Diego: 8 attack rolls (AC 12) tell me how many you hit.

After returning to the jollyboat and getting a tirade of abuse from Riaris, Diego and Shaeda once again attempt to shimmy their way up the rope as they are pelted with a fairly sickening array of half-rotten fruit and vegetables. The shower of filth slows Diego considerably, and by the time he reaches the deck he is dripping with foul-smelling slime. Shaeda, although glistening with a healthy coating herself, mounts the deck rather more quickly, drawing several hearty congratulations from the crew.

Riaris rows the jollyboat back to The Wormwood and shouts at Doc and Alessandra to join her. Once again the boat is rowed out and the foul-mouthed woman turns to you. "Right! Those two had t' use a good old fashioned bloody grapple. Fer you two I've got one've Peppery's bloody 'toys'. Take my advice and don't trust 'em too much, but this'un seems to be more reliable than most." with that she pulls a strange wooden and metal device from a sack next to her on the floor of the boat. The object resembles a blunderbuss, with a peculiar metal object sticking from its barrel. "Right! This f!+&er is what Peppery calls a bloody 'spider'. See this key? Right, give the bloody thing three turns to the left, then aim it at The Wormwood and fire it like yer would a s%*+ting musket. Just aim fer the deck or the rigging, don't worry about trying to aim fer the rail. Here," she says, passing the contraption to Doc, an then pulling a second from the sack and giving it to Alessandra. "...let's see how you f+~$ing do..."

Doc and Alessandra:
1 shot each, counts as a firearm (martial weapon proficiency), with a -2 modifier. Target AC: 2, no range penalty at this range, but try not to roll a 1 :)

Ok, so new rules,...

Just make a number of climb checks till you get 8 all together, also 8 attack rolls (AC 12) tell me how many you hit.

Sorry for delay - will post an alternative (quicker) method ASAP.

Once the jollyboat is 40ft. from The Wormwood Riaris throws a small anchor overboard and turns to Shaeda and Diego. "Right yer f%&$ers," she shouts, brandishing a grappling hoof with a hemp rope tied to its end. "This here's a f~&+ing grapple, some just call it a f&+~ing hook. Should be f$%~ing obvious what you f+#*ers have to f+$&ing do with it. - Yer throw the f@@+ing metal bit at the f*$+ing ship. If it f*!!ing holds yer tie the f#$#er to this boat and shimmy across as quick as yer f~@*ing can. This time they'll be throwing f$$~ing slops at yer but when its fer real it'll be f~%$ing arrows and f~!~ing bullets. Right. Who's going to go f!~$ing first"

Throwing a grapple requires a ranged attack, treating the grapple as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10 ft. The Wormwood's rail is AC 5, so the 'target' number is 5+6=11.

Once you have hit the boat you need to tie off the rope (move action), and then shimmy across (DC 15 Climb checks, 40 ft to climb). As you climb, Doc and Alessandra will be pelting you with rotten food. (improvised weapon, range 10, no damage but on a hit you need to make a DC 10 Ref save or fall into the water and swim back to the Jollyboat to try again. - Both of you can throw and climb at the same time, if you want.

Questions?

Hi everyone. I'm back and ready to continue! (huzzah!) I'll be able to post to the gameplay thread today after reminding myself where we're up to. Feel free to post in character, but it'd also be great if you could sign in here (the discussion thread) so that I can see if everyone's been patient enough to stick around.

After Doc's encouraging words, Sams seems a little more affable,... she gives a nervous look towards the officers but smiles in response to his talk, leaning in to whisper " He might be a little man, but the cat's pretty big. Take my advice and keep that kind've talk quiet or it'll be worse than that. A keelhaul's nothing to make light of, no matter the size of the man pulling the rope."

When Alessandra approaches the short dandy, Conchobar, he tilts his head back, eyeing the large half-orc warily, but with some concern. "I don't know what you mean madaaam." he stiffly retorts, "Your halfling friend is no match for Conchobar Turlach Shortstone! Why, should he have wanted a dalliance with such a plain wench, Conchobar would have bedded her within an hour of setting eyes on her. Why the very thought! That she would choose to reject he! But Conchobar, he is not one to let such an insult spoil a friendship! No! a friendship we shall have. But be it known my buxom half-orc lass, that you yourself, despite your unfortunate ancestry, have intrigued Conchobar! Why yes! Here, let me kiss your hand! A yes, hmmm... an interesting complexion, but possibly,... Yes! A new experience perhaps? But for now my dear, I must depart. No, don't cry! Conchobar must sleep after all, to gather his strength to climb the mountain of passion!"

With that the gnome departs, shooting nervous glances back towards Allesandra.

DAY 11 - Calm and sunny with no wind

This morning, when the crew gather on the deck, in addition to Scourge and Plugg, stands Riaris Krine, The Wormwood's master gunner. Krine's skin is darkened from countless days beneath the sun, and her nose has the appearance from being broken several times over. Her left leg has been replaced below the knee by a brightly polished but heavily dinted brass mechanical prosthesis consisting of several interlocking gears and strange-looking levers and pinwheels. When you emerge from below-decks, Riaris monitions you over to her and begins to speak as the rest of the crew are given their tasks for the day. Barking orders peppered with foul language that puts even Rosie Cusswell's ripe language to shame, Riaris has you prepare then launch the jollyboat. As it sits waiting in the water below she turns to you. "Right ye bloody worthless bloody poor blooody excuses fer bloody f%^&ing sailors," she yells "since the cr%^#ing, stinking ship is f^&*ed for the f$%^*ing time being, it's time to get you c&$*#ing lubbers to learn how to board a f%*&ing boat. I'll be taking two of you f(^&#ing a$$#*^#s out and showing you how to use a F&$@ing grapple and maybe even a f&*%ing spider. The other two will stay f$^%ing put and try to f&*^ing stop you. Fist, I think the sh&%ing "boy" and the cr^&ing halfling! You two (no i'm not f&^%ing interested in your f^&$ing name) get down into the cr^$@ing boat right f^&%ing now!"

As Diego and Shaeda climb down to the boat she turns to Alessandra and Doc. "Right you two f$*&^ers. See those two buckets of f^&*ing, sh*$ing, stinking slop? Right. When yer friends are tryin' to get on the f^$@ing boat you're to pelt them with it. Got it?... F%^$ing good!"

With that she descends into the jollyboat to join Diego and Shaeda, directing them to row the boat some distance from The Wormwood with yet more cursing.

As the day draws to a close you're all tired, but the ship is looking much better. The crew seem to think that you'll be staying put tomorrow as more needs to be done, but the worst of the damage has been repaired. That evening, as you eat the simple fish stew that Fishguts and Doc have once again prepared, the crew's spirits seem to have lifted considerably. As you drink your rum rations, you notice that Scourge and Plugg are, once again, making the rounds... this time seeming to spend time berating Sams Toppin and Giffer Tibbs. Although Giffer seemed to warm somewhat to Shaeda earlier in the day, Plugg's threats seem to have soured him to you once again. Sams, who was acting rather friendly, now places some distance between himself and any of you, seemingly unwilling to face Scourge's wrath.

Rum rations as normal and evening actions, except for Shaeda and Diego who are,... otherwise engaged.

As evening approaches The Wormwood slowly limps into a sheltered bay as the crew, exhausted from their labours, release a tired cheer, grateful for the chance to rest after having worked for so long. Both Doc and Diego are awakened rudely by Scourge, by means of a heavy blow from a knotted length of rope (1NL which heals overnight), forcing them to get back to work with the promise of a beating come morning. As the anchor drops into the water, sailors slump tiredly where they stand, eating their evening meal without rum rations in overworked silence before slipping off to their hammocks....

Day 10,... Calm, but overcast.

In the morning, after being allowed to sleep for a little longer than normal, you are awakened by the ship's bell. Still tired, you make your way to the deck, which is strewn with debris from the storm. Plugg singles out several sailors, including Sandra, Tilly, Maheem, Aretta, Doc and Diego for 4 lashes each for falling asleep at their posts and Scourge delivers the punishment tiredly, the crew seeming to take little pleasure in the show. (Doc: 10 NL, Diego 5 NL)

After the punishments are handed down you are given your tasks for the day. Doc is once again cooking with Fishguts, who mercifully, remains sober whilst the rest of the crew are pu to work repairing the damage to the ship.

Doc: DC 10 Profession (cook) or Int
Everyone else: Repairs: DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dex
You can take 10 and take daytime actions as normal

Can we do any influencing during this, or are we totally consumed with sailing the ship?

No, you're very busy all night.

DAY 9,... Unrelenting Rain

The night passes in a blur as the crew fight the storm. Several times you think that the ship is doomed as the it is tossed between great waves and you are subjected to beating, driving rain and howling winds which seem to both sap your energy and threaten to blow you from the rigging. Whilst you all manage your tasks easily enough, by the time the light of dawn begins to light the horizon, and the storm slackens into a driving rain that feels like it will never let up, the ship is looking in much worse shape than before the storm struck. The sails are ripped and water floods even the lower decks. One of the spars is split and the rigging hangs limply from the ship's side. Even now, with the work of a full day and night behind you, Scourge and Plugg prowl the decks, shouting for crew to remain at their stations "Get back to work you laggards! There's a way to go yet till ye get t' cuddle up together! Anyone who thinks they can take a quick nap'll be feeling the cat tonight!" . It seems that the captain wants to reach safe harbour so that repairs can be undertaken... Despite your tiredness you must keep working for a while yet...

Alessandra: Hauling rope and knot work with Shaeda and Giffer Tibbs... DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Strength, DC 20 or Fatigued
Shaeda: Hauling rope and knot work with Alessandra and Giffer Tibbs... DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Strength, DC 20 or Fatigued
Diego: Repairs with Sandra and Jack... DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dexterity, DC 18 Con or Exhausted (fall asleep at work)
Doc: Cooking with Fishguts... Profession (cook) or Int, DC 18 Con or Exhausted (fall asleep at work)

Sorry for the delay everyone - Big seminar presentation on Friday that took up LOTS of time and stress.

Several of the crew cluster around and join in slapping Alessandra on the back for her quick work. Almost immediately, however, Scourge approaches with a bellow. "This storm aint slekening swabs! Get back to yer posts and stop wastin time. As fer you Scrimshaw, bloody watch yer step from now on. Get to yer bloody jobs NOW!"

Shaeda: Line work - DC 10 Profession (sailor) AND DC 10 Con or fatigued
Doc: Rigging repair - DC 10 Climb AND DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dex
Diego: Upper rigging work - DC 10 Climb AND DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dex
Alessandra: Rope work - DC 10 Profession (sailor) or Dex

[b]ALL: DC 14 Con or fatigued, exhausted (fall asleep at work) if already fatigued.

Jack finally manages to reach the ship gapping and spluttering as he hauls himself over the rail. As he does so he is greeted by a cheer from the sailors who are close enough to see what has happened, but they (and you) only have a moment to celebrate before being called back to battling with the storm.

you will have to work through the night, but for now,.... LEVEL!

As you are lashed with rain and wind Jack, despite being tossed around by the waves, manages to make his way some way back towards the ship....

one more roll! Anyone can make it for him. DC20 with +15 modifier

As Alessandra does her best to pull Scrimshaw back to the boat Sandra continues past Rogar to join her at the rope, joined almost immediately by Aretta. Both grab hold of the rope and join in hauling Jack...

(both have Str 13 so Jack's Swim is +7 so rolls are now at +7+4+2+2 = +15).

I'll let one of you guys take his next roll... first in, best dressed.

Alessandra rolls her eyes at Shaeda's remarks "I may not be much of a sailor, but I'm not *********** stupid" she snarls at the halfling.

Grabbing a rope, she hurls one end toward Jack, making sure to secure the other end

He's 20ft. away, and the range increment is 10ft, so you're at -2 to hit... your result ends up being 13 not 15. This is, however, good enough...

The rope sails out into the storm, passing over Jack as he flounders in the water and landing within reach. The boy frantically reaches for it and manages to grab hold, using it to begin pulling himself back towards The Wormwood. As Rogar runs to the jollyboat, Sandra runs up. "We won't be able to get the boat down in this storm" she shouts, "and even if we did you'd like as not get washed away. Bast to help with the rope!"

OK, so the way this works is that Jack has to make three consecutive swim checks (he just made 1) within 12 rounds (11 to go) or be swept away. He adds twice the combined strength modifiers of anyone hauling the rope (up to three people) to his roll. If he fails his roll he can't keep hold of the rope and gets washed further away and you have to re-throw it.

"I've seen excited sailors toss the whole thing overboard before."

in the right context that sounds filthy.

The whole crew work ceaselessly to try to keep the ship under control, with Captain Harrigan standing calm on the deck as he is lashed with wind and rain, and the ship lurches alarmingly from the crest of waves which wash over the deck. As the day draws to a close the storm shows no sign of abating and you are bound to be required to continue to work onwards into the night. As evening draws in, crew are rotated down to the deck to grab a simple meal of ship's biscuit - a stale and unpleasant brick of thrice-baked flour water and salt which is kept in the galley as emergency supplies.

Finally your turn to descend to the deck arrives and, bedraggled and tired, you begin to make your way down the rigging as a sudden crack of thunder, accompanied by a huge wave, rocks the ship.

Hey guys,

I've had a PM from Bellara, and she should be back in the game soon. I want to give her a little while to post but will update tonight if she hasn't posted by then.

This section of the adventure can get a bit,... stale. Don't worry, there are changes to come!

Questions:

Alessandra:

You can aid another as a daytime action, so you can either do that or search the bilge water. I've added this to "Daytime Actions" in the Campaign Info tab. (you suffer a -2 penalty to your own tasks to aid another).

You each have a footlocker, although you'll need to buy a lock if you want it locked.

Doc:

Addiction: If you don't have a drink for a day you have to make a DC 5 Fort save or be at -2 Str and -2 Con, and you can't recover from the penalty to Will naturally. If you make three consecutive saves (i.e. don't drink for three consecutive days AND make the save) you are no longer addicted.

PS: Need a Con check (DC 10) and Nighttime actions.

PPS: Sorry for missing out Barefoot. He is "Friendly"

EVERYONE:
Should have mentioned.... The gear you get back does not include cash or precious jewellery (worth more than 20gp).

And,.. see my reply to Alessandra (above) re. storage.

Will post successes etc. as soon as I can.

DAY 7: Windy with intermittent showers

Shaeda & Alessandra: Bilges with Sandra (DC 12 Str & DC 10 Con or fatigued)

Diego: Ratcatching with Cog (DC 10 Stealth, Survival or Dex)

Bellara: Rigging repair by herself (DC 10 Profession or Dex)

Doc: Turtle catching, however, Fishguts is drunk! – you need to both cook and catch turtles with a -4 modifier! If you do anything else (daytime actions including work diligently) you automatically fail!
Cooking: (DC 10 Profession: cook or Int)
Turtle catching: (DC10 Profession: fisherman or Survival)
AND DC 10 Con save or fatigued)

Everyone can take daytime and evening actions.

Whoa! Did I interpret we got our gear back, but we should be discrete weapon wise? Can we wear armor?

Yes (as long as Alessandra gives over the purse. - Armour is OK, but could cause issues if you fall in the water or anything...

The day passes easily enough for most of you, though Shaeda, once again stuck in the bilges, finishes the day both exhausted, and dreading another day in the stinking hole tomorrow, although she does manage to steal a few moments to chat with Jack, finding the lad both likeable and friendly (Jack now helpful). As a consequence she heads below-decks straight after the food is served, for an early night. During the day, however, Alessandra manages to make her way to the Quatermaster's store where she finds Grok idly organising the ship's stores. in orcish "We got all sort've stuff lass. I'll tell yer what, after yer stuck it t' scourge last night i'll give you an' yer friends all the gear ye came in with, if yer give me that purse yer won. Just make sure yer don't carry weapons around on deck or ye'll earn herself a beatin' - knives is probably alright up to a point, but nothin' bigger, yer hear?"

the store has pretty standard stuff in it, at normal prices. I don't want to write out a complete list, but you can ask for specifics and i'll let you know if they're available.

That evening, after spending the day chatting amiably with Fishguts (now friendly) Doc descends into a drunken, rowdy state, stumbling around the deck and drawing a number of laughs and nudges. Weaving his way towards Maheem, he begins by accidentally jostling the large Rhadoumi, and makes matters worse by calling the big man 'Marian' by accident. With a scowl the man simply pushes past and goes to join Jape, where they both sit shooting evil looks at Doc. (Maheem is hostile, see campaign info tab for addiction rules). As Doc makes a fool of himself, Alessandra wanders over to Cog who greets her with a gleeful smile. "Good show last night lass, when I fought the brute he put me on me arse right quick! Not that I didn't hurt him a bit myself though! Pitty yer didn't follow through an put him out've it though. You should hear it when he squeals. Sounds like a stuck pig!" The conversation continues, with Cog making all sorts of nasty comments about Owlbear, which reminds you of nothing so much as the bullies back on the streets - the kind who'd knife even those who gave up without a fight, just for the fun of it. (Cog helpful)

Tomorrow's jobs to follow.

No other NPCs here to influence.

Any chance I can help Doc with fishing? If so:

You can't help Doc, but Jack's in the Bilges with you.

Following the fight Bellara, complaining of an upset stomach retires belowdecks. The rest of the crew eventually follow,...

DAY 6 - Overcast and windy

Once again the now-familier routine of the day begins with the crew lining up on the deck to be given their instructions for the day. Scourge seems to be in a foul mood after last night and immediately singles out Alessandra to work in the bilges, shouting at both Shaeda and Jack Scrimshaw to join her. Meanwhile, Diego is given the unenviable task of rat-catching by himself belowdecks and Bellara, despite her sick-looking complexion, is set to Line work in the high rigging with Maheem. When Doc heads to the galley Fishguts greets him with a grin. "Today yer'll be catchin' fish. You done much fish in' before? Grab a net from the wall there and head to the bow. You should be able to get a few up there."

Shaeda, Alessandra:
DC 12 Str & DC 10 Con or fatigued

Diego:
DC 10 Stealth, Survival or Dex

Bell:
DC 10 Profession: Sailor or Dex & DC 10 Con or fatigued

Doc:
DC 10 Profession: Fisherman or Survival

You can all take daytime and evening actions as well.