Nivian Mazu's page

I am sorry to hear that.
Extend my condolences to your regular group.

Oh, that sounds bad - What kind of complications?
I mean, should they have noticed the first time he was there?
Plus so serious he may need to call it quits?
I'm worried for him, now.

Aye, as said, no hurries, at all. But after a longer break, a quick check makes sense.
Ioney seemed to look forward to continuing, but the only other game I share with him also had to take a break recently.

I believe I did a quick pass on Helgash a while ago and I think I haven't seen other posts from him, not 100% sure though, so we may need one more person...

right now I believe our frontline would be slightly...lacking, but my comrades may correct me on that.

I think at this point it may be time for a roll call.

I'm still here, and still very much interested in proceeding.

"I think that's trouble.", Nivian responds, "I was already worried when the idea was to sell the ship in a larger harbor. But if that had been the case, he'd be stuck in the harbor until the Captain would have picked him up, and there was a chance he'd part ways with us with no trouble. If he intends to keep the ship, however, I am almost certain he will not want to keep us on his payroll."
She makes sure nobody else is listening on on them, with only close allies close by: "We are short-staffed as is. Just enough to keep this ship going. Any less and there's trouble. That means he won't act until we get close to the Bloodcove, but we face the same issue...if we mutiny, even successful, without them and their cronies we'd have to be lucky to make it to any port, winds willing. I think for now, we'll lay low a bit longer, try and get closer to our destination. Then we'll act."

For the record, Nivian could be convinced either way, but she plans on having Helgash spike some spicy meals with the Oil of Taggit for Plugg, Scourge and 2 of their closest allies, and hope at least one of them fails their saves, then get surprise on them. Technically, we could try that now, but I think we are short both a player and a level for better chances of success..

"You're an adherent of Sun Wukong? Now that's a troublemaker. I like you already. Don't stay too sober, we may need his favor before we're through with this mess-", Nivian acknowledges the additional information Yar provides with a grin.

"Aye, here's hoping we watch nobody kill anybody in the near future. We may not have the luxury of waiting until we arrive at the port we're headed towards, but lets keep our heads low and see how things go. If things go from bad to worse, I may have an idea on how to proceed, but we should talk on that in private, later. Expect to get the shittiest shifts in the worst jobs, and punishment for failure with glee on their part. But you're alive, which is more than can be said for a lot of the others who were on the 'Man's Promise'. Here's hoping it stays that way.", Nivian adds, then waves Sebastion over to also say his welcomes to their new companion.

With Helgash having gone missing/AWOL at the beginning of February, I'll pick that up. Now that we know GM has not run out on us, we may as well get in some RP and keep things active until such time as we proceed.

Nivian raises an eyebrow when one of the new converts speaks up to her. She was used to being somewhat memorable to people, with her blue skin, but made no effort the remember all the people she met in passing. But his story did ring a bell: "Ah...I do remember. You got the situation all wrong, my friend. It was not a beating they were after, but something more carnal in nature. And I WAS trying to lure them to the alley behind that warehouse, where a few other local gals that had business with them were waiting, armed and ready. With your "rescue", I had little reason to hang around and run into a dead-end."
She smirks - but in a friendly way: "But I very much do appreciate the good intent behind your action. Couldn't have known, and if things were as they seemed, you'd very well could have saved me from a bad fate. I think we had no chance to introduce each other, then. I'm Nivian. This here's Ioney, and that over there Sebastion. There's some others, like Sandara or the cooks mate, Helgash, but you'll meet them in due time. I'm afraid we're not the favorites of our commanding officers, but if you'd prefer sticking to us over trying to do things alone, you are welcome to hang out with us. As said, fair warning, but then, we did nothing to bring their anger on us, so there's a good chance you'd not fare any better by not associating with us. But that's your choice."
She leans forward and offers the Halfling a hand to help him up - or to visibly reject her in a show to Pluggs cronies.

All that's been said.
Sorry to hear that happened, but glad to hear it's not worse...wrecking a bike could just as easily end with organ donation, so at least nothing worse happened :)

Looking forward to reading from him, whenever he feels well enough(as said, no rush there).

Thank you, Galahad. Here's hoping there's nothing serious.

If we are going to make a move on them, the Oil may shift things in our favor. I think both Plugg and Scourge have a decent chance to make the save, but if either one fails, that's a huge win, and up to 2 of their cronies may also sit the fight out.

That's assuming our cooks mate returns to spike some meals while Ambrose is drunk.

"Thank you! I mean it. Report it stolen a day after we part ways, wouldn't want this to cause any trouble for you.", she hugs the Half-Orc back.
"If we ever meet again, I won't forget this. Fair winds and calm seas to you, Grok."

As she gathers her things, she quickly marks the vials "Healing", but keeps them hidden all the same as she transfers over to the Man's Promise.

Not openly. But I may ask for something strong and deadly that gives me an easy way out if I find myself locked up as a toy to be used.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20 (or bluff, or whatever else seems relevant)

"Grok...I had bad experiences in the past. I spent years as a prisoner on a ship before, as novelty, and....to satisfy the urges of my captor. I know neither Plugg nor Scourge think highly of me - or the others who were forced on board with me - and to be honest, I am afraid they did not choose us for their crew with our best interest in mind. I do not want to be locked up as a toy again. Do you have anything that could give me, or others with me, a swift and honorable death? I'd prefer to die proud over living as a slave."

Nivian raises her eyebrow when the picks are announced. Scourges smile did nothing to alleviate her concerns.
With the crew already short-handed as it was, they would not act immediately, but she had no doubt that before they would arrive at their destination, something sinister would go down.
She briefly considers her options while packing up all her belongings, then visits Cut Throat Grok for a last time, briefly browsing the wares looking for something that could be used as a poison, drug, or sedative.
Basically looking for something that could inflict "sickened" or worse on opposition during a possible mutiny if our cooks mate slips it into meals. No high hopes for Grok to carry something suitable, but Nivian will remain on the lookout.

Weaklings..., Nivian thinks to herself as the prisoners are paraded.

Alas, not that they had captured a fully intact ship, as well as plenty of plunder, it seemed likely that they would head to a port.
Considering the hostile work environment, that was good news, as knowing where she was, or even just being near a settled coast was giving her options.
But for now, she had to play along a little longer.
She partook in the festivities that ensued, but made certain to stay somewhat sober - she did not trust Scourge, Plugg, or their cronies - so she would definitely not let her guard down while the issue with them remained unresolved. They had made it abundantly clear that they were fine breaking or bending rules - and going out of their way - to cause trouble for the group Nivian considered her allies.
But for now, she saw no option to strike against them. So Nivian waited.

Hum, from context I gather that's some kind of law school?
Not an actual bar?
If so, good job and best of luck.

For the record, the officer is still affected by Misfortune, so he has to roll that D20 twice and use the worse result - obviously disregard if he failed on the first roll(as then it won't make a difference), but just wanted to mention that I kept the penalty going for all affected...

Nivian raises her Crossbow and fires a bolt at the officer, but it flies past, embedding itself in the sideboat instead.
Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
She continues singing while fumbling around for a new bolt, clearly not entirely focused on the combat around her.

5-foot step, Standard to attack, move to cackle

I _do_ try and be more regular, yeah, but it's still all a bit irregular :)
Sorry for any hold-ups on my part.(you can bot via misfortune+cackle if I fail to post in time-)

Nivian focuses her attention on the next most dangerous i.e. strongest/healthiest-looking) opponent, attempting to extend her misfortune to them while prolonging it for those affected.

Misfortune for one of the Sailors as Standard, extend duration as move action.

Thank you, as said, i simply assumed mage Armor was my action last Turn when I was "on hold" for not being here.
That said, if Sebastian goes last and ioney first, should not both of them be up? Or will something happen on the new round, before the enemies get to act again? Just asking because otherwise it may be more streamlined to not wait sequentially :-)

Expecting the officer to be trouble, Nivian targets him with her misfortune, starting to sing as she does so.
DC 15 Will vs Misfortune Hex on Officer, Cackle to extend duration if it takes hold.(otherwise will use move action to tactically reposition).

Thanks a lot! :)

(Also, I just noticed that for some reason the mage armor I have prepped is not active. I would certainly have activated that during the approach, once ranged weapons started raining projectiles on the deck. But alas, I can have done it last round - it lasts 2 hours so I should be good, but would much prefer to have it over wasting the spell slot :D

Hej, just to let you know: My most recent(and likely final) little one arrived a few days ago - been spending most of the last few days either in the hospital or taking care of the other young-ones.
Everybody is healthy and well, and today brought him home from the hospital. There's a few more errands to run with bureaucracy(registration of birth, naming, etc) and with work (for time off etc), but overall, I should be able to return to normal posting soon. I'll try and get caught up asap and get a post up where I'm up.

Nivian wills Misfortune on her attacker, then starts a deep-throated sing-sang that will extend his bad luck.
Standard action that does not provoke, move action to extend duration +1 round. DC 15 Will Save or he rolls all D20's twice and uses worse result.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 19 galore...

And there we have some prisoners.
*winks at Yar*
(wasn't necessary to hit Sebastion that hard, though...)

In position, assuming the Sailor did attempt to attack her, she turns and presents her hands, blowing what first seems to be sand into a colorful spread hopefully knocking some of them out.

Move to provoke as per Carth post, then cast Color Spray, should hit all except the one above Helgash. DC 15 Will.
If he does NOT take his AoO, I will cast defensively.
Cast defensively if needed DC 17: 1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 2 + 4 = 18
Basically hoping he has no Combat Reflexes and reflexively wastes his AoO - but even if he knows I'm a caster from last round and holds his attack it seems I'm good.

Apologies, got some follow-up to Covid and it got worse before it got better - been feeling awful the last week and crawled back into my hole.

Nivian moves up behind the others, and seeing the grievious blow Sebastion took, decides to provide some healing to him.
CLW Sebastion: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
No good angle to color spray without hitting you guys, and if using misfortune I want to follow up with Cackle - so this round moving and healing.

Hey, belated merry christmas.
I was knocked into isolation when I got Covid just prior to christmas proper.
Been in the bedroom ever since. Been having my computer, but felt like shyte. Good enough now to check in if not fully recovered. I expect to post in gameplay over the next day or two.
Sorry for any holdups, I think I was up here in Init.

*points at Yar*
Who is that stowaway? Shall we keelhaul him?

J/K.
To be honest, I think the smoothest and easiest entrance into the campaign would be if you are on the ship we are about to raid.
Since we were press-ganged, there's a high chance the survivors of the battle get a chance to decide between becoming pirates or becoming shark food.
Just opt for the former, and we'll gladly on-board you, considering we've recently run into the same problem of finding ourselves on the ship involuntarily.

Sebastion(and others):

HPs - max at 1st and 2nd level. After that you can opt for average rounded up or roll. If you roll low you can take average rounded down instead (essentially you take a 1 hp hit for the chance to get a high roll).

No roll this time.

Level-Up-Summary:

+8 HP(6 class, 1 con, 1 FCB)
+1 BaB
+1 Will

Hex: Cackle(reflavored as singing).
+1 spell/day: Level 0, Level 1
New spells known: Sow Thought, Ray of Enfeeblement

Skills:
+1 Profession(Sailor)
+1 Perform(Sing)

+1 Heal
+2 Intimidate
+1 Perception
+1 Knowledge(Arcana)
+1 UMD

Carth
No new stuff, but better derived stats(+4 HP, +1 Bab, +1 Will...)

Nice. I had some trouble accessing the page in the last couple days, but I'll try and post/level over the weekend.

"You searched them for weapons. How come someone had a dagger?"
Nivian points out the weapon, "That, and the fact everybody is alive when there was a clear opportunity to kill, stinks of a setup."
Her facial features harden:"After the recent event on deck, I don't think the Captain will look kindly on this. No doubt it will be bad for us. But if you are under scrutiny, do you think Plugg will stand up for you or throw you under the wheels when it's clear one of you was involved in setting all of this up?"

She had not been directly antagonistic towards any of the officers, trying to keep a low profile until such time as they reached a port - or at least inhabited islands. But the lines seemed drawn, and there was much at stake here.

To be clear, I am playing on this part of your narrative: 'The next morning, the punishment hour is moved up to first thing before jobs are assigned. Captain Harrigan is in a foul mood, and it is obvious that he is almost as mad at Scourge as he is at the rest of you. Instead of Plugg announcing punishments as usual, Harrigan does it himself (something that does not sit well with Plugg).' - in the hopes that Scourge decides not to test the Captains patience by bringing the incident up/blaming Sebastion. We already do have someone in the Sweatbox and I doubt it's comfortable for multiple people, so I'd rather not have a keelhauling scheduled.

Nivian will give a short nod to Ioney, then follow along towards the bilges as well:"Has there been an accident?"

Also, just for reference to an earlier post: this was the event I had hoped was replaced with the above-deck situation that cost us Onnello. :P At least Sebastion Fourthirty managed to survive and turn it around.

We get that. I understand that - no control over fate and all that.
But you don't HAVE to drive the point home.
I am unhappy about his sudden exit as well, but an amiable solution for the characters exit is always preferable.
Forcing him to die in an anti-climactic way out of spite seems undesirable, but I understand the surprise exit also does not warrant any heroics.

Not looking for a discussion, I trust you will handle it in a fitting way.
Just saying that most of us are pretty aware of our situation, for the time being. And Fiat versus Agency is a conflict I think is best avoided, in most tables. (as said, not meant in a confrontational way - it's hard to transmit 'tone' in a written statement.)

It seems that way.
I could see the situation developing that in the near future, Scourge or Plugg make an example out of him - letting him go down fighting and him possibly inflicting some serious wound on whoever fights against him.
His death, then, would be the straw that breaks the camels back and incites us to mutiny.

To be clear, I liked the character and would like to have him around as NPC, but if the player wants the "exit by death"-scenario...

When you are in campaign overview and "edit campaign", below the information boxes, there's a list of players to the left, and characters to the right. You'll want to remove the checkmark for Robert Henry, and move Onnello over to NPC side.
@Onnello: Usually I'm for player agency - if a player wants to exit by dying, sure thing...but in this case it would indeed have been complicated - Nivian would have felt compelled to jump in after you - not willing to simply let you drown(as in, at least go down fighting) - I was considering options on why she would or could not. So I'm torn, but for me, this makes things easier.

Nivian considers fleeing the ship...but the same thing that held her here for the past 2 weeks remains true: They were on the high sea, cruising for potential prey - she had no idea where exactly they were, or where she could head from here.
Depending on how things progressed from here, she realizes she might have to take her chances, regardless, but for now, she walked up and received her lashes. She cried out in pain, not seeing much value in pretending it didn't hurt and antagonizing her punisher further by being spiteful.

That day, she simply kept her head low, working diligently, and trying to easy Onnellos suffering, bringing some water or cooling his head with wet rope, if allowed - Harrigan wanted to punish him, but if the goal were to kill, there would've been a keelhauling.

At Level 5, it's 3d6 - or 10.5 points of healing.
Versus a cure serious wounds of 3d8+5, or 18.5 points of healing.
At Level 3, its 7 points from channel or 12 from CMW.
At Level 7, it'S 14 from channel or 25 from CSW.
(If you want to be a dedicated Healer, pick up the Healing Domain and at Level 6+ the healing spells are all empowered for free pushing them further ahead)

Getting Selective Channel, Purifying Channel, and Swift Channel is a 3-Feat Investment, the Phylactery for Channeling takes the Headband Slot - so in most games you want the extra wisdom and increase that price by 1.5 for an additional ability.
Thats 11k or ~16k gold that you do not have in other items.(with a WBL of 46k at Level 9).
You also only get it 3+Cha times, so if you burn through that with Swift Channels, you have to get Extra Channel(we're at 4+ Feats now) and/or focus Charisma to even get enough uses for it to be worthwhile(with one extra channel and 20 CHA you get 10 uses, or 5 swift uses per day - if you double-dip with swift and standard to match up single-target spells, that's 3 rounds of healing).

Look, of COURSE you can make it work, if you dedicate yourself entirely to it. But at that point, you have to wonder why you are playing a Cleric and didn't go for an Oradin with Life-Link and swift action lay-on-hands that does the same thing essentially AND contributes in combat.

Everybody has their own style, and by all means, you do your healer clerics the way you prefer. I am just saying in absolute terms, you have a LOT of investment going there, basically spending most of your Feats and WBL to get it to work, only for the Heal spell to roll around shortly and vastly outperform anything channel could offer.

So I am not convinced that Channeling is as big a selling point as you present it, considering that it would lock the new person into a very specific build.

@Frontliner going down because the healer had to choose one target: If the healer is tanky, he can often take a place up front, and too many frontliners disregard the existance of "Withdraw" and try for a glorious last-ditch effort because withdraw is more boring than a full attack. That said, if both frontliners in a 4 person party are so low they are in danger of being felled, then the stats and composition may need review - one glass cannon or DPS is fine, but at least one frontliner should have SOME staying power(via high AC, self-healing, DR, spell buffs, ...) - in that case the tank gets the heal, and the DPS temporarily withdraws and regroups.

@Ioney: I am not trying to present this as absolute truth. I LOVE niche builds, too, and will often do things or try builds that defy common tropes.
What I do not like is playing "Band-Aid" the cleric that has to be dedicated healer and spend all day patching people up. Or forcing people into that role, because someone insists that in-combat healing is needed beyond what the spell lists already provide.
I pointed out that I will have access to various methods of healing, via spells, hex, and conduit Feat, and will be able to provide - not as much as a dedicated healer, but decently. And a lack of Channeling was pointed out as a huge flaw with that statement.
I contested that statement, and my opinion stands that Channeling as in-Combat Healing is below par for whats needed - except possibly if you really dedicate yourself to that role, in which case there ARE better options for dedicated healer. What Channel excels at in my opinion is topping the party up to full HP between encounters, without any other resources spent.
But by no means am I trying to tell others their opinion is wrong, but if "you don't have channel" is presented as a shortcoming of me providing healing, then I get to contest that. I admitted to several things I would do worse - accessibility of spells first and foremost, some missing from spell list etc... - but lacking channel as in-combat healing is not one a point I will let stand uncontested.
And, more importantly, not a point I would force on any replacement.
(which would be the logical consequence of accepting the provision of in-combat Channel healing as necessity).

The general consensus is that it's mostly a waste of action economy.

If someone is in critical need of healing, then the limited healing provided by a channel will not be enough. (Thats 5d6 at Level 9, or ~18 points average...pretty much anything will do more than that in a single hit - and at level 11 for clerics(or 13 for witches) Heal is available, which is a far superior single-target tank refresher)).

Pretty much it's only decent in-combat if the enemy spreads chip damage all around the party. Otherwise spells(wether buffs or else) or direct contribution(via weaponry) will often be superior - unless the wounds subsystem is used, there is hardly a need to keep everybody topped off healthwise.
So considering that in a typical 4-5 person party 2-3 will likely attempt to avoid frontline and damage the total effect diminishes.

Same thing for bursting undead - most damaging spells provide double the scaling of channel, and some specifically target undead to do even more damage to them. It's great if you have nothing else available, but if you know you will likely face undead there are vastly superior options.(plus those which REALLY matter usually have resistance which further reduces the damage)

Don't get me wrong, I love channel. In another game, I even picked up the Blossoming Light Archetype to get even more channeling.
I just don't share your point of view regarding in-combat efficiency compared to the other options a cleric has.

Only some - I can for example remove blindness/deafness, and of course I get the break enchantment and remove curse stuff as most arcane casters(albeit at the lower level, 3) and some other stuff.
No Restoration, unfortunately, though. Some status removal is exclusive to clerics.
(I do get Heal, though, so via that I can status remove - but only at Level 13+)
I can transfer afflictions, but the questions is if that is desirable.
The main counter-point is that I have no "free access", I need to actually learn the spells in my familiar, so if a specific spell is needed, we'd need a level-up or a scroll so that I can "copy" it.

I did not mean to imply a cleric is only cure spells, only that healing should not be a primary concern for a replacement. It's good IF the replacement can heal or status remove, but a warpriest, shaman, or inquisitor could also be decent matches.

Your point regarding Channeling, I don't really understand - beside very specific circumstances, that's simply out-of-combat healing. (which is of limited need)
Or a burst damage against undead. (which can be provided more efficiently in other forms).

I did go on to suggest one more person, I just attempted to point out that I can take on some of the needs mentioned, so that whoever comes in as replacement has some "wiggle room" when it comes to needs.
To be clear, there is no such thing as "too much healing", certainly. Just meant to be clear that it will not be a critical shortage we face, either.

I am in PM contact with Onnello, and understand his reasoning. I'll let it go here, and will reply to him later in PM.

So just focusing on our situation:
For what it's worth, at level 4 Nivian picks up the healing hex, and probably at Level 9 Healers Hands - so in the long run, she will be a decent enough healer.

I would also switch to the alternate path fetching Natures Soul/Animal Ally/Boon Companion - so eventually there's be another frontliner available, too.

So I can pick up some of that slack, but it's all "in the long run" - we could probably function between the 4 of us, but it will be rough. Having one more person would be welcome.
I think an Aquatic Druid or Kraken Caller would be a nice fit - some melee, a decent spell list that can share some healing load(and has quite some utility for the sea) - but I concur that Helgash can pick up the rogue stuff and a fifth person would be better in the direction of divine caster - where tankish would be my preference over ranged focus(as both casting and shooting take up your actions forcing you to pick either each turn - where being a tank and casting work simultaneously).

I am very sorry to hear that. I liked Onnello, and was looking forward to seeing more of him once we got past that first hurdle.
Incidentally, I hope I did not play into your decision. You were pursuing an engaging playstyle, while I decided that Nivian would lay low and not draw attention if possible during that first section of the AP.
Also and specifically because I do remember many of the things that take place early - the overboard sailor being the one exception where I felt compelled to act.
She would be more outspoken and "active"(I am well aware she was often passive on prompts) once we achieve freedom.

That said, by all means you should have dragged us into an untenable situation if that is what Onnello would do. As said, at least one person is supposed to be in one, by design. The more, the merrier.
I think Helgash just wanted to give you an "out" because we didn't have the full picture before(of more officers arriving in 2-3 rounds).

You said yourself that discussion and dialog are ways to resolve situations, to understand - if you do not wish to do that of course I'll accept, or if you would prefer to do so in private, by all means, I would love to hear you out.

But I'd prefer if we could somehow salvage this, it would be sad to see you(and Onnello) go.

I am currently a bit unsure about what Onello is going for here?
He can swim, but we are on high sea and the ship is moving.

That, and we knocked them out, nobody was killed, so even if scourge would love a keelhauling the captain would probably not have approved of that.
(Plus that casts doubt on the whole story - if we WERE going to jump and kill them we would not have used nonlethal means to subdue them. Of course, Onellos jumping overboard could be seen as confession of guilt just as well-)

I'll gladly jump in after him but I'd like to understand the plan.

Not a free shot, but I believe this may be a replacement for a similar event in the bilges, in the AP raw.
For what it's worth, I do like this version better, Trevor - it makes more sense in the game flow and is less hit&miss.
But the basic intent(=>outcome) is probably similar.

Those two were never friendly or helpful. They bluffed Ioney (he failed both sense motives, I thought Maheem would blow it).

Because of the Captain's attention to Ioney, Scourge's core group is handicapped in getting rid of him. As for others, it was obvious that the rest of the crew was in the hold area sleeping, I will consider it given that each of you quickly looked around on your way out to see if anyone wasn't there. It appears that, of the regular crew, only Syl and Maheem are missing from their hammocks.

Ah, good to know, so it's the information table that is unreliable :)

(I only skimmed the influence posts, not checking rolls in-depth, so just went by campaign overview after your re-calculation)

Seeing both are blinded, Nivian would hold her action, fearing more enemies to appear.

That said, is it only Syl and Maheem we see there?

Because according to the crew overview, Syl is "friendly" to us and Maheem "unfriendly" - neither of those are hostile or flat out enemies.(like Tate, Japs or Chumlett).
It just seems weird/suspicious that only those two would be involved - I could see a larger group pushing someone forward that has a decent relation to lure us into a trap.
But then I'd expect the architects of said trap to make an appearance, or keep tabs on the situation - if only to make sure she goes through with it, seeing how Syl is friendly with us...

(I think it's a relatively big deal, because if those two DID work alone, then that means nobody on the ship outside our core group is safe. Someone helpful could also be pushed to e.g. poison us, and comply rather than disobey and warn us...)
And If they did NOT work alone, then there's more enemies around likely to reveal themselves shortly, which will make it hard to fight non-lethally.
(Which I think we should try to do, if it's an option. Not because Nivian has qualms about murdering them on the spot, but because the captain may be ill-mannered about his small crew growing smaller still.

Nivian slowly opens her eyes when Onello speaks to her. The Dagger in her hand is visible only briefly before vanishing in her clothes again.
She had always been a relatively light sleeper, but nobody who knew her would describe her as a morning person.
But the situation seemed urgent. She sits up, then stands and follows Onello - with shaky steps, but a steady pace. "What is up?", she manages to whisper as they reach the stairs, but the situation above deck provides ample information. I know we are not there yet, but I don't except Onello to provide a verbal cue on something she will see moments later :)

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 1 + 2 = 13

Nivian approaches Barefoot Samms Toppin in the evening - the rigger had seemed distant the last few days - where Nivian had been busy talking with others.
But friendships needed tending, so she fetched some extra rum and approached the rigger :"Hej, been a couple days since we had a chance to hang. Especially since I seem stuck on bilge duty recently. You think I did anything to anger Plugg? Can't be that I didn't manage the boarding part can it? Maybe you could give me a few pointers for rope climbing so I can do better next time?"

Hm. It does seem like a penalty. But then, thereis one in the RAW ap as well where everybody beyond a treeshold drops one rank.
Alas, the limits you used are...harsh.
I mean, if someone was helpful to 2 people before(+10), indifferent to on(0) and remained on starting attitude of unfriendly for 2(-6) then he defaults back to unfriendly as the total of +4 does not break indifferent.
On the other hand helpful to 2(+10), friendly to one(+3), inddiferent to one and unfriendly to one, he'd skip right past indifferent and be friendly.

I think I would mind less if this was timed with the incoming level-up, which could give us some new options(such as finally getting intimidate up and running instead of depending purely on luck of the dice).

Don't get me wrong, I generally do think your system is decent and the vanilla variant is too simple if people focus on it(and you gave some people generous boni), so it's all good.

Still feels like a "surprise penalty system" which is hardly ever welcome.

During the following days, Nivian does her best to befriend more members of the crew - but it seems the lines are drawn. It becomes harder and harder not to step on someone's toes while trying to align interests with others.

In the end, she manages to get on helpful terms with Tilly, Rosie and Conchobar, but alienates Grok, Scrimshaw and Ratsberger into being unfriendly towards her.