What's a float? (That which the Blue Nixie was moored on in TINH). I made the assumption that it was 100 feet of open water between the Nixie and the pier, so the characters had to commandeer a rowboat to get to the ship.
Naturally, being terrible with their social skills, they were sitting ducks when Soller’s men began peppering them with crossbow bolts. One was rendered unconscious and the rest, after so many failed climbing checks, manage to board the Nixie and won the encounter, barely.
So again I would like to know what’s a float, for the sake of knowing what I did wrong with the encounter?
As it's name suggests, it's a thing that floats..
It can be anything from a stand-alone 'island' like this:
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sch/images/Forum_6_1/Floating%20Breakwater.JPG
To a rough, jury-rig pier:
http://www.craigmagnuson.com/sekiu03.jpg
A typical mooring float nowadays looks something like this:
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11658818/Dragon_Boat_Game_Mooring_Jetty.jpg
I assumed the first one, made out of timber, acting as a platform to disembark from rowboats onto the ship proper.