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The king and his men
stole the queen from her bed
and bound her in her Bones.
The seas be ours
and by the powers
where we will we'll roam.
Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the colors high.
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.
Lyrics by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
Hoist the Colours is a pirate campaign centered on the Skull & Shackles AP by Paizo, but also includes Razor Coast by Frog God Games, Freeport by Green Ronin Publishing, and The Sunken Pyramid plus other various additions from Raging Swan Press.
There be Spoilers aplenty ahead, you be hereby warned!
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Session 1:
The PC’s awoke in the hold of the Wormwood, their heads aching from the night before at the Formidably Maid Inn. Master Scourge, a dark haired and vicious looking pirate demanded they move onto the deck to meet the captain. One of the party, a male Taldan dandy, refused to budge. Another human in the group assured the boatswain that he was not affiliated with the dandy in any way. Scourge whipped the dandy a few times and got him up with the others. On the deck, they saw the crew of the Wormwood watching them. There were seven of them all told: William Eudonius Telastrum III of Oppara, a male Taldan merchant family’s heir and dandy; Hakhan, a male Chelaxian smuggler who works out of the Shackles; Silas Rand, a male half-orc pit fighter and gladiatorial champion of Widowmaker Isle; Dahryen—pronounced Darien—"Dare" Moon, male Kellid/Garundi son of the infamous pirate Captain Ciaran “Red Coat” Moon and not affiliated with the dandy; Minerva Wood, female Chelaxian carpenter/surgeon and lately cleric of Cayden Cailean; Isobel, a female Chelaxian snobbish girl from Sargava; and Aakin, a male Tengu cook and pirate from the Shackles.
They were greeted by Captain Barnabus Harrigan, a tall one-eyed Mwangi pirate who informed the PCs that they had now joined his crew. He then commanded Mr. Plugg, his First Mate, to make pirates out of them. Mr. Plugg is a very neat and pristine young man with a cruel streak. He ordered the new crewmen to climb as fast as they could to the top of the mainmast. William declined saying that he saw no reason to do it. He was promptly whipped into unconsciousness by Master Scourge for his disobedience. The rest made a run for the top, with Dahryen barely beating Silas. Dahryen was named a rigger by Mr. Plugg, and then he asked each of the others in turn if they could cook (once William regained consciousness). Aakin claimed that he could and was named Cook’s Mate and told to report to the galley. The other five became swabs. As Master Scourge began giving assigned duties, a red haired pirate named Sandara Quinn came up and handed Minerva and Aakin each something of their property that had been seized by the pirates: for Minerva a wooden mug holy symbol of Cayden and for Aakin a small pendant with the holy symbol of Besmara, queen of piracy. She told them that on a pirate ship, it’s friendships that matter more than anything.
Minerva, Hakhan, and Isobel were assigned to the bilges for the day where they met Jakes Magpie. He had been caught stealing from the crew and was now awaiting his punishment. Minerva made friends with him and the three new crew worked well together to finish the day. Dahryen made friends with “Barefoot” Samms Toppin as they worked in the rigging and he told her of his famous ancestry. William and Silas swabbed the decks, with William pissing off most of the crew with his attitude and Silas—a very ugly half-orc with a pleasing demeanour—made friendly contact with Cut-Throat Grok, the female half-orc quartermaster of the Wormwood although he was unable to get his gear back.
Aakin met Ambrose “Fishguts” Kroop and spent the day drinking rum and jawing with the old cook. When he had an opportunity, he went on deck and accosted William; he made it very clear that you did your duty on a pirate ship, or he wouldn’t live long enough to regret it. At the end of the day, Jakes Magpie was hauled on to the deck for punishment. The entire crew joined in a slow keelhauling of Magpie along the length of the keel. What came up the other end of the ship was a bloody mess and was fed to the sharks. Minerva inspected the corpse to see if he could be saved before it was thrown overboard. She then slapped her bloody hands into the face of William and told him this is what awaited him if he didn’t smarten up. They then had their rum rations, which made them realize that if they didn’t do something about that, they would most likely die from the undiluted alcohol.
That night Silas and Dahryen entertained the crew with stories and songs. Aakin and Silas made friends with Grok and got their gear returned. Hakhan explored the ship and picked up bits of refuse lying around. Minerva “blessed” the rum in the main cask with a purify food and drink, diluting it somewhat. She was caught doing it by Mr. Plugg who told her to never do that again, not liking that mystic mumbo jumbo. Minerva made a note of Plugg’s superstitious nature for later.
When the bell rang the next morning, the PCs found themselves blocked by seven crewman who weren’t going to let them get up on deck in time. Aakin told them to report for their duties, but they refused. Dahryen immediately began talking about all sorts of nonsense and cause them to focus entirely on his words as the PCs moved past and up to the deck, with Minerva dragging the still sleeping William along behind by his hair. As the PCs went about their duties, Aakin went up to Master Scourge and told him off for ordering those crewmen to delay them as it went against the pirate’s code. Master Scourge was cowed and agreed not to do that again, but looked at the Tengu with undisguised loathing as Aakin went to his work in the galley.
Over the next four days, the PCs slowly began making friends. William and Dahryen soon had Conchobhar Shortstone as a friend, Silas made friends with Crimson “Cog” Cogward, and Isobel made friends with another young adult Jack Scrimshaw. Aakin quickly became quite close to Grok, Kroop, and Rosie Cuswell, a Halfling, after he got Grok to return her beloved fiddle to her. Minerva made friends with Habbly Quarne, the “Stitchman” ship’s surgeon and carpenter, but really nobody else. She managed to offend Grok until Aakin spoke up for her and helped get the rest of the gear for the PCs. Minerva managed to avoid notice when she diluted the rum a second time to non-lethal levels with the help of Dahryen. She was getting her daily alcohol fix whenever she could. William had soon earned himself a nickname: “Fancy Will” because of his gallantry and ridiculous behaviour. Dahryen soon learned that the woman he had bedded the night he was taken was “Caulky” Tarroon, Captain Harrigan’s cabin girl. He avoided the captain as much as possible after that.
Mid-morning of their fourth day on the Wormwood, Jack Scrimshaw came out of the bilges white as a ghost saying something bit him. Plugg immediately assigned the PCs to the task of clearing out whatever it was. They found nine dire rats and fought them quickly. Dahryen had his father’s boarding pike that he fought with in an unusual style. Isobel summoned her pet dragon, Chauncey, to help. Silas fought with his bare hands, and Hakhan threw his nails and debris with amazing accuracy and deadliness. They searched the bilge for odds and ends and found some good gear, though not much. They then returned to duty.
Minerva soon learned she had a real talent for rat catching and it rapidly became her favorite job. William became friends with “Ratline” Rattsberger (a male Halfling rigger) and Giffer Tibbs (a one-eyed female gnome). Dahryen became a favorite for entertainments in the evenings and Hakhan one a game of Hog Lob. Isobel was slower to make friends, but she began to get a small crowd around her.
On the fifth evening, Mr. Plugg brought up “Owlbear” Hartshorn, a big mentally challenged brute who some of the crew liked to taunt. He bet 100 gp that no one could fight Owlbear and win. Silas took the bet and began to fight. Sizing up his opponent he soon realized that Owlbear was blind in one eye and very slow. He stayed on Owlbear’s left side and began to pummel him. When it began to look like Owlbear was losing, Plugg threw him a club, which Owlbear proceeded to try and use. Silas hit him again and Owlbear started to cry and tried to back down but was pushed back in by Mr. Plugg. Silas put him in a grapple to try and sleeper hold him to unconsciousness. But Owlbear continually broke the hold. This went on for some time and the pirates became either disgusted by the proceedings or bored. When it became clear that he could back out without getting in trouble, Silas stopped the fight. Mr. Plugg was unimpressed and everyone took back their money. Owlbear smiled and nodded at Silas in gratitude.
I will after each session post the stats of one of the player characters for people to get to know them. We use a 60 point buy system of attributes with every point equal to 1 point cost starting at a score of 3 and going as high as 18 (about a 28-33 point buy by the traditional method). I allow 2 Traits in addition to the Campaign Trait which is required. I am using the major drawbacks from Christina Styles presents Ultimate Options: Major and Minor Drawbacks as Flaws, allowing each character to take one. They may also take a standard Drawback from Ultimate Campaign as well.
(Obviously with seven characters and a higher level buy system for Attributes, I have had to up the challenges commensurately.)
First up is Minerva Wood, played by my sister, Tanya.
Minerva Wood
Female human (Chelaxian) cleric of Cayden Cailean 1
NG medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +3
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1Dex)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +5; +2 vs. Charm, Compulsion, and Emotion Effects; +2 Trait bonus vs. mind-affecting effects for 1 hour after drinking alcohol
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft.
Melee rapier +2 (1d6+2/18-20)
Special Attacks Channel positive energy (1d6)(4/day) (DC 11)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +4)
6/day—rebuke death
Spells (CL 1st; concentration +4)
0-level—detect magic, purify food and drink, stabilize
1st-level—air bubble, command (DC 14), cure light wounds
Domains: Healing, Travel
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 13
Feats Lightning Reflexes, Self-sufficient, Turn Undead (DC 11)
Flaw Choke Under Pressure
Skills Acrobatics +0 (+4 Jump), Appraise +1, Bluff -1, Climb +1, Craft (carpentry) +6, Diplomacy +1, Heal +12, Intimidate +1, Perception +3, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +7, Survival +5, Swim +2
Traits Anatomist, Fortified Drinker, Principled, Ship's Surgeon
Drawback Doubt
Languages Common, Polyglot
SQ Agile Feet (6/day) (Su), aura (good)
Gear Studded leather armor, rapier, artisan's tools (Craft [carpentry]), backpack, belt pouch, flint and steel, healer's kit, hip flask, holy symbol, wooden (Cayden Cailean), signal whistle, silk rope, 23 gp, 2 sp
Age: 26; Height: 5' 7"; Weight: 165lb.; Eyes: Brown; Hair: Brown; Skin: Light Beige
Minerva is moderately attractive, but not what most would call pretty. Her drinking and recent stress have aged her appearance somewhat beyond her years.
A skilled carpenter and healer, Minerva Wood has plied her trade as a ship’s carpenter and surgeon for some years now, but things have begun to go downhill. A small mistake resulted in the death of a patient who was beloved by some very powerful people and since then she has been hard pressed to get a job aboard any ship. She began offering what healing services she had in Port Peril to make a living. Her despair, self-doubt, and guilt have slowly been eating away at her and she recently began to drink to excess. Cayden Cailean, her patron god, noticed her decency and despair. Out of a sudden impulse of compassion he decided to make her a cleric of his—no doubt earning an earful from his herald, Thais, for cavalierly “volunteering” her for the priesthood and giving her a rather heretical domain of Healing.
Suddenly Minerva found she began to display holy healing powers when she was doing her job. Thanking Cayden for the gift she began to recover somewhat, but she is still something of a lush and retains a great deal of self-doubt. She was drinking at a tavern called the Formidably Maid in Port Peril when she happened upon a damsel in distress in the alleyway outside. Thinking she could help, Minerva didn’t notice the thugs hiding nearby, and they caught her unawares. Minerva had been on enough ships to know a press gang by the blow of the sap on the back of her neck—she just hoped whatever ship she ended up on needed a surgeon.
Interesting read, and sounds like a fun start to a game with a lot of potential. Planning on running Razor's Coast some time in the near future myself, and that's actually how I came across this log (googled Razor's Coast Campaign Journals). Looking forward to reading more logs.
Interesting read, and sounds like a fun start to a game with a lot of potential. Planning on running Razor's Coast some time in the near future myself, and that's actually how I came across this log (googled Razor's Coast Campaign Journals). Looking forward to reading more logs.
Thanks! Last session we had our first encounter with the Razor...the Tale of the Seabear!
Session 2:
The next day the Wormwood found itself approaching the end of Gozreh’s Passage in a heavy rain. Kroop explained to Aakin that storms and nasty weather were common when passing through the Passage, as the combination of Azlanti shoals and remaining islands combined with the wind blast from the Eye of Abendego which moved in a South-western direction; exactly opposite to the prevailing wind. While this let ships pass into the Razor Sea in just a few days, it also played havoc with the weather.
Aakin was unimpressed by Mr. Plugg’s treatment of Owlbear, and began to watch the First Mate and Master Scourge more closely. The rest of the PCs spent the day doing their tasks and trying to improve relations with the rest of the crew. Silas tried to get to know Owlbear and took a few days to get what information he could: Owlbear’s lack of intelligence made informative conversations difficult.
Minerva began “blessing” the next rum cask with purify food and drink spells as the first one was nearly spent. Needing a distraction, Hakhan convinced Will to ask Mr. Plugg if he could use the First Mate’s bathing apparel to clean up from a day of being assigned to the bilges as Mr. Plugg was always pristine. Mr. Plugg was incensed, but didn’t flog Fancy Will as he hadn’t actually broke a rule by asking. Instead he blasted Will across the deck with a watery blast from Mr. Plugg’s cutlass, obviously a magical item.
Isobel worked on her relationship with as many as the crew as she could, avoiding the more unpleasant pirates. Her dress had been ripped off her the first day, and she had to wear her undergarments only until she got in well enough with Grok to get something decent to have. She continued to keep Chauncey’s existence a secret from everyone except her closest friends onboard. She was clear that she could use magic and would for the benefit of the crew, however.
The seventh day of their journey dawned with a building storm. The crew was getting tense, though Silas’ stories in the evenings remained popular. Silas soon learned that Owlbear had been sold into indentured servitude by his parents, thinking the brute would be useless for anything other than hard labour. He had been eventually bought by Mr. Plugg for a pittance.
The following day the storm hit. The entire crew went up and began working the riggings with Master Scourge referring to the storm as five verses if it were one. The crew were relieved it wasn’t six to nine verses in strength, and worked hard through the day. Rosie Cuswell was thrown overboard mid-day and began to be swept away by the storm. Fancy Will swung on a rope down from the rigging where he had been working, tied a rope to himself and dived overboard with Hakhan and Minerva holding the other end.
Silas jumped in to the water after tying himself to the Wormwood as well, and proceeded to rescue Rosie before she was swept away. Will barely was able to keep himself afloat and needed the rope he was attached to in order to stay alive. Rosie was very grateful, but there was no time for anything other than a brief hug. The crew worked on keeping the ship steady through the entire evening and night. They then went to work the next day, thoroughly fatigued.
By the end of the day, everyone just went to bed as they were exhausted. The tenth day proceeded with Aakin doing some fishing in fine weather and Hakhan battling a bilge spider down by the pumps. Aakin’s observations had now made it clear to him that Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge would try and do something to the new recruits in spite of being in violation of the code. Master Scourge had taken a strong dislike to the PCs and was having a strong influence on the opinion of Mr. Plugg.
At dusk the Wormwood found itself in a dense fog bank and nearly collided with a damaged and apparently derelict ship. The name plate named it the Seabear. Hakhan recognized it as a ship out of the Razor Coast that was said to have foundered two months ago somewhere in the Razor Sea, though no one was sure where. Captain Harrigan ordered Mr. Plugg to send a team of volunteers to reconnoitre the vessel for anything of value. He selected a team of six: the PCs without Dahryen. They went over with a boarding plank and then the Wormwood backed off for an hour to let the team take control of the drifting vessel without risking the ship to another near miss.
The mast of the Seabear had been replaced with what appeared to be a Tulita totem pole. The Tulita were a race of humans found on the Razor Coast of the continent f Arcadia. Its evil appearance didn’t bode well. The party soon discovered that the Seabear had a cannon, and began discussing getting it back to the Wormwood.
It was about then that most of the group began to look at each other with great suspicion. Aakin seemed to be acting in a sneaky way as though plotting something. Isobel was haughty and defiant. Silas obviously had sinister intent. And what was Hakhan up to anyway? This increasing paranoia began to wear on the party as they continued to explore. Will soon began to act as though he was missing his left hand and Isobel began mumbling in Tulita—a language she did not know.
Silas came to believe that the totem mast was somehow responsible and tried to remove it from the deck. At the same time Will discovered some giant centipedes that had been munching on someone’s’ severed head in a locker and tried to treat them as pets. The decking began to attack Silas and the centipedes Will. Isobel took out her dagger and attacked Silas and Aakin who were working on the totem. The centipedes attacked Will, and he and Hakhan and Minerva began to fight them, with Minerva and Hakhan dividing their attention between the two battles. Hakhan began searching the ship for materials to throw and found enough to use as weapons. Silas managed to break the post away from the deck and move to push it over the side before being beaten into unconsciousness beyond when a normal person would have fallen. Minerva’s healing reawakened Silas, and he and the others managed to push the totem over the side.
A temporary lull in the possession occurred and the party’s wounds were dealt with. Will had been poisoned in his battle with the centipedes, and was still not all there. The party searched the lower decks and encountered some skeletons, rat swarms in the cargo hold, a violent fungus, a headless zombie (whose head had been centipede chow), and a very malnourished and frightened cat. Minerva befriended the cat with food and found that her name was Alabaster—it was carved into her silver collar. She kept the cat in a satchel until they could get safely away from the haunted ship.
In the brig they found the remaining survivor: Thalios Dondrel, son of the infamous pirate Mordekai Dondrel. He was naked except for a leather band with a coin on it he wore as a necklace. He explained that after the Seabear had foundered, they had used totems of koa wood they found in a cove on the Razor Coast to repair the ship and mast. He had been attacked, beaten, and all his clothes and possessions taken from him before being locked in the brig. He had survived on rats and rain water while watching the entire crew go mad and kill each other. He wanted nothing more than to get away as soon as possible.
He mentioned the smuggling hold, and Hakhan became interested. Thalios stayed away and said if they wanted to open it that was their problem. When they did, the four ghouls came out and began to attack. One had a missing hand and went deliberately after Will. They managed to defeat the ghouls after a difficult struggle. They found some masterwork weapons buried in the filth at the bottom of the hold.
When the Wormwood returned, the party was more than eager to leave. Thalios was now clothed in what rags they were able to find and was most willing to join the crew of the Wormwood as long as they left the now sinking Seabear—removal of enough of the cursed koa wood had made the derelict unseaworthy and she was sinking. They treasure that was on board was looted and the cannon was seized and moved over to improve the Wormwood’s fighting capability.
As a reward for their good work, Captain Harrigan allowed the party to pick one item from the looted valuables for themselves. They chose the rapiers, shortswords, and daggers from the smuggler’s hold. Thalios was made a swab and was surprised to meet Dahryen. They knew each other as their respective fathers had been on and off friends for many years. The ship sailed away from the sinking Seabear into the night.
For those who are interested, here in the ocean map I am using:
Presenting our resident smuggler, Hakhan, played by my cousin’s husband, Iain.
Hakhan
Male human (Chelaxian) rogue (smuggler) 1
CM medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +3
----- Defense -----
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 8 (1d8)
Fort +0, Ref +5, Will –1
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee brass knuckles +3 (1d3+2)
improvised junk +5 (1d3+2)
Ranged improvised junk +5 (1d3+2)
Special Attacks Sneak attack (+1d6)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 16
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 14
Feats Catch Off-Guard, Throw Anything, Weapon Finesse
Flaw Distractible
Skills Acrobatics +3, Appraise +8, Bluff +7, Climb +1, Craft (tools) +8, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +7, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +3, Profession (navigator) +3, Profession (sailor) +3, Sense Motive +3, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +7, Swim +5
Traits Dockside Brawler, Grim Optimism, Improvisational Equipment, Surprise Weapon
Drawback Pride
Languages Common, Kelish, Osiriani, Polyglot, Varisian
SQ Conceal item, grim optimism (1/day, +2 bonus vs. fear and pain effects for 1d4 rounds to all allies within earshot)
Gear Leather armor, brass knuckles, alchemical acid (x1), animal glue, backpack (satchel), belt pouch, black ink, camouflage netting (urban), candelrods (x2), chalk (x2), charcoal stick (x2), compass, dice, false-bottomed cup, gear maintenance kit, hip flask, inkpen, invisible ink (average), mess kit, parchment (x5), powder (x1), scroll case, sealing wax, shaving kit, silk rope, sunrod (x2), tindertwig (x2), twine (50’), 23 gp, 6 sp
Age: Twenty-something; Height: 6'; Weight: 175lb.; Eyes: Blue; Hair: Brown; Skin: Tanned
Hakhan is half-Keleshite. He never knew his father, does not even know whence the man hailed. Hakhan's mother died when he was a young child, and spent a number of years eking out a living as a beggar and petty thief in various Inner Sea ports, slowly making his way west into the Shackles, before being taken on by a pirate crew as a young teen. He served under the Chelaxian pirate Gerrius for a number of years, but despised every minute of it due to the cruelty of the captain and crew. To this day he refers to Gerrius not by name but as "That Old Bastard."
Hakhan fled the pirates as soon as he was able, at age 20. He took up a career as a smuggler, doing his best to avoid contact with any pirates at all. He mainly smuggled items into and out of Rahadoum, as well as items from Sargava into Cheliax. He was reasonably successful as a smuggler for a few years, but had a number of deals go sour and ended up owing several rather unsavoury individuals a fair bit of money that he has yet to repay. So he gave up smuggling and has been trying to lay low and stay clear of his creditors. He always keeps his eyes and ears open for opportunities, and is starting to run low on his remaining smuggling profits.
Hakhan has always been a survivor, relying on wits and quick thinking, but not shying away from a brawl when that seems the best solution at the time. He doesn't make plans, he adapts to the circumstances, preferring to improvise a solution once immersed in the situation. He has the boldness, wit, and slyness of the Keleshite people, but (mostly) lacks the arrogance, self-importance and indulgence. He has disdain for much of the Keleshite culture, in particular its treatment of women as special flowers rather than people, and refers to any young woman as "Princess" in subtle mockery of his homeland.
Hakhan has brown hair and blue eyes. He dresses in an as non-descript manner as he can so as to not be noticed. He is not ugly or plain, but is not handsome enough to draw attention. Hakhan has learned to use anything—string, nails, broken pieces of wood, fish hooks—as both weapons and improvised tools. He always appears unarmed. He is easily distracted and has a hard time concentrating for long. He is very proud and doesn’t back down easily. This has led him into his current situation.
While drinking at a tavern called the Formidably Maid in Port Peril one evening, Hakhan got into a brawl with some of the other patrons. He handled himself well, but a group of rough-looking characters ganged up on him and overwhelmed Hakhan, knocking him unconscious.
Great to see your campaign journal. I'm planning on doing the same thing -- mixing Skull & Shackles with Razor Coast. This is really useful; I don't think there's anything else out there with advice on how to do this.
Thanks! The third session summary will be up soon. And I hope you find enough info in the map I made and the summaries I'm putting up to merge the two campaigns smoothly.
Session 3:
The next morning, the first thing that happened was that Minerva had Dahryen cast prestidigitation and clean Alabaster the cat. They were startled to discover that she was pure white under all that grime. Minerva then healed the remaining wounds on Fancy Will. Fancy Will went on to offend Tam “Narwhal” Tate by saying that he had made friends with most of the other “little people” on the ship and he would like to complete his collection. Will later avoided being strangled by a low hanging rope by a hair. He then further compounded the offence by suggesting to Tam that the dwarf should be more careful and that Will would be willing to instruct him in proficient sailing if necessary.
Hakhan tried to make friends with Slippery Syl Lonegan—the escaped psychopath—and asked her what she liked to do for fun. He didn’t impress her, but she did describe her proclivities in detail much to his chagrin. In the afternoon, Mr. Plugg rounded up a group of volunteers (the party) and sent them to a reef to collect crabs for the Captain’s dinner. The party began their crab hunt but encountered a group of six reefclaws. During the fight Will and Aakin got poisoned, Hakhan killed a reefclaw with a single hit from a crab pot and even critical hit a reefclaw with a crab(!), and Dahryen nearly died. Finally the reefclaws were defeated. While Minerva was attending to healing the wounded, Aakin pointed out that reefclaws are good to eat and so the party decided to collect them instead of the crabs. The Captain was very pleased and gave the party a potion of cure moderate wounds as a reward.
In the evening, Dahryen distracted the pirates with his singing while Minerva slipped away and completed diluting the rum. She then refilled her hipflask from the rum cask. Isobel made friends with Kroop by saying how good his cooking was compared to the slaves who had been trained to cook in her household back home in Port Freedom. This peaked his interest and he learned from her that she was the daughter of Pellius Charthagnion, the head of the council of representatives of Port Freedom. Hakhan meanwhile persuaded Fancy Will to try and make friends with Slippery Syl by asking about her hobbies before stowing some goods in a hidey-hole he had found and going to sleep. Fancy Will’s attempt at friendship did not go well: after hearing what she did for fun, Will tried to persuade her that what she needed was a “good man to take control of your life, madam.” Minerva quickly intervened on hearing this and pulled Will away.
The following morning the ship encountered a heat wave that was very debilitating. Although languishing in the heat, everyone still kept up their work—mostly. Will shirked his duty in the bilges to snoop around. He overheard the Captain and the Ship Master Peppery Longfarthing having a heated discussion about the route they were taking. Peppery didn’t see the point of sailing all the way through that storm in Gozreh’s Passage to reach the Razor Sea just to sail up past Freeport and try the Serpent’s Run back to the Fever Sea. Harrigan pointed out that they had to follow the shipping lines to catch prey. Peppery suggested they stay in the Razor for a while and follow the shipping lanes there, but was overruled by the Captain.
Will passed this information on to “Ratline” Rattsberger, Giffer Tibbs, Rosie Cuswell, & Conchobhar Shortstone—Will’s “crew.” Hakhan talked to Slippery Syl and told her that Fancy Will has his eye on her. Aakin kept a close eye on Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge as he was turtle hunting and soon realised from the way Plugg looked resentfully at the Captain each time he was given a order (behind Harrigan’s back of course) that the First Mate wanted to be captain very badly and was building his forces on the ship and just biding his time for the right moment to seize power should that moment present itself.
That evening Hakhan began trying to persuade Slippery Syl that Fancy Will really wanted to spend time with her and share their rum rations, but he was feeling too shy. Syl wasn’t sure what this was about but began considering it true. Minerva finally bonded with Kroop over their love of rum and began joining Aakin, Kroop, & Grok in their nightly drinking sessions. Aakin informed Kroop in his suspicions of Mr. Plugg and Kroop advised him to wait until action seems likely before doing anything, as his opinion of the Captain wasn’t much higher than his opinion of the first mate.
On the thirteenth day of the voyage the heat wave continued. To further his amusement, Hakhan wrote a questionable love poem about Slippery Syl and passed it off as Will’s work that evening when he gave it to her. After the conversation in the galley the night before, Minerva began making inquiries about Mr. Plugg’s background to see if she could find a way to undermine him. She discovered that though he had only been onboard less than a year, he had risen rapidly to his position. Those who cross him end up dead—it always appears to be accidental or the victim’s fault, but they still end up dead. He has friends everywhere. Plugg is not competent as first mate, but covers it up by blaming others. The officers of the Wormwood form a close circle that Plugg has been unable to break into. He is angry and resentful and takes it out on the crew.
Aakin had words with Master Scourge that set the boatswain on edge. He then spent the evening very obviously watching the entire crew, especially Plugg and Scourge. Their resentment towards the cook’s mate grew.
The next day the heat wave broke and the party along with Thalios Dondrel were excused from their regular duties to be trained in boarding a ship by Riaris Krine, the Wormwood’s master gunner. They got into a jolly boat and then in pairs of two threw a grappling hook and rope onto the bannister of the ship, tied it to the jolly boat and then tried to climb aboard while crew members (including those who were being trained in this task) threw rubbish at the climbers. Alabaster’s litter was included in this.
Thalios and Will started; Thalios made it to the deck quickly, but Will took a little longer but was successful. Silas and Dahryen went second. Dahryen actually made it up the fastest of the lot, and Silas was also successful. Isobel and Aakin went next. When they failed initially, Krine yelled obscenities at them and Will stepped forward to tell her that was no language to come from a lady. Minerva offered to throw Will into the drink. When Isobel went in the water, Will dived in to “save” her, much to Isobel’s disgust. After they continually failed to climb the rope, Riaris gave them each some rope bashes for their incompetence and then declared them as trained as they are going to be.
Last up were Hakhan and Minerva. By the time Hakhan was halfway up, Minerva was in the water and convinced that she couldn’t do this task. To make matters worse, Will tried to help Minerva after Isobel pointedly ignored him. So Minerva slapped Will upside the head. Hakhan made it onto the deck, but was not noticed as everyone was watching Will attempt to “save” Minerva while Minerva struggled to get free of him. Krine finally had enough and used a boat hook to pull Will out of the water by his shirt and began to swear at him for interfering with the training. Will was then taken away and was flogged again during bloody hour at the end of shift to unconsciousness and beyond. Minerva got some rope bashes for her inability, but was declared as trained as possible.
While Minerva and Isobel discussed doing horrible things to Will that evening while Will lay unconscious on his bunk, Hakhan carved a wooden heart memento necklace with the words “Will you be my First Mate? Fancy Will” carved into it for Slippery Syl. Isobel and Minerva offered to help with whatever plan he had in mind. Minerva also carefully watched the crew who were loyal to Scourge and Mr. Plugg for a weak link and decided that Aretta Bansion was their best bet and informed Dahryen about this. Aakin meanwhile told Narwhal Tate that the Captain is aware that something is going on with Mr. Scourge and that they should watch themselves. The dwarf responded with a “mind your own business, beak” but looked very concerned. Minerva finished her night by shaving a stripe right down the middle of Will’s head.
On day fifteen of the voyage, Hakhan delivered the necklace with the wooden heart to Slippery Syl while saying that in his opinion, Will’s a bit of idiot but to each her own. Unfortunately for Hakhan, Syl finally figured out what he was doing and tried to kill him while making it look like he accidentally fell to the deck. He got away, but had created a hatred for him in Syl that could not be abated. Will spent the day teaching fencing techniques to his “crew” and getting rope bashed for the lousy job he did on hauling and tying ropes.
Aakin spent most of the day in a bull session with Kroop, but did manage to convince Peppery Longfarthing to talk to Narwhal and make him understand that he and his friends were being watched by more than just the Tengu. Dahryen spent the entire day and evening making “friends” with Aretta and spent the night with her. That evening Will began teaching his “crew” how to dress appropriately like himself and Conchobhar. His “crew” like Will because he makes them laugh. Aakin talked to Fipps Chumlett and said that he had seen Peppery Longfarthing talking to Tam Tate about Master Scourge and Mr. Plugg. Chumlett didn’t trust Aakin, but was still unnerved and went off to talk with the others.
The next day Hakhan decided to spread the rumour that a kraken had been spotted somewhere off the starboard bow. The crew became very alert and nervous. Minerva decided to talk to the Captain without being asked and ended up being flogged for her temerity. That evening Hakhan tried to spread the rumour with Grok and—unfooled—she told him to knock it off before morale suffered. Dahryen used his influence with the now besotted Aretta to gain inside information on Master Scourge and found what a cowardly bully he actually is. Aakin spent the evening teaching Isobel about the Pirate’s Code.
Will proved his lack of common sense again by going up to Mr. Plugg and complaining about the lack of uniforms and shabby dress on the ship. Once more, Will was flogged into unconsciousness.
The following day the party noticed a change: Mr. Plugg began taking more of an active role in their discipline and they began being assigned the worst duties each day: Hakhan and Fancy Will were assigned the bilges, Silas was assigned rat catching, Minerva and Isobel started swabbing the decks, and Dahryen was given line work. Aakin confronted Mr. Plugg about this and came away satisfied but with the situation unchanged—and with a dagger wound that Minerva promptly healed up. Hakhan spent the day muttering to himself loud enough for passers-by to hear how concerned he was that the officers weren’t doing anything about the kraken threat.
The next day Hakhan is flogged for spreading rumours of a Kraken. Minerva finally cured Will of the wounds he has suffered from flogging after trying to explain that this “rescue the maiden” thing has got to stop. Dahryen suggested framing Master Scourge for stealing from Mr. Plugg, and the group had a discussion about this. Aakin objected as this would violate the code. The discussion got in depth, and since it was held in secret took up most of the remaining free time.
On the nineteenth day of the journey Hakhan and Fancy Will were assigned swabbing the decks and Aakin was reassigned for the day from the galley to the bilges. Aakin was searched by Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge to make sure he took no weapons with him and sent him down with Fipps Chumlett and Jaundiced Jape. Part way through the day, Chumlett accused Aakin of shirking his duty and the two pirates attacked the Tengu with daggers they were carrying. A short battle ensued after which Aakin emerged having rendered both Chumlett and Jape unconscious without marking their bodies but with a dagger wound. They looked like they had been through the wringer though, to which Aakin just said it was a rough day in the bilges. He was flogged for this into unconsciousness.
In the late afternoon of the next day, the lookout cried out “Ship ahoy!” and Harrigan orders the Wormwood to turn and pursue the Rahadoumi ship. Dahryen took some time to climb up the rigging and study the ship. He determined that it had two ballistae, a decent compliment of a crew, and was named the Man’s Promise. While most of the party rested in anticipation of the coming battle, Dahryen spent the night before with Sandara Quinn. This sent Aretta into a rage and firmly back into Master Scourge’s camp. He also made sure that word got back to the boatswain that Dahryen now had both women of interest to him onboard the ship.
By dawn, less than half a mile separates the two ships.
Next up is our resident bard, Dahryen Moon, played by my friend Jay. He has a unique Regional trait as follows:
Osirion Staff Fighter: You have been trained in an ancient Osiriani technique that involves dynamically spinning a staff with both hands at the attack. You gain a +1 bonus on all to hit rolls with double weapons and treat polearms as double weapons with the second strike as a quarterstaff.
It creates a unique visual swashbuckling style of combat without any extra power.
Dahryen Moon
Male human (Kellid) bard (buccaneer) 1
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +4
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +2
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee boarding pike +3 (1d8+3/x3)
or boarding pike +1/+1 (1d8+3 (x3)/1d6+2 (x2))
or longsword +2 (1d8+2/19-20)
or osiriani short sword +2 (1d6+2/19-20)
Special Attacks Hilt bash
Spells (CL 1st; concentration +4)
0-level—dancing lights (DC 13), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13), prestidigitation
1st-level—grease, silent image (DC 14)
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats Arcane Strike, Double Slice, Two-Weapon Fighting
Flaw Spell Futility
Skills Acrobatics +7, Appraise +1, Bluff +3, Climb +1, Diplomacy +7, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +2, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +4, Perform (oratory) +7, Perform (sing) +7, Profession (sailor) +5, Stealth +2, Swim +2, Use Magic Device +7
Traits Acrobat, Buccaneer’s Blood, Osirion Staff Fighter, Reactionary
Drawback Hedonistic
Languages Common, Hallit, Osiriani
SQ Bardic Performance (7/day), countersong, distraction, fascinate (DC 13), inspire courage
Gear Studded leather armor, boarding pike, longsword, osiriani short sword (appears similar to a khopesh, but no special abilities), backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, explorer’s outfit, fine spices (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, pepper, allspice, basil, rosemary), flint and steel, grappling hook, rope, soap, waterskin, 19 gp, 8 sp, 9 cp
Age: 27; Height: 6' 1"; Weight: 190lb.; Eyes: Blue; Hair: Black; Skin: Tanned
Dahryen is very handsome and he knows it. His mixed Kellid/Garundi ancestry gives him a somewhat exotic look.
Dahryen Moon’s father was a well-known Free Pirate Captain of the Shackles named Fletcher Ciaran “Red Coat” Moon, a Kellid refugee from the lands near the Worldwound. Dahryen was born on his father's ship, the Revel's Night, and learned to sail under his colors. His mother was Ashia, a free spirited woman from El-Shelad in Osirion. She was Garundi and was forced to flee the city during one of the many political power struggles turned against her family and in favor of a rival Kelishite group. She was a beautiful bard who held many ancient Osiriani traditions, including a unique form of double-weapon polearm fighting native of the Scorpion Coast. Fletcher Moon helped her escape through the Arch of Aroden on his ship and she won his heart. She became a true captain's wife and aided and entertained the crew while at sea.
As a child Dahryen always helped her keep the crew entertained and learned her craft. Captain Moon took the Revel's Night to exotic locales on some longer multi-month runs. These trips gave the ship a more exotic look as the crew fixed her up in foreign harbors. Captain Moon was one of the most traveled and worldly Pirate Lords in all the Shackles. His infamy lay with sailing so far out from the Shackles and right under all the various Inner Sea rulers' noses for so long. He took advantages of secret routes other pirates have yet to discover.
The ship was destroyed when an agent of the Thrice Damned House of Thrune who joined the crew and betrayed them—a Chelaxian bastard named Farrell Krupt—during a run near Mediogalti Island. Three Chelish Man-o-Wars sank the Revel's Night and her crew. Dahryen barely survived. The only thing Dahryen took from the ship before it went down was a boarding pike that his mother trained him in the double-weapon fighting style of her ancestors with. He still carries it with him.
Dahryen lost himself in wine, women, and song. Eventually he was persuaded to try for the standing purse put up for the Fellhope Run to finance a new ship and maybe eventually go after the traitor. Dahryen had just got back to Port Peril after the disaster of the Run and had just finished giving the crew of the ill-fated attempt a right and proper send-off—a three-to-seven day hedonistic bender—and was finishing up at the Formidably Maid. There he fell in with a dashing and flirtatious corsair with an eye-patch and calling herself “Caulky,” and after a whirlwind night of booze and romance he fell into a deep slumber from which he would awake in the darkened hold of a ship.
The party levelled up, so I will be posting 2nd level stats for Minerva, Hakhan, and Dahryen soon.
Alright, since the characters have levelled up, let’s take a look at the three PCs we have presented thus far at 2nd level:
Minerva Wood
Female human (Chelaxian) cleric of Cayden Cailean 2
NG medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +3
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1Dex)
hp 15 (2d8+4)
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +6
Defensive Abilities +2 vs. Charm, Compulsion, and Emotion Effects; +2 Trait bonus vs. mind-affecting effects for 1 hour after drinking alcohol
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft.
Melee rapier +3 (1d6+2/18-20)
Special Attacks Channel positive energy (1d6)(4/day) (DC 12)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +5)
6/day—rebuke death
Spells (CL 2nd; concentration +5)
0-level—detect magic, mending, purify food and drink, stabilize
1st-level—air bubble, command (DC 14), cure light woundsD, divine favor
Domains: Healing, Travel
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 14
Feats Lightning Reflexes, Self-sufficient, Turn Undead (DC 11)
Flaw Choke Under Pressure
Skills Acrobatics +0 (+4 Jump), Appraise +1, Bluff -1, Climb +1, Craft (carpentry) +7, Diplomacy +1, Heal +13, Intimidate +1, Perception +3, Profession (sailor) +8, Sense Motive +8, Survival +5, Swim +3
Traits Anatomist, Fortified Drinker, Principled, Ship's Surgeon
Drawback Doubt
Languages Common, Polyglot
SQ Agile Feet (6/day) (Su), aura (good)
Gear Studded leather armor, rapier, artisan's tools (Craft [carpentry]), backpack, belt pouch, flint and steel, healer's kit, hip flask, holy symbol—wooden (Cayden Cailean), holy water, signal whistle, silk rope, 17 gp, 10 sp
Hakhan
Male human (Chelaxian) rogue (smuggler) 2
CN medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +4
----- Defense -----
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 13 (2d8)
Fort +0, Ref +6, Will –1
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee brass knuckles +4 (1d3+2)
improvised junk +6 (1d3+2)
Ranged improvised junk +6 (1d3+2)
Special Attacks Sneak attack (+1d6)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 16
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats Catch Off-Guard, Throw Anything, Weapon Finesse
Flaw Distractible
Skills Acrobatics +7, Appraise +8, Bluff +8, Climb +5, Craft (tools) +8, Craft (traps) +8, Diplomacy +8, Disable Device +8, Escape Artist +7, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +4, Profession (navigator) +3, Profession (sailor) +3, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +8, Swim +5
Traits Dockside Brawler, Grim Optimism, Improvisational Equipment, Surprise Weapon
Drawback Pride
Languages Common, Kelish, Osiriani, Polyglot, Varisian
SQ Conceal item, distraction, grim optimism (1/day, +2 bonus vs. fear and pain effects for 1d4 rounds to all allies within earshot), obfuscate story
Gear Leather armor, brass knuckles, alchemical acid (x1), animal glue, backpack (satchel), belt pouch, black ink, camouflage netting (urban), candelrods (x2), chalk (x2), charcoal stick (x2), compass, dice, false-bottomed cup, gear maintenance kit, hip flask, inkpen, invisible ink (average), mess kit, parchment (x5), powder (x1), scroll case, sealing wax, shaving kit, silk rope, sunrod (x2), tindertwig (x2), twine (50’), 26 gp, 10 sp, 6 cp
Dahryen Moon
Male human (Kellid) bard (buccaneer) 2
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +5
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 18 (2d8+3)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +3
Defensive Abilities +4 vs. bardic performance, sonic, and language based attacks
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee boarding pike +4 (1d8+3/x3)
or boarding pike +2/+2 (1d8+3 (x3)/1d6+2 (x2))
or longsword +3 (1d8+2/19-20)
or osiriani short sword +3 (1d6+2/19-20)
Special Attacks Hilt bash
Spells (CL 2nd; concentration +5)
0-level—dancing lights (DC 13), daze (DC 13), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13), prestidigitation
1st-level—grease (DC 14), feather fall (DC 14), silent image (DC 14)
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Arcane Strike, Double Slice, Two-Weapon Fighting
Flaw Spell Futility
Skills Acrobatics +7, Appraise +1, Bluff +3, Climb +5, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +2, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +5, Perform (comedy) +8, Perform (oratory) +8, Perform (sing) +7, Profession (sailor) +6, Sense Motive +8, Sleight of Hand +6, Stealth +6, Swim +2, Use Magic Device +7
Traits Acrobat, Buccaneer’s Blood, Osirion Staff Fighter, Reactionary
Drawback Hedonistic
Languages Common, Hallit, Osiriani
SQ Bardic Performance (7/day), countersong, distraction, fascinate (DC 13), inspire courage, versatile performance (oratory), well versed
Gear Studded leather armor, boarding pike, longsword, osiriani short sword (appears similar to a khopesh, but no special abilities), backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, explorer’s outfit, fine spices (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, pepper, allspice, basil, rosemary), flint and steel, grappling hook, rope, soap, waterskin, 5 gp,4 sp
Oh, and I forgot to add in his first entry that Dahryen wears a red strip of cloth on his right arm just like Chelish marines; instead of signifying servitude to Asmodeus, his is a piece of his father’s red coat and is worn in mockery of the Chelaxians.
Session 4:
In the last hour before the Wormwood attacked the Man’s Promise, Captain Harrigan ordered Kroop and Aakin to slit the throats of half-a-dozen pigs and throw them overboard. This attracted a large school of sharks into the waters around the ships. Riaris Krine assembled the seven conscripts together and assigned them the job of taking and holding the wheelhouse and the ship’s boats against the opposing sailors. She also warned them that it was going to get foggy as the attack commenced. Dahryen was put in charge as he was the best of the trainees for the boarding exercises.
As the ships closed on one another, the crew of the Man’s Promise began to fire their ballistae at the Wormwood’s rigging and crossbow bolts at the pirates. As they did so, fog rose up and obscured all targets. Isobel summoned Chauncey, her pet dragon, and cast message on the entire group to help with communicating over the noise of battle. She then cast enlarge person on Chauncey and mage armor on both herself and the dragon. Everyone then took cover and waited until the boats were close enough to grapple.
Just before the grappling commenced, Dahryen created an illusionary pirate to help him flank opponents. Grappling hooks were thrown and the Man’s Promise was pulled into position. Chauncey jumped across the gap and smashed into a line of sailors, knocking them back and sending the last one over the side to the sharks. Fancy Will disconnected one of the ropes on the Wormwood and swung across to the stern castle. Aakin, Dahryen, Minerva, and Silas used the grappling hook and climb method as taught by the master gunner. Dahryen declared that he was just there to hear the sailors’ surrenders. Minerva’s legs slipped off the rope and she found herself dangling over the sharks below.
The fog parted briefly and Aakin, Silas, and Dahryen noticed a Rahadoumi sailor sneaking up on Captain Harrigan. Dahryen told the others what he saw and battled his own sailor with his illusionary pirate flanking. He knocked out the sailor and began taking captives. Isobel swung over like Will did but ended up falling on her butt at the end of the swing. Silas picked up a sailor next to him and threw him across the deck into the sailor sneaking up on Harrigan, knocking both to the ground. Hakhan tried to help Minerva out, but was unsuccessful. He then jumped over to the Man’s Promise and got in position to help her up from there.
Aakin fired an arrow at the sailor who tried to attack Harrigan but missed. Harrigan turned and killed the two sprawled sailors and nodded an acknowledgment to Silas and Aakin for their efforts before going below decks with Kipper and Krine. Hakhan finally succeeded in helping Minerva get onto the deck. Shortly after that the group took control of the bridge and the boats.
Immediately following this, an explosion rocked the Man’s Promise, knocking Rahadoumi sailors and “Badger” Medlar overboard. Aakin shot at the shark to distract it while Minerva was tied with a rope a jumped down to Badger. Silas then hauled them both up to the deck. Hakhan got into the portside boat, picked up an oar and prepared to defend it. Will moved into position to defend the wheel.
A group of Rahadoumi sailors then attempted to take the starboard boat and escape. Chauncey started fighting them and Silas knocked one over the side. Hakhan threw oars into the fight. They soon killed or rendered the group unconscious. Harrigan appeared on the deck with what appeared to be a human heart in his hand. Hakhan retrieved an oar and waited slumped down in the portside boat to “surprise anyone who tried to take it”, but was suspected of taking a nap by the others.
After moving into a defensive position and finishing tying up their seven captives, the group was assaulted by a Rahadoumi officer and five sailors accompanying her in an attempt to escape the ship. When Dahryen determined that the officer was somewhat cute, he proposed the two of them reaching a “diplomatic solution” to their current difficulties. After a brief struggle in which Dahryen fascinated the group with his oratory and Minerva killed one, four more sailors were captured and the officer taken alive. The ship was taken.
The fog dissipated and the row of captives were paraded before Captain Harrigan and the cheering crew of the Wormwood. The group took the officer’s clothing as it was set with pearls. Dahryen offered her his shirt to cover up, which she grudgingly accepted. Will called out to all the sailors to look away while she changed, causing the entire crews of both vessels to look. Isobel determined that the officer’s boarding pike was magical. Dahryen performed a salute ritual over the magic weapon with his mother’s boarding pike just like she used to whenever she encountered a magic weapon. The power of the boarding pike of repelling transferred into his pike. He learned that the magic would be added to each time he did this until he died, at which point it would become a standard boarding pike again. The officer’s pike was added to the loot haul, now as a masterwork weapon.
They soon found out that Kipper had discovered a cache of alchemist’s fire in the hold and accidently set it off to cause the explosion. The Wormwood’s surgeon/carpenter, Habbly “Stitchman” Quarne, patched him up, but Kipper would be forever scarred because of it. Thanks to the party intervening to save Badger, and the skill of the ship’s healer, only Jaundiced Jape was lost from among the pirate crew. The plunder was added together and divided up among the crew. Each of the party got 353 gp each for their actions and captives, some potions for their use, and Aakin and Silas were personally presented with a +1 short sword and an amulet of natural armor +1 in return for helping him out in the battle. Silas took the amulet while Aakin took the sword.
The total amounts taken were important to Aakin, as they had each now contributed over 1000 gp to the Wormwood, not counting the Man’s Promise itself. Any loyalty to the pirate crew was now conditional only as they had been press-ganged. If an opportunity to leave presented itself, the party could take it and still hold to the Code.
A massive party broke out that lasted for thirty-six hours. During this party Dahryen divided his attentions between entertaining the crew (swapping gnome and pirate songs with Conchobhar) and “private time” with Sandara. Using Minerva as a lookout, Hakhan snuck into the officer’s quarters (getting severely injured by the harpoon trap twice) and took Mr. Plugg’s stake stash of money and placed it in Master Scourge’s locker with a simple tindertwig-black powder trap that wouldn’t kill, but would hurt and be highly annoying.
Minerva and Hakhan then went shopping at the quartermaster’s store: him for new (unbloodied) clothes and her for rum. They then blended in with some of their other friends and pretended to have been drinking with them the entire time. Fancy Will tried to shop for matching clothing for his group of friends. They plied him with rum and kept him from understanding that they weren’t getting any new clothes. Then Will congratulated the entire the crew, including the officers on a job well done. It was a party and he was gracious, so it was accepted without anger. Will then tried singing along with Conchobhar and Dahryen which was accepted with anger.
He then made a pass at Peppery Longfarthing and ended up tied from the top of the mizzenmast by his feet for the rest of the party. Aakin was unseen for the beginning of the celebration and when he returned to the party he was glared at by Mr. Plugg and his crew. He then made friends with the cabin girl, “Caulky” Tarroon and bought some more arrows from Grok. Aakin then explained to Caulky about Mr. Plugg’s ambitions and to warn the Captain.
Silas spent the entire party studying the Man’s Promise and learning it’s layout completely. Isobel asked Grok and Peppery what usually happened with taken ships. She was informed that a crew under the first mate and boatswain was placed aboard them and sailed to a port for sale. Isobel then tried to convince her officer friends to influence the skeleton crew and was informed that Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge would be the ones who would choose the skeleton crew for the prize ship. She purchased some crossbow bolts and then joined Silas in exploring the rest of the Man’s Promise.
After the party, Will was let down and the crew was assembled on the deck. Harrigan asked for volunteers from the captives to join the Wormwood. Harrigan thanked the crew for the victory and then assigned Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge to assemble a skeleton crew and sail the Man’s Promise to Port Peril. He then threw one of the captives overboard to demonstrate what happens to those who won’t volunteer. The rest of the captive crew joined willingly. The officers were taken below decks to await ransom.
Master Scourge then picked the crew including the band of seven conscripts from the Formidably Maid. All of the surviving swabs and riggers from the Wormwood, Owlbear, Thalios, and Kroop would be joining them on board the Man’s Promise. Also eight Rahadoumi sailors would join them—all in thick with Mr. Plugg. The skeleton crew had but ten minutes to get their gear and get aboard. Minerva went one last time to the quartermaster’s to purchase some more rum.
Grok started crying as all the friends she had on the Wormwood were leaving her. She gave a gift of six flasks of alchemist’s fire, a set of masterwork thieves’ tools, and a scroll with mage armor. Just before departure, there was a loud bang from the forward part of the Wormwood and Master Scourge came out of the officer’s quarters with a blackened face looking very angry. Aakin perceived that Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge would hold to the Code—for now—but very much wanted the group dead. Minerva proposed that they stay in groups of three whenever possible from now on. Dahryen made an indecent suggestion about this to Minerva and got slapped for it. She then asked Grok to take care of Alabaster, but Grok insisted Minerva take the cat with her, as it could be months before they saw each other.
The Man’s Promise pulled away from the Wormwood and began the voyage back to Port Peril. Mr. Plugg informed his new crew that while the rules are the same, everyone would have to work harder and Aakin was now a swab as they didn’t have enough crew to afford a cook’s mate. All punishments would be done with the cat-o-nine-tails instead of the whip. Aakin was made runner, a job he hates as he is not very good at running. Owlbear was chained to the main mast with a fifteen-foot long chain and orders to kill anyone who tries to enter the Captain’s cabin. Aakin and Dahryen were the most fatigued from the celebration and had a bad first day, but still did their jobs. By the end of the shift they were both exhausted.
At dusk Mr. Plugg informed the crew that he did not believe in entertainments or rum rations, so they were to eat and rest when not on duty. Anyone caught above decks in the evening without leave would get six lashes with the cat. Everyone went below decks to eat as the sails of the Wormwood disappeared over the horizon.
In the morning Hakhan realized that the ship had changed course and was now heading towards the Slithering Coast, and not Port Peril. The biggest port in the direction they were now traveling was Bloodcove, a city renowned for its slave trade and vicious character. Hakhan also thought of another possibility though: they may be headed for Rickety’s Squibs. There Rickety Hake will change the lines and look of the ship so that only someone very familiar with the vessel would be able to recognize it, making it a “squib.” If so, then Mr. Plugg is betraying Harrigan and setting out to be a pirate on his own.
That evening the group began to discuss what they were going to do with this knowledge. Aakin excused himself as he knew that his views could hinder the discussion. They were concerned whether they should stay the course, sabotage the ship to keep it from its destination, or mutiny. Following the Pirate's Code, they could mutiny if the acting captain—Mr. Plugg—breaks the Code. They discussed the numbers on either side should it come to mutiny. They were also concerned as to what Mr. Plugg and Master Scourge had planned for their group; slavery, marooning, or death? And if they took the ship themselves, would Captain Harrigan want revenge on them as well? They decided to wait and see what transpires, ready for an attack, and posting a watch among them at night so they won’t be taken unaware.
Next up is Isobel, a most unusual pirate played by my friend Sean. I modified one of Rite Publishing’s 101 Pirate Traits into a Campaign Trait (because it screamed out for it!) and developed a new Drawback made especially for summoner. For the record, Chauncey looks somewhat like Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon:
The Governor’s Child: As the child of one of the governing nobles of the nation of Sargava, you lived a life of privilege: a life you despised. Always chafing under the strict rules of aristocratic life, you have been running away and getting into scrapes since childhood. Each time, your parent's guards have found you and brought you home. This time you managed to get aboard a vessel for Port Peril taking some of the tribute to the Hurricane King. You doubt your parent's guards will find you this time!
Because of your background as the beloved child of a powerful appointed official of Sargava, various factions seek you so that they can use you as a hostage. Due to the influence of your parent in Sargava and the Shackles, you are well-tuned to the gossip and information that spreads though the region. You may make one Diplomacy check each week to gather information without spending an evening socializing and combing for gossip, nor do you have to spend the requisite gold. You also gain a +1 bonus on Diplomacy checks and Diplomacy is always a class skill for you.
Newly arrived in Port Peril, you sought out a tavern to relax and plan your next move. The Formidably Maid is a bit rougher a locale than you are used to, but it made for a great cover and hiding place. You only had one foul smelling rum drink to keep from looking out of place, but it hit you a lot harder than you expected. Leaving the tavern to get some air, you staggered down towards the docks. Before you got there, a group of toughs grabbed you and threw a sack over your head. The sack smelled of some strange alchemical brew, and your head throbbed in pain until you finally fell unconscious.
Maimouphobia: You have an unreasoning fear of monkeys due to some bizarre childhood trauma. When you can see a monkey of any sort, you gain the Shaken condition until the monkey is dead or you can no longer perceive it's presence.
Isobel Imperia Novennia Charthagnion
N Medium Female Human (Chelaxian) summoner 1
Init +2; Senses Perception +0
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 8 (1d8)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +2
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger –1 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19-20)
Spells (CL 1st; concentration +5)
0-level (at will)—detect magic, guidance, read magic, resistance
1st-level (3/day)—grease, mage armor )
Spell-like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5)
8/day—summon monster I
----- Statistics -----
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 20
Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 10
Feats Extra Evolution, Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Flaws Nonathletic
Traits Merchant, River Rat, The Governor’s Child, World Traveler (Sense Motive)
Drawback Maimouphobia
Skills Appraise +8 (+9 when bargaining), Bluff +5, Climb –3, Diplomacy +10, Disguise +5, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (geography) +8, Profession (sailor) +4, Ride +6, Sense Motive +5 (+6 when bargaining), Spellcraft +8, Swim +2, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Draconic, Halfling, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ eidolon link, life link, share spells with eidolon
Gear leather armor, dagger, light crossbow, 10 bolts, spell component pouch, 70 gp
This large blue-black lizard’s head is the size of a dog with a glowing rune on its forehead and small, vestigial wings on it’s back. It has a very short rounded snout and it’s big eyes make it almost nauseatingly cute.
Chauncey
N Medium Outsider
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 Natural)
hp 9 (1d10+1)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +3 (1d4+2 plus push 5 ft.) and bite +3 (1d6+2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks pounce (full attack after charge)
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Power Attack
Skills Climb +3, Knowledge (planes) +2, Perception +4, Swim +6
Languages Common
SQ evolutions (bite, claws, improved natural armor, limbs (x2), pounce, push)
Age: 17; Height: 5' 1"; Weight: 99lb.; Eyes: Blue; Hair: Brown; Skin: Fair
Isobel Imperia Novennia Charthagnion is the daughter of Pellius Charthagnion, the head of the council of representatives of Port Freedom in Sargava. Her mother died when she was very young and her father spoiled her excessively. Isobel followed her father whenever he travelled and learned all about trade and mercantile negotiations: it was assumed by many that she would inherit his position on the council and take over his business interests.
Although spoiled, Isobel didn’t always get her way. Where her father saw her as a way to cement alliances through her eventual marriage, she saw herself as the next head of the household. Pellius tried to raise her as a true lady, never to dirty herself or perform physical labour. Her strength of will fought against these passive trappings and she would slip away to run with urchins down by the riverside whenever she could get away from her bodyguards. Due to a very bad incident involving a monkey swarm on one of these outings, Isobel has been suffering from maimouphobia since she was eight years old. Because of this incident, Pellius hired Maercella—a pretty nineteen year old daughter of one of the guild masters of the Riverman’s Guild—to act as Isobel’s governess and try and keep her in line. This had the added benefit of connecting him more strongly to the Guild. Isobel and Maercella hated each other from the start, and their contest of wills lasted for years.
Another thing she didn't always get from her father was her own choice of pets, as he had a tendency to treat her as if she was even younger than she was. When she was a child and wanted a pony, he got her a puppy instead. When she was in her early teens and wanted a dragon, she finally got the stupid pony (and it wasn't even a unicorn pony.) When she set out to get a dragon on her own she discovered that dragons were simply not for sale in Sargava and were far too expensive for her to purchase anyway.
Isobel began collecting books after this initial disappointment and since that fit with her father’s impressions of what a young lady should be interested in, he made no objection and paid for whatever volumes she requested without paying much attention. She collected volumes covering arcane magic in order to create her own dragon. In her research, Isobel found an obscure branch of magic that involved summoning an eidolon which could be shaped to her whim. She embraced this arcane lore and soon summoned her own eidolon which resembles an incredibly cute dragon with an oversized head and exceedingly large eyes. She named him Chauncey. Knowing that her father and governess would be upset over him and may try to get rid of him somehow, Isobel kept Chauncey’s existence a secret from the entire household.
Seven years ago Isobel’s father married Maercella, much to Isobel’s great resentment and disgust. A year later they had a son named Encarlo that Pellius immediately made his true heir, binding him even further to the true masters of the council of representatives. It was then that Isobel realized that she was never going to be a merchant princess and head of the house. Disgusted by the entire situation (and the horrid “suitors” that Pellius and Maercella invited to stay at their house), Isobel packed up what goods she could carry and left as soon as she could to build her own fortune as a merchant trader.
Unfortunately this proved far more difficult than she had anticipated. Her years on sailing about with her father have given her a solid theoretical knowledge of sailing, but little practical experience as a sailor. Her skills as an aristocrat of Sargava gave her no practical skills beyond those she had gained running with the river rats as a child. Her father and stepmother had succeeded in one aspect quite well: Isobel now considered herself a proper lady and tries to solve problems with intelligence and charm before resorting to violence. Her funds only were able to get her passage on one of the tribute ships to Port Peril and no farther, and without practical skills she was somewhat directionless. She sought out a tavern to relax and plan her next move.
The Formidably Maid was a bit rougher a locale than the places Isobel was used to, but it was what she could afford. She only had one foul smelling rum drink to keep from looking out of place, but it hit her a lot harder than she expected. Leaving the tavern to get some air, Isobel staggered down towards the docks. Before she got there, a group of toughs grabbed her and threw a sack over her head. The sack smelled of some strange alchemical brew, and Isobel’s head throbbed in pain until she finally fell unconscious.
Isobel is beautiful, charming, intelligent, strong-willed, and has an intelligent draconic companion. But for all that she still wants...more. Not love and adventure or anything silly like that; rather she wants more money and power. She is usually very calm and focused on getting whatever it is she's after. She's greedy, but more in a big business sort of way rather than robbing people or looting ruins for treasure. Still if that’s what it takes…
And here is Isobel at 2nd level:
Isobel Imperia Novennia Charthagnion
N Medium Female Human (Chelaxian) summoner 2
Init +2; Senses Perception +0
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 13 (2d8)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +3
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk dagger +1 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8/19-20)
Spells (CL 2nd; concentration +6)
0-level (at will)—detect magic, guidance, message, read magic, resistance
1st-level (4/day)—enlarge person, grease, mage armor )
Spell-like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +6)
8/day—summon monster I
----- Statistics -----
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 20
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 11
Feats Extra Evolution, Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Flaws Nonathletic
Traits Merchant, River Rat, The Governor’s Child, World Traveler (Sense Motive)
Drawback Maimouphobia
Skills Appraise +9 (+10 when bargaining), Bluff +5, Climb –3, Diplomacy +11, Disguise +5, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nobles) +8, Profession (sailor) +5, Ride +7, Sense Motive +6 (+7 when bargaining), Spellcraft +8, Swim +3, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Draconic, Halfling, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ bond senses (2 rnds/day), eidolon link, life link, share spells with eidolon
Gear leather armor, masterwork dagger, light crossbow, 10 bolts, spell component pouch, 70 gp
This large blue-black lizard’s head is the size of a dog with a glowing rune on its forehead and small, vestigial wings on it’s back. It has a very short rounded snout and it’s big eyes make it almost nauseatingly cute.
Chauncey
N Medium Outsider
Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
----- Defense -----
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +6 Natural)
hp 17 (2d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +0
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +3 (1d4+2 plus push 5 ft.) and bite +3 (1d6+2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks pounce (full attack after charge)
----- Statistics -----
Str 15, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Power Attack
Skills Acrobatics +7, Climb +10, Knowledge (planes) +3, Perception +4, Swim +7
Languages Common
SQ evolutions (bite, claws, climb, improved natural armor, limbs (x2), pounce, push)
Oops! Scratch the leather armor in Isobel's stat block. She uses mage armor, just as God intended. I will correct when I post the level three stats.
Session 5:
The third day of the journey had most of the party fatigued after working diligently all day. Minerva, however, used some of her break time from swabbing the decks to drill a hole from the galley into Mr. Plugg’s quarters so that they could listen in on any plans being made without detection. Silas asked Rosie if she knew why she and Sandara had been separated out to sleep in the same area as all of Mr. Plugg’s flunkies instead of with the rest of the crew. Rosie had no clue and only could report being glared at by the rest of those crewmen except for Sandara. During his rat-catching duties, Silas listened in on conversations by Plugg’s crew whenever he could and heard Rickety’s Squibs mentioned, confirming the direction the ship was heading. Aakin was so inept at being a runner that he ended up taking three lashes from the cat during bloody hour at the end of the day, rendering him unconscious.
After bloody hour, as Hakhan and Will collected feathers off the deck, Minerva and Will noticed some ominous clouds on the horizon and a change in the wind: a storm was building and was most likely going to hit the Man’s Promise on the morrow. Hakhan, Minerva, Silas, and Chauncey took turns listening to the conversations in Plugg’s cabin through the spy hole Minerva created. They heard Mr. Plugg, Master Scourge and the others plotting ways to dispose of the seven “troublesome” crewmen before getting to port. Since they were running with a skeleton crew, when to do the action and dump the bodies was critical as too soon could cause the ship difficulty in getting safely to Rickety’s Squibs.
The storm hit the Man’s Promise in the early hours of the following day. All crew were in the riggings and working hard to keep the ship afloat. The ship was driven far off course, and during the day the crew began to spot reefs and sharp shoals all about them. It was then that ten grindylows were spotted by Isobel coming aboard near Silas. The party engaged the monsters and Silas was nearly killed by a powerful spear strike. His orc ferocity kept him conscious long enough for Minerva to get close enough to heal him with channelled energy. As Will swung down from the rigging and attacked and half their numbers fell, the grindylows fled into the storm.
The remainder of the day and through the night the crew worked to keep the ship from floundering. Just before dawn the Man’s Promise struck a reef and was grounded. Shortly thereafter the storm abated and a calm, serene day dawned. The ship was holed in the main hold and left high and dry by the tide. Mr. Plugg called the roll of the crew, and three of the ship’s sailors were discovered to be missing: Sandara Quinn, Crimson Cogward, and Hakhan. Mr. Plugg assumed they were thrown overboard in the storm and began ordering the crew to dismantle some of the decking to repair the hole in the hull. Silas found Sandara’s holy symbol about where the grindylows clambered aboard. He pocketed it and began to wonder whether she had fallen overboard or was captured.
Before repairs could get underway, the crew discovered that the main water barrel had burst leaving the ship with very little drinking water. Minerva immediately volunteered to conjure the water up through divine magic and was forbidden to do so by Mr. Plugg, as he wants nothing to do with “supernatural” mumbo jumbo. No potentially poisonous magic water for his crew. He then assigned Minerva, Aakin, Fancy Will, Dahryen, Silas, and Isobel with taking the ship’s cutter to Bonewrack Isle—an island not far from the reef where the Man’s Promise lay—fill another large water barrel up with whatever potable water they could find and be back on the ship in 48 hours. The Man’s Promise would be repaired enough to sail on by then and with a less sized crew they might make it without extra water. So the party had to be back by then or be left behind.
Hakhan had actually been hiding below decks to make everyone think he was dead. When he heard the orders, he snuck into the large water barrel assigned to the party for water filling and was placed in it on the cutter. The party decided to go round a large fist of rock sticking up on the northeast corner of the island in order to be out of view from the Man’s Promise. After a half hour Hakhan began tapping on the inside of the barrel to be let out. Minerva was relieved as she had been feeling rather guilty about Hakhan’s death, as she was the last to see him before he had vanished.
After two hours they reached the shore, but it wasn’t a very good spot to land and they had to pull the cutter far out of the water in order to keep it from being pulled out on the tide. They then let Hakhan out of the barrel. Just beyond the initial trees, they discerned a large fetid bog. Exhausted from the night of the storm, the party set up watches and rested for 10 hours to recuperate. During this time Minerva filled the barrel with sea water and purified most of it, leaving just enough bitterness to convince anyone drinking it that it couldn’t have been made with divine magic.
Silas decided to climb the fist of stone to look around and see if he could get the lay of the land. There he found an old beacon fire that was never lit. He could see the Man’s Promise, some fields to the southwest that formed a break in the jungle near a large beach, and a stockade on top of the western ridge of the island. He climbed back down and informed the party of what he saw. They determined to check out the stockade and see if there was anyone else on the island. A short while after they set out, Aakin’s keen eyes made out scrimshaw writ skeletons propped up in the shallows off shore. Silas waded out for a better look and found that many of the images were of people being killed and eaten by grindylows.
Proceeding away from the shore and near the south edge of the swamp Aakin spotted a large tree with some sort of structure attached to its base. Investigating, they found a huge tent draped over the base of a large tree, smelling of cheap perfume and rotting flesh. Lurid, painted faces covered both the tree trunk and tent, and both were decorated with rotting humanoid body parts and carpets of squirming insects. Casting detect magic, the party determined that there was a soft glow somewhere inside the tent. The sun then went down and five ghouls emerged, former whores. It was a quick battle and Hakhan used two flasks of alchemist’s fire, but Fancy Will got bit and was paralyzed.
After the fight they found a potion in a leather hip flask depicting a crocodile and a few other valuable items including another six flasks of alchemist’s fire. Beside the tent they discovered a path that led north into the swamp and southwest towards the fields Silas had seen earlier. They followed the path southwest out of the swamp and along the shore line into the evening. There they found some very tall palm trees with a mass of coconuts at the top. Beneath three of the trees could be seen a number of shattered coconuts. Four giant crabs came down from the trees to attack the party when they investigated. The fight was brief but the party was hammered by the power of the crabs’ claws. Minerva was nearly killed by one and was saved by Fancy Will and Silas. Will said this is the way it should be, with the men saving the woman. Minerva promptly began a new drinking game in which she took a drink whenever Will said something stupid.
It became apparent that Will had contracted ghoul fever, so Minerva found herself obligated to treat him. The party decide to cook coconut crab for supper and rest for the remainder of the night. They arose the next morning with little more than one day left before the Man’s Promise left without them. Due to Minerva’s treatment, Will overcame the ghoul fever. As they approached the field Silas saw the evening before, they found it was an overgrown corn field with the heads of dead sailors rotting on posts in the place of scarecrows. The track they were on split with one path entering the corn field and the other heading in the direction of the stockade.
The party decided to approach the stockade first. Its gate was ajar and Will charged forward to investigate. Just after noticing a spyglass fixed on the wall deliberately fixed looking south, he was attacked by three vine chokers hiding in the limbs of a tree within the stockade. He avoided two of the attacks and started being strangled by the third. Silas ran in and grabbed one of the appendages that was strangling will and pulled the vine choker to the ground. Hakhan then ran it through with Will’s rapier. After a quick fight, the party finished them off.
Will then looked through the spyglass and saw two grindylows cavorting in a sunken cove to the south. Everyone took a turn looking through and Dahryen noticed that one of the grindylows was wearing Sandara’s tricorne hat. Will and Minerva wanted to set out at once to see if their friends were still alive. Hakhan and Silas recommended checking out the cabin and the foul smell emitting from it first. They took the spyglass down from the wall while Dahryen and Hakhan checked out the choker’s nest. Silas and Minerva investigated the cabin and found a man hanging in the center of the room with insects flying about.
The hanging man turned out to be a ghast, which began to strike at the party members while the flies swarmed and bit them. When Chauncey killed the ghast, he exploded into a swarm of botflies. The swarm infected Minerva, Will, and Silas with ghoul fever. They began to use alchemist’s fire to wipe out the botfly swarm. Chauncey swallowed a bit of the swarm, which caused Isobel to suck up at damage and dismiss him because of the damage being done to him. The party used up seven alchemist’s fire flasks to destroy the swarm.
Finding some finely tailored courtier’s outfits, Will took off his clothing and dressed himself in finery. They found a magic ring in a pocket and some valuables in a spice chest. The party then healed up and headed towards the cornfield to get to the cove. Passing through the field, the party was ambushed by an ankheg from bellow the ground. However the party was so on edge they got the drop on the beast and killed it before it was able to attack and drag Fancy Will below the ground.
The party at last arrived at the mouth of the deep depression leading to the cove where they saw the grindylows. Aakin spotted a wreck beneath the water in a bed of coral just off the shore. Between the wreck and the cove was a veritable army of scrimshaw skeleton sculptures. The cliffs around the cove were from 40 to 80 feet in height. At the bottom of the cliffs they were able to locate tunnel entrances. The party decided to rest at the top of the cliffs for 8 hours before descending. They now had 15 hours remaining.
What kind of a pirate campaign is one without a swashbuckler? One that doesn’t include Fancy Will, played by my cousin Alyson, that’s what kind! Probably far less amusing for all concerned as well.
William Eudonius “Fancy Will” Telastrum III
Male human (Taldan) swashbuckler 1
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Perception –1
----- Defense -----
AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 12 (1d10+2)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will –1
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +7 (1d6+1/18-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 16
Feats Dazzling Display (rapier), Dodge, Weapon Focus (rapier)
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff +2, Climb +5, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +8, Perception –1, Profession (sailor) +3, Sense Motive –1, Stealth +2, Swim +6
Traits Fencer, Rich Parents, Touched by the Sea
Languages Common
SQ Derring-do, dodging panache, opportune parry and riposte, panache (4 points/day), swashbuckler finesse
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, courtier’s outfit with jewelry (50 gp), silk scarf, 2x belt pouch, hip flask, 317 gp
Age: 25; Height: 5' 10”; Weight: 180 lb.; Eyes: Blue; Hair: Blondish; Skin: Delicate
William Telastrum is a very handsome young man, but his manners are an example of politeness taken too far. He comes across as a ridiculous dandy and is often laughed at both behind his back and to his face. He simply interprets this as “good humour” and does not mind in the least.
William Eudonius Telastrum III came from a very well-to-do Taldan minor noble house in Oppara. House Telastrum is well respected and owe their current wealth to a very successful mercantile venture which carries their name. They seem to have an almost preternatural ability to see coming trends and adapt to benefit the most from changes and opportunities. The secret reason for this is their hidden partnership in the Aspis Consortium. The ruthless trade syndicate is considered to be a Chelaxian creation and is frowned upon in Taldor although not actually outlawed. The family would find its status and fortunes greatly compromised if this source of money and influence was discovered.
William, sadly, knew nothing of this. His governess raised him on classic tales of Cayden Cailean, his daring acts of heroism and derring-do, and his great compassion. She was a sea captain’s daughter and also filled William’s head with the love of the sea. Not overly bright and lacking great perception, William ignored the more subtle lessons that his parents tried to ply him with as irrelevant; he would be a dashing hero like his idol god, sailing in the Taldan Navy and saving fair damsels from vicious slavers.
In order to do this, he had to learn to sail and fight. Since much of the family’s trade involved the sea and combat was always a good fall back skill the family spared no expense training him in sword fighting and the profession of sailing, imagining that he'd be a great asset to the family "business" one day in some form or another. But it eventually became apparent that he was too pure of heart and lacked the wisdom to really "fit." They needed him gone before he discovered the true nature of the family business and his honesty ruined the entire family.
His mother Viniana knew he'd never leave on his own, so she asked William to take a trip to Sargava on the far side of Garund from Taldor and Oppara where he grew up to “investigate their business concerns there, as there appear to be some discrepancies in the books and she feared foul play.” Seeing this as an opportunity to seek out his personal destiny and fulfill his lifelong dream of sailing on a great ocean voyage, he agreed.
William’s parents paid the captain of the caracal he was on to begin “taking on water” after they got past the Eye of Abendego and had to set in to Port Peril for repairs. While there, they hired someone to hit him over the head, tie him up and then pressgang onto a ship. While the “repairs” were being made he explored the capital of the Shackles and was told by a local to go to the Formidably Maid for the best drinks. William complied not realizing that the “local” was involved with the second part of the plan: hiring a pirate and his crew to “eliminate the family problem.”
After a few drinks at the Formidably Maid, William went down to the docks to take in a view of the sea. The last thing he remembered was a blow to the back of his head and the waves rushing up to meet him. Here fate, destiny, or dumb luck came in to play: the crew of the Wormwood—the pirates that the family hired—needed crewmen because of a recent mishap involving the Chelish Navy. So instead of killing him, they press ganged William into the crew. He still disappeared in Port Peril, so the family is happy…unless, of course, he shows up again.
One of William’s goals is to return to his poor distraught family who must miss him so! Of course given his swashbuckling nature and need to do good deeds, he invariably gets distracted by any fair maiden in distress. He's dexterous and charismatic even if he is somewhat ridiculous (he thinks his charisma is because of his charming good looks, when in actuality—despite seeming like a buffoon—he is an amazing swordsman, continuously flipping his swords around in amazing and intimidating ways, but not really aware of the affect it has on others. It's more or less habit for him.)
And here is Will at 2nd level!
William Eudonius “Fancy Will” Telastrum III
Male human (Taldan) swashbuckler 2
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Perception –1
----- Defense -----
AC 18, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 24 (2d10+4)
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will –1
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +8 (1d6+1/18-20)
or mwk dagger +7 (1d4+1/19-20)
Ranged mwk dagger +7 (1d4+1/19-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 17
Feats Dazzling Display (rapier), Dodge, Weapon Focus (rapier)
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +2, Climb +6, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +9, Intimidate +9, Perception –1, Profession (sailor) +4, Sense Motive –1, Stealth +2, Swim +7
Traits Fencer, Rich Parents, Touched by the Sea
Languages Common
SQ Charmed life (3/day), derring-do, dodging panache, opportune parry and riposte, panache (4 points/day), swashbuckler finesse
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, masterwork dagger, rapier, courtier’s outfit with jewelry (50 gp), silk scarf, 2x belt pouch, hip flask, 317 gp
They levelled up to third last session, so I'll make a post with all five described party members at third as soon as I can post the copies.
Alright, here’s a look at the five PCs we have presented thus far at 3rd level:
Minerva Wood
Female human (Chelaxian) cleric of Cayden Cailean 3
NG medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +3
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 23 (3d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +6
Defensive Abilities +2 vs. Charm, Compulsion, and Emotion Effects; +2 Trait bonus vs. mind-affecting effects for 1 hour after drinking alcohol
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +5 (1d6+2/18-20)
Special Attacks Channel positive energy (2d6)(4/day) (DC 12)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +6)
6/day—rebuke death
Spells (CL 3rd; concentration +6)
0-level—detect magic, mending, purify food and drink, stabilize
1st-level—air bubble, command (DC 14), cure light woundsD, divine favor
2nd-level—aboleth’s lung (DC 15), remove paralysis
Domains: Healing, Travel
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats Endurance, Lightning Reflexes, Self-sufficient, Turn Undead (DC 11)
Flaw Choke Under Pressure
Skills Acrobatics +0 (+4 Jump), Appraise +1, Bluff -1, Climb +1, Craft (carpentry) +8, Diplomacy +1, Heal +14, Intimidate +1, Perception +3, Profession (sailor) +9, Sense Motive +9, Survival +6, Swim +3
Traits Anatomist, Fortified Drinker, Principled, Ship's Surgeon
Drawback Doubt
Languages Common, Polyglot
SQ Agile Feet (6/day) (Su), aura (good)
Gear Studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, artisan's tools (Craft [carpentry]), backpack, belt pouch, flint and steel, healer's kit, hip flask, holy symbol—wooden (Cayden Cailean), holy water, signal whistle, silk rope, 17 gp, 10 sp
Hakhan
Male human (Chelaxian) rogue (smuggler) 3
CN medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +5
----- Defense -----
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 21 (3d8)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +0
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee brass knuckles +5 (1d3+2)
improvised junk +7 (1d3+2)
Ranged improvised junk +7 (1d3+2)
Special Attacks Sneak attack (+2d6)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 16
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Catch Off-Guard, Combat Expertise, Throw Anything, Weapon Finesse
Flaw Distractible
Skills Acrobatics +8, Appraise +8, Bluff +9, Climb +6, Craft (tools) +9, Craft (traps) +9, Diplomacy +9, Disable Device +9, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +5, Profession (navigator) +4, Profession (sailor) +3, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +9, Swim +5
Traits Dockside Brawler, Grim Optimism, Improvisational Equipment, Surprise Weapon
Drawback Pride
Languages Common, Kelish, Osiriani, Polyglot, Varisian
SQ Bribery +1, conceal item, distraction, grim optimism (1/day, +2 bonus vs. fear and pain effects for 1d4 rounds to all allies within earshot), obfuscate story
Gear Leather armor, brass knuckles, alchemical acid (x1), animal glue, backpack (satchel), belt pouch, black ink, camouflage netting (urban), candelrods (x2), chalk (x2), charcoal stick (x2), compass, dice, false-bottomed cup, gear maintenance kit, hip flask, inkpen, invisible ink (average), mess kit, parchment (x5), powder (x1), scroll case, sealing wax, shaving kit, silk rope, sunrod (x2), tindertwig (x2), twine (50’), 26 gp, 10 sp, 6 cp
Dahryen Moon
Male human (Kellid) bard (buccaneer) 3
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +6
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 26 (3d8+3+2)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +3
Defensive Abilities +4 vs. bardic performance, sonic, and language based attacks
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 boarding pike of repelling +7 (1d8+4/x3)
or +1 boarding pike of repelling +5/+5 (1d8+3 (x3)/1d6+3 (x2))
or longsword +4 (1d8+2/19-20)
or osiriani short sword +4 (1d6+2/19-20)
Special Attacks Hilt bash
Spells (CL 3rd; concentration +6)
0-level (at will)—dancing lights (DC 13), daze (DC 13), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13), mending, prestidigitation
1st-level (4/day)—feather fall (DC 14), grease (DC 14), hideous laughter (DC 14), silent image (DC 14)
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Arcane Strike, Double Slice, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (boarding pike)
Flaw Spell Futility
Skills Acrobatics +9, Appraise +1, Bluff +3, Climb +7, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +3, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +6, Perform (comedy) +8, Perform (oratory) +9, Perform (sing) +9, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +9, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +7, Swim +3, Use Magic Device +7
Traits Acrobat, Buccaneer’s Blood, Osirion Staff Fighter, Reactionary
Drawback Hedonistic
Languages Common, Hallit, Osiriani
SQ Bardic Performance (7/day), countersong, distraction, fascinate (DC 13), inspire competence +2, inspire courage +1, versatile performance (oratory), well versed
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, +1 boarding pike of repelling, longsword, osiriani short sword (appears similar to a khopesh, but no special abilities), backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, explorer’s outfit, fine spices (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, pepper, allspice, basil, rosemary), flint and steel, grappling hook, rope, soap, waterskin, 5 gp,4 sp
Isobel Imperia Novennia Charthagnion
N Medium Female Human (Chelaxian) summoner 3
Init +2; Senses Perception +0
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor {mage armour}, +2 Dex)
hp 20 (3d8)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +3
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk dagger +2 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +4 (1d8/19-20)
Spells (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
0-level (at will)—detect magic, guidance, mage hand, message, read magic, resistance
1st-level (5/day)—enlarge person (DC 16), grease (DC 17), mage armor, shield
Spell-like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
8/day—summon monster II
----- Statistics -----
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 20
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12
Feats Augment Summoning, Extra Evolution, Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Flaws Nonathletic
Traits Merchant, River Rat, The Governor’s Child, World Traveler (Sense Motive)
Drawback Maimouphobia
Skills Appraise +10 (+11 when bargaining), Bluff +5, Climb –3, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +5, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (arcana) +10, Knowledge (geography) +10, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nobles) +8, Profession (sailor) +6, Ride +8, Sense Motive +7 (+8 when bargaining), Spellcraft +8, Swim +4, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Draconic, Halfling, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ bond senses (3 rnds/day), eidolon link, life link, share spells with eidolon
Gear masterwork dagger, light crossbow, 10 bolts, spell component pouch, 70 gp
This large blue-black lizard’s head is the size of a dog with a glowing rune on its forehead and small, vestigial wings on it’s back. It has a very short rounded snout and it’s big eyes make it almost nauseatingly cute.
Chauncey
N Medium Outsider
Init +6; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
----- Defense -----
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +6 Natural)
hp 25 (3d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +5 (1d6+2) and bite +5 (1d8+2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks pounce (full attack after charge)
----- Statistics -----
Str 15, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 17
Feats Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +10, Knowledge (planes) +4, Perception +6, Swim +8
Languages Common
SQ evolutions (bite, claws, climb, improved natural attack (bite), improved natural attack (claws), improved natural armor, limbs (x2), pounce)
William Eudonius “Fancy Will” Telastrum III
Male human (Taldan) swashbuckler 3
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception –1
----- Defense -----
AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +2 dodge)
hp 35 (3d10+6+1)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +0
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +9 (1d6+1+3/18-20)
or mwk dagger +8 (1d4+1+3/19-20)
or mwk rapier +7 (1d6+1+3/18-20) and mwk dagger +6 (1d4+1+3/19-20)
Ranged mwk dagger +8 (1d4+1/19-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 20
Feats Dazzling Display (rapier), Dodge, Weapon Focus (rapier), Two-Weapon Fighting
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +2, Climb +7, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +9, Perception –1, Profession (sailor) +5, Sense Motive –1, Stealth +2, Swim +8
Traits Fencer, Rich Parents, Touched by the Sea
Languages Common
SQ Charmed life (3/day), derring-do, dodging panache, kip up, menacing swordplay, nimble +1, opportune parry and riposte, panache (4 points/day), swashbuckler finesse, swashbuckler initiative
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, masterwork dagger, rapier, courtier’s outfit with jewelry (50 gp), silk scarf, 2x belt pouch, hip flask, 317 gp.
Session 6:
The party tied two ropes together and then to a nearby tree. They began to descend the 80 foot cliff to the cove. Silas carried Isobel as her non-athletic nature posed a danger. A flock of stirges surprised the party as Silas and Isobel got 20 feet down the rope. Two stirges attached themselves to Isobel and Silas each. As the party engaged them, two more flew over and attached themselves to Minerva. Chauncey killed the ones on Minerva while Aakin, Hakhan and Dahryen killed the ones on Isobel. Will moved down the rope into the same spot as Minerva—squeezing her inappropriately—and killed one of the stirges on Silas. Minerva pushed Will off the rope, at which point he rolled into a perfect swan dive and pierced the choppy water without making a splash. Minerva used her whistle to blast a sound burst on the central flock and nest, destroying the remainder. Silas killed the last stirge on himself, and the party then continued down into the cove.
When they got there, they discovered Will swimming almost gracefully through the churning water. Minerva took a drink and the rest of the party crossed into the eastern tunnel at the bottom of the cove. Minerva put air bubble on herself and crossed over into the tide filling tunnel. They came to a cavern with a lot of seaweed growing in it and decorated with the jawbones of numerous frightful-looking fish, resembling the throat of some hideous aquatic creature.
Minerva noticed that the seaweed was moving against the current in some places. As they moved to a passage on the left, ten grindylows emerged from the seaweed and attacked. At one point in the fight, Hakhan grabbed Will and threw him into the grindylows. Will missed the grindylows and found himself in a trap of hooks hidden amongst the seaweed. Will easily avoided these hooks and kept fighting. The grindylows were soon defeated, but Silas was badly injured by one of the grindylow’s spears and need Minerva to heal him before continuing. They found Sandara’s hat, pipe, and rapier on the grindylows and a single magical bracer in the decorations on the walls.
The party started yelling out Sandara’s name each time they came to a new junction, alerting all occupants that were nearby. They next found a grate under which two lacedons lurked and attacked Silas when he investigated the bars. The fight was finished quickly thanks to Minerva’s holy power, and the party bent back the bars to find a greatcoat with silver buttons. One of the buttons was found to have a secret compartment in which they found a magical feather token marked with an anchor.
The next chamber they entered a chamber with skeletal parts covered in what appeared to be wriggling worms. They were attacked by two devilfish, who used their unholy blood to obscure themselves. The battle was ferocious, and the party was hard pressed but eventually successful. After healing, they passed down another slanting corridor into a large chamber. In the centre, hanging from the ceiling with their legs secured to silver ingots below them, were Sandara and Cog. Cog was missing a leg. Near them was a massive grindylow that appeared to have eaten the leg. A small grindylow at the north edge of the chamber screamed and cut the weeds holding the prisoners up, sending them down to the bottom of the chamber to drown.
Thinking quickly, Hakhan and Silas dove deep to rescue Sandara and Cog. Will and Chauncey moved to attack the whale-sized grindylow. The small grindylow used a wand to summon an octopus to attack the remaining party members, then began casting spells and using a returning harpoon. Under the water, Silas and Hakhan encountered two lacedons eager to devour all four pirates. Using message, Hakhan relayed the situation through Isobel to Minerva as they cut the two captives loose. Minerva acted against the lacedons and allowed Silas and Hakhan to complete the rescue and destroy the undead. Chauncey and Will killed the massive grindylow quickly, and the party turned its attention to the small grindylow that seemed determined to kill them. Another ten grindylows came down the passage they had entered from and attacked from behind. Chauncey, Aakin, and Will concentrated on them while the rest of the party finished of the octopus and began fighting the spell caster.
She decided to try and flee and used her jet ability to attempt an escape. She wasn’t able to get far enough away and Aakin took her down with arrows. The fight with the remaining grindylows was brief, and the party then collected up the silver ingots and what treasure they could fins while healing whoever they could. Sandara gave her tricorne hat—which was a magical hat blessed by Besmara—to Aakin and explained how it could become a boat if necessary. The party found a few interesting items, including the second magic bracer. Silas tried them on to see what they would do in the next combat. The party and their saved friends then began to retrace their steps back to the cove.
They took the second tunnel out of the cove and encountered four grindylows on guard duty as they entered the sea. After quickly dealing with them, Aakin turned the tricorne into a cutter and the party ventured out to the wreck Aakin had spotted earlier as they still had plenty of time to get back to the Man’s Promise before the deadline. Silas, Hakhan, Will, Dahryen, and Chauncey descended to the wreck while the remainder stayed in the cutter. As they searched they were attacked by a giant moray eel. The battle was nasty but short, and after yet more healing—almost the last in Minerva’s repertoire for the day—they finished searching and determined that the vessel had been the Chelish naval vessel Infernus. They also found evidence that they had been transporting something g dangerous in a cage. Minerva was called to check it out and soon determined that ghouls had been held in there.
They were disappointed with treasure, bring up some cheap perfume and funerary urns. They then sailed up to the spot where they left the first boat and decided to rest and get ready for whatever greeting Mr. Plugg had ready for them. Minerva cleaned up Cog’s leg and helped the sick members of the party finally shake off the last vestiges of ghoul fever.
With five hours remaining, the party set out at one in the morning to return to the Man’s Promise with the water and their rescued comrades. Hakhan took an invisibility potion as they approached the ship so as to surprise any opposition they might receive. As the pulled up alongside, the party noticed many cocked crossbows ready to fire as the boom were lowered to take the water barrel aboard. When Mr. Plugg tried to spring his ambush, Chauncey clambered up onto the deck and attacked. Aakin moved the cutter forward to the ladder while Silas and Will climbed up the side. Hakhan came aboard on top of the water barrel and used his first actions to free Owlbear from his shackles so that he could join the fight. Aakin used the spell peacebond to keep Master Scourge from getting his hand axe out. This delayed Scourge long enough to be taken down by the party. Will began dueling Mr. Plugg one-on-one while Slippery Syl tried to kill Hakhan.
As Aakin arrived on the deck, he revealed himself to be an inquisitor of Besmara, tasked with ridding the Shackles of pirates who break the Pirate’s Code. This caused a strong shift in the battle in favour of Aakin and his allies. A number of Rahadoumi sailors were killed by Chauncey. Dahryen was attacked savagely by Aretta Bansion, but managed to avoid being killed by his ex-lover. Minerva used the spell drunkard’s breath to incapacitate Tam “Narwhal” Tate. Mr. Plugg finally fell to Will’s blade and the remaining pirates surrendered.
An election was held as to who would now act as Captain. It was a tough decision, but when Aakin withdrew his name and backed Isobel, Thalios, and Silas voiced their support as well. They pointed out that the young woman had great potential ability, knowledge of sailing and the shipping routes, and could summon a dragon to help her. They would help advise her as she learned the ropes. In spite of her inexperience, the crew backed her provisionally; so long as she treated them well and was a successful pirate, she had the crew’s support.
Captain Isobel Charthagnion began her command by appointing her new officers: Dahryen was made First Mate, Hakhan became Quartermaster, Silas became Ship Master (Navigator) and Master-of-Arms, Fancy Will became Boatswain, Minerva was given the position of Carpenter/Surgeon, Kroop remained Cook, Sandara became Ship’s Chaplain, Thalios became Master Gunner, Rosie Cuswell was made Coxswain, Conchobhar Shortstone became Boatswain’s Mate, and Crimson Cogward was made Gunner’s Mate. Aakin declined the position of Master-of-Arms, surprising everyone by remaining the Cook’s Mate. The ship’s repairs were completed and the Man’s Promise began the journey to Rickety’s Squibs to finish repairs and start their new careers as independent pirates.
Now that the humans are statted out, it’s time to move on to the half-orc of the group: Silas Rand, a brawler (from the playtest for the upcoming Advanced Class Guide) played by my friend Jacen. Silas has a unique Campaign Trait: Bare-knuckle Fighter!
Bare-knuckle Fighter: You grew up as a prize fighter in of one of the Shackles’ numerous ports or anchorages, and have become incredibly skilled in various forms of unarmed combat. You know how to play to the crowd to increase your haul as well. You gain a +1 trait bonus on damage rolls with unarmed strikes and a +2 bonus to Perform (oratory) skill checks, and Perform (oratory) is a class skill for you.
You’ve built up a reputation as a great pit-fighter, and have come to spend some of your winnings in Port Peril. One night you are having a few drinks at the Formidably Maid, a tavern with some decent brew, and suddenly found yourself feeling wobbly. Trying to stand, you find your feet won’t respond and you fall to the barroom floor as the room goes black.
He also uses the Skilled Crewman Regional Trait from FGG’s Razor Coast:
Skilled Crewman: You have spent the majority of your life working on ships. Pick one of the following skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (geography), Swim, or Survival. You gain a +1 trait bonus to that skill and it is always a class skill for you.
Finally, we swapped out some Racial Traits to better fit his background: We exchanged Skilled for Darkvision and Hatred (goblinoids and orcs) for Orc Weapon Familiarity (they have the same rough value in the Advanced Race Guide race builder). We replaced Jistka for Orc under racial languages.
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 1
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Perception +5
----- Defense -----
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 14 (1d10+4)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +5 (1d6+5)
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +1, Bluff –3, Climb +8, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (history) +7, Perception +5, Perform (oratory) +5, Profession (sailor) +5, Stealth –1, Swim +8
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Martial maneuvers, martial training
Gear Leather armor, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), tanglefoot bag, waterproof bag, 38 gp, 4 sp
Age: 20; Height: 6' 9”; Weight: 275lb.; Eyes: Green; Hair: Black; Skin: Gray
To the average person who sees Silas Rand, they see a hulking, stupid, brutish, and very ugly half-orc. Although very large and strong, this first impression is highly inaccurate.
Silas was raised by his mother Alinza, a Varisian noblewoman from Ustalav who was a victim of an orc raiding party from Belkzen in her in her youth. A devout worshiper of Desna she believed that it wasn’t her son’s fault for the circumstances of his birth and that Silas should be free to find a destiny of his own. She raised him and loved the boy as best she could.
Ostracized by her family and community for rearing what some viewed as an abomination Alinza left Ustalav and travelled as far as she could. Trying to find some place where she and her son would not be marked out as different, she eventually found her way to Falchion Point on Widowmaker Isle in the Shackles. The Shackles have always taken in the refuse of other societies and so she was able to settle there without much notice. An educated woman with few marketable skills she found life difficult at first, but then met a semi-retired pit-fighter named Pavo Rand. She eventually married him to stabilize her son’s life, even though Rand initially didn’t want Silas around. As Silas grew, Pavo came to realize the half-orc was a perfect specimen to learn his art and therefore he began teaching Silas all he knew about pit-fighting.
Alinza wasn’t very happy with this, but soon realized that her son would need some trade to be successful, and fighting was definitely something he was suited for. So on top of his combat studies, Silas learned more than just how to use his knuckles. He became versed in various languages common to the Shackles and Jistka—the ancient scholar’s tongue—though he never learned orc. Indeed, his mother’s flight and the harm done to her has left a seething hatred for his natural father’s kin. He learned to sail and explored some of the old Ghol-Gan ruins in the Isles out of intellectual curiosity when he wasn’t training.
His mother taught him that Desna preached for each person to follow their own path and find their destiny; that he shouldn’t feel beholden to what others would expect him to be. From her he learned patience and compromise, making friends through storytelling and good manners. Those who bothered to get to know Silas found a kind, well-bred, and insightful man with a keen intellect and a profound curiosity about the world.
Before his first actual fight in the arena Alinza gave him a buckle embossed with a crest she designed for her new family: a raised fist, shrouded in iron (not a gauntlet, but a hand fashioned from iron plating) with a blue background, the “iron” fist in the centre, flanked by a tome and an owl. A motto in Jistka that reads “Strength is Body and Mind” was beneath on a white banner all bordered in a bit of purple. On the back was an embossed butterfly, the holy symbol of Desna. Although she had a family crest from Ustalav, she abandoned it when she left her disapproving family behind. Silas considered it a blessing from the goddess and won his first battle easily. He now wears the buckle as his good luck charm and is never away from it if he can help it.
Silas built up a reputation as a great pit-fighter and took a trip to spend some of his winnings in Port Peril. One night near the end of his funds he was having a few drinks at the Formidably Maid—a tavern with some decent brew—and suddenly found himself feeling wobbly. Trying to stand, Silas found his feet wouldn’t respond and he fell to the barroom floor as the room went black.
And here is Silas at 2nd and 3rd levels!
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 2
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Perception +6
----- Defense -----
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 21 (2d10+5)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +1
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +6 (1d6+5)
or brawler’s fury +4/+4 (1d6+5)
or mwk short sword +7 (1d6+4/19-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +2; CMB +6; CMD 17
Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +1, Bluff –3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (history) +7, Perception +6, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (sailor) +6, Sense Motive +6, Stealth –1, Swim +9
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Martial maneuvers, martial training
Gear Leather armor, masterwork short sword, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), tanglefoot bag, waterproof bag, 38 gp, 4 sp
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 3
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Perception +9
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +1 natural, +1 Dex)
hp 32 (3d10+6)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +7 (1d6+5)
or brawler’s fury +5/+5 (1d6+5)
or mwk short sword +8 (1d6+4/19-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +7; CMD 18
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +1, Bluff –3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +10, Knowledge (history) +7, Perception +9, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (navigator) +7, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +9, Stealth –1, Swim +9
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Dirty trick training, martial maneuvers, martial training
Gear Leather armor, amulet of natural armor +1, masterwork short sword, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), tanglefoot bag, waterproof bag, 391 gp, 4 sp
Well that wraps up The Wormwood Mutiny! With that the party is now 4th level, and I'll post their stats once I get all the characters together. On to Raiders of the Fever Sea!
Alright, here’s a look at the six PCs we have presented thus far at 4th level:
Minerva Wood
Female human (Chelaxian) cleric of Cayden Cailean 4
NG medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +3
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 32 (4d8+8)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +7
Defensive Abilities +2 vs. Charm, Compulsion, and Emotion Effects; +2 Trait bonus vs. mind-affecting effects for 1 hour after drinking alcohol
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +6 (1d6+2/18-20)
Special Attacks Channel positive energy (2d6)(4/day) (DC 13)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +7)
6/day—rebuke death
Spells (CL 4th; concentration +7)
0-level—detect magic, mending, purify food and drink, stabilize
1st-level—air bubble, command (DC 14), cure light woundsD, divine favor, enhance water, pick your poison
2nd-level—cure moderate woundsD, drunkard’s breath (DC 15), remove paralysis, sound burst (DC 15)
Domains: Healing, Travel
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Endurance, Lightning Reflexes, Self-sufficient, Turn Undead (DC 11)
Flaw Choke Under Pressure
Skills Acrobatics +0 (+4 Jump), Appraise +1, Bluff -1, Climb +1, Craft (carpentry) +9, Diplomacy +1, Heal +15, Intimidate +1, Perception +3, Profession (sailor) +10, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +5, Survival +6, Swim +3
Traits Anatomist, Fortified Drinker, Principled, Ship's Surgeon
Drawback Doubt
Languages Common, Polyglot
SQ Agile Feet (6/day) (Su), aura (good)
Gear Studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, artisan's tools (Craft [carpentry]), backpack, belt pouch, flint and steel, healer's kit, hip flask, holy symbol—wooden (Cayden Cailean), holy water, signal whistle, silk rope, 17 gp, 10 sp
.
Hakhan
Male human (Chelaxian) rogue (smuggler) 4
CN medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +6
----- Defense -----
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 26 (4d8)
Fort +1, Ref +7, Will +0
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee brass knuckles +6 (1d3+2)
or improvised junk +8 (1d3+2)
Ranged improvised junk +8 (1d3+2)
or pistol +6 (1d8/x4)
Special Attacks Sneak attack (+2d6)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 19, Wis 8, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Catch Off-Guard, Combat Expertise, Exotic Weapon Training (firearms), Throw Anything, Weapon Finesse
Flaw Distractible
Skills Acrobatics +9, Appraise +9, Bluff +10, Climb +6, Craft (tools) +10, Craft (traps) +10, Diplomacy +10, Disable Device +10, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (engineering) +7, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +6, Profession (navigator) +5, Profession (sailor) +3, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +12, Stealth +10, Swim +5
Traits Dockside Brawler, Grim Optimism, Improvisational Equipment, Surprise Weapon
Drawback Pride
Languages Common, Kelish, Osiriani, Polyglot, Varisian
SQ Bribery +1, conceal item, distraction, firearm training, grim optimism (1/day, +2 bonus vs. fear and pain effects for 1d4 rounds to all allies within earshot), obfuscate story, uncanny dodge
Gear Leather armor, brass knuckles, pistols (x2), alchemical acid (x1), animal glue, backpack (satchel), belt pouch, black ink, camouflage netting (urban), candelrods (x2), chalk (x2), charcoal stick (x2), compass, dice, false-bottomed cup, gear maintenance kit, hip flask, inkpen, invisible ink (average), mess kit, parchment (x5), powder (x1), scroll case, sealing wax, shaving kit, silk rope, sunrod (x2), tindertwig (x2), twine (50’), 26 gp, 10 sp, 6 cp
.
Dahryen Moon
Male human (Kellid) bard (buccaneer) 4
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 33 (4d8+4+2)
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +4
Defensive Abilities +4 vs. bardic performance, sonic, and language based attacks
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 boarding pike of repelling +8 (1d8+4/x3)
or +1 boarding pike of repelling +6/+6 (1d8+3 (x3)/1d6+3 (x2))
or longsword +5 (1d8+2/19-20)
or osiriani short sword +5 (1d6+2/19-20)
Special Attacks Hilt bash, song of surrender (DC 13)
Spells (CL 4th; concentration +7)
0-level (at will)—dancing lights (DC 13), daze (DC 13), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13), mending, prestidigitation
1st-level (4/day)—feather fall (DC 14), grease (DC 14), hideous laughter (DC 14), silent image (DC 14)
2nd-level (2/day)—glitterdust (DC 15), silence (DC 15)
----- Statistics -----
Str 15, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 18
Feats Arcane Strike, Double Slice, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (boarding pike)
Flaw Spell Futility
Skills Acrobatics +9, Appraise +1, Bluff +3, Climb +7, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +3, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +6, Perform (comedy) +8, Perform (oratory) +9, Perform (sing) +9, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +9, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +7, Swim +3, Use Magic Device +7
Traits Acrobat, Buccaneer’s Blood, Osirion Staff Fighter, Reactionary
Drawback Hedonistic
Languages Common, Hallit, Osiriani
SQ Bardic Performance (7/day), countersong, distraction, fascinate (DC 13), inspire competence +2, inspire courage +1, song of surrender (DC 13), versatile performance (oratory), well versed
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, +1 boarding pike of repelling, longsword, osiriani short sword (appears similar to a khopesh, but no special abilities), backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, explorer’s outfit, fine spices (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, pepper, allspice, basil, rosemary), flint and steel, grappling hook, rope, soap, waterskin, 5 gp,4 sp
.
Isobel Imperia Novennia Charthagnion
N Medium Female Human (Chelaxian) summoner 4
Init +2; Senses Perception +0
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor {mage armour}, +2 Dex)
hp 28 (4d8)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +4
Defensive Abilities Shield ally (+2 AC/Saves when within reach of eidolon)
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk dagger +3 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +5 (1d8/19-20)
Spells (CL 4th; concentration +8)
0-level (at will)—detect magic, guidance, mage hand, message, read magic, resistance
1st-level (5/day)—enlarge person (DC 16), grease (DC 17), mage armor, shield
2nd-level (2/day)—haste, lesser evolution surge (DC 17)
Spell-like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +8)
8/day—summon monster II
----- Statistics -----
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 20
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12
Feats Augment Summoning, Extra Evolution, Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Flaws Nonathletic
Traits Merchant, River Rat, The Governor’s Child, World Traveler (Sense Motive)
Drawback Maimouphobia
Skills Appraise +11 (+12 when bargaining), Bluff +5, Climb –3, Diplomacy +13, Disguise +5, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nobles) +8, Profession (sailor) +7, Ride +8, Sense Motive +8 (+9 when bargaining), Spellcraft +8, Swim +5, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Draconic, Halfling, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ bond senses (4 rnds/day), eidolon link, life link, share spells with eidolon, shield ally
Gear masterwork dagger, scroll of mage armor, light crossbow, 10 bolts, spell component pouch, 421 gp, 5 cp
This large blue-black lizard’s head is the size of a dog with a glowing rune on its forehead and small, vestigial wings on it’s back. It has a very short rounded snout and it’s big eyes make it almost nauseatingly cute.
Chauncey
N Medium Outsider
Init +6; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
----- Defense -----
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +6 Natural)
hp 25 (3d10+3)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +6 (1d6+3) and bite +6 (1d8+3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks pounce (full attack after charge)
----- Statistics -----
Str 17, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 18
Feats Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +10, Knowledge (planes) +4, Perception +6, Swim +8
Languages Common
SQ evolutions (ability increase (STR), bite, claws, climb, improved natural attack (bite), improved natural attack (claws), improved natural armor, limbs (x2), pounce)
.
William Eudonius “Fancy Will” Telastrum III
Male human (Taldan) swashbuckler 4
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception –1
----- Defense -----
AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +2 dodge)
hp 44 (4d10+8+2)
Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +0
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +10 (1d6+3+4/18-20)
or mwk dagger +9 (1d4+1+4/19-20)
or mwk rapier +8 (1d6+3+4/18-20) and mwk dagger +7 (1d4+4/19-20)
Ranged mwk dagger +9 (1d4+1/19-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 19
Base Atk +4; CMB +5; CMD 21
Feats Dazzling Display (rapier), Dodge, Weapon Focus (rapier), Weapon Specialization (rapier), Two-Weapon Fighting
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +11, Bluff +2, Climb +8, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +11, Intimidate +9, Perception –1, Profession (sailor) +6, Sense Motive –1, Stealth +2, Swim +9
Traits Fencer, Rich Parents, Touched by the Sea
Languages Common
SQ Charmed life (3/day), derring-do, dodging panache, kip up, menacing swordplay, nimble +1, opportune parry and riposte, panache (4 points/day), swashbuckler finesse, swashbuckler initiative
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, masterwork dagger, rapier, courtier’s outfit with jewelry (50 gp), silk scarf, 2x belt pouch, hip flask, 317 gp.
.
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 4
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +2; Senses Perception +10
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +1 natural, +1 dodge, +2 Dex)
hp 38 (4d10+8)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +8 (1d8+5)
or brawler’s fury +6/+6 (1d8+5)
or mwk short sword +9 (1d6+4/19-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 21
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +6, Bluff –3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Escape Artist +6, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (local) +4, Perception +10, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (navigator) +8, Profession (sailor) +8, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +0, Swim +9
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Dirty trick training, martial maneuvers, martial training
Gear Leather armor, amulet of natural armor +1, masterwork short sword, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), tanglefoot bag, waterproof bag, 391 gp, 4 sp
Session 7:
As the Man’s Promise sailed towards Rickety’s Squibs, newly elected Captain Isobel Charthagnion called a meeting of the officers to discuss the Articles under which the ship would sail. Dahryen, Hakhan, Minerva, Fancy Will, Ambrose Kroop, Sandara, Thalios, and Silas all attended. Aakin, as an inquisitor of Besmara, was invited for his insights but declined saying only that whatever rules they came up with were fine with him as long as it held to the Pirate’s Code. The conference produced a series of rules that were to be put to the crew when the ship was rechristened.
After the Articles were drawn up, the officers collected together their funds and began calculating how much squibbing the Man’s Promise would cost. From what Hakhan had heard they would require at least a couple of thousand gold pieces. They soon ascertained that they probably had enough money and goods for the squibbing. They then divided up items that the party wanted to keep from among the various goods so as to not add them to the squib and repair fund. They also allotted six pistols that had been discovered in Mr. Plugg’s possession to Minerva. However, two appeared to be missing. The party assumed they had miscounted and moved on.
They agreed after the division and collection of funds to search the ship from one end to the other for more items and valuables. As the search was going on, Hakhan confronted Slippery Syl and informed her that it wouldn’t work out between them because he was “now an officer and she was f&%$ing nuts”. This did nothing to improve his “relationship” with the psychopath.
The search revealed two items of note: the ship had been rechristened before—it had been called the Motley—and a small smuggler’s cache in the quartermaster’s hold, about the size of a large book. The lock on it had been forced and whatever was there was taken, leaving it empty. The crew decided to remove the Man’s Promise nameplate and use the name Motley when going to Rickety’s for an added level of anonymity.
Hakhan spent the next few days repairing the lock to the smugglers cache with little success. Dahryen began training Owlbear Hartshorn to be a proper sailor and join the crew as an equal. Minerva made a nice leg for Crimson Cogward and then began marking out walls for a surgery. Captain Isobel promised Cog 800 gp as soon as they have the money for losing his leg, a rule of the articles.
After two days, they arrived at Rickety’s Squibs just past dawn. As the docks came into view, a checkered flag of yellow and red was raised from a well hidden watch tower on top of a promontory of the headland protecting Rickety’s Squibs from the sea. An answering flag of blue was raised from the docks. Rickety Hake—an elderly, stooped man—then came out to the Man’s Promise with a few men in a small single mast longboat and requested to come aboard. Once aboard, Rickety immediately went to work appraising the cost of a squib repair for the ship. Minerva and Rickety hit it off immediately, and began discussing possibilities.
Rickety came to the number of 2000 gp and seven days to complete the job. He could also add smuggling holds for an extra 500 gp each. They further negotiated extending the ship’s stern castle an extra 15 feet for 1300 gp, provisioning the ship for a month for 900 gp, building one smuggling hold with Minerva’s help for 250 gp, and providing materials for Minerva to build a surgery and extra cabin walls on her own time for 100 gp. All told it would take eleven days to complete the work. The total amount in money and valuables was verified by Rickety and his men, so the deal was struck.
The crew was allowed to live at the Common’s building for free. The Man’s Promise was pulled into the dry dock and work commenced, with Minerva lending a hand on the smuggler’s hold. The heat was stifling, and they learned that the area was in the middle of a severe drought. Fancy Will made friends with a number of the Halflings and convinced three of them to join the crew. Will began training his recruits to protect the Captain in battle, swarming Isobel with Halflings each combat. Hakhan recruited another five humans from Rickety’s Squibs to join the crew as well.
As work on the Man’s Promise began, Minerva, Isobel, and Silas mapped out the new quarters arrangements for the forecastle and stern castle. Thalios and the three prime “mates”—coxswain, boatswain’s mate, and gunner’s mate—would take the forecastle and the boatswain, first mate, quartermaster, and Ship Master would each have a small cabin in the redesigned stern castle. Sandara would be staying (for the present) in the First Mate’s quarters. Aakin and Kroop would live in the galley, while Minerva would make her bunk in the surgery.
Captain Charthagnion made some enquiries as to possible targets that the ship could go after once the squibbing was complete. She learned of isolated villages on the coastline of the Mwangi and Sargavan coasts that could be attacked and raided fairly easily. Most are harmless but some make their trade from slavery, capturing nearby natives and selling them to wealthy slave merchants out of Azir, Egorian, and Bloodcove among other locales. She also learned of the Dowager Queen, a Chelish caravel rumored to be soon travelling past the Shackles on her way to home to Cheliax from the Razor Coast. She was said to be laden with gems, grain, and lumber (rare woods from the Razor). While tempting, Isobel considered the Dowager Queen too risky for fledgling pirates with a skeleton crew.
A couple of days after arriving at Rickety’s Squibs, some of Rickety’s off-duty workers invited Hakhan, Silas, and the rest of their friends to join in a game of ninepins in the shade of the boathouse and share a small cask of beer that’d been cooling in the waters of the estuary. They accepted the invitation and Silas, Hakhan, Minerva, Isobel, and Will arrived at the boathouse to find a half-dozen of the locals setting up the game in the shade and another pair pulling on the rope where the keg of beer has been cooling in the water overnight.
Suddenly the rope jerked and one man was pulled into the water with a scream while the woman had the palms of her hands burned bloody where she was holding the line. Aakin was passing by and ran as fast as his slow legs could carry him to help. Two young river nagas attacked the fallen man as the party rushed to the rescue.
As Isobel prepared Chauncey for aquatic combat by giving him gills and sending him into the water, Hakhan produced one of the missing pistols and shot one of the nagas. Apparently as quartermaster Hakhan appropriated two of the pistols for personal use. When Isobel asked him whether he had been quartermaster when he appropriated them and thus had the right to assign them himself, he replied in the affirmative. As she had no proof to the contrary, Isobel dropped it.
Silas attempted to rescue the fallen man and after a few tries succeeded. Chauncey was soon poisoned and fell into unconsciousness. Isobel dispelled him to end the poisoning. She then summoned a small water elemental to join the fight. Hakhan jumped in to apply sneak attack damage and was soon poisoned. Silas finally took one of the nagas down with powerful strikes with his fists. Aakin soon finished off the second with a well-placed shot.
Hakhan was soon in trouble and was very ill after the poison ran its course. Fancy Will pulled him from the water even though he was still able to swim. Hakhan kicked Fancy Will in the family jewels for his efforts. Rickety was very pleased with the efforts of the party and the rescue of one of his men. In gratitude he dropped 500 gp off the final price of the work being done.
Two days after the battle with the nagas, as work continued on the Man’s Promise on another uncomfortably hot day, a colony of giant wasps attacked the settlement causing workers to scatter for their lives. The party began running for cover and encountered five wasps attacking Minerva who had been closer to the wasps then the rest of the pirates. Her crewmates turned and fought the wasps.
Silas entangled one with a rope and caused it to crash to the ground. Hakhan shot both his pistols into a wasp, but didn’t take one down. Hakhan used a steadfast grapple given to him by Ambrose Kroop to bring down a wasp, but wasn’t strong enough. Silas tried to use the grapple to bring the wasp to the ground, but was unable to. Chauncey finally killed one as poison stings began to weaken the party. Silas proceeded to smash one dead, and the party rapidly took the wasps down and got to cover.
After getting to safety, they noticed a pair of wasps trying to carry off a worker nearby. Will immediately went to her aid and the party joined him in his efforts. Silas knocked one wasp to the ground with a bull rush. Will got poisoned for his heroism. Chauncey and Will finished them off. After the wasps left, many workers were left lying on the ground wounded, although casulaties were lighter than they could have been.
Suddenly, someone shouted an alarm and people once more scattered for cover. A Chelish galleon could be seen anchored in the cove and an armed party was clambering onto the docks from their launch.
It was my intention—as stated before—to introduce each PC after a session one at a time. Unfortunately, there is still some revelation left in Aakin's background, so I'm delaying his write up until all is revealed. So I hereby apologize for this delay.
In the meantime, please enjoy this music. Your continued reading is important to us...
♪♫Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking...♪♫
Very cool, I'm running a Second Darkness/Freeport/Razor Coast mashup myself, steal ideas at will from Reavers on the Seas of Fate. I'll follow along here and do the same! My guys are preparing to head to the Razor after they torment the Chelish coast for a while.
I just wanted to say that aside from the fun adventure that is being presented here, I really like seeing the stat blocks for the PCs. I like seeing the mechanics of characters.
Please keep up the great work!
Very cool, I'm running a Second Darkness/Freeport/Razor Coast mashup myself, steal ideas at will from Reavers on the Seas of Fate. I'll follow along here and do the same! My guys are preparing to head to the Razor after they torment the Chelish coast for a while.
Wow! PDFs and everything! I haven't quite gotten to that level yet. Very impressive. When I have a chance, I'll give them a read.
I just wanted to say that aside from the fun adventure that is being presented here, I really like seeing the stat blocks for the PCs. I like seeing the mechanics of characters.
Please keep up the great work!
Thanks for the compliment! I really enjoy seeing how characters develop over time as well and am glad the entries are well received.
Session 8:
The commander of the galleon ordered his men to form a defensive semi-circle around the dock with weapons at the ready. Minerva, Hakhan, and Silas soon ascertained that they weren’t intending to attack, just preparing for an attack if it came. The party decided to approach the newcomers and see what they wanted. Isobel was startled to recognize that the coat worn by the commander was a torn Eagle Knight coat of Andoran, not a Chelaxian military coat. His men were all dressed casually and not like Chelish marines.
The commander spoke first with Aakin and apologized for intruding on their squibbing. Recognizing the Man’s Promise as Rahadoumi by her lines, he realized that this was the vessel stolen from Captain Barnabas Harrigan as recent gossip related. No friend of Harrigan’s, the commander congratulated them and applauded their efforts. Aakin enquired whether any of the original crew of the commander’s galleon—the Strix—were still aboard. He assured the party that there were none left. Aakin said he would go and tell Rickety that there were no Chelish marines here. The commander introduced himself as Free Captain Merrill Pegsworthy and that Aakin could assure the locals that he was only interested in having the Strix squibbed.
To show how sorry he was for the intrusion, Captain Pegsworthy offered to rechristen the ship for them when it was complete. Since having a Free Captain of the Shackles christen your ship was seen as good luck, Isobel accepted the kind offer. Pegsworthy promised Isobel that he would never spill the beans about squibbing the Man’s Promise to anyone.
Aakin brought Rickety over and the old man greeted Pegsworthy warmly. He then spoke to the party of his concern over Lyle Godwin—the lookout of Rickety’s Squibs—not reporting the Strix coming in to port. He promised them another 100 gp discount if they investigated the watch tower and discovered what happened.
The party set out on the jungle trail to the watchtower, a rugged path following the ridge line with a steep drop on either side. They encountered two boars, which attacked immediately. The party swiftly defeated them and Aakin began preparing them for cooking when a large red parrot came down, squawked, “Shoo, fly, don’t bother me!” several times before turning and flying back along the trail toward the watchtower.
At the watchtower they found Lyle Godwin dead from a wasp sting and the parrot landing on his corpse. They proceeded to take Godwin’s corpse back to the village. The parrot landed on Silas’s shoulder and stayed there. Rickety said they could keep a magic morning star which was Lyle’s and Rotgut the parrot as he has taken a liking to Silas. Aakin cooked the boars up for a funeral feast.
Now the officers of the Man’s Promise got together and decided on the name and colours of the ship. After much discussion, they decided on Risky Venture for a name and a black flag with a red dragon over a mound of gold.
Aakin asked Captain Pegsworthy to talk to Isobel and give her advice on piracy and being a captain to help her out. The captain agreed and spent time discussing various pirate strategies with Isobel over the remaining days. From talking to him, she discovered that going into the Shackles without a fearsome reputation would be suicide. Any ship not captained by a Free Captain of the Shackles is considered prey by the other pirates. To become a Free Captain she would have to be sponsored by a Pirate Lord of the Shackles or have such a fearsome reputation that she could sail to Port peril unmolested and petition the Hurricane King himself.
She also learned that Pegsworthy captured the Strix just north of the Shackles in an area normally safe from Chelish ships due to the close proximity of the Eye of Abendego. He just decided that they must have been blown off course and he got lucky.
Hakhan helped himself to a few tools that were left around when he volunteered to help “tidy up.” Silas suggested that a secret door be put in the hull next to his quarters to allow an alternate route to the ship deck. Rickety included it for an additional 500 gp.
After eleven days in port, the Risky Venture was ready for rechristening and launch. At the ceremony, Captain Pegsworthy smashed a bottle of Sargavan wine on the keel. He proposed a toast to the new pirates: “Good fortune and sure sail await what one can crack the Tidewater Rock.” Hakhan and Isobel realised the toast referred to a small castle called Tidewater Rock that commands a small, protected harbor on a remote island south of Motaku Isle. It is said that anyone who can claim Tidewater Rock as her own will have good luck, as the castle makes a strategic watch point from which one can strike the nearby shipping lanes.
Before setting sail, Hakhan suggested that Slippery Syl was no longer needed aboard and that perhaps she would like to leave. When Isobel suggested it to Syl, Syl smiled and said she was happy where she was—looking at Hakhan the entire time. When asked if he would take the psychopath, Pegsworthy politely—if somewhat briskly—declined.
The first destination of the Risky Venture was a small slaver village along the Mwangi Coast. On the first night of the voyage, however, Aakin called on the captain and asked for a meeting of the ship’s officers. At this meeting Aakin revealed that he had found a dying pirate and that she had given him proof that someone in the Shackles was a traitor. This person—most likely one of the Free Captains—had a promise of governorship of the Shackles as a Chelaxian colony once the pirates were defeated. She had a fragment of a copy of the agreement. No names or plans could be discerned in the damaged paper, but it was easily seen to be a file copy or witness copy of the contract. There could be no doubt: a plot to overthrow the Shackles and hand the pirates to the Chelish navy was underway.
Determined to discover the plot, Aakin travelled to Port Peril and looked for ways to infiltrate a pirate crew so that he could begin investigating the various pirates and their behaviours up close. He was delighted to be press-ganged as it removed any eagerness on his part to join a crew, which may have been suspicious. The shift to the Man’s Promise had separated him from the Free Captain he had been under before he had been able to investigate anyone but a few of the officers. Now to keep the Shackles and Sargava free from Cheliax the ship had to rise in fame and have Isobel become a Free Captain in order for his investigation to continue.
As captain he could have investigated easily and simply be seen as sizing up his competition. As another type of officer it would have been more difficult to appear disinterested beyond basics. As ship’s mascot he would be expected to accompany Captain Carthagnion almost everywhere and could listen in without being considered any better than a pet. This was why he refused the Master-of-Arms position when offered. The party realized the importance of insuring their future freedom, and agreed to help by getting Isobel her Free Captaincy.
At 4 AM on the second night away from Rickety’s Squibs, an alarm was raised as the watch was being changed. Captain Isobel and the rest of her officers rushed on to the deck to discover that all six pirates on the night watch were gone with only bloodstains to suggest what happened. The four remaining Rahadoumi sailors, plus Jack Scrimshaw and Badger, were lost to something that left behind a few wet prints in the shape of a webbed and clawed humanoid foot. No one aboard was able to identify these marks. A search of the ship revealed nothing more, so the crew had to sail sadly on.
On the third day the ship made it to the first slaver village. They attacked directly, and met heavy resistance. They quickly overcame this and soon had defeated the village defenders. While the battle was going on, Aretta Bansion took advantage of the situation to try and kill Dahryen. She rendered him unconscious and was screaming as she attacked. Aakin broke free from the battle to calm Aretta down. Aretta covered all her bases and she broke no rules that they could prove. She was satisfied and let it go, though no one believed that she would ever be close to Dahryen again.
They successfully freed the slaves, recruited four of them for the crew, and a cabin boy named Banipani but who Minerva nicknamed Gaston. They picked up some coinage and trade goods, as well as a Rahadoumi and a Cheliax flag.
Two days later in mid-morning, a sail was spotted. The determined it to be a Sargavan fishing ship. Isobel decided it wasn’t worth it to go for fish. And they went on. Minerva finished the walls and door of the surgery during this time.
Near the end of the day they approached the next village. They ran up the Rahadoumi flag to get in close and then ran up their colours as they came ashore. The villagers scrambled to defend themselves, and were much more unprepared. In the middle of the battle, Slippery Syl snuck up on Hakhan and placed a garrotte around Hakhan’s neck and began to throttle him, unhappy that she couldn’t make it last. Silas, Minerva, and Aakin witnessed the attack. She also drew a curved blade and prepared to use it on Hakhan’s abdomen.
Hakhan drew a pistol and shot her hand off. Syl screamed and came at him with the knife. He picked up the garrotte and then stabbed her through the heart. After the battle, they found coins and lumber, and further increase their crew by six.
Over the next two days, Minerva finished the surgery and made a request for a full set of surgical tools. Hakhan began to make these for her. At that point, the ship spotted a sail. The Truewind, a merchant barque out of Absalom. Silas spotted a catapult on the deck. After a lengthy deliberation, the Captain ordered a strike and the Risky Venture turned to advance on the Truewind.
Finally we have Aakin, the inscrutable Tengu Inquisitor of Besmara, played by my friend Derek!
Aakin
CN Medium Male Tengu Inquisitor 1
Init +3; Senses Low-light vision; Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 8 (1d8)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +6
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +1 (1d4+1/19-20) &
bite –4 (1d3) or
bite +1 (1d3+1)
Ranged composite longbow (Str +1) +3 (1d8+1/x3) or
dagger +3 (1d4+1/19-20)
Spells (CL 1st; concentration +5)
0-level (at will)—create water, detect magic, guidance, light
1st-level (2/day)—interrogation (DC 15), cure light wounds
Inquisitor Domain Conversion Inquisition
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 14
Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Flaws Slow Runner
Traits Besmara’s Blessing, Cheat Death, Hurricane Savvy, Zealous Striker
Drawback Headstrong
Skills Acrobatics +2, Bluff +8, Climb +4, Diplomacy +8, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +7, Profession (cook) +8, Profession (sailor) +9, Ride +2, Sense Motive +9, Stealth +4, Swim +4
Languages Common, Osiriani, Polyglot, Tengu
SQ Judgement (1/day); judgement of Sacred Destruction +1, judgement of Sacred Healing 1, judgement of Sacred Justice +1, judgement of Sacred Piercing +1, judgement of Sacred Protection +1, judgement of Sacred Smiting (Magic); monster lore +4; stern gaze
Gear studded leather armor, daggers (x2), composite longbow (Str +1), 20 arrows, 5 ft. pieces of rope (x5), backpack, candle, canteen, cooking kit, fishing kit, flint & steel, wooden holy symbol (Besmara), mess kit, whetstone
Age: 23; Height: 4' 10"; Weight: 102lb.; Eyes: Yellow; Feathers: Black; Skin: Black
Aakin was hatched in a poor neighbourhood of Drenchport on the Shackles Isle of Tempest Cay just as the reefclaws returned in the summer, a time considered by many old-timers to be sacred to Besmara in the past. Growing up as the son of a fisherman near the Eye of Abendego gave him an intimate knowledge of the storm and it’s “moods,” and many observed that he indeed seemed to have Besmara’s Blessing. Aakin ignored this notion as his family’s poverty was unending and he lost his father to the storm when he was still a child. He hardly considered himself “blessed” in spite of his uncanny seamanship abilities. He never felt any special “destiny” awaited him and scoffed at all the talk.
With no other family to help support his mother and himself, Aakin was bitter and took what jobs he could find. He was cooking at a dive on the docks of Drenchport when he fell in with a bad crowd. They didn’t do anything major, but did engage in minor crimes like robbery and extortion. The Pirate Lord of Tempest Cay, the Master of the Gales, turned a blind eye to them as they left most of his people alone.
Eventually Tully, the leader of the gang, thought it would be fun to be pirates themselves. So they signed onto the Grinning Demon, a newly squibbed pirate ship under the command of a questionably competent pirate named Jackson Reag. Reag had big plans involving ambushing Hurricane tossed merchant vessels on the edge of the Eye of Abendego as easy prey. Aakin tried to warn Reag of the dangers and mistakes he was making in regards to the storm, but was beaten on Reag’s orders for questioning the Captain’s judgement. Reag disregarded safety and most of the Pirate’s Code in his actions. He soon paid a heavy price.
The Grinning Demon came in too close to the Hurricane’s center and was sent flying off course. Aakin did everything in his ability to save the ship, but it was not enough. They floundered and were shipwrecked just offshore of the Sodden Lands. Aakin managed to make it to shore, but he was alone. He never saw another member of the crew and was unsure if anyone else made it.
Delirious and close to death, Aakin straddled the line between life and “Fiddler’s Green”, the land beyond death. There he saw the smiling face of a beautiful, raven-haired woman dressed as a pirate. She winked at him and praised him for surviving. She blessed him for what she said was a second time and told him the rules existed for a reason. He woke up in the small community of Jula under the care of that community’s leader, Father Heveril. Aakin realised his good fortune, turned to Besmara, and determined that he was done with bad pirates. There were rules and they'd be followed by everyone or by goddess he would make them!
Life in Jula was hard struggling to survive in the Sodden Lands, much harder than the docks of Tempest Cay. When fully recovered, Aakin thanked his saviour and set out south to eventually find his way to civilization and the beginning of his new life as a zealous defender of Besmara’s Code. Other gods were fine, but when it came to piracy they should mind their own damn business.
As he skirted the edge of a Chelish outpost used for hunting pirates, he found a dying pirate who had escaped. Gerta Rednose was beyond help, but she was able to pass on critical information to Aakin: there was a conspiracy to sell out the Shackles and the Free Captains to the Empire of Cheliax. She didn’t know much more than that and couldn’t give any names before she died. She had a piece of parchment apparently promising governorship of the Shackles to the chief traitor, but the document was heavily water damaged and torn from when she swam away having not had the time to secure it properly for water. It was noted as a file copy for the Cheliax bureaucracy or intelligence, Aakin couldn’t tell which. No names or plans were given, but it was clear that the Shackles were to be a reward for a successful invasion.
Tengu are treated poorly throughout the Inner Sea region except in the Shackles. True, they are treated like mascots more often than not. But they are accepted and regarded in a friendly way rather than suspicion. Should the pirate kingdom be wiped out the one refuge in the Inner Sea region for the Tengu people will be lost. So Aakin had two reasons to want to prevent this: for piracy and for the Tengu. His new purpose now had a direction. Thanking Besmara once more, Aakin set off with the damning document and determination to uncover the plot.
Aakin travelled to Port Peril to investigate as that was the seat of the Hurricane King and the Pirate Lords’ Council, the closest thing the Shackles has to a government. It would be the place any betrayal would need to have conspirators stationed. His idea was to get in close with a pirate crew and watch interactions between pirate captains to determine loyalties and get a lead on the threat.
Aakin was at the Formidably Maid having a few drinks while trying to determine how to infiltrate a pirate crew without giving away his true intentions in joining when Besmara smiled on him once again: he was not sure how many drinks he had, but they quickly went to Aakin’s head and he passed out on the table before he found his destiny and direction for his plan—press-ganged onto the Wormwood! It was perfect. Now no one could comment on how eager he would have been to join or his motivations for doing so. They even needed a Cook’s Mate, right up Aakin’s alley! He had found his destiny after all...
And here is Aakin at 2nd, 3rd, & 4th levels!
Aakin
CN Medium Male Tengu Inquisitor 2
Init +7; Senses Low-light vision; Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 14 (2d8)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +7
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +2 (1d4+1/19-20) &
bite –3 (1d3) or
bite +2 (1d3+1)
Ranged composite longbow (Str +1) +4 (1d8+1/x3) or
dagger +4 (1d4+1/19-20)
Spells (CL 2nd; concentration +6)
0-level (at will)—brand, create water, detect magic, guidance, light
1st-level (3/day)—cure light wounds, interrogation (DC 15), peacebond (DC 15)
Spell-like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +6)
At will—detect chaos/good/evil/law
Inquisitor Domain Conversion Inquisition
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 10
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Flaws Slow Runner
Traits Besmara’s Blessing, Cheat Death, Hurricane Savvy, Zealous Striker
Drawback Headstrong
Skills Acrobatics +2, Bluff +9, Climb +5, Diplomacy +9, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Intimidate +10, Knowledge (religion) +7, Perception +7, Profession (cook) +9, Profession (sailor) +10, Ride +2, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +4, Survival +4 (+5 for following tracks), Swim +5
Languages Common, Osiriani, Polyglot, Tengu
SQ Cunning initiative; detect alignment; judgement (1/day); judgement of Sacred Destruction +1, judgement of Sacred Healing 1, judgement of Sacred Justice +1, judgement of Sacred Piercing +1, judgement of Sacred Purity +1, judgement of Sacred Protection +1, judgement of Sacred Resiliency 1, judgement of resistance 2, judgement of Sacred Smiting (Magic); monster lore +4; stern gaze; track +1
Gear studded leather armor, daggers (x2), composite longbow (Str +1), 20 arrows, 5 ft. pieces of rope (x5), backpack, candle, canteen, cooking kit, fishing kit, flint & steel, wooden holy symbol (Besmara), mess kit, whetstone
Aakin
CN Medium Male Tengu Inquisitor 3
Init +7; Senses Low-light vision; Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 18 (3d8)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +7
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 short sword +4 (1d6+2/19-20) &
bite –2 (1d3) or
dagger +3 (1d4+1/19-20) &
bite –2 (1d3) or
bite +3 (1d3+1)
Ranged composite longbow (Str +1) +5 (1d8+1/x3) or
dagger +5 (1d4+1/19-20)
Spells (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
0-level (at will)—brand, create water, detect magic, disrupt undead, guidance, light
1st-level (4/day)—cure light wounds, divine favor, interrogation (DC 15), peacebond (DC 15)
Spell-like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
At will—detect chaos/good/evil/law
Inquisitor Domain Conversion Inquisition
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Coordinated ShotB, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
Flaws Slow Runner
Traits Besmara’s Blessing, Cheat Death, Hurricane Savvy, Zealous Striker
Drawback Headstrong
Skills Acrobatics +2, Bluff +10, Climb +6, Diplomacy +10, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (religion) +8, Perception +7, Profession (cook) +10, Profession (sailor) +11, Ride +2, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +4, Survival +4 (+5 for following tracks), Swim +6
Languages Common, Osiriani, Polyglot, Tengu
SQ Cunning initiative; detect alignment; judgement (1/day); judgement of Sacred Destruction +2, judgement of Sacred Healing 2, judgement of Sacred Justice +1, judgement of Sacred Piercing +2, judgement of Sacred Purity +1, judgement of Sacred Protection +1, judgement of Sacred Resiliency 1, judgement of resistance 4, judgement of Sacred Smiting (Magic); monster lore +4; solo tactics; stern gaze; teamwork feat; track +1
Gear studded leather armor, +1 short sword, dagger, composite longbow (Str +1), 20 arrows, 5 ft. pieces of rope (x5), backpack, candle, canteen, cooking kit, fishing kit, flint & steel, wooden holy symbol (Besmara), mess kit, whetstone
Aakin
CN Medium Male Tengu Inquisitor 4
Init +7; Senses Low-light vision; Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 26 (4d8)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +8
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee tidewater cutlass +5 (1d6+2/18-20) &
bite –1 (1d3) or
bite +4 (1d3+1)
Ranged composite longbow (Str +1) +6 (1d8+1/x3)
Spells (CL 4th; concentration +8)
0-level (at will)—brand, create water, detect magic, disrupt undead, guidance, light
1st-level (4/day)—cure light wounds, divine favor, interrogation (DC 15), peacebond (DC 15)
2nd-level (2/day)—cure moderate wounds, tongues
Spell-like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +8)
At will—detect chaos/good/evil/law;
1/day—hydraulic push
Inquisitor Domain Conversion Inquisition
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Coordinated ShotB, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
Flaws Slow Runner
Traits Besmara’s Blessing, Cheat Death, Hurricane Savvy, Zealous Striker
Drawback Headstrong
Skills Acrobatics +2, Bluff +11, Climb +7, Diplomacy +11, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (religion) +9, Linguistics +7, Perception +7, Profession (cook) +10, Profession (sailor) +14, Ride +2, Sense Motive +13, Stealth +4, Swim +9
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Osiriani, Polyglot, Tengu, Tulita
SQ Cunning initiative; detect alignment; judgement (2/day); judgement of Sacred Destruction +2, judgement of Sacred Healing 2, judgement of Sacred Justice +1, judgement of Sacred Piercing +2, judgement of Sacred Purity +1, judgement of Sacred Protection +1, judgement of Sacred Resiliency 1, judgement of resistance 4, judgement of Sacred Smiting (Magic); monster lore +4; solo tactics; stern gaze; teamwork feat; track +1
Gear studded leather armor, tidewater cutlass, composite longbow (Str +1), 20 arrows, Besmara’s tricorne, 5 ft. pieces of rope (x5), backpack, candle, canteen, cooking kit, fishing kit, flint & steel, wooden holy symbol (Besmara), mess kit, whetstone
Session 9:
Captain Isobel gave a rousing speech and the crew was ready for battle. Silas was able to take advantage of the weather gauge and the ship bore down on the Truewind. The Truewind began to maneuver to use its catapult and get away. Silas maneuvered the ship into position to allow Thalios a firing arc. Thalios opened fire on the rigging and tore through a sail. The Truewind returned fire and struck the hull outside of the surgery, smashing a small hole. Minerva charged down with some crew to shore up the hull.
The Truewind then began to maneuver to steal the weather gauge from the Risky Venture. Fancy Will worked his crew to give Silas as much manoeuvrability as they could and the Ship Master performed a spectacular turn drawing the ship in close enough for grappling. Isobel gave the command and the crew successfully grappled the Truewind.
Will swung over to the Truewind and began engaging the officers, severely injuring one on his first thrust. Aakin and Isobel provided cover fire as Silas and Chauncey jumped over. Aakin then climbed over on ropes. Isobel swung over but mistimed it and swung all the way back to the Risky Venture before swinging back. Will managed to force the last officer to surrender, and the rest of the crew followed suit.
Minerva tended to the wounded of both crews and managed to avoid any deaths from the fight. The other officers ascertained the value of the Truewind and made sure that the officers were still alive and would recover. They picked up a large amount of manufactured goods as cargo. Isobel recruited three more crew from the Truewind. They took the catapult and placed it on the Risky Venture as an extra gun, as well as the Truewind’s rapid deploying sails and gave their standard sails in replacement. They then thanked the captain of the Truewind for her “donations” and let her and her crew take her ship and go as they had too few crew to create a prize crew.
Three days later an albatross flew in and took to roosting in the crow’s nest. It squawked loudly, left messy leavings from it’s meals of squid on the decks and hit many crewmen with it’s droppings. It seemed awfully fond of hitting Silas in this manner, even though he insisted that everyone leave the bird alone as it was a bird of good omen.
The third slave village was located upriver from the coast but reachable by the Risky Venture. They travelled up from the estuary and flew a Chelish flag to approach the village without causing alarm. It was the fastest battle of all as Will attacked with his rapier, demanding surrender as he ran a guard through. The forces were so shaken, the entire battle came to an end.
They recruited another five crew from the rescued slaves and took the opportunity to refill the water barrels without relying on Minerva’s magic. As they sailed down the river, their lookout spotted a very large ship in the estuary. Hidden by the trees, the Risky Venture was able to stop and not be seen by the large ship’s lookout. Looking through their spyglass showed the colours of the Chelaxian navy.
Aakin and Hakhan took a few pirates and set out to reconnoitre the situation. The cove was completely dominated by a huge warship named, appropriately enough, Dominator. It was clear that the heavily armed four-masted ship, with a full company of armored marines mustered on deck, was a pirate hunter. Ten cannons to a side of the ship and a standard catapult both fore and aft made an impressive sight, and the crew were preparing twelve longboats for despatching to visit the slaver village. It looked as though they weren’t heading out immediately as it was late in the day and jungle river travel at night would not be wise.
She was fully equipped and manned. Aakin was able to determine that she had 120 marines and 60 crew, not counting officers. Aakin, Hakhan, and the shore party returned to the Risky Venture and reported what they had found. With only one night before they were discovered, the officers had an emergency meeting and discussed options.
The cove was wide enough that the Risky Venture could drift past the Dominator on the current and make the open sea. The problem was that while they could possibly make it past or at least most of the way past the Dominator in the dark without being spotted and attacked immediately, as soon as they dropped sheets to catch the wind they would immediately be visible to even the most inattentive lookout. The Dominator would immediately weigh anchor and come in pursuit, and with dozens more yards of sail than the Risky Venture, it would only be a matter of time before it ran their ship down and sank it.
While the Dominator was virtually impregnable to any attacks the party might make with their ship, Hakhan recognized that the Dominator had a steering wheel on its quarterdeck and must, therefore, have a pulley-activated tiller in the cabin below. The tiller’s pulley ropes could be severed and the Dominator would be crippled for hours while the tiller was repaired, giving the Risky Venture plenty of time to escape without pursuit.
Under cover of darkness, the Hakhan, Isobel, Aakin, Silas, Will, Minerva, and Chauncey rowed out using one of the Risky Venture’s longboats to the Dominator’s stern. They then scaled up the stern of the ship with cover from guards above leaving Aakin to mind the boat below and prepare it for a quick getaway. As they were entering the tiller room, the first officer of the Dominator entered with five of the marines on patrol and checked over the room. Desperate to get out quickly before discovery, Minerva cast silence to avoid raising the alarm. The commander realised something was odd when the creaking sounds of the ship vanished. Then Minerva cast web shelter from outside the ship and the silenced area as a hemi-sphere to block the exits. Battle was joined, and the Chelish commander immediately issued a non-verbal challenge against Fancy Will. Will signalled his acceptance and began to duel with the commander one-on-one.
Hakhan was able to fire his pistols in the silent zone and grazed a marine. The duel between the commander and Will became desperate as the commander’s skill with a battle axe was more than a match for the swashbuckling Taldan. One by one the marines fell in a long and dangerous fight. Minerva had to cast silence a second time to keep things quiet. Finally the group was able to concentrate on the Chelish commander and save Will, who had been doing well enough to whittle down the man’s defenses and exhausting him but little else.
Isobel began to hack away at the rope while the rest of the boarding party took down the commander. Will finally took down the commander and Silas took one swipe with the cutlass to cut the rope that Isobel had been hacking away at. They threw the bodies of the commander and a marine plus the commander’s battle axe into the boat and then the party departed.
Will was about to shout at the party for interrupting his duel, but Silas silenced him with a well-placed punch. They stripped the bodies for loot and the uniforms, then they dumped them overboard. They returned to the Risky Venture and slipped out into the estuary. They lowered the sails and made a break for it. The Dominator fired off a single shot from the catapult before they got away. They headed in one direction and the changed after an hour to a heading for Senghor.
For the next three days, they were plagued by the albatross before it finally left. The next day, a few hours before sundown on the open seas, off to the east, a column of black smoke rose into the sky. No land is nearby, so it could only be a ship burning. Captain Isobel ordered the ship to investigate.
Two miles away, the single-masted Chelish naval cutter, Famished Mane, had just defeated the pirate brig Vorsfang. The Chelaxians were in the process of executing the surviving pirates by locking them below decks and burning the Vorsfang to the waterline. Following Pegsworthy’s advice, the Risky Venture approached the grappled ships from out of the setting sun blinding the Chelish to their danger.
Session 10:
The Risky Venture pulled alongside the Famished Mane, and Will swung across and attacked the ten marines left on the deck. Minerva cast drunkard’s breath onto the Mane’s deck and began causing some of the marines to suffer horribly. Hakhan leapt across and shot a marine with a pistol. Chauncey and Silas jumped to the ship and attacked marines with Silas jumping into the area of the drunkard’s breath. He was able to keep from being nauseated though wasn’t able to attack at first.
Silas succumbed to the power of the alcoholic fume and began to retch. Minerva cast remove sickness on Silas (pointed at him, looked up to the heavens, and said, “Not him!”). The marine Hakhan shot started retching and Hakhan decided that shooting him again would not be sporting. So he shot him. Silas grabbed marines and threw them overboard where they sank. Will took down his marine while Minerva and Isobel came across on the planks and joined the fight. Hakhan went below and cased the Famished Mane as the battle seemed well-in-hand.
Will finished the fight in a flurry of blades and the remaining helpless marines surrendered. With their taking of the Famished Mane complete, Minerva crossed to the Vorsfang to see if she could help rescue the surviving pirates. The Chelish captain suddenly saw what had happened to her ship and surrendered to Minerva.
The fourteen pirates were recruited to the Risky Venture’s crew. The Vorsfang was unsalvageable, but they locked the crew of the Famished Mane in that ship’s brig and assigned a skeleton crew to her under Dahryen’s command as they now had enough crew for this sort of thing. They then went on to Senghor with both ships.
They paid the crew their shares on reaching port and gave them liberty. Isobel’s skill as a merchant got them a very good price for their loot. They sold the Famished Mane and ransomed off the captain for extra cash through a ransom broker. They paid Crimson Cogward 800 gp for his lost leg as promised.
They stayed in port for five days. Then they began purchasing new equipment for the ship and reprovisioned. They purchased four rare small six pound cannons from Alkenstar and two swivel mounts. They placed one cannon each on the aft and stern on the swivel mounts and placed one cannon each on the port and starboard sides. To afford these and the shot involved they had to sell off most of their surplus magic as well as their ballistae and catapult, but considered it worth it. They purchased grapeshot, balls, and chain shot as well as enough gunpowder for the cannons.
They also purchased a Sargavan flag for future subterfuge. Dahryen and Silas spent some time bragging at every tavern and inn he could find about the exploits of the Risky Venture. Hakhan told the kraken story about town. People became quite impressed and Isobel recruited another ten pirates. But Isobel, Aakin, and Silas were well aware that this bragging had now alerted Chelish agents and that the Risky Venture—and it’s exploits against the Dominator and the Famished Mane—were now known to the Chelish navy. Part of the price of Infamy…
Minerva finished building the officers’ quarters over the five days. Aakin did some investigating investigation on Chelish activity and determined a number of new targets for the ship to go after. He determined that a lot of Chelish activity west of the Eye of Abendego where Pegsworthy took the Strix. The last prominent pirate interaction with Cheliax was Barnabus Harrigan and the Wormwood when he was captured and most of his crew were killed. Harrigan has been noted as being gun-shy towards the Chelish ever since his escape.
Aakin learned of another four slaver villages, the Kurstav out of Bloodcove—an Aspis Consortium lugger, the Sanbalot—a Rahadoumi schooner with a trained manticore aboard, the Dowager Queen was delayed departing Port Shaw on the Razor Coast and might still be manageable, and a Sargavan galleon named the Sea Chanty out of Crown’s End.
Captain Isobel set the course: they would go out and attack the Kurstav then head west to intercept the Sea Chanty if possible. They encountered the Kurstav four days later. Thalios fired off one of the new cannons and hit the lugger. The Kurstav began to try and flee from the Risky Venture, firing one of her ballistae into the bow of the pirate vessel. A small breach occurred, but Minerva went to repair it with a crew and was easily able to handle it.
Aakin took a crew and began to help reload the cannons. The Kurstav had the weather gauge on the Venture, so Silas and Hakhan began maneuvering to try and steal it from them. Amazingly Silas succeeded. More cannon shots began to wear down the crew of the Kurstav. They fired back and managed to place a small breach below the waterline. Minerva groaned and went back to work trying to repair the ship with her crewmates. Water was coming in from the broken boards.
Isobel managed to use tactics to place the Risky Venture in position for a broadside. As Minerva and her crew were repairing the ship, a tentacle smashed through the small breach and grabbed one of her crew and began trying to smash him through the hull. A giant squid had been attracted by the battle and decided to use the opportunity for a quick snack. She pulled out her magical morningstar and began hammering away at the aggressive tentacle and freed the hapless crewman.
On the deck, Will and his crew was unable to slow down the ship forcing Silas to ram the side of the ship into the side of the Kurstav to keep the ships abreast each other for grappling. Before the broadside and the side ram, Will swung over to the Kurstav and attacked. At this point Thalios called out to the Captain that since they now had a crewmember aboard the opposing vessel, did she wish to change the plans for the broadside. Isobel said no and Thalios and his crew opened fire.
The Kurstav took significant damage and was unable to escape the Risky Venture. There was now a hole all the way through the ship. Will avoided the splinters and confronted the enemy marines. Isobel cast grease to disrupt the marines and Chauncey jumped across to the Kurstav and smashed into a group them; the marines were able to stand their ground however. Silas successfully stopped the ship with the side ram, Isobel ordered grappling, and the crew swarmed over the sides.
The persistent squid continued to try and gain sustenance through the small hole with Minerva fighting hard to protect her crewmates. Silas tried to jump across and misjudged to distance of the close vessels and fell into the water—where he encountered the giant squid. Captain Aspar Tharkidor of the Kurstav fell victim of the grease effect and fell into difficulty (literally). Will forced one of the marines to surrender. Hakhan swung across and bashed a marine with a cannonball. Will then killed that bashed marine. Isobel then swung across and joined the battle.
Aakin threw a rope to Silas to help him and then fired a shot into the squid. Silas escaped the squid and made it back aboard the Venture. The battle on deck began to go in favour of the crew of the Risky Venture, Silas crossed on a plank, and Aakin placed enough arrows into the squid to finally drive it off. Minerva finally started completing the repairs.
The crew of the Kurstav finally surrendered. Minerva made sure they collected the flags. Will slapped Captain Tharkidor because he was Aspis Consortium, a supposed underhanded rival mercantile house to his own. Tharkidor recognized Will as William Telastrum of the Telastrum Trading House, and was surprised to see Will alive as Tharkidor knew the Telastrums had paid to have Will killed and said so. While the rest of the Risky Venture’s crew laughed, Will slapped the captain again and said that was an obvious lie.
They levelled up last session, so here are our “heroes” at 5th level:
Minerva Wood, Ship’s Surgeon/Carpenter
Female human (Chelaxian) cleric of Cayden Cailean 5
NG medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +3
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 41 (5d8+10)
Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +7
Defensive Abilities +2 vs. Charm, Compulsion, and Emotion Effects; +2 Trait bonus vs. mind-affecting effects for 1 hour after drinking alcohol
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +6 (1d6+2/18-20) or
+1 morningstar +6 (1d8+3)
Special Attacks Channel positive energy (3d6)(4/day) (DC 13)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +8)
6/day—rebuke death
Spells (CL 5th; concentration +8)
0-level—detect magic, mending, purify food and drink, stabilize
1st-level—air bubble, command (DC 14), cure light woundsD, enhance water, pick your poison
2nd-level—cure moderate woundsD, drunkard’s breath (DC 15), remove paralysis, sound burst (DC 15)
3rd-level—cure serious woundsD, symbol of healing, water breathing
Domains: Healing, Travel
----- Statistics -----
Str 14, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 12
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Drunken Brawler, Endurance, Lightning Reflexes, Self-sufficient, Turn Undead (DC 11)
Flaw Choke Under Pressure
Skills Acrobatics +1 (+5 Jump), Appraise +1, Bluff -1, Climb +2, Craft (carpentry) +11, Craft (ships) +5, Craft (siege engines) +5, Diplomacy +1, Heal +16, Intimidate +1, Perception +3, Profession (sailor) +10, Sense Motive +11, Spellcraft +6, Survival +6, Swim +4
Traits Anatomist, Fortified Drinker, Principled, Ship's Surgeon
Drawback Doubt
Languages Common, Polyglot
SQ Agile Feet (6/day) (Su), aura (good)
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, +1 morningstar, masterwork rapier, masterwork artisan's tools (Craft [carpentry]), artisan's tools (Craft [ships]), artisan's tools (Craft [siege engines]), backpack, belt pouch, flint and steel, healer's kit, hip flask, holy symbol—wooden (Cayden Cailean), holy water, signal whistle, silk rope, 13 gp, 10 sp
Hakhan, Quartermaster
Male human (Chelaxian) rogue (smuggler) 5
CN medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 33 (5d8)
Fort +1, Ref +7, Will +0
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee brass knuckles +6 (1d3+2)
or improvised junk +8 (1d3+2)
Ranged improvised junk +8 (1d3+2)
or pistol +6 (1d8/x4)
Special Attacks Sneak attack (+3d6)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 19, Wis 8, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Catch Off-Guard, Combat Expertise, Exotic Weapon Training (firearms), Improved Dirty Trick, Throw Anything, Weapon Finesse
Flaw Distractible
Skills Acrobatics +11, Appraise +9, Bluff +11, Climb +6, Craft (tools) +11, Craft (traps) +10, Diplomacy +11, Disable Device +11, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (engineering) +7, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +7, Profession (navigator) +6, Profession (sailor) +3, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand +13, Stealth +11, Swim +7
Traits Dockside Brawler, Grim Optimism, Improvisational Equipment, Surprise Weapon
Drawback Pride
Languages Common, Kelish, Osiriani, Polyglot, Varisian
SQ Bribery +1, conceal item, distraction, firearm training, grim optimism (1/day, +2 bonus vs. fear and pain effects for 1d4 rounds to all allies within earshot), obfuscate story, uncanny dodge
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, brass knuckles, pistols (x2), alchemical acid (x1), animal glue, backpack (satchel), belt pouch, black ink, camouflage netting (urban), candelrods (x2), chalk (x2), charcoal stick (x2), compass, dice, false-bottomed cup, gear maintenance kit, hip flask, inkpen, invisible ink (average), mess kit, parchment (x5), powder (x1), scroll case, sealing wax, shaving kit, silk rope, sunrod (x2), tindertwig (x2), twine (50’), 26 gp, 10 sp, 6 cp
First Mate Dahryen Moon
Male human (Kellid) bard (buccaneer) 5
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +8
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 41 (5d8+5+4)
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +4
Defensive Abilities +4 vs. bardic performance, sonic, and language based attacks
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 boarding pike of repelling +8 (1d8+4/x3)
or +1 boarding pike of repelling +6/+6 (1d8+3 (x3)/1d6+3 (x2))
or longsword +5 (1d8+2/19-20)
or osiriani short sword +5 (1d6+2/19-20)
Special Attacks Hilt bash, knock out (+3 to hit, +5 nonlethal damage)(1/day), song of surrender (DC 13)
Spells (CL 5th; concentration +8)
0-level (at will)—dancing lights (DC 13), daze (DC 13), detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13), mending, prestidigitation
1st-level (5/day)—feather fall (DC 14), grease (DC 14), hideous laughter (DC 14), silent image (DC 14)
2nd-level (3/day)—cacophonous call (DC 15), glitterdust (DC 15), silence (DC 15)
----- Statistics -----
Str 15, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 18
Feats Arcane Strike, Dazzling Display (boarding pike), Double Slice, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (boarding pike)
Flaw Spell Futility
Skills Acrobatics +11, Appraise +1, Bluff +3, Climb +7, Diplomacy +11, Disguise +3, Escape Artist +3, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +8, Perform (comedy) +9, Perform (oratory) +11, Perform (sing) +9, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +11, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +8, Swim +4, Use Magic Device +9
Traits Acrobat, Buccaneer’s Blood, Osirion Staff Fighter, Reactionary
Drawback Hedonistic
Languages Common, Hallit, Osiriani
SQ Bardic Performance (15 rnds/day), countersong, distraction, fascinate (DC 13), inspire competence +2, inspire courage +2, song of surrender (DC 13), versatile performance (oratory), well versed
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, +1 boarding pike of repelling, longsword, osiriani short sword (appears similar to a khopesh, but no special abilities), backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, explorer’s outfit, fine spices (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, pepper, allspice, basil, rosemary), flint and steel, grappling hook, rope, soap, waterskin, 5 gp,4 sp
Captain Isobel Imperia Novennia Charthagnion
N Medium Female Human (Chelaxian) summoner 5
Init +2; Senses Perception +0
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor {mage armour}, +2 Dex)
hp 33 (5d8)
Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +4
Defensive Abilities Shield ally (+2 AC/Saves when within reach of eidolon)
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk dagger +3 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged pistol +5 (1d8/x4)
Spells (CL 5th; concentration +10)
0-level (at will)—detect magic, guidance, mage hand, message, read magic, resistance
1st-level (6/day)—enlarge person (DC 16), grease (DC 17), mage armor, shield
2nd-level (3/day)—glitterdust (DC 18), haste,lesser evolution surge (DC 17)
Spell-like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +10)
8/day—summon monster III
----- Statistics -----
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 20
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 13
Feats Augment Summoning, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms), Extra Evolution, Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Flaws Nonathletic
Traits Merchant, River Rat, The Governor’s Child, World Traveler (Sense Motive)
Drawback Maimouphobia
Skills Appraise +12 (+13 when bargaining), Bluff +5, Climb –3, Diplomacy +14, Disguise +5, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Knowledge (geography) +12, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nobles) +8, Profession (sailor) +8, Ride +8, Sense Motive +9 (+10 when bargaining), Spellcraft +8, Swim +6, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Draconic, Halfling, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ bond senses (5 rnds/day), eidolon link, life link, share spells with eidolon, shield ally
Gear masterwork dagger, pistol, 10 bullets and powder, scroll of mage armor, spell component pouch, 421 gp, 5 cp
This large blue-black lizard’s head is the size of a dog with a glowing rune on its forehead and wings on it’s back. It has a very short rounded snout and it’s big eyes make it almost nauseatingly cute.
Chauncey
N Medium Outsider
Init +7; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +8 Natural)
hp 36 (4d10+8)
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +1
----- Offense -----
Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+4) and bite +8 (1d8+4)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks pounce (full attack after charge)
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11
Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 21
Feats Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +4, Fly +11, Knowledge (planes) +5, Perception +7, Swim +11
Languages Common
SQ evolutions (ability increase (STR), bite, claws, flight (wings), improved natural attack (bite), improved natural attack (claws), improved natural armor, limbs (x2), pounce)
William Eudonius “Fancy Will” Telastrum III, Boatswain
Male human (Taldan) swashbuckler 5
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception –1
----- Defense -----
AC 19, touch 16, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +4 Dex, +2 dodge)
hp 52 (5d10+10+3)
Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +04
Defensive Abilities +1 shield bonus to AC when fighting with two weapons
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk rapier +12 (1d6+4+5/15-20)
or mwk dagger +11 (1d4+2+5/17-20)
or mwk rapier +10 (1d6+4+5/15-20) and mwk dagger +9 (1d4+1+5/17-20)
Ranged mwk dagger +10 (1d4+1+5/17-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 19
Base Atk +5; CMB +6; CMD 22
Feats Dazzling Display (rapier), Dodge, Weapon Focus (rapier), Weapon Specialization (rapier), Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +12, Bluff +2, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +12, Intimidate +10, Perception –1, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive –1, Stealth +2, Swim +9
Traits Fencer, Rich Parents, Touched by the Sea
Languages Common
SQ Charmed life (3/day), derring-do, dodging panache, kip up, menacing swordplay, nimble +1, opportune parry and riposte, panache (4 points/day), swashbuckler finesse, swashbuckler initiative, swashbuckler weapon training +1
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, masterwork rapier, masterwork dagger, rapier, courtier’s outfit with jewelry (50 gp), silk scarf, 2x belt pouch, hip flask, 317 gp.
Silas Rand, Ship Master and Master-of-Arms
Male half-orc brawler 5
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +2; Senses Perception +11
----- Defense -----
AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 natural, +2 dodge, +2 Dex)
hp 45 (5d10+10)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +9 (1d8+5)
or brawler’s fury +7/+7 (1d8+5)
or mwk short sword +10 (1d6+4/19-20)
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 23
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Enforcer, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff –3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Escape Artist +7, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (local) +4, Perception +11, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (navigator) +9, Profession (sailor) +9, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +0, Swim +10
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Brawler strike (magic), dirty trick training, martial maneuvers, martial training
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, amulet of natural armor +1, masterwork short sword, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), tanglefoot bag, waterproof bag, 391 gp, 4 sp
Aakin, Cook's Mate and Ship Mascot
CN Medium Male Tengu Inquisitor 5
Init +7; Senses Low-light vision; Perception +7
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 32 (5d8)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +8
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee tidewater cutlass +5 (1d6+2/18-20) &
bite –1 (1d3) or
bite +4 (1d3+1)
Ranged composite longbow (Str +1) +7 (1d8+1/x3)
Spells (CL 5th; concentration +9)
0-level (at will)—brand, create water, detect magic, disrupt undead, guidance, light
1st-level (5/day)—cure light wounds, divine favor, interrogation (DC 15), peacebond (DC 15)
2nd-level (3/day)—cure moderate wounds, hunter’s lore, tongues
Spell-like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +9)
At will—detect chaos/good/evil/law;
5 rnds/day—discern lies;
1/day—hydraulic push
Inquisitor Domain Conversion Inquisition
----- Statistics -----
Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Coordinated ShotB, Focused Shot, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
Flaws Slow Runner
Traits Besmara’s Blessing, Cheat Death, Hurricane Savvy, Zealous Striker
Drawback Headstrong
Skills Bluff +11, Climb +8, Diplomacy +11, Intimidate +14, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (nature) +6, Knowledge (planes) +6, Knowledge (religion) +10, Linguistics +7, Perception +7, Profession (cook) +11, Profession (sailor) +15, Sense Motive +13, Stealth +5, Swim +10
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Osiriani, Polyglot, Tengu, Tulita
SQ Bane (5 rnds/day), cunning initiative; detect alignment; judgement (2/day); judgement of Sacred Destruction +2, judgement of Sacred Healing 2, judgement of Sacred Justice +2, judgement of Sacred Piercing +2, judgement of Sacred Purity +2, judgement of Sacred Protection +2, judgement of Sacred Resiliency 2, judgement of resistance 4, judgement of Sacred Smiting (Magic); monster lore +4; solo tactics; stern gaze; teamwork feat; track +1
Gear Masterwork studded leather armor, tidewater cutlass, composite longbow (Str +1), 20 arrows, Besmara’s tricorne, 5 ft. pieces of rope (x5), backpack, candle, canteen, cooking kit, fishing kit, flint & steel, wooden holy symbol (Besmara), mess kit, whetstone
Session 11:
The officers of the Risky Venture began discussing what to do with the Kurstav now that they had her. Some were sad to see the prize value of the ship lost and her crew set free in order to set out quickly and capture the Sea Chanty.
They decided to take Captain Aspar Tharkidor captive for ransom, healed the crew of the Kurstav’s crew, and set sail to catch the Sea Chanty. Three days later the ship discovered a fishing trawler laying low in the water. It appeared to have been abandoned and was slowly sinking. Silas spotted some empty davits designed to hold a dinghy but noticed the dinghy sinking slowly below the surface. Realizing that it was probably a trap, they cautiously approached the sinking vessel.
Captain Isobel, Silas, Chauncey, Will, Minerva, and Hakhan crossed over to the sinking trawler while Aakin held back and covered them with his bow. They began to explore the vessel. Hakhan noticed that signs of a battle had been hastily cleaned up. They prepared for battle. Hakhan then shouted out, “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Then six sahuagin emerged and attacked. Aakin used bane arrows to great effect and Chauncey got badly hurt. Captain Isobel shot a pistol for the first time and critical hit a sea devil in the eye, killing it. The party soon prevailed.
They found a necklace made of rare coral and deep platinum on one of the sahuagin. They found the crew below decks in various states of devoured. The party decided to sink the vessel. Aakin determined based on the sahuagin’s feet that the crew they lost shortly after leaving Rickety’s Squibs was from a sea devil raid as the bloody footprints that had been left behind matched.
The next day, Captain Tharkidor wanted to speak to Will. Tharkidor explained that the Telastrum family was in bed with the Aspis Consortium. He provided his papers (which the pirates had left him as they had no discernable value) which proved not only that the Telastrums were Aspis Consortium and a copy of the contract to have Will killed—signed by William’s mother. Aakin determined that the signature was genuine, that the documents were all genuine, and sealed with the family crest. Will’s ring fit the remnants of the seal perfectly. Will went off to get drunk.
Silas and Aakin decided to interview Tharkidor to see what they could learn. Tharkidor was very friendly and polite. He explained that the whole thing was more trouble than it was worth. Although the Telastrums had paid all expenses and a profit of 2,500 gp, the effort required to keep it “accidental” and Will ignorant of the truth the entire time made it an organizational nightmare. Tharkidor offered a deal: the consortium would “eliminate” the Telastrums and would be willing to hire on the Risky Venture on a retainer—because you never know when you may want a rival vessel or village plundered. The ship would also find Bloodcove a very friendly port of call. The only requirement would be to never raid another Aspis Consortium vessels.
When Aakin asked what would happen to the Telastrum fortune and Tharkidor made some vague references to charity work with carefully managed “expense margins.” Aakin and Silas were concerned over their eagerness to throw over the Telastrums so easily. Would they always break their agreements? Tharkidor pointed out that the Telastrums were a problem. As long as the Aspis Consortium benefits, they will always honour their agreements. The Telastrums were proving a lot of trouble, more than their contributions were worth.
Tharkidor would be passing on the information that Will is alive to the Aspis Consortium, but not tell Will’s family. You never know when information can be of use. As for Harrigan betraying the agreement to kill William, they would give him a pass since the crew of the Risky Venture weren’t holding a grudge. If they ever wanted to get Harrigan for whatever reason, the consortium would be willing to help. This brought them finally around to the grudge the consortium might hold against the crew. If he wasn’t ransomed off, Tharkidor would have less debt to deal with his organization. If he delivered a competent pirate crew on retainer, he might even get a bonus.
Aakin took this information to Captain Isobel. She rejected the deal, but agreed to not demand a ransom to keep relations with the Aspis Consortium open.
Two days later they found the Sea Chanty—being attacked by the Shackles pirate vessel Devil’s Pallor. Captain Isobel ordered the crew to sail on by, acting as though they were leaving it be. They swung around suddenly and attacked the Devil’s Pallor by surprise with a three shot broadside. The Sea Chanty then began to pull away. Silas ordered some of the crew into longboats and had them push the Risky Venture sideways and maintained the broadside while getting closer. During the battle the Risky Venture had the advantage from its cannons and surprise attack, so when the ships were close enough Will swung over alone onto the Devil’s Pallor and left his crew to the other officers. Will then engaged a swashbuckler hobgoblin named Ferdon Svilan, the first officer.
Aakin sniped the swashbuckler down, Chauncey flew over and took down Captain Gortus Svard. The captain got off a snap shot from his pistol that had poison in its bullet. Chauncey saved and rendered the hobgoblin unconscious. The hobgoblin crew promptly surrendered to Will. The crew in the longboats boarded the Devil’s Pallor and commandeered the ship. They then went off after the fleeing Sea Chanty. Between the two ships Captain Will and Captain Isobel successfully cut off the Sea Chanty’s escape and forced a surrender when Will swung across, taking down the captain with one swing.
The Risky Venture took the two 9-pound cannons from the devil’s pallor to add to their own number. Silas raised some objections when Minerva healed the hobgoblin crew, but Minerva maintained that it was a specific policy and she wasn’t changing it. The decision was made that the hobgoblins would be put in launches and set off the ships. Gortus swore vengeance upon Isobel and her crew as he sailed away. Aakin and Hakhan shot Gortus in response and the hobgoblins set in with the oars with more gusto. Using tongues, Aakin suggested that they probably shouldn’t come back anytime soon. Many hobgoblins nodded in agreement to that as they tended their wounded—and swearing—captain.
The crew began repairing the three ships over the next 24 hours to get them ready to set sail for Senghor. They also celebrated with a party in celebration of their victory, recruiting six more sailors from the Sea Chanty’s crew. They then prepared to get underway—with a storm building on the horizon.
I'll add Legendary Games Islands of Plunder series to items that have spoilers revealed in this journal. You are once again warned!
Session 12:
The crew of the Risky Venture lashed all items they could down to the decks of the three vessels in preparation for the coming storm. Minerva was in charge of preparations, while Will and Dahryen took command of the Sea Chanty and the Devil’s Pallor respectively. Rosie Cusswell went to act as second-in-command and helmsman for Dahryen and Conchobhar Shortstone went with Will to act as his second-in-command. Aakin volunteered to join Will‘s crew as they looked to need the most help. The ships pulled apart from each other to avoid collisions during the storm.
All three vessels weathered the storm successfully, but there were some small incidents: a jammed rudder for the Risky Venture, a lightning strike took out the ship’s crewman from the crow’s nest, and a violent swell that nearly swept Hakhan over the side. Will had a much easier time as Aakin’s storm knowledge was very helpful. Aakin got hit with a loose rope, but really that was it.
After the storm the ships came back together and continued on for three days to Senghor. They went into port for a whole week. They didn’t ransom off Captain Aspar Tharkidor to keep relations with the Aspis Consortium good. They did ransom Captain Petrel Velroon off and got their docking fees paid off. The sold the two extra ships and their plunder for 14,000 gp. Minerva spent the week building a powder magazine. They had a dragon masthead made for the ship and got a brig built with five cells. They recruited five more sailors and provisioned the ship. They modified their swivel gun mounts to hold the heavier 9-pounders and got a broad rudder added.
Will began making inquiries towards finding out the location of his old governess, hoping to find someone who actually loved him. He found nothing. Isobel began looking for new targets, but found no new information. She did hear a couple of sailors talking about undercutting the Rainmakers Group in Freeport by providing water for ships leaving the city. Kroop told Isobel that the Salt Curse has made all water in the city turn to brine for three years, and the Rainmaker’s Group has made a killing by being the only ones able to supply water that doesn’t change.
They heard some other rumours: a Captain Riggs having a lot of bad luck in the Razor Sea and was unable to keep a crew or ships. Also a fleet of pirates had got together to besiege Tarin’s Crown, the holding of Captain Jared “Red Skewer” Tarin. Tarin got his sobriquet from his habit of piercing his victims on the masthead of the Silver Narwhal. He currently holds the Queen’s Pearl a sacred statuette of Besmara and the besieging pirates want it.
Hakhan built a special alarm mechanism with bells for use on the side of the ship at night to avoid sahuagin—and other monstrosities—coming over the sides and taking the crew unawares. Hakhan also purchased the equipment for an alchemical lab in his quarters. After all purchases they were left with 176 gp in the ship coffers.
They set out and followed along the trade routes looking for prey and hoping to encounter the Rahadoumi ship Sanbalot. Six days out, Hakhan noticed a glint far off to the North off the starboard side. Silas sighted a worn cargo ship in the distance off the bow, identified as the Tamarind out of Rahadoum. Silas also marked the glint Hakhan sighted as the location for Tidewater Rock on Windward Isle. Captain Isobel and her crew moved to strike at the Tamarind.
The Tamarind immediately turned and tried to flee. The Risky Venture moved into pursuit. As the Venture got in behind the Tamarind, the cargo hauler shot her ballistae and missed. She then broke out her oars to try and get away. Thalios shot from the forward cannon and missed. Aakin and his crew reloaded the forward 9-pounder. The Tamarind soon realised they couldn’t get away and struck their colours putting up a white flag.
Captain Isobel and the officers of the Risky Venture boarded the Tamarind. Captain Bartholomew Craw greeted them with a smile and handed over his beautiful scimitar while demanding his crew drop their weapons. He assured them that he had only put up a token resistance to placate his backers. Craw invited Isobel and her officers below deck to discuss terms over drinks. The crew of the Tamarind seemed unhappy with the Isobel and her men being aboard.
The gnome cook brought in drinks which Minerva downed immediately. The others were reluctant and Craw assured them that it wasn’t poisoned. Isobel, Aakin, Hakhan, and Silas accompanied Craw down to the hold to see the low grade spices he was hauling. Minerva and Will stayed up in the galley. The dusty crates of spices seemed out of place. Craw sighed and began explaining his reversal of fortunes in the spice trade. He was hoping to sell his cargo as a job lot and mix in the old spices with his fresh stock. When asked why this small amount of cargo was causing the ship to ride so low in the water, he stated that he carried a lot of ballast (rocks and bilge water) to keep her from capsizing in a storm.
Then Silas noticed a smell of feces and seat under the spices. Minerva recognized the taste in the large amount of wine she was consuming as the same taste that was described by the others on being press ganged to the Wormwood. Aakin began casting a spell to determine what was actually going on, when Craw and his men attacked. Minerva and Will were hard pressed but managed to make it through due to Will’s skill and Minerva’s drunkard’s breath. Will began trying to persuade the crew to surrender as he killed them, using his standard reasoning. Minerva began taking swigs of alcohol as she fought as a result.
Isobel and her band found themselves fighting hard in close quarters, especially from the gnome cook throwing bombs from enclosed spaces that were hard to reach. Silas managed to take down Craw after a number of hits from the entire group. Isobel then shot the gnome with her pistol, just grazing him. Aakin then used cure moderate wounds on Isobel who had been badly injured by the bombs. The gnome drank an extract and went invisible.
Hakhan smashed spices where the gnome was and hit him, creating a dust cloud that made the gnome somewhat visible. Chauncey, Silas, and Aakin took him down after that. Hakhan began looking to find the entrance to the slave hold. Silas brought Captain Craw’s corpse up on deck and intimidated the remainder of the crew to surrender. Silas commented that he expected Will to have it all done before then. Will said that he had a woman to protect. Minerva took another drink.
Hakhan found one hundred slaves in terrible state, crammed into the small secret hold. Using Craw’s key, they freed the slaves and Minerva used her Channel Energy to help heal the wretches somewhat. The party began to search the ship and crew. Hakhan selected the alchemist’s gear for his experiments.
When they searched the Captain’s quarters, they found a number of documents. These indicated that the deal with the slaves were to be delivered at a point in the open ocean. Craw thought it was odd, but the pearls he was offered would make it worth his while. In the ledgers he found an entry about the pearls he first got as the down payment being used to pay off debts.
He also found a reference to “Shayonna’s debt”. Shayonna is part of a ghost story told throughout the Shackles region involving a betrayal of a young woman by a disreputable pirate who killed the naïve young woman when she followed him out of love. She has occasionally been seen near ports ever since.
Hakhan asked then slaves if any of them could sail, and found that none could. A debate began between the crew of the Risky Venture as to what they should do with the slaves. Should they go on half-rations and head to a nearby port, do they travel to the rendezvous point and see what’s there, or do they travel to Tidewater Rock and see if they can negotiate/force the inhabitants to take in the rescued slaves? The debate got quite heated at times, but it was eventually agreed that they should sail for Windward Isle and Tidewater Rock.
Nice to read a log on 'Spices and Flesh'. I'm hoping to use the scenario in my campaign too.
I agree, really nice way to use the adventure path plug-ins.
Thanks! I am enjoying using 'Spices and Flesh'...though I have an obvious soft spot for Tarin's Crown and am hopeful that the crew will decide to go there. :)
Thanks! I am enjoying using 'Spices and Flesh'...though I have an obvious soft spot for Tarin's Crown and am hopeful that the crew will decide to go there. :)
We'll keep our fingers crossed.
Well, the Advanced Class Guide is finally out, so we can update our Swashbuckler and Brawler. No changes were made to the Swashbuckler from 1st through 5th level, so Will is fine. Silas got some extra goodies, so let’s stat him out for each level once more:
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 1
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Perception +5
----- Defense -----
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 14 (1d10+4)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1
Defensive Abilities orc ferocity
Weakness light sensitivity
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +5 (1d6+5)
Special Attacks hatred
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +1; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +1, Bluff –3, Climb +8, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +7, Knowledge (history) +4, Perception +5, Perform (oratory) +5, Profession (sailor) +5, Stealth –1, Swim +8; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Martial flexibility, martial training, orc blood, unarmed strike
Combat Gear tanglefoot bag; Other Gear Leather armor, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), waterproof bag, 38 gp, 4 sp
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 2
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Perception +6
----- Defense -----
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 21 (2d10+5)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +1
Defensive Abilities orc ferocity
Weakness light sensitivity
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +6 (1d6+5)
or brawler’s flurry +4/+4 (1d6+5)
or mwk short sword +7 (1d6+4/19-20)
Special Attacks brawler's flurry, hatred
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +2; CMB +6; CMD 17
Feats Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +1, Bluff –3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (history) +4, Perception +6, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (sailor) +6, Sense Motive +6, Stealth –1, Swim +9; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Martial flexibility, martial training, orc blood, unarmed strike
Combat Gear tanglefoot bag; Other Gear leather armor, masterwork short sword, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), waterproof bag, 38 gp, 4 sp
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 3
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Perception +9
----- Defense -----
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +1 natural, +1 Dex)
hp 32 (3d10+6)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2
Defensive Abilities orc ferocity
Weakness light sensitivity
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +7 (1d6+5)
or brawler’s flurry +5/+5 (1d6+5)
or mwk short sword +8 (1d6+4/19-20)
Special Attacks brawler's flurry, hatred
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +7 (+8 dirty trick); CMD 18 (19 vs. dirty trick)
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +1, Bluff –3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +10, Knowledge (history) +4, Perception +9, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (navigator) +7, Profession (sailor) +7, Sense Motive +9, Stealth –1, Swim +9; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ Dirty trick training, martial flexibility, martial training, orc blood, unarmed strike
Combat Gear tanglefoot bag; Other Gear leather armor, amulet of natural armor +1, masterwork short sword, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), waterproof bag, 38 gp, 4 sp
Silas Rand
Male half-orc brawler 4
CG medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +1; Senses Perception +10
----- Defense -----
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +1 natural, +1 dodge, +2 Dex)
hp 38 (4d10+8)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
Defensive Abilities orc ferocity
Weakness light sensitivity
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee[/b unarmed strike +8 (1d8+5)
or brawler’s flurry +6/+6 (1d8+5)
or mwk short sword +9 (1d6+4/19-20)
[b]Special Attacks brawler's flurry, hatred
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +4; CMB +8 (+9 dirty trick); CMD 21 (22 vs. dirty trick)
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaw Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +6, Bluff –3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise –3, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge (history) +4, Knowledge (local) +4, Perception +10, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (navigator) +8, Profession (sailor) +8, Sense Motive +10, Stealth +0, Swim +9; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ AC bonus, dirty trick training, knockout (1/day, DC 16), martial flexibility, martial training, orc blood, unarmed strike
Combat Gear tanglefoot bag; Other Gear leather armor, amulet of natural armor +1, masterwork short sword, bed roll, belt buckle with crest, belt pouch, compass, dice, pathfinder chronicle (Knowledge (geography)), waterproof bag, 38 gp, 4 sp
Silas Rand, Ship Master and Master-of-Arms
Male half-orc brawler 5
CG Medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +2; Senses Perception +11
----- Defense -----
AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +2 Dex, +1 natural, +2 dodge)
hp 45 (5d10+10)
Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2
Defensive Abilities orc ferocity
Weakness light sensitivity
----- Offense -----
Speed 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +9 (1d8+5)
or brawler’s flurry +7/+7 (1d8+5)
or mwk short sword +10 (1d6+4/19-20)
Special Attacks brawler's flurry, hatred
----- Statistics -----
Str 18, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +5; CMB +9 (+10 dirty trick); CMD 23 (24 vs. dirty trick)
Feats Alertness, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Enforcer, Improved Unarmed Strike, Power Attack, Toughness
Flaws Blatant
Skills Acrobatics +8, Bluff -3, Climb +9, Diplomacy +4, Disguise -3, Escape Artist +7, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge (history) +4, Knowledge (local) +7, Perception +11, Perform (oratory) +6, Profession (navigator) +9, Profession (sailor) +9, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +0, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Traits Bare-knuckle Fighter, Bruising Intellect, Ease of Faith, Skilled Crewman (Knowledge (geography))
Drawback Attached (Belt Buckle with Family Crest & Symbol of Desna)
Languages Common, Ghol-Gan, Jistka, Osiriani, Polyglot
SQ AC bonus, brawler strike (magic), close weapon mastery, dirty trick training, knockout (1/day, DC 16), martial flexibility, martial training, orc blood, unarmed strike
Combat Gear tanglefoot bag; Other Gear masterwork studded leather, masterwork shortsword, amulet of natural armor +1, shackles of compliance, bed roll, belt pouch, compass, pathfinder chronicle, waterproof bag, 38 gp, 4 sp
Session 13:
Dahyren was assigned the Tamarind and twenty crew to follow the Risky Venture to Tidewater Rock. Silas was aware that the current Lady of the Rock, Agasta Smithee, was the widow of Captain Bertram “Iron Bert” Smythee who was sunk by Captain Barnabus Harrigan and Captain Carola Antiochus. Antiochus was killed in the battle and Harrigan tried to take the Rock with the fleet, but failed.
As the ships arrived at Tidewater Rock, they raised a white flag to indicate that they wished to negotiate. Captain Charthagnion, Fancy Will, Silas, Minerva, and Hakhan approached the dock in a jolly boat. On the battlements they were greeted by Lady Agasta and her Master-of-Arms. She asked them their intentions. Isobel responded that they were the crew of the Risky Venture, were enemies of Captain Harrigan, and that they needed to leave some freed slaves before going into battle.
Surprised that they cared about slaves, Lady Agasta responded that they could come to dinner and they would discuss matters. In order to assure a safe and peaceful encounter, one of the Risky Venture’s crew would be left as hostage throughout the dinner. The crew decided on Aakin. He was brought from the ship and then spirited inside. The officers of the Risky Venture were then allowed in to dinner.
Sergeant Royster McCleagh, the Master-of-Arms, escorted them up to the feast hall where they were formally introduced to Lady Agasta. They sat down to dinner and began discussing the issue of the ex-slaves. Lady Agasta made it clear that Windward Isle was able to supply food and water, but she currently had no ships for transport and few workers left. She was very willing to let some of the ex-slaves stay on and help out as craftsman, fishermen, and farmers. However it would still be expense and would take some time to heal them and get them trained fully.
Lady Agasta stated that she admired the crew and would like an allegiance with a promising crew that could provide a shipping connection and some naval protection as well. She is unwilling to ally with them until their reputations were just a bit larger. If so she would be willing to marry Hakhan under Shackles Law, with whom she seemed to have a great rapport. Using Shackles Law would make Hakhan Lord of the Rock—and as he is crew of the Risky Venture make the Rock Isobel’s to use. This would effectively “Crack the Rock.” The marriage would last for one year certain.
As a sign of friendship, Tidewater Rock would accept the ex-slaves and keep the Tamarind while the Risky Venture dealt with the slavers. For all this she would want 1000 gp up front, or 2000 gp when they sell off the Tamarind. Sergeant McCleagh didn’t seem all that thrilled with these arrangements, but Hakhan did not care. He agreed and Isobel agreed to the whole agreement.
Albers and Birney Siggs made a request of Captain Isobel in regards to their grandson Mardus. He wanted to go to sea, but they were afraid that he would fall in with bad pirates. Since they have shown character, they would prefer that he would go to sea with them. Mardus was eager and Minerva requested him as a Carpenter’s/Surgeons’s Mate after asking how much he drinks; he answered that he didn’t drink generally which meant more for her. Isobel agreed and Mardus joined the crew.
After dinner, the crew took Aakin back and sent over the laborers. They stayed overnight and then set sail for the rendezvous point mentioned in Captain Craw’s log. A day later they come across a tiny island, sandy and barren. Suspicious, they scanned the area with their spyglass but noticed nothing of note. Captain Isobel, Chauncey, Aakin, Hakhan, Will, Minerva, and Silas rowed ashore.
Four hulking figures emerged from the sea and Aakin identified them as merrows. They were dressed in the remnants of sailors’ outfits. One asked what the party why they were there. They eventually were able to communicate they wanted to trade pearls for slaves. One of them went back under the sea.
They noticed that one of the remaining merrows had a deep scar across the right side of its face. It wore a piece of silver jewelry resembling the missing piece of flesh dangling from two earrings in the upper half of this ear. Hakhan recognizes that it belonged to Gamin ‘half-ear’ Crystos, a womanizing half-elven pirate who was a friend of Hakhan’s back on the pirate ship run by the “old bastard” long before he was recruited to the Wormwood.
Hakhan called the merrow Gamin and a flicker of recognition crossed the creature’s face and it said “please kill me” in Giant before the comprehension disappeared from its eyes. Aakin translated and Will promptly attacked him. Battle was immediately joined and the fourth merrow returned with the sight of battle.
Will rapidly took down the Gamin-merrow but was set upon by the other merrows. Two of them grabbed hold and began to try and tear him apart. The party took down one of the merrows holding Will first. The merrow attacking Will forced the swashbuckler to the ground. Aakin shot the merrow dead and the giant fell on top of Will pinning him. The battle finished shortly thereafter.
Hakhan removed Gamin’s ear piece as a memento. Minerva prepared a speak with dead spell and cast it on one of the merrows. She asked, “How do we find the being who has the pearls?” and the merrow responded that there was an underwater tunnel on the south side of the isle. She then asked, “How did you get into this condition?” to which it responded that Shayonna the gaunt changed him.
Will swam underwater and tried to locate the entrance to the tunnel. It took her a minute to discover the tunnel in the coral. Minerva cast water breathing on herself, Isobel, Hakhan, Will, and Silas. Isobel dismissed Chauncey and Aakin watched the boat as the party descended into the tunnel.
Hakhan convinced Will that he couldn’t speak when underwater or he would drown in order to shut him up for a while. Hakhan then broke off a piece of coral to use as a weapon. A torrent of water almost slammed Silas into the sides of the coral, but he was able to swim through it. Hakhan broke off pieces of coral and shoved them into various holes over a half hour to stop the flow.
The tunnel opened up into an underwater clearing and they were attacked by masses of sea urchins, some of unusually large size. They swarmed over Hakhan and Silas. Isobel moved back and summoned a shark. Minerva summoned a dolphin and sent it to attack. One of the large urchins attached its tongue to Silas and he ripped it and its internal guts out of the urchin, killing it. Hakhan moved out of the swarm, leaving Silas alone in the mass. Silas was promptly poisoned from the urchins, hindering his movement.
The party finished off the large urchins and then made short work of the swarm. After the fight, the party sent Will up a chimney style tube to the surface. While Will struggled his way up, the rest of the party headed east and found a terrible grotto where they found Shayonna the gaunt waiting in the darkness.
Minerva and Isobel were instantly weakened by her horrific appearance. She demanded they kneel and submit to her or die. Hakhan declared that it was impossible to kneel while swimming, so they would have to fight. Will came back down and seeing the party’s light headed for the battle.
Isobel summoned another shark while Hakhan circled around to try and flank Shayonna. Silas was staggered by an evil eye and Minerva was speared by Shayonna’s harpoon. Will arrived and was severely weakened by her appearance. The party was being heavily sapped by the gaunt’s power. Desperate, Silas struck and rendered Shayonna unconscious with one powerful uppercut.
The party ganged up and struck the helpless creature with every weapon at their disposal. Hakhan killed her with a piece of coral right through her head. The party then searched the grotto and found a pile of pearls as well as some magical items on her. One was a disturbing claw that Hakhan claimed. Since no one else wanted anything to do with it, it was his.
They took the head as proof of their conquest. Aakin recognized it as a sea hag and began helping identify the magic. Silas took a cackling hag’s blouse for the intimidate effect. He carried the gaunt’s magic harpoon and suffered a curse. He dropped the weapon on the deck, but the effect persisted. Minerva was unable to help, so they decided to see if they could find help elsewhere.
They then returned to Windward Isle with their tale. By that point Silas’s curses had lifted. Dahryen announced that the training of Owlbear Hartshorn was finished and could now join the crew as a swab. Dahyren was made hostage and the party was brought into the tower. Lady Agasta recognized that becoming involved in Shayonna’s tale would be enough to make the crew of the Risky Venture infamous enough to provide protection for Tidewater Rock.
Lady Agasta agreed to marry for at least one year and so the Risky Venture was now in control of Windward Isle. Sandara performed the ceremony and Hakhan got a dowry: a magical farglass and Iron Bert’s magic breastplate. The pirates, freed slaves, and residents of Tidewater Rock threw a very large and raucous celebration that went long into the night.
You know I've never published the Articles under which the crew of the Risky Venture sails, which were the subject of some discussion within the group. So here they are!
We, the crew of the Risky Venture, do agree to engage in the sweet trade and act as brothers to one another under the following regulations:
Article 1: All plunder shall go to a general fund from which the ship is repaired and provisioned. Every member of the crew gets an equal share of remaining treasure. Anyone caught taking more than his fair share of loot, or refusing to report its discovery in a timely manner, shall be marooned. The captain receives extra shares of any treasure, as do shipwrights, carpenters, and officers to lesser degrees.
Article 2: All crew members must obey the captain and his officers. Any crewman who disobeys an officer’s order will lose his next share of gold on the first offense, thirty lashes and his next share of gold on the second offense, and on the third offense the crewman shall be marooned.
Article 3: The person who spots a sail shall have first pick of its loot.
Article 4: The crew shall take what they deserve by virtue of their strength of arms, but shall not plunder the poor.
Article 5: Any truce is valid until the opposing ship is past the horizon.
Article 6: Any crew member who loses a limb in service to the ship shall be paid 800 gp for its loss.
Article 7: Every sailor receives an equal share of food and drink, and 1 ration of liquor every day.
Article 8: Every sailor has an equal right to vote in decisions put to the crew by the captain.
Article 9: No crew member shall take a position on a new ship or talk of leaving until each crew member has acquired at least 1,000 gp worth of treasure through his labors.
Article 10: Every sailor must do her fair share of work, and neither shirk her duty nor pass off work to another, lest she face losing her next share of gold on the first offense, thirty lashes and her next share of gold on the second offense, and on the third offense the crewman shall be put off the ship at the next port. A ship’s bard may rest 1 day per week, but must stand ready to entertain on all others.
Article 11: Every member of the crew must tend to his own weapons and keep them ready for battle or forfeit his next share of gold on the first offense, thirty lashes and his next share of gold on the second offense, and on the third offense the crewman shall be put off the ship at the next port.
Article 12: No crew member shall hide his abilities from the crew. A sailor who can perform magic shall use his abilities on behalf of the ship. Any crewmen caught holding his abilities back shall lose his next share of gold on the first offense, thirty lashes and his next share of gold on the second offense, and on the third offense the crewman shall be put off the ship at the next port.
Article 13: Anyone who shows cowardice in the face of the enemy or deserts in battle shall be marooned.
Article 14: No fighting is allowed between crewmates. Quarrels shall be set aside until shore leave, at which point grievances may be settled with violence on shore.
Article 15: Any pirate found stealing from crewmates must repay what he has stolen, receives thirty lashes, and the pirate shall be put ashore at port.
Article 16: All pirates shall not engage in one-on-one combat with a helpless foe or an opponent unable to defend themselves. Doing so results in thirty lashes. A second offense results in being marooned if land is near and walking the plank if it is not.
Article 17: The crew as a body can allow a willing member of the crew to give satisfaction to an honorable opponent in their stead if it is appropriate. They may choose to give satisfaction themselves if they so wish.
Article 18: A crew member shall always accept the surrender of an honorable foe—such prisoners may later be ransomed or press-ganged into the crew.
Article 19: Any crewman caught beating or mutilating slaves or prisoners shall receive thirty lashes. A second offense results in being marooned if land is near and walking the plank if it is not.
Article 20: Passengers and prisoners who may be objects of lust to crew members are not to be imposed upon or harassed. Any crewman that does so shall receive thirty lashes. A second offense results in being marooned if land is near and walking the plank if it is not.
Article 21: No pirate is to bring aboard a husband, wife, child, person of ill virtue, or any passenger unbeknownst to the captain. Both sailor and passenger face marooning.
Article 22: Any crewman caught below deck with open flame, magical or mundane, will suffer the loss of his next share of treasure or lashes. On a second offense he would suffer lashes or dismissal at the next port. On a third offense he would be put off at the next port or marooned. All candles and lanterns are to be extinguished at sunset.
Article 23: Any sailor found drunk on duty shall face the loss of his next share of treasure or lashes. On a second offense he would suffer lashes or dismissal at the next port. On a third offense he would be put off at the next port or marooned. Any sailor too drunk to function effectively during battle shall receive thirty lashes. On a second offense he will be dismissed from the ship at the next port.
Article 24: A sailor who suspects a hazard, be it storm cloud, sea monster, or enemy ship, must raise the alarm immediately. Any sailor who sees an unfamiliar sea creature must inform the captain immediately. Failure to do so results in the loss of his next share of treasure or lashes. On a second offense he would suffer lashes or dismissal at the next port. On a third offense he would be put off at the next port or marooned.
Article 25: A sailor shall not speak to any creature of the sea without the captain’s permission. Doing so results in the loss of his next share of treasure or lashes. On a second offense he would suffer lashes or dismissal at the next port. On a third offense he would be put off at the next port or marooned.
Article 26: A sailor must not speak ill of the dead lest they summon restless spirits to the ship. Doing so results in losing her next share of gold on the first offense, thirty lashes and her next share of gold on the second offense, and on the third offense the crewman shall be put off the ship at the next port.
Finally, the group have now reached the Disgraceful Infamy threshold and have declared Senghor as their favoured port.