Days With a Knight

On my birthday my friends and I started a new campaign loosely based off of paizo’s Skulls and Shackles adventure path. The party is pretty quickly diverging from the premise. Looks to be pretty fun so far, as we adventure board our pirate ship.

First, let’s take a look at the characters!

Abbad – Ifrit Grenadier Alchemist with a penchant for flour bombs. He quickly becomes cook’s mate, and proves remarkably level headed for a pryophilic explosives enthusiast. He does take an irrational disklike for the ship’s Wizard though.

Dory – A human Oracle of the Waves straight out of the bayou and the slave galleys. Cosncripted again it seems. While an accomplished sailor, her clouded vision restricts her abilities even as a swab. She becomes the focal point for the boatswain’s agression. Played by a woman who provides some of my favorite moments in gaming.

Saeche- A tightlipped ratfolk knifemaster Rogue who doesn’t like much of anyone. I think her nickname is likely to become Serrated Saeche. She seems to have a talent for wrestling, stabbing, taming dire rats, gambling and nabbing unavailable promotions. She starts working in the very upper rigging.

The Nameless Houseguest – S/he doesn’t start with the party at all. This great axe wielding rogue likes to masquerade as a barbarian, and does so with great aplomb once rescued by a foppish gnome from the wreckage of his/her houseboat. Name unknown. Gender unknown. S/he likes laying traps for superior officers, collecting driftwood and seeking revenge for the destruction of his/her house.

Now. On to the story!

Dory, Saeche and Abbad wake up, filth covered and bloody in the Wyrmwood’s hold – most of their equipment gone. Dory equivocates about how the nice people will let her go once they realize she’s blind. Everyone else blinks, wondering how she lasted to level one. They are quickly greeted by the ship’s boatswain, a Mr. Scourge, an unkind character who gives them their assignments amidst a wash of insults and slurs.

They quickly fall into routine while trying to recover their items and find their bearings. Abbad gets friendly with everyone (also starts drinking with the Quartermaster and Ship’s cook, becoming part of their little crew)  at dinner and meets the illustrious gnome and resident bard -Conchobar, who brags about his very fancy hat and priceless vest. He works in the rigging with Saeche, flirts with her incessantlty, and with everything that walks. Dory tells stories every night, and once on a natural 20- Conchobar proposes. She, unfortunately, declines. He becomes a staunch party ally pretty quickly.

On the morning after their pressganging, a few crewmembers lead by Scourge’s crony Shivakh try to block the pc’s. A few intimidate checks and one Command:Sleep spell later they get up on deck and Dory has earned herself an enemy. Throughout the coming weeks, Mr. Scourge uses any excuse he can lay hands on to lash her.

Abbad spends a lot of time snooping and asking questions (also catching and killing a dolphin, which is bad luck, but that’s neither here nor there.) He finds that the captain was seen meeting some Chels, that they’re headed for waters they don’t frequent often and that the ship’s wizard is somewhat suspicious.

When dire rats show up in the bilge, they’re taken care of. Saeche even captures and domesticates one as a pet. Guard rat named Gary. When Mr. Plugg, the first mate, puts up a hundred gold piece purse against his pet simpleton in a wrestling match – she takes the challenge and strangles him to the ground. Then she proceeds to gamble incessantly, proving remarkably skilled and focused on taking the money from Mr. Scourge’s people. Shivakh swings at her once, but is stopped by Jace Magpie, one of her quickly made friends.

Then a storm hits (Abbad is convinced it is magically borne and part to a conspiracy involving the ship’s wizard and the first mate.) With Dory assigned to the bilges. Everyone does their jobs. Nobody dies. At the tail end of it, they crash into NH’s house boat. Sinking it. While NH attempts to climb up into the Wyrmwood’s hull S/he falls…only to be rescued by the dashing Conchobar…who, NH proceeds to sleep with.

Things go pretty boringly for a while. They go crabbing. Dory gets whipped some more. They do grappling practice. Dory gets whipped some more. As NH sees how Mr. Scourge treats her, a plan forms. During the celebrations for the Captain’s Wench’s birthday – NH sets a trap outside Mr. Scourge’s door.

Abbad finds him the next morning, dead, and searches his room. Taking nothing. Shivakh succeeds his former boss, suspending investigations, keeping it quiet, and later that day whips Dory with the Cat o’ Nine Tails. During the whipping Dory manages to seduce Shivakh into taking her to his room. Where she whispers into his ear. Command: Swim. This happens several times, her chasing him as he attempts to get out on topdeck and go for a swim. Repating her command the whole way like some kimd of avenging goddess. Finally he jumps, begins to climb back up, she uses her last command, he still makes it back up and starys chasing her down. Realizing her options are quickly running out, she jumps off ship and fakes drowning.

Saeche helps her climb up discreetly and hides her in the bilges. While this is all going on…NH lays another trap. Still somehow remaining unoticed. Nobody looks twice at the “barbarian.” In the morning, Shivakh is dead. Saeche and Abbad discover him first, Saeche loots his room, including his gold teeth. She gives Abbad some drugs and powders found on his person in a snuffbox. (He tries and fails to poison the Wizard with it.)

Nobody wants to be boatswain, all the superstitious pirates believe the position is now cursed, so Saeche bribes Jace Magpie to let her see the Captain and asks him for the job. He gives it to her. She learns he is a rather refined gentleman, he speaks with an educated accent.

Shortly there-after it’s ship ahoy! Everyone gets ready for boarding as they spy the merchant ship Man’s Promise. Combat goes like a dream, though a few pirates in other boarding parties drop. Saeche and NH both have a thing for the captain and rush to his aid against the enemy. Dory is still in hiding. Abbad subdues the merchants and non soldier crew of the Promise through threat of a grenade. The ship is won.

After combat, once booty is distributed, the Captain reveals that Mr. Plugg will be taking the Promise into port for salvage with most of the crew. He and the Wizard shall be taking Wyrmwood in on a sorcerous wind with minimal crew, to arrange a buyer.

Mr. Plugg takes a compliment of the following -
Conchobar
Ambrose the Cook
Grok Half Throat
Jace Magpie
Sandra Quinn
The PC’s
His Pet and four cronies
The ship’s gunner

Saeche will be serving as his first mate.

This looks to be a particularly exciting journey, everyone is now level 2.

End Session

Tagged: campaigns, DnD, homebrew, paizo, pathfinder, pirates, roleplaying game