An OOC board for both opposing groups is all well and good (if it ever gets used that is) but it's not really a place to type pirates only stuff that also isn't suitable for the in-game thread. So, from now on if you don't think it'd be clever to post in the main OOC thread, you should put your OOC posts in here.
This message was last updated by the GM at 03:47, Thu 12 Apr 2007.

Okay, So I take it we are in limbo waiting for more pirates?

Pretty much. If noone shows up I was planning on carrying on the story with just the two of you on January the 3rd.

Well, I showed up... I think...

You took yer time, lad. Let's hope yer not as tardy when it's your turn fo' the nest!

Nay, t'wont happen again, cap'n!

Don't you just hate it when your crew jumps ship?

How about a press gang to round up a few loyal lads.

Nah, no need for that...

Hello all. I have a free spirited air gensai rogue joining the crew. All booty, no matter how tightly locked, will be min....er ours. Harharhar.

I'll post Hoats answer later today (I'm US Eastern time zone).  Sorry for the delay.

I feel it is important to note that I have the stormwrack book, as well as a basic knowledge of ships, but since Aurlin has no sailing experience, I will not be using this knowledge. I am taking a rogues approach to this problem, lying and double talk to get what I want. Also, since I have Storwracked and am more than capable than looking up any information needed from other sources, if my character does manage to outplay the imposing Hort, I will be able to increase Aurlins knowledge of sailing as he gains expierience.

I would have liked to have had a duel though--not to the death of course :)
This message was last edited by the player at 07:50, Sat 04 Feb 2006.

Okely dokely.

I love ships, especially the tall ones. I've even been on one up in Canada. They are fasinating to watch getting underway and turning. I'd love to see an old fighting ship going to quarters, but they just don't do that anymore. (sigh)

Anyway, I thought the Q&A would make it a little more naval as first mates are usually picked (in traditional ships) by the most senior. Being as we all are the least senior on the Desert Rose, compared to the rest of the crew, we probably wouldn't normally have a prayer at a position like 1st mate.

But hey this is D&D, you could still win Aurlin. A pirate ship needs stronger than average leaders. Do/Say something to win. Right now it's a toss up to me.

Yeah, considering we are new I wasn't going to go for it, but I figured that the captain would have offered the position to someone if senority was an issue.

Speaking of the captain, I would really like to hear some requirments from you considering you run the show. I was hoping that more than sailing experience was going to be needed to get the post, I understand it would of course be important for a role like this, but so would a number of other skills for a D&D game.

heh, well this is certainly fun, I wonder how it'll turn out.

The wizard sneers at the upstart gensia and replies, I had my interview in private.



(He leaves it at that)


THIS is SOOOOO FUNNY to me for some reason.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:04, Sun 05 Feb 2006.

Oh yea, Aurlin, I was hoping for some sort of bribe for my support. I think Hoat is a little too coolhaded after his outbursts while we were waiting for the ship.

Hello all.

Ahoy Hemmel!


Zorlax, I do agree the Hoat is coming across as more 'coolheaded' now.  However, I will say that Hoat, the crewmember aboard ship, is not the quite the same as Hoat, the barbarian on liberty ashore.  Hoat is an experienced steersman, and competent sailor.  He understands the rules of the sea.  The Captain's word is law, and your life depends upon your shipmates, as theirs depend on you.

Now, set Hoat a-pillagin', boarding another ship, or loose in a tavern, and you may see a different beast altogether.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:20, Sun 05 Feb 2006.

Could we get the captain to play a more active role in the selection process please. Although this has been an interesting role-playing expierience, I was expecting the captain to be more involved in the process.

You would normally, yes, but that's not her style. She's a Jarlaxle-type character and revels in the chaos she causes. If the argument gets boring or is resolved she'll step in.

I have to be honest and say that I am finding the task of writing up posts for this game tediouse. It seems to me that other players are reacting off my characters thoughts and intentions, which their characters shouldn't know. I really don't mind if I get the first mate position or not, at first I just thought it would be a fun thing to try but know I feel that the crew has turned against me. I don't feel that my characters actions have justified some of the comments made against him and I am fine roll playing in a game where people don't like my character but only as long as I have done something to deserve it. I am cutting my involvment in this scene off and taking Aurlin back to the crows nest.

well, to be honest, my character isn't against yours. I think the only on that could be considered agaisnt you would be zorlax and as he said in the OOC that's ebcaue he wanted a bribe.

Sorry for my sparse posting everyone.  Work has been killer that last few weeks, but the latest project is finishing up. Hopefully, I should have more time to contribute.

Umm I'm not against anyone. The bribe thing was just an idea for your character to get support from my character. You could've played it however you wanted to. You choose to try a bluff, I assume. I don't think any of my posts referenced or used information you posted as "thoughts", so I'm a little puzzled by those statements. Unless you are referening Flik's post on his thoughts about your actions/thoughts. But then again I don't think he actually did anything "out loud"

No hard feelings Aurlin, I didn't mean to come across like I am spoiling for a fight. I was only thinking that a ship's mage (on a pirate ship no less) wouldn't be one to back down from anyone of the crew. He would answer to the captian and no one else and would be equal to the mates and other authority figures.
And like flik said, as a ships mage, I'll typically be busy with my art, and advising the captian, that kinda stuff rather than running the ship. Now if Zorlax were a different class, I'd give you a run for your money on the 1st mate position. I was just trying to give a non-violent solution to the "who want to be 1st mate?" question. I thought it would give us a chance to feel each other out and maybe even build some alliances.

You guys don't seem to be particularly happy. And all this bickering has scared away our newest player. It is suitably chaotic though. What do you think of me making the cap'n more iron-fisted?

I'm not bickering with anyone, I don't think. I was just role playing a bit. The dark, mysterious ship's mage. Establishing my character in the pecking order of the ship. That so of thing. Heck we're pirates. We are somewhat the criminal element.

As for making the captian more in control, I like the idea of a Jaraxle type. But do what you think needs to be done. I'm just here for the game, and to get to the next level...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:01, Mon 13 Feb 2006.

I'm happy, so far it's been interesting, to interesting for the new guy but that's his loss really. So far the captain hasn't really made an decisions or really done anything except occasional stroll around and watch. I really don't think iron-fisted is necessicary unless someone challanges her.

It's all good guys, just letting my feelings known. I always try and avoid confliction in my games, but I also role-play my chaotic characters appropriatly. I just wanted to let you guys know my thoughts and playing style to help improve our interactions in the future.

We are still in the feeling out stage of this game. Whew I rem. one game I was in where a younger fellow was rping a infant deva. And he played the good-two-shoes outlook to the max. Me and another guy played NE rogues. He even blew the whistle on us to the local guards in his "innocent" way.

Heads up to everyone, I've moving this weekend and the new house doesn't have net access, yet. Hopefully I'll be able to post some from work, but I might disappear for a week until I get the cable hooked up.

Sorry for my lack of posting folks.  RL work and home has been very busy, and I like to post stuff better than "Hoat watches the activity of the crew and picks his teeth."  I'll try to have something up later today or tomorrow.

Any idea where my sheet is DM? I can't even remember what I did with it it's been so long and my character details are empty.

I have a copy of it and if you need to find it, the original is in a Private Message to me in the OOC Forum.

Sorry about not posting, I've been away from town the last week (went to Morelia for the tournament) and I'm feeling kinda tired right now... expect a post later tonight or tomorrow.

Had my access revoked since Friday but I'm back now.

Afternoon all. New pirate here - whenever the ship is looking for another person, let me know.

So are is tis adventure dead or are we still roling but just waiting for something or someone?

We are waiting for the COW, I thought.  He seems to have been distracted by non-RoA stuff.  How dare he! ;)

How dare I indeed! heh.

Seriously though, I could write up a list of reasons but it'd be a long one.

heh, I was just wondering is all. A lot of the games I've joined have died just about all at once right now. out of about 12 games I was in only three are still up.

It's nearly exam season. A lot of gamers are/should be revising. Takes up a lot of time. Me, I'm of the 'should be' variety but my life has a few too many complications right now to be doing so.

yeah I know I've got a physics exam tommorow actually. How I do on that determines on whether or not I drop the course and rethink my major. I would be studying right now, but to much of that causes my brain to melt down.

Could never get my head around a lot of physics stuff. Ended up with a D grade. Probably would have helped a little if I had revised.
Chemistry I had trouble with moles and things like that. I don't think that they were taught very well.
Biology I could do fairly easily. Seemed much more simple to me.
But yeah, sciences can be complicated subjects. I've always thought you've got to have the right mindset to succeed and my mindset doesn't like complicated equations. Basic equations (like GCSE level maths) I can do but some of the stuff I've seen on my friend's advanced maths revision...yeesh. Couldn't get past question 3.

Why does science have to be so maths orientated?

Science is based off maths because maths allows absolute proofs (within the mathematical framework, at least).

Well, yeah there's the empirical evidence of course, but why do the big 3 sciences have to be so darned complex when it comes to the calculations?

With psychology all I've come across is measures of central tendency which, comparatively is a walk in the park compared to the stuff I've seen for the other subjects.

Actually the reason why the sciences use higher lvl maths has nothing to do with proofs. Infact we are horrible math slobs most of the time, we use them because it makes life so much easier. A simple algebraich expression can take up to five or six full pages to work trhough for a simple physics problem, but if you up the math lvl a little it's over with in three lines. It just saves us a lot of time and energy, basically all scientists and engineers are lazy we don't want to have to do more work than is absolutely necessary. the equations aren't really the problem, the problem is what's going on. A good example would be gauss's equation, we use that a whole hell of a lot, if the sysmetry is there for, electromagnetism because it's much much much faster than using Culombs equation.

I guess we should have a roll call. Who's here and...who isn't?

I'm here

I be here

Yarr!

Well, unless PC JackTucker shows up soon, I might have NPC Zorlax for the forseeable future. I need to hurry us along a bit now (Just between you and me the hunters have the name of our ship and they're now looking for us).

Can't run this ship without a mage and since both he and Aralanthalas don't seem to be around for now we've got no Player-controlled afrcane casters.

I didn't know you were waiting on me. I was waiting to hear what Hoat encountered upon entering past the exspended trap.

So it's Aurlin and Aran-Aralath-the other one that we're missing.

Any suggestions on where I might be found? Or did I just 'Phase in' from off the side of the screen as another crewmember?
[Private to DM N1NJ4C0W: It could speed things up a little to have me trapped in the temple or something, although I don't know a lot of background on, for instance, why the temple is being raided. I'll read up soon.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:32, Tue 18 Apr 2006.

Read the story thread and you'll see that Blackmane just ordered you to join the PC's group. So, yeah you were a crewmember.

Got it.

Combat round'll be done tomorrow hopefully. I should be having a lot of pressure taken off me by tomorrow evening.

I fell asleep, heh. I'll get on it now.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:30, Fri 05 May 2006.

Who is still here?

I am, I like flik to much to just let him die.

Ahoy!

Yarr!

Here.

Looks like we've lost Aralanthalas & Aurlin since neither have posted since well before the server move.

Exams have taken a lot out of me. Expect something tomorrow evening at the latest.

Zorlax? I'm posting tomorrow so sort out your actions. I really don't want to have to do it for you. I'm already NPCing 2 people.

Hoat? No offece, but I'd like to put a rush on this combat. Not only have my exams slowed down this combat, but I hate them, I just hate them & want to get to rewarding you (plus FP wants our crews to meet up soon).

Sorry for the delay - I am swamped as well, with many other RL issues that seem to pull me everywhere but in front of my computer.  I'll try to pick up the pace.

Ahoy there mates.

Right last ooc piraty from me.

Joining the game and hoping to have fun.

So. Seems we're finally going meet up with our nemeses: The Hunters.

They've got us out-gunned, level 4'd & they have a pet dinosaur.
We, however outnumber them & have a wizard onboard.

Let's see how this works out.

Looks like I showed up right in time.

To explain a thing or two about my post. Lilian was with the captains party at the temple and has served as a midshipman of sorts, a task which she is rather good at.

[Private to DM N1NJ4C0W: The second knowledge skill should be Navigation, since we are in the Nelanther isles.]

Ooh, fun. I'm looking forward to seeing Hoat bull-rush hunters into the water. Myself, I may not be quite as much use in a fight :(

So this will be a no holds barred pvp fight? Hope it happens on sea, for my sake!

How many rounds do we have to prepare for the fight? I need to know so I can buff up.

Well I guess we have ample time, this is the age of sail after all.

Unless they have a speedboat with all the animals with the long ears on the sides.

Yeah, but if I cast them to soon they'll wear off before the fight is over. I'm only lvl three after all. so bless, sheild of faith, aid, and bear endurance will all last three minutes. To make it in this fight, i'll need everything I can get, I'm not as hardy as Hoat after all and since I'm the "healer" they'll probably come after me first.

True, you should be able to casts the spells with some accuracy in regards of duration, ships take a while to catch up, even with magic and favorable winds.

Like FP said, please remove revealing bio lines.

Given effectively unlimited prep time and a level three cleric, I suggest casting darkness on a rock and throwing it onboard the enemy ship. Suddendly, they can't see where to jump to board us, and finding the rock is going to be hard in pitch blackness...
After that, sanctuary is a good spell if you are worried about getting carved up.

Of course, don't let me tell you what to do; this is just a suggestion and should not be treated as an instruction.

The moment they are in range, I'll be tossing them a few fiery presents, which would help immensly if they couldnt see where the fires were :)

Well I don't have darkness or sancutary prepared. I've got two other spell though that should help us all out.

Been awefully quiet here today, didnt want to post just again, since its not that long since the last post.

Btw are alchemist fire vials not 1d6 of fire damage each?

Yes, I wanted to rely on our mage to help but he's being quiet too. We need ranged weaponry!

I got 4 pistols and plenty plenty of bullets. Plus my 10 vials of alchemist fire, which should hopefully wreak havoc on the hunters rigging

I was thinking a little more along the lines of fireballs. Zorlax can cast level 6 spells with scrolls & the cap'n has a bunch of scrolls below decks.

I'm handy with them too (not too handy, but UMD checks are hard. Either way, a few of the others saw me use a scroll of invisibility.

Okay. I'm back from vacation. I see we've encountered the hunters. Give me a little bit to read up and I'll post.

level 6 Fireballs? How come I haven't heard of these yet. The best I can do is a few globs of acid and webbing. Mayeb mess with their sails a little, but by the time they get that close we'd better have a good plan going.

OOC: We don't actually know these are the hunters yet? We are going in with thoughts of taking the ship, I assume. What do we have in the way of mundane ranged weapons. I assume there are bows and crossbows. Do we have a balista? (sp?) Aurlin can you fly over them and drop some "bombs" on them? That might be the best place for the invisiblity spell. Imagine Aurlin dopping 4 or 5 A.Fires on them, appearing right over their mainmast. I intend to web them right before they board. So give me space when they get close. I assume I'll be able to tell. That will be the spell I have ready.

[Private to DM N1NJ4C0W: Well I wanted to ID the belt and ring. The boots I'm going to take my chances with (don them) and see if I notice anything about them. ]

Aurlin can levitate & if he's pushed with just the right amount of force he can attack those sails.
We don't have a balista, that's why Blackmane places so much importance on Zorlax' position.
We do, however have scrolls and a wand of read magic below decks for artillery support. I'll get back to you on the other details as I'm really busy in RL right now.

Let's talk tactics; the pirate crew is sure to have done so in the past and will certaintly have tactics for ship-vs-ship battles.

Ideally we can capture the enemy ship and kill off it's entire crew, but failing that, we want to survive.

Opponents will either go for a melee assault or try to kill us off with ranged weaponry.

Ranged attacks we can deal with by having everyone get behind cover and return fire - that's about the best we can do however.

Melee attacks we can
A) Do some damage as they try to close with us

Ranged weapons, alchemists fire, spells - you name it. Fly Aurlin over to their mast and cut loose the sails - he can jump back with levitate and we sail away if we must retreat, use ranged weapons if we outgun them, and board them if we don't.

B) Make it hard for them to get on board

Caltrops - who has a bag?
I'll be laying mine down in a likely landing zone if it looks like we're going to get boarded. Nothing like caltrops to irritate boarders, especially since they probably won't see them until it's too late.

Tanglefoot bags are also great - it basically takes one opponent out of the game. Pick someone wearing the heaviest armor and throw it.

C) Bull-rush them overboard

Anything that lets you push your opponent around really, since once you are in the water with your armor and weapons that't basically the end for you (-1 to swim checks per 5lb carried, and double armor check penalty - a chain shirt is -9 to swim checks)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:57, Thu 06 July 2006.

well I was planning on debuffing them with my first spell and then using hold person on the biggest baddest looking fighter. hopefully his saves will be low enough and he'll roll low enough that he'll be helpless for three rounds. After that I'd fall in as support fighter and expend the rest of my spells as spontaneouis healing if need be, keeping obscuring mist in reserve. I can deal some serious damage in the right conditions, like the fight with the yuan-ti we just had, if I get some decent rolls.

Hoat is fairly well set up to grapple/pin/throw people overboard.

I wonder if we should quickly pile up random piles of items at the side of the ship when they try to board (give them 'difficult terrain' to get over).

If we lay a long net (think cargo net/climbing rigging) on the ground from one end of the ship to the other it will catch their feet and make movement tricky (try walking over a net with big holes while concentrating on something else - your foot catches every step or two, and you risk falling over).

That might cause cries of "Metagaming!" You're supposed to be doing the boarding, not them.

Well, if we do figure out that they are equipped to board *us* (for example, see that they are coming towards us rather than running for it), it may be a wise idea.
Also, most boats have cargo nets that can be draped over the sides (to help get on legitimately, recover overboard men, etc). Those nets would probably be easy to pull up & over (not sure what the details are of the boat).

We're in a standard Caravel (the 'Sailing Ship' from the PHB equipment lists if you don't have Stormwrack) while the hunters are in a custom vessel.

I'm tellin' ya, these hunters have some tactics that will MESS. US. UP.

Well If things start getting really ugly, when they board I could always cast obscruing mist and then we could set our ship on fire. Afterwards we all run to thier ship and sail it away leaving them stranded on our ship. It'll work especially well if zorlax has an illusion spell that could make him look like the enemies captain.

That's what I was scared of. How's my swim check looking...

If the fight goes badly, my hope is we can set their sails alight & make a run for it.

It's times like this I would like to be a caster - throwing "Scare" into the enemy ranks is a favorite, as would darkness, web and color spray.

Hmm then we better start getting creative.... Let our chaotic nature shine through and turn about that ram their custom made heap of timber!

Seriously though, a clarification in game on who they are, prey/predator would solve all our "metagaming" problems.

As they say, why fight fair

How about waterbreathing/swimming, hacksaw and their rudder?

Or better yet, waterbreating/swimming, Waterproof keg of smokepowder, and their Rudder/keel.

Aurlin as a flying bomber wouldnt last long I think, unless he is that much higher up in the air, he would simply be shot down.

Or...abandon ship, dive under it, and over take theirs from behind while they are aboard ours which we have convinently disabled.

Caltrops are a decent enough idea, but ultimately rather futile since it only slows the process down, we need them off our ship and to disable theirs.

We could all just surrender the moment they comes close to us, and wreak their element of tactics... then once they are unsure on what to do we attack... or simply use invisibility to sneak a good lockpick along with the group... then over take the ship again, when they leave half of their crew to run it (doubt they would sink a good ship like the rose). This would be a decent enough backup plan.

Or we could just make a "run" for it, hoping to outdistance them, this plan atleast gives us extra time to prepare, in the worst case scenario.

combine running with waterbreathing/swimming idea #1 and time the disabling too a time where we are shall we say close to shore or a reef...going at it full "steam" then watch as they fail to turn and run ashore (like this idea).

The only problem I can see with this plan is our lack of water-breathing spells, unless someone hasn't mentioned that they have them.

We don't get time to prepare spells, and that is a significant disadvantage - had Aurlin known he would be defending the ship he could have prepared spells like web and darkness.

Important: Anyone with silent image, NOW is the time to speak up. Silent image would enable us to create an entire second boat (with a duration of concentration) to scare off the invaders. Nothing worse than a second boatload of pirates showing up half-way through the encounter...

Anyone with grease, speak up.

Anyone with cause fear or scare, speak up.

Anyone with summon swarm?

Personally I think the silent image trick would do a great job. It is long range, too - over 500 ft at our level.

[Private to GM: Can I spend DM XP's to find something in the ship's stores? Like a case of spell scrolls?]

Actually I think ramming might be our best option right now. According to fox paws his ship has weapons with far longer range than ours and he is planning on ponding us pretty hard. A headlong charge with a fire or two fired a couple rounds before we close with them will not only do a lot of damage, but break up what ever formation they might have, send them into disarray and give us the edge we need to clear thier decks and give us time to either cripple thier ship or capture it if we are feeling lucky.

I must say that the battle will be fought on two fronts. Above & below the waves. We both have our underwater forces, though we're outmatched in that area too.

Cap'n has what is essentially silent image. She can also summon a shadow.

[Private to Paul Roberts: Sure. Cap'n has a ton of scrolls she was saving for Zorlax as a reward.]

Well Zorlax is only 3rd level. I'm HAPPY I can cast web twice. I figure we should bow out of this fight and lead them on a merry chase. But first we damage the heck out of their sails. I think one of their part is a waterbreather by the look of his character, A water troll or orc. (How he got permission for that one beats me) He will probably try to some at us from below. (IE: cut the rudder)

IMO:
1st we use whatever long range fire attacks we can to damage them. Assume they will try the same, except we have a mage. Assume they have ranged wands/rods/scrolls.

2nd: We act like we are coming for them full steam, full attack, etc.. We get close enough to pour one "broadside" of whatever we can then get dthe windage and take off.

3rd: If we do wind up closing, we are pretty much toast. From what I've seen on the die roller and rumor here, I'd say they are all at least one level maybe 2 ahead of us. They have been Rp'ing constantly while we hunters have been in and out of limbo over the past months.

4th: Misdirection. We run away until it gets dark, set a rowboat with a lamp down, and do a 90 degree turn and take off. We can go somewhere, load up with a few weapons specifically for taking them out and come back together. (Gaining a level maybe)

While I'm not big on running usually, I do fear they are better prepared to take us out. (did I see a mention of a dinosaur somewhere) Another point is this custom ship. Probably it is a little faster than we are. I might have a few weapons hidden here or there.

Pirates are a cowardly lot for the most part, preying on the much weaker. So these actions aren't totally out of character. But then I'll give it my best shot with whatever we decide to do.

If the vote is to fight. The best Zorlax can do is to web several of the PC's and then put a few to sleep. Depending on exactly what the captain has, thats about it. I can cause havoc with their sails, but by that time, we are gonna be so close it isn't gonna matter. I have prepared to mend out sails again damage, but again, this might help us only if we are fleeing.

Hoat is correct about sending a few overboard. That would help alot.

Another item, How many extras do we have (regular seamen)? Only 3 of us have been involved with the shipboard duties. A caravel takes about 20 to run, and pirate ships usually carry 4 times as many as is needed for normal ops.

Coming up from below, Paul calls out "Captain! I found something interesting below - a few of these scrolls had slipped down behind a cabinet. They would be... indispensable in running down a faster ship. Shall I set their sails (and a few crew members) alight before we attack?"

How come we only manage to pull in a pair of posts each day? Judging from the rate of updates on the game the other group is either getting far more done than us, or there are more groups that just the two.

I am at least party to blame since I can't seem to get a coherent post in nearly as often as I'd like.

In any case, Hoat is ready to board and lay waste!

There are quite a few different groups on this game. I post fairly regularly and have a fair bit of time at the moment. Towards september I will have virtually no time, but for another week or two I am on holidays.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:35, Sun 09 July 2006.

This is my busiest time of the year. so I try to post 3 times a week. More if we have a fight going on. I make no promises but that is what I aim for.

Well Zorlax, we're relying on you to *not* fizzle the fireball scroll. If you fail a DC 6 caster level check, we're all boned.

I've had worse luck. Just keep your fingers crossed..

Hmmm. Hey NinjaCow, What kinda odds are we looking at for taking out the steering on the other ship? I mean if it's gonna be like a DC30 or something it might be wisest to take down the mast/sails. How many sailors are we looking at (on our side?) Are we going to be able to command/direct them?

Hmm alot of nothing happening, are they gaining on us or what is going on.

I for one think we are better off throwing the fireball at their sails. Vaporising them instantly instead of slowly burning them with alchemist fire (which we can only use at throwing range). Plus once their sails are gone, dont matter much if they can stear or not. Aint going anywhere.

And for our motivation, a ship coming towards us, gaining on us, and the captain with a bad feeling. I say we run for it, as someone said, we have a hold full of loot and only a partial crew (those left after the temple raid).

And if the other boys be wanting a fight, you can bet it wont be on our terms. We can always find them again and make sure we have a say in the where, how and when of the battle.

Preferably when they are at anchorage, sleeping and restocking supplies...

Sorry, I've been without t'internet since Friday. Lemme catch up first.

Sounds good to me. I'll take the sails out (hopefully) first and then we can get away. Unless someone has a better idea.

So... we there yet?

Not sure. Communications have sort of broken down. Noone's saying anything to anybody.
Foxpaws is very busy and plans to quit after this combat to free up some time for himself.

Bad news, they have the windage, so we pretty much have to close or at least pass close to them to make a break for it. We could draw this out til dark and try to slip away.....

Nuh uh. I said WE have the windage. We're on the Desert Rose, they're on the Swyft Wind.

Am I missing a thread somewhere?

It was a PM in the battle thread. I mis-read it. Anyway, this changes things. Now that I think about it, the wind is at our back. I assume its in a favorable position (dead aft us or slightly to one side ) So we are racing toward them. He'll be able to close, get off a blast adn turn while they'll be lucky to just turn. (if we turn across their bows and they have to cross the wind dead on their bows, it's likely that they will be what's called "in irons") That means they lose all locomotion. At which point we decide to fight or flee based on how well our fireball does.

Does this sounds like our tactic so far?

Now if we choose to fight we need an idea of what actions we'll be taking. Zorlax is pretty much going to be casting spells until they are along side. He'll need some cover. (ie someone with a shield and lots of HP.) After he exhasted his spells, if we are still fighting, he'll go into a cabin and take cover shooting any boarders.

What are the rest of you going to be doing?


If we flee, then we all pray to the gods to send a steady wind.

(just looked at the map)
We are in Perfect position to pull this off. We are slightly on their port bow with the wind aft. They will have to cross the wind to follow us. We should be able to head straight North and then as soon as we are close enough for ath fireball, we turn to port and blast them. We will close a little more and then we should be opening before they are within a long bowshot.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:26, Tue 18 July 2006.

Well, I cant see any battle thread, nor have I seen a map...

But anyway I'm up for either going full out on them of simply taking the better part of valor and fleeing.... then raiding their home port and abduct their wives

It's not a grouped thread so even people who haven't sent an RTJ should be able to see it.

Zorlax: Like I said: Don't underestimate these people. This shouldn't be a simple fight.

I still think that even the best-prepared party will have difficulty with a fireball followed by a web. Pile on the damage, burn the sails, and tie up the crew - then pump 'em with ranged weapons.

There isnt a thing such as a simple fight. But like Foxpawns said, do we know for sure that these are armed foe's (although we would see the ships configuration easily enough when the gap closes).

Well I'm not much for tactics. I assume they have a few surprises (special ship) and they will be expecting the mage to hurl a few spells.                                      Worst case they have some sort of anti-magic device. (Which I couldn't do much about anyway)

I guess it depends on what the DM's will be considering. Ie like Paul says, are you gonna have them trying to save their ship? What about movement? With us having the wind we can pretty much own them from a distance. Our crew (the NPCs) should be at least at good as their crew, so that shouldn't be a factor. I guess what I'm trying to say, is how techicnal is this battle? A well placed Prestidigitation or Mage Hand, could seriously hamper them normally. But then if the DM's are looking for structurial damage and such, it could go either way.

I'm still of a mind that we blast them with the fireball and see what they do? But then again, pirates usually flee from a even match and stick to the easy pickings.

BTW I also have Enlarge, Fog, and Gust of Wind scrolls So I can give us a boost to get out of here. (Enlarge the sail, fog them and the gust of wind directly behind the sail)

I could cast True strike on whoever is the best shot, to take out the most dangerous person.

Just some ideas.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:05, Wed 19 July 2006.

I dont know about enlarging the sail - the physics of that seem wierd to me.
Gust of wind is a line, which limits how good it is.

Fog is excellent, although I plan to use darkness to similar effect..

true strike on Hoat would be good, he then could take a -10 to his attack and still be assured to hit with a +20 to his damage. That'd probably take one of them out in a single strike.

True strike is personal only, but if hoat has any ranks in use magic device it would work. Otherwise you would need a potion.

I have UMD but not power attack, so that's not much use to me.

Power attack is limited by your BAB, so hoat would only be able to take a penalty of 3 or 4 (and gain 6 or 8 damage).

Hmm Hey DM NinjaCow,

Say I want to call a shot (like shoot someone in the throat to diable their casting ability or whatever) what kinda to hit DC would I have? Also would True Strike help me with something like that? I've seen DM's go both ways on it.

Hello all. I am taking over Aurlin who had been abandoned by his player. Just wanted to let you know in case he acts a bit different then normal.

Generally, a called shot requires a -4 attack penalty but it can only be used against limbs.

I said tactics for today. So I want a definitive list in 6 hours or less please.

Once and if they close, I'll have 3 crewmen toss alchemist fire vials onto their decks/rigging.

Then pull back, inspire courage and fire away with pistols each time an opportunity presents itself.

If we run, I'll use inspire confidence to squase every last bit of effort from the crew

Otherwise I have very little say in the general course of actions.

Ah, kinda new to this but...
 If they close in I will fire down from the crow's nest with my bow and provide cover fire for anyone boarding the other vessel.
 If they board I will levitate down and engage in melee with the rest of the crew.
 Too bad we didn't have any kind of explosive(barrel of gunpowder or something to that effect), seeing as I don't need to breathe I could always attach something to the bottom of the boat or rudder and we could cripple their ship.

Once we get, say, 10 rounds away, I will use the scroll of web (trying repeatedly).
If we get to 4 rounds away and I haven't succeeded, I will hand it to Zorlax to use instead.
Obviously, the scroll is to stop them attempting to board & make them sitting targets for ranged attacks.
As soon as web is successfully used, I will ask Zorlax to cast darkness from my scroll on something a crossbow bolt or something & fire it at their mast.

If it looks like they are going to board us, I will try to grab some cargo netting & leave it lying at the side of the ship (creating difficult terrain).

Finally, if not doing anything else, I will use my net on any heavily armored foes then try to flank & sneak attack in melee.

well from what I have prepared I can take care of myself that's it and from one scroll I can doom the other team, but that's it. The -2 will help, but that's really all i can do beside the occasional heal and support fighting.

HELLOHELLO_HELLO

Zorlax will cast his fireball spell as soon as he is within range.

Fireball has a pretty long range - at CL 5, it's 600 feet.

WHat is our rate of close? I'd like to have at least 3 rounds after I loose it to cast some other spells.

Hello everyone.  I'm a new pirate player to the game.

Sorry I've been slow setting this battle up. I've had no connection all day.

Not to sound pushy or anything, but is anything going to happen soonish? Its been a month already since we spotted the hunters on our horizon and since then.... Well nothing has happened.

I agree. I would hate to have taken over someone elses character just to quit myself.

It is getting frustrating, yes.

I apologise profusely. Foxpaws has quit and I'm entertaining guests. I'll get back to you guys as soon as I can.

So any inside info on how the search for foxpaws replacement goes?

Or just about any information about anything to keep us company...

Sorry, noone else has come forth yet & I really can't be running both groups. Both in terms of fairness & in terms of my own time.

I can't apologise enough and I'd hate to be in your shoes waiting for all this time with nothing to do. Might I recommend you go and spend some time in the RoA Arena? You can earn XP there that can be spent on your characters here.

Since I've only had a message from one person that they're leaving can I assume that you're all still here?

I'm still here at least.

Yarr!

yup

eric is still here

Right, so we have 4. Hunters only have 1 so they're having a recruitment drive while we wait for a bit longer.

Was moving house over the weekend, thus no internet... but I'm still here!

As ye may have noticed. Those scurvy hunters are experiencin' a lack o' shipmates. So the battle will be delayed longer until they sort themselves out. Sorry mates.

To tide ye over, please remember that September 19th is International 'Talk like a Pirate day'. Tell your friends.

Are the pirates ready to go?  It sounds like the Hunters will be ready within the next couple of days, so be on your toes.

YARR!

Finally! Whee!

Sorry for the slow down everyone.  My brother-in-law passed away earlier this week, so I have been making funeral arrangements all week.

Is Paul Roberts and Eric Hardy the only pirates here?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:42, Fri 29 Sept 2006.

No I'm here and My character still stand. All those buffs and such will come in handy. AHAHAHAHA DOOMED! sorry I just like the name of that spell...

sooooo... we gonna do this?

ARRRGG  Here cap't.

It seems DM N1nj4C0W is MIA at the moment.  If he hasn't logged into the boards by tomorrow night(Sunday) then I will be pushing ahead with the shipboard combat sequence.

Please let me know which npc character names are like the pirate captain so I can include them in the fight.

Thanks for your patience everyone.

So battle is joined and I got off a fireball. How many did I kill?

(snagging the 5000th post)

If anyone uses a PM in their posts then you will have to include me within the PM otherwise I can't view and I not sure how involved DM N1nj4C0W will be for the pirate side of this battle.

[Private to Zorlax Marn: And I hate to burst your bubble, but you don't have a fireball spell on your sheet nor are you high enough level to cast it.  Did you cast a flaming sphere spell instead?]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:16, Fri 13 Oct 2006.

PM


[Private to DM Songwind: The captain gave me a scroll of fireball. I also got a few others. I'll look back and see what they are.]

OK everyone.  I request for all of you since I am overseeing you now.  If you were given equipment, magic items, etc then make sure it is noted on your character sheets.

[Private to Zorlax Marn: Ok.  What part of the enemy ship were you targetting with your fireball? and what was the casting level of the fireball scroll?]

Done.

Sorry for the absense everyone.  If you have posted in the Hunters OOC or Hunter IC threads over the past couple of weeks then give your characters 500XP.

I plan to make a 2 major posts a week (depending on how fast everyone posts) on Late Wed./Early Thurs and on Sat night/Sun morning.  If I start to slack on this then I give you permission to hold me accountable and call me on this.

If you post something in the game thread(s) during the week then you will be rewarded 50 XP plus any additional gaming bonus XPs for your character.

What hit us?!? The suspense is killing me!

Guys, I'm out. This game is so jumpy I can't follow it. I got alot of RL issues going on at the moment so I'm taking myself out.

You going to look over the side and take a look?

Yes.

PM
[Private to Paul Roberts: As you look over the side of the pirate ship you see the shape of a huge shark in the water which is what hit the hull.  The huge shark's skin doesn't look healthy and you notice that skeletal bone are exposed in several places along it's torso.

You also see several smaller shark fins in the water and they seem to be attacking the huge shark.

There is a hull breach where the huge shark impacted with the ship with the shark's head slightly sticking through the hole in the hull into the cargo hold below.  The huge shark is waiting for something and not moving at the moment.

There are two other huge shadowy shapes in the water that you see about 100-200 ft away from the pirate ship....]

The game threads will be updated later tonight.  Still waiting on a couple of people to post their actions, so get them in.

Don't forget your RoA 2006 gift(s).  The deadline is fast approaching and I have not received a PM concerning this yet.

Please do this as soon as you can.

Sorry about the silence, I for a long time thought the game was over and done for. And thus hadnt checked the site for a while.

Now that things are picking up, I'll join the fray if you dont mind. Lilith had rather limited options in long range combat anyhow (besides a pesky pistol shot or two).

Go ahead and jump in, Lillian.  Welcome aboard!  Let me know if you have any questions about the tactical combat situation at this point and a location where you want to start.

Update in the game thread, so please roleplay your actions.

Everyone who posted this past week gets 100 XPs

Another update will occur in two days....

Everyone gets 225 XP for the encounter they just finished.

I hope everyone is doing well.  Haven't see many postings lately.

Just so everyone knows.  I will be traveling out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA this weekend, so my posting will be spotty at best.

Yeah sorry about that, I've been pretty busy. Actually I'm probably going to quit this game. It's just finally starting to roll, but we've lost just about all of our players and we've gone through three DMs. that sort of inertia is all but impossible to overcome.

I'm back from my LOOONG list of RL problem-delay and need around a week to get back into things...if you'll have me that is.

I've just gotten a new fulltime job and I'm moving house atm, so internet will be spotty for awhile and time will be rarer still. I'll do what I can to keep up with my games.

So we are officially dead then?

Do you want this game to be dead?  I am willing to run this region if people are interested.

You let me know what you want to do and if we need to recruit more we can do that.

If interest isn't strong enough then it can die, otherwise I'm willing to continue running the pirates.

[Private to GM: Hey Ninj4.  I've been updating the character locator thread and this games seems to have slipped below the waves.  I've saved the info from that thread here just in case you want to resurrect it or something later.

quote:

Pirates!

DM: N1NJ4C0W


DM: FoxPaws


Crew of the Desert Rose

Captain: Blackmane
Race: Human
Class: Ranger/Shadowdancer


Name: Flik Gadson
Race: Human
Class: Cleric
Level: 3

He's 5'10" and weighs 165 lbs. He has a strong and well toned physique of a warrior, but doesn't have the hardened tough look of a veteran. He has short and wild light brown hair and emerald green eyes. Peeking out from under his chain shirt is a silver and blue robe which, along with a large plain silver disk dangling from a chain around his neck, obviously marks him as a 'priest' Tymora.

Name: Hoat Hundemar
Race: Human
Class: Barbarian
Level: 3

Hoat Hundemar is an immense human standing nearly seven feet tall.  He wears shimmering grey leather armor made from sharkskin, and carries a wickedly sharp halberd in a sling across his back. Hoat's hair and beard are jet black, unusual for an Illuskan, and both are often twisted into thick, heavy braids. Although he resembles an ogre, those who underestimate Hoat's speed or intelligence often don't live long enough to regret it.

Name: Paul Roberts
Race: Human
Class: Rogue/Fighter
Level: 2/2


Name: Zorlax Marn
Race: Human
Class: Wizard
Level: 3

]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:37, Sun 04 Feb 2007.

Pokes the game with a half rusted cutlas

Hi Lilian.   Sorry this game seems to of ground to a halt on you all over here.

I sent a message to DM Ninj4Cow back on the 4th of Feb and I know a couple of the other DMs have tried in vain to track him down without success.

For those of you that are still here, drop us a post and say "eye eye cap'n" so we know who is still around.  I'll try and get you another DM if there is enough interest, failing that you can probably all move characters into another of our regions if your PC is RoA legal (and even if it isn't you can probably find a space in one of the many 'bubble regions' we have).

Considering that we are in a pirates bubble region, with what I expect a largely "evil" aligned characters I doubt we'll be waltzing into other games... but

eye eye cap'n

You heard the man, you sons-of-scuppers.  I need to know, and need to know quick.

We also have a potential DM who has asked to look over the pirates group too so you may just get your game back good as new. Maybe better?  *fingers crossed*

[Private to prospective DM fbaker4: This group has been a little quiet since I posted the roll call but since this is a bubble region you should have no trouble attracting some new blood into the region (the prospect of playing higher level PCs is usually enough of a carrot to entice plenty of new players :-)

If you need and help/advice at all please don't be afraid to ask bud, any of the DMs will be glad to help you out.  If you decide to go ahead with this region and want to get some new and enthusiastic players quickly then you could always post a 'pirates wanted' thread in the OOC lounge as the DMs for Thesk and the Shaar/Great rift have done recently with great success  -I'll even post one for you if you want (or if you don't have DM access there yet -just let me know).  As I'm sure you already know, we also have an availlable space for PCs thread so don't worry too much if your crew is a little thin on the ground at this point.

PS> Fbaker 4?  Is that Starsky and Hutch?  *wracks his memory*]

Seems like the word is already out ;-)

I'm frankly not as concerned with who wants to be in; i volunteered to talk about rescuing an area with active players whose DM had bailed...

Fair enough mate.  Looks like it's just lilian left in here now though but if you were looking for a larger party then the Underdark in RoA 2 has recently lost its DM (the list of games looking for a new DM is posted in the OOC forum too).  At least you have plenty of options now anyhoo.

[Private to Lilian Espaireith: If we can't find you a new DM then we also have a new DM looking over the hunters region.  Obviously I don't know anything about your characters background but I dare say we could get you in over there if you wanted to stay in a nautical themed game.  ]

I've moved all the Pirates threads and players into Group 3 with Hunters. We no longer have Pirates and Hunters anymore, just a new Sea Of Fallen Stars region.

If you want to join them Lilian, you may, or try transferring to somewhere else (an alignment adjustment might be in order...).

Please delete this character from ROA.

Okay.

Alas sadly a drastic (to good) alignment change would pretty much destroy the character herself.

The best I could do with her is CN. She is after all made out to be the worst sort of pirate scum that would eat her grandmother if there were coin in it for her.