Adryn pats the new spear at his side, "With any luck, this will help keep them at bay."

"Do these thistlings have any weaknesses? Any advantage going into this would be helpful."

[Private to GM: Premeptive heads up: Should we encounter these creatures, I would most likely catalog one for potential wild shapes... when and if I manage to get to that point. :)]

The captain glances at Adryn.  "Aye, that's their saving grace.  They're awful easy ta kill.  Fire, electricity, cold, a good solid swipe of a sword or blow with a hammer...almost any thing that hits will kill 'em.  Might have to hit a couple of times with flight arrows, which are pointless on this ship, or daggers, but other than that...  Well, the only problem we'll face is their numbers.  They'll attack hard, hurt when they hit, and out number us ten to one if not more.  Thing is, if we can chum the waters with them, instead of they with us, we'll drive mama off.  She won't wanna come near us.  But we gotta do it fast enough she won't wanna come investigate."

Kahmaul grins as he takes his guantlets from Flynn and speaks a soft prayer before they are transformed into his Hammer and Shield. Looking at the others, "Alright, hard and fast it will be. Archers, surround and protect Veritum and put down as many as you can."



The Anthros warrior looks quickly to find a rope to tether himself down and moves towards the side towards which the storm is fast approaching and motions for Grondor and Kiro to step forward, "We can stand here at the forefront, and let the druids cover our backs. With any luck if we can each tie ourselves to the mast we shouldn't have to worry about them pulling us off."

Vertium spoke even as he was considering tactics to assure their victory. "I will do what I can but in all honesty, I had not prepared for an attack and so most of my spells that I retained today were focused towards helping me with my studies. On the other hand, I am a knowledgeable tactician and should be able to give valuable tactical advice that may help us defeat the sea monsters. "

This was bad. He soon realised that as the only wizard in the group, he would have to keep more offensive spells at hand for future attacks. That was if they survived this one of course.

[Private to GM: Vertium is taking 10 on a knowledge tactics check for a total of 20. He will take into consideration what the captain has told him as well as any advantages the boat layout and crew and party skills may offer to the situation.]

After the description given by the captain the passengers take up positions as Kahmaul directs.  The crew goes about the business of running the ship and the captain continues to bark orders.  The situation is tense and muscles begin to knot from the anxiety.

Eventually the storm hits, a rough wind that batters the masts and carries a foul odor.  The crew has already trimmed the sails at the captain's orders.  And the Sea Mace rolls with the large waves that come with the front.

An hour passes...

...soon the front of the storm passes and the wind settles into a steady gale that the sailors can use to tack through the storm.  The rise and fall of the ship and the tension cause those who have not gained their sea legs to loose their previous meals [GM: If you failed your first Fortitude check at the beginning of the voyage, please roll again.  If you already passed, don't.]  The other passengers, one a human a bit taller than Tyler and dressed in comfortable traveling clothes, have come on deck to survey the storm front.

Several more hours pass and a torrential downpour has come, but no thistlings.  "It may be a day or two before we see them," the captain says over the rain.  "We'll have warning so ye'll be able to help in time!  Go below decks and get what rest ye can!"

When the time comes, Ardyn falls into rank behind the fighters and prepares himself for battle.


11:53, Today: Adryn Longmane rolled 21 using 1d20+7. Fort save.

Days pass in weary anxiety.  The storm is brutal and carries with it the strange sent of something foul.  The Sea Mace, low to the water and sails trimmed has no problem roughing out the storm.  On the fourth day since the front passed overhead, the roar calmed to an eerie silence.  Though the storm raged all around, a circular hole to clear sky appeared in the clouds.  All around the ship the water lay perfectly flat.

"They'll hit us now or never.  PREPARE TO BE BOARDED!!!" Captain Thrumhull bellows.

GM: Roll initiatives.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:19, Tue 15 Mar 2011.

This message was deleted by the player at 00:58, Sun 20 Mar 2011.

Before the combat, Vertium gave some tactical advice to the crew as well as his companions.

"The archers and I should be in lower crows nest. It gives a better angle for ranged attacks as the thistlings come up the sides of the ship and a safer position once the board. Kiro, you and the other support members should pick a combat focused member and stay with them. As for the rest of the combat focused members, you should split up to defend crew."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the combat was about to begin, Vertium got ready for the onslaught hopping he would keep up with the enemies.


OoC: 00:23, Today: Vertium Thrusius rolled 20 using 1d20+5. Initiative.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:23, Tue 15 Mar 2011.

Dathnaea darts up the ropes to the crows nest as the mage suggested.  There she found the twenty quivers filled with arrows she and Genovia had strapped in up there.  The battle would end before they ran out of arrows...she hoped.

Init: 14

Genovia follows Dathnaea up the ropes to the crows nest and secures herself to it.  She makes sure Dathnaea is also secure.  They have enough rope to maneuver easily but not be thrown far if the storm knocks them out of the nest.  Genovia can also cut the lines with her bow or one of several knifes she has secreted about her armor should the need arise.  The black, insectoid armor makes the blonde of her pony tail stand out in stark contrast.  The look on her face is one of fierce determination and readiness for the coming battle.

Initiative: 19

Adryn covers one of the flanks just behind Kahmaul in an effort to defend some of the less combat capable sailors.

20:06, Today: Adryn Longmane rolled 15 using 1d20+2. Initiative.

Grondor steps up to the aft of the ship behind the captain, prepared to defend him while he steers the ship.

Initiative: 9
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:27, Tue 15 Mar 2011.

Kiro grimaces as he enchants his weapon and armor with his artificer skills.  He knows that he is not the best when it comes to front line fighting, but he is the third best armored on the ship.  Mayhap the Tetragolem armor will have a few surprises that will see him through this.  He looks around to see who his support is.

Initiative: 7

   Aethen stands ready at the hatchway leading below deck.  His plan was to help on deck as he could, but primarily haul wounded below so they would not be taken overboard. As he stands watching the tension worsen with the weather, Aethen digs through his memory to see if he had ever heard of a reference to Saelithist in the hopes of recalling some useful bit of information.

   On a more positive note, he was very thankful that he had started to grow "sea legs", as the sailors called it.  He still felt sluggish from the extended sickness, but recent days had seen more food stay down.

02:52, Today: Aethen Ironroot rolled 13 using 1d20+2. Initiative.
08:44, Sun 13 Mar: Aethen Ironroot rolled 23 using 1d20+6. Fort Save.
02:57, Today: Aethen Ironroot rolled 25 using 1d20+13. Knowledge: Nature check.

Kahmual readies himself, keeping himself steeled for  battle, and nods to Adrynn. He was glad to have another Anthros at his back for this battle. A grim smile appears on his face as he whispers a soft prayer to Addyir. Once done he cries out, "Be ready men! Stay sharp and we shall get through this day. As long as we focus our attacks, we will beat back these swarms!"

11:52, Today: Kahmaul Quddus rolled 18 using 1d20+3. int.

Flynn stands near to Danathaea and notches an arrow, watching the horizon for the swarm to come.

11:53, Today: Flynn Darktreader rolled 22 using 1d20+6. Initiative.

Tyler takes up position near Kiro mid-ship.  The two are not as powerful as Kahmaul or Grondor alone, but they are more heavily armed and armored than any of the rest.  Their position would give them close access to the archers and Vertium should the need arise.

Minutes pass and nothing happens, then all at once they bubble up out of the water.  There are many many thistlings, so many that it seems a white wall of flesh is writhing up out of the ocean up the sides of the ship and flowing around the spikes.  That number will overwhelm the crew in seconds if they reach the railing.

This is not going to be like other combat in the past.  This is a roleplaying battle.  They will die in one hit and are worth 10xp each.  For each well thought out post you get another 40xp.  The main idea here is to chum the waters with as many thistlings as you can before the eye of the storm passes.  If you loose too many crew, the ship will take longer to sail to Xamador and other dangers will threaten.  If you loose more than that, the ship can't sail at all and will have to limp to the nearest port...if the saelithist does not come.  Each round a crewman is killed and tossed into the water, I roll a cumulative roll to see if the saelithist comes.  Remember, I'm looking for good storyline here so make the battle spectacular!

There will be 12 rounds.  The first two are ranged only.  On round 3 the thistlings will board and begin killing crew (100 + captain).  Don't worry about initiative unless you interact with another player (support).  I'll post in initiative order during recap before next round.  Post any pre-combat questions in the OOC thread.



      _____________________________________________________________________
     /          |                                                 |        \
    /       ____|_                                                |___      \
   /         | | |                                                _|_|       \
  /         _|_|_|                                                |           \
 /              |                                                 |            \

	_                     ________
___      Door    _____         /        \        _____	_
			/     \		/     \    Door
	___
	\_____/		\_____/
	\________/

\          ____|_                                                |            /
  \          | | |                                                |___        /
   \        _|_|_|                                                _|_|       /
    \           |                                                 |         /
     \__________|_________________________________________________|________/


      N
      ^
      |
 W <-----> E
      |
      v
      S


In this picture the ship is headed west (left).  There are two main levels to the ship's deck, the main deck with the three masts (centered), and the upper decks at fore and aft (west and east).  On the west upper deck (fore or front of the ship) there are two sets of stairs leading up each side to the wheel box where the captain steers the ship.  On the aft, there are also two sets of stairs.  The aft section is manned by 21 crew right now and there are 7 harpoon guns that can be loaded with smaller rounds, nets, and other things to fight boarding.   The fore has only 4 guns.  Each railing on the main deck has 4 guns.  It takes 3 Unbular crewmen to man a gun, 2 if there is an ogre in that gun crew.

There are two upper crows nests in the smaller masts and a lower crows nests where Dathnaea, Genovia, Flynn, and Vertium are in the center mast.  There are also two doors that lead under the fore deck and one main door that leads under the aft deck.  Massive cargo is side loaded up ramps and sealed for the voyage.  The thistlings cannot enter the ship without punching through the very thick wood or overwhelming the crew on deck.

If there is anything else you need to know, ask. :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:03, Thu 31 Mar 2011.

As the water around the ship begins to churn, Adryn quickly realizes the shear number of the beasts about to board were more than they could handle in a one on one fight.

He quickly begins to scan the deck for some large... and heavy!

[Private to GM: Adryn wants to find something large and heavy... perferrably something that might require an extra hand to lift. The basic idea is to crush as many creatures that come over the railing as possible. Some something that might resemble the mast of a sail might be suitable (assuming its something Adryn + Kahmaul could manage). Fitting for his feral side eh?]

   Aethen sees the throng moving toward them, but does not suffer the same kind of panic that had gripped him in the cave.  This was an enemy that had been anticipated.  Anticipation breeds planning.

   "Addyir, we ask your blessing and protection as we walk the Path."  Aethen whispers to himself the prayer that came so easily from use.  Right now, more than any other time, he meant every word of it.

   Focusing the power in a way that was not commonly used was an interesting challenge, and were he not about to be torn apart from a horde of creatures, he could have contemplated it further.  Looking to port, he finishes the preparation and arrows the spell at the water near the side of the boat, praying he succeeded.

Casts Entangle at the water, where the diameter of the circle falls on the railing for the most coverage.  He is seeking to call kelp, seaweed, alge, etc.

Kahmual points off towards the right side of the ship, "Archers, focus your fire! If we can keep one side clear of these things we can keep our backs safe as we fend off the rest!"

He turns to the sailors, "Allright men, arm yourselves with anything you can and stay near. I can only help those whom I can touch."

"Remember what the captain told us. The more we kill, the better. It is best if we kill the creatures as they climb aboard. Swordsmen should stand near the boat edges." Vertium never having any experience with boats didn't know the correct word for this. "Hit the creatures while they are climbing aboard. Hopefully, they will fall on their breathen and slow down the attack allowing us to more easily dispatch the creatures that climb aboard. "

With that Vertium fired two ice missiles at the closest creatures hoping to discourage the creatures from wanting to be at the front and slowing them down. It probably wouldn't work but at least he would be able to improve the crews moral.

"See, these creatures are weak! How about a competition to see who can kill the most? That is if anyone can keep up with me..." Vertium was trying to motivate the crew and passengers in the hope that it would improve their fighting abilities

OoC: I am assuming attacking the creatures as they climb up will give them an Attack of Opportunity?

As the thistlings begin to fall, Dathnaea launches her arrows.  One pierces the eye of a thistling, knocking it off the ship's side and into several others.  Those begin to climb back up immediately.  Her second arrow lodges deep in the chest of another which takes a third with it.  The third slams, back first into a spike and there is an audible CRACK above the din as something inside snaps.

GM: Attacks of Opportunity are a melee rule.

Genovia's arrows are more devastating than Dathnaea's.  Each missile punches through the soft skin of one thistling to protrude out of the back of another before losing all momentum.  Two or more die with each shot.  Her second arrow of the round explodes the head of one thistling and impales two more who fall into the ocean, which is now turning black with blood.