Corros wears poverty, but he doesn't wear it like a crutch or a curse.  If his clothes are shabby and armor stained, it's not because they are unkept, it is because the youth that wears them doesn't have many gold pieces to rub together and those that he does have are spent on more important items, like the well maintained crossbow he's loading at the sight of the incoming pirate ship.

The cruise so far had been uneventful and for that, Corros was grateful.  Leaving his home behind hadn't been easy, but when the Eleventh Finger intimates that you should leave his little corner of the world, you leave.  Before you leave in pieces.  So the young half-elf packed his sparse belongings and set forth for Balefyre, a city large enough to get lost in.  A city to start over in.  He didn't think he'd been followed, his crimes weren't that severe.  At least he hoped.  With the Finger, who knew?

When the crossbow is wound and loaded, Corros ambles (he just loves the sound of the word, really, maybe he's ambling, maybe he's not) over to the group of passengers that look like they plan on doing something about the incoming ship.  He hadn't really been studying them in depth on their voyage, mainly sizing them up for threats, but since they seem to have the same idea of shared defense, Corros decides to pitch in and better his own odds of survival.  Between the half-orc, the dwarf, the reticent man, and the leggy blonde human, the warlock makes the choice any nineteen year old male who believes in his own legend would make and stands next to the girl.  Woman really. When he gets closer to her he can see that she means business, touching her warhammer in a way that he finds vaguely disturbing.

He doesn't strike a pose, just a nod and a bit of a grin.  He's good looking and he knows it, in a fragile featured sort of way that screams elven heritage.

"Trouble, yeah?" Corros asks, the street thick in his accent.  "This lot looks like it can handle a scrap."

The black-sailed galley, undoubtedly a pirate vessel, continues to close with the Sea Horse, effortlessly cutting through the intervening waves on an oblique intercept course. The overburdened cargo ship can't match the galley's speed or maneuverability, leaving two options, strike or fight. The cog's captain, despite his decidedly un-martial appearance, takes heart from his doughty passengers, ordering the small crew to fetch the cargo ship's modest anti-boarding weaponry.

"You can have all that you can drink, Dwarf, it we get through this!" he shouts, readying his own boarding axe.

Aside from The Five, there's one more warrior aboard, a swarthy mustachioed man wearing metallic scale mail beneath his travel-worn brown cloak. He's kept to himself throughout the voyage, evading any and all attempts on the part of the other passengers to engage him in conversation. He draws his notched bastard sword and stakes out his own little square of deck to defend. Seeing the upright sword sigil in relief on Drax's shield, the fighter snorts, "You'd better start prayin' to that goddess o' yours, sweetheart."

The minutes pass before the inevitable meeting of vessels. In the meantime, the cog's crewmen clumsily load their crossbows and ready their boarding pikes. The five older salts appear resolved to the coming fight; the two ship's boys look apprehensive almost to the point of panic.

The galley, oars shipped, sidles up to the Sea Horse, the pirate vessel's uppers bedecked with armed thugs, a half-dozen swinging grapnels at the ready. There's less than a ship's length between the two vessels now and the distance is still closing fast. The ships will collide, side to side, in less than a minute. If the Sea Horse has any advantage at all in the coming fight, it's that its maindeck is slightly higher than its adversary's. The pirate boarders are poised like coiled springs, waiting to leap from the galley's rigging and railing onto the deck of the merchant cog.

Initiative Order:
Nic
Gronk
Jenna
Corros
Ulfgar

-

Nicolai takes a place on the firing line and stabs three arrows into the crate before him.  His quiver and the rest of its contents remain strapped to the bulkhead beneath his hammock.  He doesn't expect to get more than two shots before the pirates close to board and the thought of fumbling another dozen arrows onto the deck at a critical moment has little appeal.  Though perhaps I could use them as caltrops... no, he decides, glancing at the crew's bare feet.

He nocks a fourth arrow and exchanges a rueful glance with Corros as they assess the state of the crew's familiarity with their own weapons.  "Let's volley when they pass a ship-length," he suggests coolly.  "If they don't break off, drop the crossbows and set your pikes.  We won't have time to span the bows for a second volley."  The we carefully avoids the fact that Nicolai's own shortbow is considerably faster for follow-up shots.  "Aim for that knot of boarders, since they're being so kind as to bunch up for us."

Nicolai
shortbow w/ 4 arrows
firing on the apparent boarding party commander (or the biggest dude, if a leader isn't obvious) once the pirate vessel is within normal range (80 ft.)

Gronk's got four javelins that would serve quite well at the moment, but they're with his pack and he can't quite remember exactly where he's left it. The big Half-orc fighter doesn't want to miss out on any of the promised close-in action whilst rummaging about looking for his misplaced belongings, so instead, he waits at the railing with his trusty morning star, 'Spike', ready to brain the first pirate who leaps into range.

Gronk
'Spike' (morning star)
Ready to strike boarders

-
This message was last edited by the player at 16:36, Sat 07 May 2016.

Jenna Drax turns towards the young man who has moved to stand beside her, nods her head, her lips forming into a smile, although there is little sign of that smile in her eyes for her mind is occupied by the approaching pirates. Blue eyes rest a moment on the stranger. That she found him  handsome was not in question, his features hinting that elven blood flows in his veins, and had she met him somewhere other than the deck of a ship about to be attacked by pirates her cheeks might have colored, for Jenna was unaccustomed to being in the presence of one such as he.

Up close as he was he would perhaps note that whilst she wore the accoutrements of a Priestess of Arma she was perhaps unaccustomed to the arts of battle, for the armor that she wore was unlike that which might adorn a veteran warrior, one well practiced in those arts; though it bears nicks and scratches here and there Jenna's armor had not yet fully lost its sheen.

She pulls her eyes away from the beautiful stranger, turns her gaze back to the approaching vessel. "Aye, trouble appears to be what they seek. Pirates most likely." Her voice is soft. "And it appears that trouble is what they have found." Her own crossbow is with her pack, so the Warrior Priestess reaches for it, loads it with a bolt, winds it tightly as she watches the pirate ship grow larger as it approaches, hears another call out to her, a warrior by the looks of him, his words imploring her to pray to the Goddess.

Her crossbow loaded, Jenna rises once more to her feet as a man himself clad in dark colors begins to issue commands to the ship's crew. Realising that she, too, would likely have time for but one shot, her intent was to take that shot then meet any boarders armed with shield and Arma's Blessing. And so she watches the pirate vessel, raising her crossbow only once it has come into what she thinks to be range, her feet apart to steady herself against the rolling and pitching of the deck as she seeks out a target, trying to take note of any pirates who appear to be wearing little or no armor, judging that they offer the best chance of striking a fatal blow.

If they all appear to be similarly armored, the blonde Priestess will select one as her target, hold her fire a second or two longer before gently squeezing the trigger, to send the bolt flying through the air towards the pirate ship. The moment it has left the bow she drops the weapon to the ground, reaches for shield and hammer, prepares to face any boarders.

Jenna Drax
Crossbow w/ 1 bolt
Choosing target - looking for one lightly / unarmored if possible
Firing on chosen target then preparing for melee combat

After noting the pause in the priestesses' actions when he smiles at her, Corros gives the quiet man a nod.  The plan is a decent one, easy to follow, and won't get complicated.  Many of the others on his ship look more than capable of dealing with what promises to be hand to hand combat so he makes the decision to fade back after his crossbow shot.  There are spells that might tip the field in their favor more than his quarterstaff would.

The pirate ship is closing in and the half-elf feels the familiar sense of excitement flowing into his veins.  His heartbeat accelerates as the distance between the crafts diminishes.  Combat is something he spent years running from on the streets and to stand and wait for it to happen is an strange sensation, one at odds with what Corros would prefer.  Instead of focusing on the discomfort, he tries to pick out someone organizing their adversary.  If they have a leader, he has something special in store for them.  The memories of difficult words scrawled on pages read in a library that doesn't exist in the physical plane fill his mind, ready to be unleashed.

Corros shoulders his crossbow, sighting down the bolt at the amassed enemy.

”Come and get your love,” he says quietly, quoting the Eleventh Finger.

The crossbow releases with a snap.


Corros Graelor
Firing crossbow at massed pirates then moving back from railing
+3 to attack roll
If he can spot a leader among the pirates, he will cast Dissonant Whispers at him

"All I can drink?" Ulfgar said as his eyes grew wide.  For a split second he was lost in thought, visualizing success and the reward at the subsequent reward.  Then, with steely-eyed determination, he turned and faced the approaching ship.

"Water water everywhere... time to bring balance to the elements," Frostbeard growled.  He lifted his right hand and a flickering flame appeared in it.  The hill dwarf hurled the small oval of fire at the nearest pirate.

Ulfgar Frostbeard
Casting Cantrip - Produce Flame
Ranged spell attack (30' distance) vs. the closet target. (1d8 damage if hits)

As the black-sailed galley closes to within half a ship's length, Romanelli opens the sea battle in earnest, loosing and arrow from his short bow towards the pirates clustered around the mainmast shrouds. Jenna, Corros, and the three veteran Sea Horse crewmen armed with crossbows all follow suit, with Ulfgar adding his conjured mote of magical fire to the opening volley. Four pirates fall under the storm of projectiles, two dead, the other two pierced or burned to varying degrees. Three pirates, including one perched in the galley's crow's nest, answer in kind. One of salts sinks to the deck mortally wounded, shot clear through the throat. This unmans the two ship's boys, both of whom turn tail and run, leaving their pikes behind. Gronk bellows in pain and rage, crossbow bolt sunk deep into the meat of his bulging shoulder muscle. Unthinking, the Half-orc pulls the bolt and tosses it aside; rivulets of blood trickle from the open wound. (One allied seaman is killed; Gronk loses 5 HP).

Two grapnels thunk against the cog's railing, their barbs sinking into the damp wood as the throwers haul taught the lines. The cutthroats start leaping across the rapidly narrowing gap before the ships' sides have even met. Ten of them swarm aboard the Sea Horse in the first wave, clambering over the side and launching themselves at the cog's defenders.

Gronk is ready and waiting. With rage-fueled force, he brings his morning star down on to the head of the nearest boarder, bursting it like a ripe melon. The pirate's limp body drops into the narrow slice of sea between the vessels (Crit! One pirate killed).

A pirate comes straight at Nicolai, leading with his naked short sword; the lunging attack misses the thief, leaving the attacker momentarily vulnerable to rapid counterstroke.

Taking up their short pikes, the two remaining veteran cog's defenders fall under the blades of the swarming boarders (The last two allied veteran seamen are killed).

Jenna attempts to turn aside the blow of a boarding axe with her shield but the blade catches her shield arm, biting through mail and into the flesh beneath (Jenna loses 4 HP).

The Mustachioed Fighter's scale mail is proof against the slashing attack of a pirate cutlass. The Five's ersatz ally counterattacks with his bastard sword, easily cutting through his assailant's cheap leather armor, badly wounding him.

One of the pirate boarders singles out Ulfgar, catching the dwarf with the full weight of a vicious overhead cutlass blow (Crit! Ulfgar loses 7 HP).

The captain of the Sea Horse stands toe-to-toe with one of the intruders. The pirate strikes first, drawing blood with a quick sweeping cut. The captain replies with his axe, repaying the favor in kind (Sea Horse Captain loses 4 HP).

Dropping his crossbow, Corros had withdrawn from the railing shortly before the pirates began leaping aboard. Having spotted his next target, a tall, hard man with long, forked beard and shaved pate, currently bellowing orders from the deck of the galley, the warlock begins casting a targeted hex.


Tactical Summary
Three pirates have been killed.
All three veteran cog crewman have been killed. The two ship's boys have fled and are looking for a place to hide.
There are nine pirates currently on board the Sea Horse.
Pirate #1 (unwounded) is engaged with Nic.
Pirate #2 (unwounded) is engaged with Jenna.
Pirate #3 (unwounded) is engaged with Ulfgar.
Pirate #4 (seriously wounded) is engaged with the Sea Horse's captain.
Pirate #5 (seriously wounded) is engaged with the Mustachioed Fighter.
Pirates 6,7,8, & 9 have just finished off the two veteran cog crewmen and are looking for their next target/s.
Gronk is currently unengaged; he looks like he is in his battle rage and fixing to wade into pirates 6-9.
Corros is currently unengaged and casting Dissonant Whispers at the pirate captain.
There are two seriously wounded pirates on board the galley.
There is an unscathed pirate crossbowman in the galley's crow's nest, reloading.
Two unwounded pirates are minding the grapnel lines.
Three more unwounded pirates are awaiting orders.
At the moment, the pirate captain is still on board the galley.


Your Turn.

As the grapnels latch onto the rail, Nicolai drops his bow atop the crate.  A dagger appears in his right hand as he draws his rapier with his left.  He sways out of the way of a boarder's heavier blade and continues the movement, disappearing from the man's peripheral vision.  Before his erstwhile opponent can recover, he takes five quick strides and extends his blade into the unprotected back of the pirate attacking the cog's captain.

Nicolai
rapier (readied dagger in off-hand for color; not dual-wielding)
bonus Disengage from Cunning Action, moving into melee with Pirate #4, and stabbing him in ungentlemanly fashion

Jenna Drax had not watched to see if her crossbow bolt strikes home, for she is too focused on preparing herself to face the boarders. The Priestess's heart  races as they distance between the two vessels closes until it is nothing, the sound of the grappling hooks striking home into the Seahorse's hull heralding the commencement of battle.

Trusting in Arma protect her and guide her blows to their target she grasps the hilt of Arma's Blessing in her dominant right hand, raises her left arm, shield strapped to it...and cries out as she feels a sudden, sharp pain in her arm, hissing as the pirate's axe finds exposed spot, cuts through the mail she wears, cutting into her flesh. The Priestess can already feel a warm wetness as blood begins to run from the wound, down her arm.

For a split second she locks eyes with her adversary. And then she drives towards him, bloodied arm holding shield towards the pirate, hoping that it will do better job of blocking his attack a second time as she wields Arma's Blessing in her right, trying to strike her opponent with the warhammer, attempting to put every ounce of her strength into the blow.

Jenna
Engaging Pirate #2
Attempting to smash his skull with her warhammer

Ulfgar roars as the pirate slashes him with the cutlass.  With his own blood dripping to the deck*, a primal fury overtakes the dwarf.  The whispered rumors of shapeshifting druidae are confirmed as Ulfgar seems to grow and become one with his cloak, until after only a moment, he is transformed into a full-sized ursus!

Now these pirates would learn first hand what happens when animals attack!

Ulfgar Frostbeard
Using Combat Wild Shape to assume CoM Form Brown Bear as a Bonus Action.  All equipment will merge into the new form.
Multi-attack vs. the pirate who slashed Ulfgar - Bite: +5 to Hit, +1d8+4 damage piercing, Claw: +5 to hit, 2d6+4 damage slashing.
Hit Points: Current Form: [34/34], Base HP: [14/21]

Handy Animal Card reference for various druid shapes: https://drive.google.com/folde...amp;usp=sharing#grid

*Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!  Nobody!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk2fXsnzirI

Completely overcome by battle rage, and consequently completely heedless of his own safety, Gronk advances on the four pirates who've just hacked down the Sea Horse crewmen and are now looking for their next target. He wades into the cutthroat quartet, swinging his morning star, two-handed, at the nearest sea dog.

Gronk
21/26 HP
Enraged
Melee attack on Pirate #6

-

Romanelli darts past his opponent and at the pirate currently engaging with the Sea Horse's captain. The assassin buries both of his blades deep into his new target's back, finishing him (Pirate #4 is dead). Romanelli's former opponent (Pirate #1) follows close on Romanelli's heels, intending to sink his own blade into the elusive, black-clad defender's back, but the unlucky pirate slips on a blood-slick patch of deck as he sets his feet to deliver the attack and his short sword flashes just wide of its mark.

Singlehandedly charging into a group of four, Grog's morning star shatters yet another pirate skull, leaving the dead man's companions to continue the fight (Pirate #6 is dead)as a trio. They attacks the big half-orc as one, leaving two fresh gashes in Grog's grey-green hide; he hardly seems to notice (Grog loses 4 more HP).

The snarling man facing off against Jenna Drax takes another hacking swing with his hand-axe but this time the cleric's shield turns the blow. She attempts to answer with Arma's Blessing, but the Warrior appears to have other plans and the attack misses.

Finishing his spell, Corros strains to see over the cog's railing to witness its effects. On the galley's deck, the pirate captain clutches at his naked, sunbaked scalp for a several heartbeats, teeth clenched in pain, but he does not flee, and the young warlock knows that the spell was not entirely successful. Quickly recovering his composure, the pirate captain barks commands at his men, ordering several more into the fray. The imposing boss then strides purposefully towards the cog, clearly meaning to join the fight. Meanwhile, in the black galley's crow's nest, the pirate marksman takes aim at the black robed figure standing alone on the outskirts the wild melee. The bolt he releases strikes Corros in the right forearm, transfixing it (Corros loses 5 HP).

The fur-clad dwarf's sudden transmogrification leaves his opponent stunned. Before the pirate can bring himself to act, the huge brown bear towering above him leans forward and crushes his skull in its powerful ursine jaws (Pirate #3 is dead).

The mustachioed fighter trades blows with his wounded opponent but both men fail to connect in their respective attempts. The cog's captain, without an opponent of his own- thanks to Romanelli's help- steps in and delivers a side-swiping blow with his battle axe, spilling the pirate's guts onto the deck (Pirate #5 is dead).


Tactical Summary
Four more pirates have been killed.
There are currently five pirates still on board the Sea Horse.
Pirate #1 is still coming after Nic.
Pirate #2 is still engaged in melee combat with Jenna.
Pirates 7, 8, & 9 are attacking Gronk.
Four more pirates (#'s 10-13) and the pirate captain are moving to board the cog.
There are three able-bodied pirates aboard the galley, the sniper in the crow's nest, the helmsman at the wheel, and the slave-master, supervising the rowers.
There are two seriously wounded pirates still on board the galley.


Your Turn.

-

Jenna feels the impact of axe against shield but this time Arma does protect her, the shield absorbing the blow even as her own attempt to split the pirate's skull finds only fresh air. The young Priestess is breathing faster now, blood rushing through her veins, adrenaline dulling the pain in her left arm, greeting his snarl with a cool disdain as she moves slightly, seeking a position from which she can better attack the pirate. She is largely oblivious to events going on around her, focused for the moment solely on her own individual battle, knowing that this is a fight to the end, one which will end either in her death or that of her foe, for the consequences of falling to the pirates as captive do not bear dwelling on.

And so she faces up to her opponent, booted feet shifting on the deck as she lunges forward at him, blonde tresses blowing in the wind, seeking to use her shield to try and force him back, her warhammer raised to try and strike him a mortal blow.

Jenna
Engaging Pirate #2 in melee

Somewhere in the back of Nicolai's mind, he's faintly pleased that his sense of timing hasn't deserted him.  He expected the pursuit, and the motion glimpsed out of the corner of his eye tells him that his rapid disengagement has given him just enough time to finish off the captain's opponent.  He tugs his blades free of the falling pirate, pulls his arms in close as he spins in place, and punches out a stop-thrust to take advantage of his skidding foe's momentum.  Then whirls away again, moving to assist the mountainous half-orc.

Nicolai
rapier (dagger in off-hand because it looks cool)
letting the air out of Pirate #1, bonus Disengage from Cunning Action, and moving into melee with Pirates #7/8/9

Seeming to ignore the pain of his wounds, the bloody Half-orc -not all of the blood is his, you see- continues to press the attack, singling out one of his three assailants for another powerful strike.

"YOU!"

The morning star rises and falls again, backswing splattering more old blood about the deck.

Gronk (Enraged); 17/26 HP
Morning star (two-handed)
Attacking Pirate #7

-

Bear Ulfgar moved to attack the next closest pirate.  Ulfgar considered charging the enemy vessel and climbing the mast to kill the sniper, but thought better of it for now.  Perhaps the beer or sprits on board the Cog that he had been promised had something to do with it.

Ulfgar Frostbeard
Multi-attack vs. the nearest pirate - Bite: +5 to Hit, +1d8+4 damage piercing, Claw: +5 to hit, 2d6+4 damage slashing.
Hit Points: Current Form: [34/34], Base HP: [14/21]

The frustration Corros feels at his spell failing to effect the pirate captain is immediately supplanted by the pain of a crossbow bolt blasting through his right forearm.  Pain escapes his lips with a barely suppressed hiss and his eyes are transfixed on the object for a second, the steel head of the bolt glistening with his blood.  Anger, tinged with a hint of embarrassment at having exposed himself, floods through the pain and his looses a missile of his own at the sniper.

Corros (8/13 HP)
Casting Eldritch Bolt at the pirate who shot him

Nicolai stabs at the persistent pursuer but the point of his rapier fails to find its target. The pirate answers with a counter-thrust, sliding the tip of his short sword along the assassin's floating rib (Nicolai loses 4 HP).

Arma favors Jenna's next attack. Her hammer smashes into her opponent's upper [off] arm, accompanied by the sharp pop of cracking bone. The man screams in pain as he brings his boarding axe down again but the cleric easily turns the weak blow with her shield (Pirate #2 is critically wounded).

Gronk's morning star slams into yet another boarder, pulverizing the man's collar bone. Blinded by intense pain, the badly wounded pirate's half-hearted counterattack fails to connect (Pirate #7 is critically wounded). His comrade fares no better, distracted by the huge brown bear currently ripping another pirate apart no more than an arm's length away.

Ulfgar Bear bites into the forearm of one of Gronk's attackers. The follow-up claw sweep separates said arm from the now mortally wounded pirate's torso (Pirate #9 is dead).

An incandescent beam of crackling energy flies from Corros' fingertips, striking the pirate marksman in the chest and almost knocking him off of his high perch (Pirate Marksman is seriously wounded). Responding to his captain's last shouted orders, the crossbowman switches targets and takes aim at the brown bear rampaging across the cog's deck. The quarrel strikes the bear in its right flank (Ulfgar Bear loses 5 HP).

Five more boarders, including the pirate chieftain himself, vault aboard the Sea Horse. One pair attacks the mustachioed fighter and the other pair attacks the cog's doughty captain. Both allies receive serious wounds as a result, but both continue to fight. Only the captain has success, his axe biting deep into the thigh of one of his assailants (Pirate #12 is seriously wounded).

The fork-bearded pirate captain, nearly as tall and broad-shouldered as Gronk, goes after Ulfgar Bear, attacking with both scimitar and dagger. Both blades draw blood (Ulfgar Bear loses 13 more HP).


Tactical Summary
Pirate #1 is unwounded and currently engaged with Nic.
Pirate #2 is critically wounded and currently engaged with Jenna.
Pirates 7 & 8 are currently engaged with Gronk; Pirate #7 is critically wounded.
Pirate #9 is dead.
Pirates 10 & 11 are attacking the Mustachioed Fighter.
Pirates 12 & 13 are attacking the Cog Captain; Pirate #12 is seriously wounded.
The Pirate Chieftain (slightly wounded) is attacking Ulfgar Bear.
The Pirate Marksman is seriously wounded.


Your Turn.

-

Jenna feels no pity for the pirate when she hears him cry out in anguish after Arma's Blessing bestows the Goddess's justice on the wretch. He had chosen this path and now he must face the consequences of that choice.

It appears that the fight is not quite out of him yet though, a fact evidenced by blow he aims at her, feeble though it was. Had he sought quarter rather than swing axe there was a chance that she may have spared his life. Instead Jenna raises her warhammer above her head for one more swing, intent on splitting her foe's skull open and covering the deck with his brains, her blue eyes shining as the heat of battle envelops her.

Jenna
Warhammer
Attempting to finish off Pirate #2

Despite the burning in his arm, Corros is somewhat satisfied with his delivery of magical energy directly to its target.  A quick sweep of the deck with his eyes tells him that the struggle is not going well for the good guys, but the battle is far from over.  Despite the presence of multiple threats on the deck, the half-elf wants the crossbow wielding pirate out of the fight for good so that he can focus on his own spoiling attacks.

A set of cryptic words erupt from his lips as another bolt of energy streaks at his target.

Corros
8/13 HP
Casting Eldritch Bolt at pirate sniper

Rage-blind to any finer sense of tactical nuance, Gronk continues to attack the badly wounded pirate directly in front of him. Swung with ferocious abandon, the Half-orc gladiator's blood-spattered morning star streaks towards its target.


Grong (17/26 HP)
Morning star
Enraged, attacking Pirate #7

-

Long experience with sharp metal things intruding into his flesh tells Nicolai that the blow is painful but unlikely to be fatal - unless it slows him enough that additional slashes can connect.  He backpedals, attempting to avoid that outcome, and returns to the captain's aid.  The melee around Gronk is impenetrable and losing the vessel's last competent seaman will have terminal consequences even if Nic's allies win the fight.

Nicolai: 11/15 HP
rapier (dagger in off-hand because reasons)
bonus Disengage from Cunning Action, moving into melee with the captain's enemies, backstabbing #12 or #13 as the opportunity presents itself

Ulfgar growled as the Pirate Captain's blades cut into his hide.  He pushed forward despite the pain, intent on mauling or killing the head of the pirate ship leader.

Ulfgar Frostbeard
Multi-attack vs. the Pirate Captain - Bite: +5 to Hit, +1d8+4 damage piercing, Claw: +5 to hit, 2d6+4 damage slashing.
Hit Points: Current Form: [21/34], Base HP: [14/21]

Disengaging from his first and current opponent, Nic deftly maneuvers through the low maze of dead bodies strewn thickly about the open deck, aware that without the captain of the Sea Horse, winning the battle won't put an end to danger. With a swiftness that leaves his new target no time to react, Nic puts the point of his rapier through the pirate's heart, killing him instantly (Pirate #13 is dead).

Doggedly, Nic's original opponent continues to pursue his elusive quarry. His stabbing attack misses the slippery assassin, once again ceding the initiative to the defender.

Jenna's attack finishes her opponent, knocking him, lifeless, to the bloody deck before he can do any more harm (Pirate #2 is dead).

Already badly bloodied, a third pirate falls to the enraged half-orc gladiator's morning star (Pirate #7 is dead). Nearly surrounded by the badly mangled remains of his three comrades, the last man facing the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut panics, turning away to look for a way to escape the man-monster's bloody rampage. It's the last mistake he ever makes. Gronk makes the most of the opportunity, his morning star demolishing the pirate's head (Pirate #8 is dead).

Corros stays focused on the task at hand, repeating the cantrip with nearly identical results. Struck by a second beam of energy from the cog's warlock, the pirate marksman falls from the crow's nest, landing with a meaty thud on the galley deck below (Pirate Marksman is dead).

Ulfgar Bear turns on the Pirate Captain, attacking the man with teeth and claw. Both sink deep, creating bloody wounds (Ulfgar Bear does 22 points of damage). Calling for help, the captain counterattacks with scimitar and dagger, but only the former hits home, opening a fresh gash in the dwarven shapeshifter's thick, furry hide (Ulfgar Bear loses 7 more HP).

The cog captain's lone surviving opponent presses his attack, doing fresh damage. The thrice-wounded merchant fights on, connecting with a blow of his own. His opponent staggers back, left arm nearly severed above the elbow. Neither man has much left to give.

The mustachioed fighter is losing blood fast. Neither of his opponents find him with their blades but, badly weakened by his multiple wounds, he too fails to deliver a blow.


Tactical Summary
Pirate #1 is still unwounded and attacking Nic.
Pirate #2 is dead. Jenna is unengaged at present.
Pirates 7 & 8 are dead. Gronk is now unengaged.
Pirate Marksman is dead. Corros is unengaged and standing apart from the melee.
Pirate #13 is dead.
Pirate #12 is critically wounded and still engaged with Cog Captain; the latter is critically wounded as well.
Pirate #10 is unwounded and currently engaged with Mustachioed Fighter.
Pirate #11 is unwounded and currently engaged with Mustachioed Fighter. The latter is seriously wounded.
The Pirate Captain is seriously wounded (-28 HP) and currently engaged with Ulfgar-Bear.
There are two unwounded pirates on board the galley, the helmsman and the slave-master.
There are two seriously wounded pirates aboard the galley.


Your Turn.

-
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:45, Sat 07 May 2016.