OOC Chat

AHOY!

Discussions about the game, off-topic banter, photos of your pet parrot or peg leg, anything and everything.

No parrots, but I’m glad this guy is helping us out.

Haha yes! If we survive do we get to keep him?

but i like my parrot friend

But not your monkeys. Didn’t they take your clothes? How naked are you?

A good ship needs a good ships cat. I say we keep it

Red meat is a rare commodity at sea... it move prove to be problematic.

But for now, I will feed it all the lizard it wants.

Everything still good?

RRRRRAAaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwWWWRRRRRRR! says the lepard/lion/panther/bob cat creature :D

Guys, this thing is still totally going to happen! Finding some mindspace is just taking longer than expected.

I hear ya on that...

Mindspace if fun. Jack is just twirling his hand axes in anticipation of the hunt.....for.....something....who knows.

Thinking about it, Grog has yet to meet up with everyone else. That's gonna be a fun experience.

We should name it, Meowth.

That’s right.

Alright, ye scurvy dogs, take a gander at the Session Zero thread. Tomorrow we will get some wind back in our sails!

No comments on, questions about, or objections to the Session Zero stuff so far? Ok, we'll proceed then! :-)

yarrrr!

Not sure if I've said it, but I've retconed so that Grog is on the island with everybody. Story thread is live! Have at it!

Made some crucial edits to my last post. Please re-read.

Everyone, welcome District to the crew!

Welcome, don't mind the ramblings of the mad people around this island :D

Speaking of ramblings, join us on the Discord Server (#the_savage_sea)

Hi everyone, and thanks for having me. I hope adding a 7th player to your game won't throw things off too much.

I should have time tonight to roll up a character and get caught up on the threads. It's my first game on GP, so I'll do my best to get up to speed on the site's functionality.

Welcome welcome.

***I just read the character creation thread. If anyone has a spare minute, is there a way to get any background? I see you guys are all level 8. Also, from context, it sounds like you've had a decent bit of adventuring already on a Discord server?

Will I be way behind on this if I'm just coming in now?

Thanks in advance, & sorry to be a bother.

it was just a fling on the discord then Jabes had us make rolls for stuff peoples stats were all over the place and on here is a bit more structrured then have 3-4 different subs on discord.

short version we've done very little as a party and the story premis is ... we're having fun now on a island now running from said exploding island. lvl 8 was a good medium and theres little restrictions so far.

You could be a turist like me or part of some crew thats part of the Krestrel.

Theres no behind in this game yet. it just kicked back off last week and we played for maybe a week or 2 on discord.



Is there a paticular background your looking for or thinking of?

Hi again,

I sincerely appreciate the invite. Very, very thoughtful of Jabes to see my LFG post and think to invite me. But, this isn't quite what I'm looking for, so I'm going to bow out. I hope my few posts didn't cause any disruption. I wish all of you high rolls and high adventure.

Gratefully,
District

Sorry guys, i think i scared him off?

Wtg cave... just kidding.

Now I will have to penalize Phillip. Haha just kidding! No harm, no foul. I just wanted to help the guy find a game he will enjoy. If we're not it, then no worries! As long as YOU guys are having fun then I'm happy.

I have not been looking for more players but another has expressed interest and I have accepted them. So please welcome GeneCortess!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome again! :D

Go ahead penilize phillp, i was tinking about giving myself dis on the str for the tree log because sadness but i just wanna get back to the boat so i can sulk there.

Guys, I will be extremely busy the next 36 or so hours, so I might miss a day of posting. See you on the other side!

No worries. Try not tp stress.

Hey guys heads up, I wont be posting next week Tue-Thurs. 2/12-14

woudlnt you just pocket dimension your familiar?

She likes having it around.

hey Gene, just a helpful hint could you bold your speach with either the [.b][/b.] tags or by the Bold button. I just want to make sure incase someone thinks your saying your thoughts or vers visa.

I usually do even better and have them in BLUE. Yeah so can tell the difference.

Also, gentle reminder to always differentiate ooc text from in-character text. Use the OOC tag, or use blue, italicized text.

Personal Wealth and Group Funds:
On Discord I wondered: Maybe I should have given you guys Level 8 starting gold, which according to DMg page 38 is normal starting equipment plus 500gp plus 1d10×25gp.

What I said instead in the beginning was "just go ahead and take as much mundane gear as you want" with the unspoken qualifier of "within reason." I figured at 8th level you would have acquired as much adventuring gear as you would reasonably need, whatever tools you are proficient with, and maybe even a small personal arsenal of non-magical weaponry. But this doesn't mean you guys have a stockpile of crap. So far I don't see any glaring problems, but I just want to get ahead of this. Don't worry, there will be plenty of loot to be gained.

Encumbrance: I normally wouldn't bother with encumbrance. But because this is a sea-faring adventure, I want the ocean to matter. The moment you get in the water, how heavy a load you are carrying matters. You know I'm pretty loosey-goosey with the rules, but we will do this particular aspect by the book (PHB, page 176). So on your sheets, please make separate lists for normal loadout, and swimming loadout (and I will trust you will ensure your swimming loadout keeps you well within the unencumbered range).

Firearms and other weaponry: Yea or nay? Look here, then let's vote on it. Would also mean cannon on ships. Keep in mind that if you have these, the baddies will have them too.

I’ve read that tribality article befor and I’m 100% good with any/all of that.

Clarification: The last item above (Firearms, etc) is up for a vote.

The first two (Wealth, and Encumbrance) are not. My ruling: Roll for wealth in the Character Creation thread, and redo your gear lists buy all the mundane gear you want. The Sending Stone and the Bag of Holding are Valrakas' property, and so do not count against your personal funds. I reverse my ruling on Potions of Healing: you can buy them with your funds. Nela gets 1 free potion of healing, as well as 1 free antitoxin.
Session Zero/Houserules has been updated.

I'm good with the pirate weapons.

pirate weapons are good

Firearms and other weaponry site locks up my computer as not safe site to visit. I'm okay with any choice made on that point.

I vote yes to the pirate weapons. I have rolled 525gp as my starting wealth. Will redo my equipment list tonight.

The yeas have it, so here you go. Note that these are considerably more conservative damage-wise as compared to the DMG version. The intent being we are going for flavor rather than power. Your gun will not be more powerful (nor harder to use) than his crossbow. More expensive though. Don't worry, there will be plenty of dubloons GP.

Still to come: cannons, as well as the stats for blowing up a keg of gunpowder. In keeping with the spirit of the above, I feel the DnD Beyond version is overkill.

Once everyone has rolled wealth and redone their equipment lists, I'll begin a new thread for Chapter 2.

About the swimming loadout, I am guessing this is because when you carry too much gear, you start making swim checks with disadvantage? What about Zale, who has a swim speed and so does not need to make swim checks? Not that I intend to buy a lot of stuff...Zale doesn't need much...so question is really just hypothetical.

Whether you encounter difficulties or not, some equipment (firearms, for instance) wouldn't like being submerged in seawater.

You'd be surprised how little it takes to encumber a character. With a Strength score of 10, Zale is encumbered carrying 50lbs. An explorer's pack weighs 59lbs. Think about that.

We will only apply encumbrance penalties while in the water. You needn't worry about it on land.

I have updated the house rule to stipulate this.

Ah.. I just posted about which encumbrance system you are using and I can see it is the Variant Encumbrance system. With the new potion rules.. Nela did purchase 100gp of herbs for making 4 potions of healing with time of her starting cash. She couldn't hope to carry all her possessions.. she has 4 chest that weight 25# each. But being on she ship she has unencumbered load.

That would be great! Yes!

I hope that I have done my equipment correctly. Items without prices came by way of background/class starting packs, I purchased the rest. I am assuming we have foot lockers or similar on board the Kestrel?

SWIM LOADOUT: 10.5lb
-50 feet of silk rope 5lb
-a set of common clothes 3lb
-a lucky charm 
-belt pouch 1lb
-flask 2cp; 1lb
-Potion of Healing 50gp; 0.5lb

NORMAL LOADOUT: 76lb
-all of above, plus:
-explorer's pack 59lb
-10 darts 2.5lb
-jug 2cp; 4lb
-signal whistle 5cp
-flintlock pistol 125gp; 4lb
-lead balls (40) 5 gp; 1lb
-gunpowder (40) 10 gp; 2lb
-money: 10gp, 9sp, 1cp

STAYS ON THE KESTREL:
-shortsword 2lb
-brewer's supplies 20gp
-belaying pin (club) 2lb
-money: 454gp

I haven't spent my extra funds yet....i left my books at work.

5etools.com one of the best open websites still up(and stays that way hoepfully) if you have the ability to edit at work.

@campeador: Yes, that is perfect. You can absolutely stow gear/money on the ship.

In case you missed it on Discord: Yes, you can buy silvered weapons and ammo with those funds.

PHB 148 on silvered weapons: You can silver a single weapon or ten pieces of ammunition for 100gp.

Quoting from Discord:

Lets see,
"Swim" gear
Lbs| Gear
7 )Greatax
10 )Great club
2 )1 - Javelin
1 )Thieves tools
.5 )Steel mirror (in with thieves tools)
6 )1 set of manicals
1 )1 lock
1 )1 flask of Oil
0 )1 Deck of cards (almost always in his pocket)
10 )10' chain
3 )1 set of common clothes (wearing)
1 )1 flask
Weight: 42.5/80 lbs.

All muh gear
(Starting) Greataxe (7 lbs
(Starting) Great Club (10 lbs
(Starting) Javelin x 4 (2 lbs/per
(Starting) Explorer's Pack (59 lbs
(Background) Set of clothes appropriate to your duties. (2 lbs
Travelers Clothes (2 lbs
Bullseye Lantern (2 lbs
Thieves Tools (1 lbs
Steel Mirror (.5 lbs
Manicals x 3 (6 lbs/ea
Lock x 3 (1 lbs/ea
Flask of Oil x 5 (1 lbs/ea
Playing cards x 2
Blanket (1 lbs
Chain 10' (10 lbs
Common Clothes x 2 (3 lbs/ea
Flask (1 lbs
Insect Repellant (Salve) x 2 (1 lbs/ea
weight 133.5 lbs

Gold remaining 706.99g

Phillips on vacation :D oddly enough i have quite a few bounty hunter things :D i wanted to buy a cage but have no need to currently :D

If only i could find a way to talk you into letting me have some NVG's then i'd be set!

Kitty... :)...but I will not the one to tell it that. I'm taking speak with animals spell regularly,

I'll finally be finishing up my equipment tomorrow probably. For right now, Jack is sleeping off the dino fight in his hammock.

No rush, @dramasailor.

It makes perfect narrative sense, especially in the context of the chain of command on a ship, that Nela has been asking Valrakas' permission to enact her ideas. That's exactly how it's supposed to work (what the hell was Zale thinking?! Is he drunk? Oh right, he's always drunk). BUT it doesn't work in PbP where the DM runs the captain because then I'm excessively influencing your actions. I've considered several ways around it but it's tricky. Unfortunately, Valrakas isn't a lazy captain who will lay all the responsibility of command on Ian. And he's not going to just everybody do their own thing either. You can be sure Zale is looking at some kind of tongue-lashing (at the very least) for that stunt.

I'm toying now with the idea of letting you guys take turns running Valrakas. Any other ideas? You might have seen I've also posed this question on Discord.

Drunken Technique
At 3rd level, whenever you use Flurry of Blows, you gain the benefit of the Disengage action, and your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the current turn.

Does the speed increase also apply to my swimming speed?

Because your swim speed is innate I will say yes. If it had come from a spell or magic item I'd be inclined to say no.

They are clustered around the hostages. From what the woman said, the sharkmen are probably taking them under.

Like I said, if you have a spell in mind, tell me, and we'll see if we can make it work.

My reply posted before I could finish. Let's try that again.

The mermen are large creatures, while the sharkmen are medium creatures. I should have described them in more detail. Okay, I've edited my post a bit.

If you target a point just outside the circle of baddies, you could potentially hit two of the mermen without endangering the hostages. The two weresharks are closer to the hostages so that's a bit more tricky. You can't get both sharkmen, but you can get one sharkman and a merman. Does that make sense?

To complicate matters, I believe Zale is right there underneath it all, and you can't see him, and he has no idea you're bringing a lightning storm down on top of him. So if you cast, I will randomly determine via die roll whether he also needs to roll saving throws vs. your spell.

TL;DR: You can do it without endangering the hostages, but with some risk to Zale.

their pirates, why would they care about hostages?

*shrug* Food, maybe? Human sacrifice? Are they even pirates?

Oh wait, did you mean PC's?

hahah yea, you guys are all pirates of sorts. what are your pirate principles ?

Its the same thing only difference is land and water! XD

I think the consensus was smugglers / fortune seekers. Millennium Falcon + Firefly + Guardians of the Galaxy: "Something good, something bad, a bit of both."

Although someone used the word "privateer." Does the Kestrel carry letters of marque?

im sure theres a skull and crossbones somehwere XD

Heading into another 48hr round-the-clock weekend work shift at the cake works. I hope everyone will have posted their Round 1 actions by then! ;-)

Guys, I'm sorry I've been unable to move us forward. It's been several things:
1. Busy at work, but not so much that I haven't had time for GP.
2. No replacement yet for my broken laptop. PbP via phone sucks, specially when one is DMing rather than playing.
3. Did not anticipate Grog trying to fire a cannon at people.
Been thinking hard about mechanics surrounding that.

It's been #2 more than the other two, but all are factors. Will try my absolute best to post tonight.

you put it there. ( the cannon) i thought there were stats for that?

I made stats for the "long-nines", but those stats are meant for firing on ships, not creatures.
Now, I don't want to say to @LegionChimera7, "Nope, Grog can't do that." without giving it a proper effort to make it work. Here are the problems with what he is attempting:
1. The targets are way too close, and way too low below the cannon's position.
2. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that he deadlifts the thing's butt end, to make the muzzle point down, that'd be soomething like 1,200lbs! and if he succeeded, the cannonball would just roll out of the muzzle before you could fire the weapon, and drop harmlessly into the ocean.
3. He's lifting the thing, and someone helps him fire it (totally unrealistic that it only takes two guys, but this is heroic fantasy) then the fucking recoil would launch him so far abaft, he'd fall off the ship's stern.

hahaha, i would agree that he couldn't aim down like that but i mean if that hits a creature it should obliterate it!

the cannons are probably secured enough to account for the recoil but a shock maybe make him move slower for a bit like hitting a baseball to close to the handles sends that shock up your arms.

But i can see if the targets were some 3-500' out the cannon might have a chance to hit with dis? at a -20(deg) down angle to it. that shoudl ensure the ball to not roll out but it wont get close and probably fire over the heads. 500' is a short distance for boats i think.

maybe because hes acting alone on the cannons it takes him 3-4 rounds to fire then the 1 it would take with 2 people. and another 2 rounds ish to reload.?

I don't want to add too much complexity to it. Willing to sacrifice realism for the sake of fun.
* Two guys with martial weapon proficiency can operate a cannon.
* 1d30 + 6 + Proficiency bonus to hit a target, whether object or creature.
* Cannon has the Loading property.
* Against targets on the water's surface, a shot is impossible if nearer than 75ft, and have disadvantage if nearer than 150ft.

oh wow that close! maybe my thoughts of boats are to tall im thinking like a 3-4 story boat type thing :?

We're not on a galleon. The Kestrel is small (single mast) and fast. The deck isn't be more than 20ft above the waterline.

hummm.. yep i deffinatly was not thinking that small :D

Maybe that was too much. I don't really know about boats. I saw the Galeón Andalucía in person once. When I climbed aboard I remember being surprised at how small it was.

so small but look at all those ropes!

If you were to designate a point 5ft behind the caster, then the wereshark and hostages would be safely 10ft away from the lightning. Like before, I would randomly determine whether Zale is safe or not.

Yes, I would prefer you roll the saves yourself to save time. In most cases you won't know the correct modifier but it still helps me if you just roll a straight d20 and include the save DC in the roll reason.

Fortunately, you saw me save in the previous round ao this was correct, and Snaggle-tooth is now stunned!
Snaggle-tooth is stunned, so can't stop you from taking the survivors, and I know your Drunken Technique prevents OA's from the spellcaster, but it's still an action to free the survivors from the net.

I was thinking I'd take them net and all.

In that case, yes you can, but half movement.

Your first unarmed strike takes Snaggle-tooth out, so I will apply the other two hits on the spellcaster. Do you want to spend another ki or two to attempt another Stunning Strike?

1 additional stun attempt only. May need ki later.

Added the CON save. Don't know the spellcaster's save bonus.

Yes. You have two available source of water right: the sea, and buckets of water used by the gunners to swab the cannons after each shot.

Just a heads up, I'm going to be extremely busy again this weekend.

No worries boss. Don't over do it and we will be here waiting for you when you get back.

Well, it's not the weekend yet. As soon as LegionChimera posts Grog's action, I can post enemy actions.

I understand what you're trying to do, just slinging the spell without a thought while holding the other. But that's not the way it works. Those spells marked Concentration require your focus for, at the very least, the 6 second duration of a combat turn. You cast any one of these spells, you shift your focus to that and drop Concentration on any spell you were holding before.

So if you cast Control Water, you WILL lose Concentration on Call Lightning, and will have to recast it later.

Are you casting Control Water then? I ask again because if you do, everyone must make a STR save or get swept into the sea. The spell says "20 ft wave" but because I think it is a great solution to the fires on the ship, I am taking liberties letting you make it 3 ft instead. Still, 3 feet of water is knee-deep to thigh deep for her humans and elves, depending on their height. It is waist deep for Grog, and neck deep for Kitty.

Right on!

Okay, I have posted the result (went through multiple edits, so if you've read it, make sure you reread it one more time after this).

I've been completely forgetting about the weresharks' Blood Frenzy feature! They should have advantage on attacks against wounded targets!

And have you noticed no one's been bitten yet except for Valrakas? Get ready to see some CON saves vs. lycanthropy next round :-D

Choose one effect:

You can use FLOOD to create a wave again. If Zale helps Kitty like he did the woman and child, they can both make it aboard. But like last time, the wave could potentially wash creatures off the main deck (currently, those are Ian, Khiiral, Bait, Jetsam, and nameless crew members).

Alternatively, you can REDIRECT FLOW to attempt to slow the ship, not stop it outright.

I'm sorry, could you clarify?

I would like to know if Nela is doing the wave or not before I post my action.

Okay boat is going one way. And I force the water to move against. Yes it is slowing the boat, but what is it going to do to any near the boat as the boat will slow but I doubt those next to the boat will be slowed. Aren't they going to pulled must rather fast toward the direction of the new fast current?

I'm going to rule those with a swim speed (merrows, weresharks, dragon turtle, Zale, Valrakas) might be slowed somewhat if they swim against it, but not swept away. Kitty, however, will need to make swim checks (athletics).

Keep in mind that the spell description doesn't specify any of this, and may not even be intended to achieve the result you are hoping for here. But I am ruling that you CAN do it (because I like creative solutions like these) but consequently, in the interest of verisimilitude, there can be unwanted side effects.

By looks will the ship slowed still be in my area of effect or will it still travel out of it slowed?

If slowed, it will still be in there for 2 rounds. If not slowed, this will be the last round it will be in your area of effect.

Pegasus divebomb from 70ft up! Does Shine stay there after attacking Blackfin, or do you use the remaining 20ft of movement? Would provoke opportunity attack of course.

And where is Domare during this?

Since it is a charge. Shine can't use the remaining movement. Send Domare to do high altitude (70') viewing of the ship and such.

Guys, remember our house rule on encumbrance?
Now that more people are getting in the water, I need you to do this please. You can RP dropping your extraneous gear before jumping in, or we can say you were already outfitted for swimming before this encounter started. If you want to keep all your gear, swim checks will be at disadvantage.

---

The chains are breakable, but it will be difficult. Imagine those big-ass chains like you'd see on modern battleships.

---

Grog: You're jumping off the stern, not the side. :-) Go ahead and add attack rolls to your post. Your first attack comes from above water, and will have disadvantage. The second (and third if you Frenzy) will not be similarly hampered.

---

Nela: I sill need your decision on movement for your last turn. See here.

---

Handy link to Underwater Combat rules.

Everybody welcome our new player, Silent! Ahoy!

ARRRRRRRGG

In my experience, coming to a group decision takes forever in PbP, and has the potential to really kill game momentum. So I'll do my best to help this process along.

To review, the choices are:
1. Magda's Village. (silversmiths!)
2. Floating Market. (maps! information!)
3. Dragon Turtle Mom. (possibly gain a powerful ally!)
4. None of the above.

And the votes so far:
Grog: 1
Ian: 3
Zale: 3
Nela: 3
Jack: 3
Phillip: 4
Khiiral: ?

Feel free to vote in character or OOC.

Updated.

Updated.

Okay, for Phillip, I've added a 4th choice: None of the above.

If you only knew where the heck you were so you could sail home!

:D if only XDD Stupid travel guide...

Participation in this game has dropped sharply. I'm only seeing several people posting, and not all of them even seem particularly engaged. This is not a complaint nor reprimand. I want to know how I can make this better / more fun / more interesting.

Some example responses:
1. I want more combat! None of this social interaction crap!
2. I know this is a nautical game, but no more underwater combat! It's lame!
3. I want treasure! Where be them dubloons?!
4. I want treasure! Where be them sweet magic items?!
5. I want to be captain!

Something else? Anything else! Seriously, I'm all ears. Tell me how I can do better! :-)

wasn't a fan of underwater combat,
I prefer social in pbp as combat can lag.
Are there be treasures? Did Cap'n lie t us?

Obviously I enjoyed underwater combat. But that's because Zale is built for it.

I enjoy social interaction just as much as combat.

I think a good treasure hunt would be fun!

Are we still lost?

I've enjoyed it so far. My participation has dropped some mainly from real life being a bastard and partially because Jack is still a bit awestruck (not the right word here, but he is baffled by the size of the turtle) and really is happy being a heads down crewman for the most part. He is obviously willing to step up when the situation warrants, but he's not the "let's jump into the deep where there be sharks" type of sailor. I loved reading the underwater combat parts though! They were fascinating and pretty well executed. I'm mainly enjoying having a game where I get to be somewhat of a pedestrian getting to react to a world of wonderous things.

im all in, i'm not so much paying attention cause 994949 posts to read personally but then phillip is on vaca so he's kindof obvilious. But i'm likeing it. I do feel that this has slown though :/

I dont think were so much so lost anymore cause of dragoturtle gave some instructions and helpfull npc says oh... thats that way!..

I'm a healthy mix of whatever the dm wants. Phillip is along for the ride ;) however let it be known... phillip when we get to a town will go a shopping for mundane supplies until he gets to his dest. per the travel agent. (up to dm im game for whatever.) but Phillip is kinda depressed cause of monkey actions that ripped up some emotionally connected personal affects

Thank you all for the feedback! I really appreciate it! Keep 'em coming! :-)

Moving this here from the in-character thread. Anyone can use the rod. No weapon proficiency needed. It doesn't matter anyway, because it has its own attack bonus.

Sorry for lack of updates! Tied up at work. I expect the smoke to clear tomorrow, so will post Magda's responses, what Nela sees, etc. then. Thanks for your patience!

no biggie, it gives us time to rp amonst ourselves :D

Tied up at work, guys. Will update this time tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!

Been playing almost exclusively on mobile for the past few months. Playing is hard. DMing is hell. It's been nigh impossible to run combat. That, more than anything else, has caused delays in me updating the two games I run.

So expect less reliance on die rolls from now on, at least on my end. When you do something that forces a creature or NPC to make saving throw, or opposed check, do me a favor and roll it for me (put the DC in the roll description). Thanks for bearing with me!

No worries Jabes! I play mostly on mobile as well and my new phone can be finicky about rolling for some reason.

oh man i tried mobile for a bit and just couldnt get around to getting used to it. let alone all the copy pasting i'm doing and the 4 windows open per game i run XD

You do you brother, whatever we can do to stress you less.

I will be up to my eyebrows in work over the next three days. I will be absent from the boards for the duration.

Hey guys, I have some heavy work to do from Thursday to Sunday that i will either not be able to get on or get on for a quick post. I just wanted to give yall a heads up! Mothers Day happiness to you mothers types :D

@Drama remembers correctly: the way I descried it here, it's a mile as the crow flies but a far longer route through the maze.

Modern day athletes have swum great distances so it's not far-fetched that heroes like the PCs can do it, specially because you are all currently able to breathe water thanks to Nela's spell. As @campeador notes, Zale can swim for miles and miles, and faster than any of you, but the real problem is the really the maze rather than the water, although @Cave is also right: who knows what dangers are out there? The village Elder does hint at some danger lying in wait.

I'm afraid Freedom of Movement doesn't help here. Or rather, it will help in some spots but won't be enough to get you through most of it. In most places the reef presents an actual barrier rather than just making the terrain difficult.

Btw, @Nela you can see the battle happening. You are quite a ways from the beach but the Elder's place is on a rise and they have a good view of the bay. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear.

---

We've established that Magda and Lena are in the boats with the PCs. Valrakas is back on the Kestrel. What about Kitty? And what about Khiiral? I haven't heard from Oxbox in a while. For this battle, it's your choice whether:

1) Khiiral is on the Kestrel, and cannot participate in the battle because reasons.
2) Khiiral is in the boats with the PCs. One of the other players will control Khiiral.
3) Khiiral is in the boats with the PCs. The DM will control Khiiral.

Kitty is still on Kestrel as I doubt there is any willing way she would go on a boat if she didn't have to. I'm sure Kitty HATES water. Although she is now dried out from the last surprise wave that took her off the boat. Sure she is only waiting for someone to bring her a nice FAT chunk of meat. Maybe three.

She incidentally is trolling the deck waiting. Mostly killing time waiting to be fed. She knows there is no rats or anything else left to the ship that she hasn't already killed. We have a clean ship.

I will be going on my first vacation in a really long while. Will be traveling May 16-23. I will most likely be absent from the site for the duration.

My flight leaves in a few hours, so that's probably it from me for about a week. Catch you all on the other side! :-)

Safe flights, enjoy the time, don't have TOO much fun ;)

Looks like we're getting somewhere with the haggling thanks to a successful bluff by Jineer!

Obviously, silvering a weapon takes time. Are you postponing the hunt til tomorrow, or are you heading out with loaned weapons?

Heading overland, or sailing around the island to Magda's cove?

Both, overland and by sea, by the looks of it. Phillip and Zale are already on their way.

It's unclear to me whether the deal was sealed. I was going to have Zale shake the elder's hand if Ian didn't but he said he would check with the captain first so then it felt like it would be insubordination if Zale took the deal behind their backs. I hope the captain is in a better mood now.

It's not very clear to me either so I want to be sure:

Has the party accepted the deal, or is Ian asking the Captain first?

Spoiler alert: Valrakas will just yell your head off and say "Just get her fixed! Do whatever it takes!" or something to that effect.

Meta: We've discussed this. Decisions are entirely in your hands. That's why I have the Captain cooped up in his quarters.

From what I've seen since Valrakas put him in charge, Ian runs a democratic ship. So with no one actually calling the shots, you guys should come to decisions via consensus just like a regular adventuring party.

It's a casual game anyway so we shouldn't worry too much about chain of command and stuff.

They have handaxes. No martial weapons here except longbows.
Which group?

Nela has to be despondent about the Cap leaving or Dying...Unlike many, she is there because of him.

ian would also be quite upset if he does die. but a democratic crew would probably work best

Kill the wabbit Captian!!

Working on a cake over the next 22hrs. No post from me today. Will move us forward tomorrow. Thanks!

ARRRRR~

Even though we're waiting on Zale and Grog...

Please pardon my absence. I have been having migraines again. Daily for a week straight now. Consequently, a drastic reduction in screen time has been prescribed. I will have to think about how to mitigate this development's impact on my gaming. Thank you for your understanding.

Feels the better.

Okay, so I went five whole days of not looking at my phone except for important work stuff. Also let my partner do all the computer-related work. Guess what, migraines went away. Now, I know I'm not going to be migraine-free forever (I've lived with them for over 30 years) but it looks like if I don't want to suffer every single day, I will have to extremely limit my screen time.

Don't worry, this game will continue, albeit at slower posting frequency. More frequent is healthier for the game, but unhealthy for me. I'll try to find a good compromise.

Thank you all for understanding!

Everyone, welcome Valkeelis and JoHoover! :-D Welcome aboard!

Hmm.. Something fishy ….

Welcome!

i think above but at a huge slant but doesn't take extra movement

Yeah, Astrias will be joining us much later.

Here is a hopefully helpful description of the shipwreck, quoted from this post:

Thanks! :-)

JoHoover & Valkeelis, I almost forgot: in case you haven't, please read the Session Zero / House Rules thread. Thanks!

IC thread is still locked. Jabes is not back yet?

I can't wait to join this motley crew!

I apologize for the extended absence, folks! Work has been more brutal than usual. I can hardly remember when I last slept. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel; after a couple more days of this I can finally get back on the boards.

Thanks!

WB, Make sure you rest.

Yes, I was still editing. I did exactly that, but still couldn't land the second punch!

Ah cool

Yeah take these bitches out already so the new guys can finally join the fun! XD

Hahahaha! Damn y'all got PLANS for this hag. LMAO!

i blame you jabes :D

I love this party - no nonsense. Take no prisoners. Especially not extra-planar evil.

no nonsense.. Poor philip is the epitome of nonsense

WOW. Ok so Phil goes ape shit on a paralyzed old hag. 2 crits!!!!! That's actually hilarious!!!!

Wait.....that's not the paralyzed one he's attacking.....is it.....

nope
Silent either shapeshifted or some magic thing

but if that were the case, that could have been 3 crits and adv

I think you guys should decapitate and burn the body lol.

Ahoy! I'm taking down the #the_savage_sea channel on GP's Discord server and creating our own. All aboard!

Privateer Phillip reporting for vacation

Sorry, folks, it's been a looong day in the middle of a loooong weekend. Was looking forward to updating games as a treat for myself, but I am just dead tired. Will try again tomorrow.

The Purple Tentacle Whip weighs 2 lbs.
A Giant Eagle has STR 16 (carrying capacity of 240 lbs, can drag twice as heavy as that). This airship weighs significantly more than that, and it's taking on water, Eagle Nela will need help!

The idea was to fly a rope over to our ship … ah.. not pull it over... Although she might be able to actually car the person and gear... Is the rope too short to reach between both?

Ah, I get you now. *thumbs up*

Pelner didn't specify how far from the ship he crashed, but yeah his Rope of Climbing should be long enough. And we'll say Valrakas has moved the Valrakas if necessary. Good idea to pick up the passenger too, but it looks like Astrias has got that covered.

She can help slow the balloon from sinking while it is pulled to the boat. Good news. We do get the balloon in fair tact. Just haul it aboard.

Did we fail to dived it the gem and coins from the hags?

No, you got it all: 2,500gp worth of gems. 7 PCs fought the Coven. About 357gp+1sp+4cp per cut if you're splitting it equally. That's entirely up to you.

I'm still around, enjoying your roleplay. Nela buys her stuff. Pelner gets his landing pad built. Zale and Astrias are mid-conversation. Is Jineer still sneaking around the Market? Is Ian back on board? What's everyone else up to at this point?

Ian works on getting the ship reprovisioned.

With no news of her ship Jineer will return in disguise

Thinking about it... What could a nigh-feral dwarven barbarian even wish to buy here? Hrmmm... Ooo... Any chance of finding an Alchemy Jug?

If you look and ask around, you'll find there are no magic users nor sellers of magical wares in the Floating Market.

I"m guessing dear Nela would have no real troubles finding wood. Or does that take more of an effort?

There's plenty of scrap from the construction of Pelner's landing pad.

4 inches thick? Yeah, the landing pad would have required beams that thick.

Well then she doesn't have to go ashore to get wood. Just needs her carver is all. Nobody to really notice a little bit of the wood vanished... I would imagine it takes a bit to cut down wood to make objects.

There would definitely be scraps and chunks left over from the landing pad construction. and if it necessary Pelner could always laminate two smaller pieces together to make a larger chunk for whatever Nela is thinking about. I'm really interested to hear what she has in mind!

It is a secret for only her carver to know. I would image she only needs about two good full hand size chunks. Of course more is merry. Always have to remember there is nothing normal about Nela.

Smiles... Now you know what she wants.. Surprise.

Haha I really should have started a new chapter. But this dockmaster showing up is an unexpected turn of events even for me! We're really in uncharted territory now! XD

• There would have been ample time for a short rest.

• Before we continue, I want to make sure everyone who wants to level up to 9th has done so.

• Also, are you happy with the magic item distribution? Some grabbed more loot than the others. There would have been time to trade and attune before arriving at the Floating Market.

Well Astrias wasn't at that lovely encounter so she wouldn't have claimed anything.

A bunch of you have incorrect figures (initiative, hp, AC, etc) on your sheets. Please ensure your sheets are updated, because what else am I going to use as basis when resolving actions? XD

Just updated Grog's stuff from Fight Club. He went up only 7 HP, so now he has 108 from 101.

Grog!

Translation: Got it. Thanks!

So far, I have been implementing a modified version of the naval combat mechanics presented in WOTC's Unearthed Arcana: Of Ships and the Sea. I've never been very happy with those mechanics, but now, in Appendix-A of "Ghosts of Saltmarsh" come revised nautical rules. It's a big improvement over the UA, but I still feel like anyone who's not an officer and not a ranged attacker is left with nothing to do during ship-to-ship combat. That was why I decided that firing a cannon would take a PC's action. But now, between Water Walking, and Pelner's airship, and Jineer's Mighty Ducks, I think there are plenty of options for getting combatants onto an enemy vessel if that is what you want to do.

So starting Round 2 of this battle between the Kestrel and the Strumpet we're going to give these mechanics a try. That is, the ships will have their own initiative, and their own actions (which officers will direct). I will quote the relevant mechanics over on the House Rules thread.

:thumbs_up:

The ring's description says:
Does that mean I have to maintain concentration? The spell text says:
Also, can the elemental ride Nela's wave the way Zale and Magda rode the wave in the earlier battle?

Zale: yes, you must maintain concentration. Let's say you have advantage on the check while touching water. No, standing in a puddle doesn't work.

Sure, your elemental (and Astrias') can ride the wave if Nela sends another one. Sending a wave uses up Nela's action. Even while maintaining Concentration on Control Water, she can't send a wave if she spends her action doing something else.

the flail is amusing though

No one's put out their eye or cut off their hand yet. For Dead-Eye's Eyepatch and the Hand Gun.

We're good lol.

Might come in handy later. Will keep an eye on it. (see what I did there?)

I'm happy trading off my loot from the cavern and taking the loot from the body on deck

Is my narration making any sense with regards to ship positioning? Is everyone imagining what I'm imagining? I am loathe to attempt a battle map.

• Safford Stampes & goons draw blades. Kestrel is docked. Port is on (of course) port side. Chain boom on the starboard side. Strumpet is stealthing.

• Stampes is dancing around, but Kestrel crew aren't screwing around, least of all Grog and Zale. Strumpet shows up, tries to get alongside Kestrel.

• Stampes gets wrecked. Strumpet crew freaks, turns hard to starboard to make a run for it.

• Harold and other old geezers show up. Strumpet still fleeing. 50ft away to starboard  now. Nela melts the boom chain with lightning. Ian gives the order to pursue. Geezers skedaddle. Kestrel casts off.

• Strumpet widens the distance to 100ft, but Nela stops her with Control Water. Kestrel turns 90° to starboard. Shots fired. Zale, Astrias, and Jineer lead the chase.

• Zale does a Bruce Lee on Strumpet's deck, while Jineer does a James Bond. Kestrel gains on Strumpet, which is still stuck in Nela's trap. Only 45ft gap now. Kestrel's chase gun keeps firing. Strumpet has got no rear gun.

• Unable to make headway, Strumpet turns 90° to starboard, fires broadside at Kestrel. Jineer finds the powder magazine.

• Jineer lights it up! Strumpet is dead in the water. Scurvy dogs abandon ship, but Zubak is standing his ground.

I've been rereading Control Water more closely. Apparently we've been doing it wrong: You can only have one effect active at one time (action to repeat an effect, or switch to a different one) meaning Nela could not have summoned capsizing waves using Flood while maintaining Redirect Flow. It's okay, it was fricking badass. But for future reference.

Hello all, sorry for the short notice on this. However, due to some real world stress and busy-ness, I need to take a step back for a few weeks to focus on that. I miss and have much love for all of you, so I will be back. ;)


Absence Post Here: https://gamersplane.com/forums/thread/1260/?p=648966#p648966

Thanks for the heads up, @drama! Take however much time you need. That said, I look forward to your return!

We can hand-wave any shopping sprees, or we can roleplay it. Whichever you prefer.

Decide how you want to split the loot (gems, folding boat, fancy chest, pistol-axes) between everyone who participated in the fight.

Does anyone want to go see Bob about those sea charts?

Phillipp don't truly deserve any of that so he'll soft pass on it


lemme know what i can and cannot buy here at the market place, Daddys got a lot of silver and needs to get some shirts!!! XD

Sorry for the silence everyone. Research paper, foggy mind set, and room renovation have had me pretty tied up.

If no one minds, Grog would like the axe-pistols. Though if someone already claimed them, that's fine. I still need to catch up to everything.

Jineer wants the Boat!

Just don't go on any 3-hour tours anytime soon. There's a Titanic II being made and going on the same route, and we don't need a Minnow II making the same mistake.

Make it so #1 This must happen now!

There are four lights! Either someone cast dancing lights or we have will o' wisps on board!

/rip

Created a Loot thread. Guys, a lot of this crap are attunement items. Remember that a creature can be attuned to no more than three magic items at a time. Any attempt to attune to a fourth item fails; the creature must end its attunement to an item first.

Also, I remind you to watch your encumbrance.

So you mean the silk handkerchief and the notebook of limericks?

Posted on the Absences thread:

okey dokey

Reinvite me if you think about it.

For those not on discord, Jabes is dealing with the volcano that just erupted in the Philippines and hopes to be back online next week.

Oh crap! Be safe Jabes!

Ahoy, me hearties!

Sorry, I was away from GP over the entire holidays because of my workload. Then, as soon as that started to slacken, we had the Taal Volcano eruption. I'm aiming to get this game revived within the next couple of days. 

Oh yeah! Pelner is ready to build some Sh*t.

Coming back around. Back in Action now.... Woot.. Hic....

What do you want to do after carousing?

*Seek out the treasure marked on the maps tattooed on the soles of Safford Stampes' feet?
*Set sail northwest for the Great Gyre, deliver the trident and token to King Kholnos of the tritons?
*Investigate a strange sight witnessed south of here: an unexplained glow from the sea at night?
*Fyre Fest luxury music festival happening this weekend on a remote island rumored to be a former pirate hideout?
*Bounty on an undead pirate terrorizing the northern seas who goes by the moniker Dead Jim?
*Another bounty hunter open contract involves a ship named the Sea Hag helmed by a gnoll named Dykor Deadspear?
*Something else?

I think the first two were are more original thoughts... Others look interesting too!

Everything is interesting! But Zale wants to get on with fulfilling the promise to the dragon turtle.

yeah for all that hes a pirate
I mean sailor....Ian wants to uphold his promise about the trident

hahaah i should probably have read this before posting ... oh well :D

@theeyetyrant, please visit our house rules thread.

YaHarr!!

Received @theeyetyrant's character. I will move us forward tomorrow. :-)

New chapter is up. That's your cue, @theeyetyrant! :-)

Dramasailor is rejoining us as Jhiros Parakanath, Triton Tempest Cleric. He is originally from the triton kingdom we are headed for, but has been away from home for a long time. I don't feel like going through the whole deal of introducing a new character, so we'll say he joined the crew some time ago. He will also be filling in the quartermaster role, as Khiiral hasn't been around.

Hey guys. I’m still playing but I might be a few days. My wife is in the hospital so I’m focused mainly on her and don’t know how long. Please play my character if you need to

Don't worry about the game, it'll still be here when you're ready! Take care of your wife. Wishing both of you the very best!

It's officially been 48hrs since I said roll initiative. It's 4:30 am here, so I'm off to bed now, but as soon as I wake up I will roll init for absentees, and commence combat.

Welcome aboard, @The_Evil_Dedd!

First, read the Session Zero and House Rules thread.

Next, visit the Character Creation thread to create your character for this seafaring adventure.

⚓

Hey all, glad to be here.

We were misusing Control Water before. The Flood effect forces any Huge or smaller vehicles struck by the wave to roll a percentile day, with 25% chance of capsizing, but these ships are Gargantuan, and should be unaffected.

But let's go ahead and attempt to sweep undead into the sea. The crew rolls STR saves vs. Nela's spell save DC (16). Save failed! Skeletal crew's number has been reduced. Great job!

I suspect you're referring to Full Speed Ahead, which is one of only two currently available Special Officer Actions available. We'll add more at a later time.
The reason Valrakas is yelling for the crew to "heave to" (full stop) is to let the Sea Witch sail past, giving the Kestrel's guns line of sight to the skeleton ship. (see the battle map)

If I am understanding your intention correctly, Ian is using the Full Speed Ahead special officer action so that when the Kestrel's turn comes, it can use 1 ship action to Turn 90 degrees to starboard, and her other 2 ship actions to "Dash" northeast and engage the Skeleton Ship. (see Kestrel stats & ship action options here)

Am I reading you right?

Alecor, for that readied action, are you targeting the undead captain, members of his crew, or one of the ship's components (hull, sails, helm, or weapons)?

Let's give Phillip another day to post.

I don't know why every encounter I keep trying to put us on standard initiative when we've clearly established block initiative works way better in PbP. Once everyone has acted this round, we will shift to block initiative: good guys go first (in any order), then all the ships, then bad guys.

Lols, I feel like i may have borked my post but i'll roll with it :D

Well, the cannon fire is a ship action, not a character action. Those are pretty good rolls, so we can use them when the Kestrel's turn comes. With added advantage roll thanks to Ian's First Mate action. You can still act if you want, Phillip.

man the cannon(s) i've got nothing i can personally do to aid currently

I may have on and off access problems the next couple week. If it seems long, please play my character.

I've edited the Naval Combat houserules again. Now, the Full Speed Ahead officer action only enables a ship to take the Move action twice in a round. The previous version (where a ship given the Full Speed Ahead command could Move multiple times) felt excessive.



Speaking of Special Officer Actions, at present there are only two: Full Speed Ahead, and Take Aim. I'd like for there to be more options. Any suggestions for special commands that directly affect ship performance during combat?

I'd also love to create options for non-officers while ship vs. ship combat is happening over distances beyond spell and archery range.

Since the 1st officer is morale, I wonder if there's a way to use charisma to boost the crews ability to attack. Maybe advantage on the next roll, or adding the officers CHR mod to the next attack. I don't know if just a CHR roll, CHR saving throw, or a perform check would be used to see if it works

Take Aim, which I adapted from Ghosts of Saltmarsh without modification, grants one of the ship's weapons advantage on its next attack roll (I botched the implementation by granting advantage to all 3 starboard cannons). I considered modifying this to require a CHA roll from the officer, but decided it's more fun as is.

The skeletons pull a Bahubali maneuver.

Yes, it has moved outside the area of effect. I've gone back and edited every map posted after Control Water was cast. The area of effect is shown as a dotted square.
CURRENT MECHANICS
With our current mechanics, it doesn't take any of a character's actions to load or fire a cannon. In fact, because ships have their own actions, the cannons will fire without any of the PCs intervening. Although Grog and Phillip taking over gunner duties is cool, there's no mechanical effect. The only effect a PC can have on the cannons is when an officer spends their action on Take Aim, granting one weapon Advantage on its next attack roll before the end of the ship's next turn.

PROPOSED CHANGE
Any PC commandeering a cannon is considered as taking the Help action, granting that weapon Advantage on its next attack roll before the end of the ship's next turn.

The officer action, Take Aim does NOT grant advantage, but adds the officer's CHA modifier to ALL ship's weapon attack rolls. If the officer is proficient with firearms, they may add their Proficiency bonus instead. The effect lasts the end of the ship's next turn.

In this game, for the sake of simplicity, if you are proficient with martial weapons, then you are also proficient with firearms. Artificers are proficient with firearms.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE CURRENT SCENARIO
The Kestrel's NPC crew are Frightened. All cannon attacks have Disadvantage unless affected by a PC's Help action.

Thats kinda badass if it would work irl!!

The ships are about to take their turns (after Jhiros posts).

The Sea Witch is going to keep running northwest at her current speed 45 ft/round (double that if Leatha orders Full Speed Ahead). That's going to look like this:


The Skeleton Ship is going to close in for sure (roughly 3 squares west) and probably launch a couple of skeleton squads.

What do you guys want the Kestrel to do next? Remember that she has 3 actions per turn. Those can be spent on Turn, Move (speed depends on direction), or Fire Cannons.

Effects of the latest rules change on the Kestrel's next turn:
Ian gave the Take Aim command. So, until the end of the Kestrel's upcoming turn, cannons will add his CHA modifier to their attack rolls. In addition, Phillip and Grog have taken the Help action, negating Disadvantage suffered by their respective cannons due to the NPC crew having the Frightened condition. The third starboard cannon will continue to fire with Disadvantage.

Since the skeleton ship is so much faster than the Sea Witch I think this would be the only opportunity the fire all cannons one more time before they reach us and start actual combat.

Do you fire and then move to block, maybe?

Would the Skelly get an advantage roll on his DEX save? The canon ball isn't magical its the force that started it moving. The ball itself is still just a canon ball.

Even though I was leaning towards "yes, it gets advantage," I gave it a lot of thought before actually posting that advantage roll. For exactly the line of reasoning you posted above. I even posed a question on the GP Discord channel (I'll tag you ver there).

In the end, I ruled that yes, it does get advantage.

Even though I was leaning towards "yes, it gets advantage," I gave it a lot of thought before actually posting that advantage roll. For exactly the line of reasoning you posted above. I even posed a question on the GP Discord channel (I'll tag you over there).

In the end, I ruled that yes, it does get advantage.

Cannonballs aren't even lighter than 5 lbs. but screw it, rule of cool, I let that fly. :-)