Pirates of the Shining Sea 1
Some of the details are out of my hands at the moment, being at home with my books while I am at school with a functional computer; such will therefore be filled in at a later time.
Players:
Jen - Bartholemew, Human Swashbuckler first level
James - Jamaican Guy, Half Aquatic Elf Wizard first level
Brendan - Lass, Sea Folk Barbarian first level
The ship was run well by (CAPTAIN), with his brutal but commanding first mate, the Black Lizardfolk Bahn and his Scottish-accented old friend Preston Bloodrunner as his Navigator. Lass had served on the ship since its initial sailing nine years ago, proving herself a capable ship's carpenter and scout for hull damage while at sea due to her bloodline's favor for frequent water immersion. He frequently clashed with the ship's carpenter, a moody Kenku named (NAME). Jamaican Guy (JG until I rewrite this with his actual name) was recently taken on as ship's Mage-in-training, though the crew were not able to replace their Mage recently lost when last in port before sailing to replenish their gold. Bartholemew (Don't call him Bart if you want to live) was also taken in recently, with an eye for learning how to run a ship and an eager teacher in Preston.
The session began with the Ship not terribly far from its recent port of call, Athkatla of Amn. A messenger ship had recently signaled to peacefully come up alongside, and the Captain was handed a scroll before the ship departed. His face paled when reading the message, and the messenger ship headed away into the setting sun. The ship that the Party was on then shook, as if something had rocked it from below. JG and Barthelomew stood their ground, but Lass toppled over the side on which she was leaning. While underwater, Lass couldn't see terribly clearly, but a massive shape had just passed her by, heading towards the messenger ship.
She surfaced to shout what she had seen, but most aboard ship could by then bear witness as an ear-rending cry of hundreds of planks snapping like dry leaves underfoot rang out and a gray shape, an unbelieveable looming sight, slicked out of the sea and headed into and through the messenger ship's side, out the other without slowing at all. A shark, sure, but one of a size that baffled the Party. With a semicircle missing from the middle of their mass, the crew of the messenger ship screamed and headed to either end, to no avail; the weight of the fore and aft, pressure of the water raging all around with the fresh current provided by the beast, ensured that the craft folded in on itself in short order. Scrambling men falling out of the cross-section swam away as best they could, but the crumbling husk of shattered wood was swept into itself, its ends pulled apart by the waves and what remained of its crewmen left to the cruel mercy of the sea once the larger sections had fully capsized.
As the gigantic beast reared its tremendous fin above the water while it moved in to devour those who survived its initial attack, the Party's ship opened fire with its cannons upon what vestige of the beast it could target. To the keen eyes of Lass, who was now again on deck after ascending the ladder firmly bisecting the Starboard side of the Ship, the cannonball that met its intended target achieved no penetration, or any visible damage that she could perceive.
The crew was shaken and largely dumbfounded once the waves from the passing monster had subsided, and the Captain was heard by JG to say a single word: "Titan". Upon inquiry into the meaning of this, the Party learned of myths from the region of a legendary shark-like creature dwelling throughout the western coastline of Faerun known as the Titan; the list of its kills goes back far into the country's history, suggesting a very long life or possibly immortality itself.
Shortly afterward, Lass encountered a small shark swimming along the ship, looking around but making no move to harm her, even when approached and examined. The shark stayed next to the ship as it traveled, but Lass, fond of sharks since birth, made no special note of it aside from its place as a favorable travelling companion.
The Captain's destination, learned by Barthelomew, was to be a very small inlet south of Athkatla known locally as Strider's Cove. He was seeking information about the message, which informed him that his merchant sponsor in piracy's daughter, whom the Captain was informally seeing, had been killed. With no more intelligence on the subject available to him, the Captain was resorting to a contact on which he had relied before.
Once the ship reached its destination, it faced a great deal of open water and little else in sight. Knowing that Barthelomew had aspirations of being in a position of leadership one day, the Captain allowed him to accompany the boat that was to go the this contact, and to choose a few friends to fill out the journeying party, along with Bahn and Preston. Barthelomew chose JG and Lass, and they rowed out into the middle of the watery area. The Captain declared that they should stop, and a great rumbling began in water thirty feet ahead of them. A scaled head as large as any of them arose from the water, black with a swirling stripe of white around its fey-like face. At its full height it could not have exceeded thirty-six feet, although that may have been close to the precise measurement. Terrified beyond his ability to remain calm, JG dove into the water and began swimming back towards the ship, with Lass in quick pursuit. Despite Lass's superior aquatically athletic abilities, JG tread water for a few moments to cast an enchantment, after which Lass was left behind by the half-aquatic-elf's seaside speed.
With the Captain, Barthelomew witnessed Bahn's brutal demeanor parley in plain terms with the Ocean Strider, who appeared to be fond of the directness of the First Mate's candor. The Strider, (STRIDER), promised to give the Captain the information he sought, so long as a favor was simultaneously done for the Strider himself. The Captain was advised to head to Athkatla and seek out the docked ship Pinafore, wherein is both a captive pirate with the knowledge that the Captain desires, along with a jewel that is the subject of the Ocean Strider's demand. These terms were agreed upon, and recently reunited Party, along with their elder crewmates, returned to the Ship and a course was set for Athkatla.
The plan was discussed on the way: the Captain, swayed by Preston's words of good will concerning Barthelomew and his plans of upward mobility, assigned the initial attempt at aquisition to the up-and-comer, along with his two friends, as they were not known as sailors of the Captain's crew (Lass had largely stayed in the water and on deck doing repairs when in port, though she had her fair array of suitors over the years due to her notable looks and figure).
The Amn port was a busy urban center of trade and other dealings, with sea air spiking the humid climate that domitated the atmosphere all around. In The Mermaid's Tale, a boisterous tavern too close to the docks to be overlooked, there sat a table in one corner, with a small queue of sailors leading to it. There was the soft echo of singing, though perhaps a bit off-key. The Party approached the table to find three shipmen dressed in white with red sashes finishing their otherwise purely vanilla uniforms. A few people progressed, each seemingly failing, being punched in the stomach by the man on the right and taken out the back way as the line grew shorter. When there was only one left standing before the Party and the table: a thin man, who was asked to sing a few bars, leaving the choice of tune to him. Selecting a saucy sea chanty, his note accuracy left much to be desired, and the central man gestured to his fellow crewman to the left, who stood and stabbed the singing man in the stomach with a quickly presented and subsequently withdrawn dagger, just a momentary glimmer in the dim lighting of the raucous tavern. The formerly singing man muttered in pain and was hastily taken out the back way by the man on the speaker's right.
Newly intimidated and equally intrigued by the odd situation at hand, the Party stepped forward and found out that this was indeed the line to be a crew member of The Pinafore, the very ship which they desired to infiltrate. Each choosing a song that befitted their upbringing and personal tastes, all did very well and impressed the three at the table accordingly. The Party was told to follow the men and were led to The Pinafore itself.
The ship was large and the woodwork involved skeletons interlocked at the elbows forming the railing all around the ship. Closer examination revealed that these were real skeletons covered in varnish that dries to keep them together in the high seas.
Players:
Jen - Bartholemew, Human Swashbuckler first level
James - Jamaican Guy, Half Aquatic Elf Wizard first level
Brendan - Lass, Sea Folk Barbarian first level
The ship was run well by (CAPTAIN), with his brutal but commanding first mate, the Black Lizardfolk Bahn and his Scottish-accented old friend Preston Bloodrunner as his Navigator. Lass had served on the ship since its initial sailing nine years ago, proving herself a capable ship's carpenter and scout for hull damage while at sea due to her bloodline's favor for frequent water immersion. He frequently clashed with the ship's carpenter, a moody Kenku named (NAME). Jamaican Guy (JG until I rewrite this with his actual name) was recently taken on as ship's Mage-in-training, though the crew were not able to replace their Mage recently lost when last in port before sailing to replenish their gold. Bartholemew (Don't call him Bart if you want to live) was also taken in recently, with an eye for learning how to run a ship and an eager teacher in Preston.
The session began with the Ship not terribly far from its recent port of call, Athkatla of Amn. A messenger ship had recently signaled to peacefully come up alongside, and the Captain was handed a scroll before the ship departed. His face paled when reading the message, and the messenger ship headed away into the setting sun. The ship that the Party was on then shook, as if something had rocked it from below. JG and Barthelomew stood their ground, but Lass toppled over the side on which she was leaning. While underwater, Lass couldn't see terribly clearly, but a massive shape had just passed her by, heading towards the messenger ship.
She surfaced to shout what she had seen, but most aboard ship could by then bear witness as an ear-rending cry of hundreds of planks snapping like dry leaves underfoot rang out and a gray shape, an unbelieveable looming sight, slicked out of the sea and headed into and through the messenger ship's side, out the other without slowing at all. A shark, sure, but one of a size that baffled the Party. With a semicircle missing from the middle of their mass, the crew of the messenger ship screamed and headed to either end, to no avail; the weight of the fore and aft, pressure of the water raging all around with the fresh current provided by the beast, ensured that the craft folded in on itself in short order. Scrambling men falling out of the cross-section swam away as best they could, but the crumbling husk of shattered wood was swept into itself, its ends pulled apart by the waves and what remained of its crewmen left to the cruel mercy of the sea once the larger sections had fully capsized.
As the gigantic beast reared its tremendous fin above the water while it moved in to devour those who survived its initial attack, the Party's ship opened fire with its cannons upon what vestige of the beast it could target. To the keen eyes of Lass, who was now again on deck after ascending the ladder firmly bisecting the Starboard side of the Ship, the cannonball that met its intended target achieved no penetration, or any visible damage that she could perceive.
The crew was shaken and largely dumbfounded once the waves from the passing monster had subsided, and the Captain was heard by JG to say a single word: "Titan". Upon inquiry into the meaning of this, the Party learned of myths from the region of a legendary shark-like creature dwelling throughout the western coastline of Faerun known as the Titan; the list of its kills goes back far into the country's history, suggesting a very long life or possibly immortality itself.
Shortly afterward, Lass encountered a small shark swimming along the ship, looking around but making no move to harm her, even when approached and examined. The shark stayed next to the ship as it traveled, but Lass, fond of sharks since birth, made no special note of it aside from its place as a favorable travelling companion.
The Captain's destination, learned by Barthelomew, was to be a very small inlet south of Athkatla known locally as Strider's Cove. He was seeking information about the message, which informed him that his merchant sponsor in piracy's daughter, whom the Captain was informally seeing, had been killed. With no more intelligence on the subject available to him, the Captain was resorting to a contact on which he had relied before.
Once the ship reached its destination, it faced a great deal of open water and little else in sight. Knowing that Barthelomew had aspirations of being in a position of leadership one day, the Captain allowed him to accompany the boat that was to go the this contact, and to choose a few friends to fill out the journeying party, along with Bahn and Preston. Barthelomew chose JG and Lass, and they rowed out into the middle of the watery area. The Captain declared that they should stop, and a great rumbling began in water thirty feet ahead of them. A scaled head as large as any of them arose from the water, black with a swirling stripe of white around its fey-like face. At its full height it could not have exceeded thirty-six feet, although that may have been close to the precise measurement. Terrified beyond his ability to remain calm, JG dove into the water and began swimming back towards the ship, with Lass in quick pursuit. Despite Lass's superior aquatically athletic abilities, JG tread water for a few moments to cast an enchantment, after which Lass was left behind by the half-aquatic-elf's seaside speed.
With the Captain, Barthelomew witnessed Bahn's brutal demeanor parley in plain terms with the Ocean Strider, who appeared to be fond of the directness of the First Mate's candor. The Strider, (STRIDER), promised to give the Captain the information he sought, so long as a favor was simultaneously done for the Strider himself. The Captain was advised to head to Athkatla and seek out the docked ship Pinafore, wherein is both a captive pirate with the knowledge that the Captain desires, along with a jewel that is the subject of the Ocean Strider's demand. These terms were agreed upon, and recently reunited Party, along with their elder crewmates, returned to the Ship and a course was set for Athkatla.
The plan was discussed on the way: the Captain, swayed by Preston's words of good will concerning Barthelomew and his plans of upward mobility, assigned the initial attempt at aquisition to the up-and-comer, along with his two friends, as they were not known as sailors of the Captain's crew (Lass had largely stayed in the water and on deck doing repairs when in port, though she had her fair array of suitors over the years due to her notable looks and figure).
The Amn port was a busy urban center of trade and other dealings, with sea air spiking the humid climate that domitated the atmosphere all around. In The Mermaid's Tale, a boisterous tavern too close to the docks to be overlooked, there sat a table in one corner, with a small queue of sailors leading to it. There was the soft echo of singing, though perhaps a bit off-key. The Party approached the table to find three shipmen dressed in white with red sashes finishing their otherwise purely vanilla uniforms. A few people progressed, each seemingly failing, being punched in the stomach by the man on the right and taken out the back way as the line grew shorter. When there was only one left standing before the Party and the table: a thin man, who was asked to sing a few bars, leaving the choice of tune to him. Selecting a saucy sea chanty, his note accuracy left much to be desired, and the central man gestured to his fellow crewman to the left, who stood and stabbed the singing man in the stomach with a quickly presented and subsequently withdrawn dagger, just a momentary glimmer in the dim lighting of the raucous tavern. The formerly singing man muttered in pain and was hastily taken out the back way by the man on the speaker's right.
Newly intimidated and equally intrigued by the odd situation at hand, the Party stepped forward and found out that this was indeed the line to be a crew member of The Pinafore, the very ship which they desired to infiltrate. Each choosing a song that befitted their upbringing and personal tastes, all did very well and impressed the three at the table accordingly. The Party was told to follow the men and were led to The Pinafore itself.
The ship was large and the woodwork involved skeletons interlocked at the elbows forming the railing all around the ship. Closer examination revealed that these were real skeletons covered in varnish that dries to keep them together in the high seas.