Café de Nuit

Cortez and the Flotilla
Day 5, 8:30 PM

[OOC: This is the first of a series of...very big deals. If you can, I recommend you cue up Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" while reading. Enjoy!]

Sentries along the port rail of the Brinewine Runner snap to attention as a small sloop appears in the moonlight, skimming through the water, with triangular black sails and a lean cut to her. They have little time to wonder before the sloop slows and drops sail just past the Nightwalker ship, and a larger ship appears, like a cloud suddenly made solid in the middle of a stiff breeze. The inhabitants of the sloop scramble over boarding lines into the larger ship and begin trimming sails to fill with the steady evening breeze. The sloop vanishes from sight, and the larger ship dips forward like a drunken man, coming about in a tight turn and narrowly completing it before being snapped upright again. The crowd at the rail begin to curse and sound the alarm as they realize two terrible things: first, the ship isn't caught in the slime because it fades into fog about a dozen feet from the water; second, the ship is headed straight for them, picking up speed and preparing to ram!

[Yes, this larger ship is the one everyone's been talking about, the mysterious ghost ship in the ether. This ship is considerably smaller than the Runner, which actually makes the situation much worse than expected: it's poised to collide closer to the waterline. If it maintains enough speed, it could destroy two to four sections of hull on impact, which would give you all from fifteen to eight minutes to evacuate or save the ship. Yes, a lot can happen in eight minutes, but you just might have a lot of other things to deal with.

The ship is a sailing ship with base speed of 20, a ramming prow and a base ram damage of 12d6. It's starting 400' away and has a strong wind that will double its speed and ramming damage, so that if left alone it will collide with the Runner in 10 rounds for 24d6 points of damage. It has 50 hp and 5 hardness per section, and even if it had a waterline, it won't fully sink before it hits the Runner. The rigging has 80 hp and hardness 0, but I'll only count damage before the ship closes to 160' (i.e. within 6 rounds), after which momentum will take over.

The occupants number over a dozen and appear human; any PC looking through a spyglass is welcome to make a Spot check. Most are under cover, but some are readying the pair of ballistae on the fore and aft decks.]

Thought I was done with that, but I might as well give out some preliminary PC options:

The Bane crew can have ramps down to the water in two rounds, and Cutter on deck in the same time; Cutter can go get Cortez (another round) and the two of them head out after the phantom ship on round 4. By that point, the ship would be (400-160) 240 feet away from the far side of the Bane; a double move by Cutter in round 4 gets them around the ships and into the path by round 5, and a dire charge that round could be the first of two full attacks on the ship before the round 6 threshhold.

Kinketsu can ether walk out to the ship and attack it from there, but he's used 4 rounds capturing ghosts, 9 rounds interrogating and killing them, and 2 rounds poking his head into the ether for various reasons, for a total of 15 rounds out of 22. This gives him only seven rounds left in the ether today. If he makes the whole trip in the ether, he could reach the ship in one round and attack the next, but even if he succeeds this will probably take up the rest of his ether walking for the day.

Anders might also be able to fly out in the ether like Kinketsu, but this would be his last Shed Body for the day. OTOH, if there's another way to get him out there, maybe he can help with incorporeal touch alone. Maybe he and Kinketsu could ride the carpet of flying?

Finally, I'm sure it would occur to your PC's that this is a good way to lure big hitters out onto the waves, either for a serious trap or just to keep them busy while another attack comes from elsewhere. Anders and Kinketsu would be the major hitters against Harrin, and fighting this ship could deplete their powers to fight him. OTOH, not hitting this ship with everything might mean letting it hit the Runner broadside.

OOC: Well, for the immediate non-combat actions, Shadross is going to take a look at the ghost ship with a spyglass (is it technically combat yet, or can he take a 10? Taking 10 gives him a 32 on the spot check, minus any modifiers for fog/darkness/whatnot). He's particularly interested in seeing if the 'crew' seems to be steering the ship, or if the ship seems to be steering itself.

Cortez, is going to be looking for any of the epics that's awake and *isn't* going to charge out to the ghost ship to keep an eye on Draga for him. Sariel, perhaps, if he's not busy?

MatthiasStormcrow wrote:OOC: Well, for the immediate non-combat actions, Shadross is going to take a look at the ghost ship with a spyglass (is it technically combat yet, or can he take a 10? Taking 10 gives him a 32 on the spot check, minus any modifiers for fog/darkness/whatnot).

Shadross can take 10, but IIRC he's on the Demon Cutter, which means he'll at least have to climb into the rigging to see the ghost ship over the Bane and the Runner. I'll let him do that when the sloop is announced, before the ten rounds begin. If you want him to get a different vantage, or if you want him to get to the Runner, let me know so we can put it in the timeline.

Either way, he sees human men, including one steering the ship from within one of the many crude wooden structures. A handful keep the sails taut, while others mill about aimlessly. There are other humanoid figures laying about the deck, dead or dying, ignored by those walking around, but plucked on by large ravens.

Cortez, is going to be looking for any of the epics that's awake and *isn't* going to charge out to the ghost ship to keep an eye on Draga for him. Sariel, perhaps, if he's not busy?

Invictus has returned from giving his messages, so he can stay. Sariel might be a good choice for that, or Cal or Nephys. With the latter two, they are of limited power but their masters can channel power through them if necessary. Draga already has good reason to be afraid of Nephys, anyway.

Edit: wanted to give Shadross more info for his Spot. Can't think of anything else visible at this distance. Feel free to ask quesions.

MatthiasStormcrow wrote: Cortez, is going to be looking for any of the epics that's awake and *isn't* going to charge out to the ghost ship to keep an eye on Draga for him. Sariel, perhaps, if he's not busy?

OOC: I dunno. I think Sariel is too useful a combatant at this stage of events to have him baby-sitting. Here's Sariel's plan--he was presumably above deck when the call went out, because he's too big to be comfortable belowdecks in any ship I can think of. As the alarm goes up he'll take immediately to the air and look for the ship; when he sees it he'll swoop and use his breath weapon on the rigging. A full action for movement on round 1 takes him 800 feet, unless taking flight counts as a move action, in which case I guess he goes 400 (1 move action plus standard action of double movement?) Either way, he should be in position to use his breath weapon on the second round sometime (either before or after his move that round).

That will carry him past the ship, of course. Next round, wingover and move back to the ship, where he'll hover for the remainder of the time he has left, tearing at the rigging (insofar as one can do such a thing to an ethereal object) and using his breath weapon as often as possible. Being directly above the ship has the great advantage that it will be very difficult to use the ballistae on him--he'll be keeping an eye on the ballistae crews, for sure.

Unless I'm out badly on my reckoning he'll be able to use his breath weapon at least twice before the crucial six round time point, and his efforts will probably slow the ship before then, perhaps buying some extra time.

Fire usually does half damage to objects, but it seems to me that rigging (lots of surface area, highly inflammable) would be an exception to that rule.


IC: At the calls from the deck Sariel drops his book and turns. "Uh-oh," he mutters, casting himself from the deck into the air and beating strongly to get some altitude to see what's happening. Spotting the ghost ship on course to ram the Brinewine Runner, he snorts, and flames sizzle along his nostrils and lips.

"So you want some more action?" he mutters as he aligns himself for a diving attack on the rigging. "Happy to help. I've spent all day wanting to burn something, and you're going to be the beneficiary of it."

Cortez and the flotilla captains react

As the cry goes up from the Runner, its crew are already scrambling to get weapons loaded and aimed properly. Celtan Tarr colorfully curses the muck that keeps the Runner trapped. "Aye, ram a ship what can't move, ya bastards. S'like beatin' on yer own grandmother that's what that is. In a fair fight we'd run you ragged and ram you back to the hell you came from. Get that port side ballista loaded boys!"

On the Smiling Serpent and the Bane the crew also scramble to load and aim the ships' port-side weaponry, while Wolffe calls out for lookouts to keep a sharp eye out for Sahuagin or other threats.

The Cutter, positioned without a clear shot at the approaching ship, is the quietest - Shadross calls out for everyone to be alert, and takes off immediately towards the Brinewine Runner - once he gets there, he pulls out a spyglass, glances towards the ship, and apparently satisfied with what he sees, dives into the water.

Cortez, for his part, growls in frustration, and glares angrily at the quietly burbling Draga. "Your cronies and underlings come to snatch you back, have they? Not if I have any say about it." He looks about and calls out hopefully, "Ciera? Invictus? Someone come keep an eye on this fiend!" while thinking glumly, figures, the one time that shadow isn't hanging around like a leech.




[OOC: I figured that the Smiling Serpent and the Brinewine Runner could probably both fire their port-side ballista and port-side light catapault; the Bane's ballista might be too far forward, but the catapault should be able to fire. Since each ship (currently) only has to man the weapons on one side, they can put extra weapon-crew men on each weapon, which should cut down the aiming and reloading time. They'll all aim for the masts and rigging.

Shadross's plan is pretty straightforward; he's going to get out to the ghost ship as quickly as possible, get on board, fight his way to the controls and try and turn the ship. Even if the ship still has too much momentum by then to avoid hitting the Runner, it'll do less damage colliding broadside-to-broadside than ramming it with its prow. One thing he would've instinctively looked for on the ghost ship was a glimpse of the ship's name and/or any colors it might be flying, if you're looking to give out more information, DS.

Cortez at the moment is going to hold position and keep an eye on Draga; depending on when/if someone else shows up to babysit, his plan may change, but currently his last-ditch emergency plan is suitably epic - if it seems the ship is certain to collide with the Runner, he's going to wait until the last possible second, leap up to the Bane, dash across to the Runner, and then he's literally going to interpose himself between the ghost ship's prow and the Brinewine Runner, feet braced against the Runner and pushing against the ghost ship as hard as he can [not that I know how much a ghost ship weighs, but for reference, Cortez's "push or drag" capacity is 3500lbs.], and personally absorb as much of its impact as he can. The realization that you can take a ram by an enemy ship better than your boat can - that's epic, right there... ]

Okay, here's how I see these first few actions playing out:

I've got Sariel's movement rate as 210' flying. A "double move" is not a standard action, rather it's what you get when you forgo your standard action in favor of another move. Thus, on round 1 Sariel takes into the air (move action) and flies 210 feet (move action). The next round he flies the rest of the way to the ship (move action) and either hovers over it (move action) or strafes it with a breath attack (standard action). If he hovers, he can loose his breath weapon on the 3rd round as the opening of a barrage while hovering and still be able to breathe again on round 6, just before the crucial cutoff. If he strafes, he'll have to wingover and return on round 3, which will diminish his attacks. Your call.

Shadross can get to the Runner by the end of round 1, then make his Spot check and jump off the ship as part of his movement and complete the rest of his 60' move for round 2. Round 3 lets him Run (Swim) 240' as a full-round action, for a total of 280' for him to the ship's 80' of movement by his initiative. On its turn on round 3 it will move close enough to touch, but he'll have to wait until round 4 to get aboard. If he'd like to try for a Jump check to clear the water at the end of his moement on round 3...I'm open for offers. This is epic, as we keep reminding ourselves.

Kinketsu is belowdecks searching for ghostly spies, and even with his monkly movement, I don't see how he can get abovedeck before round 3. The only exception is if he used a round of etherwalk to move through the hull, but finding an area with weak enough ER would probably eat up any time advantage anyway. So he'll be up on deck at the end of round 2, ready to roll on round 3.

Invictus will take over for Cortez at the lifeboat on round 1, right after Cortez gets through thinking all those bad things about him. Ciera and Nephys will join Invictus there (via levitation)on round 2. Cortez will then be free to pull off "operation human shield" or anything else that strikes his fancy.

I'll give everyone two days to add, correct or choose among these options. Then I'll progress things to round three, have villains respond, and post the results.

DeepShadow wrote:Okay, here's how I see these first few actions playing out:

I've got Sariel's movement rate as 210' flying. A "double move" is not a standard action, rather it's what you get when you forgo your standard action in favor of another move. Thus, on round 1 Sariel takes into the air (move action) and flies 210 feet (move action). The next round he flies the rest of the way to the ship (move action) and either hovers over it (move action) or strafes it with a breath attack (standard action). If he hovers, he can loose his breath weapon on the 3rd round as the opening of a barrage while hovering and still be able to breathe again on round 6, just before the crucial cutoff. If he strafes, he'll have to wingover and return on round 3, which will diminish his attacks. Your call.

In that case, Sariel will fly to the ship, pull up, breathe, and then attempt to rip off a spar or two while preparing to breathe again (the "hover" option). Depending on his success with the rigging he may spend his second breath on a ballistae crew.

OOC: Shadross will definitely try for the jump check; Cortez will head up to the Runner as soon as Ciera arrives, and will want Cutter there too. Instead of interposing himself between the two boats (though he's still got that as a last resort) he's simply going to ride out on Cutter and place an Immovable Rod between the two ships, about 30 feet from the Runner, right in what he judges to be the path of the ghost ship's ramming prow. (Interestingly enough, Immovable Rods aren't actually immovable, but it ought to at least slow the ship down to 10' round, if it hits it. Of course, the ghost ship might take damage from hitting the rod...) Considering he's not going that far he should have plenty of time to get out there and back to the Runner while everyone else dashes for the ghost ship.

Peregrine and Marta
Day 5, 8:15 PM

Marta ignores Peregrine's reference to the Raveners in favor of correcting the Inquisitor on her name. "D'Honaire, nee Chantreaux. Jean-Paul and I were married in 752, and I'm still correcting people." She rolls her eyes and smiles wryly, and for a moment she's a healthy woman dealing with the frustrations of married life. Then her smile thins a little, and her eyes get wide. She gasps as the memories come stronger and stronger. "He's been looking for us, I--I heard his voice through the flames...perhaps he was coming back and rescued the children! I need to find them!"

With great effort she manages to calm herself and explain: they were stuck in the sea-mire for days aboard their new family yacht, and her husband had responded to a promise for help from another crew. They had already fooled the Raveners into thinking the ship had been abandoned at sea and left adrift, so all she had to do was keep the children quiet until he returned with help....

"I'm sorry," she concludes after a few minutes of nonstop talking. "There were so many of them, everywhere, for so long. The captain told me you...killed...them all, but I can't believe it. I want to see them, all of them, and--and count the bodies to make sure..."

She says it with such violence that Peregrine is quite sure she'd do more than just count bodies.

"They set fire to our ship, and my babies were screaming, and I tried to jump in and save them, but those beasts caught me and took me with them, and I didn't get to help my babies but IthinkJeanPaulmadeitbackandsavedthemplease...."

She sinks to her knees and draws a haggard breath to collect herself. "Please, please can you help me find our ship? I need to find my husband...and our children...I've got to go back...they're waiting...."

DeepShadow wrote: She sinks to her knees and draws a haggard breath to collect herself. "Please, please can you help me find our ship? I need to find my husband...and our children...I've got to go back...they're waiting...."

"Madame," Peregrine says quietly, " they await you in Ezra's arms."

He watches the Dementlieuse noblewoman until he is sure she has taken his meaning. "Your family passed beyond our power to help, Madame d'Honaire. From what you have said now and previously we cannot hope--if it be hope, and not fear--that your husband and children still live."

At the Inquisitor's words, Madame d'Honaire's face twists, and tears begin to ooze from her eyes. He continues, solemnly, "It is bitter news, I know; but let us always remember there are worse things than death. You have passed through such things yourself. There is a mercy in these things which we cannot always see from the beginning."

Standing, Peregrine steps as if about to pace, then apparently thinks better of it and sits again. "As you intuit, the captain was not quite correct in his assessment of the Raveners' situation; they are shattered, but not eradicated. Ezra's grace has healed a score, more or less, and will heal a similar number on the morrow, and her wrath smote down some four score more; Ram Haroon is dead, but I have reason to fear the Keeper has escaped and plans more evil, and certain of his more reliable servitors he has kept with him. There yet remains a work to do there; but the Raveners, as a body, will never again be a force for evil in this world.

"I have significant commitments in other quarters, madame, but once I have arranged for those of the Raveners' victims who can be healed to be housed here, done all that is necessary and proper to advance the cause for which I was sent, and conferred with our allies to determine their needs, I will place myself at your disposal for the errand of which you speak--to find the place where your husband and children lie, and assure they find their rightful rest. Can I assist you in any lesser way at present?"

EDITED to reflect the content of past conversations, which I had forgotten.

[toward the end of round two]

Kinketsu sets foot on the foredeck of the Bane like a bird lighting on a branch, and reaches the rain in three purposeful strides. His magical vision catches sight of someone flying in the air over the phantom ship, just below Sariel. He hisses a warning to his mistress, but Sariel is out of range. Unwarned, the dragon moves into a hover, facing down at the ship, when his mysterious visitor makes himself known.*

"Wanna burn sommat, hey? I know the feelin'."

Sariel manages to avert his eyes from the pirate ghost's compelling gaze** but Harrin merely interposes himself between the dragon and the ship, trying to get the dragon's attention.***

"Y'got spirit, mate, but it's only a matter of time."

Even as Ciera curses her lateness, she relays some information passed to her by Kinketsu and others: When Harrin moves around, the "phantom" parts of the ship become solid or dissolve accordingly. He seems unwilling to go below about seventy-five feet over the slime; presumably the lower parts of the ship would solidify and get stuck. Unfortunately, the one best able to react is the one who doesn't know.

[* From previous round, while ethereal: moves to intercept Sariel and readies actions.
** Free action gaze attack on Sariel's turn--Sariel saves.
*** Deliberate gaze attack--Sariel saves.

Beginning of round three]

Toby, finally on the deck of the Smiling Serpent, readied his weapons and relays what he knows to Ciera: that Harrin steals the "spirits" of sunken ships by somehow rendering the upper parts solid while allowing the lower parts to stay free of the slime. This allows him to sail about and traffick in all manner of stolen goods, especially slaves. There are plenty of potential replacements for this ship, hence Harrin's disregard for its welfare.

[Sariel can hit the rigging now. FWIW, I do agree the rigging might be more susceptible to burning, except it's wet. Larger surface and dampness are going to cancel out for the first breath attack, but the second would be full damage because the water would have evaporated.
Sariel can attack Harrin with any weapons that can affect a manifested ghost. No matter what Sariel does, he'll have to make at least one more save, at the top of his own initiative. Use the invisiblecastle dice roller.]

Having forgone the ramps in favor of merely jumping over the side, Cutter tears past Cortez on his way to the phantom ship. With Sven, Ciera, Nephys and Invictus ready to defend Draga, Cortez swings up atop his horse* and charges off. As he nears the phantom ship, Cortez sees the broad wings of Shadross's ray form clear the water ahead and soar towards the deck of the ship.**

[* Shaved about a round and a half off by having Cutter show some initiative, but he took some damage for the jump (failed jump check 20' down for 2d6=7 damage)

** Shadross' Jump check to clear the rail, about twenty feet up. Shadross has an eight-foot vertical reach, so he needs a minimum of twelve feet to grab the rail and pull himself up. That would be a DC of (12x4) 48, which Shadross could clear by taking two. I'll add ten to the DC to figure in the disadvantage of starting in the water. And he gets a natural 20, of course, which would almost be enough for him to clear the rail entirely and land on his feet. What the heck, taking 2 on a tumbling check should give him the rest. Shadross will forgo climbing aboard entirely and land on the deck at the beginning of round four.

To help Shadross make his round 4 actions, here's a description of the inhabitants: there are two types of people on the phantom ship. Most of them are wretched once-humans, wasted nearly skeletal but with bloated stomachs, babbling silence as they writhe on the deck, unaware of their company or even the hunchbacked ravens that pick at their dead grey flesh. The crew that boarded from the sloop are perfectly human, but completely passionless; show no distaste for the gruesome specters of the previous crew, no hatred for the Bane, no concern for the wreck to come. If attacked, they will defend themselves or take cover behind the many battered hardwood bunkers on the deck. If this was not enough to indicate magical control, Shadross sees Harrin floating above the mainmast. Unlike his new servants, Harrin glances at the Bane like a hawk on the hunt, the lazy, lusty glee of someone gambling with stolen goods.]

[And thus we need some round three/four decisions from our three heroes! Let me know if you have any questions.]

Afterthoughts to previous post: Shadross saw flags and a name, but they weren't in a maritime code or language he was familiar with--he can tell them to Ciera and see if Toby or the Nightwalkers know anything about them. Cortez will be able to place the immoveable rod in an inescapeable location on round 4, if he can place it high enough. The ship's lower parts shift in and out of solidity between five and fifteen feet above the surface. If Cortez can place the rod sixteen feet or higher, that will be your best bet of slowing the ship with it.

For a brief moment Sariel ponders some kind of pun on "spirit", but his mouth is occupied with more important duties. Resisting the pull of the ghost pirate's will*, he breathes on him and on the rigging behind him. Unfortunately, the effort he makes to avoid the ghost's gaze diverts his attention enough that his attack goes awry; the rigging is hardly singed.**

In the next moment Harrin's gaze engulfs him, and his consciousness seems to shrink in on itself as another will takes control of his body...***

OOC: I figure *23 is enough to beat Harrin's gaze, which I surely do hope is correct.

**&@!*

***Next three rolls for saves against Harrin's attack: 17, 29, 26. I believe the first would fail. Lady Luck, what did I do to deserve this?!?

OOC: Actually, if you check the repaired links above, you'll discover that your first save failed. Christmas came early for Harrin!