I had started a scenario for the party’s paladin to take the lead. Then it looks like the paladin could possibly be busy with real life for the foreseeable future.
I then (hastily) threw together something with river pirates. It was mostly a passing plot point/rumor recently, but it was turned into a game.
Yup pirates have been hitting all manner of ships up and down the Meterdas River. After some foot dragging, the party decided to hop a barge headed south and see if they could wrangle up some pirates.
Three days later, they did just that.
Not one but two small ships approached, one from down one from upstream, their small ship and attached barge. As the distance closed, the two ships unfurled pirate flags and then launched large ceramic pots. Upon impact a think noxious gas spread over the deck. It caused horrible fits of coughing, watery eyes, mucus production and eventually uncontrolled vomiting. While the ship crew avoided the gas, the boats moved ever closer.
Eventually, the dragonborn and ½ orc began to fire arrows at the approaching southern pirate ship. The ship returned fire and riddled the dragonborn thief with arrows. He limped toward the back of the ship in need of healing. The pirate vessels then uncovered their next weapon, ballista that fired chain harpoons. Two of the bolts were fired and struck true. One ballista bolt hit the ship the second struck the trailing barge. They were trying to slow and keep the boat/ barge from escaping. For the pirates, it was looking to be a successful attack. Well…that was until Morgan “The Greaser” unleashed destruction upon the ships!
The mage quickly ran to the front of the ship and cast a spell of unmending on the ballista chain. A large link broke and the boat was free from that chain. He then launched a fireball at the southern pirate vessel and obliterated the sails, rigging and most of the mast. Plus it began a small fire as well. The barbarian kept launching arrows at the now on fire pirate ship to keep their ballista crew from getting a second shot.
Meanwhile, the rear at the rear of the ship, pirates had made it over to the barge and were trying to unhook it from the boat. That was until Ren (the monk) arrived to begin pummeling pirates. The dragonborn thief, after some quick healing, ran to help the monk pick apart the pirates. Well, until that boat’s ballista crew took aim and skewered both the thief and monk with a second shot. Ren was able to deflect most of the damage with some sort of anti-ballista jutsu. Sadly, the thief wasn’t as lucky and he limped off again to tend to the sucking chest wound he had received.
Morgan seeing the second pirate ship unleashed another fireball to destroy the sails and mast of that ship. He then hurled a bolt of lightning at the pirates on the barge for good measure. As the second ship burned, their captain ordered gang planks lowered and all hands to attack. As the pirate began gathering and rushing to cross, Morgan began to laugh and hurled a third ball of fiery death. This time he took out a majority of the pirate crew with the explosion!
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| My idea of what the party was going to be fighting.... .......with the rolls, what the party was really fighting.  |
The barbarian, seeing the southern ship try to turn itself back down river, dove into the water and began to swim. He wasn’t going to let that ship escape!
Ren, finally dispatching the last of the pirates on the barge, decided to leap across onto the now blow-up and burning pirate vessel. A running jump….and he fell into the river (rolled a 1 on his skill check). Just like last game, the monk was having trouble with water. Three more rolls were made over the next few rounds a 3, 4 and 2 were rolled for the monk to try and get either up the pirate boat or back onto the barge. It was an amazing and hysterical failure!
Eventually, the ship crew helped the nearly drowning monk back onto their ship.
Reginald did make it across to the other pirate ship and few into a berserk rage. He ran toward the captain and after taking a pistol shot to the chest, dispatched the man in two swings. The first mate and a crew member engaged and then realize that was a bad idea. The swung swords at the crazy and frothing barbarian as then backed away. The Reginald lashed out as the stepped away. The first swing removed the first mate’s head from his shoulders. The second swing disemboweled the other pirate. The remaining crew began to leap into the river and swim for safety. The ½ orc picked up the captain’s pistol and fired three shots into the face of deceased captain to try and sate his rage.
All the while this was going on; Morgan and the semi-bandaged thief were doing some sort of levitation grab-assery. The mage, who had proven most useful, was so far, was trying to float the thief over toward the southern boat. As the thief floated the mage, with a running start, pushed with all his might. The dragonborn slowly floated about ten feet off the boat and stopped. The momentum already spent. He chose to lower himself and tried to swim over to help the barbarian. Well swimming while under a levitation spell proved difficult and he didn’t move very far at all. It was all a ridiculous mess, and it was the end of the battle as well.
They unhooked the barge from the flaming and soon to be derelict pirate ship. They all boarded and began a quick search of the still intact but burning, pirate ship. All they found was a small cache of weapons and a lot of empty space. The galley, hull and the sleeping quarters were all empty. It seems that the pirates were travelling fast and light. This meant that they had to have come from somewhere close by.
The party boarded their ship and they continued downstream. About an hour later a call from the crow’s nest came. It appeared that the river on the East bank was flowing directly through the shoreline. It was a very unnatural sight. The party also investigated this bit of phenomenon and it did appear that the river was turning and flowing through the shoreline. They all assumed illusion and had their boat captain turn the ship toward the shoreline. The captain was a bit skeptical, but after seeing how these guys handled themselves (and the damage they could cause) he turned toward the shore.
Low and behold! The boat passed right through the illusionary terrain and into a semi-recently dug channel. A few minutes later a second call came from the crow’s nest. There was a large clearing around the bend and within it was a large fort and associated dock. It seems that they had found where the pirate raids were coming from.
End of game night.
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