Isles of the Small Folk IC

[Mr.D]

Artho continues to stare out at the oncoming boat and growls "I'm glad that you two are so un-burdened by morality that you happily indulge in cowardice while there's a chance of saving innocent lives, or at the very least striking at the foes we have set ourselves against" suddenly he whirls, his voice rising to a roar "But I would rather you DID send me out in a row boat so I could at least say I tried rather than risk burning innocent people to death because I was TOO SCARED to even face the enemy!"

[OzzyKP]

Hmm, it seemed he had said that outloud. No matter, Kevst had no need to play nice. Especially when this lout was going to endanger all their lives, and perhaps the lives of everyone on the isles so he could play hero. He did hate being on a ship though. If Artho was leading them into danger on foot, Kevst could simply walk away. Harder to do in the middle of the ocean. That meant he had to engage with the angry thug and speak up. Once again, the one thing he hated more than speaking up in a group? Being killed by giants on the high seas.

Kevst dealt with many angry bullies on the streets and in the orphanage, when he was unable to hide he often responded with calmly, and with wit instead of arguing back. While it often just angered the bullies more, he couldn't help himself.

"Very well," he said coolly, "it is settled. If you want to play hero, I won't object."

Kevst waves down to the captain to get his attention, "Captain, Artho the Bore would like to ride out to the enemy ship in a rowboat while we set it aflame. Can you arrange that?"

Kevst permitted himself to briefly crack a smile at the pun he made on the former guard's name, too bad it sounded the same to anyone listening.

[Avi235&258]

Kevst said it all, really. Graorin just shrugs and nods in agreement, looking terribly amused and wondering whether Athro is going to try to back out of the hole he's dug for himself.

[Newcomer]

Ever speaks up, "One man, no chance. But... He pauses, thinking. It seems like he has an idea. It's more complicated than he'd like, but he's starting to get used to Ben's convoluted plots.

"Use fire. Use mist. They can't see through mist, so.. send group in boat.. sneak in other side."

Ever looks at the others, still appearing every bit as dull as usual.

[hoverfrog]

The ship continues to gain on you. You hear shouting coming from the the deck, an islander voice. Someone is ordering you to stop and pull up alongside the "Krazhak" and be boarded.

You can see that the other vessel is larger, has two masts to your one as well as a fore and aft castle. They don't appear to have a ballista at least. The islander who is shouting at you is flanked by an enormous figure. Whether it is a trick of the light or not he seems to be three times the size of the speaker and is carrying an axe with a double blade at each end. His skin is a greenish grey and he is powerfully muscled under a leather cloak.

In addition you can see another large, green skinned figure looming behind them. He is wearing a chain shirt and has a trident. There are around a dozen smaller, reddish skinned creatures on deck that you can see. They are like those seen on the island though the large ones are very different.

[Mr.D]

"Hmmm.... it's possible a small group could circumvent the boat, board from the far side....Good idea Mr. Ever. I'd suggest you go, if you're willing. With Mr.Ben, a couple of sailors, if the Captain is happy with it. Graorin, Kevst, Mr. Athedru, Mr.Devka and myself could try to keep their attention on this side.

The mist won't last long though, and if they're well trained, neither will the panic from the fire."

Artho turns to look at the ship and spots the two giants. "By the stilts, what type of monsters are they?" his tone isn't fearful, he is merely surprised.

[Dancing Shadows]

If we are only to start the battle after the mist has dispersed then I suggest we arm everybody we can with a crossbow to get ready to fire as soon as they appear again. It will be alot harder to put out the flames if they continue to sprout up everywhere."

Devka rubs his hands together. Despite the fact that they were probably very badly out numbered he was excited. This would be a challenge, perhaps not just as raw physical strength, but a challenge none the less and seeing whether or not their plan worked and managed to disorient the enemy long enough for them to get the upperhand was going to be interesting.

[Avi235&258]

Graorin, frustrated, says loudly, "Why are we even talking about doing battle? Let's just set fire to them and run! We don't need them to panic, we just need their ship to burn!"

[Newcomer]

"Because.. maybe slaves are.. uh.. rowing."

Ever's not sure if anyone's been able to confirm this theory yet, but the idea of burning the slaves doesn't sound right.

[hoverfrog]

The captain has the rowboat in position, "Who do you want in it? I can send two crew to row for you."

[OzzyKP]

Kevst is finally getting frustrated with the obstinance of his companions. Frustrated and scared too that their fool plan will get him killed. If Artho wanted to throw his life away on the row boat, then good riddance, but if Ever, Devka and Ben are all going to join him, then this whole ship would be in danger with no one left to protect it in case it is boarded. If they wouldn't listen to reason, he'd just have to act.

Seeing the row boat in position, Kevst pulls out his dagger and leaps to the side of the ship, slicing at the ropes supporting the boat and sending it crashing down into the sea below.

With a sneer Kevst says to Artho, "We will burn their ship."

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Kevst is finally getting frustrated with the obstinance of his companions. Frustrated and scared too that their fool plan will get him killed. He made one last attempt to reason with them.

"You are all more concerned about the potential slaves on that boat than the potential slaves on this one," he says with a huff.

"First of all, if the enemy succeeds in pulling alongside us and boarding us we need strong fighters here to defend the crew and the archers. Second, if you get on the rowboat you will be sitting ducks in the water, easily picked off by archers on the other ship, of course Artho, don't let that stop you. Third, if you go off on the other ship, we won't be able to set fire to it and leave, we will need to hang around waiting for you to come back. This exposes us both to the danger of being boarded, killed and enslaved, but also to the danger that the flames may spread to this ship."

Finally, since his blockheaded audience might not appreciate logic, he tried a more emotional argument. "And please remember, the more of you who go off searching for glory on the other ship, the fewer defenders we have here."

This next bit he made sure the captain heard, "The crew of this ship are not skilled warriors. How much 'honor and glory' would you get if you abandon these defenseless innocents to the ravages of the empire? Ben, Devka, Ever, shouldn't you stay here to protect them?"

"And finally, even if your fool idea to save some imaginary slaves on the other boat were successful, what if you end up jeopardizing our whole mission, and we miss our opportunity to defeat the empire and all the isle folk end up in chains? Is that what you want?"

[Avi235&258]

Graorin's jaw drops with surprise, awe - and approval.

[hoverfrog]

An arrow from the enemy ship comes out of the twilight and thuds into the mast. The voice of the islander calls out again, "Surrender your vessel!"

OOC

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That's the hint that you're in missile range. Please roll initiatives (in case you get into melee.

The Duchess of Mists has the captain and 12 crew with crossbows but with fewer than four crew adjusting the sails the ship will only be able to travel at half speed. It has a 20 foot movement rate.
{table]|AC|Hardness|HP
Hull|5|5|30
Deck|5|5|10
Mast|5|5|15[/table]

The other ship, The Krazhak has a 25 foot movement rate, more crew and also a requirement for more crew to operate the sails. You can also see that it has six oars on each side but rowing speed is generally slower than sail speed (10 feet)

{table]|AC|Hardness|HP
Hull|5|5|45
Deck|5|5|20
Mast|5|5|25[/table]

Maximum range of a light crossbow is 800 feet which is also on the outskirts of the range of a shout so we'll start at 800 feet apart. I won't draw a map as it would consist of a lot of blue with two small boats on it.

There are enough crossbow bolts for 10 shots each so it's up to you when you want to start shooting.

[OzzyKP]

The arrow whistling over from the enemy ship made Kevsts point better than he could, "There is no more time for discussion," he says to Artho, "the enemy is upon us."

He then spoke to the captain, "Captain, make sure all the weapons are hidden and indicate to the other ship that we are surrendering. We need to get along side them without raising their alarm. We don't want them to know what is coming."

Hiding, deception, and sneak attacks are things Kevst knew a thing or two about.

[OzzyKP]

Kevst figures he might as well hide himself too while there is still a chance. He finds a place on the deck with multiple hiding spots where he can jump,in and out of cover.

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Take 10 on hide = 23

[Avi235&258]

Graorin murmurs to Athedru, "Memorize where they are, so you can cast your spells as far away from them as you can. Your magical fire will burn away some of the mist, but when the wood catches fire the regular fire won't."

He then heads to the side of the boat closest to the oncoming vessel, so as to cover as much as possible of the enemy ship with the mist. Pressing himself against whatever may be large enough to hide him (possibly lying down along the side of the vessel), he tries to give himself total concealment while he waits to cast the spell as soon as the boats are almost touching.

Hide: (1d20+5)[7]
Initiative: (1d20+3)[20]

[Newcomer]

Ever is shocked by Kevst's sudden action, but with the shout and the arrow arriving from the other boat, there is no more time to plan. Hopefully there aren't any poor slaves stuck on that ship.

Ever joins the crossbow contingent, if there are any to spare, and carefully checks the heading of the wind. "Aim for sails.. to slow boat." Ever knows they'll want to light the wood of the ship afire, but taking the sails out will hopefully slow their pursuit even if they succeed in quelling the fire.

The ranger finds cover to hide behind; hopefully the other ship won't see the preparations for combat.

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Hide (take 10): 20

Ever will begin at range, but transition to melee combat when the need arises. I need to remember to buy him a bow

[Dancing Shadows]

Devka relaxes against the side of the ship. There isn't much he can do at the moment and there isn't much he can do later. With Kevst getting rid of the row boat he had severally limited them. Whether they had used it to escape, disrupt, distract, free slaves or flank it didn't matter; at least is was an option. Now they were limited to burning indiscriminatley or fighting aboard the ship. Their ship most likely, he doubted that anybody here knew a thing about boarding the enemy.

He sighed heavily. After the battle they still had to sneak onto Shark's Luck. Perhaps Kevst had forgotten that since it would be nigh impossible to get anywhere near the island, if the giants had a semi-decent watch, without a row boat. Unless this captain had another trick up his sleeve then getting there unnoticed was not going to be possible. Ah well; what did it matter him? It was Kevst who wanted to get in and out without a fight. If he was going to go tripping over his own feet in a bid to get his own way; all for fear of a confrontation in which he would most likely be hiding in a barrel then in any actually danger then who was Devka to stop him?

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Initative: (1d20+4)[15]
Doing nothing at the moment; he doesn't see the point in wasting bolts and ruining their suprise.

[Mr.D]

Artho grinds his teeth but otherwise makes no response. He fetches his crossbow and quiver, he quickly dumps the quiver of bolts near the other crossbowmen and passes his crossbow to Ever "Here, I daresay you're a better shot than I. There's 100 bolts in the quiver, all of you use them as needed." he lays his Halberd down out of the way and tries to find a place to hide.

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Initiative (1d20+3)[7]
Hide [roll]1d20+[/roll]

[hoverfrog]

"Me boat!" the captain shouts as it floats free. "Mark its position. We may be able to get it later."

One of the crew comes on deck with an armful of torn blankets and old sail cloth and moments later a second follows him with a jug of pungent whale oil. The captain takes charge and order both to be put near the stack of crossbow bolts.

"Right, do what Artho tells you, don't fire and shoot till he gives the command. Understood?"

OOC

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Why Artho? He has the highest charisma of the obvious warriors...just..and he looks the part.

[OzzyKP]

"Oh great," Kevst thinks, "Somehow that pain in the ass has been put in charge. Just wonderful."

Kevst grimaces when he hears the captain speak, but says nothing. He just braces for battle.

[Delia2531]

With a deep breath and a grim precision to his actions Ben takes out the hat and puts it squarely on his head before allowing himself a slight smile and adjusting it to a jaunty angle.

"I'll need to see them to get an idea of how to disguise myself best." said to no-one in particular.

Ben then steps aside and crouches behind a barrel; taking one of his new axes out of his belt.

[hoverfrog]

The captain orders the ship to slow and within a few minutes the pursuer is only 10 feet behind you. A rope is flung across and an Islander voice calls out, "Tie up. Don't worry, if you obey them nobody will get hurt."

On deck are two brutish looking giants, one green skinned and carrying a net in addition to a trident and the other grey skinned and armed with a monstrous axe. There are many of the small red skinned people around. None are armoured but each carries a wicked looking dagger. In addition you can see a few islanders among the crew.

With a deep growl the grey skin points at the druid's ill concealed form and says something that only Graorin understands, "They've got a prisoner on their ship, a stinking human. I'll watch for any others, you go and scare them, Ra-bankrah." The green skin snarls and backs off to take a running jump from their deck to yours.

OOC

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Spot checks vs DC7 for Graorin's Hide check
Orc (1d20)[7]
Half orc (1d20-1)[9]

I'll roll initiative for them after you declare your own actions.

[Dancing Shadows]

Devka sees this brutish monster preparing to take a leap and his muscles tense. He takes a deep breath and readies himself to fling a dagger at the beast if it gets onto their ship. Hopefully Artho and his team would be able to get of their barrage and Graorin can call in the mist before them. But he was ready for either scenario.

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Readied action to throw a dagger at the green thing if it gets onto their ship.
To hit: (1d20+8)[12]
Damage: (1d3+2)[5]
Crit conformation: (1d20+8)[24]
Crit Damage: (1d3+2)[4]

[hoverfrog]

The coil of rope thuds onto the deck. With a word from Graorin a thick, damp vapour rises around him and spreads in moments to engulf everyone. It rolls outwards and covers much of the deck even as far as the other ships. You can barely see yourselves and your neighbours seem wrapped in mist. The captain yells out, "Blessed Mists preserve us," and there is the sound of running and another thud nearby. The enemy ship is nothing more than a dark shape in a mist that you can barely make out at all.

Map


OOC

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Ra-bankrah's initiative (1d20+2)[7]
Ra-bankrah's jump check (1d20+8)[10]
Captain K'frawar's initiative (1d20-1)[14]
Goblin crew's initiative (1d20+1)[12]

As you were laying in wait everyone gets an action in the surprise round after Graorin. Everyone has total concealment unless you're standing right next to them.

This is the upper deck and the lower deck, not two ships. Please let me know where you are. Graorin will have to be in the middle somewhere to encompass the entire vessel. You have 12 halfings too. Despite being small each has a 5 feet by 5 feet facing so with you and a horse that's pretty much the entire deck though some have positioned themselves in the rigging to give you room. The ship is 40 feet by 15 feet. The mast is about 15 feet high.

[Mr.D]

As the mist rises up Artho rips his sword from it's sheath, raises it up and bellows "Light the arrows! Fire at will! For the Isles!"

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Artho has Quick Draw so can draw as a free action. Just realised I never mentioned getting a weapon ready before! I'll wait till my turn in the initiative to do a proper turn

[Avi235&258]

As he casts the spell, Graorin eyes exactly where the coil of rope landed and whatever obstacles are between it and him. Next round he'll throw it back overboard... he hopes...

[Newcomer]

Ever lights his bolt, and with a grunt he fires for the enemy ship, aiming for the sail that he'd been watching.

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Let's hope I do this right..
Attack: (1d20+7)[11]
Damage: (1d6)[5]
Fire Damage??: (1d6)[3] (Using Flame Arrow as a guide, I'm guessing 1d6 fire damage, let me know)
Critical: (1d20+7)[19] (are sails subject to critical hits?)
Crit Damage: (1d6)[4]
Concealment (miss on 1): (1d2)[2]

[Dancing Shadows]

Devka stares at the other boat as the mist engulfs it, resisting the urge to give a little wave as he disappears from view. He stays where he is but pulls out his dagger and unhoisters his greataxe. Leaning on the later, he looks at where the ship was moments ago.

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Doing nothing basically. Apart from taking out his dagger and holding his greataxe in his offhand.

[OzzyKP]

"Figures," Kevst thinks, "the bore can't even give a one sentence command without screwing things up. I guess it goes against his brainless code of honor to burn an enemy's boat without making sure they've been given advance notice."

It was too late to do anything about it now. He was glad at least that this mist would make hiding quite easy for him. He slathered his crossbow bolt in pitch, lit it, and let it fly. He wasn't entirely sure where to shoot, but he tried to aim for the fore castle. Or at least where he remembered it being before the mist was called. He squeezed off his shot

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I'm not at all sure how to do the hiding, sniping, and rehiding thing while on a ship and under the concealment of mist. I'll make some rolls and hope hover can figure it out. My intention, of course, is to get sneak attack damage, and then hide again so I can do it again in the next round.

Attack: (1d20+6)[13]
Damage: (1d6)[1]
Sneak Attack Damage: (1d6)[3]
Fire Damage??: (1d6)[1] (Using Ever's fire damage guess)
Critical: (1d20+6)[15]
Crit Damage: (2d6)[2] (is this right? It has been a while. x2 modifier)
Do we apply concealment to the ship? I can't imagine it is hard to hit a big ol' ship when it is 10 feet away. Even with total concealment. Seems silly.
Hide: (1d20+13)[15]