Skull's & Shackles Solo

[Pyrophilios]

Your instincts proof correct. Sandra is waiting for you in the hold after food and the rum ration has been served. For once, no-one is complaining about the taste of the food.

She makes sure no-one can overhear you, before your conversation:
"You survived your first day - well done. Below us is the lower deck where the crew sleeps. You should try and get a hammock close to the stairs, should you be interested in nighttime strolls. But don't stay up to late. Fishguts usually gets depressed after a bloody hour like that. If I had to guess, I'd say he'll be drinking through the night, which will leave you to do yours and his job as well.
I'd urge you to get your weapon back from Grok. She is good friends with Fishguts and also quite superstitious - I got her to give me back my gear by telling her that they were blessed by the Pirate Queen and would turn into a curse if they aren't carried by a priest like me.
She loves song and strong drink if you'd rather build rapport with her."

[Eonn]

"Thank you." Ryotsu says, glancing around to make sure no one can listen in. "Do I have to worry about my things being taken again, or should I keep my weapons hidden?"

[Pyrophilios]

"This is a pirate ship. With a good lock on your locker your stuff might be safe enough, but I wouldn't recommend walking about without a weapon - or even sleeping."

Sandra came a bit closer and lowered her voice:
"Normally, I'd introduce you personally to the crew, but I want to avoid that anyone knows that I'm helping you - it would paint an even bigger target on you than you already have.

I have to tell you a bit more about the others - as far as I know them.
I'll start with the newest recruits:
Rosie Cusswell is that halfling that beat you in the climbing test. Earlier she threatened that she would cut of anyone's hand that tried to touch her. I'm sure that Mr. Plugg an Master Scourge didn't like that one bit.
Crimson Cogward is as far as I saw a loner, but likes to scrap in fistfights. He actually volunteered to join the crew, but this has likely worn off by now.
Conchobhar Turlach Shortstone is that little foppish gnome with the dandy look. You might have noticed him when you woke up together in the hold. He seems to be a bit of a gambler and would-be womanizer and looks like he has taken a shine to Rosie already.

Those that came with me on board are:
Barefoot Samms Toppin, she's a former fisherwoman from the Sodden Lands, never wears shoes and has taken to rigging.
Giffer Tibbs, she's the other gnome with an eyepatch, but in contrast to Shortstone she really has lost an eye.
Jack Scrimshaw is a young lad that ran away from home.
Tilly Brackett is a bit of a tough joker that likes her rum.
There is "Badger" Medlar, the old half-elven woman that cuts her gray hair into stripes.

Finally those that were here before I came:
Shivikah is the tall black Mwangi. Used to be a slaver. Pretty unpleasant man.
Aretta Bansion. I'm pretty sure she was a whore before she came here and in my opinion still is one.
Fipps Chumlett is the fat guy with the shaved head. He's a pushy bully and likes to torment the new guys.
Jaundiced Jape is the mute half-orc. Has no sense of humor and pretty greedy.
Maheem is the big Rahadoumi with the permanent scowl.
Slippery Syl Lonegan is an unhinged murderer - she fled to the seas to escape the gallows for killing 10 people.
Tam "Narwhal" Tate is the dwarf with that large, ugly nose. An old friend of Scourge.

I don't expect you to remember all that, but it should give you a sense of where to tread lightly."

[Eonn]

"Right, thank you ma'am. I'll be visiting Grok now." Ryotsu says, turning to head to the quartermaster.

[Pyrophilios]

She nodded and pointed toward the galley: "The store will be closed by now - Grok likes to get her drinking on in the afternoon, you should find her in the company of Fishguts. They like company with their drinking."
Sandra left you again as she did before and a cautious look through the slightly ajar door confirms what she said:

Fishguts and Grok a sharing a bottle of rum amid the chaotic kitchen.

The half-orc has a prominent scar running along her neck, explaining where she got the nickname "Cut-Throat". Or maybe it is the battle ax as well as the five smaller throwing axes on her belt. At the moment she seems to retell a story of some kind, but its hard to follow due to the extraordinary amount of swearwords interwoven into the tale.

Spoiler: Cut-Throat Grok

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[Eonn]

Ryotsu nods and enters the galley. "Hey, Fishguts! Care if I join you?" He says as he approaches the pair.

[Pyrophilios]

"Ah boy, come in. Already finished your rum ration, did ya? Ah no, I see it's still over there.

Grok, that is Ryotsu, my new galley mate. Did a great job with the food today. Haven't heard one complain about the food today."

Grok looked at you with a slight sneer: "You wanna drink with us, you better also provide some entertainment. Any good songs where you come from?"

[Eonn]

"I come from nowhere and everywhere, my friend." The bard says, alluding to his life spent on the road. "Personally, I don't think I can do the songs I know justice. I do, however, know stories. Actually, I was in a tavern telling some right before your crewmates... invited, me aboard. Now let's see, where did I leave off? Ah, that's right! So after the captain wakes up in a prison..." Ryotsu then tells the next chapter of the one he could not finish the prior night. This time, however, he speaks quite purposefully, weaving magic with his words.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm going to try and cast charm person on Grok.

[Pyrophilios]

Spoiler

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Obligatory: "Are you really sure you want to do that?"
Charm person will likely work - for the 1 hour duration. After that it is quite likely that Grok will realize what you did.

If you want to go through with it, Grok's will save is: (1d20)[13]+2

Also make a diplomacy check with +2 since you are already a Friend of Fishguts, if you still want to try to sing (Grok loves music almost as much as drinking), you can try a CHA check DC 15 for another +4 to the diplomacy check

Grok grumbled that she'd rather hear a song, but listens attentive despite that.

[Eonn]

Spoiler: OOC

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I suppose I will do that. Better to save my spells anyways, I suppose.

Ryotsu pauses when it becomes clear that the orc would much rather listen to a song than his story. The audience, he supposed, was always right. I have heard some pirate-y songs in my travels. How did they go again? Give me a moment to think." He taps his finger on the table and begins to mouth a few words. His confidence in himself building, he starts to sing.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Sing check: (1d20+4)[12]
Diplomacy check (1d20+10)[26](<-does not include the bonus from singing.)

[Pyrophilios]

You realize that singing is indeed something you need to train to be any good at it, but Grok seems to appreciate the effort nonetheless, adding her impressive basso voice to your alto. And while it certainly won't win any hearts of fair maidens, it certainly does the trick of warming up the quarter master of a pirate ship.

Soon you are alternately drinking, singing, telling stories and laughing with the two officers. It's after midnight when both of them decide to hit the sack in their cabin and you look with only a little bit worse for drink for your hammock one deck below.

You fall into a dreamless sleep from which you are rudely awoken by the much to loud banging of the ship's bell.
You feel a kick to your hammock that nearly catapults you to the floor. "All up, three lashes for anyone who isn't on deck when the bell stops", you hear it calling from above.
Sailors rush past you up the steps.
When you start to follow them, your way is barred by two evil grinning pirates which you hazily identify as Aretta Bansion, the former whore and Fipps Chumlett, the fat guy with the shaved head.
"In a hurry?" asks Fipps

Spoiler

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You gain 400xp for turning Grok friendly. During the day you can come to her store and ask her for your remaining gear back. She'll also open up her store for you after hours if you ask nicely.

The two pirates in your way have no weapons drawn, but seem to be eager to use their fists.

[Eonn]

Spoiler: OOC

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Now I think it's a good time to charm person. It's a DC 15 will save, targeting the guy.

"I am actually. The lashes don't sound particularly pleasant, so if you don't mind, I'll be heading up now." Ryotsu says, smiling cheekily as he weaves magic into his words.

[Pyrophilios]

Spoiler

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Indeed
(1d20)[1]-1

Ahahahaha. Roll a normal diplomacy check after that. If you beat DC 20 the charm effect becomes permanent on this guy

You also earn 400 XP total for overcoming this encounter

The singing tone of your voice seams to reach something deep inside the man, because his face turns slack for a moment and he grins with genuine happiness at seeing you.
"Of course, as should we. No-one wants to be late after all and the bell is ringing."
His companion is looking incredulous at Fips, but he just brushes her off
"That prank was a stupid idea anyway. Let's get on deck."

[Eonn]

Spoiler: OOC

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Diplomacy roll: (1d20+8)[17]

Ryotsu grins, quite happy with himself and follows his new friend to the top deck. Up there, he'll try to lose him in the crowd, as he doesn't want to be around him when the spell wears off.

[Pyrophilios]

After this little victory the day goes downhill. After Master Scourge makes sure you all are accounted for - he looks angry at you, but even angrier at Fipps - you are off to the kitchen to fetch the morning ration of ship's biscuits - only to find Fishguts totally wasted sleeping beneath a kitchen bench. No amount of prodding can wake him up.
It seems as if you'll be in charge of the galley today doing the work of two - and if that wasn't worse enough, Plugg lets you know that the captain wants fresh fish this evening. So you have to prepare the crew's meals and catch some fish - all by yourself.

Spoiler

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Profession cook check with -4 (you can again use Prestidigitation to ensure the meal will taste good to the sailors)
Profession fisherman with -4 to catch fresh fish. You can lose the -4 if you manage to get some help, or find another clever way to get fish instead of using a net at the prow of the ship

[Eonn]

Ryotsu struggles through his job the best he can, dousing the biscuits in prestidigitation to make them presentable to make up for his lack of cooking skills.

He then rushes to catch some fish, once again relying on his prestidigitation for aid. Without knowing too much about fishing, he created worm looking things within the net, hoping to bait some fish in.

Spoiler: OOC

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Cook: (1d20-4)[8]
Fishing: (1d20-4)[12]

If the prestidigitation helps fishing, it gets +4.

[Pyrophilios]

A stressful day for sure, not helped by the fact that Plugg supervises you instead of Ambrose. But your arcane mastery certainly helps to blunt the edge of the hard work.
At the end of the day, the crew is not grumbling about your food and even the fish you prepared would have been edible even without the extra lemon scent you put upon it.

When night falls and the bloody hour is over you finally find some time for yourself. Maybe you could even find the energy to go on deck and participate in some pirate games or try and gain some more friends on board?

[Eonn]

With the few glorious minutes of free time, Ryotsu's first stop it the quartermaster's shop to reclaim his gear and maybe have some small talk with Grok, likely asking how often they actually do pirate things, like raiding ships. Assuming nothing major happens, he'll then seek out the cleric Sandra for a chat.

[Pyrophilios]

Getting the gear from Grok turned out to be no problem, after last night's fun she seems convinced now, that you are one of the good ones among the crew.
"If you happen to find or trade some stuff you want to cash in, come by and I'll see if I can get you some cash for it.

As for piratey things: One of the next days you newbies will get a crash course in naval warfare. Once that's done the Captain will hunt actively for a fat trader. But be careful, entering a defended ship is dangerous work - especially if you can't rely 100% on who is with you."

Finding Sandra is a bit trickier. She isn't obviously engaged with any games or drinking and it takes your ability to see magic to spot her high in the crow's nest. There is not much room, but at least your conversation is in fresh air and without eavesdroppers.

[Eonn]

"I see, thank you Grok." Ryotsu says as he departs.

After finding Sandra, Ryotsu climbs the rigging to reach the crow's nest. He stretches once he's made it safely to the top, very aware of long fall that would greet him if he were not so athletically inclined.

"Good evening, Sandra." He says. "You have a moment?"

[Pyrophilios]

"Sure. How was your day? I saw Fishguts was totally out of it. Sadly, he's that drunk nearly every second day, so better be prepared for that.

What is your next move? If you ask me, you should get the newest recruits on your side - they'll be easiest to sway. The longer you wait, the harder it will get once they fall in with the wrong crowd.

I also heard that Fipps wants to see you dead now for the trick you pulled on him."
Sandra replied.

[Eonn]

Ryotsu chuckles. "You've heard about that? Anyways, it's the new guys I came here to ask you about. Have you spoken to them? I want to know how good they'll be in a fight.
Frankly, I can't be sure myself than any of them have even held a weapon before." He pauses at the thought, staring coolly out over the sea.

"I've also been told we're getting a lesson on navel warfare coming up on soon. What's that like?"

[Pyrophilios]

"I only talked with them a few minutes. But yeah, all are capable - more or less. The halfling is probably the strongest from that bunch, ironically. The gnome is a bard - make of that what you want, but I think he'll either be your friend or your rival. Crimson seems to like bare nuckle fights."

She chuckles: "Don't worry about the "naval warfare class". It's mainly training to throw a grapple hook to another ship and climb up while the other sailors throw stuff at you so you fall into the water. Riaris Krine is doing the training and even though she cusses up a storm, she is quite competent at what she does."

Spoiler

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The next day will be uneventful: Fishguts is sober enough to do his share of the work, there are no special duties and your prestidigitation will ensure that the food tastes perfectly ok.
That means you have two attempts - one by day and one by night - to make new friends or explore the ship.

[Eonn]

Ryotsu nods, deep in thought. "And how long until an actual fight? What can I expect from that? Any particular strategy the captain favors, like making the new guys board first?"

[Pyrophilios]

"No idea - I haven't been in a fight against another ship with this crew.
But I can tell you that normally you have teams with different objectives acting simultaneously: Cutting sails, taking the bridge, prevent emergency boats from launching... stuff like that.

But don't be to eager to get into a fight - at least not before you have a solid team at your back that won't stick a knife in it at the first opportunity."

Sandra replied with a smirk.

[Eonn]

"Mhm." The kitsune nods. "Well, thank you for your help once again. I need to find the other new guys. If you see them, could you send them my way?"
With that said, he begins the climb back to the deck of the ship. If there's still time, he'll try to seek out some of the fresh recruits to see how they stand in regards to their abrupt recruitment, and what they think of the captain.

[Pyrophilios]

"Try the hold - Cusswell likes her music - and where she is, the gnome probably isn't far away."

Indeed when you enter the first deck below, you find several sailors engaged in drinking and singing. An old accordion provides a modicum of musical support.
It takes you a few second to find the halfling.
You catch her looking whistfully at the man with the instrument, while her fingers are making involuntary gripping motions

Spoiler

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sense motive check DC 12 on Cusswell

[Eonn]

Spoiler: OOC

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Sense Motive: (1d20)[16]

[Pyrophilios]

Just a bit of watching told you that the tough halfling girl played an instrument herself and by the looks of her moving fingers it was a violin. The yearning in her eyes told you that she really, really missed her instrument.
Maybe Grok would be able to help, who was at the moment singing along with the crowd, enjoying a mug of rum.

[Eonn]

Ryotsu makes his way through the crowd to Grok. "Hey Grok! Quick question: was there a violin seized from one of the guys who came in with me?"