Force the wind! Get the hell out of here!
Oh, and get a swig of vodka, as stressed alcoholic sorcerers are wont to do.
You down some vodka.
[Fort: 6-1 - Failure] Combined with the stress of the situation and your particularly large gulp, you aren't holding your drink as well as usual - you feel yourself getting a little sluggish.
[-1 Dex for this encounter, +1 temporary hp]Your concentration isn't affected by the vodka, but it is by your heightened state of panic.
[Spellcraft: 3+7] You are barely able to keep together the winds you already have. The crew shrug their shoulders at your request, one of them shouts "Hey, you're the ship mage! This is your area, not ours!"
Use my ELITE NAVIGATING SKILLS to turn the ship to fly against the wind... if I can wrestle it off the navigator.
[Diplomacy: 5+6] "Shove off!" says the navigator, as he tries to manoeuvre the ship. Apparently your plea wasn't quite convincing enough to overcome his own sense of capability.
[Navigator: 13+4+1-8 = -3 penalty] [Gunner: 6+2-3-8] The navigator, unsettled by the interruption, banks the ship too far to the left, throwing the gunner who took Caerill's place off - his ballista shot lands helplessly in the water.
----
[Navigator: Natural 1!+2 vs
] Panicking and trying to compensate for the sudden turns, the Navigator pushes the ship too far and one of the lines holding down the sails snaps, throwing the ship out of shape. Sailors scramble to get the ropes tied back again [4+7], just about managing but far too late. As the corvette draws up alongside the
Maiden it fires off its two port ballistae, [1!+??, 20!+??] the first jamming in the mechanism and causing the spring to violently snap back, taking a chunk out of its operator's throat and leaving the ballista bolt harmlessly in its chamber. The second fires dead on target, slicing through
Caerill's arm, sailing through the Navigator's torso and punching through Lord Physic's gut as it carries him over the side.
Caerill: Take 6 damage from being savaged by a ballista bolt.The enemy ship is in position and readying boarding planks. You have enough time to position yourselves on the ship and then declare what actions you intend to take for the coming round - and to roll Initiative (if you don't I'll roll it for you). You can't reliably operate the starboard ballista (without firing through your own ship), but the port ballista is loaded and ready, though it will take a full round action to fire it.
Across the water you can see the corvette's crew up close; seven pirates with scimitars drawn (the eighth is choking to death after having his throat cut out by an errant ballista spring), an enormous bare-chested brute of a man at the helm, and a man in a frock coat and plumed hat, sabre drawn, who one could only presume to be the captain.
Author
Topic: Let's Play Pirates in Dungeons and Dragons (3.5) - The Shallow Hope [Slots Free] (Read 22477 times)