Combat Order: Quartermaster, Mila, Pirates, Caerill, Sailors, Galan, Varg, Pirate Captain.
The pirates move quickly, far more quickly than you expect. The
Quartermaster of the pirate ship draws the first of two javelins from his back and hurls it at
Varg, [20! + 4 vs AC 16] [did not miss due to partial cover (20% chance)] striking him dead in the leg and dealing
9 damage.
Varg has suffered a critical hit to the leg. In addition to bonus damage, his movement speed is reduced by 5ft for the remainder of the encounter, and he suffers a temporary -1 penalty to Dexterity.The four pirates with longbows drawn take their shots, [11+2, 3+2, 15+2, 10+2] striking down three of the ship's sailors whilst the fourth arrow clangs off the steel framework of the ballista in front of Varg. The remaining three pirates cross the gangplanks, sabres in hand. One slashes at Varg [6+1 vs AC16], but misses even his shield by half a foot, while another [13+4 vs AC21] is parried by
Mila's defensive flail strokes.
Mila moves comfortably into position, ready to strike against the next foe to approach her. She expertly fends off attacks from the pirates assailing her.
Caerill climbs behind the best available cover - the wheel of the ship and the body of the (rather obese) helmsman. [Hide: 3-3] Even behind his oppressive bulk it is obvious you are there, but his dying form, which is still making awkward strangling noises as his guts spill everywhere, will serve as excellent cover so long as you remain prone (75% miss chance from missiles).
The surviving sailors rush to the defense of the ship, more out of fear than anything else. Two of them gang up on the pirate attacking Varg, [3+3, 8+3] but the pirate is able to evade their clumsy dagger strokes, even though he is flanked on three sides. The third sailor charges at one of the pirates still clambering onto the ship [Bull rush: 7+2 vs 11], but fails to unseat him. As the sailor is thrown back by the pirate, the pirate takes the opportunity to slash open the sailor's ribcage [14+1].
At first opportunity, get some cover. I am allowed to move and attack in one turn, right?
You hurl yourself behind the forward mast. The mast gives reasonably good cover (50% miss chance on a ranged attack), being fairly thick, but not as thick as the main mast.
Varg, your blackguard senses don't detect a single pure-hearted soul aboard the vessel. You fire off the ballista and hurl yourself behind the cover to the south (firing the ballista is a full-round action, but I'm going to count the move to cover as a 5ft step). [8 + 2 vs flat-footed AC 13] The Captain barely has time to dive out of the way as the ballista fires, but the weapon is somewhat inaccurate over very short distances. The actual bolt flies about 10ft off-target (50% hit chance), spearing one of the archer pirates in the process and striking the railings on the far side. Needless the say, the archer does not make it.
The
Captain himself tumbles out of the way and scrambles over to the south gangplank, preparing for the advance.
"Yield and I'll spare your lives!" he calls.