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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 9213303" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 64: THE OPEN OCEAN</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 7/paladin 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 6/rogue 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 13</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Bat Fiercehunter, halfling ranger 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Croc Swiftlizard, halfling ranger 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Crow Straightspear, halfling ranger 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Mouse Quietmoon, halfling ranger 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Robin the Balladeer, human bard 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Rose Brightpetal, halfling druid 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Snake Slytracker, halfling ranger 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Spider Greenbow, halfling ranger 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Squirrel Fleetfoot, halfling ranger 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Talon Farseeker, halfling ranger 4</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: DD December 2023</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>After nine days out at sea, the monotony of the life of a sailor had pretty much sunken in.</p><p></p><p>Of course, at the start everything was new and unfamiliar, so it seemed exciting. The ship itself was a barge, with a lower deck much like an oversized canoe underneath for stability and two pontoons on the sides to prevent capsizing. The ship had no sails, no masts, and no rigging; it was pulled along the ocean by a pair of baleen whales, <strong>Highspray</strong> and <strong>Deepsong</strong>, who wore harnesses attached to a massive pull-chain anchored at the barge's front. As the whales couldn't bring the vessel all the way to shore without them becoming beached, it put down anchor in the harbor and the crew shuttled their new passengers over by rowboat.</p><p></p><p>One of the first things the heroes noticed was the name on the side of the vessel, although an inquiry led to the fact that halfling boats generally are not given names; the words on the side of the vessel spelled out the captain's name, <strong>Rose Brightpetal</strong>, for the halfling sailors believed it only polite to allow others to know who captained the vessel. Rose, it turned out, was a druidess and the only female among the crew; the other eight halflings were all rangers. The barge deck was mostly flat and open, with a 5-foot-tall wall along each side that had a short platform about halfway up, allowing the short halflings to see over the edge, while it still prevented anyone from falling over. There was a small building in the back, a mere five feet tall as it had been constructed for the halfling frame. Inside stood the map room, the captain's quarters, and the crew quarters, with the eight rangers sharing four hammocks on a rotating basis. Other than the puffin Rose kept as a companion, that was the whole of the ship's crew.</p><p></p><p>The heroes, for the sum they had been charged for the voyage, were expected to sleep on the deck or down in the cargo hold, but no special accommodations had been made for them - nor were they needed, for the heroes opted to sleep inside the extradimensional space of <em>Hesperna's lamp</em> each night, with one of their number taking turns sleeping out in the cargo hold by the lamp so they could react if anything exciting happened while the others slept.</p><p></p><p>But excitement seemed to be one thing a long ocean voyage lacked. Thurloe put the long hours to good use, mastering a few new spells from the spellbooks he'd brought with him, and Wakuren spent much of his time flying around the ship on his air element warhorse Nimbus - and even offered rides to the others looking for reprieve from the boredom of a two-month ocean voyage.</p><p></p><p>They had worked out a daily system. Everyone preferred to keep their armor on, so Wakuren and Alewyth generally cast <em>endure elements</em> spells on those in heavier armor to help offset lugging around the extra weight beneath the burning sun, which seemed to grow hotter and hotter each day as the barge made its way northwest. At night, rather than remove their armor, they opted to sleep in it, having figured out a <em>lesser restoration</em> spell in the morning worked wonders in dispelling the fatigue that came with having worn your armor all night. But, having been adventurers for several years now, they all knew an ambush could happen at any time and they wanted to be prepared for if and when it ever came. (And some of the heroes started looking forward to an ambush, just to relieve the boredom of yet another eventless day at sea.) Even Zander had gotten into the habit of casting a <em>mage armor</em> spell upon himself each morning, confident that it would last him well into the late afternoon, at which time he would simply apply the spell anew.</p><p></p><p>On the ninth night out at sea, Alewyth had the "sleep outside the lamp" duty and had made a rude bed of sorts on a pile of empty canvas sacks placed on a row of crates all the same size. <em>Hesperna's lamp</em> was lodged into a nook between two barrels, well within reach of the sleeping dwarf. But as midnight approached, so too did a group of ambushers, silently swimming up underwater behind the floating craft, its whales sleeping vertically in the ocean not far away. As they got nearer, the group split into two, half moving to one pontoon and half headed for the other. Three of them climbed aboard each pontoon at a time, spaced equally along their lengths, ready to climb up the struts holding the floats in place to the side and below the deck of the ship.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mouse Quietmoon</strong>, standing atop the small wooden structure at the back of the barge, was the first to notice the raiders climbing up the struts, and, recognizing them, called out, "Boarders! Sahuagin from either side!"</p><p></p><p><strong>Croc Swiftlizard</strong> and <strong>Crow Straightspear</strong> ran to the middle of either side of the vessel, each seeing a sahuagin climbing the struts with harpoons in hand. Standing upon their mid-wall ledge, they readied their short swords to repel the boarders. <strong>Bat Fiercehunter</strong> had been messing about with a fishing line at the front of the vessel and scrambled back up over the wall, running over to station himself at the fore port strut, sword ready to engage the approaching sea devil. Mouse, for his part, leaped down the ladder on the side of the structure and burst into the map room, calling out the alarm to his fellow rangers and the ship's captain in the adjoining rooms.</p><p></p><p>Down below the main deck, Alewyth slept on, oblivious to the impending raid on the halfling vessel.</p><p></p><p>The first wave of six sahuagin made it to the top of the ship's walls, three of them climbing over onto the deck unimpeded while three others traded blows with the halfling rangers guarding their approach. But down in the water, the next six sahuagin scrambled up onto the pontoons and started climbing the struts, eager to join the action.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth awoke sluggishly from a deep sleep to the sounds of battle coming from up the stairs to the upper deck. Before realizing what the situation was, she said the command word that transported herself into the extradimensional spaces of <em>Hesperna's lamp</em> and shouted for the others to rouse themself for combat. Up on the deck, six halflings came pouring out of the map room door and started spreading out to deal with the sahuagin raiders.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren said the words that popped him back onto the cargo hold deck and raced around to the front of the stairs, already beginning the lengthy spell incantation that would relieve him of the fatigue born of sleeping in his plate armor. He was still casting the spell when he pushed the wooden flap covering the stairs open, allowing him to see what was transpiring on the deck. The halfling rangers were fighting off a dozen or more sahuagin, wielding their short swords against the sea devils' tridents. Three of the rangers had managed to bottle-neck the invaders, holding them off at the edge of the barge, but in three places the sahaugins had made it to the deck and were spreading out. While her crew did their best to fight off the raiders, Rose turned her head to the heavens and cast a <em>call lightning</em> spell, the first bolt of electricity striking a sea devil on the aft port side, shocking him into temporary immobility.</p><p></p><p>Inside the lamp, Xandro grabbed Robin from the sole bedroom and they grabbed up their gear before running back to the platform from which they could exit the lamp. Saying the magic phrase, they too popped back into the cargo hold, directly behind the stairs. Running to the front of the steps, Xandro continued up with his rapier <em>Deathwhisper</em> in hand while Robin stayed put out of harm's way, at the bottom of the open stairs where everyone topside could hear the song of inspirational courage she started playing on her lute.</p><p></p><p>Zander and Petey were the next to exit the lamp, and they ran up to the top of the stairs behind Xandro. The elf sorcerer immediately cast a <em>lightning bolt</em> spell over at the aft starboard corner, catching two sea devils in the blast and slaying the pair. They fell lifelessly to the deck, the first casualties in this midnight assault. Petey flapped from his master's shoulder over to the starboard fore corner, where Croc Swiftlizard was doing his best to prevent the sahuagin climbing up that strut from boarding the barge, while another sahuagin climbed up behind the first, egging him on in their watery language. The lead sea devil made it past Croc's defensive sword and almost stepped on board, but was immediately met with a pseudodragon flying right at him. He slashed one tip of his trident across Petey's shoulder, but the determined pseudodragon didn't let that stop him - his scorpionlike tail stinger plunged into the sea devil's neck. The venom did its work, and the sound asleep sahuagin went plummeting backwards back off the barge, to plunge into the water and sink below the waves.</p><p></p><p>Below the halflings' craft, the sea devil cleric in charge of this raid saw the sinking body of her unconscious troop and figured there must be more serious resistance above than she had anticipated - it looked like she might need to lend a clawed hand to the operation. Kicking the enormous shark she rode to get it to swim in the direction she wanted, she began casting a summoning spell.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe exited the lamp and immediately cast a <em>mage armor</em> spell on himself, for he had decided to try getting a good night's sleep without wearing his <em>celestial armor</em> and he didn't want to take the time to don it properly. He raced up the steps two at a time, his bastard sword <em>Spellslicer</em> out and ready. Alewyth popped out behind him and struggled to keep up, as her legs were significantly shorter than those of the burly spellsword. And Wakuren climbed the steps at a leisurely pace, still concentrating on casting his lengthy <em>lesser restoration</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Rose targeted another bolt of lightning to come crashing down upon the same sahuagin she'd struck before; the strike slew the sea devil where he stood. Xandro sent his rapier deep into the body of another sea devil raider, and from his vantage point - and by the light from the flickering lightning overhead - he saw a snakelike head rise up out of the ocean on a neck that just kept on coming. The summoned fiendish elasmosaurus was behind the halfling barge, paddling forward and mouth opening in anticipation of a few quick snacks plucked from the deck of the ship. Xandro was glad he could still hear Robin's tune coming up from the cargo hold, for its fear-banishing effects were greatly needed at the moment!</p><p></p><p>Zander saw the approaching aquatic dinosaur as well and realized it was a much bigger threat than the entire sahuagin raiding party as a whole. He pulled his new <em>metamagic rod</em> from its sheath at his belt and channeled a <em>chain lightning</em> spell through it, the rod empowering the blast of electricity to its maximum potential. The blast struck the elasmosaurus straight on its reptilian head, causing it to rear back in shock and surprise.</p><p></p><p>Petey stabbed at another sahuagin trying to board the vessel, hitting him with his tail spike but failing to put him to sleep. Thurloe had better luck with his particular foe, cutting a sahuagin nearly in half with his blade and discharging the <em>lightning bolt</em> spell he had stored in it, an additional bit of damage that wasn't the least bit needed. Then Alewyth made it up on deck, casting a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell upon herself as she did so. Halflings and sahuagin sparred on the decks all around her, the nimble sailors ducking beneath the sea devils' tridents and slashing out at scaled limbs with their blades. Wakuren finished his spell and stepped in the midst of a pair of sea devils ganging up on Croc, offering himself as an additional - and more fearsome-looking - target. One sahuagin stabbed out at him with his three-pointed weapon, but the half-orc slapped the weapon away with his <em>shield of Cal</em>. Yet another was sparring with Thurloe, and the spellsword saw Crow fall to another sahuagin's trident, his red blood spilling across the deck.</p><p></p><p>By the light of another lightning bolt striking a sea devil, Thurloe made his way to the downed halfling and poured a healing potion down Crow's throat, while Xandro engaged with the sahuagin who had been fighting Thurloe to keep him busy while Crow sputtered and shook himself back to consciousness. "I owe you my life," Crow said to the spellsword, while Xandro's blade slew the sahuagin Thurloe had been fighting.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth cast a <em>hold monster</em> spell at the fiendish elasmosaurus and got a good indication that the spell had worked when the sea serpent froze up and sank beneath the waves, its paddlelike fins no longer keeping it afloat at the ocean's surface. But then the sea devil cleric cast another summoning spell, for all of a sudden a giant crocodile appeared on the fore part of the deck. It made a dash for Wakuren, catching the half-orc up in its powerful jaws and crushing him between its jagged teeth. Try as he might, Wakuren was unable to free himself from the beast's massive jaws. In the waters beside the halfling vessel, the sea devil cleric approached on the port side, peering up at the chaos on the deck to see how her forces were doing. She still rode the massive shark she had ridden upon to the assault, while the other had drifted off to the starboard side and was gobbling up the sleeping body - now corpse - of the sea devil who had succumbed to Petey's sleep venom.</p><p></p><p>With Robin's magical tune in his ears, Zander cast a <em>scorching ray</em> spell that killed another pair of sahuagin that had made it onto the deck. Petey continued his attacks on the sahuagin attempting to board the ship from the forward starboard side, but he failed to put any of the raiders to sleep with his venom. Alewyth saw Wakuren's predicament and cast a <em>dismissal</em> spell at the giant crocodile, sending it back to wherever it had been summoned; Wakuren fell to the deck with a hard knock but had the good grace not to complain, glad to have been freed from the toothy embrace. But the other summoned creature, which the dwarven priestess had thought had been dealt with, snapped out of the <em>hold monster</em> spell and had swum back up to the surface, its serpentine head raised high above the halfling vessel as it closed in on the ship full of tasty morsels.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren gathered himself to his feet and cast an <em>air walk</em> spell on himself, the better to meet the elasmosaurus before it could dart its head down and start picking off the heroes. Rising up into the air, he noticed the sea devil cleric riding the massive shark down below to his right, in the ocean waters, and the two locked eye contact, each recognizing the other as a spellcasting foe. As her forces clashed weapons against the heroes and the halflings alike - Rose had been forced to fall back rather than get eviscerated on a sahuagin trident - she cast a <em>flame strike</em> spell up at Wakuren, causing sheets of unholy flames to come cascading down upon him from the heavens. He grunted in pain at the attack but refused to give ground - or air, in this case.</p><p></p><p>The deck was starting to get crowded with the corpses of slain sahuagin, but by now all 20 of the invading sea devils had made it up onto the barge, although a few still clung to the struts, trying to get onto the main deck but being held off by the desperate halfling rangers denying them access. Petey was forced to break off combat when a trident caught him in the side and ripped a gash through his scales; only the reddish coloration of his scales prevented the blood seeping from his wound from standing out. He limped back over by his master, heroic thoughts of front-line combat no longer an option.</p><p></p><p>Xandro stabbed another sea devil to death with his sword as Thurloe, with none within immediate range of his sword, cast a <em>magic missile</em> spell that dropped one across the deck about to menace Rose. But by now the elasmosaurus was at the back of the ship, its lengthy, snakelike neck arched over the halfling building at the back of the boat and ready to pick off a sailor or two. Zander raised his <em>metamagic rod</em> and repeated his earlier tactic, sending a <em>maximized chain lightning</em> spell blasting up at the dinosaur, this time just about exploding its head from its sinuous neck. Being a summoned creature, the creature's death banished its corpse back to the Hell from which it had come, so they didn't have to worry about being crushed under its dead weight when it collapsed.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth slapped at her <em>butterfly brooch</em> and rose up into the air beside Wakuren. Seeing the sahuagin cleric below (and deducing she had been responsible for the <em>flame strike</em> the dwarven priestess had seen encompass the half-orc moments earlier), Alewyth decided to give the scaly bitch a taste of her own medicine and cast a <em>flame strike</em> right back at her. Wakuren followed suit with his own god's version of the spell, and a <em>thunderstrike</em> spell rocked down at the cleric and her shark mount, killing the latter instantly. Seeing the way the battle had gone thus far, the cleric called for a retreat, and the remaining sahuagin assault force - all three of them - leaped back over the sides of the halfling barge to flee beneath the roiling waves.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren, seeing the battle was over, cast a <em>mass cure light wounds</em> spell that healed up some of the wounds of those who'd sustained them; Alewyth followed suit with focused healing on those whose wounds were more than Wakuren's single spell could handle. Then they helped the halflings toss the sahuagin corpses overboard, Rose thanked the heroes for their much-needed aid, and they all returned to their bunks, the other four rangers taking up their shifts on watch. Alewyth returned to her only slightly comfortable bedding of crumpled sacks while the others resumed their rest inside <em>Hesperna's lamp</em>. The priestess drifted back off to sleep thinking about how much more comfortable it was sleeping on the bed inside the lamp; Hesperna might have been an insufferable night hag, but she had good taste in mattresses! Wakuren decided to remain on deck as well, thinking it might not be a bad idea to have someone on hand to leap into battle while Alewyth alerted the others, should the sahuagin decide to compound their losses by returning with reinforcements. But then he dismissed the thought, figuring the sahuagin losses had been great enough to discourage them from a second attack.</p><p></p><p>Two hours before sunrise, Wakuren found out just how wrong he could be.</p><p></p><p>Once again the alarm came from the voice of a halfling ranger on guard, this time <strong>Talon Farseeker</strong>, on duty on the roof of the building in the back of the vessel. "Kraken!" he called out at the top of his lungs, "Kraken approaching from the aft!"</p><p></p><p>Immediately, <strong>Squirrel Fleetfoot</strong> ran to awaken the other rangers from their bunks while <strong>Snake Slytracker</strong> raced down the steps to the cargo hold to awaken Alewyth, once again snoring heavily in her armor. Wakuren, asleep on the deck, had the good fortune to be a light sleeper and woke immediately from the panicked sounds of Talon's cries. His first action was to cast a <em>freedom of movement</em> spell on himself as he raced to the ladder on the side of the building upon which Talon stood, knowing full well the kraken would try its best to grapple those on deck - and the half-orc had no wish to be pinned and crushed in a kraken's powerful tentacles. (The giant crocodile earlier that night had been quite enough!) Once he clambered up onto the rooftop, he could see the kraken approaching from the rear of the vessel, several of its tentacles already waving in the air as if eager to snatch up any morsels it could.</p><p></p><p>"You'd best get back on deck," Wakuren advised Talon, and the halfling considered it for a mere moment before deciding it was the best course of action for him - but he insisted on getting off a strike with his sling before he leaped down onto the deck, his sling stone having struck the massive squidlike monstrosity (for it would have been quite difficult for the halfling to have missed a creature of that immense size).</p><p></p><p>"What now?" demanded Rose as she and the other members of her crew stumbled out of the map room door. By that time, Alewyth had been awakened, entered the lamp, roused the others, and cast a quick <em>bless</em> spell upon them; Wakuren and the halflings would just have to do without this time. But the halflings had all formed a line midway across the ship, hopefully well away from the reach of the kraken's tentacles, and with the bulk of their tiny building preventing the kraken from getting a good look at their exact locations. However, they were able to target the questing tentacles probing over the top of the building's roof with their slings, and they kept up a steady barrage. For his part, Wakuren summoned a <em>javelin of lightning</em> from his <em>gauntlet of Cal</em> and tossed it at the incoming kraken, singeing a spot on its rubbery flesh with the bolt of electricity it became mid-throw. For his efforts, he was smacked by half a dozen tentacles and the two longer arms of the kraken, each battering the half-orc's flesh but unable to get a grasp upon him thanks to his <em>freedom of movement</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Rose broke off from the halfling lineup and raced to the ladder, scrambling up it just high enough to reach out a hand and touch Wakuren's ankle - which was enough of a contact between the two for her to cast her most powerful healing spell at the beleaguered cleric. He had even more powerful spells he could bring to bear if needed, but the canny druid figured he might have some powerful combat spells he could cast in their stead if she kept him healthy enough. Still, when a swinging tentacle nearly struck her, she had no choice but to slide down the length of the ladder and scramble back out of reach, for she knew she had no such magical protection as that afforded the half-orc.</p><p></p><p>Xandro and Robin exited the lamp side by side, she starting the initial chords to her song of inspirational courage at the bottom of the stairs while he continued up the steps onto the deck. Zander and Petey exited next, the elf casting a <em>displacement</em> spell on himself that he hoped would prevent the kraken from successfully grabbing him up in its tentacles. Petey wisely hung back, for the little pseudodragon had a firm sense of self-preservation and wouldn't be getting anywhere near the reach of those tentacles unless his master were in desperate trouble.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe exited the lamp next, and this time he wore his <em>celestial armor</em>, having learned from his earlier combat how much he would have preferred having it on when dealing with an ambush. And the armor had an added feature besides its lightweight construction: it allowed the spellsword to cast a <em>fly</em> spell, an act he put to good use as soon as he hit the bottom of the stairs to the upper deck. Grabbing Zander by the collar on his way by, he rose up past the height of the building at the back of the vessel, where he could get a good view of the kraken attacking them - and better, yet, so could the elf sorcerer. But he cast a <em>ray of enfeeblement</em> at the kraken, diminishing a bit of its prodigious strength, rather than let Zander have all the spellcasting glory.</p><p></p><p>But Zander rose to the occasion (as well as up into the air) by sending another <em>maximized chain lightning</em> spell - his final one for the day - blasting over at the kraken, who seemed surprised to be struck with so much electricity damage all at once. Alewyth, having cast a <em>stoneskin</em> spell on herself while inside <em>Hesperna's lamp</em>, cast a <em>righteous might</em> spell as she stomped up the steps, <em>Sjondra</em> in hand, and arrived on deck a full 8 feet tall. The halflings cheered at her presence, the dwarven priestess towering above them (even more so than usual) like some demigoddess of legend. They then returned their focus on sending waves of sling stones hurling up at the tentacles still trying to get a grasp upon the elusive half-orc.</p><p></p><p>But Wakuren, seeing Alewyth towering above the rooftop upon which he stood, decided that seemed like a good idea and cast his own <em>righteous might</em>, the original size between him and Alewyth resulting in his standing a good 12 feet tall upon the rooftop. The kraken found he still couldn't get a good grip on the half-orc with his suckered limbs and soon stopped trying to do so, contenting himself with battering the massive brute with his rubbery limbs. He might not be able to constrict the irritating foe, but he could probably bludgeon him into unconsciousness - and then he'd see how easily he could wriggle away from the kraken's grasping tentacles!</p><p></p><p>Xandro took out his <em>Dardolian Lute</em> and the <em>dire elk pick</em> he used to summon his megaloceros, and did just that - causing a massively-antlered herd beast to manifest on the rooftop alongside Wakuren. Rose groaned as the wooden planks making up the roof of her map room and quarters likewise groaned under their combined weight, half expecting it to give way at any moment. But it held, even as the dire elk shifted his weight and brought his massive rack of antlers cutting into the soft flesh of the kraken's tentacles.</p><p></p><p>Alewyth stomped over to the aft railing of the ship and swung an equally massive <em>Sjondra</em> at the nearest tentacle, momentarily squashing it flat from the force of her blow. The rangers continued their sling stone barrage, and Wakuren brough his double-sized <em>shield of Cal</em> crashing down onto a mass of tentacles, causing the kraken no small amount of pain. In fact, it was enough to force the kraken to come to the unpleasant decision that he'd have to cut his losses - to flee, like the sahuagin cleric and her forces who were to have brought him his tribute from this very vessel, but who had instead slunk before him in shame with tales of their failure - and escape with his own life to try again later. Just to show he meant business (and, to be completely honest, because he had been brought no tribute and was particularly hungry), he snatched up the dire elk from the vessel and crushed him in his tentacles, planning on devouring him once he got to the safety of the deep undersea. He jetted backwards from the halfling ship, already starting to sink beneath the waves to safety - when the blasted elf cast another <em>chain lightning</em> spell at him, one that, despite not having been <em>maximized</em> through Zander's <em>metamagic rod</em>, was nevertheless powerful enough to snuff out the kraken's life, even as the dire elk disappeared from his grasp before he could get in so much as a single bite. The kraken died with disappointment being his last thought as the dire elk vanished upon death, in the manner of all summoned creatures.</p><p></p><p>"Best climb down off of the roof before you cave it in," suggested Rose, and the 12-foot-tall Wakuren did just that. The druid cast another healing spell upon the half-orc, who once again sorely needed it after the beating he'd taken by the kraken's tentacles.</p><p></p><p>"I don't know if it's even safe to go back to sleep," complained Xandro.</p><p></p><p>"That's the way it is at sea, sometimes," offered up <strong>Spider Greenbow</strong>. "Days or weeks of boredom, followed by hours of panicked fighting. But don't worry: we're already over a week in - another two and a half weeks and we'll be stopping at an island to take on fresh water and rations. You'll get a day or two back on dry land for a break! How does that sound?"</p><p></p><p>"Not nearly as good as the fact that tomorrow night I get to sleep in a real bed," admitted Alewyth, for her shift of sleeping in the cargo hold was almost at an end.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>I bought a "Jurassic Park" elasmosaurus toy for this adventure, even though it was a little too big in scale; I figured it wouldn't matter as long as I kept the stats the same. (I didn't want to increase the elasmosaurus to a larger size, since it was a summoned creature.) And although it will only be useful for three adventures, I went ahead and made a 3D, scale version of the halfling barge, complete with two full-scale baleen whales to pull it. (The whales were just flat tokens.) It made for a cool bit of "miniature terrain" for the ambushes instead of just using a flat map.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>T-shirt worn: I have a blue T-shirt with several sharks on it - they even glow in the dark if they've been exposed to sufficient light beforehand. It was a logical shirt to wear for an adventure that had a sahuagin attack, with their associated shark companions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 9213303, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 64: THE OPEN OCEAN[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 13[/INDENT] [INDENT] Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 7/paladin 6[/INDENT] [INDENT] Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 6/rogue 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 13[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Bat Fiercehunter, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Croc Swiftlizard, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Crow Straightspear, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Mouse Quietmoon, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Robin the Balladeer, human bard 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Rose Brightpetal, halfling druid 8[/INDENT] [INDENT] Snake Slytracker, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Spider Greenbow, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Squirrel Fleetfoot, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Talon Farseeker, halfling ranger 4[/INDENT] Game Session Date: DD December 2023 - - - After nine days out at sea, the monotony of the life of a sailor had pretty much sunken in. Of course, at the start everything was new and unfamiliar, so it seemed exciting. The ship itself was a barge, with a lower deck much like an oversized canoe underneath for stability and two pontoons on the sides to prevent capsizing. The ship had no sails, no masts, and no rigging; it was pulled along the ocean by a pair of baleen whales, [B]Highspray[/B] and [B]Deepsong[/B], who wore harnesses attached to a massive pull-chain anchored at the barge's front. As the whales couldn't bring the vessel all the way to shore without them becoming beached, it put down anchor in the harbor and the crew shuttled their new passengers over by rowboat. One of the first things the heroes noticed was the name on the side of the vessel, although an inquiry led to the fact that halfling boats generally are not given names; the words on the side of the vessel spelled out the captain's name, [B]Rose Brightpetal[/B], for the halfling sailors believed it only polite to allow others to know who captained the vessel. Rose, it turned out, was a druidess and the only female among the crew; the other eight halflings were all rangers. The barge deck was mostly flat and open, with a 5-foot-tall wall along each side that had a short platform about halfway up, allowing the short halflings to see over the edge, while it still prevented anyone from falling over. There was a small building in the back, a mere five feet tall as it had been constructed for the halfling frame. Inside stood the map room, the captain's quarters, and the crew quarters, with the eight rangers sharing four hammocks on a rotating basis. Other than the puffin Rose kept as a companion, that was the whole of the ship's crew. The heroes, for the sum they had been charged for the voyage, were expected to sleep on the deck or down in the cargo hold, but no special accommodations had been made for them - nor were they needed, for the heroes opted to sleep inside the extradimensional space of [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I] each night, with one of their number taking turns sleeping out in the cargo hold by the lamp so they could react if anything exciting happened while the others slept. But excitement seemed to be one thing a long ocean voyage lacked. Thurloe put the long hours to good use, mastering a few new spells from the spellbooks he'd brought with him, and Wakuren spent much of his time flying around the ship on his air element warhorse Nimbus - and even offered rides to the others looking for reprieve from the boredom of a two-month ocean voyage. They had worked out a daily system. Everyone preferred to keep their armor on, so Wakuren and Alewyth generally cast [I]endure elements[/I] spells on those in heavier armor to help offset lugging around the extra weight beneath the burning sun, which seemed to grow hotter and hotter each day as the barge made its way northwest. At night, rather than remove their armor, they opted to sleep in it, having figured out a [I]lesser restoration[/I] spell in the morning worked wonders in dispelling the fatigue that came with having worn your armor all night. But, having been adventurers for several years now, they all knew an ambush could happen at any time and they wanted to be prepared for if and when it ever came. (And some of the heroes started looking forward to an ambush, just to relieve the boredom of yet another eventless day at sea.) Even Zander had gotten into the habit of casting a [I]mage armor[/I] spell upon himself each morning, confident that it would last him well into the late afternoon, at which time he would simply apply the spell anew. On the ninth night out at sea, Alewyth had the "sleep outside the lamp" duty and had made a rude bed of sorts on a pile of empty canvas sacks placed on a row of crates all the same size. [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I] was lodged into a nook between two barrels, well within reach of the sleeping dwarf. But as midnight approached, so too did a group of ambushers, silently swimming up underwater behind the floating craft, its whales sleeping vertically in the ocean not far away. As they got nearer, the group split into two, half moving to one pontoon and half headed for the other. Three of them climbed aboard each pontoon at a time, spaced equally along their lengths, ready to climb up the struts holding the floats in place to the side and below the deck of the ship. [B]Mouse Quietmoon[/B], standing atop the small wooden structure at the back of the barge, was the first to notice the raiders climbing up the struts, and, recognizing them, called out, "Boarders! Sahuagin from either side!" [B]Croc Swiftlizard[/B] and [B]Crow Straightspear[/B] ran to the middle of either side of the vessel, each seeing a sahuagin climbing the struts with harpoons in hand. Standing upon their mid-wall ledge, they readied their short swords to repel the boarders. [B]Bat Fiercehunter[/B] had been messing about with a fishing line at the front of the vessel and scrambled back up over the wall, running over to station himself at the fore port strut, sword ready to engage the approaching sea devil. Mouse, for his part, leaped down the ladder on the side of the structure and burst into the map room, calling out the alarm to his fellow rangers and the ship's captain in the adjoining rooms. Down below the main deck, Alewyth slept on, oblivious to the impending raid on the halfling vessel. The first wave of six sahuagin made it to the top of the ship's walls, three of them climbing over onto the deck unimpeded while three others traded blows with the halfling rangers guarding their approach. But down in the water, the next six sahuagin scrambled up onto the pontoons and started climbing the struts, eager to join the action. Alewyth awoke sluggishly from a deep sleep to the sounds of battle coming from up the stairs to the upper deck. Before realizing what the situation was, she said the command word that transported herself into the extradimensional spaces of [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I] and shouted for the others to rouse themself for combat. Up on the deck, six halflings came pouring out of the map room door and started spreading out to deal with the sahuagin raiders. Wakuren said the words that popped him back onto the cargo hold deck and raced around to the front of the stairs, already beginning the lengthy spell incantation that would relieve him of the fatigue born of sleeping in his plate armor. He was still casting the spell when he pushed the wooden flap covering the stairs open, allowing him to see what was transpiring on the deck. The halfling rangers were fighting off a dozen or more sahuagin, wielding their short swords against the sea devils' tridents. Three of the rangers had managed to bottle-neck the invaders, holding them off at the edge of the barge, but in three places the sahaugins had made it to the deck and were spreading out. While her crew did their best to fight off the raiders, Rose turned her head to the heavens and cast a [I]call lightning[/I] spell, the first bolt of electricity striking a sea devil on the aft port side, shocking him into temporary immobility. Inside the lamp, Xandro grabbed Robin from the sole bedroom and they grabbed up their gear before running back to the platform from which they could exit the lamp. Saying the magic phrase, they too popped back into the cargo hold, directly behind the stairs. Running to the front of the steps, Xandro continued up with his rapier [I]Deathwhisper[/I] in hand while Robin stayed put out of harm's way, at the bottom of the open stairs where everyone topside could hear the song of inspirational courage she started playing on her lute. Zander and Petey were the next to exit the lamp, and they ran up to the top of the stairs behind Xandro. The elf sorcerer immediately cast a [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell over at the aft starboard corner, catching two sea devils in the blast and slaying the pair. They fell lifelessly to the deck, the first casualties in this midnight assault. Petey flapped from his master's shoulder over to the starboard fore corner, where Croc Swiftlizard was doing his best to prevent the sahuagin climbing up that strut from boarding the barge, while another sahuagin climbed up behind the first, egging him on in their watery language. The lead sea devil made it past Croc's defensive sword and almost stepped on board, but was immediately met with a pseudodragon flying right at him. He slashed one tip of his trident across Petey's shoulder, but the determined pseudodragon didn't let that stop him - his scorpionlike tail stinger plunged into the sea devil's neck. The venom did its work, and the sound asleep sahuagin went plummeting backwards back off the barge, to plunge into the water and sink below the waves. Below the halflings' craft, the sea devil cleric in charge of this raid saw the sinking body of her unconscious troop and figured there must be more serious resistance above than she had anticipated - it looked like she might need to lend a clawed hand to the operation. Kicking the enormous shark she rode to get it to swim in the direction she wanted, she began casting a summoning spell. Thurloe exited the lamp and immediately cast a [I]mage armor[/I] spell on himself, for he had decided to try getting a good night's sleep without wearing his [I]celestial armor[/I] and he didn't want to take the time to don it properly. He raced up the steps two at a time, his bastard sword [I]Spellslicer[/I] out and ready. Alewyth popped out behind him and struggled to keep up, as her legs were significantly shorter than those of the burly spellsword. And Wakuren climbed the steps at a leisurely pace, still concentrating on casting his lengthy [I]lesser restoration[/I] spell. Rose targeted another bolt of lightning to come crashing down upon the same sahuagin she'd struck before; the strike slew the sea devil where he stood. Xandro sent his rapier deep into the body of another sea devil raider, and from his vantage point - and by the light from the flickering lightning overhead - he saw a snakelike head rise up out of the ocean on a neck that just kept on coming. The summoned fiendish elasmosaurus was behind the halfling barge, paddling forward and mouth opening in anticipation of a few quick snacks plucked from the deck of the ship. Xandro was glad he could still hear Robin's tune coming up from the cargo hold, for its fear-banishing effects were greatly needed at the moment! Zander saw the approaching aquatic dinosaur as well and realized it was a much bigger threat than the entire sahuagin raiding party as a whole. He pulled his new [I]metamagic rod[/I] from its sheath at his belt and channeled a [I]chain lightning[/I] spell through it, the rod empowering the blast of electricity to its maximum potential. The blast struck the elasmosaurus straight on its reptilian head, causing it to rear back in shock and surprise. Petey stabbed at another sahuagin trying to board the vessel, hitting him with his tail spike but failing to put him to sleep. Thurloe had better luck with his particular foe, cutting a sahuagin nearly in half with his blade and discharging the [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell he had stored in it, an additional bit of damage that wasn't the least bit needed. Then Alewyth made it up on deck, casting a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell upon herself as she did so. Halflings and sahuagin sparred on the decks all around her, the nimble sailors ducking beneath the sea devils' tridents and slashing out at scaled limbs with their blades. Wakuren finished his spell and stepped in the midst of a pair of sea devils ganging up on Croc, offering himself as an additional - and more fearsome-looking - target. One sahuagin stabbed out at him with his three-pointed weapon, but the half-orc slapped the weapon away with his [I]shield of Cal[/I]. Yet another was sparring with Thurloe, and the spellsword saw Crow fall to another sahuagin's trident, his red blood spilling across the deck. By the light of another lightning bolt striking a sea devil, Thurloe made his way to the downed halfling and poured a healing potion down Crow's throat, while Xandro engaged with the sahuagin who had been fighting Thurloe to keep him busy while Crow sputtered and shook himself back to consciousness. "I owe you my life," Crow said to the spellsword, while Xandro's blade slew the sahuagin Thurloe had been fighting. Alewyth cast a [I]hold monster[/I] spell at the fiendish elasmosaurus and got a good indication that the spell had worked when the sea serpent froze up and sank beneath the waves, its paddlelike fins no longer keeping it afloat at the ocean's surface. But then the sea devil cleric cast another summoning spell, for all of a sudden a giant crocodile appeared on the fore part of the deck. It made a dash for Wakuren, catching the half-orc up in its powerful jaws and crushing him between its jagged teeth. Try as he might, Wakuren was unable to free himself from the beast's massive jaws. In the waters beside the halfling vessel, the sea devil cleric approached on the port side, peering up at the chaos on the deck to see how her forces were doing. She still rode the massive shark she had ridden upon to the assault, while the other had drifted off to the starboard side and was gobbling up the sleeping body - now corpse - of the sea devil who had succumbed to Petey's sleep venom. With Robin's magical tune in his ears, Zander cast a [I]scorching ray[/I] spell that killed another pair of sahuagin that had made it onto the deck. Petey continued his attacks on the sahuagin attempting to board the ship from the forward starboard side, but he failed to put any of the raiders to sleep with his venom. Alewyth saw Wakuren's predicament and cast a [I]dismissal[/I] spell at the giant crocodile, sending it back to wherever it had been summoned; Wakuren fell to the deck with a hard knock but had the good grace not to complain, glad to have been freed from the toothy embrace. But the other summoned creature, which the dwarven priestess had thought had been dealt with, snapped out of the [I]hold monster[/I] spell and had swum back up to the surface, its serpentine head raised high above the halfling vessel as it closed in on the ship full of tasty morsels. Wakuren gathered himself to his feet and cast an [I]air walk[/I] spell on himself, the better to meet the elasmosaurus before it could dart its head down and start picking off the heroes. Rising up into the air, he noticed the sea devil cleric riding the massive shark down below to his right, in the ocean waters, and the two locked eye contact, each recognizing the other as a spellcasting foe. As her forces clashed weapons against the heroes and the halflings alike - Rose had been forced to fall back rather than get eviscerated on a sahuagin trident - she cast a [I]flame strike[/I] spell up at Wakuren, causing sheets of unholy flames to come cascading down upon him from the heavens. He grunted in pain at the attack but refused to give ground - or air, in this case. The deck was starting to get crowded with the corpses of slain sahuagin, but by now all 20 of the invading sea devils had made it up onto the barge, although a few still clung to the struts, trying to get onto the main deck but being held off by the desperate halfling rangers denying them access. Petey was forced to break off combat when a trident caught him in the side and ripped a gash through his scales; only the reddish coloration of his scales prevented the blood seeping from his wound from standing out. He limped back over by his master, heroic thoughts of front-line combat no longer an option. Xandro stabbed another sea devil to death with his sword as Thurloe, with none within immediate range of his sword, cast a [I]magic missile[/I] spell that dropped one across the deck about to menace Rose. But by now the elasmosaurus was at the back of the ship, its lengthy, snakelike neck arched over the halfling building at the back of the boat and ready to pick off a sailor or two. Zander raised his [I]metamagic rod[/I] and repeated his earlier tactic, sending a [I]maximized chain lightning[/I] spell blasting up at the dinosaur, this time just about exploding its head from its sinuous neck. Being a summoned creature, the creature's death banished its corpse back to the Hell from which it had come, so they didn't have to worry about being crushed under its dead weight when it collapsed. Alewyth slapped at her [I]butterfly brooch[/I] and rose up into the air beside Wakuren. Seeing the sahuagin cleric below (and deducing she had been responsible for the [I]flame strike[/I] the dwarven priestess had seen encompass the half-orc moments earlier), Alewyth decided to give the scaly bitch a taste of her own medicine and cast a [I]flame strike[/I] right back at her. Wakuren followed suit with his own god's version of the spell, and a [I]thunderstrike[/I] spell rocked down at the cleric and her shark mount, killing the latter instantly. Seeing the way the battle had gone thus far, the cleric called for a retreat, and the remaining sahuagin assault force - all three of them - leaped back over the sides of the halfling barge to flee beneath the roiling waves. Wakuren, seeing the battle was over, cast a [I]mass cure light wounds[/I] spell that healed up some of the wounds of those who'd sustained them; Alewyth followed suit with focused healing on those whose wounds were more than Wakuren's single spell could handle. Then they helped the halflings toss the sahuagin corpses overboard, Rose thanked the heroes for their much-needed aid, and they all returned to their bunks, the other four rangers taking up their shifts on watch. Alewyth returned to her only slightly comfortable bedding of crumpled sacks while the others resumed their rest inside [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I]. The priestess drifted back off to sleep thinking about how much more comfortable it was sleeping on the bed inside the lamp; Hesperna might have been an insufferable night hag, but she had good taste in mattresses! Wakuren decided to remain on deck as well, thinking it might not be a bad idea to have someone on hand to leap into battle while Alewyth alerted the others, should the sahuagin decide to compound their losses by returning with reinforcements. But then he dismissed the thought, figuring the sahuagin losses had been great enough to discourage them from a second attack. Two hours before sunrise, Wakuren found out just how wrong he could be. Once again the alarm came from the voice of a halfling ranger on guard, this time [b]Talon Farseeker[/b], on duty on the roof of the building in the back of the vessel. "Kraken!" he called out at the top of his lungs, "Kraken approaching from the aft!" Immediately, [b]Squirrel Fleetfoot[/b] ran to awaken the other rangers from their bunks while [b]Snake Slytracker[/b] raced down the steps to the cargo hold to awaken Alewyth, once again snoring heavily in her armor. Wakuren, asleep on the deck, had the good fortune to be a light sleeper and woke immediately from the panicked sounds of Talon's cries. His first action was to cast a [I]freedom of movement[/I] spell on himself as he raced to the ladder on the side of the building upon which Talon stood, knowing full well the kraken would try its best to grapple those on deck - and the half-orc had no wish to be pinned and crushed in a kraken's powerful tentacles. (The giant crocodile earlier that night had been quite enough!) Once he clambered up onto the rooftop, he could see the kraken approaching from the rear of the vessel, several of its tentacles already waving in the air as if eager to snatch up any morsels it could. "You'd best get back on deck," Wakuren advised Talon, and the halfling considered it for a mere moment before deciding it was the best course of action for him - but he insisted on getting off a strike with his sling before he leaped down onto the deck, his sling stone having struck the massive squidlike monstrosity (for it would have been quite difficult for the halfling to have missed a creature of that immense size). "What now?" demanded Rose as she and the other members of her crew stumbled out of the map room door. By that time, Alewyth had been awakened, entered the lamp, roused the others, and cast a quick [I]bless[/I] spell upon them; Wakuren and the halflings would just have to do without this time. But the halflings had all formed a line midway across the ship, hopefully well away from the reach of the kraken's tentacles, and with the bulk of their tiny building preventing the kraken from getting a good look at their exact locations. However, they were able to target the questing tentacles probing over the top of the building's roof with their slings, and they kept up a steady barrage. For his part, Wakuren summoned a [I]javelin of lightning[/I] from his [I]gauntlet of Cal[/I] and tossed it at the incoming kraken, singeing a spot on its rubbery flesh with the bolt of electricity it became mid-throw. For his efforts, he was smacked by half a dozen tentacles and the two longer arms of the kraken, each battering the half-orc's flesh but unable to get a grasp upon him thanks to his [I]freedom of movement[/I] spell. Rose broke off from the halfling lineup and raced to the ladder, scrambling up it just high enough to reach out a hand and touch Wakuren's ankle - which was enough of a contact between the two for her to cast her most powerful healing spell at the beleaguered cleric. He had even more powerful spells he could bring to bear if needed, but the canny druid figured he might have some powerful combat spells he could cast in their stead if she kept him healthy enough. Still, when a swinging tentacle nearly struck her, she had no choice but to slide down the length of the ladder and scramble back out of reach, for she knew she had no such magical protection as that afforded the half-orc. Xandro and Robin exited the lamp side by side, she starting the initial chords to her song of inspirational courage at the bottom of the stairs while he continued up the steps onto the deck. Zander and Petey exited next, the elf casting a [I]displacement[/I] spell on himself that he hoped would prevent the kraken from successfully grabbing him up in its tentacles. Petey wisely hung back, for the little pseudodragon had a firm sense of self-preservation and wouldn't be getting anywhere near the reach of those tentacles unless his master were in desperate trouble. Thurloe exited the lamp next, and this time he wore his [I]celestial armor[/I], having learned from his earlier combat how much he would have preferred having it on when dealing with an ambush. And the armor had an added feature besides its lightweight construction: it allowed the spellsword to cast a [I]fly[/I] spell, an act he put to good use as soon as he hit the bottom of the stairs to the upper deck. Grabbing Zander by the collar on his way by, he rose up past the height of the building at the back of the vessel, where he could get a good view of the kraken attacking them - and better, yet, so could the elf sorcerer. But he cast a [I]ray of enfeeblement[/I] at the kraken, diminishing a bit of its prodigious strength, rather than let Zander have all the spellcasting glory. But Zander rose to the occasion (as well as up into the air) by sending another [I]maximized chain lightning[/I] spell - his final one for the day - blasting over at the kraken, who seemed surprised to be struck with so much electricity damage all at once. Alewyth, having cast a [I]stoneskin[/I] spell on herself while inside [I]Hesperna's lamp[/I], cast a [I]righteous might[/I] spell as she stomped up the steps, [I]Sjondra[/I] in hand, and arrived on deck a full 8 feet tall. The halflings cheered at her presence, the dwarven priestess towering above them (even more so than usual) like some demigoddess of legend. They then returned their focus on sending waves of sling stones hurling up at the tentacles still trying to get a grasp upon the elusive half-orc. But Wakuren, seeing Alewyth towering above the rooftop upon which he stood, decided that seemed like a good idea and cast his own [I]righteous might[/I], the original size between him and Alewyth resulting in his standing a good 12 feet tall upon the rooftop. The kraken found he still couldn't get a good grip on the half-orc with his suckered limbs and soon stopped trying to do so, contenting himself with battering the massive brute with his rubbery limbs. He might not be able to constrict the irritating foe, but he could probably bludgeon him into unconsciousness - and then he'd see how easily he could wriggle away from the kraken's grasping tentacles! Xandro took out his [I]Dardolian Lute[/I] and the [I]dire elk pick[/I] he used to summon his megaloceros, and did just that - causing a massively-antlered herd beast to manifest on the rooftop alongside Wakuren. Rose groaned as the wooden planks making up the roof of her map room and quarters likewise groaned under their combined weight, half expecting it to give way at any moment. But it held, even as the dire elk shifted his weight and brought his massive rack of antlers cutting into the soft flesh of the kraken's tentacles. Alewyth stomped over to the aft railing of the ship and swung an equally massive [I]Sjondra[/I] at the nearest tentacle, momentarily squashing it flat from the force of her blow. The rangers continued their sling stone barrage, and Wakuren brough his double-sized [I]shield of Cal[/I] crashing down onto a mass of tentacles, causing the kraken no small amount of pain. In fact, it was enough to force the kraken to come to the unpleasant decision that he'd have to cut his losses - to flee, like the sahuagin cleric and her forces who were to have brought him his tribute from this very vessel, but who had instead slunk before him in shame with tales of their failure - and escape with his own life to try again later. Just to show he meant business (and, to be completely honest, because he had been brought no tribute and was particularly hungry), he snatched up the dire elk from the vessel and crushed him in his tentacles, planning on devouring him once he got to the safety of the deep undersea. He jetted backwards from the halfling ship, already starting to sink beneath the waves to safety - when the blasted elf cast another [I]chain lightning[/I] spell at him, one that, despite not having been [I]maximized[/I] through Zander's [I]metamagic rod[/I], was nevertheless powerful enough to snuff out the kraken's life, even as the dire elk disappeared from his grasp before he could get in so much as a single bite. The kraken died with disappointment being his last thought as the dire elk vanished upon death, in the manner of all summoned creatures. "Best climb down off of the roof before you cave it in," suggested Rose, and the 12-foot-tall Wakuren did just that. The druid cast another healing spell upon the half-orc, who once again sorely needed it after the beating he'd taken by the kraken's tentacles. "I don't know if it's even safe to go back to sleep," complained Xandro. "That's the way it is at sea, sometimes," offered up [b]Spider Greenbow[/b]. "Days or weeks of boredom, followed by hours of panicked fighting. But don't worry: we're already over a week in - another two and a half weeks and we'll be stopping at an island to take on fresh water and rations. You'll get a day or two back on dry land for a break! How does that sound?" "Not nearly as good as the fact that tomorrow night I get to sleep in a real bed," admitted Alewyth, for her shift of sleeping in the cargo hold was almost at an end. - - - I bought a "Jurassic Park" elasmosaurus toy for this adventure, even though it was a little too big in scale; I figured it wouldn't matter as long as I kept the stats the same. (I didn't want to increase the elasmosaurus to a larger size, since it was a summoned creature.) And although it will only be useful for three adventures, I went ahead and made a 3D, scale version of the halfling barge, complete with two full-scale baleen whales to pull it. (The whales were just flat tokens.) It made for a cool bit of "miniature terrain" for the ambushes instead of just using a flat map. - - - T-shirt worn: I have a blue T-shirt with several sharks on it - they even glow in the dark if they've been exposed to sufficient light beforehand. It was a logical shirt to wear for an adventure that had a sahuagin attack, with their associated shark companions. [/QUOTE]
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