Pirates of the Caribbean: A Skull & Bones campaign

[RichGreen]

Session #18

Staring into the pit, the pirates chuck a rock in, then a torch, before sending a nervous sailor down to light the way. When the plucky Hans isn’t eaten by a giant spider on his descent, Bloody Mary, Rodrigo and Merritt follow him into the bunker, bringing another one of their seamen, Fritz, along. The injured William and four others remain on the surface.

The captain and her men start to explore the underground complex. Leaving the door marked with Black Bellamy’s symbol for now, they head west into the tunnels, towards a gilded statue of the Madonna and child. They search the room to the south which contains a skeleton sitting in bed reading the bible and manage to uncover another passage hidden by webs. In the chamber beyond they are confronted by a shambling human-shaped creature completely covered in webs. As it moves towards the pirates, its skin ripples as if many small creatures squirm inside. This powerful “web mummy” delivers several savage blows to the captain, knocking her unconscious, before Hans sets it on fire with his torch. The creature then kills the hapless Fritz before Merritt delivers the killing blow. Unfortunately, the death of the mummy releases the inhabitants of its body: a swarm of fist-sized, bright red spiders! As the spiders swarm over the unconscious Bloody Mary [loses another life!], Rodrigo grabs the Holy Bible from the skeleton in the bedroom. When this doesn’t seem to help much, he casts shillelagh and attacks the spiders to devastating affect, backed up by Merritt, and the spiders are killed or scattered.

With the danger passed, the captain comes round: she will have a new (but impressive) scar from the battle. Deciding that back-up is needed, she calls up to William and two more seamen, Pierre and Jacques, climb down to join the officers. They continue their exploration of the bunker, encountering a second swarm of red spiders and finding a second room containing the skeleton of a long-dead pirate: this one is slumped over a desk covered in sea charts. There is also a chest in here, but the party decide to leave this alone for now. Heading north into another enlarged chamber, the pirates are horrified to see another web mummy shuffling towards them!

 

[ninthcouncil]

Thus proving that Captain Scarlet really is indestructible. Not just indigestible.

I think Lucy gets killed deliberately now that she has that magic d20 that always rolls 1 on the affliction table. Oh look, another impressive scar! And I've got all my CON back!

Oh, and that chest is trapped, I tell you. We'll open it when we've cleared the dungeon finished searching this cave.

 

[RichGreen]

Session #19

Bloody Mary, Rodrigo and Merritt move into combat with the web mummy, but it proves a tough opponent. Rodrigo’s cutlass gets stuck to the sticky webs shrouding the creature and although Merritt sets it on fire with his torch, he does so only feebly and the hideous mummy is able to extinguish the flames. Only Bloody Mary seems to be landing effective blows with her cutlass, and there is much (well, a little) consternation as Pierre falls down dead following the creature’s vicious slam attack. When Merritt is able to set the mummy alight for a second time, the flames catch properly and the walking corpse collapses, spilling another swarm of bright red spiders from its remains. The swarm is defeated with belaying pins but not before it claims Jacques as its victim.

Although there is some discussion about returning to the surface to rest and recuperate, the pirates decide to press on and continue exploring the complex. After establishing which passages connect up, they return to the central rooms and search them again. Merritt and Rodrigo disable the trap on the chest and then open it using a key found under the mattress in the bedroom. Inside are several fine dresses of lace and silk, seven phials of different liquids and a carved, gnarly stick with the word “tlalam” (meaning “strength of the gods”) inscribed on it in Mayan glyphs. Next, they tie a rope around the madonna statue and Merritt heads over to the door marked with Black Bellamy’s symbol, climbing around the side of the shaft, followed by Rodrigo. Once he’s got the door open, the plucky young lad proceeds cautiously into the room beyond, checking carefully for traps. This doesn’t stop him poisoning himself on a dart as he tries to block a series of suspicious holes in the wall!

On the far wall, there is a door with a series of ten stone buttons marked with numbers and a cryptic inscription. Rodrigo and Merritt realise that they need to push buttons adding up to 100 to open the door and after a while figure out which ones to press. The door opens: inside are six skeletons, two of which are turning a native “spell pole” which casts a scare spell at the party. This sends first Rodrigo and then Bloody Mary running off in terror, but Rodrigo is able to remove his own fear and return to destroy the undead with his voodoo powers. Opening the door in this room, the pirates find a chamber containing three fine Spanish rapiers and a case holding Black Bellamy’s pistols. There is no sign of the Feathered Staff of Quetzalcouatl as yet.

 

[CaptainLucy]

indeed- huzzah for that awful orange d20 and its impressive- scar rolling capabilities.

although the actual reason for the frequency of those beautiful death scenes is that i've got a basic girlie inclination to befriend and draw pictures for cute little animals that turn out to be SWARMS.

 

[RichGreen]

Session #20 Sliding Doors

Tuesday 4th July

Bloody Mary, Rodrigo and William climb back down the shaft and return to the hallway where there is one door they haven’t yet opened as well as a secret door in the south wall, found by Rodrigo. The stone door has three levers which the pirates experiment with, pulling them down using ropes and pushing them back up again with belaying pins. Eventually one combination causes the door and the section of floor in front of it to revolve round, bringing three animated skeletons into the hallway. Once these have been defeated, the party experiment with the levers again, setting off the poison dart trap in the process: Mary is shot.

With the door open, William enters the chamber beyond: a narrow hall with a plank spanning a shallow pit filled with acid. The nimble ranger crosses the beam safely and reaches the end of the room where there is a chest sitting on a pedestal and a serrated dagger hanging on the wall. When William grabs the chest, the walls to either side of the acid bath drop down, revealing four skeletons armed with pistols and cutlasses who open fire on the pirates. Rodrigo pulls the lever to spin round and escape the skeleton attacking him and get back into the hallway, but, to his consternation, the skeleton pulls it to, bringing him back round again and into the room. More antics with the revolving door ensue, but William is able to use his belaying pin to great effect and the skeletons are defeated. The chest that triggered the trap turns out to be empty but the dagger fits perfectly in one of the two slots in the secret door and turns. Realising another dagger is required, the pirates search the adjoining rooms but don’t find one. The only option seems to be crossing the shaft again and heading down one of the sloping passages to the west.

With his keen eyesight, William manages to prevent the pirates stumbling into a fine web strung across the passage. In the chamber beyond is a giant spider the size of a horse. Bloody Mary rushes in to attack while Rodrigo tumbles past and casts shillelagh and William opens fire with his gun. Rodrigo is badly wounded by the spider’s bite and backs away, managing to ensnare himself in another web. The other two fight on: Mary falls unconscious after a savage bite by the arachnid and William is also gravely injured. With things looking bleak, Rodrigo pulls himself free of the webs and charges in, diving on top of the spider. The buccaneer’s spectacular attack works and the spider falls to the ground, dead. Rodrigo and William look on in horror as a red spider climbs out of Bloody Mary’s mouth. [loses yet another life!]

The captain staggers to her feet; a hideous scar welling up on her arm. The pirates pull free the skeletal arm clutching a curved knife out of the webs lining the wall of the chamber. This dagger fits the second slot in the secret door and the party are able to open it. Beyond lies Black Bellamy’s treasure chamber, filled with figureheads plundered from defeated ships, chests of gold and silver and other valuable loot. Among all the glittering treasures, the pirates spot a sturdy looking wooden staff carved to resemble a snake and adorned with pictograms and rainbow-coloured feathers: the Feathered Staff of Quetzalcoatl. As they move to grab the staff, the fearsome ghost of Black Bellamy appears, furious with them for stealing his sword and pistols. Bloody Mary hands back the pistols and Rodrigo gives the ghost the Torres blade. William explains that they’ve just come for the Feathered Staff, picks up the item and backs away with it. Rodrigo beats a hasty retreat as well but the captain stays behind and tries to reason with the angry spirit. This doesn’t work and she is blasted twice by Bellamy’s hideous corrupting gaze. Deciding to join her colleagues, she leaves too and all three pirates climb back up the shaft.

In the cave at the top, the pirates are stunned to see Merritt and their two surviving crewmen trussed up and even more surprised that Albert de Montblanc, a man last seen falling “dead” into the Caribbean Sea, is standing over them. The French pirate demands that they hand over the Feathered Staff. Bloody Mary responds with a suggestion as to where he might like to shove it!

 

[CaptainLucy]

Spiders AND the French... rough week :-(

 

[WilliamH]

Never mind the French and the Spider, Its the ghost that worries me more

P.S. you might want to stop eating spiders, by the looks, it appears to disagree with you.

 

[RichGreen]

Session #21

While William hides just below the top of the shaft, Rodrigo and Bloody Mary attempt to make a deal with the dastardly Albert de Montblanc. Unfortunately, the French pirate is no mood to negotiate and opens fire with his blunderbuss pistol. A battle ensues: Bloody Mary and her two crewmen soon dispatch Montblanc’s three lackeys but Albert is able to gravely wound his opponents while suffering lesser wounds himself. Deciding caution is the better part of valour, the trio retreat and start to climb back down the shaft. Montblanc predictably cuts through their rope, causing William to fall but the one-armed ranger is able to grab hold of the webs before he falls too far.

Albert de Montblanc does not pursue the pirates down into the bunker and they are able to rest and recuperate. As a precaution, Bloody Mary removes the two daggers from the secret door leading to Black Bellamy’s vault and then heads over to the other side of the shaft where Rodrigo and William throw the skeleton out and climb into the bed for a lie down. Mary keeps watch at the edge of the shaft, singing anti-French songs to wind up Montblanc. She tries to stay awake all night but fails dismally and dozes off.


Thursday 6th July

Rodrigo and William are both feeling much better but the three pirates have finished off the last of the food they were carrying. William manages to salvage some meat from the dead tomb spider but decides it may not be a good idea to eat it. Meanwhile, Bloody Mary has been taunting Albert de Montblanc from the bottom of the shaft to no response from the top.


Friday 7th July

Now almost fully recovered, Rodrigo attempts to climb up the webs covering the walls of the shaft with a rope tied round his waist, held by the others and attached to the Madonna statue as a safety precaution. Even with his hook to help him, the one-armed buccaneer is not as good a climber as he used to be and he falls when he reaches the top. To make matters worse, when Bloody Mary and William don’t manage to keep a firm grip on the rope, the heavy wooden statue falls after him, breaking the webs below and pulling Rodrigo into the cold waters beneath. The other two throw him a rope and pull him out and the plucky hougan has another go at climbing up to the top. Unfortunately, he falls again. And again. And again. Eventually, he manages to get up there. Rodrigo ties the rope to a tree and then signals for Bloody Mary and William to follow him.

Once all three pirates are there, Rodrigo sneaks out of the cave, past his tied-up comrades, to the sleeping form of Albert de Montblanc, sitting under a big tree. Rodrigo attempts a coup de grace: his blade strikes true and he stabs the Frenchman through the throat, killing him. To make absolutely sure, Bloody Mary lives up to her name and cuts off Montblanc’s head!

With their enemy killed, the pirates untie Merritt and the other two crewmen before heading back down the shaft to loot Black Bellamy’s treasure vault. It doesn’t take long for the ghostly pirate to make an appearance: Rodrigo attempts to steal some of the jewellery and Black Bellamy manifests, coming up through the floor of the chamber. His corrupting gaze damages all three of the party, but, armed with magical swords and, in Rodrigo’s case, a shillelagh, the pirates are able to destroy the ghost. A quick count of the treasure is made: the hoard is worth a fortune, but it’s not going to be easy to get it all back to the Welstand!

 

[RichGreen]

Session #22 The Rise of the Black Freighter

Bloody Mary orders the remaining pirates to haul as much of the treasure out of the bunker as they can carry back to the boats. The rest (22,000 pieces of eight, three paintings and ten figureheads) is left behind, but the crew take the two serrated daggers needed to open the doors to the treasure vault with them.


Saturday 8th July

The pirates head downstream in the boat. En route to the coast, William befriends a cayman which follows along behind. Bloody Mary decides to ignore the ruined pyramid in the jungle for now: their mission to bring the Feathered Staff back to Madame Laveau must take priority.


Monday 10th July

Back on board the Welstand, the pirates set sail for Hispaniola. Just before the ship leaves, a smaller vessel is spotted, heading north. Could this be Montblanc’s ship?


Friday 14th July

The Welstand arrives at Hispaniola after a smooth crossing of the Caribbean Sea. The captain and her men row into the bayou yet again. For once, the trip into the swamp is not interrupted by an attack from its monstrous denizens and the party are able to reach Madame Laveau’s hut without incident. The hougan is overjoyed to see the pirates have managed to obtain the Feathered Staff and immediately gets the ritual started to summon Maitre Carrefour.

The loa appears, riding Captain Flint for the second time and speaking through her lips:
“You must return to the site of your folly, the island where you found Cuauhtemoc’s tomb and released him from his eternal prison. He will be returning there soon now that he has acquired all of the Tablets of the Smoking Mirror – he may even already be there. Cuauhtemoc seeks to perform the Invoked Apocalpyse ritual, harnessing the power of the volcano in the centre of the island to rain down destruction on all the peoples of the Caribbean. He must be stopped, and you puny mortals are the ones who must stop him. By unleashing the celestial power of the Feathered Staff of Quetzalcoatl, you will be victorious. Go now with all speed to the island!”

Maitre Carrefour advises Rodrigo and the trembling William that to activate the power of the staff, the wielder must say a prayer to Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent and scatter some corn meal on the ground. The staff will give the wielder the power of the Plumed Serpent. Before leaving his horse, Carrefour also issues a couple of warnings:
“Take heed! Cuauhtemoc has mastered some of lesser Tablets already: he has called the Black Freighter from the bottom of the sea and has created some foul new undead servants. You will need to be on your mettle to get as far as the volcano to confront him!”

Once the loa has departed, Madame Laveau gives the party four vials of cloudy yellow swamp water to help them stand firm when they face Cuauhtemoc. However, she isn’t able to provide them with the potions of lesser restoration they are after.


Saturday 15th July

Set sail for the Shanty Isles. Black clouds gather overhead and it isn’t long before torrential rain pours down on the Welstand and its crew.


Sunday 16th July

In the early hours of the morning, William is on watch as the Black Freighter surfaces from beneath the waves just 500 feet or so from the Welstand. The Freighter is a badly damaged schooner with tattered black sails; its crew are bloated-looking undead corpses and its decks are covered in seaweed. The sight of the Black Freighter is terrifying and chills the spirits of the pirates to the bone. William alerts Captain Flint and the rest of the men and the sloop is able to get off a broadside, unfortunately to no discernable effect on the enemy’s vessel, before the schooner can manoeuvre alongside. The zombie crew of the Black Freighter mounts a successful boarding attempt and the pirates are in a terrible battle for their very lives. Although the zombies are slow, they are very tough and are able to inflict many casualties on the Welstand’s sailors. Rodrigo is able to turn nine of the zombies which gets some out of the way for a while, but they return a minute later to attack again. Captain Flint, William and Rodrigo leap on to the Freighter, killing two greenish-blue marine ghouls and battling with a fearsome mummy of the deep. As Rodrigo struggles to escape the clutches of the mummy and its deadly kiss, Bloody Mary charges up to the helm of the Freighter and attacks its skeletal captain. Her fearsome thrusts strike home and the undead helmsman starts to pilot the ship back below the waves. The three pirates dash for their lives back to the Welstand. There, an awful scene greets them: most of their crew lie dead or dying. The only survivors are Merritt, Rob, Peregrine, Bart, Simon Belmont, Clever Dick and Area Ketta. The Welstand may well be able to reach the Shanty Isles but getting back to civilization is likely to prove very challenging!

 

[CaptainLucy]

on the plus side, we get back all the treasure we'd just divided up amongst the crew: I am planning to spend this on a crew who can manage to roll higher than a 3 on an attack roll.

That crew was boring me, anyway.