Iron Heroes: A Saga of Might

Xoria sees two sailors in front of her. One of them, she knows deep down, is just an illusion, her own spell sent back at her by eddies in the arcanosphere. Risking a chance anyway, she chooses one of the men as the target of her dart. He crumples to the deck. The other sailor stands surprised for a moment and then melts out of existence.

The sailor in Vela's grapple grunts with pain as she twists his arm. Sweat stands out on hos brow as he tries to shift his posture to lessen the pressure.

"Okay, okay," he says, his voice strained. "I yield."

There are noises at both ends of the ship and below decks. Company's coming.

[sblock=OOC]
I forgot that Xoria's spell failure means a minor mishap, which in this case results in the spell affecting her. So I gave her a 50% miss chance, but she made it by 1%. Only Xoria could see the illusory sailor, and he's gone now. Olmar has no target to attack.

Vela grapple check 19+4=23, beats the sailor to cause 1d3+4=7 nonlethal damage.

Map is up - old school! Yes, I totally nicked it from The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh On examination, it makes more sense for the men to have come from the front of the ship.

Your boat is currently off the starboard bow.

You have one spent one round preparing.
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Olmar
Defense 13 (FF13), HP 34/34, F +5,R+4,W+4; Ini +2 ; Fury Pool 2/12; DR 1d4

Olmar gnashes his teeth, ready to use his pickaxe on the first fool who comes in his reach.

[sblock=OOC]

Move:
Stoking Fury (again)

Standard: Prepare attack vs first enemy in reach.
Pickaxe attack: 1d20+4 - 1d6+6 - 20/x4


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Reserve Points: 29 / 34

Pick (gripped with both hand and Power attack 1):
1d20+4 - 1d6+6 - 20/x4

In berserker rage:
1d20+5 - 1d6+8 - 20/x4
[/sblock]

Xoria curses her ineptitude, which had cost her the chance to calm the sailors and very nearly the chance to defend herself. She has time for one more trick. She forces herself to focus.

OOC: If it works, when the crew comes onto the deck they will see the head of an enormous serpent rising from the hatch to the hold (if the hatch is closed, part of the illusion will be to make it appear open). The head itself will be roughly man-sized (1 space illusion), but the scale should imply a truly enormous creature. It will be facing to stern, the logic being that Olmar seems to have the bow covered.

OOC:
Phantasmal forces, 1 hex, image of illusion
Mastery level 1 illusion
Mana cost: 1
DC: 6
Roll 1d20+2 (Illusion Mastery 2)

More crew burst through the doors at either end and rush onto deck, as Xoria's illusionary serpent emerges from the hatch. Three men emerge from one door at the bow end and pause to take in the scene. From the stern end, four men emerge from four seperate doors.

They stare at the serpent for a moment.

"We haven't got one of those down there, have we?" asks the one emerging from the starboard door, a snake-eyed Northman.

The man to his left, a swarthy man with the look of an Easterner to him, shakes his head. "No serpents, Cap'n."

[sblock=OOC]
Crewmen #4,5 and 6 have come from the middle door at the bow end, beyond which are stairs leading down.

S is the snake-eyed Northerner referred to as Captain. P is the swarthy man. F and B are also Northmen by the look of them. The doors behind F and P lead down stairs, those behind B and S lead into cabins.
[/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]
Northern isn't like Olmar's mountain people, right?

Which squares on the map are difficult/blocked? I'm just thinking about tactics and stunts. Any special area effects?
[/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]
Like Olmar's people, but not quite the same. But he'd recognise them as being the neighbours to the south, I reckon. The world is roughly shaping as we go, so feel free to improvise any details about them.

Across the middle of the deck there is an upturned rowing boat to the fore of the mast (sort of blocked, or a low obstacle requiring balance), to the aft there is the hatch to the hold, difficult terrain due to the latticework.

Anywhere along the edge of the deck you can access the rigging, or use stays to swing on etc.. Any of the squares around the mast as well, you could use a rope.
[/sblock]

Olmar
Defense 13 (FF13), HP 34/34, F +5,R+4,W+4; Ini +2 ; Fury Pool 2/12; DR 1d4

'I'm from tribe of free people. You sea-people of the south know this. We only want to be free. No one is killed yet.
Our peoples raid each other, but don't murder. Don't make me break custom!"
Olmar intones, trying to remind the captain on his roots. All his words are true. While there is conflict between the mountain and the sea people of the north, the raids are more a sport for the youths and no real feud. Prisoners are even allowed to go back after three days service and both people have a tradition to unite against common foes... like man-like beings who are not truly human.

[sblock=OOC]

Full defense

Trying to channel some sword and sorcery lore, making Olmar's people like the Cimmerians and the Captain's like the Aesir.

Not good at diplomacy, but 'true man' intimidate each other, not bluff!
Intimidation +5

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Reserve Points: 29 / 34

Pick (gripped with both hand and Power attack 1):
1d20+4 - 1d6+6 - 20/x4

In berserker rage:
1d20+5 - 1d6+8 - 20/x4
[/sblock]

The three northerners look hesitant following Olmar's speech.

"He's one of the mountain folk alright," says the man on the far port side, a man with a filthy, tangled beard. "It's not a good idea to mess with them."

"Aye," says the snake-eyed man.

"Oh for Pokk's sake," says the Easterner impatiently, invoking the name of one of the eastern demon-gods. "Well, let's get rid of this at least." He waves a hand and Xoria's illusory serpent vanishes, although a couple of the crew still eye the area nervously.

[sblock=OOC]
Olmar is using the browbeat form if Intimidate, 11+5=16. Anyone he uses it against must make a Will save at this DC (per round) in order to act against him.

WD: that fits quite nicely. I referred to the sailors as Northmen because in the source I've nicked them from they have names like Sigurd and Bjorn. They probably come from some region of fjords, unlike Olmar's mountain home.

"Easterner", by the way, refers not to the far east of Vela's home, but the many nations between there and the campaign region. More middle-eastern, really.
[/sblock]

Xoria keeps her face carefully neutral. This captain was dangerous, whatever the uncertainty of his crew.

Olmar seems to hold some sway here, she decides, and reluctantly waits for the Northman to respond.

Vela keeps her hold on her crewman, but lifts her voice a little to be heard by the others.

"We have come here with Ur-Man blood on our hands," she says grimly. "We have lain one of their ancients to the earth. We will not stop until we are dead, or are free of them."

"Help us, and you make friends of us, and we will find a way to repay the debt of honor. Hinder us, and we will do what we must to be gone from this place."