Initiative
Flawed 20 (roll of 15, +5 Init)
Plonk 18 (roll of 17, +1 Init)
Sahuagin 15
Starbuck, De Vere 9
Gannon 8 (roll of 7, +1 weapon)
Rawhide 7 (roll of 5, +2 Init)
Crew, Mercenaries 2
Round 1
Flawed reacts before anyone else can, and fires a crossbow bolt [Roll of 14 on d20, +2 ranged, total 16, hit] at one of the sahuagin climbing up over the gunwhale. It hits the sahuagin flat in the jaw with a sickening squish [8 hp damage], but the shark-man somehow manages to hold onto the side of the boat. Meanwhile, the gnome artificer slips behind the 'forged and casts an incantation [-1 AP].
You can hear and see more sahuagin start to climb up the hull as the two Gannon had spotted jump onto the deck and davance on Gannon and Rawhide. Starbuck draws a rapier and moves over to the port bow. De Vere, up on the quarterdeck, takes the helm and throws the wheel hard-a-starboard, starting a Willemstein maneuver.
Gannon casts bless and advances on the sahuagin, as Rawhide hunts down something to throw at the sahuagin climbing up the starboard side, around midships. A heavy barrel just next to the bulkhead should work, and he snags it.
The crew lets out a roar and, drawing knives, runs to the bulkheads. The mercenaries run up to the quarterdeck, preparing to keep the captain safe.
Round 2
Flawed moves towards the bulkhead, and, looking down, spots at least two more sahuagin climbing up the hull. He fires off a burning hands at them (he can aim it parallel to the ship), scorching them both enough to cause them to fall of the side of the boat [1 hp fire damage, two failed Ref saves]. Plonk, following the 'forged, fires his crossbow at one of the falling sahuagin, hitting it solidly in the side [roll of 19 on d20, +3 ranged (+1 morale from bless), total 21; 3 hp damage + 5 hp fire damage]. The creature starts to smoke as it hits the water, before it sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
Meanwhile, sahuagin pour over the sides of the boat up forward, and it looks like the crew will have their hands full. At least two of the crew members are pulled overboard and thrown in the water by the savages. Starbuck, on the port bow, beheads one, which he quickly follows by the slicing off the hand of another. De Vere, still at the helm, ignores the battle and continues evasive maneuvers.
Gannon swings at one of the beasts climbing up towards him, but misses, his morningstar crushing a section of the gunwhale [roll of 2 on d20, +4 melee (+1 morale), miss]. Splinters of wood fly upon impact. Rawhide throws the barrel at the nearest sahuagin, which is slightly aft of him, catching it clean in the gut and sending it tumbling ass over teakettle into the ladder up to the quarterdeck [natural 20 on the die, roll of 4 on die to confirm critical (failure), 10 damage], where it crumples in a heap.
The crew exacts vengeance as they take out two of the acquatic raiders, one of them slitting the throat of the one Rawhide hit with the barrel.
Conditions
bless, 19 rounds remaining
-2 crew (total remaining: 7)
Round 3
All told, there are now somewhere around fifteen sahuagin on and about the deck of the ship, with at least three or four dead on top of that. Flawed, turning to one that had boarded forward of him, attacks with his axe [roll of 17 on d20, +3 melee (+1 morale), total 20, hit; 3 hp damage], opening up a deep gash in one of its shoulders. Plonk slips out from behind one of Flawed's shoulders (thighs?) and fires his crossbow at the same sahuagin, missing [roll of 6 on d20, +3 ranged (+1 morale), total 9]. His bolt flies into a tangle of line just under the starboard ladder forward of the main mast. The line starts to burn.
Crew members, unaccustomed to fighting sahuagin in these numbers, fall quickly, as they're overwhelmed and often, flanked. At least three more fall. Another sahuagin lashes out at one of the mercenaries, a short dwarf with a pair of daggers, raking its claws across his chest. Although the dwarf's still alive, he's looked better. Your group fares much better, with Plonk, Rawhide, and Flawed managing to duck out of the way of incoming attacks easily. Starbuck, noticing the shift in events, yells to the rest of you, "Oi! Fall back to the quarterdeck and the fo'c's'le, block 'em off at the ladders!" As he says this, he bullrushes one of the aquatic raiders, knocking it back into the ocean. Whatever De Vere's been doing at the helm seems to have worked, as there've been no more boarders and The Unexpected is still in one piece (save for a chunk of the starboard gunwhale just aft of midships).
Gannon hammers at the same sahuagin, missing again [roll of 5, +4 melee (+1 morale), total 9, miss]. Rawhide is more fortunate, as he absolutely clobbers one with his great axe [roll of 15 on d20, +4 melee (+1 morale), total 19, hit; 9 damage], ripping it open from sternum to navel. It teeters on its feet before collapsing.
Two of the mercenaries, half-elves both, turn out to have a modicum of magical power, as they fire small, round balls of energy at some of the sahuagin. One of the beasts falls, dead; the other, staggers but stays on its feet. The crew, falling back, manages to cripple one of the beasts with a well-timed strike, but otherwise focuses on holding the ladders and not being killed.
That's when it happens. With a large boom, a ball of lightning flies out of the sky and lands on the quarterdeck. When the smoke clears, three of the mercenaries and another crew member, as well as 5 sahuagin, are dead. Only one of the half-elf casters is still alive, and De Vere seems unshaken, if slightly charred. The aft mast is completely scorched, the sails burning.
An odd hollow voice echoes from somewhere above you. "You dare interfere with my plans! Saving the Umbragen village!" A laugh. "You'll never make it!" More laughter, another clap of thunder, and then a second of silence. You can hear the timber under the main mast start to crack.
Conditions
bless, 18 rounds remaining
-4 crew (total remaining: 1)
-8 sahuagin (total remaining: 7, total wounded: 2)
lines on fire at the ladder, starboard side, forward
aft sails on fire
New Initiative
Crew, Half-elf caster 17
Sahuagin 16a
Gannon 16b (roll of 15, +1 weapon, lower Dex than Sahuagin)
Plonk 13 (roll of 12, +1 Init)
Rawhide 10 (roll of 8, +2 Init)
Flawed 9 (roll of 4, +5 Init)
Starbuck, De Vere 8
Round 4
The remaining crew member looks extremely shaken and dives off of the boat, starting to swim towards Stormreach. The half-elf caster sends another 2 balls of force into a wounded sahuagin, killing it. The other sahuagin, grinning sick and toothy grins, start to abandon ship as the cracking of timber gets louder and louder...
Conditions
bless, 17.5 rounds remaining
lines on fire at the ladder, starboard side, forward
aft sails on fire
OOC: Thanks for the patience, all. Something is about to happen here, as you can see. You can each make an AoO at one of the sahuagin if you like, except Plonk, who's using his crossbow -- at least three have to go by you in order to get in the water. If you have any questions about this battle, feel free to ask in the OOC thread. I will point out that I was using a variant on the mook rules from M&M here because of where the fight was going... Finally, I'll have a map up tomorrow or Saturday, whenever my next post is; we won't need it for the next two rounds, but we will after that -- in the meantime, assume that you have 2 rounds (this and the next) to make preparations for whatever's going to happen and take care of anything else you'd like to take care of.
