Deep Water and Shoals - A Swashbuckling Campaign

[Uriel]

Nicodemus pauses as the strange looking Elf talks at him and Ben.
'Why, I do believe that's Cap'n McCrenshaw what's involved in that racket in you Garbage Scow of a Tavern.'
Turning to the Sea Elf, Nico bows and says in accented Elvish 'Greetings 'Sister Beneath the Waves.'
Nico waves his hands, intoning in Eldritch Draconic, the result of which is a slight blue shimmer which covers him then fades almost instantly.
OOC:Mage Armor on self
'Now, lad, we have to get in there and see what's up, I'd hate to lose Me Cap'n afore I even signed on, eh? (Grins) Lead on, Ben!'
Nicodemus doesn't wait long for the sailor, though, and he sprints off down the road.

 

[Bob Aberton]

Nicodemus: You don't even need to kick open The Frigate's door; it is already hanging crazily off of one hinge, and there is a bullet-hole in it.

You see that the bar at large is a shambles. Tables and chairs are overturned, the bar itself is blazing merrily. A gnome crouches behind an overturned table, trading shots with the bartender, who is armed with a musket.

A steady stream of sailors and ship's officers, barmaids and not a few runners is pouring out of the establishment.

The braver runners are engaged in a melee in the far right corner of the bar. A small halfling with a proportionately sized rapier, a savage looking half-orc who wears the holy symbol of Calypso and carries a white Albatross (Calypso's favored bird) on his shoulder, a tall, burly harpooner armed with an axe, and an old man with a cutlass are fighting twice that number of runners.

"Captain, sir!" Ben calls to the old man. "I brought help!"

Malachi: The bird swoops down fluttering its nearly twelve-foot wingspan in the runner's face.

Swinging wildly at the Albatross, but at the same time reluctant to actually hit it, he has no chance of parrying your blow. Your borrowed cutlass strikes true, and he staggers back, clutching his wounded belly. Instead of retaliating, he turns and runs for it, jumping tables, dropping his cutlass, and hurtling out the door.

Malthas: In a maneuver you learned at the Flashing Blades Academy, you jab at the man's groin, step left, pull your blade back, and slide it easily through the man's throat. He gurgles and falls to the ground. His companion turns and flees.

Bimzoole: Your bullet misses, and flattens itself against the wall next to the barkeep's ear. The bartender raises his musket as you duck back behind the table.

"Aye," he shouts back. "Roast gnome! Shorty!"

He, however, misses even worse than you do, and the table takes another hit. The bartender, meanwhile, starts backing toward the stairs, half-concealing himself in the stairwell.

(OOC: And of course what would swashbuckling be without witty banter between foes? )

Vemuz: (OOC: Well, you described it pretty well...which saves me some work; thanks ) The runner you missed sees the look in your furious gaze and quails, shrinking back. But the runner who wounded you turns to his friend and laughs at you. laughs at you .

"See, Biff, 'e ain't so tough arter all. Yah, clod, what's wrong? Don't know how t' use that frogslicer, eh?" He says, punctuating the gesture with a very rude gesture indeed.

Jonah: "Captain McCrenshaw?" says an old greybeard, who is lounging on the capstan head. "'E just went down t' Th' Frigate t' deal wit some of them runners - nasty folk, drink wit them, an' yer on a slow boat t' nowhere afore y' can draw breath. If yer applying fer a position as crew, ya'd best talk t' Mr. Lang, in the great cabin there, back aft aways."

 

[dead_radish]

Malthas laughs wildly as the man falls. "I _told_ them I could pull that off!" He hears the barkeep's shout, and turns his attention that direction. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall, treetopper!" He leaps up on a table, and bounds across, leaping over the bar in a flip, and landing in front of the barkeep, attempting to knock the pistol from his hand.

(OOC: Attempting a charge on the barkeep, using tumble and jump as needed to avoid tables, terrain, AoO's and the flaming bar. If I can't attack, I'll just double move and prepare to charge him. And I'm going to say that whenever it's relevant, Malthas will attempt to parry the first successful hit against him each turn. Remember he has a +5 to resist being disarmed (but not to disarm) And this has been a very entertaining start. ).

 

[kenjib]

Vemuz utters in a sneering voice. "I fail to see what is so funny." With that he hurls the axe right at the runner who laughed and strikes him with a powerful blow.

attack: 19 +8=27
damage: 2 +5=7

With that, he draws the last throwing axe from his belt.

 

[Uriel]

Nicodemuz eyes the scene, taking in the Runners, the band of Sailors .
OOC:I recognize the 'interesting looking half orc with the sextant' from the docks, and I believe the Gnome as well.
'Aye, runners, looks like Ye have bitten aoff a bit more wind than yer sails kin ha dle, wot!?!'
Nico snaps his fingers and a pair of magic missiles streaks off to hit the retreating Bartender.
OOC: 3 and 4 points=7HP if I roll.
'Take that ye Coward, I bet it's yer Doing this
canchinging operation.I may 'ave ta burn this affront to the Sea to the ground to cleanse the stain on this 'ere town. So be it.'
Yells 'Hey yer runners, have a look at this!
Artimus throws a stone (I'm sure there are some loose cobblestones from the road) at one of the runners in an attempt to get them to look our way.
My next action, providing any of the runners look this way, is to step forward and hit them with a Color Spray.

OOC:I'm off to work. DMBob, the Rogues gallery ate my character, and as I mentioned in email, my day's spell picks along with it.
For Simplicity's sake here is my repicked list (I picked yesterday)
0:Resistance, Light, Detect Magic, Mage Hand
1st:Mage Armor (now cast on self), Magic Missile (now cast) Color Spray and True Strike
2nd: Detect Thoughts, Alter Self, Invisibility.
I'll check from work to see how things are going along.

 

[garyh]

Bimzoole wil blast another volley of arcane cannon balls at the barkkep.

"That's funny, I've heard tell that you're called 'shorty' yourself... by the ladies!!"

 

[Xael]

Jonah looks as the dwarf enters The Frigate, and says to the graybeard: "I think I'd rather talk with the captain himself first."
Then he sprints towards The Frigate, letting out a sigh as he goes.
*Always talk with the captain first, nobody can whine about you if you're hired by the captain...*

 

[Bob Aberton]

Jonah: You sprint through the wrecked door (it has a bullet hole in it), and Xanaphia follows. Inside what once was a massive barroom brawl has died down to a smoldering skirmish in the corner.

Tables are overturned, smashed bottles are everywhere, the bar is burning merrily, and not a few bodies lie on the floor. even as you watch, a dwarf and a gnome discharge simultaneous volleys of some kind of offensive magic, and the bartender, who was armed with a musket, crumples to the ground, to all appearances dead. A small halfling with a bloodstained rapier runs to the bartender's position with deadly intent, leaping over tables, and vaulting over the flaming bar, only to find that the bartender is already dead.

In a corner, an old sea captain, a half-orc with the holy symbol of
Calypso, and a massively built harpooner are disposing with the last of a group of ragged but well armed thugs. Everyone pauses for just a moment to see the newcomers, then goes back to their fighting.

Vemuz: Your axe gashes the laughing man, and he laughs no longer. Taking a step back, he pulls out a pistol and discharges it into your abdomen. Blood trickles down your stomach.

Meanwhile, his fellow, though shaken, still takes the opportunity to slip in with his cutlass, but his hands are shaking so badly that he misses, the cutlass stabbing empty air.

(OOC: you are still flanked by runner #8 [now wounded] and runner #7. Runner #7 is shaken by unwounded, and runner #8 is wounded but not shaken. My sympathies about your previous rolls,but your luck seems to be changing )

Malthas: You perform a dazzling charge at the bartender, leaping tables, slipping over and under seeking blades, and vaulting over the flaming bar, only to find your efforts are unrewarded. Four glowing projectiles the size of cannonballs have outraced you and found the bartender first. He is dead.

Bimzoole: Your magic cannonballs join up with two launched by a strange dwarf, a newcomer to the fray, and the bartender falls dead. An instant later, Malthas comes charging in, only to find his target dead. He shoots you a disappointed look.

Nicodemus: You and the gnome cast your spell at the same time, and your magic projectiles - concentrated masses of murderous intent so great that they are a physical force, shaped like cannonballs - join forces with his. the bartender barely has time to open his mouth before he is dead. The halfling duelist vaults over the flaming bar and charges the bartender an instant too later - his mark has already fled this world.

All: Two newcomers, both seemingly elves, but one with jet black skin, white hair, and red eyes, and the other with green hair and...gills? burst in through the door and survey the scene.

Meanwhile, the fire from the bar is spreading, covering a good bit of the floor now. The room is deserted save for two runners still trying to kill the harpooner, dead runners, the motley assembly which was fighting the runners, and the newcomers (Xanaphia and Jonah). Even as you watch, the alcohol-fueled flames start licking across the floor, and climbing up the walls, hissing and popping like serpents.

 

[Uriel]

OOC: I don't get the chance/have to cast Color Spray, then. I had posted in case you wanted to continue another round while I was unavailable

OOC:Nicodemus will put a pistol shot into the back (the proper Fate for a Runner) of any unengaged Runners, if they are in Melee, he will hold off.

Nico yells above the din of a dying battle and a dying Hulk.
'Aye, Seems that Yer Foul Deeds beget the Destiny they generated, Ye Honorless Dogs. This place'll burn Wi'out Me help!'
'Ben, get yer Cap'n we'd better git out 'o this wreck afore she goes down!'

 

[Tonguez]

Seeing the fire spread further Malachi puts his hand up to stroke the head of the albatross upon his shoulder

"T'ank you Lady" he says to the bird "bot naw you mus' go - b'far dhe fiyah gets near - go"

He dismiss the Albatross asking it to go before the flames reach it and then turns around and attackers the nearer of Vemuz's two assailants a halfspear thrust to the back..."

(Attack 20+3 Woohoo a natural 20!)