(IC) We be Jammin' (5e PBP)

[Snarf Zagyg]

Phlox was pleased to have spotted the ship as service was salvation, but he quickly realized that there was little else he could do. The vows of Zuoken prevented him from engaging an enemy at distance, so he would wait until they were closer before he engaged them in combat.

Phlox patiently waited, observing the strange sight of a ship without water approaching closer.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

The ships came together at what felt like a snail's pace to those impatiently waiting to board. Relative movement was difficult to discern as the space-rock was also moving, rolling along through wildspace toward parts unknown.

In spite of the relative calm of the ships' sailing, the crew of the ballistae worked furiously, loading, aiming, and firing their massive bolts. Charlie's first shot, after coming around the space-rock and sighting the Star Moth once more, fell below the ship as it pierced through the ship's air-bubble and entered the ship's gravity well.

"Jolly good job, Charlie, Monty said to him encouragingly, "But you've got to aim higher to account for the shift, eh? We'll work on it. Soon we'll be close enough that our bubbles will merge and things will be closer to what you're used to."

Sure enough, as the ships moved closer there was a popping sound and a woosh of wind blew through the sails. The ship leaned to one side as it was affected by the gravity of the slightly larger Star Moth. It was a strange sensation, and those that were not used to it stumbled a bit. Many of them were sailors, though, and in a lot of ways, the ship's movements were less volatile than one at sea, though in other ways more similar than one might expect.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

OOC: I'm going to place the Star Moth's weapons fire here but I will write a descriptive post when I have some of the Moondancer's shots to compare it to.

Spoiler: Rolls

Dark Star's barrage
T-3 Mangonel: 2D20.LOW(1)+5 = [6, 9]+5 = 11
T-2 Mangonel: 1D20+5 = [13]+5 = 18 for 5D10 = [7, 1, 7, 8, 9] = 32
T-1 Mangonel: 1D20+5 = [3]+5 = 8
T-3 Ballista1: 2D20.LOW(1)+6 = [1, 18]+6 = 7
T-3 Ballista2: 2D20.LOW(1)+6 = [13, 11]+6 = 17 for 3D10 = [5, 9, 5] = 19
T-2 Ballista1: 2D20.LOW(1)+6 = [5, 12]+6 = 11
T-2 Ballista2: 2D20.LOW(1)+6 = [13, 19]+6 = 19 for 3D10 = [6, 4, 9] = 19
T-1 Ballista1: 1D20+6 = [3]+6 = 9
T-1 Ballista1: 1D20+6 = [10]+6 = 16 for 3D10 = [9, 7, 1] = 17
Location of hits rolls (for both ships, will narrate later):
1-4) Hull (Fore, Mid, Mid, Aft); 5-7) Deck (Fore, Mid, Aft); 8-10) Sails & Rigging (Fore, Mid, Aft).
1D10 = [3] = 3 Midships Hull (32 damage to Moondancer)
1D10 = [10] = 10 Aft Sails & Rigging (19 damage to Moondancer)
1D10 = [4] = 4 Aft Hull (19 damage to Moondancer)
1D10 = [10] = 10 Aft Sails & Rigging (17 damage to Moondancer)
1D10 = [7] = 7 Aft Deck
1D10 = [1] = 1 Fore Hull
1D10 = [9] = 9 Mid Sails & Rigging
1D10 = [4] = 4 Aft Hull
1D10 = [2] = 2 Midships Hull
Positioning Battle of Flapjack vs Star Priestess:
Check: 1D20+4 = [13]+4 = 17 vs 1D20+5 = [9]+5 = 14 Flapjack WINS!

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Charlie nods to Monty and adjusts his aim as suggested. He engages the firing mechanism and this time the bolt sails high, overshooting the other ship. He curses again and is about to begin re aiming the siege weapon when the other ship comes much closer to the Moondancer.

Charlie leaves the weapon to the other crewman and moves up to the rail. He sends two bolts of force streaking towards some of the crew on the deck of the star moth manning thier siege weapons. The bolts of force strike two crewman, the force of the blast pushing them away from the rail.

OOC: T2: Ballista shot at Star Moth mangonel.: 2d20l1+6 8 3d10 19 T1: Waiting till they are within 120 ft then sending an eldritch blast at some of the crew on the star moths deck. Eldritch blast attack on Star Moth crew.: 2#1d20+7 25 12 2#1d10+4 13 11. I have Repelling Blast so anyone hit by me gets knocked back 10 ft.

 

[jmucchiello]

Delphne climbed into the shooter position of the ballista and aimed it toward the other ship. It was so far away, or maybe it wasn't. She didn't have a lot of confidence in being able to hit the other ship so she just aimed for the middle. There seemed to be people on the deck of the other ship waiting to board this ship. Maybe she could wreck the boarding mechanism. Nope. Shot was definitely short. That thing is much further away than she thought. She watched as the others manning the ballista picked up the heavy bolt and reloaded for her.

Firing again wasn't much better than the first time. But she thought she was getting the hang of it.

As the ships came even closer she let loose a bolt that tore into the other ship.

OOC: T3: Ballista: 2D20.LOW(1)+6 = [13, 3]+6 = 9 3D10 = [10, 4, 8] = 22 T2: Ballista: 2D20.LOW(1)+6 = [6, 20]+6 = 12 3D10 = [8, 3, 9] = 20 T1: Ballista: 1D20+6 = [20]+6 = 26 3D10 = [1, 2, 9] = 12 Ballista CRIT: 3D10 = [5, 9, 3] = 17

 

[Leatherhead]

Glau had lacked the foresight to bring some crossbows up from below. Turning back to the stairs, they saw it was filled with rubberneckers. "GeT bElOw DeCkS aNd LoCk DoWn ThE hAtChEs If YoU aIn'T fIgHtInG tOpSiDe!"

The Plasmoid bubbles over with rage, and climbs the mast to a line on the yardarm. From there, they lie in wait like a primal beast, ready to swing down and ambush the astral elves in the boarding.

OOC: Oh boy, Rage is a dozy now, it can last for up to 10 min, and be maintained with just a bonus action if need be. Which is great for exactly this kind of set up! Even more impressively, Acrobatics, Intimidation, Perception, Stealth, and Survival all become become STR skills. Which means that barbarians have Advantage on all of those things from being in Rage! Glau is angry enough to track you by the smell of your fear alone, and with an effective passive perception of 22, there is nowhere you can hide! t-3 Talking, and using Rage. t-2 Climbing Rage Athletics check : 2D10.HIGH(1)+7 = [9, 4]+7 = 16 t-1 hiding Rage Stealth check : 2D10.HIGH(1)+7 = [9, 3]+7 = 16

 

[Lidgar]

Gunthar moved to the ballista's firing position once Charlie stepped away to blast the oncoming ship with some kind of eldritch power. Encouraging the crew, Gunthar takes aim and fires before the other ship engages.

OOC: T1: Ballista fire at short range: 1D20+6 = [10]+6 = 16 3D10 = [1, 5, 8] = 14

 

[Kobold Stew]

Sanderson watches the ships draw closer to each other. He is at the gunwales, which provide some cover for him, but he is as close to the approaching predator as he can get. Where the boarding will take place.

He hears the creak of the ship's hull, tugging against forces he can't see, and feels the pull of the rope he holds onto, even though he feels no wind tugging at the sail. It is an eerie place, and he feels abandoned.

He's there, steadying himself and tryiing to target one of the weapons. He thinks he has a clear shot, and three fiery beams fly forth, but one of them flies wide.

Spoiler: Round 1

When the ships draw near, he sees the boarding party -- creatures unlike any he had ever seen before today, but like the one among their crew hear. Glau it was called.

Sanderson looks for a sense of recognition in ther eyes, as he shifts his form back and forth defensively, until...

Now.

With a snap, He summons the Spark, which flames into existence among the densest group of boarders. A burst of flame radiates, and there she is. She sees him, and he feels the warmth of her love as the boarding party blisters, as she rises above them all.

OOC: T-3: dodge, behind partial cover. T-2: dodge, behind partial cover. T-1: Cast scorching ray: three beams. 2 hit with 21 and 25, for a disappointing 9 points fire damage total. Sorry: Also rolled round 1, thinking it was -1. Here you go, when ready, cast at 30' away). Spoiler: round 1 Action: Summon Wildfire spirit (uses 1/2 Wildshape). Summons them amongst the biggest group of boarders. All within 10' radius must make a Dex save vs DC 15 or take 2d6=10 points fire damage. It is AC 13 with 30HP. She flies straight up 20' (her move is 30', but I am guessing that she needs to also fly forward to stay with the ship? Or maybe everything in the bubble around the ship moves with it? Honestly, it's fine if she goes 30' up and the ship pulls away from her a bit. You'll make it work.) Spells left: 4/4, 2/3, 2/2.

 

[Steve Gorak]

Nic tries to shoot the enemy ship, and even as it gets closer and to his great frustration, he is unable to hit anything.

OOC: T-3 done T-2: attack 1: 2D20.LOW(1)+7 = [11, 5]+7 = 12 Attack 2: 2D20.LOW(1)+7 = [1, 10]+7 = 8 damage 1: 1D6+4 = [6]+4 = 10 Damage 2: 1D6+4 = [3]+4 = 7 extra damage: 1D6 = [1] = 1 T-1 attack 1: 1D20+7 = [6]+7 = 13 attack 2: 1D20+7 = [4]+7 = 11 damage 1: 1D6+4 = [3]+4 = 7 damage 2: 1D6+4 = [4]+4 = 8 extra damage: 1D6 = [4] = 4 Crappy rolls!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

As the ships came toward each other, the new crew of the Moondancer did their best. Delphine managed to score a solid hit with her ballista, sending a bolt that punctured into the hull on the aft part of the ship. Gunthar's bolt struck the Star Moth in its "nose", very close to where its ballistae were firing their bolts out the "eye" holes (the whole ship living up to its name, shaped like a giant moth).

As the ships neared, Charlie, Nic, and Sanderson fired at the mangonel crew who could be seen loading their weapon on a mounting that was between the Star Moth's fore and main deck, that also made up the main structure that held its massive, fibre-mesh "wing" sails. Similar to the ballistae aboard the Moondancer, the Star Moth's mangonel had a shield-wall built to protect the gunnery crew, and Nic couldn't find a way around or through it. Charlie was luckier, and he knocked one of the creatures there with a well aimed bolt. The crew appeared to be of a similar sort to Glau - plasmoids - and Sanderson sent a trio of firebombs that left the one that Charlie had struck burned to death.

Meanwhile, the Star Moth had continued to pound the Moondancer with its slightly superior firepower. Earlier, a mangonel stone had struck the Moondancer low and hard enough to cause minor injuries among the frightened refugees below. A close-call came when a ballista bolt burst through the wall of the room where Flapjack's helm was located. Luckily, the flumph felt it coming and took cover while splinters burst through the room into the metal back of the spelljamming helm.

The damage was cosmetic, and Flapjack's focus never wavered as he brought the Moondancer in for the boarding action. Both ships wanted the "upper" position, where crew could jump or rain fire down upon the other, while the other side might have to climb or have their ranged attacks hindered by the height of the other ship's hull. For a moment it seemed that the Star Moth would achieve it - but then Flapjack ran the Moondancer's fore hull into the Star Moth's somewhat-flexible sails, which brought the galleon sliding up-and-over.

There was a grinding sound as the two ships came to a relative stop side-by-side, faced back-to-front and slowly spinning in a dance as the fight became a close battle of increased ferocity. The remaining crew of the mangonel began to abandon their now-useless siege weapon, and three astral elves in strange body armour climbed out of their command deck onto the main deck, carrying bows. Similarly, the plasmoid crew of the balistae were climbing through a hatch that led to the fore deck.

Aboard the Moondancer, it was clear that with their superior position, they had become the attacker and the other ship the defender.

OOC: Charlie did 13 to Plasmoid1. Delphine did 29 to Dark Star's Aft Deck; Glau raged & climbed. Gunthar did 14 to Dark Star's fore hull (which unfortunately has a "damage threshold" of 15); Nic missed; Phlox readied; Sanderson did 9 fire, finishing off Plasmoid1. William helped below decks. The Dark Star did 87 damage total to the Moondancer. Flapjack beat the Astral Elf Star Priestess for the "higher" positioning.

Spoiler: Rolls

Flapjackdc14 DEX save: 1D20+4 = [18]+3 = 21