Seas of Vodari - Story Hour

[mikeawmids1]

WORLD PRIMER

The Southern Nations
ARUSHI: pre-revolutionary France, a political powderkeg
TAEVARA: zealous theocracy of militant clerics
VERACI: trade hub contested by four powerful merchant houses
XOLEN: gnomish nation, highly industrialised
ZAVROS: war-torn kingdom claimed by criminal syndicates

The Pirate Isles
A chain of islands under the loose governance of the Pirate Queen Esmerelda and the League of Captains.

The Colonies
Chain of islands colonised by various groups representing - or running from - the Southern Nations.

The Forest Realm
Home to the various flavors of Elf native to Vodari.

The Marradi Archipelago
DRAGA: Dragonborn Empire in decline
ISTORI: grand repository of ancient knowledge
MORNDIN: mountain homeland of the Dwarves

The North/Untamed Lands
GHAK: isolated island of goblinoids
NORDAA: viking clans
ISELAAD: land of the Frost Giants
KHAR: swampy homeland of the Lizardfolk
STONETUSK: orc nation
ZETH'KUR: mysterious ruins ruled by an evil dragon

The Maps Edge
All the other weird/unmapped islands you may stumble across by accident.

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GODS OF VODARI

AERAKO, wind & mischief (CG)
AUBORI, nature & beauty (CG)
DOKAHI, deep sea & monsters (LE)
FORTANA, freedom & luck (CN)
ISTORO, wisdom & knowledge (LN)
KALDER, winter, survival & valour (NG)
MIRTA, the cycle of death and rebirth (LN)
MORTO, necromancy & secrets (NE)
OKEANO, sea & sea creatures (CN)
SCATHO, conquest & tyranny (LE)
SINDRI, creativity & invention (CN)
TAEVA, civilization & war (LG)
TERO, light, love & healing (LG)
TOAMNA, agriculture & fertility (LG)
VESI, chaos, storms & darkness (CE)
VOLKAN, fire & destruction (CE)

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Session 1

It is a beautiful, sunny day in the city of Sandport. Unfortunately, our heroes are about to be executed!

Flashback 48 hours; the crew of the 'Ship Happens' are plotting a heist to steal Captain Blackheart's treasure map from the Governor's private collection. Tonight, the Governor celebrates his 70th birthday, which is the ideal time to sneak in.

The crew;
Corali, Voda Rogue (Indra)
Rhogar, Dragonborn Sorcerer (Jack)
Cookie, Human Cleric (Morgan)
Slash, Half Orc Fighter (Adam)
Bash, Half Orc Fighter (Dan)

Rhogar offers his services as an entertainer, but his fire-breathing act alarms the guards. Corali uses the distraction to sneak inside, using her shapechange ability to blend in. Unfortunately, a servant witnesses her shifting forms and she is forced to retreat.

The party begins at dusk, guests arrive from across Sandport to celebrate the Governor's birthday. There is music and fireworks. Corali slips back in, while the rest of the crew arrange a distraction. The estate overlooks a bay, where the Governor's personal pleasure craft is moored. Slash and Bash light themselves on fire and jump onto the boat, which certainly proves distracting to the redcoats guarding the private jetty.

Several guards are drawn away from the mansion to deal with the arsonists, giving Corali the opportunity to slip into the Governor's museum. She spots a miniature model of Captain Blackheart's ship; the 'Howl of the Sea'. Corali pops open the display case and grabs the ship. As soon as she does so, storm clouds gather above and thunder booms deafeningly loud, shattering every window in the estate. Four storm spirits materialise, and converge upon the thief. Corali vaults out through the broken window, breaking the model ship as she lands in the garden. A rolled up parchment falls out of the hollow mast; Corali secretes the scroll about her person.

Several squads of redjacketed marines have the crew cornered on the private jetty behind the estate. The Governor's boat is sinking fast, and there is no other means of escape. Outnumbered and surrounded, the crew surrender, and are sentenced to hang for their crimes!

Back in the present, the crew are lined up on the gallows, a hempen noose around each of their necks. A hooded executioner waits for the Governor's signal to open the trapdoors beneath their feet. Rhogar has been muzzled after burning some dude's head, but he still has enough sorcery points left to summon flames around the lever for the trapdoor, making the metal too hot to touch! Cookie summons a spiritual breadknife to hack through the ropes binding them. Seeing the prisoners are free, the Governor retreats into his mansion. The crew fight their way off the scaffold and recover their gear, then begin running for their ship (on the other side of Sandport) with the rest of the Governor's men in hot pursuit.

TBC

 

[mikeawmids1]

Session 2

The crew of the 'Ship Happens' may have escaped the hangman, but they are still a long ways short of safe. Their sloop is docked on the other side of town, and a squad of mounted redcoats are bearing down on them! The Governor's private carriage - resplendent in lacquered wood and shiny brass fittings - is parked nearby. The crew hijack the vehicle. Cookie takes the reins, and everyone else piles into the back.

The carriage speeds along the steep, treacherous road winding down toward the harbour. Rhogar breaks the rear window and exhales flame over the pursuing marines. Men and horses are set ablaze, charred bodies tumbling from the track. A burly veteran jumps onto the roof of the carriage and levels a loaded flintlock at the back of Cookie's skull! Cookie veers from side to side until the redjacketed officer looses his footing and tumbles from the roof.

The carriage races through a bustling fishmarket, spilling the day's catch across the brine-slick cobblestones. A squint-eyed fishwife abandons her cart as the speeding carriage careens toward her stall. The crew use the cart as a ramp to jump over the barricade hastily erected to stop them reaching their ship! The harness breaks, releasing the horses - and the carriage skids along the harbour front, finally coming to a stop teetering precariously on the very end of the pier....

The redcoats rush to stop the crew escaping aboard their ship. Slash and Bash hold them off, whilst Cookie and Rhogar load a cannon with the silverware they stole from the Governor's mansion. Rhogar lights the fuse and discharges a barrelful of metal shrapnel into the melee. The marines are perforated with pilfered cutlery! Slash and Bash stumble from the cloud of smoke, and the crew manage to escape amidst the confusion.

The crew examine the map extracted from the model of Blackheart's ship, and discover the parchment has been torn in half. Without the other piece of the map, they cannot find the treasure! The papyrus is stained with a reddish-brown substance that Cookie identifies as bolognaise, and the other side of the map is scrawled with a recipe for braised aboleth. The crew recall that a goblin cook called Fishslice served upon Blackheart's crew, and now runs a restaurant in the pirate harbour of Sceptre. The crew set sail for the Pirate Isles!

However, the crew soon find themslves adrift in an unnatural fog. Spectral swashbucklers emerge from the mist and attack the ship! Cookie brandishes the holy symbol of Okeano (God of the Sea & Sea Creatures) aloft, driving most of the spectres back from whence they came. One particularly willful spirit drives its ghostly scimitar through Bash's heart (crit for 26 damage, reducing Bash's max HP be the same amount)! Bash now has max 2 HP until he finishes a long rest!

A derelict ship looms out of the fog. The nameplate identifies the wreck as the 'Minotaur'. The crew warily board the ghost vessel. A swarm of undead seagulls scrutinize the crew from what remains of the rigging, the deck splattered with their foul droppings. The Captain's cabin is sealed by three sturdy padlocks.

The party head below deck, where a horde of fifteen rowdy skeletons cavort in the crew quarters. Several skeletons are playing cards, and Slash spots a chunky iron key among the wagers scattered across the table. Slash antes up his soul for the key, and the skeletons deal him in. He wins the first hand, but doubles down for additional info on the other two keys. He wins again, and the skeletons grudgingly reveal the other two keys are in the possession of the ship's bosun and cook respectively.

The crew approach the bosun's cabin. Suddenly, the door bursts open and a hulking zombie shambles out, swinging the ship's anchor like a flail! Another iron key pokes out from beneath the fat, greying folds of his neck. The crew defeat the bosun and claim the second key.

The crew head to the galley. The ship's cook turns out to be a giant octopus with a bad case of the French. The cook will exchange the third key for a sack of onions stored in the lower hold. The skeletons refuse to go down there because of the rats. The party are afeared of no mere vermin and descend into the lower hold, wading through knee deep bilge water in search of the elusive shallots. They hear claws scurrying in the dark, as six enormous rats converge on the party, buck teeth gnashing at the prospect of fresh meat...!

TBC

 

[mikeawmids1]

Session 3

In the dank underbelly of the becalmed ghost ship, the crew of the 'Ship Happens' face off against a swarm of giant rats (and I mean "giant", these things are big, almost as though the GM reskinned the stat block for bears). The rats don't care for bright light and the crew use this to their advantage. They also lack Pack Tactics, because bears. Bash takes a lantern from the skeleton's quarters, illuminated by the flickering spirit trapped within. Slash crits with his warhammer and punches a hole through the bottom of the boat. Icy seawater begins to flood the lower hold.

Cookie grabs the sack of onions needed in exchange for the last key. Oliveri (the giant octopus/ship's cook) hands it over, and offers to cook for the party. The skeletons do not appreciate his culinary genius, and he so rarely has guests with an actual stomach. The meal is delicious and provides temporary HP. Bash goes back for seconds. The party offer Oliveri a place on their crew, and he accepts (extra ship actions now available due to all those helpful tentacles!).

The crew now have all three keys required to access Captain Bullhead's cabin. Upon a battered sea chest rests the barnacle-encrusted skull of a minotaur with mismatched gemstones for eyes. As the crew approach, the spectral apparition of Captain Bullhead manifests to repel boarders with a pair of ghostly cutlasses. Slash discovers the skull can be targeted directly, and is vulnerable to bludgeoning damage. Captain Bullhead charges across the deck and gets his horns stuck in the mast. Bash breaks the spirit lantern to release a will-o-wisp that immediately turns on the party. Captain Bullhead calls for his skeleton crew to join the battle, but by the time they haul their lazy bones on deck the heroes have already won.

The ghost ship starts to sink in earnest. The crew grab all the treasure they can carry and disembark to their own vessel. The stones plucked from Captain Bullhead's skull are elemental gems (air & water)! The cutlasses are +1 swords that do psychic damage! The sea chest contains mundane plunder! With the crew of the 'Minotaur' dispatched to the sea floor, the ominous mist clears and the crew can continue their voyage!

The crew finally reach Sceptre, a secluded pirate haven loosely governed by Pirate Queen Esmerelda and the League of Captains. As they disembark, Rhogar spots a trio of loansharks that he owes money to loitering on the waterfront. He spooks and runs, and the loansharks give chase. Corali shapeshifts into a second Rhogar to confound the ruffians. The loansharks catch up with fake Rhogar and go through 'his' pockets, seizing Corali's share of the gold from the 'Minotaur'. Corali deftly lifts the coin back out of their pockets as they turn to leave.

All across town are posters promoting a boxing match between newcomer Smash and reigning champ Fuglyboy. Smash looks identical to both Slash & Bash, another identical half-orc fighter from their extensive family. Slash sets a calender reminder to attend the match and cheer Smash on.

Gobblers restaurant is closed (a note in the window cites food hygiene violations), and Fishslice is in jail. The crew bribe the guards with several jars of artisanal chutney to speak with the prisoner. Fishslice protests his innocence and agrees to hand over his half of Blackheart's map if the crew clear his name and help re-open his restaurant. He produces a soiled key fom his prison pocket so the crew can search for clues.

Inside Gobblers, Cookie investigates the pantry and discovers the fish is afflicted with some kind of death curse. Corali finds receipts directing the finger of blame to one Captain Gullpepper. The crew ask around and learn Captain Gullpepper has been trawling near the cursed island of Morto (named for the evil god of necromancy & secrets).

The crew set out to catch Captain Gullpepper in the act. When they find him, his fishing boat is under attack by albino fishmen, twisted by their proximity to the cursed island. Dead men can't confess their sins, so the crew leap into action! Gullpepper's crew have barricaded themselves inside the wheelhouse. A net laden with sickly-looking tuna dangles from a crude crane mounted to the deck. A large shape circles the beleagured vessel, glimpsed beneath the churning waves. Leaping across, Cookie use the crane controls to swing the net like a wrecking ball, sweeping several fishmen back into the drink. Corali ushers the crew of the fishing boat onto the 'Ship Happens'. Cookie stays behind to cover their escape.

Something large rams the ship, and the ragged fin of giant shark breaks the surface, a cackling sea hag astride its back. The hag brandishes a golden trident. The fishmen have Cookie cornered, prodding him toward the prow at spearpoint, where the giant shark circles hungrily. Cookie readies an item, then leaps into the shark's gaping maw! The rest of the crew watch in horror as their comrade is swallowed whole!

As his mangled body slides down the shark's gullet, Cookie crushes the elemental sapphire in his fist, releasing an unruly air elemental into the fish's intestinal tract. A swirling vortex of howling wind lifts the shark out of the water, carries it high into the air, swelling like a balloon until it burst open like a piñata full of fish guts! The sea hag fish jockey shrieks as her mount explodes, releasing the golden trident (of Fish Command) as she is catapulted over the horizon. Cookie splashes down nearby and Bash pulls him out of the water.

The crew escort Captain Gullpepper back to Sceptre, where he will hopefully trade cells with Fishslice for his multiple infractions on angling legislation, and rightly so. Those rules exist to protect the environment and should be respected, even if you are a pirate!

TBC