So, gonna do another 2-session post here. Worth noting, I'm including the songs Dolce is writing in the body of these posts, whereas on my blog the songs are separate entries. Also I'm including the ship's articles. We based them largely on the ones found on wikipedia here:
Pirate Codes. Many of the items found in those articles were pulled directly into our own.
Spoiler Warning: Many spoilers for the Skull & Shackles adventure path are contained within these story recap posts. If you don’t want your campaign spoiled, don’t read these!
Session 8 – Christening
The morning of the christening found Mirielle rising early. The work was done and the girls, as well as the crew, as well as Captain Pegsworthy’s crew and the workers of Rickety’s Squibs gathered round for the christening. Pegsworthy had a bottle in hand and asked, “Ye have a name for her yet, Captain?”
Mirielle smiled. She did indeed have a name. She’d decided upon a name, based solely on liking how it sounded and the name of a pet cat she’d once owned. “Let her be named
The Lady’s Purr.”
Pegsworthy’s eyebrows rose and Dolce snorted beside Mirielle, “
The Lady’s Purr, Captain? You realize there will be no end to comments we’ll hear with a name like that, right?”
Mirielle started to ask why, but caught herself. Of course, innuendo would haunt a name chosen based on a cat named Lady. Still, she didn’t want Dolce to know how embarrassed she was, nor did she want to appear caught off guard before those assembled, so she swallowed it down and said calmly, “I like the sound of it. Besides, don’t you
want people talking about us?” She couldn’t tell if Dolce saw through her bluff or not, but no one else did… She hoped.
Dolce chuckled. “Aye, Cap. I want the whole of The Shackles talking about us. I’m just not sure
you’ll be ready for that sort of talk.”
She was smirking. She’d definitely seen through the bluff. Mirielle cleared her throat. “Are you second guessing me?”
“No!” Dolce said, “Of course not, Captain. She’s your ship to name!”
Mirielle made a small ‘hmm’ sound and gave a firm nod. Pegsworthy and Rickety looked equally amused by the little exchange and Pegsworthy raised the bottle and said, “Alright then, here’s to
The Lady’s Pu-“
“No, no, no! You need a proper toast for a pirate’s first ship!” Rickety exclaimed. “Bad form not to toast her!”
Pegsworthy lowered the bottle and considered a moment. “Mm, I suppose you’re right, Rickety. Well then… Good fortune and sure sail await what one can crack the Tidewater Rock!” And then he smashed the bottle on the
Purr’s hull, christening her with her new name.
Dolce’s spirits soared, and Mirielle’s embarrassment was forgotten as she watched them release the chocks so the ship could slide down into the estuary. It was a strange, beautiful sight after a long, unusual journey. The sense of freedom that came with being the captain of a ship… Even knowing that Captain Barnabas Harrigan was out there somewhere and likely to be fuming when he learned what had befallen
The Man’s Promise didn’t dampen her spirits.
New Beginnings
Mirielle took the ship’s articles, complete with the signatures of every member of the crew and pinned them to the captain’s cabin.
Her cabin. It made her smile. Jack Scrimshaw was grinning up at her when she turned toward the crew. Now they had a ship.
Dolce had come away from her talks with Pegsworthy with some advice for Mirielle. The man had said he hoped if they met again Captain Mirielle would be a recognized Free Captain, though he’d also assured Dolce by the end of their conversation that his ships would give them no trouble. Of course, he was
still a pirate, so Mirielle wasn’t sure how much stock she put in such assurances.
He was right though. Theoretically, if she became a recognized Free Captain the other Free Captains wouldn’t prey upon her. In the meantime prey was
exactly what
The Lady’s Purr would look like to the Free Captains of The Shackles.
With seven new crewmen aboard, there were a total of 26. They hadn’t found anyone more suited to being Bosun, Quartermaster, or Master Gunner yet, but there was time for that. For now, Mirielle’s concern was getting some experience under the belts of her new crewmen. In addition, she’d gotten Owlbear, Mr. Plugg’s “pet” human, off of the chain in Mr. Plugg’s room and was getting the crew used to being around him.
Owlbear was quite simple and Mr. Plugg’s treatment of him had made Mirielle despair. Of course, she’d had no opportunity to do anything about it before. Now, however, she was in a position to help Owlbear find a place among the crew, and she intended to do so.
Over the next five days Mirielle settled into her role as captain quite well, using her knowledge of sailing to decide their headings and her charm to give her orders. Dolce reflected that she was certainly a
gentler captain than either Harrigan or Plugg, but she still knew what she was doing. They had all signed the articles and had all agreed upon lashes and more severe punishments for certain infractions, and Mirielle hadn’t opposed those despite her softer side. Dolce also noticed that the longer Mirielle spent around the crew, the more the crew loved her. It was exactly what Dolce had hoped she would see.
Revel.. well, lived up to her name in meting out discipline. She also seemed to be settling in well. Dolce found that sometimes crew shuddered when Revel walked past, and yet when it came time for drinking and relaxing they seemed at ease enough around her. The hobgoblin was surprisingly good at being intimidating but also a stalwart comrade.
Nasha seemed pleased to be back on the sea. As Dolce watched her at work she noted the lizardfolk had taken to Owlbear. Jack Scrimshaw and Owlbear seemed to both have won their way into Nasha’s affections, much like Mirielle had initially. Dolce was beginning to suspect Nasha was softer than she let on. An interesting thing to realize when considering how different she was from the rest of them with her smooth, blue scales.
As for Dolce, she’d brought a project aboard. It only took her four days to complete, but she spent those first four days perched on the railing with canvas and thread, sewing their new Jolly Roger. It was all in black and white except certain additions in gold. Pirates loved gold, after all. It was good luck to wear golden jewelry. Their new Jolly Roger would be a black field with a white skull over crossed cutlasses – Besmara’s favored weapon – with a golden crown hanging slantwise over its dome and a single gold tooth.
She’d also brought a project aboard for Mirielle. She’d acquired a copy of
Besmara’s Code while in Rickety’s Squibs, penned her own version, and lent that to Mirielle to copy. It was very common for followers of Besmara to pen their own copy of her Code. At least, those that could write. The reason though, was something Dolce noted during the combat with the cyclops. Mirielle had spared a spell to assist in bringing the creature down…
Spiritual Weapon.
The spell conjured a weapon in the form of the caster’s deity’s preferred weapon.. And Dolce had been delighted to see a cutlass appear rather than the crossbow that should have come to aid them if Mirielle was praying to Abadar like her family. Turned out Mirielle was buying into Dolce’s speech, and was further convinced when of the four of them Quinn had chosen to give
her his
Besmara’s Tricorn. Mirielle believed Dolce was right. What, besides Besmara’s grace, could have allowed a noble lady press ganged by pirates to not only survive but rise to the position of Captain?
Dolce found it funny that something as important as faith could come down to something as random and inane as a guy with a crush on a girl giving her a hat. Maybe this was why her family held such disdain for the shorter-lived races… But Dolce didn’t share that disdain. If anything, she found their quirks endearing.
First Blood
Near the end of the fifth day the call came down from the crow’s nest. A sail on the horizon. It was Rosie who sounded off and thus she’d be the first among them to get the reward they’d written into their articles. First choice of any item aboard in addition to her share.
The vessel, however, was not very exciting. It was a fishing vessel. A long ways out and in dangerous waters, to be sure… But Mirielle ordered them to run it down anyway, figuring it would be good to “blood” their new crew and give them some experience in grappling and boarding a vessel.
Dolce launched into her most recent halyard shanty as they gave chase. Revel lent her voice to assist since the crew hadn't really been exposed to this one yet. Of course, it didn't take long for the crew to catch on. Shanty's were designed such that they sang nearly identical lines they could easily remember and keep time with in order to orchestrate their efforts at their labors. (Dolce's lines as the Shantyman are bolded below.)
Sing Her a Song
Our Captain is rising before the sun
Sing her a song, boys, sing her a song!
Measuring all that needs to be done
We need a song, boys, sing her a song!
With eyes on the crew and heart out at sea
Sing her a song, boys, sing her a song!
The ocean’s the lock, her ship is the key
We need a song, boys, sing her a song!
Plunder is waiting for us to lay claim
Sing her a song, boys, sing her a song!
But Gods I love playing this dangerous game!
We need a song, boys, sing her a song!
We live every day as though death is at hand
Sing her a song, boys, sing her a song!
Til the battle is over and we make for land
We need a song, boys, sing her a song!
Our names will be spoken on every isle
Sing her a song, boys, sing her a song!
Toasts raised to our conquests, wicked and vile!
We need a song, boys, sing her a song!
We’ll sell all our spoils and rake in our gold
Sing her a song, boys, sing her a song!
And live like the wealthiest nobles of old!
We need a song, boys, sing her a song!
Til the Captain comes calling in the early morn
Sing her a song, boys, sing her a song!
To beckon us back to the duties we’ve borne!
We need a song, boys, sing her a song!
The pursuit was relatively trivial, for the ship had no artillery aboard with which to defend itself. They closed the distance, got the grapple, boarded, and overtook the fishermen with relative ease. The men barely put up a fight, which was good for them as it meant only a handful died.
When the crew surrendered the captain followed suit. Mirielle looked at him quizzically once all of the weapons had been collected. She had her crew take what fish they’d caught. A fair enough haul for a fishing vessel, but only worth a measly seventy gold coins. Still, the crew would eat well tonight. Rosie, for her item claim, took the captain’s rapier and threw her old dagger overboard. The rapier would be a little unwieldy for her, given the size difference between the slight halfling and the dwarven captain.
“What are you doing out here?” Mirielle finally asked the captain.
The dwarf said nothing, but one of his crew piped up. “He thought we’d have better luck catching out here. Too much competition in Desperation Bay this time of year says he.”
Mirielle chuckled, “Well, you’re very lucky it was us who came across you because I’m not taking your vessel or your lives. I suggest you get back to the bay before someone else comes across you without even a ballista on your boat.”
The dwarf looked shocked, as did his crew. “You’re letting us go?” He sounded as though he didn’t trust her.
Mirielle chuckled, “Honestly, it wouldn’t be worth the effort to take this boat. I’d make what, 1,500 gold coins on a vessel like this in a good port if I was lucky, plus have to worry about dealing with the lot of you? No. As I said, you’re lucky. Remember this the next time you want to wander into the trade lanes. Tell your friends how you only escaped
The Lady’s Purr with your lives because of my good graces.” She gestured to their mast as she said that, which was just shy of useless after being hit by
The Purr‘s ballista.
That was it, the end of it. Mirielle turned and boarded back onto
The Purr and her crew followed suit. They had seemed a little disappointing in not taking their first vessel when it had held so little plunder for them, but Mirielle ordered Ambrose to cook the fishermen’s catch for the whole crew and told them the time and effort they would have spent would cost them in better plunder later. She also brought Rosie to dinner with the officers that night for sighting the sail.
The crew was won over by their captain’s sentiments and Dolce found herself thinking again she’d been right to make Mirielle captain. Especially as it had given her time to sew their Jolly Roger and would allow her to pursue other distractions as well when she wished. She assisted Ambrose in the kitchens that night, saying it was for old time’s sake.
Session 9 – New Routines
Mirielle had adapted quite well to her new routine, and seemed to wake before the majority of the crew every morning. This time she spent wandering the ship and conversing with the three souls unlucky enough to draw the night duties.
Dolce was only aware because she woke early every morning to study her
Tome of Arcane Whimsy. Some days she did this in the privacy of her room – privacy she was quite thankful for. Other days she wandered the deck herself while deciding which spells to prepare.
The crew never really woke until Revel started yelling at them, but then they scrambled above deck quick as they could. Revel, Dolce noted, wasn’t sleeping in her room. Rather, she was sleeping on the second deck with Cog, their quartermaster. It seemed the two had grown quite fond of one another and Dolce was wondering if it went deeper than just physical companionship at this point. Revel wasn’t the sort to discuss such matters, so she wasn’t entirely sure if she’d ever know. Perhaps if they made port and she noticed the two shared a room on land as well as at sea.
For Dolce’s part, none of the crew really held much romantic interest to her.
Musical interest was another matter altogether. She spent her spare time with Rosie and her fiddle as often as with Ambrose, sometimes convincing the halfling to perform in the kitchen so Ambrose could enjoy their duets as well. She encouraged everyone to sing, whether for work or leisure, drawing in as many voices as possible.
Revel seemed to have quite a knack for singing. Mirielle had a natural talent for it and a voice that was quite gifted for it, but no education. It struck Dolce as a little strange that the noble should be so knowledgeable of ships and sailing but not of singing or needlework. She supposed it came down to their family’s dependence on their merchant fleets to keep them well funded. What a waste Mirielle would have been in Sargava.
Then there was Nasha… Dolce hadn’t heard the lizardfolk utter a single syllable in song. She’d have to remedy that. Even Grok,
The Wormwood‘s quartermaster, had joined in when given the opportunity. Nasha was, by far, the strangest “pirate” Dolce had ever known. She seemed quite ready to leap into combat, and more than happy to work the sails even in the worst of storms, but had no real interest in wealth. It was mind-boggling!
Sure, Dolce’s interest in piracy was born of longing for adventure with a crew you could practically call family, but she was not immune to the charms of wealth or the comforts it provided. Nasha was, it seemed. Then again, they’d not been in a proper port yet. She’d have a chance to gauge her companions better when they did make port.
“SAIL ON THE HORIZON!” came the call from above. It was Maheem’s voice. Revel had been the one to get through to him while they’d stayed aboard the
Wormwood. Dolce took out her spyglass and moved to a position with a better vantage point.
It was a ship from Absalom. A merchant vessel, if she was correct. “Don’t recognize her, Captain. Think she’s a nice merchant ripe for plucking!”
Dolce looked toward her captain and was happy to find her smiling. The pursuit began. This ship’s captain certainly seemed to have a fair mind for her vessel. She had turned to the west, sailing for open ocean or perhaps the Chelaxian trade lanes. Still,
The Lady’s Purr caught her within a few hours of pursuit under Mirielle’s skillful leadership.
Artillery fire was exchanged. This ship was not so foolish as the fishing vessel,
The Elten Baide. She had ballistae of her own. Conchobar took to his task with relish as Nasha and Revel aided him in reloading
The Purr‘s own ballista. And soon enough the distance was closed and the order to grapple was given.
The lines flew out toward the Absalom ship, creating a crisscross of rope connections between them. The boarding ensued, Mirielle, Revel, Nasha, and Dolce among the first to cross the threshold. They dodged the bolts and arrows fired at them as they made their way across the perilous gap. Revel made the task look as natural as walking.
So fast was she that she boarded the ship before the others and found herself surrounded with enemy crew. “YES!” The hobgoblin cried, her blood rushing with adrenaline. Her veins seemed to surge in her skin as her jaw drew out and her extra rows of teeth grew in. “I CAN’T WAIT TO FIND OUT HOW YOU TASTE!!!!!”
Her roar was unnerving to the foe, a few staggering back even as she charged forward and bit their captain. Then the thick of combat came in and Mirielle, Dolce, and Nasha were stuck trying to catch up as they contended with the crew around them. Well-placed spells were making quick work of their opponents and knitting the wounds dealt to them, but Revel was beyond Mirielle’s reach.
Strike after strike she took, blood coating various patches of her clothing and hide armor, but it seemed that even though each wound brought her closer to death it also only invigorated her thrill. Her voice was growing louder as it cut above the rest. “GODS I
LOVE THE TASTE OF BLOOD!”
Dolce heard and shook her head. She wasn’t sure how much of Revel’s exclamation was true and how much was an effort to scare her opponents, but one of the marines that had been protecting the captain laid at the hobgoblin’s feet with his throat torn open. The captain herself had a chunk missing from her arm and blood trailing down her side.
The elf saw an opening in the jumble of enemy crew and with a parting glance at Mirielle stole away to Revel’s aid. She somersaulted between the legs of one man and slipped around behind the captain. “You should really consider surrendering,” Dolce said calmly.
“NO! DON’T DO THAT!” Revel bellowed with equal amounts of gusto and exhaustion.
Revel needn’t have worried for the captain snorted at Dolce and said, “I would never.”
Dolce’s eyes narrowed and a smile crossed her lips. Nasha had slain two more of the marines and the captain’s crew looked on the brink of surrender themselves with Revel standing there covered in blood and so many dead around them. “Those who don’t wish to die for nothing, like
all of your betters have already, lay down your arms! Those that don’t, well, my companion here is still
quite hungry!”
Dolce stabbed the captain even as she was bellowing her false threat. She knew Mirielle would never let Revel eat anyone they weren’t actively fighting, but this crew didn’t. Perhaps Revel needed a nickname or a song of her own. Something Dolce would have to dwell on.
Her ploy worked though, for the crescendo of weapons thudding onto the deck of the enemy vessel sounded and the captain’s eyes widened. “Wait! We still have a chance! Don’t let them break your spirits!” She was trying to rally her sailors, but not one of them seemed stirred by her words.
She did, to her own credit, manage to dodge Revel’s lethal teeth long enough to realize she was basically fighting
The Purr‘s crew alone. Then she cursed and dropped her rapier. “Fine,” she said flatly to Dolce.
Dolce flashed her a smile and stepped between her and Revel lest she get eaten after all.
To the victors…
Mirielle ordered the spoils of their engagement moved from
The Truewind to their own ship. She split the surviving crew on both vessels. Dolce was made the temporary captain of
The Truewind with Revel alongside her to help keep everyone there in line. Meanwhile Mirielle and Nasha oversaw operations aboard
The Lady’s Purr.
Maheem, who had spotted the vessel, laid claim to a blanket and pillow set as his one extra item. The entirety of
The Purr‘s crew burst into laughter as one asked, “What are you gonna do with those, Maheem?”
The Rahadoumi flashed a smile at the pirate, “For my hammock, of course! I’m gonna sleep good from now on!” More laughter erupted, but Maheem was not dismayed. He too was brought to dine with the officers that night, reinforcing a new unspoken tradition on
The Lady’s Purr.
Mirielle set a course for Senghor, a vehemently anti-slavery port. Their stance on slavery mattered little to
The Lady’s Purr as they had no intention of engaging in slaving. It was a missed opportunity for profit, but Dolce found herself in agreement with Mirielle on this point. After all, she’d not much enjoyed being forced into piracy the way she had been. They would allow all of the captured crew to disembark at Senghor before selling their ship.
The journey was four days and change on the sea heading southeast by east, and the time gave Dolce an opportunity to see what sailing under Revel would have been like… At least, potentially. Revel kept the captured crew’s spirits so low they dared not raise a complaint, and she seemed to enjoy doing it. At the same time, to those of
The Purr‘s crew that were aboard, she showed a completely different side. She encouraged them. Despite this, some of their own crew were a bit put off by Revel’s harsher antics and Dolce found herself glad she’d nominated Mirielle to captain rather than the hobgoblin.
Senghor was a well protected port city, and before either ship made it near their destination another vessel approached. A warship. A ship’s boat came out and requested to board
The Lady’s Purr. Mirielle granted permission and was soon speaking with the commander of the impressive warship. She explained they’d taken the ship and her crew several days to the northeast and had no intent of enslaving them. She submitted to rigorous inspection and allowed the captain to question the crew of
The Truewind.
One of them declared that Mirielle was a pirate, but the visiting captain only chuckled and said that much was obvious. It was night by the time they actually docked in Senghor. The fees for docking were steep, but the city was a proper city with resources and an economy one wouldn’t gain access to in a lesser port.
Mirielle had the crew rotate shifts onboard as well as days off so they could enjoy the port for a week. She anticipated needing the time to find a buyer for
The Truewind, though ultimately she managed it quite quickly. They netted a profit of 4,085 gold coins for that, plus more for their plunder. Dolce handled this and paid the crew out of their earnings before deducting an additional 530 gold to use as a gift to Besmara. She’d decided some time ago she would give ten percent of anything she earned at sea and five percent of anything she earned on land to the Pirate Queen now that she herself was a pirate.
It took some convincing to get Mirielle to agree, but not as much as Dolce had expected. Nasha shrugged and volunteered to cover Revel’s share if Revel didn’t agree. Revel had said no until Dolce had shown her how much gold was leftover, and then shrugged and said it was fine. After all, the leftover gold was more gold than Revel had seen in her life. This set a precedent. Much like having Rosie to dine with the officers on the night of sighting the Elten Baide.
Dolce roped Revel and Mirielle into helping her scour the prosperous city for spells she wished to learn. They would help the ship and the crew, she promised, and Mirielle agreed after learning the spells in question. Between the three of them they tracked down every spell Dolce wished to have. One individual was a common thread. An instructor and benefactor at
The College of Gales.
Preparations
Dolce sought the wizard out herself, finding him in the midst of a lecture about water elementals. He was a human, quite stern seeming, and of middling age. Dolce listened quietly in the back of the room, watching as all of his pupils scrambled to take notes. He seemed rather intelligent and rather unyielding in his manner. Gidras was the wizard’s name.
When all was done and the students left Dolce waited further for him to collect his things, but before he’d completely finished straightening the pile of paper on his desk he said, “And what can I do for you, Elf?”
She smiled and approached, attempting to charm him with her manners and respect. “I’m told that you are quite the scholar and with
quite an impressive collection of spells under your mastery, Professor. I was hoping I could trouble you for some scrolls.”
He looked her up and down and Dolce felt certain his eyes had lingered on her bicorn hat and the cutlass she wore. After a time he said, “The school is always happy to accept donations. What are the spells you’re seeking?”
She listed them off and he occasionally informed her of extra costs for those that were more rare than others. The cantrips she desired to learn he said he would instruct her in himself. The rest he said he would take scrolls from the library to provide her if she had the coin.
The transaction completed and scrolls acquired, he had her sit in a student’s desk. In his hands was a long, thin rod of varying colors. It was carved in such a manner that it made a pleasant noise if swiped quickly. She’d seen that earlier when he had rapped a student’s knuckles for answering a question incorrectly during his lecture.
Thankfully, cantrips were a simple enough matter and Dolce was finished within three hours without making any mistakes. She wasn’t sure she wished to be disciplined by one such as he. She thanked him for his time, and inquired if she could return later when her abilities had grown. Gidras agreed, stating again that the college was always pleased to receive donations.
Aside from that, their time in Senghor was spent relaxing. Dolce was right. Nasha had paid only for a common bed in one of the inns, meaning she slept in the common room with many others. Revel at least had indulged in a private room. As for Dolce, she was staying in luxury, paying ten gold a night for an inn with private bathing chambers and a servant.
Mirielle stayed in the same luxurious appointments Dolce was indulging in. She spent at least a portion of her time reflecting on her new life as a pirate captain. She found herself rather surprised by how
good it felt to her to have such autonomy after a lifetime of being groomed to be of service to a husband. In the end, she expressed her feelings through a poem she carefully penned in her captain's log. No one else ever reviewed the logs so she felt it a safe enough space to record her feelings.
On the Sea
Who would have thought that, bred to finer things,
My fortune waited on the open sea?
Not to be bound, I’m gifted silken wings
That carry me where e’er I wish to be.
When heavy rains thunder upon the deck
Or raging waves thrash our fine Lady’s hull
There is no fear which crawls along my neck.
'Tis my sure fate to meet the storms in full!
Within these waves, I’ve found a precious prize –
Worth more to me than gold or my own life.
I feel it every morning when I rise,
My mind relieved of burden and of strife.
The sea spray carries both freedom and bliss;
I’m but a lass enamored by her kiss.
She got Quinn to agree to help Mirielle with getting some new clothes tailored to her. Their captain still looked like a swab, and that was unacceptable. She told their stories in Senghor, drawing crowds in different inns each night, and was surprised to meet with another pirate at one of them. A shantyman by the name if Ikiko who was also a tengu. Fortunate for that vessel as the tengu were considered quite lucky to have aboard.
It was lucky that Mirielle’s new clothes were ready, for the tengu suggested they should meet with his captain. Ikiko and Captain Slip were relatively new pirates, not unlike themselves. They seemed to agree on the point of slavery, and Mirielle proposed they be allies. After all, they had enough to worry about with the Free Captains of the Shackles. The captain agreed. A night of drinking ensued, and in the morning
The Lady’s Purr departed Senghor to seek more prey upon the seas.
OOC Notes - lots of them this time...
1) So on the Articles, we read up on Besmara as well as on actual pirate codes (like the ones from the wikipedia article (I'll link it again:
Pirate Codes)) before I pieced them together.
• Mirielle justified "Good Quarters Given when craved" because Besmara, "...cares little for senseless murder or other unprofitable acts, but is willing to take risks to attain great prizes."
• I added a clause regarding Mutiny (which I imagine is normally common sense, you try to mutiny you die) as well since that's how they attained their ship.
• We decided on shares based on how Owlbrarian imagined most Shackles pirates operating (he said he figured most Shackles captains claim 5-6 shares of any take).
• Mirielle added the provisions regarding injury, while Dolce insisted on the article for musicians, indicating she plans to have some in the future.
2) On a related topic, let's briefly look at one thing that ended up being a common theme in the four girls... They all care greatly for close relationships, but not in the sense of blood at this point. So I guess more "chosen" family than "birth" family.
• Revel, who was lost on the docks of Port Peril as a child, hates her hobgoblin kin for 'abandoning' her, and thus highly prizes anyone who sticks with her.
• Mirielle is waking up to the fact that her friends who shield her from mortal danger and take lashes for her by switching places with her are showing her more devotion and compassion than her cold and distant father did when he groomed her to be a noblewoman and expected her to marry a stranger. She comes to highly prize her freedom, though is accustomed to finer things and certainly looks forward to having more gold to spend.
• Nasha is the worst pirate. As a lizardfolk monk who was originally sent to mingle with the humans to get an idea of their motivations and future plans by her community, she's not really interested in wealth. Originally she was just an observer. She has a massive soft spot for families and children because she was raised by a community rather than by an individual. This is why she's so fond of Jack Scrimshaw. Nasha is finding the chaos of the seas and that of boarding enemy vessels helps her find a strange sense of 'balance' in life, and is also starting to feel like the crew has become more her family than the home that sent her away.
• Dolce loves Besmara's teachings that the crew should stand behind their captain and work well together. She idolized and exaggerated this idea in her mind so that to her a crew should equal a family. (The adventure path says this of Besmara: "Besmara is brash, lusty, confrontational, and greedy, but follows a code of honor and is loyal to her crew and allies as long as it serves her interests."; Dolce just conveniently omits the 'as long as it serves her interests' part of that.) Also, in Dolce's mind, a crew should support what you wish to do so long as it's no hindrance to them, wheras the family she was born into wanted her to stay on their mysterious island (in canon Pathfinder an elf settled an island called Kepre Dua in the Shackles and a bunch of the elves that were pirates on the seas felt strangely drawn to it and live there. That island is where Dolce was born as one of the first babies born on the island, but she always wanted to travel the seas and met with resentment whenever she spoke about it, so freedom became really important to her).
3) Note that I had been having Mirielle basically pay lip service to Abadar prior to the grindylows. Quinn giving her his hat and Dolce's rousing speech (she rolled a very high diplomacy check when suggesting Mirielle should be captain and listing off her reasons why) just pushed her into a new faith.
4) Revel scored a natural 20 on her boarding roll for
The Truewind. With the ship combat rules we're using this mean she could choose to be anywhere on the enemy ship. As a result, she started the fight out in the extreme end of the ship by the captain because that's what she would have done if she could reach anywhere. Meanwhile, Mirielle, Dolce, and Nasha began the combat clear across the ship with Mirielle sweating bullets as Revel went flying past them into the thick of the fighting by herself. By the time Mirielle got within reach of Revel I believe she was at about 15% of her max HP. Gotta love those reckless types.
5) Currently the night shift is rather small. Owlbear was placed on permanent night shift because it is less demanding at the moment (they don't do as much rigging work). Nasha volunteered for it so that she could teach Owlbear until she felt he had a
very firm grasp of what was expected of him.
6) Props to you if you recognize the basic rhyme structure of an Elizabethan Sonnet in Mirielle's poem,
On the Sea. I did not go to the trouble of ensuring the syllable stresses followed the traditional pattern, but the rhyming and syllable count are easy enough to adhere to. Something more structured felt appropriate for Mirielle.
