Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Feb 26, 2004 5:30:39	The end of the last gaming session left the players unexpectedly killing a boatload of ogres, and taking their ship. This ended the 'you're going to be slaves and maybe turned into white dragonspawn' plot line, but opened up another - 'what the hell do I do now?'. I went into last night's session with little idea of what they were going to do, prepared in the only way I could - I bought along the copy of the Seafarer's Handbook I have, in case they were going to sell the ogre ship and wanted to build a new one from scratch. They did, so it was just as well I bought it. But then what? Well, I'd have to improvise, give them something that'd take them long enough to work out what they were doing, so I could work out what was happening. So they sailed down the coastline, asking where their old ship was, and getting little in the way of response. They eventually get down to Caergoth (they've been working mostly up and down the coast of Solamnia), and order their ship. They wait for about 4-5 weeks, with the dwarf making arrowheads, the ranger fletching them, while their mercenary companion stitches leather quivers together, and selling them for a steel a time. They then hear about more ogre attacks in the north. They start to make their way back again, hearing the occasional bit of better information - they weren't slavers this time, they were lead by a horde of white dragonspawn, they've killed lots of people to get a mass of goodies. Then they get word that their ship has been sighted. Thankful their crew haven't all died, they carry on north. They hear more reports of their ship being sighted. In exactly the same place, going the same way, but different days. Always going south, no one's seen it go north. It sounds worrying. So they continue north, and they continue north, and they find some refugees, and the ogres and spawn have sacked Gander. They go back south a bit, since there's nothing they can do, and wait for the inevitable attack on Witdel. It doesn't happen (the ogres and white dragonspawn are regrouping, reinforcing and going home), so they decide they can investigate this ship. They hire a boat that will take them out to sea, and investigate the ship. According to the captain, it's going south, chasing some ogre ships that have taken members of the crew hostage (they meant he player characters - they don't recognise them). When it gets to dusk, the crew start to work the ballistas and arm themselves with crossbows. They curse the little ship for not helping them. Firing the bolts forwards, they disappear into thin air about 20 feet from the ship, and at about the same range, two massive catapult stones appear, and crash into the ship. Followed by some more. The ship sinks. The crew of the tiny vessel are notably upset at this (sailors being superstitious and all), and want to go home. They drop off their passengers at Portsmith (due east, and closer than their home). The PCs are left having to find a captain who's so crazy, he'd work on a cursed mission, with ghosts and all. Various sea people talk about 'Daz', the only person crazy enough to investigate ghosts. He is, of course, a kender, 'Daz Brighttale' and much kender hilarity ensues. Personally, I had lots of fun playing a boatload of kender, especially as one of the players loves kender, and the only way I'd let her play one in my campaign was as an afflicted one, which also happens to hate happy kender - out of jealousy or something. I personally don't like kender much, but I was playing a boat full of them, and she was sulking (in character - OOC she was loving it). Eventually, and despite what the players thought, the ship actually left dock, even going so far as to go in a straight line. And they didn't all lose their possessions immediately (although when the mystic asked if anyone had any string, he got mobbed by the kender, and when they got off, he was tied up quite securely - sea kender definately take use rope). They get to the ship, go on board (they definately don't recognise the PCs), keep the kender off (they're certain the ship will disappear when they put the ghosts to rest), and sit and wait for the fight with the ogres. On board, they can see the ogre ships, and they know which ship has them on board. They also know that no other ships attacked the ship they were on while they were on it. They are *also* aware that if they hadn't got captured by the ogres, their entire crew wouldn't've died. So the mystic casts a spell, and convinces the captain that he knows the 'missing' crew are on the other (ghostly) ogre ship, so the ship changes course. The catapults miss (a 2 and a 3), the ballistas hit (two 20s...), disabling the catapults, allowing the ship to close in enough to attack. The (ghost) Solamnic knights and (ghost) PCs surge up from the hold, where they had already taken steps to escape. They join int he fight between the (ghost) crew and (real) PCs. During the fight, each of the PCs brush up against their ghost, and one of them disappears, leaving a character with both sets of memories - of the original escape, AND of the random attack by their own ship. They then have another version of the huge fight they had before (and won), only with a bonus load of fighters who are armed to the teeth. Having rescued their ghost selves (and feeling quite confused), the playersd fully expect the ship to pop out of existence. It doesn't, and starts to head back to Godnest, where it all started. The question is now - what do I do? I have a ship of maybe-ghosts, a bunch of half-ghost PCs, a ship full of kender who are going to be spreading stories of their ghost best friends... and since I prepared none of this (and it was our best session yet) I don't know what's going to happen! So if anyone has any suggestions, please tell. At the very least, I'd like to know what cure and inflict spells would do to half-undead.
#2 Nived Feb 26, 2004 12:54:09	Whoa man... just whoa. For an off the top of your head "They should have turned left" game session that sounds like quite a tale. Though I've found when you have to make up stuff on the spot you can get some pretty good adventures going. Doesn't sound like you need help. Though one suggestion I have is that perhaps the church of Chemosh would become very interested in your 'half dead' PCs.