Session 53: Fighting The Pirates

 

PCs:

sir Korin Clubfoot, dwarf, F6

Dame Mia the elf, T5/MU4

sir Norbor the half-orc, F5

Maddur, F1

Hoss Lardo, MU1

PARTY'S HENCHMEN:

Cleon, F4

Falhed, R1

Gravoldel, R1

Briu, T1

Vailbezal, I1

Larth, P1

Rhadum, R2

Jared, C1

Bierduth, C1

Zasti, MU1

Rotoris the elf, MU1

2 halfling thieves

10 light horsemen

2 crossbow men

SESSION RECAP:

    A few week had to pass in order for the paladin Larth to get ressurected and in the meantime, the party tried to recruit some new followers and learn additional rumours. They 've heard that about 90 miles northeast of Verbobonc, 3 vessels have docked in the river and while they were posing as merchants they were actually pirates.

    The group have also met the halflings that they have encountered on the road a few days ago. They said that some of them were looking to get involved with the local thieves guild and the party promised to get them in touch if they help them on their adventures. The halflings agreed to have two of them follow the party. They also recruited two new bold adventurers, Maddur and Hoss Lardo, who were looking for gold and glory.

    After a brief discussion they decided to march against the pirates. They asked the help of the local militia but they didn't have any men to spare at the moment, so they took all their henchmen and marched towards the place were the ships were docked.

    After two days of travel, they arrived to this area and they send forth the rangers to scout ahead. The pirates had 3 cogs that they docked in the river, close to a small hill, where they had set up their camp. 

the setup of the pirates

    There were about 80 of them on active guard duty on the hill, also ten of them on each vessel and many of them resting. The party decided to once more use the tactic of the illusionist producing an image of a silver dragon to scare off most of the crew and then use sleep and the cavalry to wipe them out. However the pirates were on the hill and besides that it was an open field. If the illusion appeared out of nowhere in front of them they would suspect that something fishy is going on.

    So, Nolbor suggested to lead a cavalry charge to distract them and while they would be distracted preparing to repel the knight and his mounted warriors, the illusionist from a safe distance would make the dragon appear behind them.

what the plan looked like

    They began their plan with Nolbor, Korin and the cavalry charging against the pirates. Their enemies saw them quickly and they also took wind of the rest of the party preparing to attack them as well with their spells. So, half of them targeted with their arrows the cavalry and half of them the rest of the party. The illusionist also began casting his spell.

    Unfortunately for the party, one of the arrows landed right in the chest of Vailbezal before he could fulfill his spell. The cavalry had a better luck, destroying a small group of archers. However the rest of the pirate arrows where targeted on them and all of the cavalrymen perished, leaving Nolbor and Korin alone in the hill, surrounded by enemies.

Nolbor and Korin ended up surrounded

    Things were looking pretty grim as Korin and Nolbor were taking heavy damage but they had an ace up their sleeve. Nolbor quickly drunk the potion of superheroism that they have found in a dungeon months ago and that gave him the edge and manage to opponents his opponents. Korin was also holding his ground killing many pirates despite being surrounded. In the meantime the rangers were shooting arrows on the enemy and most importantly Mia was putting almost 10 enemies to sleep with her magic in every turn.

    While it looked as if a hard victory was achieved, some high ranked officers of the villains appeared and evened the field for a brief period of time. However, the superheroic boost of Nolbor and Korin's experience, combined with a charge from the rest of the party, lead to the party's triumph.

    Now, they had destroyed the whole pirate crew and had 3 cogs on them, as well as a big stash of coins and jewels!

KILLS AND LOOT:

Kills:

164 buccaneers

8 high ranked officers

Loot:

16000 gp

jewels worth 25600 gp

3 cogs

DECEASED PLAYER CHARACTERS:

Urikas the elf, F1/MU1, Readying 25, 576 CY, eaten by ghouls

Zyla the elf, C1, Readying 25, 576 CY, eaten by ghouls

Jack, F1, Readying 28, 576 CY, slain by the evil cleric named Lareth

Causticas the elf, F3/MU3, Goodmonth 14, 576 CY, burned alive by a red dragon

Yus, C1, Brewfest 6, 576 CY, Poisoned by a purple worm's sting

Trenaccatlo, F1, Ready'reat 27, 576 CY, devoured by a two-headed giant troll

Korin Clubfoot, F5, Flocktime 11, 577 CY, poisoned by giant centipedes / REVIVED

sir Norbor the half-orc, F5, Coldeven 7, 578 CY, poisoned by huge spiders / REVIVED

sir Norbor the half-orc, F5, Planting 8, 578 CY, poisoned by large spiders/ REVIVED

THOUGHTS AFTER THE SESSION:

    Another one of these sessions that ended up having us using chainmail! This time the nice plan of the party didn't come to life but they had an emergency panic button that they used! It's nice that after all these adventures, they have collected items that allow them to get free of such deadly situations!

    What Nolbor could do with that potion of superheroism was unreal! The pirated were actually lucky that they made their morale check when the half orc started rampaging, cutting them down like butter!

    It was a strange session for the two new players who haven't played chainmail before and were kinda lost in all this. Perhaps a dungeon adventure could help them understand better what was going on since the larger scale battles are more abstract and can be confusing if you are not used in them.

    Anyway, now the party has a big stash in its hand but they have to return to Verbobonc first! They took heavy loses in this fight, their illusionist, one of the halflings and their 10 cavalrymen. Let's how they will do next time!