Difference between revisions of "Pirates"

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(Cove Secret)
(Cove Secret)
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He does not seem to grill the arrivals, but engages then with courteous chat so as to learn as much as possible of their origins and adventures.
 
He does not seem to grill the arrivals, but engages then with courteous chat so as to learn as much as possible of their origins and adventures.
 +
 +
 +
...
 +
 +
The lizardfolk, hm, they have been acting oddly in places. Of tradition, their goode olde religion calls for blood sacrifices only to sustain the life of our two suns. They believe that this world once had more, a dozen or so, and bloodletting is all that sustains the two that remain. But the ceremonies so conducted are oddly decent-teams compete at ball games for the honour of giving up their blood. This thing you observed is part of a subversive cult which we do not understand. Captives are offered to give the sacrificers power....”
 +
 +
But the Executioner’s voice trails off as he is enticed into a conversation about parrots. He is soon utterly lost in a far-reaching discussion.
 +
 +
After a few minutes a curtain is pushed aside and a shaved-headed Necromancer Chaplain, all tattoos and black-painted eyes, lurches into the room.
 +
 +
“I have completed my observations, Executioner,” he addresses the old man, aware that he has completely forgotten the purpose of the meeting. “They are not Red Spider Society, nor Wizard Realm spies. My spellcraft has shewn this..”
 +
 +
He waves a dramatic, gold and skull-encrusted candelabra, lit with black candles, that he has used for the divination.
 +
 +
“Oh dear I’m so sorry, Dark Presbyter, I quite forget that you were inquisiting. Please join us then for some reviving drinks.”
 +
 +
The Executioner seems pleased by the arrivals, and the Chaplain- a necromancer priest of the Soul Lodge , the pirates’ official religion- has confirmed that their story is true.They seem genuinely welcoming, even somewhat desperate as though the town is lacking current pirate talent. The offer to put the four up in a posh inn is made in this spirit.
 +
 +
Over a few more rums the pirates get a sense as to what ships might be available:
 +
 +
A sea-elf courier yacht, absurdly fast, comfortable, yet small and unarmed. 5000 poe.
 +
A large two-master, fast from the good spread of sail, with several built-in cannons and space for a large crew and even more cargo. The ship needs some work. 5000 poe.
 +
Several trade catamarans, unarmed but almost as fast as the yacht, also cheap (2000 poe)
 +
Two sloops, similar to the Octopus, going for just 4,000
 +
 +
===carouse===
 +
OOC:
 +
Let's have a pirate's carouse, then , base cost 10poe/pirate but-see below-could cost more!
 +
 +
Next poster roll 6d6. We'll read the result like an ORE roll, i.e count how many times each number appears.
 +
1s. foul play from (1) clumsily pickpocketed to (3) dosed and robbed to (5) pressed to (6) captured by death cultists
 +
2s. wenchin'* from (1) harmless flirting to (3) hook-up to (6) sophisticated orgy
 +
3s-folly from (1) mild over-spending to (3) gamblin' (6) buying a haunted mansion/ magic lamp/ etc.
 +
4s-fun (1)memorable joke to (3) palsy sing-along to (6)town-wide festival
 +
5s-fightin' from (1) banter to (3) bar fight to (6) small-scale riot
 +
6s-darin' from (1) arm wrestling to (3) climbing the palace walls to (6) racing to the Monkey isles
 +
*gender neutral version of this, obv.
 +
 +
As in ORE the sum of the total roll also has a meaning; XPs gained are total *pirate level*20.

Revision as of 10:43, 22 July 2019

Pirates

concept

Pathfinder Pirating. Way Down the Monkey Isles

Pathfinder DnD. Level 3 ( 1 level Pirate, 2 levels as you wish) in a low-level setting. You'd play the crew of a tiny skiff plying dangerous tropical oceans, discovering ancient ruins and trekking through steaming forests. etc. I’d set the adventure in the Guild Adventurers pocket universe I created on these board recently, expanding the map to include a New World, jungle continent and plenty of islands. A lot of the adventure would take place off-ship, with the pirate-theme helping to focus character ideas.

Standard Adventurer races 'd be human, halfling and tiefling. More exotic island races might include lizardfolk , jungle-elf, aquatic elves and grippli. You'd be ex-pirates from a scurrilous City of Pirates, looking for booty in a world where piracy is beginning to fade as a profession. The City was once powerful and rich but is decaying and falling into the into control of slum gangs and necromancer factions.

If there’s interest, I’d like to move at pretty good rate of play, ideally with daily posting. I am happy to puppet busy characters and put holidaying players on hold, but we’d need a core group of regular players to make it viable.

Let me know if there’s any interest- but please also give me a concept and be willing to accept feedback on an idea.


HOUSERULES

Born to Pirate. Start at level 3, but all characters have 1 level in Pirate (the archetype variation of Rogue). Think of it as a bonus level rather than a restriction! It will provide opportunities for lots of skill-rich, interesting characters.

No armor rules. where characters get a parry bonus depending on their class.

Firearms are common, a martial weapon rather than exotic, and added to the Rogue (Pirate) class weapon list. Defence bonus will not affect touch AC for purposes of shooting.

Faster play. All monster natural armour is halved (round up, mind); your ACs will be modest owing to the parry rules used.

Party initiative.

Classes: most core classes and anything that ‘feels’ right. Not keen on (don’t want) clerics; most dedicated spell-casters like wizards/sorcerers can burn spell-slots for healing spells. I don’t want tricky characters (like gunslingers ) that require complex resource-tracking or complex rules judgements.

Theatre of mind play. No wiki unless the game takes off.

Players track their own hit points and gear including money. Post details like hps to help the GM.

Languages

Old World languages are Common, Court Elven, Tusk and Dwarven. We had a hunting sign language and Thieves' Cant, too. There was a religious language, Angelic, like Celestial, and Reverse Angelic (David Lynch backwards slur) which was Infernal.

All those are still around. As new, new world learnable languages for humanoid characters I offer the following as likely to be actually used: 1. Pirate Cant. 2. Plaza. Trade language parsable by most humans and lizardfolk in the islands 3. Old Palace. Aristo, courtly and poetic human language 4. Aquan ("Tongue of the Sea": sea elves but also sea dragons, nereids and such) 5. Jungle Sign Language. Similar across multiple species but only shared by foresty types 6. Priestly, used by human and lizardfolk priests and magicians. 7. Dead Tongue. Used by ghouls, liches etc. Actually a scambled form of Old Palace


There are dozens of local human and lizardfolk dialects. Other weird exotic languages like aboleth, grippli, bullywug also exist but are unlikley to be freq, used.

City of Pirates

Some/ most characters will hail from the old world and the City of Pirates, where identities form around the races there: halflings (hearty but sturdy), elves( elegant and aloof) , etc. Many CoP people will be pirates or descendants of pirates, merchants, sailors, but others will be gangsters, thieves and slum-dwellers locked in gang warfare. The city is governed by pirate chiefs and sorcerers who use necromancy to create undead crews, raise famous pirates and such. It’s meant to be grim-dark but fun. there are plenty of infernal temples in the place and interbreeding with outsiders common.


Cove Secret

For several days the band follow the dusty ancient highway across the high desert spine of Spice Nations. The stones of the broad road have cracked with age and the intensity of heat. But the group travels easily in the shade provided by the Tidesage’s powers. At night they rest under rocky crags where sand dogs howl and the twin moons spin high in the desert night.

Cove Secret nestles in the crook of a hooked bay on the western coast. It is a relief to return to the jungle-clad coast and its humid heat. The town is a sight indeed. The grand main palace and rows of seedy slums have the very same feel as a quarter of the old world City of Pirates. On the waterfront, sails rise above a chaos of quays and jetties. Yet the structure of the old city on which it has nested- a lizardfolk ruin with plazas and avenues- gives some welcome shape to the place.

The highway runs directly into the town, aligning precisely with its central avenue. But the ancient gates are manned by a score of well-armed pirates, suspicious of such a large force arriving from the land side of the town. A guard captain descends with a swagger to challenge the newcomers.

“What kinds of lads is this. Lizardlads, lass-lads, greenskin lads,” he looks at the small druid, “all sorts. What boat are ye from, and what business do ye do ‘ere?”

Cove Secret

For several days the band follow the dusty ancient highway across the high desert spine of Spice Nations. The stones of the broad road have cracked with age and the intensity of heat. But the group travels easily in the shade provided by the Tidesage’s powers. At night they rest under rocky crags where sand dogs howl and the twin moons spin high in the desert night.

Cove Secret nestles in the crook of a hooked bay on the western coast. It is a relief to return to the jungle-clad coast and its humid heat. The town is a sight indeed. The grand main palace and rows of seedy slums have the very same feel as a quarter of the old world City of Pirates. On the waterfront, sails rise above a chaos of quays and jetties. Yet the structure of the old city on which it has nested- a lizardfolk ruin with plazas and avenues- gives some welcome shape to the place.

The highway runs directly into the town, aligning precisely with its central avenue. But the ancient gates are manned by a score of well-armed pirates, suspicious of such a large force arriving from the land side of the town. A guard captain descends with a swagger to challenge the newcomers.

“What kinds of lads is this. Lizardlads, lass-lads, greenskin lads,” he looks at the small druid, “all sorts. What boat are ye from, and what business do ye do ‘ere?” ....... Like the City of Pirates, the town is divided in three areas, each being governed by different levels of law. There is the tavern and slum quarter , where it’s every pirate for themself. The docks, shops and market are governed by ordinary laws, patrolled by a sharp-eyed watch. And the pristine Pirate Lord’s quarter, with its fountains and elegant houses, where the pirates must dress, speak and observe protocols very carefully indeed. ....

The officers find enough rooms by choosing two inns quite close to each other. The Conger Eal [sic] and the Piece of Eight. Both stand near to the bustling quays.

The merchants’ guild have seen treasure hauls aplenty before and waste no time in assigning the pirates’ treasure to iron chests. These are loaded onto carts in the building’s vaults that run on rails to the palace’s dungeons. The 50 piece fee will be payable on receipt- Ilara’s scrolls are packed for free.

The lizardfolk settle gratefully to their lodgings, expecting nothing more as sailors. There is plenty of beer, rum and even a beaker or two of fiery local cactus juice for the piece of gold. The lizardfolk seem satisfied even with the sailor’s fare of corn gruel and fishy stew.

The pirate officers only need attend the Executioner’s interview, they know, being acquainted with pirate customs. Every pirate town has its elected Lord, chosen by the Best Captains , also a Harbourmaster, Treasurer and Executioner. The last is typically keen to show their willingness to maintain pirate honour by hanging, guillotining or plunging into an arena violators of the town’s code....

The four enter the official’s finely appointed chamber and are greeted courteously by an immaculately dressed greybeard. He offers tiny thimbles of finest rum, and shows off his splendid parrot. He is exaggeratedly courteous, insisting that the four stay at a better inn, The Dolphin, at the town’s expense.

....



He does not seem to grill the arrivals, but engages then with courteous chat so as to learn as much as possible of their origins and adventures.


...

The lizardfolk, hm, they have been acting oddly in places. Of tradition, their goode olde religion calls for blood sacrifices only to sustain the life of our two suns. They believe that this world once had more, a dozen or so, and bloodletting is all that sustains the two that remain. But the ceremonies so conducted are oddly decent-teams compete at ball games for the honour of giving up their blood. This thing you observed is part of a subversive cult which we do not understand. Captives are offered to give the sacrificers power....”

But the Executioner’s voice trails off as he is enticed into a conversation about parrots. He is soon utterly lost in a far-reaching discussion.

After a few minutes a curtain is pushed aside and a shaved-headed Necromancer Chaplain, all tattoos and black-painted eyes, lurches into the room.

“I have completed my observations, Executioner,” he addresses the old man, aware that he has completely forgotten the purpose of the meeting. “They are not Red Spider Society, nor Wizard Realm spies. My spellcraft has shewn this..”

He waves a dramatic, gold and skull-encrusted candelabra, lit with black candles, that he has used for the divination.

“Oh dear I’m so sorry, Dark Presbyter, I quite forget that you were inquisiting. Please join us then for some reviving drinks.”

The Executioner seems pleased by the arrivals, and the Chaplain- a necromancer priest of the Soul Lodge , the pirates’ official religion- has confirmed that their story is true.They seem genuinely welcoming, even somewhat desperate as though the town is lacking current pirate talent. The offer to put the four up in a posh inn is made in this spirit.

Over a few more rums the pirates get a sense as to what ships might be available:

A sea-elf courier yacht, absurdly fast, comfortable, yet small and unarmed. 5000 poe. A large two-master, fast from the good spread of sail, with several built-in cannons and space for a large crew and even more cargo. The ship needs some work. 5000 poe. Several trade catamarans, unarmed but almost as fast as the yacht, also cheap (2000 poe) Two sloops, similar to the Octopus, going for just 4,000

carouse

OOC: Let's have a pirate's carouse, then , base cost 10poe/pirate but-see below-could cost more!

Next poster roll 6d6. We'll read the result like an ORE roll, i.e count how many times each number appears. 1s. foul play from (1) clumsily pickpocketed to (3) dosed and robbed to (5) pressed to (6) captured by death cultists 2s. wenchin'* from (1) harmless flirting to (3) hook-up to (6) sophisticated orgy 3s-folly from (1) mild over-spending to (3) gamblin' (6) buying a haunted mansion/ magic lamp/ etc. 4s-fun (1)memorable joke to (3) palsy sing-along to (6)town-wide festival 5s-fightin' from (1) banter to (3) bar fight to (6) small-scale riot 6s-darin' from (1) arm wrestling to (3) climbing the palace walls to (6) racing to the Monkey isles

  • gender neutral version of this, obv.

As in ORE the sum of the total roll also has a meaning; XPs gained are total *pirate level*20.