Boss Pirate Encounter (The Shackled City)

[RebelRogue]

As most of you will no doubt know, tomorrow is International Speak like a Pirate Day. However, for me it also happens to be D&D night. I'm running The Shackled City adventure path, and the party is just about to burst into the final encounter of the first part to confront the half-troll, half-dwarf Underdark slaver Kazmojen.

So, what I want here, is suggestions for adding some piratey elements to the encounter. The group likes a good balance between silly and serious, so it can be pretty goofy within reasonable limits.

For those of you who don't know the campaign, the PCs (who are level 3 by now) are searching for four kidnapped kids and are now about to confront the abovementioned Kazmojen (an urgrosh-wielding fighter). The half-troll is trying to sell the kids to a durzagon as the heroes burst in. The devil is cowardly and will avoid combat if possible. With Kazmojen is also his howler pet as well as hobgoblin minions (more will arrive gradually if the howler howls for help). Fire beetles in cages are used as light sources throughout the dungeon, but as such they're unlikely to join the combat.

So far, I've considered stuff like letting Kazmojen talk like a pirate and giving him a wooden leg and/or a parrot, but that's almost too obvious.

[Starbuck_II]

As most of you will no doubt know, tomorrow is International Speak like a Pirate Day. However, for me it also happens to be D&D night. I'm running The Shackled City adventure path, and the party is just about to burst into the final encounter of the first part to confront the half-troll, half-dwarf Underdark slaver Kazmojen.

So, what I want here, is suggestions for adding some piratey elements to the encounter. The group likes a good balance between silly and serious, so it can be pretty goofy within reasonable limits.

For those of you who don't know the campaign, the PCs (who are level 3 by now) are searching for four kidnapped kids and are now about to confront the abovementioned Kazmojen (an urgrosh-wielding fighter). The half-troll is trying to sell the kids to a durzagon as the heroes burst in. The devil is cowardly and will avoid combat if possible. With Kazmojen is also his howler pet as well as hobgoblin minions (more will arrive gradually if the howler howls for help). Fire beetles in cages are used as light sources throughout the dungeon, but as such they're unlikely to join the combat.

So far, I've considered stuff like letting Kazmojen talk like a pirate and giving him a wooden leg and/or a parrot, but that's almost too obvious.

Give him a fiendish Parrot minion with Flyby attack? So it flys over, pecks enemy, and flys back to his shoulder.

Give him a magic eyepatch in place of any of his normal magic items (doesn't affect vision just looks cool, same effect as the normal magic item).

[GeriSch]

Give the Beholder which will pop up at the end of the encounter a pirate hat and maybe an eyepatch and i guarantee you some player's faces that spell WTF? :smallbiggrin:

Especially if the beholder blushes and remarks he's coming from a masked ball.

gr,
Geri

[RebelRogue]

Fiendish parrot minion is pretty hilarious :smallbiggrin: The eyepatch I'll certainly consider too.

As for the beholder (for those who do not know, a beholder will show up at some point during or after the encounter to fetch one of the kids), I'm planning on playing that straight - it's a moment of horror (even if it's metagaming horror :smallamused: ), so better not to play it for laughs.