Rescue a prisoner from a ship

[Monk of love]

Hello! so in a campaign I'm playing we've been tasked to locate a pirate ship off the coast(taken care of by a familiar) and to find/rescue a prisoner on the said ship

the catch? everyones level 2, have access to 1st level spells (srd and spell compendium) about 350 gold and a fighter/rogue/rogue..yeah no cleric

I was thinking of purchasing a potion or something to get to the ship then benign transposition the prisoner out with a knocked out rat or something.. problem is finding out where they are(as I have not never them) and getting the message to them to be willing for the spell..

[Rangô]

Well, if you're willing to expend gold for spells, why don't you buy a divination spell such that locate object(maybe something the prisoner is wearing)?. Then, when you know more or less where they are,rather to teletransporting to the pirate ship, a pretty expensive way for 2 level PCs, make them come to you. I'd plan something like a merchant boat, spread out the rumor of the valuable goods it transports, a description of the boat and try to set up and ambush.

[Brunks]

Kill them all.

Well maybe not all of them.
It depends on the number of crew, and their percieved power.
You could spend a bunch of gold on scrolls and potions, but really, you have rogues. Their skills should still suffice.

Scouting:
Have the familliar scout the crew of the ship, keeping an eye out for creatures that have dark/low light vision. Try to figure out their shifts, and where look outs are placed.
Determine the time to strike, probably at night, on a moonless night.

Approach and Infiltrate:
Bring a rowboat nearby the ship (but outside darkvision/ low light vision range. The rogues swim to the boat, move silently and hidden due to the concealment from being mostly submerged.
Climb aboard. Either silently kill the look-outs or avoid them, as numbers allow.

Murder:
Rogues sneak it to the sleeping quarters, couping everything along the way. Maybe they find the key, but W/E.
Once most of the opposition is dead you can go loud and finish them off, have a readied action to hit the targets that are still up with your best spell.

Profit:
Now you have the prisoner secured, and your very own pirate ship too!

Risk:
Worst case, the rogues get caught and die. You just row away on your boat. I'm sure you'll find 2 brand new adventurers in the local inn, better equipped to deal with this quest.

[Gallowglass]

Brunks has the right idea. Remember that you are playing a team sport and that your job, as the wizard or sorcerer, is to be cool WITHOUT trivializing or making the other three players (fighter/rogue/rogue) redundant. You might as well start now because its going to get harder as the levels pile on.

You have already solved the "where is the ship" part of the problem with your familiar, now you let them do the brunt of the work for the second phase.

What other spells do you have? Benign transposition is a great spell, but its instantaneous, has a range of 30 feet at your level and you have to have line of effect on both parties to use it, so you can't just stay on the rowboat and get the prisoner out from there.

Do you have a spell to help you and the fighter sneak? Because then you can keep your party together as you infiltrate the sleeping pirate ship to free the prisoner, letting the rogues do their job of rolling stealth skills, disable device checks and perception rolls.

Cheaply, I would start by buying (wait, 2 rogues!) stealing a rowboat with a low profile, and obtaining a tarp and some blackening tar. Throw the tarp over the boat, smear it with tar and you can float it out right up to the ship under the darkened sky with relatively 0 chance of anybody seeing it. (if you get seen, it means the DM wants you to be seen basically). Then you climb up the side (If you can't take ten to cover your lack of climb skill, then let the fighter climb up, then Benign transposition yourself up, and let the fighter climb again.) and proceed with sneaky sneak infiltrate and find.

Your familiar is sneakier than either rogue, but again, don't trivialize them. Use your familiar as a forward scout, but let them go first to disable traps and "clear the path" for you and fighty mcstabbster.

Let the rogues try to disable device the cage door or manacles or what not BEFORE you drag out the "I BT him with a rat" uberfix.

[Fayd]

As far as getting away goes, you could always use Summon Monster I to create a Celestial Porpoise. It's got an 80 ft. swim speed and it seems logical it could "carry" the prisoner (and maybe a party member), which makes it a much faster getaway vehicle than a rowboat. Now, the short duration isn't particularly GOOD, but that's still 640 feet in 2 rounds which will put you a good ways away. If you have access to Summon Monster 2, you have access to the Fiendish Squid (though the alignments may not matter QUITE as much depending on the DM) and that can get you as a full 720 feet in its duration, which is... surprisingly a slower speed. Go for repeated castings of Summon Monster I for your Celestial Getaway Porpoise.