[IC] The Rimebarrow Privateers

[TridentOfMirth]

(Flags of the Blazing Empire, the Kingdoms of the Rimebarrows and the Protectorate of Turtledew)

It is a time of exploration, of conquest and (above all else) of profit.

With the blessing of the fire god Surtyr, the Inferno King Sigmund III constructed a massive armada and set about conquering all of the islands in the Great Ocean. Few isles were prepared to repulse the Blazing Empire and so like, dominos, island after island fell before the Inferno King. Only places on the far edges of the Great Ocean were spared the Blazing Empire’s wrath.

You hail from the snowy realms of the Rimebarrows. Your lands are poor, your crop yields small. Only fear of the mighty Frost Giant Jarls keeps the enemies of the Rimebarrows away. Your homeland needs ships, money, equipment, etc. if it is to stand a chance against the Blazing Empire. The Kings’ Moot is divided, endlessly debating and equivocating, playing politics, vying for power and prestige... All the while the forces of the Inferno King inch closer and closer. An enterprising young frost giant Jarl - Astridr the Bearcloaked - has decided to take matters into her own hands. She has given your mercenary band letters of marque.

You are privateers, state sanctioned pirates, sent out into the Great Ocean to take from the Inferno King and sell to the Rimebarrows. Ships, crew and treasure, all are needed. Some of you are patriots, while others care only for fame and fortune. Regardless of your reasons, the Great Ocean beckons you…

Your band of privateers were called together by a powerful Frost Mage Captain named Lillian Henningsen. Your first imperial mark was spotted fifty miles south-west of Turtledew Island. The target appeared slow and cumbersome - an easy mark. Once battle began, a fire giant lumbered up on the enemy’s deck. With a cruel smile, he cast a series of potent fireballs that blasted many holes into your ship’s hull. The fires killed most of your crew. You were lit aflame. With your flesh melted and your bones charred, the enemy sailed away, leaving you for dead…

You sank into the ocean.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Helpless. Defeated. Resigned to your fate…

Your eyes opened.

You awoke in a strange, ethereal place filled with formless clouds and a stiff, cold wind. You…. Do not remember anything else… Only… A booming voice… Your vision blurs and fades to black…

Was that heaven?

Are you dead?

Suddenly, your eyes burst open. Your lungs fill with air as if for the first time. You choke on sea water. Coughing and wheezing, your hands reflexively touch your face… Upon the back of your hand is a strange, glowing, blue-white rune… The longer you stare at it, the colder you feel. You look around. You are on a beach… A tropical beach… Where…? Who knows. How…? Who knows… So many questions.

You see three others, your crewmates… Where is everyone else?

A tattooed satyr trots over. He bends down and asks, “My name is Jos. Looks like you were in a shipwreck. Who are you…?”

The sun is beating down upon you, the sand is hot. The cool waves of the ocean lap against your bodies. Strewn across the beach around you are the smashed wreckage of your once proud ship. Several crates and chests made it through the ordeal. Off in the distance, you can see two more Satyrs, a woman and a child. They are at the edge of a dense tropical forest, beside them is a fish rack atop a small rickshaw cart. A half dozen fish of various sizes dangle from the crossbeam. The woman has a bloody knife in her hand. She quickly shoves her child behind her.

Jos is a tall man, for a satyr, almost 6 feet high. His horns are shaped like those of a ram. He has a warm smile. His dark colored, furry lower half is dripping wet, covered in muddy sand. "We - my family and I - are traders, come to beach to catch a few fish for lunch. We rounded the corner of the island over there and chanced upon you and your friends. Most of you were still out in the sea. I leapt into the ocean to drag you on shore. I mean you no harm."

Spoiler: OOC

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There are many items strewn across the beach. In addition to your starting equipment you find the following items. These items represent things you and your crewmates had on the ship at the time when the ship was destroyed.

10 x Bag of Salt
Handsaw
8 x Loaf of Bread
Portable Ram
8 x Sickle
Amphora of Vinegar
Pavilion Tent
2 x Bag of Nails
Bottle of Spiced Mead
Wooden Chair
Elegant red Courtier's Outfit (30 gp, 6 lb)
Crowbar
4 x Potions of Healing

[gryffydd65]

You can call me Eel. Thank you for saving our lives. Eel brushed the wet sand of his blue body. He looked around at the others as they to slowly got up. He moved around picking up his personal items.

[Esprit15]

"Laura" feels around her, then toward her face before she looks up. Short hair. Turning to the side, a blonde mop of damp covers her eyes. Thank the gods. She had never kept form while knocked out. Asleep, sure, but knocked out? She sits up, looking around at the wreckage slowly washing onto the shore. "Laura Sternwald. Our... our boat was attacked suddenly," she says, the images all rushing back on her like an avalanche. "They're coming, we have to get home and tell people how close they are!" she says, standing up suddenly.

[Daracaex]

Azara's eyes shot open and her braid flared to life as she abruptly sat up. "That was real? But then what about- How are we alive?" She looked around and saw their rescuer and, farther away, his frightened family. "Apologies. Thank you for helping us. Would you tell us where we are and how we might find a ship?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Also would like to see what Azara might know about either that ethereal vision or the mark on her hand.
"Arcana Check" - (1d20+5)[8]

[gryffydd65]

Eel looks at his hand seeing the strange rune. It wasn't a dream. Do you have it as well? he says to the others.

Spoiler: arcana

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(1d20+3)[20]

[Awful]

Liljevonkall, hamadyrad, druid of the Twinpeak Grove, was the last to rouse, rolling onto her front and vomiting the ghost of swallowed seawater, thin and bilous. She stayed, panting softly, for a while, mentally working through what had happened. Her limbs... She looked down on them, saw their blackened surface, embers glinting still between the cracks.

"Liljevonkall," she huffed out to the satyr in way of introduction and henceforth ignored him for now. Her voice, naturally husky, felt rough against her throat. "We live yet because something intervened. I have the mark as well."

Marked by frost and fire. The fates laughed at her, but then kinslayers always were accursed.

[TridentOfMirth]

Spoiler: Symbol

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Spoiler: Arcana

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Spoiler: Less than 10

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It felt real. The symbol is unfamiliar to you.

Spoiler: Arcana 20+

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That experience was 100% real. It happened but your memory of what transpired seems to be blocked... Or missing? You know that powerful magic was involved.

The symbol is unknown to you.

The male satyr helps the party members up, "I am glad you are alive. Faired better than one of your companions." He motions to am ifrit body on the beach. The corpse is bloated and mangled. It looks to have been under the sea for quite a while. The body is covered in fanged bite marks. "Poor soul, may the Angel guide him to Dergha, " whispers Jos as he makes the sign of the Planetar.

Jos looks around his surroundings and laughs, "Ships? Come here? No. Zghir Island is small and out of the way. Only one ship comes here a year - the tribute ship of the Blazing Empire. We give what meager things we can as tribute and then the empire leaves for another year."

The satyr considers something, "Well..." He looks back at his wife and smiles, then returns his gaze to the party. "Perhaps... There is an old hermit who lives in the jungle. She was a castaway, like yourselves. Came to the island many years ago. She knows how to heal people with magic. She is very wise. Perhaps she will know something I do not? I come from a small town, we would be happy to feed you and let you rest for the night... Unless you would prefer to find the hermit now?

Spoiler: Corpse

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Spoiler: History15+

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As you look at the bloated corpse, you realize his outfit is... Wrong. It doesn't look right... Then it hits you, the uniform is of an older design! The way the coat is cut and the color of it... Yes! This is the uniform design from about 10 years ago. Very strange.

Spoiler: Investigate 10+

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You rummage through the corpse's pockets and find a few knickknacks:
- A Compass
- A standard issue Imperial Dagger
- (4d25)[14] Slices (a gold coin cut up like a pizza into 8 slices, a common currency within the Blazing Empire)

As you open the man's jacket, you find the word, "UNWORTHY" tattooed on his chest.

[Esprit15]

Laura gets up and checks the ifrit body. She was already scowling after laying eyes on the body, but she wanted to hold out hope that they were not part of the empire. Digging into his pockets though, her hope dies out. "He's Empire kin alright," she says, showing the coins in his pocket toward the group. She takes the dagger from its sheath and examines it, then stows it again. Looking to their rescuer, she asks "Do your traditions require burial for him, or any of his supplies? I can't imagine you want a corpse lying on your fishing route, but his stuff may prove helpful to us." Looking back to the body, she pulls back the jacket and pauses. "But he may not have been particularly beloved kin to them... I'd have gotten a tattooist who could spell."

Spoiler: OOC

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I tease, of course.

"Well," she continues, standing up straight and looking to the others, adopting a slightly commanding tone, "I think it prudent that we meet with any other castaways here. Do any of you feel differently?"

[gryffydd65]

I would love to meet this woman. Let's gather up these supplies. Eel starts picking up different things.

[Daracaex]

"I don't suppose that Empire ship is due any time soon? Oh well. Thank you for your hospitality, but we are in no position to accept. If it's possible this healer knows another way off this island, we should speak with her."

Azara looks over Laura's shoulder. "'Unworthy?' That's an odd thing to have tattooed on one's chest. Do you think they were from the ship that attacked us?" As conversation continues, Azara picks out her things from the beach, grateful that the protective cover of her spellbook has kept it in good shape, but disappointed in the damage to the history book she had been reading. She also picks up the potion bottles. "Potions of healing! One for each of us?" she asks, offering them to her surviving crew mates.

[Esprit15]

”One for each of us... yes, thank you. Do you want to split the slices amongst us? Otherwise, I think I’ll hold onto them and his other articles. I think they may come in handy later.”

[Awful]

"Hold on to them," Liljevonkall said. "We can squabble over coin later, if need be. Wouldn't call it a priority right now."
She stowed the potion of healing offered without comment, and retrieved her lyre from its protective beastskin wrap. She plucked at it, and frowned at the wretched sound of salt-soaked strings.
"Jos," she intoned. "Is there a map on this island? With this castaway of yours, mayhap?"

[gryffydd65]

Eel stows the crowbar and vinegar in his backpack. Jos , we can't carry all of this if the rest of you will take what you want . Then Jos can have the rest.

[Esprit15]

Laura takes the sickle, mead, and red outfit.

[TridentOfMirth]

Jos smiles at Eel, "On behalf of my family, I thank you for any items you are willing to part with. The people of our island are poor and rarely have access to goods from the outside world. What may seem mundane and boring to you is a delight and a wonder to us. May the angel walk with you and guide you to serenity."

After the party has collected what they desire, and had a chance to rest for a bit, Jos asks, "Are we ready to go? The trek will take some time. The jungle is dense and full of dangers. We must be wary."

The satyr kisses his wife on her forehead and asks that she stay here until he returns, then ventures off into he trackless jungle.

The forest is dense, covered in old growth trees. The land is teeming with life, you can hear the sounds of a thousand different animals going about their day. After about fifteen minutes of walking Jos states, "The hermit lives atop a plateau. There are only two easy ways to get up there - the Stairs of the Faithful or the Temple of Meyanok. We do not really want to go to the temple. Snake people live there. They always want something of value in return for allowing travelers to use their temple to ascend to the plateau. The Stairs of the Faithful were constructed by my people a century ago. We were building a new planetarium up there... But the jungle proved too deadly. Too many died in its construction, so the project was abandoned. Regardless, the stairs are in good condition and they will serve us well.

The journey continues for another half hour. Jos leaps over a half-rotted tree he asks, "From where did your ship hail? You do not look like you are members of the Blazing Empire... He pauses for a moment as he looks at Azara, then comments, "Well, most of you anyway."

After another half hour of tough hiking, the satyr sallies forth at a trot, drawing his blade. He holds up his hand to silence the party. Jos drops to all fours and crawls up to the edge of a small hill. He stares back at the party with a panicked look, then returns to the privateers. In a hushed tone he says, "Grung barbarians. They come from a neighboring island. Attack our people and steal what meager belongings we possess. Their flesh secretes a poisonous sweat, very dangerous. They are camping at the base of the Stars of the Faithful. I do not know how good you are in a fight but... Perhaps we should go to the temple? Or maybe climb the 500 foot high plateau wall?

[gryffydd65]

How many barbarians are there? If we can sneak up on them then we can get them by surprise. Eel said looking at Jos and the others.

[TridentOfMirth]

Jos states, "They were sitting around a fire pit, eating some rations... Best I could tell."

[Esprit15]

Laura nods and tries to sneak a little closer, enough to get a count of their numbers.

Spoiler

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Stealth I assume? (1d20+5)[21]

[TridentOfMirth]

Laura padfoots to the edge of the hill to assess the situation. She finds there are five grung - small frog people in a clearing that is roughly twenty feet wide by thirty feet long. Four of the grung are sitting in the middle of the clearing, surrounding a small campfire. Five birds are roasting on sticks above the flame. The grung sitting around the campfire are armed with shortswords and blowdarts. None of them look ready for an attack, focusing more on the delicious smell of the cooking food. A fifth grung is larger than the rest, he is armed with a big axe. Unlike his leather-clad fellows, he is wearing scale-mail armor. He has a more determined look on his face. Currently, he is on the far side of the clearing, opposite you, looking up at the stone stair that snake their way up the sheer cliff leading to the plateau.

[Daracaex]

"We are privateers, from the Rimebarrows," Azara told Jos. "And, despite appearances, that includes myself."

When they eventually stopped and were told about the barbarians and the snake people, Azara replied, "If these barbarians are harming your people, I'd rather go through them. I am also unsure we would be able to pay these 'snake people' the cost for moving through their home in our current state."

[Awful]

"Aye. I'd agree with fighting," the druid said.

[Esprit15]

Laura returns quietly.

”Four runts and a leader. If we can take out the leader, the small ones might lose morale and flee.” She draws her rapier. “My skills are more toward the close quarters, but I can probably land a killing blow if someone is foolish enough to join me in charging in.”

[gryffydd65]

I will throw darts that can't miss at the leader, maybe we can kill him before he gets to close. Hide if you have to and then make your presence known. If they only see me maybe only a few will come. Eel says thinking about the village and all the praise and respect he had gotten from saving the fishermen.

[Daracaex]

"I'm foolish enough," Azara says. "I'll have your back. I can draw the group's attention so you can hit the leader."

On Laura's lead, Azara will follow and get into position.

Spoiler: OOC

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Need a DM ruling on this one. Mirror Image has a verbal component, but not sure if it has to be muttered or shouted. Ideal is Azara casts it and still has a surprise round before being noticed to charge in, Bladesong, and Burning Hands the four. If she casts it and they notice her, she will step out, Bladesong, and be done with her turn.

And none of this happens until we as a group are ready to go, of course.

stealth - (1d20+3)[10]

[TridentOfMirth]

Spoiler: OOC

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I made a Battlemap to help visualize the encounter space. LINK

The Grung all failed their perception rolls, so the players can reasonably start in either of the dense forest areas near the Grung.

The players all have a surprise round. Anyone who crept down to the ground level area can place themselves down there before the surprise round begins.

All of the players are up in initiative. First to post is first to go!

[gryffydd65]

Spoiler: OOC

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I made a Battlemap to help visualize the encounter space. LINK

The Grung all failed their perception rolls, so the players can reasonably start in either of the dense forest areas near the Grung.

The players all have a surprise round. Anyone who crept down to the ground level area can place themselves down there before the surprise round begins.

All of the players are up in initiative. First to post is first to go!

Spoiler

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Am I in range for magic missile ?
If so then 2nd level magic missile at the big grung.

(1d4+1)[2]
(1d4+1)[2]
(1d4+1)[4]
(1d4+1)[2]

Eel holds his conch shell( arcane focus) in his left hand and with his right he points directly at the big grung as four darts strike the leader.

[Daracaex]

Azara makes a series of hand motions and chants as quietly as she can, three copies of her bending out of the light around her, before climbing down and through the dense forest between her and the Grung. She pauses a moment to give Laura a chance to get in position. As missiles pass over her at the leader, she steps out and raises her hand, causing a blast of fire to billow out directed low around the Grungs' existing campfire, hopefully setting some of their discarded weaponry alight as well. She brandishes her rapier and falls into a graceful pattern of motion, humming as she dances backward, inviting her opponents to try her.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Casting Mirror Image, then moving to M16 before surprise round.
Surprise round: move to N15
Standard action, Use Burning Hands in 15ft cone against G2, G3, and G4 for (3d6)[8] fire damage (Dexterity save DC11 for half), also ignites flammable objects not being worn or carried in the area (in this case, hoping they lose their blowguns).
Remaining movement to fall back to M17
Bonus action, activate Bladesong

For reference, any attack against Azara needs to roll an extra d20 to see which Azara they target. 6 or more and they target a mirror image instead (8+ if there's only two left, 11+ if only one left). Mirror images have 13AC, and vanish if hit.

[Esprit15]

Laura draws a dagger and her rapier, then dashes forward into the brush.

Spoiler

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Move to N18
Bonus action: Hide - (1d20+5)[14]
Action: Hold action until a Grung is next to her. Then get a sneak attack in with her rapier.

[Awful]

Liljekonvall raised a fist and clenched it, and a cloud of embers burst out around the frogs.

Spoiler: OOC

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She casts faerie fire, tryign to catch all of them, for a DC13 Dx throw or all attacks against them have advantage, and they emit dim light.