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Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 4:51 pm
by Longman
first map.jpg
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The game begins at 2pm, November 1. It is warm and humid.

You are at the location marked "A" on the map insert. The ship is on the reefs indicated by black dots in the 3-mile wide bay you have landed in. It is still about a mile out to sea. It is still above water and a few sailors are still aboard trying to work out what to do. The tide is currently low. A high tide later in the afternoon may dislodge the ship and / or ruin it.

As you come ashore in the three longboats you see that the terrain in front of you and to the west is dry desert, but to the east it is thick jungle, and the change occurs very suddenly. The change seems unlikely to be natural. Maybe some ancient magic is afoot? You also see some small monkeys on the beach, who run away towards the dunes, and plenty of birds and other small life.

There are about 30 of you. The pirate captain has the real captain under guard, but beyond that, everyone is co-operating to get the food and ammunition ashore. Your characters have already met aboard the ship and it is clear you are among the more seasoned adventurers and travellers present...

What do you do?

(It seems as though most of the PCs were getting passage on the ship to go southward for their own purposes, and that's fine. The NPC cleric is also a crewmember. Possibly, Woe's character is one of the pirates.)

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:21 pm
by SerGavin
Saracen swaggers ashore, as the boat hits the soft sand he deftly hops off and wades up to the beach. Hooking his thumb into his sash and adjusting his tricorn he surveys the beach and then drily remarks to no one in particular "What a lovely looking place. This isn't exactly where I'd pictured myself being when we set sail, in fact I'd rather hoped to be in an alehouse by now, alas it is not to be." He shakes his head and looks back at the rest of the group.

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:16 pm
by Woe
Not trusting much from anyone, Sonja will keep a low profile and avoid the pirates' attention. She'll lug the food crates or whatever else the other women are doing, trying to blend in until she has a better sense what move to make.

Of the 30, how many are pirates and how many are former crew? Who is armed other than guards for the ship captain?

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:16 pm
by mTeasdale
"To be honest Saracen, this place looks a bit hostile, but at least we're off that damn ship. I've been seasick for the last ten days."

Jaali then looks west, then east, then west again. His face suddenly changes as he start to realize the precariousness of their situation.

(Does the pirate captain have his spyglass, or a purse, visible on him ?)

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:54 pm
by Longman
Spyglasses - no. They don't exist yet.
Purse - no.

The pirate captain is a huge Arabian guy with two cutlasses and two pistols and his men, are evidently terrified of him.

Pirates - Crew ratio plus armed numbers, etc? Just assume the pirates are mostly in control at this point. I already said I didn't want to get into too much detail about that. It's more than I want to deal with, and it's just going to lead to a bunch of political shenanigans on the beach. That can come later, if required. The backstory was just designed to give a range of background options.

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 10:08 pm
by mTeasdale
(Does we understand we're in the middle of nowhere, on a semi-desert island, or we have no clue on which continent we are ?)

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 12:16 am
by quozl
Yuan-Cheng has observed on the ship voyage that Jaali and Sonja moved with the lightest feet. He goes up to them and says, "We must move quickly. Let's scout out the jungle now to see what danger lies there."

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 12:44 am
by Longman
mTeasdale wrote:(Does we understand we're in the middle of nowhere, on a semi-desert island, or we have no clue on which continent we are ?)
You may be on a new continent but it seems unlikely. You were taken off course (north-ish) by the pirates, and then blown massively off course (south west) by the storm, mostly west you think. Your character isn't that experienced on the sea so has no idea anyway. So, consider yourself LOST...(cue theme music)...

How do others react to Yuan-Cheng's idea of heading into the nearby jungle on a scouting trip? The other option is doing something about the ship on the reef. Or, walk the shoreline? Or, head into the desert? At this point, no one else is doing anything much other than making base camp in the bay. There's some talk about rescuing the ship, but most other survivors are too tired to think at this point.

(It's up to you).

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:06 am
by Woe
Sonja answers Yuan-Cheng first with a long look at the pirates, then a look at the jungle, then says, "That's a lot of shot flung between here and cover."

What do the pirates with the muskets think of his idea? They're clearly in control of the situation. If they say, "get some lads to help ye" then Sonja will volunteer. If they say, "target practice!" then she'll keep stacking boxes.

Re: Chapter 1: After the Storm

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:55 am
by MevlyTM
Maju makes his way to shore, wading through the surf, but being very careful to keep the water off of his shoulder bag. He then sizes up the crew members that came ashore.