The rain beating down, the wind pounding them... herself never all that sturdy on her feet... this is bollocks.
Calm. Fear leads us to death. You're smarter than the damn sea... use your brain.
She takes what little time she has to look over the knots and tries to figure out how to replicate them, or at least some sort of knot strong enough to hold the new sail in place. She also wracks her brain for the best use of her floating mage hand. It should be able to hold the ropes, but it can only apply 10 lbs of force or lift, so it won't be able to pull or tighten anything. But maybe, a third hand will be the leg up she needs in trying to tie some of these unfamiliar knots?
Investigation: 20
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Ula sees the others jump to it. For a split second she panics, ‘do what? But I don’t even know how to do ropes!…’ she thinks. Then she tells herself to pull herself together. “Come on! Remember your training. You’ve been in challenging situations. Life and death moments…” she tells herself.
She looks at all the tied-off ropes around her, and thinks of her medical training. Trying to think of all the tourniquets she’s tied, slings, bandages, stitches, etc. Trying to see if any of the knots she knows would do…
Investigation check: 14 (+4 for animal handling, +6 if medicine would help)
As she falls to the deck, Avaria jumps back to her feet, giving a low growl about the whole situation, this is ridiculous! She rubs her hands on her wet clothes, not really making any difference other than something to do before attempting again.
Squatting down, she uses her leg muscles to spring upward, and grabbing ahold of the mast attempting to climb again...
As the storm really begins to pick up strength and the wind howls around them, making voices almost impossible to hear, the group struggles to get their jobs done in time to keep the ship from twisting into the wind.
Jan:
In another flash of lightning she can see that as Bald Black Beard runs his hands over the rope, he is mending frayed parts. Being distracted by realizing this person may be a magic user as well, she almost loses the sail again. It billows out for a second, but she quickly rolls it back up. She doesn’t have it secured yet but at least it’s not blowing about.
Another Dex Check to get it secured – with advantage now as the rope has been mended and Bald Black Beard is helping.
Avaria
Embarrassment and anger at falling give Avaria an animal determination to get up the rigging. She digs in deeper, finds a rhythm to the waves and quickly climbs up to the crosstree just in time to grab hold of the edge of the sail Slick drops down to her.
Almost in the same motion, she secures the sail to the crosstree and drops the length of rope down to the main deck below.
Having a briefest free moment allows Avaria to scan the ship and sea around her.
Perception Check.
Marrin
On her second attempt Marrin gets back up into the rigging, but the catch of the loose aft sail causes her to lose her grip again falling (takes another 4 bludgeoning damage).
Finally on the third attempt, Marrin leaps into the swaying rigging and instead of trying to muscle her way up, gracefully relies on the swaying of the ship and momentum to keep her going. She gets a flap of the sail in her face as she arrives but manages to loop the rope around the crosstree and then drop it down to Ula on the deck below.
Ethel
Despite her physical frailty, Ethel shows a warriors calm in the face of the storm. She slows her breathing enough to allow full focus. Carefully examining the anchor ropes on the midmast, Ethel gets an idea of how the knots should work. She has to put her own body against the weight of the rope that drops down from Avaria, but she uses the spectral hand she’s conjured to keep the knot from slipping as she ties it.
Dex Check w/ Advantage to secure the knot.
Ula
Ula watches Ethel for a moment as she examines the knots and then she does the same. To her surprise she realizes a tight tourniquet has enough similarities with one of the knots that she sees that she’s not completely working on this blind.
Dex Check w/ advantage as she has an idea of the knot she wants to make - however Ula knows that a tourniquet isn't quite the same as a ship's knot and that she'll need to be very precise to make this work.
Marrin looks down at Ula and gingerly feels the side of her head. She winces as she see the blood diluted with rain water running down her palm to soil her sleeve.
Placing her hand back on the beam she whispers to herself,
Ula struggles in the rain with the rope but she gets a knot tied. Even though it doesn't match the other knots on the masts she's seen, it seems to be holding.
Perception roll from Ula please.
Marrin, banged up, battered and bruised from her battle with the rigging can see that Ula appears to have gotten the rope tied off and her side of the sail seems to be holding.
Jan feels the sail about to slip out and unfurl again, but with the help of Bald Black Beard she's finally able to get it completely tied off and out of the wind.
The captain's voice somehow manages to pierce through the storm and you can hear him shouting orders to the crew. With the forward sail almost secured you can feel the ship straining to pick up speed.
Avaria still has a moment to scan her surroundings and can make a Perception check.
But will wait a bit on Ethel's knot tying roll before revealing anything from the perception checks.
"Good work, Ula!" Ethel shouts over the noise of the storm. Taking some confidence from the success of the others, she grasps the ropes and tries her best to tie them down. DEX 19
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Bald Black Beard nods at Janellae once they get the sail squared away.
"Godrick," he answers back. "Godrick Hargrove."
He looks out past Jan as he speaks.
17
Meanwhile, Ethel works quickly with the knots. Despite not practicing them before, she makes quick work of securing the sail anchor line. She does it so well, that she notices the differences in Ula's knot and that it looks like it's in danger of slipping. She helps secure that knot as well. Looking up she sees the sail catch the wind and the ship leap forward.
On the crosstree, Avaria looks out to sea, though unfortunately it appears she's looking south towards safety and fails to look more closely at the rougher sea to the north.
Ula's generally keen perception draws her attention to the sea as Ethel reties her knot. She makes out that not the next wave but the third one out is big, far bigger than anything else she's seen out here. It's seconds away from looming over them.
Ula notices and calls back, “Uh! Everyone!… There’s a big wave coming!… HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!!!…”. She tries to loop her wrist round and around one of the ropes and grab on tight.
A wave of relief washes over Ethlehyn. Her fear of being useless momentarily extinguished, she is looking around to check on the others when she hears Ula's warning.
Thinking fast she grabs a rope and loops it around her forearm three times. The she instructs her mage hand to carry another rope to someone else within 30 feet (with preference to her new friends vs members of the crew).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Godrick steps back quickly into the cabin, looking as if he's about to close the door in Jan's face. In fact the door does begin to close but with how close Jan is to it, Godrick ends up holding the door open just long enough for Jan to come inside, slamming it just as she gets through. In the brief moment before the wave hits, Jan sees these quarters are nicer than any other room she's been in on the ship, but not outrageously so. The wooden furniture is stained a rich, deep brown, some with intricate carvings. There is a table in the middle of the room with two closed books, a bottle of what looks like wine and a goblet on it. A traveling trunk rests against one wall, a large bed rests against another and a couple of sturdy chairs sit on opposite sides of the table.
A lantern hanging from the ceiling gives Jan a better view of Godrick. He does have a thick dark beard and a shiny head, though the stubble there indicates he shaves it and is not naturally bald. A thick flowing black robe wraps around narrow shoulders. He sits on the edge of his bed and grabs hold of the frame.
"Grab on," Godrick says to Jan. "I don't want your blood on my things."
----------------------------------------------
Ula and Ethlehyn wrap their arms through the same rigging and ropes they were just working with. With everyone she knows either right near ropes and rigging or having disappeared into a cabin. Ethlehyn finds the quartermaster standing in the middle of the deck and provides a rope to him with her spectral hand. Bigge nods his thanks and loops it through a grate in the deck and grabs on.
------------------------------------------------
Avaria and Marrin are surrounded by rope and rigging and can anchor themselves quickly when Ula shouts her warning.
The second wave hits the boat just as you all anchor yourselves and Godrick closes the cabin door. The next, the one Ula saw, looms up over the boat. Avaria and Marrin find themselves eye level with the crest of the wave.
The captain adjusts the wheel and keeps the Rose Maria riding the waves rather than running across them but this is still going to hit hard.
An audible creak and groan of wood accompanies the wave's impact. The ship lurches forward, knocking everyone about.
------------------------------------------------
Dex or Str Save to keep your balance or to hang on tightly.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Jan nods in agreement as she moves to one of the chairs (presuming they are secured to the floor to prevent them sliding around in just such an occasion?).
"I also prefer my blood where it is."
She'll hook her ankles around the legs and grab hold of the armrests as best she can. She hunches her shoulders and squeezes her eye shut as she braces for the wave's impact.
Her other eye, if she's able to have one not facing towards him, scans the books on the table for any markings or titles.
Perception: 22 (passive of 13)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
((She'll obviously try again if she gets to, red in the face now
Acrobatics: 23 ))
"Third time's the charm."
The rain beating down, the wind pounding them... herself never all that sturdy on her feet... this is bollocks.
Calm. Fear leads us to death. You're smarter than the damn sea... use your brain.
She takes what little time she has to look over the knots and tries to figure out how to replicate them, or at least some sort of knot strong enough to hold the new sail in place. She also wracks her brain for the best use of her floating mage hand. It should be able to hold the ropes, but it can only apply 10 lbs of force or lift, so it won't be able to pull or tighten anything. But maybe, a third hand will be the leg up she needs in trying to tie some of these unfamiliar knots?
Investigation: 20
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
((Investigation: +0 (not proficient); animal handling: +4 (not proficient); medicine: +6 (proficient).))
Ula sees the others jump to it. For a split second she panics, ‘do what? But I don’t even know how to do ropes!…’ she thinks. Then she tells herself to pull herself together. “Come on! Remember your training. You’ve been in challenging situations. Life and death moments…” she tells herself.
She looks at all the tied-off ropes around her, and thinks of her medical training. Trying to think of all the tourniquets she’s tied, slings, bandages, stitches, etc. Trying to see if any of the knots she knows would do…
Investigation check: 14 (+4 for animal handling, +6 if medicine would help)
GILLAIN OF ATHKATLA - Human Paladin - Into the Mists PHILLIP THE GRUNG - Grung Eldritch Knight - Tomb of Annihilation
ROBWIN WINDROBE - High Elf Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak EVE DARKSHORE - Tiefling Warlock - Rime of the Frost Maiden
ASH OF THE FIRE - Tabaxi Rogue - Ghosts of Marshswamp LIA STARBORN - Aasimar Bard - Out of the Abyss
As she falls to the deck, Avaria jumps back to her feet, giving a low growl about the whole situation, this is ridiculous! She rubs her hands on her wet clothes, not really making any difference other than something to do before attempting again.
Squatting down, she uses her leg muscles to spring upward, and grabbing ahold of the mast attempting to climb again...
Athletics 20
As the storm really begins to pick up strength and the wind howls around them, making voices almost impossible to hear, the group struggles to get their jobs done in time to keep the ship from twisting into the wind.
Jan:
In another flash of lightning she can see that as Bald Black Beard runs his hands over the rope, he is mending frayed parts. Being distracted by realizing this person may be a magic user as well, she almost loses the sail again. It billows out for a second, but she quickly rolls it back up. She doesn’t have it secured yet but at least it’s not blowing about.
Another Dex Check to get it secured – with advantage now as the rope has been mended and Bald Black Beard is helping.
Avaria
Embarrassment and anger at falling give Avaria an animal determination to get up the rigging. She digs in deeper, finds a rhythm to the waves and quickly climbs up to the crosstree just in time to grab hold of the edge of the sail Slick drops down to her.
Almost in the same motion, she secures the sail to the crosstree and drops the length of rope down to the main deck below.
Having a briefest free moment allows Avaria to scan the ship and sea around her.
Perception Check.
Marrin
On her second attempt Marrin gets back up into the rigging, but the catch of the loose aft sail causes her to lose her grip again falling (takes another 4 bludgeoning damage).
Finally on the third attempt, Marrin leaps into the swaying rigging and instead of trying to muscle her way up, gracefully relies on the swaying of the ship and momentum to keep her going. She gets a flap of the sail in her face as she arrives but manages to loop the rope around the crosstree and then drop it down to Ula on the deck below.
Ethel
Despite her physical frailty, Ethel shows a warriors calm in the face of the storm. She slows her breathing enough to allow full focus. Carefully examining the anchor ropes on the midmast, Ethel gets an idea of how the knots should work. She has to put her own body against the weight of the rope that drops down from Avaria, but she uses the spectral hand she’s conjured to keep the knot from slipping as she ties it.
Dex Check w/ Advantage to secure the knot.
Ula
Ula watches Ethel for a moment as she examines the knots and then she does the same. To her surprise she realizes a tight tourniquet has enough similarities with one of the knots that she sees that she’s not completely working on this blind.
Dex Check w/ advantage as she has an idea of the knot she wants to make - however Ula knows that a tourniquet isn't quite the same as a ship's knot and that she'll need to be very precise to make this work.
Ula tries her hardes to get the rope secured…
DEX check (w/ adv.): 19
GILLAIN OF ATHKATLA - Human Paladin - Into the Mists PHILLIP THE GRUNG - Grung Eldritch Knight - Tomb of Annihilation
ROBWIN WINDROBE - High Elf Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak EVE DARKSHORE - Tiefling Warlock - Rime of the Frost Maiden
ASH OF THE FIRE - Tabaxi Rogue - Ghosts of Marshswamp LIA STARBORN - Aasimar Bard - Out of the Abyss
Marrin looks down at Ula and gingerly feels the side of her head. She winces as she see the blood diluted with rain water running down her palm to soil her sleeve.
Placing her hand back on the beam she whispers to herself,
"It's fine. I'm fine. Fine."
Nodding to Bald Black Beard, Jan tries to get the ropes knotted properly.
DEX: 15
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Ula struggles in the rain with the rope but she gets a knot tied. Even though it doesn't match the other knots on the masts she's seen, it seems to be holding.
Perception roll from Ula please.
Marrin, banged up, battered and bruised from her battle with the rigging can see that Ula appears to have gotten the rope tied off and her side of the sail seems to be holding.
Jan feels the sail about to slip out and unfurl again, but with the help of Bald Black Beard she's finally able to get it completely tied off and out of the wind.
The captain's voice somehow manages to pierce through the storm and you can hear him shouting orders to the crew. With the forward sail almost secured you can feel the ship straining to pick up speed.
Avaria still has a moment to scan her surroundings and can make a Perception check.
But will wait a bit on Ethel's knot tying roll before revealing anything from the perception checks.
Jan will back in against the cabin wall near BBB, and run a hand through rain slicked hair.
"Thanks, for whatever that was you were doing with the rope. Janellae, by the way."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
"Good work, Ula!" Ethel shouts over the noise of the storm. Taking some confidence from the success of the others, she grasps the ropes and tries her best to tie them down. DEX 19
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Ula tries to call through the storm, “Everyone alright?!…”. Then she looks around to make sure things seem okay around her and the crew…
Peception check: 21
GILLAIN OF ATHKATLA - Human Paladin - Into the Mists PHILLIP THE GRUNG - Grung Eldritch Knight - Tomb of Annihilation
ROBWIN WINDROBE - High Elf Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak EVE DARKSHORE - Tiefling Warlock - Rime of the Frost Maiden
ASH OF THE FIRE - Tabaxi Rogue - Ghosts of Marshswamp LIA STARBORN - Aasimar Bard - Out of the Abyss
Finally making it up the rigging and completing her mission, Avaria takes a breath and looks out to sea from her new vantage point
Perception 7
Bald Black Beard nods at Janellae once they get the sail squared away.
"Godrick," he answers back. "Godrick Hargrove."
He looks out past Jan as he speaks.
17
Meanwhile, Ethel works quickly with the knots. Despite not practicing them before, she makes quick work of securing the sail anchor line. She does it so well, that she notices the differences in Ula's knot and that it looks like it's in danger of slipping. She helps secure that knot as well. Looking up she sees the sail catch the wind and the ship leap forward.
On the crosstree, Avaria looks out to sea, though unfortunately it appears she's looking south towards safety and fails to look more closely at the rougher sea to the north.
Ula's generally keen perception draws her attention to the sea as Ethel reties her knot. She makes out that not the next wave but the third one out is big, far bigger than anything else she's seen out here. It's seconds away from looming over them.
Ula notices and calls back, “Uh! Everyone!… There’s a big wave coming!… HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!!!…”. She tries to loop her wrist round and around one of the ropes and grab on tight.
GILLAIN OF ATHKATLA - Human Paladin - Into the Mists PHILLIP THE GRUNG - Grung Eldritch Knight - Tomb of Annihilation
ROBWIN WINDROBE - High Elf Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak EVE DARKSHORE - Tiefling Warlock - Rime of the Frost Maiden
ASH OF THE FIRE - Tabaxi Rogue - Ghosts of Marshswamp LIA STARBORN - Aasimar Bard - Out of the Abyss
A wave of relief washes over Ethlehyn. Her fear of being useless momentarily extinguished, she is looking around to check on the others when she hears Ula's warning.
Thinking fast she grabs a rope and loops it around her forearm three times. The she instructs her mage hand to carry another rope to someone else within 30 feet (with preference to her new friends vs members of the crew).
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Jan spares him a smile, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Godrick. If only it weren't under such trying circumstances."
As Ula calls out, she turns to him again, "Back inside until the wave passes?!"
She will either follow him though the doorway, or try to slip past him as they weather the big wave that's incoming.
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Up the mast, Marrin looks desperately around for a rope to wrap around herself as best she can.
Godrick steps back quickly into the cabin, looking as if he's about to close the door in Jan's face. In fact the door does begin to close but with how close Jan is to it, Godrick ends up holding the door open just long enough for Jan to come inside, slamming it just as she gets through. In the brief moment before the wave hits, Jan sees these quarters are nicer than any other room she's been in on the ship, but not outrageously so. The wooden furniture is stained a rich, deep brown, some with intricate carvings. There is a table in the
middle of the room with two closed books, a bottle of what looks like wine and a goblet on it. A traveling trunk rests against one wall, a large bed rests against another and a couple of sturdy chairs sit on opposite sides of the table.
A lantern hanging from the ceiling gives Jan a better view of Godrick. He does have a thick dark beard and a shiny head, though the stubble there indicates he shaves it and is not naturally bald. A thick flowing black robe wraps around narrow shoulders. He sits on the edge of his bed and grabs hold of the frame.
"Grab on," Godrick says to Jan. "I don't want your blood on my things."
----------------------------------------------
Ula and Ethlehyn wrap their arms through the same rigging and ropes they were just working with. With everyone she knows either right near ropes and rigging or having disappeared into a cabin. Ethlehyn finds the quartermaster standing in the middle of the deck and provides a rope to him with her spectral hand. Bigge nods his thanks and loops it through a grate in the deck and grabs on.
------------------------------------------------
Avaria and Marrin are surrounded by rope and rigging and can anchor themselves quickly when Ula shouts her warning.
The second wave hits the boat just as you all anchor yourselves and Godrick closes the cabin door. The next, the one Ula saw, looms up over the boat. Avaria and Marrin find themselves eye level with the crest of the wave.
The captain adjusts the wheel and keeps the Rose Maria riding the waves rather than running across them but this is still going to hit hard.
An audible creak and groan of wood accompanies the wave's impact. The ship lurches forward, knocking everyone about.
------------------------------------------------
Dex or Str Save to keep your balance or to hang on tightly.
Jan nods in agreement as she moves to one of the chairs (presuming they are secured to the floor to prevent them sliding around in just such an occasion?).
"I also prefer my blood where it is."
She'll hook her ankles around the legs and grab hold of the armrests as best she can. She hunches her shoulders and squeezes her eye shut as she braces for the wave's impact.
Her other eye, if she's able to have one not facing towards him, scans the books on the table for any markings or titles.
Perception: 22 (passive of 13)
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock