Glim lets out a brief cheer as the last of their enemies fall. It turns to a squawk of alarm as Anoushka stands on the deck of the now crewless, drifting ship.
He dashes towards the star moth; stopping against the railing as he pulls his instrument to hand. He'll give her as long as he can to act on her own, but just before she exceeds his range, he'll cast Levitate on her to bring her back aboard.
The star moth is not drifting - it is under somebody's command and moving at speed away from the Moondancer! But Glim's quick thinking and magical talent helps to save Anoushka from being kidnapped...
The Moondancer resumes its journey to the Rock of Bral. Captain Sartell has a hunch that the astral elves have something to do with the calamity befalling your home planet and says knows someone on the Rock of Bral who might be willing to help the party. Her contact is a giff named Commodore Krux, but she can’t tell you more than that since she knows Krux only by reputation.
The journey lasts several days. When you’re not resting, you are assigned miscellaneous chores. During the voyage, Captain Sartell enjoys telling of her encounters with various Wildspace creatures (among them a friendly solar dragon and some not-so-friendly space clowns), while Flapjack explains the subtleties of astral navigation. If any spellcasters are interested, Flapjack will take this opportunity to instruct you in the rudiments of spelljamming (navigating and controlling the vessel.) (Take a long rest!)
Pim slings his bow and moves to the edge of the bow, reaching out with his big meaty arms to grab Shoka as she drifts in closer, pulling her in the last bit and setting her on her feet on the deck. A quick clap on the back and a snort 'There my friend, just like old times 'eh! I expected you to finish off the crew and get us our own cruiser! Next time 'eh? Did ya grab anything shiny from their bodies?'
Turning back to the rest of the crew Pim chuckles 'Welcome to Wlidspace friends, never a dull moment and always an opportunity!'
Nip swoops down and lands on the deck next to Pim. Well done everyone. He swats at the bugs crawling on him. Wildspace is interesting but I do not dislike it. If we are planning on bedding down, I will take my leave and head back up to the roost. I cannot abide being in enclosed spaces.
Nip turns without waiting for an answer and flies up to the top of the mast where he begins preening his feathers.
Time for a little background reading! Let me know if you have any questions or want to take any actions during this time of rest...
Air Envelopes
When a creature or an object leaves a planet’s atmosphere and enters Wildspace, an envelope of breathable air forms around it and lasts until that air is depleted. The envelope of breathable air that forms around a creature takes the shape of a cube centered on that creature. For a small or medium creature, that envelope is a 5-foot cube. A creature that needs to breathe will exhaust the air in its personal envelope in 1 minute.
The envelope of breathable air that forms around an object extends out from its surface a distance equal to the longest dimension of its form. For example, a spherical planet 5,000 miles in diameter has an air envelope 15,000 miles in diameter, with the planet at the center of it. An air envelope need not be spherical; for example, a block of wood 1 foot by 2 feet by 3 feet is surrounded by a more-or-less rectangular envelope of air 3 feet by 6 feet by 9 feet.
The air envelope around a spelljamming ship typically has an ovoid shape. Diagram 2.1 shows the air envelope that surrounds a nautiloid that has a keel length of 180 feet. It extends 180 feet from the ship in all directions.
Gravity Planes
In Wildspace and on the Astral Plane, gravity is an accommodating force, in that the direction of its effect seems to be “that which is most convenient.” For an object the size of a planet or moon, gravity pulls everything toward the center of the body, meaning that creatures can stand upright anywhere on the surface, and dropped objects fall perpendicular to the surface they land on.
For smaller objects, such as spacecraft, gravity doesn’t radiate from a point but rather from a plane that cuts horizontally through the object and extends out as far as its air envelope. An object’s gravity plane is two-directional: a creature can stand upright on the bottom of a ship’s hull—upside down from the perspective of those elsewhere on the ship—and move around as easily as if it were walking on the top deck. Diagram 2.1 shows the location of the gravity plane of a nautiloid, by way of example, and indicates the directions in which its gravity operates.
One of the unusual properties of a gravity plane is that an object that falls off the side of a ship can end up oscillating back and forth across the gravity plane. It drops in one direction until it crosses the plane, then reverses direction back toward the plane again, continuing until something causes it to stop.
Falling
A floating creature that enters the air envelope of a larger body is immediately affected by the larger body’s gravity (such as that of a planet) or gravity plane (such as that of a spelljamming ship). The creature falls from where it entered the air envelope to the surface of that body, or to the gravity plane of that body, whichever is nearer. Normal damage from the fall applies if the creature hits something solid at the end of the fall. A creature or an object that falls across a gravity plane takes no damage from the fall but begins oscillating from one side of the gravity plane to the other, as described above.
"well what an action packed few hours yeah? I got to work on my ballista aim, but I'd say things went smoothly huh? Glad to see you all are such a capable group."
Wreji goes to the captain to see if she needs any assistance
Captain Sartell puts the members of the party who are experienced with operating in wildspace to teach the townsfolk and other party members. Like a regular sailing ship, there is a never-ending list of repairs and chores and tending and maintaining to do, so all hands are kept busy with a 24 hour a day routine. But the wondrous sights out here! From schools of little space guppies, to gray scavvers, to several giant kindori, the creatures living out in space are amazing - and dangerous!
The ship slows unexpectedly. Around you, on all sides, colossal chunks of rock float in the void. Some of them are overgrown with vegetation, while others are bare stone. Creatures resembling jellyfish and rays glide through the spaces between them. Captain Sartell looks about uneasily. “Hmm. Plenty of places for pirates to hide.”
As if on cue, a vessel lurking behind a nearby asteroid comes into view. Its enormous spiral shell merges with an open bow, beneath which long tentacles wave as if caught in an invisible current. Sartell sucks her breath in through her teeth and whispers her next words: “Mind flayers.”
"Mind flayers you say? No rest for those who traverse the vastness of space I suppose... We should limit people's exposure as much as possible lest we want them to turn our numbers against us." Wreji mentions to the captain, before warning any party members that didn't hear her the news.
As the nautilus-shaped vessel drifts closer, Captain Sartell lets out a sigh of relief. “It’s a derelict,” she says, pointing out its stripped weaponry and broken hull. “If there were mind flayers aboard, they would’ve attacked us by now. Looks like somebody’s already picked it over. Still, there might be something left worth salvaging. Flapjack,” she calls out, "is there any thing aboard the derelict ship? What can you sense?"
The spelljamming flumph, Flapjack, comes drifting over and explains to you, "Normally my Advanced Telepathy combined with the spelljamming helm lets me detect the thoughts of sentient beings, so we know what we're getting ourselves into." He then turns to Sartell and answers her question. "Well, Cap'n, there's something a bit off with that ship. I have the vague sense that something is aboard the derelict vessel but can’t say what."
The captain hurumphs, and orders Flapjack to bring the Moondancer alongside the nautiloid ship. She turns to you and says, "You lot have certainly proven yourselves as capable crew. Board the derelict, salvage what you can, and kill any hostile creatures you encounter."
As your ship approaches the nautiloid, a young human in ragged, bloodstained clothes step out onto the nautiloid’s battle prow. He waves his arms to get your attention and seems to be in distress. As soon as the Moondancer's and the nautiloid’s air envelopes merge, he introduces himself as Benoto Kralazar and explains that his ship (the nautiloid) was attacked by neogi. He informs you that most of his crew are dead, but there are still a few survivors aboard in need of healing, and he begs the party’s help. Nautiloid map:
Glim looks puzzled at the explanation from the captain and pilot, especially with the hail from the survivor. "Would a mind flayer ship have willing crew? From what I know of the creatures, they'd likely be slaves or food instead."
"I want to help, but this might be a trap of some kind."
Flapjack and Captain Sartell are pretty sure there are no mindflayers aboard - the ship is a derelict floating in space, and the weapons are destroyed. Plus, Flapjack would know, via his telepathy, if these creatures were mindflayers. Still, they agree this could be a different sort of trap - which is why the Captain is sending you!
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Nip takes off from his perch and flies around the derelict ship. He is looking for any signs of life or anything on this outside or underside of the vessel. Perception 21
If there is nothing amiss, he will ready his bow and land about 10 ft away from the survivor. He keeps his eyes trained on the survivor looking for anything suspicious. Insight 23
Nip doesn't see any being or thing from his inspection of the exterior of the vessel. It is a derelict - with an obviously damaged hull and destroyed weapon systems. The survivor looks and acts like a wounded human male. He looks hopefully at Nip and asks if he is the only one coming to help...
Pim strings his bow and checks his quiver before leaping to the deck of the derelict ship, staying near where Nip landed, his bow strung and an arrow ready to fly.
'How many aboard and what's the nature of the injuries and locations of the injured?' The giff is brisk, not brusk, working the problem and seeking the kind of briefing every young giff is taught to give. Quick accurate assessments of a battle, disaster or emergency are the first step towards a solution. QUAADs were drilled into them before they could walk. Hell, he learned to QUAAD before he could spell it.
Having seen two of his companions make it to the derelict without becoming a snack, Glim makes sure he has his things to hand and leaps over to the ship.
The young man is taken aback by the all-business nature of Pim's questioning, but quickly recovers. "There are two others aboard, injured in our fight with the neogi. Come, follow me." As you look around the small deck you see that the ballista is gone, and there are ladders (steep steps on a ship designed to save space) to port and starboard leading up, and a wider ladder in the center of them leading down. Benoto heads down the center ladder into the nautiloid, looking back to make sure the three of you follow him. (See the nautiloid ship map in my spoiler above in post #171.)
At the bottom of the ladder is a 12'x15' cabin (#13) dimly lit by flickering, bioluminescent orbs hanging from the ceiling. Benoto moves forward to a large, fleshy barrier that opens as he approaches, like a sphincter (a ring-shaped muscle that relaxes or tightens to open or close a passage or opening in the body.) Again, he makes sure that you are following him. Beyond this opening is a large (30' wide x 75' long) cargo hold (#14), which looks and smells like a slaughterhouse. Bodies lie strewn about the deck, and the floor is stained with blood. Most of the bodies appear to be human, but one has an arachnid form with an eel-like neck and head that lies as motionless as the others.
Neogi...
"As you can see, here is where most of the crew died. Why don't two of you come with me to help my injured partners - the rest of you can search the hold for anything valuable as reward for your assistance."
(Will pause here to let everyone catch up...let me know if you're going with Benoto or staying here to search the hold. If you stay and search the bodies, give me an Investigation and/or Medicine check.)
Wreji, suspicious of the situation, walks a few good feet behind the party as the enter the ship. "interesting... this place gives me bad vibes.." he mutters under his breath when they arrive to the scene where most of the bodies are located. He inspects the scene intently to see if he can gain anything from the struggle, "How many of these Neogi did you have to fight? You sure there aren't others crawling aboard that we should be concerned with?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Pim stays with Glim and motions for the rest of the party to stay close as well. The Giff has an arrow notched and ready, head on a swivel looking for anything amiss or signs of an ambush (Passive Perception 16 and a roll 23). He's not subtle about his skepticism (insight check on the young man and his strange speech pattern 4).
"Yes. How did you manage to survive? And how did you come to be in possession of a Flayer ship to begin with...'
Benoto urges a couple of you to come help his comrades while the rest explore the hold. "Please, I'll explain everything later, but time is wasting and my friends need your help..." he pleads. He looks at Pim and says, "You can trust me. Come, follow me."
(Pim, make a DC13 Wis save...)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
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Glim lets out a brief cheer as the last of their enemies fall. It turns to a squawk of alarm as Anoushka stands on the deck of the now crewless, drifting ship.
He dashes towards the star moth; stopping against the railing as he pulls his instrument to hand. He'll give her as long as he can to act on her own, but just before she exceeds his range, he'll cast Levitate on her to bring her back aboard.
The star moth is not drifting - it is under somebody's command and moving at speed away from the Moondancer! But Glim's quick thinking and magical talent helps to save Anoushka from being kidnapped...
The Moondancer resumes its journey to the Rock of Bral. Captain Sartell has a hunch that the astral elves have something to do with the calamity befalling your home planet and says knows someone on the Rock of Bral who might be willing to help the party. Her contact is a giff named Commodore Krux, but she can’t tell you more than that since she knows Krux only by reputation.
The journey lasts several days. When you’re not resting, you are assigned miscellaneous chores. During the voyage, Captain Sartell enjoys telling of her encounters with various Wildspace creatures (among them a friendly solar dragon and some not-so-friendly space clowns), while Flapjack explains the subtleties of astral navigation. If any spellcasters are interested, Flapjack will take this opportunity to instruct you in the rudiments of spelljamming (navigating and controlling the vessel.) (Take a long rest!)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Pim slings his bow and moves to the edge of the bow, reaching out with his big meaty arms to grab Shoka as she drifts in closer, pulling her in the last bit and setting her on her feet on the deck. A quick clap on the back and a snort 'There my friend, just like old times 'eh! I expected you to finish off the crew and get us our own cruiser! Next time 'eh? Did ya grab anything shiny from their bodies?'
Turning back to the rest of the crew Pim chuckles 'Welcome to Wlidspace friends, never a dull moment and always an opportunity!'
Nip swoops down and lands on the deck next to Pim. Well done everyone. He swats at the bugs crawling on him. Wildspace is interesting but I do not dislike it. If we are planning on bedding down, I will take my leave and head back up to the roost. I cannot abide being in enclosed spaces.
Nip turns without waiting for an answer and flies up to the top of the mast where he begins preening his feathers.
Time for a little background reading! Let me know if you have any questions or want to take any actions during this time of rest...
Air Envelopes
When a creature or an object leaves a planet’s atmosphere and enters Wildspace, an envelope of breathable air forms around it and lasts until that air is depleted. The envelope of breathable air that forms around a creature takes the shape of a cube centered on that creature. For a small or medium creature, that envelope is a 5-foot cube. A creature that needs to breathe will exhaust the air in its personal envelope in 1 minute.
The envelope of breathable air that forms around an object extends out from its surface a distance equal to the longest dimension of its form. For example, a spherical planet 5,000 miles in diameter has an air envelope 15,000 miles in diameter, with the planet at the center of it. An air envelope need not be spherical; for example, a block of wood 1 foot by 2 feet by 3 feet is surrounded by a more-or-less rectangular envelope of air 3 feet by 6 feet by 9 feet.
The air envelope around a spelljamming ship typically has an ovoid shape. Diagram 2.1 shows the air envelope that surrounds a nautiloid that has a keel length of 180 feet. It extends 180 feet from the ship in all directions.
Gravity Planes
In Wildspace and on the Astral Plane, gravity is an accommodating force, in that the direction of its effect seems to be “that which is most convenient.” For an object the size of a planet or moon, gravity pulls everything toward the center of the body, meaning that creatures can stand upright anywhere on the surface, and dropped objects fall perpendicular to the surface they land on.
For smaller objects, such as spacecraft, gravity doesn’t radiate from a point but rather from a plane that cuts horizontally through the object and extends out as far as its air envelope. An object’s gravity plane is two-directional: a creature can stand upright on the bottom of a ship’s hull—upside down from the perspective of those elsewhere on the ship—and move around as easily as if it were walking on the top deck. Diagram 2.1 shows the location of the gravity plane of a nautiloid, by way of example, and indicates the directions in which its gravity operates.
One of the unusual properties of a gravity plane is that an object that falls off the side of a ship can end up oscillating back and forth across the gravity plane. It drops in one direction until it crosses the plane, then reverses direction back toward the plane again, continuing until something causes it to stop.
Falling
A floating creature that enters the air envelope of a larger body is immediately affected by the larger body’s gravity (such as that of a planet) or gravity plane (such as that of a spelljamming ship). The creature falls from where it entered the air envelope to the surface of that body, or to the gravity plane of that body, whichever is nearer. Normal damage from the fall applies if the creature hits something solid at the end of the fall. A creature or an object that falls across a gravity plane takes no damage from the fall but begins oscillating from one side of the gravity plane to the other, as described above.
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Glim will avail himself of the opportunity to learn how to 'jam.
He'll also take opportunities to collect stories and tales from the crew and passengers, as well as helping those with injuries.
"well what an action packed few hours yeah? I got to work on my ballista aim, but I'd say things went smoothly huh? Glad to see you all are such a capable group."
Wreji goes to the captain to see if she needs any assistance
Captain Sartell puts the members of the party who are experienced with operating in wildspace to teach the townsfolk and other party members. Like a regular sailing ship, there is a never-ending list of repairs and chores and tending and maintaining to do, so all hands are kept busy with a 24 hour a day routine. But the wondrous sights out here! From schools of little space guppies, to gray scavvers, to several giant kindori, the creatures living out in space are amazing - and dangerous!
The ship slows unexpectedly. Around you, on all sides, colossal chunks of rock float in the void. Some of them are overgrown with vegetation, while others are bare stone. Creatures resembling jellyfish and rays glide through the spaces between them. Captain Sartell looks about uneasily. “Hmm. Plenty of places for pirates to hide.”
As if on cue, a vessel lurking behind a nearby asteroid comes into view. Its enormous spiral shell merges with an open bow, beneath which long tentacles wave as if caught in an invisible current. Sartell sucks her breath in through her teeth and whispers her next words: “Mind flayers.”
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
"Mind flayers you say? No rest for those who traverse the vastness of space I suppose... We should limit people's exposure as much as possible lest we want them to turn our numbers against us." Wreji mentions to the captain, before warning any party members that didn't hear her the news.
As the nautilus-shaped vessel drifts closer, Captain Sartell lets out a sigh of relief. “It’s a derelict,” she says, pointing out its stripped weaponry and broken hull. “If there were mind flayers aboard, they would’ve attacked us by now. Looks like somebody’s already picked it over. Still, there might be something left worth salvaging. Flapjack,” she calls out, "is there any thing aboard the derelict ship? What can you sense?"
The spelljamming flumph, Flapjack, comes drifting over and explains to you, "Normally my Advanced Telepathy combined with the spelljamming helm lets me detect the thoughts of sentient beings, so we know what we're getting ourselves into." He then turns to Sartell and answers her question. "Well, Cap'n, there's something a bit off with that ship. I have the vague sense that something is aboard the derelict vessel but can’t say what."
The captain hurumphs, and orders Flapjack to bring the Moondancer alongside the nautiloid ship. She turns to you and says, "You lot have certainly proven yourselves as capable crew. Board the derelict, salvage what you can, and kill any hostile creatures you encounter."
As your ship approaches the nautiloid, a young human in ragged, bloodstained clothes step out onto the nautiloid’s battle prow. He waves his arms to get your attention and seems to be in distress. As soon as the Moondancer's and the nautiloid’s air envelopes merge, he introduces himself as Benoto Kralazar and explains that his ship (the nautiloid) was attacked by neogi. He informs you that most of his crew are dead, but there are still a few survivors aboard in need of healing, and he begs the party’s help.
Nautiloid map:
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Glim looks puzzled at the explanation from the captain and pilot, especially with the hail from the survivor. "Would a mind flayer ship have willing crew? From what I know of the creatures, they'd likely be slaves or food instead."
"I want to help, but this might be a trap of some kind."
Flapjack and Captain Sartell are pretty sure there are no mindflayers aboard - the ship is a derelict floating in space, and the weapons are destroyed. Plus, Flapjack would know, via his telepathy, if these creatures were mindflayers. Still, they agree this could be a different sort of trap - which is why the Captain is sending you!
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Nip takes off from his perch and flies around the derelict ship. He is looking for any signs of life or anything on this outside or underside of the vessel. Perception 21
If there is nothing amiss, he will ready his bow and land about 10 ft away from the survivor. He keeps his eyes trained on the survivor looking for anything suspicious. Insight 23
Nip doesn't see any being or thing from his inspection of the exterior of the vessel. It is a derelict - with an obviously damaged hull and destroyed weapon systems. The survivor looks and acts like a wounded human male. He looks hopefully at Nip and asks if he is the only one coming to help...
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Pim strings his bow and checks his quiver before leaping to the deck of the derelict ship, staying near where Nip landed, his bow strung and an arrow ready to fly.
'How many aboard and what's the nature of the injuries and locations of the injured?' The giff is brisk, not brusk, working the problem and seeking the kind of briefing every young giff is taught to give. Quick accurate assessments of a battle, disaster or emergency are the first step towards a solution. QUAADs were drilled into them before they could walk. Hell, he learned to QUAAD before he could spell it.
Having seen two of his companions make it to the derelict without becoming a snack, Glim makes sure he has his things to hand and leaps over to the ship.
The young man is taken aback by the all-business nature of Pim's questioning, but quickly recovers. "There are two others aboard, injured in our fight with the neogi. Come, follow me." As you look around the small deck you see that the ballista is gone, and there are ladders (steep steps on a ship designed to save space) to port and starboard leading up, and a wider ladder in the center of them leading down. Benoto heads down the center ladder into the nautiloid, looking back to make sure the three of you follow him. (See the nautiloid ship map in my spoiler above in post #171.)
At the bottom of the ladder is a 12'x15' cabin (#13) dimly lit by flickering, bioluminescent orbs hanging from the ceiling. Benoto moves forward to a large, fleshy barrier that opens as he approaches, like a sphincter (a ring-shaped muscle that relaxes or tightens to open or close a passage or opening in the body.) Again, he makes sure that you are following him. Beyond this opening is a large (30' wide x 75' long) cargo hold (#14), which looks and smells like a slaughterhouse. Bodies lie strewn about the deck, and the floor is stained with blood. Most of the bodies appear to be human, but one has an arachnid form with an eel-like neck and head that lies as motionless as the others.
Neogi...
"As you can see, here is where most of the crew died. Why don't two of you come with me to help my injured partners - the rest of you can search the hold for anything valuable as reward for your assistance."
(Will pause here to let everyone catch up...let me know if you're going with Benoto or staying here to search the hold. If you stay and search the bodies, give me an Investigation and/or Medicine check.)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Wreji, suspicious of the situation, walks a few good feet behind the party as the enter the ship. "interesting... this place gives me bad vibes.." he mutters under his breath when they arrive to the scene where most of the bodies are located. He inspects the scene intently to see if he can gain anything from the struggle, "How many of these Neogi did you have to fight? You sure there aren't others crawling aboard that we should be concerned with?"
Investigation: 19
Pim stays with Glim and motions for the rest of the party to stay close as well. The Giff has an arrow notched and ready, head on a swivel looking for anything amiss or signs of an ambush (Passive Perception 16 and a roll 23). He's not subtle about his skepticism (insight check on the young man and his strange speech pattern 4).
"Yes. How did you manage to survive? And how did you come to be in possession of a Flayer ship to begin with...'
Benoto urges a couple of you to come help his comrades while the rest explore the hold. "Please, I'll explain everything later, but time is wasting and my friends need your help..." he pleads. He looks at Pim and says, "You can trust me. Come, follow me."
(Pim, make a DC13 Wis save...)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?