SvA's Lighthouse Adventure [IC]

The storm had appeared out of nowhere.  Rain hammered the deck of the Twin Empires  as the little coastal trader fought through black waves toward Latharl's Lantern.   

Sailors shouted to one another as they tied the lines and attempted to manage the sails.

Manning the wheel, the captain wiped sea spray from his eyes.

"No light."  He said.

Another sailor looked up from the rigging.  "What?"

"The beacon!"   The captain yelled.  "The lighthouse is dark!"

Panic spread through the crew immediately.  Sailors swore.  Someone began praying to Valkur.  Another cursed Umberlee aloud, earning shocked and terrified looks from the crew.  

Behind them ... a terrible storm that would sink the boat.  Ahead ... the Widow's Hook ... the narrow approach between jagged reefs and hidden rocks.  

They were already committed ... there was no turning around.

CRACK!

The hull slammed against unseen rocks.  The ship lurched sideways hard enough to throw sailors to the deck.  Below, water began to rush into the hold.

The Twin Empires  had just run aground.

Daisy, Manny, Yuki ... Each of you for reasons of your own boarded this ship headed toward the small fishing village of Latharl's Lantern.  You have sailed together for a couple days and know one another a little bit.

Harknail ... You are not in the scene just yet.

When asked why he was on this cruise, he answered, "My name is Manny, my family lives in a nearby fishing village and fish these waters.  I enjoy eating fish as my mother made great meals from the bounty of the sea, but personally...I hated to be out on the water and to fish.  The monotony was horrible, so I joined the exciting life of the army.  Since then I have learned being an adult means a monotonous life at times.  The Army granted me leave to celebrate my parents thirtieth anniversary...Probably my family has a few fishing boats out tonight in these waters catching fish for the upcoming family feast. "

Daisy is a human, with fair skin, honey blonde hair and green eyes. She has a faint scar above her left eyebrow.

When asked why she was aboard the Twin Empires:

“Just looking for a change of scenery, and the Twin Empires was the next ship headed somewhere I had never been before.”

{OOC: just a post so I'll be notified of updates.}

Yuki is pretty, for an elf that is, she has snow white hair, golden eyes, she is wearing chain mail that flows with her body.

When she was asked what she was looking for on this ship, she answered,

"I've been tasked to find others like me, destined for something more."

The wreck of the Twin Empires  groaned against the rocks as waves smashed across its shattered hull.  The captain lay crumpled near the helm, unmoving.  Dead alongside several of his crew.   A few survivors did remain, however, scrambling across the tilted deck.

The ship was finished.

Beyond the wreck, a jagged bit of shoal where the crumbling remains of some ancient stone tower had once overlooked the sea.   Most of it had collapsed long ago.  Just the foundations were left.

"Move!"  One sailor shouted.  "Save what you can before the tide takes her!"

The survivors all banded together and pitched in.  Crates and packs and other valuable things were hauled through the surf while lightning flashed overhead.  The storm had fully arrived now, driving rain across the shoal hard enough to reduce visibility.

Then one of the sailors froze.

Through the driving rain ... movement.

Figures emerged through the rain along the rocks ahead.  Wet scales glistened in the rain.   Spears.  Shields.  Yellow reptilian eyes.

Four lizardfolk warriors were stalking the wreck ... like scavengers approaching a dying beast.

And behind them, atop a small hill, a fifth figure.

Older.  Wrapped in charms made of shell and bone.  A staff clenched in its claws.  A shaman!

The lizard shaman raised its staff high overhead and slammed it into the ground.

The shoal began to tremble violently, a symbol of his power.

...

As this scene played out, somewhere below the tide, in the ruins below, ancient stone collapsed inward as part of the old foundation finally gave way.

Below the ruined tower, seawater burst into a long-sealed chamber.  Cold light spilled through broken stone for the first time in years.

A massive armored figure sat inside ... covered in dust, and years of silence.

More stone shifted overhead. The collapse had opened a path upward, but massive chunks of rubble still blocked the exit.

Roll init!  If you beat a 19, you may post your actions now.  Everyone has their gear accessible.  Armor has been donned, but no shields have been donned and no weapons have been drawn yet.

@Harknail, you will begin just off of the map under a soon-to-be-flooded chamber.  On his action, he will need to roll a Str (athletics) against DC15 in order to shift the stones enough to escape.

At A Glance

Harknail init 16

A Closeup

The entire map is Lightly Obscured (due to driving rain).   The water counts as difficult terrain.  The rocks, crates, and all wooden debris grant Cover.  Going inside the shipwreck will grant Total Cover.  The hill in the lower right is elevated terrain (+5'). The shipwreck itself can be climbed and is at elevation (+10'). [Sailor 1 and Daisy will start on this elevated space]

Manny rolls 15 Initiative in game log

Daisy initiative 12.

Yuki initiative 16

Yuki goes and runs to the closest cover to the lizardfolk and draws her greatsword. End.

An opening! At long last there was a way out of here! But where was all this water coming from? No matter, there was now an escape from his long burial!

Harknail started climbing out, pulling alway stones blocking his path as he made his way upward to the light.

Athletics: 8

But the long period of little activity left the ancient war machine stiff. Harknail struggled to get out as the chamber he was in filled with water.

{OOC: Not getting out this round, I assume he can try again next round?}

Manny gets upright in the surf and is standing on the bottom in a few feet of water.  Thankfully, he does not have his long bow, as the water and waves might have interfered with a shot.

Luckily Manny had his pack within arms reach when the cry of the darkened lighthouse was heard.  Despite being gone for a while, his subconscious knowledge of the local waters must have urged him to have the pack nearby.

Manny quickly dons his quiver (adjusts the angle) and loads his rucksack with a well practiced flip just before the ship struck the rocks.  Despite being lurched around, he was able to keep all of his gear in tacked and realized his body only caught a couple of small scratches from the grounding.  Manny was probably the last off the boat and into the surf.  Quickly scanning the area he got his bearings and simultaneously heard the cry of lizard men are on the shore.

Manny mumbles, "nasty scavengers, shutting down the light house to get cargo"....then as an afterthought "I hope the family is not night fishing tonight"

Manny identifies the group of lizard men.  Retrieving the bow from it's quickdraw strap and then reaching for an arrow from the quiver.  Drawing his shortbow, he notches an arrow....

Peering through the rain, he locates a lizardman, but as he is starting to draw the string, he feels the ground shift, and now sees the Shaman.  Manny pulls back the string, aims, letting out a half breath, with the Shaman in his sights releases the arrow.

Attack 24 Damage  7

The lizardfolk charged toward  the wreck.

One drove a spear into Yuki’s side. [L1 vs Yuki: spear & bite, hit/miss, 6hp piercing]  The other three fell upon the surviving sailors on the beach.  A pair of the sailors died beneath spear and fang. [L2&3 vs S3: spear&bite x2, miss/miss/hit/critical, 14hp piercing] [L4 vs S4: spear & bite, hit/hit, 14hp piercing]

Behind them, the shaman raised its coral staff and slammed it against the rocks.

Two massive stones started floating, rising from the ruins.  They sailed toward the shipwreck ... and the survivors standing upon it.  Daisy managed to twist aside at the last moment, but the sailor stainding next to her was not so fortunate.  He fell, lifeless into the waiting surf. [Shaman vs S1: Earth Burst, Critical, 14hp bludgeoning] [Shaman vs Daisy: Earth Burst, miss]

Yuki drew her greatsword.

Manny planted his feet and fired an arrow toward the shaman. [Shortbow vs Shaman: A hit!  7hp piercing]

...

Below the ruins, seawater began to flood into Harknail’s prison.  The warforged strained against the massive stone that had pinned him to the floor.  But the stone still held. [Harknaill Str (athletics): fail]

The entire map is Lightly Obscured (due to driving rain). The water counts as difficult terrain. The rocks, crates, and all wooden debris grant Cover. Going inside the shipwreck will grant Total Cover. The hill in the lower right is elevated terrain (+5'). The shipwreck itself can be climbed and is at elevation (+10'). 

The characters with red circles around their tokens are dead and will be removed from future maps.

Daisy may declare their action and then the lizard folk go again.

Daisy will stand up and seeing the shaman, and how powerful its attack was, Daisy will take out her longbow, Hunter's Mark the shaman and try to shoot it.

Attack 7  (will use her heroic inspiration on that and reroll)

Reroll attack is 14 - damage 10 piercing and 3 force (if it hits).