Jaxon indicates as he is leading you all to the docks "I definitely think it is better to be prepared than to rush and fail. The Bounty will be ready to sail in 4 or so hours, though if you need a full day here in Port Damali, I understand and I will have rooms made up for you at the estate so you can set off in the morning instead. As best I can figure from what Gumerawan told me, Elisa and the other captives will be safe for the moment, as they are being kept "on ice" for a vile ritual 'The Red Feast'. My own researchers and sources have told me that the ritual must be performed on 'djinsdaarg' which they have determined with high confidence to be over two months away, though it may be sooner than that. I urge you to still treat this as urgent, as you need to get to The Elemental Plane of Water, find the city that Elisa is being held and come up with a plan to stop the ritual. If you are buying anything in town before you go, feel free to mention you are in my employ as you may get a discount. I have also got my people to stock your quarters with things that I think will be needed for your trip, including to allow a number of the captives to breath under water when you free them. We only have one chance at this, so we want to do it right."
When you get to the docks, Jaxon shows you to a grand vessel, The Bounty, which has a crew of three to four dozen working to get it ready to set off. Most of the crew will not be able to join you in any battle unless you want mass casualties (they are very low level and have been chosen due to being good sailors rather than good at fighting).
You will also be able to hire a sailor sidekick each (though you do not have to) and they will be able to join you in battle. I will roll these up and control them out of battle, but you will control them in battle and they will go on your turn after you.
Dajarkal (if you can convince the Concord to let her continue with you), Beorth and Dillyu will be three of the options. If nobody chooses them, they will leave you in Port Damali.
Let me know what if there is anything else you want to ask/tell/negotiate with Jaxon before leaving him. Dajarkal will need to report to the Concord when you are done at the docks. You can join her and shop later or explore Port Damali and shop straight away if you would like.
Beatrice will let out a low whistle, staring up at the ship. "Why is everything in populated areas so large?" she asks, slightly plaintively. "The desert was never like this."
Turning to Dajarkal (if she's there, otherwise she'll wait til they're together), she'll say, "Can you continue to travel with us? If nothing else, it'll ensure that the Concord has someone to keep an eye on us, and I've found your presence invaluable on our travels thus far."
Gumerawan looked up at the ship, " I tol' you she's a beauty."
She needed nothing more than what she carried so simply waited for the others to ready themselves, she did not approach any of the sailors, aware that she could be ' a lot' upfront, but she wasn't going to turn away any that approached her.
Kenton doesn't have much he wants to achieve in the city. He will write a short letter to his family to reassure them he is well but may be out of contact for several months, and attempt to find a way to send this to Nicodranas.
He will, if he can, spend a little more time with Jaxon Brand, asking after the rest of the Brand family, Martin in particular as Kenton knows him best.
As Beatrice approaches Dajarkal, he will lend support: I would prefer to keep all of our current crew, if they are willing to accompany us.He won't 'adopt' anyone until the others have made their choice, but he will be keen to take them on.
Is Firische in the city?
Are there any restrictions around swimming and wearing heavy armour? I don't think there were any in the last fight, but will this be an issue going forward?
The Champion will nod to Beatrice. “Let’s just go with her. She earned friendship, and I agree that it’d be nice if she came with us.” (shopping after)
Turning to Dajarkal [...] "Can you continue to travel with us? If nothing else, it'll ensure that the Concord has someone to keep an eye on us, and I've found your presence invaluable on our travels thus far."
Dajarkal nervously says "I would like to come because we are also friends now, right? I think we are... but only if you think we are too... and no pressure... I haven't made many friends before that weren't animals, so I don't know if I should have just said all of that... erm... [her green skin goes a bit red] I don't get to choose my missions though, I am sent where the Concord needs me."
Jaxon interjects "I apologise, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. If you want I can send word to Larth that you are needed on The Bounty, and you will be assigned to it for as long as you want. [He addresses this next part just to Dajarkal] You can still go and report in to Voskiir if you would like; though I will make it clear that you are preparing for a special assignment personally for me if you would prefer not to. I know how petulant the Lieutenant Commander can be when he feels that he is not calling the shots... but he isn't calling the shots on this occassion.You would be aware of the sway I have with the Concord, so it will be no issue for you to continue with this crew.[He addresses this next part to all of you] Whilst I have assigned a general crew of sailors and ship-hands to the Bounty for your voyage, you will need some officers including a captain, a first mate, a bosun, a quartermaster, a ship healer or surgeon, a ship mage and a cook. If any of you have sailed extensively before or have specialist skills you may be able to take on some of these roles, or you may already have crew, though I have also organised some potential candidates in case. You can speak to them now or after you have organised anything that you need to."
Let me know if you want to RP some shopping (definitely happy to), otherwise Jaxon can organise for items to be purchased by one of his helpers. If getting the helper to buy stuff it is limited to:
- Any armor and weapons found in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook worth 200 gp or less (two of each item is available except for ammunition, which there are 100 pieces of),
- Any spell components worth less than 300 gp as well as paper, ink etc.
Just deduct the purchase price for those items (minus 10% rounded up to the nearest GP for Jaxon's discount).
If anyone wants anything else, let me know how you go about finding it (are you just going out exploring, asking someone etc.) and we can RP it.
Here is the battle map for The Bounty, it took a bit longer than expected (despite just being a modified one from a patreon battle map creator). I have highlighted the weapons and placed Dillyu for size reference. As you have all been on ships for a while, you would know that whilst Ballistas are very common on ships and Mangonels are common on ships built for battle, cannons are less common and arcane cannons are very rare:
[...] asking after the rest of the Brand family, Martin in particular as Kenton knows him best. [...] Is Firische in the city? [...] Are there any restrictions around swimming and wearing heavy armour? I don't think there were any in the last fight, but will this be an issue going forward?
Jaxon indicates that Firische has joined the crew of The Bounty and will be travelling with you, though you do not see her at the moment.
[I'll come back to Kenton's discussion with Jaxon about his family later (I need to check some things).
I hadn't come across anything in the official sourcebooks about swimming and armour, though the 5e Nautical Adventures I am borrowing a fair bit from basically has "wearing heavy armour=death in water". I think that punishes those that chose a class that uses heavy armour, so I'm not using it. Things are going to be deadly enough later in the campaign that I don't want players not to equip their characters properly. I also don't remember Mercer imposing penalties for armour wearers for underwater combat, though as it is his game-world, if someone points me towards a post/video from him about how he runs underwater combat I'll adopt that.]
[...] “Let’s just go with her. She earned friendship, and I agree that it’d be nice if she came with us.” [...]
Dajarkal's big toothy grin comes out again as her cheeks turn red again and she says "I like having humanoid friends".
She takes Jaxon up on his offer to not have to speak to Lieutenant Commander Voskiir Larth at all and is now a permanent member of the crew (as are Dillyu and Beorth thanks to Kenton's comment). Let me know who would like to control which specific NPC in combat.
[Also, apologies that the posts are out of order, I took too long to write my previous post and didn't see the two responses.]
[I found a very useful resource for Port Damali, so I won't have to create the the city/town myself (or even stock many of the shops it seems). As such, I'm genuinely happy for characters/players to explore the city as much or as little as you want and to look for additional equipment and items. Alternatively, I'm happy to skip it if nobody feels like looking around. You all have at least a few hours before the ship is ready to sail (and you do not need to leave immediately when it is ready), though you could just go back to the Brand Estate or get settled in on The Bounty instead of exploring the town of nobody is interested in looking around.]
I think I’m okay with just hand waving this particular trip just because I’m anxious to get back on the ship, but I’m agreeable if someone wants to bebop around town
Gumerawan had little else to do but to prepare aboard ship for the journey, she had not sailed with any of the crew before but she tried to make herself useful in order to get them underway.
Gumerawan listened in as people spoke and she worked, " Beatrice, Oden...Kenton...The Champion..., thats an unusual one...", she said to herself as she got her new companions names settled in her head.
When The Champion returned to the ship she approached him, " Sorry....bit o' a busy-body me. ' The Champion', dats got to ha' a story wit' it, no?"
The Champion nods to Gumerawan. “It does. I am The Champion of the Raven Queen. I am an engine of her purposes. Some of the others here remember someone else, but that person was just a chrysalis for The Champion. He died, and I arrived. And so far it seems the Raven Queen has continued purpose for me here.”
The Champion nods to Gumerawan. “It does. I am The Champion of the Raven Queen. I am an engine of her purposes. Some of the others here remember someone else, but that person was just a chrysalis for The Champion. He died, and I arrived. And so far it seems the Raven Queen has continued purpose for me here.”
" Raven Queen.....interesting...don' ha' too muck to do wit' gods meself...well t'ose I'm not related to...though...not really a god...anyway!! Good to have you aboard on this rescue mission."
" You a good swimmer? T'eres gonna be a whole mess o' swimmin'."
[You should now be able to claim Dajarakal and Dillyu.
I realised that Beorth will not be that useful in the Elemental Plane of Water. He has +8 to hit with his guns... but I believe guns don't work so well under water. I think he will stay on The Bounty and not travel to another plane unless anyone else really wants to claim him.]
Kenton will look in on Firische. (Is she an option as a crewmember to control in combat?).
[Yes, I will message you about her shortly.]
Back at the Brand Estate Jaxon introduces you to officers he has vetted for your crew. These are [with some relevant info]:
- A Lizard-person who Jaxon indicates is "good at getting into trouble, but even better at getting out of it" [Lizardfolk Swashbuckler Rogue - swim speed 30 ft, can hold breath for 15 minutes],
- A bookish looking blue-skinned humanoid with thick spectacles who Jaxon indicates is a master of the arcane arts [Air Genasi Wizard - can hold breath indefinitely as long as not incapacitated, time seems to act weird around them],
- A Tortle who has a number of gizmos and gadgets adorning her shell, who is "fixing" one of Jaxon's timepieces when you meet her [Tortle Artificer - can hold breath for an hour, though she also has a cap of water breathing as one of her infusions],
- A smooth-tongued Triton who does not seem to be able to finish a sentence before launching into an unrelated story [Triton, College of Lore Bard - swim speed 30 ft, can breathe water].
I'll get you to choose your 'sidekick' just based on those descriptions (I am going to use point-buy method rather than rolling).
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Jaxon indicates as he is leading you all to the docks "I definitely think it is better to be prepared than to rush and fail. The Bounty will be ready to sail in 4 or so hours, though if you need a full day here in Port Damali, I understand and I will have rooms made up for you at the estate so you can set off in the morning instead. As best I can figure from what Gumerawan told me, Elisa and the other captives will be safe for the moment, as they are being kept "on ice" for a vile ritual 'The Red Feast'. My own researchers and sources have told me that the ritual must be performed on 'djinsdaarg' which they have determined with high confidence to be over two months away, though it may be sooner than that. I urge you to still treat this as urgent, as you need to get to The Elemental Plane of Water, find the city that Elisa is being held and come up with a plan to stop the ritual. If you are buying anything in town before you go, feel free to mention you are in my employ as you may get a discount. I have also got my people to stock your quarters with things that I think will be needed for your trip, including to allow a number of the captives to breath under water when you free them. We only have one chance at this, so we want to do it right."
When you get to the docks, Jaxon shows you to a grand vessel, The Bounty, which has a crew of three to four dozen working to get it ready to set off. Most of the crew will not be able to join you in any battle unless you want mass casualties (they are very low level and have been chosen due to being good sailors rather than good at fighting).
You will also be able to hire a sailor sidekick each (though you do not have to) and they will be able to join you in battle. I will roll these up and control them out of battle, but you will control them in battle and they will go on your turn after you.
Dajarkal (if you can convince the Concord to let her continue with you), Beorth and Dillyu will be three of the options. If nobody chooses them, they will leave you in Port Damali.
Let me know what if there is anything else you want to ask/tell/negotiate with Jaxon before leaving him. Dajarkal will need to report to the Concord when you are done at the docks. You can join her and shop later or explore Port Damali and shop straight away if you would like.
The Bounty:
Beatrice will let out a low whistle, staring up at the ship. "Why is everything in populated areas so large?" she asks, slightly plaintively. "The desert was never like this."
Turning to Dajarkal (if she's there, otherwise she'll wait til they're together), she'll say, "Can you continue to travel with us? If nothing else, it'll ensure that the Concord has someone to keep an eye on us, and I've found your presence invaluable on our travels thus far."
Gumerawan looked up at the ship, " I tol' you she's a beauty."
She needed nothing more than what she carried so simply waited for the others to ready themselves, she did not approach any of the sailors, aware that she could be ' a lot' upfront, but she wasn't going to turn away any that approached her.
Kenton doesn't have much he wants to achieve in the city. He will write a short letter to his family to reassure them he is well but may be out of contact for several months, and attempt to find a way to send this to Nicodranas.
He will, if he can, spend a little more time with Jaxon Brand, asking after the rest of the Brand family, Martin in particular as Kenton knows him best.
As Beatrice approaches Dajarkal, he will lend support: I would prefer to keep all of our current crew, if they are willing to accompany us. He won't 'adopt' anyone until the others have made their choice, but he will be keen to take them on.
Is Firische in the city?
Are there any restrictions around swimming and wearing heavy armour? I don't think there were any in the last fight, but will this be an issue going forward?
The Champion will nod to Beatrice. “Let’s just go with her. She earned friendship, and I agree that it’d be nice if she came with us.”
(shopping after)
Paladin - warforged - orange
Dajarkal nervously says "I would like to come because we are also friends now, right? I think we are... but only if you think we are too... and no pressure... I haven't made many friends before that weren't animals, so I don't know if I should have just said all of that... erm... [her green skin goes a bit red] I don't get to choose my missions though, I am sent where the Concord needs me."
Jaxon interjects "I apologise, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. If you want I can send word to Larth that you are needed on The Bounty, and you will be assigned to it for as long as you want. [He addresses this next part just to Dajarkal] You can still go and report in to Voskiir if you would like; though I will make it clear that you are preparing for a special assignment personally for me if you would prefer not to. I know how petulant the Lieutenant Commander can be when he feels that he is not calling the shots... but he isn't calling the shots on this occassion. You would be aware of the sway I have with the Concord, so it will be no issue for you to continue with this crew. [He addresses this next part to all of you] Whilst I have assigned a general crew of sailors and ship-hands to the Bounty for your voyage, you will need some officers including a captain, a first mate, a bosun, a quartermaster, a ship healer or surgeon, a ship mage and a cook. If any of you have sailed extensively before or have specialist skills you may be able to take on some of these roles, or you may already have crew, though I have also organised some potential candidates in case. You can speak to them now or after you have organised anything that you need to."
Let me know if you want to RP some shopping (definitely happy to), otherwise Jaxon can organise for items to be purchased by one of his helpers. If getting the helper to buy stuff it is limited to:
- Any armor and weapons found in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook worth 200 gp or less (two of each item is available except for ammunition, which there are 100 pieces of),
- Any item in the “Adventuring Gear” section in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook worth 50 gp or less (four of each available),
- The following scrolls for sale at a cost of 50 gp each: one spell scroll of magic missile, one of shield, one of guiding bolt, and one of thunderwave,
- Four potions of healing which sell for 50 gp each, ten potions of water breathing which sell for 80 gp each, and one potion of animal friendship that sells for 125 gp,
- Any spell components worth less than 300 gp as well as paper, ink etc.
Just deduct the purchase price for those items (minus 10% rounded up to the nearest GP for Jaxon's discount).
If anyone wants anything else, let me know how you go about finding it (are you just going out exploring, asking someone etc.) and we can RP it.
Here is the battle map for The Bounty, it took a bit longer than expected (despite just being a modified one from a patreon battle map creator). I have highlighted the weapons and placed Dillyu for size reference. As you have all been on ships for a while, you would know that whilst Ballistas are very common on ships and Mangonels are common on ships built for battle, cannons are less common and arcane cannons are very rare:
Jaxon indicates that Firische has joined the crew of The Bounty and will be travelling with you, though you do not see her at the moment.
[I'll come back to Kenton's discussion with Jaxon about his family later (I need to check some things).
I hadn't come across anything in the official sourcebooks about swimming and armour, though the 5e Nautical Adventures I am borrowing a fair bit from basically has "wearing heavy armour=death in water". I think that punishes those that chose a class that uses heavy armour, so I'm not using it. Things are going to be deadly enough later in the campaign that I don't want players not to equip their characters properly. I also don't remember Mercer imposing penalties for armour wearers for underwater combat, though as it is his game-world, if someone points me towards a post/video from him about how he runs underwater combat I'll adopt that.]
Dajarkal's big toothy grin comes out again as her cheeks turn red again and she says "I like having humanoid friends".
She takes Jaxon up on his offer to not have to speak to Lieutenant Commander Voskiir Larth at all and is now a permanent member of the crew (as are Dillyu and Beorth thanks to Kenton's comment). Let me know who would like to control which specific NPC in combat.
[Also, apologies that the posts are out of order, I took too long to write my previous post and didn't see the two responses.]
The Champion scoops up two of the four potions of healing on sale, along with one of the eight potions of water breathing, and some spell components
Paladin - warforged - orange
Beatrice will grab one of the other healing potions.
[I found a very useful resource for Port Damali, so I won't have to create the the city/town myself (or even stock many of the shops it seems). As such, I'm genuinely happy for characters/players to explore the city as much or as little as you want and to look for additional equipment and items. Alternatively, I'm happy to skip it if nobody feels like looking around. You all have at least a few hours before the ship is ready to sail (and you do not need to leave immediately when it is ready), though you could just go back to the Brand Estate or get settled in on The Bounty instead of exploring the town of nobody is interested in looking around.]
[Beatrice is happy to go with the flow with regards to what everyone else wants]
I think I’m okay with just hand waving this particular trip just because I’m anxious to get back on the ship, but I’m agreeable if someone wants to bebop around town
Paladin - warforged - orange
Gumerawan had little else to do but to prepare aboard ship for the journey, she had not sailed with any of the crew before but she tried to make herself useful in order to get them underway.
[I'm good to go if everyone else is. I can control Dillyu in combat]
Also good to go, though up for roleplaying a trip if that's the consensus.
After finishing his conversation with Jaxon, Kenton will look in on Firische. (Is she an option as a crewmember to control in combat?).
[I can control Dajarkal in combat]
Gumerawan listened in as people spoke and she worked, " Beatrice, Oden...Kenton...The Champion..., thats an unusual one...", she said to herself as she got her new companions names settled in her head.
When The Champion returned to the ship she approached him, " Sorry....bit o' a busy-body me. ' The Champion', dats got to ha' a story wit' it, no?"
The Champion nods to Gumerawan. “It does. I am The Champion of the Raven Queen. I am an engine of her purposes. Some of the others here remember someone else, but that person was just a chrysalis for The Champion. He died, and I arrived. And so far it seems the Raven Queen has continued purpose for me here.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
" Raven Queen.....interesting...don' ha' too muck to do wit' gods meself...well t'ose I'm not related to...though...not really a god...anyway!! Good to have you aboard on this rescue mission."
" You a good swimmer? T'eres gonna be a whole mess o' swimmin'."
[You should now be able to claim Dajarakal and Dillyu.
I realised that Beorth will not be that useful in the Elemental Plane of Water. He has +8 to hit with his guns... but I believe guns don't work so well under water. I think he will stay on The Bounty and not travel to another plane unless anyone else really wants to claim him.]
[Yes, I will message you about her shortly.]
Back at the Brand Estate Jaxon introduces you to officers he has vetted for your crew. These are [with some relevant info]:
- A Lizard-person who Jaxon indicates is "good at getting into trouble, but even better at getting out of it" [Lizardfolk Swashbuckler Rogue - swim speed 30 ft, can hold breath for 15 minutes],
- A bookish looking blue-skinned humanoid with thick spectacles who Jaxon indicates is a master of the arcane arts [Air Genasi Wizard - can hold breath indefinitely as long as not incapacitated, time seems to act weird around them],
- A Tortle who has a number of gizmos and gadgets adorning her shell, who is "fixing" one of Jaxon's timepieces when you meet her [Tortle Artificer - can hold breath for an hour, though she also has a cap of water breathing as one of her infusions],
- A smooth-tongued Triton who does not seem to be able to finish a sentence before launching into an unrelated story [Triton, College of Lore Bard - swim speed 30 ft, can breathe water].
I'll get you to choose your 'sidekick' just based on those descriptions (I am going to use point-buy method rather than rolling).