[pnpgm] Game Update #13 - File #173 - Initial Dragon actions
Scott Adams
longshot at darktech.org
Wed Jun 3 09:02:24 CEST 2009
di
HT Alias/Player Character Name Type Status/Notes Sex
-- -----------------------------------------------------------------
R1.John Haight...........Arawn.............Druid .Normal/Alfar Ma
??.Chris Wells...........Ben'dar...........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
R4.Tom Corckett..........Caladan...........Wizard Normal/Human Ma
W2.Marcel Liberty........Chion.............Sailor..Normal/Human Ma
W3.Ryan Torres...........Farseeker.........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
--.Tobie Bonahoom........Fremea............Sidh....Normal/Faerry Fe
R2.Mark Murtha...........Kell..............Trader..Normal/Human..Ma
Do.David Sanders.........Kiet.Sunan........Acrobat Normal/Human Ma
R4.J H Hooten............Raban.Usherwood...Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
W2.Robert Maxwell........Strie'bog.........Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
R1 NPC...................Shu.Yeoh..........Wizard..Normal/Human..Fe
W4.Wout Broere...........Unali.............Ninja...Normal/Human Fe
Do John.Stowman..........Will..............Hunter..Normal/Human..Ma
R4.Alex Koponen..........Z'leyra...........Healer..Normal/Human Fe
R1 NPC...................Zhou Kiwat........Noble...Normal/Human..Ma
Animals: Corona [Eagle] Z'leyra, Tef'wo (Horse) Ben'dar, 2 Donkeys
Cover Story Info:
Caladan aka Ca Lu as Guard/Archer
Farseeker aka Fu Sa as Guard
Fremea as Noble child [Disguised]
Kell aka Swan as Trader
Unali as Zhou's wife
Game Web Site - http://www.funport.com/longshot/pbem
Public posts/actions to pnpgm at abroere.xs4all.nl (mailing list)
Private emails (not public actions) to longshot at darktech.org
Game Update #13 in sequence (file #173)
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Admin Notes: Total time for this update: 9 hours.
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[Recap]
From Raban: [Re: Actions]
<24 knots is more like 40.5 feet per second? 800 feet per
second is 545mph or 474 nautical miles and hour
<26 knots would take 4 minutes to do 2 miles, so you may need
to fix descriptions? <1 nautical mile is about 1.15 miles
Knowing there is trouble of some sort, Raban will run back to
the deck and try to get his bow and arrows since they should be
the best weapon against another ship.
[Alternate: If stored in a hard to reach place then may just
plan for hand to hand.
Alternate: Raban can take short cuts, like through walls or
deck, but that has its own risks. If that is the best path to
the bow it may be worth it.
[If Bow and Arrows gotten, Raban will plan to try Multiarrow
and try to shoot Seadragon if he thinks he can do so.
<I expect Raban has his armor on since it is light.
<I was going to mention flying as an option, but it could be
difficult to get back to the ship? <Sure Raban can fly over and
punch out the Dragons with his cape flapping in the breeze ;)
<Question: Is WSB of bow used as Strength to determine number of
dice on deadly hits? I always thought so but last reading made
me wonder if that is so.
GM: Ack. Yes I know. A knot is 6076.115 feet per hour and so on.
Its not nice to correct the god who never makes mistakes. I
had it right but editors didn't. Actually I was thinking of
more strategic view not tactical. Strategically with just the
magic its about 88 feet per minute or 1.4 feet per second. But
I was looking at the wrong thing. Since we are not in tactical
level. Ship is moving 24 with magic and winds adds 1-2 this
day. But let's ignore the wind since 24 is a easy figure. So
1200 feet per minute or 20 feet per second is still rather
fast. As to SB no its not added. Unless it changed in v2?
Magical damage enhanced might though. I will sum up the math
below with more details.
From Fremea: [Re: Actions]
Fremea, being tossed by the boat's quick turning, shakes her head
and looks around to see what is going on. Hearing something about
a dragon, she quickly grabs her bow (the one not dedicated
Elf-shot - because that is one she would be practicing with
anyway) and as many arrows as she can.
She will make sure she has her spy-glass on her and head up to
the upper deck. (I am guessing that this will take her a few
phases to do, unless her bow and arrows happen to be right near
her)
GM: Ack.
From Kell: [Re: Actions]
Kell sticks on his helmet, straps on his tulwar, grabs his
shield and three spears and heads topside to see what in the
blazes is going on. This is definitely not normal.
Once topside, Kell will go wherever directed to defend the ship.
GM: Ack.
From Ben'dar: [Re: Actions]
The ship can move 2 miles in 15 seconds? How fast is this ship
going??? (Assuming you meant 2 miles in 15 minutes) Ben'Dar will
grab his bow and arrows and a fighting spear. He will fire
arrows at the dragons when they come into range. When they
close to melee distance, he'll attack with his spear.
Sorry for lack of posting in recent weeks - alot of travel for
work going on right now.
GM: Ack. Not a problem on posting. AS you see theres plenty to
make up the slack. :) Not like the good old days huh? :) I
could recall days when I complained about no posts. :)
From Kiet: [Re: Time powers]
Kiet says, "I believe that is a Sidh spell...is it not?"
GM: Ack.
From Will: [Re: Actions]
<26 knots would take 4 minutes to do 2 miles,
Assuming we have two minutes if both closing at the same speed.
Will retrieves his bow and while keeping an eye on the dragons
to see how fast or if they are closing and he jots a quick
holographic will.
"To my pet wolf Biff I leave my donkey. Bonn appetite."
GM: Ack. :)
From Z'leyra: [Re: IBT]
While the party is still together leaving the High Elder
Z'leyra asks Raban "Okay if I cast some basic detection
spells?" Presuming no objections Z'leyra (as per Update #8)
will cast Orient Self EL0 then cast Detection (magic) ELmax
thru her staff on Raban, quickly followed by Soul Sight ELmax
in an effort to see what magic he has hidden and if she can
spot it.
Z'leyra welcomes both Shu Yeoh and Zhou Kiwat to...
....deleted IBT stuff...
Sorry folks. I didn't mean to send Z'leyra's IBT stuff to the
list. It was meant to go directly to Scott.
Feel free to delete it.
MG: Ack. Yep. Accidents happen. If folks were nice they didn't
read it but too late now. :)
From Strie'bog: [Re: Actions]
Since Strie'bog is close to his cabin, he will quickly grab his
bow and arrows. He will then run up the stairs onto the deck.
(I doubt that he would have on any armor)
Once on deck, Strie'bog will judge the distance to the dragon.
If within range of his bow (Long Range for the Long Bow-not
extreme), he will start firing.
If the Dragon appears to be further out, he will cast Bless on
himself. ---If he thinks he has a few seconds to spare before
it gets into range (1 round), he will cast it at EL 0 (giving
+1 to OCV). ---If he thinks he has a little longer, he will cast
the spell at EL 1 (+2 to OCV).
Positioning. He will remain on deck (not the rigging), in
position where he can see the approaching dragon.
GM: Ack.
From Raban: [Re: Actions]
Thanks for the information.
Scott, could you give us an idea on how many rounds of prep
time we will have before the Dragons are within bow range?
GM: Ack. See below. Problem is most won't know till they get
top deck. For those below its vague info. You know something
is up below deck but not sure what so could take longer.
From Will: [Re: Actions/reply to Raban]
OOC:
Not that I want to be discouraging but I just had a discouraging
thought and wanted to share it with the rest of you. The only
thing I see in the creature list that swims and fits this general
description is a Wyrm. By my calculations 24 knots is about 48'
in game terms. Wyrm's swim at 16' but they are chaos oriented
and if they were aided by some malicious chaos force and sent
here to attack us with the addition of a friendly current spell
could be traveling at 56' or more.
GM: Ack. These are sea Dragons. V2. Maybe from the Sea of Tears
article originally. I have a complete typed up text version
of the v2 monsters and Wout has Word files I believe. I had
to type them up before v2 came out when Richard sent me the
critters to review. Think these are bad boys look at Surge. :)
From Kiet: [Re: Sea Dragons]
No, they are not Wyrms. They are Sea Dragons. The ship is
moving about PMR 12...or MR 48...
And Kiet has already expressed his suspicion to the GM about
the Chaos orientation of the creatures...
GM: Ack. Suits make the man err creature.
From Raban: [Re: Movement]
OOC: of course
PnP Combat movement:
Speed in mile per hour = (movement rate * 10 feet / 12 sec
turn)*3600 sec/hour*1mile/5280 feet = 0.568 * movement rate In
Nautical Miles thats 0.494 * movement rate
Or inversely 24 knots is 48.5'/turn
Movement types based on data from Olympics and other events
and history: long walk=1/3 move, walk=1/2 move, jog=move, long
run= 2x move, short run=3x move, sprint=4x move
Long walks can be done for days walks of 8 hours dangerous
jogs of 4 hours are dangerous=double time marches?
with long runs of 2 hours being dangerous as marathon runners
are in bad shape at finish
short runs are 4 minute area with minimal chance of damage
sprints are 1 minute area
If that data is used then a fast water creature could sprint
fast enough to ketch us, but cannot keep up that pace for long
before getting tired.
So I too would expect some Magic to be involved as 1 ahead of
us would have a fair chance to accidentally encounter us with a
chance to reach us.
The one behind would have needed to chase and thus be faster and
to coordinate with another required high speed and planning But
random encounters rarely worry about the details ;) Do not forget
it would have needed to spot the fast ship at great range to have
time to intercept the course.
What makes more sense is we were spotted from below by very
fast swimmers hunting as a pair.
But then they should be closer, which is what I think the story
will change too. Reduce 2 miles to much lower range to get the
15 second time estimate back?
In that case, they would attack from 2 directions as they better
control where the prey can escape too.
Worse such tactics are more often used by a pack and these are
the scouts to scare the prey toward the larger group in ambush!
Luckily I do not think sea dragons hunt in packs
GM: Ack. Could it be they just came top side when the ship happen
to be in the area of their favorite eating grounds? Random
encounters do make sense sometimes. :) Dragons are smarter than
most humans by nature.
Posts from Will: [Re: Actions]
OOC: By expressed your suspicion do you mean that there may be a
chance of that they may not attack immediately and we may be able
to run away?
Does Kiet share his thoughts and expertise with the rest of us
in the few minutes before we meet these Sea Dragons face to face
in case there is something we can do to avoid a conflict?
OOC: Strange I don't feel much encouraged by that.
GM: Ack. Abandon all hope before ye enter the... Well there is
always hope and chance. I will answer this below.
From Kiet: [Re: Actions]
Kiet's below deck right at the moment, and doesn't yet know
what's going on...
GM: Ack.
From Will: [Re: Morale]
So bottom line were still on the menu.
I mean I know are party is good... but two dragons!
GM: Ack. Well Chion could teleport away. Fremea could fly.
Raban could fly. Z'leyra could turn to a eagle and fly
away. But otherwise dragon food yep. :) [Teasing]
From Kell: [Re: Actions]
Look on the bright side - we probably have a whole minute to
prepare. J Kell will have an idea once he sees what is actually
happening and what we face. Probably a bad idea, but an idea.
GM: Ack. Oh look fish!
From Chion: [Re: Actions]
Well, if they move say 2 PMR faster than us... and we are 30
"squares ahead" then we have 15 rounds to pincushion them to
death. Of course, normal arrows will bounce off an AV of 6. So
we will need crits (rolling 2d10 and adding our ranged skill).
So that means we will need a bunch of criticals to even start
hurting them. But you know. MMMM... Lunch is server. (the worse
thing they can do is just go under water (full cover) and sink
the ship. In which case its Chion to the rescue (again). I
wonder who will be standing next to him shooting the dragons
GM: Ack. So what is your action? Don't give the evil GM ideas
of just sinking the ship underwater! hmmmm
From Will: [Re: Movement]
If JHH is right on his facts regarding sprinting and there base
move is 16 (I still haven't looked up there stats yet) then they
could sprint at MR 64 for a PMR of 16 to our 12. If they do
decide to just surface under the ship, sink it and then just
snack on us at there leisure do we have to put in dibs on who
stands next to Chion or can we all huddle around him?
GM: Ack. He might take bribes?
From Z'leyra: [Re: Actions]
Z'lerya goes to equip herself with staff, magical sling and
sling bullets then goes up on deck, meanwhile hoping that the
ship is faster than the serpents.
GM: Ack.
From Raban: [Re: Actions]
OOC: Most info on the people in this group is unknown but I have
determined with what little I have seen that 2 dragons is likely
a very minor encounter. The only real risk is to the ship as it
could be hard to fix in route even with magic.
Raban who is a barely above starting level character, has a fair
chance to take down a dragon by himself. Unlike the equivalent
level character in the other game, Romidar, who thinks they are
easy. In Raban's case, many bow shots could do serious damage if
he has time for them.
Raban is a bow expert, his skill has more than 1 digit!
He has the basics of multiarrow, so gains multiple possible hits
per shot If he had a heavy bow it would be quite nasty! His Hand
to Hand skill is even higher
There are many others with skill at least that good in weapons.
The mages have spells at higher Els than the dragon does and boost
enough that they are not afraid to try magic on one Likely they
could more easily destroy the ship in one shot than the dragons
could
But in PnP that is no guarantee that someone wont get badly hurt
or killed.
Lets put things in perspective, Raban is likely as strong as the
Dragons and he is not as strong as he could be.
Raban may have as many hit points as the Dragons but more likely
50-75% OCV - DCV is comparable, since Raban has 2 digits in both
Without special attacks it could be a fair fight, so luck will
dominate. Unfortunately, Raban does not have his magic weapon
to shift the odds more his way. Bows in PnP are nasty!
They tend to hit fairly well based mostly on range, so a few
archers can dish out some serious damage
Problem is Dragons armor versus normal bow WSB means you need
serious hits or better to do much Raban's WSB+2 bow has little
chance to pierce armor on a regular hit, but will ALWAYS do
damage on serious since it adds half skill He will
likely do more than 20 on deadly hits With multiarrow his chance
of getting those is not bad at 300' he has about 16% chance of
serious hits and 7% deadly at 150' he has about 21% chance of
serious hits and 11% deadly at 70' he has about 27% chance of
serious hits and 14% deadly at 30' he has about 29% chance of
serious hits and 15% deadly So enough shots will do some damage
considering it only takes 4 deadlies to kill it, maybe less
OOPS this may depend on effects related to ship combat rules!!!
Looks like he looses 5% with Bow? Worse in Hand to Hand?
But in any case it still shows the point, we have enough archers
to do serious damages if they do not reach us quickly. We have
enough mages that it could be over in a couple phases We have
enough skilled fighters that they can hurt it close up Not
having our magical gear is what shifts some things more in the
dragons favor
No the real issue is them diving and coming up under the ship to
stave in the hull and knock people into the water Then we have
problems! Its much harder to fight in the water. Transmute could
patch the ship, if its done quickly enough, otherwise its a major
problem
I suppose Raban could grab one of the Dragons, rip a hole into
its side and keep going till its dead. It is kind of hard to
stop someone when they are that close in hard to reach spots
Monsters need to be careful who they swallow too, always chew
first! LOL Just how long can someone hold their breath? ok found
it only about 27 phases for Raban, should be long enough ;) Wow
he can still triple his swim skill, he may be getting some
practice!
So its a little early to be worried...much... course these could
be much much worse than my guestimates, especially if they were
sent. Or maybe the mages will just take over their minds and
hitch them up to pull the ship ;)
GM: Ack. Overconfidence kills. Overanalyzes of battle can also
distract and kill. Just let it flow. As to holding a dragon
he can simply dive fast and furious. Then you let go. :)
From Unali: [Re: Actions]
OOC: Look up the sea dragon in the PnP V2 files on the www.
powersandperils.org website. Scott uses PnP V2 as far as it is
available.
OOC: Two dragons ia ctually better than one. Quarrels anyone?
GM: Ack. Thanks for the URL reference for him. Yep. V2 stuff.
Clever girl on the spell suggestion. :)
From Will: [Re: Actions]
More OCC:
Well your making me feel like the wimp of the party but you
make a good point maybe Will just goes bellow and takes a nap.
I do like Wout's idea about quarrels it would be cute to just
sail off and leave them to fight it out.
GM: Ack. :) We all start off low level.
From Ben'dar: [Re: Actions]
Raban...you could just fly...
GM: Ack. Fly away and live another day...as the ship sinks..
From Arawn: [Re: Actions]
Jostled awake by the sudden movements of the ship Arawn quickly
scans his surroundings, unsure as to what is going on. He can
tell the ship is being manuevered savagely and it doesn't take
much to realize that something is amiss. Grabbing his bow and
quiver of arrows he looked to Fremea and said,
"Going up!"
He offered a hand to her and then proceeds to Translocate EL 0
(or EL 1 if Fremea takes his hand) to translocate to the bottom
of the stairs leading to the deck.
If all seems well he'll then move to spy on the deck, fully
stepping up top if things seem safe to do so.
GM: Ack. Translocate to a place where folks are maybe moving?
Not so safe. Risky. Spy? hmmmm
From Fremea: [Re: Actions]
Having grabbed up her bow and arrows, she will grab Arawn's hand.
As soon as they pop to the bottom of the stairs, she will
immediately fly up onto the deck. If the winds are not too
strong, she will hover about mid way up the main mast and use
her spyglass to see what the creatures look like and to identify
any weak points.
This will probably take about 2 min (maybe less if she is lucky).
GM: Ack. You move a bit faster than ship so that's fine if going
at full flight.
From Ben'dar: [Re: Actions]
"Raban who is a barely above starting level character, has a
fair chance to take down a dragon by himself. Unlike the
equivalent level character in the other game, Romidar, who
thinks they are easy."
Hmmm...something about that seems just wrong. Any roleplaying
game where a starting level character can take down a dragon
single-handed is broken IMO.
GM: Ack. Bravado? Well I doubt with one blow. But you could take
a dragon with your pike a few good hits easy. Farseeker could
with one or two maybe no more than 3 good swings. Xian would
need about 200 deadly hits. But I doubt anyone could take
out a dragon with one blow right away even Raban unless your
lucky to hit the eye and it goes into its brain or something.
From Raban: [Re: OOC stuff]
OOC: LOL, yes he could Fly as he showed once before.
But then the ship leaves him behind as could the dragons since
he cant fly that fast.
The ships 48' MR is quite fast, few things can go that fast And
he is not so skilled at flying either, nor navigation, so getting
lost would be bad.
Sorry if I made anyone seem inadequate Raban is competent for a
starting character since he was expected to run with characters
that have played for years. As such I used building rules that
sacrificed nearly 300 skill expertise to aid his starting.
Will Raban regret not having those skills later, very likely?
For a table top game, where things may progress with closer
control of events, I use different methods. But I do tend to
over design things, I at least try to get the maximum benefits
from what the character does have.
And no, I did not fudge any rolls, but I did go with the results
and make the character fit them better. So we got a 8' 403 pound,
'gorgeous' entertainer who can dance good enough to make gold
pretty much all the time if they would let him.
In PnP anyone that tall is also someone who can take quite a lot
of damage. Mentally, well he did not do so well there.. I think
he has been fun so far, our GM has had some fun with him as well
GM: Ack. No brown nosing! :) I prefer cash instead. Fly? As in
Greatest American Hero? His great landings? :) Old TV reference.
From Will: [Re: Actions]
Its not that Will doubts his ability to injure or even kill a
dragon if played well but for him at least he has no doubt that
if he were to go up and kick a dragon in the shin he would
shortly discover what its like to be reincarnated as dragon dung.
GM: Ack. Ashes to ashes..bones to ...
From Kell: [Re: Actions]
[OOC - Followup from John H post on speeds, etc.
Dragon A 2 miles forward, sailing toward it.
Dragon B 2 miles aft, sailing away.
24 knots = 24 * 1.15 = 27.6 MPH
2 miles / 27.6 MPH = 0.07 Hours = 4.35 minutes = 4 minutes, 21
seconds This excludes the dragon's movement, so that will reduce
contact time depending on the dragon's speed and ship maneuvering,
etc.
Handy online converter, including Knots to whatever -->
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/velocity-units-converter-d_
1035.html
end OOC]
GM: Ack. Opps forgot to put this in the list way above. Minor
correction. Dragon B aft isn't moving away.
From Raban: [Re: Actions]
OOC: PnP Dragons are fairly easy to kill
They default to a major magical attack, but just that one even
though they could have much more. They are tough due to high NAV
and decent HP but not beyond many character design capabilities.
A starting human can be stronger than a dragon without any
supernatural aids A starting human can match the armor A good
weapon will do more damage that a dragons claws That leaves
Breath weapons and flight as the big issues So a hack and chop
fighter can loose due to mobility!
Add Archery to solve that. So Bows take away part of the flight
advantage, if it flys shoot it as it cant fight back so well
that way. Breath is major problem for a fighter and is why a
lone fighter is a poor match
He would need protection from fire or magic in general or be able
to take a lot of damage Or use tricks to misdirect things
depend on ambushing etc Not all that great of a chance
But if the fighter got some means to move very fast, he can out
run the breaths and negate that. There are many solutions that
can work So for Raban, if the dragon has some magical attack,
or poison etc it tips the odds quite a lot. Of course If Raban
had magic equipment that can offset it back etc
Mages are the best antidragon design as spells can take care of
defense as well as attacks A proper mage will have a good MDV
which can be boosted even higher without a lot of effort
As such it could negate the breath advantage Attack spells
negate the flight, though a Dragon has a good MDV as well Staffs
negate some of that MDV as do Luck and Purification and other
similar boosts So with a little effort the mage can negate the
Dragons major issues with fighters
Then it only takes a few spells that work to take it out Which
means the Dragon needs to pounce on the mage for melee to have
much of a chance or fly away
Now a 'Smart' Dragon changes all that too Some dragons decided
to learn spells and as such are much harder to predict what they
can do It could have counters to the Mages spells and tip the
balance back to Dragon.
PnP Dragons are 'easy' only because normal rules for them run
them as dumb dragons not much more than animals But that is true
of most games monsters, rarely are they allowed to play smart.
PnP Mountain Giants could scare everyone with their weapons and
armor, if they made things for other giants it would be hard to
stop them. Think about giants in AV10+ plate armor or similar,
with WSB+6 or more weapons
So Romidar is a special case, he is likely one of the most
powerful antidragon combinations out there. He is a Faerry Mage
that Fights with weapons and has El9 innate Elfshot So you get
an invisible flying archer that drops a 100hp monster if the
arrow scratches it If it has more than 100HP it takes an
additional +18HP damage above the basic damage from the ElfShot
instead
And will it have less than 100HP on the next hit and thus drop?
And Elfshot gives -El to hit making the chance of serious damage
higher Note: This was the result of rolling random faerry innate
and then making the character match it, I normally considered
elfshot useless but it can be nasty.
Note: No supernatural stats or abilities on this character,
just the basic faerry with good mage stats. Faerries are excellent
mages but tend to squish easily. It is fairly easy to make a
faerry MDV high enough that most spells bounce off.
Normally I play a faerry mage as a spell sniper not archer, but
invisibility applies quite well in either case. Yes, many
consider faerries broken as a race for this reason! But a single
normal weapon hit can kill them in most cases, far easier than
any other race. As such a smart opponent can guarantee winning
against them
PnP is a system that has counters for most anything if you are
smart enough to work it out. Also Starting characters are not the
weaklings of most games You have the choice to be more of a
generalist with lots of growth or a specialist with less
But you advance by learning what you wish too You do not become
much tougher just more skilled, so a lucky beginner can take out
a high level opponent But mages can grow the fastest which is a
balance problem
So give me the specs on a monster and I can likely show you a
starting character build that can handle it or what it would
take which may be far less than people expect.
GM: Ack. All right in the downtime in Marentia you can go kill
Surge since dragons are easy. :) Dragons learning spells?
hmmm. Giants in plate. What a universe you play in. :)
Course bravado makes GMs feel challenged...
From Kell: [Re: Party strength]
Kell is definitely a starting character, and no, he can't stop
one of these dragons, let alone stop two of them. On land he'd
have a chance, but at sea he's going to be almost useless.
With Kell this is partly by design, partly because he's new, and
partly because he has other strengths.
Raban is definitely not a "normal" person by any stretch of the
imagination. He's 8' tall and has a huge strength that no one
else does, even in this group. Which I like since it'll help
save the ship and kill those pesky dragons. :)
GM: Ack. Many are quite strong. :)
From Kiet: [Re: Actions]
Kiet is on the second deck helping one of the other sailors with
a shipboard (pun intended) chore. All of a sudden they hear
the call of the lookout and the captain's commands, and feel the
ship heel about. They both look at each other wide-eyed, knowing
our cap'n is no coward, and share some choice words not usually
considered in good taste or suitable in the presence of ladies
and children. Then both Kiet and the sailor move...fast...
because the Cap'n is bellowing orders and neither he nor the
first mate have any love for slackers...besides...it seems to
be in their best interests to move.
Kiet is dressed in work clothes, and has not more than one
dagger on his person. A quite unusual occurance, but normal
aboard ship. He wouldn't want to go overboard and have lots
of metal weighing him down, no matter how well he can swim.
Out the hatch and dog it down tight, then the sailor goes off
to his station, and Kiet moves forward, in the direction of the
pointing lookout. A Sea Dragon! Kiet had thought those to
only be myth and stories to scare new swabies. But now not
only one, but two bear down on the ship. Kiet is in awe of
the circumstance, and that there are not just one, but two!
According to the lookout they are black and grey...and this
immediately starts the hair on Kiet's neck to rising.
Those interested see Kiet obviously casting a spell and speaking
some quiet words. The crew is busy so they do not listen, but
very few of the passengers on board would understand the
language spoken.
Once the spell is successfully cast, Kiet looks about for his
companions and says in Katai, "These are Chaos creatures...no
magic, but very strong. They might or might not want to harm
the ship, so we should not presume. One of them might be able
to smash this ship...Two of them WILL destroy it. I never knew
they really existed...I just thought they were fairy tales,
pardon the expression Fremea." "When they get closer I'm going
to fly out to meet the one blocking our path to the south and
offer him something to let us pass unhindered, unless one of
you has a better idea. Oh, and get Zhou up here...if things go
bad, someone be kind enough to fly him safely to shore."
GM: Ack. No plate on ship? Darn. Your no fun!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[New Stuff]
[Apris 16th, 1634TH]
[Location: Dark Lands, Forest, Heading North East]
[Time: 7:20pm - Second campsite near Novasa's Domain]
The subject of Luck magic is discussed. Kiet replies to
Kell's comment.
Kiet says, "I believe that is a Sidh spell...is it not?"
-------------------------
[Ma 3rd, 1634TH]
[Location: Eastern Ocean, Heading S/SE, 490 miles south of DL]
[Weather: Patchy Clouds, Temperatures 70-80s as highs.]
[Wind: Low speed]
[Time: 1:34pm]
For those top deck the alarm of the dragons is one of the worst
possible things that could occur on the high seas. Pirates can
be battled with. But these are voyage enders. Lucky for the party
some of the crew and Kiet have mentioned the myths and legends of
Dragons on the sea. It is a common myth, even in the Sea of Tears,
that dragons exist. As old as Katai's early thousand-year old
days. Most ignore it to be drunken stories or myths. But
sailors persist in telling how the sea is flat and sail to far
this and that way you will fall off. Great seas of seaweed or
whirlpools that can sink entire fleets. Dragons are most common
in the Western and Eastern oceans from Fomoria to Lemasa.
For Kiet he mentions the Lemasan Coast Guard has dealt with a
few and seen their damage in many killed sailors and destroyed
ships.
Not all Sea Dragons are reported as evil. In fact some have
been known to be protectors of man and ships. No one has really
studied these beasts in detail so the crew doesn't know if these
are evil or good. They only know what is said in taverns along
Lemasa's coastline.
Actions? Comments?
Next Update...Monday...
GM: Time is frozen at this point. The ship has been rocked. The
first clang of alarm bell (actual bell) has sounded. Crew
is scrambling but party hasn't moved yet. I will move time
forward next update. Based on data below I will move the
time 3 maybe 4 minutes ahead next update. Update will be
done on Monday since this is out late mid-week due to delay.
This gives time to change actions if needed. If you need to
make changes post. If not don't worry about it. I will
do the actiosn above.
GM: All right deadline for IBT ended. It was all day so Arawn /
Z'leyra weren't late. Just being a mean god. Gotta keep up
my street credit. At this point I'm waiting on Chion and
Will to reply to clarification emails. Then I have to go
through and read Arawn's and Z'leyra's IBT both which are
pretty big. I expect Chion/Wills to only take a few hours.
The other 2 likely days (1-3 each). Sadly the IBT for Z'leyra
was posted by mistake here. Keep it out of mind since
it was a mistake and I'm not sure the amount of privacy
mistakes.
GM: Reminder if no EL is defined for spells will do it as EL0.
Unless stated otherwise will only do the spell once unless
you say something like "if failure recast..". For actions
that include a list like Cast A or B or C I will do A first
then B then C. I will not decide what is best since I don't
know. I will do in order given so best to do from top down
in priority.
GM: Reminder. IBT has yet to begin on ship. In that I put it in
the middle of the trip. Thus for those learning seamanship
and upping things it hasn't happen yet. Look back to the old
update for reasons. I believe it starts around Ma 15th or so.
GM: Scans for Raban's magic the sensing, reading and Insight was
sent in email. Just making sure you folks got it. It was
done a week or so ago.
GM: Math and data - Ok. Ship is sailing south by south-east.
The sun is overhead but more westward now on the right of
the ship. Coastline is west, north-west and south-west about
3 miles. The magic of the talisman is 24 without any other
winds. This means 24 miles a day with no wind. Since sailing
all day that is 1 mile per hour So that's about 88 feet per
minute (that's the figure was confusing) 1.5 feet per second.
So in some way no mistake good. But that's overall speed.
When we leave Strategic to Tactical movement it changes a
bit to MR 24 or 6/6/6/6, 60 feet per 3 seconds or 20 feet
per second. Now with that assumption of 20 feet per second
or 2 hexes per second in one phase its 60 feet. This DOES
not include the normal winds which this day adds another 1 or
2 to this MR figure but for easy math we'll use 24 for now.
Dragon A is aft a bit north by north east slightly. If the
ship is at 4 o'clock the Dragon A would be 1 o'clock. Shore
would be 7pm-12 in position. Dragon B is forward of the
ship almost due forward so between 4 and 5pm on a clock scale.
Dragon A is about 2 miles out and B about 2 miles out.
Folks below deck of course have no clue of this but those
on deck might be able to estimate this. Now the dragons can
move as fast as the ship MR 24 if they are "normal". If
they dive the current below might improve that speed a bit
as well like wind might.
With the above assumptions if the ship moves port to 3 o'clock
straight out to see an intercept course would have to be made
by both dragons. In theory a basic intercept could take 8 to
9 minutes. This assumes the basic first reaction of the captain
to go out to deep sea. If he changes this it could change.
But this could be a flawed assumption if they dive and ship
twists in another direction.
GM: Posted actions -
Arawn: Cabin asleep. No seaman skill. Translocation EL0/1 up
with Fremea, Grab Bow/Arrows. No armor.
Estimated time: 1-3 minutes before translocation
Ben'dar - Hold with Farseeker, Has spear. Go to cabin to get
Bow/Arrows. Has armor on. Seaman skilled.
Estimated time: 2-4 minutes
Caladan - Top deck. Has staff and armor. Seaman skill
Chion - Mess hall/Hold deck. No armor. No gear. Seaman skill.
If need to go to cabin to get gear ETA to top deck
is after getting sword, axe or crossbow is: 3-4 min.
If no going to cabin to top deck is: 1-2 min.
Farseeker - Ship's hold. Has sword nearby (never leaves far
from it - basic military duty. No armor on. Will
go top side to investigate. ETA: 20-30 seconds.
Has seaman skill.
Fremea - Crew Berths cabin level. Grab Bow/Arrows/spyglass.
Move topside. Investigate dragon with spyglass.
Normal for armor so armor on. ETA to grab gear
around: 2-3 minutes. ETA without translocate to
top deck: 2-3 minutes. No seaman skill.
Kell - In cabin. Would not wear scale normally on ship.
Don helmet, tulwar, shield, grab spears. ETA to
top deck: 3 minutes
Kiet - Hold deck. Has leather (normally wouldn't wear ring
on ship). Would have dagger but no other gear. Has
seaman skill. Move topside, emailed actions.
ETA topside: 30 seconds. Grab other gear: +2-4 min
Raban - Cabin deck hall. Grab Bow/Arrows, head top side.
Bow multiarrow or Hth. No seaman skill. ETA to
get gear and topside: 3-4 minutes. Has armor on.
Strie'bog - Cabin. Grab bow/Arrows. Topside fire bow and
cast Bless. Has armor on. Has seaman skill.
ETA topside: 2-3 minutes.
Shu - Top deck. Has armor/daggers. No seamanship skill.
Unali - Cabin level storage. Grab sling. Head topside.
Leather armor on. Has immediate access to all other
gear. Has seaman skill. ETA topside: 2-2 minutes.
Will - Top deck. Grab bow/Arrows. Has leather and daggers
on. Would need to go below deck to get bow.
Eta to go down and back up: 3-4 minutes. No bow on
you at this point. No seaman skill learned yet.
Z'leyra - Cabin deck - storeroom. Has no armor on. Has
dagger and staff. Grab sling from cabin head topside.
ETA for gear and movement: 2-3 minutes. Has seaman skill.
Zhou - Hold deck - Mess. Has dagger, no armor. No seaman skill.
GM: ETA above is based on no traffic. With folks going up and
down it may increase (will handle randomly). Given this
most should get on deck with 3-4 maybe 5 minutes before the
dragons get near assuming BASIC theory. I've not rolled
to see if they dive and use better intercepts :). So again
this is only a estimate. Give or take 10-20% of the time.
Hold deck has stairs and the ramp up top side. No problem
on traffic there. But to go from cabin deck to hold deck
takes climbing ladders. So that will take a few seconds
as well. Only 3 ladders going up and down from the cabin
level to the hold deck. then from hold up one more deck to
top deck.
GM: Arawn will you really do Translocate up blind knowing folks
might be moving about? Hate for you to merge with Raban or
something.
GM: Honor code here. Some like Arawn and Chion and some others
I've not figured out yet what gear is left behind. So
don't use gear left behind! :) I hope to get to that later
in the IBTs.
GM: Finally - At this point the following do not know Seaman skill:
Arawn, Fremea, Kell, Raban, Shu, Will and Zhou. Technically
Raban and Fremea shouldn't have big issue since they can fly.
Especially Fremea. Raban if he is fighting on deck.
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