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--- v2session01 [2007/01/20 13:20] – jims
+++ v2session01 [2017/05/27 18:57] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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-====== V2 Session One - 19 January 2007 - "The Grackle" ======
+==== V2 Session One - 19 January 2007 - "The Grackle" ====
 (No Previous Session) [[v2#session_notes|(Back to V2 Index)]] [[v2session02|(Next Session)]]
 ^ Player ^ Character ^ Race ^ Class ^
-| VW | [[Heilli]] | Human | Soulknife/1 |
+| Dave | [[freyrik|Freyrik Ulthkell]] | Human(Feytouched) | Warlock/1 |
 | THF | [[Líkami]] | Human | Monk/1 |
+| Ken | [[Ash]] | Aasimar | Paladin/1(-1) |
+| VW | [[Heilli]] | Human | Soulknife/1 |
 | Kurt | [[Ketamine]] | [[Crag Gnome]] | [[Witch]]/1 |
 | Chris | [[Yosi]] | Wood Elf | Barbarian/1 |
-| Val | [[Alleraia]] | Human(Aasimar) | Favored Soul/1 |
+| Val | [[Allie]] | [[Lesser Aasimar]] | Favored Soul/1 |
-| Ken | [[Ash]] | Human(Aasimar) | Paladin/1 |
-| Dave | [[freyrik|Freyrik Ulthkell]] | Human(Feytouched) | Warlock/1 |
-**//19 January 1111//**
+//Note: This adventure was adapted from "Box of Flumph", by Tim Hitchcock, as
+published in [[http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2005/118|Dungeon Magazine #118]],
+January, 2005, pages 16-31.//
-The magistrate in the town of [[Stillsquall]] has a problem.  A criminal known as
+=== 19 January 1111 ===
-"The Grackle" has been spotted in town.  Wanted for a previous incident involving smuggling,
-some kind of con, and an assault on a merchant, the magistrate wants nothing more than to
-see "The Grackle" (real name Jonas Westman) behind bars.
-However, with the town guards occupied by other matters, and with The Grackle's reputation
+Magistrate Aurus in the town of [[Stillsquall]] has a problem.  A criminal known
-as a skilled fighter with a short temper, the magistrate is not too keen to expend resources
+as "The Grackle" has been spotted in town.  Wanted for a previous incident
-tracking this criminal down.  His solution: Post a healthy reward (50 gold pieces) and hope
+involving smuggling, some kind of con, and an assault on a merchant, the
-the citizens step up to the task.
+magistrate wants nothing more than to see "The Grackle" (real name Jonas
+Westman) behind bars.
+However, with the town guards occupied by other matters, and with The Grackle's
+reputation as a skilled fighter with a short temper, the magistrate is not too
+keen to expend resources tracking this criminal down.  His solution: Post a
+healthy reward (50 gold pieces) and hope the citizens step up to the task.
 Enter our "heroes"...
-[[freyrik|Freyrik Ulthkell]], a recently fired bartender with a dark secret, sees the wanted
+[[freyrik|Freyrik Ulthkell]], a recently fired bartender with a dark secret,
-flyer posted in the “Central Wharfs”.  Knowing that this criminal might be more trouble than
+sees the wanted flyer posted in the “Central Wharfs”.  Knowing that this
-he can handle, he draws upon a network of contacts he's developed over his years tending
+criminal might be more trouble than he can handle, he draws upon a network of
-bar.  He draws in [[Yosi]], a hot-tempered, red-headed elf, the planetouched siblings, [[Ash]]
+contacts he's developed over his years tending bar.  He draws in [[Yosi]], a
-and [[Alleraia]], and the twins, [[Heilli]] and [[Líkami]].
+hot-tempered, red-headed elf, the planetouched siblings, [[Ash]] and
+[[Allie]], and the twins, [[Heilli]] and [[Líkami]].
-As [[Freyrik]] shows the new team the "wanted" flyer, [[Ketamine]], a [[Crag Gnome]] [[Witch]]
+As [[Freyrik]] shows the new team the "wanted" flyer, [[Ketamine]], a [[Crag
-happens by and decides she could help with the mission.  Since it is feared that "The Grackle"
+Gnome]] [[Witch]] happens by and decides she could help with the mission.  Since
-will have a gang of thugs with him, [[Ketamine]]'s offer of assistance is accepted.
+it is feared that "The Grackle" will have a gang of thugs with him,
+[[Ketamine]]'s offer of assistance is accepted.
-The party starts out by asking around town to see whether anybody has seen their target.
+The party starts out by asking around town to see whether anybody has seen their
-They luck out by finding an old dwarf beggar named Goffi.  After a gift of ale, and a
+target. They luck out by finding an old dwarf beggar named Goffi.  After a gift
-promise of 2 gold if his information leads to the reward, Goffi tells them that he saw
+of ale, and a promise of 2 gold if his information leads to the reward, Goffi
-a man matching The Grackle's description loading a crate onto a small rowboat two nights
+tells them that he saw a man matching The Grackle's description loading a crate
-earlier and then rowing it out in the direction of //The Angelina//, a merchant ship
+onto a small rowboat two nights earlier and then rowing it out in the direction
-anchored in the harbor.
+of //The Angelina//, a merchant ship anchored in the harbor.
+[[Allie]] and [[Ash]] locate Robert, a friendly sailor who is willing
+to ferry the party out to //The Angelina// at sunset.  It is their hope that
+they can feign to row //past// //The Angelina//, then at the last minute turn
+and board the ship before the crew is able to react.
+Meanwhile, [[Freyrik]] spends the afternoon watching the ship from the docks and
+concludes that there is a crew of perhaps two dozen.  If the crew turns out to
+be hostile, they will likely be in over their heads.
-//Note: This adventure was adapted from the adventure "Box of Flumph", by Tim Hitchcock,
+The party climbs into Robert's skiff and heads out into the harbor.  The first
-as published in the January, 2005 issue of [[http://paizo.com/dungeon|"Dungeon Magazine"]],
+thing they notice is that the currents are swifter than their boatsman expected.
-pages 16-31.//
+Then, when they begin the "assault", Robert panics and mis-steers.  Instead of
+their stealthy assault, the skiff ends up slamming unceremoniously into the side
+of //The Angelina//, which alerts two of the sailors on deck.
-XP awarded: //to be determined//
+Surprisingly (or Luckily), the sailors react as if the approaching skiff is
+"normal". They call out to their captain, who steps out from his quarters to
+greet the party.
+He introduces himself as Captain Sarim Pepper, and asks what the party is doing
+here. When [[Heilli]] says they are here to apprehend a criminal, the captain
+seems slightly offended.  He claims to know his crew well and that none of them
+are criminals, let alone this "Grackle" fellow.  However, some of the crew --
+especially a shady-looking half-orc -- react uncomfortably when The Grackle's
+name is mentioned.
+After a short debate, the captain agrees to let the party aboard so they can
+inspect his crew.  Upon hearing this, the half-orc jogs down into the ship's
+hold -- just as the captain calls every man on deck.
+[[Heilli]], [[Ketamine]], [[Yosi]], and [[Freyrik]] head to the bow, where there
+is a hatch leading below deck.  [[Allie]], [[Ash]], [[Líkami]],
+meanwhile, head to the stairs that descend into the common room.
+Trouble erupts almost immediately, when [[Heilli]] drops through the hatch into
+the Anchor Room and is attacked by somebody hiding in the shadows.  [[Heilli]]
+immediately falls unconscious, as his assailant slips through a door, closing it
+behind him.
+[[Yosi]] drops into the Anchor Room, and seeing his companion on the floor,
+flies into a rage and barges through the closed door.  As he does this,
+[[Ketamine]] drops into the Anchor Room to magically tend to the wounds [[Heilli]]
+has suffered at the hands of their new-found foe.
+On the other end of the ship, the three who took the stairs into the common room
+make their way to the door on the other side of the ship's hold.  [[Líkami]] is
+first to arrive at the door, and he decides to wait outside -- expecting the
+villain to emerge.
+On deck, the captain yells out that the ship is adrift and the sailors begin to
+scramble to unfurl the sails.
+[[Yosi]], meanwhile, finds himself in the ship's hold, but he sees nobody else
+here!  With nobody's head to bash, he vents his frustration on a portion of the
+cargo.  When he does this, though, "The Grackle" emerges from the shadows to
+attack, missing the elven barbarian by inches.
+Hearing the noise from within, [[Líkami]] opens the door to see their target
+attacking [[Yosi]].  He leaps in to the fight, delivering a serious blow with
+his fists.  [[Ash]] follows him in, but is unable to provide an effective attack
+due to the cramped quarters.
+After [[Yosi]] barely misses the Grackle with his greatclub, [[Líkami]] lands a
+glancing blow, reducing the villian to near unconsciousness and minimal tactical
+options.  [[Yosi]]'s club hangs over him like a shadow of doom....
+After the second blow, The Grackle goes down on a knee and sees that his options
+have dwindled to one: surrender.  He sheathes his dagger and allows the freshly
+healed [[Heilli]] to bind him up with a rope -- who relieves him of his dagger
+and //secretly// cuts his Achilles tendon(([[Ketamine]], [[Líkami]] and
+[[Heilli]] know of this action...[[Heilli]] waited until [[Ash]] had left, to
+minimize intraparty friction)) to keep him from escaping.  [[Ketamine]] tends to
+the nearly-crippled Grackle after Intimidating him with threats of additional
+painful and debilitating wounds from the vengeful [[Heilli]] and barely
+constrained rage of [[Yosi]].
+As the ship foundered, it was clear that the Grackle (and likely half-orc
+accomplice) had done more that just cut the anchor line, as the sail lines were
+also cut, causing //The Angelina// to founder in the strong currents.  As the
+rocks loomed large, [[Líkami]] took a rope and swam to a nearby boat,
+stabilizing //The Angelina// for at least long enough for the crew to regain
+control of the vessel.
+[[Ketamine]] thoroughly searches the villain's equipment and discovers a hidden
+pouch in his belt that contain **5 platinum pieces**.  [[Freyrik]] then
+intimidates their captive into revealing which crate was the one he smuggled on
+board.  They then take their prisoner, along with his contraband crate to the
+main deck.
+Back at the Town Hall, Magistrate Aurus is pleased at the Grackle's capture and,
+after a brief hesitation, delivers the **50 gold piece** reward to the party.
+In addition to the reward, the party confiscated the Grackle's **armor**,
+**weapon**, **belt**, and money  -- all of which the magistrate allows them to
+keep.
+As they count out their gold and distribute it amongst each other, Baron Johann
+Wildhurst makes a surprise entrance!  The magistrate introduces the party by
+saying, "These are the people I told you about."
+Because of their brilliant success in capturing the Grackle, the baron invites
+them all to his keep to discuss a follow-on task.  While he remains tight-lipped
+about what this job might entail, the party agrees anyway.  In two weeks time,
+they are to travel to the baron's manor in the village of [[Feather]].
+Quite unexpectedly, this group of misfits has found their way to becoming a
+successful adventuring party.
+Now all they need is a name...
+== Interlude ==
+//She paced slowly around the long table, absent-mindedly inspecting the place
+settings.  The dinner would naturally be perfect.  The meal was already being
+prepared in the secret kitchen and the slaves who knew of the main ingredient
+would be executed before dawn.  The guards were charmed and even the best of
+them were expendable.  They were, after all, only human.//
+//No, what troubled her was the meeting's agenda.  It had been nearly three years
+since the shadowcoup and their progress was lagging seriously behind schedule.
+The window of opportunity, she feared, was closing fast.//
+//Perhaps the king's bones would be the difference, but even that mission was (at
+best) only a stopgap.  Real power eluded them in the north and even a complete
+takeover of the southern baronies might not be enough to hold these lands.
+Perhaps the others would have better news.  The church warden, especially, had
+offered great promise.//
+//As it had done many times before, the doubts crept into her mind.  Was this plan
+worth it?  Was this climate too inhospitable for them?  Were the natives too
+organized?  She regretted not joining her sister in the orc-infested elf
+kingdom.  Orcs were so much easier to control than humans.  Still...  The prize
+was so great, it **must** be worth the risk.  And there was over two centuries
+of groundwork to back them up.//
+//No...  This plan would work.  It **had** to.  The Serpent Kingdom was already
+faltering in the south.  They **needed** this land to survive.  And they would
+have it -- no matter the cost!//
+==== XP ====
+^ Challenge ^ CR ^
+| "The Grackle" | 3 |
+| Saving //The Angelina// | 1 |
+| Story Bonus | 1 |
+^ Total XP (each) ^ 215 ^
+(No Previous Session) [[v2#session_notes|(Back to V2 Index)]] [[v2session02|(Next Session)]]