Campaign Journal: Rapture of the Deep

A lot went on - gotta get it recorded before my notes become more confused... 

Who's aboard? 

• Jax - Barbarian
• Fulvus - Halfling
• Slick - Thief
• Rondel - Elf
• Frederick - tardy Thief

So, first things first - we needed to resolve some carousing outcomes from last session.

A few dice rolls, and Jax was determined to have pulled off a small heist (200gp item).

Frederick busted up one of the better joints in town, got blacklisted, and paid several hundred gp damages.

Slick didn't get off the hook, either. As the party headed to the dock for departure to the dwarven isles, a shadow passed overhead, and the party was confronted by knight (and squire) on a flying carpet. Benedikt Silberbauer was insistent on satisfaction regarding the duel challenged the evening before.

"Gerhard! My dueling swords!" No level-draining sword for Slick... Honor must be claimed in a duel to scars! 

Fine. Slick squared up, went invisible, and whispered into Benedikt's ear, "But I am not honorable," ducking below the knight's swing. Visible again, he squared up, and the two went at it, evenly matched. Back and forth, until Benedikt slashed Slick's face, and honor was satisfied. Until next time! Honor is preserved, and we will share a drink! And away he flew.

Slick has a scar to show off to Serafina the next time they meet.

Slick every morning in the mirror

Debts paid, the party sailed on. Spotting a hulk afloat, they investigated, rustling up a few wraiths. Henry C was in good communication with Garond, and the three spirits were driven from their haunt. A chest of goodies was found.

Onward to the isles. They were escorted in by a dwarven galley. Arriving in the dwarves' "Sub pen" docks, a delegation met them, announcing that the lenses were complete, with one to spare. Escorted to the depths of the isle, into the crushing heat of the island's core...

To the demon's lair. The demon oversaw the loading of the lenses into crates for transport.

"Ah! Back in time. My best work, if I say so myself! And, with this, my contract to you is done. You won't see me again. Unless you deserve to..." (Rondel asked the demon's name from a dwarf, writing it down for later reference...).

With that, the demon sank into the lava, the pool cooling and solidifying behind him.

A council of war convened.

Grancet, librarian of Athenard, and Alpher, priest of the temple of Garond, along with the dwarves' council discussed strategy with the party. Athenard volunteered to send their ship, along with a dwarven galley, ahead as decoy. The party and Athenard delegation would follow under the escort of two galleys. 

Away they went, into an overcast, windy day.

Through rough sailing, debris and and a ship's boat were spotted. Investigating, the survivors were confirmed to be from the decoy fleet. As the convoy approached, the survivors frantically waved the ships on. Don't stop for us.

Heeding the warning, sails and oars bent to the west.

Fulvus, on the rail, spotted a fin. A big fin.  

Bows were strung, the ballista unlimbered. Frantic semaphores between the two galleys as they flanked the party's ship.

The fin disappeared. 

And the ship was rocked.

And this appears:

Source

The party fired, piercing the thing. It wheeled away, dealing a crushing blow against the smaller dwarven galley. The dwarves responded, in kind, with bolts and arrows. The mutant whale wheeled back toward the party's ship. Rondel magic missiled it into oblivion.

Whew.

In time for Slick to spot a sail on the opposite horizon, closing fast. We're not done...

Slick signalled the larger dwarven galley, which angled to close. The smaller, damaged galley hung back, trailing the party's ship.

Time to put up or shut up.

A caster was spotted, gesticulating. Never good. Rondel unleashed lightning against the opposing ship. Which coming into view, clearly looked to be of more than wood....

Source

With this, the larger galley dropped sails, lifted oars, and spewed steam. It plowed into the Chaos ship, dwarven marines swarming aboard. The party was horrified to see the Chaos ship extricate itself from the dwarven ram and continue onward.

Suddenly, a waterspout appeared, and elemental water, personified began to batter the ship.

Henry silenced the ship, just as the opposing caster released a fireball.

Most of the party saved. Jax didn't, but Jax is a tank. Fred didn't, but Fred isn't a tank. 

Doh.

Alpher and his paladins stepped up. One volunteered to be sent to the ship to quell the caster once and for all. Rondel cast fly on him (somehow Slick caught a ride). 

Alpher let loose a spiritual hammer, healed Jax, and after more abuse from the water elemental, flame striked it to beyond.

Slick, set up perfectly for a backstab on the Chaos mage, rolled a 1.

That's ok, Henry C smoked him with a perfect sling shot, with help from the library paladin.

The Chaos ship rolled free of the galley, impaling the party's ship. It was doomed. The halflings boarded the Chaos ship, slaying mooks.

The smaller dwarven galley lashed itself to the party's ship, and anyone left on board abandoned ship. Henry dragged Frederick's body across. The second library paladin leaped across, lens crates under her arms, followed by the head librarian, cradling two irreplaceable tomes.

The halflings disembarked to the large galley. 

Somewhere in all this, Rondel had cast water breathing on Slick. Considering his failures at backstabbing, Slick signalled to the dwarven galley and headed below decks in the doomed Chaos ship, to reappear some time later with a bulging bag of goodies.

The party's ship, The Chapeau Connoisseur, disappeared below the waves along with half of her loyal crew. 

And our party, burned and half-drowned, sailed on to Chirath with their hard-fought resources.

DM Notes:

I'd put together this set-piece for a bit, so actually had a coherent strategy put together. I wasn't sure how it was going to play out, but I expected casualties...

So, Frederick. I did have an inadvertent Bad DM moment here. Fred's player arrived late, so the battle was already joined. He got a few shots off before getting toasted, so really didn't have much to do the rest of the session other than take notes. I should have had him help with dice rolling, at least.

"Frederick" is a coworker, and has been part of my game since my first community one-shot. And therefore a core of the campaign, as well.

The good news. That priest is 10th level. So Frederick will be back, after some convalescing.

It was a fun battle, and chaotic as things changed and I threw multiple challenges at the party. I just didn't know how many rounds I'd get before the opposing mage got neutralized. A final simultaneous initiative allowed the fireball before he was silenced and swarmed.

But the party now has the "lenses" needed to reestablish the warning network and set up for the final scene in our story...