SESSION SEVEN
Previous article…Campaign Chronicles #9 – Session Six
In this session the npc orc return, together with a lizard folk from a “friendly” tribe and the characters face the pirates after being besieged in the lighthouse and win.
Forewords to session 7
We are employing and readapting the adventure Wreck Ashore (adventure module for D&D 3.0) for a D&D 5ed game.
In “Wreck Ashore” the author suggests that the characters deal with the pirates but not the whole band in a single fight, that would be lethal. Better splitting them in smaller groups so that, once the final battle occurs, the fight is doable.
The adventure module describes the lizard folk as a hostile player that dislike the presence of the pirates. I changed some stuff to adapt the adventure to the goal of the mini-campaign I am running. I decided to have many tribes of lizard folks and just one of these tribes being hostile toward the pirates.
I needed the remaining tribes to justify the ongoing and escalating hostility between the town of Seawell and the lizard folks dwelling in the eastern swamp of the town itself.
However, the characters and the lizard folks had not had the chance to meet yet, so I needed a hook.
In the previous session both players decided that the Orc (a npc I employ to aid the party of only two characters), had to come back to Seawell and ask the city council some reinforcement to deal with the pirate threat – the module “Wreck Ashore” suggests this course of action if the characters are having hard times.
I spiced the pirate band up by changing the captain of the pirates.
“Wreck Ashore” employs a classic human warrior as captain of the pirates. I changed this npc into a vicious harpy (with some spell casting abilities) and I called her Calynea.
Calynea is an old acquaintance of Meg Mucklebones (link ad articolo relativo), but the Hag does not know of her presence, at least not yet.
Calynea knew that the orc, together with the traitor pirate (I called the pirate Guybrush Threepwood, inspired on Monkey Island pc game) that the characters took as prisoner, were heading back to Seawell by sea (employing the only ship the characters had available to come back in town by sea).
Yeah, my players are quite reckless.
The harpy intercepted the ship after one day of journey, and did what harpies do best when dealing with ships and crew. The charming ability of a harpy is very powerful indeed.
Needless to say, the orc and the pirate abandoned the ship to save their lives and reached the closest shore by swimming.
Here the lizard folk enters the scene. I want the lizard folk to be the one who saves the lives of both the orc and the pirate.
I plan this because I want the whole party to be ready when the ogre and the remaining pirates assault the lighthouse with the characters inside.
I just had a doubt. Between the npc (orc, pirate, lizard folk) and the pirates (four pirates and an ogre), who was going to reach the lighthouse before?
If the pirates reached the lighthouse before the npc do, then I will have two 2nd level player characters forced to withstand an attack potentially dangerous, but not impossible after all.
If the npc reached the lighthouse before the pirates, the battle was going to be very easy.
I was keeping track of the time, hour by hour.
According to calculations the npc were arriving at the lighthouse before the pirates. I decided however to give the pirates a chance and rolled dices to see if they could cover the gap. Well, they did not anyway.
What happened next at the lighthouse was a decisive battle.
Pirate side
Four pirates slowly climbing the lighthouse trying to reach the top the building to surprise the party.
One ogre armed with a ship anchor trying to slam down the main door.
Player’s side
Both players (the Tiefling and the Drow) located at the top of the lighthouse hoping the ogre do not destroy the main doors.
The three npc – the orc, the traitor pirate and the lizard folk – waiting with the weapons readied at the first floor just in case the Ogre makes his way through the main door.
Course of actions
Ogre: What happens during the fight is pretty grotesque and ridiculous. The ogre just roll a series of low rolls, including two fumbles, and do not manage to slam the door. Yes, he makes some damage, just once, but it is not enough to open it. The anchor he is employing an improvised weapon get stuck to the walls of the lighthouse due to another natural 1.
Players: As we said, both characters are waiting on the last floor of the lighthouse, where the lamp is located, while four pirates are slowly climbing the walls. I assign every pirate a chance every round to arrive or not arrive at the top. The four pirates arrive in three waves of 1, 2, 1. The first pirate reach unnoticed the top of the lighthouse because the Drow character does not even hear him…she rolls a fumble on perception. However, that battle up there is easy. The player easily kill the four pirates.
Again the ogre: we said the ogre anchor is stuck against the wall, and all the pirates are dead. The ogre is really pissed off, but he ignores who is waiting beyond the door. He is assuming the drow and the tiefling are alone and no one else is in the lighthouse. That said, he draws his oversized hammer and charge against the main door of the lighthouse. The door crack and is literally destroyed.
Surprise!
The orc, the pirate and the lizard folk surprise the ogre and I have them attack the enemy with advantage on their attack rolls. The fight last two rounds and the poor and unwary ogre falls. He does not have the chance to plan a retreat and warn Calynea (the harpy).
An interesting session after all, most of it made of combat.
I wonder what could have happened if the ogre destroyed the main door and entered the lighthouse without being so angry.
See you for the next session.
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