SESSION NINE
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This session sees no combat.
We can split the session in the following main events:
- The characters complete the exploration of the lighthouse
- The characters interrogate the pirate they took prisoner.
- The party split, with the Orc (npc) coming back to the town of Seawell while the players characters will be staying in the lighthouse.
Exploration of the lighthouse
In the previous session the party didn’t explore much of the lighthouse. In this session they complete this step.
While the orc is waiting at the ground floor, guarding the still unconscious pirate prisoner, both characters explore all the floors of the lighthouse.
Of course they find the chewed bones of the former occupants, indeed the ghoul they fought the previous session devoured the corpse.
I take this chance to explain the players the difference between the skills perception and investigate.
Both useful, but with different purposes.
I had planned a couple of things they could find, but they found only one.
The first thing was a small journal and some maps the that the son of the now deceased family guarding the lighthouse sent home. The journal and the maps were a hook for a future adventure. They didn’t fint it.
The second thing is the concession, granted by the council of Seawell, to occupy and operate the lighthouse. What they want to do with the papers, it’s up to them. We’ll see.
Beyond this, I got sticked to the adventure module Wreck Ashore, so the lighthouse doesn’t contain any valuable stuff.
The pirate is interrogated
Now it’s time to fetch some useful information from the pirate’s mouth.
One of the charaters, the Drow to be specific, threatens the prisoner to slice him into pieces if he doesn’t cooperate.
This is the chance to roll an intimidation skill check. Due to high charisma of the Drow, the roll is high enough to break the pirate.
He tries to lie eventually, but he’s caught again by the Drow with another successful insight check.
The characters want to know where is the campment, how many pirates are at the campment, why they are here and who is leading them.
Simple and straight.
The pirate provides every bit of information – don’t forget that in the previous session his comrades were burned alive, so the prisoner is scared by the characters.
Here is where I made some changes to the original adventure module.
The original module stated the the captain of the pirate was a second level human npc, followed by a second level dwarf npc, and suggested to place four pirates for the final fight.
I changed the captain with a harpy, and the dwarf with an ogre, while I kept the four remaining pirates.
So, this is what the pirate tells to the players. The pirate describes the harpy as a demonic woman, capable of using black magic. He also tells that she devours the prisoners “rescued” from the wrecked ships.
Indeed, the pirate activities, was lighting off the true lighthouse at proper moments, then lighting up the fake lighthouse, and waiting for the ship to crush against the rocky reefs.
So, now the players know of the following informations:
- the pirates killed all the family inside the lighthouse
- how the pirates are looting the ships
- the pirates have stolen a journal that contained the ship’s name, date of arrival and their cargo.
- the captain is indeed a non-human creature, who is fond of human flesh
- at the bottom of the reef there is cave with ghouls inside. They prey on the rotten bodies emerging from the sunken wrecks
- the pirates are actually arming and inciting the lizardfolk tribes against the militia of the town of Seawell, in order to keep the town busy as long as possible
- A big and hungry Ogre is present at the camp, and obeys to the harpy commands.
At this point the pirate makes a proposal to the characters.
He’s willing to cooperate and eventually help them to get rid of his comrades, but he wants a sort of immunity from justice. He doesn’t want to be hanged.
He even suggests to go back to Seawell to call for reinforcements, and defeat the pirates by outnumbering them.
The pirate’s goals
Well, the pirate has two goals. The first goal is to remain alive as long as possible, because now he’s aware that his comrades have been discovered and thus the feast is over.
The second goal is the treasure. The pirates have looted a huge amount of copper ingots and hid the treasure under the sand. He knows where the treasure is, and wants it for himself. Getting rid of his comrades is the first step, but he will be willing to share it with the characters if the circumstances dictate so.
The party splits
Well, I think this was a naive move from part of the players.
Both agree with the pirate idea of calling reinforcements from Seawell.
They decide the orc, together with the pirate, will go back to Seawell. The orc and the pirate will employ the fishing vessel that is anchored not far from the beach.
This implies that the pirate and the orc will be traveling together, and they are supposed to warn the town about the presence of the pirates.
A risky plan!
Meanwhile, the characters will be waiting at the lighthouse, and they will have to wait at least one week before any reinforcement appears.
A long time indeed.
The session ends with the characters watching the orc and the pirate sailing with the fishermens, heading to Seawell.
Possible future paths
- The orc and the pirates reaches Seawell and warn the militia about the militia about the pirates. The militia will arrive in no less than one week. Meanwhile the Harpy, the Ogre and the pirates will siege the lighthouse. The characters will have a really hard time trying to repel the pirates.
- The pirate kills the orc and the fishermens, then abandon the ship before reaching the Seawell. He’s now free and safe, but he has lost the chance to retrieve the ingots, at least for now. He’ll have to warn the militia in all cases, to get rid of his comrades and later come back for the treasure.
- The pirates spot the orc and their former comrade, and understand they have been betrayed. The harpy intercept them while they are sailing to Seawell. The harpy eventually kill the fishermens but the orc and the pirate manage to flee by swimming. A tribe* of lizardfolks rescue them and escort them again at the lighthouse. The tribe may become an alternate ally in the quest of geting rid of the pirates, or they arrive right on time while the pirates are besieging the lighthouse.
The adventure module clearly state that not all the lizardfolk tribes agreed to start a guerrilla against Seawell. One tribe doesn’t thrust the pirate and their captain, so they decide to establish contact with the characters.