storm at sea, part ii

[groundrules]

Hey guys! A smallchange in schedule — y’all can (loosely) plot, plan and sign up based off the below for a few days, before our event log goes up on 18 July. This will cover some three-four IC days, but will OOCly last 5 August.

There will be an aftermath / outcome post after!

For those just tuning in, a brief recap of the plot so far —

LAST WEEK ON...

Pirate king Quicksilver Sam’s ship Pariah and begrudging ally Caladan Kreil’s Queen Zanyra continue their journey into the haunted Crossing seas, pursued by Captain Maximilian Hawk of the Dawn’s Reach Trade Company, aboard the Concord. The Crossing is home to tormented spirits and sunken, eerily preserved vessels. Several party members unearthed that ships have been drawn here for years in search of an elusive power — only to mysteriously drown. Armed with a compass token he retains to this day, Quicksilver Sam once accepted to recover this power for the Dawn’s Reach Trade Company. He failed his mission and returned a shaken, maddened man without his crew. He has pledged to once more dare the Crossing and recover his abandoned ship, the Storm at Sea — while Hawk seeks allies to sabotage him, and Caladan Kreil awaits to gain tyrannical control of the Pariah. Countless below, the dead sleep peacefully at sea… for now.

---

SAFE AT WA(TE)R

In the dark waters of the Crossing, spirits roil furiously, pirates grow paranoid and mutinous, and travellers see dozens of sunken, sinisterly well preserved vessels beneath.

■ Quicksilver Sam reveals the compass artefact that was meant to guide him to the heart of the Crossing. In the process, he summons a two-pronged welcome committee: the sunken ships of the Crossing, which rise above water, and a magical kraken-like creature, composed of coagulated dark water. It turns out the ‘coral’ that had trapped the sunken ships below wasn’t quite a plant after all.

■ The rising ships carry vicious reanimated sailors, who lack real awareness. Like the kraken, they mostly attempt to reach something aboard the Pariah and to sink it, the Queen Zanyra and the nearby Concord.

■ Prepare to get locked into cabins or the brig, either ‘for your own safety’ or at the first sign of insubordination against the on-edge captains. Otherwise, consider taking shifts to learn impromptu steering from exhausted pirates and helm the Pariah and Queen Zanyra out of the Crossing, while everyone’s at war. Most of you don’t even have a license.

■ A school of mermaids seems inexorably drawn to both the kraken and the Pariah, despite the danger — warn the mermaids off with lights or lure them away with baits of food or blood.

ATTAAAAAACK

■ The armed undead swim along to mount the pirate vessels. The kraken’s many legs assail ruthlessly but crudely. Both forces are especially susceptible to fire, but are fairly overwhelming in number and brute force.

■ Among the sunken vessels that rise is the Storm at Sea, manned by Quicksilver Sam’s now revenant and wrathful crew. The Storm at Sea seems to spearhead the undead attack and capturing her could greatly reduce the violence. Take her down or figure out her grudge.

■ ONE FOR THE ROAD: if you like fireworks, get a rowboat or ask Viktor to Uber you on his mechanical boat to one of the nearby risen ships. If you take it out with primitive dynamite, you stop the dead before they can reach you…

■ You are welcome to commander ships, but please plot to meet the requirements!

■ HELPFUL GEAR: diving suits that let you breathe four hours underwater and light up white for alert, red for danger, yellow for the urgent need to return on land and green-blue otherwise. Ahoy, sharks!

■ Characters aboard the Pariah beware: on top of the undead, the kraken and the mad pirate, you are dealing with the incensed Hawk and Caladan Kreil, both whom send men (including, if you are on their boat, you) to stop Quicksilver Sam’s summons.

THE SORCERY

■ Get the summoning artefact from Quicksilver Sam’s cabin aboard the Pariah. Prepare to face a few exceptionally strong and unexpectedly loyal pirate guards, if you take the armed way in — or figure out a distraction and lure the man out. Plot your course and submit your character for a RNG draw to decide who gets the item.

■ Some of those captured by the kraken’s tentacles and pulled into water lose consciousness and mentally enter the dimension of a deserted, peaceful island, where time works a little bit differently, and strange tar creatures roam free. Characters (briefly) lose more of their memories, the longer they linger. In the real world, their bodies fell in the physical vicinity of the kraken underwater, and they will be preserved alive for days — to wake them up, recover them and bring them out of water.

A SUMMARY NEAR YOU

You can survive this beautiful cruise through a combination of:

— capturing Quicksilver’s summoning item to break the spell that raised the sunken ships and kraken

— attacking said undead ships and kraken and keep them at bay, while the spell dissolves

— getting your ship out of the Crossing

— ...begging, cajoling or sledgehammering Caladan Kreil and Hawk into peace

— leaving no man behind and rescuing those whom the kraken drags underwater

— pro... fitting? Joke, you're always broke.

Get your sign-ups in until 23:59 GMT on 17 July and do all your plotting and planning below. This is an easy-going plot — if you’ve got a campy or unusual idea, pitch it freely.

QUESTIONS

Comments

QUESTIONS

[groundrules]

Look, global warming, wilting vegetation, industrial shortages, that's why the rum is gone.

[bravelyrunsaway]

With the mermaids, is leaving a trail of food behind the ship(s) a means of distraction, or will more direct methods be required?

[groundrules]

Dealer's choice. There are some nice fishies that can be gutted, on board...

[song_of_fire]

So dragon fire against a kraken? Just so I know for any battle scenes. Is the kraken made of stronger stuff? Or is it like a fish on the fire?

[groundrules]

It's made of dark water, coagulated - but in the interest of the party making headway, fire can definitely work against it! Won't be exactly like a fish / fish residue, but Drogon should be able to help!

/coming to this post late w/ q's

[inferus]

Would Hatisse have any valuable information about the tongue and/or heart? Or body parts being used in this way in general? It's cool if not, but since she's got some expertise on magic and the way it works in this world, Wrath would have asked her so want to confirm if she'd have anything to say about it. Thanks. :)

THE STORM AT SEA

[groundrules]

She's beauty, she's grace, she's out to claw your face.

Drop a comment by 23:59 GMT on 17 July if you'd like your character to be considered for a RNG drawn conversation with the first mate of the revived Storm at Sea.

Two small notes:

■ You're expected to be available to tag the thread between 18 July-1 August and to share the findings by network post with the class after.

■ Please try to bring along plot pertinent questions.

Thanks!

[weifinder]

Wei Wuxian tossed into this RNG!

[song_of_fire]

Tossing Dany at this!

[chosenbylight]

Volunteering Anduin for this RNG!

THE PREEECCCIIIIOOOOUUUUUSSSSS

[groundrules]

Comment here if you want your character signed up for a RNG draw that decides who gets Quicksilver Sam's item. Sign-ups for this are open until 23:59 GMT on 17 July.

Make sure your character participates in the efforts to infiltrate Quicksilver Sam's cabin!

[somebadnews]

Oh he's infiltrating it.

[blackscales]

Wrathion spent his youth at a guild of thieves and assassins, and he is willing to help with this... retrieval mission

COMMANDEER A SHIP

[groundrules]

Friends, comrades, hooligans — yes, you can get onboard pirate ships and commandeer one. However — make sure there's a group of at least five+ characters per ship, and prepare to:

— capture her (shove her undead in a closet, kill them, what have you)

— quickly fix her wounds before the summoning spell wanes, so don't choose a ship in a bad condition. You have some engineers, forgers and science folks in your party! Patch a boat up.

— man her after. If no one knows how to handle a sails ship... may I suggest getting a necromancer to reanimate some sailors for the job, or stealing some of the Pariah or Queen Zanyra's crew?

Comment here and pair up to get a ship. You'll have to make up a ship, so bring a picture, jot down how she drowned, and, by all means, name her thematically.

[traaaaaash]

PARKS HERE

[soloritur]

Marcos is 100% for this. He's not sure who has been keeping score, but it's not looking great for them if they stay. And he can weld! All your welding needs, just point him at them.

No sailing experience, but you know he'll try his best.

THE RED ROOSTER

[downswing]

Because everyone should ride this co —

THE RED ROOSTER ✓ formerly a merchant ship ✓ very fast, but light on cannons and offensive gear X home to several excessively large undead rats X got knocked into cliffs, leading to several small holes in the hull, which gently sunk her. The undead crew keep removing water that seeps in with small ladles X nearly all the sails have been painted by pirates who wrote down the kind of savoury jokes you'd expect, given this ship's name X sharks love hanging out around this vessel ✓ the deck is especially clean... X ...but hideously creaky ✓ not even the undead seem to want to hang on to this ship that much, it's pretty terrible

[biomed]

Team Trek is gonna go for a lovely little water-logged speedy-class brig, the Turning Tides, whose sails were torn in a storm before she was promptly swamped and capsized. She's smol, bless her, with an equally small crew complement of soggy undead. On the upside, she's quick and corners like a dream.

Aside from kicking off her crew, they'll need to bail her out and stitch up the holes in her sails.

This effort will be spearheaded by Una, Jim, Spock, McCoy, and they'll be joined by Marcos, Astarion, and Lorna!

Blood Moon (open to others joining)

[inferus]

+ Currently taken over by Wrath, Emilia, Allison, Five, Diego + crew they could convince to join from pirate ships + VERY open to others joining up so please feel free to have your characters hop in too - just comment below

+ A tough warship but slower

+ The flags consist of a crescent moon in red across a black background

+ Has many powerful cannons and a very sharp front a la Lil Mermaid (watch out Ursula)

+ Formerly manned entirely by ladies - specifically the captain was named Lady Killigrew who helpfully gives advice and instruction to whoever is navigating

+ Ghosts/spirits find this a pretty awesome place to hang out on

+ Due to the presence of spirits, it ends to be very cold on board - best to wrap oneself up in a jacket or use fire magic (carefully) to keep warm.

SUMMONING ITEM BIDS

[bravelyrunsaway]

Plotting thread ??? for anyone who wants to be engaged with liberating Quicksilver Sam's uh. Item.

Heh.

[bravelyrunsaway]

Licyn, for his part, is capable and willing to fight one or more of the loyal sailors and provide distraction for someone better at sneaking in to get the item, whatever it is. For one, he doesn't want to be targeted with/for it, and for another, he presumes that item in Sam's hands is a bad, bad longterm thing.

So let's get it away from him please? Thanks, there's dead and a kraken whaling on us.

[somebadnews]

Lucky you, Five is absolutely going to go after this. He can obviously teleport himself and anyone who might better be able to tell what the artifact looks like into the cabin, super handy. Five has had enough experience with magic items to both hate them and not trust anyone else to handle them, so he’ll be weird about it. (ETA! He is going to be hard pressed to want to see it destroyed, if he ends up with it.)

He’s not the best team player, and will probably not communicate if he feels like he needs to teleport someone with him/away from somewhere at any point, but he makes up for it by being short and confident. Definitely listen to him.

[incantates]

Magnus can provide extra help to clear a path for whoever wants to go and snatch the items. He'll knock out and distract the crew and maybe even toss magic at a stray kraken tentacle or two

[northerndragon]

Nothing super exciting, but Jon is a strong fighter and will do his best to Help. He’s reasonably good at sneaking around, too.

I’m not going to RNG for the item itself bc 1. I’ve done a lot lately, albeit slowly, and 2. I am moving soon, so I will not be accomplishing anything in early August in a timely manner. I don’t mind him briefly winding up with it and handing it off to the winner or to someone who hands it to the winner, though.

[blackscales]

Wrathion can do short range telports where he sort of turns into smoke then re-materialises, and he has this nonsense blade that he'll be using. When trying to slip past loyal sailors he might cast an illusion, generating a bunch of duplicates of himself to keep them busy. They'll go down in one hit, but there will be plenty enough to buy him some time!

A lot of the rest of his magic is... ah, fire related which is a little. Hmmm don't wanna burn down a vessel we're still all on eh?