Month: Mar 2022

The Lost Ship

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Hi all and welcome to Tuesday where we look at NPCs and the development they can give our adventure.

This week the ship and crew the party was travelling with had to stop by an island to make emergency repairs after they ran into pirates and a storm. After setting down anchor in a deep cove on an island they sey about looking for materials yo repair their ship and some crew members returned to announce they had found a shipwreck that they could salvage from. However the crew were superstitious and captain Kyoko had warned them not to adventure to far onto the island as it had a bad reputation for sailors going missing.

Forgotten goods

212TuFG

As the party leave the piles of wood, fibre, ropes and food that the ships crew had gathered already they looked ahead in the direction that the crew members were taking them outside the cove they were nestled within and towards a thick line of trees.

The sandy pebble ridden shore was picturesque, golden sand, smooth rounded pebbles and the gentle lapping of waves at their feet as they walked along the shore line. Marks littered the sand as they walk and the party identified them as some kind of snake slithering from waters edge towards the thick vegetation to their right, and the centre of the island.

Pushing their way onwards up a small embankment and up through the rows of trees they come across the remains of a ship, a large hole in its hull nestled against the sand in a similar beach. The large tattered but mostly intact sails hung and danced slightly in the breeze that washed across the party – making the leaves around them hiss as the wind caressed plant and person a like.

“See, the ship. That hole in the side, that breach. It’s not natural. No reef or pirate could have made that. But we should get the mast and check to see if we can salvage some parts of the hull and deck to make repairs to the Dancing Drake” the crew member they had met on board the ship and fought along side when the pirates attacked said.

“If you can get us there we can direct you to what we need from the ship, give you the tools – but we can’t go on board – its a bad omen for us to stumble upon a wreck like this and the signs aren’t good.” he continued. As the party moved forward they found bits and pieces of equipment, a broken shield, a snapped sword, a half of a spear but no head and scattered clothing, bags (mostly empty) and crates. It looks like the people may have made it some distance from the ship, or these items had washed up the shoreline quite a distance from a significant amount of water.

Nearing the ship they looked up at the deck, seeing a clear entrance to the beached ship through the breach in the side as they marvelled at the size of the large trading ship.

Out of sight a whisper of cloth moved as she moved over the wreckage of the ship, her hand gripping the blade tightly as she stared at the face of the new comers. She recognised sailors when she saw them but those in front, looking as if to board the ship were different. They had the appearance of people who were from the land, adventurers perhaps, none of them walked like the others, chanting under muttered breath or glided across the ground with unnatural movement to chill her blood.

As she looked through the hole in the hull, looking for signs of the beasts she almost sighed with relief that they had not found her hiding spot again, nor found the people that walked so naively across the sands. They never killed their prey immediately always took them back to their nest deeper into the island, but no one made it back once they had set their fangs into them, except for her as she was too small for them to notice as she slipped out when she saw her chance.

She let a bloom of hope flutter in her chest. Maybe she was able to leave this wreck, leave this island and perhaps return home to warn people.

Do not come to Ophidian Island.

Thanks for joining me tonight and thanks for sticking with me for the twelfth week of my journey through 2022. Don’t forget to come back again tomorrow to look at the twists and turns I have in store, those who read the introduction to the island and linked it with a previous post may already know where this is going. If not, then let us know what you think is happening on this island.

Oh, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Rest and Repairs

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Welcome to Monday of the 4th week of the month, mostly, where this week I was going to wrap up our adventure and add in some bonus morsels but instead decided to look at the calendar and I realised something…

We have nearly another full week of March. So instead we will be exploring additional content for this months adventure!

So let’s get on my with the write-up!

A Welcome Site

212MoAWS

As the storm subsided the party and the crew made their way across the waves their ship having sustained damage from the fighter and the Storm. It was on the second day that the crew saw across the waves and island with tall trees scattered across the island surrounding a lone mountain. Jutting from this mountain was a tall steep spire which towered above the island and into the clouds above.

As the ship limped its way to the sandy shores Kyoko limped forward having sustained a crossbow bolt to her leg during the pirates attack. “Alright crew. We rest here for three days. Get some in wood to repair the ship, get some fresh water and food and we leave. Anyone late to the ship in on the sunrise of the third day gets left behind” she commands and the crew, most of them fully healed from Lizbet, rush off to complete their captains orders.

She beckons for the party. “My maps show this island but warn people to not set up camp, they believe this island to be cursed. Can you keep watch over the crew, Siu and Lizbet to make sure we all leave this island in one piece, or at least the same state we arrived in” she requested, grimacing as she lent the wrong way on her injured leg.

The party nod as Kyoko turns to head back towards her cabin and maps. She had insisted on Lizbet healing her crew before using magic to heal her leg, Lizbet had used all her magic on the crew and was yet to fully recover her magic to heal the captain.

A hour later a group of four crew members run towards where everyone was set up not far from where the ship was moored, the deep water of the cove perfect for a ship of this size.

“we’ve found another ship that looks untouched that would have all the gear we need to make repairs. The other crew are too spooked to enter it and we are finding it hard to get the materials from the trees to make repairs. What should we do?”

Thats it for tonight, thanks for joining me here at Brazen Wolfe Tabletop!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow as the party get to know the crew better and perhaps more when we explore more of the island.

Oh, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,

The Brazen Wolfe

The Silverborn lining of Dark clouds

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Welcome to the end of the week writeup where we look at whats happening upon Kyoko’s ship – the Red Fleets Dancing Drake.

As the sea throws a Squall at them they also have black sails following them and no way to outrun them short of going through the storm itself.

Silverborn’s Storm

As the party settle into the Dancing Drake as it travels on the waves they encounter a large storm that is approaching them at fast rate. Not only that but they have also a pirate ship following them and gaining on them.

The storm hits hard and Siu is ordered to take Lizbet below deck by Kyoko who suggests to the party to tie ropes around their waist and then to the ship itself to prevent them from being lost to the waves.

Not long after the storm hits the Pirates make their move and attempt to board the ship.

Area of note

The boat – The Red Fleets Dancing Drake is where the party find themselves calling the ship home, for the time being at least.

NPCs in this adventure

Elizabeth “Lizbet” Scaulder

Lizbet is taken below deck when the storm hits and will heal those who are able to be healed after the fight happens – however she wont come to the top of the deck (as Siu wont let her).

Koyko Harimasu

Kyoko spends her time between the help, coordinating the crew and looking at her maps in her cabin. When the storm hits and the pirates board the ship she will not leave the helm and will stay there to keep it safe.

NPCs

Random NPCs. The Dancing Drakes Crewmates.

Environment and running the adventure

The Weather –

The weather affects on the ship come and go (see Wednesdays post for a full writeup)

When a particularly bad wave hits the boat, a skill check results in a failure that would cause the ship to lurch or shift a DC14 Dexterity check will be required for the party to avoid falling prone on the deck.

Helping the ship

Moving about the deck to tie or untie sails, tie down cargo or hatches and the like or assisting at the helm. This can be done by a DC14 or DC15 Water vehicle check.

Helping/Saving the Crew

To help save a overboard crew member, lift up a crate or barrel of a pinned crewmate or you can roll a DC 14 Athletics or Strength check.

Repelling invaders

To push boarding planks or invaders into the sea a DC12 (or 14 if particularly heavy) Athletic or Strength check will see them in the water. To cut boarding ropes it would be a attack roll with an attack that could destroy or cut the rope (AC 8, HP 10).

The Boat – See Map

Encounter

For this fight let’s assume that the party is Level 4. For this fight Milligan wont appear on deck unless his crew look to be having trouble, which they will with our party, and when he does fight he will bring 3 to 5 of his crew into the fray with him. He uses them much like a sailor uses knots, to hold things in place while he can make the most out of the situation at hand and control the flow of the battle. For this encounter I would have 2 to 3 pirates attacking every 2 rounds, roll a d6 and add the number of pirates that are left fighting the party on the Dancing Drake if the result is 4 or Less then another 2 or 3 pirates will also join the fray.

Once 10 pirates have been dispatched then Milligan and his crew will join. If Milligan drops below 20 HP he will retreat to his ship and if the party look like they will dispatch the rest of his crew easily he will cut the lines (if not already cut) and will flee with his remaining crew to not return. He will plead a parley if he cant escape and is injured.

Milligan Silverborn (Dragonborn Pirate captain)

Born on the seas and pledged to the lord of the waves Milligan grew up with a connection to the weather and to the pirates he called family. After several years he grew so used to the rough seas to the west of Faerun that his proficiency went from something inherent to something mystical and those who fought with him also became like water and wind across the decks of those they sought to plunder from.

Silverborns Crew

The crew that follow Milligan Silverborn are more accustomed to life on the waves and amongst the storms than others and believe that their captain and the sea itself will protect them. As such they rarely wear any armour so their movement can flow across their prey like waves spilling over a deck

Thanks for joining this week. This week there was trouble on the water which overflowed onto the deck and caused issues for the crew and the party. As Pirates boarded they were forced to not only defend the ship but also keep it afloat and on course.

Don’t forget to come back next week as we look to wrap up this months adventure and look at some bonus content for the final adventure.

Oh, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Saturday night – Skaven vs Sons of Behemat battle report!

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Hi all and welcome to a Warhammer age of Sigmar 3.0 battle report write-up. No fancy pictures though but it was a tough matchup from the get go.

Without too much of a ramp-up I wanted to touch in with my other tabletop passion and have a writeup of an Age of Sigmar Warhammer game I had Friday night. It was a reasonably long game (a lot of rats to move..) but we managed to play it through to a point that it felt ok leaving it there.

The armies

Skaventide (mixed)

Allegiance: Skaventide

– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery

– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders

Arch-Warlock (175)***

– Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism: Warp Lightning Shield

Clawlord (105)***

– Mighty Warlord Command Trait: Verminous Valour

Grey Seer on Screaming Bell (265)*

– Lore of Ruin: Death Frenzy

Grey Seer (140)*

– Artefact: Suspicious Stone

– Lore of Ruin: Skitterleap

Verminlord Warbringer (305)***

– General

– Command Trait: Devious Adversary

– Artefact: Shield of Distraction

– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon

Battleline

20 x Clanrats (130)**

– Rusty Spear

– 1x Standard Bearers

– 1x Standard Bell Ringers

20 x Clanrats (130)**

– Rusty Spear

– 1x Standard Bearers

– 1x Standard Bell Ringers

20 x Clanrats (130)*

– Rusty Spear

– 1x Standard Bearers

– 1x Standard Bell Ringers

20 x Stormvermin (220)**

– Halberd

– Reinforced x 1

Units

10 x Night Runners (75)*

10 x Night Runners (75)*

Behemoths

Hell Pit Abomination (240)*

– Mutation: Toughened Sinews

Core Battalions

*Battle Regiment

**Hunters of the Heartlands

***Command Entourage – Magnificent

Additional Enhancements

Artefact

Total: 1990 / 2000

Reinforced Units: 1 / 4

Allies: 0 / 400

Wounds: 153

Drops: 7

Sons of Behemat (stomper tribe)

Allegiance: Sons of Behemat

– Tribe: Stomper Tribe

– Grand Strategy: Beast Master

– Triumphs:

Leaders

Warstomper Mega-Gargant (470)*

– General

– Command Trait: Eager for the fight

– Artefact: Ironweld Cestus

Battleline

3 x Mancrusher Gargant Mob (475)*

3 x Mancrusher Gargant Mob (475)*

3 x Mancrusher Gargant Mob (475)*

Core Battalions

*Footsloggas – Unified

Total: 1895 / 2000

Reinforced Units: 0 / 4

Allies: 0 / 400

Wounds: 143

Drops: 4

The Battle plan

Battle plan – Apex predators.

This is a tricky one as only leaders can capture an objective and they do so by two means.

Being within 3″ of that objective or killing the leader that already held it. Great for Skaven with many heroes and the means to move between them (gnawholes), great for sons of behemat if you have more than one leader unit – but a tough matchup for both of us. My List doesn’t have the damage threshold to push through the gargants and he didn’t have the volume of leaders to contest more than one objective.

The match

Deployment.

One gnawhole in my territory towards the right of the table. Another Gnollhole near each of the objectives but on the other side of the gnawholes.

Warstomper and his buddies toed the line with the middle objective.

Nightrunners out front to screen the center, clanrats to be a secondary screen, stormvermin just behind them, with a blob of heroes (all within 6″ of the gnawhole). Another unit of clan rats screened the top of my forces and my last screened the left of my little square of land.

The HPA backed up the left flank.

Pregame

Warpstone – 3+d3(1) – 4

Left-center unit of Nightrunners moved 4″ forward, right-center unit moved 11″ to screen my entire force..

Round 1 – Turn 1 Sons of Behemat

Battle tactic  – monstrous takeover

Sons of Behemat Heroic action – Heroic Leadership (fail) 

Skaven Heroic action – 

Hero phase..  Yup that was it.. 

Movement phase he moved everything forward – that was terrifying… 

Shooting phase he threw a bunch of boulders using the stomper tribe command ability… All out defense saved my stormvermin from Total destruction as those rocks hurt! But a 4+ save helped. The nightrunner screens didn’t fare too well and my Bell managed to spike a few saves and ward shrugs. 

Charge. Terrifying.. 3d6 for big boy means he goes where he pleases. 

Well my screens didn’t last, in fact they crumbled and with some cheeky pile-ins he managed to get within 3″ of not stormvermin and smash over half of them to a pulp. Oof.

All night runners died but that was their job.

My eight stormvermin in range dealt 4 damage to his mancrusher gargant unit.. 32 wounds to go for that unit.

Most importantly his decision to pile in to try and finish my stormvermin removed him from the objective zone and so he didn’t score his battle tactic OR the objective. An oversight or smarter-than-Skaven big brain play I don’t know but regardless it wasn’t looking good and it all depended on what the Bell and spell casting could do for me.

Battleshock didn’t happen (nothing eligible. Thanks Bell!)

Round 1 – Turn 2 – Skaven

Tactic – ferocious advance.

Skaven Heroic action – healing on my bell – healed 2 so back down to 1 wound!. 

Sons of Behemat – Willpower (and got it!)

Bell tolled, a 2… Well that hurts.. Mortal wounds splashed about across my heroes with a few of them getting 3 wounds on them (2 wounds remaining for my little foot heroes).

Death frenzy was successful and went on my hell pit abom (since my other units that remained were not worth putting Death Frenzy on).

Be got mystic shield off on verminlord warbringer.

Verminlord warbringer failed both casts.

Grey seer on foot managed to get skitterleap and teleported my arch warlock to take the top objective (so I could camp both top and bottom objective and double his points easily).

Arch warlock lined up his overcharged warp storm and.. failed.. even with reroll (a first for me). Then self immolated for 12 mortals.. so he died.

My top units of clan rats went to form a line near the objective and the gnawhole I put to pressure the top-right objective.

My left unit of clanrats went to do the same on the bottom left objective and provide a rat-meat shield for my verminlord warbringer who I would take through the gnawhole.

HPA moved to support left clanrats, everything in the middle moved up to pressure the middle objective. My stormvermin retreated to “safety”.

Due to my top unit of clan rats suffering 2 mortals from my bell failure they were due a battleshock test but rolled a 3 (-1 because of 10+models) and vs a bravery of 5 (inspiring terrain) – they were fine.

Ended my turn scoring 4vp.

SoB won the roll off, something that would happen often and took the turn.

Round 2 – Turn 1 – Sons of Behemat.

Battle Tactic was “Slay the wardlord” to try and kill my General. 

Gargant Heroic action Warstomper finest hour. 

Skaven heroic action – Finest hour on my verminlord warbringer.

This saw the topmost unit of gargant move to engage my clanrats that were defending the Screaming bell, another unit moving to engage and threaten the clanrats and hellpit abomination guarding my verminlord warbringer and the third doing the same to flank the warstomper who was coming over to say hello to my verminlord warbringer. A 2” redeploy of my clanrats saw them move to make the Warstompers charge to be a 13” to my verminlord warbringer. 

The left unit of mancrusher gargants ran into my clan rats and killed a few poor little rats on the charge.The other Gargants charged the edge of my clanrats and brought in my Hellpit. 

The warstomper didn’t make the charge to my verminlord warbringer but hit the clan-rats hard. 

Combat saw my clanrats near my Screaming bell fair well enough against the mancrusher mob. 

My clanrat screen died, but kept the mancrusher mobs away from my verminlord warbringer, but the warstomper was free to engage my poor verminlord warbringer. 

But not before the Hellpit had killed one mancrusher gargant and dealt 9 wounds to the next. 

The Warstomper piled into my verminlord warbringer, I activated all out defense. 

The verminlord warbringer managed to gain 4 extra attacks due to devious adversary and with a 3+ save and ignoring 2 points of rend (and the verminlord 5+ ward) the verminlord warbringer survived. 

The punchback on the verminlord warbringer into the mega (finest hour and rerolling saves) meant I received 1 mortal wound back and dealt 1 wound to bring me up to 9 wounds taken but not dead. 

The Mancrusher mob then killed the hellpit abomination, triggering death frenzy which dealt about 12 wounds and brought the final Mancrusher gargant in that unit to 4 wounds. 

Battleshock phase saw that last gargant run.

End of turn, Sons of Behemat scored 1 for killing a monster, Skaven scored 1 for killing a monster but the battle tactic failed and the mega-gargant was .5” from contesting the objective.  

Round 2- turn 2- Skaven

Tactic was “conquer” which I wasn’t able to do, but there was no other way to score another tactic. 

Heroic action – Skaven – Heroic Leadership on screaming bell, failed. 

Gargant was heroic leadership which was failed. 

This turn saw the bell roll a 10, not quite the 12 I was wanting but it was far from the worst outcome. It dealt a few mortal wounds here and there but not enough to write home about. 

Spells saw Verminlord warbringer gain flaming weapon and mystic shield, cracks call went off and no damage was dealt, skitterleap was successful which enabled me to score the middle objective and a arcane bolt dealt 1 mortal wound to a mancrusher gargant. 

My 3 man unit of stormvermin rallied and I rolled 6 6’s from 17 dice. Big play. 

Movement saw my clan rats shuffle to screen the verminlord warbringer and his teleport (through gnawhole) to the top objective. 

The Screaming bell ran up to help contest the middle objective and support the Grey seer. 

Stormvermin moved to charge and the clawlord moved up to support them. 

Vermin lord abandoned the bottom left objective and teleported just outside of 3” of the top right objective, that hurt.

Charge. Stormvermin made it and dealt 4 more wounds leaving the Mancrusher gargants on 2 remaining. They piled in and managed to get on the line of 3” for my Clawlord which saw him fall to 2 more damage than he had wounds remaining. 

The clan rats dealt 1 more damage to them leaving them on 1 wound remaining. 

The stormvermin were removed. 

Battleshock once again wasn’t a thing but the end of the turn brought another 2 points to the Skaven. 

Score was Skaven 7, Sons of Behemat 1.

Roll off – the Sons of Behemat won and took initiative. I burnt the middle objective so they had the choice of keeping their Warstomper on the other side of the table or abandoning that objective to come and get my models – they went for the models. 

Round 3, turn 1 – Sons of Behemat

Battle tactic – Broken Ranks (my 4 clan rats..) 

Heroic action for Sons of Behemat- Heroic Leadership (success)

Heroic action for Skaven was heroic recovery on Warbringer. (1 wound healed) 

Everything moved, threw rocks and killed my Clan rats (Sad times).

Big charges saw my Grey seer on foot get pulverized by the Warstomper and two units of Mancrusher mobs (6 models) into my Screaming bell. The less wounded unit attacked and brought him to 9 wounds out of 13. Attacking back the bell managed to kill one more Gargant scoring me 1 point for killing a monster this round. 

That was really the round.

Sons of Behemat scored their tactic, with a monster but had no objectives scoring 3 points, Skaven scored another point for killing a monster going up to 8 points. 

Round 3 – turn 2 – Skaven

Battle tactic – savage spearhead (wasn’t going to get it sadly..) 

Heroic Action – Heroic Recovery (healing 2 more wounds!) 

Simple really with 18 clan rats and my verminlord warbringer left – I cast mystic shield and flaming weapon on the doom glaive. 

Moved my Rats to brace for a gargant charge and moved my warbringer onto the objective scoring 2 points.

End of the battle round saw Skaven 10 (1+more), Sons of Behemat 4 

Round 4 roll off – Sons of Behemat won and took it again. I burned to the top right objective making him choose between fighting me with his warstomper or running back towards the only remaining objective (as none of them are Prime objectives?) 

Round 4 – turn 1 – Sons of Behemat

Tactic – Bring it down 

Heroic action gargants – Heroic leadership (Got)

Heroic action Skaven – Heroic recovery (Failed)

Hero phase was a non – event. 

Movement phase saw the gargants advance and I redeployed my Skaven to once again make it really hard for the Warstomper to get to my warbringer (this time forcing a 15” charge). The 

Command ability was used (like every turn) for all gargants to throw rocks, this hurt the clan a little bit but failed to hurt the warbringer. 

Command ability was dropped to give all gargants re-roll to charges.

All gargants made the charge into the rats and the Warstomper made a 11” charge from 3d6, twice.

Combat and impact hits saw all my clan rats dead and the warstomper ended up piling into 3” of my verminlord warbringer – just. Because I never started combat phases with him within 3” I never was able to activate “shield of distraction” for the -1 to hit, but was able to still reroll 1s to save which had saved him quite a few times. 

He survived and manage to gain 4 stacks of “devious adversary” without finest hour on the Warstomper I managed to punch through 17 damage from his fist attack and the boosted doom glaive and piled 3” further away from the mancrusher mob, within 3” and closer to the Warstomper (and within 6” of the gnawhole).

This ended the turn with no VP scored either side.

Round 4 – turn 2 – Skaven.

Battle tactic – err.. Slay the warlord (wasn’t going to get it again..)

Hero action, it didn’t matter so I didn’t bother and neither did Sons’ player. 

Spell casting – both went off in case of a miracle. 

Teleported out using the gnawhole and onto the last objective. 

We called it there when my score ended up being 12 – 4 in favour of Skaven. 

Conclusion

Despite losing ~1680 points worth of models and killing.. 475 points of models the battle plan favoured me heavily – it was pretty rough going.

A first for playing against SoB for me, and not the first for playing against Skaven for my opponent – but a first for this list. They are hard to chew through without rend and range and especially the stomper tribe who do increased damage vs horde (or 10+ model units). This made all hits or failed armour saves feel really impactful and probably why I had only a single model left (on 7 wounds remaining out of 12…)

The multiple ways for Skaven to have a leader with a ward is incredible. Only my poor arch-warlock (who was incredibly unlucky this game) didn’t have a ward of a 4+ or 5+ (as Verminous Valour is counted as a ward) and it was felt.

Devious adversary felt good but was a high-risk high-reward playstyle and when coupled with the bonuses to save, the ward save post fact and the shield of distraction (that never got to distract anyone) it made him survive two combat rounds against a unbracketed mega-gargant and live to screech about.

Well that’s all we have for tonight, I hope you dropped by. If you have any questions about the lists or any take-aways from the game please reach out. I didn’t manage to capture any images of the match (was on Table-top simulator.. having two young kids makes it hard to get out during the night time to play in person…) but it was a good game and a hard lesson to learn.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for our end of week writeup and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage*
The Brazen Wolfe

*or in this case re-roll your saves

One with the storm

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Hi all and welcome to fightnight!, well, Friday night which happens to be when I try to produce statistics for meaningful combat.

Tonight we are looking at the vicious pirates who are boarding the Red Fleets Dancing Drake, Kyoko’s ship. To save time and conserve my writing reserves I will kick it off without much pomp or fanfare.

Wave Walkers

211FrWaWa

As the silver dragonborn strode across the gangplank he deflected arrows, bolts, blades and clubs that launched at him with not even the slight shimmer of his curved sword moving to intercept the weapons.

Those who ran around him seemed to dance across the planks, float effortlessly through the air on corded rope and glided around the waves that crashed around them. If they weren’t stabbing, cutting and swiping at the crew and party the way they moved across the ship and between them could almost be considered beautiful.

Milligan Silverborn

Born on the seas and pledged to the lord of the waves Milligan grew up with a connection to the weather and to the pirates he called family. After several years he grew so used to the rough seas to the west of Faerun that his proficiency went from something inherent to something mystical and those who fought with him also became like water and wind across the decks of those they sought to plunder from.

Silverborn’s Crew

The crew that follow Milligan Silverborn are more accustomed to life on the waves and amongst the storms than others and believe that their captain and the sea itself will protect them. As such they rarely wear any armour so their movement can flow across their prey like waves spilling over a deck

For this fight let’s assume that the party is Level 4. For this fight Milligan wont appear on deck unless his crew look to be having trouble, which they will with our party, and when he does fight he will bring 3 to 5 of his crew into the fray with him. He uses them much like a sailor uses knots, to hold things in place while he can make the most out of the situation at hand and control the flow of the battle. For this encounter I would have 2 to 3 pirates attacking every 2 rounds, roll a d6 and add the number of pirates that are left fighting the party on the Dancing Drake if the result is 4 or Less then another 2 or 3 pirates will also join the fray.

Once 10 pirates have been dispatched then Milligan and his crew will join. If Milligan drops below 20 HP he will retreat to his ship and if the party look like they will dispatch the rest of his crew easily he will cut the lines (if not already cut) and will flee with his remaining crew to not return. He will plead a parley if he cant escape and is injured.

Thanks for joining me tonight for a glimpse at the pirate Milligan Silverborn and his crew. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for a special Saturday writeup. Don’t forget if you have a submission for a 30 minute challenge please send it my way in the way of a single word and any restrictions (or mandatory elements) you wish to challenge me with and I will do my best to come up with a one shot adventure within 30 minutes (or a designated time frame..)

Oh, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

A voyage without a map isn’t a real voyage…

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Hi all and welcome to a Thursday write-up! Tonight I am trying my hand at something I truly need practice at but feel like its needed for this week more than ever…

So enjoy and let me know what you think!

The Dancing Drake

211ThDaDr

The imposing ship of the Harimasu family called the Dancing Drake is a large three sailed trading vessel with four levels.

The main deck supports two entrance points to below deck situated in the centre of the deck and towards the bow of the ship.

Two flights of two sets of stairs on the stern of the ship provide access the two layers of cabins. One to the crews quarters and the higher flight of stairs leading up to the helm which is situated on the captain’s (Kyoko Harimasu) quarters.

The crews quarters has a large mess hall situated on the starboard side and two rooms on the port side, a smaller quarter for passengers of note and a larger one where the bunks, cots and hammocks of the crew is situated.

The captains quarters contains desks littered with maps and papers mainly and a decently sized bed with a curtain hung from the wooden rafters to provide some amount of privacy.

The bow of the ship is raised but provides no real access to below deck.

Below deck is a large open area where several rows of benches and oars are lined up in case the winds are unfavourable. There is also a small (10ft by 10ft) cell for holding people with iron bars from roof to floor and a small lockable cell door.

To the stern and bow of the lower deck is storage for cargo, people or livestock with the bow of the ship having a secret compartment behind a small wall to hide the most valuable, or, vulnerable cargo.

Thanks, hope my mediocre napping skills provide some visuals for the size, shape and position of the ship for both descriptions and combat!

Speaking of which, don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more content where we look at the pointy end of the stick and examine combat encounters for this week!

And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Soggy sails, shimmering swords

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Hi all and welcome to Wednesday night where we look at the twists and turns that the party have approaching like rain in a squall.

This week we find out party out to sea being persued by, most probably, pirates with a storm approaching them at the worst time.

So let’s look into what we can throw at the party to test their sea legs.

Trials at sea

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As the wind hit the sails the crew knew that they were in for a hard ride regardless of the ship that was now close enough that you could see the individual people running about the top of the deck, weapons and ropes in hand. As Kyoko barked an order ropes went taught, sails drifted across the deck and the ship turned abruptly as a large wave loomed on the side of the ship and Kyoko heaved on the wheel turning the ship at the right moment to use the wave to push them further away from their pursuer.

The party were less lucky as the sea water spilled freely across the deck, the crew moving rapidly across the deck dragging ropes, sails poles and other implements to keep the ship floating on the waves the right way up.

So the first test we have here is going to be the standard ability checks to see if they can remain on their feet and move around the deck of the ship. DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or to fall and hope they don’t fall pass the rail or at least have a rope tied to them. If the party member has a background that saw them on the sea previously then they would make the check at advantage and, DM discretion, if they had water vehicle proficiency then they would also make the roll at advantage.

With a yell a few of the crew fly overboard when they lose their grip on the ship. Within a moment several crew jump to grab the rope to pull up the crew members that flew off the edge.

“Somebody pull that sail, I need someone to help me with the wheel, get those men back on deck!” Kyoko bellows from the helm as she puts her weight behind the wheel trying to keep the ship on course as a wave threatens to push them aside.

Ok, so we have a Water vehicle check (to pull the sail), strength or athletics check to bring the overboard crewmen back on deck, and then a one of either check to help Kyoko with the helm. If the party don’t help with one of the three items then it may lead to negative affects.

  • Sail, Water Vehicle check DC 13 – If fail the party member is knocked prone and is pushed in a random direction 10ft.
  • Crew, Athletics check DC 12 Strength check DC 13 – if Fail the crew members are eventually dragged up but they have breathed in a lot of water and 1 or 2 crew members are effectively unconscious (not dead though) for the rest of the day. Any further checks to keep the ship going on course are made at +1 DC.
  • Helm, Base DC is 14. Water vehicle check at Base, Strength at base +2 and Athletics at base +1 – if Fail then the ship doesn’t turn in time and the the party need make a Dex check DC 14 or fall prone and if they fail by more than 10 they fall overboard.

If the party fail at 2 of the above three then they will be boarded by 1 or 2 members from the ship behind them that the party will need to fight..

As the ship rock and comes down from a swell it stops suddenly with a resounding crash as it connect with the pirate vessel who had come on the inside of the Red fleet Ship. As Kyoko starts to bark orders ropes, boarding planks and grappling hooks fly across the rail and go taught binding the ships together as men and women rush onboard from the other ship.

Crew members from the parties ship rush to meet them but the attackers have a manic crazed look across their face as a scarred dragonborn stands next to the helm loading a crossbow and barking orders at the people rushing across to take over the other ship.

Well – This is mainly combat but the party can remove the boarding planks, cut the ropes try to separate the ships.

To separate the ships it would require a series of successful Vehicle handling rolls. DC12, DC 13, DC14 and DC15 across 4 rounds.

To push the planks it would be a DC10 Athletics or strength check if there is no one on the plank or DC14 if there is one person, DC16 if there are two or more people on the plank as they go to remove it.

To sever or remove the ropes it would require a sharp weapon. The role has an AC of 8 and 10 HP (they are rather thick ropes). To remove them without cutting them then the party would need to make Strength or Athletics checks DC 14.

Thanks for joining tonight. So we had a few checks here to deal with keeping the ship on course and moving forward. The idea is to use the above as a base to structure the encounter and checks for the party but the idea is that we don’t want to drown them in ability and skill checks but we want to stress them the importance of certain ones.

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Crew

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Welcome one and all to a Tuesday night here at Brazen Wolfe Tabletop. Tonight is generally reserved for NPCs, people or creatures that people run into during the weeks adventure and tonight is no different – except tonight instead of a single NPC I have a few options in play for us this week.

The idea behind tonight’s post is to look at a few frameworks that we can apply to a character, or several for the party to interact with while avoiding fleshing out thorough and compelling backstories for each person.

The Red Fleets crew

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How to use the below. Roll once on each table to establish a brief backstory on the person, or people, for who the party is interacting with. Assign Gender and appearance based on the portrait selected but the other characteristics can be chosen or rolled from the table to make it a quick NPC generator *(except the name.. I am poor with names..).

Visual characteristic

d6 resultCharacteristic
1The person walks with a slight limp, seeming to favour their right leg as they walk across the ship. Despite the obvious impairment they are still quick to move across the deck
2The person is exceptionally timid and will shy out of the way from all other crew members, passengers, the party and especially the captain. When the captain is around they seem to stutter, mumble and rush off to do what ever order is backed at the first chance that’s presented to them.
3The person is nimble, unnaturally so. They swing from one side of the ship to the other and climb ropes with effortless ease.
4The person is broad and strong. Able to move almost any crate, barrel, person or piece of cargo by themselves the other crew mates seem to rely on them to do the heavy lifting.
5The person is lazy. Plain and simple. They can be found laying down when the captain is not around napping or ignoring their duties. Despite being lazy they are extremely adept at the ship life and are first to fix something if there is trouble.
6There is nothing too obvious about this person, except their broken common. They barely speak and when they do its fractured sentences and very few words

Background before joining the ship

d6 resultBackground
1They are a third generation sailor and have spent most of their life on the waves.
2Joined the crew at the last port, they are very green to this type of life.
3Used to be a soldier back home but gave that up for a simpler life on the waves.
4Family member of the captain – seems to be treated the same if not more harshly than the other crew members.
5Farmer who is now seeking their fortune.
6Not much is revealed, they wont tell any one but they are jumping from ship to ship to avoid being sent to prison for a crime they committed.

Role

d6 resultRole
1Helmsman
2Deck hand
3Cook
4Medical officer
5First Mate
6Chief engineer

Otherwise notable thing

d6 resultNotable thing
1Has a tattoo of a wingless dragon curling up their shoulder onto their neck.
2Singles sea shanties almost any time they are working (or whistles/ hums if they don’t otherwise talk)
3During downtime they whittle wood with a small knife they keep at their belt. A small statue of a child (their son/daughter) can be seen on a string around their neck.
4Missing a hand of foot – a crude tool/replacement has been fashioned for them that they use deftly as if they have had the foreign appendage most of their life.
5Barely wears any clothes (just enough to be modest) – can be found praying to a deity and chanting prayers during their downtime.
6Nothing stands out in particular.

After the quick-rolls are made from the above pick a portrait from below (or any) to help describe the NPC to your party.

And that’s it, using the above and picking the more-blonde women from above we could have a NPC such as..

Visual-3-Strong, background-5-Strong, Role-2-Deckhand, Otherwise Notable – 4- Missing a Hand/Foot.

Kim

Kim is an impressive specimen, broad, strong and tall and able to carry and shift things around the boat with ease. The rest of the crew can be heard calling out her name when something is too heavy or bulky for regular people and she rushes over to help her crew. What makes it even more extraordinary is that she is missing her left hand and a set of short spikes are on a metal plate where her hand used to be. She uses these metal spiked nubs to help grip onto wood and other cargo and to also fend of those who are daft enough to want to brawl with her.

She hasn’t always been a sailor but when she lost her hand in her families farm she decided to try her luck elsewhere, the sea – using the first pouch of gold she earnt to pay for her spiky replacement she now considers the ship her home and being a deckhand her true calling.

I am relatively happy with how that panned out, I am a fan of random generators as a way of driving, steering or even assisting me in coming up with a new something for the table top and I find that, in a pinch, they are especially handy. Now all that is left to do is come up with a name….

Don’t forget to come back each day this week for the ship bound adventure, tomorrow we look at twists and turns that may affect our party out at sea (an obvious writeup this week I might add). If you do use the random tables above let me know how it goes! If you like what you create don’t forget to let me know in the comments below and I will look at creating a few more quick tables for NPC generation down the track.

Oh, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Black sails

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Hi all welcome to Monday night where we look at the content for the weeks adventure and get an idea of what the party will be going through in this week.

This week we hope to see the party onboard Kyoko’s ship and heading off for her home continent with reinforcements to help fight against what assaults her people.

Upon dark water

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Kyoko frowned as she withdrew the spyglass from her eye and shimmied down the mast quickly, unhooking a section of the mast as she dropped allowing it to unfurl and catch more wind.

“We’ve got a ghost” she muttered to her crew as they watched her with a worried expression on their face “prepare to outrun them but don’t bet non it. Make sure you know where your weapons are and secure the valuables in the hidden hold.”

The crew burst into action, bumping into the party as they ran to grab weapons, coils or rope and disappear beneath the deck to hide their most precious and valuable of cargo.

Kyoko approached the party “A ghost is what we call pirates, those who sail black flags and who steal from those who use their time to earn their living honestly.” she explained as she drew her sword and thumbed the blade examining its sharpness.

“Captain Kyoko, there is a storm approaching!” called one of her crew as he ran from the helm. Kyoko swore as she turned towards the stormfront that was approaching from their port bow and then jogging up to the stern she looked back over the stern at the ship that was following them.

Jogging back to the party she handed them a rope. “tie this to a belt and then to the ship, if we hit bad weather you will wish you had listened to me as you sink beneath the waves.” She paused looking at the concern in Lizbets face “Siu, you’re in charge of making sure the priestess is safe – that is your only job. If, when the pirates board us I will count on you,” her focus drifted over the party, “to keep us safe. My crew are excellent at sailing the ship but when it comes to combat, they won’t stand a chance.”

With that she nodded at Siu who stood on the deck, his golden scales glimmering lightly as the sun started to sink behind the storm front approaching the ship. Walking off she turned back to the party and smiled “let’s have a bit of fun then.”

A small taste tonight of what the party will encounter this week with the coming of a storm and the approach of pirates from the stern. This week will have a few challenges for the party and its not just what dwells beneath the waves or in the ship behind them.

Thanks for joining me, don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Siu’s Request

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Hi all and welcome to the end of the week writeup – a bit of a slower week I will note but one that I think was needed to ensure that the transition from land to sea was done adequately.

This week we looked at Siu and his request of not only the party but also Priestess Lizbet and Kyoko – his cousins great granddaughter to travel across the sea to help save his families land and homes from the darkness that stirs beyond their borders.

Honour bound request

210SuHBR

Believing that his time was short and that his treasured gift of his humanoid appearance was coming to an end he used his time to warn the priestess and priests of Chauntea of the attack that as coming for them. Using the last few precious hours of his gift he went to do something that he had dreaded for quite some time, approach his family and reveal his true nature in order to begin to make amends for the betrayal he had committed to his closest family members.

Areas and places of note

The Temple– The temple has guest quarters where the party would have been encouraged to stay to rest and heal, as well as to have close in case more creatures appeared in the middle of the night. The people who call this place home, the priests and priestesses are kind, welcoming and excellent cooks believing that Chauntea’s bountiful blessings are meant to be shared to not just he devout but all.

Daye Streets – The streets are empty early in the mornings and talk of the creatures and nightmarish sounds from the night before are the talk of the town. Soon though merchants bring their stalls, wagons and carts out and begin to advertise their wares – it truly is a market city where the streets, particularly around the docks, are a source of just about all mundane items and objects you could seek.

The docks, however, of late have begun to start selling magical items and as the Red fleet begin to head home back across the waves to restock on goods the demand on magical trinkets and items is at a new time high with supply being short and the patience of the customers being little.

The Docks – Quieter than when the party first stepped upon the docks they are still busy with people from the red fleet still selling the last of their wares. Many of the large red sailed ships have left and several other trading ships have also arrived and they have brought with them not just their normal wares but a small influx of magical items. Different to the lucky trinkets and lesser magical items of the Red fleet these merchants sell potions, scrolls and other wondrous items – if the gold is plentiful enough.

People of Bracken Hollow (in this adventure)

Elizabeth “Lizbet” Scaulder

Being swayed by Siu’s plea for aid and her own predestined call to fight a wave of darkness Lizbet has organised for Katya to work with the other sons and daughters of Chauntea – having been instructed by them many years ago she believes that under their guidance Katya will surpass her one day. Having found someone to look after the town and its duties she is, somewhat anxious but resolved on going to help the wondrous merchants of the Red fleet defend their homeland if she is able to assist.

Kyoko Harimasu

Having heard stories of creatures from the mists and shadows able to look inside ones mind and deceive humans in order to devour them since she was little, Kyoko is still uncertain about Siu – but what he has said and a strange familiarity draws her to help him, and believe that he, the priestess and the party could really be able to help her family in the fight against the dark.

Siu

Using the last few hours of his human form he was sure that this was his final hours before a sword, arrow or axe would pierce his flesh the moment his true self was revealed. But to have the blow withheld and his mangy fur that he has hated for as long as he can remember shed to reveal a carpet of golden dragon scales covering his form was a shock. Not sure where the change came from or what spurred it to begin he is glad to be rid of the fur and thankful that he is still able to see his mission through.

The prospect of being free from his mater is beginning to take a back seat to wanting to see his family succeed and the foolhardy hope that they could beat back what lies in the shadow.

Environment and running the adventure

Decision– The decision to leave would need to come from the party – Going to go see Siu at the docks wouldn’t be a hard decision (he looks just like a man after all) and Lizbet would ask the party to escort her just in case of a trap before deciding to walk off herself.

The party can tell that she is nervous, perhaps anxious about the decisions to be made and her nerves would be obvious to all (she isn’t one to hide behind a mask).

The boat– Once the party see the boat the decision needs to be made – follow the creature and Kyoko across the waves with Lizbet to help save their people or stay back and wait. Regardless of the decision initially Kyoko will ask that the party and priestess give her a week to give her time to get ready for the voyage back home. This gives the party some time to shop, if they are short of ropes/ arrows / etc. and to find out more bout where they are going from Kyoko, Siu or any of the Red Fleet.

If the party do stay behind then the adventure at the end of the month will come into affect (with the aim of still getting the party to travel across the sea)

Encounter

There is really only only social encounters this week – talking to Siu, Kyoko and Lizbet about the journey, the apprehension behind it as well as what to expect across the waves as well as any shopping that the party want to do.

Thanks for joining this week – the goal is to really get the party across the sea to Kyoko and Siu’s homeland to experience new adventure, meet new people and creatures as well as fight a dark threat that threatens the stability of the Harimasu family and the countries western boarder.

Don’t forget to come back every day this week to see more content, this week will, hopefully, be the first week of sea voyage and adventure with new twists, turns and encounters for the party to steer through.

Don’t forget to let me know if you are playing through the content here, how you find it as a game master (if you are one) and how your players find it! All critique is good critiques in my view.

Oh, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe