A Golden Eye on the waves
Summary
Adventure: A Golden Eye on the waves
GM: Jono
Season: ~Summer 822 WK
Night: Starting Monday the 13th of December 2021 in Lynfield (Jono's place).
Area: Carzala and some tropical wilds.
Level: High
Info: Information from players for Jono
House Rules: Jono Quickness and Slowness
Playtest
Please note - Lowered specialisation to 1 per rank (from 3). See change log on last page of each doc.
- Four or five guild party members -
- Mungo -, known as the Humble - So Named by Odin Himself and also Blessed of Freya - A Northern Warrior played by Michael McFadden.
- Boris - Necromantic Mage played by Michael Haycock.
- Lila - Celestial/Air Mage played by Kelsie.
- Rhiain - Ice Mage Human played by Chris R.
- Cher - Binder Human played by Sean
Employer
- Syrene a friend of the guild.
Mission
Background - A Golden Eye in the deep.
- Part 1. Deal with issues about the Air Spirit & the forgotten city (outstanding from A Golden Eye in the deep).
- Part 2. Free the missing water mages, deal with the pirates.
Payment
Syrene will financially back a commissioned sea voyage to the area to a value of 35,000sp.
- Spell training for Thaumaturgies 5,000 sp each member.
- Spell training for Elementals 10,000 sp each member.
- Spell training for Entities 5,000 sp each member.
Part 2 - I can't remember much of part one...
Part 2 of a might epic adventure featuring a band of heroic shield companions against the most perilous unknown foe this side of the gates of Hel or even a barber - to rescue enslaved water mages from the pirates
We are at Turf’s home. A number of items found this far are- a sword, an axe, bolt of cloth which are identified by the spell of something or other The cloth will affect the morale of troops in the hands of a military leader this depends on the wood. e.g. Maple -x 10 mil sci rank Tulwar does 2 d10 damage + can have spells on it Axe – enchanted to not rust & can cut through things underload & of course a Genie bottle which contains…. Lila ? Anyway, in addition to the rescuing the Sea mages; Syrene wants us to take the bottle to the plain of air… yawn.. I prefer pickups to deliveries….
– We learn the pirate are a cunning bunch of knaves , rumoured to have bribed one of the snivelling enchanters who work for the merchant’s guild –like most mages s(apart from my worthy companions) he has a strong streak of yellow running through him and has now legged it & not to be found. Not to worry, Syrene knows the location of 2 of their hideouts, so we can plan our conquest.
We can track down the mages by tracking down some magic reference books which will have information use of the enchantment known as “locateâ€.. Syrene knows an enchanter who can help.
Our mission is first we need to obtain a copy of the master reference books which has some important magic powers.. We will take an enchanter with us who can use a locate spell. We get a bonus for bringing him back alive. He is nervous weak & frail. A ship full of fighters and healers has already been sent out to rescue the Sea Mages. They encountered six pirate ships – were sunk and suffered many casualties
We decide to use my mighty Knarr “The Sea urchin†to get to out to the location. The Sea Urchin will return in 4 days from a successful raid by my fearless crew. We know some cargo is located in Kirkle. West of Kirkle there is a well-known pirate port of the coast of Palestrina.
We return to the guild for a debrief. Syrene equips us with strength of stone armour of earth spell
I notice an old scallywag acquaintance of mine – can’t quite place him- he is called Eric as are most of men in the North - but I am sure we once stood together drenched in blood with the bodies of our enemies heaped before us… or possibly we were in tavern surrounded by empty ales mugs covered in spilt ale.. but any way he is a recruiter for a three ship Armada who plan to seek vengeance for some murdered sailors. & rescue a particular water mage related to someone. A few shady types lurk also - they have the look of spies about them – shifty eyes (hooded cloaks in the broad daylight --first They try to recruit us but then we talk about joining forces. The selling point is that have enlisted a mermaid to show the way
First we will find the for the enchanter Ernest Black is his name – apparently hiding in fear of his life in some cellar of tavern in old Seagate town..
We go incognito to avoid attracting attention (that is we pull our hoods over our heads & cultivate an innocent look) . On the way into town we see four horses tied on the side of the road = might be spies or an ambush but we are not attacked. Cher and I note 6 guarding the road armed with bows…a mix of orcs and humans… not that that means anything – some of my best friends are orcs – well I mean Boris.
We make it to the new constructed area & head to old Seagate – heading to toward which Ernest is staying … we pass an old horse in the process of being slaughtered in the street - it’s a rough area – the inn is well battered – and has recently been scorched by a fire. The place is damp & smoke filled. A doxy gives me the eye and I return her a special look so as to not attract any attention - you have to play the part when in disguise, Downstairs in the inn a game of cards is in progress and a combat between two armed men with clubs are being cheered on by a small crowd,,, We ignore them& head toward the sub-basement
I encounter a woman who says I have rescued her in the past .. can’t recall but there are quite a few I’ve rescued - anyhow she warns me of a few bad uns in the area. Not really news – it is old Seagate Outside the door are three scurvy thugs with their backs to us about to visit Ernest – up to no good. Look like our timing was right for Ernest. I grab tow by the neck and bang their heard together (this from the side technically & not behind just in case any detractors are reading). They die….whoops. A third is rendered unconscious, by ablow from Boris. We drag the dead bodies inside. Ernest is a weedy old guy who is drinking an ;clearly the worse for wear. The two dead people are hidden –
We visit Syrene and explain what has happened. We debate forming and alliance with the mermaid and the scallywag The enchanter (due to his frail health and so he won’t run away )is itemised by an evil Binder spell & placed in an unbreakable container only openable by a palm impression.
We talk t Syrene about rewards for completing the quest – there was some rubbish about magic training which seems of little worth so I ignored the details but more importantly she offers warrior training.
Four days later the Sea Urchin arrives .. with several Brandenburg customs men who my crew mistook for pirates... I’m all for taking the pirates / customs men back out to sea & giving them a first-class trial followed by a sea burial but am talked around by the party fearful of inciting war with all of Brandenburg (don’t know how all of Brandenburg would find out) … uh oh – anyway I have to pay a 10,000 bribe to shut them up – I reluctantly pay with an instruction to my crew that pirates are not to be brought back to shore in the future. Better to have a trial by combat at sea followed by a sea burial…
We meet my companion Eric whose crew has had a disagreement with some brigands. Many of his men lie around with broken limbs and teeth - the brigands are dead he swears but I dont see too many bodies. Turns out the spies were from rival merchant families who wanted to rescue the watermages / didn't want them rescued - so we invite him to meet at turfs place with Syrene - & to wear his best furs – we will discuss forming a super Armada
At the party we are approached by a dwarf merchant who wants us to transport some grain stones made by dwarves – 20 foot across & two foot high - but with magic can be squeezed into the Sea Urchin’s hold I am told by Boris & Cher.
My first mate negotiates transport for the stones to Adjutbar. or 13,000 up front and a 3,000 bonus on arrival.
Syrene has put on a banquet – 3 dwarves, two elves, and some courtiers also attend. It is a great feast food & drinks-wise at least though tame by northern standards - no fights, or blood feuds created - the dwarves are even friendly toward Boris the Orc…. I skald a little & fine ales are drunk. Syrene strikes a deal with Eric & his companions to work under our directions for 10,000
Cher (who is now in a human form rather than the sneaky lizard I know her to be, though still a valued fearless shield companion of course) slopes off with a mincing codpiece sporting courtier for a tryst, hmm I think if only he knew what lurks beneath that skin – I am asked outside by a woman called Gertrude who I also apparently I rescued - by Loki's pustulant bollocks this is happening too often. I need to get a notebook to keep track of them - can't have just any one claiming I reduced her. Seems she wants to show her gratitude… can’t blame her really.
Later the Dwarves tell me that the millstone is prepared on one side to remove magic – (this removes impurities from grain) so the sea Urchin will need to be re-magiced everyday. I'll leave that task to those who deal with administrative nmatters like demagicing ships. More importantly some Ogremages are rumoured to be looking for these mill stones for some strange reason - an air, a fire and a rune mage – they alike all of their kind are cowardly knaves and don’t hesitate to use nasty poisons… this is good news - great blessing from Odin indeed who has kindly arranged for some intra-voyage pre-pirate entertainment to be coming our way…
Eric has 55 men & three ships & mysteriously 25 oar slots (eventually they will go around in circles), 2 x rank two water mages. We arrange to meet Syrene at certain waypoints, island stops, on our voyage. She marks 8 locations on the chart for the end of each day of travel. She will remagic us all & Eric's crew can be healed from their brigand wounds as we travel.
My water mage (rk 7) confirms that their ships are poor and that the other water mages have limited skills… so he strengthens the other ships
We prepare to leave
We prepare to leave
Session 2
We sail by night to the first way point. Novadon We see Griffons / pegasae at night but we do not encounter them.
A camp is set already ashore with 25 staff and three big tents awaiting us. Elf horses ( skinny pointy eared horses that is ) are tethered. Syrene greets us with the two known as the elemental twins & a large person too big to be a giant – Matt the Titan.
We receive armours of earth/ strength of stone.
Eric motions us to the shore to speak to the mermaid . She generally speaks in an ancient Northern tongue & unfortunately for the curious is draped in kelp – so lacks traditional mermaid appeal . The water mages are from the North – and are drowned goods worshipping priest sorts they too wear brown kelp clothing & are responsible for her being overly dressed. She doesn’t appear to have a tail but then again we cannot see a tail because of the kelp but we are assured she is a genuine mermaid. She tells us that in actual fact the vllagers who we understood commissioned the venture are really helping her rescue a relative, a water mage who has been captured, rather than the explanation we previously received – that she is helping Eric.
The mermaid has “read†the stormy skies which foretold our coming. She believes the water mages are being stolen to raise an island from the depths of the sea. The creature is huge and has along tentacles. If it breaks the surface of the sea it will become unbound from the spells holding it… currently underwater It guards a powerful treasure and if let free below the surface it will slither off into the depths leaving the treasure unguarded. There are no named items in the treasure horde. This will need to take place during summer Solstice… about a month away. The treasure is deemed a terrible treasure – apparently not just because its made only of copper or some lesser metal … & it could do terrible things to those that have long lives – elves I guess…
….the mermaid has the power to bewitch many of the pirates & drag them into the sea to their doom… but this could affect us too if we are not protected … so we need to find some sort of protection . The mermaid says that I should refer to her as “the woman of the sea†rather than as a mermaid, as her identity is a hidden secret.
… back ashore we talk naval & boarding tactics with a group fo old salts … else where a necromantic bomb is discovered. Lila meets one of the Yasmins & another mage
ON the island we see a stepped well that is 120 feet across apparently a transportable item. Inside are the Titan and Syrene. Syrene mews like a cat at the mention of the mermaid – clearly she does not like. To protect against the mermaid’s powers a potion needs to be made out of an enormous amount of the herb lavender - The titan Matt agees to seek this out provide a bag of this tomorrow night. Boris meanwhile heals the injured sailors. Syren replaces strength of stone on 40 / armours of eatth.
We head south the next day…soon after we note one of Eric’s shpps is taking on watrer … Sabotage is confirmed by The Woamn of the Sea who reveals a rusty iron trident head attached. This has caused the ships “strength†to expire. Cher divinates this when we arrive ashore at thye 2nd way point at the end of the day & confirms it is a cursed item
…we guard the ships carefully that night. The leaky ship whch has been dragged ashore for repairs.
A cauldrons of three sizes boil away smelling strongly of lavender. Three scarecrow men assist with the potion brewing The potion which will be applied to the skins of lila and Cher 36 hours before hand will make the crew lustful and be charmed by Lila and Cher rather than the Lady of the Sea. There are side effects - by the 36th hour will be so crazed with lust that they will fight each other but this will stop them jumping into the sea after the Lady of the Sea … which to me sounds like one of the world’s worst plans - there is an antidote which a black smith can manufacture….It is concluded that application 24 hours prior would be best
That night abord the Sea Urchin Boris and I are awoken by a loud crashing sound - a nine-foot-tall golem creature with two spinning halves made of pumice stones / resembling an ogre is attacking a sailor – quickly he is dispatched.
Meanwhile ashore Lila is being wooed by a cowardly bard/ gigolo tight trouser wearing opportunist – so shallow! a pumice man also attacked in the shore area. It is determined by the spell caster types that the nature of the magic is necromantic….
The next day – the Lady of the Sea checks the hulls of our boats finding another rusty trident - more sabotage - she suspects merman mercenaries… she will look out for them…
We have a meeting where we reveal the crazy plan about the love balm which will be applied to each of the ship’s captains & which will cause the crews to love their Captains and be immune to the Lady of the Sea’s charms while she lures the pirates underwater and drowns them. There is much debate over what will happen in respect of the Sea Captains based on their preferences i.e. if the captains are girls who like girls etc
We travel with the Lady of the Sea by magic wave to beach site away from our crew to conduct tests experiments & see how her magic affects us and the Captains. Lat a suitably distant site the Lady of the Sea’s sings and immediately a storm blows up with lightening & waves, through which we hear a piercing howl … we all save v her spell but feel weak at the knees Lila and Cher’s legs get slightly watery. The 3 x lady captains who like ladies are unaffected …. Boris & I see a horrible creature out at sea on a rock – Boris says it’s the Lady of the Sea in her true form…but I don’t believe him & suggest rescuing the Lady form this creature.… although no one else is keen - Leela and Cher say they only see a normal woman. The Captains who like ladies see a mermaid.
We head back to shore & the night passes … a breakfast has been prepared. … & we set sail. Leela seems to have been charmed by the bard with the tight codpiece -surprise
…. After 8 days at sea we arrive at Kirkle…. The book is located in Kirkel we are advised by the e & e mage. through triangulation we determine that the book is in an abandoned city…
Buffs & Mil Sci
'A = Always on.
Long Term
| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Dur | Bor | Lil | Cher | Mun | Rhi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadowform (Li) | 15 | +32 def melee, ranged; +16 def close | 8 hrs | |||||
| Ice Traversal (Ch) | 20 | Travel over ice and/or snow without slipping or sinking in. (+7 TMR on flat ice) | 7 hrs | |||||
| spell (caster) |
- Cher Morning Dance
- 1 MR% re-roll (or stun recovery) per day.
Short Term
| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Dur | Bor | Lil | Cher | Mun | Rhi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength of Darkness (Li) | 12 | +7 PS | 130 min | Y | ||||
| Feather Falling (Li) | 6 | Fall no more than 5'/pulse | 5.5 hrs | N | ||||
| Shadow Wings (Li) | 6 | 36 mph, 126 miles range | 3.5 hrs | |||||
| Witchsight (Li) | 7 | 4 hours | ||||||
| Lightning Strike (Li) | 5 | [D-4]+7, save for 1/2 | 5hrs | |||||
| Barrier of Wind (Li) | 4 | 20 def vs missiles, 15 in melee or close | 150mins | |||||
| Walking Unseen(Li) | 6 | 7 hrs | ||||||
| Weapon of Cold (RH) | 10 | +11 SC, +4DM Cold Damage(doubled vs fire enemies) | 15 minutes | |||||
| spell (caster) |
Senses
| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Dur | Bor | Lil | Cher | Mars | Rhi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sense Danger % | 30% | |||||||
| Ranger Detect Ambush % | Base %, -5*OppRk, SpecArea +6% | 50% | ||||||
| Thief/Assassin Sixth Sense % | BC 10+2xPC+5xRk |
Misc Buffs
Watch Order
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boris | Cher | Rhiain | |||||||
| Marseille | Lila | Boris | |||||||
Marching Order
| Skirmish Formations (Front) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Double File
Cher |
Single File
Cher | |
