To the southwest of Schorenbeln is a large continent, which for many years has used a large navy to prevent any ships from exploring it, and any who have been able to get there have never been heard from again. For nearly a century, there has been absolutely no contact with the continent, until recently. A merchant ship that had gone far to the south of the continent to avoid being destroyed by the continent's naval forces stumbled upon several small boats. It turned out that they were from the continent, and had been attempting to escape. Those aboard told horror stories of a great war, and that there was a small refugee camp they came from, trying to find help. Since then, ships have found a route that avoids the naval forces and goes to this camp, and have been evacuating the refugees from the camp to Schorenbeln. You are all currently aboard another merchant ship, having been hired on as guards while en route to the camp. There are several others aboard the ship, including 15 crew members and the captain, Eric Vaughn.

Pavel(crew member): "Alright sir, if we continue on this route, we should arrive tomorrow morning."
Eric: "Excellent, this far and no problems."
Pavel: "Sir, what if there are pirates in the region?"
Eric: "Are you serious, with the navy this close? This is the trip we are least likely to be attacked on."
John(crew member): "Sir! Look to port! There are two ships heading towards us!"
*Eric picks up a spyglass and looks at the ship*
Eric: "Dammit...pirates. Guards! Get ready to defend the ship!"

You have only a short time before the pirates arrive. The ship has one catapult and one ballista on the deck for defense. There is only enough ammo for 20 shots each, so make them count. There is a small armory aboard, with some light crossbows, bolts, and shortswords in case they are boarded.

Instructions
Just post what you do, what you say, and so on. If you would like to do something that would require a skill check, contact me via email or MSN so I can tell you what happens. If you need any additional information about the situation, ask me here, and I will tell you what I can.

[This message has been edited by GoldenEye923 (edited 03-23-2009 @ 04:43 PM).]

*pulls cowl tighter*

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Acid?"

"I do believe I am old friend..."

The ships draw closer, they are nearly in firing range of the catapult and ballista.

A stream of curses greeted Thanduin as he extrapolated himself from prayer. He was mildly angered but he controlled it. His prayers could wait for later.
"What is it?" he called
"Pirates! Sailing in on our current bearing! Eric says to arm the ballista and all hands on deck, now"
"Then I am on my way" replied Thanduin "and find those most capable of manning the ballistae! Hurry!"
He drew his sword and headed for the deck:

"You there, Hobgoblin! Whats the situation?"




Note, This was the easiest method for me to make the first post. Once I begin to meet the other characters I will interect accordingly.

[This message has been edited by DunC (edited 03-24-2009 @ 06:21 PM).]

That is perfect DunC. Everyone should post something along those lines, if possible.

Calen burst from the deck to the sounds of hurried shouts and anger.

"What is happening?!" he called out.

"Pirates! Get on deck and prepare for a fight!"

Calen smiled. More evildoers. And not a single would survive.

He rushed towards the ballistae, prepared to help with the ammo. His fingers brushed his sword, ready to smite evil in case they were boarded.

Shamiel saunters out from the lower decks, hearing the excited gasps from those above.

"What seems to the excitement?"
"Ships, coming in fast."

*Staring out to open sea*

"Pirates, this will be fun."

He turns back toward the door to the lower decks and bounds down the stairs to retrieve his Bow.

Both pirate ships are in range of both the ballista and catapult. Two crew members are manning the catapult, one to load, the other to shoot. The ballista is being manned by one crew member, who is assisted by Calen (Arvedui), though can be manned by just one person if necessary. Also on deck are Eric and two additional crew members, both armed with a shortsword and a light crossbow.

The ships themselves are much smaller then the ship you are aboard. One has only seven people aboard, and the other has fifteen aboard. The ship with seven slows to a stop, turns its side to you, and reveals that it has three ballistae aboard, all three preparing to fire. The ship with fifteen continues to approach at high speed.

This is our first battle. How it will work is simple. I have already rolled initiative. That is the order with which we will battle. To simplify things, the catapult and all four ballistae will count as one person. You may choose what the catapult and ballista aboard your ship attack when it is their turn. If it is an enemies turn I will post their actions. Note that the enemy ships are out of the range of any weapons except the ballista and catapult for now. If and when the pirates board, initiative will be rolled for everyone on the deck, but until then it is only the long range weapons.

Good Luck

Battle Order:
Your Ballista
Enemy Ballista 2
Enemy Ballista 3
Your Catapult
Enemy Ballista 1

[This message has been edited by GoldenEye923 (edited 03-23-2009 @ 10:29 PM).]

"Captain, do we have any oil aboard the ship? And I'll need rags, too. If we put a flaming ballista bolt through the larger ship's main sail, we may buy ourselves some more time before we're boarded."

Eric: "We do. Pavel! Go get some oil and rags!"
Pavel: "Yes sir."
*Pavel goes below deck, returning with two other crew members. The crew members bring lots of flammable rags and a container of oil with them. They leave them near the ballista, and return below deck.*

"You, there! Faerie! Wet the rags in oil and make them fast to the ballista's bolt. Light them when the human is ready to fire. Target the approaching ship's main sail. The catapult can deal with the sitting target."

"Of course!" *takes rags and wets them deep with oil, then takes rags and fastens them securely to the Ballista's bolt, then takes out match and prepares to light fire*

"Are you ready to fire, human?"

"Just a second..."
*The person manning the ballista checks his aim.*
"Alright, light it now."
*The oily rags catch fire*
*The ballista fires a large, flaming javelin towards the pirate ship, tearing through the sail and catching it on fire.*

The pirates aboard the ship frantically manage to remove the sail and get it overboard before the fire spreads too far. After that, ten of them go below deck, and you can see ten oars, five on each side, emerge from the ship and begin rowing towards you.

At the same time, the other ship begins it's attack.

*Enemy Ballista 2 launches a javelin at the ship, but it falls just short of the ship, landing in the water.*

*Enemy Ballista 3 also launches a javelin at the ship, but this time it connects. The javelin slams into the deck of the ship, piercing straight through into one of the lower decks.*

"Good work, human!"

The ship shudders under the impact of the second enemy ballista.

"Now, let's hit the other ship with the catapult. See if you can't hit one of their ballistas! Preferably the one that hasn't fired yet."

"An excellent shot," cried Thanduin "let them match that!"
He spoke too soon as the third ballista came crashing down into the ship.
"Odin's Raven! Pavel! Send three of your less experienced warriors down there to patch the hull now! We need to know the extent of the damage, else we may find ourselves meeting the Gods sooner than I intend."

Encouraged by the Drow, Thanduin shouted across to him:
"Drow! If you can find some more oil on the ship, perhaps if we soaked the rock with oil we can send a flaming barrage at them from the catapult, one good shot of that would have them finished in minutes!"

Turning to the crewman manning the catapult, Thanduin added:
"Let me know before you fire, I have a little spell that my give us the edge we need..." {{{Will Cast Guidance before catapult fires}}}


GE, can I get a check on my spells for today?

[This message has been edited by DunC (edited 03-24-2009 @ 06:22 PM).]

"I am prepared to fire the catapult, sir."
*Thanduin casts guidance on the catapult*
*Catapult fires, smashing into the pirate's non moving ship. The stone crashes into the lower decks, but you can not tell the extent of the damage from here.*

*In retaliation, the pirates fire another ballista. This time, it strikes the side of the ship, piercing into the hull.*

*Pavel tells some of the people below to check for damage, they return, saying there are no leaks that they can find, they also say there is no more oil.*

[This message has been edited by GoldenEye923 (edited 03-24-2009 @ 05:21 PM).]

"Thor's Hammer, that was close! We can't take much more of this. Ready that catapult now! We need to send that ship to the depths, or at the least cripple a ballistae!"

Thanduin glanced at the Ballista

"Are you all ready over there?"

"Aye Master Cleric" responded the crewman "Set us a target and we'll do our best to eliminate it"

"Very well. I suggest firing at the ballista crew over there. Maybe we can rid ourselves of a few pirate scum, aye?"

"Aye!"

[This message has been edited by DunC (edited 03-24-2009 @ 06:22 PM).]

*The ballista fires, aimed at the pirates aboard the ballistae ship. It strikes one of Enemy Ballista 2's crew, throwing him overboard, dead.*

*Without another crew member, Enemy Ballista 2 is not prepared to fire.*

*Enemy Ballista 3 fires a retaliatory shot, striking again into the side of the ship, and you can hear a scream from below deck.*

Admist the chaos the hobgoblin know as Acid simply sat, puffing contentedly on a pipe, he knew he'd only get in the way of any physical combat, or anything physical for that matter, he had hardly built himself up a fine body over the years.

He stretched and ambled over to the rail and peered over at the pirate ships. "Captain, I don't suppose you have a telescope do you?" Acid asked.

Eric, bemused handed the hobgoblin a small telescope, who promptly held it up and stared at the approaching ships.

"It would seem the leader is on the appraoching ship, near the stern. Aim the catapult there" he said, his voice soft, but just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of battle. Then he continues to observe the ship coming towards our own.

Thanduin admired the Hobgoblins tactics, butfrowned upon them.
Surely it would be best to capture the captain alive?

"Hobgoblin! Would it not be best to keep him alive? He may provide us with valuable information!"

"Aye, sir." Says the crew member aiming the catapult.

*The catapult fires, landing dead center on the ship moving in, some water can be seen coming up through the hole the catapult caused.*

*The enemy ballistae ship fires again, this time, striking the crew member firing the catapult, killing him.*

"Well, if you want to do that why are you attacking his ship? Surely if we want the captain alive we let him come to us unapposed?" the hobgoblin replied, his voice dry.

"Your point is valid, goblin, and I value your opinion. You seem experienced. However my intentions are to capture this Captain. Understood? If he is a pirate, perhaps you would be interested in any loot he has?"

"I am not driven by wealth, but I shall honour your opinion, and should it come to it I will endevour not to strike a killing blow. In the meantime, a few blows to the midship may then rattle him prior to his arrival. Maybe even injure him with splinters" the hobgoblin said, still observing the ship.