Days 16-18 of the Trip South

On day 16 of the trip, the lookout spots an odd object floating in the water, and gives it to Nym to evaluate. Perception check, please.


Day 17 is uneventful.

On day 18, the ship arrives at the Shaar. Talathel is at the lookout, Darvin takes the helm, and Beranhond uses his knowledge of the religions of the region and a chat with Talathel to prep the crew for what they should expect. Talathel, please give me a perception check to look for a place to land. Darvin, please give me a Profession: Sailor check. Beranhond, please give me a Knowledge: Religion check and a Diplomacy check. 

Days 13-15 of the Trip South

On day 13, the crew is beginning to enter waters that are unfamiliar to anyone on board, including Thjodolf, and he recommends stopping at Calimport for maps and charts. Darvin and Nym go along to attempt to get what they'll need. Nym and Darvin, please give me an Appraise check.


On day 14, as they travel on the Shining Sea, Wildaron becomes very ill, and Beranhond attempts to heal him.  He feels nauseated, and complains of pain in his chest and belly. Beranhond, please give me a perception check, and a heal check.


On day 15, they land on the beach on Tharsault to give everyone a short bit of shore leave, and as Talathel and Lailsan are walking together, a man walks up to them and asks them a question. "I am going to give you a sentence that is missing three words. Use 3 homonyms that sound alike, such as too and two to complete this sentence, and you will have solved my riddle: 
A bloodthirsty pirate will wander the ____ and essentially _____ everything he ____."
Talathel, either come up with the answer or give me a wisdom check to work it out with Lailsan's help.

Days 7-12 of the Trip South

Sorry I forgot to post on Friday. :( I'll post double the days at once to make up for it. Also, I was still waiting on Darvin to post. Come on, Nick. Get it together, man!

As you continue the journey south, the days begin to blur together a bit. Days 7 and 8 pass uneventfully, but on day 9, you come across a man clinging to a small raft, who tells you of a pirate treasure buried on an island nearby. The man insists that he just helped bury it, and only just escaped with his life. If you help him get it, he will share the treasure with you, and it should only take an extra day or two on your journey. Darvin and Nym, how do you want to handle this one? You may open it up for the group to discuss, but either the ship's captain or owner should decide how to proceed. You have foodstores for another 5 days at the moment.

On day 10, the wind dies down a bit, and the crew try foraging on the shore for food and water. Everyone, please give me a Survival check.

On day 11, Beranhond discovers that his shield, the holy icon he uses for calling upon Narath's help,  is missing from his room. Distressed, he asks the other members of Kilink, but they have not seen it either. How would you like to begin your search beyond that, Beranhond?

On day 12, Just before sunrise, Helga rushes above deck to report a leak has sprung. Talathel, being the only member of Kilink on deck, is the only one there to receive the report. Most of the crew is still asleep, though there is a bell on board to wake them. Helga tells you the leak is not too serious yet, but she worries that the leak sprung from a warped board in the hull and is concerned that if it warped enough to spring a leak, it could mean more problems down the road if not fixed properly. How do you want to handle the situation, Talathel?

Days 4-6 of the Trip South

On the fourth day of the journey, you see another ship, and Beranhond advises, since Darvin seems to want to head south with all haste, that you attempt to trade for supplies rather than stopping in a port. Darvin and Beranhond, please roll Diplomacy and Appraise for me. 


The fifth day is uneventful.


On the sixth day, in order to keep cheerier thoughts in the minds of the crew, Nym decides a dance is in order. Several sailors bring out instruments and the crew dances the night away. Nym, please give me a Perform (Instrument) check. Talathel, you are, as usual, drinking heavily. Please give me both a Fortitude check and a Dexterity Check. Darvin and Beranhond, how would you behave at the dance?

Days 1-3 of the Trip South

Please feel free to discuss whatever you want about the evil presence or whatever. Every day I will post another 3 days of the journey southward, until you reach the Shaar (It's an 18 day trip, so this will take 6 days in the real world. Read below if you want to know how I came up with that number). Please continue to post once a day. I would recommend using these daily posts as a way to refresh your weapons and armor, which are now very far behind your class levels. One of your new passengers is able to upgrade your items or transform existing items into new items, if you wish. 

On the first day of the journey, you are able to find a good sized school of tuna and attempt to catch some to replenish food stores. Darvin, please give me a Profession: Fisherman check to see how much you can catch. Other than the tuna, the day is relatively uneventful, and you see only 1 wreck of a ship on the shore, but no ships still sailing. Nym used the relaxing day to take stock of what the crew had done with the time they were absent and appraised the ship's condition and the contents of the holds. Nym, please give me an Appraise and a Spellcraft check to tell find out how you're all doing.


On the second day, you see a school of porpoises in the morning and a few dolphins in the afternoon. Several of the sailors take this as a good omen, and ask Beranhond to perform a service for them to bless the voyage. Beranhond, please give me a Religion check to see how the ceremony goes. Also, Talathel is asked to taste the brew being made in the still onboard. Talathel, please give me a Fortitude check followed by an Appraise check to see whether you like it and if you have any suggestions for taste or whether it's any good.

On the third day, a storm moved in, and caused a bit of disruption, rocking the ship, and pushing them toward the shore. Everyone, please roll Profession (Sailor) to see how you handle the storm.

Also, if you want to know how I calculated 18 days, it is 2500 miles to the Shaar, or 2172 nautical miles, and I am estimating a speed of 5 knots (The caravel can travel at 7 knots, but I am assuming you won't always find prevailing winds to be favorable), so you can travel 120 nautical miles per day. If you are traveling nonstop for 18 days, that will get you there in just over 18 days.

As I Lay Me Down to Sleep

As Nym, Darvin, and Talathel continue to wake, they notice that the sunny day they thought they saw through the porthole originally is quickly becoming stormy and cloudy. The room darkens noticeably as each of them begins to come to their senses.

After only a few moments of wakefulness, the boat begins to rock more forcefully, and a strong wind begins to come up. Shouts above deck can now be heard, and Greg starts and wakes, quickly moving to look out the window at the brewing storm.

A Re-Awakening

As Nym, Darvin, and Talathel each wake up, they find themselves lying in their beds, with a damp cloth on their foreheads, and a little light streaming through the portholes. By the look of the light, it is midafternoon, and there is a sailor sitting in the room, watching over each of you. Talathel is being looked after by Lailsan, Darvin by Greg, and Nym by Kailina. Lailsan and Greg are currently napping, Greg snoring softly. Kailina is writing in a small book. She doesn't notice Nym waking up.

Here is a map of the prevailing winds of Faerun.

Ships and Guns

Ships:
I have been asked several questions about ships and guns lately, especially dealing with the skills listed in the "Broadsides!" game supplement. I would like to make use of that supplement, but here are the skills you will use in the place of the skills listed there:

Broadsides!	Stormspout
Profession: Artillerist	Either Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Firearms OR Profession: Artillerist
Profession: Navigation	Knowledge: Geography
Profession: Pilot	Profession: Sailor OR similar Profession
Profession: Sailor	Profession: Sailor OR similar Profession
Sea Legs	Acrobatics

I know that this takes away the distinctiveness of the Profession: Pilot or Profession: Sailor as used in "Broadsides!", but I don't really think that players should have to use skill ranks to become proficient at piloting ships, so I'm going to just let you double count any applicable profession that pertains to sailing on a ship.

Firearms:
As far as guns are concerned, you will need to have the feat Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms) in order to use them. However, for any of the Exotic Weapon Proficiencies, I am willing to give you the feat in return for your character training with someone who is skilled in the weapon type's use for a full day. This training will cost you 15 gp, once you have found a weaponsmaster who knows the weapon you want to learn.

Naval Combat Rules

For rules on Naval Combat and purchasing/building a ship, see Broadsides! Naval Adventuring. We will not be using flying ships, but the naval movement, combat and most of the ships included in the guide will be fair game. I'm still trying to decide if I want to make piloting and navigating as complicated as their rules are.