Re: Skull and Shackles Gameplay Thread

[Sawblader]

The auburn-haired woman winces against the sun's glare and takes a moment to acclimate before the captain's speech.  When she finally realizes they're on a ship, her expression turns to terror before sinking into horror as she finds the blurred haze of what-could-be land in the distance.  At the rapport of gunfire, she meekly ducks, and only raises her head once the captain begins speaking.

As the captain delivers his edicts, her expression grows graver as the gravity of the situation becomes apparent.  The color drains from her face, and her limbs begin to shake in terrible anxiety.  As the first mate takes to the banister, the woman looks poised to collapse on the spot as her breathing turns haggard and legs struggle to remain standing.

[leonathemoth]

Yew looks over at the woozy woman and places a large hand on her back. She doesn't say anything while the speech is going on but looks over at the brief window between the captain and the first mate and gives a reassuring smile.

[Ferret]

Sarah doesn't say anything, but steps forward slightly, placing herself between the human and the first mate. The stern look on her face makes up for being half the woman's height.

[lapis-lazily]

Amira crosses her arms as she takes in the people around her. Seeing the others stepping in front of the human, she shakes her head slightly. That's only going to draw the bastard's eye to her. Amira, ever the best at taking her own advice, steps in and stares Plugg down. "Alright you bastard, what's it going to be for us?"

[Shinigami02]

Plugg merely chuckles as he makes his way down and over to the gathered group. "Calm your hackles Fish Breath. As the Cap'n said, we're merely short-handed 'round here. Ye're gonna fill some 'a those gaps, and to place ye, I've got some tests fer ye. First!" He crosses his arm and turns towards the main mast. "We need a new Rigger! So, ye're gonna show me how well ye kin climb. First up the rigging to the crow's nest up there gets to be our new Rigger, and work direc'ly under me!" With that he turns back to the group. "So get climbing."

[[Climbing Challenge! It's a race to the Crow's Nest, up 60 feet of Rigging, and everyone must participate. Climbing the Rigging is a DC 14 Athletics check, and successfully reaching the crow's nest will take 6 Successes. A Critical Success counts as 2 Successes, while a Critical Failure sets you back (-1 Success). Track how many rolls it takes to reach 6 Successes, as the one who does it in the fewest rolls wins the race.

If, on the other hand your character is absolutely dead-set against being a Rigger, well, Plugg's not gonna let you just not participate. That said, if you can manage a DC 17 Deception check, you can intentionally fail while leaving Plugg none the wiser. But before you do this be warned, failure will have... consequences.]]

[leonathemoth]

Yew jumps up onto the rigging and climbs the ropes in just about 12 seconds. Compared to most of the others she blazed up to the crows nest. Higanbana comes close at 16 seconds

[Shinigami02]

A few seconds later Plugg calls for them to stop, no one else having quite made it to the nest yet, though Dug does appear to have accidentally discovered how to wear a portion of still-attached rigging as some kind of harness. "One of ya untie the bloody goblin, and form up!" He calls up to them, watching as they untangle Dug and form a line in front of him.

"Congrats Spot, ye're a Rigger now. I'll be givin' yer first job once I'm done with the rest of this lot. As fer the rest of ya, well, we need a new cook's mate. So..." He looks at the second in line, Dug, and a shudder visibly rolls across his skin. Shaking his head he steps to the next in line, Higanbana. "Foxface, ya know anythin' about cooking?"

[Perci]

"Didn't you just answer your own question? I don't really cook my food at all," the kitsune retorts.

[Shinigami02]

Plugg scowls, but nods and turns to Amira. "What about you Fish Breath, you know anything about cooking?"

[lapis-lazily]

Amira shakes her head. ”Not a whit.”

[Shinigami02]

"Hmm," Plugg says to himself, before moving on to Moira. "How about you Ex, you know how to put together something halfway edible?"

[Sawblader]

Struggling to catch her breath from her forced climb and still thoroughly overwhelmed by the situation, Moira stiffens in places as she is addressed. Her legs quaking, she fails to find the composure to speak, with the only audible sound coming from her being some pitiable squeaking. Unable to effectively speak, she resorts to a stiff headshake as a response.

[Shinigami02]

Plugg nods, and turns his attention to Sarah. "Guess that just leaves ye Half-Pint. I heard they picked ya up from behind a Tavern. Ya there cookin' er just get lost on the way ta the head?"

[Ferret]

"Yeah, you robbed the Wench of her head chef, so dont expect a warm welcome there next time you're in port." Sarah scowls.

[Shinigami02]

Plugg sneers at that. "Well that shouldn't be a problem, we rarely hit Port Peril anyways. As the most qualified, ye're now our cook's mate. Report to ol' Fishguts in the Galley and see if ye can keep his food edible." He then turns his attention to the remaining four. "As for the rest of ye, the lot of ya are swabs now, and Scourge'll be takin' command of ye. Now all of ye get outta here ere ye start earnin' lashes for laziness!"

OOC Information Dump:

Day 1 Tasks:

[Ferret]

Sarah rolls her eyes at Plugg's when he turns his back, then heads to the galley. If she's honest, she's kind of excited by the potential challenge of the limited kitchen of a pirate ship.

[Sawblader]

After being given their orders, the rest of the group disperses to their positions, leaving Moira alone on deck with Plugg.  After a less-than-comprehensive run-down of her duties, the first mate coarsely barks a message for her to deliver and takes his leave.

Moira clearly struggles throughout the day, stumbling as she fails to find her sea-legs and having to combat both the disorientation of the waves and confusing layout of the ship's cabins.  Miraculously she manages to avoid punishment thanks to some serendipitous timing and impressive hustle, but by the time the sun sets she looks ready to collapse from exhaustion.

[Daytime Action: Work Diligently, +3 circumstance bonus to a check or save]
[Acrobatics Result: 19+1=20; Success]
[Fortitude Save: 4+5(+3)= 12; Failure]

[Shinigami02]

The ship's galley is a large, but somehow still cramped kitchen area, taking up much of the stern of the ship's middle hold. The inner wall of the ship's starboard hull is lined by a series of cupboards and cabinets with a variety of ingredients and at least 3 each of what seems like almost every cooking implement imaginable, while two small stoves are up against the port wall. The middle of the room is occupied by two sizeable work-tables, holding a downright frightening array of meat cleavers interspersed with what seems to be a couple hatchets and... what looks like it might be a longsword. Several chickens and a trio of goats wander freely through the room, while three empty goat-sized cages hang empty near the door.

Opposite the door, at one of the work-tables stands a veritable giant of a man holding another hatchet he seems to have been using to filet a fish. His blood-and-fluid stained apron marks him as the ship's cook, while his other raggedy, disheveled clothes and stubble-bearing face mark him as a man who has seen much better days, and as he stands at the table he sways about twice as much as the rocking of the ship should be causing. As he notices Sarah's presence he looks up at her.

"You mus' be the new Mate that bastid Plugg's been talkin' about assignin' me. Finally found someone who kin cook I guess," He says, half-slurred, slamming the hatchet into the work table hard enough for it to stick standing up before making his way around the table. "Ah'm Ambrose Kroop, but you kin call me Fishguts. Af'er all, ev'ry'ne else does," He says, extending one blood-stained hand to the halfling.

[Ferret]

Sarah notes the man's disheveled appearance with some distaste before accepting the handshake. "Pleasure to meet you, Chef. Sarah Flannigan. I've got experience in the kitchen, so just point me where I'm needed."

[Shinigami02]

Fishguts nods, stepping back towards the table. "I's a simple job, mos'ly just helpin' me cook the evenin' meal, mebbe some fishin' here 'n there ta keep the larder stocked," He says, leaning against the work table. "Ah was jus' workin' on makin' summa me norm'l fish stew, but seein' as you're here 'n all, le'see wha'cha got. You shoul' be able to find a wide varie'y of herbs 'n spices 'round here, ol' Grok picks sum up fer me whene're we hit port," He nods a bit to himself, looking across the various storage containers in the galley. "Nothin' poisonous though, oh no, the only poison here is thi' here ship," He casts a glance back at Sarah, and blinks like he's trying badly to give her a conspiratorial wink.

"Nah, only poison here's the Wormwood herself. Dun le' anywun hear you sayin' it aloud, the very hull lis'ns see, 'n the Cap'n hears it all. But poison the Wormwood be, rotten through ta her core. You won' meet a nas'ier, more sour piece of work than ol' Cap'n Harrigan in all yer days at see, 'n his crew is the same. 'Speshully tha' bastid first mate Plugg, the vicious li'l sod," Fishguts barks out a rough laugh. "Hells, he'd prob'ly take 'is own muther's liver ta the butcher ta make pies with. Nah, bu' they leave me 'lone, mos'ly. They know's I kin't 'arm 'em. 'N less'n you do somethin' stup'd they'll prob'ly leave you 'lone too. So..." He nods again, making his way from the work table to the wall next to the stoves. "Lessee how well you kin cook."

[[Fishguts is leaving the rest of today's cooking to Sarah, as a test of her ability. Finishing Fishgut's stew will take a DC 10 Cooking Lore check. If she would rather show off, she can instead attempt a DC 14 Cooking Lore to change directions entirely, using what she can salvage from the stew and the other ingredients to create a different dish.]]

[Ferret]

"Yes Chef," Sarah nods, immediately moving to inspect what she has to work with. A quick taste of the stew as is using a clean(ish) spoon tells her that it's functional and would be child's play to finish, but pretty bland. Casting her eyes around the room, there unfortunately isn't much to work with; plenty of spices and a decent amount of vegetables, but those will likely need to last months. Then she spots the one thing in true abundance, and her brain lights up.
She grabs a full bottle of rum and without much ceremony pours it straight into the pot. Then she goes to work while that slowly simmers down, dicing garlic and onions and cutting down the fish with practiced ease. For the final touch, she grabs a coconut, hacks it in two and shreds the meat into the pot after discarding the liquid inside. A few choice seasonings later and what's left is a bubbling pot of simple but tasty stew.

[lapis-lazily]

As Amira heads up to the deck to dispose of some of the rat carcasses she'd found down in the hold, she notices Rosie taking a short break from her swab duties. Feeling like this is a good opportunity to start greasing palms, Amira casually approaches. She begins throwing carcasses off the boat and turns to Rosie after two throws. "I couldn't help but notice that gnomish halfwit giving you the look of a dog that seriously wants to hump a leg. I imagine you're none too fond of the moron."

[Shinigami02]

"Gods no, that bastard's barely been here a couple days and he's dogged me enough that if feels like fuggin' months," Rosie replies, spitting in the direction of the main-mast where Conchobar was serving as lookout. If it could even be called serving as lookout when he seemed to only be "looking out" at the women on the deck below.

[leonathemoth]

Yew sighs, not being able to make heads or tails of the knots she's supposed to be tying. Deciding to stop before she ties herself up, she'll look around for anyone that doesn't look too hostile towards her. Spotting Ratline, she decides to try talking with him. "Gods, I can't figure out these ropes for the life of me, how do you keep track of it?"

(Dex check = 10; Failure)

[lapis-lazily]

"Figures. That little shite seems the type to try and fuck almost any woman with a pulse," Amira replies. She thinks for a moment. Then she holds a rat toward Rosie. "You know, the little bastard would probably be pretty shocked and a bit frightened if you managed to toss a rat carcass at him while he's up in the nest. And if you miss, well, the splat still might cause a stumble."

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