[LP] Virtual Reality Adventure Book: Down Among the Dead Men

Stories about games that you run and/or have played in.

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SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

In a small courtyard off the fish market lives Doctor Scriptor, a collector of magical curios. You have brought him items in the past, both for identification and to see if he would buy them from you. He looks up from his dusty manuscripts and takes what you have brought to show him, holding up a jeweller's glass and passing each item in turn under the sharp scrutiny of his beady old eyes.

'Well?' you ask.

'One moment.' Scriptor gives a dry cough, perching his glasses on his thin nose and consulting a dusty leatherbound book. 'Hmm. Ah yes, ah yes - eureka.'

What items are you asking him about: a conchshell horn (316), a bat-shaped talisman (335), a bronze helmet (354), or a dragon ring (373)?

If you don't have any of these, Scriptor cannot help you and you may as well leave. Turn to 392.
We don't have any items that he can identify....
'We should not spend too long here in Leshand,' is Oakley's opinion as the four of you walk along the waterfront. 'While we dally, Skarvench advances insidiously towards his final goal.'

Grimes is of like mind. 'Let's obtain a letter of marque first, though,' he maintains. 'That way we can earn some money on the high seas. We will need finance to tackle Skarvench, as warships cost money!'

If you agree about getting a letter of marque, turn to 50 if you have ROGUERY or to 409 if not. If you are acquainted with Master Capstick and wish to call on him, turn to 69.

If you are ready to ship out of Leshand, turn to 107.
Looks like we missed the chance to do some shopping and snooping....do we want to try applying for a letter of marque before we visit our friend the captain?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Let's try to get the letter.
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Post by SGamerz »

We decide to go for the letter despite the apparent lack of an appropriate skill....
If we had ROGUERY, we'd simply forge the document. :tongue:
A letter of marque would allow you to indulge in a spot of honest piracy - or rather privateering, as it is called. Such a letter licenses you to act as a private soldier of Her Majesty's navy, with full entitlement to plunder Sidonian treasure-ships.

'But we'll never be able to get one,' sighs Blutz after you have all spent some time discussing the idea.

'That's right,' growls Oakley. 'I hear it costs almost as much in bribes to get hold of a letter of marque as you're likely to bring in as profit!'

'We may as well try, at least,' you tell them, irritated to hear such pessimism.

You make your way up the narrow streets to the fort, where you lose no time in applying to the Office of Prejudicial Trade for a letter of marque. A bland-faced fellow in a blue velvet doublet listens to your request, then favours you with a prim smile. 'Of course, Her Majesty's government is very keen to see private enterprise flourish,' he murmurs silkily. 'But drawing up a letter of marque is not just a simple matter of putting quill to paper. There are forms to be filled in, credentials to be established, the proper channels to go through, red tape...' He pretends to stifle a yawn. 'It all takes time. And money.'

Grimes nudges you and mutters behind his hand: 'He's angling for a bribe, skipper.'

If you have a diamond with which to bribe the official, cross it off your list of possessions and turn to 244. If you prefer to resort to CUNNING, turn to 260. Otherwise, you can take your leave, either to call on Master Capstick if you know him or to weigh up your remaining options.
Who needs wealth when you can rely on your own wits?
You reply with a discreet smile and draw the official aside, adopting the conspiratorial tone of one elegantly mannered knave to another. By promising him a lavish share of any treasure you take from Sidonian galleons, you finally manage to convince him to issue you with a letter of marque.

Record the codeword Mammon on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 244.
That....didn't sound like a particularly cunning idea to me. I suppose in this case the Skill just gives us a more persuasive tongue. Either way, we get what we came for...
Clutching your letter of marque, you emerge into the sunshine with the happy air of scholars who have just been awarded their diploma. Outwardly you retain the weather-beaten faces and grimy clothes of common street ruffians, but the document in your hands proclaims otherwise. Now you are licensed privateers — proud sea warriors in the conflict with the rapacious kingdom of Sidonia!

'Now all we need is a ship,' says Blutz. The rest of you whirl and glare at him, the contented smiles wiped off your faces in an instant. Trust the fat oaf to bring you down to earth with a bump!

Note the letter of marque among your possessions. Then, if you previously encountered Master Capstick and were invited to call on him, turn to 69. If not, turn to 107.
.....you know what, forget the monkey, we should have just offered Blutz to to those cannibal natives. He'd probably have enough meat on him to satisfy them.

I'll proceed ahead with visiting Mister Capstick, since there's no reason not to take the blue option. We can vote on what to drop in favour of the letter of marque later (if we want to keep it).

Image

Capstick has a fine house on Halyard Street, in one of the richest parts of town. Smartening yourselves up to look as respectable as possible, you ignore the sidelong glances and haughty sniffs of the wealthy passers-by, marching straight up to present yourselves at the front door. The servant who answers the door at first mistakes you for beggars, but once you've corrected that small misunderstanding he shows you through to his master's study.

Capstick is sitting by the fire with a book. Seeing you, he gives his great belly-shaking laugh and leaps up to greet you, commanding the servant to bring a bottle of sherry.

'Freshly taken off a Sidonian merchantman,' he says shortly, lifting his glass to savour the smoky gold liquid before drinking. 'And...' he smacks his lips, refills your glasses, 'all the better for being plundered off one of those rascals, eh?'

Soon the conversation turns to the matters you discussed aboard the Jewel of Heaven. At this, Capstick's face falls. 'I have sour news,' he tells you. 'I must sail for Glorianne in two days' time, and so I'll be unable to partner you in your attack on that devil Skarvench. Moreover, I've told the tale to several high officials - but no one believes it's true!'

You give a glum nod. 'Who can blame them, given the source of your information? We are vagabond ex-pirates, which is not the best pedigree for reliable testimony!'

'But I believe you, by God!' He produces an envelope and hands it to you. 'This is a deed of ownership for a sloop that I own in Port Selenice. She's just a small craft, but better than no ship at all. Go to Selenice, get together a crew, and see if you can't beat this Skarvench at his own game!'

Thanking Capstick for his help, you take your leave. 'I'm only sorry not to be sailing with you,' are his parting words.

Add the deed of ownership to the possessions listed on your Adventure Sheet, then turn to 107.


Well, we needed a ship and now we have one! That's convenient. Although that again means we have to drop something to keep it.
Finding a secluded snug in a tavern away from the docks, you consult with your friends as to what your next move should be.

Blutz is all for telling the authorities what you know. 'They're in a better position than we are to protect Queen Titania,' he argues.

'I disagree,' says Grimes. 'An opportunity like this won't quickly come our way again. It's like the tide: take it at the flood and fortune follows; wait till it's out and you've missed your boat.'

'We should go to Port Selenice,' says Oakley. 'That's where Skarvench will go next. Let's see if we can't steal a march on the fiend and scupper his plans. The Gloriannic authorities will reward us richly, but even more important than that -'

'More important than that, we get our revenge on Skarvench,' you finish.

If you decide to head straight for Selenice, turn to 145. If you go to the governor first, turn to 126.


So, a few things to vote for here:

1) Do we want to go to the governor or go straight to Selenice?
2) What do we want to drop in favour of the letter of marque?
3) What do we want to drop in favour of the deed of ownership to Capstick's ship?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Long Dong Silver
Profession: Swashbuckler
Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, STREETWISE and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 9
Possessions:
1) Sword
2) Healing Potion (restore all Life Points)
3) Monkey
4) Provisions
5) Feather Shield
6) Black Kite
7) Ship in a bottle
8) Provisions
Money: 10 doubloons
Codewords: Mammon
No. of Deaths: 2
No. of rewinds/retcons: 3
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Post by Mr Shine »

Now we've reached civilization, I think we can dump the provisions. Try the Governor.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Agreed.
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Post by Mr Shine »

You've still got the kite listed, didn't we give that away?
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Post by SGamerz »

Mr Shine wrote:You've still got the kite listed, didn't we give that away?
We did. I must have copied the wrong Adventure Sheet from a previous post. Will correct it here.

We drop all the provisions and pick up the letter and the deed.
You are taken into the marble-floored audience hall of the fort, where the governor receives visitors. He proves to be a short dumpy man with a harried look about him, no doubt more suited to banquets and other frippery than to the harsh demands of royal security. After listening to what you have to say, he exchanges a few whispered words with his officials. Then, turning to you with a stern heavy-lidded expression, he says: 'No doubt you expect some reward for this tall tale of yours? You'll not get one - not a penny. Do you think we are ready to panic at every wild rumour dredged up from the bottom of a wine-jug? Not a bit of it!'

Without more ado you are seized by guards and thrown out into the street. 'You fools!' cries Oakley, jumping to his feet. 'Don't you understand? The Queen's in danger!'

'You're in danger of a flogging if you don't shove off, matey boy,' snarls the captain of the guard as he closes the fortress gates.

The rest of you get up and brush the dirt of the gutter off your clothes. 'Well, so much for that,' says Grimes. 'Now I say we should sail for Port Selenice without delay.'
It probably shouldn't be too surprising that the governor doesn't believe us, considering he didn't even believe the much more respectable (than us) Mister Capstick. But the fact that there's no real penalty for taking this option makes it look like a waste of a section.
We get sent to this section as well if we tried to snoop for rumours about the Queen without STREETWISE. In that case, the penalty is that we get thrown out of Leshand without having the chance to do anything else.
Experienced sailors like the four of you have no trouble working your passage to Port Selenice. You sign on aboard a caravel and for the next week or so your days are filled with the familiar routine of life at sea.

'Look at the sunset!' calls Blutz across the deck one evening. He points to where long clouds lie like mauve paint smears across a palette of gloriously mingled gold, scarlet, violet and grey. 'This is the life, eh, shipmates?' Grimes looks up from trimming the topsails. 'I'll take no pleasure from any such sight until I know that Skarvench no longer lives under the same sky as we do,' he says grimly.

Recover 3 Life Points if you are currently below the maximum set by your initial Life Points score. Eventually you reach port, and the captain of the caravel pays you off with 5 doubloons. Taking up your packs, you stride down the gangplank and along the bustling quay.


Back to full health! And we're up to 15 doubloons, since we missed the chance to spend some of them in Leshand.
Of all the ports in the Carab Sea, only in Selenice - 'the Pirates' Haven' - would it be safe for a bloodthirsty cut-throat like Skarvench to show his face and openly spend his ill-gotten gold. Selenice has no allegiance to any nation. It is ruled by the common consent of the buccaneers who live here — the Brethren of the Coast, as they term themselves - and it is buccaneers and their families that are the town's only citizens.

Curiously, life here is not the lawless mayhem that outsiders imagine. The buccaneers of Selenice arrive here glutted with more than their share of violence and hardship. They want nothing more than to squander their loot on ale, women and dice in peace. One rule that is stringently enforced above all others is an absolute ban on the use of weapons. Normal brawls can and do occur, for buccaneers are hard men filled with pride, and tempers can flare up easily when the rum flows freely. But any brawl is settled barehanded, since to draw a weapon in Selenice is to invite summary justice from the Brethren of the Coast. However you may have fared elsewhere under the laws of civilized kingdoms, you'd do well not to fall afoul of the Brethren.

Passing a pedlar in the street outside the Thorny Knot tavern, Oakley glances across at you. 'Maybe we should do a spot of shopping, skipper?'

'I'd rather do a spot of drinking,' says Blutz, casting a longing eye at the tavern.

Decide whether you will buy something from the pedlar, or go into the tavern, or wander off to see the local shipbuilder.
Shopping and booze available? This would have been Adventurer's Haven too, if it weren't for the No-weapons law.

Do we finally take the opportunity to spend our cash? Or do we go for the booze and inevitable tavern brawl? Or go for the ship?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Long Dong Silver
Profession: Swashbuckler
Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, STREETWISE and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 10
Possessions:
1) Sword
2) Healing Potion (restore all Life Points)
3) Monkey
4) Letter of Marque
5) Feather Shield
6) Deed of ownership
7) Ship in a bottle
8)
Money: 15 doubloons
Codewords: Mammon
No. of Deaths: 2
No. of rewinds/retcons: 3
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Shopping for loot first, drunken fighting later.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Loot may be of use in drunken bar brawls.
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Post by SGamerz »

LOOT FOR THE LOOT GOD!
The pedlar is a thin fellow with a pigtail and a silver ring in his ear. On his shoulder crouches a weasel which is attached to his wrist by a length of twine. As you approach, the pedlar whisks the tarpaulin off his cart and begins describing the jumble of items he has, tossing each aside and grabbing another almost as quickly as he can reel off the prices.

Image

'Steady on, matey,' grumbles Oakley. 'I can hardly keep up. What were you askin' for this here cutlass, now?' If you have STREETWISE, turn to 393. If not, turn to 410.


STREETWISE is possibly the most-checked Skill once we left the seas and hit civilisation. Good thing we have it.
You recognize the man as Twitchy Pinque, a notorious thief who wouldn't hesitate to sell his own grandmother - not that he wuld get much for her if he did, since she is a known witch with a soul of pure poison. Seizing him by the scruff of his grubby neck, you whisper into his ear: 'It's not stolen, this lot, is it, Twitchy? Not selling stolen goods that you've pilfered here in Selenice? That'd be nothing short of pig-stupid, I'd say. I'd only have to give a whistle and some of the nastiest pirates in the Carab are going to fall on you like half a ton of ballast. I wonder what they'd do to you, eh, Twitchy?'

This unorthodox bargaining technique quickly convinces Pinque to drop to rock-bottom prices:

Pocket watch 7 doubloons
Pistol 8 doubloons
Sword 7 doubloons
Hornpipe 3 doubloons
Weasel 2 doubloons
Amulet 12 doubloons

You are dubious about the amulet, but the pedlar swears blind it is the genuine article. 'Belonged to my dear old granny, guv. Still does technically, I suppose, since I never asked her if I could take it.'

Buy anything you can afford, then decide whether to enter the tavern or go off to see the shipbuilder.
Did a random pedlar just got more interesting backstory than all of the PC and his companions combined?

Anyway, thanks to our blackmail bargaining expertise we can afford every individual item on that list. The sword, pistol and amulet are basically the required objects for their respective existing Skills (SWORDPLAY, MARKSMANSHIP & CHARM), so we're highly unlikely to need them unless we somehow lose our sword later (although as we saw earlier even those type of items could have been used as bartering/trade items with the island natives).

What do we want to buy (We have 1 free slot, so if youo want to buy more than 1 item please state what you want to drop)? And do we go for the booze or the ship after that?

EDIT: Apparently, I keyed in the wrong price list. We can actually afford to buiy all 3 non-Skill-based item (the pipe, the watch and the weasel) if we want to (although we'd still need to free our backpack for them, which you may not want to).

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Long Dong Silver
Profession: Swashbuckler
Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, STREETWISE and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 10
Possessions:
1) Sword
2) Healing Potion (restore all Life Points)
3) Monkey
4) Letter of Marque
5) Feather Shield
6) Deed of ownership
7) Ship in a bottle
8)
Money: 15 doubloons
Codewords: Mammon
No. of Deaths: 2
No. of rewinds/retcons: 3
Last edited by SGamerz on Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:40 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Post by Mr Shine »

Definitely keep: Sword, Letter, Deed, Ship, Potion.

Of the trhee items that we can acquire, I'd order them watch, hornpipe weasel.
I'd be inclined to keep both the other items we already have, rather than dump them in favour of either the hornpipe or the weasel.

Vote to buy watch only.
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Post by SGamerz »

Tavern or ship after this?
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Post by Sirocco »

Shipbuilder, and another vote for the watch.
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Post by Mr Shine »

Go for a drinkie
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Post by SGamerz »

If there's no definite tie-breaker as to where we go by tomorrow, I will go with tavern, since there have been references to "bar brawls" from SlyJohnny and Darth Rabbitt in the previous votes.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Grab the watch and go for the tavern.
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Watch, then shipbuilders, to trade in that letter and free up our inventory.
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Post by SGamerz »

You guys just enjoy making me wait on tie-breakers, don't you? :tongue:

It's been 2 days since the last update, and since I already said I'll be going with tavern if there's no tie-break (and since that got the second vote first), I'll go with that.

We buy the watch and fill up our last backpack space. Down to 8 doubloons.
Ducking under the low rafters, you cross the sawduststrewn taproom and seat yourselves in an alcove. At a table nearby sits a blind old man sipping brandy from a wide saucer-shaped cup. Raucous laughter pulls your gaze to the bar, where three ruffians are amusing themselves at the expense of a gentleman in shabby scholastic robes. One of the ruffians has taken the man's spectacles and is jokingly trying them on, ignoring his short-sighted attempts to grab them back.

If you have STREETWISE, turn to 71.
Like I said, STREETWISE seems to be the most dominating Skill once we hit civilisation.
The blind man is Greymalkin Smith. Once a pirate himself, he was blinded in a powderkeg exlplosion and now ekes out a living running errands around town and swapping gossips for drinks.

You have also seen the three ruffians before. In fact, just a few weeks ago you learned that the governor of Leshand has put a price on their heads.

If you talk to Greymalkin, turn to 33. If you intervene to stop the ruffians bullying the scholar, turn to 52. Or you can go off to the shipyard, turn to 374.
Exposition, potential bar brawl, or ship (again)?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Long Dong Silver
Profession: Swashbuckler
Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, STREETWISE and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 10
Possessions:
1) Sword
2) Healing Potion (restore all Life Points)
3) Monkey
4) Letter of Marque
5) Feather Shield
6) Deed of ownership
7) Ship in a bottle
8) Pocket Watch
Money: 8 doubloons
Codewords: Mammon
No. of Deaths: 2
No. of rewinds/retcons: 3
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Check out the brawl, hopefully Greymalkin will still be enjoying his drink when we're done.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Yeah, we should intervene now, the drinking will probably still be available later.
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Post by Sirocco »

Crack some ruffian heads.
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Post by SGamerz »

The elderly scholar makes another short-sighted lunge for his spectacles, only to trip over the outstretched leg of one of the ruffians and go sprawling. His tormentors' laughter is harsh and braying. The scholar gets to his feet and brushes the dust off his velvet robe. 'Please...' he says, almost in tears. 'Give those back; I can't see without them.'

If you want to use CUNNING, turn to 128. If you try STREETWISE, turn to 147. If you don't have either of those skills, you will have to fight them - either with a sword (166), a pistol (185) or your bare hands (204).
Three blue options! That's a first (and probably last).

Use our wits, our street creds, or our steel?
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Post by Sirocco »

Street creds probably work best in this setting.
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Post by SlyJohnny »

It already mentioned we have leverage on them with our street knowledge. Let's go with Streetwise.
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Post by SGamerz »

Stepping up to the bar, you act as if you'd only just spotted the three ruffians. 'Toby Whipstaff!' you say to the largest of them. 'Why, I haven't clapped eyes on you in a long time! How blows the wind, Toby?'

He greets you with a broad smile, forgetting his sport with the scholar. 'All's well. Last week we took a Sidonian galleon loaded with gold plate; pickings have rarely been richer.'

You nod. 'And not just Sidonian pickings, I suppose, otherwise the governor wouldn't have set a price of a hundred doubloons on your head.'

He fingers his neck nervously. 'Ah, that must be the little business involving the Gloriannic merchantman a while back. I didn't expect them to make so much of it.'

'You're too modest! Five sailors were killed, including the governor's godson.'

Whipstaff visibly pales. 'A hundred doubloons, eh? That much.'

'Your brother's been posted for twice that. No doubt it was his expertise with the flensing-knife that attracted undue attention.'

'My brother? But he's sailing for Leshand this very day! I must get to the docks!' Tossing the spectacles on the bar, he races out with his two cronies behind.
So far, it seems like STREETWISE = knowing everybody
Putting his spectacles back on, the scholar gratefully shakes you by the hand. 'This is a place for gentlemen of fortune, not gentlemen of letters,' you tell him. 'I recommend you head on to a lawful port as soon as possible.'

He shakes his head. 'But I've travelled all the way from Glorianne in search of someone: the wizard Mirabilis.'

You nod. 'I've heard of him. Why should you expect to find him here?'

'I'm told he sailed for the colonies with Queen Titania. I left after they did, but my ship must have made better headway because it seems the Queen is still at sea and won't reach the colonies for several weeks.'

'It's as you say, but you're mistaken if you think they'll put into port here. Selenice is not under Gloriannic rule.'

He flutters his hands impatiently. 'I know that. But it occurs to me that Mirabilis' half-brother, a man called Skarvench, might know where he's bound.'

The others have come over to join you. 'So Skarvench is half-brother to the Queen's wizard!' says Oakley with a whistle. 'No doubt such news portends mischief.'

'Why do you want to find Mirabilis?' Blutz asks the scholar.

'He paid me to do some astronomical calculations for him. He wanted to know when a certain eclipse of the moon would occur, as apparently he had plans which would be disrupted if the eclipse happened too early. Well, I gave him the results, but after he sailed I double-checked my calculations and it turns out I made an error. I told Mirabilis the eclipse would be at two o'clock on midsummer night, but in fact it will be slightly earlier, at midnight.'

Note the codeword Horal. Assuring the scholar that you will deliver his message personally, you escort him to the harbour and put him aboard a ship bound for Glorianne.
Mirabilis being Skarvench's half-brother is one information we could have gotten in a few places in this book, including right at the beginning....if we chose to eavesdrop on Slarvench (we would have to give up the chance to loot the cabin, though)
Anyway, this takes us straight to the section where we meet the shipbuilder, so no, we don't get the chance to go back and talk to Greymalkins.....
Image

You make your way to the eastern edge of town and along the boardwalk into the shipyard. Labourers scurry to and fro ignoring you, for it is their busiest with the hurricane just a month away. A dozen ships lie here careened - raised up on dry land and tilted on one side so that repairs or routine maintenance can be carried out. The new vessels stand in stocks further back from the water's edge, in varying degrees of construction. You see stacks of oak planks which are used for the hulls, and long straight pine poles that will become the masts.

The Master Shipbuilder, Kemp, emerges from his workshop and comes hurrying over. He is a spare-framed fellow with grey mutton-chop whiskers around a face coloured red by harsh coastal winds and nips of brandy wine. 'Greetings!' he says. He is on the point of shaking fingers when he remembers that his fingers are tarry from caulking the new ships. 'Ah well. How can I help you?'

If you tell him you want to buy a ship, turn to 43. If you enquire whether he has done any work for Skarvench recently, turn to 63. If you ask what he knows about the ship Cold Grue, turn to 82.
Even though technically there's nothing to stop us from picking that option, there's no reason for our character to want to ask about Cold Grue, since we didn't have any earlier encounters that references that name. Storylinewise, our character probably has no clue what that is, so I think it'd make more sense for you to just choose from 1 of the other 2 questions.

So....Skarvench, or ship?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Long Dong Silver
Profession: Swashbuckler
Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, STREETWISE and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 10
Possessions:
1) Sword
2) Healing Potion (restore all Life Points)
3) Monkey
4) Letter of Marque
5) Feather Shield
6) Deed of ownership
7) Ship in a bottle
8) Pocket Watch
Money: 8 doubloons
Codewords: Mammon, Horal
No. of Deaths: 2
No. of rewinds/retcons: 3
Last edited by SGamerz on Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:05 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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