Reavers on the Seas of Fate – Session Summary 26 Posted

Twenty-sixth Session (8 page pdf) – “Black Dog’s Caves” – The haunting is thick in the sea caves used by infamous pirate Black Dog to hide his treasure.  Last time, the group fought Redlegs his first mate (now a dread allip); this time they face the ghost of Black Dog himself!  And huge chests of loot hang in the balance!  It’s the anniversary installment of our Pathfinder pirate campaign, Reavers on the Seas of Fate!

You know how in Ghostbusters, Egon describes the increase in ghost activity in Twinkie terms? “Well, let’s say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning’s sample, it would be a Twinkie… thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds.”  Well, it’s becoming clear to our heroes (and I use the term loosely) that they are in Big Twinkie territory.

I didn’t actually expect them to fight the ghost of Black Dog, and when they did, I didn’t really expect them to win, as he was like a twelfth level guy as a ghost… But they did!  Good on them.  They got a huge amount of loot out of it.  On the other hand, I knew exactly who was going to respond to Black Dog’s geas – “WHICH ONE OF YE WANTS TO BE A PIRATE THEY WILL SING SONGS ABOUT AFTER HE’S DEAD?!?” has Tommy Blacktoes written all over it.  They’re all violent psychopaths (well, maybe not Wogan) and Sindawe has emerged as the group’s leader, but Tommy is the one who is balls out on board with being a pirate.

Here’s Black Dog’s ghost courtesy of one of my Google image searches; I think it’s from one of the Monkey Island games or something.

I may have mentioned it before, but it is fascinating to me how Black Dog has emerged in my game.  In the Madness in Freeport adventure, these sea caves are referred to as “Black Dog’s caves” but it doesn’t go into that much.  But then, in the Pathfinder NPC Guide supplement, the pirate “Jaren the Jinx” has a backstory where his father was “the infamous pirate Black Dog.”  That tells me that fate is at work.  As a result, it let me foreshadow Black Dog via Jaren for months now, which gives his appearance more impact, and now his geas makes him an ongoing part of the game.  Woot DMing!

Then, Samaritha kisses Serpent!  And ghost bat swarms nearly kill him!  And tentacle monsters attack!  You know, a day in the life.

Finally they reach the Riddleport Light and head into it, only to be accosted by a five-headed hydra sporting a Tiamat color scheme.  More on the lighthouse next time…  Enjoy the session summary!