Category Archives: session summaries

Twenty-Eighth Session (13 page pdf) – “Madness in Riddleport” – The PCs confront Elias Tammerhawk and his evil ritual in an epic battle atop the Riddleport Light.  But that’s nothing compared to the secrets they uncover after they are sucked into the spirit world!  Will Riddleport, and our Reavers, survive?  Find out in the grand finale of the first season of Reavers on the Seas of Fate!

Go read the summary first, there’s surprises a-plenty, and you don’t want to find them out from my behind the scenes commentary here.

No really, read the summary first.

Back?  OK!  I mashed up a bunch of stuff for this finale. The boss fight itself combines the Green Ronin classic Madness in Freeport, where it’s a serpent man posing as the Sea Lord in the lighthouse conducting a Cthulhuoid ritual to drive everyone in Freeport crazy, with the first chapter of Paizo’s Second Darkness Adventure Path, where it’s a drow using the Cyphergate to bring down a meteor and cause an incidental tsunami.  “Which one should I use?” is a question only suckers ask. A hardcore GM says, “Both, bitch, and here’s a third thing too!”

In this case, my third thing was the PCs’ jaunt into the spirit world.  Whatever you want to call it – shadow Riddleport, the ghostlands, the spirit realm – it’s what has been tying together the shadows and voodoo stuff going on in the campaign. And in terms of good places to go into the shadowlands, Riddleport is one of those places with a lot of restless souls per capita.  In fact, the PCs sent a lot of them there.

It was inspired by two things.  In Denizens of Freeport, there is an NPC, a crazy elven vampire named Lord Bonewrack, who reigns over a shadow Freeport.  Tammerhawk just being dead is lame, but being the vampiric overlord of an alternate Riddleport is cool.  And then also the Miyazaki movie Spirited Away inspired some of the visuals and experiences in the city.  (My daughter wanted the tasty food stand from the movie to be in the adventure; she was disappointed that Wogan resisted its lure and thus didn’t get attacked by the “fire-barfing piggies.”  Those who have seen the movie know about the food stand and the pigs, but she added in the “fire-barfing” part to kick it up a notch.  A girl after her father’s heart.)

The shadow Riddleport scene served several important purposes.  Sure, it gave them some valuable intel on Tammerhawk.  But it was also an opportunity to reinforce important story elements, especially past successes and failures and how past choices and experience have shaped the PCs’ lives.

They talked about going into the Gold Goblin’s basement but thought better of it when they remembered that was where the fighting pit was.  Which was good thinking, because just going down there and seeing the ghostly horror resulting from that would have been a 1d4 Wis loss!

Then they got to meet the “real” Elias Tammerhawk. I’m glad they didn’t attack him, that could have been messy. Facing the dead assassin Jesswin (who was technically a “blast shadow,” a new Pathfinder monster) was lively – Tommy had to spend an Infamy Point to not die under her flaming claws.  (A lot of Infamy Points got spent – Wogan used one to knock the serpent head out of the column of light, for example.)

And then bang, right back into the fight!  I liked the “You’re in the middle of a huge combat and…  Now you’re somewhere weird.  NOW YOU’RE BACK GO!” The time dilation of the spirit world meant I didn’t need to worry about their buffs expiring or whatnot.

Here’s a funny game table moment – when Thorgrim shattered the glass of the lighthouse letting the storm in, Wogan did proclaim the power of Gozreh was unleashed.

Paul, thinking this was a result of some actual game mechanic effect, asked Patrick “Oh, cool, what power do you get as a cleric of Gozreh when you’re in a storm?”

Patrick replied, “I get wet.”

The revelation of both the fake Tammerhawk and Samaritha worked out well.  Serpent (well, his player) suspected it, but the rest of the guys didn’t.  They did catch on really quick that she wasn’t in cahoots with Tammerhawk though. She fled in shame, Hatshepsut couldn’t bring herself to attack a serpent person, Zincher bailed out to “go get reinforcements”, and Thorgrim was convinced that the man he thought he was supposed to be protecting was really an impersonating monster freak!  Sindawe and Wogan managed to rejoin it idol and the seven glyphs worth of charge in the Cyphergate shot out in a bolt of energy (in my mind, somewhat resembling the gravity-lens superweapons from the anime Super Atragon, if anyone has seen that) boiling the ocean as it streaked to the south.

It wasn’t mandated that Tammerhawk get away – I actually thought they might pursue him down and do a chase across the Cyphergate, but then it turned out no one had any spider climb or feather fall or anything to do that.  I was a little surprised; Tommy is always buying spider climb potions but I reckon he was out.  And then their gendarme friend Salvadora showed up.

Interestingly enough it was Sindawe who chased down Samaritha to talk to her – sure, he’s twice as fast as Serpent, but it didn’t seem to even occur to Serpent.  We’ll see how it goes with him – she can run off, stay with the party, or do anything in between based on how things develop.

Tammerhawk’s escape was a little bit of a letdown to the PCs, but the expected denouement didn’t happen – instead, a tsunami came!  Paul (Serpent) and Patrick (Wogan) knew what it means when the tide goes out like that, but Serpent made a poor Knowledge:Nature check and figured it was normal. Poor portly Wogan just about didn’t make it to the top of the lighthouse.  I actually thought they’d flee into the city instead, but they reckoned the lighthouse was far up enough on the bluff that it’d make it through.

So in the end of the first “season” of Reavers, they’ve succeeded but at a high cost – both personal (friends lost) and practical (Riddleport is in a very post-Katrina state at the moment).

And that’s the end of my first big plot arc.  Based on what’s happened and what the PCs intend to do next will determine where I go with it.  Piracy on the high seas, with Razor Coast and maybe Sunken Empires?  Off to the Mwangi coast and head into the Serpent’s Skull AP?  Do more around Riddleport and use Freeport and Second Darkness adventures?  We’ll see, but I know what I’m doing next time – our next game day is on Halloween, so be prepared for a Very Special Episode ™ of Reavers on the Seas of Fate!

Twenty-seventh Session (11 page pdf) – “Rumble in the Wizard’s Tower” – It’s a mixed field of angels, demons, and ghosts as the PCs sweep and clear the Riddleport Light looking for an evil ritual.  I mean, an evil ritual besides the ones they are performing. That’s a big Twinkie.  Welcome to the one year anniversary of our Pathfinder pirate campaign, Reavers on the Seas of Fate!

As my adaptation of Madness in Freeport progresses, I used the Goodman Games/Wicked Fantasy Factory adventure “Rumble in the Wizard’s Tower” to flesh out the lighthouse.  In MiF it’s just a boring new lighthouse, but the Riddleport Light is old and was the hangout of a demon summoning sorcerer.  Which calls for some “zazz!”

May I note that a lot of the Goodman stuff is on super-sale at Paizo.com, the WFF adventures are currently $2 a pop – go get them!  They’re good stuff.

Anyway, there’s all kinds of weirdness going on.  Time is speeding up and slowing down.  Everyone that has ever died in the zip code seems to be coming back as a ghost.  Every weird little altar seems to have a direct line to Deity Central.  Who ya gonna call?  The Reavers!

First we had a big setpiece fight with a mess of Riddleport gendarmes guarding the inside of the tower, which was fun.  Then they find the Naughty Box.  I don’t even remember which movie I saw this scene in; I remember an iron box in a big room simply surrounded with crosses and stuff.  Here, it was surrounded with all kinds of evil stuff. They freed an angel from it but it was a little crazy.  Wogan did a good job of wrangling it; Tommy and Sindawe are evil after all so it tended to shoot at them when in doubt.  Then when the imp showed up, it made for some good roleplaying. Sindawe made the call to give the succubus to the imp after having her kill the angel.  Wogan wasn’t all that happy with it but everyone defers to Sindawe. Even if he is a little demon-possessed and crazy.

Then they talk down the ghost of Gebediah Crix and meet their two cop friends.  I wanted to throw in a familiar face to reassert that they are in Riddleport and not just some remote dungeon location.  Next time, it’s the big finale!  They’re prepared to bust through the door and take on Elias Tammerhawk.  Will it be that simple?  Hint: no!  Mmmmwah hah ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

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!

Twenty-fifth Session (8 page pdf) – “Return to Madness” – First, a bunch of goblins attacks our brave heroes’ genital regions.  Then, they sail back to Riddleport, where the re-dedication of the Riddleport Light is set to begin.  It’s into Black Dog’s caves and thence to the lighthouse!  But as you’d suspect, it’s not going to be that easy.  Thrill to this, the twenty-fifth session of our Pathfinder pirate campaign, Reavers on the Seas of Fate!

The “Junk-Kicker” tribe is from the Goodman Games/Wicked Fantasy Factory adventure Throwdown with the Arm-Ripper.  Strangely, in that adventure, they don’t actually kick anyone in the balls.  This is a significant oversight in my opinion, so I rectified it.  And a quick Google search for “goblins with big iron boots” got me this image I used for their chief, Krik Junk-Kick [pdf character sheet]:

His tribe surrounded the PCs like the natives surrounded Indy in Raiders of the Lost Ark; then half of them shrieked fiercely and kicked the other half in the balls as a show of force.  This made a big impression on the PCs.  And their “junk-kicking” attack even has a simple in-game implementation, the new “Dirty Trick” maneuver from the new Advanced Player’s Guide!  Yay Pathfinder!

(Careful readers will note that I foreshadowed this with the story the two doppleganger “girls” told the PCs when they met them in the dungeon, that all the men of their village were too scared to fight the Junk-Kicker goblins so they had to go.)

You’d think 30 goblins would be a challenge, but I know my PCs.  Sure, they’re fourth level, but I had confidence that it would be a pretty easy fight.  The most dangerous part, really, was that one goblin tried to run off with Sindawe’s thrown magic spear during the battle.  Threaten their gear, that’ll get them motivated!  And this encounter threatened their gear in several different ways, if you get my meaning.

After that, they sailed back to Riddleport.  I did up some random encounters on the way there using some of the tables in the also-new GameMastery Guide, including the stranded “Heartbreak” Hinsin, who immediately started to compete with Jaren the Jinx for the favor of Hatshepsut.  She didn’t really groove on either one, but was more favorable towards Jaren.  Although there’s a little episode that didn’t get into the summary; Jaren and Hatshepsut went ashore in Roderick’s Cove and he put some moves on her and she didn’t like it; she went back to the ship upset and Sindawe tried to figure out what was wrong and comfort her, in his own somewhat clumsy way.

Then they get into Black Dog’s Caves!  More about that next time, but they fight a tojanida, which just about takes out Sindawe – Hatshepsut comes to his rescue and lifeguards him to shore – and then a dread allip comes for them.

It ended with them finding the fake treasure room.  The dialogue there isn’t made up; when Sindawe and Tommy scouted ahead and saw all those treasure chests, Sindawe immediately started shouting, “Don’t come in here!  We’re having gay sex!  Really gay sex!  We’ll be out in a while!”  Of course, that caused the rest of them to come running.

Next time – Reavers turns one year old!

Twenty-fourth Session (9 page pdf) – “Throwdown With the Arm-Ripper” – The party works their way through the ruined complex to an ancient druidic shrine, only to meet two of Jaren’s old friends – a witch and the Arm-Ripper!  Is Jaren’s missing arm a coincidence?  Hint: no!

We finished up with my randomly generated dungeon and kicked into Throwdown with the Arm-Ripper.  I have a soft spot for those Wicked Fantasy Factory adventures – they need work, but they shine in the setpieces.

Before that, they ran across a sleeping cave bear.  “We’ll sneak up on it and kill it,” they declared.  I took a look at the dire bear stats and shuddered.  Even with the sleeping perception penalty, there was a real good chance that with three PCs sneaking up, one of them would be heard, and if that thing woke up in close quarters with the three PCs, someone was going to get ripped to bits.  But they all snuck up successfully and all executed coup de graces.  The bear was tough, and it rolled TWO natural 20’s on its Fort saves – but luckily, it failed its third.

The interaction with Gilmy the ettin was entertaining.  They thought he was maybe some druidic guardian, and that his forehead scars were maybe lobotomy scars – they weren’t, they were a plot point, and he had been turned from a human into a mutated ettin by Mythra and the altar (also used the same way to make the Arm-Ripper).

And then it was The Big Fight.  A freaky altar!  An Arm-Ripper!  A witch (druid, really)!  A wolf!  The Arm-Ripper and Mythra weren’t all that hard per se, but the altar goes nuts when there’s violence and strong emotions going on and it kept affecting the environment, raising and/or animating dead foes, etc.

In the end, it resurrected Mythra but everyone else was dead and she didn’t have the starch to keep fighting.  She surrendered and helped them regrow Jaren’s arm and make the dragon helm (it’s probably for the best that they didn’t have to rely on their Knowledge skills).

So, mission successful!  Now it’s back to Riddleport for the grand finale of the first main plot arc.