The guards roll 11, Pip rolls 7. The guards hit first.
COMBAT LOG:
Guard#2 rolls 7 and hits for 1+2-2 = 1 damage (Armour check = 8 - doesn't shatter). Pip is at 36.
Pip throws his spear and rolls 8 to hit for 0+10-2 = 8 damage! Guard#2 is at 17.
Guard#2 rolls 4 and misses.
Pip (switching to poison stiletto) rolls 3 and misses.
Guard#2 rolls 2 and misses.
Pip rolls 8 and hits for 2+1-2 = 1 damage. Guard#2 is at 16 and is poisoned! (Pip also retrieves the spear this round)
Guard#2 rolls 10 and hits for 4+2-2 = 4 damage. Pip is at 32.
Pip (switching to fast dagger) rolls 10 and hits for 4+1-2 = 3 damage. Guard#2 is at 13.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1-2 = no damage. However, Guard#2 loses a further 2 LP from poison. Guard#2 is at 11.
Guard#2 rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 12 and hits for 6+1-2 = 5 damage. Guard#2 is at 6.
Pip rolls 5 and misses. However, Guard#2 loses a further 2 LP from poison. Guard#2 is at 4 and is knocked out!
Guard#3 rolls 8 and hits for 2+2-2 = 2 damage. Pip is at 30.
Pip throws the spear and rolls 6, missing.
Guard#3 rolls 8 and hits for 2+2-2 = 2 damage. Pip is at 28.
Pip (switching to poison stiletto) rolls 7 and hits for 1+1-2 = no damage.
Guard#3 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 8 and hits for 2+1-2 = 1 damage. Guard#3 is at 24 and is poisoned!
Guard#3 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage.
Pip (switching to fast dagger) rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 11 and hits for 5+1-2 = 4 damage. Guard#3 loses a further 2 LP from poison and is at 18.
Guard#3 rolls 8 and hits for 2+2-2 = 2 damage. Pip is at 26.
Pip rolls 2 and misses.
Pip rolls 9 and hits for 3+1-2 = 2 damage. Guard#3 loses a further 2 LP from poison and is at 14.
Guard#3 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 4 and misses.
Pip rolls 2 and misses. Guard#3 loses 2 LP from poison and is at 12.
Guard#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+2-2 = 5 damage. Pip is at 21.
Pip rolls 3 and misses.
Pip rolls 4 and misses. Guard#3 loses 2 LP from poison and is at 10.
Guard#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+2-2 = 5 damage. Pip is at 16.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1-2 = no damage. Guard#3 loses 2 LP from poison and is at 8.
Guard#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+2-2 = 5 damage. Pip is at 11.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 11 and hits for 5+1-2 = 4 damage. Guard#3 loses a further 2 LP from poison and is at 2.
Guard#3 is knocked out!
A very close thing, but it looks like both the spear and the poison dagger paid off! Especially against the last guard, who was making a frightening comeback towards the end and it was the poison doing most of the killing in the last few rounds!
Pip takes another dose of Healing Potion:
Healing roll = 10! Pip is at 21/60.
The cell behind the first of the three barred doors is empty. Not a good start after all that hassle with the guards. But wait--behind the second door, squashed into a small space, are twelve handsome, square-jawed, clean-cut, fair-haired men, muscular as athletes, but unarmed and fast asleep. Nor are your attempts to wake them (calling, shaking and the odd gentle kick) in any way successful.
You proceed, for want of anything better to do, to the third door...
'Thank the gods!' exclaims the handsome, square-jawed, clean-cut, dark-haired man within. 'Have you come to rescue my trusty crew and myself?'
'Well, yes, I suppose so,' you say hesitantly. 'But who are you?'
'Jason,' replies the man. 'I am--or was--Captain of this vessel until it was boarded by those scumbags of pirates, three of whom I perceive you have but recently slain. These villains drugged my trusty Argonauts and thus seized the ship for their own nefarious purposes, unconnected with the noble quest for the Golden Fleece which we perceived to be our destiny. Thus it was that those of my Argonauts who were not killed were incarcerated (as was I) within the confines of these miserable cells, fed but infrequently on pigswill, deprived of all but bilgewater to drink, beaten senseless each hour on the hour at the whim of our brutish gaolers, tormented by vermin and lice, deprived of sleep, threatened constantly with death, tortured--'
'Yes, you,' you put in quickly, having got the picture. 'I can appreciate your problems. My problem is I cannot wake your men, and if we are to tackle an entire pirate crew, then we are going to need every man we can get.'
But even as you speak, your mind is reeling. Jason? Argonauts? Golden Fleece? You'd suspected you were on board a ship, of course, but this isn't any ship of Avalon, or even of Saxon invaders. You seem to have ended up somewhere in ancient Greece! What a monumental screw-up this has turned out to be! Merlin's fault, no doubt, although you'll have to wait to find out all the facts.
'Fear not on that score, Noble Rescuer!' exclaims Jason. 'For I have secreted in my sandal a magical conch shell which, having one charge remaining, will awaken my valiant followers on the instant and, incidentally, completely cure anybody within earshot from the effects of poison.'
So saying, he removed from his sandal a large seashell (which must have been absolutely crippling him), places it to his lips and blows a penetrating blast.
At once the sleeping beauties in the other cell wake up (and any poisoned misfortunate in the area is instantly cured). Jason turns to you. 'We are indebted to you for our freedom and perhaps our lives, oh noble one. For this reason we will follow you to death or glory, serve you to the very ends of the universe, protect you from--'
'Yes, yes,' you say hurriedly. 'I appreciate all that, but frankly what I really want is to get back to Avalon. I don't suppose you know the way, do you?'
'Avalon?' frowns Jason. 'Isn't that north of Crete?'
'No,' puts in one of his followers, a muscular fellow called Hercules, 'it's a suburb of Troy.'
'You're thinking of Avala,' remarks another. 'Avalon is twenty-five stadia north-east of Athens.'
'That's not Avalon,' exclaims a third. 'Avalon is the local name for that chain of volcanic islands beyond the Pillars of Hercules: the ones with the goonybirds and vampire rabbits.'
'That's the Avalonian Archipelago,' sneers a fourth. 'Avalon is the underground necropolis guarded by eighty-five pegasi and a tribe of harpies to the south-west of--'
'It doesn't matter,' you put in, since it is patently obvious these mariners couldn't sail their ship out of a bottle if it got stuck in one. 'Our first job is to get back in control of this vessel, which means hacking up the pirates who took it over.'
'What a military strategist!' exclaims Jason in admiration. 'What an instant grasp of the overall situation. You shall lead us in this brave endeavour and even I, Captain Jason, shall do your bidding!'
Which just shows what a big mouth can land you into. Captain Jason will tell you that the pirates are on the upper deck which you can reach via 5 or 11. But before you launch your suicide mission, you will need to find weapons for the Argonauts. You will also need to know a bit about their stats, which are as follows:
Jason has 25 LIFE POINTS and needs to roll 5 or better to hit.
Hercules has 48 LIFE POINTS, needs a 6 to hit, but scores a natural +4 damage (on top of any weapon damage) by reason of his enormous strength.
Ten of the remaining eleven Argonauts average out at 20 LIFE POINTS and all require a 6 to hit.
The final Argonaut, Achilles, has 30 LIFE POINTS, hits on only 2, scores a natural +1 damage (on top of weapon damage) but has weak ankles so that he can only get in a hit every second round.
Equip them as best you can from whatever source you can, then proceed to the upper deck and the Battle Royal with the pirates.
And this time, the painful battle is definitely worth the trouble: looks like Pip just won himself an army!
The only thing left is to proceed up to the decks, but first we'd better lead the Argonauts to the armoury to kit them out. Again, I'm going to have every Argonaut take one of each weapon type (sword, dagger, spear). The things we need to decide are:
1) How many pieces of armour does each Argonaut wear? (Note that If armour breaks it will kill most generic nameless Argonauts since they only have 20 LP)
2) What will be the default weapon of each Argonaut?
You may also decide whether you want to have your army throw spear volleys in every combat (sure, most may miss, but even just a few of them hitting can cause good damage).
I'm going to assume that all the "generic" nameless Argonauts are kit out exactly the same so save the headache, but you can suggest different gear/weapon for the named ones (Jason, Hercules, Archilles).
QUEST JOURNAL:
Pip's LIFE POINTS: 21/60
Permanent Life Points: 12
EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Wooden mallet
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 1 dose)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 10/12 doses)
MONEY: 10 GP
EXPERIENCE POINTS: 5
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook
2 Guards
PUZZLES SOLVES:
No. of Deaths:
None yet