Pirates of Sartosa

Thanks.
It was a fun game. The look of the table really helps you get into the story. Although I had to route before I got any treasure, I did kill Captain De Gutzman for mocking the dead.

Yarrr, ye swab I'll have me revenge!

I spent the past week thinking of ways to include ship battles as scenarios. So I scoured the General's Compendium and LotHS and came up with the following table--

Die roll (2d6) Islands Scenario (revised)
2 Your choice of any Island Scenrio
3 Dangerous Coast*
4 The Lustrian Treasure Ship*
5 X Marks the Spot (Hidden Treasure Variant)
6 Island Hopping (Lustria)**
7 South Seas Skirmish*
8 The Deadly Channel-Chance Encounter**
9 Mutiny
10 Life’s a Beach
11 Wrecking
12 Your choice of any islands scenario.
*Both players must use their ships to fight the scenario.
**My version with boats/rafts and crocodiles

Dangerous Coast is my version of the General's Compendium scenario of the same name. South Seas skirmish is a standard ship duel with D3 cargo as the prize. What is the name of the Warhammer world sea that surrounds Sartosa?
The Lustrian Treasure Ship introduces a crippled but still sailing (and fighting) NPC ship to fight over. I have high hopes of actually play testing some of the scenarios next week if we can get a quorum.

Thursday night! The e-mails have flown back and forth and we had just 3 players again. So we decided we'd play one of the ship scenarios because I have waited 3 weeks for a ship battle and by god I would have one! Be careful what you wish for...

The Lustrian Treasure Ship. Weather--fine. We were supposed to roll for a change in the weather on turn 4 but as usual forgot entirely for the whole game. The background of the Lustrian Treasure Ship is that a pirate fleet ambushes the Great Treasure Fleet as it makes its annual return voyage from Lustria. The pirate crews then fall out over a crippled straggler after the battle.

We decided to make the scenario a multi-player one. We again used a 4x6 table mainly because the 'sea' table is 4x6. We rolled one random island that got placed toward the middle of the table. The treasure ship set up in the middle of the southern table edge (which just happened to be one of the 4' edges.) The Maids won the roll off to place first and elected to start on the eastern edge towards the north. One of the Maids' heroes stayed below with an Old Battle Wound. This development cut the number of shots by 1. A pleasing development for the Ghosts and Dons.

The Ghosts chose to set up on the northern table edge, potentially between the Dons and the Maids. There was much abuse heaped on Playtable for the choice. The Dons set up as close to the treasure ship as allowed since everyone else was so far away. The Estalians intended to seize the treasure and sail off the table with the loot. The best laid plans...

The Ghosts found themselves sailing against the wind and depressingly close to the Maids and their countless guns. Captain Blackwater steered into the wind and a bit to starboard to get the first shot. The first shot hit the Maids' ship but did no damage. As his first action as Captain, Lorenzo declared himself unfit for duty and turned the ship over to Emilio for the battle. (Old Battle Wound) Emilio had the wind abeam. He rode it closer to the limping merchant and swung the bows to starboard to bring the lar'board gun to bear on the Maids. The first shot apparently had insufficient powder to hurl the ball. The shot fell far short of the target. The Dons' harquebuses moved to cover the treasure ship.

The Maids also had wind abeam and maneuvered to bring their starboard gun toward the Ghosts. The starboard rails filled with marksmen and women bent on thinning the Ghosts crew. The gun blew up with its first shot, killing the crew as well. (Cheers from the Ghosts and Dons!) The rattle of musketry took some lucky charms.

The merchant was some shot up but still managed to move its maximum distance with the wind. Its lar'board swivel gun misfired and never fired again. Once the initial turn was over the battle picked up. The Dons were able to put a round shot into the Maids ship. Elonzo also killed the merchant's other swivel gunner, which effectively disarmed the merchant. The Maids shot the Skeleton Mate with a handgun OOA. They also began to fire round shot at the Dons (but never hit anything...) The Ghosts sailed doggedly into the wind and failed to hit the Maids with round shot or crossbow bolts.

The Dons were able to board the merchant with Pedro, Maria, Emilio, Thomas and the swabbie. One merchant crew was knocked down, Maria suffered a wound... The merchant skipper, Captain Billy Blood ordered his men to counter attack. Eventually Billy would retake his ship. The short story is the Dons crew fought the merchants over the entire merchant ship. The crew of the Valeria Rojas out numbered the merchant 2 to 1 and forced frequent tests due to having more models on the ship than the merchants did.

Billy defeated Emilio. Thomas was killed fighting crew. The swabbie killed 2 of the crew before Billy got the swabbie. Maria killed one of the merchants and then was cut down by Billy. And the other ships sailed closer as the two ships locked in melee drifted with the wind. Another Ghost hero fell to musketry from the Bretonnians. The Ghosts return fire dwindled. (Only the traitor Gomez was still shooting his crossbow.)

The Maids reached the Valeria Rojas first. A volley of musketry form the Estallians stripped the crew from the remaining cannon and soured the Maids on the fight. The Dons had survived the Maids shots because many were still targeting the dogged Ghosts. The Maids veered off and withdrew from the battle. (Cowardly women!)

Sadly the Ghosts sailed through the cloud of gun smoke and and her crew surged aboard the Valeria. The gunners held them briefly but the uneven fight slowly wore down the crew. The 3 ships formed a huge raft that was pushed sluggishly by the wind ever northward. Jaun and Pedro were the last survivors of the boarding party. They encouraged the crew to fight on with continued promises of bonuses if the merchants could just be defeated. Gomez tried to stab Jaun in the back as Jaun fought Captain Billy. Jaun quickly cut the traitor down before falling himself to Billy's cutlass. Pedro had survived many attacks, but the surviving merchants finally cut his leg out from under him and sent him out of the fight. Billy had cleared his decks of attackers!

Billy was able to cut loose from the Valeria Rojas and get back under way, but almost immediately Captain Blackwater and some of his crew leapt heroically across the gap between ships and continued the fight. The gunners of the Rojas were surrounded and cut down one by one until the Ghosts had taken the Valeria Rojas completely.

Once the Estalians had been dealt with more Ghosts leapt on to the merchant and Billy and his crew were cut down. To his credit Captain Billy was the last man standing. It took the fiend Blackwater to cut him down.

The Ghosts get disgustingly rich, including finding a yet to be determined Lustrian Minor Artifact. Despite 6 or 7 warriors OOA none are killed.
The Maids lose 3 out of their 4 cannon crew. None are pressed...

The Dons...Thomas dies. One cannon crew becomes a Bloated. Elonzo dies. (Cut down by Captain Billy in an attempt to save Juan.) Gunner Gonzales joins the traitor Gomez with the Ghosts. On the bright side no hero dies despite ALL of them being OOA. Emilio who was crap in his duels on ship defeated a Pit Fighter and earned 50 gold! Income! Young Juan suffers Horrible Scars. The Swabbie cut a swath of red ruin through the merchant crew before he was killed by Billy.

One of the many bright spots of the evening was the devastating volley of blunderbuss fire that broke the Maids. Of the 5 models hit only one was still standing after the smoke cleared and she had used her Lucky Charm and Rabbits Foot.

Billy and his crew were a terrible surprise to the Dons. Billy is T4 and neither of my St 4 warriors (Maria and Emilio) wounded him despite several hits. Billy on the other hand was a devil with his cutlass, getting a critical hit nearly every round.

We have hopes for new work schedules next week. We will be returning to Sartosa for a few nights of bar hopping and looting...

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Treasure ship fight.

The Lustrian Treasure Ship, A Tale of Greed and Piracy on the High Seas.

The cloud of gun smoke drifted across the sea.  Within it flashes could still be seen as doomed ships fired their last defiance at the forces that would end their dreams.  The huge pirate fleet had dogged the treasure fleet for days.  Today the faster pirates had forced the shepherding Great Ships to turn and give battle.  The huge Men o’ War had been out maneuvered and battered into surrender by the nimble pirates. With victory the pirate fleet disintegrated into individual ships as the pirate captains realized what they had won.  The Great Lustrian Treasure Fleet!  Wealth beyond dreaming floated on battered and beaten hulks all around them.  A captain with a bit of daring could make a fortune this day.  Why should they abide by the Alliance?  With a measure of luck and a few well-placed shots a man could take it all!  The battle began again.

Captain Wilhelm “Willy” Blut stood on the quarterdeck of the Emperor Philip and marveled at his luck.  One minute he had been surrounded by pirate hulks, forced to strike his colors to face death or slavery.  The next moment the largest pirate ship had been rocked by salvoes from two of its allies.  A general melee had broken out amongst the pirates and he and his ship had simply drifted off with the clouds of gun smoke.  Now he was miles from the disaster.  The ship was shot nearly to pieces but he knew with a little of Mannan’s luck he could make the coast and lay up for repairs.  Or perhaps others of the Treasure fleet had escaped.  He could yet make something of this mess!

“Sails ho!” cried the lookout. 

“Look lively lads! Get the extra sheets up!  I’ve got the wind.”   

The crew fell to it with a vengeance but their work was for naught.   Three ships were converging on the Marienburgers.  All of them had their guns out and their colors of death flying.  The nearest looked to be an Estalian carrack.  She had a narrower beam than a trader and carried a bit more sail.

“Heave to or die!” the gaudy rogue standing on the pirate’s bow shouted in accented Reikspeil as the Estalian closed.

Willy was slightly heartened.  His enemies had begun to fire on each other the minute they closed within range.  The Bretonnian to starboard had already lost a gun, although the volume of small arms fire the crew produced was impressive.  None of the pirates seemed to have any knowledge of cannon.  The Bretonnian’s gun had exploded with its first shot.  Only the Estalian had scored a hit and the damage inflicted looked minimal.

“Give that one a taste of round shot Kurt!” Willy ordered.

The lar’board swivel gun swung to cover the oncoming bow of the pirate vessel, but the gun barely made a 'pffft' instead of a hearty boom.

It was not a day for gunnery.  “Prepare to repel boarders! Drag the starboard gun to lar’board!”  Willy made the order but a resounding crash of musketry felled his starboard gunner before the man could move.
The pirate closed with alarming speed. The ships crashed together and a half dozen of the rogues were at his men in an instant.  Here the training of Marienburg told.  His crew was outnumbered 2 to one but they held the Estalians at the gunwales.  Billy charged nimbly across the deck to challenge their captain.  The bastard was a skilled swordsman.  He had a whip too.  Willy cared not.  They careened across the deck seeking an opening.  The Estalian was shouting something, but Willy couldn’t make out the words.  The Estalian’s sword cut deeply into his wooden leg and lodged.  Willy was a bit off balance but he was able to slash at the man’s head.  His cutlass blade cut into the Estalian’s morion helmet and the man fell away. 

Willy shouted encouragement to the lads and risked a quick glance around.  His men were holding their own.  The other pirate ships were closing the gap.  The ship shuddered as a round shot slammed into the hull near the bow.  Willy doubted anyone would live to patch that hole. More of the Estalians had clambered aboard.  At least two were out of the fight but the same could be said for his crew so the odds hadn’t changed.  A pretty lass cut down Otto and rushed him.  She was energetic and surprisingly strong, but Willy was the better swordsman.  She fell with a scream.  He had no time to finish her,

There was a crescendo of musketry and then another grinding of timbers.  Willy couldn’t see the Bretonnian ship anymore, but he could see another melee taking place across the Estalian’s decks.  One of the other pirate crews was cutting their way through their erstwhile allies to fight him.  Willy felt honored.

An ugly rogue in a red cap was cutting a swath through his men with two long daggers. Willy clumped toward him over the bodies. They grappled briefly, but Willy got a bit of room and gutted the swab with a wild cut.  There was a lull.  Lots of bodies bled on the decks.  Willy was facing a maimed young man who also balanced on a pegleg.  It was an even match until another screaming Estalian leapt up on the rail and cut at the youngster’s unprotected back.  The assassin missed his strike and Willy’s opponent cut him down with an expert back handed slash.  Willy appreciated his skill but took the opportunity to cut the crippled pirate savagely about the head.

Willy swung wildly around.  Kurt faced him from beyond the main.  Kurt’s weapons were red to the hilts.  No one else was standing.  His ship was free of the pirate filth! 

“Cut us free! Cast off!”  Willy growled orders even though his able crew had shrunk to one gore spattered man.   Willy glanced at the Estalian and saw with horror that the walking dead were lining the pirate’s rails.  Even as the gap began to widen several of them clambered up onto the rails and leapt for his ship.  Willy gave a desperate cry and met the first one aboard with pistol and cutlass.  Whatever it was, bright blood spurted as it pitched back over the rail.

The Estalian drifted alongside.  No one was manning her wheel or trimming her sails but the strong south wind that Willy had hoped to ride to safety was pushing all of the ships slowly northward.  More things lined the Estalians rail.  More of them leapt the gap toward him.  Some didn’t make it and fell into the sea.  But even those who didn’t make the leap resurfaced and swam on toward him.  Willy struggled to cut his way free.  Kurt was gone.  He couldn’t see him for the press of bodies but he heard the familiar voice scream once.  Then a fiend in captain’s finery faced him.  Glowing eyes from deepest hell froze his soul.  The other helspawn drew back.  Willy straightened and tightened his grip on his cutlass.  The empty pistol he had reversed to use the butt as a club.   It was already slick with someone’s blood.

As deaths go it was mercifully quick.  Captain Wilhelm Blut fell soundlessly.  The being known as Blackwater relished the soul’s passing.  The Ghost Captain looked on the carnage of the three ships.  Bodies everywhere!  Glorious.  The wealth was of no account. But he would use it to snare more of the Living.  Already his Cursed servants were rushing to open the cargo hold laughing with glee at their new found treasure.  They thought as children.  It was not the gold that was important it was the blood.

Its raining cats and dogs in Indianapolis. Luckily the roof wasn't leaking over the Mordheim tables.

Tonight the Venerable Mordheim campaign gained a new player. Orcs have landed in Sartosa! And they bring squgs!

We ended up playing a long 3 player battle and 3 two player games.

The Lost Prince. Da Mob, the Dons and the Merry Maids. Weather-clear. We played the Sneaking Weasel variant. The Maids shot the weasel and took his head. Da Mob almost caught the Maid with squigs but it was not to be. The Maids shot the squigs down or cut them up in hand to hand. The Dons picked a poor deployment area and were mostly cut off from the battle until the head was carried right to the newest members of the crew.
The Estalian crew got shot up and then charged and Fernando held and held, and no one came to his aid, and he got cut down. Emilio leapt from a bridge to try to cut the head off, but got shot up by dueling pistols and became Mad.
The Orcs lost all their squigs and several goblins. They fled when their shaman fell. The Dons caved when Emilio was shot down. Bretonnians win. They got some nice loot and bought Whale Bone charms. I need to look those up, they sound obnoxious...
No one died. Emilio became Stupid. This complicates things...

The Long Pier. (Street Fight) The Ghosts and Randolphous' Raiders. Weather-rain. The Ghosts tried their lets scare them in the rain thing on the Raiders and got cut up bad. (5 KIA or pressed). A Screaming Ghost dies.

Skirmish. The Ghosts and Randolphous' Raiders. Weather-something, (4 Ghosts KIA or pressed this time.) The traitor Gomez leaves the Ghosts to join the Sartosans! Ghosts run again.

Breakthrough. The Dons versus Da Mob. Weather-windy (which we promptly forgot.) The Dons whittled away at the goblins but got a bit overconfident and Pedro was impaled on a spear. Store closing time and heavy losses forced Da Mob to rout. A Big Un becomes Hardened. The Dons press a goblin (Swabbie) if that's possible (it will be cool if it is.) Pedro recovers fully.

The Dons began the evening at 123 warband rating because of poor decisions last week. No casualties and fighting the Maids increased the rating to 147 for the second game (still behind the brand new Da Mob!) Slapping Da Mob around will help some more.

Photos may appear. The photographer has many obituaries to write...

AAAARRRH! There, that about sums it up. EXCELLENT Battle Report; VERY COOL Photos!
Time & inclination permitting, some close ups of the Lads & Lasses would be GREATLY appreciated.

Evil Ted wrote:

"The long Pier - Randolphus' Raiders vs The Ghosts

The pier was cluttered with the clammering of boots, the jingle of metal trinkets and buckles and the noise of weapons being drawn as we caught sight of another group blocking our path to our boat, the rain made it hard to see them fully but the glow of bale fire in their eyes made it clear. "Undead, fantastic news." mumbled one of the crewman as First officer Mandrin ordered everyone to drink up some of the grog we had gotten from previous raids and battles won. This was done with much eagerness.

Combat was met, Mandrin's marines and Fuller's marines took the brunt of the fighting but were mostly unharmed. Once First Officer Mandrin and Arms Officer Fuller engaged the undead bones went flying. Eagle Eye Bart made adequate use of the Hochland Long Rifle during the battle to scare the undead into hideing behind crates and attempted to use their own ranged weapons on him in this blasted rain. When Fuller made it to the Undead captain and tore him down, the undead took off as the 5 fallen of their 12 was more than they could stand. A win for the crew of the Swayer's Way. No casualties of significant note were suffered but the undead did leave behind two living crewman that Captain Randolphus pressed into service as swabbies.

Battle in the streets of the pirate town (skirmish) Randolphus raiders vs The Ghosts

Fresh off of a new win on the rainy docks against the ghosts, we found ourselves fighting the Ghosts again in the ruined streets of a settlement on Sartosa itself. The blistering sun was beating down on us and the air itself was so thick with heat, one could cut it with a sword. Despite these setbacks, the crew threw themselves into the fight. Which was much quicker and singly as bloody. Mandrin's Marines and Fuller's marines were both cut down again though their efforts were not in vain as they took out one of the undead pirates after he fired off his blunderbuss in vain. Fuller cut down a zombie and another of the ghostly undead as First officer Mandrin and Captain Randolphus himself shot and attempted to engage several of the undead. Their damnable female temptress was casting her cursed magics upon us to no avail. Our lucky charms and the luck of our faith in them saved us from her horrible magics. After a few more felled undead, the ghosts broke for it.

The crew of the Swayers Way took few casulaties. One of Mandrin's crew was cut down and we could not save him. Though one of the crew of the Ghosts named Gomez sided with us and was handy with an axe and hammer and joined Mandrin's crew to replace the fallen man. Helmsman Brock suffered major injuries to his chest which will stick with him the rest of his life.(chest wound -1 toughness). He also for some reason has a major and almost demonic hatred for the Captain of the Ghost Pirate crew, even though he barely set eyes on that abomination."

Playtable wrote:

"I've dropped to 162. Captain robbed and lost 2 games,

9 dead:
    Harry Defoe - screaming ghost hero
    3 - gibbets
    1 - bloated
    4 - cursed

I now have 6 heroes (one being new), 2 - cursed with 1 exp. each and 1 - new cursed."

News that was left out of previous reports:
--The Ghosts found one dose of the Water of Eternal Youth amid the treasures of Lustria. Captain Blackwater used it after the 2nd Battle of the Long Pier.
--The Orc mob has sailed on to Araby, but a ship load of Khorne Raiders is rumored to be only a weeks journey from the island.

Next week we will sail the islands again.

Breakthrough.
A Tale of Battle wherein Lorenzo Defends a Tavern

Captain Lorenzo de Lupo sat at the best table in the Tavern-on-the-Wall and stared into his tankard. It was hard to be Captain.  Couldn’t jus’ fight some lubber because you want to.  People expect you to wear boots. The lads had understood when he made Third Officer.  “He know powder,” they would say.  And another would say, “an’ he know rum!”  They would laugh and they would cheer and they would drink together.  Now he was el Captain.  The men they had better jump when he speak! Shout “Aye aye, my Captain!”

Now all the decisions were his.  He put Emilio in charge, the fool loses the ship!  Emilio’s fault?  No. Captain de Lupo’s!  Then they go hunting for that sneak, Red Hand Lark.  Bastard Lark gets himself shot and loses his head to the Maids!  Emilio gets shot in the head.  He never going to be right again.  Always staring off into space with his one good eye, talking about the lights.  Hard to stand near him these days, never know when he might just lurch this way or that grabbing at the air.  Captain de Lupo’s fault!

Suddenly the main door blew open and a wounded lubber stood bleeding in the opening.  “Orcs!” he shouted, “they’re coming this way! Men say they are going to loot the tavern!”

“No!” Roared Lorenzo as he stood so suddenly that his chair fell over behind him.  “All hands on deck!  All leaves are cancelled! No orc is going to touch my rum!  Last call, amigos. We’ve got orcs to kill!”

With that oath Lorenzo drained his tankard and caught up the bottle and his weapons.  He glared at the men scattered around the dimly lit room as they disengaged from their pursuit of trollops and rum and located their weapons and ammunition.  “Make haste ye lubbers!  If we catch the wind, we can stop them before they cross the old canal.”

The crew stumbled out into the wind swept streets, blinking at the dust that suddenly blew into their eyes.  “Maria! Take Diego, Lopez and Hermano and block the southern approach.  Pedro! You and Juan hold the Old Canal Gate with Fernando and el Jefe.  Emilio! You and me, amigo, we will hold the north. Comprede?”   

The crew of the Valeria Rojas moved off to complete their assignments.  The howling wind was indeed at their backs but they could still hear screams and occasional gunshots from the harbor to the west.  Lorenzo was able to keep Emilio focused enough to gain a nice ruined wall to shelter behind.  Pedro and Juan stayed close.  Fernando and el Jefe moved farther forward into the shadow of the gate.  He looked down the Old Canal but could not see Maria.  Hermano gave a short wave, then returned to nurturing his slow match.

Then the wind died down. Directly in front of Lorenzo a small group of greenskins could be seen emerging from the Old Rizzo's Fort.  One of them must have seen Lorenzo as well because the whole group scattered for cover before he could target one.  He grabbed Emilio’s sleeve and nudged the First Mate toward the corner of the ruin.  Pedro and Juan stumped ahead of them.  Fernando was falling back toward them.  If all worked according to plan the orcs would move through the gap in the southern wall and find Lorenzo and his crew on their flanks.  At close range they should be able to cut the greenies up good. But first they had to plug the gap in the northern wall.

3 or 4 goblins were caught in the open street as Lorenzo and Pedro unloaded their guns into the group.  One was blown to bloody rags, but the survivors gave a ragged “Waaagh!” and rushed the Estalians.  Lorenzo had placed Juan at point because of his horrible disfigurement, but a crazy little runt with a dagger didn’t seem to notice.  Another greenskin with a spear was running right at Lorenzo when Pedro stepped casually in front of the charge.  Pedro's peg leg skidded on a loose cobble. So Pedro took the spear square in the chest and sprawled at Lorenzo’s feet! 

Then Juan was there and the spear-wielding goblin wasn’t.  Lorenzo risked a glance around and saw that Emilio had lost his wits again.  The First Officer was flailing at the air with his cutlass and cat, singing a gibberish song about wishing on stars.  Fernando was flung past the dazed Emilio and landed in the dry canal below.   The huge orc that had cut Fernando down glared at Emilio, then rushed past him for the open bridge.  Lorenzo could tell there was an orc beyond Emilio but he could not shoot it for fear of hitting his First Mate.  There were brief impressions of bouncing blobs of fangs and claws, of el Jefe crawling blindly in a smoldering circle and then Lorenzo sent a bolt at a sniper hiding below the statue of Myridia’s Blessing.  The orc jerked back but Lorenzo doubted he was hit.  From the south there were sounds of gunshots and roars but Lorenzo trusted to Maria to hold.

As quickly has he had left them Emilio returned to the present and lunged to catch a goblin off guard.  Once Emilio had cleared Lorenzo was able to reload and catch the big orc with a bolt in the torso.  It fell off the bridge with a startled roar.  Juan and Emilio dispatched the nearest goblins and suddenly it was over.  All that was left was to revive Pedro, put out the last embers on el Jefe and help Fernando back up out of the canal.   

Emilio was toying with a tattered bloody goblin that suddenly screamed “Don’ kill Iz! Iz good gobo! Iz take da shillin’ and do da Code! Iz will so! Don’ kill Iz!”  Emilio knocked it senseless with the butt of his cat and bowed to Lorenzo.  “El Captain may I present our newest swab, Iz.”  Lorenzo glanced at the scabby green feet and uncorked his bottle of rum.  You just couldn't get good help these days.

I can envision THAT Goblin someday rising to prominance in the Ship's Company...I blame it all on some Mushroom I ate back in '60 something .
EXCELLENT REPORT , but no pretty pictures .

The Parley
A Tale of Gold, Grog and Guns (and a plug for the Battle of the Bosses!)

The Tavern-on-the-Wall was crowded. Lorenzo had his table, though he shared it with his officers and several women whose names he did not quite remember. The place was noisy, dark, smoke-filled and only a little less violent than their recent victory.

Pedro seemed to have recovered quickly. He had switched out his fighting hook for a gloved wooden hand. The fingers had articulated joints. Pedro was explaining the advantages of this wonder to two wenches that seemed actually interested.

Rum flowed freely and the landlord made sure that the Captain’s Table always had full flagons. Emilio was so drunk that it was impossible to tell whether his frequent lapses into song or silence were the symptoms of his injury or the alcohol.

Lorenzo was drinking watered wine. Hel, he was drinking colored water for all he could tell. This Captain business, bah! He was the hero now. Ev’rbody want to be his fr’en. His action had got them a mostly free party an’ nobody but gobos dead. But in the morning all he’d have was a hangover and the need to feed ever’body and get a ship outfitted and a new gunner to replace that northerner that died. And a goblin swab!

The surviving gunners had been playing dwarf toss with the little blighter. As Lorenzo thought of him, one of them missed a catch and Iz landed with a thud on a passed out lubber. The goblin rolled and the gunners couldn’t grab it again in the crowd. They yelled insults and curses for a moment and then grabbed their flagons and forgot the goblin entirely. Lorenzo wondered if the goblin would try to jump ship. He shrugged, it didn’t matter.

A moment later someone was tugging at his sleeve. “Kap’un! Kap’un! Da Boss…er…Som’un wantz ta palaver wit’ yuz…er…yer Maj’stee, sur!”

Lorenzo glared at the little fool and it jerked its hand away and tried to bow, curtsy and salute at the same time while still yammering.

“Dey sendz dis toke of dey appree’shon, Kap’un, sur!”

In the goblin’s left hand was a heavy gold earring. It had small diamonds in a quarter of the circle and part of some one’s ear still attached to the post. Lorenzo did a quick head count and decided it wasn’t a ransom attempt. He didn’t recognize the earring and the ear looked a bit…aged.

“Deys ovva ‘ere ta sta’br’d, Kap’un, sur.”

Lorenzo disengaged from the embrace of…whoever she was with a polite, “pardon me for a brief moment…” He rose and turned to follow the goblin. Immediately there was a thump and a squeal as Emilio shouldered his way to his captain’s side. Fernando appeared from the crowd and clamped a hand on the goblin’s right shoulder. “Take us to this palaver,” ordered Lorenzo.

“Don’ kill Iz!” whimpered the goblin. “Iz good gobo! Iz take da shillin’ an’ do da Code!”

“Just show us to this Boss!” hissed Lorenzo.

The four of them shouldered their way through the evening crowd of lubbers, trulls and pirates toward the back of the taproom. There a massive figure sat alone at a small table. A keg of rum sat on the table. The orc had tapped it and was filling a large flagon as they approached. This part of the tavern was a lot less crowded but no better lit. Two large shadows flanked the table.

“Set yersef, or stan’ but hav one on me!” the orc boomed. “Yer purty good at mak’in da gobos ded fer humies! Ize com ‘ere ta meet some humie hight Randy’off’lus. But ‘ee ain’t show’d.”

“I am not surprised.” Lorenzo growled, “Randolphous shows his ugly face in this part of town, he dies!”

“Ho!” laughed the orc. “Ize tel’ ‘im dat, Ize sees ‘im. Ho!”

Lorenzo slammed his tankard down with an oath. He reached for a sword that wasn’t there and closed his other hand on the small pistol hidden in his great coat.

“Now ya jus’ heave to der, Tigger! An lissen good!” The orc slammed a bag of something that clinked and gleamed in the candle light onto the tabletop. “Ize ‘ere ta buyz some gobo killas! An’ Ize will! Ize don’ ‘ave ta buyz youse! Now pull dat pop gun or maybee weez palaver.”

The orc’s hand that wasn’t resting on the open bag of coins was holding a small cannon pointed at Lorenzo’s chest. Lorenzo glared down the bore of the gun as he slowly released his grip on the pocket pistol.

“Which goblins would you like killed, where are they and for how long do we kill them and it will cost more than this token for us just to clear the port,” crooned Lorenzo as he carefully hefted the open bag in both hands.

The orc lowered the cannon. Rolled its eyes and muttered, “humies!”

The campaign welcomed another new player tonight! We are now up to 6 players. Sweet!

However with new players the pace slows down so we only recorded 4 games this evening. Especially since we are playing a non-official setting with lots of special rules.

Week 7--The Death of Captian Randolphous.

Many swabs died this week, some were famous heroes, some were nameless lubbers pressed into service with the Brotherhood. But Randolphous was the most famous of the Captains involved in this feud to date. Only defeated once in his first battle, he led his men to many a victory and claimed much treasure.

South Seas Skirmish I. The Swayer's Way versus the Merry Maid. I know nothing of this fight except that both ships lost a gun in the opening duel, a swab survived a shark attack and Captain Randolphous was killed. The Maids win and add a swivel gun to their armory. And an Ogre to their crew! An arms race is bound to ensue. Wait they are already way ahead! Woe.

The Lustrian Treasure Ship. The Ghosts against the Khorne Raiders. Again I know little of what transpired except that the Raiders pressed 4 swabbies from the defeated merchants, a Skeleton Mate was killed and the Ghosts struck their colors. The Ghosts report the loss of 12 warriors in 3 games! The Khorne Raiders win their first campaign battle and their first ship battle. The Ghosts find the Lustrian artifact the Armor of the Swamp Drake, but are forced to sell it do to poor income after all their recent losses.

Mutiny! The Dons! The newly arrived Dwarf crew caused the mutiny by bribing Emilio. This battle was the first for the Dwarf player and no dwarfs participated. The Dons crew divided evenly except that only Juan remained loyal to Lorenzo while Emilio, Pedro and Maria led the mutineers. Maria cut down Iz the goblin swab. Hermano shot Fernando who fell overboard and landed right in front of Maria. Emilio attacked Fernando while he was still down. Maria charged Diego but only knocked him down. Faced with the choice of fighting his crew to the death Lorenzo threw down his weapons and surrendered. Backed by Dwarf gold Emilio becomes the new Captain. Fernando refused to serve under Emilio and joined the Dwarfs. Iz fled in the confusion but was captured and killed by the Dwarfs. Rejoicing! The cargo supplied by the Dwarfs contains a Swordpistol! Pedro is fully armed at last!

South Seas Skirmish II. The Valeria Rojas versus Grungi's Hammer. Weather--clear to start. The Dwarfs were caught by surprise at Emilio's change of loyalty. They reacted with calm and sent a round shot towards the Valeria's bow but the shot was a misfire! The battle became a gun duel between the 2 ships with the advantage falling to the Estalians. Lorenzo was able to put 2 dwarfs down with his crossbow and caused another to flounder with a great blunderbuss shot. The red hot shot from the Estalian gun started 2 fires on the Hammer, but in the main it was small arms fire that pushed the Dwarfs to strike their colors. For the Dons victory was marred by the loss of Pedro the Gimp. Pedro was blasted overboard by a freak lightning strike. He then survived a shark attack, but was brained by a Dwarf axe as he sought to escape the sharks. Pedro becomes shark bait after all taking his Swordpistol with him into the deeps!
All cargo opened contained booze. The crew of the Rojas toast Pedro's shade as they sail toward Sartosa again. Or perhaps towards the Great Lighthouse in Araby...

We encountered a ship shortage but there are reliable rumors that the Pirates of Khorne are constructing their own ship. Next week's battles will be fought in the ports of the Big Blue.

can i get a pic of the bretonnian corsair band please????

Ah! The lasses are shy, winsome bits that are rarely seen closer than cannon range. Alas we have only one photographer among us an he's been a bit busy of late. Maybe next week...

In the interval, Evil Ted wrote--
"Skirmish on the high seas.

Randolphus' Raiders vs the Bretonnian ladies in arms.

Peaking the high crested waves, the Swayer's way makes out the shape of a Bretonnian Privateer vessel hoisting the Jolly Roger. The Captain in turn calls the crews to arms. Battle was joined as the first cannon fire and hochland rifle fire was exchanged between the two vessels. There was minor damage done to the hulls but no significant casualties were inflicted.

As the ships circled and closed quarters, small arms fire from the Privateers knocked several unconscious as cannon fire continued to miss and black powder refused to fire. At one point the starboard cannon of the Swayer's Way detonated and injured the crew as the same happened to a port cannon of the Privateer vessel.

As the vessels closed to boarding action distance, a volley of fire saw Captain Sebastian Randolphus dodgeing the many incoming shots. But as the gun smoke and splinters of crossbow bolts cleared, it was obvious that there was too much lead in the air for him to dodge them all. Somehow a bullet managed to get him in the back of the throat. As the Captain went down. First officer Mandrin called for the crew to strike the colors and the Bretonnian Privateers let us depart with little resistance. It was obvious they were defending a great haul. Battle would of been pressed if it were not for the low morale of the ship mates.

First officer Mandrin now takes up the mantle of Captain. It seems he found a suitable captain's hat with a fresh crossbow bolt hole in the brim, much like the one Captain Randolphus wore. (not many scruples for Officer Mandrin when it comes to a corpse to be looted.)

As the Swayer's way made for Sartosa, a Privateer was found in the water's along with Gunner Jason "Boatsway" and this privateer along with his trusty sword and handgun offered his services to the Swayer's way as one of Mandrin's marines offered up his services as an officer. There was now room in the higher ranks with Captain Randolphus gone and First officer Mandrin in command. The role of first officer has yet to be filled. Arms officer Fuller is not stepping up to the job title, he seems happy being in charge of issueing weapons and keeping discipline. (That crazy bastard.)"

I spy Risk 2210 in the background, that is that game i used to lure several friends into geekdom, never to return!

@Pathfinder--We play in the back room of a game store...

Mutiny
A Tale of Betrayal, Greed and Madness

“Boss! Boss! Der comin’! Avast!” Iz ran screaming towards the ship. Behind him Hermano stepped calmly into a clearing, raised his harquebus and fired. The ball missed Iz by inches and the little goblin skidded to a halt.

“Ahoy! Kap’un save por Iz!”

Captain Lorenzo de Lupo stood uncomprehending on the bridge. He could see Maria, Emilio and Pedro all rushing down the beach after Iz. All of them were heavily armed. Lopez followed behind them. He hadn’t seen el Jefe all day. De Lupo lit his slow match as they trotted towards him. Fernando, Juan and Diego were all on deck now.

“I’m sorry my Captain,” said Juan. “I didn’t think they’d go through with it.”

“With what?” Lorenzo hadn’t taken his eyes off the four jogging down the beach.

“We’ve been here a week with no wind,” Juan explained. “Emilio has been saying it’s your fault for letting the Captain die. They aim to take the ship!”

“My fault! Who else stood with de Gutzman that day?” exclaimed Lorenzo. “With no election! No duel! And Emilio is an idiot!”

“Well, he’s a bit off now and again, but…”

“No, he’s an idiot! They are bunched too close together!” Lorenzo stepped to the rail and fired his blunderbuss down the beach. Pedro and Lopez went down. Maria kept coming and cut at the cowering Iz.

“Nooo! Iz do da Code! Gotta Doo El! One gobbo, one vote! Aiiii!” Iz went rolling down the beach and lay still. Maria looked up the ships ladder at Fernando and drew her pistol.

“Its not too late! Join us!” Maria implored. Fernando shook his head and stepped forward to guard the ladder. Even as he moved Hermano fired again and Fernando fell over the rail with a cry.

Maria sprang up the ladder as Emilio rushed to secure Fernando. Maria gained the deck and cut Diego viciously. He fell in a bloody heap. Maria glared at Lorenzo and Juan. Lorenzo looked down his crossbow at his favorite crewwoman. Then he let the crossbow slip from his fingers to the deck.

“I surrender! Kill me if you will, but spare Juan and the rest.”

“Kill you? I ain’t goin’ kill you! Not today.” Emilio swung himself over the rail. “Who else will clean the bilge?! Iz? Where’s my little fren’ Iz? He can watch you clean. Iz?”

Lorenzo rolled his eyes to the heavens. “Idiot.” He said to himself.

From the edge of the jungle Iz watched in disbelief. Dey wuz spose’d to kill each udder! Dis wuz no’da plan. Dem Stunties, dey wudna like dis. Maybe jus’ sneak awayz an’ tink ‘bout tings… The little goblin moved back into the jungle. He had just reached the hidden boat when someone grabbed him from behind.

“Goin’ somewhere’s were ya?” Iz saw the knife and gave a final wail.

As they patched up Diego, Pedro and Lopez the crew heard the choking scream. Captain Estavez looked off into the jungle and shrugged.

"I don' think my fren' Iz is coming back."

Marneus sent this report--

Undead vs Khorne
Thursday 4/9/09 

      "The battle started with the treasure ship approaching from the south, the wind filling her sails, the horrifying undead approaching from the West and the dreaded berserkers of Khorne from the East. Immediately upon spotting the crippled vessel, the Undead Captain steers his ship into the wind hoping to cut her off, cannons blazing at the Khorne ship hoping to hold them off or scare them away. The Khorne Captain, bloodthirsty and greedy for plunder sees an Island ahead and decides to mannuever around to the back of Undead ship to stay out of sight of her deadly cannons, while keeping her cannon crews busy loading shell after shell hoping to take out the Undead ship before she can make off with the plunder. While avoiding screaming cannon balls from the Khorne ship the Undead captain moves in and prepares to board the crippled ship. With crossbow bolts flying and pistols firing the dreaded Undead captain notices the crippled ship is loaded down with treasure chests. Greedy for the treasure his crew swarms the deck of the cripple vessel failing to notice the Khorne ship slowly advancing from the rear. One by one the treasure ships crew falls to the horrible might of the Undead. As the Khorne captain prepares to move in for boarding, a huge gust of wind moves in from the North and pushes the already fighting ships into his hull. Angered, but determined to take the gold, the Khorne Captain manages to scrape close enough to board the treasure ship with a few of his trusted mates. Seeing that the Undead are already swarming the ship, but too bloodthirsty to back down, the might Khorne swarm the deck. With a mighty swing of his Hellblade the Khorne Captain manages to take down three of the Undead crew while at his side his trusted Quartermaster takes down one of the gunners. The Undead Captain, already having lost a few members to the treasure ships crew and with his pockets full of gold calls for a retreat. The Khorne Captian and his crew then proceed to comb the ship for any remaining treasure as they watch the Undead ship sail into the distance."

Post game: 
Four swabbies changed alliance and joined the Dread Khorne Captain

One swabbie joined the Fearsome Undead Captain

One of the Undead crew suffered major damage, was captured and sold to the pits, lost the battle, and will be out for the next game.

Awesome Pics.

I'm always amazed by how many Swabbies you pick up. Maybe it's because we're not playing with the extended crew of the Ship-to-ship battles (and maybe cause I'm the only steadfast player with an actual 'pirate' warband... we have Nuln, Norse, Witch Hunters, Skaven, & Orcs), but we never see a single Swabbie, outside of the 'Pressgang' scenario.

By the sound of it, you guys are having a heap of fun. You really have no idea how proud that makes me (makes all of the long hours editing those darn pdfs worthwhile.)

any update on the girls photo shoot?

Game night is Thursday! Who knows what Playtable will get accomplished with his artifact of instant visual still recording.

Styrofoamking--The Treasure ship scenario is like Press Ganging in that there are 7 NPCs that are likely to be available for recruiting. My opponents are also fairly likely to be able to steal one of my crew.

We are having a pretty good time!

well, try to set up a photo shoot. i really wanna see the ladies.

Hopefully good things come to those who wait. Many photos were taken, but few are chosen...

Week 8--Wild Times in Port!

Hopefully there will be photos because there were lots of cool things happening,

Last Orders--The Dwarfs, the Dons and the Khorne Raiders. The Dons were mugged by the 2 newer bands. Hermano was caught alone on the 3rd floor of the Tavern-on-the Wall. A troll slayer and his mate punched Hermano out. El Jefe was trying to get to the 2nd floor to warn Emilio of trouble. He had 2 of the new men with him. They were jumped by Dwarf Thunderers on the stairs. El Jefe got one but there were too many of them. He and Jorge were beaten senseless. As the Dwarfs and the Raiders closed in Emilio bolted down the back stair.
The Khornate Pirate Chief held for a few moments against the Dwarfs, indeed the Dwarf Noble was punched out as he tried to take on a flayerkin. But in the end the Dwarfs had too many good fighters in good positions for the followers of Khorne to challenge. Dwarfs capture the Tavern-on-the-Wall! A Thunderer is promoted to Hero. Dwarf's find a Medicine chest. The Dons find another blunderbuss to not use...

Fancy Meetin' You 'ere!--The Merry Maids versus the Ghosts. Not sure of the weather. It was dark I know that. The Ghosts tried to surprise the Maids as the Brettonian trulls meandered their way home from a drunken revel. The Maids' Ogre bodyguard messed up that plan. The Ghosts killed the Ogre and one of the Maids' crew, but the Ghosts still fled into the night. A couple of Ghosts die as well. I don't know if anyone was pressed or not.

The Lost Prince. The Stool Pigeon variant. Had to explain what a stool pigeon was. The Dwarfs, the Khorne Raiders and the Merry Maids. No idea of weather or time of day. The Pigeon tried to escape out a window and was killed in the fall. The Maids got its head as usual. The Khorne Pirates ran as soon as possible. The Dwarfs made the Maids pay by killing another of their crew. The Dwarfs and Khorne worshipers gain much experience.

Breakthrough. The Dons versus the Ghosts. Emilio concentrated for most of the battle. He cowered from charging Blackwater though, horrible memories of the loss of his eye unmanned him. As a result Juan had to fight the fiend alone. Juan looses an eye... Blackwater the Eye Taker! Maria got revenge on the evil Captain. Many of the Ghosts heroes were dispatched. The Ghosts fled when Blackwater fell. No one died in the fight but a Skeleton Mate was killed in a Pit Fight soon after... The Dons press a swab off the docks. The Ghosts keep all their cargo to sell for gold. Its hard to be dead...
A crewman is promoted. Lorenzo de Lupo assumes the Captaincy again due to Emilio's cowardice.

Next week we will sail to the islands!

The Bretonian Merry Maids, and a few escorts.

Last Orders: Tavern-On-The-Wall. Floors laid out side by side.
No funiture in the inn tonight except on the ground floor.</A>