Exploring the 'Guineaman'.

[Hotgoblin]

Iggway remains on the steps and lets Stubble pass her by. She keeps her holy symbol out if she needs to use it.

[OGRE MAGE]

Seeing the normal weapons of his friends doing little to damage the skeleton, and then watching the strange reaction from Gins golem spear attack, Siggard begins barking.

“It’s some sort of construct, mates! Only magic will hurt it. Pocc may be our only hope here! René! Look over that damn totem! Is there anything about it that explains why this creepy thing would want it back so badly? Anything written on it?”

He shouts down the hallway towards Alderhay next. “Ooohh, captain! If crewman Clod knows anything about what’s going on here, don’t you think we should bloody well ask him?” Hey Clod! What else can you tell us about ol’ boney in here? Why is he so blasted greedy?”

Gin spins his pointy spear around and uses the shaft as a club or staff to beat on the skeleton with, hoping to learn if that will harm it. He tries to target the spots where the magic missiles already fractured its bones. VdP Golem Spear Attack [1d20+2] = 15+2 = 17 Dam {?}

The ships wizard contemplates using his modified pistol on the things skull, but fears hitting his friends with an errant shot. With no remaining magic to throw at the monster, he backs away a little further towards those on deck. “Clod! What’s with this Africanus ivory trinket Mr. Boney likes so much?”

[shaidar]

Alderhay shouts back

"I did ask, thank you crewman, and he avoided answering"

[Spearmint]

Amidships

Rexlin and Fishy take a breather and reload muskets and pistols. Rexlin bandages his bleeding with a McGregor neckerchief. Alderhay gives Clod a dagger and a command to protect him. Clod salutes, A bodyguard. Of course!" He looks around for dangers and goes to the body of the skeletal figure, stabs it several times and returns to Alderhays' side. "Just in case Sir." Clod looks jealously at the guys loading shiny muskets and pistols. "Perhaps I could have one of those Sir?"

Stern hallway

The menacing figure of the three armed skeleton lashes out at the surrounding party, trying to claw them and snatch back the trinkets it seems obsessed with. Swords and clubs swing. Mr Bojangles staggers from a bash of the shillegh blessed druidic club. It breaks a collar bone, VdP bashes with the golem spear to push him away.Ferrol again pierces the skeletons' ribs. His blade gets stuck and twists free from his grasp. Mr Bojangles pulls the skewering blade out and raises it to attack.

Geoffrey Blood waiting in the wings for an opportunity now seizes his chance. Having bought some upgraded vambraces with a word they would aid any duelling he draws his own longsword and shouts a command word of "En garde! " Armed with a sword, the opponent would normally be compelled to riposte but the undead is not affected by the mind control command. Mr Bojangles does however sense the suddenly enhanced blade of Geoffrey."A magic sword, I want that!" Flexing on bended but crippled knees, and one hand on hip it takes a duelling stance and 'heels and toes' a step towards Geoff. The bony hand previously amputated begins to writhe on the floor as it animates again. Old Plighty picks it up by 'the tail end' like a snake and hurriedly throws it in a desk drawer.

attacks on Rene,Pocc and Ferrol by Mr B all missed.

The bone totem is as previously described, a caricature carved figure. There are no runes or inscriptions on it.

Clod responds to the questions. "Mr Bojangles was always coveteous by nature. Greedy grasping man. The 'Hunger' affected him, his violence sated by greed and gluttony. I don't know what the totem does, I could never understand the people when they spoke.

The crew became cursed because of our evil deeds and the Captain cursed us by his covenant. That is way the ship sails as she does."

Middle deck

The sneaky group edge around the dark room as they remain undetected by the ghasts in the cargo hold. Zoggrot surprises the severed hand band but with discretion closes the door. After a silent moment the awful music starts up.Fenis and Iggway halt to wait for direction. Stubble, having eyed the rats who nibble the fungal sprouts on the descending stairs decides to take advantage of the distraction from above decks. He sneaks forward in to the cargo hold to try and smash in one of the ghasts with the morningstar. What could be a critical mistake turns into a critical hit. Surprised by the sudden advance of a dwarf into their lair, one ghast gets a face full of impetuous dwarf and a metal ball full of sharp spikes. You here several bones crack under the shattering bludgeoning attack.

Goldie sneaks behind and hides in the shadows of a bunk.


thank you guys. Next actions please.

[Leitz]

Short legs learn running is not an option. Stubble had quietly ambushed an otherwise occupied enemy and rendered the foe as sensible as a peotic elf. The morning star, for whatever it's other magical properties might be, connected well. Stubble grimly chose to give the others a chance to flee; he had no option.

The TH is actually 15 due to the -1.

Init: [1d6] = 3, To Hit: [1d20] = 16, Damage: [1d6+1] = 6+1 = 7

[Bluehorse]

Rex & Fishy

Both men move back towards the undead and stand just beyond reach before taking aim and firing again with muskets.

Rexlin:
To Hit [1d20-1] = 4-1 = 3 Dmg [2d6] = 8

Fishy:
To Hit [1d20-1] = 12-1 = 11 Dmg [2d6] = 8+[1d4] = 4

[GreyWolfVT]

Pocc determined to help fend off the undead four-armed skeleton tries to attack again.

Shillelagh [1d20+1] = 15+1 = 16 dmg [2d4] = 8

[Zhym]

Zoggrot draws his stubby pistol and tries to sneak into a position where he can shoot a ghast in the back if the opportunity presents itself. He nods to Goldie, who clearly had a similar idea. But without the gun, obviously.

Pistol (THAC0 20): [1d20+2] = 16+2 = 18 [2d4] = 2 (Stubby point-blank/short range dmg+: [1d4] = 4)
Does not include any bonuses for range or back"stabbing" with the gun.

Goldie, +1 dagger, backstab: [1d20+5] = 12+5 = 17 [1d4x2] = 1x2 = 2+1
This one does include bonuses to hit and damage from backstabbing. Not that the resulting damage was massive. Sheesh.

[Rex]

Fenis

Once Zoggrot fires Fenis will rush the nearest ghast and attack with his cutlass.

Cutlass [1d20] = 1 to hit [1d6] = 2 damage

Critical fumble.

[OGRE MAGE]

Grateful to see Pooc's relentless punishment upon this Mr. Bojangles creature, Siggard pulls out his normal pistol, trying to stay in favor with the zombie Clod so he can continue to hound him with questions. "Couldn't understand the people? Was that because they were speaking a foreign language? These evil deeds you speak of.......it was transporting Africanus slaves, isn't it Clod? How many good, innocent souls died on this ship at your rotten hands, crewman? I have an idea, though. Perhaps there is some way we could reverse this curse of yours. Do you know anything about that, Clod? Because I think you do. Would you like to be whole again, mate? Why don't you tell me more about this captains covenant you mentioned."

Gin is sure that his weapon cant hurt the 3 armed skeleton, so he uses it defensively now instead of as a weapon, trying to keep the attacks on he and his friends from connecting. If the opportunity rises where the thing looses another arm, he will use his spear to pin the thing to the deck if nothing else.

[Monsieur Rose]

Ferrol

A string of expletives spews from the mouth of the elf as he is disarmed. "That can't be good." He pulls his dagger and disengages from the combat, hoping to parry his own sword if it comes to that.

He tries to slink around behind Bojangles to see if he can flank him.

[shaidar]

Alderhay

"Sorry clod, no spare firearms at the moment, now keep lively and alert!"

If a ghoul/ghast should place part of it's anatomy within poking distance, he will stab at it with his short sword:

Short Sword: to-hit [1d20] = 12, dmg [1d6] = 5

[Ahlmzhad]

Rene'

Nothing on the club boss. he tries to say.

"mfupa wangu wa mifupa haina Siggardao" is what actually is heard.

Then he swings at the skeleton again.

To Hit: [1d20] = 13

Damage: [1d6] = 6.

[Spearmint]

Amidships

Rexlin and Fishy lock and load the muskets and point the barrels through a gap in the cargo hold doors to blast away. It is a blind shot and the ghasts in the hold dodge the bullets. You get the sense that to fight the ghasts you will need to go below and join the melee. Alderhay waits anticipating a ghastly arm stretching from under the doors so he can pin one to the floor but none is forthcoming. Clod, ever your reeking shadow, growls at Siggard's insistence. He explains that the ship was left without wind in 'the Doldrums' and as food ran out the Captain (pointing to the skeletal body of De la Vega), took the decision to starve the slaves first. Then certain crew began to harvest organs from the slaves after they died and this lead to 'the Hunger' where the more they ate the hungrier they became. "We only took fresh meat from the dead or dying," he insists.

The Captain did a 'deal with the devil' to gain windpower to sail the ship away. He doesn't know what kind of deal or devil, as his head was bashed in as he tried to repent of his evil ways.

"Perhaps some rations will help lubricate my tongue?" he asks as his stomach audibly rumbles and he vents some intestinal gases with aplomb.

Stern Hallway

Geoffrey and Mr Bojangles duel together with a riposte and lunge each.

Geoffrey Blood longsword duel [1d20+3] = 2+3 = 5 damage [1d8+2] = 3+2 = 5
Mr Bojangles arms vs Geoff [1d20] = 18 [1d8] = 7

Despite his enhanced blade, the young Breton is no match for the experienced undead pirate who stabs him with precision. Mr Bojangles tries to snatch his longsword, swiping at it with a free hand. "Mine, mine, .... curses treacherous rogue...". The skeleton has short delight as the sword of Geoffrey is only magic on his hands and not in the skeletons. He let's go of the blade then owl-like, suddenly turns his bony skull. Rotating a full 180` degrees and his disjointed frame clicks into sockets as he faces a direction and stop Ferrol flanking him. He assesses the four protagonists facing him and chooses the one with the best weapon, lunging at 'Gin' Van de Poel. Mr Bojangles attacks VdP [1d20] = 12 [1d8] = 2, who bashes him in return.

Pocc scores another direct hit but regretfully his magic spell reached its duration and is no longer enchanted. Mr Bojangles skull rotates in circles around his neck bone, a hideous laughter comes from his rotten toothy maw.

"Shut yer gob!"says an inebriated but not incapacitated pirate from the Captains room. Old Plighty throws his flask of acid, kept for melting locks. It breaks open on the skeletons cranium and splattering drips run down his skull. Old Plighty thrown acid flask [1d20] = 12 [1d6] = 3. It would blind eyes but the skeleton sees without.

Rene attacks with the bone totem. He tries to speak in Gauloise but a tribal Ashanti language unexpectedly comes out. "Bone of my bones," declares the skeleton and focuses his next actions upon the halfling.

Middle deck

Stubble swings the morningstar in a wide arc, clearing the tops of the bunks and into the head of the advancing ghast. The powerful blow is enough to rotate the ghasts skull around like Mr Bojangles but no hideous laughter comes from the creature, a hideous scream instead as teeth and brains splatter and it falls prone to rise no more. With two fallen bodies to clamber over, the remaining ghast is not within reach of Stubble. The dwarf may exit sharply with the ghast fast hit on his heels. Twin blasts of lead ping around the hold.

Fenis and Iggway emerge from the store room, exposed by the flickering candlelight and noise. The ghasts charges at the trio of intruders.

Death lurks in the shadows, it wears a bone mail vest and rises like the Grim Reaper. At point blank range and with both loaded pistols, the critical damage is beyond mortal and unmortal alike. Dead before Zoggrot can blow the smoke away from the muzzles. A decapitated, blown away skull rolls along the aisle to rest leeringly at Goldie's feet.

Zoggrot hide and sneak [1d100] = 20

Zoggrot: Stubby and Target pistols at PB range:[1d20+6] = 11+6 = 17[3d4+12] = 11+12 = 23[1d20+6] = 17+6 = 23[2d4+8] = 7+8 = 15


Silence reigns in the hold, pitch dark and gruesomely smelly.

thanks guys. Only ongoing action is Mr Bojangles. Rex and Al may join that as it happens around the hallway. Others give me actions for characters below deck.

[Ahlmzhad]

Rene'
'
"Bifuto nya ndag tiarri" he yells as he again whacks at the skeleton with the bone totem.

To Hit: [1d20] = 5

Damage: [1d6] = 5

[OGRE MAGE]

Siggard quickly tires of speaking with dead things. One eyebrow raises when he hears Rene speaking some tribal dialect as he attacks with the totem. "Well, that's interesting. Maybe a game of *keep away* would be a good way to preoccupy ol' Bone Jangles here?"

He sees Rex and Fishy looking for something to do and shouts their way. "If any of you has a magic weapon handy, Pocc and the new recruits could use a hand over here!"

He then moves to the stairway looking for a rat that Clod could nibble on while he tells his tale of woeful curses. If he sees any, he puts as many of them that he can to sleep with his magic.

Gin continues to defend himself and his spear from the greedy construct, not attacking, but trying to protect the others from further attacks.

[shaidar]

Alderhays looks over to his noisome bodyguard

"We'll get you some food once this is all over. C'mon let's see if we can help the others. Any ideas on how to defeat bo-jangles without magic?" he asks the zombie as he heads over in that direction.

He keeps an eye out for any cannonballs on the way, remember how effective they seemed to be on the bones in his feet.

ooc: he will keep back out of bo-jangles reach until he can think of a possible way to hurt it

[GreyWolfVT]

Pocc with his spell ended has to draw his scimitar and fight on knowing it likely will not harm the undead creature.

Scimitar [1d20] = 20 to hit, [1d8] = 5 dmg

[Leitz]

Knowing he cannot outrun the creature, Stubble readies his morning star. Focused on the threat he completely misses the heat signatures nearby and prepares his last act of defiance. All for naught. The rest of the group has taken out the other undead creatures.

"Not a bad bit of work." He said. "Had me worried there for a bit, glad you could make it."

Stubble took a deep breath and looked at Iggway."Miss, there's some green slimy stuff on those stairs, looks nasty but I saw two sleek rats eating off it before they scampered down the hold. Oddly, the rats are the first things I've seen here that looked like they weren't really undead."

If he's aware of the remaining fight Stubble will head there. Otherwise recover himself and search around for treasure.

[Zhym]

The immediate threat gone, Zoggrot reloads and takes a closer look at the area.