GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Meghan Miller, Alex Miller, Sarah Terman, Justin Evans
System: Spell and Blade by Stras Acimovic
Adventure: Curse of Storms
Last time on Spell and Blade…
Your oathbound adventurers defeated Nor’Razki Blackpool, leader of the Cult of Storms, and cast him into shark-infested waters—offering him as a sacrifice just as he had done to so many innocent Mkeshi children. Lighting struck and thunder rumbled as he died, and the God of Sharks and Storms levied a curse against the hero who vanquished his mortal servant…which one of you was it?
Since that day, you cannot pass an hour without vomiting up foul sea water, your skin has taken the sallow color of sharks, and you hunger for blood. But there is hope yet! Your band met a Seasinger who told you of the Blue Quay, an island temple where your curse might be removed. You journey there even now aboard the Candlelight, a ship in the Stardancer fleet!
Yay, I got to run Curse of Storms again. This time through I needed to fit in a four hour session, which I just barely did (a little rushing at the end). Here’s our oathbound adventurers:
Barkus, the Run Away Syndicate Chef. Her grandmother was a kinder soul soul and because of it shunned by most of the family, but Barkus wanted to be like her, and make incredible meals like she did! Barkus carried her ashes with her even now (not necromancy!). She had a new recipe for Scorpion Rum Hotcakes. On the run from her family, she had to avoid the Lykani merchant on board. [Played by Megan]
Hakari, the Reluctant Apprentice Sorcerer, bore the Drowning Curse and was compelled to taste salt water and blood, the fresher the better. Hakari studied under Arcanix Razda and was terrified about their upcoming apotheosis, specifically the surgery it required…they just wanted to get it over with. [Alex]
Ara’Katri Seven Winds, the Tkat Smuggler, whose family traded in textiles, which she still did as well as a cover for her real business. This was not her fleet, but they permitted her presence here. Her cousin, the monster hunter was on board as well! [Sarah]
Ara’Makrin Red Sails, the Sea Monster Hunter who had never been paired with Seasinger but traveled the waves protecting those he could. He had circular scars on his face and neck from a battle with a Kraken ages ago.
Highlights
Hakari just throwing up all over the place, all the time. What is it with wizards getting cursed? He stayed on the deck most of the time so he could always be close to a railing.
Ara’Makrin talking to the captain Nor’Fari Stardancer and realizing they shared similar stories of dead Watchers, lost in battle to sea monsters. Learning that some on the ship wanted to go in search of the missing Aurora, afraid they may have been taken by pirates!
Ara’Katri trying to win Sodrin Stardancer over to her side (he was a member of the wary crew that didn’t want Hakarin onboard) and finding out he’d believe her if she could beat Apa’Lana Stardancer, the fish lung in a diving contest, which she only lost because Apa’Lana cheated. She lost the contest but won a friend!
After the big haul at Wat’s Bounty, Barkus using the Master Chef ability to cook for the whole boat. She made a feast they would remember! She also learned from the quartermaster that someone had been stealing from the supplies. Who was it and why?
Ara’Markin looking to the coming storm for a portent, and seeing silver chains wrapped around a shark. Then Hakari looked at the storm with Mystic Sight and saw it’s origin, a great tower in the distance. Was there a priest of the God of Sea and Storms working against them even now?
On the Blue Quay, when the party got lost in the jungle and was split up, Ara’Katri and Barkus being attacked by a snake. They chopped off it’s head, and later used the bleeding body to attract Stonebreaker. How cool.
Meeting the Fearsome Three and quickly making friends, despite Ara’Katri being picked up by Corum and shaken to make sure she was not a threat. Talking over camp and learning about each other’s curses and the burdens they all bear.
Barkus getting a crit to identify the properties of the Tulwah plant and then risking her life to feed the collected pods to Stonebreaker. I enjoyed describing how it had been planted intentionally along the shore as a protective ward.
Beneath the surface Ara’Makrin and Ara’Katri showing signs of reverence for the Goddess Kahainu and making allies of her guaridans…to give Hakari a chance to make it past them.
Hakari inserting the aetheric suspension and powering the air resonance greaves to harden air underwater. I wasn’t sure how it would work. The device uses pulse harmonics to phase shift air to be solid, so what would they do to water? I guess they create a jet stream (Crit on Attuning!). Hakari blazed down to the bottom!
When Stonebreaker appeared and our Watcher was like “we gotta kill that!”. Barkus lured it with the dead snake filled with Tulwah pods (and narrowly didn’t lose her arm in the process) and the Ara’Makrin rode on the Drillhorn (holding on with his boarding hook), swam down to pick up a silver chain, and then guided the whale to plunge it’s horn, affixed to the chain, into the necrotic stitches in the side of Stonebreaker, who thrashed and wailed but could not break free. The Drillorn had to give its own life, but the great monster was trapped in the silver chains and could no longer terrorize the island. I wonder how long the chains will hold!
Ara’Katri learning the whale song and exorcising the curse into an undead prince, strengthened by a source she realized later was a blue starfish that affixed itself to her.
The cursed was transferred but the undead knight broke free, and began a long walk under water to his home in Verrard!
Thoughts on the Game
I’d like a place on the character sheet to track completed oaths. I can imagine someone asking “How many bands of silver? And how many bands of rot?” (or whatever it is when you break an oath).
Neither of the “guard” characters were taken, which surprised me a bit. They are the most physically capable (with the exception of fighting sea monsters). Not sure this is good or bad, just a data point for the future.
I rolled up a random encounter (a Giant Blue Crab) but skipped it for time. We still had moments at each of the waypoints (Dragon Strait, Wat’s Bounty, and Shipbreaker Reef) where the character did cool stuff, but I only asked for one pathfinder roll (instead of three), and I used the other locations as a chance to break up the players actions (gathering supplies, impressing the captain and crew, and learning rumors).
We got to use the Divine Bond mechanics! Ara’Markin channeled the divine and took a debt to Kahainu to borrow her Guardian in service of binding a terrible beast! I think it might make sense to add something like binding or safekeeping to Kahainu’s domain since that is a big part of what she’s doing.
Adventure Improvements/corrections
- Make it clear that the Chef doesn’t currently have the ingredients for their recipe. Or maybe give them the option to have the ingredients for one, and be seeking out the other.
- One shot guidance: use each of the three waypoints (Dragon Strait, Wat’s Bounty, Shipbreaker Reef) as an opportunity to shift focus to another character and give them a chance to learn rumors, improve crew disposition, gather supplies, etc)
- Remove Scramble from the Sea Monster Hunter (it’s an option they get during character creation).
- I think the character creation text is too long. I noticed my players (both sets) flagging a bit while reading it all and making choices. I’m going to work on trimming them down.
- Make a random encounter table for the Island (Rock Crabs steal stuff, an offering left to Kahainu, animal attack, etc).
- Do I need to make the Fearsome Three more fearsome? Give them a reason to be suspicious of the players or to seem suspicions themselves. So far, both times I’ve played it, after a simple shout out of “hello, anyone up there?” they adventurers always made friends with them and learned information from them. I think that is okay, but if they are going to provide info, maybe I should give them something they want? Both Aya and Aia have the terrifying trait which means they “look monstrous in some obvious way” but both times when I describe their curses people are like “oh, that’s cool”.
- I’m not sure I’d make the same ruling about the Air Resonance Greaves working underwater in the future, but that also makes me think, I might want to start the Apprentice with an apparatus better suited for using on this adventure. Maybe the Dipole Induction Harness or the Aethyric Oculus.
