Landfall
Lone survivors?
Separately and collectively, you’ve all fallen into the hands of pirate slavers. Most of you remember it this way: You were walking in the countryside near your homes, strolling home from the tavern after a night’s drinking, walking down to the river to fetch some water, or gone to visit some lass or lad in neighboring village. Suddenly, you heard a thrashing in the underbrush around you, and before you could turn you felt a blow to the back of your head, and everything went black.
Structure
Exposition
You faded in and out of consciousness for who knows how long. As you occasionally blinked awake, you slowly became aware that you were in the dark, tiny, stinking hold of a cargo ship of some sort. Your wrists were shackled above your head to the sturdy beams of a narrow bunk. Around you were about 40 other captured people of different humanoid races (not all of which you recognized). Everyone was tightly packed together, and all shackled to similar bunks to your own.
Conscious periods begin to last longer, and some of you noticed that the keys to your shackles were hung from a hook right by the hatch to the deck. While they were only 5 or 6 feet from the lot of you, they might as well have been miles away. The only judge of time you has was that you were fed a revolting gruel by your jailer, Hafkris, a pig-faced half-orc. The gruel came twice a day, and though you barely could choke it down, at least it’s hot and filling.
Though your headache subsided, you still faded in and out for some reason. That alone was disorienting, but even those of you without a seafaring background noticed that the something about the ship didn’t "feel" right. As you started to figure this out for yourself, you noticed on the faces of some of the others that they were coming to this realization as well.
Conflict
While sorting it out, just as Hafkris was bringing down the pot of gruel for a meal, you heard running back and forth along the deck, then shouting, and then a thunderous crash. Hafkris dropped the pot, splashing your meal on the floor and ran above deck. Shouting, cursing, and what sounded like the cries of battle ensued above you from all hands.
More crashing sounds roared from above. Hafkris threw open the hatch at one point and ran below, unshackled about half the other slaves and roughly shoved them back up the stairs, telling them to man ballistae. Screams and shouts continue, and more crashing and the sounds of splintering wood. At one point, Hafkris returned and took another quarter of the others, shoving them above.
That was yesterday. You haven’t seen any of the pirates or the slaves since then, and you haven’t been fed. The sounds have battle have long ago ceased. Your unsettling feeling about the ship has grown and you realize: you’re not moving. Everything above is deathly silent. No battle, no crashing sounds, no crew moving, just...nothing.
As you’re waited for some sign of life from above deck, the ship groaned as if gripped by something; the boards of the hull almost feel like they’re bowing in. Wide-eyed, you all look to each other, and just as you think it’s the end and you’re to be crushed you feel like...you’re falling.
Random items in the hold float up; buckets of water (and other fluids), ropes, barrels, the upturned pot from gruel, everything slides around. The world spins around you until suddenly, you felt as if a god had slammed his hand down on you. The sounds of a storm were heard from above, water pounding the deck and seeping through cracks. You were rocked back and forth, your arms straining against your shackles until there’s an enormous crash – a grating, grinding noise and horrible shuddering of the ship around you.
When you awoke, there was nothing but the sound of wind and pounding surf. With the silence of your journey thus far, it’s out of place and deafening. You can see a section of rain-pounded beach in the dim light with nothing but open, storm tossed waters and the cliff-face nearby.
Rising Action
Immediately after the crash, Leon, Keshelm, and Kriv first had to free themselves from their shackles before seeing what little was contained therein. No crew members were found aboard, and the hold itself was broken with most of the contents spilled out, soaked in water, and the section of crew quarters also shattered with little of record of the voyage. With no clothing viable shelter the three were left in basically their smallclothes, so they tried to explore the beachhead.
The ship ran aground on a beach, showing nothing but craggy rocks and cliffs that rose 40 or 50 feet. The cliff descended as it continues down the beach to the north until it’s no more than a line of rocks a few feet high at the far end. The sky was blackly overcast, but the party had no clue what time of day it was as they had no clue aboard ship.
Climax
Out there on the beach, perhaps 30 feet from the barge, staggering up and down the beach, was Hafkris. Broadsword at his side he marched up and down the beach singing grotesque sailor songs into the wind, and obviously drunk out of his mind. They continued to watch him stagger back and forth until they positioned themselves behind rocks and around various parts of the wreckage.
Falling Action
The three took Hafkris completely by surprise, and stop just short of ending him completely. They questioned him at first, finding out he was the sole survivor of the barge’s crew. He ranted and babbled about the fact the Captain's poor judgement and he got exactly what he deserved.
The party then had to decided what to do with him. While talking, Hafkris continued to slobberingly babble about how he's now stuck here on this forsaken beach. They let him continue but then his inebriation got the better of him, and he lashed out...at them.
A few quick attacks on the drunkard though and he was finished.
Resolution
And there they stood. Hafkris' clothing was barely any cover, but they took it. They had found his crossbow on the ship. They had his broadsword.
Three of them on some strange beach, in a strange land, cold, wet, and no shelter. Decisions need to be made...so they started walking.
Relations
Protagonists
Leon, Keshelm, and Kriv were the only three to remain aboard the ship.
Aven, Kelnock, and Gesh landed somewhere south along the coast and were later rescued by grommam fishermen.
Later the next day, Torian Norixius, Bachydios Ignis, Kite, Tulio, and Soren were also found at random points along the coast by fishermen near Mananda and Gayumbala Crater.
Miguel was instead rescued by hadozee fishermen and held in Hanakuta.
The last surviving member of the ship was Ackurth who had floated much further south and captured by scro who had unknown motives for keeping him.
Plot type
Introduction to Campaign
Parent Plot
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