Kage Gordain: The After-Post

(Read previous post here.)

AFTER POST

When the Skylark sailed away from Crossbones Island with Kage Gordain, the navy, and their prisoners, they left behind them two unfinished stories whose endings would remain unknown if I did not tell them here in one last post. 

Whatever Happened To Midshipman Arlo Byrd?

At the end of Chapter 6, Byrd stabbed Kristopher, stole some treasure, and took off into the forest. His plan was to make it back to the Skylark and convince Captain Pollard that the rest of the party were dead and the ship should return to the mainland. This benefited Byrd in two ways. First, he would be alive and safe off the island, a state that was not guaranteed based on the encounters the party already had on the island. Second, he could sell the gem he stole and put a little extra gold in his pockets.

As we eventually found out, Byrd never made it back to the naval vessel. Still, I know what happened to him since I played through his journey after fleeing from the party.

I used the same game mechanics to get back to the lifeboat as I used to bring the party inland with some adjustments. First, Byrd had to navigate the quicksand pits. For each of four rounds, he had to pass a LUCK SR to avoid the pits and, if he encountered a pit, he would need to make a DEX SR to pull himself out. I made both these rolls only a L1, since he would be very careful to avoid the pits and make sure to always be in reach of a branch or other sturdy object in case he did start to fall in. With a rather good DEX stat, he made it past the quicksand alive.

Next, he had to navigate the jungle. Just like the journey inland, he would have to make three successful INT SR (Level determined randomly to simulate the difficulty of the terrain) to find his way out. Each INT roll would have an accompanying encounter roll.  Without the benefit of Kelseen’s compass, this task proved considerably difficult. Byrd failed every navigation roll and eventually stumbled upon a next of ten Scrats, who tore him to shreds in a single round of combat.

What Or Who Were Those Large Creatures Kelseen Saw Each Night?

The party had to set up camp for the night twice during their stay on Crossbones Island. Both times, during her watch, Kelseen saw large, human-like shapes in the night. These encounters could have just been tossed away, however, I actually developed the bare bones of a story should it become important later on in the adventure.

Each night I rolled two encounter checks. The first night I rolled negative both times. However, I did come within one point of having an encounter. For the sake of narration, I decided to write the story to address this near miss. One of the creatures listed on the random encounter table were gorillas. I randomly decided that a gorilla would be watching the group from a distance that first night. Kelseen wouldn’t get a good enough look to identify it and it would retreat as soon as Kelseen advanced toward it. 

The second night (the night in the cave) I legitimately rolled an encounter. Also legitimately, I rolled “gorillas” on the random encounter table. And a final d4 roll determined there were four gorillas. I randomly determined that the encounter happened on Kelseen’s watch and she made a successful INT SR to spot the creatures before they approached, though she still couldn’t clearly identify them. You may recall that she awoke the rest of the party and they prepared for an attack, but a reaction roll indicated that the gorillas were “Enthusiastically Friendly.” I played it off as though the gorillas just left. 

These events, however, left me to ruminate on some curious questions. Why were these gorillas watching the party? Why didn’t they attack? What can “Enthusiastically Friendly” mean?

Good news, readers! I have answers. 

I left it vague to leave some room for solo roleplaying if the group ever encountered the gorillas again, but this is the background I developed. While not unheard of (there were pirates on the island, after all), humans on this side of the island was a rare occurrence. The first night was simply curiosity on the part of a single gorilla. Who are these strange beings near my home? He would have gone back and communicated this to his troop. 

The second night he returns with others, either his family or other members of his troop. Whether it was instinct or something the male gorilla saw in the party, its curiosity stemmed from a need for assistance. One of the young gorillas in the troop, possibly his own offspring, was hurt (either due to injury or illness, to be determined when necessary) and he wondered if these strange creatures could help. Sylralie did know simian (you can check the character sheets posted in Chapter 2), so understanding what the gorillas needed would be relatively easy. Furthermore, I increased the chance to encounter the gorillas from that point on, believing the animals might follow the party. Also, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that in a future encounter with an enemy, the gorillas may jump in and assist the party. However, this would have had to have been an outside encounter, most likely not in the vicinity of the pirate hideout and such an opportunity never arose.