Let's Play Pirate Borg! Part 4: Los Pantalones
Ahoy, gutter-born wretches. It’s been a while, but it’s time to continue our adventure in the Dark Caribbean.
Nathalie “Byrd” Seszay, Timothy “Devil” Hennekes and Nicolas “One-Eye” Vázquez got a mission from Don Archer, an old acquaintance of Nick’s, to raid a Spanish port and make it look like it was done by the British. The trio steals a sloop, The Eerie Dog, releases the ghost prisoners locked in the hold, and recruits Blue Jean, the skeleton lookout, to the party.
After sailing for a few days, they arrive at Shadow Harbor Island, ready to raise hell.
The coral reef makes approaching the port risky during the torrential downpour, especially with a bunch of amateurs for a crew, save for Blue Jean. I think.
Tim proposes to drop anchor and raid the port on foot. Nic complains, of course, but Tim makes him consider sailing through storm and reefs with all their precious cargo. He relents.
“Well, wish you all the best of luck,” Blue Jean said, making herself comfortable down in the hold. “I shall guard the ship with the utmost ferocity.”
Tim pointed to the deck. “Get over here, you’re coming with. There’s no way we’re leaving you alone with all our loot.”
“The bald shitbreath is right,” Nick chimed in. “You haven’t earned it yet.”
“I’m glad to see you two agreeing. What a joy,” Blue Jean stepped into the rain, looking miserable even for a skeleton.
“Do you speak any Spanish?” Tim asked her.
“Un pueco poquito. That means ‘a little bit of this, a little bit of that.’”
Byrd’s jaw dropped in amazement.
Tim nodded, uncertain. “Good, it might come in handy.”
We tie the ship in the bay east of the freshwater pond. Tim says it’s a simple journey north to reach the objective, so off they go.
As a reminder, these were the rolls that generated this mission:
Something about the intel was wrong, and I (and the crew) don’t know what yet. We’ll find out.
I’ll use Solitary Plunder to hexcrawl. And I’d like to make this quick, so I’ll need 2 checks to reach the port.
DR 12 Adventuring Move: 18, 2 = Weak Hit
For weak hits, I’m asking the oracle what happens. For failures, I’m rolling on the Path Threat table.
Do we find something on the way? Yes.
Is it an encounter or an event? Encounter.Let’s make use of the random island we generated.
Is it a siren? No.
Cannibals? Yes.
How many? d4: 4
Reaction: *Indifferent, neutral
*Sparks: Steer/Death/Broken
Alright, so these aren’t mindless cannibals, or an indigenous tribe. They’re pirates or sailors who shipwrecked on the island long ago and were forced to survive through unspeakable acts. This left them broken, and they made the island their new home, incapable of going back to their previous lives.
Our crew doesn’t know any of this yet, of course, so they just encounter a disheveled group in rags crossing their way through the rain. As the most charismatic, Nick approaches.
DR 12 Presence (+3): 20, 18 = Strong Hit
“You lot coming from the Spanish port up north, by any chance?”
Will they reveal anything about the mission? Yes.
Steer/Death/Broken.Yes, that’s not a mistake, I rolled the exact same d66 result twice in a row.
The oldest among the figures looked at Nick in doubt. “Spanish?”
“Is there another?”
“Just the one,” the man said.
Tim moved beside Nick. “What did you mean by that, though? Ain’t it a Spanish port?”
The man glanced at his companions and gestured them away. They headed east, and the man lowered his voice. “It’s a smuggling port. Spanish, British, what have you. They’re all in it.”
“What are they moving?”
“People. Most are hopeless ash addicts. Broken souls who’d sell their mothers for a fix.”
Byrd groaned. “That’s so awful. How large is your group? We could use some help.” Tim and Nick turned to Byrd and made faces to shut her up, but she didn’t notice. “We’re going to raid the damn place, and we might as well burn it to the ground.”
I’m going to say that getting their help is unlikely, so DR 16 against Presence.
DR 16 Presence (+3): 18, 23 = Strong Hit
Well. Um. This is embarrassing. I wasn’t planning for this.
The old man sighed as he observed his companions with pained, haunted eyes. “Those souls deserve some rest, and maybe redemption.” The others didn’t know if he was talking about his own group or the people being trafficked. He continued, “I’ll talk to them. I reckon that more than a few would jump into the opportunity. In any case, go ahead. I’ll follow after you with those who agree.
With that, the old man ran to catch up with the others.
DR 12 Adventuring Move: 10, 16 = Weak Hit
Do we find something on the way? No.
Cool stuff. We’re on the hills overlooking the port. Blue Jean, soaking wet, pulls her spyglass and scouts the location.
Can she see through the rain? Yes.
It’s hard to see clearly, but there are indeed ships moored there under different-colored flags, even pirate banners. A blurry line of scrawny figures stands in the storm. The main gate is closed.
Are there lookouts? Yes.
d20 Crowd Sizes table: 3, small
Let’s say there’s just one person on watch because they don’t expect any trouble.
“I spot only one sentry,” Blue Jean said, closing her spyglass.
Tim slapped her shoulder. “You’re going in, then. Use your Spanish and see if you can sneak in past the gate and open it for us. Check what’s going on inside.”
“But… I’m the lookout!”
“Then go look!”
“I’m also an undead skeleton. That will raise suspicion.”
“I reckon they’ve seen worse.”
Nick pushed his wet hair back. “I’ll go with her. I’m sick of this fucking rain.”
Byrd scrunched her face. “I’m going, too.”
“No,” Tim protested. “The fewer, the better, Nat. Let’s not encumber them so we can all finish this quickly and get our reward.”
She crossed her arms, but eventually agreed.
Blue Jean approaches the sentry, while Nick stays behind, hiding.
Reaction: Angered or alarmed
The woman on watch turned as she heard a branch snap, and pointed her pistol at Blue Jean. “¿Qué coño haces aquí?”
Blue Jean raised her hands and stopped. “Tenemos Los Pantalones.”
The sentry cocked the weapon, giving Jean a bemused look. “¿Te quieres morir, o qué?”
Jean continued, “Conoces la cocina y escucha los huevos. ¡Los Pantalones!”
The sentry shot.
Blue Jean still doesn’t have a sheet (because I’m a lazy ass), so I’m doing a move.
DR 12: 2, 1 = Failure
Such a great idea, right?
The shot hits Jean square on the chest, splintering ribs and punching clean through. Nick, watching through his musket sight, realizes diplomacy is over and goes for a headshot. Ranged attacks are rolled with Presence, and Nick has a -2 DR for them.
DR 10 Presence (+3): 9, miss
Damn it! Blue Jean picks her own musket and shoots at the woman. I’m going with another move, using a DR 14 as she’s too close and constrained by the rain and the sudden action.
DR 14: 6, 7 = Failure
As Jean misses, the sentry drops her pistol and draws a sword, swinging at the skeleton.
DR 12: 13, 4 = Weak Hit
A slash chips at Jean’s bones. Nick reloads. Jean goes for a shove with her musket to trip the opponent.
DR 12: 10, 4 = Failure
The woman avoids Jean’s clumsy attempt and slashes again.
DR 12: 9, 3 = Failure
Jean shields herself with her left arm and the sword cuts deep into the bone, severing it at the shoulder. Nick swears and shoots again:
DR 10 Presence (+3): 16, hit
The sentry’s head whipped back as she fell lifeless into the muddy grass. Blue Jean screamed, “Aaahhhhhhh— oh, right, it doesn’t hurt.” She bent over to pick up her arm and tucked it into her belt. “Still sucks.”
“What the hell was that about?” Nick asked, getting closer and reloading his musket again.
“I was carefully establishing dominance with an intimidation tactic, telling her of our exploits as the fearsome Lions of the Sea.”
“The fuck is a lion?”
“A huge, mighty jungle cat.”
“Lions of the sea, huh?”
“Exactly.” Blue Jean nodded confidently. “Los Pantalones.”
Nick considered it for a moment. “You know what, I kind of like it.”
Does all the shooting alert anyone of our presence? (I’m going with unlikely due to the heavy rain): No.
Nick and Jean move to the port, looking for a different entrance. Is there any? Yes.
Is it unlocked? No.
They don’t have anything to pick locks, but Nick has 30’ of rope.
Is there a window nearby? Yes.
Ok, Nick goes through it. Jean soon follows, but with only one arm, she crashes on the floor with a loud clatter.
Is anyone nearby? Yes.
A man stares at Nick and Jean. They stare back at him.
DR 12 Presence (+3): 12, 15 = Strong Hit
“Did you lock this damn door?” Nick asked. The man gulped.
“Wasn’t I supposed to?”
“There are reinforcements coming. Open it at once. Make sure to leave the main gate wide open as well.”
“Right, right, sorry,” the man said, scrambling for the keys. “Who is coming?”
“Los Pantalones,” Blue Jean said. “You better hurry.”
Starting the fire was easy. Workers moved lazily between crates and ledgers, nobody really paying any attention to them. Nick pulled some gunpowder from his musket and sprinkled it around, making sure to work it between the floorboards. Then he took one of the hanging oil lamps from a hook and lowered it. The flame caught.
As the main gate opened, a shape in the rain overshadowed the guard they had fooled. An exploding blast hurled the man backwards. Tim stood at the gate, smoke curling from his Boomstick. He slung it over his shoulder and charged in with his brass anchor.
Nathalie followed, casting Protection and Dead Head. The ghostly skull emerged from green fire to burst across the building. One of the workers screamed, “Gods, a flying head! There’s a sorcerer here, or something worse!”
A swing of the Negotiator into the chin shut him up.
People inside finally reacted, raising their guns. Bullets punched through barrels and wood and echoed around. Blue Jean hid behind Nick, then crouched behind some crates.
Protection. You summon a ghost or spirit to watch over the souls of you and your allies. Everyone who is protected gets -d2 protection for one hour as if wearing extra armor (does not affect penalties to Strength and Agility, not affected by Fumbles). T1: 1 soul
Dead Head: You summon a flying, ghostly skull. You may spend your action and test SPIRIT DR12 to have it deal damage to 1 target. It dissipates after 1 minute (10 Rounds) or if it deals any damage. Fumble: it attacks you. It ignores armor and deals: T1, 2d4
Ok, everyone gets attacked and rolls Agility to avoid it.
DR 12 Agility
Byrd (-1): 1, hit.
2d4 damage (Flintlock pistol) - d2 Protection: 3Tim (0): 1, Fumble! I’m using 1 Devil’s Luck to reroll it: 8, hit.
2d4 damage -d4 Protection: 3Nick (0): 6, hit
2d6 damage (Musket) -d2 Protection: 6
The trio got injured, the fire raged, and the raid might have been a terrible idea. As Nick reloaded, a blur flew past him, then another. He heard a roar, then a painful scream. Someone was biting into the neck of a smuggler, latched firmly around the man with arms and legs. A second figure attacked with a sharpened branch, and another tackled someone to the floor.
The old man had kept his word. His group invaded the port, providing a much needed backup.
Watching that, Blue Jean left her hiding spot, pulled her severed arm from her belt, raised it overhead and shouted, “Los Pantaloneeees!”
DR 12 Adventuring move: 19, 4 = Weak Hit
The four of them regrouped, bleeding from their wounds. Don Archer lied to them about the mission, and what he would gain from that was beyond their understanding. The fact was that he used them as expendable idiots.
Nick wants to return immediately. Nathalie says they have to help the trafficked addicts, all huddle in the mud, whose fate might be worse than death. Nick doesn’t give a shit, as this has nothing to do with him and there’s no profit in it.
For the first time since meeting him, Byrd showed disgust at something Nick said. She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze, and whispered, “I don’t think I can go with you anymore, then.”
Amidst the smoke, fire, and gunshots, they heard Byrd pretty clearly, and just stared at her. Nick seemed taken aback. He recovered, then sighed, considering his options. Tim had his anchor ready to swing.
Blue Jean stopped waving to clap Nick on the shoulder. “For all their savagery, lions still care for their own. We are Pantalones.”
He let his shoulders sag. “I suppose.”
The others didn’t understand any of it, but Nathalie beamed when she realized he reconsidered.
What the hell is the group doing about that? Well, let’s start by unchaining those poor, scared bastards.
And I got an idea.
The old man approached them, face stained by blood, looking over the prisoners one by one, eyes filled with water.
“We can help them,” he said. “The first few days will be the hardest, but they won’t get that stuff here on the island. This can be our redemption.”
Good enough for Los Pantalones. They grab whatever valuables they can carry and get the hell out of there. They have a reward to collect and answers to demand.
And that’s it for this session! And probably for the playthrough. Pirate Borg is a ton of fun, especially when things are flowing, but having to constantly sift through 4 books to find the procedure I want is kind of a pain. This is likely a me problem, and I know, I know, poor Jake, overwhelmed by so much cool content, but so it goes.
Anyway, thanks a lot for reading and until next time!
Pirate Borg and its additional contents are available on DTRPG and the Limithron website.
If you want to use those character sheets, get it on Google Sheets (File > Make a copy).