Here's the link to the rival report rolls: Prince Aladdin Quest (Disney Villains *Almost* Victorious) Crossover - Fantasy
Prince Aladdin Quest (Disney Villains *Almost* Victorious)
- Thread starter TempestK
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
The Maiden in the Pagoda (Canon)
- Pronouns
- He/They
Okay, finally finished that Bai Suzhen omake. Based on the Legend of the White Snake, and yes the timelines do not line up but hey, time anomalies are the name of the game here.
However, finally, she was woken by the sound of strange voices and scraping stone. She awoke slowly, lifting her head, only to be shocked by the sight of light filtering through holes. While she slept, apparently people had been removing bricks from the pagoda. She reared back, eagerly reaching out to press against the magic, and felt how weakened it had become. Just a bit more of a push from her, and it would shatter.
The Hun soldiers had heard various rumors about this pagoda and the magical powers of its bricks, which was why they'd traveled out all this way to grab some. Supposedly, grinding the bricks of the pagoda into powder would provide a form of protection from the roaming demons and monsters of this country.
And then the pagoda exploded.
Most of the bricks shattered or crashed to the ground, leaving a pile of rubble lying there. But that was less significant to the soldiers than the giant white snake that was coiled in a spiral, rising into the air. It lowered its head until it was on level with the soldiers' faces, hissing in a long, slow voice.
"Where isssssss my sssssssson?"
The voice was vaguely feminine, and as they watched some more the snake seemed to coil in on itself, scales shedding from its form until a woman stood before them, still glaring. She lifted her head to the sky, making a soft noise of confusion as if she didn't expect to see this. The soldiers were backing away by now, not wishing to anger what they figured was another guardian spirit. They'd apparently just destroyed her tower, after all.
"Oh, don't be afraid, you silly little men," she murmured, still gazing at the sky. "You freed me from that horrid place, ahead of schedule I suppose, but that gives me time to find the rest of my family. I suppose I should reward you." She lifted a hand lightly to her chin and smiled, showing all her teeth. She might have taken a human form, but there was still a sharpness there.
The soldiers looked at each other, then spun around and ran away.
Bai Suzhen frowned. Well, that was pretty rude of them. Maybe her people skills had atrophied after she spent so long sealed up in that place. For that matter...just how long had she been locked away? The world felt all wrong, like it had changed more than just the passing of time. For that matter, those men certainly weren't dressed in any manner she was actually familiar with.
She frowned. That monk would probably have some idea just what was going on. But that would mean she'd have to seek him out, after he'd trapped her in that tower and tried to get her husband to abandon her. Still, with no other leads, he might be her best hope. Sighing, she shifted into her serpentine form once more, and took off into the sky with a flash. If the monastery was still around, that was probably where she'd find him.
The Maiden in the Pagoda
Bai Suzhen had been alert, at first, when she was sealed within the pagoda, alternating between pacing and slithering within her prison, knocking at every wall and brick, doing her best to try and find some way out. But that monk had sealed it tightly enough, and her own magical power was dampened and weak as well. And as the years went on, it had sapped her energy as well. She spent most of her time sleeping, now, dreaming of her husband and son.
However, finally, she was woken by the sound of strange voices and scraping stone. She awoke slowly, lifting her head, only to be shocked by the sight of light filtering through holes. While she slept, apparently people had been removing bricks from the pagoda. She reared back, eagerly reaching out to press against the magic, and felt how weakened it had become. Just a bit more of a push from her, and it would shatter.
The Hun soldiers had heard various rumors about this pagoda and the magical powers of its bricks, which was why they'd traveled out all this way to grab some. Supposedly, grinding the bricks of the pagoda into powder would provide a form of protection from the roaming demons and monsters of this country.
And then the pagoda exploded.
Most of the bricks shattered or crashed to the ground, leaving a pile of rubble lying there. But that was less significant to the soldiers than the giant white snake that was coiled in a spiral, rising into the air. It lowered its head until it was on level with the soldiers' faces, hissing in a long, slow voice.
"Where isssssss my sssssssson?"
The voice was vaguely feminine, and as they watched some more the snake seemed to coil in on itself, scales shedding from its form until a woman stood before them, still glaring. She lifted her head to the sky, making a soft noise of confusion as if she didn't expect to see this. The soldiers were backing away by now, not wishing to anger what they figured was another guardian spirit. They'd apparently just destroyed her tower, after all.
"Oh, don't be afraid, you silly little men," she murmured, still gazing at the sky. "You freed me from that horrid place, ahead of schedule I suppose, but that gives me time to find the rest of my family. I suppose I should reward you." She lifted a hand lightly to her chin and smiled, showing all her teeth. She might have taken a human form, but there was still a sharpness there.
The soldiers looked at each other, then spun around and ran away.
Bai Suzhen frowned. Well, that was pretty rude of them. Maybe her people skills had atrophied after she spent so long sealed up in that place. For that matter...just how long had she been locked away? The world felt all wrong, like it had changed more than just the passing of time. For that matter, those men certainly weren't dressed in any manner she was actually familiar with.
She frowned. That monk would probably have some idea just what was going on. But that would mean she'd have to seek him out, after he'd trapped her in that tower and tried to get her husband to abandon her. Still, with no other leads, he might be her best hope. Sighing, she shifted into her serpentine form once more, and took off into the sky with a flash. If the monastery was still around, that was probably where she'd find him.
Martial: 10 (Bai Suzhen is of fairly average strength, and tends to prefer non-physical ways of overcoming her foes.)
Stewardship: 15 (Bai Suzhen was an equal partner in her husband's herbal shop, and is also a fairly good housekeeper.)
Diplomacy: 13 (Bai Suzhen is a lovely and friendly woman, and can win people over in a conversation fairly easily.)
Intrigue: 7 (Bai Suzhen has always been mostly straightforward with her desires and intentions, with her true nature being the only thing she's hidden.)
Learning: 14 (Bai Suzhen has studied up plenty so as to keep up with her husband's knowledge of things.)
Occult: 20 (Bai Suzhen has trained for many years to attain human form, and picked up many other various magical skills along the way.)
Serpentine Form: Bai Suzhen can take on her true form as a large white snake at will, though certain occult items or potions may force her to revert to this form. She is capable of much faster travel, including flight, in this form, and gets a +5 bonus to Martial from her size and fangs alone. She also gains a +5 Occult bonus to magical attacks, as she's no longer suppressing her demonic side.
Human At Heart: Bai Suzhen has spent long enough as a human for it to become second nature to her. She gets a +15 Intrigue bonus to seem convincingly human, and a +5 Occult bonus to resist forced transformations if she's in her human form.
Herbalist's Wife: Bai Suzhen gets a +5 bonus to rolls involving the duties of a housewife. She also gains a +5 bonus to rolls involving herbal medicine, whether making or selling them.
For Love and Family: Bai Suzhen has always been able to accomplish almost anything if her family is on the line. She gets a +10 bonus to fighting if she's doing so to defend her family or way of life. Furthermore, she automatically resists all mundane forms of seduction, and has a +30 bonus against magical seduction.
Isolated Idiosyncrasies: Being locked up in a tower for several years has left Bai Suzhen a bit less adept about human interaction. She gets a -5 malus to Diplomacy with humans and a -5 malus to seem human until she gets used to interacting with people again.
Stewardship: 15 (Bai Suzhen was an equal partner in her husband's herbal shop, and is also a fairly good housekeeper.)
Diplomacy: 13 (Bai Suzhen is a lovely and friendly woman, and can win people over in a conversation fairly easily.)
Intrigue: 7 (Bai Suzhen has always been mostly straightforward with her desires and intentions, with her true nature being the only thing she's hidden.)
Learning: 14 (Bai Suzhen has studied up plenty so as to keep up with her husband's knowledge of things.)
Occult: 20 (Bai Suzhen has trained for many years to attain human form, and picked up many other various magical skills along the way.)
Serpentine Form: Bai Suzhen can take on her true form as a large white snake at will, though certain occult items or potions may force her to revert to this form. She is capable of much faster travel, including flight, in this form, and gets a +5 bonus to Martial from her size and fangs alone. She also gains a +5 Occult bonus to magical attacks, as she's no longer suppressing her demonic side.
Human At Heart: Bai Suzhen has spent long enough as a human for it to become second nature to her. She gets a +15 Intrigue bonus to seem convincingly human, and a +5 Occult bonus to resist forced transformations if she's in her human form.
Herbalist's Wife: Bai Suzhen gets a +5 bonus to rolls involving the duties of a housewife. She also gains a +5 bonus to rolls involving herbal medicine, whether making or selling them.
For Love and Family: Bai Suzhen has always been able to accomplish almost anything if her family is on the line. She gets a +10 bonus to fighting if she's doing so to defend her family or way of life. Furthermore, she automatically resists all mundane forms of seduction, and has a +30 bonus against magical seduction.
Isolated Idiosyncrasies: Being locked up in a tower for several years has left Bai Suzhen a bit less adept about human interaction. She gets a -5 malus to Diplomacy with humans and a -5 malus to seem human until she gets used to interacting with people again.
Always A Bigger Fish (Canon)
Always A Bigger Fish
Tamatoa let out a massive yawn as he woke from his nap. A shorter one, only two weeks, but after that horrible disturbance that had the entire Realm of Monsters in a tizzy he'd been busier than normal reasserting his dominance over the area. Between the terror sloth and the eight-eyed bats, it had been a pain, but with his size and speed he had quickly been able to put the fear of Tamatoa into the horrible little creatures.
It had only taken eating a couple of the bats to bring the rest into line. Even though the wings had a tendency to get caught in his teeth, it made for a nice change of pace from seafood. It didn't help that the fish he had eaten recently had tasted...odd. Almost eldritch.
Pah, as long as the fish kept coming when he shone at them, he wouldn't complain too much. Speaking of which - cocking his shell, light blazed from the treasures coating it and glittered in the depths. Tilting his head back, he opened his maw and gulped down a few hundred pounds of fish swirling in the water over the Realm of Monsters.
Light snack done, he began nuzzling down into the earth at the bottom of his cave, ready to take another nap. With a yawn, he settled down-
Before jerking upright as he detected the sound of an intruder. A sort of swish-thud, swish-thud that echoed in his cave. Rolling his eyes, he moved to his feet. "All right, you idiot monsters, I hoped you would learn the lesson the first time, but it seems like you need a refresher as to who's the shiniest beast down here!" He turned around to unleash his wrath on whoever had dared trespass on his domain, before pausing in confusion. "...what are you?"
For what stood before him was not a monster, neither a man, but rather an amalgamation of the two. It barely came up to the first knuckle on his leg, rather diminutive compared to Tamatoa - but then again, what wasn't? He'd have just written it off as an ugly human and been done with it, but the face was covered in octopus tentacles and the left arm had been replaced with a lobster's claw. Such an oddity was curious enough to stay his wrath - for now.
"Tamatoa," the creature spoke. "Lord of Lalotai."
Tamatoa's eyes focused on the creature. Disconcertingly, the creature chose to just focus on one, not acting like most mortals and diverting its gaze between one and the other. "Yeah, that's me. And just who are you supposed to be?" He squinted. "For that matter, what are you supposed to be?"
"Davy Jones, at my service."
A pause. "Isn't the saying 'at your service?" Tamatoa asked.
"I know what I said," the creature - Davy Jones - said. "I've come to strike a bargain with you, Lord of Monsters. I advise you to accept it."
A rage began to rise up in Tamatoa - how dare this little monstrosity walk into his home and demand terms from him, of all people! - but he kept his genial mien for the moment. "Bold statement, little mortal, but you've caught me in a good mood. I won't eat you - yet. What do you propose?"
Jones chuckled. "It's quite simple, really. I want that hook on your back. Give it to me, and I won't kill you."
Tamatoa's laughter shook the grotto. "Impudent little mortal! I've not seen the likes of your gall ever since Maui took my leg. He got away with it because he was a demigod. Just what the hell are you supposed to be, trying to command me like a puppet?" Tamatoa took advantage of his size to LOOM over the smaller being.
Jones looked bored. "Nobody important. Just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe."
Tamatoa scoffed. "If that was supposed to be an argument in favor of your authority, I'm sorry to say that it fell well short of the mark." He slammed a claw down in front of Jones; Jones didn't even twitch. "I repeat: who do you think you are, trying to command ME? Me, Tamatoa, the greatest and most terrible crab to tread the earth?"
Jones began to pace. "A sailor; a broken lover; cursed to sail the seas while oaths remain unfulfilled." He extended his claw towards Tamatoa. "Hand over the hook, or else."
Tamatoa growled. "Thrice I say and done; WHO ARE YOU???"
Jones stomped his peg leg; the sound BOOMED throughout the grotto. "Davy Jones am I - Captain of the Flying Dutchman, Shepherd to all souls lost at sea, forsaken lover of the goddess Calypso herself! By name and by right, I command ye to give me the Hook of Maui!"
Tamatoa was confused. The Flying Dutchman? Calypso? A rogue psychopomp? The first he'd never heard of, the second was some sort of sea goddess from the West, and what in the seven seas did a psychopomp want with Maui's hook? "Sorry, Jones, but no dice. I'm keeping the hook. And while I've never had calamari and lobster at the same time, there's nothing like the present to try new things." He bared his teeth and reached out a claw towards Jones - but paused at the clink sound of Jones tapping his own claw against Tamatoa's.
Jones gave an amused laugh. "Nice claw. Mine's bigger."
What the hell- Tamatoa's confusion was interrupted by the screeching sound made by something ripping the clamshell roof from his home. Ignoring the insolent Jones, Tamatoa whipped around and stared, gobsmacked, at the shape looming in the water over his grotto. A squid, it was, but of a size and scale that even the mighty Tamatoa had never seen before. Massive tentacles began threading down through the roof, questing for the giant crab.
For the first time in a very, very long time, Tamatoa felt something unusual; horrid, gut-wrenching, bowel-watering terror. He looked back towards Jones, who was standing there in his horribly smug manner. "Now, Tamatoa, shall you reconsider my offer?"
Tamatoa gulped. Just what monster was this Jones, to have a Kraken at his beck and call?
The massive crab paused for a moment; as the first tentacle tapped his shell, he made his decision. He opened his mouth to answer...
Last edited:
- Location
- USA
Well... I'm bored.
Time to go over currently known actions from last turn and list the ones I think we should do! Subject to change with new options and region reports.
Martial.
A Soldier's Life.
We're in kinda a bind here. We should have done this last turn when we just had to cover the north. If we have to cover the west now as well I can only imagine the DC and cost will go up. And since we are planning a adventure this turn we don't really have the heros to spare for it.
Hopefully, since we used diplomacy on the west they have their own army join ours and we don't have too much of a increase, but considering they were being overrun by bandits I don't have a lot of hope for that.
Stewardship.
Taking Aim... with selling crossbows option.
We need money quite badly. Unless something better comes up this is by far the biggest bang for the buck.
Diplomacy
Ever-Widening Web or Hire Local!
I'd love to get the second diplomacy action but we also need to get the north settled. Both are pretty high and could use a hero assignment.
Intrigue
Honestly, quite a few decent options. If we get a second action option we should take it. Plenty of low cost useful things to do.
Barring that Now Hiring! is a good choice on the east part we just took or on the west we might try expanding into. Lowered DCs and info is always useful especially in areas we are going to be busy in.
Learning
So Much Paperwork...
We've got plenty of useful options. We just need the actions to use on them. Would be a good place for José.
Occult
It's Coarse and Rough and it gets Everywhere
I'd love to do a bunch of things here but if we are going on the sand witch adventure this is the only real option.
Personals
Visit Jasmine but other than that everything else is taken up with the adventure or actions.
Time to go over currently known actions from last turn and list the ones I think we should do! Subject to change with new options and region reports.
Martial.
A Soldier's Life.
We're in kinda a bind here. We should have done this last turn when we just had to cover the north. If we have to cover the west now as well I can only imagine the DC and cost will go up. And since we are planning a adventure this turn we don't really have the heros to spare for it.
Hopefully, since we used diplomacy on the west they have their own army join ours and we don't have too much of a increase, but considering they were being overrun by bandits I don't have a lot of hope for that.
Stewardship.
Taking Aim... with selling crossbows option.
We need money quite badly. Unless something better comes up this is by far the biggest bang for the buck.
Diplomacy
Ever-Widening Web or Hire Local!
I'd love to get the second diplomacy action but we also need to get the north settled. Both are pretty high and could use a hero assignment.
Intrigue
Honestly, quite a few decent options. If we get a second action option we should take it. Plenty of low cost useful things to do.
Barring that Now Hiring! is a good choice on the east part we just took or on the west we might try expanding into. Lowered DCs and info is always useful especially in areas we are going to be busy in.
Learning
So Much Paperwork...
We've got plenty of useful options. We just need the actions to use on them. Would be a good place for José.
Occult
It's Coarse and Rough and it gets Everywhere
I'd love to do a bunch of things here but if we are going on the sand witch adventure this is the only real option.
Personals
Visit Jasmine but other than that everything else is taken up with the adventure or actions.
Last edited:
I concur with all of these. My one change would be reaching out to one of the Pirate Lords (Sinbad or Nemo), but otherwise I'm in full agreement. Who would you like to see as our No. 4 for the Sand Witches adventure, assuming Aladdin, Tai Lung, and Iago are the other three? Faria is almost certainly stuck on Learning, which leaves Selous or Leah as our number 4 (unless we get permission for Zummi to take leave for a time, since we could use the magical firepower.) That would almost certainly see Leah placed on Occult.
Edit: also, was looking through the turn options and noticed that TempestK forgot to include this action in the Turn 7 options.
- [][Learning] Crustacean Curiosity
The crabs that Sinbad brought back from the salt lake are unlike any that the old porter had ever heard of. Perhaps Chiron can puzzle out their secrets and figure out if they may be an as-yet untapped resource? Learn more information about the crabs, may unlock new options.
DC: 110
Cost: 1,500 Gold
Last edited:
Lifeandlice
Practitioning side-character
- Location
- Usa
The DC for this is so high for a crab investigation but I do wonder if we'd maybe figure out how to make armor out of these nigh-invulnerable crustaceans.
Actually I just remembered these things vary in size alot and are able to move a whole ship as a group. The DC makes sense.
- Location
- USA
Leah is the only one that makes sense.
Probably going to be a bunch of occult stuff. She's our best occult hero.
I just wish we had like ten more heros. Plenty of actions and personals to throw them at.
Well, good news is that we have one hero that we can start training up for sure - Cade. Aladdin and Leah both have personals involving him.
- Location
- USA
I don't necessarily disagree. I do want to reach out to Sinbad in particular.
It's just whether or not this is a good time for it. It would add even more to our diplomacy and intrigue piles.
I want to do the intrigue search on the eastern and western areas for multiple reasons. It gives us information on areas we've taken/want to take, it lowers DCs in those areas so that's good for quite a lot, and it has a chance to reveal or recruit heros.
It's just a difference between spreading out and deepening our connection to a area.
I'm pretty much always going to go for optimizing what we are already going to work with rather than discovering a dozen new things that need attention.
With the exception of limited time opportunities of course.
It would, but consider this: by annexing the Western Satraps, we now ajoin Sinbad's territory. If we want to reduce the chance of raids by him and his ilk, it's in our best interests to reach out to him first. Plus he and Aladdin should get along like a house on fire.
Last but not least, reaching out to him or Nemo might help with our Deep One problen to our South, since both have encountered them. They might have useful intel to contribute.
DVV Discord V2.0
- Location
- Wherever I feel like being
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Discord - Group Chat That’s All Fun & Games
Discord is great for playing games and chilling with friends, or even building a worldwide community. Customize your own space to talk, play, and hang out.
A new Discord link. Sorry that the old one expired. And thanks so much for the reading!
As a reminder, this is not my Discord, it is merely one that is allowing me to have a channel for the quest.
Nottheunmaker
Altman be praised
- Location
- USG Ishimura
I'm also in favor of reaching out to the Pirate Lords. As I noted before, they're an extremely powerful bunch, and while there's no shortage of monsters in their ranks, others aren't so bad. Sinbad in particular should be easy to get along with. Nemo less so. He's intelligent and... somewhat honorable, but he's also violent and vengeful. We shouldn't hit any of his triggers, and if his Hated Nation was England he might have calmed down a little. Plus that might help us get in contact with Long John Silver, which could help with a few actions relating to Will, and just means we can talk to pirate Tim Curry.
- Location
- USA
Truly, a worthy goal.
A hint as to my next omake:
- Location
- USA
Yay!
It's about monstro, right?
It's about monstro, right?
A Whale of a Tale (Canon)
A Whale of a Tale
Ned Land spat out a mouthful of seawater as the wake from the sinking USS Abraham Lincoln buffeted him, the steam frigate emitting plumes of smoke as it sank beneath the waves. When that damnable sea monster had disabled the rudder and screw with its attack, the Lincoln had been helpless when, two days adrift, it had been caught in some sort of storm. To call it a storm vastly undersold just how unnatural it had been; the skies had boiled with ebony clouds, and a massive sheet of lightning had nearly split the ship in two.
Ned had been forced to leap over the railing to avoid going down with it; looking around, he could see only a handful of survivors still on the surface. Most of the crew had been below deck when the storm had come in, and hadn't had a chance to reach the deck before the lightning struck the ship asunder.
"Hey! Ahoy there!" Ned yelled. "Sound out, survivors!" A few voices answered his call; powerful arms churned the water as Ned took off swimming towards them.
"Ned Land! Can't believe you survived!" sputtered Ensign Matthews, head of the crew assigned to repair the rudder. "What the hell was that?"
"Don't rightly know, mate," Ned said, clutching to a piece of driftwood. "Never seen a storm come up like that before in my life!"
"This whole expedition's cursed, it is!" said one of the seamen, a rigger Ned knew hailed from New York and went by the venerated name of 'Bobby'. "First we lose the professor and his assistant to the monster, then the ship is knocked adrift, and now we lost the ship to a freak storm!" He looked around wildly. "Don't suppose any of you know the way to the closest land? After this, I'm never getting off of it!"
"Don't look at me, I'm no navigator," Ned said. "What about you, ensign?"
Matthews shook his head. "No such luck. I'm just a mechanic, only time I ever got called to the captain's cabin was when I was in trouble."
"Well, where there's a will there's a way," Ned said with forced cheerfulness. "Let's go through the flotsam, might be some supplies there."
Day 1: 1d100+8: 58!
"Two barrels of water, a spool of rope, and three crates of rations," Matthews said dismally. "Enough for maybe a week."
"Catch a few fish, we can make that stretch," Ned said. "Least with the rope we can lash together some of the wreckage."
Day 2: 1d100+8: 20!
"SHARK!!!"
They lost three men that day. Ned cursed; without his harpoon, there was nothing he could do.
Day 3: 1d100+8: 71!
"A sail!"
Ned jolted awake from where he had been dozing on the wreckage; it was his turn to sleep. "Sail?" He sat up and squinted; sure enough, in the direction Bobby was pointing, there was a sail. He joined his voice to the chorus of the other survivors; they were saved!
1d100: 75!
A favorable wind gusted them towards the sail, and in about half an hour Ned's salt-rimed eyes could see tiny figures on the deck gesturing towards them. "Help! Help! We need help!"
The ship lowered a longboat and began rowing out to the shipwrecked survivors. It was around that point that Ned noticed that the ship didn't have a smokestack, nor paddlewheels. "Is that a yacht?" he asked Ensign Matthews quietly.
Matthews shook his head. "No, I can see artillery on the sides." He squinted. "Looks like a frigate? Old model, though."
By that point, the would-be rescuers had rowed close enough to make themselves heard. "Ahoy there!"
Ned grinned. "Ah, English!" Louder: "Ahoy! Thank you! We're survivors from a shipwreck. Are you a welcome sight! We've been here for three days!"
The officer on the boat shouted back, "We're just in time, then! We're glad to help!"
"Who be you?" Ned called as he started paddling towards the boat, the few other survivors in his wake. "I don't recognize your flag."
"The HMS Success, captained by Commander Groves, at your service! Sailing for the East India Trading Company!"
Ned paused in his swimming. "...the what now?"
~~~
Ned Land, shoulders covered by a woolen blanket, gratefully accepted a mug of coffee from one of the EITC sailors. It had been a shock to learn that it was an EITC ship that had rescued them; last Ned had heard, the company had been almost completely dissolved back in '58 when the British Crown had passed the Government of India Act. (What? Ned was a whaler, it was in his best interests to keep a finger on the pulse of sea trade.) The EITC had almost no ships on the waves that he knew of, and rumor had it that the Crown was going to dissolve the company outright sometime in the next five years.
"Thanks again for pulling us out of the drink," Ned said to the commander who had come down to meet the rescued sailors. "It would have been a long swim back to America."
Commander Groves grinned. "You hail from the colonies then? I thought I detected a Canadian accent in your tone."
Ned cocked a brow. "...the colonies? No, the United States. They haven't been a colony for decades, you should know that."
Groves was taken aback. "United States? I know of no such thing. What was your home port?"
"New York City," Ned replied, confused. "We embarked on the USS Abraham Lincoln June of 1866."
"1866?" Now Commander Groves was even more astonished. "Master Land...this is 1728. Are you sure you haven't been in the sun for too long?"
"1728?!?" the survivors all exclaimed at once.
~~~
After getting their dates worked out, Ned and the others were forced to accept that, whatever had happened, things were not the same as when they had left New York City. Commander Groves had brought forth indisputable proof that, whatever else was the case, he was telling the truth about being from 1728. Whether or not that was still the case that the Success had been transported to the future or themselves to the past remained to be seen.
A weeks' sailing saw them make port at Coupang, on the island of Timor. There, Ned and the others were introduced to the governor, the representative of one Lord Cutler Beckett. And it was there that the survivors of the Abraham Lincoln received bad news.
"What do you mean, pay off our debt? We couldn't help being shipwrecked, you're going to charge us for the privilege of being saved from certain death?"
The governor looked pained. "It's truly regrettable, but that is the policy of Lord Beckett. Everything has a cost, according to him, and what is worth more than the life of a man?"
Ned sighed. "All right, what's the toll?"
The governor told him.
Ned blinked. Then:
POW!
~~~
"Ten years?!" Ned muttered. "Ten years before the mast to pay off being saved?"
"Parlamene," said his cellmate.
"I've told you three times, I don't speak Italian!"
"Non parlo inglese, imbecille!"
The two men glared at each other before being interrupted by the jailer. "Land. Your escort's here."
Ned sighed. After recovering his composure, the governor had informed Ned in no uncertain terms that, whether he liked it or not, he was now an employee of the British East India Trading Company, and that any attempts to flee would see him hunted and hanged as a deserter. On the bright side, the EITC could always find a use for a skilled whaler.
Pulling himself to his feet, he resigned himself to his fate. For now. He'd escape, mark his words!
The other man in the cell spat something in Italian. "Wait your turn, Corto!" The key turned in the door to his cell, and Ned Land stepped forward to meet his future.
Ned Land
Martial: 12 (Ned is a large and strong man, with a powerful throwing arm. He lacks formal combat training, but is a quick study.)
Stewardship: 8 (Ned tends to be focused on the short-term over long-term consequences, and is easily distracted by shiny things.)
Diplomacy: 10 (Ned is affable and personable, albeit somewhat arrogant given his achievements. Not everyone likes the man, but nobody can ignore him.)
Intrigue: 9 (Ned prefers to be the center of attention, not eluding it; nonetheless, should circumstances mandate it, he would be a very quick study.)
Learning: 8 (Ned is bi-lingual, and the list of sea creatures he can't identify on sight is much shorter than the ones he can. With that said, he has no interest in scholarship or formal education, and left to sea after learning the very basics of the three R's.)
Occult: 4 (Ned is as superstitious as any sailor, but that doesn't mean he has any real skill or talent in the field.)
Traits:
"Master Harpooner" - Ned is a career whaler and fisherman from Nantucket, and has taken down scores of beasts with his harpoon. Up until the Upheaval, he was actually considered to be one of the top ten harpooners in the entire world, such were his skills and achievements. He gains +20 to all rolls regarding whales, cachalots, and other sea life, be it hunting, fishing, or identifying them. His skill with a harpoon translates well to spear and javelin work, and grants him +10 Martial when wielding any of the three weapons.
"Bi-Lingual" - Ned speaks both English and French, and suffers no communication maluses in those languages.
"Got a whale of a tale" - Ned is a talented, if amateur, singer, musician, and dancer, often using it to regale people with stories of his supposed exploits. He gains +10 Diplomacy if he can utilize those talents to win people over, as well as +10 Diplomacy with all sailors.
"Ain't No Chain" - Ned loathes the entire concept of slavery, confinement, or being imprisoned. He suffers from a -15 Diplomacy malus should he ever be captured, and +15 to all rolls geared towards escaping from said confinement.
Last edited:
- Location
- USA
Well...
I guess EITC goes on the "bad" list then.
I guess EITC goes on the "bad" list then.
One of Beckett's first acts in the third Movie was hanging a bunch of People of dubious guilt, among them a CHILD.
So yeah, the EITC is, in fact, evil.
Beckett IS the EITC. The Company is basically his personal Kingdom. Now more then ever, with Great Britain gone.
So, yeah. They're pretty damn evil.
mangawriter77
Otaku^9000 (In my own opinion)
- Location
- You'll neeever guess
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
This is why I say we should capture/kill Beckett and absorb the EITC. Not only will that get rid of a major opponent, and an evil one to boot, it will increase our own influence on the ocean due to access to all the EITC's vast resources. Plus, we'll be a much more generous employer than Beckett, so no loyalty maluses
Ned Land has been "impressed", or drafted, by the EITC. It was a common practice at the time, even more so now given their lack of manpower and the destruction of their main sponsor in the British Empire. The next omake will be from Beckett's POV, and I hope to provide a bit more depth and nuance than the usual puppy-kicking that we saw in the movie.
No offense, but that seems insanely optimistic, if not outright impossible given our relative strengths. Even if we managed to kill Beckett, why should his people bother listening to his murderer? Someone who isn't even British, at that?
Last edited:
- Location
- Wherever I feel like being
- Pronouns
- He/Him
To be fair... if you guys ever get to that point; how much of The Company is actually going to be made up of actual British citizens that would care beyond "the new boss isn't enforcing the use of the lash anymore"?
Honestly, we are not the world police and I do not want us to be in another CK, I am already tired, We can just leave A Becker to his fate considering that he will surely die at the hands of pirates. We can be a neutral ruler who just wants to assert his power to increase the territory a little, get married and have children but not intervene against all the bad guys in the world just because they are bad guys.