[Poison'd] The humbling of Padre Diego and sabotage of Lead Boot Rich

[agony]

So we started a campaign of Vincent Baker's astounding Pirate game Poison'd a couple weeks ago and just finished our second session which was brilliant. 

I'm GMing and the four players include:

-Double Pistol Pete (Sailor): Cunning and ruthless son of a bitch who will let no one stand in his way.  Is always spotted carrying his brace of magnificent pistols.
-Lead Boot Rich(Quartermaster): Coward, greedy, determined to do all that he can to acquire the necessary plunder to seek passage back to America and own his own property.
-Skullfuck Sid(Captain's Mate): Bidding his time to make a play for captaincy, hell-bent on seeking revenge on his former close-friend Lead Boot.
-Gunnery Mate Von Trousen AKA "Troust" (Gunnery Master's Mate): Will stop at nothing to get revenge upon Padre Diego.

Awesomeness before the game even started: Through the character creation rules we already had an intense situation (in addition to the default Captain being Assassinated) mainly due to the fact that Lead Boot and Skullfuck sailed together previously.  When Lead Boot attempted to smuggle the ship's loot to the shore he enlisted Skullfuck without letting him know what in fact he was participating in.  After being caught in the act Lead Boot had his hand cut off as punishment and Skullfuck had his eye torn out.  Skullfuck had no idea that he was participating in such a betrayal to their ship mates and vowed revenge upon Lead Boot.  Lead Boot by the way received is called such due to his inability to swim (very cool).

Anyway, actual play.

Captain Brimstone Jack is dead and his assassin Tom Reed has been caught.  Skullfuck and Pistol Pete immediately went to blows over Captaincy as the crew's vote was split.  The struggle became heated and Pete ended up gutting Skullfuck and leaving him bleeding out on the deck.  Pete tore a large chunk out of Tom Reed's chest with one his pistols as Tom started to warn of the impending arrival of the British war ship The Resolute.  They decided to cut the shit and keel-hull the bastard for his betrayal. 

The crew immediately sailed upon two British merchant supply ships carrying provisions in order to satisfy their own needs of loot to make repairs and sustenance for the souls aboard The Dagger.  After swiftly capturing the HMS Martha with no struggle, the players found themselves at a loss for words as Troust opened fire on the HMS Percival as the boarding party began storming aboard.  The point blank broadside tore the Percival apart, causing massive damage to the ship and forcing the crew to leave it abandoned with its loot headed straight to the bottom of the sea.  Troust bargained with Lead Boot as Lead Boot backed up his actions, claiming Captain's Mate Skullfuck ordered the firing.  Skullfuck's angered flared and his vow of revenge was brought to new heights.  Captain Pistol Pete also flies into rage at their grave misfortune and executes a boy from the HMS Martha who they had taken prisoner. 

After selling what little loot the crew garnered from the Martha, they repaired the damage to their ship just in time as The Resolute appeared on the horizon.  After several hours of pursuit the two clash as The Dagger takes a wicked broadside from the heavily armed Resolute.  Full of vigor and over-confidence, the Resolute's Captain orders his crew to board the The Dagger and slaughter all the passengers.  What he did not count on was his crew's cowardice in the face of the bloodthirsty and renowned killers aboard The Dagger.  The first session ended with The Resolute in flames, slowly clawing its way towards Davey Jones' locker.

Session 1 was satisfying and quite enjoyable but was not packed with nearly as much intensity and elation as the second session.

[agony]

Session 2 involved the assault upon El Vaquez, a small Spanish town boasting a sizable port.  The session was sort of odd because Captain Pistol Pete's player canceled at the last minute.  We decided Pistol Pete had been afflicted with Yellow Fever and I put into play the Cruel Fortune Want with the group needing Fresh Water and Medicine to curb the spread of the Yellow Fever.  Without Pistol Pete, Skullfuck was able to take charge. 

El Vaquez was the home of Padre Diego, a corrupt Priest who had come into contact with Troust in the past.  He uniquely reminded Troust of a Priest he had encountered long in his past, a priest who had imprisoned him, beaten, and tortured him due to his wanton blasphemy.  Troust would garner revenge by proxy, venting his anger on an innocent bystander and raping the bountiful hills of his town in the process. 

After sailing into the port in an attempt to look unassuming as possible, their ship's true nature was revealed and the massive walls flanking the port entrance opened fire upon The Dagger.  The fortress known simply as The Black Wall for its onxy embedded walls of stone was well-armed but undermanned.  While their ship fought its way into port as quick as possible, the assault of the fortress' batteries inflicted wear and breakage upon The Dagger.  The crew boarded the docks and engaged the defending company of Spanish soldiers, flooding their defenses and brutally dispatching of nearly all survivors.  The struggle cost the crew a handful of lives and left many wounded but the spoils of victory were oh so sweet.  Troust charged to Padre Diego's Encomienda and cut his eyes from his head, leaving only two guards alive to witness the atrocity. 

The plunder seized from El Vaquez provided Lead Boot the golden opportunity of seizing the necessary funds to finally purchase his own chunk of land and seek refuge in the free world.  After the assault, The Dagger sailed to port and Lead Boot made contact with one of the King's men, vowing to betray his ship and crew in exchange for pardon and the loot aboard.  The session ended with Lead Boot sailing off with three NPC's he had bribed (the four were divided into two row-boats with two souls aboard each), The Dagger's rigging damaged to the point that pursuit would be quite difficult, and contracted Privateer ship's arrival imminent as the British seek revenge for the destruction of The Resolute. 

Before we closed the session Lead Boot's player asked: "So it costs 3 X's to kill an NPC outright correct?  The crew on deck of The Dagger hear a distant 'crack!' and see a body shoved overboard in the moonlight as Lead Boot executes the sailor in his row boat." 

It was very difficult to end the session as waiting another week to play will be mighty difficult. 

[lumpley]

Fantastic! I'm delighted.

-Vincent