Isekai Campaign Episode 14 - The Goddess Of Fate Summoned Us To Another World To Be Her Champions, But She Won't Tell Us What To Do!

Previously on The Goddess Of Fate Summoned Us To Another World To Be Her Champions, But She Won't Tell Us What To Do!:

Four Japanese High School students were hit by a truck and brought to a magical world called Risturan by Bruni, the Goddess of Fate to be her champions. While guests of Baron Filmelon after rescuing his daughter, Primri, from some bandits, the party learned that Tobe's fish allergy could be cured, but they needed the liver oil from a specific species of cod. Primri offered the services of a ship captain the family knew.

Our heroes:

• Sato - carries a katana and dreams of being a samurai
• Tobe - carries a bow and enjoys tracking and sneaking
• Okita - has two companion animals, a spark rabbit named Yokai-chan and a wind hawk named Riku-chan, and enjoys the creepy things
• Akuto - wannabe gangster who talks with his fists

Together they are The Mourning Cloaks, a bronze level adventuring party.

Tonight's session:

After waking, the party received a letter from Sherriff Pampanik that they found a cult tattoo on one of the bandits that attacked Primri.

Primri led them to the dock and introduced them to Captain Rostbar, the young and roguish captain of The Manta Ray, a good sized sloop.

Rostbar: It's good to see you again, Miss Filmelon.

Primri: Now, Captain, how many times must I ask you to call me Primri?

Rostbar: At least once more, as usual.

After setting sail, Sato and Akuto proved to be adept at following the captain's orders, and Captain Rostbar started calling Sato "Skipper." Tobe and Okita tried to stay out of the way. They dropped anchor north of Formic Island, which looks like a volcano, but is actually an anthill for Spit Fire Ants. (This wasn't important to the story, I just wanted to throw those in there) After fishing for several hours, Primri was finally the one to catch the elusive Blue Striped Cod.

As they were prepping to leave, they were set upon by a ship of pirates, some with cutlasses, some shooting lightning. Fortunately, Captain Rostbar had enough crossbows for everyone. Before the pirate ship made it all the way to them, Tobe managed to dispatch a couple of them with her bow, and Sato got a hit on their sloop with the Manta Ray's ballista, causing them to take on water. The pirates were mostly dispatched when more came from belowdecks (probably driven up by flooding water). Akuto jumped on board to fight the pirates on their own deck. Okita threw Yokai-chan to the other ship so he could participate in the battle, and Akuto managed to catch him in one hand while deflecting an attack with the other. Yokai-chan jumped out of his hand and delivered a Spark Tackle directly to the pirate's face. Rostbar's Frost Tern helped out by freezing various pirates feet to the deck. Rostbar swung gallantly over to their ship and managed to get one pirate through the heart before being paralyzed by lightning attacks. One pirate managed to make it on board the Manta Ray before his ship sank, before being decapitated by Sato. The party managed to dispatch the last of the pirates just as the sinking ship was level with the waves. Akuto managed to toss both Yokai-chan and the electrocuted Rostbar on board before climbing back on himself.

They set sail for home, Primri binding Rostbar's wounds while Rostbar let Sato pilot the sloop. While looting the decapitated pirate's body, Akuto found the tattoo of the Demon Lord Cult on his leg. Back on land, Tobe immediately set off for the apothecary with the prize cod. The apothecary quickly mixed the potion and told her "be sure you have the necessary points to spend when you drink this," suggesting to the party that others in this world see the experience points and skills menus.

After downing the potion, Tobe saw the notification "Spend 4 points to cure [Fish Allergy]?" She selected [Yes] and received the notification "[Fish Allergy] cured." She met her friends at a restaurant by the docks where she tried fried fish for the first time. She found it juicy, fatty, and full of umami, which warmed her Japanese heart. Most importantly, she found that it didn't kill her.

Before going to bed, Tobe sent a letter to Sherriff Pampanik that they found a Demon Lord Cult tattoo on the leg of a pirate who attacked them.

Lessons:

• If your players catch you off guard with something and you can't find the ruling for it, make something up that sounds plausible and go with it. My players asked if the ship had a ballista, and I agreed that it should, though I hadn't planned on it. I couldn't find on short notice what damage from a ballista would do to a small ship, so I had the player shooting the ballista do a straight attack roll, trying to hit over 12. When she did, I decided that the ship would sink in 4 turns.
• Giving your players a number to roll for makes dice rolls more exciting. I used to just have them roll the dice and said told them if it succeeded or not. Tonight I told them what they had to roll for and that made them "try harder" on the rolls, as though wanting it could make it happen. Either way, having a goal to shoot for made them more involved.
• Tell your players how much damage they do. I read this advice recently, and I thought it was a good idea because it shows them they're doing something. I don't tell them how much HP the enemy still has, though.

Thanks for reading! Join us next week for another exciting episode of The Goddess Of Fate Summoned Us To Another World To Be Her Champions, But She Won't Tell Us What To Do!

Past episodes: Episode 0, Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13