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The order came – “Silence!” – and the frightened globe fell still.
Lofty Jove began (and his hallowed speech has a grave,
immutable weight, and Destiny follows close on his word):
“I complain of Earth’s offenses, of human nature
that craves ever more revenge. Must all my efforts go
to punish guilty men? It’s exhausting to vent my rage
with the glittering bolt, the Cyclopes’ overworked arms gave out
long ago, and Aeolian forge fires flicker and fade.
I did allow an imposter to drive the Sun’s horses
once – they ran wild, the sky caught fire as wheels careened,
and the world was smutched with the ashes that had been Phaëthon;
nothing achieved then – and nothing when you, Brother, shook your
sturdy trident and flooded forbidden land far and wide.
this time, I descend to punish a pair of houses
I founded myself; the one branches off through Persean
Argos, the other flows from the source – Aonian Thebes.”

“Human nature! It never changes. Who doesn’t know
the deaths Cadmus caused, the troop of Furies so often
called from the Pit to do battle, depraved maternal delights,
fanatics roaming the forests, divine crimes that must be hushed up?
Scarce in the space of a day, scarce in that of a passing night
could I tally the times this race has shown its knack for sin.
this man – the impious heir – even hungered to clamber
into his father’s bed and defile his innocent mother’s
womb, to thrust his way – monstrous! – back to his own begetting;
still, he’s paid Gods Above eternal atonement – light
cast aside, he now no longer feeds on our air.
But his sons---! Crime without precedent! They’ve ground his fallen
eyeballs under their heels. Now at last your prayers are answered,
you grim old man! Your darkness has earned, yes, earned you the right
to hope Jove will avenge you. I’ll embroil the guilty
realm in fresh hostilities --- I’ll pull up the whole
deadly race by the roots! Let Adrastus as father-in-law,
let his daughter joined in ill-omened wedlock serve me
as seeds of war.

It is further decreed that the clan
of Tantalus too shall incur punishment, for, deep within
my breast, that traitor’s savage banquet rankles yet.”

-Zeus Ὑπατος, before the Seven marched against Thebes
Statius’ Thebaid, Book 1
Translation by Jane Wilson Joyce

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[bold]LESCHES’ NOTES[/bold]

A word of explanation – this is Homer’s quest, and I am not him.

I deeply enjoyed Total War Quest as one of his players, and I was heartbroken to see it go. In fact, I was so heartbroken, I ran myself through a crash course in ancient Greek myth, read the Iliad and the Odyssey, Hesiod’s Theogeny/Works and Days, and am chewing into Jane Wilson Joyce’s excellent translation of Statius’ Thebaid. In the process, I ran a spin-off quest about Deianira Hippomedion, Nikon’s sister, set in the Trojan War Quest universe to build my expertise in QMing. In short – I’m serious about restarting TWQ and doing the best job that I can, even if I am not a trained classicist like Homer.

At any rate – I plan to run Trojan War Quest intermittently, unless Homer returns to deliver a “cease and desist”, Nikandros dies in his quest for eternal glory, or Nikandros successfully survives until the end of the Trojan War.

This quest is likely to garner several trolls and dedicated shitposters – responding to trolls only encourages them further – so resist the urge if you can. If you feel the need to provide these barbaroi with (YOU)s, I suggest a variation of the following phrase:

>“THANK YOU FOR BUMPING TWQ, STRONG-GREAVED ANON”

or perhaps

>“FLOWING-HAIRED ANON, WHAT WORD HAS ESCAPED THE BARRIER OF YOUR TEETH?”

[bold]VOTING REQUIREMENTS[/bold]

One-post ID votes will be ignored, unless they back-link their previous posts, to claim them for identification.

Players must “register” by posting within the thread within 48 hours of thread creation; only “registered” posters will have valid votes.

Players who miss initial “registration” window may choose to provide six lines of original poetry in Homeric style OR an original TWQ meme of high quality to register.

I reserve the right to call upon suspicious voters to verify themselves in a manner I deem fit.
----

Recommended Reading:

Trojan War Quest #1: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5579585/
Trojan War Quest #2: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5610431/

Optional Reading:
Trojan War Quest: Deianira’s Sidestory #1: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5644134/
Trojan War Quest: Deainira's Sidestory #2: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5687242/
Trojan War Quest: Deainira's Sidestory #2.1: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5725902/

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Nikandros (Νίκων)

Level Two

Height: 6’10”

Kleos: You’re almost famous! +0 to Kleos checks. Deeds below.

Major:
• Petteia Champion of Skyros, He Who Found Achilles (+5)

Minor:
• Royal Guard Rectifier, Revealer of Mediocrity (+1)

Timae: That of a typical impoverished country lord. -5 to Timae checks. Riches below.

• Mycenean Chariot: Courtesy of Electra.
• Ancestral Arms and Armor: Bronze Panoplia, Spear, Sword, Shield, all of Royal Quality.

STATS

Strength- (18/24) (+6)
Agility- (13/20) (+1)
Constitution- (14/24) (+2)
Willpower- (12/20)(-2) (+0)
Intelligence- (17/24)(-2) (+3)
Charisma- (11/20)(-2) (+0)

Regional Alignment: Thessalian (+3 STR, +3 AGI)

Epithets:

• Bouleeis: Of good counsel (from Military Genius)

Traits:

• Dutiful: You get an extra stat point per level.

• Military Genius: +6 INT, +4 INT cap, +4 skill at relevant matters. Creative military write-ins can be accepted. Previously known as Tactical Genius.

• Giant: 4 to STR/STR cap, as well as +4 to CON/CON cap.

• Disfavored of the Rivers: -1 AGI, -1 STR, -1 CON. 1 automatic failure per thread on rolls pertaining to these deities’ interests: these are understood to be divine intercession IC. -3 when interacting with all aquatic daemons. This trait may be later upgraded to Enmity.

• Fresh Olympian Blood: +1 to all stats, regenerate 2 health per turn of combat. +3 when interacting with daemons. You can see and talk to supernatural entities without assistance.

• Sympathy: +2 to social rolls with suffering persons, may later upgrade to Empathy.

STATUS

HP- (10/10)

• Concussed: For a limited time, you suffer a -2 to all social stats.

Skills:

• Petteia: +4 to the game. (Military Genius)
• Command: +4 when commanding your troops personally in battle. (Military Genius)
• Sympathetic: +2 when interacting with suffering persons. (Sympathy)
• Divine Aura: +3 when interacting with daemons. (FOB)
• River Gossip: -3 when interacting with aquatic daemons (DotR)
• Divine Regeneration: Heal 2 health per combat turn (FOB)
• More skills to be uncovered as circumstances and traits necessitate.

Inventory:

• Two charges of Nepenthe, a potent drug. Purgation of all sadness, all grief, and more importantly, any curse of the psyche. Worth a kingly sum.
• Ancestral Armor: +2 to wound rolls
• Ancestral Shield: +1 to wound rolls
• Spear: 1d5 + Str + Spearplay damage
• Sword: 1d5 + Str + Swordplay damage, -2 to hit against a spear user, -2 to wound against a shield user.

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Your Forces Presently not with you

• Second In Command: Argyros, veteran of the Second Argo-Theban war. An experienced campaigner who is utterly devoted to your family. He can be trusted to command the men in your stead but is a commoner in every other sense. When he is independently commanding your troops, they receive a +3 bonus in combat and another die. His bonus (but not the die) adds to yours when you directly command.

• First Platoon: Your House troops, fifty picked men from your home estates. Exceedingly well trained, experienced, loyal, and high morale: some of the best troops in the whole Hellenic Expedition. However, poorly armed in rural Hellenic style: smallish wooden shields with leather overlay, linothorax armor, no helmets, short spears. (Tier Three Troops: +1 for Thessalian, +1 for Argyros, +1 for Military Genius. +0 equipment bonus in fighting.)

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Ajax opens the assembly.

“Gentlemen, we have four unknown ships sailing towards us. We must assume they are pirates, and act accordingly. Any objections?” Castor speaks up.

“Lord Ajax, how can you be sure they are pirates? To my eyes, they appear merchantmen all.” Teukros responds on his brother’s behalf.

“Lord Castor, merchants do not sail in packs typically. And those who do, would not fan out in a formation designed to deny us any easy way around them.” This strikes you as odd, and you say so.

“And why can we not avoid them? If they are merchant ships crewed by pirates, they should have no shot at catching our galley with our crew.” Ajax responds.
-
“Because Nikandros, the island is leeward of us. To keep something even approximating our current heading while avoiding the formation ahead of us would require us to row into the wind- which, even should we take down the sails, would still render us easy to catch.” You suppose you cannot contest that. Pollux then speaks up.

“In that case, we should take the initiative and attack. If we maneuver correctly it should be possible to take one of the merchantmen in the side with a ram, no?” Teukros gives immediate reply.

“In theory, yes- however, if we do not extricate ourselves from the stricken ship fast enough her sisters will be able to surround us. It would be a treacherous action.” This brings to mind an anecdote of Pollux’s about a naval action where the Argo successfully made off with gold of an entire tribe through interdiction. You give voice to your idea.

“Then why ram the ship at all? We could use our superior speed to get into boarding position, and our superior manpower to quickly slaughter the pirates.” Pollux nods at this and voices support for the idea. Thus far silent, Andocides speaks up.

“My lord, such an action is not without its own risks. We could get stuck to the pirate ship by accident and there will be losses to the crew if the pirates manage to pose a meaningful defense. A good ram does not present those risks- in the straits my ship sunk five Heraclid ships in just that way.” Castor speaks again.

“And simply turning around to avoid them presents no risks at all aside from a minor delay. You all forget that the Spartan vessel is just behind us- they do not have nearly the same experience in ramming or the same faculty in marine actions as we do. We must keep them in mind.”

>cont

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With this, Ajax speaks up again.

“In any case gentlemen, we must decide on a course of action now. As captain I’ve the final say, but I’d like to hear your final counsel.”

>How exciting, the first military council of the quest! Here’s how they work: in all cases someone (normally on the basis of status in the hierarchy of nobles) will be in overall command. That man will generally have to listen to the majority suggestion of his council of war, although he is not required to by anything other than custom. Lesches Note: This vote will close at 9pm EST tomorrow night.

>You, when a voting member, can choose to support an action- this may convince your friends and allies to take your side just because it’s yours. You will also have the option to try and convince others to take your side after choosing a stance. Choose wisely…

>Pollux has the right of it about ramming a target of opportunity- support his proposal to initiate combat with the pirates. (Pollux and Andocides favor this approach while Teukros disapproves. Castor's stance is uncertain.)

>You still think that your suggestion of a boarding operation is the best way to initiate hostilities. (Pollux approves, Andocides disapproves, and you don't know about Castor or Teukros.)

>Castor may be right about turning around to avoid the fight in the name of your less-able compatriots; you’ll support him. (Castor favors this, Pollux and Andocides likely do not, and you don't know about Teukros.)

>Abstain: you have no firm opinion on the right course at sea, which is not your expertise.

>>5742371
It's been so long, I've forgotten which option I had voted for.
>Pollux has the right of it about ramming a target of opportunity- support his proposal to initiate combat with the pirates. (Pollux and Andocides favor this approach while Teukros disapproves. Castor's stance is uncertain.)
I'll go for this I guess.

>>5742371
>Abstain: you have no firm opinion on the right course at sea, which is not your expertise.
>A word of explanation – this is Homer’s quest, and I am not him
aw
>I ran a spin-off quest about Deianira Hippomedion
ναι, σκύλα!! Nice for you to take over

>>5742371
>>You still think that your suggestion of a boarding operation is the best way to initiate hostilities. (Pollux approves, Andocides disapproves, and you don't know about Castor or Teukros.)
Gimme your shit, pirates.

Also it may be worth noting, Silver-tongued Odysseus is on the other ship. And he is a renowned captain and marine himself, hailing as he does from Ithaca. Though the men on the ship may not be mariners, they will not be without good counsel.

>>5742371
>Pollux has the right of it about ramming a target of opportunity- support his proposal to initiate combat with the pirates. (Pollux and Andocides favor this approach while Teukros disapproves. Castor's stance is uncertain.)

Glad you're taking over, though I still hope Homer comes back one day.

>>5742371
>Abstain: you have no firm opinion on the right course at sea, which is not your expertise.
Finally, been waiting on this since you started Deianira's side story.

If only there was a significant number of rocks aboard

>>5742371
>Pollux has the right of it about ramming a target of opportunity- support his proposal to initiate combat with the pirates. (Pollux and Andocides favor this approach while Teukros disapproves. Castor's stance is uncertain.)
If we ram one enemy ship is almost certainly to sink, then it is a matter of holding on against the enemy as the spartans arrive to reinforce.
Which will turn the battle in our favour as the allies are better fighters than sailors and won't have to do fancy manouvers, just sail up and board the enemy.

>>5742392
Odysseus may not be given the command of the ship as it is not his.

>>5742446
He is silver-tongued for a reason. I'm sure he can convince the captain, or Menelaus to give him the helm. And even if he isn't given outright command, they'd still be fools not to heed his advice.

Reserving a spot for shitposting I guess.

>>5742371
>Pollux has the right of it about ramming a target of opportunity- support his proposal to initiate combat with the pirates. (Pollux and Andocides favor this approach while Teukros disapproves. Castor's stance is uncertain.)
RAMMING SPEED, I still miss Homer but I'm glad you've picked up the torch
>>5742431
I mean, pottery is really just man-made rocks and I'm sure we have an amphora or two aboard

>>5742371

>You still think that your suggestion of a boarding operation is the best way to initiate hostilities. (Pollux approves, Andocides disapproves, and you don't know about Castor or Teukros.)

"Since victor of thy fears, and slighting mine,
Heaven, or thy soul, inspires this bold design"

>>5742371
>Pollux has the right of it about ramming a target of opportunity- support his proposal to initiate combat with the pirates. (Pollux and Andocides favor this approach while Teukros disapproves. Castor's stance is uncertain.)
We are much faster than them, if we can ram and deal with one ship quick enough, we can probably scare one or two off.
Nobody wants their remains to be condemned to the sea after all, eternal limbo.

>>5742392
>>5742446
>>5742455

Nikon can reasonably assume that Pollux will be advising Ajax and similarly, Odysseus will be advising Agamemnon. These men are sailors of myth and legend, Ajax and Agamemnon can and will heed their advice!

I’ve worked out a system where a ship captain does receive a fraction of the command/sailing bonus of a friendly hero on board (although only if the hero has relevant traits, and not both at once)

>>5742371
>>You still think that your suggestion of a boarding operation is the best way to initiate hostilities. (Pollux approves, Andocides disapproves, and you don't know about Castor or Teukros.)
we didn't take military genius just so we can listen to brainlets

>>5742502
I didn't think Agamemnon was on the expedition but I may be misremembering. I thought he sent his brother to do the pre-war negotiations.

>>5742371
>You still think that your suggestion of a boarding operation is the best way to initiate hostilities. (Pollux approves, Andocides disapproves, and you don't know about Castor or Teukros.)
Let's see how this goes. I hope our concussion clears up by the time we reach Troy.

>>5742549
Ya, I'm pretty sure the high king is supposed to be chilling at his palace right now...unless he cloned himself

>>5742549
>>5742582

Honest typo on my parts lad - my brain thought Menelaus but my thumbs typed Agamemnon, my apologies. I’ll post the ship sheets for each vessel when I get home tonight for a refresher.

As a general rule, I’m trying quite hard to maintain the canon of TWQ, so please notify me promptly if you spot inaccuracies!

>a quick reminder for everyone who doesn't want to dig through archived thread

Ship of Spartans

Heroic Crew: Menelaus, Odysseus, Palamedes. Mariner bonus from Odysseus.

Sailing Crew: Spartan Soldiers (Well-equipped and experienced spearmen, but average sailors)


---

Ship of Warriors

Heroic Crew: Ajax, Teukros, Castor, Pollux, Nikandros. Mariner bonus from Pollux.

Sailing Crew: Elite Salaminian Soldiers. (Well-equipped and experienced marines, but truly phenomenal sailors)

So we have an overall +6 to Kleos from our deeds? Wouldn't that put us at +1 Kleos as we started with -5 Kleos?

Also, uh, Lesches misspelled Deianira as Deainira in the option reading.

>>5742693
wait nvm, I forgot that we got yelled at by geriatric kings

>>5742700
Calling Nikon "the young" as a backwards way of saying "foolish" or "yelled at by his seniors". I wonder what nicknames and epitaphs we'll pick up along the way.

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>>5742371
>You still think that your suggestion of a boarding operation is the best way to initiate hostilities. (Pollux approves, Andocides disapproves, and you don't know about Castor or Teukros.)

"Here again, came Many-Fisted
Nikandros. Rising from the
briney foam!"

Not sure if I did that right. Hail Lesches! I'm flattered you used one of my shitty AI images! I mean no offense, but I didn't really have any interest in the Woman Quest.

>>5742371
>Pollux has the right of it about ramming a target of opportunity- support his proposal to initiate combat with the pirates. (Pollux and Andocides favor this approach while Teukros disapproves. Castor's stance is uncertain.)
Ram is like rock, must smash.

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RAM THEM!

>>5742380
>>5742417
>>5742446
>>5742464
>>5742498
>>5742509
>>5742965

Abstain

>>5742386
>>5742424

swashbucklin'

>>5742392
>>5742471
>>5742577
>>5742881

---

Seeing as we've had no new votes for the day and there's a clear frontrunner, closing vote now!

I don't think I fucked up the count, but in general, never hesitate to let me know if I've gotten it wrong.

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As the men discuss the plan of battle, seated upon the stern deck, you listen to the relative merits of each approach; your mind, cloudy from the head blow you received from the best of the Epigoni, is nonetheless able to eagerly digest their statements… A new world of warfare is becoming known to you, and you are thrilled at the prospect of an unexplored arena for your talents! Stories of naval action previously told to you by Pollux take on new meaning, and you look upon your ship’s rigging, sails, keel, deck and rowing benches with fresh eyes - these now represent elements of your battlefield.

You rapidly invent and discard a variety of scenarios for ship defense that the Salaminians might possibly employ, as you turn to watch them rowing below you – the ship itself provides some natural elements of defense, you realize – the external walls of the ship rise above the deck by two or three cubits, and men crouching, shield on the shoulder, may be able to shelter in relative safety from thrown missiles from another vessel side-by-side. However, you see how a boarding action could become a bloody enterprise – the galley deck itself is narrow – combatants would need advance or retreat along the central axis, or instead risk an awkward, shambling advance over the rowing benches – all the while, they’d be exposed to deadly javelins and arrows from above, from the elevated stern and fore-decks. Studding the deck itself, trapdoors provide access to the storage chambers below, although for a man of your size, it would be difficult to move quickly amongst the bound amphora and other sundries there. You wonder how many men might be able to hide underneath or where the trapdoors could -

“Young Nikandros – what say you?” – Ajax asks, interrupting your train of thought. He leans forward – bearded face stern and framed with curly hair, pale eyes alight with interest. The conversation around you dies down. “What does the champion of Skyros have to contribute to our plans? Let me see if you are well-named, Nikandros Bouleeis!” Ajax announces, with a wry look in his eye – he is clearly poking fun at you – but no matter, he will learn of your true value in time.

“I concur with the recommendation of both Pollux and Andocides, who are my betters at sea; it would seem best to ram the enemy ship to begin the strong encounter – we are outnumbered, yes, but we must reason that these pirates do not have access to sailors of comparable mastery to Pollux –“ here, you nod politely at the blonde boxer, who returns the favor, “- and Odysseus. We can quickly gain advantage in this way.”

The other men of the expedition make their votes known: Andocides, Pollux and yourself in favor of ramming. Pollux sends a meaningful glance to Castor, and you sense that much is communicated between the brothers in an instant.

>cont

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Castor, frowning in consideration, states:

“Evasion of an enemy is preferred, when possible, but perhaps we cannot avoid it, with the wind driving us together – these sea raiders are unlikely to respond to our entreaties. Thus forced, we strike hard and fast with a ram, and extinguish this conflict swiftly.”

All aboard the stern deck then turn to Teukros, sitting beside you, who seems a bit anxious under the combined attentions of his elder brother and the Dioscuri. He quickly realizes that even should he vote against ramming, he is outnumbered. He nods his head in recognition of this, and he calmly states, “I abstain, Lord Ajax – instead place me and my bow where I can be best utilized.” Clearly - he would rather not vote than create dissension amongst the council, a humble gesture on his part. He finishes his statement with a nod, but you catch something muttered upon his breath as all heads turn to Ajax - laat me schieten en klaar ermee.

Ajax, regarding you all as a group and extending his thickly-muscled arms widely, says cheerfully:

“Then it is unanimous! I happen to favor a ramming attack as well – a boarding action would risk the isolation of our companions and combat on unfavorable terms for Menelaus...Although it is a shame – whatever wealth is present amongst the pirates’ hold will likely be lost under the waves.” He stands, and you’re once again surprised at his height – he is one of the very few men you’ve ever met with a height and build similar to your own. His booming voice echoes out over the water, and in response, the Salaminians produce their arms and armor. Rather than bronze panoplia, which would be prohibitively expensive and impractically-heavy for those who expect to inevitably receive the briny embrace of Ποντος, they favor double-layered linothorax jerkins, and broad wooden shields braced with a double-layer of ox-hide. As for armaments, they use bronze-tipped spears that are somewhat shorter than you are used to, and knives of bronze. In short, they are agile, dangerous and well-equipped for the cramped combat of naval combat, and would probably make for fearsome skirmishers and ambushers on land. Finally, you see several Salaminians using ropes to draw up a crimson flag on the rope line (a forestay, you later learn) between the mast and the fore-deck – Ajax is communicating to Menelaus, you understand, and turning, you see that the ship of Spartans have raised their own flags of communication: red and blue.

>cont

>>5743544
I vote to board the Spartans and rape Menelaus

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>>5743544

You’re eager to ask Ajax of their meaning, but see that you don’t have the time – the hostile vessels are rapidly growing larger on the horizon, and your crewmates are busily donning their bronze in preparation for combat. You take their cue, and with the help of some Salaminians amidships, rapidly equip your own polished panoplia, complete with horse-hair crested helm.

>Nikon is now fully armed and ready for combat!

You see Teukros join his brother upon the stern-deck, shieldless and carrying his bow. Ajax himself has taken the keel personally, angling the galley towards the southern-most hostile vessel, farthest from the coast of Syros. Pollux and Castor take their places amongst the foredeck of the ship, to repel any boarders who might attempt the ascent of the bow-steps or to leap into the ship itself - Pollux with spear and shield, and Castor with his bow. Already, you hear Pollux shouting words of encouragement and counsel to the Salaminian sailors, helping them draw every last bit of speed from the winds.

But what will you do? Ajax and the others have left you to your own devices, it seems, and you are free to exercise your best judgment

>Join Ajax and Teukros at the stern-deck – from this high vantage point, you will be able to cast Salaminian javelins at any pirates within view, and punish enemy boarders if they attempt to scale the sides of the ship. This is likely to be amongst the safest locations on the ship, and farthest from any melee combat.

>Settle into position amongst the rowing benches and assist the Salaminians in their efforts. This is a less-glorious role, but with your mighty physique, you may provide a noticeable boost to any ramming effort, and thereby deliver a mortal blow to the hostile merchant vessel. From amidships, you would be relatively protected by surrounding Salaminians, although somewhat exposed to hostile missile fire.

>Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck – this may be the most dangerous location on the ship. Assuming you don’t lose your footing when the ships collide, you will be both clearly visible and potentially within melee range, as the external bow of the ship itself is laddered with planks – pirates may attempt to scale the bow in large numbers, leaving you, Castor and Pollux as the first line of defense. Needless to say, if you commit yourself well, you may further impress your crewmates.

>Something else I haven't thought of?

>>5743548

now you're thinking like a pirate, anon

>>5743555
>>Settle into position amongst the rowing benches and assist the Salaminians in their efforts. This is a less-glorious role, but with your mighty physique, you may provide a noticeable boost to any ramming effort, and thereby deliver a mortal blow to the hostile merchant vessel. From amidships, you would be relatively protected by surrounding Salaminians, although somewhat exposed to hostile missile fire.
Come on lads, row like you've got a spine.

It's a shame we're in a rush, otherwise I'd wonder if some divers couldn't fish up some of the plunder that comes loose from splitting these fuckers in half.

Also a shame we didn't bring any rocks. Pinning a man to the mast with a javelin would be rad, but sinking a ship with a boulder to the hull is even cooler.

>>5743555
>Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck – this may be the most dangerous location on the ship. Assuming you don’t lose your footing when the ships collide, you will be both clearly visible and potentially within melee range, as the external bow of the ship itself is laddered with planks – pirates may attempt to scale the bow in large numbers, leaving you, Castor and Pollux as the first line of defense. Needless to say, if you commit yourself well, you may further impress your crewmates.

>>5743555
>Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck – this may be the most dangerous location on the ship. Assuming you don’t lose your footing when the ships collide, you will be both clearly visible and potentially within melee range, as the external bow of the ship itself is laddered with planks – pirates may attempt to scale the bow in large numbers, leaving you, Castor and Pollux as the first line of defense. Needless to say, if you commit yourself well, you may further impress your crewmates.
I think if we've got enough strength to boost the speed of the Ram, then we'd be outputting enough to throw off the aim.

>>5743555
>Settle into position amongst the rowing benches and assist the Salaminians in their efforts. This is a less-glorious role, but with your mighty physique, you may provide a noticeable boost to any ramming effort, and thereby deliver a mortal blow to the hostile merchant vessel. From amidships, you would be relatively protected by surrounding Salaminians, although somewhat exposed to hostile missile fire.
Javelins are not rocks, so I'll pass.

>>5743577
It's all about timing. You wanna lurch just before impact. The last five strokes are when you really put the gas on. Or ten, if you've got a big ship.

>>5743577

I'll clarify that Ajax, a man of incredible physical strength in his own right, is guiding the actions of the Salaminian rowers from his vantage point on the stern-deck, and there would be no penalty to accuracy of the ramming action with Nikon assisting.

>>5743577
Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck – this may be the most dangerous location on the ship.
I think you've got the right of it
Rowing needs parity between the tow sides otherwise it goes into a spin, by taking up on rowing nikon would only embarass himself, let us do what we do best and slaughter the pirates.

>>5743582
>>5743564
I remember an anon in the TWQ that said there are rocks used for balancing the ship.

Also going diving into a sinking vessel will kill you as it drags everything close down with it.
That's why you need to hurry to abandon a sinking ship and swim away.

>>5743607
Fucked up my vote there

>>5743555
>Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck

>>5743555
>>Settle into position amongst the rowing benches and assist the Salaminians in their efforts. This is a less-glorious role, but with your mighty physique, you may provide a noticeable boost to any ramming effort, and thereby deliver a mortal blow to the hostile merchant vessel. From amidships, you would be relatively protected by surrounding Salaminians, although somewhat exposed to hostile missile fire.

>>5743607
Oh I wasn't meaning to grab stuff from the ship as it sank. That's a death trap. I do mean to snatch things up that come out through the hull from the impact as air escapes and the ship pitches and yaws on the way down. But we have places to be so I wouldn't want to stop and try anyway.

And if we do have some sort of stones as ballast, it's better to not throw them. Because they're being used for something kind of important.

>Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck – this may be the most dangerous location on the ship. Assuming you don’t lose your footing when the ships collide, you will be both clearly visible and potentially within melee range, as the external bow of the ship itself is laddered with planks – pirates may attempt to scale the bow in large numbers, leaving you, Castor and Pollux as the first line of defense. Needless to say, if you commit yourself well, you may further impress your crewmates.

>>5743555
>>Settle into position amongst the rowing benches and assist the Salaminians in their efforts. This is a less-glorious role, but with your mighty physique, you may provide a noticeable boost to any ramming effort, and thereby deliver a mortal blow to the hostile merchant vessel. From amidships, you would be relatively protected by surrounding Salaminians, although somewhat exposed to hostile missile fire.
play to our strengths

>>5743555
>Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck – this may be the most dangerous location on the ship. Assuming you don’t lose your footing when the ships collide, you will be both clearly visible and potentially within melee range, as the external bow of the ship itself is laddered with planks – pirates may attempt to scale the bow in large numbers, leaving you, Castor and Pollux as the first line of defense. Needless to say, if you commit yourself well, you may further impress your crewmates.

I'm sure our experienced rowers will guide us safe and true; let's whet our appetite with blood or something

>>5743555
>>Join Castor and Pollux at the foredeck – this may be the most dangerous location on the ship. Assuming you don’t lose your footing when the ships collide, you will be both clearly visible and potentially within melee range, as the external bow of the ship itself is laddered with planks – pirates may attempt to scale the bow in large numbers, leaving you, Castor and Pollux as the first line of defense. Needless to say, if you commit yourself well, you may further impress your crewmates.

>>5743555
>Settle into position amongst the rowing benches and assist the Salaminians in their efforts. This is a less-glorious role, but with your mighty physique, you may provide a noticeable boost to any ramming effort, and thereby deliver a mortal blow to the hostile merchant vessel. From amidships, you would be relatively protected by surrounding Salaminians, although somewhat exposed to hostile missile fire.

Ram 'em, and move up to the foredeck if things get hairy.

>>5743555
>Settle into position amongst the rowing benches and assist the Salaminians in their efforts.

>>5743616
>>5743732

Thanks for your votes, anons, but voting restrictions are now in effect.

Give me another post or else these votes will be discounted!

>>5743930
Er, testing 1,2,3?
Good to see someone reviving this quest with all the drama that happened.

>>5743932

Thank you, thank you anon.

I've been on /qst/ since the split and this quest was good enough that I felt compelled to take action, and give back to the board, although of course, I don't compare to Homer. Maybe in time I can build enough knowledge of the classics to put up a comparable effort, but this seems unlikely.

Anyways, update later tonight - I'm very happy I took the time to run Deianira's Sidestory and develop a spreadsheet for tracking purposes - I'll be handling most of the crunch behind the scenes rather than making the players roll for every element of the battle (like I did for Deianira's Centaur Raid), it ended up being pretty arduous.

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grab oars!

>>5743564
>>5743582
>>5743610
>>5743704
>>5743787
>>5743893

hang with the bois

>>5743573
>>5743577
>>5743609
>>5743719
>>5743732


one-post id

>>5743616 (your next vote will count, anon)

---

Rowing with the Salaminians wins!

Rolled 5 - 3 (1d20 - 3)

Your decision made, you spring into action – you move to the bow-ward region of the rowing benches, on the starboard side, and make your intentions clear to one of the Salaminians. He’s only too happy to relinquish his rowing oar, and scampers off to assist his crewmates in lowering the sails and removing riggings – in a ramming action, the sails should always be withdrawn, you recall Pollux advising you, but this is best done in the moments just prior to the attempt.

Turning behind you, you raise a fist to Ajax’s hulking figure, and you catch his eye – he nods at you in acknowledgement, his own horse-head crest waving in the breeze, and you join the Salaminians in rowing, keeping the beat to Ajax’s clear direction. Your previous experience at the oars, as you sailed to Salamis, comes in handy here – you are already familiar with the basics of oarsmanship. At the bow of the galley, you see Castor assembling several spare javelins for Pollux to cast when the time comes. Around you, the sea is relatively calm, and the sky is clear above – only a few scattered clouds of white mar the azure realm of Ouranos. To your left, the isle of Syros, golden with waving grain and pastures, is hazy in the distance.

Given your height, even while seated, the hostile merchant vessel is clearly visible and fast-approaching, and its own signal flags are flapping in the salty breeze – dirty brown and linen white. Perhaps three or four stadia distant and rapidly closing, you’re able to make out a figurehead on the prow of the vessel – a gaudily-painted shepherd, complete with shepherd’s staff and white-painted lamb. The copper taste of adrenaline wells up in your throat, as you push hard, breaking a sweat - it evaporates as quickly as it comes, under the fierce heat of all-seeing Helios.

Pollux, hands to mouth, howling over the breeze, casts his voice to the stern:

”They dawdle to adjust, Ajax Telamonios – we are swift!” Pollux nods, clearly in response to a signal from Ajax, and you watch as Pollux and Castor lie flat against the fore-deck, bracing themselves – interesting, you wouldn’t have thought to do the same, but no doubt this will prevent them from being cast overboard. You feel the galley shift, and the muffled sounds of cargo thumping beneath you, as Ajax angles starboard, past the advancing prow of the merchant vessel, and you intuit that Ajax is feigning a boarding action - that the galley will sweep wide, catching the pirates from behind, with the wind at your back.

We will surprise them with a lunge at the critical moment. you think…

Ajax’s beat quickens – he roars to you: “Nikandros – not yet!” The moment comes faster than you can believe, just as you can make out the panicked shouts from the pirate vessel – calls of alarm unheeded, oars withdrawn too slowly on their port-side…

”NOW, NIKANDROS!”

>players, roll a dice+1d20+10 for initiative!

Rolled 4 + 10 (1d20 + 10)

>>5744213
Swift as the wind.

Rolled 10, 18, 13 - 3 = 38 (3d20 - 3)

>>5744213
>>5744216

>14 vs a literal 2
>Ajax's Galley wins initiative!

Okay, boys, now it's time to roll for damage!

I'm still using Homer's system - he adopted a Bo3 format before he went on his highly temporary leave of absence, and so I've adapted this system for use in naval combat.

From the players, I need THREE rolls of dice+2d20 to determine the success of the ramming attack. First die = to-hit at a manual +10 bonus, second die = wound at a manual +10 bonus.

For the enemy ship, I'll be rolling dice+3d20+-3 to determine dodge and block.

As you might have noticed, the pirates may have bitten off more than they can chew here...

One additional comment:

Degrees of success matter in naval ramming attacks, although I don't believe that this was the case in Homer's hero vs hero combat system. Basically, the better the wound roll, the less likely your galley will become tangled with the enemy vessel's hull.

Rolled 4, 19, 17 - 3 = 37 (3d20 - 3)

>>5744219

Oops, I fucked up my own roll - that was the enemy ship's dodge, now I'll rolling for block.

Rolled 10, 7 = 17 (2d20)

>>5744219
>the pirates may have bitten off more than they can chew here...
>rolls an 18 and 19
Rrrrrrriiiiiight.

Well, here's hoping the un-reinforced hull of a merchant vessel can't withstand the hardened prow of a proper warship. We'll crack their keel yet.

Rolled 12, 9 = 21 (2d20)

Nike, guide my dice!

>>5744224
>>5744239

While we’re waiting for the last player roll, could one of you guys roll a dice+1d24 for me? It’s more fun when you guys do it

Rolled 12 (1d24)

>>5743787
>>5744219
At work phone posting, this is me. I'll do my duty.

Rolled 8 (1d24)

>>5744270

Sure thing.

Rolled 12, 19 = 31 (2d20)

>>5744219

>>5744271
Perfectly balanced,

>>5744274
>19
That's a good hit right there homie.

>>5744276
Yippee!

>>5744224
>>5744239
>>5744274

>22, 29 vs 15, 16

>Ajax delivers great but not perfect contact with the pirate vessel
>you guys tear them a new one

I should be able to put out another update before midnight tonight.

>>5744271

Thanks!

>>5744290

Oh and I almost forgot - I need one roll of dice+2d3+6 to determine ship damage

Rolled 3, 1 + 6 = 10 (2d3 + 6)

>>5744294

Rolled 2, 3 + 6 = 11 (2d3 + 6)

What horrible luck for the pirates to essentially be taking on 8 heroes and their well equipped and skilled troops.

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>>5744410

>implying that Poseidon isn't having a giggle by setting them up against two kings, the Dioscuri, the offspring of mighty Telamon himself, and one concussed "literal who"

post will be out shortly!

>>5744412
>Hey bro, check this out. I had the currents drag these retards into a fight with four of the biggest motherfuckers alive today, and two of them are yours.

You beat against the sea with every ounce of your strength, and for a wonder, you feel yourself wrenching the galley’s bow violently to the left, causing even the experienced sailors to sway on their rowing benches. Pollux is whooping wildly in excitement, and the cries of the pirates gain a terrified edge as you swing close. The pirates, a blend of Hellenes, barbaroi and foreigners - men of all builds and colorations, scatter out of their loose double-line battle formation along the side of the ship, tripping over another in a desperate bid to remove themselves from danger.

On the stern deck of the enemy vessel, you see a leather-helmed archer waving frantically, shouting commands - and to your surprise, the pirates fall into a reasonable facsimile of order in the last few moments before contact, grabbing their starboard oars to reorient their ship - this accomplished, the enemy captain leaps nimbly to the stern deck, raising a shield as he settles into a crouch. For all this effort though - they shift their hollow-bellied vessel only marginally. Some brave souls even cross the port-side, to hold their oars up against your onrushing galley - thin reeds to stave off a spinning boulder.

A futile effort.

Ajax has steered the galley well - the galley’s bronze edge tears into the soft underbelly of its victim, a tremendous crash following by ear-splitting shrieking - the pine of your foe’s vessels rending to splinters as the ram tears a mortal wound through the guts of the opponent. Several unfortunately oar-bearers are ground against the shredding deck, their bodies ground into nothing by the mighty jaws of your galley. Another group of pirates are flung from their benches into the sea – at the moment, a position of relative safety. The rest tumble about the deck as your black-hulled warship smashes forward, prying the stern of the vessel apart from the remainder. The ends of the dying ship hang together by a scattered few planks, but to your surprise, the fragments do not begin sinking immediately.

You find yourself rowing in reverse, your arms responding to Ajax’s commands before your mind registers his shouting- there is a peculiar screeching noise as the combined efforts of yourself and the Salaminians pry your ship free of the wreckage, and break the link between the ends of the enemy vessel – the stern of the enemy vessel drifts close to the foredeck, and the remainder of the ship begins drifting parallel to the galley.

>cont

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Already, Teukros, Castor and Pollux are volleying missiles into the scattered pirates - three of the enemy are dead before they can even stand, their vessel still rocking violently from the impact. About half of the Salaminians drop their oars from the fore-deck area and stumble into a loose double-row formation of shields and spears themselves – yet they are quite slow to assemble and brace themselves. It should be an excellent defensive posture, you note as you stand tall, with the ability to adapt and slide position as the rocking of the ship continues, but the angry shouting from Ajax confirms their sloppiness. The remainder of the rowers stay in place, furiously rowing backwards, but without making much progress.

Turning to the enemy, you see that the dazed pirates finally collect themselves into a loose battle-line, but it is a pathetic, single-lined affair – you’ve seen crippled Illyrians organize and under worse circumstances, frankly. As slow as the Salaminians are, the pirates are even slower, despite the frantic orders from their captain - a young Euboean, by his voice and accent. The first volley of Salaminian javelins is launched at short range, from behind a protective shieldwall - four pirates collapse as their throats and livers are pierced, and six more are grievously wounded. Without thought, your mind is processing these events - the pirates are losing badly here - likely that the Salaminians will put them down with minimal casualties.

The odd shrieking from the boat separation has continued, despite the ships breaking clear - and gazing into the torn-open hold of the merchant vessel, you locate the source - the hysterical and pitiful wailing of perhaps two dozen bloodied and filthy men, women and children behind heavy iron bars - slaves meant for sale in some Cycladian port of another. They will certainly drown if you do nothing - and your heart cries out for their aid. You see at least one trap-door of the pirate's vessel sprung upon, forced out of position by the buckling of the pirate's deck.

Simultaneously, you hear a cry of alarm from the fore-decks, and see Pollux shaking a spear angrily at the Euboean archer - to your alarm, you see a white-feathered shaft protruding from Pollux's abdomen, piercing the lightly-armored side of his cuirass, he has been wounded! He cries out:

"Are you a Bacchant* or a man? Put down your thyrsus and fawnskin and pick up your spear!

Castor grabs his brother and forcibly pulls him down to his knees, lowering his profile.

>cont

*Pollux is delivering some mad trash talk here and accusing the Euboean of being a worthless party slut

You know you must act, but how?

>Leap across the decks to confront the pirates upon their own central deck in melee combat. The fastest way to route these pirates is to smash their resolve and scatter them into the wind and surf. Needless to say, surrounding yourself with hostiles could be phenomenally dangerous, even if they are men of common birth.

>Continue to row with the Salaminians - the enemy ship is dying and further combat profits you nothing - these men are already dead. Assisting the Salaminians will separate your galley as quickly as possible and begin the race towards Menelaus' ship.

>Charge up to the fore-decks and cast javelins at the Euboean archer, while guarding Pollux - Castor needs time to assess and bind Pollux's wounds and you can grant it to them! If you slay Pollux's attacker in the process, all the better.

>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.

>Something else I haven't thought of?

>>5744456
>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.
A bleeding heart

>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.

I want us to be remembered in the far future as the one guy who gave a shit. Our kindness will be LEGENDARY!

>>5744456
>>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.

>>5744456
>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.

Well, I hope we'll be remembered kindly if we die.

>>5744541
Hopefully with Nikon's HUGE MUSCLES he can swim in heavy armor. At least for a short enough while that someone can throw a rope at him or something.

>>5744452
>Leap across the decks to confront the pirates upon their own central deck in melee combat. The fastest way to route these pirates is to smash their resolve and scatter them into the wind and surf. Needless to say, surrounding yourself with hostiles could be phenomenally dangerous, even if they are men of common birth.

If people can swim around while carrying other people, Nikon with his divinely enhanced strength should be just fine.

>>5744456
>>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.
my heart BLEEDS RED

>>5744541
Lol, can nikon even swim?
But fine let's be big damn heroes

>>5744456
>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.

Btw there is a volcanic rock that floats so there is precedence for nikon to do so as well.

I mean, he's hated by rivers, not the ocean, right?

Don't tell me that we'll have to dam the Mediterranean Sea?

>>5744586
>quest unlocked: fill the waters between the pillars of heracles
A labor all our own

>>5744541

Kek nicely done anon.

>>5744547

Even Nikon cannot swim wearing his bronze, he will sink almost immediately.

However, should he fall under the waves, you guys would be provided with a desperate chance to remove his armor as he is drowning.

So the challenge here is:

1) can you leap across
2) can you free the slaves quickly
3) can you leap back and otherwise organize the slave’s evacuation?

I would also accept write-ins if you guys have any modifications to this plan

>>5744663
We could probably lose the greaves first at least so the weight doesn't slow us down and it's also the most encumbering while giving the least protection.
I don't trust that a vengeful pirate won't try an underhanded shot at us.

>>5744702

Sure, removing greaves (and helm) would only take a seconds effort and would raise the possibility that Nikon could swim for a brief time if he succeeds on a challenging swim roll. This would reduce his total armor bonus +3->+2, though.

>>5744456
>Charge up to the fore-decks and cast javelins at the Euboean archer, while guarding Pollux - Castor needs time to assess and bind Pollux's wounds and you can grant it to them! If you slay Pollux's attacker in the process, all the better.
I don't want to lose dad's armor

>>5744748
My ID changed
>>5742380
>>5743582
These were my previous posts

>>5744585
>>5744719
Then i'll add a little stripping to my vote
Helmet and greaves off

Vote will close in approximately 1 hour at 1pm EST - I’m going to try for another double-update day.

Lurkers, last chance to weigh in!

>>5744456
>Leap across the decks to the enemy vessel, descend the open trap-door and free the slaves within. Trapping yourself within a sinking ship is exceeding unwise, but if you move swiftly, you may be able to free these unfortunates and assuage your twinging heart.

Whoops, forgot to vote.

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a late bronze age HEROOOO
>>5744458
>>5744462
>>5744505
>>5744545
>>5744580
>>5744583
>>5744585

sink or swim, bitches
>>5744748

---

Locked - given the write-in for greaves/helm to come off, I'll include this as well - it's something that a smart warrior would do.

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Rolled 3, 16, 12 + 2 = 33 (3d20 + 2)

The cries of the commoners cut through the crash of battle and the raucous shouting of the Salaminians as they prepare for another volley of javelins against the pirates. It galls you, but the simple fact is this: the piercing cry of the women and children will haunt your dreams unless you move to deny them oblivion. You don’t know whether you are admirable or a fool, but you don’t time to consider further – the merchant vessel has begun to list, as water soaks into the open hold. You may have only minutes – or even less.

At the foredecks, you see Pollux, crouching low under his shield, even as Castor tends to the jutting arrow in his shoulder, worrying it loose from his divine flesh – you are tempted to render further aid, but it occurs to you that Pollux and Castor have survived many and more desperate battles than this.

At a glance, you take in the skirmish between the Salaminians and the pirates – hulking Ajax has imposed discipline on his countrymen, and they are tightly assembled in a modified phalanx, shield to shield, easily deflecting the errant spears returned to them by the pirates, who have failed to unite together properly. You quickly remove your crested helm and greaves, stashing them carefully underneath the nearest rowing bench – where is the pirate’s captain? How could he sit by and do nothing as his men are torn to shreds? You scoff at the pure inadequacy of your opponent – death is only fitting reward for such incompetence.

The majority of the enemy ship (stern now fully detached) and it is now drifting parallel to your own, the ships sidling against one another – you’ll never have a better chance to cross over. Sprinting thunderously toward the stern of the galley, you gain the momentum needed – and angling sharply to your right, you leap into the air, taking flight – you sail over the open sea, and stumble onto the enemy foredeck, spear and shield in hand.

You hear Ajax shouting to you in confusion – “Nikandros, what are you – the ARCHER! Shield high, Thessalian!” You spin without thinking, bringing your father’s shield up to protect your neck and head...

>players, give me three rolls of dice+1d20+4

Rolled 17 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>5744952
Whatever happens, I'm glad we're a kind man

Rolled 11 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>5744952

Rolled 3 + 4 (1d20 + 4)

>>5744952
AWARYH

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>>5744954
>>5744961
>>5744969

>18 vs 21 - Nikon blocks!
> To disambiguate, Nikon sacrificed his initiative roll by jumping across to the enemy ship. Per Homer's system, missile attacks are mostly auto-hit, and therefore we only needed to roll wound vs block.

Years of bandit raids in the chilly north of Hellas have taught you the value of reflex without thought, and you find that this lesson serves you well, even here, under the fierce noon-day heat of the Cyclades. You duck as you raise your shield, a bright disc, and feel the jolting blow of a bronze arrowhead turned aside, spinning wildly off into the brine. Advancing, shield high, towards the open trap-door to the hold you had seen previously, you dare to peek your unhelmed head over the rim of beaten bronze.

Past the milling pirates, only a few of which having seen you, their attentions mostly focused on the Salaminian ash* soon to head their way, you see the Euboean archer scrambling over the tilting stern of his ship, drifting further away on his fragment of the merchant ship – perhaps a good discuss toss away. As you descend the steep ladder into the hold, you catch a darkling flash through the air, whistling towards the Euboean, and the crack of Teukros’ bow – a sound you’ve become quite familiar with over the weeks at sea. Teukros’ shaft sails wide, rising unexpectedly on a blast of warm air – the Euboean idiotically stands to deliver a crude gesture to Teukros. His triumph is short-lived, as a second arrow plants itself into his heart with perfect accuracy, the work of a master archer. He topples into the sea, and having seen enough, you duck underneath the deck.

Moving in a crouch due to the low ceiling, you shoulder aside loose amphora, hanging slabs of salted pork, and crates of poor craftsmanship. It takes longer than you expected to thread your way through the hold, and at one point, you narrowly dodge the main ballast-stone of the vessel as it slides unmoored from its restraints, crushing crates and shattering pottery. Reaching the slave pens, the bruised and battered people inside are terrified of you, at first glance – shrinking back into the shadows of their prison. Above you, you hear the wild screams of the pirates – it seems that their morale has shattered entirely, noticing the demise of their captain. You hear the scampering of feet on the deck above, along with loud splashing, this informing you that some of these weakling men are choosing the sea’s embrace rather than death delivered by Salaminians.


*by this, I mean javelins

>cont

To your delight, you find that the iron cage of the slave pens has already been partially wrenched out of position by the ramming action – the rusted iron having been weakened by years of salt air and poor maintenance. For a man of your strength, the bars, in such disarray, represent no serious barrier –

>Nikon auto-succeeds on his STR check here given his prodigious physical strength

and you are able to exploit the deck’s fragility, tearing apart the cage’s bracketing to the timber below. As you make a passage wide enough for a man to squeeze through, fresh shrieks from the slaves warn you of danger. Your head snapping up, you see that two groups of four pirates, armed with spears and swords, have sought safety from Salaminian bronze below. They look at each other as angrily as they look at you – one group of Hellenes and the other, Phoenicians - division has festered amongst the crew here. No doubt, each group had planned to push out the ballast-stone from the hold, until rescue from their compatriots arrives.

You have spoiled their plans, an unaccounted-for variable – but what now? The ship is sinking, the slaves are soon to drown, and you are separated from your allies. You risk ambush and worse - an obscure death. But perhaps there is another way?

>Address the pirates as a whole with winged words, and offer them clemency aboard the ship of Ajax if they assist you in the transport of slaves to your vessel? Explain that upon delivery to Delos, they will be free to travel as they see fit.

>Offer a temporary alliance to the Hellenic pirates – you will help them slay their Phoenician rivals in return for safe passage from the hold for yourself and the slaves, leaving them to survive as best as they can.

>Strike without warning against the pirates, casting your spear into one group and charging the others with your sword (currently sheathed on your belt – you are not so foolish as to have left it behind). They’ve scattered once already – they should shrink from further combat.

>Something else I haven’t thought of?

>>5745011
>Address the pirates as a whole with winged words, and offer them clemency aboard the ship of Ajax if they assist you in the transport of slaves to your vessel? Explain that upon delivery to Delos, they will be free to travel as they see fit.

>>5744545
>>5745011
Hi, it's me phoneposting from work again.

>Offer a temporary alliance to the Hellenic pirates – you will help them slay their Phoenician rivals in return for safe passage from the hold for yourself and the slaves, leaving them to survive as best as they can.

Maybe it would make more sense to attack, but I think this is the best choice for the sake of giving us more time to rescue these people. If it works.

>>5745011
>>Something else I haven’t thought of?
>Tell them their captain is dead, and a fleet is arriving shortly to sink the other ships, their best chance to survive is to flee now and attempt to swim to the nearest shore. Take hold of some flotsam now while they have the opportunity to find a good piece.
They're already scared, maybe yelling a semi-command at them to flee will work. Be authoritative.

Or we could just kill them. But the more time we spend the less time we have.

>>5745035
>+1
Their morale is broken and an angry giant is telling them to fuck off, I think this is a good idea

>>Something else I haven’t thought of?
>Tell them their captain is dead, and a fleet is arriving shortly to sink the other ships, their best chance to survive is to flee now and attempt to swim to the nearest shore. Take hold of some flotsam now while they have the opportunity to find a good piece.

>>5745035
Roll to intimidate!

They already don't trust eachother they won't risk battle with a stupidly brave giant while risking to be stabbed in the back by another pirate.

>>5745011
>>5745035
This

>>5745093
>>5745117

Beautiful work, anon - will pilfer this for the update if the intimidation vote wins!

>>5745126
My IP change very fast, so I try to post a meme to compensate, like up there

>>5745028
>>5745035
I'll change my vote to this.

>5745011
>5745035
Might as well
>Backing

>>5745142
>>5745035
>>5745011
Fumbled my vote.

>>5745035
>>5745011
+1 support.
It's bad to offer clemency on someone else's ship, so intimidation is the way to go. Leave Nikon and live, or fight him and die. A very simple choice. Who in their right mind would try and kill the grandson of ever-rising Athos?

>>5745011
>>5745035
+1

turn on the charm

>>5745025

Invert the Sympathizer and fire!

>>5745040
>>5745035
>>5745042
>>5745132
>>5745143
>>5745196
>>5745225


---

Virtually unanimous for a smart to write-in, love to see it. Vote is locked.

File: Dog-Soldiers.jpg (41 KB, 500x281)

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Rolled 17, 8, 3, 18 + 5 = 51 (4d20 + 5)

The pirates warily regard you, and you them – there is a fragility to them; a savage, tremulous quality – they are sweating furiously, their eyes open too wide, mouths open and panting. They remind you of starving foxes.

And you are a wolf.

As a lone stalker, huge and with matted fur, might range down from the high foothills of Thessaly, letting the scent of rich flocks and yearling oxen guide its expert passage through underbrush and field to the warm coast, jaws slavering with hunger for the yellow marrow of cracked thigh-bones, you have followed your will to the salt sea. As the wolf might find a fallen stag gnawed upon by lesser creatures – barely worthy of notice - so too you find your path blocked by vermin. The wolf may idly growl in dire threat at this momentary inconvenience – the utter confidence of violence sublimated directly into the fluttering hearts of its inferiors, before the vermin scatter in all directions.

You stand as tall as you can, face exposed, glancing left and right at each group of pirates slowly. The scent of pitch is overpowering in the hold - sunlight streaming into the hold through the gaping wound rent by the galley. The pirates shift anxiously.

You are calm. Your youthful baritone ripples with utter self-confidence, the timbre of your voice conveying the very same promise of death that the ranging wolf delivers -

“Your captain is dead.”
“Your ship is dying.”
“Leave now, or I will send your shades to Πολυδεγμων, the host of many*.”

>players, I need THREE rolls of dice+1d20+3

*Based on my reading, Greeks of the Late Bronze Age preferred not to name Hades directly, using euphemisms such as these.

>>5745298

Derp, please note that this was meant to be a -5 modifier, so you guys need to beat a 12 and a 13.

Rolled 2 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>5745298
Damn, they get a +5? Too stupid to truly understand their situation or are they that bad at swimming that they don't want to?

>>5745300
Nevermind, kek

Rolled 6 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>5745298
The ancient technique passed down throughout history: diplomacy

Rolled 10 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>5745298

File: 76423658657654.gif (1.98 MB, 300x237)

1.98 MB GIF

>>5745310
Thank fuck.

>>5745310
That was too close to failure.
I blame it on out proximity to water.

>>5745310
Nice. Nikon in his concussed state almost got a bit too into thinking that he was a wolf.

>>5745310

Kek, another razor-thin margin of victory for Nikon.

>>5745320

My poor attempt at an extended Homeric nature simile, but hopefully with practice I get better....

---

Okay, next update will be sometime tomorrow.

However, I do need a general roll to help determine the larger state of affairs in the naval engagement.

Could I request a dice+1d20 from a player?

1-10: a fat man quails
10-20: it's time for dinner

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>5745325
Captcha is WAR8P

File: DINNER.png (5 KB, 546x459)

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Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>5745325
DINNER?

>>5745328
Boy's goin' hungry

>>5745326
>>5745328

hehe, double confirmation, anons, thank you

The gods are cruel but this time Nikon catches a break

>>5745335
There is always the choice of raping them, and choosing not to do so is an act of kindness in itself

>>5745335
>The Kind
I do believe the option of letting them fuck off is actually leagues above what other heroes would do, that is just kill them regardless.
>>5745338
>choosing not to do so is an act of kindness in itself
Is that you, Zeus?

>>5745338
>Three thread and we haven't raped anyone.

We are the best man ever? Our grandfather is the God of Goodness? Is the infinite kindness of Athos radiating from our soul as it once radiated from the rocky caves that sheltered primitive men in ancient times?

Big questions.

>>5745343
>behold, the kindest man in all of greek history!
>"Uh hi, yeah I don't rape people."
>what a MAN

>>5745371
You've got it a bit mixed up, Anon
>I don't rape people
Could mean that the person would do so if able, but is unable
>I can rape many people but I choose not to
Is a sign of true virtue

>>5745382
>Could mean that the person would do so if able, but is unable
Perhaps my grasp on the English language is truly as tenuous as suggested, but I was under the impression that "I do not rape people" means that under any circumstance, they will not perform an act of sexual assault. Whereas "I cannot rape people" would imply that there is something holding them back from doing so. Alas my comprehension of the anglic languages is so patchy and incomplete that I am unable to properly convey my humorous escapades. Verily I find myself without the means by which I may project any emphatic denotation of any sort. Beyond of course anger, by which I display thusly, "Fuck you.".

:^)

>>5745382
>>I can rape many people but I choose not to
>Is a sign of true virtue

This is why Zeus is virtuous.

He can rape everyone all the time, all day long, but choose not to.

>>5745394
Good argument, poise is great, however by hurting my feelings you have violated Xenia by wounding me in my own home and therefore i have the right to rape you. Checkmate!

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>>5745399
Well shit.

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>>5745399
>you have violated Xenia by wounding me in my own home and therefore i have the right to rape you.

Zeus has the first turn mortal

File: ramming attack!.jpg (145 KB, 800x565)

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There is a long, uncomfortable silence as each group of rivals considers the threat – you note that your words do not produce the instantaneous terror that you expected. Instead, the pirates seem to engage in communications amongst themselves for a deeply uncomfortable minute. The Phoenicians are hissing at each other – a young man saying, “የእሱን መጠን ተመልከት!” and an older, grizzled man responding “እሱ ግዙፍ ሞኝ ነው, እና ሞኞች ሊታለሉ ይችላሉ”- harsh syllables that mean nothing to your unlearned ear.

The Hellenic pirates, however, simply glare at each other soundlessly – until the eldest of them slips away in the dark, without a word. The tension breaks, and the remaining Hellenes follow suit – they retreat to the bow-end of the hold, although whether to flee the ship outright or simply hide, you do not know.

The brownskinned Phoenicians re-evaluate their position – at 8 to 1 odds in tight quarters, perhaps they felt confident at the prospect of combat with you. Less so now – you watch as they scamper in retreat towards the rent opening in the stern hold, where the broken end of the ship opens up to sun and sky.

The matter accomplished, and no longer fearing the prospect of an ambush – you turn to the slaves. They are terrified out of their wits, half-starved and traumatized after their abuses, but they respond quickly as you order them out of their cage and to ascend to the main deck. You step out into the noon-day sun, with the bedraggled prisoners in your shadow. The pirates have abandoned the main deck entirely – a few more bodies are present that you recall, having taken Salaminian javelins in the back, and several more pirates are moaning in agony as they attempt to gather the courage to withdraw the fire-hardened missiles from their guts, thighs, or sides. In your estimation, these wounded can safely be ignored. The deck itself is quite uneven, starting to roll, its death spasms have begun. You have only minutes.

To your great relief, you see that Ajax’s galley has not yet departed – instead, having swung around the dying merchant vessel to the opposite side. Across the deck, in the distance, you see another pirate’s ship departing at all speed downwind, sails high and oars threshing. It seems that the Euboean’s companion had no appetite for a rescue or to risk an interdiction of Ajax’s galley.

You see Ajax’s hulking figure on the stern and you raise a fist to him in signal – he is quick to return the gesture. He expertly directs his oarsman to maneuver his galley quite close to the dying ship, and once the decks are aligned, you and your rescued slaves are quick to make the transition.

Once aboard, the Salaminians pay you no mind, already hard at work to deploy the main sails. Pollux and Castor appear at your side - Pollux claps you on the shoulder, looking no worse for wear – in fact, you see a fresh pink scar beneath the pierced bronze of his shoulder’s armor.

>cont

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“What daimon possessed you, Nikandros? Κοαλεμος, spirit of foolishness or Αλκη, on loan from my father's armguard?” The blonde man has a bemused look on his face, as he inspects the huddled slaves. His gold-flecked eyes flash -

“You may get a few talents for their sale on Delos – are you so impoverished?” he asks wonderingly. Castor, looking wearied, gently intercedes –

“Perhaps wealth is not what has motivated him, dear brother.”

Ajax’s shadow looms, and you stand at attention as he approaches - he is clearly angered, speaking:

“Nikandros, I know you little and must be clear - I will not risk the lives of our crew for theatrics. It is fortune alone that returned you! I agreed to transport you to Ilion at the behest of Agamemnon, but I owe nothing to you.” He doesn’t wait for a response – he immediately orders the Salaminians to stow the slaves below deck, and re-orient the vessel.

He turns back to you, clearly expecting a response.

>Well, you’ve pissed off Ajax – what do, /qst/? Nikandros is bound by honor/respect to any plans specified to Ajax, (currently) his vast superior in nobility.

>Explain the truth – that you were motivated to save the slaves out of sympathy. Honesty has served you well in the past, even when it does not seem the best strategy. Furthermore, you plan to release these slaves from bondage upon reaching Delos.

>Lie that you were motivated by financial gain – that you plan to sell the slaves to merchants at Delos and split what proceeds you obtain amongst yourself, Ajax, Teukros and the Dioscuri.

>Explain that you intend to grant the slaves to King Anios of Delos as a gift, for good will with your future host.

>Something else I haven’t thought of?

Ajax listens to your response carefully, saying only:

“We will discuss further once the battle is won – we must now attend to Menelaus. Nikandros, your help on the oars for the ramming was appreciated, and I’ll ask it of you once again –“ he nods toward the other galley in the distance, clearly having angled southerly from the intended course to Delos. The two pirate vessels are in hot pursuit, and even from this distance, you see that all three vessels have their sails up and oars flashing.

“Menelaus and Odysseus are leading the other pirates on a merry chase, and we must row like we have the Earth-Shaker himself pushing us along.”

You don’t argue with Ajax, despite the demeaning nature of the request. You immediately gather your helm and greaves, equip them and proceed to a rowing bench close to the stern. To your surprise, Teukros joins you as well – he provides you with a sympathetic expression, perhaps having borne the brunt of his half-brother’s anger in the past. You set to rowing, pushing hard, as Ajax belts out commands the stern-deck, from behind your left shoulder.

>Players, I need ONE roll of dice+1d20+11 to determine how quickly your galley can travel to Menelaus’ galley.

Rolled 5 + 11 (1d20 + 11)

>>5745810
>>Explain the truth – that you were motivated to save the slaves out of sympathy. Honesty has served you well in the past, even when it does not seem the best strategy. Furthermore, you plan to release these slaves from bondage upon reaching Delos.

>>5745810
>Explain that you intend to grant the slaves to King Anios of Delos as a gift, for good will with your future host.
Freed slaves don't really do well in tribal societies desu

>>5745810
>Explain the truth – that you were motivated to save the slaves out of sympathy. Honesty has served you well in the past, even when it does not seem the best strategy. Furthermore, you plan to release these slaves from bondage upon reaching Delos.

>>5745810
>>Explain the truth – that you were motivated to save the slaves out of sympathy. Honesty has served you well in the past, even when it does not seem the best strategy. Furthermore, you plan to release these slaves from bondage upon reaching Delos.

>concede however that as it is his ship and we acted out of turn, it is his decision on what we do with the slaves
Nikdandros is impulsive, bold, and just a bit silly. But he's a good man. And not quite an idiot.

>>5745810
>Something else I haven’t thought of?
>Explain the truth – that you were motivated to save the slaves out of sympathy. Honesty has served you well in the past, even when it does not seem the best strategy.
>"Prince Ajax, you may have heard about my father's end. The suffering brought upon being carried by the currents is one that weight heavily upon the memory of my family. I could not let the slaves suffer the terrible of fate of drowning as the result of the greed and foolishness of these pirates."
Not going to free the slaves, it's not really how bronze age Greece worked.

>>5745820
>+1
Ajax does hold authority here, best that we respect it

>>5745810
>Explain that you intend to grant the slaves to King Anios of Delos as a gift, for good will with your future host.

>>5745821
This sounds good to me. Support. Besides, I don’t think letting those slaves go free without any wealth to their name is going to end well. Ajax is a bro, so I’m not too worried over the result here, just gotta manage his anger.

>>5745810
>Explain the truth – that you were motivated to save the slaves out of sympathy. Honesty has served you well in the past, even when it does not seem the best strategy.
Wonder what Teurkos would think

>>5745820
This

>>5745966

You might hear from him later on the voyage, if you seek him out.

Homer implied that Teukros has something of a different mindset, even if he doesn’t always speak his mind in formal settings…

Anyways, you guys owe Teukros your thanks - that Euboean dickhead was prepared to camp out and take additional potshots at you when you re-emerged from the hold.

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>>5745982
Pic
>>5745998
What?

>>5745132
>>5745820
It's me again, phoneposting at work.

All this, and definitely giving our regards to Teukros.

>>5745810
>>5745880
Switching to

>Explain the truth – that you were motivated to save the slaves out of sympathy. Honesty has served you well in the past, even when it does not seem the best strategy. Furthermore, you plan to release these slaves from bondage upon reaching Delos.

Accidentally picked the wrong one

Nikandros, Boy Scout

>>5745812
>>5745819
>>5745820 (with concession write-in)
>>5745821 (with another good concession write-in)
>>5745822
>>5745966
>>5745982
>>5746031
>>5746070

I have a poor track record with Kings, best to bring a bribe

>>5745817

---

I'm pretty sure the count is correct, but regardless, seems like an overwhelming majority for "tell the truth" with some smart write-ins.

>>5745810
>>5745820
Late perhaps but i'll cast my vote for this
To let Ajax decide their fate.
>>5745821
Also this write in is good.

>>5746164
Yeah, letting Ajax decide is good.
His ship, his slaves.

I'm pretty sure the decision should be Ajax's anyways. He's the captain of the ship, and therefore ought to decide the distribution of captured "goods"

>>5746166
That's why it's important to acknowledge that we aren't going to attempt to impose our desire upon him. It makes us look like an overeager muppet but not a totally up-jumped rural fucknut shouldering his way past his betters.

>>5745821
This is nice too

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Rolled 2, 13 + 1 = 16 (2d20 + 1)

>let’s at least handle the Ajax conversation tonight, we can do the second half of the naval battle tomorrow.

Ajax Telamonios, your senior in age, acclaim, heritage, wealth, veterancy – a man of legendary constitution, and one of the very few who stands taller than yourself. He could not be more dissimilar in appearance to silver-footed Thetis, but nonetheless, there is a doubling in your mind – the recollection of your conversation with an angry goddess upon a mountainside in Skyros comes unprompted.

You adopt the same strategy that transmuted a goddess’ wrath into a debt, still unpaid – revealing the truth. You speak your heart to him:

"Prince Ajax, you may have heard about my father, Hippomedon, and his death*, resulting from the unjust revenge of dark-pebbled Ismenos. The suffering brought upon the house of Hippomedon, carried to us by the currents, is one that burdens me heavily, as well as upon my sister and mother. I could not let the slaves suffer the terrible fate of drowning, doomed by the greed and foolishness of these pirates.”

You breathe deeply, and send what winged words you can:

“And yet, I am not in command, this is not my ship, and I have acted rashly. I beg your forgiveness, Prince Ajax. The fate of the slaves is yours to decide, not mine – I have already achieved what I hoped, and offer them freely to you.”

>Okay, anons – beat my roll for Ajax's WILL.

>I need TWO rolls of dice+1d20+3 to see if Nikon can salvage his standing with Ajax. His current CHA bonus is 0 (with the concussion, effective CHA of 9), but I’m providing a +2 bonus for the write-in re: concession, and a further +1 bonus for apology/surrendering the slaves.

>Degrees of success do matter here, since I am tracking reputation gains and losses behind the scenes.

Just so you guys know, Hippomedon didn't drown in the river Ismenos - the river water stripped him of his arms and armor and then placed him directly in front of a Theban battalion that turned him into a pin-cushion. Funny that Nikandros is wearing his father's bronze today, given that the Seven Against Thebes lost, no?

Rolled 14 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>5746175

Rolled 1 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

>>5746175
It's why I mentioned him being carried by the currents instead of drowning.
I just thought it would be fitting because what the river asshole did to Nira in the sidequest.

>>5746184
...I was one of the anons that rolled one of the crit fails when that happened.
I'm just going to vow to not roll in the main quest as well.

>>5746187
Dont worry, if crit fall were a thing here, Agamenon and Nikon meeting would have be a thing of legends

>>5746193
I'm interpreting it as Tyche warning me before any more gods appear to activate their crit powers.

>>5746196
What happen to Nira on the side quest?

>>5746176
>>5746184

>17 vs 14 - exactly one degree of success - that'll do.

I'm honestly surprised, I can't recall the last time that Nikon won a social roll. Anyways, Nikon preserves his social standing with Ajax through genuine discourse about his motivations (but Ajax is not exactly having an epiphany about the social compact here).

>>5746190
>>5746193

kek, the memes for this quest are truly top fucking tier

>>5746197

It's too painful to recount here, anon...

---

This seems as good a time as any to reveal my true intentions - restarting TWQ has only been Phase 2 of a larger plan to revitalize /qst/ and increase board traffic here. /qst/ CAN be great again!

I've come to the determination that the folks in /qtg/ discord, while being mostly well-meaning people, seem to be incapable or unwilling to band together collectively to advertise the board. This was initially frustrating to me, before I realized: Achilles wouldn't give a fuck about that, he would just do it.

This means that UNILATERAL ACTION is required - and so my question is this:

Would the meme-generating anons be willing to join me in my crusade, and donate their time, energy, and money to design one general banner ad and one banner ad about TWQ specifically, to run on other 4chan boards? If yes, see requirements below:

Positions/Dimensions: 728x90 Leaderboard in both header and footer positions in desktop view, 300x250 Medium Rectangle in both header and footer positions in mobile view)
Format: JPG/PNG/GIF/WEBP

Maybe if we are successful in generating some of these, we can then identify which boards to advertise on?

Regardless of the above, I do plan to continue to run TWQ no matter the outcome of this advertising discussion, so no hard feelings if players decide against supporting these efforts.

>>5746197
A soldier killed a peasant girl that was giving offerings to the local stream god. We found the murderwe and brought him to god as a peace offering so they would stop muddling the water
The god saw the guy and had a brainfart, ignored the fact the fucker was bound and the pleading we had just done, threw a tantrum, sweep the entire platoon, nearly killed Nira, killed Iudas, and made Pantaleon disappear.
At least the stream god got a beating from their river dad and Nira is closer to join team dam(n) all river.

>>5746202
I mean, I can do memes with that dimensions, but I don't know about what topics aim them

>>5746205
Fuck

File: Nikon 1.png (396 KB, 512x512)

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>>5746202
We're so back.

>>5746202
>I'm honestly surprised, I can't recall the last time that Nikon won a social roll.
Clearly Ajax understands, big boys stick together, even if the slightly smaller big boy is being kind of a dweeb.

As for the where, I'd suggest /his/, /lit/ or /tv/. I'm sure someone on /tv/ knows about that old Troy movie with Brad Pitt. /his/ would probably appreciate the actual slight amount of effort going into the quest. And /lit/ for the fact that there are already some people there who know about the quest from the Iliad reading group, and general appreciation for the classics.

Although they all have relatively small user bases. No one wants to advertise to the freaks in /a/. Even if this is based on the earliest anime script in history.

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>>5746205
Can't forget that in that process, we also lost a godly relic, Nira's ankle got mangled so badly she needed a walking stick, and she had to struggle through the wilderness at night on a broken ankle back to her home. Then, we had to figure out how to kill the most powerful man in the area. That went a lot better.

Sleepy Social Intrigues in Thessaly.

>>5746301
The good news is, when Nikon gets back from the war, Nira will have a higher level than him.

>>5746305
>Gets back from the war

You speak as if Nikon isn't going to die in Ajax's arms having saved his life and forcing him to promise to fuck Nira

>>5746372
>nikon dies
>nira goes full tilt vengeance witch and swears retribution on hades himself to get her brother back
>wacky dangerous shenanigans ensue

>>5746396
>The greeks return from the war
>Deianira is in Pythia being crowned queen in the north.

>>5746396
>>5746402
Lol

You put your conversation with Ajax behind you, his thoughts hidden to you for now, and you row – the chase is on!

Now seated in the starboard, stern-area of the decks, you have a clear view ahead. The majority of Salaminians, who are almost completely unwounded, break their backs on the oars. For commoner men, they are unusually competent, strong and more importantly, well-trained – they row with proper discipline and haven’t yet expended their reserves. You catch grins on the youngest of them – some of them not so grizzled as to forget the pure excitement of successful battle.

Along the fore-decks, the sharp-eyed commoner who spotted the vessels earlier is placed, a black-haired youth with a squat frame and prominent nose. The squat man constantly flashes hand signals back to Ajax, who makes subtle adjustments on the tiller. The previous flags have been reeling in, and another signal flag has been run up the rigging in their place – this one dark as Nyx’s shawl. Even distracted by the timing of the rowing, you can guess the meaning – we are coming, Menelaus!

Behind you, you catch snatches of shouted conversation between Ajax, Pollux and Castor – they are hotly debating methods to pry the pirates’ vessels apart. You’re too distant to hear properly, and with the concussion still fogging your thoughts, you are content to labor away for the time being. To your left, you catch glimpses of Teukros – the man has surprised you again, and joining you at the oars was an unexpected show of solidarity. He seems at peace amongst the Salaminian rowers, his dark features wearing a smile, and even manages to find the time to wordlessly poke fun at various Salaminians surrounding him. His easy way with the sailors is something to note – other men might be vaunting endlessly about their slaying of an enemy captain, but he seems to have already forgotten his actions.

Before you, the sails steadily grow larger – between Ajax’s hand on the tiller, Pollux’s expert guidance, and Teukros and yourself at the oars, you make good time.

And then the wind dies.

>cont

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Rolled 19 - 1 (1d20 - 1)

It doesn’t happen all at once – but steadily, the gusts become weaker, more fitful. The sails of your galley and of the ships grow slack, hanging impotently, and the sea becomes preternaturally calm. You look about in all directions, but can see no silver threads, no swimming daimons amongst the ocean waves – although, with Odysseus aboard Menelaus’ vessel, you do wonder… You recall the archery competition between Castor and the resourceful King of Ithaka, and the easy way that divine assistance was produced to correct an errant bowshot.

The lack of wind is all to your galley’s benefit, of course. Your ship possesses the strongest rowers, and therefore the lack of wind benefits you and your crewmates most of all. One of the hostile vessels before you cannot keep pace with its peer – the oars fail to coordinate properly, whether due to exhaustion, or poor discipline, you aren’t sure. As for the other, it just fails to keep pace with Menelaus’ ship – very gradually slipping further behind Menelaus’ galley.

You hear Ajax shouting triumphantly behind you – “A flock of kingfishers are owed to fast-shifting Aeolos! He restrains the Ανεμοι to our benefit!”

>okay, players - give me a dice+1d20+11 for ship on ship initiative against the laggard piratical vessel!

Rolled 16 + 11 (1d20 + 11)

>>5746451
>19
Gods are having fun

>>5746452

Not as much fun as Ajax, it seems - he’s having a good day at sea. Ah, to be a Chad in the Late Bronze Age…

Next update will be out at about 1pm EST or so.

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Within the quarter-hour, your galley has merged course with the lagging pirate vessel, following close behind, even with your sails down. Shout of alarm in Zeus’ Hellenika drift over the stern of the pirate’s vessel, and you see glimpses of the ragged pirate crew leaning over the edges of their deck, gauging the distance between your galley and their slowing vessel.

As your craft approaches, there’s a half-hearted volley of javelins aimed at your rowers, but these fall harmless upon the deck or into the sea – you hear a high and clear order from the enemy vessel – “Cease casting, cease casting!” Still working the oars, you shake your head – this bunch is hardly more disciplined than the others your crew left dying, ship-wrecked and adrift just previously.

You hear that high voice of command once more, carried by the salt air, clearly delivered with the confidence of command – a voice softened by the slurred accents of the Minoan. A Cretan, you suspect. “Row hard, row hard, row hard!” They are foolishly attempting to –

But contrary to the orders you’ve just overheard, the pirate crew ahead of you thrusts their oars violently into the deep, rapidly decelerating and rocking widely to port! A basic deception, but one delivered with surprising competence and speed.

Ajax thunders behind you – TO PORT, TO PORT! and you lend your strength to the braking action – together with the Salaminians and with Ajax's godlike strength on the tiller, the galley is neatly nestled behind the hijacked merchant vessel.

”Salaminians, prepare for boarding action! Double-file amidships, javelins ready!. You hear Andocides, boatswain of the galley, echo these orders himself, and sprint down to the center deck, spear and shield in hand, to coordinate further.

Pollux rockets past your rowing bench, flying from stern to bow – his spear and shield are strapped to his broad back. At once, you guess his intentions – with the stern of the enemy vessel drawing close, he means to leap from the bow of your galley, ascend the enemy stern and catch the enemy by surprise! He turns back to you, laughing wildly:

“Come, Nikandros – you have inspired me! Do not let Salaminian disapproval restrain you!”

>cont

File: anachronistic but gets th(...).jpg (360 KB, 1200x830)

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>whew, sorry for the delay there, was unexpectedly held up

The Salaminians produce grappling irons from compartments under the main deck, and rapidly fasten these to large iron hooks along the ship deck and to the rowing benches themselves. A huddle of the sailors grows alongside Andocides in the central part of the galley, oxhide shields raised and pitiless bronze spearpoints held in throwing posture.

You leap off the benches yourself, sword at your belt, spear in hand, bronze disc of your father strapped safely to your arm, prepared to take action - Teukros likewise abandons his rowing bench, sprinting back towards the stern.

>wat do, /qst/? This vote is expected to close tonight at 8am or so. I'll call for ship combat rolls at that time.

>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.

>Join Andocides amidships and join the boarding party of the Salaminians – he is unlikely to join the actual invading party himself, and you will be able to assume temporary command of the Salaminians as they leap aboard. Your presence will no doubt provide a significant boost to the combat ability of the boarding party and you will become the anvil to Pollux’s hammer.

>Clamber aboard the fore-deck platform, but hang back as the galley comes parallel against the enemy vessel, scanning for the Cretan captain – if you locate him, you may be able to leap aboard and challenge him directly in solo combat. A decapitation strike will shatter the resolve of the pirates and make for another swift victory - let Ajax doubt your instincts at his peril!

>Assist the Salaminians with the application of the grappling irons? These irons are essentially hooks on very long, strong ropes, meant to be tossed into the rigging, and to catch along the lumber and masts of the victim's ship. A man of your strength could launch multiple irons simultaneously, and increase the chances of a success "lock" upon the enemy ship.

---

>Also, I need another dice+1d24, as we have entered a new battle phase.

>>5746591
>>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.

Pollux is such a bro

>>5746591
>h
>Join Andocides amidships and join the boarding party of the Salaminians – he is unlikely to join the actual invading party himself, and you will be able to assume temporary command of the Salaminians as they leap aboard. Your presence will no doubt provide a significant boost to the combat ability of the boarding party and you will become the anvil to Pollux’s hammer.
We're good at leading people and this is a good opportunity to show our peers and betters that.

>>5746591
>>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.

Ἀλαλά!

Rolled 11 (1d24)

>>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.

>>5746591
>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.

>>5746591

I obviously meant 8pm EST here, not 8am.

>>5746610

Thanks for the roll, anon - noted.

Also, I’ll keep an eye out for any potential ads for generated for TWQ or for /qst/ generally. If it comes to it, i’ll buy the ad time myself

>>5746591
>>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.

>>5746591
>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.

Ajax is probably going to shake his head at our jumping with Pollux. But we need to get his back. Having Teukros and Castor with their great marksmanship to help keep him safe is one thing, it's another to have a man shield your back entirely.

Speaking of, we should offer our words of approval and compliment Teukros' fine shooting when we get the chance. Straight to the heart of a man mid-taunt. Baller.

I was also thinking of just how aloof Nikon must seem with the sympathetic trait. Typical heroes and people of the age are as brazen as they can be at all times, and pretty selfish.

>>5746883
>>5746919

This is an age where demigod men with testosterone levels comparable to prime bull alligators are walking around.

Nikon is not the only nobleman with the Sympathy trait, but he might be the only hulking military genius with it. If Nikon survives to the end of the war, he may create a very distinct legacy, that’s for sure. I’m aware of no such figure mentioned in Homeric literature.

>>5746591
>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation!

>>5746927
Wouldn't Menelaus also have the sympathetic trait? He was willing to forego all of the treasure just to get Helen back, after all. Of course, he's still a passionate man with the temper to match.

>>5746944
Aside from his determination to beat Paris to death he's definitely a softie in the Iliad/Odyssey

>>5746951
To be fair, just about everyone except his own family wanted to beat Paris to death. And even then there were times.

>>5746944

>expecting me to spill the beans on a major character's character sheet just because you asked politely

Certainly not anon, this would be improper :)

---

this is the way, Nikon

>>5746597
>>5746605
>>5746610
>>5746623
>>5746643
>>5746650
>>5746928


Squad-Lead, green light, green light

>>5746604

---

We're not at 8pm yet, but the consensus is quite clear! Nikon will be turning his brain off again - the players have a weak spot for Pollux's shenanigans, it seems - and he's not the only one!

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>>5746591
>Charge up along the fore-deck platform and leap to the enemy stern to join Pollux at his invitation! Pollux, as a expert climber and man of considerable strength, will no doubt be able to assist you up the side of the pirate’s stern if need be. A pair of demigods set loose upon the enemy vessel will spark chaos amongst the crew and you’ll be able to better cover one another if one of you is wounded.
He's probably gonna go through with it whether or not we follow, so may as well watch his back.

>>5746959
How many character sheets did you have to make for this quest?

>>5746944
No, he has the simp trait.

>>5746969
Hey man, she's the hottest woman in the world. People have done a lot more for a lot less.

>>5746966

Unfortunately I had to go without Homer’s notes, so I had to create over 20, but some are definitely more detailed than others. I’m lucky in that the full cast of the Iliad won’t appear for a while, so I’ll be fine tuning further behind the scenes.

I spent something like 5 hours tinkering with Achilles’s charsheet until I felt confident that I reproduced Homer’s thought-process (or arrived at the same outcome, at least). It was much easier to create the other characters, and having Nikon’s sheet and Homer’s original chargen traits for reference was critical.

>>5746984
Achilles really is a bitch to stat out because his characteristics are actually way more in depth than most of the other characters. He has moments of intense anger and then flips to being melancholic and wistful in the next instance he is mentioned. He's just a very complicated young man.

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Rolled 16 - 5 (1d20 - 5)

Pollux’s invitation rings in your ears, and you briefly consider ignoring him – but the call of the greater of the Dioscuri is simply too much to resist. He is an Argonaut, a son of the Loud-Thunderer, sister to Helen, and a man who has treated directly with the divines on uncountable occasions. His story is known to every Hellene and even farther abroad – his exploits are legends heard by all young boys who dream of greatness. A flash of envy sparks through your mind as you consider his accomplishments – you don’t lie to yourself, you covet his fame.

He has invited you to become part of his myth – to become eternal – who are you to deny him? You take a brief moment to strap your shield and spear to your back and are thundering up the deck joyously in no time at all. Happiness does not come often to you, delivered to you in small moments – when laying the perfect ambush in the snowy hills of Elimeia, or stalking a barbaroi princeling along the lakes of Arnisa – these have been moments of true joy. You add one more moment to your list – flinging yourself into the air over the open sea, at the invitation of one of the Τυνδαριδαι.

The enemy vessel is weather-beaten – the wood roughened into handholds by surf and sea. Pollux having ascended before you, extends a hand as you heavily scramble up the exterior of the stern, and you gratefully accept – he hauls your bulk aboard, straining.

Your sandaled feet barely touch the stern deck before your shield and spear are in hand. Your presence has not yet been noted. The pirates, bearing shields and hide tunics move rapidly to repulse the inbound Salaminian boarders, but not frantically - a measure of coordination exists among them. These are professional, veterans - not the ragged sea-vermin that your galley smashed to pieces a half-hour ago. One of the pirates, tracking a gull through the air, spots you and Pollux aboard the stern deck, and cries out:

“Boarders, boarders, boarders!”

The pirates immediately break off a group of ten in your direction, but their approach is harried, messy - you are unexpected guests. Pollux’s pale eyes gleam beneath his painted, egg-white skullcap, as you each survey the deck before you, and he mutters to you, meeting your eye -

“I’ve seen you wrestle, Thessalian – now show me how you fare in the grind of Ares Manslaughterer!” Before you can respond, he’s leapt down below, shield high and spear-point high, advancing towards the pirates. You have no choice but to drop down alongside him!

>Okay, players – this is Nikon’s first taste of actual combat against a coordinated enemy force. Try not to embarrass yourself.

>I need ONE roll of dice+1d20+6 for Nikon’s initiative. He gets a significant bonus (+5) for dropping in unannounced.
>I'll be rolling for Pollux separately.

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Rolled 10 + 6 (1d20 + 6)

>>5747090

Rolled 19, 15, 11, 1, 20, 4 - 5 = 65 (6d20 - 5)

>>5747101

Your heart beats, and your feet hit the deck of the vessel. The pirates before you are slow - painfully slow. They are inferior men, wielding inferior weapons and arms. You pity them, but not enough to spare them.

Pollux moves lazily, a half-effort - a man who has seen death and no longer fears it. Even so, he is faster than the men before you.

The commoners before you are mostly Hellenic - a shame. It feels worse to kill them than foreigners, for some reason.

Your heart beats.

Your arms are long, your spear is longer - your reach is surprising. The pirates are moving too close to you - they will have to learn their errors through spilled blood. They will wander as shades, unavenged, for many decades in the underworld.

No matter.

Your speargrip tightens, and you push out into their midst.

>players, give me THREE rolls of dice+2d20. first roll with manual +1 to-hit bonus, second roll with +6 wound bonus, per Nikon's stats.

>I'm rolling for the pirates and also for Pollux (off-site). Please note that the pirates do have a +1 armor bonus given that they are decently-equipped.

>this will be the last update, tonight - stay tuned!

Rolled 17, 3 + 1 = 21 (2d20 + 1)

>>5747114
Death to pirates!

Rolled 15, 18 + 6 = 39 (2d20 + 6)

>>5747114
Here goes

>>5747144
>>5747150

Well, I’ll be damned. I’ll still wait for another roll but looks like Nikon is doing well here

Rolled 8, 10 = 18 (2d20)

>>5747114

Give me a damage roll, you beautiful anons!

dice+1d5+6

Rolled 2 + 6 (1d5 + 6)

>>5747173
I just ate.

>>5747173
I'll never get over the fact that Nikon's grazing blows are enough to kill normal men. Then again that applies to many heroes.

>>5747213
>many heroes
Imagine the bragging rights of being able to survive a blow that would of killed another man 2 times over. Though, if we did somehow max out Nikon's constitution, he'd be sitting at HP- (26/26) which at that point makes me wonder what 1/26 HP would look like, is the guy just holding his own guts but somehow still alive?

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>>5747414
>>5747414 #
>which at that point makes me wonder what 1/26 HP would look like, is the guy just holding his own guts but somehow still alive?

Well, Cu chulainn tied himself to a rock with a rope and his own guts to not lose his Eye-to-eye combat, Divine, Moral, Intimidation and Weapon-range bonus, so there are precedents.

Two lean pirates draw close over the port rowing benches, uneven and installed poorly, as Pollux and yourself confidently advance down the central aisle, the deck flooring stained with slapshod pitching. Several strides distant, a ring of leather-vested pirates wait with their ox-hide shields braced together – they clearly do not recognize Pollux, despite his signature skullcap, but the unmistakable aura of danger surrounding the pair of you gives them pause. Pollux is perhaps a stride ahead of you, angled to starboard towards another pair of oncoming pirates – they have the look of brothers; similar receding hairlines and short noses.

You strike first, as your pair of port-side pirates come into range – the closer of the two raises his shield, but it hardly matters – you simply drive the spear-point through the flimsy barrier, splitting the wood apart and driving the spearpoint deep into his chest. You miss the man’s heart, but the damage you produce in his upper chest is lethal all the same – he drops to the deck gasping soundlessly, flopping like a fish. Instead of withdrawing your spear entirely, you free your spearpoint from the tissue-like flesh and sweep your spear bluntly across the right shoulder of his companion – an awkward strike, but delivered with enough force to crack bone. The man cries out in agony, but manages to keep his spear raised.

To your side, Pollux once again moves slowly to react – practically vaunting in his lack of responsiveness. He waits for one of the brothers to step too closely before tearing out his throat with his spear-point, and then steps forward to deliver a powerful kick to the dying man, toppling him over the rowing bench, and causing his brother to stumble and fall, cracking his head against the bench edge in the process. The man is quick to stand, but blood flows from the scalp wound – he wails in rage and despair without breaking eye contact.

As this occurs, you see the grappling irons from your galley fly into view, fastening securely to the pirates' ships' rigging, benches and railings – a tight lock in multiple places! The grappling lines are drawn tightly together as your galley matches course, a death-grapple from which the pirates cannot escape. A volley of Salaminian ash flies into the assembled phalanx of enemy pirates, scoring many hits but no deaths - groans of agony flood the decks as the pirates do their best to stay together.

>cont

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Rolled 8 - 5 (1d20 - 5)

Without pause, a group of fifteen Salaminians charge across the joined decks, stirred to murderous violence between the shouts of Ajax and Andocides. The sailors hardly needed your assistance - they go about murdering the pirates with drilled efficiency, prying apart the enemy ranks with aplomb. From above, Teukros and Castor fire into the enemy phalanx from the sides, killing men at the edges of the enemy formation. Of the pirate crew of fifty, you guess that ten are killed in the first few moments of the battle, and about fifteen are wounded to various degrees. Their equipment and modicum of discipline is not enough to spare them – it is just short of a slaughter, but surprisingly, the pirates do not yet shatter. Of the enemy commander, the Cretan, you do not see him at all.

You spare a glance off at Menelaus’ galley, and what you see confuses you – the merchant galley pursuing the Menelaus’ galley is draped with long ropes in the rigging, but the ends of these drag in the sea – whatever gambit dreamed up by Odysseus must have failed, and the remaining vessel is now approaching to board Menelaus!

Your gold-flecked eyes flicker back to the splinter force of pirates facing you and Pollux , and they advanceto reinforce the surviving pair – they hope to drown you in bodies!

>okay, /qst/ - give me another dice+1d20+1 to see if Nikon is faster than these pirate bastards.
>I'll be rolling for Pollux seperately

Rolled 14 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>5747639

Rolled 8, 1, 16, 12, 9, 11 - 6 = 51 (6d20 - 6)

>>5747649

Well, done anon! Nikon attacks again!

>players, give me THREE more rolls of dice+2d20. first roll with manual +1 to-hit bonus, second roll with +6 wound bonus, per Nikon's stats.

>I’ll be rolling for other aspects of the battle separately

Rolled 7, 7 + 1 = 15 (2d20 + 1)

>>5747654

Rolled 7, 4 = 11 (2d20)

>>5747654
Fuck pirates

Rolled 10, 19 + 6 = 35 (2d20 + 6)

>>5747654
Guess I'll do the +6

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>>5747778

>>5747778
That's going to cause a lot damage

>>5747655
>>5747777
>>5747778

Nikon rolls a (11, 25) versus a (10, 6).

He can be surprisingly fast for a giant - let's see if Nikon can keep up with Pollux...

Okay, roll me another dice+1d5+6 for damage!

Rolled 1 + 6 (1d5 + 6)

>>5747787

>>5747790

Kek - Nikon's a bit wild but still gets the job done here.

Next update will be for 8-9pm EST tonight, in all likelihood.

Also - is anyone in contact with Lord Licorice? It seems like sup/tg/ does not like greek characters in thread titles and this thread does not appear in the archives despite me having archived it two separate times.

I did send him an email yesterday but no response yet.

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Pollux, finally discarding pretense, moves in a blur, delivering two lightning-fast thrusts against the oncoming pirates – his spearpoint obliterates an eye to pierce the brain behind, and spraying flecks of grey matter, the spear-point proceeds to bury itself into the guts of a second man before you can react, striking just below his leather jerkin. The second pirate, a young man of your age, desperately attempts to hold his wound closed, even as red blood seeps through his robes.

You jump forwards to deliver your own strike against one of your attackers, but you gauge the distance all wrong – your spearpoint bounces obliquely off the side of a grey-beard’s skull, collapsing it, rather than making direct contact. The older man drops to the ground, spasming – deaths like these can sometimes last for hours.

The resolve of the splinter force breaks at this – the work of two nobleman together has rendered half their number dead or wounded in a half-minute. They scramble past one another back to the amidships region, casting terrified glances behind them– Pollux restrains you, and gestures to the dying men before you, gold-flecked eyes cool with practicality:

“No surprises for later.” You follow his lead and take a few moments to tear out of the hearts of the men bleeding out on the irregular deck flooring.

You raise your eyes when you hear shouts of “Retreat!” and “To the foredecks!”
No doubt to the dismay of the splinter force, the main crew of the pirate vessel has broken at the exact same time as their arrival, and the crowd of them flees back to the bow of the ship – Salaminians picking off seven or ten of them as they flee with javelins, Teukros and Castor taking their fee from the pirates as well, dropping two more together. Surprisingly, it is something of a controlled retreat – and once out of effective javelin range, the surviving pirates spin and reform a passable phalanx of reduced size – a grouping of perhaps twenty survivors, only some of them nursing serious wounds.

To your expectation, Andocides calls for a moment's reorganization, rather than a headlong crash against the enemy – you join with the Salaminians amidships, adding your bronze barrier to the wall that is being assembled, shield by shield, as does Pollux. The Salaminians are hardly scratched – they trade grins behind their ox-hide shields.

There is a pause while Andocides is conferring with Prince Ajax – the groans of the dying pirates behind you, the waves slapping against the ships, are the only sounds you hear. The relative silence is pierced by the clear voice of the Cretan captain, emerging from behind the pirate’s phalanx.

“I am Marsaëres, grandson of King Gortys and nephew to Meriones of Crete! I ask for parley with the captain!”
You hear the thundering voice of Ajax from behind you –

“Speak then, Marsaëres – and know that you are speaking with Ajax Telamonios, of Salamis!”

>cont

Rolled 16 + 3 (1d20 + 3)

The Cretan continues, stepping forward from amongst his phalanx - you make out the hidden outlines of bronze armor beneath his pirate's robes - perhaps he is who he says he is? He shouts to be heard over the rolling seas:

“We have suffered grievous losses to you and yours – our battle is lost. My uncle will pay a rich ransom for me, Prince Ajax – I offer bloodless surrender to you in return, all the substance and Timae of this ship’s hold, and in return, will provide you with proof of my ancestry!” To your ear, the plea sounds a desperate gambit, only one step above shameful begging.

“Spare my men, and I also will tell what I know of the pirates of the Cyclades – there is much that is unknown to Salamis and Mycenae!”

>Marsaëres rolls an 18 vs Ajax's 12, wins his persuasion attempt with 2 degrees of success

There is a long pause, before Ajax calls back, resolutely -

"I accept your surrender, Marsaëres. As for your men, my hold is already full of unwanted slaves. You brought doom upon your men, not I, when you attacked sacred envoys*. Order them to stand down, and I will grant them a swift death."

Marsaëres, wasting no time, leaps forward from his crew, throwing down his javelins and swordbelt - he is quickly arrested by Salaminians, who proceed to strip his bronze armor from him. Naked and hooded, he is marched into the hold of the galley for imprisonment.

The slaughter of the remaining pirates is a brief affair - most do not resist, retaining their manful dignity, baring their chests for the fatal blow. Two cowards attempt to swim to safety, and these are picked off by Teukros, from his position on high.

Pillaging of the vessel proper is interrupted before it can truly begin - in the distance, the pirate vessel that had been accosting Menelaus' galley has unexpectedly broken off its attack, reversed course and has lowered its sails - it's now rowing against the wind, back to your galley, trailed by Menelaus's ship, which is slow to follow and losing position by the second. Your irritation with these pirates begins to surge - can't they see that you are a superior force?

Ajax and the Salaminians release the grappling hooks, setting the pirate's ship adrift for now, and you beat a retreat to your own galley. Pollux claps you on the shoulder as you return to the stern deck oars - saying nothing, but his grin communicating that you had performed well. He ascends to the bow-deck with Castor, as Ajax roars:

"Let us finish this - they come to disable us before their escape!"

>players, roll me a dice+1d20+10 for ship initiative - final round of naval combat
>this encounter has gone on longer than I wanted but a series of unexpected rolls has occurred.
*My understanding is that diplomatic envoys enjoyed special status in LBA Hellas, and it was considered a grave offense to molest or kill them. Of course, the pirates didn't stop to ask before attacking, but that's their problem.