Session B12 — Shipboard Life

Summary

A full day and night aboard the Ice Serpent as she heads north toward Luskan. The session opens with the party settling into life at sea and introduces three new crew members in depth: Shanty O'Brien (crow's nest watchman), Dolwar Brinebone (enormous crewman), and Sienna Blount (ship's wizard and navigator). Othorion refuses a nighttime visit from Lolth in his dreams, only to find Captain Gregorovitch stationed outside his cabin door afterward. Haldak produces a book by Othorion's uncle Jarlaxle Baenre — Luskan Underworld: A Rogue's Guide — which contains hidden thieves' cant codes. A massive, siege-scale crab passes the ship and leaves parasitical mimic barnacles on the hull; the party fights them off. Kelvin's attempt to wildshape into a spider goes catastrophically wrong and nearly destroys the ship. The session ends with the rescue of Robert Hidswell, a northern wilderness guide swept overboard from another vessel by the same crab.

Key Events

Departure from Neverwinter — Into the Sea

The session opens aboard the Ice Serpent as she clears Neverwinter Harbor, bound north. The DM confirms the in-game month is Nightal. Below decks, Nezznar has been ungagged and fitted with new shackles designed to suppress spellcasting. He refuses the company of the party; Othorion stays near him anyway, watching silently.

Crew Introductions

The session brings three crew members into proper focus for the first time.

Shanty O'Brien is stationed in the crow's nest — dark complexion, elf or half-elf, a scar across his face, clearly experienced with ranged combat. He notices early on that Sienna Blount has spotted Kefkas up in the crow's nest, where Kefkas had been attempting to hide from her. Shanty confirms the detail to Kefkas directly. Later he is the one who draws the party's attention to the pre-dawn siren song, and he identifies it as unusual — sirens normally strike at range, not merely sing and withdraw.

Sienna Blount is introduced fully as the ship's deck wizard and navigator. She immediately perks up at the word "fireball." Her dynamic with Kavu begins here — she will spend most of the session oscillating between exasperation and professional admiration.

Dolwar Brinebone is approximately seven feet tall. He crouches down when Kavu produces fire breath and uses it to make s'mores. Afterward, unprompted, he finds Kavu and formally swears him a binding favor:

"I, Dolwar Brinebone, do solemnly swear that you shall be able to call upon me for exactly one favor of any nature within my power to give at any point in the future."

The oath is sincere. Kavu holds this favor.

Ice Dolphins

A pod of mimics shadowing the ship takes the form of ice-colored dolphins. Kavu leans over the rail and spends time teaching them: "Kossuth! Fireball!" They repeat it back, phonetically.

Kelvin's Fae Children — The Art

Kelvin produces (or reveals) sketched portraits of his children from his time in the Feywild. The party sees them for the first time: Darcy, Riri, Bourbon, Burl, Sarsi, Yurk, Kelvin Jr., Kelvin Jr. Jr., and Yelna — identified by Kelvin as the scariest one.

Othorion's Dream — Lolth

Othorion sleeps and receives a dream visitor: Lolth, the Spider Queen, offering him her protection. She frames it as a kindness. He declines:

"I believe I would rather be free to run than to be chained on a leash and told where to go."

He wakes and finds Captain Gregorovitch standing outside his cabin door. No explanation is offered. The captain is simply there, watching.

Pre-Dawn Siren Song

Before dawn, a distant siren's song drifts across the water. It is far enough away that no saving throws are required — the party hears it but is not enchanted. Shanty O'Brien identifies the behavior as strange: sirens typically close the range before singing. Whatever these were, they pulled back. The encounter is not resolved.

Kavu's Compass

Kavu's compass begins behaving strangely — its interior rotates rather than its needle pointing north. Shanty O'Brien spots it and takes note. The compass's significance is not yet explained.

The Jarlaxle Baenre Book

Haldak produces a book and gives it to Othorion: Luskan Underworld: A Rogue's Guide, authored by Jarlaxle Baenre. Othorion recognizes it immediately:

"One of my uncle's embellished tales of the city."

The dedication reads: "To my dearest Black Viper." The book contains thieves' cant codes woven into the text. Haldak ran a History check on the Black Viper — a Waterdeep-based thief who has been active for over 75 years, never seems to age, and is characterized as a Robin Hood-type figure. Jarlaxle Baenre is confirmed as Othorion's uncle.

The Giant Crab — Set Piece

At roughly midday, a creature described by the DM as "way scarier than a Tarrasque" — a colossal crab of siege scale — surfaces south of the ship and passes by, generating massive bow waves. The party rushes to help Sienna Blount at the helm.

Roland attempts to help and rolls a natural 1, then a natural 2 — falling backwards from the wheel both times. Despite this, the ship is steered clear, primarily by Sienna with assist from the party. The crab does not attack; it simply passes. It leaves a coating of barnacles across the hull.

Kelvin considers attempting to talk to the crab. The idea is gently discouraged.

"Jay was like, the crab just... are you sure you want to talk to it? And snaps your ship in half on accident when it turns to answer."

The DM reveals out-of-character that Mika suggested both the giant crab and the barnacle follow-up during a car ride to the session.

Barnacle Mimic Combat

Kelvin approaches one of the barnacles left on the hull and attempts to speak with it, having correctly identified it as potentially beast-type. Druidically, he leans close. The barnacle opens its mouth, spits, extends pseudopods, and grapples his face.

"Its monstrosity type, not beast. That's why it didn't answer you."

The remaining barnacles activate. Combat begins.

Initiative order included: Roland, Kavu, Kefkas, mimics, Dolwar Brinebone, and Othorion.

Roland swings Talon at the barnacle on Kelvin's face. He smites it for 19 damage, then adds 8 more — the mimic cleaves in two. Kelvin is left with "nigh but a paper cut on the tip of his nose." Sienna remains at the helm, navigating throughout.

Kavu activates Channel Divinity: Purifying Flame to maximize fire and radiant damage, then fires Scorching Ray. Two hit (one crit), two miss. He confirms that nothing is on fire afterward, then boasts about his precision.

"And you confirmed that with me before boasting, though. I really appreciate that."

Kefkas summons his echo and attacks via it with Emberwake, rolling double natural 20s (1 in 400 odds). Crit for 22 damage — one mimic is immediately destroyed. The DM awards inspiration.

Othorion dashes across the icy deck (the deck is slippery — running costs dexterity checks), gets into position, and kills a mimic with a sneak attack. Shanty O'Brien kills the last mimic: backing up, teleporting(?), and shooting it with a heavy crossbow for 18 damage.

"And that's how you deal with a fucking mimic."

The Huddle — And Kelvin's Wildshape

After the combat, Kefkas calls the party for a private huddle below decks, in his cabin. He explains his earlier conversation with Shanty O'Brien: when Kefkas tried to probe about Sienna, Shanty reacted as though she was a secret — then realized neither of them was talking about the same person. The implication: there is someone else on this ship who is being kept secret. Kefkas asks the group to keep their eyes open.

Kelvin volunteers to wildshape into a tiny spider and scout the ship. The DM says nothing and sets up the wildshape roll.

The result: rather than a spider, Kelvin is transformed into a 20-foot, lava-covered Astral Dreadnought tentacle that materializes inside Kefkas' small wooden cabin.

The DM's explanation, delivered after:

"I told Ant Hills the next time he wild shapes it'll be something special for combat. He decided to do this in a tiny room with all of us instead."

Dexterity saving throws for the party:

• Roland: Failed → 55 points of fire damage. Goes unconscious.
• Haldak: Failed → 55 points of fire damage. Gains 2 levels of exhaustion from heatstroke.
• Othorion: Succeeded → 16 points of fire damage.
• Kefkas: Succeeded → 8 points of fire damage (fire resistance halved).
• Kavu: Critical success (avoided entirely).
• Kelvin: Wildshape absorbs damage; fine.
• The ship: 110 points of fire damage (vulnerable to fire). Hull bowed outward in Kefkas' cabin. Water begins trickling through a crack.

Kavu immediately begins control-flaming the spreading fires, using his bonus actions to suppress each new ignition across the smoldering deck. He is, by the DM's own acknowledgment, the only possible person who could have saved the ship in this moment.

Sienna Blount comes below to investigate the smoke, finds the damage, and grabs both Kelvin and Kavu by their collars simultaneously:

"Damn it, you're both fucking useless! Come with me!"

She drags Kefkas aside and demands an explanation. Kefkas provides one:

"Kelvin tried to wildshape. That shit happens to him when he does. Came back as astral dreadnought tentacle on fire."

Sienna and Kavu cast Mending together, stabilizing the hull over approximately 20 minutes. Kefkas' room is destroyed — smoldering bed, scorched furniture, bowed hull. He is reassigned to a hammock on the open deck.

Roland regains consciousness to find himself on the damaged mattress, still faintly smoking.

Robert Hidswell — Rescued from an Iceberg

While Kelvin stands at the rail contemplating the moral weight of repeatedly endangering his companions, Shanty O'Brien and Dolwar Brinebone spot a figure on a nearby iceberg — screaming, clinging, approximately 90 feet off the starboard side.

"Man overboard! Man overboard!"

The party assesses options. No lifeboats. Kefkas proposes using the ship's ballista as a harpoon gun with a rope attached. Shanty drops anchor to stop the vessel.

Othorion climbs into the ballista seat. Kefkas gives him Bardic Inspiration. Othorion rolls — a natural 1. He burns the inspiration for a reroll, gets above 10. Kefkas, realizing Othorion is miscalculating for the rope's drop, grabs the front of the ballista and angles it up slightly. The bolt sails out and embeds in the ice just above the man's head. He grabs on. The party hauls him in.

The man introduces himself as Robert Hidswell, northern survival expert and arctic wilderness guide, native of Luskan. His ship — the Winking Barnacle — was wrecked by the same giant crab that passed the Ice Serpent. He was swept overboard while tying lifelines; he grabbed broken timber, kept calm, and survived 12 hours in the water.

He tells the party:

"Most people will be dead in two minutes in these waters. I've only been out there about 12 hours."

When the party mentions they are heading past Luskan to Revel's End, he correctly identifies that as a prison run:

"Only reason anyone ever goes to Revel's End. You've got my respect. Carrying that weight up north isn't for the faint of heart."

He mentions ice kobolds in Icewind Dale (white and blue, amenable to cold) that Kavu had no knowledge of. He offers his services as a guide. He also tells the party about werebear fights near the Ten Towns, describing them as lucrative spectacle for the right performer — aimed at Kefkas.

Kavu brews him Olisuba Leaf tea and maintains a small controlled flame to warm him.

Roland, observing the crew's reaction to the rescue attempt, rolls Insight and notes:

"This crew, while very good at what they do as far as being the crew on a sailing ship, don't act like normal sailors. They seem more pirate-y than sailor-y."

The session ends mid-conversation with Hidswell, the DM noting they'll pick it up next time. Dave (Kavu) has to leave early; the session closes gracefully on this note.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Threads Opened / Advanced

• Lolth and Othorion: Active and persistent. She appeared in his dreams offering protection. He refused. Gregorovitch was outside his door — coincidence or surveillance?
• The Secret Passenger: Shanty O'Brien's confused reaction to Kefkas' question implies someone on the ship is being kept secret — and it is not Sienna, who Shanty already knows about. Identity unknown. The party plans to investigate.
• Kavu's Compass: The interior rotates rather than the needle. Shanty noticed. Its function has not been explained.
• Robert Hidswell: Northern guide, now aboard. He knows Icewind Dale, speaks of ice kobolds and werebear fighting rings, and correctly deduced the party's destination. He is an asset. The party agreed to take him on.
• The Crew as Pirates: Roland's Insight suggests the Ice Serpent's crew carries themselves more like pirates than merchantmen. Unresolved.
• Kelvin's Wild Shape Curse: His wild shapes continue to produce unpredictable catastrophic results. This one nearly sank the ship. The DM has stated the wild shape form is now added to his character sheet as a downtime ability with CR requirements.
• Jarlaxle Baenre / Black Viper: Othorion's uncle is the author of a thieves' cant-coded underworld guide. The dedication to "the Black Viper" — a Waterdeep thief who has been active for 75+ years without aging — opens questions about the relationship.