Pathfinder Transcript: Corpses Are Loot & So Are Their Makers

[One of the players in our group has started keeping brief transcripts of our sessions, partly for the amusement of a third party who isn't playing with us I guess, and partly to help us pick up the following session in medias res.]

TL;DR-  We indulge some backstory for the GM's PC (who is present in an ancillary role) by investigating a light house which has gone dark.

The set-piece battle was interesting: steep waves would frequently lift one ship high above the other, periodically taking them out of sight and reach of each other; and the reanimated pirates all shared a common pool of hit points.

The lighthouse itself was going to be a second set-piece battle, but we confused the NPC villain (or maybe the GM?) by splitting up and entering simultaneously through both the top and bottom of the tower. Also, instead of killing the villain, we recruited him.


First Transcript

Batu (Halfling Goliath Druid)
Bolt Vanderhuge (Dwarven Monk)
Montag (Human Fighter) [That's me]
[Rhodes, also our transcriptor] GM (I'm not going to kill them... Maybe)
Cal'athes (Half-Elf Universalist) and Darmos (Halfelf Necromancer)
Claes (Half-Elf Gunslinger Mysterious Stranger)

Everyone is at the Tavern in Scarleosis Point.
The party is having a lot of fun drinking.
Bolt is showing off.
Batu quickly finishes the gin that Ivellios brought from the previous mission.
Olly ogles Claes' firearms, one of which she allows him to see.
Olly manages not to discharge it in the tavern.
Montag notices the Messenger enter the tavern. Batu and Bolt also recognize him.
The Messenger approaches Rhodes, gives him a letter, and heads upstairs to see the Guild Master.
Rhodes gets sullen, the others investigate, and discover that he has been handed a mission involving his former crew, whom should be dead.
Rhodes extends an offer to the group and requests their help. They accept.
The group heads upstairs after Rhodes.
A couple people hear Lagos call The Messenger "Damian."
Lagos explains that he doesn't care for The Messenger's employer, but his wishes align with maintaining trade in and around Scarleosis which is important for the city, and the guild's, continued growth.
East of Scarleosis, near Red Rock, is a lighthouse providing protection for the area.
The party's mission is to travel to the lighthouse and investigate it's current status.
The lighthouse crew hasn't been heard from in several weeks, but the lighthouse light remains on.
Related, increased amounts of pirate raids have been occurring, including weird weather patterns.
The weirdest part of the mess is that the cargo is left behind, but no bodies.
Also, it is rumored that Rhodes' former crew is behind it.
The Messenger asks if any specific tools are requested.
Montag requests potions of water walking and water breathing.
With no further questions, the group breaks for the night for more drinking.
In the morning, The Messenger meets up with the group at the docks.
The Messenger provides everyone other than Darmos two potions of Water Walking and two potions of Water Breathing.
After a little trading back and forth, everyone ends up with the potions they want.
The Messenger explains that they have a limited duration, to with Cal'athes metions they must have been diluted.
Montag wishes he had been a little more specific with his request.
The group splits up and boards the boat.
4 NPC sailors join the group to pilot the boat.
Rhodes mans the helm.
Claes heads up to the falcon's nest.
Batu becomes a sea giant and helps with the masts and rigging.
Montag goes below deck and secures himself to the main mast beam.

[The other players find it funny that my guy, who wears full platemail and carries heavy weapons, takes precautions to avoid drowning.]

Cal'athes and Darmos go below deck and begin identifying a space for them to web off.
Cal'athes, Darmos, and Montag notice that the boat has been heavily modified to limit living spaces and expand cargo spaces.
Cal'athes and Darmos also note that the Captain's Quarters have been converted to mostly storage as well.
Bolt meditates on deck.
The group sets off.
Several hours into the trip, Claes spots odd weather off in the distance. Rhodes takes note. Others have trouble finding it.
As the group continues, Claes notices this weather is moving faster than it should be, and that it will soon catch up. Having already planned a route closest to the shore, Rhodes just keeps his current pace and begins prepping for the weather. Everyone other than Montag has noticed the incoming weather.
As the weather gets near, the waves really pick up.
Claes spots a mast poking out of the waves and weather.
A moment later, a boat has neared the group and is within boarding distance.
Before they get a chance to, Bolt leaps onto the other boat and is immediately surrounded.
Bolt strikes one with a stunning fist. The one he struck recoils from the blow, but it is a different humanoid that seems stunned.
Bolt sees that these pirates are humanoids of different types, but all have crystal-like protusions.
From the crows nest, Claes also sees this. She engages from a distance with her firearms.
Batu and Cal'athes cast spells upon the figures, buffeting them with wind and lightning. The ones on deck seem unaffected by Batu's wind.
As the waves shift, the allied boat is much higher than the enemy boat. Bolt continues his offensive while Batu and Cal'athes bring down the other ship's main mast. Claes keeps watch on Bolt as best she can. Montag decides to head up on deck.
The waves shift again, and Bolt decides it's now time to retreat. As he leaps back to his allies, Batu leaps into the fray and summons a treant to begin tearing the deck up. Cal'athes throws things at the enemy mast to finish bringing it down. Claes takes a shot at a couple of the humanoids, and Montag stands on deck surveying the situation.
Rhodes manages to keep the boat steady, so another round of attacking the humanoids happens. Shots and strikes ring out, and with Claes's last bullet, all of the crystallized humanoids drop simultaneously.
Shortly thereafter, the weather calms and the party is able to investigate the enemy boat. Montag finds a good knife and pries the crystalline structures out of the humanoids. Rhodes notes that while they bear the mark of his crew, he doesn't recognize the individuals. Cal'athes and Batu note that these crystals seem to have been surgically implanted and have some elemental outsider residue, both from Plane of Earth and Water.

[Big pile of enormous gems swirling with otherworldly energy? And all I have to do is separate them from pirate meat? Yes please!]


Second Transcript Summary

[Our transcriptor neglected to transcribe this session. I forget why, but probably something to do with how hard it is to GM and transcribe at the same time.

I *think* Si'lent Stillstorm (Ratfolk Sword Saint Samurai of the Order of the Eclipse) joins us for the second session. We try to figure out how the gems work but succeed only in injuring ourselves. When we reach the small island with the lighthouse, Si'Lent, Bolt and Batu bust the front door down and then interrogate a butler golem. 

Montag, Claes, Cal & Darmos break in the top of the lighthouse and discover the light is merely unlit. We light it. Since the Messenger also gave us a mechanical "fix the lighthouse" box, we shove the fire out of the way and activate the widget in its place. The widget unfolds into a little robot which says "oh! I see the problem," and starts picking the burning logs off the floor of the living space below and putting them back on the pedestal.
Batu accidentally decapitates the butler, but since the head is still animated, takes the head back to the boat. At a certain distance from the tower, the head becomes inanimate. This makes Batu sad.

Claes sneaks down one or two chambers and finds the villainous golem-maker. She gives him a "this is a nice laboratory you got here, be a shame if anything happened to it" which segues into "come at me bro." Montag, Cal & Darmos enter the room moments before a large golem attacks her; being Chaotic Neutral, they're like, "hey man, if you keep attacking ships, someone is going to wipe you out. Why don't you let us set you up with test subjects somewhere safer?" Drawn by the sounds of sounds of Claes trying to stay alive while her friends look on impassively, Bolt and Si'Lent enter and, being Good, engage the Golem and argue against providing the villain with test subjects.

We talk the villain into joining us, and then into calling the big golem to heel. Our ship's cannons (and the giant Batu) choose that moment to tear the wall of the tower off. 

We depart, hoping that the lighthouse will stay standing long enough for someone else to come repair it.]