Everything's Beachy
When our family chose 50 Fathoms as our next campaign, we had an upcominig summer vacation in mind. Since my parents live in Delaware, we try to get to the shore whenever possible. Rehoboth, Bethany, Lewes, the kiddos really love getting into the waves and its only a forty-five minute drive from my parents' house to the closest beach. But what better way to celebrate our time at the beach this year than to bring along some Savage Worlds and character sheets for an exciting #GetOutAndGame event?I've never heard of someone running a role-playing game on a beach, so maybe we'd be the first.
As you can see, the kiddos had no problems or concerns with this arrangement. Role-playing on the beach meant more time in the sand, so why not? But my wife and I needed to do some planning. We would need to resolve the following:
- Location, location, location
- Suitable playing surface
- Dice, bennies, playing cards, and all the accoutrements a good Savage needs for a game
While Carrie, Evie, Cooper and I splashed around in the water, my wife Jennifer took time setting up a nice blanketed surface for gaming. Our sandy feet would stay clear of the books and sheets, and for the most part everything made it away unscathed. For dice we used Cooper's big blue foam monsters, and I brought along a regular deck of playing cards. Actually the only thing affected by the beach conditions were the playing cards. Perhaps due to the heat and humidity the cards started to bend after use. Weird.
One of the coolest things we did though was gather bennies for our game! Typically we use poker chips for bennies, but I told the kiddos that I left them at home. Instead of boring, plain bennies, we would be using stuff we found in the water! Gathered seashells and stones would be used to both hold down our character sheets as well as let the players reroll. We ended up with several dozen bennies, and I felt bad making the kids choose which "three" they wanted to use for the game.
I think they believed they would have as many bennies as they could collect... nice try kids...
All in all it was a great time! We played during a forty-five minute snack break with a few onlookers. Maybe next time we'll get some other families involved!
The Brave Crew of the Titanic Nemo
- Captain Jacqueline Crane - Human Elementalist, played by Evie
- Skylar Shipshape - Masaquani Assassin, played by Carrie
- Dori - Doreen Hunter, played by Mommy
- Foxy - Clockwork* Pirate, played by Cooper
- *Built using the "Construct" race option
From Captain Crane's Log
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| Good thing we grabbed so many "bennies!" Some were needed for the character sheets. |
A Bad Day on the High Seas
Day 5
For two days the crew of the Titanic Nemo, the newly christened skiff under the command of Captain Jacqueline Crane, enjoyed blue skies and fair winds. The air was warm, and the sun hot, but as the vessel sliced through each wave the crew dreamt of their return to civilization. With Captain Crane's amazing elemental mastery the Titanic Nemo would make port in just three to four days!
John Smith, a member of the crew, could think of nothing better than returning to Brigandy Bay, and the beautiful lady he wooed just a few months earlier. Perhaps she was still waiting for his return. While checking the rigging, John Smith sat on the port rail and closed his eyes. He imagined his lovely lass wrapping her arms around his waist. The brave young sailor could almost feel her tender arm squeeze him tightly...
... no, he could definitely feel her tender arm squeezing...
... perhaps a bit too tightly...
When John Smith finally opened his eyes, waking from a beautiful daydream, he saw the rest of the crew staring, their faces bereft of color. It wasn't a lovely lady's arm around poor John Smith's waist...
... it was the tentacle of a giant octopus!
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| Miraculously my 50 Fathoms book was kept free of water and sand! |
With a quick snap the English sailor was hoisted high into the air! Dori, the ship's Doreen Hunter, jumped to her feet and lobbed one of her trusty harpoons into the rogue tentacle as it hefted poor John Smith out of the Titanic Nemo. Although the Doreen's aim was true, the torn tentacle still dragged the sailor down into the sea. For a moment the waters were quiet and still, and Captain Crane thought the terrible beast was satisfied...
... until the giant octopus decided to capsize the ship!
With a great smash the Titanic Nemo was knocked over, spilling the crew into the warm sea. Foxy was the first to get a look at the beastie, his mechanical eyes locking on to his new target. The giant octopus was longer than the Titanic Nemo, and certainly more massive than the tiny, thirty-foot long sailboat. Realizing that his trusty axe was still on board, Foxy relied on his terrible hook to fend off the eight-legged monstrosity. With incredible speed, the clockwork fox swam up to the octopus' body and buried his hook into the creature's eye. Trying to get away from this dangerous new threat, the giant octopus let go of the ship.
[GM's note: I had to give my son a benny for this scene. After making his Swimming check with two raises, I asked Cooper if he wanted to stay in the water and attack with his axe, or get on board the ship. When playing an RPG with a four-year old its always best to give a choice of two options rather than ask "what do you want to do?" Cooper looked at me seriously and said, "I forgot my axe, I only have my hook." What a great complication! So I gave him a benny for the idea and then let him make the attack. He proceeded to roll twenty damage to the creature after a crazy. Just one of the many reasons I love the Savage Worlds system... anything is possible!]
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| Big dice! |
While Foxy defended the crew, Dori righted the vessel and Captain Crane climbed aboard. Skylar Shipshape and Dori jumped aboard soon after. The captain made the choice to press the attack on the giant octopus rather than try and save the crew. Drawing upon her elemental mastery, Captain Crane blasted a flopping tentacle with a hypersonic air-bolt, rending it completely from the creature's body. The loss of blood, from harpoon, hook, and magic, finally overcame the giant octopus, and it sank into the murky depths.
The captain took count and realized that much of the crew was still overboard. Dori, still in the water, was able to save Senor Miguel Figuroa and Caras Cath, while Foxy dragged the Scurillion Tellaris back on board. Sadly, Caras' twin brother, Cais, was nowhere to be found.
After a short ceremony, commemorating the losses of John Smith and Cais Cath, Captain Crane summoned forth a Zephyr to fill the sails, and propel the Titanic Nemo further along on its voyage.
Ship's Position: 5 days out, 155 miles from Brigandy Bay.
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