Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The Unbound Fleet

The Unbound Fleet
CN metropolis
Corruption +4, Crime +4, Economy +5, Law +3, Lore +3, Society +8
Qualities insular, notorious, strategic location
Danger 20
Demographics
Government council
Population 49,127 (18,176 halfling; 14,825 human; 6,912 dwarf; 5,228 gnome; 3,986 other)
Notable NPCs
Captain Evergrin of the Northstar (CN half-elf brawler 8)
Captain Zeni “Searat” Drynllas of The Unbound (CG half-elf fighter 6)
Commodore Riptide of the Bloody Tides (CE half-orc sea reaver [barbarian] 7)
Marketplace
Base Value 22,400 gp; Purchase Limit 150,000 gp; Spellcasting 8th
Minor Items nearly all are available; Medium Items 4d4; Major Items 3d4


When first formed nearly forty six years ago, the Unbound Fleet was a rabble of merchant vessels that were sick and tired of being preyed on by pirates. The vessels that made up the early fleet were not warships, and outside of tavern brawls the various crews had little in the way of martial training. Despite this however, they managed to hunt down and eliminate more than a dozen pirate vessels in the span of a decade.
     In that same time period, they began to rely less and less on the nations and city-states that they originally belonged to. Agreements for trade of goods, information, and knowledge were made with the dornii, a nomadic race that resembled vaguely humanoid jellyfish, as well as the undersea kingdoms of the koup’ira and zang, the latter having the appearance of bipedal, humanoid sharks.

The Birth of a Power
During the first thirty or so years after their formation, the nations and city-states of the Green Coast did not give the Unbound Fleet much consideration. As far as they were concerned, the fleet was a collection of merchants and refugees that were saving them money that would otherwise go to hiring guards or replacing the goods that would have been stolen by pirates. That changed after the Unbound Fleet conducted the largest naval military operation in recorded history.
     The commodores and admirals of the Unbound Fleet got word of a warship under construction by the hobgoblin empire. This vessel could supposedly carry hundreds of infantry, had armor that could withstand any ballista bolt, and possessed armaments that could launch alchemist’s fire at ranges nearly unheard of. At the time that the Unbound Fleet learned of it, the vessel was still in the early stages of construction, and Admiral Autumngaze proposed a daring plan to deal with this superweapon. A large assault force would draw the hobgoblin’s navy away from the shipyards where the warship was being built, while a small crew would sneak in and steal it.
     The plan was rejected. Loudly. Vehemently. Overwhelmingly. To the point that Admiral Autumngaze was all but laughed off the ship the meeting was taking place on. As he returned to his flagship, the Windlance, he had some messages sent to a few captains that owed him favors as well as his former first mate, Captain Evergrin of the Northstar.
     Thus, in the span of a few months, the hobgoblins were short one warship superweapon as well as the majority of their naval vessels. The Unbound Fleet had a ship that was so large it required a crew of over a hundred to manage it, as well as a symbol of their dominance on the sea. Autumngaze was awarded with a promotion to commodore for his victory, not only in stealing the most powerful ship in the known world, but also all but ending the hobgoblin’s presence as a naval power.
     With this latest victory, obtaining a warship that no one else could match as well as ending the possibility of the hobgoblins becoming a naval power, the political leaders of the Green Coast realized that the Unbound Fleet was no longer something that they had any modicum of control over. The powers of the Green Coast only learned of the hobgoblins’ budding navy after the Unbound Fleet sailed to Argoport with their newest acquisition: The Unbound.

Adventure Hooks
     You and the rest of your ship’s crew are chasing a pirate vessel manned by blue-haired gnomes from the east. Each and every one of them wielding sorcerous power (Aquatic bloodline).

     While fending off a hobgoblin vessel, you recover a map to a sunken ship from before the Historical Wipe. Who can predict what secrets and lost knowledge may lie within?

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