The Siege of Sark

Characters besieging Sark face many obstacles, which can be overcome with appropriate magic.

There are no good harbors in Sark, and none of the handful of poor ones are sufficiently large to allow a force to swiftly land and muster. This can be resolved in several ways. Magic which removes the boulders from the channels approaching the beaches makes navigation safer, and allows invading ships to moor in formation. A sea wall that provides a breakwater makes landing easier. Spells that extend the beaches of Sark, either by adding material or carving into the mountainous shell of the island, might be helpful. Creating jetties makes it unnecessary to use lighters, small landing boats, speeding disembarkation considerably.

There is a beach of sorts on the island of Brecqhou. The pirates have only a weak presence on that island. It could serve as an unobserved landing, if the straight between this island and Sark can be crossed with without disturbing the elemental.

When enemies attempt to land on Sark, Eustace dispatches his leakspringers.

The cliffs at the most likely landing site on the island, Creux, provide the defenders with many advantages, particularly if they have time to install ballistae, cauldrons of boiling water, pyramids of heavy stones, or other siege equipment. The cliffs are, however, only a few hundred feet thick. A magus could make the defensive advantages of the Creux Cliffs irrelevant simply by forcing a tunnel through them, and into the heart of the island. Characters can also reduce the advantages of the defenders by creating stairs or ramps up the cliffs, by reducing visibility, and by providing protection against the boiling water, stones and shafts that the defenders employ.

To stiffen the defence at this point, Eustace might order the demon Leraje to resist the invaders. Particularly formidable player characters might face several copies of this demon, sniping from protected points on the cliff face.

This small monastery is the center of Eustace's little empire. He lives here with his trusted lieutenants and some of his demons. The monastery has a low wall with a sheltered walkway and two lookout towers surrounding it. This allows Eustace's men to fire on approaching invaders. The aura of the monastery's grounds is tainted, making magic more dangerous.

If the battle is obviously going badly, Eustace attempts to stretch it out so that midnight comes. This allows him to use his Amorphous Virtue to shift shape, and attempt to blend into the

mass of pirates and Sarcees. The rooms within the monastery

provide opportunities for skirmish battles against pirates, undead, corrupted beasts, and mockery demons. In a cave beneath the monastery, artificially en-

larged, is a shrine to the demoness that patronizes Eustace. Argenta manifests for the battle if her prize pawn seems likely to be taken from her. She also offers Eustace resources he has not previously controlled: her personal servants, the Lubbers.

Just past the cliffs are eight warehouses in which supplies for the fleet are kept. A few pirates sleep here as watchmen. The warehouses are made of stone, but are not built as fortifications.

Destroying these warehouses compromises Eustace's ability to maintain his fleet at its current size. Characters who are, for some reason, unable to defeat Eustace can console themselves by wrecking his stores. This gives them time to recoup their forces, while making it difficult for Eustace to do the same. Half of his men desert if the warehouses are destroyed and Eustace cannot recruit replacements for them until he has resupplied.