I am looking to write a ghost ship one shot (but maybe longer if it works out) set in the Forgotten Realms.
Basic idea is this - the adventurers travel to Candlekeep hoping to get information from the Keeper of the Tomes. They have done this before and are known in Candlekeep, but this time they do not have the requisite books to trade, or at least none that Candlekeep finds worthy. Instead, they are asked to track down a party of merchants, led by one of the Avowed, who were sent out to procure an invaluable trove of books and scrolls and return them to Candlekeep. Possibly this trove was uncovered in Waterdeep, but I am not sure where.
The Avowed traveled to Amn to book the services of a merchant ship and wrote back that he had indeed done so, and expected to return in 3-6 months (time can vary however long I need it to) with the books and scrolls. The time for his return has since passed, and the monks of Candlekeep are worried. Among the listed books the Avowed was sent to procure will be some who would only make the monks happy, but others will provide a clue as to what may have happened. One in particular I am thinking of will document the history of Umberlee, her decrease in powers throughout the Time of Troubles and the Spellplague, her relationship with other sea/ocean deities (particularly Valkur), and her aspect as of modern times.
The party will have to track the Avowed's journey and will eventually discover the ship that he was returning on, abandoned and drifting. What I need some ideas for are what caused the ship to be abandoned.
My first thought was that Umberlee was angry for several reasons. One, the ship was originally named something pleasing to Umberlee (such as The ***** Queen's Servant) but it was recently purchased and named something like Captain of the Waves (another name for Valkur). That by itself may not have been too bad, but having an Avowed of Candlekeep reading books aloud that talked of Umberlee's decrease in power angered her to the point of taking action.
She did something. What I have not decided yet and this is where suggestions would be great. At the end, I want some/most of the crew to be found, and definitely want the Avowed and the books found. My party already owns two ships, so I don't want them to have another. They have not done underwater adventures yet, so anything below the surface will be brand new to them.
I think they will be able to find the ship's log and some of the pages from the Avowed's journal, plus classic issues like a mostly full hold of goods, food still on plates, a mostly working ship (maybe with some water in the hold ala Mary Celeste) and no bodies on board.
The mate shot an albatross with his crossbow... The captain was named Vandervecken, and swore to defy her in the teeth of a terrible storm. More seriously, take a page from the Children of Lir and the Odyssey - the crew have been cursed to be seabirds, who return to the ship in their animal forms and roost in the rigging. The books contain clues, both themselves and in the log of men gone missing (the transformation was not all at once). The birds may be aggressive, but if they kill one he turns back into a man. The log mentions an island, which they can find, where the avowed are there in the form of owls or other beasts, ruled by Umberlee herself, who must be threatened, tricked, or cajoled (seduced?) into releasing them a la Circe.
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I am looking to write a ghost ship one shot (but maybe longer if it works out) set in the Forgotten Realms.
Basic idea is this - the adventurers travel to Candlekeep hoping to get information from the Keeper of the Tomes. They have done this before and are known in Candlekeep, but this time they do not have the requisite books to trade, or at least none that Candlekeep finds worthy. Instead, they are asked to track down a party of merchants, led by one of the Avowed, who were sent out to procure an invaluable trove of books and scrolls and return them to Candlekeep. Possibly this trove was uncovered in Waterdeep, but I am not sure where.
The Avowed traveled to Amn to book the services of a merchant ship and wrote back that he had indeed done so, and expected to return in 3-6 months (time can vary however long I need it to) with the books and scrolls. The time for his return has since passed, and the monks of Candlekeep are worried. Among the listed books the Avowed was sent to procure will be some who would only make the monks happy, but others will provide a clue as to what may have happened. One in particular I am thinking of will document the history of Umberlee, her decrease in powers throughout the Time of Troubles and the Spellplague, her relationship with other sea/ocean deities (particularly Valkur), and her aspect as of modern times.
The party will have to track the Avowed's journey and will eventually discover the ship that he was returning on, abandoned and drifting. What I need some ideas for are what caused the ship to be abandoned.
My first thought was that Umberlee was angry for several reasons. One, the ship was originally named something pleasing to Umberlee (such as The ***** Queen's Servant) but it was recently purchased and named something like Captain of the Waves (another name for Valkur). That by itself may not have been too bad, but having an Avowed of Candlekeep reading books aloud that talked of Umberlee's decrease in power angered her to the point of taking action.
She did something. What I have not decided yet and this is where suggestions would be great. At the end, I want some/most of the crew to be found, and definitely want the Avowed and the books found. My party already owns two ships, so I don't want them to have another. They have not done underwater adventures yet, so anything below the surface will be brand new to them.
I think they will be able to find the ship's log and some of the pages from the Avowed's journal, plus classic issues like a mostly full hold of goods, food still on plates, a mostly working ship (maybe with some water in the hold ala Mary Celeste) and no bodies on board.
Your help is appreciated!
The mate shot an albatross with his crossbow... The captain was named Vandervecken, and swore to defy her in the teeth of a terrible storm. More seriously, take a page from the Children of Lir and the Odyssey - the crew have been cursed to be seabirds, who return to the ship in their animal forms and roost in the rigging. The books contain clues, both themselves and in the log of men gone missing (the transformation was not all at once). The birds may be aggressive, but if they kill one he turns back into a man. The log mentions an island, which they can find, where the avowed are there in the form of owls or other beasts, ruled by Umberlee herself, who must be threatened, tricked, or cajoled (seduced?) into releasing them a la Circe.