Hello everyone. My players just finished an Antarctic campaign. They started as barbarians who grew up on the tundra and eventually defeated a hag who was causing a prolonged winter and starvation. Now they are leaving their homeland to travel to warmer climes with NPCs they met during the first campaign.
I want to have one or two adventures on the boat before being shipwrecked. Here are some ideas I have so far for the voyage. The sailors find a cask floating in the ocean. They bring it onboard (probably to the chagrin of the players who do not trust me much!) and find it contains whiskey. They get trashed and at least one falls into the sea. Maybe drowning? Necessitating a rescue?
They meet a merchant ship while sailing. They tie up and trade (or don’t). The merchant warns them of ghost pirates who launch from a nearby haunted island to raid.
A leak is discovered in the ship. It is plugged. The next day another leak is found. Etc. The ship begins listing and slowing down due to the weight. The ship then sinks or is attacked and the PCs fall into the ocean. Almost all of their gear is lost and definitely all of their money! ;)
They wake up on an island, several miles square. There is a large edifice on the central hill. This is the haunted museum from the 2021 one page adventures from drive thru RPG-Ernie Wyver’s Museum of Oddities. There are also pirates on the island who know to steer clear of the museum. They aren’t ghosts, but have earned that reputation because of the museum. They stash their sloop in a grotto. (Also a one page adventure from Drive thru RPG-“Escape of the Torment”). The PCs must either steal or stowaway on the Torment or signal another ship to continue to sail north, towards the mainland. They might clear out the museum and get some new gear.
Any better ideas on how to put this together?
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Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
You should have a look at 'Ghosts of Saltmarsh', if you haven't already - the 'Salvage Operation' adventure might give you some ideas about how to run a sinking ship. It's also great fun!
Any ideas on improving this? I think this would be about a 3 hour adventure. Which is about how much time we usually have. Then it would go to the island with the haunted museum and pirates. Any way to add some more combat that makes sense in the story?
2. The spring thaw is happening, but only intermittently. The temperatures have drastically warmed, but only some days are above freezing. But 20 sure feels a lot better than -40 or even -60. Captain Stelven keeps sending the longboat out into the bay, to check on the ice. Although the river remains open, the sea ice remains close to shore and thick. You need to be ready to go any day.
3. The ice has broken into large chunks. Although it is dangerous, Stelven does not want to wait any longer and he will row the boat through the icebergs delicately. Touch and go. Near miss. Etc. After a harrowing three hours, the ship clears the heaviest of the ice and is in open water.
4. Stelven feels brave enough to hoist a jib sail and slowly push north and out of the arctic. It must be warming up because a pod of whales breeches near the ship for three hours. It looks like they are headed south.
5. The crew rejoices to have escaped the treacherous waters around TNK. That night they heave to and celebrate. The old cook Barley, lost his nose to the cold during the winter in TNK. He was never a good cook to begin with but now it is really terrible due to his anosmia. The crew eats it anyway and they break out the last of the grog in celebration, half a cup per man they saved for this very moment. Around midnight, there is a sickening crunch and the boat lurches, hard to starboard, the gunwale just dipping into the ocean. It stays keeled over for what seems like hours as food, plates, and men crash to the ground. Stelven runs/climbs onto the deck. A towering iceberg is grinding away at the ship. What do you do? The men grab oars and pry the iceberg off the ship and it slowly rights. The mate goes below and you hear banging and hammering. Several leaks the size of a fist or even a foot across were torn into the side. The crew is busy hammering conical shaped pieces of wood into the holes and shoving debris around the edges to make it tight. A bucket brigade forms. The leaks are slowed in an hour but the ship is riding lower in the water. The mirth is gone and the men work all night to get the water out of the hold.
6. It has been several days and the leaks are slow, but not stopped. Every few hours the men get the water out with buckets. The ship continues to sail North.
7. Something is spotted off the port bow! Investigate? The boat jives towards the object. The men are excited but nervous. Is it a small boat? It looks to be a round wooden object about the size of a man. Someoneneeds to jump into the ocean to tie it off. It has been floating for some time and is covered with algae and barnacles. The mate scrapes the goop off the top and a shout goes up. It is a barrel loaded with Fire Giant Whiskey, a well known brand of very strong drink. The men holler as they drill out a hole and insert a tap. The first sip is cautious, but it is not salty, just very powerful. The men run up with their cups and everyone gets a share. The deck becomes a dance floor and a concert hall as a few small instruments are brought up and music of all sorts begins. The men dance and canter around, literally drunken sailors! A crash at the stern makes some look up. It sounded louder than the raucous party. Three men are missing. Then a scream from the bow. The watchmen on the bowsprit has disappeared. Slime on the wood. About 15 minutes later a few bits of clothes and limbs float up to the surface.
8. The next day is quiet. In the middle of the night the watch rings the bell, waking the ship, which is hove to. There is an eerie yellow/green glow to the East that has developed. It is well before sunrise. Investigate? Flying fish leap out of the water, one even landing on the deck. In the light of your lanterns you can just make out large, dark shapes cruising around the glow. The half full red moon adds an otherworldly light to the glowing ocean. The glow is a huge clump of seaweed, larger than several acres. The flying fish leap from all around it.
9. Red sails are spotted off the starboard side of the stern. The ship is obviously headed your direction, using the same Antarctic wind. Try to out run it? It is a merchant ship selling sailing gear (sails, masts, food, line, etc) they also have a few fighting items they say they picked up on a far off tropical island. Plate mail. Healing potions in green bottles (actually salt water) and a ring (+1 ring of protection). They also warn of a nearby cursed island. A ghost ship sails from the island at midnight to prey upon any foolish enough to come near!
10. Stelven estimates you are about halfway to the mainland. Around lunchtime a small ship is spotted, floating due north, directly in the path of the ship. Investigate? It is a 20 foot boat with a single mast sailing fast towards them. They are flying a flag with a red dragon breathing fire. Challenge. Negotiate or fight. Locked and trapped chest with map and coordinates. Keep as tender? What was this boat doing in the middle of the ocean?
11. The ship sails on. During lunch, a loud crash makes everyone climb onto the deck. According to the bowsprit watch, three men were eating at the stern. He heard a shout and looked back again and they were gone. Slime on gunwale. A shout from below alerts you that there is a large hole in the stern, BELOW the waterline. A hole large enough for a man to crawl though has been made in the ship. Plan? Need to make more permanent repairs by swimming down to the hole from the outside and putting a doubled up canvas patch on it. Boards with pegs will stretch it tight. Small holes will be drilled from the inside first for the pegs. Then more definitive repairs can be made by the carpenter on the inside. The men frantically work to get the water out of the ship with the buckets. Who wants to swim?
12. Sharks now circle the boat. Always at a little distance. The men work tirelessly on bailing her out. They grumble. There is indecision on pushing on for the mainland or looking for a nearby island to beach the ship and make more definitive repairs. Most of the remaining food was spoiled by the saltwater. The ship is slowed by the extra water she has took on and Stelven thinks it will take 7-10 days to make it to the mainland, if they can keep her afloat. The sea monster may come back at any time. Make towards the island on the map?
13. Some of the crew make off with the skiff or tender (depending on what is available) and most of the remaining food and wate. Sharks continue to circle, closer and more numerous.
14. Giant squid returns and attacks. Several crew make off with the other boat during the mayhem (if applicable). May fight but retreats. 150 HP. Each tentacle 1d10 & 10HP of the 150. Beak does 1d10 as well. Can throw objects and or people.
15. If they are thrown overboard, or the ship sinks, they wake up on the island. If they defeat the giant squid, the boat is severely damaged and can only drift, arriving at the island the next day.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
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Hello everyone. My players just finished an Antarctic campaign. They started as barbarians who grew up on the tundra and eventually defeated a hag who was causing a prolonged winter and starvation. Now they are leaving their homeland to travel to warmer climes with NPCs they met during the first campaign.
I want to have one or two adventures on the boat before being shipwrecked. Here are some ideas I have so far for the voyage. The sailors find a cask floating in the ocean. They bring it onboard (probably to the chagrin of the players who do not trust me much!) and find it contains whiskey. They get trashed and at least one falls into the sea. Maybe drowning? Necessitating a rescue?
They meet a merchant ship while sailing. They tie up and trade (or don’t). The merchant warns them of ghost pirates who launch from a nearby haunted island to raid.
A leak is discovered in the ship. It is plugged. The next day another leak is found. Etc. The ship begins listing and slowing down due to the weight. The ship then sinks or is attacked and the PCs fall into the ocean. Almost all of their gear is lost and definitely all of their money! ;)
They wake up on an island, several miles square. There is a large edifice on the central hill. This is the haunted museum from the 2021 one page adventures from drive thru RPG-Ernie Wyver’s Museum of Oddities. There are also pirates on the island who know to steer clear of the museum. They aren’t ghosts, but have earned that reputation because of the museum. They stash their sloop in a grotto. (Also a one page adventure from Drive thru RPG-“Escape of the Torment”). The PCs must either steal or stowaway on the Torment or signal another ship to continue to sail north, towards the mainland. They might clear out the museum and get some new gear.
Any better ideas on how to put this together?
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
You should have a look at 'Ghosts of Saltmarsh', if you haven't already - the 'Salvage Operation' adventure might give you some ideas about how to run a sinking ship. It's also great fun!
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.