Return to the Therran Scenario Page
Summary:
The PCs track the lair of soulknife assassins to a pirate cove. There they defeat the pirates and then, with the aid of sea elves, board the pirates' ship and confront the leader of the assassins.
Assumptions:
The PCs are in the town of Leaf Port in the land of Relum on the Isle of Onlor.
Location:
Leaf Port, Onlor
Historical Date:
N.S. 30, Month of Bloom
DM's Introduction:
Note: This is the second scenario in the Creation Cyst Campaign, and epic campaign taking place in the World of Therra. The scenario assumes certain backgrounds and allegiances by the PCs at the start of the scenario. DMs adopting this scenario for their own campaigns or using their own PCs must modify the motivations of the PCs and NPCs to fit the circumstances. Some guidance to accomplish this is presented below.
This scenario is the second part of a two-part adventure. The first scenario, One if by Land, is detailed elsewhere.
During the War of the Gem, Canaris, the heroic bard who accompanied and was one of the Heroes of the Gem, imbibed the sacred and exotic draught of the myconids, mysterious mushroom creatures of the underdark. The draught affected him strangely, as the communal properties of the myconid spores therein interacted with other spores affecting the mind and his own brain chemistry to open portions of his mind that were heretofore dormant. In this fashion, Canaris became the first psionic practitioner on the surface of Jerranq. Canaris began to research his newfound powers, and eventually was able to duplicate the myconid draught, and refine it a bit further into what is now called the elixir of expansion. As such, he was able to awaken others by giving them the draught. However, most who took the draught did not gain psionic powers. Instead, the majority experienced a brief period of hallucinations and expanded awareness and then returned to normal. For an unlucky few, the opening of their minds and the interaction with their brain chemistry drove them insane or simply turned their brains to mush, killing them. Only a very few who braved the draught actually developed mental powers. In this way, psions, wilders, and psychic warriors were born. Canaris formed a school of mental powers to train psionic wielders, and kept the secret of the brewing of the elixir of expansion a secret. He hoped that by training cadres of psionic practitioners, he could develop a form of magic that would better enable the Kingdom of Slumber to protect against threats to the Free Folk of Jerranq.
One graduate of Canaris' mental school, Varytur the Crystalline, left the school after mastering its arts and determined to sell his talents as a hired assassin. As he worked, he honed his mental skills until they became an adjunct to the various blades he used to ply his craft, and so he became the first soulknife. Determined to form his own guild of mental assassins, Varytur stole the secret of the elixir of expansion from Canaris' school and began to brew his own, to give to those who would join him.
Now, the discipline has begun to spread to other organizations that train soulknives, including elven coteries that use these powers to fight in the Blanthil. Such elves often become soulbows. Nevertheless, when the word soulknife is spoken, it usually refers to the dark assassins trained by and serving Varytur.
Varytur has performed his services for many entities since the first decade after the end of the War of the Gem. One of these includes the demonlord (and ex-Maug) Fraz-Urb'Luu who survived the scourge of the gods of Slumber at the end of the War of the Gem and is currently consolidating power as the hidden ruler of the Lost Kingdoms. In the service of the demonlord, Varytur conducted a series of assassinations against the Barony of Inscariot in the Untamed Coast. The Soulknife has also taken more mundane service, such as the recent assassination of a ship captain who had double crossed a crimelord in Antoria on a smuggling operation. Despite these ongoing jobs, Varytur now seems content to leave most of his jobs to his servants, and appearances by the Crystalline himself are rare and the stuff of growing legend.
Recently, Varytur's attention has turned to the PCs. This is no small feat considering the relative youth and inexperience of the PCs.
In the historical campaign, one of the PCs was on the ship that was captained by the recent victim of Varytur. During this encounter, Varytur fed his elixir of expansion to three passengers. One of these went insane from the elixir and was slain. Another, a young countessa, gained psionic powers and joined Varytur to learn the way of the soulknife. The latter, one of the PCs named Varr, also gained psionic powers, but he kept his secret and so was not claimed by Varytur. Varr eventually escaped from the pirates, partly by using his newfound psionic powers (mainly the bite of the wolf power) to help retake the ship from a pirate skeleton crew, and made his way to Leaf Port where he works on the docks raising money to further his life's goals.
In the meantime, Varytur found out that Varr had indeed pained psionic powers when pirate survivors of the retaking of the ship finally made their way back to the Lonely Cove. However, although Varytur was both intrigued and angered that Varr has deceived him by hiding his newfound powers, he had no easy way to find out where Varr had gone in the wide world, and it certainly wasn't worth the time or effort to locate him. However, as Varr settled in Leaf Port and began to tell and retell his encounter with Varytur, word eventually reached the Crystalline that Varr was in Leaf Port. The Crystalline ordered the countessa from the ship, whose name was Branesta but who has since changed it to Garinia when she joined Varytur, to return to Leaf Port with some of his servants to learn if it was true that Varr had psionic powers.
While Garinia and the other soul knives were watching Varr, they learned that an elven paladin of Ularinn named Velicleas seemed to take a keen interest in Varr and in the tale of the encounter with Varytur. Garinia, clever and suspicious, immediately reported this to Varytur by way of magic, as the Crystalline was on another job in Jerranq. Varytur did a little research and determined that Velicleas was an adopted scion of the barony that Fraz-Urb'Luu opposed. Varytur contacted the demonlord and offered to slay the paladin in exchange for a moderate fee. The demonlord readily agreed, and so the order went out to Garinia to use her new powers and her companions to slay the elf paladin. In a way, as this was Garinia's first job, the Crystalline was testing her mettle, so see if she was worthy of his favour.
Thus it came to Garinia to arrange her first assassination. She had considered attempting the assassination in Leaf Port, but she was worried about the authorities there and the fact that Velicleas had taken residence in a Mordant chapel with a priest and the cleric's female assistant. Instead, she determined that local legends about a forest ruin could be used to lure Velicleas into the wilderness where he could be killed and no one would suspect soulknife involvement. Performing the assassination and not having anyone realize it even took place would reflect very favourably upon Garinia in Varytur's eyes. In addition, if Varr could be lured with the paladin, he could be captured and taken back to Varytur for questioning.
So it was that Garinia set her plan in motion. Not trusting her own disguise skill and fearing to be recognized by Varr, she remained with her small pirate ship docked to the east of Leaf Port. Instead, she formed her plan and gave leadership to Valester and his group of soulknives. Having scouted the ruin beforehand, they determined that a dire boar dwelt within the ruins and incorporated the beast into their plans. If they were lucky, their victims might even perish in the ruin. They made their way to Leaf Port and posed as woodsmen whose companion had been abducted by some fell beast and dragged off into the forest to a ruin. Unfortunately for Garinia, Velicleas and Varr did not choose go alone into the forest, for the tale made up to lure the paladin into the wilderness was enough to bring others sympathetic to his morals with him. In this way, the entire group of PCs entered the ruins. After confronting the perils of the ruin, they encountered and defeated the soulknives that ambushed them as they emerged..
Now, by means of a map left by the soulknives or by means of interrogation, the PCs have determined where the leader of the soulknives is hiding out. It is up to them to pursue this lead and put an end to this group of assassins.
If the DM is not running a historical campaign with historical PCs, then it should still be relatively easy to have the soulknives have a vendetta against one of the PCs. Perhaps the DM could even run, as a previous scenario, one or both of Varytur's attacks upon the Barony or on the captain's ship. Even without such an introduction, the DM can still simply have the soulknives of the previous scenario be robbers and highwaymen and pirates who choose to lure the PCs simply to rob them. If the DM is not running the previous scenario, then he will have to find the means to incentivize the PCs to raid the pirate cove and then board the ship.
The remainder of this scenario assumes the historical circumstances. It assumes that the soulknives were defeated and the PCs from One if by Land survived the assault (or at least Varr, the Morakki) who encountered both Varytur and Garinia in his past has survived).
If Garinia was Alerted:
If Garinia was alerted to trouble by an escaped soulknife from the previous scenario One if by Land, any escaped soulknives will be present on the ship along with Garinia. The smugglers in the cove will be alerted that the PCs may be coming and will set up watches and ambushes accordingly. The Coral of Bone will then immediately sail away, leaving the smugglers to deal with the PCs. In this case, the PCs will only note a ship sailing away over the horizon. At the DM's option, if not a lot of time has passed, the DM can rule that the sea elf still offers to take the PCs to the ship (see Part Two), but only if the PCs assault and defeat the smugglers shortly after the escaped soulknife has arrived. If the PCs elected to rest and prepare spells, then the ship will be long gone. The sea elves will not sink the ship until after Rethyril-ni has a chance to view the female sea elf's body and verify the actions of the smugglers.
If Garinia was not Alerted:
Even if Garinia was not alerted to trouble by an escaped soulknife, she will only wait around for so long before concluding that her mission has failed. The exact amount of time is up to the DM, but it should certainly be less than a week.
Part One - The Cove
There are several ways the PCs can proceed from the end of the previous scenario to the smugglers' cove of this scenario. The most obvious means is to recover the map from the person of Valester, the leader of the group of five soulknives sent to slay the PCs. This map, presented below, clearly shows the location of a hidden cove and should be enough to send the PCs to investigate.
|
|
Furthermore, if at least one soulknife has been captured, then under proper convincing or duress, he can tell the location of the cove, though his directions without the map will be a bit more vague and require some searching by the PCs once they reach the vicinity of the cove. Any surviving soulknives do not know much of the back story of the PCs and their relationship to Varytur. They merely know that they serve under Garinia, a rising lieutenant of the Crystalline, and that she awaits them on a pirate ship docked off the coast to the east of Leaf Port. Their orders, given by Varytur, were to slay the elf knight Velicleas and to capture the Morakki named Varr and return with him to the ship. They can give a rough head count of pirates and soulknives in the cove and on the ship.
Finally, the PCs may simply be able to track the soulknives back to the cove. If a soulknife escaped battle with the PCs and ran back to the cove, it should not be too difficult for an experienced tracker to follow the trail. However, if the PCs need to follow the soulknives back to the cove from their original arrival into the area, then the DM should assume the soulknives arrived in the area as a group 2 days before the "woodsmen" contacted the PCs. It should also be assumed there have been 2 hours of rain in the meantime and the ground is soft ground. If course, the trail will go from the ruin to their campsite, and thence to the cove.
The cove is located along the coast to the east of Leaf Port, where it turns northward. As such, it is approximately 10 miles away from the town. The journey to the cove will be uneventful.
As the coastline swings north, it also rises in elevation, so that in the area of the cove, the cliffs descend straight down 50 to 70 ft to the crashing waves below.
The cove is a tiny beach hidden by cliffs and rock formations so that it is not accessible by merely walking along the coastline. The cliff walls jut out a bit, obscuring the beach from view from the side and protecting it from storms and rough seas unless they blow in straight from the east. In theory the cove can be accessed by clambering up the rocks at its flank and then descending the sheer cliff face down to the beach. This possibility is dealt with below. However, the best way to access the cove is by means of a cave that emerges at ground level atop the cliffs. This cave leads to a small warren of tunnels and rooms that houses a small smuggling operation run by pirates whose allegiance has been purchased by the soulknives.
The rocks are high enough and the coastline curves inward in such a way that there is no way to spot the Coral of Bone from the coastline unless one climbs the rocky spires.
Refer to the smuggler cove map below. Each square is 5 ft, and north is toward the top of the map.
 |
The sea level and the beach at area 10 are 70 ft below the level of ground at area 1. Jagged rocks rise up out of the ground along the entire area bounded by the map, between the brown line to the west and the sea cliff line to the east. These rocks rise between 30 ft and 50 ft above the entrance at area 1 and march right up to the edge of the cliff face, where they plunge straight down into the sea. Climbing the rocks is not easy, and requires a DC 20 Climb check. Furthermore, moving laterally amongst these rocks also requires a DC 15 Climb check, as there is no flat place of any real size to find a purchase to move in any direction. When moving laterally, a fall can be anywhere from 10 ft to 60 ft, determined randomly. The cliff face itself requires a DC 25 Climb check to negotiate.
Many sea birds lair amongst the rocks and the place is rife with their feathers and droppings and alive with their calls. As it is late spring, there are more than a few nests here as well, and that means there is a 5% chance on any given round climbing these rocks that a gull or other sea bird will feel a PC is a threat to its nest and will harry the PC, diving at him, fluttering in his face, and possibly even pecking at him. While unable to cause any actual direct damage, such attacks provide a -2 penalty to any Climb attempt. Once such an attack has started, it will only stop after the PC moves 10 ft laterally away from the site of the attack (of course, new attacks may commence during this time). Multiple attacks do not provide a cumulative penalty.
Unless otherwise stated, the warrens beneath the rocks are of water-carved basalt and limestone. Walls are of hewn stone (per 3 ft hardness 8, 540 hp, Climb DC 25, break DC 50) and floors are also of hewn stone (DC 10 Balance check to run or charge). Anyone with expertise can see that natural caves have been smoothed and worked and expanded upon. The warrens are slightly damp with the tangy, salt air of the sea, which crashing waves can be heard throughout the warrens amidst the cries of sea birds on the rocks above. Some sandy gravel is also present on the floors.
Unless stated otherwise, all locations are 8 to 10 ft tall (1D3+7) and are relative smooth, with no major geological features such as slatagmites or stalactites.
All areas of the warrens are lit by guttering oil lamps set into niches carved into the walls every 20 ft or so at a height of 5 ft. Such lamps are of pottery clay and contain a wick and whale oil.
The red arrows on the map indicate a slope downward. Each arrow covers a vertical slope of 10 ft. Therefore, by the time area 10 is reached the warrens have descended 70 ft to sea level. In most cases, this slope is gentle enough that the floor remains as smooth as normal. In the case of the three steep slopes between area 2 and area 3 there are rough steps gouged into the stone floor to provide footing. Treat these three sections as gradual stairs, meaning movement is not affected but a melee combatant gains a height advantage when fighting an opponent down slope.
1. Entrance (EL 2)
The entrance to the warrens is not easy to find. Only 5 ft wide and 7 ft tall, it is located in the western face of a series of large rocks that tower up as much as 50 ft into the air. These rocks are quite craggy and full of cracks and folds both large and small, so it is difficult to pick out this particular crack or fold as being a cave entrance. A DC 15 Spot check is required to find the entrance, though anyone within 10 ft will automatically notice it.
Traps: Strung across the entryway about 2.5 ft into the cavern is a think cord of sinew. If this cord is tugged or broken, the trap will be set off. Stones in the ceiling will become dislodged by a series of ropes and rods set into the cave wall. These stones will fall in the 5 ft square just inside the entrance and in the 5 ft square just to the south that is half taken up by the cave wall. In addition to the damage caused, the sound of falling stones will make enough of a clamour to be heard throughout the complex.
| Falling Stone Trap CR 2; mechanical; touch trigger; repair reset; Atk +12 melee (2D6, stones); multiple targets (all targets in two adjacent 5-ft. squares); Search DC 20; Disable Device DC 20. |
Developments: If the rocks fall, various smugglers will come to investigate. First will be the smugglers in area 2 followed by the leader from area 4.
2. Smuggler's Den (EL 4)
| This cave contains four canvas hammocks tied to iron stakes driven into the cave floor. Several leather sacks lie beneath each hammock, along with some clothing and fur blankets. In the center of the room is a wooden table and four chairs. Mugs and plates sit on the table, along with a hooded lantern which is lit and a set of wooden playing cards. Several barrels rest nearby. |
Creatures: This is the lair of four smugglers, who also serve as guards of the entrance to the warrens. If they hear the stones fall in area 1, they will grab up their weapons and rush to the site. Otherwise, they will be found here playing cards, resting, or drinking.
| SMUGGLERS (4)
CR 1 Male human Warrior 2 NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses Listen +1, Spot +3 Languages Common AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 11 hp 11 (2 HD) Immune shaken Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +0 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee cutlass +4 (1D6+1) Ranged sling +3 (1D4+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +2; Grp +3 Combat Gear cutlass, sling, bullets (10) Abilities Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 9 Feats Blooded, Weapon Focus (cutlass) Skills Climb +4, Intimidate +2, Jump +3, Listen +1, Spot +3, Swim +4 Possessions combat gear plus light wooden shield, belt pouch, 1D6 cp, 1D6 sp, 1D3 gp |
Developments: Sounds of combat in this area will bring those from area 4 to investigate. Those persons will likely also bring the dogs from area 5 with them.
3. Smuggler's Stores
| This cave is full of barrels and crates and boxes and bags, some of which show their contents, whether by label or having been opened. All of these seem to contain provisions of one sort or another, such as a bag of nuts and a small box of dried berries. Several large wheels of cheese are present here, and some butchered meat hangs from iron hooks driven into the wall. |
4. Smuggler Leader's Den (EL 4)
Note: PCs approaching this area
will also be approaching area 5, likely alerting the dogs there
unless they are very stealthy.
| This cave looks to be the living quarters for a single person. Along the south wall is a stone shelf upon which are set a pile of furs and linens, forming a bed. In the center of the cave is a sturdy wooden table and several wooden chairs. Mugs and plates enough for several people sit on the table. Near the table is a fancy wooden shelf unit holding pewter ware, ceramic mugs and ewers, and several bottles of what may be wine. A brass brazier with smoking coals stands near the bed area, and a lamp dangles from a chain in the ceiling to hover over the table. Along the southeastern wall is a wooden desk and a large chest secured by a padlock. |
Creatures: The smuggler leader, Jalywir, and his paramour, Lucindi, are quartered here, and can usually be found here sleeping, studying charts and ledgers, dining, or having a bit of fun. This smuggling operation is relatively new, and like all such is temporary, servicing this area until the authorities learn that pirates are using the place as a drop off for their stolen goods. As such, the leader and his men have not invested a lot of time or effort to make these warrens homey. They did expand some of the caverns and smooth them out, and they gouged the stairs into the sloping passageway, but it is also clear that someone to something dwelt in these caves before them.
Lucindi is currently Jalywir's lover and his fence. She is the one who travels to towns and cities to sell stolen goods. She also forges documents to show ownership and gather information on ships to pass to the pirates. An accomplished seductress and liar, she enjoys making fools of men, and it is only a matter of time before she turns on Jalywir.
| JALYWIR - SMUGGLER
LEADER CR 3 Male human Warrior 2/Rogue 2 NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +5; Senses trapfinding; Listen +2, Spot +4 Languages Common AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 hp 20 (4 HD) Immune shaken Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1; evasion Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee cutlass +6 (1D6+2) Ranged sling +6 (1D4+2) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +3; Grp +5 Atk Options sneak attack +1D6 Combat Gear cutlass, sling, bullets (10), potion of cure light wounds (CL 1), potion of shield of faith +2 (CL 1), thunderstone Abilities Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12 Feats Blooded, Silver Palm, Weapon Focus (cutlass) Skills Appraise +4, Bluff +3, Climb +4, Diplomacy +5, Gather Information +5, Handle Animal +4, Hide +5, Intimidate +4, Jump +3, Listen +2, Sense Motive +3, Spot +4, Swim +4, Tumble +7 Possessions combat gear plus leather armour, light wooden shield, belt pouch, 2D6 cp, 2D6 sp, 3D6 gp, key to chest in area 4 |
| LUCINDI CR 1 Female human Rogue 1 CN Medium humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses trapfinding; Listen +2, Spot +2 Languages Common, Dwarf, Halfling AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10; Combat Expertise hp 5 (1 HD) Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +1 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee dagger +1 (1D4) Ranged sling +2 (1D4) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +0; Grp +0 Atk Options Combat Expertise, sneak attack +1D6 Combat Gear daggers (3), sling, bullets (10) Abilities Str 10, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 14 Feats Combat Expertise, Skill Focus (appraise) Skills Appraise +10, Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Disable Device +6, Disguise +6 (+8 with kit), Forgery +7, Gather Information +6, Hide +4, Listen +2, Move Silently +3, Open Locks +5, Search +6, Sleight of Hand +4, Spot +2, Swim +2, Tumble +6, Use Magic Device +4 Possessions combat gear plus belt pouch, copper and agate ring (20 gp), copper and silver earrings (15 gp), 2D6 cp, 2D6 sp, 1D6 gp |
Treasure: The desk contains writing equipment and other tools for forgeries, including a magnifying glass and a variety of pens, squibs and inks and various rolls of types of parchments and papers. A set of wax seals with official looking designs is also present.
The chest is locked (Open Locks DC 25) and contains a large ledger, several pouches of gems, and a pile of coins.
The ledger contains a record of items that have passed into our out of the smuggler cove over the past year or so (apparently the smugglers moved in about a year ago), as well as notes on which pirate captains are friendly and which are tough bargainers and which town officials are gullible or bribable or what have you. A study of the ledger will make it clear that these smugglers take in pirated goods on consignment and then keep a commission before returning the remainder to the pirates.
The pouches contain a variety of semi precious and precious stones, including agates, garnets, amethysts, onyx, bloodstones, moonstones, and even some small pearls. In total these gems are worth 250 gp.
The coins number 1500 cp, 450 sp, 200 gp, and 10 pp.
Developments: If commotion is heard outside of this chamber, the leader will come to investigate. For example, if the rocks fall in area 1, he will emerge a few rounds after the smugglers from area 2 to see what caused the fall. If, on the other hand, he hears sounds of combat from area 1 or area 2, he will first unleash the dogs in area 5. Lucindi is not a fighter and will remain in this room, hidden somewhere beside the entrance in order to sneak attack the last person to enter and then flee out the entrance way.
5. Kennel (EL 2)
| A wooden gate blocks off the entrance to this cavern, attached to the southern cavern wall by way of iron hinges and latched shut to the northern wall by an iron latch. Behind the gate, which is 6 ft high, several mounds of fur are set on the floor, and a couple of large bowls full of water and plates of meat are set near the mounds. On the outside of the gate hangs two stout leather leashes and two leather muzzles. |
|
RIDING DOGS (2) CR 1 *Riding dogs have a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent. |
6. Ship Stores
| This smallish cavern is filled to the brim with wooden planks, spars, boxes of nails, jars of pitch, bolts of cloth and canvas, coils of rope, netting, and various metal implements. Racks on the walls hold tools of all sorts, including mallets, hammers, tongs, saws, and other items. |
7. Old Jeb
| In this niche, which is filled with cobwebs, stands a rotted corpse. The corpse is attached to the wall by its neck, ankles, and wrists by rusty iron bands and appears to have been an old man, as it still bears the whiskery hairs of a beard and mustache amongst the shriveled parchment of its skin. A clay pipe hangs in its mouth limply. |
The iron bands that seem to keep Old Jeb propped up and attached to the wall are actually not attached to the wall in any way whatsoever.
The zombie is directed to wait until intruders pass, and then it animates, blocking their way out of the chamber and closing to attack. To do this, the zombie will essentially gain a surprise round and use it when a victim passes across the niche. It will then charge during its surprise round (requiring a DC 10 Balance check due to the flooring).
| OLD JEB CR 1/2 Zombie NE Medium undead Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft; Listen +0, Spot +0 AC 11, touch 9, flat-footed 11 hp 16 (2 HD); DR 5/slashing Fort +0, Ref -1, Will +3 Spd 30 ft (6 squares); cannot run Melee slam +2 (1D6+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +1; Grp +2 Abilities Str 12, Dex 8, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 1 SQ single actions only, undead traits Feats Toughness |
Developments: Old Jeb will follow intruders anywhere in area 7 or 8. It will not pass more than 20 ft from the entrance to area 7 into the sloping hallway.
8. Booty Storage
| This cave contains a variety of goods and commodities, including bolts of cloth and silk, crates and boxes, barrels, statuary, wooden carvings, silver mirrors, porcelain pottery, and a host of other items. Strangely, the body of an elven being with pale, greenish silver skin, emerald green hair and webbed fingers and toes is here, lying on a roll of canvas. She is nude though there are no obvious signs of violence on the portions of her body visible from a distance. |
The aquatic elf was a female captured by the smugglers only a couple of days ago, as she sought to recover a pretty shell washed up on the beach at area 10. She was captured and the smugglers had their way with her for a short while and then bound her, intending to either continue to abuse her or sell her into slavery. They didn't realize that she could not survive outside of water for long periods of time, and she only spoke Elf and Aquan and so the smugglers could not know what she said. When they left her tied up overnight they awoke to find her dead from suffocation. They intend to bury her, but are waiting for a moonless night to take her several miles away and do the job.
9. Receiving Cave (EL 4)
| This large cavern contains two large row boats set up against the walls near an opening to the northeast. Long oars are stood up next to the boats, along with gaffing hooks on long poles and several grappling hooks on stout hemp ropes. A large wooden table sits in the middle of the chamber, with a dozen wooden chairs set around it. The table contains several rolled up pieces of parchment or vellum and at least two unrolled pieces that seem to be maps of some sort. Several hooded lanterns are set on the table, one of which flickers alight. Also on the table are some mugs and plates and a set of wooden dice. To the south are four canvas hammocks tied to iron stakes driven into the cave floor. Several leather sacks lie beneath each hammock, along with some clothing and fur blankets. Three small barrels sit near the hammocks and near them is a crude wooden shrine depicting a crude humanoid figure holding a twisted metal trident. |
One of the hooded lanterns on the table has been rigged with shutters to serve as a signal lamp to signal ships at nighttime from area 10. The smugglers and pirates have their own code memorized, and of the smugglers here, only Lucindi and Jalywir know it.
The shrine is a crude shrine to Hotor, god of the seas.
The boats are sturdy longboats, reinforced to hold heavy cargo and with raised sides to allow them to ride lower in the water. Each longboat can hold up to 8 Medium creatures with little or no cargo. Treat them as launches from Stormwrack.
Creatures: Four smugglers dwell here, guarding the sea entrance to the warrens (area 10). They also serve as boat handlers and cargo loaders. A bit less warlike than their fellows in area 2, nevertheless they will not shirk from a fight.
| SMUGGLERS (4)
CR 1 Male human Commoner 1/Warrior 1 NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses Listen +1, Spot +2 Languages Common AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 11 hp 9 (2 HD) Immune shaken Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +0 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee cutlass +3 (1D6+1) Ranged sling +2 (1D4+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +1; Grp +2 Combat Gear cutlass, sling, bullets (10) Abilities Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 9 Feats Blooded, Weapon Focus (cutlass) Skills Climb +4, Intimidate +1, Jump +3, Listen +1, Profession (sailor) +2, Spot +2, Swim +4 Possessions combat gear plus light wooden shield, belt pouch, 1D6 cp, 1D6 sp, 1D3 gp |
Developments: If the stones at area 1 fall, half of the smugglers here will come to investigate, the rest remaining here to guard the sea entrance at area 10. If the sound of fighting comes from above, all will emerge to investigate.
10. Beach
| This small area is open to the sky, amidst the towering cliffs and rocks that surround it. The ground is crusted with bird droppings, and near the waterline barnacles cling to the edges of the floor and the lower part of the walls, evidence that at high tide the water rises perhaps another 10 ft up this beach. The beach itself is mostly a flat, down-sloping rock that descends gently into the sea. As such, it makes a good place to land, and a large iron spike has been driven into the wall halfway down the beach, to which a mooring line can be attached. |
Running the Smugglers:
These smugglers are tough men, but they are not ready to throw their lives away for their current set up. They are entirely willing to flee or surrender if things go badly, the latter if they believe they will keep their lives. They can describe their operation, though only Lucindi and Jalywir know the shuttered lamp signal code that might possibly lure those on the Coral of Bone onto shore. They do not know much about Garinia or the soulknives. They can say that they have had some doings with the Coral of Bone and its skipper, and that a couple of weeks ago it came to anchor and a group of men unknown to the smugglers came ashore and paid for the use of the smuggler's cover as a waypoint between the ship and the land. These men would come and go using their ship's rowboat.
Part Two - Into the Sea
The PCs, once they have dealt with the smugglers, will likely want to board Coral of Bone and find out who is behind their attack and defeat that person. The only problem is getting to the ship. They could try, if they have Lucindi or Jalywir prisoner, using the signal lamp at night to signal for a meeting, but the smuggler leader or his lover are just as likely to send a danger signal under the guise of requesting a meeting. In such case, the Coral of Bone will begin to set sail and flee. If threatened with death if he or she does not successfully arrange a meeting ashore, Jalywir or Lucindi will send a legitimate meeting signal. In that case the pirate captain and two pirates will come ashore, but Garinia will remain on ship. There is really no way to persuade Garinia to come ashore.
If the Coral of Bone flees, refer to "If Garinia was Alerted" in the DM's introduction above.
In any event, as the PCs stand or look out over area 10, assuming they have fought with the smugglers, then they will be visited by an aquatic elf named Rethyril-ni. This sea elf saw the female aquatic elf head in this direction while she was collecting shells a few days ago, and though he warned her not to approach the shore, she did not listen. Nevertheless, he thought she would be able to flee any danger, and so he eventually left her to attend to other duties. When she did not return home, he came to this area, and he found submerged below the water level just outside of area 10 a particular coral bracelet that belonged to her. Thus, he knows she came to this spot. After watching for a time and listening just below the water, he heard the smugglers in area 9 speaking of the female elf they had caught. He learned that they had abused her and also learned that they had let her die.
Rethyril-ni is now trying to determine how many humans dwell within before returning to his home and directing his clan to rise up and punish them. Assuming the PCs have fought with the smugglers, he will have heard the fighting and will be intrigued by the PCs, who are clearly enemies of his enemies. He will listen to the PCs to try to determine their plans, and will take great interest in learning they wish to get to the Coral of Bone.
If the PCs do not discuss such things, Rethyril-ni will eventually come ashore and try to cautiously speak with the PCs. He wants to recover the female elf's body and return it to the sea and say rites over her spirit. He will certainly note any dead smugglers and thereby confirm that the PCs are enemies of the smugglers.
The elf will tell the PCs in Elf (or halting Common if necessary) that he is seeking a female clan members whom he believes was abducted by the humans of these caves. If directed to the female's body, he will weep and smooth her hair for a short time, singing a long of lament in Aquan before composing himself. He will then ask why the PCs have these smugglers as enemies. Assuming an appropriate answer, Rethyril-ni will tell the PCs that the humans in the ship are allies of the smugglers, and that he wishes to have his clan sink the ship as punishment for the death of the female elf. He will ask if the PCs have any business with or desire to speak with or take vengeance upon those on the ship before they sink it.
The PCs are free, at this point, to wash their hands of the whole thing and let the sea elves sink the Coral of Bone. This they will do as described below. Those aboard the ship will attempt to flee, and will be attacked by the sea elves. It will them be up to the DM if Garinia and/or others escape to perhaps confront the PCs at some later date.
However, it is likely that the PCs will want to board the ship to confront the leader of the assassins. If so, the sea elf will tell them that he and his clan will agree to delay the sinking of the ship for a short time, to allow the PCs to finish their business. He will also ask the PCs how they intend to get to the ship. Presumably, unless the PCs can fly or swim underwater, they will state that they intend to use one or both of the launches in area 9. To this the sea elf will laugh, and he will explain that there is no cover on the ocean, and that those on the ship will see them coming and have ample time to slay them with missile weapons or to sink their boat. At worst, they would have enough warning to attempt to flee.
Instead, Rethyril-ni will tell the PCs that he and his people can get them to the ship undetected if the PCs are willing. Assuming they are, the sea elf will ask the PCs to wait on the beach out of sight of the ship for about 10 minutes. He will then plunge into the water and leave. If the PCs indicate that they want to rest the night to recover and prepare spells, Rethyril-ni will consent and will arrange to meet the PCs the next day. He will not wait longer than 24 hours, as he does not want the ship to escape.
Ten minutes later he will return and hand each PC a small conch shell which has its openings stopped with some sort of waxy substance. Rethyril-ni will tell the PCs to drink from the shells. Each is a potion of water breathing (CL 5). He will then hand each PC a set of plant-like bladders tied to a cord. He will instruct the PCs to tie these around their waists. Finally, he will hand each PC a stout cord made of some sort of touch, fibrous material. He will tell the PCs to hold onto the cord tightly. When each PC is ready, he will splash into the water. Each cord is attached to a sea elf (tied around its waist), who will pull each PC along as he swims. The bladders are filled with air and give the PCs some buoyancy. Basically, each sea elf can pull along a PC at half speed.
A few seconds after Rethyril-ni leaves the cords will go taut and each PC will be dragged into the sea and along towards the ship.
The Sahuagin (EL 3):
As the PCs and sea elves head towards the Coral of Bone, 200 ft from the beach at area 10, they are ambushed by a small party of sahuagin. These sahuagin are a raiding party that saw the sea elves carrying a bunch of bladders and ropes towards the shore and were intrigued. Now they see that the sea elves have tied themselves to land dwellers, who are likely to be easy pickings in the water.
The sahuagin will attack despite being heavily outnumbered. They count on the ferocity of their attack, as well as the inability of the land dwellers to fight underwater and the sea elves' lack of maneuverability because of their ties to the land dwellers.
The sahuagin will be spotted some 50 ft away as they emerge from a bed of kelp. At this point, the sea elves will quickly descend to the sea floor (which is at a depth of about 40 ft below the surface) so that they can fight alongside the surface dwellers. Each cord is 15 ft in length and can be cut with a slashing weapon (hardness 1, 8 hp).
| SEA ELF WARRIORS
(7) Male aquatic elf Fighter 1 CG Medium humanoid (aquatic, elf) Init +3; Senses Search check within 5 ft of secret door, superior low-light vision; Listen +5 (Rethyril-ni +6), Spot +5 (Rethyril-ni +6) Languages Aquan, Elf (Rethyril-ni also speaks Common) AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 hp 7 (1 HD) Immune sleep Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1; +2 vs enchantments Spd 20 ft (4 squares), swim 30 ft (6 squares) Melee trident +3 (1D8+1) Ranged light crossbow +5 (1D8) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +1; Grp +2 Combat Gear trident, light crossbow, crossbow bolts (20) Abilities Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10 (Rethyril-ni 12), Wis 12, Cha 12 Feats Alertness, Weapon Focus (trident) Skills Listen +5 (Rethyril-ni +6), Search +2, Spot +5 (Rethyril-ni +6) , Swim +13 Possessions combat gear plus shell armour, belt pouch, coral clan necklace (10 gp), conch shell and coral bar |
|
SAHUAGIN RAIDERS (4) CR 2 Blood Frenzy (Ex) Once per day a sahuagin that takes damage in combat can fly into a frenzy in the following round, clawing and biting madly until either it or its opponent is dead. It gains +2 Constitution and +2 Strength, and takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class. A sahuagin cannot end its frenzy voluntarily. Rake (Ex) Attack bonus +2 melee, damage 1D4+1. A sahuagin also gains two rake attacks when it attacks while swimming. Freshwater Sensitivity (Ex) A sahuagin fully immersed in fresh water must succeed on a DC 15 Fort save or become fatigued. Even on a success, it must repeat the save attempt every 10 minutes it remains immersed. Light Blindness (Ex) Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds sahuagin for round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled while operating in bright light. Speak with Sharks (Ex) Sahuagin can communicate telepathically with sharks up to 150 ft away. The communication is limited to fairly simple concepts such as "food," "danger," and "enemy." Sahuagin can use the Handle Animal skill to befriend and train sharks. Water Dependent (Ex) Sahuagin can survive out of the water for 1 hour per 2 points of Con (after that, refer to the drowning rules). * Underwater, a sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, and Spot checks. A sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Survival and Profession (hunter) checks within 50 miles of its home. A sahuagin has a +4 racial bonus on Handle Animal checks when working with sharks. |
Tactics: DMs should be familiar with underwater combat rules. Specifically:
Thrown weapons are ineffective. Other ranged weapons have a -2 penalty for every 5 ft of water they pass through.
Non-piercing weapons suffer a -2 attack penalty and do half damage.
Refer to page 92 and 93 of the Dungeon Master's Guide and page 21 of Stormwrack for more details.
Developments: The sahuagin will attack until dead, due to the racial enmity between their kind and sea elves. The elves will be forced to make a stand, as they cannot outrun the sahuagin, especially with the PCs in tow. One will take his conch shell and strike it repeatedly with his coral bar, sort of like a bell and a clapper. This will make a rather loud sound...loud enough to be heard by the other sea elves waiting beneath the Coral of Bone. These will hasten to to battle site and their appearance will end the battle, as the sahuagin will flee in the face of overwhelming numbers. It will take the sea elf reinforcements 7 rounds to reach the battle site.
Part Three - Coral of Bone
Getting into the Ship:
After the battle with the sahuagin, the sea elves will proceed to lead the PCs to just under the hull of the Coral of Bone. Here, some dozen sea elves wait, some in shell armour and others in tight-fitting kelp and shell robes. Rethyril-ni or another sea elf leader-type will tell the PCs that a hole will be opened in the hull of the ship, but the elves will keep the water from pouring in for 2 minutes. After that time, the water will rush in and sink the ship. The PCs can either take the ship's boat back to shore or the elves will make sure they swim safely back.
With that, 3 of the sea elves will step forward and one will use summon nature's ally V to summon a large water elemental. They will then combine to cast warp wood spells to warp a Medium sized hole in the bottom of the ship's hull. The water elemental will rush forward and block the hole, but will allow the PCs to quickly pass through before plugging it up again. The sea elves can summon one more elemental in this fashion, thus the hole can be blocked for a total of 20 rounds (the lead elf is a 10th level druid).
The Coral of Bone (EL 8):
The Coral of Bone is a pinnace, a small ocean-worthy vessel as detailed on pages 101 and 101 of Stormwrack. DMs should refer to that book for a detailed map of the pinnace. This ship has two ballistae mounted, one fore and one aft. Each ballista has 20 bolts in a crate bolted to the deck nearby, and there are oiled cloths covered in pitch and embered coals nearby to set a bolt alight before firing.
The ship is not capable of taking on warships or heavily crewed merchant ships, but preys upon coastal vessels and other pinnaces and cogs. The normal pirate crew of six (including the captain) is complemented by the soulknife Garinia, who has remained on board.
Watches aboard the ship are as follows:
Daylight = 2 pirates above decks. 3 pirates below decks. Captain in the aft cabin.
Nighttime = 3 pirates below decks, 2 pirates above decks. Captain on station atop the after deck.
In all cases, Garinia will be in the aft cabin.
The hold contains ship's supplies (barrels of water and rum, food stores, repair planks, pitch and caulking, etc.) and hammocks and living quarters for 5 pirates and 5 soulknives. There is also a small table, some chairs, and up front a small ship's oven of metal and stone.
The aft cabin holds two beds, a table and chairs, a cabinet with brandy, wine, goblets, charts and navigation equipment and the ship's log, and a locked chest (Open Lock DC 25). The key to the chest in on the captain and holds 500 cp, 200 sp, 100 gp, and a pouch of 6 pearls, 5 of which are worth 50 gp and 1 of which is worth 100 gp.
| PIRATES (5)
CR 1 Male human Expert 1/Warrior 1 NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses Listen +0, Spot +4 Languages Common AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 hp 11 (2 HD) Immune shaken Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +2 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee cutlass +3 (1D6+1) Melee dagger +2 (1D4+1) Ranged light crossbow +2 (1D8) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +1; Grp +2 Combat Gear cutlass, dagger, light crossbow, crossbow bolts (20) Abilities Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 9 Feats Blooded, Weapon Focus (cutlass) Skills Appraise +2, Balance +2, Climb +5, Jump +3, Knowledge (geography) +2, Profession (sailor) +4, Profession (siege engineer) +4, Spot +4, Swim +5, Use Rope +5 Possessions combat gear plus leather amour, heavy wooden shield, belt pouch, 1D6 cp, 1D6 sp, 1D3 gp |
These pirates are scurvy thugs, all rough appearing and hankering for a fight. That said, they are loyal to no one but themselves, and can be routed or subdued if given the proper incentive. They are canny veterans of shipboard combat, and will use the ropes and any other terrain of the ship to aid them in a fight.
| CAPTAIN LEDBETTER
CR 2 Male human Expert 1/Warrior 1/Rogue 1 NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses trapfinding; Listen +0, Spot +4 Languages Common AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 hp 16 (3 HD) Immune shaken Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +2 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee cutlass +3 (1D6+1) Melee dagger +2 (1D4+1) Ranged light crossbow +2 (1D8) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +1; Grp +2 Atk Options sneak attack +1D6 Combat Gear cutlass, dagger, light crossbow, crossbow bolts (20) Abilities Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 15 Feats Blooded, Scourge of the Seas, Weapon Focus (cutlass) Skills Appraise +5, Balance +2, Climb +4, Intimidate +8, Jump +2, Knowledge (geography) +5, Knowledge (nature) +5, Profession (sailor) +7, Profession (siege engineer) +4, Spot +4, Swim +5, Use Rope +5 Possessions combat gear plus leather amour, heavy wooden shield, belt pouch, 12 cp, 25 sp, 15 gp, gold earring (25 gp) |
Captain Ledbetter is a craggy youth of a man, perhaps in his late twenties, though the scars on his face and his stubbled appearance make age difficult to determine. He has a loud, forceful voice and is used to commanding dangerous men. He is not above engaging in melee combat, as he feels he is more than a match for most opponents. Nevertheless, if things go badly he has no desire to "go down with the ship".
|
GARINIA CR 3 Psychic Strike (Su) As a move action, a soulknife can imbue his mind blade with destructive psychic energy. This effect deals an extra 1D8 of damage to the next living, nonmindless target he successfully hits with a melee attack (or ranged attack, if he is using the throw mind blade ability). Creature immune to mind-affecting effects are immune to psychic strike damage. Unlike a sneak attack, the psychic strike is not precision damage and can affect creatures otherwise immune to extra damage from critical hits or more than 30 ft away, provided they are living, nonmindless creatures not immune to mind-affecting spells. A mind blade deals this extra damage only once when this ability is called upon, but a soulknife can imbue his mind blade with psychic energy again by taking another move action. Once a soulknife has prepared his blade for a psychic strike, it holds the extra energy until it is used. Even if the soulknife drops the mind blade (or it otherwise dissipates, such as when it is thrown and misses), it is still imbued with psychic energy when the soulknife next materializes it. Throw Mind Blade (Ex) A mind blade may be thrown, with a range increment of 30 ft. The mind blade dissipates after having been thrown. |
Garinia, who's given name was Branesta, was a young countessa from Vosh-gerr in Jerranq who was aboard a ship that was assaulted by Varytur the Soulknife and his pirate allies. She was forced to drink the elixir of expansion and immediately manifested soulknife powers, a rarity to have honed such ability so quickly. Branesta had been taken by the powers of Varytur during his fight to kill her ship's captain, and she desired greatly to learn his abilities. When she benefited from the elixir, Varytur offered her a place in his service. Branesta, who had rankled at being sent on the ship in the first place to marry an old nobleman whom she despised, eagerly agreed. She was disappointed when a shipmate, Varr, did not manifest any powers from the elixir, as she had developed an infatuation for him during the sea voyage, and in fact came to believe she loved him. Nevertheless, when separated from Varr and taken to accompany Varytur she acquiesced and put Varr out of her mind. Even so, thoughts of Varr kept creeping into her head, and when she learned later that Varr had manifested psionic powers, she was overjoyed, for Varytur then ordered her to Onlor to find Varr and return him to the Crystalline should the rumours of is powers prove true. To Branesta's thought, Varytur would convince Varr to become a soulknife and she and the Morakki could then serve Varytur together as partners.
Garinia is not ruthlessly evil...yet. This is her first job and she is ruled more by the thrill of things rather than any cold-bloodedness or desire to cause harm to others. Nevertheless, she believes strongly in her profession and it is certain that after completing some jobs and more training and indoctrination by Varytur, she will become the cold-blooded assassin he is trying to mold.
Garinia will fight invaders to the last, as she does not wish to return to Varytur a failure. The only thing that might stop her is if she encounters Varr. If she does, she will try to get Varr to betray Velicleas and join her. She will explain that Varytur merely wants to train him to be a soulknife. She will even, if she feels it necessary, proclaim her love for Varr, which is genuine. She will not, however, stand down, even to the point of killing Varr with tears in her eyes and regret in her heart.
Afterwards:
There is no chance that the sea elves will not sink the ship. To their mind, the ship itself is evil, infested with the deeds of its crew and captain, and they will not suffer it to sail again. The elves will offer the PCs a conch shell horn. This horn can be blown, and is in fact a masterwork instrument. It has no magical powers, but any sea elf would recognize from its shape and polish that it was crafted by sea elves using magic to subtly warp the shape of the shell.
Experience Points:
In addition to normal experience (which in Therra is half of that recommended in the DMG), each party member should be rewarded as follows: