Adventure 1: The Tom Crick

A swashbuckling adventure through the uncharted waters of the Palma Archipelago that takes players from Level 3 - 5

### **Story overview**

The party finds a friendly ship, The Tom Crick, that can take them to the location of a treasure for which they have a map. After departing the party quickly learns that their ship is a pirate ship when it attacks a naval vessel, killing most everyone onboard save for an island dwarf girl and a group of escaping sailors. Later, the party is blackmailed into breaking into a prison and rescuing a pirate captain and a cook, who are awaiting execution for conspiring to murder the commander of a fortress. At the end, the party is able to steal an unmanned boat from the harbour and escape with the captain and the cook. Returning the captain to his ship, the party is awarded with “The Betrayer”, a magical cutlass, and part ways. The party is now free to proceed on their stolen ship to the buried treasure using a stolen map with a new friend and a useless stowaway in tow.

The story concludes with many open questions. Whose ship did they steal? Who exactly is their new friend? What should we do with this stowaway? And what treasure awaits them at the X on their map?

### **Adventure Summary:**

#### **In the first part of the adventure…**

the party comes across a treasure map following a fight with a lone pirate in a bar. While examining the treasure map, they catch they eye of a man named Haines, who says that he knows of a ship that can take them where they need to go under some conditions — namely, that they help out on the boat with the daily duties, that they pay their own way, and that they don’t ask any questions about the crew or what’s going on on the ship. When pressed, the man says that the situation on the ship is a little tense, that he could use their support, and that what he really needs is for someone to get him to Port Royal himself. The man is genuine, and he means the crew no harm. Pricing for the journey will be cheap, he assures them, but he can’t commit to a price, since it’s set by the captain.

As the sun begins to set, the captain of the ship invites them into his quarters to talk about where they are headed, and to discuss payment for the fare. He asks for very little in terms of payment, just that they carry their own weight on the ship, assist with the workings of the boat whenever they can, and that they don’t get in the way. He also tells them that the fewer questions they ask, the better, and that they generally mind their own business. He asks for 5 silver pieces each, which he says will go towards paying for their food over the course of the journey, which isn’t much more than hard tack, citrus pickled vegetables, and salted beef.

Much later that evening, after their ship makes an unprovoked attack on a naval vessel, the crew realises a stark truth. That they are onboard a pirate ship, and not guaranteed to go anywhere near where they needed to go. The pirates win the naval battle, allowing a small group of sailors to escape, since dead men tell no tales. Among the spoils of the battle is an island dwarf girl, who the captain spares, for some reason.

#### **In the second part of the adventure…**

A couple weeks later, having learned a lot about sailing, the party arrives at a small pirate cove, where new wanted posters are being posted. Among them are pictures of the crew themselves. The captain informs the party that he can make the problem go away by paying off their bounties, but that he’ll need to help them with something first. The IDCP is relentless, and wont stop until they can confirm that you’re dead.

The party is informed that the captain of the ship is actually the first mate, having taken over the ship after its actual captain was imprisoned at Fort Dolce. Having seen their ability in combat, he entrusts them to go into the fort to rescue the captain. They’re given disguises so that they wont immediately be recognised as themselves. The party is given a small dinghy, and under the cover of night they row themselves towards a minuscule beach on an uninhabited corner of the small rocky island. At that location, a larger boat has been beached, and seemingly abandoned, though in generally good shape.

When the party sneaks into the fort, they may learn, too late, that the wanted posters they saw were forgeries, and that the latest wanted lists don’t include anyone that looks anything like them. They do find the captain though, and another nondescript man (a cook from the fort), who offers them treasure if they can help them get off of the island and back to their ship. The party breaks out of the prison dramatically and escapes.

When the captain lies to them them that the sailing ship was planted there to aid a more rapid escape, they commandeer it and sail off into the sunset before engaging in a complicated Naval Battle, possibly being rescued by The Tom Crick at the last moment.

Upon meeting back up with the Tom Crick, the crew is very surprised to see them in a totally different boat than the one in which they had departed. The party is given “The Betrayer”, and told that they can keep the ship, and that they can be on their way. The ship’s cartographer indicates to them where the waypoints of their treasure map will lead them, Haines asks to go with them, and the island dwarf girl escapes onto their ship as they resume their search for the buried treasure.

### **Level Advancement**

This adventure is split into two logical sections, but isn't very combat heavy. As such, milestone advancement is suggested, with one level being gained following Part 1, and one level being gained following Part 2.

### **Setup and Starting Points**

This adventure is meant to start with adventurers at level 3, and to take them to Level 5.

Preflight the adventure by having the party be robbed, or otherwise mostly destitute They shouldn't have more than 20 sp to their name. Have them talk about how they might know eachother. Ideally this would follow on from a previous adventure where the party levelled from 1 to 3.

### **Chapter 1: You all meet in an Inn**

The story starts with characters destitute. Stranded on Jomo Cay, and at a bar, The Jellied Eel, where the bartender has offered them a free round.

Ground Floor of BarBar Upstairs
Paraphrase the following:

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> *The foul stench of the port hangs stale inside this dockside bar, in which a dozen people from all over the Warm Sea sit, the only thing they have in common is that they’re down on their luck. Each of them sits alongside the only people in the world they might call their friends.*
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Let the party talk about what they’re doing. Once they’re done, continue to paraphrase the following.

> *From the other side of the bar, you can see some trouble brewing. It seems that an argument has arisen between two sailors. One of them, a muscular half-orc, is much larger than the other, a half-elf, and before you know it, the half orc grabs the half-elf by the hair and begins smashing his face into the bar, shouting something to him in Orcish — “I told you what would happen if I saw you around here again!”*
> *Things escalate. The people in this bar haven’t had much fun in a while, and so things escalate into a full-on tavern brawl. Dodging a thrown pint glass, the party looks up and sees the same half-orc from before, now joined by his twin brother standing in front of them, the maddened look of bloodlust in his eyes.*
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**Manrique the Half-Orc** and his brother, **Onree** make for a tough fight for a group of level 3 adventurers. By the time it ends, the local security shows up, and begins breaking up the fight.

> *The bar clears quickly, as many of these people don’t want to be recognised by local security.*
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**A DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check** reveals that either Onree or Manrique, has a rolled piece of parchment poking out of the inside of his vest, with a large X in red conspicuously visible. There’s enough time to snatch it before security notices.

Once the party has a chance to look over the parchment, it’s revealed to be a treasure chest, hastily drawn with a series of landmarks that would require a skilled cartographer to recognize — **DC 25 Intelligence (History) check**, or several hours of map study.

Even if the party has gone hiding into an alley to review the map, **Haines** a Half Elf Thief. Haines is kind of special, being that he has some natural rudimentary control of fire. DC15 wisdom (Perception) check means that the party is alerted to Haines’ presence by the feeling of warmth on the back of their necks.

Haines doesn’t really mean the party any harm. His M.O. is that he saw the party fight, he saw them snatch the treasure map, and he thinks he can get them access to a cartographer that can help them. If pressed, he could use some allies on the ship as well, and he really needs them to get him to Port Royal or some other large settlement where he can slip away quietly.

When they’re ready to depart, Haines meets the party at the docks, and the party watches as, in the distance, a tired looking man in ragged clothes rows a small row boat from a large Brigantine ship in the distance. Haines somewhat proudly introduces the party to their newest member, The Tom Crick.

### **Chapter 2: The Tom Crick**

Tom Crick DeckTom Crick OfficeTom Crick Lower DeckTom Crick SecretCrick with BalistasThe Tom Crick is a pirate ship, currently captained by its first mate, **Captain Kenwood Swee**t. Its actual captain, Cock Branzo, is currently imprisoned at Fort Dolce, awaiting execution, and the crew has sworn that they will retrieve him. At the time that the party is boarding the ship though, it is disguised as a merchant vessel under the banner of the Palma Archipelago. However, its crew doesn't have the dignifying look to them of merchants, even though they appear to be dressed like them.

There are roughly 40 crew members onboard the vessel, excluding the four officers and the captain. The crew members are plenty approachable, but none of them are willing to divulge information about the ship itself, instead, preferring to smile at the party members and say "We're just carrying good to be sold across the Palma", which, strictly speaking, is not a lie (The ship is carrying a small amount of tobacco to be sold at port), but isn't exactly an honest assessment of what's really going on there. None of the officers are particularly interested in engaging with the characters, and are quick to redirect them towards more productive activities, like swabbing the deck.

When the party sets foot on The Tom Crick, paraphrase this, or read it out loud.

> *The Tom Crick is a Brigantine ship, with three towering masts and bright white cloth sails. There were several large bushy-whiskered fellows lounging around on the deck, with their hair gathered into dirty rags like fishermen. Many had red silk sashes tied around their waist which held a cutlass or another long sword in place. They could be fishermen, you suppose; they're definitely not merchants.*
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> Crates are stacked high across the deck, and a host of both ranged and close-quarters weaponry sit in crates at the base of the main mast below a long latter to the crow's nest.
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> *A flag representing the Palma Archipelago is raised prominently from atop the mast, and boxes of cargo continue to be loaded into the hold from the harbor by a line of dutiful sailors. It's impressive, and the crew members seem to look like they know their way around a ship.*
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The party is free to explore the ship itself and to engage with the pirates themselves until the sun begins to set, which is when Haines introduces the party to the captain by inviting them into his personal quarters.

#### Meeting "Captain" Sweet

Having found their bunks and settled in for the journey, a messenger finds them and invites them to speak with the captain to discuss the terms of being on the ship. When they finally arrive at his quarters, you can describe the quarters as such:

> The captain's quarters tidy, and most surfaces have been polished to a shine. A large, and rather plain-looking chair sits behind a large desk with small stools around it. Atop the desk is a map showing the islands of the palma archipelago. A drawing compass and a set of quills sit atop the table next to closed vials of ink. The captains quarters might have been unimpressive if not for the sheer volume of books that cover every wall in the room, save for the window behind the captain's desk itself. That, and a large golden cutlass mounted on the wall, which catches your eye as sunlight catches it.
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And Captain Sweet as such:

> Captain Kenwood Sweet also does not look like what you might have expected from a pirate captain with so many men under his command. For one thing, he doesn't look that different from his crew. He's dressed a bit nicer than them, in aristocratic garb, and would clearly stand out among them, but his clothing itself is dirty, as if it hadn't been washed in weeks. Once you enter the room he stands up from his chair, carefully scoots it back, and is quick to welcome you into his chambers. He beckons for his servant to close the door and to leave you alone with him.
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> "Sit, sit! Please, make yourselves comfortable" he says, gesturing to the stools. He moves to stand behind his desk to the side of his chair rather than taking a seat himself. "Forgive me, I've been standing all day, and I'm happy to stand".
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> He catches your eye as you wince from the reflection of the sun off of the cutlass in the side of the room.
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> "Ah, you've got a good eye! A critical quality for sailors these days that's sadly lacking."
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> Captain Sweet quickly stands in front of the cutlass on the wall, turning his back on the party members.
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> "Would you like to hold it?" he says, turning around and smiling at the party.
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Detect magic will reveal that The Betrayer is magical, though it's unclear whether Captain Sweet knows that himself. If a player holds it in their hands, you can read the following.

> When you hold the golden cutlass in your hands, you're instantly taken aback by its craftsmanship. The edge of the blade is extremely sharp, with a mirrors edge to it, and the handiwork was clearly that of an extremely skilled craftsman. As a blade, it feels great in your hand. Well balanced, and mobile.
> For a moment you lose yourself in thought. You can imagine yourself kicking open a treasure chest full of gold coins. You can almost feel them falling between your fingers, and you momentarily choke on your own happiness before Captain Sweet recognizes the look in your eyes as someone that probably isn't going to give his sword back, and he snatches it from your hands. You're torn from your dream, and are back in the captain's chambers, where the musky scent of the dock wafts in through the windows.
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Captain Sweet is not the true captain of the ship, and in fact was the first mate. A fact which he is unwilling to make the players aware of, and one that the crew will also keep close to their chest. He is, however, willing to dispense with some wisdom, provided that the players are willing to follow some rules.

#### Rules onboard the Tom Crick

1. You will pay 10sp for the fare each
2. You will carry your own weight on the ship, and assist with the workings of the boat to the best of your abilities
3. You will stay out of the way of officers on the boat, and with the boat's core functions
4. There are areas of the ship that are clearly off-limits, and under no circumstances should you even think about looking into them
5. Meals will consist of salted beef, citrus vegetables, and hard tack bread. Bring your own food if you can afford it.
6. You will not pry into the lives or the dealings of any of the crew members
7. You will follow direct orders given by officers or the captain

#### Things Captain Sweet Knows

Captain Sweet will tell the crew that their current voyage will take them to Port Royal, and that it will take approximately a month. There will be a number of stops on the way, but the path they're taking is off officially sanctioned routes, because following trade routes will mean that the journey will take 1 and a half to two months to complete. He's not particularly worried about piracy on the route, because the ship is well equipped to take care of itself. Also, given the increased pirate activity along so-called "safe routes", he'd rather test his luck in uncharted waters.

Captain Sweet is quick to inform the party that his boat is a trading vessel, and that they serve small islands off the standard routes, who only rarely see ships like his at their ports. He will deny any implications that his crew is engaging in piracy, and insists that the company they travel under just has them under strict rules to keep the cargo they carry, as well as their business partners completely confidential.

Having spoken with Captain Sweet, the party is free to explore the ship, speak with the other members of the crew, and settle in for the journey. After some time, the boat departs the dock at Jomo Cay and immediately steers itself outside the safety of the patrolled trade routes. As the boat departs. A **DC15 Wisdom (Perception)** check, while departing will reveal that the boat is travelling directly towards a light storm in the distance. Nothing that would concern a ship of this size though.

### **Chapter 3: Two Ships Passing in the Night**

By the time that the Tom Crick reaches the stormclouds, the storm itself has subsided, leaving behind only rain and fog, and reduced visibility. No one onboard seems to mind it that much. A DC20 Wisdom (Perception) check will reveal what appears to be a sail in the distance, though it's very difficult to make out for more than a second or two in the dark and in this weather.

As they travel closer towards the ship, Captain Sweet orders the crew to shut off their lights, and to shorten the sails with the intent to make their own ship harder to see in the darkness. In doing so, the crew now has a much better view of the ship ahead without the glare of their own lanterns. It's a slightly smaller ship, but no real details can be made out from this distance.

**Mose** approaches Captain Sweet, and if the party is close by, a DC15 reveals this conversation in clarity.

> Mose says to the captain, "That's an IDCP vessel coming out of Luadonia. A heavier vessel than it looks, and probably not carrying anything of value. Given its change in trajectory it assumes we've turned away from it, so we're probably safe to pass it by. Not a huge gain to be made here, but plenty to lose--".
> Captain Sweet interrupts Mose, "I'll be hanged if we lose anything on that one. Take our guests down into the hold if things get hairy. No sense in getting them mixed up in anything here."
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As the ships drew closer together, you can hear a conversation taking place between their ship and Wallux, from the Tom Crick.

> They ask what the name of the ship is, to which Wallux replies "The Misadventure"
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> They ask where they're from, and where they're headed, to which Wallux replies "From Jomo Cay en route to Port Royal".
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> The IDCP boat requests permission to board, to which Wallux acknowledges, but as the small boat containing the inspectors draws close, **Modesto** leans over the edge of the boat, and shoots off a **DC15 Intelligence (Arcana)** spell (Fireball) at the other boat, curiously, which manifests as a giant wave, crashing into the center of the boat and spliting it in half, drowning the men on board.
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> Wallux calls to the other ship to say, "Looks like that boat sunk. You might need to send another one."
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> And with that, the Tom Crick unfurls its sails, and the boat immediately takes to the wind. The ship's Balista's fire at once in the direction of the ship.
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A naval battle commences between the two ships, and the party is invited to participate. During this battle, each member of the ship is invited to notice that the door to the captain's quarters are unlocked, meaning The Betrayer is available for use (**DC 15 Wisdom (Perception)**).

Rooms on the IDCP VesselBelow Deck on the IDCP VesselTop Deck
#### Stealing The Betrayer

The Betrayer can be stolen in the heat of a battle, and no one onboard will really bat an eye, as they're all focused on their own things. Captain Sweet will initially be furious when he notices what has happened, but will change tune in the middle of his sentence, once he realizes that it provides him with an opportunity to blackmail the players into doing his bidding.

Captain Sweet knows that someone killing island dwarves with a golden scimitar is all that a soldier needs to remember their face, and he's willing to let some sailors escape in order to tell their friends about these new pirates. He also knows that the party is mostly broke, and will not be able to pay off their new bounty. A betrayal, indeed!

#### Boarding the IDCP Vessel

Assuming that the Tom Crick wins the battle, the party is invited to board the ship alongside the rest of the crew, wherein a melee battle ensues. 20 Island Dwarf Sailors remain on board, and the party is invited to engage in combat with as many of them as they'd like, but pirates onboard the Tom Crick will assist them as needed, through both ranged attacks from onboard the ship as well as via melee support.

There are 20 Island Dwarf Sailors: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/714333-pirate-common, who carry 5sp a piece, and a cutlass.

...and there are 2 Captains -- technically a captain and a first mate: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/714281-pirate-captain, who are carrying 10gp a piece, a longsword, and a

#### A Jolly-Boat Escapes

A **DC15 Wisdom (Perception)** check will reveal that a jolly-boat filled with sailors, and likely the captain is in the distance. Well beyond the reach of spells, though within range of the ballistas. Captain Sweet allows this ship to depart unharmed as, in his words, "Dead men tell no tales".

#### The Spoils of Battle

* Money from the crew quarters (130gp in total)
* A terrified island dwarf girl
* 2 Crates of Lobsters and other Rations
* 30 Ballista Bolts
* Maps outlining the path of the current ship and various waypoints, but no other ships in the IDCP fleet

**Contraband:** The crew additionally stumbles upon the bodies of officers below deck wearing non-standard equipment.

* A forest elf, wearing a mithral chain shirt
* A mage, wearing a ring of water walking

#### A Change in the Attitude

The pirates are much more forthcoming with information about their lives after this, seeing the crew members as almost peers after the battle.

#### **A Terrified Island Dwarf Girl?**

*The Island Dwarf girl is actually a primitive Island Dwarf that lives on a large island in the northeast of the warm sea. the island was the source of a major explosion at some point, and is now shaped like a crescent. It is inhospitable land and sea, and is almost entirely unexplored. Hence, it's very difficult to communicate with her.*

The island dwarf girl doesn't speak a recognizable language to anyone, and if your party can cast comprehend languages by any chance, she doesn't really know enough to tell you much about where she's from. In fact, the only thing she seems to know is that she's from an island, and that these dwarves picked her up from the beach and took her away.

It's hard to tell how old she is, and she won't answer direct questions from the party since she doesn't understand anything they're saying to her.

Captain Kenwood is not thrilled about having another mouth to feed, no matter how small it is, and will need to be convinced that it's worth holding onto this girl, though admittedly, he doesn't really know what else to do with her (he doesn't want to kill her, or throw her into the sea, and if that's suggested, he will offer to keep her on the ship at no cost). If pressed, he might allow her to stay for free or, more likely, he will ask that someone covers the cost of her lodging.

### **Chapter 4: Grey Water Cove**

The Tom Crick will be travelling for a week before they arrive at Grey Water Cove, so roll for some high seas encounters.

After a week or so of sailing, the pirate ship docks at Grey Water Cove, an uncharted pirate cove built on top of a series of docks leading between buildings sitting on stilts in the shallows around a small abandoned atoll. There are several docks for various pirate ships to dock on the island, and there are several pirate ships who are docked there at the same time.

While all of the officers and most of the crew will be taking a short shore leave, **Mose** will try to make the party stay on the boat for the duration of their stay, **which will be a couple of days**. He informs the party that as a result of their antics they should wait and see whether or not there's a fresh bounty on their heads. In reality, he does this so that he can have wanted posters forged for the PCs **(DC25 Intelligence (Investigation))**, which the captain will use later to blackmail them into doing him a favor in exchange for paying off their bounty. **This is not strictly necessary, but hurries along the inevitable, and allows Captain Sweet to control the narrative a bit better.**

#### Exploring the Cove

It's possible to get off the boat as well, and to explore the cove. In case that happens, subject the party to a random encounter on the table below, or one of your own. Otherwise, they could take the opportunity to explore The Tom Crick, including its forbidden areas, which are much more easily accessible due to only a skeleton crew remaining on the boat.

##### An optional Grey Water Cove Story Arc: A Bright Future for Grey Water Cove

This story takes the players through a story during which they will not have much time to take any long rests.

###### Event: The Peculiar History of Pirates and the Warm Sea Vol 24

Once the party steps foot on Grey Water cove, a frantic, and kind of nerdy looking elven lady approaches them. Her backpack is loaded with books. Her name is Elendria, and she's a well-travelled documentarian, writing books about Pirates and their adventures for future generations. She's a little scatterbrained, but is a fountain of knowledge; she has seen a lot of pirates over the last couple of centuries, and her writing is fairly well-known across the world.

Paraphrase this -- it's what Elendria says to the party:

> Hey Guys! Hey! Fellas! My name is Elendria! You guys look like pirates! Would you mind telling me your names or aliases, so i can note them down in my book, *The Peculiar History of Pirates and the Warm Sea Vol 24*?
> It'd be great to hear more about what you've done, so I can spread the word of your deeds across the peninsula!
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There's no real way for Elendria to confirm anything that's said to her, but some aspect of the truth may make its way into her stories in the future. It's a good way to ensure that people hear about their deeds, whether real or fictional, and could be used to inform reactions to people in further adventures.

###### But that's not all...

Elendria is also kind of a chatterbox. Once she documents the deeds of the Pirates she starts to tell them what's going on on the island.

> Boy did you guys pick a weird time to come to the island! Not sure if this is your first time on Grey Water Cove, but things are a little bit tense as of late. Like most pirate coves, save for those hidden away in caves or things like that, this one was established when the Legendary Pirate One-Eyed Nelson's fleet arrived with his crew of Goliath mates, and "convinced" the island magistrate, Franco Trott, that the port could be a place where pirates could operate freely.
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> Magister Trott became rich off of this agreement, as did his successors, but they sacrificed any real sense of governance over the island, though technically still legally in charge. The newest magistrate, **Finelius Bonny** was elected two months ago under an anti-piracy banner. That's not exactly a weird thing though, because all of the candidates have always \*appeared\* to be anti-piracy, but Magister Finn has been different.
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> For starters, he has amassed a fairly well armed militia in support of his anti-piracy legislation, and they've made more than a gesture's worth of raids on fencing operations in a relatively short time. It's unclear whether Magister Finn is doing this to further extort the Grey Water Cove's pirate captain, the **Honorable Sharktooth Lucinda**, or if he really has the ambition to rid the cove of piracy once and for all.
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> It's kind of a powder keg at the moment. A recent raid on a fencing operation hit close to home, and Lucinda's first mate **Bostaff Jonny** was implicated, arrested, and shipped off to the nearby **Fort Dolce** for processing, and likely execution.
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> It's really causing a stir, and to make matters worse, there's a big fight planned tomorrow evening between two pirates **Alinarr of the East** and **Alinarr Bonehand** for who can be the best Alinarr. I hope that things work out and the fight can take place, but considering what's been going on, my money is on it being shut down quick... and on Alinarr winning, of course.
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> I'm getting on the first boat back to Palma Noor before things really pop off! I hope to see you all again some day, and look forward to learning more about your adventures! Stay safe on Grey Water Cove, and good luck on your further adventures.
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Elendria will chat with the party for a while, but will refuse to stay on Grey Water cove any longer than she needs to.

###### Event: The Magister's Dog is Murdered

Grungle, a half-orc guard-captain appears with a sizable entourage of city guards in the main square of the slum that makes up the bulk of Grey Water Cove. He holds a box high above his head, which he announces contains the severed head of the magister's dog, Hieronymus, having been left on the doorstep of the magister's house moments before. He declares that the era of piracy on Grey Water Cove is over, and orders his guards to begin arresting all of the pirates.

A halfling pirate tugs at the shirt of one of the party members. He says that they should come with him, and that they know somewhere they'll be safe. If they go with him, he takes them through the slums and into the woods, where they find a group of pirates milling about around a table with blueprints on it.

If they stay and fight off the guards (10), he'll take them there anyway, but their spirits will be more jovial.

###### Event: The Jungle Gathering

The Pirates are furious. They are certain that none of them have killed the Magister’s dog; they love dogs! Pirates love to talk, and none of them are talking about beheading the dog of a local politician.

They’re aware that there will be a formal event at Grey Water Manor this evening. Since the party is unknown in the Cove, and “don’t have shit all over them” they’d like the party to go in, extract the magistrate (alive), and throw him to the floor at Captain Lucinda's feet, where he will abdicate his responsibilities and a new election can be held with candidates approved by Lucinda herself.

There's also a way into the house through a sewage system that drains to the ocean, but no one has been inside, as there's an iron gate blocking entry.

<MAPS GO HERE>

###### Event: The Grey Water (Masquerade!) Ball

Sailboats arrive that evening to Grey Water Cove, and the military escorts them to the manor for the party. Some things to consider for this event:

* If the party arrives through the front door, they will be surprised to be given a mask. That helps hide their identity, but it also makes it very hard to find Finelius, someone the party has never seen before.
* The house is full of animated armors, including a particularly tough cloak room construct at Finelius' beck and call, in addition to a host of guards and aristocrats.
* The aristocrats will all have different ideas about pirates. Most are scared of them, some are enamored with them (but still scared), some hate them, and this is likely going to feature heavily in their conversations, since they're aware that there's a pirate presence on the island.
* Events:
	1. One of the Servants will call everyone out into the backyard to do a wine tasting next to the vineyards. (Area 13)
	2. A Giant Boar runs into the house (Area 3) from the backyard and everyone freaks out. It might attack the party.
	3. Upstairs in one of the servant's rooms, an aristocrat **(Countess Hestia from Port Royal)** and a servant are... together. She has been staying at the manor for some weeks as a guest of Finelius, but seems to have found other ways of entertaining herself.

###### Area Descriptions

1. **Entryway:** The entryway opens to a grand vestibule with high ceilings and a beautiful and ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It has four animated armors at the door. This room is crowded with guests.
2. **Coat Room:** The coat room is normally used to store the coats and belongings of guests, but today it is empty, since there are no guests at the manor. There's a cloak room construct in the back, but it completely ignores the party unless there's a need to support them.
3. **Great Hall:** The Great Hall is a massive ballroom with huge paintings on the walls, and several chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Of note, the statue in the bottom left corner of the room has a trapdoor above its head that leads to room 31 on the 2nd floor. Finding it requires a DC15 investigation check. This room is crowded with guests.
4. **Living Room:** The living room is also clearly made for entertaining guests, with three separate seating areas. There's also a bar and another seating area as well as a row of taxidermied animals, none of which can be found on a tropical island. In the top right corner is a globe which holds the Magister's most rare liquor, a bottle of Draconian Brandy (200gp). A collection of books sits on the bookshelf, but they are mainly just to show people that the magister reads. This room is crowded with guests.
5. **Dining Room:** The formal dining room is impressive, with a 55 foot long table, and towering chandeliers and oil paintings on the walls. This room is crowded with guests.
6. **Breakfast Room:** This room contains a smaller table, and is more intimate, used for breakfast in the morning. This room is crowded with guests.
7. **Flower Entrance:** This is another entrance to the house, a glass atrium storing rare plants (**DC15, Nature**), such as a Black-tipped Agave (30gp), a Fire Maple (100gp), a Scorpion Orchid (50gp), and a small and cute succulent (2cp), which isn't rare, but is very cute. This room is crowded with guests.
8. **Library:** The Grey Water Manor Library doesn't hold any particularly old books, and was likely used as a study for the Magister or previous occupants. In this room is a letter written to an ICDP Fleet Admiral, named **Toledo**, outlining grievances against the pirates. It includes the murder of his wife, the and the killing of his servants. It stops short of making a recommendation, as someone spilled wine all over it. This room is crowded with guests.
9. **Servant Dining Room:** The servant's dining room is not as nice as the formal dining room. It has no chandeliers, only candles on the tables. There are two servants lying dead on the floor, their throats slashed.
10. **Servant's Lavatory:** The Servants lavatory is no different from the living room lavatory. It too has a sewer grate that leads down to room 16. It's a 12 ft drop from here into the sewers below.
11. **Laundry Room:** The shelves in the laundry room mostly hold bedsheets and uniforms for the servants, but the tables contain several full sets of fine clothing for both men and women.
12. **Kitchen and Storerooms:** This large kitchen was used to prepare elaborate, large meals, enough to fill a 55 ft table. Crates in the side room are mainly full of dry ingredients, rice, beans, and herbs and spices. The middle room contains several hundred bottles of fine wine. Other crates contain a number of fresh ingredients. Onions, Garlic, Bananas, Apples, etc.
13. **Vineyards:** Vineyards have been grown on this island for generations, and are used to produce a kind of grappa-type hard liquor called Grey Water. Sun all year around allows them to be harvested twice a year.
14. **Orange Orchard:** Oranges have been grown on this island for generations as well. These trees make excellent cover for people interested in sneaking into the house from the back.
15. **Main Lavatory:** The main lavatory is no different from the servant's lavatory, though it does have a working mirror. It too has a sewer grate that leads down to room 18. It's a 12 ft drop from here into the sewers below.
16. **Servant Lavatory Entrance:** A 12 ft drop crashes into a shallow pool of rancid sewage water. It's pitch black save for the light coming in from the house above, and you can hear rats scurrying around. There's one path out of this room, and it leads downwards into a cave system.
17. **Angler Goblin Lair:** This room is an Angler Goblin Lair. They have lived here undisturbed for a long time, and are unhappy to be bothered. There are 10 of them in this room, and they will watch the party before trying to charm them all at once with their lures. Charmed characters will be drawn towards the angler goblins.
18. **Living Room Lavatory Entrance:** A 12 ft drop crashes into a shallow pool of rancid sewage water. It's pitch black save for the light coming in from the house above, and you can hear rats scurrying around. There's one path out of this room, and it leads downwards into a cave system.
19. **Deep mucky water with a current**: The water in this room is deeper, about 10ft deep, and towards the right side of the room, a current (Athletics DC15) will sweep the party down into the Angler Goblin Nursery (room 20).
20. **Angler Goblin Nursery:** The Angler Goblin Nursery contains another 5 angler goblin mothers, who are much more aggressive, since they believe their angler goblin babies (6) are being threatened.
21. **Angler Goblin Lair:** This room is an Angler Goblin Lair. They have lived here undisturbed for a long time, and are unhappy to be bothered. There are 8 of them in this room, and they will attack the party on sight, assuming that they have killed the other angler goblins.
22. **Giant Snake Lair:** Though this room offers a bit of respite from the otherwise mucky water the party has been walking in, there's evidence that a Cave Viper has burrowed deep into this hole. It won't attack unless someone sticks their head over the hole to look down, at which point it will strike quickly.
23. **Exit to the North Shore:** The exit to the north shore is here, and waves slowly move in and out of the cave system from the ocean. There is, however, an iron gate blocking the exit.
24. **Stairwell:** This mezzanine floor has stairs going up to the 2nd floor and down to the Great Hall (room 3).
25. **Hallway to Main Bedrooms:** This hallway is lined with animated armors, that come alive when attacked, or when the party reaches the door to room 26.
26. **Master Bedroom:** Finelius Bonny has barricaded himself in his closet, hoping that his animated armor will take care of things. His closet is full of formal clothing for men and women, as well as jewelry -- 4 gemstone inlaid rings (30gp each), a gold necklace (100gp), and some formal wigs made of elven hair (3, 5gp each). There's also a key that can open the chests in the hidden room.
27. **Guest Room:** There are no guests staying in this, or any other room. The closet is mostly empty, but an investigation check (DC20) will reveal a set of platinum earrings left behind one of the dressers (50gp).
28. **Terrace:** The terrace sits two stories up due to the high ceilings of the ground floor -- it would be a difficult fall onto a stone terrace below.
29. **Guest Bedroom:** There are no guests staying in this, or any other room. The closet is mostly empty, save for a set of aristocratic pajamas (2gp), and a bottle of brandy (1gp)
30. **Guest Bedroom:** There are no guests staying in this, or any other room. The closet is mostly empty, save for the diary of **Countess Hestia from Port Royal**, outlining a long list of infidelities (priceless), which fell behind the dresser **(DC10)**.
31. **Hidden Room**: The hidden room contains a set of half plate armor, and two sets of haute couture outfits (one male and one female), both of which contain a label for a tailor "ATELIER MOURA". There are a set of chests in the room, but all of them are locked by a key (room 26). The locks are complicated, and booby trapped **(Slight of Hand DC15)** with an acid splash trap (2D6).
32. **Sewing Room and Linen Closet:** The sewing room contains a set of spinning wheels, cabinets full of wool bobbins, looms of silk, and other threads, and a linen closet full of white linens.
33. **Guest Bedroom:** There are no guests staying in this, or any other room. The closet is empty.
34. **Servants Quarters:** The servants have all been brutally murdered, and their bodies lay strewn about the rooms. Each room's chests contain mainly clothes, but one of them contains a letter alleging that they are the father of Countess Hestia's child. You can't make out the name because the person writing it was crying so much.
35. **Terrace:** The terrace sits two stories up due to the high ceilings of the ground floor -- it would be a difficult fall onto a stone terrace below.

###### Event: Sharktooth Lucinda wins

Sharktooth Lucinda will happily kill Finelius Bonny in public just to demonstrate how untouchable she is, but will be careful to dispose of the evidence so as to not alert the IDCP. In exchange for this, Sharktooth Lucinda will give the party a box containing 10 Paper Birds, which they can use to call for her aid, and she guarantees that she will do anything she can to help.

###### Event: Finelius Bonny wins

Likewise, Finelius Bonny will take the opportunity to publicly execute Sharktooth Lucinda, if that's the direction the party would like to go. If he does it, he'll change the name of the island to Finelius Island, and his military will begin tearing down the shanty encampment. He'll also give them an IDCP Smoke Bomb, which the party can use to disengage from conflict with IDCP vessels (provided they haven't already attacked them, or that they dont have any alterior motives).

###### Event: The Best Alinarr

Alinarr of the east is a female half-elf, and Alinarr Bonehand is a walking skeleton of a Goliath. Neither of them know who the other Alinarr is, but they both assume that the other one is smaller than them. Ironically, neither of them really go by Alinarr. Alinarr of the east is trying to adopt the moniker, "Black Allie", and Alinarr Bonehand wants people to call him Bonefied Al. Unfortunately it's a fight to the death (or the undeath, in the case of Alinarr Bonehand).

Black Allie will fight dirty against Bonefied Al, so have fun with that, but it really doesn't matter who wins. Assuming the players went through with the Finelius Bonny extraction, the winner of this fight will ask them if they can join their crew. Black Allie is a kleptomaniac thief, and Bonefied Al is a say-yes-to-life goliath fighter. He's also a skeleton though, which can make getting into places where they don't like skeletons (most places) difficult.

#### The Skeleton Crew

There are only four crew members left on the ship. Position them appropriately to guard entrance to the storage room, and let the players have fun with trying to get access to forbidden areas of the boat. Say "Yes!".

#### Encounters in Grey Water Cove

Grey Water Cove is not a particularly special pirate cove. See: Encounters#At a Pirate Cove. TOMÁS GIMÉNEZ RIOJA has also published a set of such encounters here.

#### Blackmail!

Captain Sweet returns to the ship with some bad news:

> "Would you look at that. It seems that you're famous", Captain sweet says, as he throws a pile of wanted posters onto the deck of the ship at your feet. "It seems that parading around an IDCP vessel and hacking dwarves to death with a solid gold cutlass was a really good way to be noticed. Wanted: For the butchery of good island dwarves aboard the El Presidente, and for the destruction of our ship on its maiden voyage. 25,000 gp. Each. Dead or Alive."
>
>
> "You know. The IDCP is relentless in pursuit of wanted pirates. As are other pirates", he says, gesturing towards Grey Water Cove. I don't need to tell you this, but the amount of gold offered to relatively new pirates, such as yourself, is unheard of. It's not just a life-changing amount of money. It's early retirement, and fuck mermaids and sea nymphs all day for the rest of your life kind of money. It's going to attract attention, and not the right kind. That being said though, it's still early. We could make this all go away, provided you help us out with something."
>
>
> Captain Sweet beckons for the party to enter his office. They're followed in there by the entire group of officers. It's a tight squeeze.
>
>
>
> "I think it's time we come clean about something. My name is Kenwood Sweet, and I'm the First Mate of the Tom Crick, sailing under the banner of the good Captain, Cock Branzo. Captain Branzo's story is long and complicated."
>
>

Captain Branzo's story **is** long and complicated, and First Mate Sweet relays the following to them.

* As a young lad, **Captain Branzo** was on a ship captained by a man named **Henty Castlebroad**, the Never Neverwinter.
* On one voyage the dastardly First Mate **Monty Fisher** plotted and successfully executed a mutiny on the ship. Only Captain Branzo stood up for Henty, and for that he was punished dearly.
* Captain Branzo is an aaracockra, and the mutinous crew held him down and clipped his wings as punishment, before marooning him and Henty onboard a small atoll somewhere at sea.
* Henty died on that small island a day or two before The Tom Crick found the emaciated Branzo on the island, and after hearing his story they took him onboard as one of their crew.
* Years would pass, and Branzo would eventually take over as Captain of the Tom Crick, bringing on board the likes of the people in this room as his companions.
* A short while ago, Mose Wormington received word that Monty had become the head of Fort Dolce, an IDCP fort, and he and another one of our mates, Cardamom, the chef from the Tom Crick, went to Fort Dolce to assassinate him, but were captured in the process.
* Captain Sweet will omit the part about how Cock Branzo made a pact with a demon to hunt down each crew member of the Never Neverwinter, and deliver their souls for him to devour. He also doesn't mention that Cock Branzo doesn't remember every crew member's name.

And the pirates need something of the party as well.

* The crew has been working on a way to get to the island, but are too recognizable to enter without alarming anyone. They need the party, whose infamy is only just beginning to spread, to sneak into Fort Dolce, and extract Branzo and Cardamom.
* If you can help them with that they promise to take care of the bounties. If not, they'll drop them off at the next town, where the IDCP will almost certainly find and kill all of them.
* Mose Wormington has informed us that the fog that's been coming in and out of the region is going to obscure an IDCP fort, Fort Dolce, and will provide cover for a boat to reach the island.
* Unbeknownst to the IDCP, Fort Dolce used to be an old Pirate Cove, and a subterranean system of caves exists underneath the fort. The cove was abandoned decades ago after a raid of Sahaugin killed most of the pirates. The entrance to the cave was sealed, but we can unseal it. You can also enter through the front door, if you'd prefer a more direct route to enter the fort.
* The party is provided with a set of IDCP costumes, collected during the previous raid, and cleaned of blood.

### **Chapter 5: Fort Dolce**

Fort Dolce had been a pirate cove at one point, before having become a fortress. A hidden entrance to the cave still exist for those that remember. Modesto, being an elven seafarer remembers. He also has reason to believe that a storm will bring in greatly decreased visibility and thick fog, which will mean a small ship will go unnoticed in the infiltration of the fort.

There are three entrances to Fort Dolce, through the front door (meaning its dock), and through the system of caves that was carved out from under the island. There are also cliffs all around the fort that can be scaled.

When approaching the island, you can say, or paraphrase the following:

> With the thick fog, and in the dead of night, there's not much you can make out of Fort Dolce's features besides for its general shape, and that it has a lighthouse and a small dock. As you draw closer, you can catch glimpses through the fog of its sheer cliff faces. They said there were three ways to get into Fort Dolce, but all of them go the same direction: Up.
>
>

#### The Front Door

There's a small dock at Fort Dolce, but it appears to be void of any ships at the moment.

#### Through the Caves

A small network of caves is hidden under Fort Dolce, carved by pirates and hidden for a century by a large boulder, as well as by thick overgrowth. The cave system is a former pirate cove that was attacked by a band of sahuagin, who killed most of the pirates, save for those who escaped, and transmuted the stone cliffs to seal off the entrance.

The Sahuagin entered the fort from underground, having dug a series of tunnels into the cave from underground. The holes that they dug are visible by the presence of shallow pools of water around them.

If the party chooses to enter through the caves, Modesto mentions that the entrance to the cave has been sealed, and so the only way in will be through the use of a spell that can soften stone. He gives the party a **Ring** -- it has 2 charges of the spell [1]**Transmute Rock.** Why would they be sealed? Decades ago the cove was attacked by a group of sahaugin, who ransacked the cove, and killed everyone. The caves have only a small amount of light, in **Area 2**, which comes from the cave entrance. Outside of that they are pitch black.

**1. The Beach**

The Beach is surrounded by 75ft cliffs, which can be climbed, and lead to Fort Dolce.

As the party approaches the beach under the cover of fog, they will likely notice a medium-sized vessel, haphazardly hidden under some trees, and covered with a large tarp, which has also been painted to look like a canopy of trees. As they get closer, they see that the ship is empty, and a **DC15 investigation** check reveals some footsteps heading into a thick growth of plants and palm trees before disappearing.

The boat is new. So new that the captain's chambers doesn't have much of anything inside it that might indicate whose ship it is. It has two ballista mounted on it though. Searching the ship will yield some rations, and nothing more.

The entrance to the caves is hidden behind the bushes, and though the party was led to believe that they would need to melt rock to enter, it appears someone has already done that, and the melted rock has settled and revealed the entrance to an underground cave system.

**2. The Market**

After pushing through the overgrowth to find a recently opened tunnel, the party can see a set of stairs leading down into a cavern. The cave has no sources of light, and is pitch black. The entryway of the cave opens to a large space where a set of gallows faces a wide open center square marked by abandoned kiosks that once sold various pirate wares. The cave itself carries the scent of sewage and stale seawater, and a large pool of water sits ahead of them. with two deep holes that appear to have been dug out from the bottom. All around the pool lie skeletons from pirates who had died there.

Investigation Table
 10
 15
 16+

**3. A Pub**

The pub is haunted by a wraith named Cutthroat Lenny, the aggregation of all the murdered pirates who sat in the dark for a century. It hates the pirates that ran away, and it especially hates Sahuagin. Besides for a few rusty cutlasses, and a few pairs of broken spectacles, there's not much to salvage from the remains of the Pub.

**Cutthroat Lenny** starts out as a pretty pleasant pirate, though his mood as often as his face does, sometimes in mid sentence. His shifting personality makes it difficult for him to be consistently friendly, but it does happen on occasion, and so he may come across as being generally accommodating. He doesn't know that the characters are pirates, but if he does, they remind him about the pirates who ran away, and he will attack. He'll grow immediately suspicious if the party does anything silly, like hiding, or running away from him. Until the point when he learns they're pirates he's happy to tell the party what happened there.

> "Aye. Were it but a normal eve when a parcel of slimy rascals come up from holes in the earth itself, and did drag mine own mates with those folk into the holes. We scrapped about, f'r sure, but thar we be jus' too many o' 'em folk. We lost a lot o' good scallywags that day, some t' the deep, but most ran off like a bunch o' yellow-bellied curs, leavin' us here alone t' fend fer ourselves."
>
>

**4. A Storage Room**

The storage room looks like it was mainly used to store food and beer, but it's mostly rotted down to nothing over the past century. Scattered gold coins (**70gp)** are strewn about the floor. it looks like there was an attempt to loot this room by the pirates as they had tried to escape.

**5. The Brothel "The Wrong Port"**

The Wrong Port used to be a functioning brothel with a few beds separated by curtains or makeshift walls. Abandoned to the humidity and the elements it is a shell of its former selves, and it's haunted by three **Drowned Prostitutes**. The Brothel has a puddle in it as well, but no hole dug under it. Also, it smells like human excrement, because that's what it is. The ceiling here leads to Fort Dolce, and into the water closet **(Room 26)**, and water drips through a crack in the ceiling. A **DC15 Investigation** check will reveal this to the party, and they can get a chance to see it again every time they enter the room. Searching the bodies of the pirates or the skeletons in the room will reveal an **antique wedding ring** on the finger of one of the prostitutes worth **70gp.**

**The Drowned Prostitutes**

The Drowned Prostitutes were drowned by Sahuagin in the attack on the pirate cove. They haunt their former brothel, and await the return of their mistress, who fled during the attack. If the prostitutes learn they are dead, they will take on a horrific appearance, and attack the party. until that point though, they are quite content to try and bed the party members. Looking at them too closely will reveal their **Horrific Form**, and any reaction to this will make them realize they are dead.

**Melting the Ceiling**

There are many ways to break through a ceiling, but the easiest is probably to use one of the charges from Modesto's ring, which will slowly collapse the bathroom above into the caves, and provide the party with a way into Fort Dolce from below. Doing so is quieter than expected, as the ceiling itself will drip like mud into the room below.

**Random Shitter table (D4)**

1. No one was in the bathroom above, and a clean hole is created for the party to sneak in, largely unnoticed.
2. A solitary guard tumbles into the brothel with his pants down. He will spend 1 action pulling his pants back up before fighting the party. He shouts, but no one hears him through the thick rock.
3. The spell was so successful that many of the walls from the bathroom come tumbling down into the room below, which alerts guards in the fort that something is amiss -- this is also an opportunity for the party to be able to steal their clothing, as they come down into the hole to investigate
4. The warden's secretary falls into the brothel. No one hears her scream through the thick rock.

**6. Training Area**

The training area has two bins containing an assortment of weapons, all of which have long since rusted away. There's a large puddle in the center of it with a deep hole from which the sahaugin emerged long ago.

**7. The Captain's Quarters**

The captain's quarters were mainly used as a place for the former captain of the pirate cove to socialize with his closest friends. All of them were killed in the invasion, and though the captain's clothing has long since dissolved into nothing, a **particularly ornate ring of protection +1** still sits on his finger, alongside two gold rings with large emeralds (120 gp each), and a set of platinum hoop earrings (50gp for the pair).

The captain's desk more or less disintegrates when the players try to touch it, having long since been destroyed by mold. Crates along the side of the room contain another 300gp worth of **antique plundered silver plates, vases, and candelabras** and the like. Far too much for the party to carry on their own, but enough that they could bag it all up and throw it onto their boat.

**8. Ceremonial Hall**

The ceremonial hall was once a place where the pirates would engage in largely farcical ceremonies to reward one another for feats at sea. Of all the rooms, it was the most ornate, with columns extending up to the ceiling around the walls, It's directly beneath the toilets in fort dolce, near the barracks, and this is evident by the dripping of sewage into the water below. Similar to the **Brothel**, players can melt the ceiling here and possibly climb up into the bathrooms in room **14**.

The room appears to be home to some giant spiders, but they've mostly been eaten now by a Blood Salamander, a gigantic amphibious monstrosity.

The cave has caved in to the west, and can be cleared, provided the boulders blocking the way are moved somehow.

When the players approach the room, you can describe it as such:

> The smell of sewage grows stronger as you walk down this hallway, but it's the amount of thick cobwebs on the floor that has you alarmed. though they aren't sticky enough to slow you down. The hallway opens into a large room surrounded by pillars, in a room that must have had some ceremonial purpose for the pirates. Thick webs cover the walls here as well, and an enormous body of a giant spider sits on one of them right at the entrance to the room, its body largely destroyed, and covered in a thick dark red ooze.
> That's when you make out the shape of two large eyes in the darkness. Looking up from its snack of giant spider is an enormous slimy red salamander, and it begins slowly lumbering towards you.
>
>

**9. The Sleeping Quarters**

The sleeping quarters contain the remnants of beds, but not much else.

#### Fort Dolce and its buildings

Fort Dolce is a living, breathing fort. Guards and servants move around it freely, as do the officers -- including Monty Fisher. With the exception of specific people who may be in specific places, feel free to move guards around the map at any time.

##### **Events**

* If the party walks in the front door, Celindelle, the secretary of the Fort itself, is taking applicants for a fight club, and may assume that the party is there for that. The party may participate in this, with the caveat that the party is expected to fight emaciated prisoners, and possibly each other, to the death, for a modest sum of 100gp to the winner.
	+ The first fight to take place will be between Flonir and Onree, and the party can place bets on the winner, which can be chosen at will.
	+ The second fight will be between the winner of the previous fight, and Cardamom.
	+ The third fight will be between Cock Branzo and Monty Fisher, and Monty Fisher will win. Cock Branzo will be stabilized and thrown back into his cell. This fight happens every week.
	+ The fourth fight will be between Monty Fisher and Cardamom, and is an opportunity for Monty to execute Cardamom.
* If the party goes through the floor into the fort itself, Celindelle may fall through the ceiling, triggering an investigation into the source of the disruption.
* The undead witch pirate, Miss Syndra, is imprisoned in room 32 of the fort. She will try to convince the party that she and Bostaff Jonny were lovers at one point, and that they should release her so she can sneak his body off for a proper burial. If released she will, indeed retrieve Bostaff Jonny's body, but will resurrect it into an undead follower, hellbent on killing everyone, including the party, on the island.
* Cock Branzo will try to move the party to the rooftop, and when he's there, he'll escape with the party from the roof by grabbing them in his arms and jumping off the roof and landing on the boat parked at the beach below.

**10. The Dock and Dockhouse**

The dock sits at the base of Fort Dolce, etched out of the cliffside itself in the centuries past. 40 ft cliffs stretch upwards, obscuring any features of the island, but a long windy stairwell cut into the mountain winds up to another area.

The dock looks to hold one boat at a time, as well as three smaller jollyboats. At this time, the jollyboats are there, but there's no ship. The dock contains many containers that mostly contain salted fish. A dockhouse around the side contains several containers, most of which also contain dry seafood, namely squid, but a **DC10** Investigation check will reveal two crates of ilicit psychoactive cloudvine, worth 700gp each. Not hard to find, but you'd have to look for them. Even harder to sell.

A solitary Island Dwarf guard sits on a crate reading a book, and eating an apple.

**11. Guardtower and Post**

This plateau contains a small tent, some weaponry stands, and training dummies. Stairs continue up to the main area of Fort Dolce, and a set of ladders offer a precarious way to climb up to another area of the fort. Scaling alongside the walls themselves require a **DC15 Climbing check,** or risk a nasty fall.

The guardtower itself is pretty impressive. At some point, a stone bridge had been constructed leading from the top of the tower to the captain's quarters, but has long since collapsed. The gap itself is 80ft due to the change in elevation (30ft gap, 75 ft elevation).

At the top of the tower, there are 3 guards, each of which is tasked with manning a ballista. With no boats on the horizon, these guards are having a drink and playing cards at the table.

**12. The Mess Hall and Guest House**

The buildings that make up Fort Dolce are beautiful white stucco with red clay tiles for their roofs. The mess hall is clearly just a pub, and contains a set of guest rooms upstairs, none of which are occupied at the moment. A small cellar has been dug out of the rock and is accessible behind the bar, but only contains cool ale and wine barrels.

There are 5 guards having drinks at the bar. Upon seeing these men, the party may realize that the IDCP outfits they're wearing look nothing like the Fort Dolce guard uniforms.

**13. Senior Barracks**

These barracks are pretty nice, and include a seating area. The actual beds themselves have all been made and are fairly austere. A DC15 Investigation check will reveal a gold bracelet worth 75gp hidden under one of the mattresses with the name Kelsivor inscribed on it.

**14. Shithouse**

The shithouse is just that, a bunch of toilets that dump waste into an underground cavern with small pipes that empty into the sea. It's directly above **Room 8,** and blasting through the floor could potentially unleash the Blood Salamander on Fort Dolce.

**15. Lighthouse Storeroom**

The lighthouse beacon is lit, and is the main source of light on Fort Dolce, especially at night. At one point it was accessible through a set of stairs around the side of the building, but they have long since collapsed, and are now accessible by ladder.

The ground floor of the storeroom contains mainly weapons, but also numerous bombs, which the fort occasionally straps to ballista bolts and fires at oncoming vehicles. They could also be used to blast through floors, like, say those in the bathrooms.

**16. Barracks**

These barracks are austere, and contain a set of beds and a large crate containing civilian clothes for shore leave, and not much else.

**17. Gallows**

A set of wooden gallows stand here, and the body of a pirate in monk robes hangs from a noose (Bostaff Jonny), rocking back and forth in the wind, illuminated by torches.

**18. Monty Fisher's Quarters**

This small house houses the head of Fort Dolce, which is currently Monty Fisher. He may be in his house.

Searching his house will reveal a set of his old pirate clothes, ornate orange robes., as well as a pair of golden hoop earrings worth **200gp,** and a set of polished coral bracelets worth **50gp**

**19. Blacksmith**

Read or paraphrase this as they approach the blacksmith:

> A fire genasi whose hair burns brightly in the darkness, sweats over her anvil as he hammers away at a sharp blade. Across his table are a set of masterwork weapons and armor, including many particularly unique swords. She smiles at you briefly as he sees you approach before returning her attention to her work.
>
>

This is the current location of Rollin the Samurai's smithy. He sells most weapons, but typically swords. All of his weapons are masterworks though. The masterwork quality adds **300 gp to the cost of a normal weapon** (or 6 gp to the cost of a single unit of ammunition, such as an arrow). Among the collection he has are several ornate katanas (which are really just longswords).

**20. The Naturalist's Lab**

This room contains a dozen plants of various shapes and sizes such as a Black-tipped Agave (30gp), a Fire Maple (100gp), a Scorpion Orchid (50gp), and a small and cute succulent (2cp), which isn't rare, but is very cute. It also contains a singular, massive cloudvine plant, with psychoactive vines growing along the floor and wrapping around other plants. It's a stunning specimine, but requires a **Nature DC15** roll to collect a working sample of the right vines worth **100gp**. Failure to collect it properly will cover the player's hands with sap, and give them a -1 to all attack rolls, and checks that require their hands until they can clean it off with either magic, or some kind of fat.

**21. The Atrium**

A wood elf secretary, named **Celindelle** sits at a desk in the corner of this room. Depending on the circumstances, she'll instruct the party to sit in the waiting room **(22)** while she tries to figure things out. She can be convinced to introduce the party to the Warden with a **DC20 persuasion** check. a guard stands to the side of the entrance to room 23

**22. Waiting Room**

The waiting room contains a set of fiction hardcovers and some toys for children to play with, including toy swords.

**23. Chapel**

The chapel contains a set of religious texts related to Umberlee, goddess of the sea. Though umberlee is a chaotic evil goddess, the purpose of this chapel is to beg her for mercy at sea, rather than outright worship. On the far wall is a large painting of the Living Wave (The Olhydra), looming over an erupting volcano. A **DC15 History** check will remind people of the fable of the Wave Domestication, in which the Olhydra fell in love with a hot undersea vent, which revealed itself to be a volcano in an act of tremendous betrayal. Witnessing the immense power of the Living Wave up close for the first time, the elves captured the creature and sealed it away in an artifact called the Water Seal, an object of immense power said to be a miniature portal to the material plane of water. Incantations to the living wave, the goddess of rogue waves, are invoked whenever sailors are lost to them at sea.

**24. Granary**

The Granary holds sacks of grain and various foods.

**25. Armory**

The Armory contains a set of cutlasses, bows and arrows, and light crossbows. Armor racks contain studded leather armor,

**26. Water Closet**

The water closet is just that, a couple of toilets that dump waste into an underground cavern with small pipes that empty into the sea. It's directly above **Room 5.**

**27. Kitchen**

The kitchen contains food products like bread and raw ingredients. There are two cooks in the kitchen. Not too many.

**28. Dining Hall**

The formal dining hall contains beautiful flowers strewn about the table, as well as in the corners of the room. Though it appears that dinner has recently finished, there are no diners in this room.

**29. Warden's Office**

The warden, a normal, if not slightly smarter, guard sits at this table filling out documents, and looking irritated. In the corner of the room is a statue of a winged suit of armor. Papers outlining the finances and prisoner and execution schedules are strewn about the room.

**30. Second Floor of Fort Dolce**

The second floor of Fort Dolce is dark, and only lightly lit by torchlight. The voices of a half orc and a dwarf having a quiet conversation can be heard to the left, while an emaciated elven women sits on a bed in one of the cells in front of you, crying into her arm.

**31. Bostaff Jonny's cell**

This room was Bostaff Jonny's cell. You can tell from all the fingerholes that he has blasted into the walls.

**32. Miss Syndra's cell**

Miss Syndra is an emaciated elven hag, but appears to the party as a beautiful elven maiden in a white gown. She tells the party that she was a member of the Black Coral crew (DC20 Investigation reveals that the Black Coral crew consists of undead figures, captained by the mad lich, Emel Dur). She tells the party that she was Bostaff Jonny's Lover, and would like to collect his body and escape the island with him.

Much of this is true, and she and Bostaff Jonny were as close as can be in the prison while he was alive, but her actual aim is to raise him to be a revenant, and to terrorize the island and all its inhabitants (including the party).

**33. Guard's Quarters**

A guard is in this room, changing his clothes when the party enters. He has the keys to all the cells in the prison.

**34. Flonir's cell**

Flonir is a hill dwarf, and he was imprisoned when the merchant ship he was on turned out to be a pirate ship. All of the pirates were killed, and Flonir was sent to Fort Dolce for processing, since they don't know who he is. He just wants to go home. He's too exhausted from malnutrition to want to fight anyone, and just wants to leave.

**35. Onree's cell**

If he's still alive, Onree, from chapter 1, is in room 35. He knows the party has stolen his map, and will look for a way to kill them, and take their map if they release him.

**36. Office**

On the desk in this room is an unopened dated envelope from two days prior. Inside it are a set of wanted posters, none of which belong to the party members. In the back of the room are a set of boxes stacked into shelves, and neatly folded into them are the personal effects of all the prisoners in the fort. One of them, marked for Bostaff Jonny, is empty.

* Cardamom's box contains a set of **black studded leather armor**, and a **pair of metal claws** that wrap around your hand (or paw) and wrist.
* Cock Branzo's box contains a set of **black** **studded leather armor +1**, and a pair of **black wavy blades**
* Onree's box doesnt contain anything, except for some loin cloths.
* Miss Syndra's box contains an **understated gold necklace (200gp)**
* Flonir's box contains a **breastplate** fit for a stout dwarf, and a **warhammer**
* Silvyr's box contains a **dark blue circular crystal**
* Big Sister's box contains a **holy symbol of Lathander**, and a **ring** that casts flamestrike once per day, but can only be attuned to lawful good characters.

**37. Tavern Rooms**

There are 5 nearly identical rooms in this tavern, and none of them are occupied at the moment.

**38. Lighthouse Flame**

The lighthouse is the main source of light at fort dolce, and it consists of a single enormous flame.

**39. Torture Room**

The torture room is ordinarily used to extract information from prisoners. On the table are torture implements, and a stove sits in the corner with warm embers. If Cock Branzo is not in his cell, or isn't fighting, he could be in this room, being tortured by a guard.

**40. Mushroom Room**

The mushroom room is an experimental torture chamber that uses hallucinogenic mushrooms and various props to terrorize prisoners. A kilogram of fresh Blood Ring Caps (approximately 10 doses) can be collected.

Cock Branzo could equally be here, in the mushroom room, being subject to poisonous mushrooms as another form of torture.

**41. Cock Branzo's Cell**

Cock Branzo could be recovering from the fight club, or various forms of torture in this austere cell. Feathers litter the floor of this cell, and it kind of smells like animals.

**42. First Class Silvyr's cell**

First Class Silvyr is a young elven man that only recently arrived at Fort Dolce. An accomplished jewel thief from Port Royal, Silvyr was travelling to the Palma Archipelago when his vessel was subject to a random search by IDCP patrols. They found him and took him to the nearest fort while he awaits extradition back to Port Royal.

**43. Cardamom's cell**

Cardamom may be in this cell if he wasn't killed in the arena.

**44. Big Sister's cell**

A fiersome pirate, and fleet captain in her own right, Big Sister was Port Royale Aristocracy before she abandoned her quiet life for one on the high seas. Big Sister died peacefully in her sleep... 6 days ago. Her body remains in this cell though, in pristine condition, as though she had only died a moment ago. With many pirates under her beckon call, Big Sister's death at the hands of the IDCP could have major ramifications across the sea.

**45. Arena**

The arena is just that, a sandy arena where prisoners are asked to fight eachother to the death. Every week, Cock Branzo and Monty Fisher fight, and every week the exhausted Cock Branzo is defeated, left near death, but stable, in his cell.

If the party wants to participate in the fight club they can, but it'll be a short matter of time before someone starts asking where they came from.

Otherwise, if the party is able to mingle with the patrons, they can do that as well, and place bets on the fights that take place.

**46. Fortress Rooftop**

The rooftop of Fort Dolce is well guarded, and contains 6 ballistas. This would be a great place for Cock Branzo to throw himself off of the roof and land on the boat below in the dock. It's also home to Gulligan, a giant seagull that can be unleashed on the party.

### **Chapter 6: Concluding the Adventure and Parting Ways**

#### A Daring Escape

Cardamom is dead, and balista bolts are falling around the ship blindly as the ship tries to navigate away from Fort Dolce in the fog. For this situation, i'm using a series of probability rolls. Ideally we'd just play a game of Battleship.

* 25% chance of hitting the ship
* if there's a hit, roll a d4
	+ 1 -- Hits the hull
	+ 2 -- Hits the sails
	+ 3 -- Hits a player (roll for which one)
	+ 4 -- Hits a ballista

After 3 rounds of this, the party will reach the open sea, and as the fog begins to clear, they can see 2 IDCP vessels approaching on an intercept course. After 3 rounds, it should be clear that the players will lose this battle. And so, with their ship badly damaged, read this:

> As the ballista bolts rain down on your ship, You see a series of violent explosions aboard one of the IDCP vessels. With the ship set aflame, the two IDCP vessels redirect their attention to the other ship.
> "It's the Tom Crick!", Branzo says in disbelief.
>
>

If you want to run the battle against the Tom Crick, feel free to do that, otherwise, remember that Modesto's Legendary Action is the summoning of the Olhydra, the Living Wave, which will make very short work of the two IDCP vessels. Doing so, however, is a terrifying spectacle.

> Rain begins to fall, and the sounds of thunder fill the air. Suddenly, the rain is so intense, that you can barely see what's in front of you, and you can feel your ship and its sails being bogged down by the weight of the water. Waves pick up too, and your little ship is being tossed around in the sea. Grabbing onto something sturdy, you see something in the distance, an enormous spout of water comes up from the ocean and crashes into the water next to the two ships.
> You've never seen anything like this in your life. The waves are alive beneath the two IDCP vessels. And it is toying with them. Thunder booms overhead, louder than you've ever heard in your life. It's deafening.
>
>

The thunder will grow louder, as a result of the Olhydra's Storm of Vengeance. There's a DC20 save from 6 bludgeoning damage (2D6) the first round, acid rain the second round, and the third round sees lightning strike the IDCP vessels in rapid succession until they sink into the ocean. With that, the waters calm, and the skies clear, and the Tom Crick boards alongside the player's boat.

#### Denouement

The adventure has ended, and some events take place to tie up some loose ends, though many more remain open.

* The pirates will celebrate the return of Cock Branzo, and mourn the loss of Cardamom.
* Cock Branzo will hold a small ceremony where he rewards the party for their efforts with the betrayer, and a note that will get them a free repair at a friendly port.
* Mose will leave them a note indicating that the ship belongs to Hannus Willo, a sea elf pirate captain. He's not sure why he was at Fort Dolce, but suggests he will probably want his ship back, and advises them to keep an eye out for his crew, who are entirely sea elf themselves.
* He mentions that they'll likely have a head start, since Hannus has no ship.
* Lastly, if Modesto used the water seal, he tells everyone that he will return to the sea. He does not tell anyone that it is necessary to recharge the wonderous item.

#### Haines' Story

It's also time for Haines and the party to part ways for now.

* Haines tells the party he's no longer scared of the pirates on the Tom Crick, and doesn't need their help to get to Port Royal.
* The Crick Pirates have welcomed him as part of their crew, and he has accepted.
* If pressed for information about his story, he will provide it, but not without prompting.

#### Black Ally or Bonefied Al

Either Black Ally or Bonefied Al will ask to join the party, depending on which ever survived the fight. The party can accept or reject this assistance. In case of the latter, one of them will return to Grey Water Cove.

#### The Island Dwarf Girl and Adventure Ahoy

The party should be encouraged to name their new ship, design their flag, determine a captain, and then they should proceed on their next adventure in their highly damaged ship. Hours after parting ways, they identify the dwarf girl has stowed away on their boat.

**The End.**

### **Items**

#### The Betrayer

The Betrayer is a golden cutlass with an extremely sharp edge. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. If you score a critical hit against a creature that has fewer than 100 hit points, it must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or have a limb severed.

**Cursed!** Whomever is in possession of The Betrayer has a thirst for treasure, and is willing to... betray their allies for a larger share of the loot.

#### **The Unwieldy**

The Unwieldy is a massive, 10ft greatsword that is nearly impossible to carry, unless you're attuned to it, which additionally requires a strength of 19. Attunement only helps the wielder actually wield this unwieldy sword. Without attunement, the sword is unwieldy if the user has less than 25 strength, meaning it will be damn near impossible to lift, let alone swing. Those who manage to wield the sword may find that it carries so much momentum that the sword actually swings them; so heavy is this sword. The physical mass of the sword gives it an additional **1d8** damage on a hit -- well beyond the damage of an ordinary sharp sword.

#### **Whiskey Pete**

This sword has the soul of Whiskey Pete stuck in it. A chaotic-neutral two-hundred year old Pirate, who has grown particularly bitter with having been left alone for a hundred years, and is desperate to have a good time. He has an Intelligence of 8, a Wisdom of 15, and a Charisma of 16. He usually speaks telepathically with the wielder, but can speak out loud on the rare occasion.

As long as he's having a good time the sword will have a **+1** bonus to attack and damage rolls. Whiskey Pete will have a good time as long as the player agrees to act on his dares, which are almost always inappropriate given a situation.

**Cursed!** You can't part with Whiskey Pete, though you don't necessarily have to hold him in your hands at all times. If Whiskey Pete is particularly annoyed, then he will attempt to take control of its wielder. When this happens, the wielder must make a Charisma Saving Throw, with a DC equal to 15 (12+3). On a failed save, the wielder is Charmed by the item for 1d12 hours. While Charmed, the wielder must try to follow the item’s commands. If the wielder takes damage, it can repeat the Saving Throw, Ending the Effect on a success. Whether the attempt to control its user succeeds or fails, the item can’t use this power again until the next dawn. Characters with immunity to charm are unaffected by this.

#### Black Urchin Morningstar

This **+1** morning star is shiny, black, and porous, and its many spikes slowly wobble like a giant sea urchin. In the eyes of those attuned to divine powers (cleric, paladin, or druid), it oozes with a dark and malevolent energy.

Each tip secretes a powerful necrotic energy that rots away flesh if untreated. It also lowers a target's hit points by the necrotic damage amount, and heals the wielder, the former effect of which lasts until the target finishes a long rest.

Proficiency with a morningstar allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

### **Vehicles**

#### The Tom Crick (https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3202552-island-dwarf-coastal-patrol-vessel)

The Tom Crick is a relatively small pirate ship, with some modifications that make it a force to be reckoned with on the high seas. including Explosive Rounds, and a reinforced hull

#### The IDCP Vessel "El Presidente" (https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3202576-island-dwarf-flagship-el-presidente)

The Island Dwarf Coastal Patrol outfitted this ship with more ballistas than was probably necessary, but that was necessary given the amount of pomp that accompanied its maiden voyage. Its size is considerably smaller than most IDCP boats, but it was touted to be more manoeuvrable, and faster than most other ships in the fleet, especially considering its considerable firepower. Sinking it would shake the IDCP to its core, and would catapult those responsible to infamy.

#### The Abandoned Ship (Unnamed) (https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3202567-the-abandoned-ship)

The party may come across an abandoned ship, beached at the bottom of a fort in the dead of night and in the fog. It is decorated with ornate elven features, and its craftsmanship is impecable. Pulling it into port turns heads, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's a new ship, so most people won't recognize it, unless they were there for its maiden voyage, or at one of the small handful of ports where it stopped en route to Fort Dolce.

The ship may have been temporarily abandoned, but actually belongs to Captain Hannus Willo, and his elven crew, who are investigating the disappearance of an old pirate cove at the hands of sahaugin.

#### An IDCP Vessel (https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3202552-island-dwarf-coastal-patrol-vessel)

IDCP Vessels are standard from the fleet. They're tough as nails, but slow. They have cool, tropical names, like the Piña Colada, or the Steamed Lobster.