TEXT: A 5th Edition Adventure for 7th Level Characters
  
  2
  Old Crank
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  NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, 
  Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Rules Document Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, 
  Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
  The Legend of Old Crank, copyright © 2016 MithrilPunk Press, all rights reserved, visit www.mithrilpunk.com or contact info@
  mithrilpunk.com. MITHRILPUNK.COM, 2016.
  
  The Legend of 
  oLd Crank
  Lead Designer: Warren Hardell
  Design, Editing, and Layout: Derek Harris
  Narrative Designer: Chris Patlovany
  Editing: Patrick Neff
  Cover Art: JE Shields
  Art: JE Shields, Lacy Harris
  Cartography & Coloring: Lacy Harris, Warren Hardell
  When a pair of merchant vessels go missing, the party is called to ensure the owners cannot collect on their insurance. 
  Will they pull off the job without attracting unexpected attention?
  A 5th Edition Adventure for 7th Level Characters
  
  4
  Old Crank
  Adventure Background
  Longinus Bluescale, shield of the bankers, is an up and 
  coming player in the legitimate (for Skyfall) insurance 
  business. He has managed to acquire a book of business 
  faster than many would believe possible, all thanks to 
  the vast personal wealth of the Bluescale tribe of Lizard 
  folk. Using this wealth, he has purchased insurance 
  contracts for several mid-level shipping concerns and 
  has enjoyed quite a bit of profit in recent months. 
  Now Longinus has a problem, because two of the ships 
  have failed to arrive, allegedly brought down by pirates. 
  Unfortunately, Longinus has an even bigger problem: 
  the Bluescale tribe are a bunch of savage bumpkins 
  possessed of nearly no wealth. Unless Longinus can find 
  proof that the ships were brought down by something 
  that isn’t covered by the contract, he is going to face 
  some very uncomfortable questions and likely a much 
  more uncomfortable execution. Luckily, he knows a few 
  hired hands that have the skill and creativity to “prove” 
  the ships weren’t taken down by pirates.
  Longinus Bluescale:
  The very picture of a refined lizardfolk, Longinus 
  favors fine pipes, deep red wines, and expensive bloody 
  steaks of origin best left undisclosed. Born to a savage 
  and feral tribe, he nonetheless managed to convince the 
  bankers he is the scion of a refined and wealthy tribe.
  Adventure Summary
  In this adventure the party is hired to “discover the 
  truth” (manufacture the truth) of the fate of a pair of 
  shipping vessels (any fate is fine so long as it isn’t a 
  covered peril). They must first learn the true fate of 
  the ships and then ensure that no one else can possibly 
  do the same. Along the way, they will plumb the depths 
  of the ocean and explore a forgotten island. Upon 
  discovering the truth (it was definitely pirates) they 
  must deal with the issue (kill the pirates) and obtain 
  evidence (destroy evidence) to prove that a mythical 
  being “Old Crank” destroyed the insured vessels (a 
  blatant lie). If they can pull this off, a very wealthy 
  (nearly broke) banker will owe them immensely (try to 
  have them killed). 
  Episode 1 – A Crash Course in 
  Insurance
  In this episode, the party is called to meet their patron, 
  Longinus Bluescale. Along the way another interested 
  party offers them a side job, and they must deal with 
  the usual dangers of the city.
  After some investigation and preparation, they set sail 
  toward one of two potential lead locations.
  Encounter 1.1 – Called to the Meet
  This encounter serves to pull the party into the action. 
  The characters have earned a reputation as people 
  who can get things done. You should take a 
  few minutes to change the tone of the conversation to 
  reflect the party’s previous exploits.
  Read or Paraphrase:
  You’ve managed to run out of coin again; that last job 
  didn’t end up paying quite as well as you expected, 
  what with all the bribes it took to get the watch off 
  your tails. Luckily, the message just delivered to you 
  bears the waxen seal of the Banker’s Guild.
  Sidebar: The banker’S noTe
  This note reeks of affluence and opulence. The 
  parchment is of the highest quality and the ink is 
  flecked with gold. The handwriting is swooping and 
  precise. 
  “Your presence is requested by the most respected 
  lord of the Banking Guild, Longinus Bluescale. Make 
  haste forthwith to his residence for a matter both 
  urgent and lucrative. Discretion is of the utmost 
  importance.”
  The party can take one of dozens of paths through 
  the city to meet Longinus, many of which are at least 
  reasonably safe. Assuming the party has been living in 
  the city for any appreciable time, they should be able 
  to avoid any real trouble. If they are new to the city, or 
  have a foolish reputation, they are likely to run into a 
  confidence game or a ruffian looking for quick coin. 
  Should you need a random encounter while in the city 
  consult the following table or use it for inspiration.
  Random City Encounter (roll a d20) 
  1-10: No Encounter
  11-12: Firewatch (Roll 1d6 1-2 crooked watch looking 
  for a bribe, 3-4 suspicious of the party, 5-6 busy 
  dealing with a crime scene)
  13-15: merchant or other seller of wares, 25% chance 
  to have a pick pocket attempt to lift something off a 
  character
  16-18: Local Muscle (gang, private guard, or other 
  depending on the locale) takes exception to the party 
  being in their neighborhood, could turn violent unless 
  dealt with.
  19-20: Tourist stops to ask for directions, 50% chance 
  someone tried to pickpocket the tourist.
  Regardless of whether the party runs into trouble, they 
  have a chance to realize they are being tailed. If anyone 
  in the party makes a DC 15 Insight check, they have the 
  feeling they are being watched. Anyone who makes the 
  Insight check can also make a DC 17 Perception check. 
  On a success, that character knows the party is being 
  tailed.
  If the party tries to turn the tables on the people tailing 
  them, you have some options. If you want to play up the 
  
  5
  Old Crank
  mystery of why they are being followed and by whom, 
  have the assassins trailing them disappear into what 
  seems like thin air once the party makes their move, 
  then have the feeling of being watched/tailed come 
  back in later scenes. If you think the party could use a 
  little more information before meeting with Longinus, 
  have the assassins from Encounter 1.4 approach them 
  as soon as they realize they have been made.
  Encounter 1.2 – The Meet
  In this encounter the Party interacts with Longinus and 
  depending on how well they impress him, they get a 
  different version of the truth of the situation at hand.
  Read or Paraphrase:
  The Banker’s office is as you’d expect: secure, 
  refined, and opulent. There is a certain appearance 
  of modesty to the decorating but it is a façade. 
  Everything is exquisitely crafted and surprisingly 
  sturdy. Your potential employer, Longinus Bluescale, 
  studies you carefully as he appraises your worth.
  Before he gets down to business, Bluescale will attempt 
  to get the measure of the party. How well they impress 
  him directly impacts not just the pay for the mission, 
  but the information he provides and potentially his 
  decision of how to handle them after they accomplish 
  their goal.
  The party can impress Longinus here or convince him 
  they are nothing but a cudgel to be used and discarded. 
  To simulate this, keep track of “points”; any time the 
  Party does something he approves of add a point and 
  if they do something he doesn’t approve of, subtract 
  one or more points. Longinus judges each character 
  individually as well as the group as a whole. To facilitate 
  this he asks each character a question. He expects that 
  character to answer without reliance on a “face”.
  Example Questions
  • 
  What is the most impressive job you have ever 
  pulled?
  • 
  If it came down to saving your comrades or 
  completing the mission for me, which would you 
  do?
  • 
  What is more vital, Stealth or Guile?
  • 
  Sword, Knife, or Smile? Why?
  • 
  Tell me about a time when a mission went wrong.
  • 
  Why should I trust you?
  There are no “Right” answers to the above questions 
  but there are answers that will sway Longinus.
  Likes
  • 
  Honesty
  • 
  Unoffered Third Choices (i.e. when choosing 
  between mission and comrade, and answer like “my 
  contingency plan would prevent this scenario”)
  • 
  Confidence
  • 
  A balanced approach
  • 
  Answers appropriate to the speaker’s skills 
  (a barbarian for instance would get points for 
  choosing a direct (likely violent) approach while a 
  bard would not.
  Dislikes
  • 
  Lying unconvincingly
  • 
  Too much flattery
  • 
  Deferring to another to answer a question
  • 
  Answering immediately without considering
  • 
  Considering too long before answering
  Longinus’ Opinion
  Depending on how many “points” the party gains 
  Longinus has the following rough outlook:
  -5 Longinus lies through his teeth, offers a generous 
  salary for the work and enacts a plan to outright 
  murder the party when they return
  -2 to – 4 Longinus feels confident but a bit cautious in 
  duping the PCs. He offers generous pay and plans on 
  Murdering the PCs but is open to changing his mind 
  and is wary of the PCs
  +1 to -1 Longinus feels his odds of getting away with 
  murdering the PCs are low but believes he can dupe 
  them, he’ll offer a modest payday with potential 
  bonuses (that he intends to never pay)
  +2 - +4 Longinus is confident in the PCs accomplishing 
  their mission, but doubts he has the ability to 
  dispatch them if they get out of hand. Rather than a 
  generous salary, he offers them a substantial number 
  of banking guild favors.
  
  6
  Old Crank
  +5 Longinus is concerned the PCs are too good for 
  the job and sure to find his dark secret. With a bit of 
  pressure, he caves and the PCs basically end up with 
  a banker in their pocket if they pull the mission off.
  Information Provided by Longinus
  If your party is more morally minded than most, 
  Longinus is aware of it and tailors his information 
  to make himself sound like a victim. For example, 
  he will indicate that he knows the ship’s owners are 
  in league with the suspected pirates and needs the 
  party to remove the evidence to protect himself from 
  fraudulent claims. Otherwise he fairly bluntly tells the 
  truth about wanting to get out of paying the contracts 
  (but not the truth about his finances).
  • 
  Two ships The Red Coin and Fate’s Knave have 
  been reported missing. He can provide basic details 
  of the ships (see sidebar)
  • 
  Longinus will have to pay a substantial sum if the 
  ships were brought down by pirates or the weather. 
  He is hiring the party to investigate what brought 
  the ships down. 
  • 
  He makes it abundantly clear that by “investigate” 
  he means ensure by destroying and/or planting 
  evidence. He suggests that perhaps the best 
  scenario is if the ships were destroyed by something 
  clearly not covered by the policy, something like 
  “Old Crank”
  Longinus is a sharp negotiator. If he thinks the party is 
  too moral for the insurance fraud he is attempting to 
  perpetrate, he will offer to pay them no more than 900 
  gold. If he thinks they understand his need to fabricate 
  evidence that the ships were destroyed by some outside 
  force, he will pay them up to 1500 gold. In either case, 
  he starts lower and works his way up to that maximum 
  only if forced to by shrewd negotiators.
  Sidebar: The red Coin
  The Red Coin is a ship that has seen many captains 
  over the past twenty years. Rumor persists that 
  the name of the vessel comes from the amount 
  of blood on the coin of the captain. At least three 
  previous captains have been murdered, and others 
  disappeared under questionable circumstances. 
   
  The truth is far more mundane, the vessel is amongst 
  the most boring and stable ships in the Mariners’ fleet. 
  Its true captain “Manyface” is a doppelganger, and 
  the murders and disappearances are all just excuses 
  for him to trade in for a new, more exciting persona. 
   
  Typically, The Red Coin travels through the 
  dangerous waters near the Godbone Reef to the 
  Dragonfly Isles where it exchanges the finished 
  goods from Skyfall for the raw gems and fossilized 
  manabones of the great beasts that once roamed the 
  isles. These raw materials are returned to the city 
  and the process begins again.
  Sidebar: FaTe’S knave
  Fate’s Knave is a newer vessel, smaller than 
  most traders but quite a bit faster and more 
  maneuverable. Her captain is Nemesis Cloud, a flit 
  woman who responded to derision to her last name 
  “Fluffy Breeze” by overcompensating. Despite her 
  crew’s good natured jokes concerning her names, 
  Fate’s Knave is a successful trader and makes runs 
  through pirate infested waters to a variety of locales, 
  including on occasion Corsair’s Drift.
  Sidebar: old Crank
  Old Crank is something of a myth but more akin 
  to a ghost story. Supposedly Crank is a free willed 
  salver golem as big as any great wyrm. Though his 
  origin is lost to the ages, it is something of a Skyfall 
  drinking game to come up with stories of his past. 
  There are dozens or hundreds of these tales floating 
  around but the common threads are Crank is one of 
  the first salver golems, his sentience was borne of 
  a destructive rage that leveled a city, he walks the 
  ocean floor searching for something, and destroys 
  two out of every three vessels he comes upon.
  Encounter 1.3 – Gather Intel
  The party travels around the city gathering what info 
  they can to point them in the right direction.
  This section of the adventure is fairly open-ended. There 
  are a few core things the players need to accomplish 
  and depending on their talents, connections, and 
  play style, these things can be accomplished in many 
  different ways. We have listed 5 locations that might 
  play into the investigation. Feel free to add, subtract, or 
  modify as needed.
  What the Party Needs to Learn/Do
  • 
  Determine where each ship went down
  They may also benefit from learning additional details 
  such as:
  • 
  Crew Manifest
  • 
  Cargo Log
  • 
  Planned Destinations
  expanding The advenTure
  Whenever you see a section like this one in the 
  adventure, we are calling out an area where you might 
  be able to expand that section of the adventure. The 
  adventure will run perfectly without including any 
  of these events or information. However, if you’re 
  the type of GM that enjoys expanding on published 
  adventures to make them your own, this is the 
  sidebar for you. These sections don’t include game 
  rules or monster entries. We think they might be fun 
  additions to the adventure for your group, but the 
  real benefit is to hopefully spark ideas for you, as 
  well as give you an idea of where to add things that 
  
  7
  Old Crank
  won’t require a major overhaul of anything later in 
  the adventure. If you do decide to use any of the 
  ideas presented, or come up with any awesome ideas 
  of your own, please reach out to us at mithrilpunk.
  com and let us know! We love to hear from GM’s who 
  really take our adventures to the next level!
  The Mortuary
  The mortuary is one of the strangest bars in Skyfall 
  (and that says a lot). It is a fine stone building cut 
  into the wall on the dodgy end of The Dregs, making 
  it the nicest building in the district by a large margin. 
  Its clientele is its true distinction. The Necromancers 
  from the Lightless Deeps blow off steam here after long 
  shifts in the corpse pits, skeletoriums, and hospitals 
  (necromancers being the finest surgeons in the city). 
  The wait staff are immaculately dressed, silver plated 
  skeletons, and there is a banshee bard on many nights. 
  Ordinarily the Mortuary is a great source of tips and 
  gossip about the latest murders in the city, but since 
  the ships went down well outside the city, there isn’t 
  much to be learned here through casual gossip. 
  If the party is willing to spend a fair amount of coin 
  (300 gold) the resident Necromancers can complete a 
  ritual trying to sense where the crews might have died. 
  They can provide a rough location of the Forgotten 
  Island.
  The Necromancers pay close attention to skilled crews 
  that carouse here. They are both keeping an eye out 
  for trouble and judging whether someone useful walks 
  through the door.
  As long as the party does not try to pick a fight, the 
  Mortuary is one of the safest bars in the city. Should 
  the party try to start a ruckus, the skeletal wait 
  staff, banshee bard, and ghoulish bouncers make a 
  formidable fight. Should they keep up the shenanigans, 
  the Necromancers themselves and their more powerful 
  undead creations will ensure that the party joins the 
  wait staff on a permanent (terminal) basis.
  expanding The advenTure
  At your discretion, the party might attract the 
  attention of one of the free willed undead that lurk 
  in the shadows of this bar. Word of their interest 
  might reach the keen ears of the Bloody Eaters of 
  Flesh, a ghoul pirate crew led by a ghast named 
  Cannibal Jack. Jack is always on the prowl for both 
  a fine meal and solid recruits for his ship. He might 
  consider the party one, or the other… or both. 
   
  If you decide to pursue this thread, Jack and crew 
  would make an excellent encounter toward the end 
  of the adventure. We encourage you to come up with 
  a terrifying encounter to really scare the party. 
  Mariners Library
  The Mariners Library catalogues and stores copious 
  amounts of data and documents on all vessels and 
  shipping concerns in the city. It is an excellent place 
  to learn of planned voyages, check manifests, and 
  nearly look into any other aspect of the business of 
  the Mariner’s Guild. It is also restricted to Captains and 
  those they personally grant access.
  Should the Party gain access, either by owning a ship 
  themselves, gaining the trust of a captain, or bribing 
  the door guards, they can learn quite a bit here. At a 
  minimum they can obtain planned voyage information, 
  cargo and crew manifests. 
  With some luck or clever roleplay they can convince 
  the librarian (Peter 3 Fingers) to review the charts and 
  he can point out the Godbone Reefs as an ideal spot to 
  ambush the Red Coin.
  Rumors persist that the Mariner’s guild keeps one of 
  its best investigators hidden in a secret room watching 
  the comings and goings of the library. Those with a 
  pro-Mariner’s bent argue this is to prevent piracy since 
  the library offers a great deal of useful information on 
  ship whereabouts. Others argue the guild does it as a 
  way to better control its members. As with most things 
  in the city, both are true and there are probably several 
  other hidden agendas at play as well.
  expanding The advenTure
  If you are looking to add an encounter somewhere 
  in the adventure, the Mariner’s spies might target 
  the party before they leave the city. Perhaps they are 
  suspicious of Longinus or had their own investigation 
  of the Red Coin going before it disappeared.
  Crow’s Nest
  This rowdy bar is famous with locals and travelers
  alike. Located near the Promenade, hanging from one
  of the highest portions of the cave, it is often the
  first stop of many overland travelers after leaving
  the Exchange. It is known for being a safe place for
  business or pleasure, having two very strict house
  rules: “No weapons unsheathed” and “No spells of
  harm”. Those who break these rules face Zuth, a
  full-blooded troll bouncer of impressive stature. His
  demeanor suggests he will not be gentle.
  A friend of the first mate of the Fate’s Knave drinks 
  here regularly. If the party can get on his good side (a 
  few rounds of expensive drinks ought to do it), he can 
  reveal full details on that vessel’s travels.
  A ship can be obtained here for the going rate. It is 
  difficult to do anything here without prying eyes; 
  there are so many private nooks and dark corners that 
  most people trying to be secretive avoid any sensitive 
  conversation in the Nest. 
  Privateer’s Gallery
  The Privateer’s Gallery is part museum, part trophy 
  case, and part pirate crew recruitment. The licensed 
  pirates of Skyfall (Privateers) display their choicest 
  
  8
  Old Crank
  booty in 
  this 
  finely 
  appointed 
  hall. 
  Each privateer crew 
  provides ample security, as 
  attempting to steal pieces belonging 
  to other crews is something of an ongoing 
  friendly game of one-upmanship. 
  The privateers here can provide likely ambush sites 
  near the Godbone Reefs. One crewman, Jarissa Sharp-
  Tongue, can confirm wreckage on an island near the 
  Fate’s Knave’s planned course. 
  Passage on a vessel can also be secured here.
  Once the party has gained enough evidence to point 
  them to the Godbone Reefs (the Red Coin) and the 
  Forgotten Island (Fate’s Knave) they can proceed. 
  Encounter 1.4 – A Counter Offer and a 
  beat down
  During this encounter the party runs into the 
  mysterious figures that have been tailing them. 
  Assuming they fight well enough, their tails offer them 
  a counter proposal to Longinus’ mission. 
  Note: This encounter can occur any time during the 
  investigation scenes in Encounter 1.3, or immediately 
  after. It must happen before the party leaves Skyfall to 
  begin their investigation.
  Read or Paraphrase: (Assumes the PCs at least had 
  a hunch they were being followed, modify to suit the 
  events of your session)
  The sense you are being watched weighs on you, but 
  it is a reality of life in the city. You know too well 
  to discount the feeling but cannot do much to act 
  on it. There are just too many hiding places for you 
  to keep track of everything. It is no surprise when a 
  shadowy figure hops off a nearby rooftop to land in 
  your path.
  Items of Interest
  The assassins are not actually here to kill the 
  party; rather, attacking the party is their version of 
  asking after the party’s family.
  The pair is well known in the city. Characters in 
  the thieves’ guild or with other such criminal 
  backgrounds will likely know of them (DC 12 
  Intelligence check).
  As long as the party isn’t overly rude and doesn’t take 
  extreme offense at being attacked, this fight will end 
  when one of the pair is reduced before 30% health.
  Setup
  Gallivar
  Cerathwyn
  Tactics: Gallivar and Cerathwyn work as a team of 
  deadly assassins. Typically, Gallivar reveals himself 
  to their targets to draw attention away from 
  Cerathwyn, who will get advantage on her Stealth 
  check unless the party specifically mentions 
  looking out for additional creatures besides 
  Gallivar. If Cerathwyn goes undetected, she 
  should get a surprise round. As noted in the 
  items of interest section above, the assassins 
  aren’t interested in doing permanent damage to the 
  party, nor are they willing to fight to the death unless 
  given no choice.
  Treasure: If the assassins are suitably impressed, 
  they will leave a gift of siltstrider’s armor and a greater 
  potion of healing in the player’s cabin on whichever 
  ship they decide to depart on.
  CapTuring The Feel
  This fight is more of a semi-friendly sparring match 
  than a fight to the death. If the players don’t seem to 
  get it, drop hints. If the players don’t care and try to 
  
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  finish the assassins, don’t fight it. You should make 
  a note of it and it should absolutely come back to 
  haunt them, particularly if they left Cerathwyn alive.
  The Counter Offer
  Once the encounter with the two assassins is resolved, 
  if the assassins survived, they will deliver the Mariner’s 
  Guild’s counter offer. If the party presents evidence 
  that the ships were sunk by pirates or another peril 
  covered by the insurance agreement (whether that 
  evidence is real or manufactured), they will match 
  the payment offered by Longinus plus 10%, as well as 
  owe them a favor to be named later. This favor can be 
  nearly anything within the Guild’s power, as long as the 
  result doesn’t harm the guild or cause a loss of income 
  greater than 500 gold.
  Encounter 1.5 – From Corsair’s Drift, 
  with love.
  Though this seems like a random assault, the party 
  been targeted by agents of the powerful pirate league 
  behind the attacks on the ships. With short notice, the 
  league was only able to pull together this motley group.
  Read or Paraphrase:
  Judging from the obvious stares and feigned 
  disinterest you’ve little doubt that the half dozen 
  or so people standing next to the merchant cart up 
  ahead are going to try to attack you. You are also 
  fairly certain there are a pair of snipers laying in 
  the rigging beneath the hovels to the east. If you 
  turn around now you can probably avoid them all 
  together or you could show them what happens 
  when some fools try to jump your crew.
  The thugs and criminals pulled together to ambush 
  the party haven’t worked together before. This lack of 
  synergy and their poor ambush combine to give the 
  party a surprise round.
  Items of Interest
  • 
  Merchant Cart cover
  • 
  Ducking over a railing
  • 
  Trying to fight while in the rigging
  Setup
  2 Snipers
  3 Thugs
  2 Squidface Killers
  Tactics: The snipers and thugs are fairly 
  inept, but they won’t fight to the death. If the 
  fight turns against them, they will try to save 
  their own skin. The squidfaces have a bit more 
  backbone and will stick around until they are all 
  that is left before trying to break contact and run 
  away.
  Treasure: During the battle, a small crowd has 
  gathered and is now watching the party intently. 
  After a moment, a guard shoulders his way through the 
  crowd, quickly surveys the scene, and makes the signal 
  for “10% cut?”. If the party agrees, he quickly disperses 
  the crowd, giving the party time to search the bodies of 
  their ambushers. Otherwise he shrugs and the crowd 
  surges forward and strips the bodies in a flash as soon 
  as the fight is over. If the party agrees to give him a 10% 
  cut, they can search the bodies to find an alchemical 
  grenade (bane), a quicksilver potion, 5 gems worth a 
  total of 50 gold pieces, and 100 gold pieces in various 
  other coinage.
  After the party has routed the thugs, they may want 
  to try to question any survivors. The Jets went to great 
  pains to ensure these idiots had no information to tie 
  them back to the gang. Each was hired by a go between; 
  none really knew more than to show up here, meet the 
  others, and try to jump the party.
  Sidebar: booking paSSage
  There are always ships in the city, coming and going. 
  Booking passage or hiring a crew is never really difficult 
  in the way it might be in other cities. For most games 
  the specifics of the hiring process and the minutia 
  of the cost, risk, and various options is probably not 
  something you’d spend much time on. If it is, you 
  probably have house rules that work for it perfectly. 
  So we are just going to present a few flavors of ship, 
  crew, and captain to provide you with story ideas. 
   
  If you want to discuss the minutia, please drop us a line 
  on Mithrilpunk.com and we will discuss your ears off. 
   
  The Ruler is a princely well-appointed vessel 
  with ties to the Banker’s Guild. She is a large and 
  well protected ship, but a bit slow. Her captain, 
  Phenifar Rigsby III, is a surprisingly down to 
  earth man with a penchant for very fine hats. 
   
  Shear Razor, a former pirate vessel the Shear Razor 
  recently made the jump to official privateer. There’s 
  an edge of danger to every interaction with the crew 
  until they decide they like you, at which point you have 
  two dozen tough pirates ready to take your side in 
  
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  any dispute. Shelaza the Witch runs the ship and her 
  temper is matched by her aptitude with arcane magic. 
   
  The Hatchet is a sturdy, if somewhat plain, vessel 
  crewed by Firewatch washouts. The Hatchet often 
  takes anti-piracy work or other jobs that are framed 
  as being for the good of the city. A little-known fact 
  is that the Firewatch will occasionally wash out some 
  of their better recruits to fill the ranks of this ship; 
  they find it useful to have an off the books crew able 
  to unofficially advance their interests. The Captain is 
  Fred Hatchet, whose left hand was lost and replaced 
  with a hatchet. 
  Episode 2 – Of Sunken Reefs 
  and Forgotten Islands
  To locate clues on the first sunken ship (The Red Coin), 
  the party must brave the deadly Godbone reefs. This 
  is…not a great idea.
  The Godbone Reefs
  The captain can provide one squid potion for each 
  member of the party, as well as weapons that function 
  well underwater such as nets and spears. Clever party 
  members may also request weights to help them sink. 
  Weighted characters can move at half speed along the 
  sea floor rather than swim. If the party did particularly 
  well in their negotiations with Longinus, the captain 
  will provide each of the party members with potion of 
  healing as well.
  Sidebar: underwaTer CombaT
  If your players need a refresher on underwater 
  combat, 
  you 
  can 
  read 
  them 
  the 
  following: 
   
  “You can hold your breath for 1 minute, plus 1 
  minute per point of Constitution modifier, minimum 
  30 seconds. When you run out of breath or if you 
  start choking, you can survive for 1 round per 
  point of Constitution modifier, minimum 1 round. 
   
  After that number of rounds, at the start 
  of your next turn you drop to 0 hit points 
  and are dying. You can’t regain hit points or 
  become stabilized until you can breathe again. 
   
  You move at half speed underwater, unless you 
  have a swim speed. Rough water might require a 
  Strength (Athletics) check to swim. Creatures with a 
  swim speed would have advantage on such checks. 
   
  If you have a swim speed, melee attacks work like 
  normal. If you don’t, you have disadvantage unless 
  the weapon is a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, 
  or trident. Ranged weapon attacks beyond normal 
  range automatically miss. Within normal range, you 
  have disadvantage unless the weapon is a crossbow, 
  a net, or a weapon thrown like a javelin, spear, or 
  trident (but not a hand axe, for example).
  Stinging Reefs
  For all of the encounters within the reef described below, 
  getting too close can be (read: is) extremely dangerous. 
  Whenever a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of the 
  reef walls, the reef seems to come alive and reaches out 
  hungrily. The creature must make a DC 13 Dexterity 
  saving throw. Success means the creature successfully 
  evades the grasping, stinging reef. A creature that fails 
  the save must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, 
  taking 1d10 poison damage and becoming paralyzed on 
  a failed saving throw. Paralyzed creatures receive a new 
  save at the start of their turn to shake off the paralysis. 
  Note that if a creature is somehow forced into the reef, 
  they will need to make the save immediately.
  Skyfall
  Godbone Reefs - 
  Wreckage Site 1
  Forgotten Island - 
  Wreckage Site 2
  Last known location 
  of  Corsair’s Drift
  
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  Encounter 2.1 – Quite Shocking
  Read or Paraphrase:
  Reefs beautiful and deadly fill the oceans of the world, 
  but few are as beautiful or as deadly as the Godbone 
  Reef. Legend says the reef is built on the bones of 
  the ancient god of stinging and poisonous sea life. 
  Whether this is true or not is anyone’s guess, but it is 
  indisputable that this area has the most painful and 
  terrifying collection of sea life of any charted locale. 
   
  It also happens to be the likely resting place of 
  The Red Coin and your next destination. As you 
  drift down toward the sea floor, you can make out 
  a promising entrance to the otherwise extremely 
  foreboding reef. You can also make out a handful 
  of large eels swimming languidly just outside the 
  entrance.
  The eels are hungry, and will eventually move to attack 
  the party even if they don’t approach right away.
  Setup
  4 Fulminator Eels
  Tactics: The eels are vicious, but unintelligent, and 
  will fight to the death. They attack directly, using their 
  electric bite whenever it is available. They aren’t smart 
  enough to try and maneuver multiple creatures into 
  their death burst.
  Once the eels are defeated, the party can enter the reef 
  proper.
  Encounter 2.2 – Horrors Under Foot
  Read or Paraphrase:
  The first area inside the reef is significantly warmer 
  than the surrounding waters. Bubbles of heated air 
  drift upward from the silt floor. Occasionally a blast 
  of steam will erupt from the floor, causing silt to 
  rain slowly down through the water.
  Setup
  1 Burrowing Horror
  3 Icosapods
  As the party enters this room, give them an opportunity 
  to spot the Icosapods blending into the silt floor 
  (Perception DC 15). They can’t see the burrowing 
  horror, as it is roughly 5 feet under the silt floor. The 
  burrowing horror should get a surprise round, as will 
  the icosapods unless the party spots them.
  Steam Vents
  Throughout this room are a massive number of steam 
  vents that occasionally erupt. The monsters in the room 
  are familiar with them, and avoid them instinctively. 
  At the start of each round, roll 1d20. On the initiative 
  count rolled (losing all ties), choose two characters 
  at random. A steam vent erupts near or directly 
  under those characters (as well as other locations 
  throughout the room). Those characters must 
  2.1
  2.2
  2.3
  2.4
  
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  make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, 
  a creature takes 1d10 fire damage and is pushed 10 
  feet in a random direction (including up). Note that this 
  could force a creature into the Stinging Reef.
  Tactics: The creatures don’t work together, but the 
  icosapods have learned that they have a solid shot 
  at picking up scraps whenever the horror finds its 
  dinner. The horror fights to the death, but if it dies the 
  icosapods will flee if below half health.
  Once combat is over, the party can move carefully 
  through the room and should be able to avoid the 
  steam vents without major issues.
  Encounter 2.3 – Kelp me! This is 
  Confusing
  Read or Paraphrase:
  The reef continues into a room covered from floor to 
  ceiling in vine-like kelp. You can’t see past the kelp 
  forest well enough to make out an exit, but you don’t 
  see any obvious threats either.
  There are no monsters in this area. However, when 
  disturbed, the kelp secretes a poisonous fluid into the 
  water that causes madness and hallucinations (see 
  Maddening Kelp).
  The kelp forest is very dense. Within the kelp, anything 
  within 10 feet is lightly obscured, while anything 
  beyond that is heavily obscured.
  Maddening Kelp
  Whenever a creature ends its turn within the kelp, it 
  must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. Each round 
  the creature remains in the kelp, the DC increases by 
  one until the creature fails the saving throw. On a failed 
  save, that creature is confused as the spell, except it 
  lasts until the creature successfully saves and shakes 
  off the effect. Once a creature shakes off the confusion, 
  it is no longer affected by the kelp (see Capturing the 
  Feel, below)
  CapTuring The Feel
  Be sure to play up the claustrophobic nature of 
  the kelp forest. If they get even a little separated, 
  their allies become vague shapes in the dark. Once a 
  creature fails the save for the confusion, they should 
  also being hallucinating, and that should explain 
  their actions. For example, if their confusion roll 
  is to attack the nearest creature, they should see a 
  horrifying sea beast launch itself at them through 
  the kelp rather than their ally. Think of the effect 
  of Scarecrow’s poison in Batman Begins. Even when 
  they roll “act normally”, they should feel as though 
  they are getting a glimpse of sanity in a sea of 
  madness, with reality peeling away at the edges.
  If the party can successfully make their way 
  through the Maddening Kelp, they can make their way 
  to the wreckage and continue their investigation.
  Encounter 2.4 – Wreckage
  Read or Paraphrase:
  After you claw your way out of the kelp forest, you 
  can just make out the wreckage of a ship ahead of 
  you. It looks as though the wreck is being slowly 
  drawn into a black pit. You can feel a slight tug in 
  the water even now. Between you and the ship, a pair 
  of the burrowing monstrosities you saw earlier are 
  snapping and fighting over the body of an eel, while 
  a second eel swims above them. As soon as you clear 
  the kelp, they immediately stop and turn toward 
  you as one. A pair of the twenty-legged crab-like 
  creatures lift themselves out of the silt at the same 
  time, and all five creatures stare at you menacingly, 
  then rush toward you
  Setup
  2 Burrowing Horrors
  2 Icosapods
  1 Fulminator Eel
  Unlike the prior encounters, the creatures in this area 
  fight together, and are far more coordinated than they 
  have any right to be. There is no obvious explanation 
  for this (See The Black Pit sidebar).
  Tactics: The burrowing horrors attempt to burrow 
  and then grapple a pair of targets. The eel will focus on 
  one grappled target while the icosapods will focus on 
  
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  Old Crank
  the other, going so far as to delay their turns until the 
  horrors have acted and attempted to grapple someone 
  before taking their turns and deciding their targets. All 
  the beasts fight to the death.
  expanding The advenTrure
  The wreckage of the ship sits broken and splintered 
  over a black pit. There is a slight feeling of being 
  tugged toward it from anywhere in the room. The 
  ship will eventually sink into the rift, but it will take 
  a number of days. Of course, you shouldn’t tell the 
  players that! Let them think they have a serious time 
  pressure before the ship is gone. You can even have 
  the ship shift menacingly as they investigate. There 
  is nothing to force a character into the maw of the 
  pit, but that may not stop them. We intentionally 
  leave the source of the pit vague, only hinting at 
  its sinister nature with the sudden intelligence 
  and malevolence of the creatures in this area. The 
  pit is extremely menacing, and any character that 
  asks should immediately feel as though the pit is 
  incredibly dangerous and off-putting. However, 
  if they insist on exploring the pit, you’ll need to 
  be prepared to pivot the adventure significantly. 
  Perhaps the pit is a portal to a demonic undersea 
  demi-plane, or a sinkhole into an ancient city under 
  the bedrock of the ocean? Or you could just kill 
  them for being dumb enough to walk into the black 
  death pit thingy, that’s your call.
  Investigating the Wreckage
  In investigating the ship, the party can find a few details 
  of interest to their investigation.
  The damage to the ship’s hull seems to have come from 
  under the water line primarily. The holes are indicative 
  of something heavy and blunt smashing through the 
  hull.
  Since it has clearly hit the reefs on the way down, 
  it’s hard to rule out striking the reefs as a cause 
  of the damage. However, one hole looks as if it was 
  intentionally drilled in the side.
  If the party obtained manifests of the Crew of the Red 
  Coin, they can note that one of the bodies, a partially 
  eaten squidface, is not on the roster. 
  Treasure: In the course of their investigation, the 
  party will find a coral blade, a rotting sack filled with 
  300 gold pieces, and a small figurine carved into the 
  likeness of a panther. The figurine is nonmagical, but 
  it is worth 200 gold pieces to the right kind of fence in 
  Skyfall (who would most likely use it to trick a mark 
  into thinking it was magical).
  The Forgotten Island
  In search of a survivor of The Fate’s Knave, the party 
  find themselves on an island inhabited by ghosts. 
  This island is one of many that dot the waters of the 
  ocean in this region. A small sandy crescent with a bit 
  of jungle, spectacular fishing, and a modest mountain 
  (glorified hill) at its center. But for the temple built on 
  the hill, this island would be entirely uneventful. 
  About a century ago, a cultist fled the religious 
  persecution of Skyfall and brought his followers here 
  to the island. At first, the group, dedicated to honoring 
  those lost at sea, had a peaceful if somewhat dull 
  existence far from their old home. When they woke 
  a connection to the demon realm, their cult became 
  twisted and dark. Driven by dark magic and sinister 
  voices, the cultists expended their lives in the creation 
  of a shrine to the Sunken Prince, demon lord of 
  drowned and restless sailors.
  Now the island acts as a sort of beacon for those spirits 
  who died at sea. Once they arrive on the island, they 
  are unable to leave and are slowly drawn toward the 
  shrine where they lose any vestige of their old selves 
  and become infused with hate and evil.
  From the coastal waters of the island there are two 
  obvious landmarks. The first is a great stone structure 
  toward the center of the island and the second is the 
  ruins of a small village on the southern end. The eastern 
  side of the island is covered in strange rocks shaped 
  vaguely like teeth, but it is otherwise uninhabited. 
  Encounter 2.5 – Talky Ghosts
  Read or Paraphrase:
  This village was portably once a fishing town or 
  perhaps a stop for a trader or pirate outfit. 
  The Forgotten Island
  Wreckage Site
  Shrine
  
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  Old Crank
  The houses are raised affairs made of the local 
  jungle wood with rooves of braided leaves. You 
  immediately notice scores of apparitions and spirits 
  flitting through the village as if going through some 
  sort of daily routine.
  The spirits here have not yet been fully twisted by the 
  dark magic of the temple. Many are recently deceased 
  and generally no more evil than they were in life, 
  others are nearly transformed into the twisted spirits 
  found deeper in the island. If the party is careful they 
  can avoid fighting with most of the spirits or possibly 
  avoid a battle altogether.
  Dealing with the Ghosts
  The ghosts for the most part seem to believe they 
  are going about their normal business in a small port 
  town. If the party does anything to disrupt this illusion 
  (attack the ghosts, point out they are in a ruined village, 
  or anything similar) the ghosts become hostile and will 
  probably attack.
  If the party leaves the ghosts alone they can 
  avoid an attack but won’t be able to get much 
  information.
  The ghosts all appear to have been sailors 
  or had other maritime professions. Judging 
  from their appearance, they all died at sea.
  If questioned (and not angered), the ghosts 
  all indicate they felt a pull to the island.
  If asked about recent arrivals, they can 
  recall a male human (this is Monder 
  Ames, the survivor) arriving recently and 
  heading toward the interior of the island. 
  Setup
  4 Howling Apparitions
  Tactics: Lots of ghosts, but they only set 
  off four of them if they trigger combat at 
  all.
  Treasure: If the party successfully 
  defeats 
  the 
  apparitions 
  or 
  manages to conduct a search 
  without interfering with 
  their work and setting 
  them off, they can 
  find a small chest 
  that appears to be 
  waterproof. 
  With 
  a little effort (DC 
  14 to pick the lock, or DC 15 
  to break), they can open it to 
  find three scrolls inside (silt trap, 
  crystal guardians, and sandblast), as 
  well as powdered gemstones of various 
  types worth roughly 250 gold.
  Encounter 2.6 – It had to be monkeys
  Read or Paraphrase:
  The jungle closes in around you, and the air is heavy 
  with the buzzing of insects and the occasional rustle 
  of foliage. Without warning, the jungle erupts in a 
  swarm of bone and fur as dozens, perhaps hundreds 
  of tiny monkeys with decaying flesh and skeletal 
  fingers burst out of the plants surrounding you.
  
  15
  Old Crank
  Whether by following clues gained from the ghosts at 
  the village or just watching the inhabitants long enough 
  to realize they all seem to be drawn inland, the party 
  should eventually make the trek toward the structure 
  at the center of the island. Along the way they are likely 
  to have to traverse some jungle. That’s usually a bad 
  idea when there are zombie monkey swarms in the 
  trees. Too bad nobody told the party about the zombie 
  monkeys.
  Items of Interest
  The monkeys love to collect shiny objects, or at least 
  they did in life. Now they mostly collect victims. If you 
  are looking to plant a seed for a future adventure, a 
  locket, or amulet, or other similar shiny item could 
  easily still be clutched in the tiny rotting fist of one of 
  the monkeys.
  Setup
  3 Zombie Monkey Swarms
  Skeletal Parrot Hoard
  Each round on initiative 15 (losing all ties), a flock of 
  skeletal parrots sweeps through the party, snapping 
  and clawing as they go by. Make the following attack 
  against each character within a 20-radius of a point of 
  your choice: +5 to hit, 1d6+2 (5) slashing damage. If the 
  party wants to make opportunity attacks (or normal 
  attacks) against the skeletal parrots, they have an AC of 
  12, a +2 bonus to Dexterity saves, and a -1 penalty to all 
  other saves. Any damage dealt to a parrot will kill it. If 
  the party kills at least 4 parrots between fly-by attacks, 
  you should skip the next round of attacks on the party. 
  The parrots do not attack in waves big enough to be 
  slaughtered wholesale with area spells like fireball. 
  Killing a total of 20 parrots will disperse the hoard, as 
  will killing the monkeys.
  Tactics: The monkeys are ravenous, and will fight to 
  the death trying to devour the party. They fight without 
  any real tactics, and simply swarm over as many 
  characters as possible.
  Encounter 2.7 – Malevolent Guardians
  Read or Paraphrase:
  While nothing about this island has been particularly 
  normal, as you get closer to the center of the island, 
  there is a palpable feeling of wrongness. You can 
  almost feel the negative emotions swirling over you; 
  clearly something unnatural and evil is here.
  As the party nears the center of the island, the demonic 
  power of the place has a warping effect on the ghostly 
  inhabitants. Those at the village were nearly normal 
  people (aside from being dead), but those at the center 
  are warped, twisted, and evil. A pair of these float about 
  the area, ready to usher other ghosts to the temple or 
  destroy any living beings foolish enough to draw near.
  Items of Interest
  Despite hiding very well, the intense aura of hatred 
  flowing off these ghosts is strong enough to sense 
  them. As an alternative to perception checks, the ghosts 
  can be located with Wisdom (Insight) or Intelligence 
  (Arcana).
  Setup
  2 Malevolent Apparitions
  Tactics: One apparition begins the encounter in the 
  material plane, while the other begins in the ethereal 
  plane. They try to position themselves so that the party 
  might waste some attacks on the ethereal apparition. 
  The apparition on the material plane opens with 
  Horrifying Visage then wades into melee with Withering 
  Touch and Devour Soul. The ethereal apparition spends 
  a turn trying to draw fire, then as soon as the party 
  realizes they can’t affect it, it enters the material plane 
  and follows the same tactics as the other apparition.
  Encounter 2.8 – Xokorzar the Demon 
  Pirate
  Read or Paraphrase:
  The structure at the center of the island turns out 
  to be a shrine or small temple, shaped roughly like 
  a skull facing heaven. Thin green smoke wafts up 
  from the sockets of its “eyes” and its gaping mouth 
  yawns open revealing the entryway.
  The shrine is small and the pirate lord found here 
  spends most of his days enthralled in the dark ritual 
  that is summoning the dead to this place. He is instantly 
  aware of the party when they approach unless they are 
  for some reason not living beings.
  Items of Interest
  If the party chooses to avoid combat, the pirate lord will 
  not pursue them directly, but they will find themselves 
  harried by relentless spirits (use howling apparitions) 
  until they leave the island.
  If the party looks inside they see another living being 
  (the survivor of the wreck) though he looks gaunt and 
  drained as though his life force has been removed. He 
  is too far gone to interact with the party unless healed, 
  and if the party gets any closer than the entry way, 
  they will certainly find themselves in combat with the 
  demon-possessed pirate lord.
  Setup
  1 Demon-Possessed Pirate Lord
  Tactics: The pirate lord is a terrifying melee combatant. 
  It will try to get as many enemies as possible into its 
  Aura of Corruption, then try to reach the back line and 
  unload a full round of great scimitar attacks on a 
  lightly armored foe like a wizard or archer.
  
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  Old Crank
  Treasure: In addition to Crackers (see Sidebar), the 
  party can search the pirate lord to find a potion of 
  greater healing, an alchemical grenade (cursed), and a 
  pouch containing 30 platinum pieces.
  Sidebar: CraCkerS, The demon lord
  In ages past, a dark avian terror roamed the skies 
  of the dark realm of demons. None who spoke this 
  dread demon lord’s name lived long. Most heard the 
  flapping of great wings and saw the flash of a blood 
  red beak before dying in horror and agony. The only 
  clues to their deaths: an occasional jet black feather 
  limned with a fiery red light. In the great book of 
  Demon Lords stored in the secret vaults beneath the 
  undead library, the story of Ekralar the Winged Silence 
  is told in detail. Even among those scholars, there are 
  few who realize the ultimate fate of the avian lord.  
   
  Crackers, the zombie parrot, is all that is left of this 
  once powerful and terrible being. When Ekralar made 
  a move against a far more powerful and influential 
  demon lord (many tales suggest Orcus, but others 
  differ) he was defeated utterly and cast into the form 
  of a demon parrot. He was doomed to personify 
  everything about birds which Ekralar the Winged 
  Silence hated. Crackers is an insane, evil (though 
  forbidden by ancient demonic magic from acting on 
  it overtly), foul mouthed parrot who cannot die. He 
  possesses all the terrible cunning he ever had, but 
  is unable to string together a sentence more than 
  3 words long without the word “Crackers” in it. He 
  flies though life looking for a strong shoulder to 
  perch upon and targets for his inventive insults. 
  Questioning the Survivor
  The survivor Monder Ames has been through a lot. The 
  full story is beyond his ability to tell, as his time with 
  the demon pirates has warped him substantially. He 
  can recall and will tell the party the following:
  • 
  The ship’s lookout felt they were being followed. 
  He wasn’t sure by who or what.
  • 
  The attack came suddenly from below; there was 
  a sudden splintering sound, then pirates were 
  boarding from below. 
  • 
  He got a brief look at the ship as it sailed away, it 
  had a dive helmet for a periscope, almost like the 
  stories of Old Crank.
  With the survivor’s information and the notes from the 
  wreckage of the red Coin, the party should be able to 
  surmise the following:
  • 
  Both vessels were attacked by pirates, with some 
  sort of submarine.
  • 
  The pirates appear to want people to believe that 
  Old Crank is behind the attacks.
  • 
  Other than Skyfall, there are few ports with any 
  active submarine crews. A DC 14 Intelligence check 
  (Proficiency with Water Vessels applies) will point 
  to Corsair’s Drift. If the PCs noted the squidface 
  corpse in the sunken vessel, this check becomes 
  DC 10 as there is only one place with a squidface 
  population that might have a sub.
  Episode 3 – Stopping pirates 
  from 
  stealing 
  gold 
  so 
  bankers can steal gold
  After learning all they can from their investigation of 
  the wrecks, the party should set sail for Corsair’s Drift, 
  either to end the pirate threat for the Mariner’s, or to 
  eliminate the witnesses who could contradict Longinus 
  and potentially force him to pay out the insurance 
  claim. As they approach a particularly dangerous reef, 
  the ship is assaulted by a massive sea monster that 
  forces them into the reef. After a harried chase through 
  the reef, the monster’s dinner is interrupted by the 
  pirate submarine that sank the other ships. The party 
  will have to fight their way aboard the sub in order to 
  dislodge the grapple buried in the hull of their ship. 
  Unfortunately, Old Crank has something to say about 
  it…
  CapTuring The Feel
  Unlike the previous two episodes, Episode 3 is 
  effectively one massive extended scene. There is no 
  downtime between each of the events described in 
  this episode. It starts with the sea monster attack 
  and ends once Old Crank is forced to retreat. As such, 
  you’ll need to pay careful attention to the party’s 
  resources as they progress through the episode.
  Beginning the Scene – Did it have to be 
  tentacles?
  Read or Paraphrase:
  Rain hammers the deck as the ship lies at anchor for 
  the evening outside a reef on the way to the Drift. 
  Without warning, the lookout shouts and points 
  toward the stern just as you hear a gargantuan, 
  bestial bellow. The ship quickly becomes a flurry 
  of shouting, running, and climbing as massive 
  tentacled pseudopods erupt from the churning 
  water at the rear of boat. The captain immediately 
  begins shouting orders to cut the anchor line and set 
  sail for the reef.
  The party should quickly realize that while the reef is 
  incredibly dangerous to sail at night, it may be their 
  only hope to knock the beast off of the ship.
  unique meChaniCS
  The simplest way to handle this scene is to use the 
  chase rules, with some fairly large modifications. 
  Unlike a normal chase, the monster has already 
  caught the prey, so the party will need to help the 
  ship’s crew in every way they can. They’ll have 
  a number of options described below to do just 
  that, but as always, reward player creativity! If 
  
  17
  Old Crank
  they can think of something cool that would make 
  a difference in breaking free of the beast, let them 
  have at it! If the party isn’t sure of what to do, the 
  captain will give an order, but this should only be 
  used if a player really can’t think of anything and 
  needs some assistance.
  Running the Chase
  The “chase” starts with the monster and the ship at 
  rest relative to each other. As long as the monster is 
  attached to the ship, the beast will move with it. Each 
  round, the ship will move based on its current speed 
  (see “Special Chase Rules”) at the start of initiative. 
  Then, each player should receive a turn in the normal 
  initiative order. To end the round, roll on the event 
  table, then increase the number of tentacles connected 
  to the ship by three as the beast establishes its grasp. 
  If the beast has no tentacles attached to the ship at the 
  end of a round, it instead moves 60 feet closer to the 
  ship. If the beast ends that movement within 10 feet of 
  the ship, it latches back onto the boat with one tentacle. 
  If the monster ever has all 8 tentacles attached to the 
  ship, the ship can no longer move until at least one 
  tentacle is removed.
  Special Chase Rules
  To simplify this scene, use the following round 
  sequence:
  1. 
  Ship Movement
  2. 
  The party acts in initiative order
  3. 
  Roll on the Event Table
  4. 
  Monster attaches 3 tentacles, or moves and attaches 
  1 tentacle
  Ship Movement
  The ship moves based on how much sail has been let 
  out. Luckily for the party, there is a stiff wind at their 
  backs. Refer to the Suggested Actions section for how 
  players can set the sails. Warn the players that going 
  too fast can risk damaging the ship on the reef.
  Suggested Actions
  The following suggested actions should help you 
  respond to nearly anything the players try to do.
  Increase or Decrease Sails
  At the start of the scene, the ship’s speed is 40 feet. A 
  character can make an Athletics check as an action to 
  increase the ship’s speed by 10 feet. This action can 
  only occur once per round. The DC is set by the ship’s 
  current speed as shown below. The ship’s maximum 
  speed is 80 feet.
   
  40 feet  
  DC 14
   
  50 feet  
  DC 15
   
  60 feet  
  DC 16
   
  70 feet  
  DC 17
  Attack the Tentacles
  The tentacles can be attacked or targeted with spells. 
  Each tentacle has an AC of 16, and is immune to any 
  spell or effect that requires an Intelligence, Wisdom, 
  or Charisma saving throw. If the attack or spell deals 
  at least 10 points of damage, that tentacle is dislodged 
  from the ship.
  Scouting the Reef
  A character can attempt to scout the reef ahead of the 
  ship as an action. The character must succeed on a DC 
  15 Perception check or Intelligence check. If the check 
  succeeds, the ship can ignore any “Reef” event that is 
  rolled this turn. Multiple characters can attempt this 
  check, but successes after the first have no additional 
  effect.
  Rally the Crew
  A character can attempt to rally the crew of the ship 
  as an action. The character must succeed on a DC 15 
  Performance check. If the check succeeds, roll twice on 
  the event table this round. If either roll is 1 – 10, there 
  is no event. If both dice roll an event, use the lower die 
  to determine which event occurs.
  Lead a Work Party
  A character can take control of a work party as an action. 
  The character must succeed on a DC 15 Persuasion 
  check. If the check succeeds, the party gains advantage 
  on any checks made to overcome an event rolled this 
  turn (if applicable). Note: This is particularly important 
  for the two ship events, where failure could lead to 
  very serious problems.
  Chase Event Table
  1 – 10. No Event
  11. (Reef) The lookout spots a reef at the last second, 
  forcing the ship to veer sharply to avoid running 
  aground. The ship takes 1 point of damage for every 
  10 feet of speed above 60 feet, and the party needs 
  to make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed 
  save that character is jostled into a railing, mast, or 
  other obstacle and takes 1d8 bludgeoning damage.
  12. (Monster) The great beast lets out a bellowing roar, 
  sending a shudder through the hull. Each character 
  on the ship must make a DC 12 Constitution saving 
  throw. On a failed save, that character takes 1d8 
  thunder damage and is incapacitated for one turn.
  13. (Reef) The ship must cross a shallow sandbar 
  just under the water to continue. The ship’s speed 
  is reduced by 20 feet and the party needs to make a 
  DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, that 
  character is thrown from their feet and has the wind 
  knocked out of them. On the next turn, that character 
  has disadvantage on checks made during their action.
  14. (Monster) A massive tentacle erupts from the 
  water, and tries to wrap around a random party 
  member. Make an attack at +8 against a random 
  party member. On a hit, that character takes 1d8+4 
  bludgeoning damage, is grappled, and is lifted 15 
  feet into the air. A single attack dealing at least 10 
  damage will cause the tentacle to drop the player, or 
  the grappled player can use their action to escape the 
  grapple (DC 15).
  
  18
  Old Crank
  15. (Ship) There is a breach just below the water 
  line, causing the ship to begin taking on water. 
  Immediately, and each round afterward, the ship 
  slows by 10 feet. If the ship’s speed reaches 0 feet, 
  the ship founders and begins sinking (effectively 
  party death unless they are extremely clever). Make it 
  clear that this is far worse than other problems and 
  needs to be addressed immediately unless they want 
  swim with the giant ship-eating monster. The party 
  can rush below and start working on the breach. To 
  repair the breach, the party must get at least one 
  success per party member on a Water Vehicles check. 
  These successes can be made across multiple rounds, 
  and can be made by any character (so one person 
  could make all 4 for a party of four, or the party 
  could divide them up). 
  16. (Reef) The lookout misjudges the distance to the 
  reef and the ship moves too close to avoid it. The reef 
  slams into the side of the ship, dealing 1d4 damage 
  and slowing the ship by 10 feet. Choose one character 
  on the deck. That character must make a DC 15 
  Dexterity saving throw. On a success, the character 
  slams into the ship railing and takes 2d6 bludgeoning 
  damage. On a failed save, the character is thrown 
  over the edge and barely manages to hang on. On 
  the character’s next action, the character must use 
  their action to climb back onto the deck. Alternately 
  another character can help them.
  17. (Monster) The monster’s tentacles flail violently 
  around the deck, causing panic among the crew. The 
  party must make a DC 15 Persuasion or Intimidation 
  check to keep the crew steady. If at least half the 
  party succeeds, the crew rallies. If more than half the 
  party fails, all actions next turn have disadvantage.
  18. (Reef) The lookout spots an opening in the reef, 
  but it’s really narrow. Each character must make a DC 
  15 Perception check to assist the navigator. If at least 
  half the party passes the check, the ship successfully 
  navigates the gap, and the reef knocks one of the 
  tentacles free. If less than half the group passes, the 
  ship clips the reef, taking 1 damage and slowing 10 
  feet.
  19. (Monster) The monster slams a tentacle into 
  one of the party members. Choose a party member 
  at random and make the following attack: +8 to hit, 
  2d6+4 bludgeoning damage.
  20. (Ship) The beast manages to wrap one of its 
  tentacles around the main mast of the ship. If the 
  tentacle isn’t knocked free, the beast will eventually 
  snap the mast, which will drop the ship’s speed to 
  zero and allow the beast to devour the ship at its 
  leisure. To dislodge the tentacle, the party must deal 
  at least 30 damage to it. Each round it isn’t dislodged, 
  the ship takes 3 structural damage.
  
  19
  Old Crank
  Concluding the Chase
  The chase ends whenever the ship has travelled 500 feet 
  through the reef, or has taken 15 points of structural 
  damage. If the ship takes 15 or more structural damage 
  during the chase, it will have an impact in the final 
  encounter. The ship takes structural damage in one of 
  two ways: damage caused by reef or ship events on the 
  Chase Event Table, or damage caused by the monster’s 
  tentacles. The reef and ship events above detail how 
  and when they damage the ship. At the start of each 
  round, the ship takes 1 damage if 4 or more tentacles 
  are attached. If all 8 tentacles are attached, the ship 
  instead takes 2 damage.
  Read or Paraphrase: The following text assumes that 
  the party narrowly escapes the reef with the monster 
  right on their heels.
  Your ship surges forward as you finally escape the 
  reef. The beast bellows just under the surface and 
  you can feel it through the planks beneath your feet. 
  Just when you think you’re finally rid of the thing, 
  the monstrosity erupts from the water and lunges 
  toward your ship. The tentacled horror is even 
  bigger than you had realized, almost half the size of 
  your ship. Before you have time to react, you hear a 
  loud thump just before the beast hits the side of the 
  boat, following by splintering wood and the beast’s 
  shrieks of agony. The leviathan seems pinned to your 
  ship, and you can just make out a cable stretching 
  out of the monster’s back into the dark sea below.
  Give the party a moment to go “What the hell?”, then 
  immediately move into the next encounter.
  Encounter – Boarded by Pirates
  Just as the party overcomes the shock of having a giant 
  monster pinned to their boat, pirate boarders swarm 
  up the opposite side of the boat, clear the railing, and 
  launch into an assault.
  Setup
  2 Squidface Thugs
  4 Pirate Boarders
  At the start of the encounter, the monster is pinned to 
  the starboard side of the boat, while the boarders have 
  climbed over the port railing, and the party is stuck in 
  the middle. Neither side should get a surprise round.
  Each round on initiative 15, failing all ties, roll on the 
  following table (1d4):
  1. 
  The monster’s flailing rocks the ship. Each 
  creature on deck must make a DC 10 Dexterity 
  saving throw or fall prone.
  2. 
  A tentacle slams down on the deck. Choose 
  one creature on the deck at random and make 
  the following attack: +6 to hit, 1d10+5 (10) 
  bludgeoning damage.
  3. 
  The submarine pulls strongly at the ship, causing 
  it to heave to the side. Each creature on the deck 
  treats all movement as difficult terrain this turn.
  4. 
  The monster bellows in rage and agony. The 
  creatures on the deck can feel it in their bones. 
  They must make a DC 12 Constitution saving 
  throw, becoming Deafened for 1 minute on a 
  failed save.
  Tactics: The monster does not participate directly, but 
  is pinned to the ship and flailing in its death throes. The 
  boarders fight to the death, knowing their punishment 
  would be to go overboard anyway. The squidface thugs 
  open with Ink Jet before wading into melee, while the 
  pirate boarders pair off and try to take advantage of 
  Gang Up and Sucker Punch.
  After the party has defeated the boarders, the encounter 
  immediately ends. If the party is low on resources, feel 
  free to end the encounter a little early by having one 
  of the flailing tentacles knock a boarder into the sea. 
  Then Read or Paraphrase:
  As the final boarder dies, the beast’s flailing 
  finally slows to a pitiful twitching and writhing. 
  Unfortunately, your ship is still impaled by the sub’s 
  harpoon. Your best chance to keep the ship free is to 
  disengage the submarine’s grapple arm. 
  Boarding the Sub
  The party should quickly realize that the grapple arm 
  controls have to be inside the submarine, and that 
  they’ll need to board the submarine. If they don’t, or 
  they insist on trying to dislodge the grapple, make it 
  clear that the time it would take to hack the grapple 
  free would probably sink the ship, and even if it didn’t, 
  the submarine could just fire the grapple again once 
  it was disconnected. Cutting through the steel hawser 
  connecting the grapple to the sub would take even 
  longer, and will guarantee that the ship sinks. 
  The party can reach the submarine in a number of 
  ways. They can swim if they are willing to brave the 
  seas (Athletics DC 12 to swim at half speed, DC 17 
  to swim at full speed), or they can climb the hawser 
  connecting the sub to the grapple imbedded in the 
  ship (Athletics DC 12 to climb at half speed, DC 17 to 
  climb at full speed). A variety of magic spells or items 
  could make the transition easier as well. As always, let 
  your players come up with creative ways to make the 
  transition. 
  The ship is about 60 feet away from the submarine. 
  How they get there isn’t particularly important, but you 
  should express the tension in the scene. They aren’t 
  making two Athletics check, they are hanging from 
  a tight rope as waves slam into them and the seas 
  between the two vessels churn hungrily.
  Once the party reaches the submarine, move to the 
  next section of the scene.
  
  20
  Old Crank
  CapTuring The Feel
  This scene assumes that the party will think that 
  climbing down a hawser to breach a submarine and 
  take it over is a great idea. Of course, not all parties 
  would necessarily do that. Some may insist on 
  dislodging the grapple from the boat. It shouldn’t be 
  easy, but you shouldn’t just say “No” either. Instead, 
  if the players are exceedingly clever and find a way 
  to rapidly dislodge the grapple, be prepared to 
  improvise the next section. Perhaps the ship does 
  sink, and the pirate crew fishes them out of the 
  water, forcing them to talk their way out of being 
  robbed and executed. Or maybe Old Crank shows up 
  and they are forced to work with the pirates to hold 
  him at bay. Either way, don’t punish your players for 
  not “following the script”, so to speak.
  Encounter – Their Own Medicine
  Read or Paraphrase:
  After fighting through the storm-lashed seas to 
  reach the submarine, you quickly find the top hatch 
  and wrench it open. Dropping into the submarine, 
  you find yourself inside the submarine’s cramped 
  engineering section, where a surprised dwarf 
  looks up at you from where he was examining the 
  submarine’s crystalline power source.
  Setup
  1 Dwarven Engineer
  2 Pirate Crew (use Pirate Boarders)
  The party should get a surprise round if they dropped 
  quickly into the hatch. If they delayed for any reason, 
  the engineer and his staff are ready for them, and 
  neither side should get a surprise round.
  Tactics: The engineer focuses on using Cheap Shot to 
  hit multiple people in the cramped space of the crystal 
  compartment, while his two assistants try to stay 
  together to use Gang Up and Sucker Punch. They all 
  fight to the death.
  Treasure: The party can quickly see that the Engineer 
  carried a rod on his belt etched with blueprints. This is 
  a mechanic’s rod.
  Encounter – Storming the Bridge
  Read or Paraphrase:
  After dealing with the engineer, you quickly make 
  your way to the bridge to take control of the ship 
  and disengage the grapple. Of course, the bridge 
  crew might have something to say about your plan.
  Setup
  1 Pirate Captain
  1 Pirate First Mate
  2 Pirate Crew (Use Pirate Boarders)
  Neither side should get a surprise round here unless 
  the party ended the fight with the Engineer in a creative 
  and quiet manner.
  Tactics: The captain saves his reaction for Bark an 
  Order, and otherwise wades into melee. The first mate 
  and other crew members try to use Gang Up, especially 
  the first mate whenever Cheap Shot is available. All the 
  pirates fight to the death.
  Treasure: The party most likely doesn’t have time to 
  find this until after Crank is defeated, but when they 
  take the time to search the pirate captain, he is wearing 
  the Last Fang of Shal’Krazard around his neck. They 
  can eventually find another 300 gold hidden away in 
  various cubby holes scattered around the sub.
  Old Crank
  Read or Paraphrase:
  With the captain slain, you quickly move to the 
  grapple controls and disengage the harpoon. Just as 
  the grapple has finished reeling back into the sub, 
  you hear a titanic bellow and you are knocked from 
  your feet as the submarine skews wildly to port. You 
  quickly regain your feet and check the periscope, 
  and what you see causes the bottom to drop out of 
  your stomach. A massive salver golem, at least 60 
  feet tall, is climbing onto the reef and just took a 
  swipe at you on his way up!
  unique meChaniCS
  If things have gone roughly to plan, the party is 
  in control of the submarine and their ship has 
  been freed from the grapple. Each member of the 
  party should take on one of the responsibilities of 
  the submarine from the Player Handouts section: 
  Communications, 
  Engineering, 
  Grapple 
  Arm 
  Operator, Torpedo Gunner, and Navigator. Rather 
  than using normal actions, each player will control 
  a pair of lair actions based on their role. Each action 
  has hidden effects, some good and some bad. Keep 
  the Old Crank GM Reference handy; it will make the 
  fight significantly easier to manage!
  Fighting Old Crank
  Fighting a 60 foot tall salver golem is no simple feat. 
  Crank may well be indestructible, so the only hope of 
  survival is to coordinate all 5 areas of the submarine 
  and damage him enough to escape or destroy him.
  Old Crank Setup
  Give each player one of the Submarine Role cards from 
  the Player Handouts section. If you have less than 5 
  players, have one player control two Roles, or control 
  one yourself as an NPC (and generally just do whatever 
  the group wants that Role to do).
  On the Old Crank GM Reference sheet, you should see 
  that each Role has two ability options for the player to 
  
  21
  Old Crank
  
  22
  Old Crank
  choose from. One of them has a hidden positive effect, 
  while the other has a hidden negative effect. The key 
  to defeating Crank is using the abilities that positively 
  reinforce each other in the correct order, which the 
  players will have to discover through trial and error. 
  As they use the abilities you should give them clues to 
  help explain what is happening without giving it away 
  directly.
  Once the players have familiarized themselves with 
  their options, have them roll initiative as normal. 
  However, unlike normal combat, the players can go 
  in any order they like, and they can change that order 
  each round, as long as each player acts only once per 
  round.
  Taking the Fight to Crank
  After the players roll initiative, roll three initiatives for 
  Old Crank, each at a +2 bonus. Old Crank doesn’t have 
  statistics like a normal monster. He is much closer to 
  a force of nature. If you need to make a roll for Crank 
  other than initiative, assume he has a +8 bonus. If a 
  target attacks Crank, the DC to hit him is 15.
  On his turns, Crank can move up to 60 feet and attack, 
  or move 120 feet. If Crank hits with an attack, it deals 
  10d10 bludgeoning damage. We have intentionally left 
  Crank extremely simple to run, as the Submarine Roles 
  and Hidden Effects add layers of complication to this 
  encounter. That doesn’t mean Crank’s turns should be 
  boring! Describe his attacks inflicting massive damage 
  (rolling 10d10 should help that), or the shockwave of a 
  near miss rattling the bones of the party members on 
  the submarine.
  Crank will focus on the submarine unless the sub runs 
  away from him for more than 1 round. If so, he will 
  turn back and attempt to destroy the ship. The ship 
  only has 200 remaining hit points and an AC of 12, so 
  Crank should demolish it in short order.
  CapTuring The Feel
  Some groups may choose not to stick around to 
  fight Crank, and can largely bypass this entire 
  encounter. You should make it clear that to leave 
  is to abandon the ship and its entire crew to Crank. 
  The party should know that on the off chance there 
  are survivors, they will have made enemies for life. 
  If the party still decides to run, don’t force them to 
  stay. However, make sure that their decision has 
  consequences. You could have the captain survive 
  and begin plotting the party’s downfall, or have one 
  of the sailors survive and begin spreading the tale of 
  their cowardice, making it difficult for them to find 
  employers willing to hire them.
  The Submarine
  The submarine is largely unfamiliar to the party, but 
  they’ll need to use it to fight and eventually escape 
  Crank. The Submarine Role cards describe the 
  submarine’s attack options. If the submarine is 
  attacked, it has an AC of 17 and 800 hit points. Make 
  sure not to tell the players how many hit points the 
  sub has. Instead just describe the damage it takes as 
  it gets more and more severe. Use the damage on the 
  submarine to build tension.
  Defeating Old Crank
  Defeating 
  Crank 
  will 
  require 
  teamwork 
  and 
  coordination. Each role on the submarine (see Player 
  Handouts) can use abilities that will help them fight 
  off Crank, but there are hidden effects (see Old Crank 
  Quick Reference) that the party will need to discover and 
  work around in order to maximize their effectiveness 
  and take Crank down.
  To defeat Crank, the party must deal a total of 1000 
  damage. At that point, Crank is damaged enough 
  to attempt to disengage and will allow the party to 
  escape. However, parties brave enough (or stupid 
  enough) to continue pressing the attack can destroy 
  Crank by dealing a total of 1500 points of damage. If 
  they do attempt to destroy him, Crank will stop trying 
  to disengage and focus entirely on destroying the 
  submarine.
  After Crank is defeated, the party will have the run 
  of the submarine, assuming it isn’t damaged beyond 
  repair (entirely up to you). 
  Concluding the Adventure
  Having solved the mysteries of the sunken ships, and 
  faced a legendary creature of the blackest depths, the 
  party have some choices to make.
  What to do about the sub? The party has potentially 
  gained control of a powerful submersible. If you want 
  to open up a series of underwater adventures, you’ve 
  just gained a great hook. Of course, the pirates or their 
  backers are likely to want the vessel back.
  What to do about the mission? The party needs to 
  decide what to do about the mission. They got to the 
  bottom of the situation and their report to Longinus 
  will establish the “truth” as far as the city is concerned. 
  They may have to choose between telling the truth to 
  the Mariners and being rewarded, or supporting the lie 
  told by Longinus and being rewarded. Either way they 
  are likely to earn a friend and an enemy.
  If the party failed to impress Longinus at the start and 
  he planned on murdering them, he may reconsider 
  depending on how well they did. If he does decide on 
  murder, it will come in the form of several assassins 
  attempting to engineer an unfortunate accident. Use 
  stats for Gallivar and Cerathwyn or create your own. Be 
  sure to stack the encounter set up against the party as 
  Longinus will not underestimate them.
  What about Crank? Legends and tall tales about Crank 
  agree on few aspects; one common thread is that 
  he doesn’t let prey slip his grasp forever. Crank will 
  eventually return for the party. It’s just a matter of 
  when and where. Perhaps the party would like to take 
  matters into their own hands and find Crank’s lair.
  What about Corsair’s Drift? “Luckily” the party were 
  ambushed by the very people they set out to find, neatly 
  
  23
  Old Crank
  tying up that plot thread. What if luck had nothing to 
  do with it? Perhaps the power behind the submarine 
  pirates somehow knew the party would be coming and 
  dispatched the pirates to stop them. A powerful force 
  behind the scenes could be lurking in Corsair’s Drift, 
  and they certainly have their eyes on the party now.
  What’s the next paying gig? Skyfall is an expensive 
  place and the party’s primary concern might very well 
  be their next source of income. The Mariners, Longinus, 
  and many of the NPCs in the rumor gathering locations 
  in episode 1 might be excellent sources of future work.
  Appendices
  The following section contains the Bestiary, Magic 
  Items, Player Handouts, and Old Crank Combat Aid 
  sections.
  Bestiary
  burrowing horror
  Medium monstrosity, neutral
  Armor Class 14 (natural)
  Hit Points 72
  Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft.
   
  STR 18 (+4) 
  DEX 10 (+0) 
  CON 17 (+3)
   
  INT 3 (-4) 
  WIS 11 (+0) 
  CHA 6 (-2)
  Senses tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages -
  Challenge 3
  Amphibious. The burrowing horror can breathe air and 
  water.
  Burrowing Ambusher. The horror can launch assaults 
  without warning from under the ground. If a burrowing 
  horror starts its turn with total cover (typically due to 
  burrowing underneath a target), it has advantage on attack 
  rolls for that turn, and any attack that hits a creature of 
  Medium size or smaller also grapple that creature (escape DC 
  14).
  aCTionS
  Crushing Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 2d6+4 (11) piercing damage. If the target is 
  grappled, this attack deals an additional 3d6 (10) damage.
  CeraThwyn
  Medium humanoid (elf), neutral evil
  Armor Class 15 (studded leather)
  Hit Points 72
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 10 (+0) 
  DEX 17 (+3) 
  CON 14 (+2)
   
  INT 14 (+2) 
  WIS 12 (+1) 
  CHA 8 (-1)
  Saving Throws Dexterity +6, Intelligence +5
  Skills Acrobatics +6, Sleight of Hand +6, Stealth +9
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  Languages Common, Elven, Thieves’ Cant
  Challenge 5
  Cunning Action. On each of its turns, Cerathwyn can use 
  a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
  Evasion. If Cerathwyn is subjected to an effect that 
  allows her to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half 
  damage, she instead takes no damage if she succeeds on the 
  saving throw, and only half damage if she fails.
  Fey Ancestry. Cerathwyn has advantage on saving throws 
  against being charmed, and magic can’t put her to sleep.
  Sneak Attack. Once per turn, Cerathwyn deals an extra 
  14 (4d6) damage when she hits a target with a weapon attack 
  and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is 
  within 5 feet of an ally of Cerathwyn that isn’t incapacitated 
  and Cerathwyn doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. Cerathwyn makes three short sword attacks.
  Short Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 1d6+3 (6) piercing damage.
  Blink Strike (Recharge 4 - 6). Cerathwyn teleports up to 
  60 feet to an empty location she can see, then makes a short 
  sword attack with advantage. If the attack hits, it deals an 
  additional 8d6 (28) necrotic damage.
  CuTThroaT
  Medium humanoid, chaotic neutral
  Armor Class 12
  Hit Points 16
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 9 (-1) 
  DEX 15 (+2) 
  CON 12 (+1)
   
  INT 7 (-2) 
  WIS 9 (-1) 
  CHA 10 (+0)
  Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
  Languages Common
  Challenge 1/2
  Pack Tactics. The cutthroat has advantage on an attack 
  roll against a creature if at least one of the cutthroat’s 
  allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t 
  incapacitated.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. The cutthroat makes two dagger attacks.
  Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 1d4+2 (4) slashing damage.
  demon-poSSeSSed piraTe lord
  Large fiend (demon, possessed), chaotic evil
  Armor Class 16
  Hit Points 136
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 19 (+4) 
  DEX 17 (+3) 
  CON 20 (+5)
   
  INT 9 (-1) 
  WIS 12 (+1) 
  CHA 13 (+1)
  Saving Throws Strength +7, Constitution +8, Wisdom +4
  Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, 
  piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  Damage Immunities poison
  Condition Immunities poisoned
  Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
  Languages Abyssal, Common
  Challenge 8
  Aura of Corruption. Any creature that starts its turn within 
  15 feet of the pirate must make a DC 14 Constitution saving 
  throw. On a failed saving throw, that creature is incapacitated 
  until the start of its next turn. On a successful saving throw, 
  that creature is immune to this aura for 24 hours.
  Magic Resistance. The pirate has advantage on saving 
  throws against spells and other magical effects.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. The pirate lord makes 3 attacks with its 
  great scimitar.
  Great Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, 
  
  24
  Old Crank
  reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2d8+4 (13) slashing damage.
  dwarven Sniper
  Medium humanoid (dwarf), chaotic neutral
  Armor Class 12 (leather armor)
  Hit Points 14
  Speed 25 ft.
   
  STR 12 (+1) 
  DEX 13 (+1) 
  CON 14 (+2)
   
  INT 8 (-1) 
  WIS 10 (+0) 
  CHA 6 (-2)
  Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages Common
  Challenge 1/4
  aCTionS
  Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 1d4+1 (3) piercing damage.
  Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 
  80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8+1 (5) piercing damage, or 
  1d8+10 piercing damage if the sniper has used True Aim 
  against that target within 1 turn.
  Take Aim. As an action, the sniper can choose to aim at 
  one creature within range. The sniper gains advantage on 
  its next attack roll against that creature before the end of 
  its next turn, and the attack deals an additional 9 damage 
  (included in its Light Crossbow attack) if it hits.
  FulminaTor eel
  Medium monstrosity, neutral
  Armor Class 13 (natural)
  Hit Points 55
  Speed Swim 60 ft.
   
  STR 17 (+3) 
  DEX 15 (+2) 
  CON 14 (+2)
   
  INT 3 (-4) 
  WIS 10 (+0) 
  CHA 5 (-3)
  Damage Immunities lightning
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages -
  Challenge 2
  Aquatic. Fulminator eels breathe water.
  Death Burst. When a fulminator eel is killed, it discharges 
  a burst of lightning in a 10-foot radius around itself. 
  Creatures in the area must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving 
  throw, taking 4d6 (14) lightning damage on a failed save, or 
  half that amount on a successful one.
  aCTionS
  Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 1d6+3 (6) piercing damage.
  Electric Bite (Recharge 5-6). The eel makes a bite attack. 
  If it hits, the target takes an additional 2d6 (7) lightning 
  damage.
  gallivar
  Medium humanoid (human), lawful evil
  Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
  Hit Points 80
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 16 (+3) 
  DEX 14 (+2) 
  CON 14 (+2)
   
  INT 12 (+1) 
  WIS 10 (+0) 
  CHA 14 (+2)
  Saving Throws Strength +5, Dexterity +4
  Skills Athletics +5, Perception +2, Stealth +4
  Senses passive Perception 12
  Languages Common, Elven, Thieves’ Cant
  Challenge 4
  Ambusher. In the first round of combat, Gallivar’s speed 
  increases by 15 feet, he has advantage on attack rolls, and 
  any weapon attacks that hit deal an additional 2d6 damage 
  of the same type as the weapon.
  Sneak Attack. Once per turn, Gallivar deals an extra 10 
  (3d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack 
  and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is 
  within 5 feet of an ally of Gallivar that isn’t incapacitated and 
  Gallivar doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. Gallivar makes three short sword attacks.
  Short Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 1d6+3 (6) piercing damage.
  howling appariTion
  Medium undead, neutral evil
  Armor Class 12
  Hit Points 39
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 8 (-1) 
  DEX 15 (+2) 
  CON 10 (+0)
   
  INT 10 (+0) 
  WIS 9 (-1) 
  CHA 16 (+3)
  Damage Vulnerabilities radiant
  Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; 
  bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical 
  weapons
  Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
  Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, grappled, 
  paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
  Languages -
  Challenge 2
  Living Sound. A screeching shade that starts its turn 
  deafened or silenced takes 1d10 (5) psychic damage.
  aCTionS
  Wail. Choose one creature within 30 feet. That creature 
  must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 4d6 
  (14) thunder damage.
  Horrific Screeching (Recharge 5–6). Each creature within 
  a 15-foot cone must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw 
  or take 3d6 psychic damage and become frightened for 1 
  minute. A creature frightened by this ability receive a new 
  saving throw at the end of their turn, ending the effect for 
  itself on a success. Creatures frightened by the shade will not 
  attack it.
  iCoSapod
  Medium monstrosity, neutral
  Armor Class 15 (natural)
  Hit Points 22
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 20 ft.
   
  STR 15 (+2) 
  DEX 12 (+1) 
  CON 16 (+3)
   
  INT 5 (-3) 
  WIS 12 (+1) 
  CHA 4 (-3)
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
  Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 11
  Languages -
  Challenge 1
  Amphibious. The icosapod can breathe air and water.
  aCTionS
  Piercing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 1d8+2 (5) piercing damage.
  Hooked Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 1d6+2 (5) slashing damage. If the attack hits, 
  
  25
  Old Crank
  the icosapod spins violently. On land, this rips the hook out, 
  dealing an additional 1d6+2 (5) damage. Under water the 
  target is instead pushed 10 feet if it is Medium or smaller.
  reaCTionS
  Skitter. Whenever an icosapod is hit with an attack, it can 
  use its reaction to immediately move 15 feet along any solid 
  surface without provoking attacks of opportunity.
  malevolenT appariTion
  Medium undead, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 11
  Hit Points 45
  Speed 0 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
   
  STR 7 (-2) 
  DEX 13 (+1) 
  CON 10 (+0)
   
  INT 10 (+0) 
  WIS 12 (+1) 
  CHA 17 (+3)
  Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, thunder; 
  bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison
  Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, 
  grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11
  Languages -
  Challenge 4
  Ethereal Sight. The apparition can see 60 feet into the 
  Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice 
  versa.
  Incorporeal Movement. The apparition can move through 
  other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. 
  It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an 
  object.
  aCTionS
  Withering Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 
  ft., one target. Hit: 4d6+3 (17) necrotic damage.
  Etherealness. The apparition enters the Ethereal Plane 
  from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the 
  Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice 
  versa, yet it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the 
  other plane.
  Horrifying Visage. Each non-undead creature within 60 
  feet of the apparition that can see it must succeed on a DC 
  13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. If the 
  save fails by 5 or more, the target also ages 1d4 × 10 years. 
  A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end 
  of each of its turns, ending the frightened condition on itself 
  on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the 
  effect ends for it, the target is immune to this apparition’s 
  Horrifying Visage for the next 24 hours. The aging effect can 
  be reversed with a greater restoration spell, but only within 
  24 hours of it occurring.
  Devour Soul. One creature within 5 feet of the 
  bloodstained spirit must make a DC 13 Charisma saving 
  throw. On a failed save, the target gains one level of 
  exhaustion. If a creature dies due to the exhaustion caused 
  by this ability, its soul is destroyed permanently (it cannot be 
  resurrected by any spell below 9th level).
  piraTe boarder
  Medium humanoid (any), neutral evil
  Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
  Hit Points 28
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 15 (+2) 
  DEX 14 (+2) 
  CON 12 (+1)
   
  INT 8 (-1) 
  WIS 11 (+0) 
  CHA 10 (+0)
  Senses passive Perception 10
  Languages Thieves’ Cant plus any two other languages
  Challenge 1
  Gang Up. The pirate has advantage on attack rolls against 
  a creature if at least one of the pirate’s crew is within 5 feet 
  of the creature, and that crew member is not incapacitated.
  High Seas. The pirate has advantage on Acrobatics checks, 
  as well as Dexterity saving throws made to avoid being 
  knocked prone or forced to move.
  Sucker Punch. As long as the pirate has advantage on an 
  attack, that attack deals an additional 1d6 (3) damage.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. The pirate makes two dirk attacks.
  Dirk. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 1d4+2 (4) slashing damage.
  Cheap Shot (Recharge 5-6). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 
  to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+2 (4) bludgeoning 
  damage, and the target is blinded, incapacitated, or 
  restrained (pirate’s choice) until the pirate’s next turn.
  piraTe CapTain
  Medium humanoid (troll-blooded), neutral
  Armor Class 15 (breastplate)
  Hit Points 78
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 18 (+4) 
  DEX 12 (+1) 
  CON 16 (+3)
   
  INT 14 (+2) 
  WIS 10 (+0) 
  CHA 8 (-1)
  Saving Throws Strength +6, Constitution +5
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages Thieves’ Cant plus any two other languages
  Challenge 4
  Gang Up. The pirate has advantage on attack rolls against 
  a creature if at least one of the pirate’s crew is within 5 feet 
  of the creature, and that crew member is not incapacitated.
  High Seas. The pirate has advantage on Acrobatics checks, 
  as well as Dexterity saving throws made to avoid being 
  knocked prone or forced to move.
  Limited Regeneration. At the start of his turn, if the 
  captain is below half health, he regains 1 hit point.
  Sucker Punch. As long as the pirate has advantage on an 
  attack, that attack deals an additional 1d6 (3) damage.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. The pirate makes two greatsword attacks.
  Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 2d6+5 (12) slashing damage.
  Cheap Shot (Recharge (5-6). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 
  to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+4 (6) bludgeoning 
  damage, and the target is blinded, incapacitated, or 
  restrained (pirate’s choice) until the pirate’s next turn. 
  reaCTionS
  Bark an Order. Whenever a creature within 30 feet of the 
  captain makes an attack roll against one of the captain’s crew 
  members, the captain can use his reaction to shout an order. 
  The crew member being attacked gains a +2 bonus to its 
  armor class for that attack. If the attack still hits it, that crew 
  member can immediately use its reaction to make a melee 
  attack against the creature targeting it.
  piraTe engineer
  Medium humanoid (dwarf), neutral
  Armor Class 17 (breastplate and shield)
  Hit Points 95
  Speed 25 ft.
   
  STR 18 (+4) 
  DEX 12 (+1) 
  CON 16 (+3)
  
  26
  Old Crank
   
  INT 14 (+2) 
  WIS 10 (+0) 
  CHA 8 (-1)
  Saving Throws Constitution +5, Wisdom +2
  Damage Resistances fire
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  Languages Thieves’ Cant plus any two other languages
  Challenge 4
  Gang Up. The pirate has advantage on attack rolls against 
  a creature if at least one of the pirate’s crew is within 5 feet 
  of the creature, and that crew member is not incapacitated.
  High Seas. The pirate has advantage on Acrobatics 
  checks, as well as Dexterity saving throws made to avoid 
  being knocked prone or forced to move.
  Sucker Punch. As long as the pirate has advantage on an 
  attack, that attack deals an additional 1d6 (3) damage.
  Tinkerer. When a pirate takes a cheap shot on you, it’s 
  bad. When a pirate engineer does it, it’s bad and it explodes. 
  The engineer’s Cheap Shot ability does an additional 6d6 
  fire damage to each creature within 5 feet of the target, 
  excluding the engineer (included in the ability). Creatures 
  in the area other than the target receive a DC 14 Dexterity 
  saving throw to avoid this damage.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. The pirate makes two wrench attacks.
  Wrench. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 1d8+4 (8) bludgeoning damage.
  Cheap Shot (Recharge (5-6). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 
  to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+4 (6) bludgeoning 
  damage, plus each creature within 5 feet of the target other 
  than the engineer takes 6d6 (21) fire damage, and the target 
  is blinded, incapacitated, or restrained (pirate’s choice) until 
  the pirate’s next turn. Creatures in the area other than the 
  target receive a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw to avoid the 
  additional fire damage.
  piraTe FirST maTe
  Medium humanoid (human), neutral evil
  Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
  Hit Points 45
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 14 (+2) 
  DEX 15 (+2) 
  CON 12 (+1)
   
  INT 12 (+1) 
  WIS 10 (+0) 
  CHA 11 (+0)
  Skills Perception +2
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
  Languages Thieves’ Cant plus any two other languages
  Challenge 2
  Brash Inspiration. Whenever the first mate hits a creature 
  with a Cheap Shot, the first mate can choose one crew 
  member that saw the Cheap Shot. That creature deals an 
  additional 3d6 damage on their next attack that hits before 
  the first mate’s next turn.
  Gang Up. The pirate has advantage on attack rolls against 
  a creature if at least one of the pirate’s crew is within 5 feet 
  of the creature, and that crew member is not incapacitated.
  High Seas. The pirate has advantage on Acrobatics 
  checks, as well as Dexterity saving throws made to avoid 
  being knocked prone or forced to move.
  Sucker Punch. As long as the pirate has advantage on an 
  attack, that attack deals an additional 1d6 (3) damage.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. The pirate makes two battle axe attacks.
  Battle Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 1d8+2 (6) slashing damage.
  Cheap Shot (Recharge 5-6). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 
  to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+2 (4) bludgeoning 
  damage, and the target is blinded, incapacitated, or 
  restrained (pirate’s choice) until the pirate’s next turn.
  SquidFaCe Thug
  Medium humanoid, chaotic neutral
  Armor Class 16 (leather armor, shield)
  Hit Points 33
  Speed 30 ft.
   
  STR 10 (+0) 
  DEX 16 (+3) 
  CON 12 (+1)
   
  INT 14 (+2) 
  WIS 8 (-1) 
  CHA 8 (-1)
  Skills Athletics +2, Stealth +6
  Senses Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
  Languages Common
  Challenge 2
  Born for the Sea. Squidfaces can breathe air and water., 
  and have advantage on swim checks.
  Grasping Tentacles. Squidfaces can manipulate objects or 
  make grapple checks even while both hands are occupied.
  aCTionS
  Multiattack. The thug makes two short sword attacks.
  Short Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., 
  one target. Hit: 1d6+3 (6) slashing damage.
  Ink Jets (Recharges on a Short Rest). As an action, the 
  squidface can spray ink in a 15 foot cone. Creatures in the 
  area must make a Dexterity saving throw at DC 11 or be 
  blinded until the end of their next turn.
  bonuS aCTionS
  Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 1d6+3 (6) bludgeoning damage, and the target is 
  grappled (escape DC 14). As long as the target is grappled, 
  the thug has advantage on melee attacks against the target.
  Zombie monkey Swarm
  Large swarm of Tiny undead, chaotic evil
  Armor Class 14
  Hit Points 36
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
   
  STR 8 (-1) 
  DEX 18 (+4) 
  CON 11 (+0)
   
  INT 1 (-5) 
  WIS 10 (+0) 
  CHA 3 (-4)
  Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
  Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, 
  paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
  Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 9
  Languages -
  Challenge 2
  Distracting Cacophony. Creatures in the swarm’s space 
  cannot concentrate on spells and have disadvantage on 
  attack rolls.
  Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s space 
  and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening 
  large enough for a Tiny monkey. The swarm can’t regain hit 
  points or gain temporary hit points.
  Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the swarm to 0 hit 
  points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC 
  of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or 
  from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie drops to 1 hit 
  point instead.
  aCTionS
  Slams. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 0 ft., one 
  creature in the swarm’s space. Hit: 4d6 (14) bludgeoning 
  damage, or 2d6 (7) bludgeoning damage if the swarm has 
  half its hit points or fewer.
  
  27
  Old Crank
  Magic Items
  Coral Blade
  Weapon (any slashing weapon), rare (requires attunement
  The blade of this weapon is covered in a thin layer 
  of multihued coral. Whenever blood is spilled by this 
  weapon, it always seems like there is less blood than 
  you’d expect.
   
  Your attacks with this weapon count as 
  magical. In addition, if you are attuned to it, you can 
  use each of the following abilities:
   
  Paralytic Toxin. If you hit a creature with this 
  weapon, you can activate this ability. If you do, the 
  creature must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw 
  or become paralyzed for 1 minute. A paralyzed creature 
  receives a new saving throw at the end of each of its 
  turns, ending the effect on a successful save. After you 
  use this ability, you must complete a long rest before 
  using it again.
   
  Stinging Toxin. If you hit a creature with this 
  weapon, you can activate this ability. If you do, the 
  creature must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, 
  taking 4d8 poison damage on a failed saving throw, or 
  half that amount on a successful one. After you use 
  this ability, you must complete a long rest before using 
  it again.
  “Crackers”, Familiar
  Anyone capable of gaining a familiar (through the find 
  familiar spell or a similar class feature) can use Crackers 
  as a familiar. However, if you attune to Crackers (as 
  though he were a magic item) and he is your familiar, 
  you and he gain additional benefits.
   
  While attuned to Crackers, he adds your 
  proficiency bonus to his attack rolls and saving throws. 
  In addition, you gain the following benefits:
  You have advantage on all Arcana, Investigation, or 
  Religion checks made regarding fiends or celestials.
  Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, you can 
  choose a number of dice equal to your spellcasting 
  ability modifier and re-roll them. You must use the new 
  result. Once you’ve used this ability, you must complete 
  a short rest before you can use it again.
  As an action, you can regain 1 expended spell slot 
  of 3rd level or lower. You must complete a long rest 
  before using this ability again.
  Mechanic’s Rod
  Wondrous Item (rod), very rare (requires attunement)
  This is a 3-foot long electrum rod etched from top to 
  bottom with blueprints and schematics. Whenever its 
  wielder casts fabricate, a new blueprint appears and 
  the oldest blueprint fades.
   
  You can wield this rod as though it were a +1 
  mace. It deals an additional 2d6 damage to Constructs. 
  While wielding the rod, you can cast the mending 
  cantrip at will. In addition, you can cast fabricate and 
  you are considered proficient in all artisan’s tools with 
  regard to that spell. You must complete a long rest 
  before you can cast fabricate again using this rod.
  Siltstrider’s Armor
  Armor (any light armor), very rare (requires attunement)
  This light armor constantly gives off the faint smell of 
  salt water. It looks as though it has been worn at sea by 
  various sailors for decades. The armor feels damp to 
  the touch for anyone not attuned to it.
   
  While wearing this armor, climbing and 
  swimming do not cost you additional movement, and 
  you can hold your breath for a number of minutes 
  equal to your Constitution score. In addition, you can 
  cast the fog cloud spell. You must complete a short rest 
  before you can cast the spell again. While within a fog 
  cloud created by this armor, you can take the Hide or 
  Disengage action as a bonus action. While submerged, 
  this ability creates an inky cloud instead of fog, but 
  otherwise functions as normal for the spell.
  Last Fang of Shal’Krazad
  Wondrous Item, very rare (requires attunement)
  This amulet appears to be a simple corded necklace 
  with a small white fang hanging from it. Upon closer 
  inspection, the fang isn’t from any identifiable creature, 
  but seems to be chipped from a much larger tooth of 
  some kind. See the Sidebar below for more information 
  about this item.
   
  While wearing this amulet, you gain a +1 bonus 
  to Armor Class against ranged attacks. The first time 
  you fall more than 20 feet, the amulet creates a 20-foot 
  radius shell of faded blue energy, centered on you. The 
  shell moves with you. You and any allies within the 
  shell gain the benefits of the feather fall spell. After 
  this ability is triggered, you must complete a long rest 
  before it will activate again.
   
  In addition, you can activate the amulet as an 
  action, creating 20-foot radius shimmering green shell 
  of energy centered on you. This shell does not move 
  once activated. When you activate the amulet, you and 
  each ally within the area gain 2d6 temporary hit points. 
  Until the end of your next turn, you and all allies in the 
  area have advantage on Dexterity saving throws. If you 
  or an ally in the area succeeds on a Dexterity saving 
  throw that would result in taking half damage, they 
  instead take no damage. You must complete a long rest 
  before using this ability again.
  Sidebar: Shal’kraZad
  Legends say Shal’Krazad was the last of the 
  true sea dragons that roamed the blue oceans 
  before 
  the 
  leviathans 
  came. 
  His 
  children 
  were the first of the sky dragons and scions 
  of what most consider to be “true dragons”. 
   
  The fang is variously said to have been a gift 
  to a proud and mighty Salt and Iron Paladin, 
  a trophy taken by one of the original Reavers, 
  and 
  a 
  fabrication 
  by 
  a 
  talented 
  Arcanist. 
  Regardless of its source all agree in addition to 
  its protective powers in possess a few quirks. 
   
  
  28
  Old Crank
  It nearly always points toward the equator, but from 
  time to time points a different direction. It imbues 
  upon its wielder a deep desire to bath in salt water 
  at least once a day. It wielder develops an extreme 
  dislike for cooked fish, but a strange appetite for 
  raw fish.
  Squid Potion
  Potion, uncommon (very rare outside seafaring locales)
  This potion looks like nothing so much as jet black 
  squid ink. When imbibed, you gain a swim speed equal 
  to half your walking speed, you can breathe water, and 
  you gain advantage on checks made to grapple other 
  creatures. The potions lasts for 30 minutes before its 
  effects fade.
  Quicksilver Potion
  Potion, rare
  This vial contains a few drops of a shimmering silver 
  liquid suspended in a pale yellow fluid. When you 
  drink this potion, you can immediately take the dash 
  or disengage action. In addition, for the next minute, 
  you can take the dash or disengage action as a bonus 
  action.
  Alchemical Grenades 
  Potion, rarity varies 
  Alchemical grenades are a variant of normal potions 
  designed to be thrown at enemies. As such, they are 
  larger than a typical potion vial and weigh more. All 
  alchemical grenades are thrown finesse weapons with a 
  range of 20/40 feet, meaning they can be thrown using 
  your choice of Strength or Dexterity. All alchemical 
  grenades can target only the creature hit by the 
  grenade, regardless of the spell imbuing the grenade. 
  On a missed attack roll, there is a 50% chance the 
  grenade shatters with no effect. If the grenade doesn’t 
  shatter, it can be retrieved and used again.
  Bane Grenade 
  Potion (alchemical grenade), uncommon 
  Whenever you hit a creature with this grenade, 
  it must make a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or 
  suffer the effects of the bane spell (no concentration 
  required).
  Cursed Grenade 
  Potion (alchemical grenade), very rare 
  Whenever you hit a creature with this grenade, 
  it must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or 
  suffer the effects of the bestow curse spell (no 
  concentration required). If the targeted creature fails 
  its saving throw, determine the nature of the curse 
  randomly.for trouble and judging whether someone 
  useful walks through the door.
  
  29
  Old Crank
  Communications
  The submarine has a communications station 
  that will allow you to send signals to the ship 
  and tell it which cannons to fire at Old Crank. 
  Note: If the ship took 15 or more structural 
  damage during the chase, each of the following 
  attacks has disadvantage. On your turn, choose 
  one of the following actions:
  Fire the Cannons. The ship unloads a 
  broadside of cannons at Crank. Make an attack 
  against Crank with a +7 bonus. If you hit, you 
  deal 8d8 bludgeoning damage to Crank.
  Fire the Binding Cannon. The ship mounts 
  one Eldritch Cannon on a swivel in the stern. 
  Make an attack against Crank with a +8 bonus. 
  If you hit, you deal 4d6 lightning damage, and 
  Crank loses his next action.
  Engineering
  The submarine has a small engineering console 
  that allows you to enhance and protect the 
  ship by directing power to key subsystems. On 
  your turn, choose one of the following actions:
  Empower Torpedo. You divert arcane 
  energy from the crystal powering the sub. Roll 
  10d6, and increase the damage of the next 
  standard torpedo fired by that amount.
  Activate the Shell. You divert arcane 
  energy to the hull of the ship. The next time 
  the submarine is hit by Crank, he takes 8d8 
  lightning damage.
  Grapple Arm Operator
  The submarine has an external grapple cannon 
  and spotlight, controlled from a console on 
  the bridge. On your turn, choose one of the 
  following actions:
  Fire the Grapple. You fire the grapple at 
  Crank. It isn’t likely to penetrate his armor, but 
  it will probably hurt! Make an attack against 
  Crank with a +8 bonus. If you hit, you deal 6d6 
  piercing damage.
  Activate the Spotlights. You activate the 
  massive spotlight on the submarine’s hull, 
  illuminating Crank. The Torpedo Gunner has 
  advantage on the next attack it makes.
  Torpedo Gunner
  The submarine has a large torpedo launcher 
  installed illegally. The ship carries explosive 
  torpedoes, as well as torpedoes that explode 
  with ice. On your turn, choose one of the 
  following actions:
  Fire the Torpedo. You fire a standard 
  torpedo at Crank. Make an attack against 
  Crank with a +8 bonus. If you hit, Crank takes 
  10d6 fire damage.
  Frost Torpedo. You fire a frost torpedo at 
  Crank. Make an attack against Crank. If you 
  hit, you deal 6d4 cold damage, and Crank 
  loses his next action.
  Navigation
  You control the movement of the submarine, 
  which is fairly standard for ships of this type. 
  However, you have a pair of non-standard 
  additions as well. On your turn, choose one of 
  the following actions:
  Go go go! Your console has a large green 
  button with “GO!” taped over it. When you hit 
  this button, the submarine surges forward. The 
  submarine’s speed for this turn is increased by 
  60 feet.
  Evasive Action. Next to the green button 
  is a red button with “ICE” taped over it. When 
  you hit the button, the ship immediately 
  begins surging in random directions. The next 
  attack against the sub has disadvantage.
  Player Handouts
  
  30
  Old Crank
  Old Crank Combat Aid
  Hidden Effects
  Whenever the players activate abilities during this 
  encounter, there are hidden effects depending on which 
  actions they use. Review each Role below for more 
  information. None of these effects are permanent, and 
  if no duration is listed, it lasts until that player’s next 
  turn.
  Communications
  Fire the Cannons. Launching the signal that tells the 
  ship to fire the cannons also causes a short in the firing 
  mechanism of the torpedo launcher. The next time 
  the gunner tries to fire either torpedo, the attack has 
  disadvantage. When this ability is used, describe the 
  Communications player hearing an odd zapping sound, 
  and the Gunner’s console flickering.
  Fire the Binding Cannon. Launching the signal that 
  tells the ship to fire the binding cannon also routes 
  additional power to the Engineer’s console, causing 
  the next use of “Empower Torpedo” to have double 
  the effect. Describe the engineering console getting 
  noticeably warmer.
  Engineering
  Empower Torpedo. Activating this ability also runs 
  additional power to the Grapple Cannon. The next time 
  the grapple cannon is fired and hits Crank, the grapple 
  manages to embed itself into his armor. Crank will rip 
  it free at the start of the next round, but until then 
  the ship and Crank are connected by a massive cable. 
  Describe the entire party hearing a distant whirring 
  sound coming from the direction of the grapple arm 
  when this ability is used.
  Activate the Shell. Activating this ability causes a 
  power failure when the Navigator activates their “Evasive 
  Action” ability. The next time that ability is activated, 
  the submarine comes to a halt instead of evading. 
  Crank gains advantage on his next attack against the 
  submarine, instead of disadvantage. Describe the mild 
  smell of smoke coming from the Navigator’s console.
  Grapple Arm Operator
  Fire the Grapple. Firing the grapple frees up power 
  for the Gunner’s torpedo launcher. The next attack the 
  Torpedo Gunner makes gains a +4 bonus. Describe the 
  gunner getting a little tingly whenever he is touching 
  the firing handle.
  Activate the Spotlights. Activating this ability 
  closes a circuit in the Communication console, causing 
  the opposite signals to come out. The next time 
  Communications chooses to use an ability, the other 
  ability is used instead. Describe sparks visibly arcing 
  off of the Communication console.
  Torpedo Gunner
  Fire the Torpedo. Firing the torpedo causes excess 
  energy to cycle back into the ship’s power crystal. The 
  Navigator’s “Go go go!” ability increases the ship’s 
  speed by 120 feet instead of 60 feet the next time it 
  is used. Describe the Navigator’s power readings go 
  through the roof.
  Frost Torpedo. The frost torpedoes are leaking 
  coolant. Firing the frost torpedo causes ice crystals 
  to spread across the hull and interfering with the 
  Engineer’s “Activate the Shell” ability. The next time 
  the Engineer activates that ability, the ship takes 4d8 
  lightning damage (but the ability still works as normal). 
  Describe the entire crew hearing a faint crystalline 
  crackling sound, as though from far away.
  Navigation
  Go go go! Activating this ability puts the ship 
  in a perfect position, allowing the signals from the 
  Communications console to get through much more 
  clearly. The next attack the ship makes has advantage. 
  Describe a soft hum coming from the Communication 
  console.
  Evasive Action. Activating this ability makes the 
  grapple arm nearly impossible to control. The next 
  time the Grapple Arm Operator fires the grapple, the 
  attack has disadvantage. Describe the party hearing a 
  loud clang from the hull, and the Grapple Arm Operator 
  feeling stiffness in his controls.
  Old Crank Statistics
  Initiative +2 (Crank acts 3 times per round)
  Hit Points 1000 to flee, 1500 to kill
  Speed 60 feet
  Armor Class 15
  All Attacks and Saves +8
  Damage 10d10
  
  31
  Old Crank
  Ready for more adventure?
  Check out our full length adventure path, Legacy’s Wake! 
  With more than 200 new monsters, dozens of new magic 
  items, and 280 pages of content, Legacy’s Wake will 
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  Available now at mithrilpunk.com/shop
  
  A Legend Rises
  When a pair of merchant vessels go missing, the party 
  is called to ensure the owners cannot collect on their 
  insurance. Will they pull off the job without attracting 
  unexpected attention?
  The Legend of Old Crank is a 5th Edition adventure 
  intended for characters of 7th level. They’ll deal with 
  insurance fraud, sunken ships, and forgotten islands. And 
  if that isn’t enough, they may attract the attention of a 
  creature out of myth and legend...
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/MithrilPunk/The Legend of Old Crank.pdf