TEXT: EN World EN5idEr | Metropolitan Arcana
  Metropolitan
  Arcana
   
  writing Andrew Engelbrite
   color art Héctor Rodríguez
   
  editing Mike Myler
   
  layout Eric Life-Putnam
  S
  crutinizing the half-orc’s doc-
  ument carefully, the captain 
  carefully analyzes every line of the 
  supposed pardon until suddenly the 
  writ explodes in a puff of scrap paper, 
  the rapidly shrinking form of the crimi-
  nal racing away and cackling mad as 
  a hatter. He reaches for his sword but 
  grasps at nothing, the illusion of his 
  weapon disappearing just as he spots 
  the fleeing half-orc raising the blade in 
  triumph. The captain cracks a smile 
  in response and concentrates on the 
  invisible mark cast upon his sword, 
  the location of the thieves’ den finally 
  about to be revealed. 
  Metropolitan
  Arcana
  EN World EN5ider | Hazards of the High Seas
  n ocean voyage doesn’t  
   have to be a boring trip 
  from port to port!
  While the water may seem 
  placid and serene, many 
  dangers lurk both above and 
  below the surface. Some of 
  these hazards are perfectly
  mundane in nature, such 
  as storms and diseases. 
  Hazards of the 
  High Seas
  Hazards of the 
  High Seas
  Writing	
  Jeff Gomez
  Editing		
  Felipe Real
  A
  
  EN World EN5ider | Hazards of the High Seas
  5.	 Disease. Ships long at sea inevitable suffer from 
  diseases. Poor food, little sleep, and too much sun 
  weigh on anyone's system. Scurvy is a common 
  problem, borne of an improper diet, but rats on 
  board can also carry influenza or the plague. The 
  only question is, can the doctor head off the sick-
  ness before it ravages the crew? If not, then the 
  ship may become devoid of life, drifting empty un-
  til it is discovered or eventually comes to rest.
  6.	Eldritch Ruins. These are strange waters. Grey spires 
  protrude from the mirrored ocean. Hallucinogenic 
  vapors bubble from the depths. Waves lap at face-
  less statues. Here, the top of some otherworldly 
  city breaks the waves in what seems like the open 
  ocean. Have these ruins always been here? Or 
  have they recently emerged? And if one takes a 
  stairway down into the flooded catacombs—into 
  the black maw and dripping salt—what will one 
  find?
  7.	Floating Village. This massive barge is made from 
  the hulks of derelict ships, rotting rope, and 
  hacked together driftwood. Yet despite the ves-
  sel’s appearance, the many inhabitants seem 
  happy enough. These pioneering individuals have 
  made a home for themselves on this floating vil-
  lage, complete with civic structures and stores of 
  fish. They are eager to trade and have the boun-
  ty of the sea to offer. But beware! Those who live 
  on the sea have different customs than those who 
  live on land.
  8.	 Flotsam. The crew happens upon the remains 
  of another ship. Something terrible happened 
  here—corpses bob among the broken timbers. Is 
  the wood scorched, or riddled with arrows? Are 
  there floating treasures to be recovered? Do mas-
  sive severed tentacles float among the dead? And 
  are any left alive to tell the tale?
  9.	 Ghost Ship. An ethereal ship sails these waters, 
  their captain still fighting the storm that tore him 
  limb from limb. The ghostly vessel appears on 
  stormy nights, sails tattered and its bow broken. 
  The crew sing shanties with every swell they crest.  
  Others, like pirates and mutiny, introduce a bit of chaos for a voyage gone wrong. Still others, such as eldritch 
  ruins or acid fog, bring mysterious or arcane peril to the open sea.
  Use the following items to generate an exciting ocean voyage!
  1. Abandoned Lighthouse. Who built this strange light-
  house, warning others of rocks beneath the waves? 
  The style does not fit any modern civilization. This 
  is a lighthouse from ages past, kept sturdy (but no 
  longer functional) by the design of a long-forgotten 
  architect. While the insides have been plundered 
  of anything valuable, they still make for an inter-
  esting glimpse into days long past. And perhaps a 
  hidden map leads to buried treasure somewhere 
  nearby.
  2.	Acid Fog. Acid fog is a natural hazard from the de-
  composing of large magical creatures. It hangs low 
  and deadly across the waves, sometimes for miles 
  in each direction. Acid fog melts the skin and lungs 
  of anybody exposed to it, but even those who take 
  shelter in a ship's hull gain only temporary re-
  prieve. The fog eats quickly through sails and takes 
  its time through the timber. Once it makes its way 
  through, it feasts on all within until the vessel falls 
  completely apart.
  3.		Dangerous Survivor. A lone sailor clings to a scrap of 
  wood or spit of rock. If invited onboard, he is hesi-
  tant to tell his tale. This is a powerful sorcerer, tap-
  ping into dangerous energies and cavorting with 
  demons. It was his recklessness that destroyed his 
  previous vessel. If confronted, the sorcerer may 
  lash out again—or perhaps he will only become 
  wracked with guilt. Either way, is such a risk really 
  worth one man’s life, particularly if he treats it so 
  carelessly?
  4.	 Giant Shark (Megalodon). What can a shark do 
  against a ship? Little, unless it is a dire shark. Dire 
  sharks, or megalodons, can put some smaller boats 
  to shame. If the water is chummed with corpses, 
  or the ship is leaking manure from livestock, then 
  a megalodon may decide something tasty hides 
  inside the crunchy wood. A dire shark can tear a 
  ship piece by piece with fangs the size of swords. 
  With thick armor, megalodons are nearly impossi-
  ble to kill, but they can be driven off if heavily in-
  jured. Just be careful that the blood from such an 
  encounter does not attract other sharks.
  
  EN World EN5idEr | Metropolitan Arcana
  Metropolitan
  Arcana
   
  writing Andrew Engelbrite
   color art Héctor Rodríguez
   
  editing Mike Myler
   
  layout Eric Life-Putnam
  S
  crutinizing the half-orc’s doc-
  ument carefully, the captain 
  carefully analyzes every line of the 
  supposed pardon until suddenly the 
  writ explodes in a puff of scrap paper, 
  the rapidly shrinking form of the crimi-
  nal racing away and cackling mad as 
  a hatter. He reaches for his sword but 
  grasps at nothing, the illusion of his 
  weapon disappearing just as he spots 
  the fleeing half-orc raising the blade in 
  triumph. The captain cracks a smile 
  in response and concentrates on the 
  invisible mark cast upon his sword, 
  the location of the thieves’ den finally 
  about to be revealed. 
  Metropolitan
  Arcana
  EN World EN5ider | Hazards of the High Seas
  13.	Mutiny. The crew has had enough. Either by mutu-
  al assurance or led by a charismatic discontent, the 
  crew decides to take matters into their own hands. 
  Mutinies usually follow a string of (apparently) bad 
  decisions by the captain. They grow like rot until 
  they overtake the vessel. Once a mutiny has tak-
  en place, the structure of the ship is irreparably 
  damaged. Mutiny follows bloody mutiny, and each 
  leader has less authority than the last. Often, only 
  the reinstatement of the original captain can quell 
  the tide or betrayal—and even then there is hell to 
  pay.
  Despite its undead nature, the ship and its crew 
  are not truly evil—they are merely unfortunate 
  victims of an angry sea.
  10.	Kraken. It’s hard to imagine fantasy on the high 
  seas without a wriggling, multi-armed, ship-con-
  suming kraken. These beasts populate every sail-
  or’s nightmares. There is little a ship can do if 
  attacked by a kraken. Timber does not last long 
  under the crushing strain of tentacles. But a val-
  iant struggle can be had, and kraken are less than 
  meticulous in picking off survivors.
  11.	Merfolk Raiders. Pirates are bad enough, but mer-
  folk pirates are worse still. These devious priva-
  teers swim underneath ships and drill holes, then 
  collect the loot when it sinks into their domain. A 
  ship may not even know that it is under attack un-
  til it is too late. If a ship has no underwater defens-
  es, then it has little chance against these aquatic 
  raiders. 
  12.	Migrating Whales. Sometimes, the open sea is in-
  terrupted by beauty. A large pod of whales passes 
  by on their standard migrating course. They are 
  harmless, graceful, and stunning in their size. The 
  sight of waterspouts and breaching leviathan si-
  lences even the oldest sailor with awe. Here, at 
  least, is a moment of peace in a dangerous voy-
  age.
  Open	Game	Content	| The game 
  rule information in this article is 
  designated Open Game Content. 
  All other material in this article, 
  including maps and illustrations 
  (including illustrations in the 
  public domain), in-character and 
  out-of-character narrative and descriptive text, char-
  acter and place names, trade dress, “EN Publishing,” 
  “EN World,” “EN5ider,” EN Publishing product and 
  article titles, and EN World and EN Publishing logos, 
  are designated Product Identity.
  
  EN World EN5ider | Hazards of the High Seas
  17.	 Shrinking Enemy Ship. The ship stumbles across 
  one of their enemy’s vessels sinking beneath the 
  waves. Is this a blessing? Or a curse? Floundering 
  sailors beg for help. Without interference, these 
  men and women will surely drown. But taking them 
  on board could be not only foolish but highly dan-
  gerous.
  18.	Slavers. Slavers are a scourge to the open waters. 
  They are despised even among pirates for the loot 
  they carry. Slavers seek to capture other ships and 
  carry the sailors into slavery. Their fighting men are 
  sometimes slaves themselves, so it may be possi-
  ble to turn the tide of battle with the promises of 
  freedom.
  19.	Storms. Storms can appear even during the dry sea-
  son in normally placid waters. A storm in the wrong 
  moment can wreck an invasion fleet or transform a 
  naval victory into a rout. To survive a storm, a crew 
  must be able to respond to any threat as soon as 
  it appears—patching, bailing, and adjusting sails as 
  the situation merits. A crew that tires before the 
  storm does will find a new home in the ocean’s 
  depths.
  20.	Stowaway. Sometimes, the biggest dangers of the 
  sea come from land. A stowaway reveals himself, 
  either intentionally or by accident. Perhaps the 
  ragged creature is a desperado seeking asylum. Or 
  maybe he’s a threat, eager to take over the ship or 
  foment a mutiny.
  14.	Pirates. Freebooters and marauders, pirates are 
  the bandits of the open ocean. Through violence, 
  they take the work of others and sell it in black mar-
  kets and similar dens of sin. Some pirates abide by 
  pseudo-honorable codes. Others follow no rules. 
  In either case, pirates are prevalent in rich waters 
  and a force to be feared. Luckily, pirates are con-
  sidered criminals by every nation and creed. While 
  they may attack any ship, they can expect no safe 
  harbor wherever they turn.
  15.	Reefs. Reefs are colorful and vibrant, but surpris-
  ingly sharp. The gnarled coral rips through ships’ 
  hulls like so much parchment, and waterlogged 
  sailors tear themselves to pieces on the rough 
  rock. At least then they have something pretty to 
  look at before the sharks get to them. Coral and 
  fish of all shapes and colors can dazzle onlookers, 
  even if the reef is better enjoyed from the safety 
  of a ship.
  16.	 Reef Spider. There are many strange creatures 
  that feed off the maritime commerce of nations. 
  Among these is the feared reef spider. As large as 
  a horse, this white spider spins a floating web a 
  mile wide to ensnare passing ships. Once tangled 
  in the sticky substance, the reef spider climbs 
  aboard and feasts. Over time, the web, or “float-
  ing reef,” accumulates the derelict hulls of a dozen 
  vessels. Aboard each of them, there are skeletons, 
  treasure, and often hundreds of spider eggs just 
  waiting to hatch.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/EN World EN5ider/EN5ider 279 - Hazards of the High Seas.pdf