Trouble darkens the shores of the Vezdali Peninsula when an earthquake hits, sending part of the village of Palma Flora down into the sea. “Tide of Retribution” is an adventure that takes characters from 1st to 3rd level. It introduces them to the Menagerie Coast—a tropical region filled with monstrous abominations, mysterious curses, and ancient temples. This setting is ideal for nautical and jungle-exploring adventures.
If your players use the heroic chronicle to create their characters (see chapter 4), talk to them about creating characters who grew up on the Menagerie Coast to give them a closer connection to this region. For characters not from the Menagerie Coast, the players should think about why those characters were drawn from across the continent to an idyllic village by the sea.
Story Overview
The village of Palma Flora is known for its vibrant green foliage, its competitive shark-hunting tournaments, and a sweet cocktail that shares the village’s name. Lurking in the Sharkfeather Abyss, an ocean trench just west of the village, is a small clan of some dozen sahuagin that has grown weary of the shark hunters of Palma Flora. Year after year, the sea devils have attacked the shark hunters in an effort to spoil the tournaments, but their small numbers have seen them consistently defeated by the hunters and the village’s hired mercenaries. However, things have recently changed.
When a young sahuagin named Selachai lost her parents in a raid against the shark hunters during last year’s tournament, her distraught prayers for vengeance touched the fathomless consciousness of Uk’otoa, an ancient leviathan trapped beneath the ocean. Selachai beseeched her new patron for the power to destroy the shark hunters and all who exploit the sea. She received that power in the form of a magic scepter tipped with a crystalline amber eye. Transformed by the scepter into a conduit for Uk’otoa’s might, Selachai now leads the Sharkfeather clan on a path of dark retribution, and it’s up to the adventurers to stop it.
Adventure Summary
In the first part of the adventure, the characters are enjoying a day of relaxation or invigorating shark hunting on the sunny shores of Palma Flora when a ground-quaking tremor rocks the coast. Before their eyes, the island-based portion of the village begins to sink into the depths. Sahuagin prowl the waters, eviscerating those who try to swim to safety. The characters must fight to survive and have a chance to save as many villagers as they can before Palma Flora is overrun.
In the end, the characters must leap aboard a ship fleeing the sinking village before they are overwhelmed. If they survive this attack and make it to the open water, they reach 2nd level. While aboard the ship, the characters interact with the crew and their mysterious tabaxi captain as they plan their next moves.
In the last part of the adventure, characters who want to save Palma Flora and unravel the mystery of the sinking village are faced with several options. Captain Three Earrings is keen for them to undertake the quest, and many of the nearby islands offer resources for underwater adventuring that might help them.
Returning to the watery ruins of Palma Flora, the characters face off against their sahuagin foes. The battle is vicious, as many of Palma Flora’s shark hunters have been twisted by eldritch power into half-humanoid, half-shark abominations. No matter the outcome of the final battle, the adventurers are set up to continue their nautical adventures along the Menagerie Coast.
Setup and Starting Points
Before beginning the adventure, work with your players as they talk about why their characters are in Palma Flora. You can provide players with some details regarding the village as it’s described in chapter 3. This can help the players get into character and help you establish why the party has come to this remote coastal village.
This is also a good time to figure out if the characters already know each other or if this adventure is the first time they’ve met.
That Sinking Feeling
Once the players are ready to begin, read or paraphrase the following to set the scene:
A cool breeze drifts across Flora Isle, mingling the sweet scent of flowers with the salty tang of the Lucidian Ocean. Well-tanned locals play on the beach, while sunburned visitors sit in wicker chairs and sip cold drinks. A half-dozen nearly naked shark hunters preparing to compete in the annual tournament stand in the shallows on the south shore, armed with harpoons and their wits.
The players now have the chance to describe what their characters are doing in the scene you’ve established. Your group can play out these scenes as short vignettes, with each player establishing what a normal day is like for the characters before the action begins.
Once the scene is set, proceed to the next section. If you or your players don’t feel comfortable roleplaying a short two-person scene to set the mood, let the players quickly summarize what their characters are doing, then get straight into the action.
All the sections in this part of the adventure are keyed to map 5.1, which appears later in this chapter.
Earthquake and Sahuagin Attack
Once the characters have introduced themselves, read:
The ground beneath your feet trembles and cracks. Waves a dozen feet high crash into the shore, and the sound of screaming fills the air as a stampede of beachgoers flees the sands. A chorus of shrieks add to the cacophony as shark hunters run from the water, pursued by humanoid creatures with fish-like heads and slick, rubbery skin.
Ask each player how their character reacts. If any of the characters want to fight the sahuagin, tell the players to roll initiative. The action of this adventure begins in the south part of the village (area P1, described below).
The characters might not be interested in saving the shark hunters, perhaps feeling that people not afraid to hunt sharks can fend for themselves. In that case, let them ask you questions about what else is happening in the village. The players might decide that their characters want to focus on saving villagers, raiding houses, or performing any other noble or selfish deeds as the village falls into chaos. In this event, refer to the map of Palma Flora and the following general features to answer their questions.
P1. South Shore
Four sahuagin emerge from the water to pursue two shark hunters (use the tribal warrior stat block). If the characters don’t interfere, the shark hunters are handily skewered and killed by the sahuagin.
Shark Hunters
The two shark hunters are reckless human teenagers—a female half-elf named Elanza and a male tiefling named Joao. Elanza fears that the entire village will sink into the sea, and she urges the characters to accompany her to the ships on the eastern shore and escape. Joao is obsessed with glory. If he survives this encounter, he heads for the north shore to keep fighting unless a character can convince him to flee to safety with a successful DC 10 Charisma (
Developments
After this encounter, an aftershock rocks the village. Any character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (
Where to Next?
From here, the characters can travel to the east, west, or north side of Palma Flora. Any character who looks toward the other parts of the village in an attempt to understand what’s happening must make a DC 10 Wisdom (
East Shore
The village docks are here, and several ships are already sailing away. One group of sailors is battling sahuagin as they try to board the last vessel still docked.
West Shore
The village is sinking most quickly here, and several beachside houses are already half submerged. The villagers and the sahuagin are all headed toward the north shore.
North Shore
Desperate villagers are trying to swim to the north part of the village on the mainland. A 50-foot-wide channel separates the two parts of the village after the earthquake splintered the bridge. If the characters don’t intervene, the villagers become easy pickings for the sahuagin and sharks.
P2. West Shore
If the characters travel to the west shore of the island, read:
A half-dozen cottages spread across this part of Flora Isle, and the waves are already lapping at their foundations. Doors hang open, and windows are smashed. One sahuagin raider leaps out of a smashed window, clutching a shark-tooth necklace in its slimy hand.
The sahuagin broke off from its raiding party to do a bit of looting. It attacks any characters it sees.
Looting
All the houses stand empty along this stretch of seashore. A character can try to scavenge valuables by spending 10 minutes searching a house and making a DC 13 Intelligence (
For every 10 minutes the characters spend looting houses, the island sinks and the water on all sides advances 5 feet inward.
Treasure
In addition to anything claimed by looting characters, the necklace carried by the sahuagin is covered in shark teeth and beaded with tiny shells, and is worth 25 gp.
P3. North Shore
If the characters travel to the north shore of the island, read:
The fifty-foot-wide channel that separates Flora Isle from the rest of Palma Flora is impassable after the earthquake splintered the bridge. By the look of it, the northern part of the village is suffering the same aftershocks as the island, and people are fleeing in droves.
A dozen villagers stand on the north side of the channel, all of them calling encouragement to the six villagers currently swimming across. But their calls turn to screams as three fast-moving sharks tear through the channel.
Three Reef Shark—all telepathically commanded by a sahuagin lurking underwater—attack the six Commoner swimming through the channel. One commoner is 35 feet across the channel and can reach the other side on their next turn. The other five villagers are only 25 feet across and are unsure whether to turn back or keep swimming. To be prepared if the characters decide to go into the water to save the swimmers, be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules for underwater combat in chapter 9 of the Player’s Handbook.
Sahuagin on Duty
The reef sharks aren’t aggressive unless threatened, but a sahuagin raider is commanding them to attack. If the sahuagin is killed, the sharks swim away and leave the villagers alone. This sahuagin is lurking underwater in the middle of the channel. A creature that is underwater and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (
Saving the Villagers
Any villagers who are saved promise the characters that they’ll remember their bravery. If the characters ever visit another settlement in the Menagerie Coast (such as Port Damali or Nicodranas) in future adventures, one of these NPCs might have settled there and can become a local resource for the characters.
Treasure
One of the villagers aided by the characters shows their gratitude with the gift of a family-heirloom golden bracelet (worth 25 gp).
P4. East Shore
If the adventurers travel to the east shore, read:
One ship remains moored to the waterlogged docks. Its crew members are battling sahuagin as well as giant crabs with orange shells and vicious pincers as they attempt to board the vessel. A young villager wearing a bloodstained white robe stands back from the fight and screams an incantation, calling a burst of golden flame down on one of the sahuagin. As you arrive, he turns to you, clearly frightened.
“Are any of you wounded? Those sailors need help, but I can’t get close enough to heal them. But if I heal you, will you please help them?”
The white-robed figure is Aurelio, a teenage acolyte with light brown skin and dyed-orange, shoulder-length hair. He is willing to cast
Combat
Four sailors (use the bandit stat block) are fighting against two sahuagin and four trained Giant Crab in the shallow water in front of the docks. Once the characters arrive, two of the sailors shout their thanks and run up the gangplank to prepare the ship for immediate departure. The other two remain to help fight.
Departure
With the two sailors on board, the ship is readied to depart in
Ship
The ship is a two-masted caravel with the name Wavechaser emblazoned on its hull. It can hold up to twenty people, including its crew of six.
Other Flora Isle Locations
The following areas, labeled P5 through P10 on map 5.1, are specific locations on Flora Isle. When the characters return to the ruins of Palma Flora in the last part of the adventure, all these areas are in ruins or have been swept away by the waves.
P5. Bridge
This bridge once connected Flora Isle to the rest of Palma Flora on the mainland. It is destroyed when the earthquake rocks the island.
P6. Cliffs.
Unlike the gentle, sloping beaches along the rest of the island, the north end of Flora Isle is a sheer cliff 10 feet high.
P7. Farmer’s Cottage
A farmer raises pigs and chickens in the pen adjacent to this house.
P8. Docks
Three ships are docked on the east side of the island. One is a caravel named Wavechaser (see area P4). The others are skiffs named Tradewind and Blushing Elf, respectively. Both skiffs flee the docks immediately after the earthquake.
P9. Tavern
The three-story Riptide Inn and Tavern is the tallest building on Flora Isle. Most visitors to the island stay here. The tavern’s ground floor is open to the air and looks out at the waves.
P10. Public Square
In the center of Flora Isle stands a wishing pool looked over by a statue of Kord the Storm Lord, patron deity of Palma Flora’s shark hunters. Most travelers throw a silver piece in for good luck. The pool presently contains 36 sp, but stealing these offerings is frowned on by the villagers. Several market stalls selling fresh fruit stand just north of the square.
Seafarers
Having escaped the destruction of Flora Isle, the characters can take stock of their situation and make some new acquaintances. After the characters depart the docks on Wavechaser, read:
Flora Isle and the rest of Palma Flora grows ever smaller on the horizon as Wavechaser cuts through the choppy waters of the Lucidian Ocean. Several refugees from the village are huddled on the deck of the ship, while the crew tends to the vessel.
This part of the adventure is an opportunity for the characters to catch their collective breath, interact with some of the NPCs on the vessel, and plan their next moves.
Character Advancement
At some point during this part of the adventure, ideally at the end of your first session of play, each of the characters advances to 2nd level. Where you place the end of your first session is up to you, but two good points to conclude a game are when the characters first board Wavechaser, and when they speak with Captain Three Earrings and decide their next destination (see below).
Wavechaser
Map 5.2 represents Wavechaser and can be used to represent other ships as well.
Wavechaser is a type of vessel known as a caravel, which is equipped for navigating coastal waters. The ship can carry twenty passengers comfortably. Though it’s a sturdy vessel, it’s not built for the open ocean. The Revelry-controlled island of Darktow is the farthest this ship could feasibly travel.
Wavechaser is outfitted with two ballistae on its stern for ship-to-ship combat. The ship’s store of iron-tipped ballista bolts is kept in the hold to keep their wooden shafts from rotting. A ballista’s game statistics are described under “Siege Equipment” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Interacting with the Crew
The crew members of Wavechaser are all easy to spot as they attend to their duties around the ship. Read:
A burly, hairy man is playing a card game with some of the refugees. A half-orc gazes out at the waves, as she smiles at a dolphin leaping through the ship’s wake. A young male elf with pale-green skin and watery eyes is speaking to a female dwarf with a thick, knotted beard at the ship’s helm. A handsome, muscle-bound man is flirting with one of the refugees.
Most of the crew of Wavechaser are secretly Revelry pirates, as is the captain of the ship—a female tabaxi with snow leopard-like spots named Three Earrings (on account of her three earrings). The captain is in her cabin, plotting the ship’s next move.
If you want to roleplay the interactions between the characters and the crew, you can fill these NPCs with as much personality as you want, making them fully fleshed-out characters:
Boerth (Male Human)
This darkly handsome, chaotic neutral bandit is heavyset and strong, and has a keen mind for games of chance. He hails from Port Damali. Boerth doesn’t trust anyone—especially his fellow Revelry sailors.
Dajarkal (Female Half-Orc)
This lawful neutral druid is soft-spoken and likes animals more than other people. She joined Wavechaser’s crew a week ago in Nicodranas—as a mercenary spy for the Clovis Concord tasked with identifying Revelry pirates. She secretly casts
Dillyu (Male Sea Elf)
This green-complexioned, chaotic good bandit joined the crew only a few days before. As a result, he has no idea yet that he’s working on a pirate vessel. Dillyu spent most of his life in Port Zoon after losing his family to a sahuagin raid as a child, and he hates the sea devils with a passion.
Heidi Axebeard (Female Dwarf)
This lawful evil acolyte is the ship’s pilot and first mate, and she has a knack for predicting the weather. She hails from Grimgolir in the Dwendalian Empire but has spent decades navigating the sea. Heidi has fought sahuagin on multiple occasions but has never seen them wield magic like whatever caused Flora Isle to sink beneath the sea.
Kijori (Male Human)
This tan-skinned, chaotic neutral bandit is the ship’s navigator. Despite his muscled physique, he isn’t very strong. A philanderer who hails from Port Damali, Kijori is a fool and isn’t suspicious of anyone.
Three Earrings (Female Tabaxi)
This pale, spotted, neutral evil bandit captain is a low-ranking member of the Revelry pirates. She brought her vessel to the village of Palma Flora because she was informed that a local sahuagin tribe had uncovered an unusual treasure. Three Earrings rightly assumed that they were going to attack the village, and she intended to be there to plunder the ruins after the attack. She didn’t anticipate Flora Isle sinking.
Captain’s Invitation.
Once the characters are done chatting with the crew, have the NPC they’re currently speaking to tell them that Captain Three Earrings would like to see the characters in her cabin.
Palma Flora Refugees
If the characters want to speak to any of the refugees, read or paraphrase the following:
Island refugees have created makeshift shelters from the sun all across the deck of Wavechaser. Those you saved during the raid are here, as well as a handful of others who managed to reach the ship before it left the dock.
The NPCs saved by the characters after the earthquake are mostly in a state of shock, though their gratitude toward the characters continues. They and the other refugees have personalities and attitudes that you can improvise based on how the characters acted toward them when Palma Flora was in crisis.
If a character wears or displays the shark tooth necklace taken from the sahuagin in area P2, one of the refugees recognizes it as theirs. (If Joao the shark hunter survived the raid, the necklace is his.) If the necklace is returned, its owner pledges eternal devotion to the character who found it, and that character gains inspiration.
Three Earrings’s Plan
When the characters meet with Captain Three Earrings in her quarters, read:
A tabaxi is hunched over a wide table, puzzling over a map pinned to its surface by a half dozen knives and daggers. Several golden rings glisten on her paws as she traces potential paths through the ocean. She glances up at you with her emerald eyes as you open the door, and her feline face spreads into a sharp-toothed smile that is equal parts cheerful and unsettling.
“Ah, welcome,” she purrs. “You are the heroes from the pretty village, yes? Welcome aboard Wavechaser. We have much to discuss about the sinking isle—and the treasure we can find if we return.”
Three Earrings is a pirate. More accurately, she is a member of the Revelry, a highly organized coalition of buccaneers headquartered on the dread isle of Darktow, many leagues west (see chapter 3). The tabaxi is interested in the adventurers she has brought on board, wanting to appraise their skill and enrich herself in the process. Ultimately, she intends to use them as tools in her hunt for sahuagin treasure and invites them to join her crew. First, however, she needs a plan.
The captain of Wavechaser is a cunning tabaxi bandit captain with a climbing speed of 20 feet, the Feline Agility trait (see below), and
Feline Agility
When Three Earrings moves on her turn in combat, she can double her speed until the end of the turn. Once she uses this trait, she can’t use it again until she moves 0 feet on one of her turns.
Three Earrings has a knack for knowing exactly what a person wants and how to offer it to them. Unless a character has a passive Charisma (
As she talks to the characters, Three Earrings glibly answers any questions they put to her (see below) and attempts to manipulate them into suggesting that they want to save Palma Flora. She only aggressively suggests a course of action if the characters appear out of their depth. Part of her strategy is to make the adventurers feel as though they are in complete control, even as she subtly directs the conversation.
A character who succeeds on a DC 16 Wisdom (
What Three Earrings Knows
The tabaxi captain knows exactly what happened in Palma Flora, thanks to the Revelry spies that have been observing the village and the Sharkfeather Abyss for the past few months. She reveals any of the following information:
- The earthquake dragged Flora Isle into the Sharkfeather Abyss, a nearby trench that is home to a clan of shark-herding humanoids known as sahuagin.
- The Sharkfeather sahuagin and the people of Palma Flora have been at odds for generations, since Palma Flora hosts an annual shark-hunting festival.
- A young female sahuagin named Selachai recently took charge of the Sharkfeather clan and wields unusual powers. She carries a magic scepter that has been recognized as a
rod of retribution , which has become a conduit for unearthly levels of magical power. (The rod is a new magic item detailed in chapter 6.) - No one knows exactly how this young sahuagin managed to cause an earthquake powerful enough to drag Flora Isle under the waves, but that isn’t important. What is important is finding a way to delve beneath those waves and take the scepter from Selachai. Doing so would stop her from causing any more chaos, and the relic would doubtlessly sell for a pretty penny on the black market.
- Three Earrings wants to sell the treasure and split it three ways—a third to her and the ship’s upkeep, a third to the crew, and a third to the adventurers. She offers them a total of 500 gp as their one-third share if they help her retrieve the rod.
- A number of nearby ports or islands are good sites for Wavechaser to dock, unload its refugees, and find gear that could help a group of brave adventurers take on the sahuagin in their underwater lair.
If the characters tell Three Earrings that they want to challenge Selachai, she lays out several of the ports of call they could visit before turning about and sailing for the Sharkfeather Abyss. If the adventurers would rather leave this mess behind them, she scowls and scoffs, but eventually acquiesces. The captain agrees to drop the party off in Port Damali, where she hopes to find “a few sellswords with real courage.”
Ports of Call
For characters set on returning to Flora Isle and facing down the sahuagin threat, three viable ports are close by, any of which would take in the refugees and let the characters seek supplies for their mission. Chapter 3 has more information about all the following locations:
Bisaft Isle
This tiny island has a small port. A shaman living in the hills beyond the port might be able to provide the characters with a charm of water breathing (see “Charms” in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The charm allows the character to cast the
Brokenbank
This village is the smallest settlement recognized by the Clovis Concord but is nonetheless filled with foreign ships. An apothecary here might be able to provide potions that would grant the ability to breathe underwater.
Port Damali
This city is too large for the characters to fully explore in this adventure. Three Earrings knows a smith with black-market connections, and who can help the characters obtain a number of experimental diving helmets that would allow them to breathe beneath the waves.
Next Moves
As thanks for their bravery, the characters are offered the use of a cramped but comfortable spare cabin as sleeping quarters. Unless Three Earrings visits one of the characters (see “Three Earrings’s Plan” earlier in this adventure), the night passes uneventfully. Read:
Seagulls squawk and chase behind you as Wavechaser sails on to your next port of call. Night settles around you, the crew guided only by the light of the stars.
The characters' decision on where to travel next might be the point that marks the end of the first session of this adventure. If you ended the first session before completing this section, this is still a good place to take a short break before continuing into the next part of the adventure. Remember that the characters should now be 2nd level.
Hunger of the Deep
Once the players are ready to begin this last section of the adventure, read or paraphrase the following to set the scene:
“Wake up, travelers!” The voice of Boerth, one of Wavechaser’s crew members, rouses you from slumber. The sun is barely above the horizon, but you can just make out the docks of a port through the porthole window of your cabin. “It’s past dawn and time to get moving.”
When the adventurers emerge from their cabin, they find that the refugees from Palma Flora are packing up the few possessions they were able to save. They thank the characters again for their rescue before going ashore. One of the refugees has business contacts in the port, and can arrange to help the other refugees find shelter and plan their next moves. He is also able to draw on funds as a final reward for the characters' assistance—5 gp per refugee brought on board.
If the characters made friends with any of these NPCs and want them to stay, they can encourage them to hang around the ship and continue traveling with them. Otherwise, all the refugees leave the adventure here. You can reintroduce these NPCs when the characters return to any port in the Clovis Concord, if either you or the players want to see them again.
Adapting Your Port of Call
An important part of being a Dungeon Master is knowing how to present the players with choices while also not forcing yourself to do more work than you have to. Allowing players the option of visiting three different ports is potentially a huge amount of work, even with the help of a book such as this one. To minimize the amount of preparation you have to do, a generic settlement with several shops and locations is presented here. Short descriptions then talk about how to make each possible settlement unique.
Three Earrings is in something of a rush and suggests that the characters not spend too much time on shore—or she’ll leave without them. This makes exploring the larger cities of Port Damali and Port Zoon less appealing, at least for now.
Port General Features
All the ports that the characters can visit in this section have the following general features. The specific information on the three ports, below, tells you how these general features and their NPCs are modified for each port.
Apothecary
The port has a dedicated herbalist (use the druid stat block) selling remedies to passing travelers. The druid has four
General Goods Store
The port has a general goods store, which sells items in the “Adventuring Gear” section in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook worth 50 gp or less. The store’s clerk (use the commoner stat block) has four of each item in stock. Characters can also sell items to the general goods store for half their price in the Player’s Handbook.
Scrollery
The port has a shop that sells magic scrolls. The scribe here (use the mage stat block) has four spell scrolls for sale at a cost of 50 gp each: one
Smithy
The port has a smithy that sells any armor and weapons found in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook worth 200 gp or less. The smithy has two of each item in stock.
Bisaft Isle
In addition to the general features noted above, the port of Bisaft Isle has the following features.
Atmosphere
Bisaft Isle is warm and balmy, particularly in the early morning. The whole port smells of fresh rain. Its people are wary of Three Earrings, but are kind to visitors and refugees.
Scrollery
The scrollery is a mile from the harbor and is run by an old female tortle shaman named Grimalda (use the mage stat block). She owes Three Earrings a favor and grants one party member a _charm of water breathing _(see “Charms” in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The charm allows the character to cast the
Brokenbank
In addition to the general features noted above, Brokenbank has the following features.
Atmosphere
Brokenbank is a muddy, rain-slick village crammed full of travelers. It can feel claustrophobic, and it seems as though a leering Zhelezo guard stands on every street corner.
Apothecary
Brokenbank’s apothecary is a chubby, female sea elf druid named Aldageam. Three Earrings saved Aldageam’s life when she was young, and although she doesn’t fully trust the tabaxi (who she knows is a pirate), she is happy to help her friend. She has ten
Pawn Shop and General Store
Brokenbank features a thriving pawn shop that doubles as its general store. Items sold here fetch 75 percent of their value rather than 50 percent.
Port Damali
In addition to the general features noted above, Port Damali has the following features.
Atmosphere
Port Damali is a beautiful and lively city, but its docks are smelly, weather-beaten, and dangerous.
Smithy
The local smithy has received several experimental breathing helmets from inventors in Port Zoon. Three Earrings gives a letter to the adventurers and asks that they deliver it to the smith without opening it. (The letter reads: “The Revelry is requisitioning your supply of diving helmets. Ask no questions, and your next shipment will arrive unharried.")
The smith is a middle-aged human veteran named Hektor. He blanches when the note is read, but then offers up a number of diving helmets equal to the number of characters in the party. Each resembles a helm of steel and glass resembling a cage wrapped around a fishbowl. If asked about payment, the smith stammers out, “They’re yours! No questions asked. Thank you for your patronage.”
These experimental helmets are
Departing for Palma Flora
Once the characters have concluded their business in port, Three Earrings looks sternly at them and asks, “Are you prepared? You’re about to risk life and limb for naught but treasure and a sense of vengeance. The only folk who would do such a thing are the greedy, the foolish, and those with nothing left to lose.”
A character can make a DC 16 Wisdom (
Roleplaying Three Earrings
Against her own nature, Three Earrings has taken a liking to these adventurers (unless they have done something to annoy her) and is having second thoughts about using them as disposable tools in her attempt to gain the
If a character confronts the tabaxi over this in private at any time before the final battle (see “Sharkfeather Abyss” later in this chapter), Three Earrings asks, “What’s the most important thing a captain can feel for her crew? Is it trust? Or is it pride?” The character can make a DC 13 Charisma (
Encounter on the Open Sea
In the middle of the night, one day after Wavechaser leaves port, the ship’s navigator, Kijori, shouts out a warning. Another ship has emerged from behind a tall rock formation and is moving to intercept!
This encounter provides a means of breaking up travel and for deepening the intrigue surrounding Three Earrings. If your group wants to finish the rest of this adventure in a single game session and is pressed for time, consider skipping this encounter.
The intercepting ship, named Moonbeam, is a caravel flying the colors of the Clovis Concord, the government of the Menagerie Coast. The craft is slightly smaller than Wavechaser and is gaining on her rapidly.
Moonbeam is on the hunt for Three Earrings and is captained by Lieutenant Commander Voskiir Larth, a princely and flamboyant pale-skinned, male half-elf bandit captain. Wavechaser’s druid crew member Dajarkal, a spy for the Clovis Concord, has reported the ship’s movements by way of her animal messengers, and Moonbeam has been sent to intercept the secret pirate vessel.
Combat Begins
It takes Moonbeam 10 minutes to intercept Wavechaser, giving the characters and the crew time to wake up and don their armor (see “Getting Into and Out of Armor” in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook). Combat begins when Voskiir and his boarding party of two Thug, two Scout, and four Bandit swing aboard the vessel. He shouts out, “In the name of the laws of the Clovis Concord, surrender your vessel peacefully, or we shall take her!”
Three Earrings keeps a low profile at the start of the fight, skulking in the shadows and hoping that the crew and the characters can convince Voskiir he’s grabbed up the wrong ship. However, the commander responds to the slightest provocation with overzealous force. If the characters or crew react with confusion or try to talk things out with him, he refuses to listen and attacks outright. Use the map of Wavechaser to judge the positions of the characters, their allies, and their enemies in this combat.
Complex Combat.
Running a combat with several allied NPCs can be complicated. To simplify this situation, have the four bandits on Voskiir’s crew engage Boerth, Dajarkal, Dillyu, and Kijori, while Three Earrings fights from the shadows and Heidi stays at the helm to steer the vessel. This leaves the characters to take on Voskiir at the center of the fight. You can resolve these one-on-one duels using dice as normal if you wish, or you can declare that one side defeats the other depending on how the characters conclude their battle with Voskiir.
Dajarkal and Dillyu are wild cards in the battle, and can be used as you see fit. Dajarkal is a mercenary with no real alliance to the Clovis Concord, so she might hang back at first to see which side gains the upper hand. Dillyu might need to have a character convince him to fight on their side before he joins the fray.
Concluding Combat
Combat ends when Voskiir and his boarding party are defeated. Moonbeam sails away with all haste once the battle is lost, but Wavechaser doesn’t follow. If the boarding party is killed, that’s the end of that. If the adventurers capture Voskiir, however, they have the chance to interrogate him. (You can also have Dajarkal or one of Voskiir’s crew know what he knows if the captain didn’t survive.)
Voskiir offers up willingly that Three Earrings is a Revelry pirate and that he is an officer of the Zhelezo sent to apprehend her. If the characters try to get more out of him, you can cut things short by having Three Earrings appear and order one of her crew to “Throw this wretched do-gooder in the brig.”
If Three Earrings’s piratical nature isn’t public knowledge yet, now is a good time for the characters to question her about it. She tries to deflect all criticism and claims that she simply wants to claim the
Ambush at Palma Flora
The winds favor the characters on their return journey, and they arrive at the sunken ruins of Flora Isle at dawn on the third day of travel. When the characters arrive at Palma Flora and the Sharkfeather Abyss, read:
Heidi Axebeard shouts out from the helm. “Sharkfeather Abyss! We’ve arrived!”
The crew moves to the starboard side of the ship to look across the waves as the first light of dawn creeps over the horizon. Along the distant coast, you can make out the mainland section of Palma Flora, which is intact but appears deserted, its residents presumably having fled in case of another sahuagin attack. The waters around the ship are murky and marked by only a few stray scraps of driftwood bobbing lazily on the surface.
If any of the characters have a passive Wisdom (
You spot movement out of the corner of your eye. Something is climbing aboard the ship from the port side—a small party of sahuagin! Close behind them are two hulking, shark-headed humanoids.
These monsters attack at once. If no one notices the eight sahuagin and two Sharkbody Abomination (see the “Sharkbody Abominations” sidebar) as they clamber aboard Wavechaser, they surprise the characters and the crew. As with the previous encounter, you can streamline this encounter by having some of the sahuagin engage the crew of Wavechaser one-on-one.
Combat’s End
The sahuagin leap overboard and flee into the sea when the first of the abominations is killed. As they flee, Three Earrings emerges from below decks and shouts, “Adventurers! Use the supplies we’ve acquired and follow them into the trench! We’ll deal with the last of these monsters!”
If the characters ignore the order, or if they kill all the sahuagin before killing the first abomination, Three Earrings instead congratulates the adventurers after the battle. She laments that there aren’t enough water-breathing tools for her to join them and urges them to bring her the
Sharkbody Abominations
The sahuagin shaman Selachai tapped into Uk’otoa’s magic to wreak vengeance on the shark hunters of Palma Flora. The unfortunate hunters who failed to escape were transformed into monstrosities with coarse grayish skin, the head of a shark, and a muscular, humanoid physique. These creatures possess all their previous intelligence and personality, but they respond to the control of their sahuagin masters' Shark Telepathy.
A sharkbody abomination uses the hunter shark stat block, with these changes:
It is an aberration.
It can breathe air and water, but needs to be submerged at least once every 4 hours to avoid suffocating.
It has humanoid limbs and a walking speed of 20 feet.
The curse that transformed it into an abomination can be undone only by a
remove curse spell or similar magic.The true horror of the sharkbody abominations is that they might be people the characters met and left behind in the first part of this adventure. If you want to sting your players' emotions as they fight these monsters, describe how the sharkbody abomination resembles a specific NPC the characters failed to save.
Descent into Sharkfeather Abyss
An earthquake caused by the writhing of Uk’otoa deep beneath the sea has drawn Flora Isle into the trench the sahuagin call home. The now-ruined island is lodged within a tight corner of the trench one hundred feet below the surface of the sea. The locations in this section are keyed to map 5.3.
Diving into the depths of the trench is difficult but not impossible for heroic adventurers. Ask each character to make a DC 13 Strength (
Features of the Ruins
The sunken ruins of Flora Isle have the following general features.
Light
The trench is within the sunlight zone beneath the surface of the water and is brightly lit by day.
Water
The deep, turbulent water of the trench makes movement difficult for creatures not used to it. A creature without a swimming speed must spend 2 feet of movement for every 1 foot it moves. Additionally, it must succeed on a DC 10 Strength (
Showdown with Selachai
Once the characters arrive at the ruins, read:
What remains of the sunken island is wedged precariously in the undersea trench. The skeletal frames of its houses still stand, and the gruesome remains of villagers are strewn about.
Five sahuagin flanked by several of the shark-like abominations you fought earlier kneel within the ruins before a sahuagin wearing a magnificent headdress. This figure is chanting something in an unknown language and holds aloft a gleaming scepter tipped with a glowing amber eye.
Two Sharkbody Abomination (see the “Sharkbody Abominations” sidebar earlier in this chapter) and five sahuagin are gathered around Selachai, the sahuagin warlock of Uk’otoa (see chapter 7) who has channeled the power to destroy the hated surface dwellers. These creatures are all lending Selachai their prayers as she invokes Uk’otoa’s power, turning another drowned villager into a sharkbody abomination.
As soon as combat begins, Selachai orders her sahuagin supplicants to protect her. However, none of them move to attack. Instead, they stand 20 feet back from her, still kneeling, intent on giving up their lives to protect her. Selachai orders the sharkbody abominations to put the characters out of commission.
Selachai waits until one sharkbody abomination is dead before she acts in combat, unless she is attacked first. A character who succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (
Roleplaying Selachai
Selachai is a young adult sahuagin who commands the respect of her clan. She came into a position of leadership by defeating the clan’s previous priestess in ritual combat, using the powers granted to her by Uk’otoa. Everything she has in life, she has had to fight for, but this hasn’t hardened her heart. Rather, she wishes to create a better life for her people.
Ideal: “Only power can change the land dwellers' minds. We have tried reason. We have tried threats. Now they will acquiesce to us by choice or serve us by force.”
Bond: “The Sharkfeather tribe is all I have. I would do anything to protect it—even at the cost of my own life.”
Flaw: “Secretly, I want to believe the best of people, even of land-walkers. Nevertheless, if they betray me, I will ensure they die a painful and horrific death.”
Concluding the Adventure
This adventure ends with a final scene, based on whether the characters were victorious in their battle with Selachai or were defeated.
Defeat
If the characters were defeated by Selachai and her sahuagin, all is not lost. The warlock is no stranger to killing, but she recognizes an opportunity when it appears before her. She commands her minions to bind the characters, stabilize them, and carry their
Any characters who survived the fight awaken a few hours later on the shore alongside the ruins of the mainland part of Palma Flora, their wrists and ankles bound by kelp. Four sahuagin watch over them, while a fifth alerts Selachai where she lurks in the water nearby. Breaking the kelp bonds requires a successful DC 13 Strength (
When the characters face Selachai, read:
The sahuagin priestess emerges from the water to face you, her mouth spreading into a huge grin that reveals her needle-like teeth. In fractured Common, she says, “I could use the help of land walkers like you. The surface dwellers and boat riders hunt us with their hooks and harpoons, but they trust you. Take my hand. We don’t need to fight. I can tell you so many tales of the land walkers' evil.”
This ending sets up future adventures along the Menagerie Coast. As a DM, you can have fun with the elusive morality of Selachai and the sahuagin, and of the Clovis Concord. Who are the real villains. Are either of these factions truly good or evil? What of Three Earrings and the Revelry pirates? All these dangling plot threads offer hints of new stories that you can guide your players toward, or which they can seek out of their own volition.
Victory
If the characters prevailed in the battle against Selachai, the
Three Earrings’s Resolve.
If any of the characters convinced Three Earrings not to think of them as pawns earlier in the adventure, she resolves to treat all the characters as friends now. She welcomes them back onto Wavechaser with a huge smile, then asks the adventurers to come with her to the pirate haven of Darktow. “There’s no use in being subtle about it,” she says with a shrug. “I need to fence this thing in order to get you your gold. No place to do that but in Darktow.”
If the characters refuse the offer, the tabaxi sadly accepts their decision—but she draws her cutlass and half-jokingly threatens to gut them if they ever betray her in future.
If the characters go with Three Earrings, she is true to her word. She even invites the party to join her as pirates on Wavechaser—and hints that they could earn the command of their own ship if they stick with her. From this point, your campaign can continue with the characters as pirates along the Menagerie Coast, or they could mutiny and try to take Wavechaser for themselves.
Three Earrings’s Treachery
If Three Earrings wasn’t convinced to value the adventurers as her friends, she demands that they give her the rod. If they don’t hand it over, she threatens to take it by force. If the characters continue to resist, Three Earrings and Wavechaser’s crew all fight them. If the characters are defeated, Three Earrings orders the crew to throw any survivors in the brig.
“They know too much now,” she growls bitterly. “The Plank King will know what to do with them.”
If the adventure ends this way, the characters are in a rough spot. Their next destination is a prison—and possibly an execution—in Darktow. They might have to join the Revelry, or try to escape their prison and stow away on a pirate ship. Or perhaps Moonbeam will return and intercept Wavechaser as it returns to Darktow. The choice is yours!
Character Advancement
At the end of this adventure, the characters reach 3rd level. With this experience under their belts, they can set off on any number of possible adventures across the Menagerie Coast—or even leave this realm behind and travel to another part of Wildemount.
As the characters level up, you can ask the players where they want to adventure next, or ask what excites them most about adventuring on the Menagerie Coast. Use their responses and suggestions to plan your next adventure.