Adventure for a Level 3-5 party

Overview: The pirate Captain Dresda and her vile crew attack a small fishing village. The party knows the attack is coming and can prepare a trap for the pirate captain. Dresda is actually the name of the false idol that the pirates worship.

Setup: The party arrives at a small fishing village named Piketown. The village consists of a single inn called “The Foamspray” and a handful of small cottages (see map). There’s maybe a hundred people who live in the village in total. That night, a chill wind blows from the ocean and a man dripping wet bursts into the inn. “Pirates are coming. Flee the village. You must flee,” cries the man. He’s not wounded but he is exhausted. He collapses into a chair.

The man’s name is Gulbret. He’s a low level druid who was traveling on a merchant vessel when it was attacked by the evil pirate Dresda and her crew. Those that the pirates didn’t kill, they enslaved. Gulbret managed to escape by leaping into the ocean and turning into a dolphin. He’s followed the ship for a few days trying to figure out a way to save his friends when he overheard the pirates say they needed more slaves to fill the galley and so they would attack Piketown. He swam ahead of them to warn the village. They are maybe two hours behind him and will attack at midnight.

The villagers will flee into the nearby hills. They have no interest in staying and trying to defend their homes. They are poor so they have nothing really to lose. They can always rebuild anything the pirates torch. The players are welcome to stay and fight off the pirates if they want.

The players have two hours to prepare. They can booby trap the various houses or set traps in the water if they so desire. Play out the adventure as a dungeon but the players control the village for the first part. At midnight, the pirates attack. See the Piketown map.

Use these stats for the pirates

Use these stats for the pirate captain

The Foamspray: The Foamspray is a modest inn with a front door and a back door. It has a large common room with tables, chairs, a bar, and a fireplace. The back includes a small kitchen and pantry. A hallway leads to four guest rooms. The pirates will rush here first. Ten pirates rush through the front door and two rush through the back door unless stopped.

The Open Market: The marketplace is an open area with a number of wooden stalls. Since it’s night, the stalls are empty except for a few buckets of fish being cleaned by some local stray cats. None of the pirates will explore here until after the houses and the inn are searched.

The Houses: There are three dozen shacks that serve as the houses for the villagers. Each one is sparse with a couple of beds, a table, and some chairs, a dresser or cabinet and a few modest decorations. The pirates will spread out to search the houses in pairs. There will be twenty four pirates in total among the houses unless stopped.

The Docks: The docks include about thirty small fishing boats that can carry maybe 3-4 people. The docks will be empty. The water is too shallow for the big pirate ship to dock so it will weigh anchor about 200 yards from shore and send four long boats each carrying eight pirates to stealthily pull ashore and attack the village.

The players may take some of the fishing boats or commandeer one of the long boats. A successful Athletics check DC 12 will enable one of the players to row a boat to the anchored pirate ship. A successful stealth check DC 12 will give the players the element of surprise as they attack the ship itself. Unless the players dealt with all of the pirates in Piketown, the players will have twelve rounds before a warning flare is sent up and the pirates on the ship move to high alert. 

The Phoenix

As you approach the ship, you can see lanterns lit along the railings and the movement of furtive figures. Several long cannons poke silently through ports along the ship’s hull. The name “The Phoenix” can be seen emblazoned on the side of the ship. The masthead shows a woman with a sword pointing forward.

The Main Deck: There are eight pirates on the main deck. They will attack anyone who climbs aboard. There is one pirate in a crow’s nest who will shoot at anyone with their crossbow. 

Once the pirates are defeated, the noise will attract the attention of the pirate captain. She calls herself Dresda but her real name is Molly Sleight. She’s a human woman about thirty years of age with bulging muscles. She has incense sticks burning in her long tangled brown hair giving her a wild and dangerous look. Dresda will be accompanied with two pirates for each player. She will demand the players surrender or be killed.. If Dresda is reduced to half of her hit points or all of her pirates are killed, she will retreat back to the lower deck. She bars the main door behind her once she gets through. It will require a successful Strength check DC 15 to break the door down. However, this gives Dresda time to make it to her quarters.

Captain’s Quarters: This is a large room. Against the back wall is a large altar dedicated to Dresda. A golden statue of a beautiful woman about one foot tall rests on the altar. The quarters also include a canopy bed, a chest, a desk filled with sea-faring equipment, And a hidden door behind a bookcase. Dresda’s statue holds a ceramic pot in her hand. Black powder lines the floor. Dresda says take one more step and she drops the pot. It’s alchemist fire. The floor is coated with gun powder. Any use of fire in the room will set the entire ship ablaze. Dresda threatens the death of everyone.

Unless the group surrenders or offers a deal, Dresda will drop the pot setting the entire room and the ship ablaze. If she is stopped from using the alchemist fire, she will use one of her burning incense sticks to light the room. Either way, the room will be set ablaze. She will then attack. The fire takes hold rapidly and the room becomes an inferno. The players have six rounds to defeat Dresda. Each round each player and Dresda must make a successful Constitution save DC 14 or take 1d6+1 fire damage at the start of their turn. Using the spell create water will create a 30 ft wide space clear of fire so that those in the area will not need to make a Constitution save but will not extinguish the flames entirely. The ship is going down.

After six rounds, the room becomes engulfed in flames and the players must retreat. Captain Dresda will grab the golden idol and leap out of a window to swim away. 

If the players defeat Dresda before the six rounds are up, they may loot her body, the chest, the idol, and search the room to find the hidden door. If the players begin to leave without the golden idol, Dresda will cry out to them to save her.

Treasure: 2000 gold pieces, 1000 gp worth of gems, Masterwork dwarven war axe, masterwork thieves tools, tanglefoot bag, arcane scroll Truestrike, and the false idol Dresda (worth 1000 gp).

Secret Room: A successful Perception check DC 14 spots the hidden cache that opens the bookshelf to reveal a small dingy cell. Inside is an emaciated old man chained to the ground. It is clear that he has been tortured and beaten for a long time. There’s no key for the chain. It can be pulled out of the wood with a successful Strength check DC 18. 

Samuel’s Story: The old man is Samual Sleight, Molly’s father. He is a cruel and greedy man. Once a wealthy merchant, he used to captain the Phoenix. He was imprisoned by his daughter after she became a worshiper of Dresda and started her career as a pirate. He hates his daughter and will be glad for her death. If freed he can tell how he bought that golden idol years ago and his daughter became enamored by it. He would often find her talking to it. When he informed her that he intended to sell it, she mutinied against him and locked him up. He’s been chained and beaten for over a year now. Since then, he could hear Molly talking with the idol to come up with new ways to torture him. He fears the idol and will tell the party to rid themselves of it.

Freeing the slaves

Freeing the slaves is a skill challenge. Only one player may roll a skill check but another player with the same skill can assist. You could also allow group checks if you prefer. The ship is burning and time is running out. The slaves must be freed and hurriedly.

Step 1: Getting to the slave pin.

You rush down the stairs to the galley. Flames lick the roof above your head. You see two doors: An iron-bound heavy door to the left and a wooden door to the right. You’ll need to use a skill to determine which one will lead you to the correct way. The players may always select one randomly or they may use a skill and if so they will take the route chosen. 

Knowledge (History, Investigation) OR Insight OR Survival DC 14

Success: You know that the slave galley will not be on this floor so a heavy door isn’t needed. The crew will want easy access to the slaves. You rush through the wooden door and down a flight of stairs. Go to step 2.

Failure: Slaves need to be contained. You take the ironbound door, After running down a hallway filled with doors leading to small rooms, you realize you’ve taken the wrong path. You hear screams from below you. There’s too much smoke coming from the hallway you just left. You will need to figure out how to get one floor down and fast. You hear a whimper and find the ship’s cook hiding under a table. Maybe they know a way.

Charisma (Persuasion, Intimidation) DC 12 OR Perception DC 14

Success: The cook cowers before you and leads you to a pantry in which he directs you to push several of the heavy bags of food away. Beneath is a trap door, carefully concealed, with stairs that lead down to the slave pens. Go to step 2.

Failure: The cook stammers and stutters that he doesn’t know and you search fruitlessly about the room before an explosion rocks the boat. Everything tilts. You see the cook scrambling up some stairs and you follow him to the deck. The boat is sinking fast. You leap to the water and swim to safety. Unfortunately, you could not save the slaves chained in the hull of the ship. Go to resolution.

Step 2. Freeing the Slaves

You burst into a large room filled with benches. Men, women, and children in chains wail and cry out to you for help. The jailors have fled taking the keys with them. You need to free these people and fast.

Sleight of Hand or Athletics DC 14 OR arcane spell Knock (automatic success)

Success: You pull free the locks and the chains slide off the manacles of the figures huddled before you. You hear a boom and the entire room tilts. People scream. The ship is sinking. You need to find an exit now! Move to step 3.

Failure: The locks refuse to budge. You hear a boom and you are thrown clear across the room. You are bloody and bruised. Looking back you can see one of the cannons exploded killing all of the slaves. The only reason you survived is that you were thrown away. The ship is taking water. You need to find an exit now! Move to step 3. 

Step 3. Exit with a Bang

You look quickly around. The ship is titled and cold sea water is pooling at your feet. The stairwells are blocked. Smoke covers the ceiling. It looks bleak. There’s a crash and one of the cannons falls through the ceiling to land in front of you. You think quickly. Either the cannon or the hole provides a possible escape.

The Cannon – Athletics, Investigation, OR Insight DC 14

Success: You position the cannon in the proper place, you think, and light the fuse. The cannon ball explodes with a deafening bang and blows open a hole that hangs over the open water. You and everyone with you are able to leap into the water and swim to safety. Go to resolution.

Failure: You position the cannon in the proper place, you think, and light the fuse. The cannon ball explodes with a deafening bang and then water begins to pour into the hull. You realize in horror that you misjudged the angle. The ship sinks. The players must each make a successful Athletics Swim check (DC 16) or use some other method to escape like the druid’s wildshape or the teleport spell or they sink into the ocean to a watery grave. None of the slaves survive. Go to resolution.

The Hole – Acrobatics, Survival, or Knowledge (history) DC 14

Success: You scramble up the hole and find a coil of rope to help pull the others to safety. The hull of the ship is breached here and the room is filled with smoke. Ripping cloth from your clothes and dipping it in water, you create a filter to protect you from the heat and smoke. You direct the others to do the same. Together, you race towards an exit and leap from the deck of the ship into the water. Go to resolution.

Failure: You scramble up the hole but the smoke becomes overwhelming. You almost pass out and fall back. The ship continues to sink and the room fills with water. The players must each make a successful Athletics Swim check (DC 16) or use some other method to escape like the druid’s wildshape or the teleport spell or they sink into the ocean to a watery grave. None of the slaves survive. Go to resolution.

Resolution:

If the party was able to rescue all of the slaves, give them each 2,000 XP. The party is heralded as heroes and there is a huge feast in “The Foamspray.” Gulbret rewards them with a treasure map he found, which you can use to set up your next adventure. 

If the party was unable to rescue all of the slaves, give them each 400 XP. The party is a little somber and subdued back at “The Foamspray” but the people of Piketown are happy that the group saved them from the pirates.

If the party has Dresda, she will choose the player with lowest Wisdom score and begin to work on them. She begins by becoming their friend, listening to their troubles, and offering her sympathy.

False Idol Dresda: The false idol Dresda hides in a golden statue. She is friendly and sweet and uses her charms to draw people into her vile plans.  She will claim to be a friendly and good goddess who uses the statue as a conduit. She finds ways to twist her victims’ desires and will offer self-serving suggestions that gradually evolve into betrayal, violence, and death.