Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #15 – “The Lucky Catch”

Out of the Box D&D Encounters, Series 2, #15 – “The Lucky Catch”

September 1, 2017

Out of the Box Introduction

One of the greatest inspirations any Dungeon Master can have is actually pretty obvious: Other DMs. Seeing how others create and design encounters can colour how we do things, sometimes for years to follow. I’ve had two great DMs in my own past with radically different styles who both create brilliant worlds to both imagine and play in, as well as create investment in their players.

Their styles, though different, achieve this by inspiring the players with their challenges and their point of view. Celebrity DMs like Matt Mercer, Chris Perkins and Matt Colville are also different, and all are brilliant in their own way…but I’d like to include one more in that list. Jerry Holkins. Jerry is more familiar to most as “Omin Dran” in Chris Perkins’ Acquisitions Incorporated campaign. Jerry is also a brilliant DM in his own right and has such a unique point of view as to make him my inspiration for this article. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Jerry Holkins can be seen weekly as the DM for Acquisitions Incorporated: The C Team.]

Why? Because Jerry has absolutely no worries about warping reality with a poker face. He has no problems with things like portals, elder gods, and dungeons that wander. Therefore, out of inspiration by and in tribute to Jerry, I’d like to take a page from his book create a wandering “dungeon” of sorts.

Furthermore, I’d like to call upon such legends as the Flying Dutchman and the Mary Celeste. For those less familiar with these “ghost ships”, the Mary Celeste had her entire crew vanish without a trace and no signs of violence. Since ghost ships would likely only occur at sea, then perhaps a twist on that would make such an encounter more available to land based campaigns.

Let’s make it an airship. This airship will then appear out of a fog or low lying cloud…or maybe out of a dark night sky. This allows it to descend into any sort of wilderness environment from above. It also allows larger parks, city squares or marketplace areas in cities to house such an encounter.

To keep this encounter relatively simple, we need to establish a few points. This ship is cursed, and perhaps even sentient. Therefore no one is flying away with it. This ship will appear when it wants, and disappears just as oddly. It might vanish into thin air, and it might just wait for the player characters to have their backs turned and it just rises up and away.

Also, the deck plan must be simple. We want this to be an encounter, not a dungeon crawl. A DM might wish to expand this vessel to become a dungeon crawl, and that’s certainly very cool. But it’s more than this venue permits for the time being.

How this encounter is used is up to the DM. It could be a simple creepy encounter or something more. It could be an introduction to other lands, planes, or realities. This ship might be it’s own portal to the Shadowfell. Only the DM knows…

Environment

Wilderness/Aerial/Extraplanar

Level

Description

The morning is close. Pre-dawn light is beginning to seep into the ink of night, casting its faint glow of reds, yellows, pinks and greys into the darker shades of grey. The last watch is full of such views, along with the earliest of bird calls and the constant whir, buzz and chirp of various insects.

Perhaps it was the darkness, or the pre-dawn mists that obscured its view, but something moves in the distance. Silently, steadily, it descends from the dark into the lighter tones though wafts of mist and foliage.

Attending player characters who succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check made at disadvantage for the dim light conditions can determine what it is – a vessel….a ship…perhaps 75 ft. long, with perhaps a 20 ft. deep hull, and with no sails. Instead, it has something suspended above it like a balloon. That object is the length of the boat and might be 30 ft. in diameter at it’s widest point. Currently, it has quietly and calmly settled to land on it’s keel perhaps 300 ft. away.

The reason for this great distance is clear. It will take the players a full minute at an average rate of 30 ft. per round to get there. This will give them time to talk about it. It will also give you time to expand on the description. The more time the DM has to set the stage, the more time these descriptions can settle into the players’ imaginations and establish the right mood. Players will typically cheer and then talk about how they are going to seize this ship and use it as their own. After this encounter, they’ll think twice about that.

When the players close to within 30 ft. they will see a few hints to the past of the ship. A rope ladder sways in the breeze, tossed in haste over the side of the ship and brushing the weeds with its bottom. The rear deck of the ship has seen some sort of catastrophe. Tangled wreckage exists where cabins in the rear deck would be, tangling the last 20 ft. of the deck in twisted wood. The large rear rudder has been shorn off with great force. Ropes tie down the massive balloon structure, which seems sealed from all sides. Other ropes that might have been used for guidance or other purposes dangle loose or scatter the rest of the deck.

The deck itself is indeed 75 ft. long in total, 20 ft. wide at its widest point, and tapers sharply to a point at the front, and to a lesser degree at the rear. The outer hull appears grey from neglect, and an odd dull orange lichen grows here and there upon its surface. The hull and the deck are damp to the touch. Written across the rear of the ship in faded yellow paint are the words “The Lucky Catch”.

Climbing up on deck via the rope ladder is a simple matter. That should require no check unless a player character is particularly inept, weak, blind, or otherwise impaired. Should a player character wish to climb aboard without the aid of the rope ladder, doing so should be easy enough with climbing tools, rope and grapnel and the like. That should only be a Strength (Athletics) of DC 5. Climbing up without tools will be harder because the wood is wet. Make that a Strength (Athletics) check of DC:15.

Those that get up on deck will see the wreckage toward the back, as well as a large set of doors, 5 ft. square in total, 25 ft. from the prow of the ship (the prow is the front for those unaware). There is a ruined set of wooden steps going up to a destroyed rear deck that no longer exists.

The “trap door” is hinged in the rear and is chained closed with a large rusted padlock. There are several options to opening it. Picking the lock is difficult due to the heavy rusted mechanism. It will require a thieves’ tools check (DC 15) to unlock as is. If the players are clever and pour oil into the action and allow it to set for 5 minutes, they can reduce the DC of that check to DC 10. Pouring a vial of acid into the lock will destroy it in an action. Using the knock spell (Players Handbook, page 254) automatically unlocks the lock with or without oil. The chain itself has an AC of 16 and 10 hit points. It can be broken with a Strength check (DC 20).

Characters interested in checking out the wreckage can use an Intelligence (Investigation) check to figure out what it was. A DC 10 will determine that more than one cabin was back there. A DC 15 will determine that there are three and one was larger than the rest. A DC 20 will figure out the above, and will find a small wooden lockbox that is…no pun intended…locked. Unlocking the box (use the same rules above) will reveal a silver key (worth perhaps 10gp as treasure. Stay tuned). A DC 25 will find a page from what looks like a journal written in Common. That page has only one sentence.

“Noxferjarlaax cannot find out.”

The DM can make this mean anything they like, but if the DM would like a suggestion, use the following. Noxferjarlaax is the name of the dragon who attacked this ship. He attacked this ship because it’s a slaver ship, and it was flown through his territory without his knowledge.

Characters interested in finding out why the area in the back is wrecked can roll a Wisdom (Survival) check. Those passing a DC 15 will discover that the wreckage is likely because of an outside attack. Likely something big struck the back. A DC 17 will uncover that it was done in a sweeping attack, moving from the port (left) to the starboard (right). A DC 20 will uncover large claw marks when one pieces large chunks of wood together. A DC 25 will uncover that a dragon likely struck the back with it’s claws, and likely tore off the rudder too.

For those who simply wish to hack through the floor of the ship or use a similar method to get below can do so if they dedicate a full 5 minutes of loud work using a chopping weapon like an axe or by using a crowbar to pry up floorboards. Have such a character (or group of characters) roll a series of Strength checks. They will need a total of 5 successes of DC 12 each. Each attempt takes a minute. Five successes will create a hole big enough for a medium character to get below with a rope or similar device.

Once they get below, they will find a dark, dank and wet hold 10 ft. high that runs the length of the ship. Three wooden pillars, each spanning from floor to ceiling, are spaced equidistantly along the centerline of the floor running front to back. Each pillar is easily 1 ft. thick.

Rusted metal chains, 5 ft. long, ending in open manacles hang fastened to the walls. Ten sets of two each exist on each wall. A large bundle of rags is bundled and discarded in the prow of the hold. The dank smell of mildew, along with the funk of rotting meat or blood hang heavy in the air.

Unless the party brings a source of light into the area, the only light will come through wherever they came through the deck of the ship…so long as it’s during the day. Otherwise the dark is uncomfortable. The feint sound of creaking can be heard, along with the sound of chains jingling. If or when the players look at the chains, they aren’t moving. Yet.

What happens next depends on what the characters do.

Solnar Swift Arc - Tabletop Roleplaying Game - Impact Rolling

The chains are all animated objects. Each pair acts as a single creature. They are fastened to the walls, so they cannot move away from the walls but can attack creatures who approach to within 5 ft. of them. These animated chains will attempt once per turn to make a grapple check (Strength 16, Athletics +5) against a single medium or smaller creature within 5 ft. of it. If it succeeds, the target is grappled and it’s speed is reduced to 0. Any benefits to speed it has, magic or not, will not work while so grappled. Consult the grapple rules in the Players Handbook (page 195). The chains have an AC of 16 and take 20 hp to destroy. As a construct, they are immune to sleep, charm, poison, and psychic damage. Each pair of chains can and will only attack one target at a time. If a target is already grappled by a set of chains, they will not be attacked by a neighbouring chain set.

If the chains can grapple three targets, the balloon above the airship will begin to inflate more and the boat will rise 5 ft. per turn. If the chains successfully target four or more targets, it raises 10 ft. per turn. If the grapple targets free themselves, the boat descends 5 ft. per turn. If the boat somehow gets to a height of 100 ft., it will start moving in random direction (or not so random, depending on the DM).

If someone investigates the pile of rags, and passes either an Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check (DC 15), they will find a small, locked, iron box. The box can either be opened by a thieves’ tools check (DC 20), a knock spell, or the silver key from the locked box among the wreckage above. The box contains a small oiled leather bag that is tied shut.

The bag holds the mummified heart of the former ship’s captain, as well as a ring of free action. It has an AC 10 and 1 hp. If the players destroy the heart, the chains will release and the boat will descend to the ground. But it doesn’t stop there. The curse that has been keeping The Lucky Catch “alive” will be broken, and the ship will begin to collapse into complete ruin. It will give into entropy and rot at an accelerated rate.

The player characters will have exactly 1 minute to get off the ship before it collapses upon itself. Those still on board will need a Dexterity saving throw (DC 15) or be trapped in the wreckage and take 3d10 bludgeoning damage. Trapped targets will need a similar (DC 15) Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to escape.

Monsters

Animated Object (chains) – as per above.

Treasure

Small silver key (10gp), Ring of Free Action (as per Dungeon Master’s Guide, p.191)

Complications

The only true complication that I can see is the danger of having all of the player characters grappled for any real length of time. I have personally encountered players who traditionally use their Strength as a dump stat, or fail to see the use of Acrobatics. Utility spells like knock are out of favor now, given all the flashy combat spells that exist. Not every party has a rogue, but there are several backgrounds (like Criminal and Urchin) that have access to training in thieves’ tools. They trick is having them. Failing the access to all of these things, you can also allow the small silver key to unlock or disable the Animated chains too.

Keep in mind that, should all things fail, this ship can and will go wherever the DM desires. It may well just be a way to transport the players to a new opportunity or storyline.

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