MPNP Ghost Ship
Whilst sailing on the open ocean, the party encounters a great ship adrift. It is beaten and worn, the timbers are black and covered in moss. The ship lists heavily to the port and looks like it may have already been sunk once. It was once a grand, 3-masted sailing ship, but the main mast is broken off near the deck, and the other two are taken out not much higher. What remains of the yards and the sails are moldy and ragged, and the entire ship is damp. For added bonus, find this at night.
The one think that can plainly be seen is a blue, lit lantern, the signal for a ship in distress.
As the party guides their small craft closer, they can see that the hull has several large breaches. Its a wonder the vessel is even afloat at all. If they take the time to sail around the ship, they will find a name printed on the side, but it is too degraded to read. They also hear sounds coming from the inside, scratches and tools being used.
Contents
Top Deck
The party can tie up its boat and board on the port foredeck. On the mid-deck, they will be forced to fight a giant crab.
The crab is 12 feet across and has 2 mighty pincers. It begins combat with 25 DV and will not drop below 10 DV. The crab gets 2 attacks per round and rolls 5 AV with 5 automatic successes. It deals 2d12 damage and can pin a target. The crab makes 2 attacks per round, but on every attack, flip a coin: if the crab loses, it gets its pincer stuck on the ship's deck. The crab must then use one of its attacks the next round to free itself.
While the pincer is pinned, the characters can tie them shut. If both pincers are tied, the team can "effect-kill" the crab by lifting up one side and flipping it into the ocean.
Otherwise, the crab has 1,000 hit points and 50 AC.
If They Kill the Crab
If they kill the crab with damage instead of going for the effect-kill, they will crack open its shell and discover a mermaid princess within. Her name is Aubriel. She implores the party to help return her to her undersea kingdom, which will require them to go on a side-quest to find some sort of fantasy submarine. In the meantime, the princess will mostly act like a little brat. She is about 11 years old. The party can rid themselves of her at any time by throwing her over the side of the ship; after which, she will swim.
The Hold
Once the party is past the giant crab, they can proceed below decks, where they will be assualted by skeletons. If they killed the crab, they will need to protect their N.P.C., who will scream constantly and cling to the youngest adult-male party member, keeping him from attacking.
The hold has 3 sections, in each section the party will be attacked by 3 + 1d6 skeletons. The skeltons get 5 attack dice and have 0 DV. A single hit shatters them, but on the next round they re-assemble and can attack the round after that. If the party is savy enough, they can effect-kill the skeletons by separating the bones, but this will be very challenging. Otherwise, the fight simply progresses, and more skeletons approach.
At the front of the hold is a hatch leading to the next lower deck. Any character with Tinker can roll 1d20, if they get at least a 20 (with the Tinker score and INT mod added) they can seal the hatch behind the party and keep the skeletons out. Otherwise the skeletons will follow them to the next lower deck.
The Bottom Deck
Same as before, 3 sections, 3+1d6 skeletons added per section. At the very back is a Necromancer who must be killed to stop the skeletons from re-assembling. The area where the Necromancer sits is cleaner and less rotted than the rest of the ship, and includes a ritual site that is keeping the ship afloat.
While combat is still technically active, there will be a brief pause while the necromancer tells his story. He explains that when the ship sank many years ago, he survived by using a ward to hold back the waters. Since then, he has been working on a way to re-float the ship, and using his magics to keep himself alive. It is quite clear at this point that he is insane. The party can take pity on him and rescue him from his plight, but he will just go nuts and keep attacking them with skeletons.
If the party kills the necromancer, the skeletons will stop appearing. The only treasure to find is a sacred artifact that could maybe be returned to the Necromancers.
If the party attempts to stop the necromancer by disrupting his ritual site, the ship will start to sink. Combat does not stop. The ship will sink in 12 rounds, and it takes 1 round to cross each section of the ship (7 total). For each section, characters must roll 1d20, on a natural 1 they trip and fall. The mermaid princess falls every round (in fact she rolls a 1 on any check). If the characters reach the top deck but neglect to untie their boat, it will be pulled under with the ship, and they will be left swimming in the open ocean. Any heavy armor and weapons must be discarded, along with any wealth that was not stored on their boat.
A passing ship will rescue the party the next day.
If they do remember to cut the rope, they can sail off in their own boat without a care in the world.
Side Quest
This Module can potentially spawn a side quest: MPNP The Mermaid Princess
