Page 159 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

REST AND RESOURCES
The sultry day is silent except for the sounds of the sea. A
Having explored the hermitage and taken on its varied
threats, the characters have had a busy day. Thanks to lone bird circles in lazy loops in the sky overhead. Even-
the hags, rats, giant snakes, and the monstrous peryton, tually it descends and alights on a nearby rock. It's a gull,
their resources might be depleted. The challenge of the and an old one at that, with a chipped beak and patches
drowned ones' attack is thus amplified by the fact that the
characters can take only a short rest before the assault missing from its thinning feathers. It waddles closer, gaz-
begins. Adjust the difficulty of the attack as you see fit, ing intelligently at you with weak, rheumy eyes.
depending on the party's available resources and the mea-
sure of your mercy.
This ancient gull is Virgil, formerly the familiar of Ar-
chais, Firewatch Island's wizard. Virgil survived the
SCENARIO 2: WAVES OF UNDEAD slaughter of the garrison ten years before and has lived
Use this scenario if the characters' preparations for the on the island ever since, nesting in the wizard's tower
attack are only minimal. or to create a tense and weary- room. It has avoided the hermitage residents and was
ing night of encounters. largely ignored by them.
The drowned ones arrive in three waves, each in- Virgil fled the island the previous night when the
creasing in difficulty. If the characters aren't sufficiently drowned ones attacked, but now that the characters
challenged by a particular wave. add more monsters to have seemingly defeated them, the gull has returned
that part of the fight in the form of late reinforcements to to its home. It continues to watch the party despite any
help make a wave into a greater threat. attempts to shoo it away. Having observed the charac-
Each new wave arrives approximately 30 minutes ters' actions against the drowned ones, the ex-familiar
after the previous wave. In any area where the undead believes that they might be the sort of heroes who could
break through a door, the characters must reinforce that finish Archais's work and end the undead menace.
door again when the currem fight is over, or subsequent
waves will move through it freely. Alternatively, you VIRGIL'S MISSION
might decide that a door is too damaged to be repaired. If a character is able to speak with animals, Virgil is
friendly. (The scroll found in area 9 will be useful in that
WAVE l regard if none of the characters have this ability.) The
Six drowned blades rush to assault the door into area gull relates the events of the "Background" section to
4. If they cannot break down the door within 3 rounds, the best of its knowledge. It does not know the specif-
any survivors of the characters' defensive efforts switch ics about Tammeraut's crew. but it does know that the
their attention to the door that leads into area 21. drowned ones are victims of that fateful sinking.
Virgil knows the location of the Tammeraut and can
WAVE 2 guide the characters there. Based on the attack tonight,
Five drowned blades and two drowned ascetics as- the gull correctly deduces that Tammeraut's crew is ac-
sault the hermitage. The drowned blades arrive at the tive once more and must be stopped.
door that leads into area 11 and attempt to enter. The
drowned ascetics enter through any previously opened
door that hasn't been reinforced again. If no doors are THE WRECK
open, they try to batter down the door into area 12. If the characters decide to seek out the sunken Tam-
meraut, they must first find out where the rift is located.
WAVE 3 The charts in Archais'sjournal give the exact location in
Three drowned blades, two drowned ascetics, and one nautical coordinates. Alternatively, a character who suc-
drowned assassin attack the fortress. The drowned ceeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (History) check discerns
blades and ascetics enter through any previously open the likely spot where the ship sunk.
door. or if none arc open. they attack the doors that lead Virgil also knows the location of the Pit of Hatred,
into areas 4 and 21. The drowned assassin arrives from having accompanied Archais there several times while
area 14 and climbs onto area 17. trying to enter the for- the wizard was alive. If all else fails, he can guide the
tress through the door in that area. characters to the proper location- Hying ahead and
circling the site. The Pit of Hatred is two miles south of
SAFE BY DAY Firewatch Island and can be rowed or sailed to in about
Once the undead are dealt with. the coming of the half an hour.
dawn's first light means that the characters can finally The bay is 300 feet deep above the Pit of Hatred, and
rest with no fear of another assault. Raserhill's ferry re- characters won't be able to anchor a boat there unless
turns about an hour after sunrise, on its normal sched- they brought along quite a lot of rope. Certain items
ule. but the craft carries no new passengers and departs in that treasure arc invaluable to a party that plans to
again quickly unless the characters hail it. (lf Raserhill investigate the wreck, but the characters might also
stuck around the island and was driven off or killed by require and seek out additional resourC'es before they
the monstrous peryton. another boat from Uskarn will do so. See "Unusual Environments" in chapter 5 of the
set out eventually to investigate the characters' fate.) Dungeon Master's Guide for information on underwater
At some time during the day, when a character is environments. and see "Underwater Combat" in chapter
awake and outside or near a window. read: 9 of the Player's Handbook.

<'llA l'rl:N 7 IA\l~HR \l T "fATf
I 1 8