The Ghost Ship

A ship drifts into Farfaria Harbor and runs aground. It’s completely empty.

There’s food still on plates, and cabins filled with the crew’s possessions. But there’s not a single person to be found on the vessel.

You do find one clue, though: a map in the captain’s cabin that points to a remote island in the Ocean of Lost Sailors.

This adventure segues nicely into Escape from Atlantis.

Download Maps

Basic Storyline

This adventure follows a linear storyline.

1. A ghost ship runs aground in Farfaria Harbor.
2. The adventurers explore the ship and discover a map in the captain’s journal pointing to the Lost Isle.
3. They sail the boat to the island.
4. Along the way, they stop at an unmapped island that turns out to be the shell of a monstrously large, sleeping sea turtle. The turtle awakens, and the group has to escape before he dives to the depths.
5. A storm causes the adventurers to ship wreck onto the Lost Isle.
6. They explore the island and find a makeshift camp/settlement that appears to be have been abandoned suddenly.
7. The adventurers are attacked by a few creatures on the island.
8. They discover a trapdoor or hidden entrance that leads to a maze of underground tunnels, and go explore them.
9. Inside the tunnels, they have to battle a creature or two, and solve some problems to keep going.
10. At some point in the tunnels they fall down a slide-like embankment that brings them deeper into the tunnel system and prevents them from going back up to the surface.
11. They find the lost crew in a cavern in the tunnels. They got stuck down here, too.
12. After some additional exploring, the group finds an old wooden submarine in a semi-flooded part of the tunnel. Their ticket out of there!
13. On their way out, they’re attacked by a kraken or some other sea monster.

Creatures

Villains

• Coconut Monster - Attack 1 · Defend 2 · HP 2 - Small and easily defeated. They attack in large numbers.
• Carnivorous Plant - Attack 1 · Defend 1 · HP 4 - Strong bite, but limited in their attack because they’re planted in the ground. Add +2 on damage roll.
• Slime Monster - Attack 1 · Defend 1 · HP 5 - Slow moving but unrelenting. Add +1 to damage roll.
• Troll - Attack 3 · Defend 2 · HP 3 - Can regenerate. Restore 1 HP (up to total) at the start of Troll’s turn.
• Kraken - Attack 5 · Defend 3 · HP 4 - Loves to crush things with its strong tentacles. Has multi-attack.

Non-Player Characters

• Ship Crew - Skilled at sailing, but not at combat.

Tips for the Game Master

• The Game Master might want to have some symbol on the ship that also appears at the camp on the Lost Isle to tie together that it’s the same crew.

Locations & Encounters

Starting Encounter: A mysterious ship drifts into Farfaria Harbor and runs aground. There doesn't seem to be anyone onboard.

The Ship

An old-school wooden ship. Below deck is a kitchen and crews quarters. Below that is the hold. There’s nothing in it to indicate that this is a transport vessel. You may want to let the adventurers have fun exploring this a bit, and scatter useful items around the ship.

Turtle Back Island

This is a reference to the legend of Aspidochelone.

The adventurers find themselves in the middle of rough weather when they spot an island not marked on their map. If they decide to stop there, they don’t find any animals on the island, but do find an assortment of trees, and fruits. They also see evidence that people have been there before.

For added flavor, perhaps an old hermit lives there.

Either time or the actions of one of the players causes the island to start shaking violently. A giant turtle head pops out of the water, and the edges of the island lift out so that players can see that the “island” is actually a monstrously large turtle. They have to flee back to their ship before the turtle submerges with them still on it.

The Lost Isle

This could be a tropical island (with palm trees) or a more temperate one (with pines, oaks, and maples). It’s large enough that it would take an hour or two to explore the whole thing.

The Game Master might also want to scatter some useful items or even natural resources throughout the island.

The Tunnels

These natural tunnels appear to be formed by water erosion or old lava flows. They’re home to exotic creatures, and a weird, bioluminescent algae or mushrooms (it glows) that create a beautiful blue/green light.

They’re winding and asymmetrical. Some tunnels loop back on each other, while others are dead ends. At least one has a slide-like drop that brings players dozens of feet lower into the tunnel system.

The tunnels also contain the lost crew of the ghost ship, who found themselves stuck in here. After discovered a wooden submarine, the players realize the tunnels connect to open ocean.

Encounter Ideas:

• The slide to the depths
• A mutant slime that attacks the players and tries to envelop them
• A battle with living mushrooms or tunnel trolls
• An obstacle like a steep drop or water-filled section of tunnel
• Locating the missing crew
• Discovering the submarine

Submarine

The submarine is a bit small, but large enough to hold the adventurers and the missing crew of the ghost ship. The group must navigate out of the tunnels to get home. They’re attacked by a giant kraken.

Encounter Ideas:

• Navigate out of the tunnels
• Kraken attack