Campaign Stormwreck Isle; Curse of Compass Rose (1-3)

Part 3 - Curse of the Compass Rose
View attachment 357_Promontory.mp3

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MAP:

Maps - D&D Beyond

www.dndbeyond.com

THE STORY SO FAR:

Stormwreck Isle: Journey to Stormwreck Isle (1-P)
Stormwreck Isle: Welcome to Dragon's Rest (1-1)
Stormwreck Isle: Spores of Seagrow Cave (1-2)​

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THE QUEST:

• The party seeks the wreck of the Compass Rose, a ship that went down decades ago and may be linked to the undead incursion.

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THE LOCATION:

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Local Party Map​

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THE PARTY:

ITEM GLOSSARY:

Image	Name	Value (per)	Weight (per)	Description
	Wind Spore Mushrooms​	30	0.06 lbs	A rare fungus with a unique magical property. When a creature squeezes a wind spore mushroom's cap, it releases a small cloud of spores. For 1 hour, the creature doesn't need to breathe, as the spores provide it with oxygen.
	Obsidian Chunk​	10	1 lb	An uncut opaque black gemstone.
	Heart Cap Mushrooms​	30	0.2 lbs	These mushrooms bear an unsettling resemblance to human hearts.
	Potion of Healing​	50	0.5 lbs	This potion's red liquid glimmers when agitated. You regain 2d4+2 hit points when you drink this potion.
	A Fine Lute
	Boots of Elvenkind			While you wear these boots, your steps make no sound, regardless of the surface you are moving across. You also have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks that rely on moving silently.
	Spell Scroll of Command

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THE STORY CONTINUES:

Having departed from Dragon's Rest for the second time, your band of adventurers slowly make their way down the mountain paths towards the shore where you first landed. The journey is uneventful and peaceful, a welcome contrast to the carnage the party has faced since arriving on the island. Songbirds flutter across the path ahead of you as they dart back and forth between bushes, hunting the insects they harbor. Your walk down to the water does not take more than a half hour however, so the ramble through nature is fleeting.

Returning to the beach where you had fought the zombies, the party find the scene just as you left it. The battered corpses of the drowned sailors lay immobile where they were slain, the putrid grey flesh not appealing to any scavengers and having been left untouched. Your group moves cautiously past the bodies, one by one each battling the anxiety that the monsters will spring up again and attack.

The five of you convene on the short wooden dock. There is an old fishing net dangling over the edge and trailing in the water, where it appears to be tangled within a clump of seaweed. Several short lengths of aging rope are knotted here and there around the thick posts, some having been cut free in haste rather than untied. A rowboat not dissimilar to the one you arrived in is tethered to the dock, and you see a pair of oars laying across the seats. The boat appears big enough for 4 medium sized passengers.

North of your position, you can see a long spur of sharp rocks jutting from the ocean waves, extending several miles out.​

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INITIATIVE:
https://improvedinitiative.app/p/e88bk48y

 

[Nac McWeeble]

Nac swims back out and relays what he found to his friends.

Ah found this fancy-lookin' door but couldnae budge the fucker. Must've been locked or sometin'.. Maybe we can get in from above?

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

From the top, eh? Hmm... I can probably do that. Finding ways to break things is my specialty!

Aims walks on over to roughly where he captain's quarters are. He tries to see if there's any weaker sections of the boat anywhere above it.

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

From the top, eh? Hmm... I can probably do that. Finding ways to break things is my specialty!

Aims walks on over to roughly where he captain's quarters are. He tries to see if there's any weaker sections of the boat anywhere above it.

((@Ben - May I assist in Aims' search and give him an advantage roll to his check? I'll give a little RP to aid it if it's admissible. ))

Zesty begins tapping the floorboards along side Aims' to help see if there are any structural weaknesses to drive down into.

 

[Dungeon Master]

((Sorry for the slowness. Daughter's birthday party weekend so I've been all over the place.))

((@Ben - May I assist in Aims' search and give him an advantage roll to his check? I'll give a little RP to aid it if it's admissible. ))

Zesty begins tapping the floorboards along side Aims' to help see if there are any structural weaknesses to drive down into.

((You could, but one thing I do want to clarify and make sure we're not misconstruing is, you rolls aren't dictating what is actually in an area.

I think we've got a bit of a feeling that a high enough roll would mean he has to be able to find a weak spot or something. That there's something there to find, if only you roll high enough. That's not always the case and I just want to make sure we're not starting to assume that good rolls automatically mean you'll find something. Sometimes there'll be nothing to find.

That said...))

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Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd
@Jawneh​

|The deck of the ships helm is sturdy, made of thick solid beams that hold tightly together despite their sun-bleached appearance. If judging by the decking in other parts, the planks used for the deck are several inches thick. You are unable to find any spot weaker than any other.|

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[Zesty Zapcrackle]

((For me personally, that's not how I take it. In THIS instance, a high enough roll would just determine if there is a weak spot to break through. Not that there is or that there is loot. Can't speak for others, but that's how I take the rolls.))

I see nothing indicating a way down and I fear taking chunks from the ship MAY cause collapse. Perhaps it best we find a space to take a long rest, and get back to searching for the Crimson Rose in the morning? It's beginning to get late and it may behoove us to rest up or even just move on.

 

[Dungeon Master]

((For me personally, that's not how I take it. In THIS instance, a high enough roll would just determine if there is a weak spot to break through. Not that there is or that there is loot. Can't speak for others, but that's how I take the rolls.))

I see nothing indicating a way down and I fear taking chunks from the ship MAY cause collapse. Perhaps it best we find a space to take a long rest, and get back to searching for the Crimson Rose in the morning? It's beginning to get late and it may behoove us to rest up or even just move on.

((Fair enough, maybe it's just me assuming that and I'm wrong. As long as there's no disappointment if you're rolling well and not necessarily finding anything, we're good.))

 

[Short Order]

Short Order casts mold earth to make a version of the ship on the beach for him and Moonsprout to explore.

I don't feel like swimming, so let's see what we can find here.

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Aims crosses his arms, clearly upset that there's nothing around to bust through and cause a mayhem.

Well, this sucks a lot. HEY! There's nothing here that looks weak. Although I'd love to go and bust through that door using hte power of by biceps, I'm not hopping in the water. To hells with that. Unless you want to give it a try yourself, dwarf, I say we grab the kids and get back onto the boat.

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Short Order casts mold earth to make a version of the ship on the beach for him and Moonsprout to explore.

I don't feel like swimming, so let's see what we can find here.

Woah, it's, like, the Crimson Cremini. I heard it was carrying all sorts of the most righteous fungi to one of the largest trading ports when it met its disaster on this beach. And then, like, all the fungi inside have been growing ever since and mutating and stuff. Let's check it out!

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Aims crosses his arms, clearly upset that there's nothing around to bust through and cause a mayhem.

Well, this sucks a lot. HEY! There's nothing here that looks weak. Although I'd love to go and bust through that door using hte power of by biceps, I'm not hopping in the water. To hells with that. Unless you want to give it a try yourself, dwarf, I say we grab the kids and get back onto the boat.

Moonsprout overhears the orc shouting about not being able to break this-or-that and shouts back:
Just light the deck on fire!

Then he goes back to poking around the Crimson Cremini, looking for his own way in.

 

[Dungeon Master]

I don't feel like swimming.

((Says the one who can literally become a fish.))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((And I'm just waiting on you guys to work out what you're doing, be it trying to open the submerged door, trying to hack through the solid deck, or just leaving to do the thing you're supposed to be doing. Lemme know and I'll try to get on it in the morning.))

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

((As my character said, I vote moving on to the next mark. If it's getting late in the day, then I vote long rest first. ))

 

[Nac McWeeble]

((I agree with @Jon, next mark or rest! ))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((Alright, reminder that you're here. The time is around 3pm. You could make camp on the ship deck, on the sandbar, row somewhere else before it gets dark, whatever you think is going to work out best for you. That's assuming you're going to take a long rest and not just go straight to the next point before nightfall.



It'd take you about 20 minutes to row over to the next point.))

 

[Nac McWeeble]

((We could maybe row over to the next point, check it out to see if it there's a campable spot nearby, if not we row back here and set up camp.))

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

((A-way we go!))

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

((I'm good with that. If A is the Crimson Rose, we may want our homicidal gnome to have his spell slots available lol. So, a long rest seems worth it to not get caught in the dark.

Also, why is Carl fucking with our map, @Ben!?))

 

[Nac McWeeble]

((Also, why is Carl fucking with our map, @Ben!?))

((Because Carl is an asshole.))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((Also, why is Carl fucking with our map, @Ben!?))

((Because he drew it. ))

 

[Short Order]

((the murder gnome needs his sleep))

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Alright then! WE'RE SETTING OFF! Come along dwarf, or you'll have to swim to the sand bar to get the little ones.

Aims walks over and jumps into the rowboat, jostling it enough to make Zesty fear the little dinghy will capsize. The half-orc might not me worth much salt in seaworthiness, but balancing on precarious places is his element.

After Nac climbs into the boat as well, Aims rows on over to where Shortsprout is. What awaits the three is... a whole slew of assorted sand creations. Aims cannot compute.

... what in the bloody hells have you two been doing?! We had zombies, MORE ZOMBIES to deal with on the boat, and you're here making sand... yourselves? Sand dicks? Sand bo- wait, is that Mai'Cokk?! YOU MADE MAI'COKK IN SAND?!

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Moonsprout sees Aims looking worse for wear, blood leaking out of a huge wound in his torso.

Zombies? You're looking a bit like one right now, yourself. And tell me, what do you have to show for it? More treasure to satisfy your gluttony for gold?

Short Order and I have been appreciating the arts -- sculptures, theatre -- the finer things in life.

 

[Dungeon Master]

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Dungeon Master
@Ben​

|You begin rowing your boat North, picking your way around the rocks and trying to avoid being sucked into the jagged pillars that loomed just beneath the waves. You round the top of the basalt monolith and see a smaller one a short distance away. Crossing the small channel between the two, you edge along further North until suddenly another shipwreck comes into view.





Waves lap against a derelict ship lodged against a ridge of rocks and enormous dragon bones. A faint odor of rot wafts on the sea air, along with the sound of screeching seagulls and the roar of the surf. A tangled mess of tattered sails and rigging hangs off the starboard side of the main deck, offering one possible way to climb aboard. At the stern, you can make out a gaping hole in the hull beneath the water line.

|

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((As always, thanks for your patience, boys.))

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

The giant compass symbol on the side of the ship leaves no doubt in Zesty's mind that this ship is the Compass Rose that the team has sought through this journey. What lies onboard and within, he does not know, but as Aims' sails the ship close to find a docking location, Zesty wants to try to climb the tattered sail on the starboard side of the ship to enter from the top.

Zesty attempts to get on board the ship from the starboard riggings.

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Race you to the top!

Moonsprout leaps from the boat and clings to the riggings. He writhes in and out of and around them like a minnow swimming through a net with holes too big to catch it.

Moonsprout races Zesty to the top of the boat, pressing onward to the crow's nest

 

[Dungeon Master]

The giant compass symbol on the side of the ship leaves no doubt in Zesty's mind that this ship is the Compass Rose that the team has sought through this journey. What lies onboard and within, he does not know, but as Aims' sails the ship close to find a docking location, Zesty wants to try to climb the tattered sail on the starboard side of the ship to enter from the top.

Zesty attempts to get on board the ship from the starboard riggings.

Race you to the top!

Moonsprout leaps from the boat and clings to the riggings. He writhes in and out of and around them like a minnow swimming through a net with holes too big to catch it.

Moonsprout races Zesty to the top of the boat, pressing onward to the crow's nest

((Both of you roll me a DEX (acrobatics) check, plx))

 

[Nac McWeeble]

Oi, Sprouty! Haven't ye had enough of racing ahead? Nac says as the halfling zooms off.

Nac takes a look at the rocky ridge and dragon bones to see if there's any possibility of making landfall there

 

[Dungeon Master]

((Oh, and just for clarity, the DEX roll isn't too see if you manage to scale the rigging. That's going to be relatively easy to do.

I just want the two of you to race and see who wins.))

 

[Short Order]

((so I'm guessing we didn't rest? Or did I miss it?))

 

[Nac McWeeble]

((I think we're looking for a place to rest on this last wreck, otherwise we go back to the other ship and rest there. ))

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

((readysetgo))

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

((Go go gadget shit rolls! Slow and steady wins the race...?

EDIT - OH SURE I GET A GOOD ROLL RACING AGAINST MOONSPROUT BUT GOD FORBID WHEN A ROLL REALLY MATTERS!))

 

[Short Order]

Short Order turns into a bird and flies to the top before either of them can climb. Then turns back into the murder druid.

 

[Moonsprout Beandirt]

Moonsprout, dangling upside down as his foot twists in the ropes, sees Short Order soar straight to the eagle's nest and calls out to him:
HEY! THINK YOU COULD BECOME AN EAGLE NEXT TIME AND JUST CARRY ME TO THE TOP?

 

[Dungeon Master]

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Nac McWeeble
@Nae'blis​

| You survey the mass of bone and rock. The bones look to be twisted ribs a few feet in diameter, and they've punched a sizable hole in the hull through to one of the lower levels where the ship took on water. It may be possible to scale up the ribs and into the lower decks. |

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Short Order
@A Pineap-Alu-zer​

| You stand in the rowboat flapping your arms like an idiot, because a 2nd level druid cannot assume any form with a flying (or swimming) speed. |

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Zesty Zapcrackle
@Jon​

| You grasp the rigging and clamber upward, finding it secure despite the age of the wreck. A few handholds up you've almost crested the lip onto the deck, while Moonsprout dangles like a limp biscuit.


The moldering wood of the deck is slick with algae and seawater. Amid the tangle of rigging, splintered railings, and stray seaweed, you spot boots, bones, and bits of gore that seem considerably more recent than the wreck of this ship.

Stairs lead to upper decks at fore and aft, and doors lead into cabins under those decks. The mainmast remains intact and mostly upright, topped with a crow's nest overflowing with debris. A staircase near the mast and a large hatch on the port side both lead down into the hold. |

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Moonsprout Beandirt
@Smacktard​

| You try your best to channel Big Squirrel energy, but your nuts just aren't in it and your ascent up the rigging is not as dynamic as you had hoped. Persevering, you do manage to make it to the top and onto the deck, being helped up by Zesty. |

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[Nac McWeeble]

Nac joins the others on the deck

 

[Dungeon Master]

Nac joins the others on the deck

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Nac McWeeble
@Nae'blis​

| You climb up to join the others on deck, and behold the grim site for yourself.






Despite the array of gore, it is perfectly quiet on the ship, save the rush of the wind pulling at the rigging. |

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[Short Order]

Short Order Angrily climbs up on deck

 

[Nac McWeeble]

((Reeeeeeaaaaally cool pics, dude!))

So whaddaya say, lads. We campin’ here or wha’?

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

((@Ben - Are we capable of getting in a long rest if people stand guard to avoid us being attacked in the middle of the night?

 

[Short Order]

((Two people take short rests and cover the rest of us for long rests in shifts?))

 

[Nac McWeeble]

((I believe it’s long rests for everyone even if we take turns guarding, but I could be mistaken. @Ben?))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((@Ben - Are we capable of getting in a long rest if people stand guard to avoid us being attacked in the middle of the night?

(("Standing guard" would be considered a light activity, which is allowable during a long-rest to an extent, so essentially you could all still benefit as long as none of you stand guard for more than 2 hours each.

If you do anything more strenuous than the light activity it could interrupt/restart the rest.

But if you were ever in a situation you might get jumped during a long rest, whoever is on duty at that time would have the opportunity to try and perceive the enemy rather than them just getting the drop on you by default.

I guess you'd just need to tell me what order you're taking rests in. ))

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

(("Standing guard" would be considered a light activity, which is allowable during a long-rest to an extent, so essentially you could all still benefit as long as none of you stand guard for more than 2 hours each.

If you do anything more strenuous than the light activity it could interrupt/restart the rest.

But if you were ever in a situation you might get jumped during a long rest, whoever is on duty at that time would have the opportunity to try and perceive the enemy rather than them just getting the drop on you by default.

I guess you'd just need to tell me what order you're taking rests in. ))

((This is what I was getting at. This isn't exactly safe territory, and I know a long rest benefits Alu in particular (though me getting my second slot couldn't hurt and maybe discovering something during). I would just want to ensure we're not attacked in the middle. If this is something we want to do, I'm happy to take first watch.))

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

Aims hollers up to the deck from the rowboat.

This is the right boat, right? I see some shore over there in case y'all want to take a nap there instead of on this thing. I don't care either way. I'm ready for action anytime!

 

[Dungeon Master]

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Dungeon Master
@Ben​

| Camping.


or

Camping.
|

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((The basalt outcrop near you don't really have any shore to speak of. It's a pillar of rock thrusting out of the surf. You could certainly climb up onto it, but it's not just a sandy beach.))

 

[Zesty Zapcrackle]

((I vote whatever is safer.

I also would like to try and discover some amazing artificer tool that helps with rolls... Like a laser sight or auto aiming arrows (or something cool you've thought up lol) ))

 

[Dungeon Master]

((I vote whatever is safer.

((

So... Decide on that. I'm certainly not telling you. ))

I also would like to try and discover some amazing artificer tool that helps with rolls... Like a laser sight or auto aiming arrows (or something cool you've thought up lol) ))

((As I said before, if I come up with something for you with how it works, etc. it'll be much harder to make. Beside, I see you as having thieves' tools, but no tinker's kit. I don't see how you'd build something right here.

You could use this long-rest to roll for inspiration for some invention, and then try building it when you're not in the middle of the ocean.

Unless you've got some decent RP to explain how you're constructing X with what you've got. Then we'd see.))

 

[Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd]

((Odd boat, even outcrop.))