Grumbling Dwarf

Sea Encounter-Disarmed and Stranded Party

I have to lend credit to my buddy, Dustin, for providing the inspiration for this one.

This is an encounter than can be used to kick off an adventure using any of the popular RPG systems to include Pathfinder RPG, D&D 3.5 or any other systems. The gist is that the party needs to go to a destination via a large boat.

Introduction

The party must travel to a location via sea-faring vehicle. The party pays there way or is awarded passage onto the vessel.  All seems to go well until…

Development

The party has been at sea for a day or two. This is not a leisurely trip. The party gets familiar with the crew and some of the other passengers. Soon the trip takes a turn. A prisoner is found killed below deck. Suspicions arise and it’s not long before the captain is involved with questioning crew and passengers.

What the party is not aware of is the fact that a doppelganger has made it’s way on board the ship and has taken on the role as Captain. The problem is that the party is armed.

It’s not long before the weather gets rough and the storm is seen upon the horizon. Time to baton down the hatches and secure the lines. It’s going to be a rough one.

Likely, the party is armed. The goal is to disarm them… willingly.

Behind the scenes

is a doppelganger wreaking havoc. It’s sole purpose is to survive by not only usurping the captain of the ship, but to actually become the captain.

Encounter continued….

A murder occurs on the ship. This is the act of the doppelganger. The captain, now the doppelganger, brings all the troops on deck and directs all individuals that carry weapons to disarm. The weapons will then be placed in a hold below deck under armed guard.

To add a twist, the doppelganger captain actually exposes the fact that there may be a doppelganger that has infiltrated the ship. Everyone is then lined up on deck. The doppelganger captain announces a tool that can detect these beings. It’s a lantern. Within the lantern is a magical item. Make it something simple. The goal here is to throw off skeptics that may actually want to ‘detect magic’ on the lantern to ensure its legitimacy. With the ring hidden inside, you can have a glowing effect that leads the nay sayer to believe the lantern is indeed magical.

Development

As the tension mounts and the doppelganger hides behind his new guise, there is a storm that is quickly growing. The waters  are becoming very, very, rough and the winds are gusting at a fiercely. Get dramatic about this. It’s a storm that they haven’t seen before. The sky becomes black as night. Rain begins to blow at a vertical angle. It becomes loud. The deck becomes slippery, while it tilts and dips in different ways. Objects not nailed down are sliding around. Chaos ensues.

The party is eventually thrown off the ship. They then land on your land destination of choice….weaponless, without food, and no idea where they are.

And so the adventure begins….