This is a skill challenge that puts the skills of the party and crew of Exploration Vessel: The Steadfast to the test as they attempt to outrun the Ministry's harbor patrol and escape to the open sea.

This is a chase between two ships:

• The Steadfast:
  Exploration Vessel: The Steadfast

  The Steadfast	Ship: Caravel
  Colossal Water Vehicle	XP 1,000

  HP 500; Half-speed 250	Stability +3
  AC:25 Fortitude:20 Reflex:10 '	Max Cargo 5 Tons
  Speed 12“, 6” laden (>2.5 Tons cargo)	Configuration Exploration

  Crew: 18 Watch: 5

  Length: 75' Width: 20'

  Draft: 3' Masts: 2

  Initial Location: Docked at Pier 39 on Casaran The Steadfast's Flag Formerly a ship of the line for the Ministry of Magic and Science, The Steadfast now an exploration vessel that was transferred for permanent personal use to her Captain Damien Blythe. She is a seaworthy, nimble ship that can handle long ocean crossings - though originally configured for ship-to-ship combat, the ballista that was on the Foc's'le deck has been replaced with special rigging that is used to increase speed and maneuverability.

  The Steadfast at Port

  Crew

  • 1 Master and Commander: Damien Blythe: (...)
  • 1 Bo's'n, Second in Command : Frances Conbay: (...)
  • 1 Surgeon: Ricven “Bones” Gemviper: (...)
  • 1 Windmage: Cheech “Cookie” Chong: (...)
  • 10 Deckhands: Steadfast Sailors: (...)

  Deck by Deck

  Quarterdeck: The quarterdeck is a raised, open deck at the stern. The ship's wheel is here, along with a small davit for a ship's boat. Foc's'le Deck: This is a raised, open deck atop the forecastle. Where the ballista should be is instead a cluster of non-traditionnal rigging that is attached to the unusually segmented foremast. On the starboard side is the hawsepipe and tackle for the ship's anchor. Damien's Cabin: The largest and most comfortable cabin on the ship is still quite cramped by most standards. Wardroom: The captain, officers, and passengers take their meals here. This room also serves as a drawing room or parlor for the officers and passengers. Main Deck: This open deck features two large companionways that descend to the lower deck. The companionways serve as both stairways (ladders, in nautical parlance) and cargo hatches. Chicken coops and pens for goats, lambs, or other small livestock often take up any available space left on the deck. Forecastle: Most of the ship's crew sleeps here, although in good weather many crewmembers prefer to sleep on the open decks. The forecastle holds a dozen cramped bunks. Galley: The ship's galley is in the forward part of the lower deck. It has a small stove and shelving for all kinds of foodstuffs. The ship's cook and his assistant(s) sleep here. Chain Locker: The ship's anchor chain is stored here. It passes through the hawsepipe in the forecastle up to the foc's'le deck. Lower Deck: This space serves as the first of the caravel's cargo holds, as well as the crew's mess deck. Crewmembers take their meals sitting on whatever cargo is convenient. If the ship is heavily laden, this deck might be covered to within a foot of the overhead, leaving only a single fore-and-aft passage between the crates, casks, and bundles. Officer's Cabins: These tiny cabins are the private rooms of the ship's officers. Paying passengers usually bump an officer from his or her cabin to the forecastle. Ship's Office: All the ship's paperwork is kept here, including cargo manifests, pay records, and the ship's paychest (usually in a sturdy, locked chest). Sail Locker: Spare sails, canvas, and sewing gear is stored here, as well as plenty of lines, hawsers, firewood, and heavy tools. Lower Hold: Most of the ship's cargo is stowed here, as well as provisions (including as many casks of fresh water as will fit). Beneath this lower hold lies a small crawlspace where heavy ballast stones help to stabilize the ship. NOTE: The ship image and description block is primarily copied from Stormwrack a module outlined on the D&D 3.5 archive on wizards.com - where the images and original text appear. Before publishing this module, this should all be replaced with 100% original material.

  (...)

• and a heavily armed Ministry Cruiser:
  Warship: Ministry Cruiser

  Ministry Cruiser	Ship: Cog
  Colossal Water Vehicle	XP 1,000

  HP 200; Half-speed 100	Stability +2
  AC 25	Max Cargo 4 Tons
  Speed 12“, 6” laden (>2 Tons cargo)	Configuration Interdiction

  Crew: 16 Watch: 5

  Length: 40' Width: 15'

  Height: 8' water to deck Masts: 1

  	Flag:The Ministry of Magic and Science Optimized for harbor patrol, the cruiser is heavily armed and configured for contraband interdiction. It sacrifices maneuverability for speed and armaments. The foc's'le deck sports a armor piercing ballista capable of rendering any wood-hulled ship disabled with a single short-range shot.	A typical Ministry Cruiser

  Crew

  • 1 Master and Commander: Loren Carpenter: (...)

    • 6 Troops: Ministry Guards: (...)
    • 10 Deckhands: Ministry Soldiers: (...)

  Deck Map

  
  Battle Map for the Deck of the Ministry Cruiser

  (...)

• using the Chase Track:
  (pdf)

Place The Steadfast token and the clock token on the chase track as shown above. The Ministry Cruiser does not move and has no token. This track represents The Steadfast the traveling west (out of the harbor) starting 1/2 mile from the docks, and the cruiser coming from the far side of the island is 1.5 miles or 3 squares behind.

The sun will be setting soon, and The Steadfast can escape if they get far enough ahead going due west…

There are a few small natural rock outcroppings, usually covered with sea life and their spoor. A few are just barely large enough to hide a small ship - these are featured on the map. Near the rocks are several sandbars, though marked on the map, the maps are old…

This time of year, the sea is full of just about every kind of fish and aquatic mammal life. Some larger sea creatures may even been visible when they come in to feed on the numerous schools of fish at the edge of the shallows.

The inner harbor is dotted with dozens of ships of all sizes - tiny fishing and pleasure boats, excursion craft and ferries, all the way up to larger warships and cargo ships, anchored in deeper water with small landing craft shuttling back and forth to the docks. The Steadfast will initially be navigating the inner harbor before reaching the coast, and then open sea. To leave the inner harbor, three (3) challenges must be completed successfully.

This chase scene is made up of a series of component challenges, outlined below. The Steadfast will either escape or be captured.

Each successful challenge increases The Steadfast's lead by various techniques, each failure decreases the lead - these changes in lead are played out by moving the Steadfast token either right for increases, or left for decreases.

Increases in this text are represented by a a right arrow →, a number, and [] as shorthand for the word “squares”. For example: →3[] means increase the distance between the ships by 3 squares by moving The Steadfast token right/further from the cruiser by 3 squares. As you might expect, decreasing the lead is represented similarly: ←5[] means move The Steadfast token 5 squares left/closer to the cruiser.

All checks have the same moderate difficulty (DC):

If the ministry cruiser will catches up with The Steadfast, the skill check will fail. Each time a component challenge fails, the separation distance will decrease by the following amount:

Most successful challenges will result in increase in lead of 1.5 miles →3[].

Note: This means it is possible to be captured with the first two component challenges being failures (1.5 mile head start - 0.5 - 1.0 = 0). It is also possible to escape by not failing any of the first four challenges (1.5 mile head start + 1.5 x 4 = 7.5 miles!).

Each challenge type (below) may only be attempted once per hour (not twice in a row.)

Unless the incapacitated or the party specifies otherwise, the Navigator for these challenges will be Captain Damien Blythe. For sake of this skill challenge, Emma Haller is considered a PC.

Note: The GM is encouraged to allow the players to come up with other strategies than outlined here, and to give the primary suggester a +2 bonus to their own skill check - this bonus does not apply if another character makes the check. The net gain in distance between ships should never be less than 1.5 miles →3[] or more than 2.5 miles →5[].

Use these challenges until the players have successfully completed three (3) challenges, or they have been captured.

• “Full Speed Ahead! I”: Hoping to better use the available winds and superior navigation and seamanship, The Steadfast abandons stealth in an attempt to put some distance between themselves and the cruiser - a risky trade-off.
  • This provides a +5 bonus to the crew of the cruiser's perception roles in finding/tracking The Steadfast.
  • Characters may take specific actions for bonuses:
    • Each character that dumps cargo provides a bonus of +1, up to +5 maximum.
    • Each character that helps with the rigging, may add +1 if they make an easy Acrobatics or Arcana check (10).
  • Skill checks (one from each line):
    • (Navigator) Navigation (Intelligence + 5) / Athletics

      • Success: Increase lead by only 1 mile →2[] as they have to avoid harbor traffic.
      • Failure: Decrease lead by ←x/3[] (see table), where x is the number of failures, including this one.
      • Advance the clock →1[]
• Skin Dancing: The party provides the captain and navigator with information about the size, location, and presumed course of various ships in the harbor so that The Steadfast can dart back and forth between them in an effort to confuse their pursuers as to their actual position and course.
  • Skill check bonus/penalty: 3 - Current Lead (Hexes)

    • Skill checks (one from each line):
      • (PC) Perception / Insight
      • (Navigator) Bluff / Acrobatics / Athletics
    • Success: Increase lead by 1.5 miles →3[]
    • Failure: Decrease lead by ←x/3[] (see table), where x is the number of failures, including this one.
    • Advance the clock →1[]
• Barking Up the Wrong Tree I: There are some small rock formations. If we can get ahead far enough we might be able to duck behind one, unnoticed. The noise from the seals/sea gulls should cover the sounds of our sails and rigging…
  • Skill check bonus/penalty: 6 - Current Lead (in squares)
  • Skill checks (one from each line):
    • (PC) Stealth / Nature
    • (Navigator) Stealth / Athletics
  • Success: Increase lead by 1.5 miles →3[]
  • Failure: Decrease lead by ←x/3[] (see table), where x is the number of failures, including this one.
  • Advance the clock →1[]
• Calling All Creatures - Small: The party may have specially skilled characters on board who can call for the assistance of sea life…
  • While in the inner harbor, only Small and Tiny sea and flying creatures may be summoned.
  • Skill checks (one from each line):
    • (PC) Nature / Religion - to summon the creature(s). Adjustments:
      • +2/0/-2 for S(3d4+5)/M(1d4)/L(1) size
      • +2/0/-2 for Common/Uncommon/Rare
    • (Same PC) Diplomacy - talk the creature(s) into delaying the pursuit craft. Adjustments:
      • +2 PC has past relationship with species
      • +2 PC has past relationship with creature
  • Success: Increase lead by 1.5 miles →3[]
  • Failure: Decrease lead by ←x/3[] (see table), where x is the number of failures, including this one.
  • Advance the clock →1[]

Use these challenges after the players have successfully completed three (3) challenges until they escape or are captured.

• “Full Speed Ahead! II”, Same as above, success now increases lead by 1.5 miles →3[].
  • May not be used immediately after Full Speed Ahead! I.
• Barking Up the Wrong Tree II: Same as above.
  • May not be used immediately after Barking Up the Wrong Tree I.
• Calling All Creatures - Great: Same as above, but may now summon medium and large creatures.
  • May not be used immediately after Calling All Creatures Small.
• The Coral Maze: Damion has navigated the coral reef just outside the harbor before - it is treacherous and slow - but a real short-cut!
  • May only be attempted once, after exiting the inner harbor.
  • Since the a ship must slow down to navigate the reef, The Steadfast must have a lead of at least 3 miles 6[] to enter.
  • Entering the coral maze immediately shortens the lead distance by 1.5 miles ←3[] (before the check!) * Characters may take specific actions for bonuses: * All hands on deck: PCs helping with rigging may add +1 if they make an easy Acrobatics or Arcana check (10). * All hands on deck: PCs helping with long poles to check depth and push off the reef add +1 for an easy Athletics check (10). * Skill checks (one from each line): * (Navigator) Navigation (Intelligence + 5) / Athletics * Success: Increase lead by 4 miles →8[] for a net gain of 2.5 miles!
  • Failure: Decrease lead by ←x/3[] (see table), where x is the number of failures, including this one.
  • Advance the clock →1[]
• The Kitchen Sink: We're desperate and it seems like Professor Thomas Haller equipped this ship with a lot of unusual artifacts. Some of them might be useful as weapons, after a fashion - if we could just figure out how they worked… Lots of stuff that seems to have something to do with electricity in this hold over here…
  • May only be used when within firing range, 2 miles 4[] or less. May optionally drop lead by up to 1 mile ←2[] to get into range.
  • May not use in inner harbor: Otherwise there's too much chance of hurting innocents.
  • Characters may take specific actions for bonuses:
    • An Artificer may add +2 to their check.
    • A PC with experience with Electric damage weapons gets +2.
  • Skill checks (one from each line):
    • (PC:Builder) Arcana / History / Insight - to build this weapon which shoots electrical bolts that can pierce a sail.
    • (PC:Gunnery) Perception / Dexterity - To fire this odd thing. May not be the same PC as the Builder.
  • Success: Increase lead by 2.5 miles →5[] and +4 bonus to all skill checks for the next challenge.
  • Failure: Decrease lead by ←x/3[] (see table), where x is the number of failures, including this one.
  • Advance the clock →1[]

The party collects 250xp and is now eligible for an extended rest.

Part Intimidate, part Diplomacy, Damien is +9 on as DC roll of 20. Each character that hands over all of their cash on hand and/or items worth at least 50gp total, per person, will add +2 to this check, up to an additional +10 for a total of +19, which would succeed on any roll other than a 1 (fumble.)

• Damien's Prize:

  Sword: Damien's Prize

  Sun Blade

  • Rarity: Rare
  • Type: Weapon
  • Attunement: Yes
  • Source: 5.2 SRD (D&D 2024)

  This item appears to be a sword hilt.

  Blade of Radiance. While grasping the hilt, you can take a Bonus Action to cause a blade of pure radiance to spring into existence or make the blade disappear. While the blade exists, this magic weapon functions as a Longsword with the Finesse property. If you are proficient with Longswords or Shortswords, you are proficient with the Sun Blade. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this weapon, which deals Radiant damage instead of Slashing damage. When you hit an Undead with it, that target takes an extra 1d8 Radiant damage.

  Sunlight. The sword's luminous blade emits Bright Light in a 15-foot radius and Dim Light for an additional 15 feet. The light is sunlight. While the blade persists, you can take a Magic action to expand or reduce its radius of Bright Light and Dim Light by 5 feet each, to a maximum of 30 feet each or a minimum of 10 feet each.

  ---

  Source: 5.2 SRD (D&D 2024) - Available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

  (...), along with all of the cash and items promised by the party as bail are removed from the game. Each character may add “Seek personal revenge against Loren Carpenter, the Ministry Harbormaster” as a quest or character motivation.

• This campaign does not detail this combat - the gamemaster is free to use Ministry Guards and Ministry Soldiers as the enemy crew. With a second shot into the hull, the Steadfast would sink in a matter of minutes. Assuming surviving part members are fished out of the water by the harbormaster, each would be imprisoned. Perhaps the GM could devise an escape, or another NPC to re-assemble the crew to set out again. Note: Emma Haller must survive to continue the quest, and she must hear Damien's Confession:

  Damien's Confession

  Damien tells what actually happened that fateful day when Professor Thomas Haller died: All about the missing journal pages, the secret research, the cave, the black altar, and the horrible accident.

  During a quiet moment, read:

  “Emma, there's something I have to tell you.” - Damien clears his throat. All of a sudden his demeanor has changed from his usual happy-go-lucky attitude to dour and serious.

  “I know what was on the missing pages in that blasted journal.” he starts, jabbing an accusatory finger at the book.

  “It's what we were really looking for when your father died. What we found, actually. He was on to something - something big, and I'm afraid Voronu might be a part of it. You need to be warned.” - a look of sadness and guilt overwhelms his visage as he continues…

  TBD

  before his part of the story is over.

Each surviving character may add “Seek personal revenge against Loren Carpenter, the Ministry Harbormaster” as a quest or character motivation.