Sigurd's Island

Sample file

SIGURD’S ISLAND

NEW CLUES SEND THE PARTY TO THE HOME PORT OF THE SMUGGLERS AND UNCOVER FURTHER PLOTS.

The expected base of the local smugglers has been discovered and its exploration may unlock many clues to mysteries in the Saltmarsh area.

A four to eight-hour adventure for a Tier 2 party.

Tendrils of Saltmarsh: Part 1

CREDITS WRITTEN BY Chris Valentine EDITED BY Rebecca Valentine

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ______4 What Next? ______22 Adventure Background ______4 Part 3: What Lies Beneath ______23 Adventure Overview ______4 Adventure Hooks ______4 Cavern Area ______23 The Plot ______5 Connecting Tunnel ______25

Important Entities ______5 Where To Next? ______26 Redscales ______5 Conclusion ______28 Punketah ______5 Sigurd “Snake Eyes” ______5

Renner ______7 Appendix A: Magic Items ______29 A Pirate’s Home ______7 Braided Snake Torc ______29

Serenity's Bell ______7 Pirate’s Swagger ______29 Island Inhabitants ______8 Cloak of Station ______29 Journey to the Island ______8 Royal Navy Multi-tool ______29 Part 1: Leisurely Lagoon ______11 Minstrel’s Instrument ______29 Landing ______11 Appendix B: Creatures ______30 Smuggler's Cove ______11 Corsair ______30 Tent City ______11 Half-giant Shieldbearer ______30 Dwyer ______12 Other Residents ______12 Microraptor ______31 Recent News ______12 The Tavern ______12 Parrot ______31 Pirate Tents ______13 Life in the City ______13 Pirate ______32 Alternate arrival ______13 Pirate Doctor ______32 What Next? ______13 Sigurd (yuan-ti) ______33 Part 2: Sigurd’s Mansion ______14 Yuan-ti Mutation ______33 Sera ______14 Appendix C: Ships ______34 Nippy ______14 Sloop ______34 The Grounds ______14 Appendix D: Tendrils of Saltmarsh ______35 Sigurd’s Manor ______15 Appendix E: DM Notes ______36 ManorSample Features ______15 file First Floor ______15 Adjusting This Adventure ______36 Second Floor ______18 Before Play at the Table ______36 Cellar ______20 Playing the Dungeon Master ______36 Written by Chris Valentine Sigurd’s Island 3

Sigurd’s Mansion. This well constructed manor sits beyond the village on top of a large hill. Characters can INTRODUCTION search its contents and learn more about Sigurd’s life and his other plans. Welcome to Sigurd’s Island, a fifth edition adventure for What Lies Beneath. Below the marvelous mansion Dungeons & Dragons. lies caverns and tunnels that expose Sigurd’s and This adventure takes place outside of Saltmarsh Punketah’s experimentation and their devious plans to on a small uncharted island that the smugglers have put them to use. been using as a base of operations. This adventure is designed for three to seven Tier 2 characters. It has been adjusted for APL 6. ADVENTURE HOOKS This adventure does not require a specific story hook. ADVENTURE BACKGROUND The adventurers may become involved in a few ways. Interrogation. When interrogating Sigurd or his The Ghosts of Saltmarsh hardcover book introduces a men one of them has divulged the location of their base. smuggling band that sails on the Sea Ghost. Their A heart-shaped island a few days sail from Saltmarsh. prisoner, Oceanus, is mentioned to have followed them Sightings. Sailors have reported seeing an island a to their home port but no further description is given. few days away by ship. The island appears to have had a This adventure explores that home port and the large sailing ship mooring with no apparent port in other plots it uncovers. It will give more detail to the sight. story of Sigurd and Punketah. It provides a new island And the Rest? With news of Sigurd’s death or base for those smuggling pirates, exposing the other capture and the possession of the Sea Ghost, a town intrigues in which they were involved. council member asks what became of the other ships Through this adventure we will learn that Sigurd under his command. was not a promiscuous captain but was involved with a Navigational Charts. Studying evidence found on the much larger conspiracy, involving a splinter faction of Sea Ghost, a small heart-shaped island appears to have the Scarlet Brotherhood and the yuan-ti. been a focal point for many of the ship’s travels. It is also discovered that Punketah was more than the ship’s deck wizard. In addition, he was a handler assigned to Sigurd by a yuan-ti faction of the Scarlet Brotherhood, known as the Redscales. Note from the Author I recommend you read the entire adventure before • This module takes Sigurd and Punketah from running the module. As with all sessions, there will Chapter 2, Sinister Secrets of Saltmarsh, and be things you may wish to change to better fit your combines them with the Scarlet Brotherhood's table or your party. presence. In addition, some of the possessions Ghosts of Saltmarsh spends a lot of time found in Sigurd's and Punketah's rooms on the Sea flushing out a well-rounded little town. However, Ghost have been given a backstory, so they had a that is as far as it goes with most of the information reason for being there. never being touched on again throughout the rest of • The island itself serves as not only a base for Sigurd the book. I have tried to take some of that and his crew but the introduction of his other 2 ships information and weave them into a new subplot so and their crews. that the threads start to come together to form a • Introduces the Redscales, a splintered scarlet more cohesive story. brotherhood faction in cahoots with the yuan-ti. I had fun writing it, and I hope you have fun • There are clone tanks in the caverns. This is so playing it. Thanks for your support and interest and Sigurd and Punketah can live on if they were I look forward to the worlds we build together. extinguished too quickly in Chapter 2.

ADVENTURE OVERVIEW Sigurd’s Island is separated into several parts: Leisurely Lagoon. The small settlement they have constructed sits out of sight from the harbor and has everythingSample a modern pirate could desire. This area file illustrates the life of the smugglers and starts revealing their other operations.

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THE PLOT Secret of the Redscales The party may discover that the Rescales are a The smuggling operation uncovered in Saltmarsh was faction of the Scarlet Brotherhood, but it is merely the tip the iceberg. Sigurd was involved in an important they do not know the Rescales are also infiltration and eugenics project facilitated by a rogue yuan-ti. This revelation is better saved for the next faction of the Scarlet Brotherhood, called the Redscales. adventure in this trilogy where the players find He intended to spread the yuan-ti presence as far as themselves at the heart of one of their operations. possible all while declaring himself a natural prophet of the species. Sigurd, believing he is their chosen one, is trying to spread yuan-ti bloodlines throughout the world so that he may someday lead them as their messiah. SIGURD “SNAKE EYES” In the bowels of the mansion, Sigurd and Captain Sigurd “Snake Eyes” is much more than just the Punketah have been working on a method to poison the captain of the Sea Ghost. water supplies of various port towns with a modified Sigurd was born with bilateral coloboma. This mind flayer worm that mutates those who drink it into condition caused both his irises to more closely snake-like thralls. Sigurd believes any such creature resemble slashes than they did circles. Although a would naturally seek him out for guidance. perfectly normal human variation, this snake-like trait This plan has not yet been put into motion, but caused him to be rejected by his parents. In their own Sigurd has many contacts in various ports that were ignorance, they believed it was a foul sign and deposited ready to execute the plan once they received the him in a small religious orphanage. concoction and the go ahead from him. This There, amongst his peers, his physical correspondence was in the guise of love letters between appearance generated much ridicule. The other children him and his “wives”. dubbed him “Snake Eyes” and phrases such as “Yuan-ti, His assistant Punketah, however, knows it was yuan-ti, my momma didn’t want me” were uttered not really Sigurd’s plan. Sigurd was a puppet of the more times than he could count. In addition to the Redscales who used his low self-esteem to further their insults, they would accuse him of being one of the evil own cause and put him to use on a task they needed snakefolk that roamed the world, something he would completed. embrace later in life. Over the years the torment caused Sigurd to believe he was born that way he was for a reason. He IMPORTANT ENTITIES researched the snake people, their history, and The culmination of this story is brought about by several mannerisms. He eventually convinced himself he was key factors, factions, and facilitators. They each play a surely born a prophet for them, and his eyes were a sign. role in events that has led up to their current affairs. When he could leave the orphanage, he sought out yuan-ti to be “among his own kind.” During his search, it was the Redscales he discovered. Deciding to REDSCALES manipulate him and use him to further their own goals, they quickly agreed to assist him in his endeavors. Using The Redscales are a splinter faction of the Scarlet his fanaticism to manipulate him, they put him to work Brotherhood. They believe the yuan-ti bloodlines will on their own agenda. allow for the Scarlet Brotherhood to embody a more They convinced him to spread yuan-ti genetics perfect form and achieve their goals faster and with into the world to create a nation of superior beings, such more decisiveness. They combine the Scarlet as him, for him to one day rule and lead to glory. Brotherhood’s eugenics with the yuan-ti’s evolutionary They knew which buttons to push to keep him rituals to create what they believe to be a more perfect doing what they wanted. Punketah was sent to keep an being. eye on him. Sigurd would need to find more willing souls like him. Being a sea captain gave him the opportunity to PUNKETAH visit new ports and find those individuals. Eventually, Sigurd had contacts in every port that he corresponded The Sea Ghosts’ deck wizard is also a member of the to in coded letters. Redscales, and a former member of the Scarlet Sigurd and Punketah were working on a method Brotherhood’s faction called the Crimson Blades. of tainting local water supplies with modified ilithid He has been tasked with watching Sigurd for the tadpoles that would turn the locals into a half yuan-ti. Redscales to assure Sigurd is kept on track with their He hoped these yuan-ti hybrids would seek him out and agenda.Sample Whenever Sigurd has doubts or runs into then sympathize with his cause.file obstacles, Punketah helps push him through in a direction that coincides with their overall agenda.

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Sample file

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He hoped they would seek him out to finish their coming into the harbor from her vantage point up on a transformation, shed their skin and reveal the yuan-ti tall hill, she would ring a large bell on her porch. The they would become, by undergoing the same ritual bell echoed throughout the island informing everyone Sigurd had subjected himself. that ships were arriving, and with them her husband. Sigurd needed a base of operations and found Sigurd often referred to his wife, Sera, by her nickname the heart-shaped island a perfect location. He spent his 'Serenity'. resources to build a huge manor and a secret subbasement complex to work on his sinister serpentine plans. SERENITY'S BELL Sigurd used the smuggling agenda to cover up This heart-shaped, jungle island was formed by volcanic his true plans while simultaneously putting him at rock in ancient times. It is a couple days sailing off the various ports around the seas. Everyone in his employ, coast where Saltmarsh is situated. The geography of the save Punketah, were unaware of the real agenda. island makes it an ideal location for a small, easily hidden harbor. A deep lagoon allows up to two large sea going ships to make anchor. Fight Another Day Two sets of smaller islands exist in the surrounding If Sigurd or Punketah has died, there are clone tanks waters. The smaller of which is a relatively flat here that can provide them entry into this adventure. uninhabited pair of small islands. The larger of the two These tanks were setup by Redscale wizards and is a dense jungle and that has not been explored, though delivered/installed by Punketah. it is known to have carnivorous reptiles. That fact has kept exploration away, and the reputation of deadly beasts has kept these islands uninhabited for years. A set of rather sharp reefs surround the island and only a skilled navigator or one who has been made aware RENNER of the obstacles can successfully enter the lagoon. Renner is a fence that has been used by the pirate Sigurd and his crew discovered the island two years smugglers several times. He has been to the island and previous and have made a decent establishment since. knows about the dangerous approach vector one must Most of the development of the island was on Sigurd’s take to land unscathed. Renner also has some rapport manor that housed a vault large enough to store their with the pirates on the island. treasures. It was this vault’s construction that Sigurd used to justify the efforts spent at the manor initially. The manor is rather large and was under construction WHAT DOES RENNER KNOW? for the first year before it was finally finished. The • He does not know the location of the island but has construction crew mysteriously left the island at the visited it. same time and were never seen again. Sigurd suggested • He knows the approach vector is treacherous. they fled in a hastily constructed raft. • He knows Sigurd has a large house there but has The islands many peaks and dense jungle make it never visited it. impossible to see their small tent town or the manor • He knows from that house they can see ships from the open waters. It is only once one is in the inner coming in before the ships can see anything there. lagoon that a small bit of the manor becomes visible. • He knows a bell rings when they see ships arriving. The entire crew has taken great care to conceal any sign • He has only been as far as the tavern and has never of their occupancy even from those in the lagoon. One stayed the night. must know exactly where to walk (on submerged stones) to traverse down a small water way and find the hidden The party can seek out Renner for his aid in getting tent city. there, or if that does not happen, he can seek them out The rest of the island is mostly unexplored, though and ask them to transport him there. He would like to its population of carnivorous reptiles has been retrieve some books that might be in Sigurd’s library so eradicated by the pirate infestation. Nordra has spotted that he may sell them to Eliander in Saltmarsh. Renner a few cave systems in the surrounding peaks, but no one can almost always be found at the Snapping Line (see has explored them yet. map page 6) tavern critiquing the catch of the day. SMUGGLER’S COVE IRATE S OME The small cove can accommodate two large sailing A P ’ H vessels. A deep channel has been carved out to allow For Captain Sigurd, home is literally where the heart is. careful maneuvering into the lagoon. If all three ships A smallSample heart-shaped island named "Serenity's Bell" are present the third must waitfile beyond the cove near the has been the home port of the captain for some years. open water. Originally called "the heartland" by Sigurd, the Great lengths have been incurred to assure there is moniker evolved over time to be named after Sigurd's no visual indication that a village or ships are situated wife who lives in their manor. When she saw ships Written by Chris Valentine Sigurd’s Island 7 within the island. Only wading through water or PERRILUS “PERRY” stepping on submerged stones allows entry to the areas where the village begins. Perrilus (N half-elf corsair), known by the crew as Perry, is captain of the Marigold. He is a very efficient ENT ITY leader and runs a tidy crew. He is not overly ambitious T C and is happy to be with people who accept him for who This makeshift “village” consists of several large tents he is, much like Sigurd. Perry is very loyal to his and haphazardly constructed “buildings”. colleagues but does respond to reason. Crew of the Marigold. First Mate: Petra (pirate SIGURD’S MANSION first mate), Bosun: Skip (pirate bosun), Ship Doctor: Buckles (pirate doctor), and 7 additional crew (pirates) Sitting high up the elevation is Sigurd’s personal mansion. The area has a good overlook of the village and through the right trees a glimpse into Smuggler’s Cove. Surrounding Area The main island has many rocky peaks and jungle THE FLEET areas. Within most of the mountainous areas are small cavern systems. Only one of which is explored The two other ship crews have a 20 percent chance each in this adventure, the rest remain for future use. of being on the island at any one time. They are usually The northwestern unexplored island is out smuggling, pillaging, or finding work. smaller and full of dense jungle and vicious creatures. It hides a forgotten surprise for those who ISLAND INHABITANTS survive its exploration. The island has a few noteworthy inhabitants.

SERA "SERENITY" PARKER Sera (N commoner) is Sigurd’s wife and runs the island JOURNEY TO THE ISLAND when he is away. She is a short dark-haired woman with Whatever the reason the characters are seeking the a very authoritative presence. When not dealing with island the trip should take a few days and their chance of affairs in the tent village, she prefers to stay on the random encounters are slightly elevated. This is an area grounds of the manor tending to her garden and reading. where trade routes and ships rarely venture, so chaos is Sera is unaware of Sigurd’s alternate agenda though she a bit more prevalent. does surmise something is up and suspects him in the disappearance of the building crew.

LEONARD DWYER Dwyer (NG commoner) was originally a captive in one of their pillaging expeditions. Since then, he has been forced to tend their makeshift tavern. He has no sailing ability, and his meek demeanor prevents him from staging an escape. He is pleasant to talk to and most of the inhabitants enjoy doing so. His best friend is his green parrot named Pickle.

NORDRA This tall half-giant (LN half-giant shieldbearer) commands the ship, Cold Embrace. She is originally from the far north and follows the strict code of her kind. If Sigurd is ever declared dead, she will rightfully assume command. When not tending to her ship or assignments she can be found climbing the peaks around the island for sport and meditation. Crew of the Cold Embrace. First Mate: Damian (pirate first mate), Quartermaster: Hera (pirate bosun), Navigator:Sample Gallagher (pirate), and 7 additional crew file (pirates)

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Sample file

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Sample file

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