The tales in the old sea taverns say that when William Tuttle went to sea at the age of twelve, that he had no intention of becoming a pirate. Following in his father’s footsteps he joined a local fishing crew. His captain, like all fishermen on the coast, indulged in some part time smuggling on the side, when the fish weren't running. It was about this time a particularly cruel governor came to power, and shortly afterwards William and his crewmates were sprung red handed by the governor’s revenue cutter as they unloaded contraband in a small cove.
The governor hoping to make an example of them to smugglers up and down the coast summarily ordered each man should lose his hands. In the seconds it took for the executioners axe to rise once, twice, William Tuttle the boy died, and the man who would become the legend was born. He would languish another dozen years in a claustrophobic cell beneath the governor’s fortress. But when he finally did emerge, blinking in the bright sunlight, he carried within himself, a burning desire for revenge.
Fitting hooks to his wrist stumps, Bill Hooks as he would quickly become known, rapidly ascended to command of the smugglers fraternity, and within the year he had become the scourge of the coast, preying on the ships of fat merchants, who in the safety of their palaces tremble with impotent rage at the very mention of his name.
Since those days, he has ruled the coast, unchallenged for 30 years now. The old governor has passed away, unlamented, and a new one rules in his stead. Recently at the proddings of the merchant guilds, the new governor has outfitted a newer, larger and swifter customs cutter.
The outfitting of the cutter hasn’t come a moment too soon, for the word in the smoky sea side dives is that Bill Hook’s, in his most audacious move yet, is bringing north a fleet laden with exotic liqueurs and fine wines from the sun drenched southlands. The cargo is reputed to be worth a king’s ransom, or so the rumours say.
In anticipation of a large cash reward, you have signed on to head up the marine contingent aboard the cutter “The Seawitch”. Three days out of Port Royal, and all you have seen have been fishing boats.
The crash and boom of surf on the distant coast fills the air and overhead the canvas snaps taut as a keen wind billows out the sails. The deck shudders beneath your feet as the Seawitch crashes through a set of rollers, showering you with salt spray in the golden afternoon sunlight. Then a hail sounds from overhead “sail to larboard …” and sailors eagerly dash to line the gunwales. Beside you the captain raises an eyeglass, and then sighs in satisfaction “it is one of Bill Hook’s ships” he announces, “we shall have action soon”
The cutter will quickly draw alongside the smugglers sloop, which is wallowing heavily in the swell. At their approach, the smugglers will loose a volley of arrows and bolts
1st Volley: approximately 25-30 arrows at –2 to hit (0 level fighter). Roll 1d20 to determine how many will be fired at PC’s
2nd volley: about a dozen or so arrows. Roll 1d10 to determine how many will target the PC’s.
These numbers assume no or low casualty rates amongst the pirates, revise down according to the PC’s actions. After the 2nd volley, all (surviving) pirates will dive overboard, swimming for a nearby reef.
The captain will order the PC’s to secure the ship (assuming they haven’t chosen a course of action that will pre-empt this command).
Pirates 25 AC10 hp 1-6 Att by hand held melee weapons only
Boarding the ship (the sloop Esmeralda), they will find the upper deck and cabins empty of opposition (save for one scrawny dog that will whimper in fear). However if they stop to check the hold covers, they will find them securely battened down (nailed down in fact), and reinforced with heavy timber balks. The slop of water from within should warn them that they might not have long to recover the cargo before the ship sinks.
If the PC’s don’t take the initiative of searching below, orders will be relayed from the cutter to do so.
As they tear open the covers, two enraged sea trolls (hp 40, 42) will erupt upwards, attempting to grapple the nearest characters and to hurl them and their selves into the sea. If and when the PC’s defeat the scrags, the hold will be found to be empty, except for a tangled mass of netting that has been evidently used by the smugglers to trap the trolls. The trolls have succeeded in forcing some of the timbers, and the Esmeralda is rapidly taking on water.
It the party has not already taken lengths to recapture the escaping smugglers, a hail from the cutter will draw their attention to the swimmers, who have reached the other side of the reef. As the party watches, another sloop slides out from behind an island where it was concealed, and will stop to pick up the men. If not intercepted by the party, it will set sail towards the west, and the ocean (unless the party has the means to intercept it via a fly spell, judicious use of a fireball etc). The captain of the Seawitch will be keen to pursue (if the sloop is pursued, it will be overhauled by the cutter within 20 sea miles – unless the party are crafty enough to hold back and let the pirates lead them to isle).
If intercepted, the sloop, the “Princess” will be found to be crewed by 30 pirates led by a 3rd level fighter (hp 18 AC 5 att with broadsword +1 to hit +1 damage to strength). This man will fight to the death, or commit suicide, knowing that the hangman’s noose awaits him at Port Royal.
30 pirates AC 4-8 hp 1-6 Att by weapon type [mainly cutlass’s]
Should the party take prisoners, interrogation of the survivors will provide the details provided below. However, the pirates will initially lie, hoping to conceal the true location of their base.
The pirates know the following:
Under duress (or by use of a speak with dead spell) the pirates will reveal that the island is a storehouse of a great treasure which the pirates have been steadily accumulating from their activities over the last 9 months or so.
The pirates honestly (but mistakenly) believe all of the above to be true. The pirates will only guide the Seawitch to the island if they see no other way out or they are compelled to by magical means. A load of fine wines and other spirits (to the value of 5000 gp) has been buried in a cove on the nearby coast, and can be recovered at this time.
Even if the party does not stop to take prisoners, or follow the escaping “Princess”, other clues might provide hints to the isles existence. These include
The island lies many miles out to sea, in an area where no island is known to exist – yet it exists, an expanse of shifting sands, with tall columns of marble masonry thrusting skywards. At first sight, there will be little to see, not even the tell-tail fins of sharks break the surface of the placid sea. The closer the Seawitch draws to the island, the greater the sensation that something is wrong, will grow. The captain will not allow the Seawitch to anchor closer than a few hundred yards to the shore, insisting that the PC’s must go ashore in one of the whale boats. Note: if the Seawitch has followed either of the pirate ships out to the island, these ships will stand off a good distance, observing the actions of the Seawitch and its crew.
If the PC’s use the whaleboat to go ashore the captain will offer them a contingent of 20 armed sailors (0th level hp 1-6 AC 10 Att. by cutlass or pike) led by a bosun (3rd level fighter hp 14 AC 10 Att cutlass).
From their anchorage point there will be no sign of movement. A makeshift wall of coral, timber balks and kegs has been shattered and behind the breach, torn tents flap spasmodically in the limpid breeze. Dark forms lie still and silent everywhere. When the PC’s arrive on the island they will find bodies bobbing in surf, and further up the beach lie mounds of dead pirates, many horribly mutilated. Of their attackers, there is no sign, although trails of dried ichor indicate that they have been removed from the battlefield. The pirates seem to have fought desperately to the end, many still lying back to back as they fell.
The ruins consist of a rectangle of tall marble columns enclosing a space of about 2 acres in extent. The enclosed area has a floor of limestone blocks, and at the far end is a towering statue of a leaping shark
In the shade of a pillar, two men take their ease. One a swarthy brute of a man with a long tangled locks has a blood stained bandage knotted around his forehead, the other apparently unmarked lounges languidly on the plinth that the pillar is set upon. He will call out to the party cordially. If questioned he will admit cheerfully to being a pirate. If the party chooses to interrogates him further, they may learn the following
What he will fail to mention is that he was part of a plot to kill Hook’s. He is a 7th level fighter, AL Chaotic Evil, HP 34 AC 4 (chain and 15 dex) Equipment: long sword, +1 dagger (poisoned), Ring of invisibility, chain mail
The other man is black John, a huge battle scarred boatswain. He will claim to have fought until he was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head – his story is true. He is a 3rd level fighter AL Chaotic Evil HP 24 (8 remaining) AC 10 Equipment: cutlass, dagger
About 5 minutes after the party meets the two pirates two figures will suddenly appear out of nowhere (note: should the party be employing a detect magic spell, an area of the sandy littoral will detect as magic – this being camouflaged by a hallucinary terrain spell) . The newcomers are a massive hulk of a man, battle scarred and with hooks instead of hands – the pirate chief himself, following him is an exotically beautiful women with bronzed skin, and tangled black locks tumbled over her emerald green sari (see NPC stats).
If the party permits him to parley, he will declare that he has come to surrender. If Tarkin has not been slain by the party he stifles a snarl and begins to carefully ease the poisoned dagger from its sheath.
But before anything more can develop …
Screams erupt from the foreshore where the landing party was guarding the whaleboat. Dark green scaley figures erupt from the surf, attacking the hapless sailors with nets and tridents. Another group led by a towering individual swarms up the steps towards the momentarily frozen tableau, Hook’s (if still alive) will snarl “sea devils” and with a horrid oath spring towards the advancing sahuagin.
Behind the struggle on the beach, dozens of shark fins begin to break the mirror like surface of the ocean.
If the following are still alive and conscious, they will act thusly:
Hook’s will wade into the sahuagin, seeking to kill as many as possible, if all the sahuagin are slain, and he sees that the party is greatly weakened, he will turn on them. Note: Hook’s will fight to death, defending Sakisa as he is unaware of Sakisa’s true nature. If she is unveiled in some fashion, he will be stunned for 1-4 melee rounds, and then in a fit of self-loathing and hatred he will frenziedly attack Sakisa. Should he succeed in killing Sakisa, he will run into the ocean, and swim until exhaustion (or one of the circling sharks) claims him.
Tarkin will initially join the battle against the sahuagin, but during the melee he will attempt to fight his way through and tab Hooke’s with the poisoned dagger. If he survives to the end, he will challenge Hooke’s to a duel, if the latter is still alive, otherwise he will cheerfully surrender to the party. Black John will fight with the party, and will not act against them, unless one of the other pirates does so first.
Sakisa will fight alongside the party while Hooke’s remains alive, but she will do so from the back line, not exposing herself to any chance of harm. Should Hooke’s be slain, she will flee into the ocean (where her true nature might come to light). Should Sakisa be trapped or wounded unto death, she will use her wand of water breathing on her assailants, hoping that they drown in the air (the effected person must submerge themselves in the ocean within 1-2 melee rounds to avoid this fate).
The Sahuagin will attempt to kill or capture all, not distinguishing between the pirates and the party members. Any unfortunate enough to be captured will be sacrificed upon the altar of the shark god of Sahuagin.
The Sahuagin war party comprises of the following
The “Duke” HP 36. This massive four armed Sahuagin will lead the attack, casting a net as he closes, and then attacking with two tridents. Due to his great size and strength he attacks at +1 to hit and +3 damage.
Following him are group of elite guards HP 1x 20, 4x 18, 4x 17. If required these guards will be supplemented by another 1-8 normal sahuagin (averaging 10-12 hp apiece).
A small number of Sahuagin will hold back from the melee, beginning to weave spells, this groups consists of a:
Sahuagin Priestess 8th level hp 40
Spells
1st level: commandx2, bless
2nd level: hold person x2, silence 15’ radius
3rd level: speak with dead (used), dispel magic x2 (1 used)
4th level: tongues (active), detect lie (active)
Following her are four, 4th level lesser priestesses
HP 20, 2x 18, 1x 16
They have the following spells:
#1: cure light wounds, command, continual light, hold person
#2: cause light wounds, cause fear, silence 15’ radius, hold person
#3: cure light wounds, bless, chant, continual light
#4: cure light wounds, cause fear, augury, silence 15’s radius
The sahuagin will fight viciously until the situation seems hopeless, only then will they flee to the protection of the ocean and the circling shark packs. If it suits your game then the Seawitch (and the pirate sloop if still afloat) may come under attack by Sahuagin boarding parties. If you wish to use this option then you should determine the size of the boarding party according to the needs of your game.
The ocean will be alive with schools of sharks (mainly large white pointers and tiger sharks) numbering perhaps several hundred in total. The sharks will circle the ships and it should be clear to everyone, that to enter the water, means death.
Should the party defeat the pirates and the Sahuagin, little treasure (to the value of about 1000 gold pieces) will be found in the encampment. Should the party induce Hook’s to speak using magical means, it will be found that the old pirate has been deep six-ing his treasure in a giant blue hole (a deep water hole found in limestone reefs). This blue hole is well known to most of the senior mariners.
The gigantic hole is surrounded by shallow reefs and beds of waving kelp, as the Seawitch gingerly approaches, two long tentacles terminating with barbed sucker pads break the surface and then a moment later, a massive Kraken heaves its bulk from the sink hole. The Kraken will immediately launch itself through the clear waters, using its power of airy water to sink the Seawitch, and then grapple with the ship pulling the shrieking sailors from her decks.
It has 98 hp. Once the Kraken has been defeated off, Bill Hook’s treasure (totalling approximately 30,000 gold pieces value) can be raised from the depths of the hole.
At location 2, are two dragonfish HP 9,10
William Tuttle, aka Bill Hooks
Pirate, Fighter Lvl: 10 AL: NE MV:12 AC: 5 (3) hp: 73 #Att:1 (Hooks of
Sharpness) THAC0:12 (+4 To Hit rolls) Damage: 1d4+12
Str: 16 (19 with Medallion of Hill Giant Strength) Int: 13 Wis: 14 Dex: 16 Con:
17 Cha: 15 AC: 5 (chainmail) 3 with Dexterity adjustment
Appearance: Bill Hooks is in his mid 50's, possibly 53 to 56 years old, with
flowing black hair and beard. When he attacks and boards a ship, he puts
burning tapers in his beard to give him an evil, demonic look about him.
Hooks has a pair of Hooks of Wounding permanently attached to his
wrists, and they must be cut off to be used by anyone else. He also has a Medallion
of Hill Giant Strength that is usually hidden under his chain mail shirt
and tunic.
Hooks also wears a beat up tri-corner hat that looks normal, but it is magical.
He carries a snuff-box that is also magical. Given that Bill Hooks has had many
years to practice opening the snuff-box with his hooks, he can always open it
and use it. All items are described below.
Hooks of Wounding: These magical hooks must be attached to a humanoid's
hand-less stumps, and both must be attached for either to work as a Hook of
Wounding. The hands must have been cut off at some point, or non-existent due
to birth defect.) If anyone grips both hooks with their hands, the hooks become
alive momentarily and become barracuda mouths, biting off the hands that hold
them. (Save vs. Death or lose both hands. Save = the hooks are dropped in
time.) While only one attack roll is rolled per round, it is assumed that both
hooks do combined damage of 1d4+4. The hooks will hit creatures requiring a +3
magical bonus to hit, although the hooks are only +1 to hit.
Opponent is........... Modified Score to
Wound
Normal/Armored............. 19-21
Larger than man-sized...... 20-21
Medallion of Hill Giant Strength: This medallion acts just like a Girdle
of Hill Giant Strength. It confers the strength of a Hill Giant to a humanoid of
lesser strength. For the purpose of combat, it gives the wearer a +3 bonus to
hit and +7 to damage.
Hat of Piracy: This hat lets the Captain of a sea-going vessel sense bad
weather (dangerous for ship and crew) and determine which direction to sail to
avoid said bad weather and the direction most likely to gain treasure within a
50 mile radius. The "Captain" in the hat's case, must be the
traditionally chosen one by the crew, and its power cannot be used by anyone
who becomes captain through mutiny or other treachery.
Hook's Snuff Box: This snuff box always works for the owner (currently
Bill Hooks) but ownership may be changed if the command word is discovered and
spoken by the former owner and the new owner in succession. The snuff box never
runs out of snuff as long as there is a little snuff left in it. If it is ever
emptied, it must be filled with new snuff to be refilled, and to regain the
"never empty" property.
Anyone besides the owner who opens the snuff-box gets a face full of a lesser
form of Dust of Sneezing and Choking. If a Save vs. Poison is made, the victim
suffers from no ill effects of the dust, but if the save is failed, the victim
will sneeze and cough for 5d4 rounds, alerting anyone in the room or adjacent
rooms of their presence.
Sakisa O'Qeogog The Sea Hag. Sea Hags are normally unbearably ugly, but Sakisa has acquired a Scarab of Enchanting Beauty, which allows her to move among mortals as one of them, and it confers upon her a charisma of 18. Sakisa still has the ability to make a creature weak from fright, but she must remove the scarab to do this, and is able to kill up to 30’ (if save is unsuccessful) 3 times a day while still wearing the scarab. She belongs to the Secret Most High Order of Obeah, veneration and worship of Calypso, a Neutral (Evil) Sea Goddess.
Sakisa has used her altered charisma to lure Hooks to her. And through a combination of magical and non-magical means she now controls him wholly. Recently she has been demanding victims for Obeah sacrifices (in fact these unfortunates are devoured by her in secret). These sacrifices (of prisoners) have been contributing to an increasingly ugly atmosphere amongst the pirates and Hook’s chief lieutenants have begun secretly plotting to assassinate him.
The pirates have learnt to fear her violent and unpredictable temper, and woe to anyone who crosses her, lest they be the next one to be sacrificed to Sakisa’s Obeah witchcraft. The Obeah witchcraft is partially a ruse invented by Sakisa to sustain her needs for flesh, and the continued obedience of Hook’s crews.
However, she does have magical
powers (as per the Witch class in Dragon #114), as a 10th level witch, which
she is able to be thanks to her Headband of Difference.
(AC:2 (base 7) Move:15” HD:3d8 +
Level:10 Witch (1d4) hp: 49 #Att: 1 Damage/Attack: Dagger +2, Longtooth*
Special Att: Death Look & Spells, Special Def: fright, MR: 50%, AL:CE)
Str:12 Int:17 Wis:16 Dex:11 Con:10 Cha:*/18
Gains one High Order spell: Intensify. Sakisa has a Scarab of Enchanting Beauty*, a Headband of Difference (see Hat of Difference in UA p.100), Bracers of Defense (AC:2) a Crystal Ball, a Wand of the Water Breathing Curse* a Dagger +2, (Longtooth), a Pearl of the Sirines, a Gem of Seeing, and a Figurine of Wondrous Power: Kraken*. (*denotes new magical items)
First Level Spells per Day: (8) Faerie Fire, Magic Missile, Unseen Servant, Detect
Illusion, Charm Person x2, Confusion x2
Second Level Spells per Day: (6) Locate Object, ESP, Hold Portal, Knock, Hold Person, Speak with Animals
Third Level Spells per Day: (5) Phantasmal Force, Invisibility x2, Waterball. (Does same amount of damage as a fireball only made of sea water), cloudburst
Fourth Level Spells per Day: (3) Cause Serious Wounds, Hallucinatory Terrain (used), Solid
Fog (used)
Fifth Level spells per Day: (1) Wall of Fire (used)
In addition to these spells, Sakisa has the following innate power as a discipline of the inner order of Obeah
Spell: Intensify – Range 15" (outdoors only), duration 1 turn, area of effect ½ mile square. This spell multiplies the power of one currently existing natural phenomenon: A light breeze would become a hurricane-strength wind, the sound of rustling leaves would become a deafening tumult, a sprinkle of rain would become a flash flood. Dispel magic has no effect on this spell
Magic Items
Scarab of Enchanting Beauty: The scarab is a piece green ivory intricately engraved so
that it resembles a larvae (insect pupae). It was the creation of an ancient
and decadent civilisation, long sunken beneath the restless swells of the
ocean. The larva represents transformation and the scarab confers the
properties of beauty to the wearer. Any wearer will gain a Charisma of 18 for 4
hours a day. These hours may be activated and used as the wearer needs. If the
scarab is used for the whole 4 hours in a 24 hour period, it will ‘close up’
and become dormant for 48 hours and the wearer is unable to use the scarab’s
charisma endowing properties during this time. While open, it appears as a
beautiful beetle, closed, it appears to be a dull and lifeless larva.
Wand of the Water Breathing
Curse: This wand has been charged with a
reversed Water Breathing spell. This curse has its uses, as when used on a
living target, the target immediately stops breathing air, and must submerse
their head in water to breathe. The effect lasts for 10 hours. The wand is not
rechargeable unless one has access to the reversed Water Breathing spell.
Figurine of Wondrous Power: The Coral Kraken: This figurine has the same abilities and powers in common with other Figurines of Wondrous Power. The Coral Kraken is made of blue coral. When the command word is spoken and the figurine is tossed in a body of salt water (no less than 1 acre in surface coverage and at least 100 feet deep), it turns into a live kraken, with the same properties as the Kraken from the Monster Manual II: (AC: 5/0 Move: //3”(21”) HD: 20 #Att: 2 barbed tentacles and 4 – 6 regular tentacles and 1 Mouth Damage/Attack: 2 -12 (x2) 2 – 8 (x4 – 6), 5 – 20 Special Attacks & Special Defenses MR: Standard AL:NE XP Value: X/ 16,900 30/hp) The kraken is highly intelligence and can use the following powers at will: Airy water in a sphere 128” diameter, or a hemisphere 240” in diameter for up to 10 minutes per day, control winds once per day, weather summoning once per day and animal (fish) summoning III once per day.