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Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 8168495" data-attributes="member: 11">The Island Time Forgot (A D&D adventure - but easily adaptable to a few different systems/settings)Ship MastDinosaur BanditsLone SurvivorGolden EggRough TransitionLaser SwordDinosaur Island exists in mostly uncharted south seas of the setting. Shrouded in literal mist and proverbial legends, it has been visited on and off for nearly a century by adventurers and poachers seeking to explore the island’s mysteries and/or capture dinosaur specimens for sale for exotic zoos or to populate the weird dungeons of paranoid wizards and the like.While the island was cut off from such dinosaur bandits by the emperor’s navy for many years, the crumbling empire has shortened its reach, and while soon lost, when recently rediscovered only natural obstacles to approaching the islands (sea monsters, shoals, whirlpools, etc…). For a time, Captain Esmerelda Konti, a buccaneer leader and acclaimed hunter, was regularly leading her crews to the island and exploring more and more deeply and returning with more dinosaurs and strange artifacts, but recently she and her crew have not returned.Hooks:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The PCs are hired to hunt down and arrest Esmerelda Konti by some agency of the empire trying desperately to maintain economic and social control in the imperial periphery (mostly hiring mercenaries to do state work).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alternatively, some other politician may make a separate deal with the PCs to bring back some specimens for sale to inflate the imperial coffers (or their own).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The PCs are dinosaur bandits themselves, sent by a rival poacher hoping to get rid of Konti’s organization and open up a new dinosaur pipeline.</li> </ul>After a bunch of sea encounters from a random list (or DM choice) leading to the island, upon arrival the PCs by whatever nautical means they have of arriving will have to find a way to carefully survey the waters around the island because of hidden rocks and sandbars and some aquatic dinos. If they do not, there is a significant chance of running aground and maybe also ending up trapped on the island. Of course, they may have magical means of getting on shore without the ship getting too close or the need of a launch.If they do a full circuit of the mountainous jungle isle, they will find a ship’s mast sticking up out of a lagoon, where the water is deep enough to have swallowed all of Konti’s ship. Atop it in the crow’s nest is Sid Sackville the lone survivor of Konti’s crew. He is half-mad from starvation and will have run out of water the day before the PCs arrival.He explains that he and the others tried to flee after Captain Konti was killed or captured (stories among those who fled varied, and Sid was not there) while exploring another ship discovered half-buried atop a distant hill. He explains that a group of dinosaur-like creatures emerged from ship and attacked. Their leader seemed to be able to control or command dinosaurs and a great Mosasaurus scuttled the ship from below before they could escape. All the rest of the crew is dead unless there are some survivors on the island. Sid does not know and will try to convince the party to leave immediately and take him with them. He will even surrender to arrest, if they agree. He is so maddened and fearful from his experience, however, that he will (ineffectually) fight or flee if not the PCs do not agree. He will not want to guide the PCs to the mountain, but will do his best to point it out and draw a map if sufficiently calmed and brought somewhere safe (like the ship the PCs arrived on, anchored way of shore).If the PCs have a way of getting some height or a spyglass, they may be able to spot where the other ship is by its mast sticking out of the rocks.The island itself should be something Jurassic Park or Skull Island (from King Kong), with a harrowing journey of two to three days to the ship where Konti may be beset by dinosaurs and dire beasts of various kinds.<h3>Expedition to the Peaks</h3>The ship itself is an ancient spelljamming galleon (or if the DM wants, just some one off unique magical ship meant for traveling between world/planes). Its entire crew also died on impact, but the lone survivor—Ashrozo—is a dinosaur-man, the returned evolved descendants of the island (which are probably not native to this world anyway). The DM can use draconian, dragonborn, lizardfolk, of some other related creature type for represent these - but they should look like different dino species, but humanoid. He was in suspended animation until accidentally awaked by Konti on one her missions, but she did not notice until she returned and found him ready.By recovering The Golden Egg, an artifact of his people through which they were supposed to accomplish their original mission, Ashrozo has been able to continue. The egg, when placed in a clutch of other dino-eggs make them hatch into the evolved dino-men. The egg itself does not hatch but goes dormant until re-fertilized by one of the evolved kind in an elaborate and weird sexual ritual.The ship is buried beneath centuries of dirt and rock, but the entire is mostly intact, creating a mini-dungeon.As they approach the top of the peak, they will begin to encounter the fast-evolved dino-men. However, they have not gotten the same kind of training and exposure to the egg as is usual, thus have had a rough transition. They sometimes spontaneously and painfully transform back, leaving them angered and aggressive. Even when remaining in evolved form, their intelligence seems dim compared to Ashrozo.Captain Konti is still alive and is a captive of Ashrozo. Ashrozo is kind a dino-monk - part of a religious order sent out to shepherd his people and ready the cosmo for their ascendance. He wields the Sol Blade, a laser sword of radiant power that works like a light saber (so he is a dino-Jedi).wAshrozo is not necessarily evil and will negotiate for help to free his ship or communicate with his people. However, if he is helped and allowed to go his own way (agreeing to let the PCs take Konti, though he originally hoped to bring her back to his people for punishment for selling their legacy), eventually groups of intelligent dinosaur bandits will begin popping up in places around the world, beginning their slow take over and beginning to establish their own nation and recruiting other draconic creatures to their side. And eventually, the world will have another rough transition when more evolved dinos return as reinforcements—filling in for the collapsing human empire.</blockquote>

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