Ship Graveyard Dungeon Ideas

[lin_fusan]

Paizo's Dungeon magazine #146 has "Serpents of Scuttlecove", part of the Savage Tide Adventure Path, where Scuttlecove was a city made of the wrecks of ships.

And the Sargasso Superking mentioned is in Dungeon 141, "Sea Wyvern's Wake" which is also part of the Savage Tide Adventure Path.

 

[Aeolius]

There isn't much to add, to DrunkonDuty's list, there!

Don't forget that items on the sea floor tend to accumulate silt. When you walk/swim through a small area, the visibility from all of the sediment that is kicked up will quickly foul visibility (which, of course, is what what lacedon was hoping for).

Moray eels - another staple for sunken ships (just watch "The Deep").

Treasures in unusual places - Perhaps the players do not realize that the strange colored beads resting within the remain of the starboard lantern are actually pearls from conchs, scallops, and abalone. Perhaps they never learned that one industrious sea captain, fearing that his treasure would be taken by pirates, had all of his gold melted down and molded into the shape of an anchor.

A massive cache of "rusted gold pieces"... heh heh heh

And don't overlook other natural hazards; cone shells and blue-ring octopuses that have deadly venoms, branches of fire coral that cause painful rashes, the painful jolt from an electric ray, or a room filled with hagfish that quickly clouds with their slime.

Rooms that fill with water have already been mentioned, but the tides have other tricks. Perhaps, in the shallows, a dangerous riptide pulls a PC out into the open sea. The wash of the waves can easily trap a person atop an outcropping of razor-sharp coral. The force of the tide could pull a character through dangerously sharp debris.

And of course exposure to the sea could have unknown effects upon any magic items found. Potions might have unusual powers, due to the slow drip of saltwater through their supposedly watertight seals. That rusted and ruined cutlass might retain its powerful magics - so long as it is wielded beneath the surface of the sea. And here's hoping they don't open that portable hole while still underwater!

 

[wcpfish]

Encounters for ship graveyard

I've always liked "junk golems". Just create a nice solo encounter with a creature composed of nets, ship rigging, planks, and a big barrel for a body (or his head if the creature is huge!). Describe the sounds as it clanks and splashes across a shattered deck. Perhaps the thing is so massive that it cause the deck to lurch back and forth toppling characters during combat or sliding them into the water (where naturally sharks await). The golem would have multiple attack modes and the netting provides for immobilizing effects.

I'd also be tempted to toss in at least one helpful npc....I'm thinking maybe a fellow explorer/adventurer type who can at least provide information. Then later on provide storyfodder as he serves in the "red shirt" role and gets slain as a demonstration of the BBEG's awesomeness.

I love the overall feel you've created and I wish you the best. I know if I was a player in your campaign I would never want to leave this sargasso playground!

William C. Pfaff
President of Escape Velocity Gaming Check out our new campaign blog!

 

[DeadDM]

This all sounds great to add to my campaign. Except...it will be a planar encounter off one of the planar oceans/rivers. Past ships that have wrecked have all gathered at this one purgatory type location. It may be that some long dead souls have not yet excepted their deaths and to be put to rest must be united with some item hidden somewhere within the mess of shippwrecks.

I may even put a place where all PCs have to share one ring of water breathing during an intense underwater combat.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hostage/prisoners shackled to the anchor chain of a ship, or trapped in the chain locker. Drop the anchor and a person will go through an eight inch port along with the six inch chain. Not neatly, but they will go through.

Giant hermit crab using a small ship as its 'shell'.

Large octopus that grabs a PC. Doesn't attack, doesn't do any damage, just decides to take a ride.... (I know folks this has happened to - octopi also like crawling inside of the goggles.... In the real world being a 'pods joyride was actually one of the high points of their trip. ) Hard to get off, huge grapple bonus, and a -2 circumstance penalty to a lot of things 'cause you got a cephalopod on your back/arm/face/in your pants....

Aquatic rot grubs....

Aquatic carrion crawlers....

Our old friend, the mimic....

Oozes are almost a given.

Giant blenfish (hagfish, slime eel).... Incidentally, their slime can be use as a substitute for egg whites.

Some variant of the fat innkeeper worm (urechis caupo), and its dependents. The worm 'hunts' by blowing a big bubble of snot, then deflating it, trapping much smaller critters in the snot. It is a more effecient hunter than it is an eater, as a result the worm is attended by a large number of opportunistic feeders.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* A troupe of bad tempered, vicious monkeys living in the rigging of several ships. Flinging rocks, shells, rotting fish, and less mentionable refuse at the PCs. Monkeys are horrible critters, sometimes.

 

[Aeolius]

Giant blenfish (hagfish, slime eel).... Incidentally, their slime can be use as a substitute for egg whites.

You forgot the picture

Another cool sea beastie is the noble pen shell from which sea silk is made and pearls may be harvested.

 

[Troll Slayer]

This makes me want to do a naval WFRP game featuring a "Sea Hulk" inspired by the Space Hulk ships that Orcs often inhabit in Warhammer 40k! When my players are stuck exploring a ship that could sink or fall apart at any moment, they'll have you to thank!

Greenskin pirates have cobbled together a bunch of old ships into a monstrosity that shouldn't even float but somehow it's sea worthy. Whole sections shift and even break off from time to time so the Orcs are always looking for new ships to salvage for repairing their floating fortress.

 

[Aeolius]

THIS might prove useful:

Granted, it's over seven feet long! If it wasn't $680 and I had a free tank to stuck it in (my biggest tank is 8' long), I'd be tempted.

 

[Aeolius]

Here's one that's 3 feet long for $80: Sunken Galleon
And a suitable backdrop by Instant Reef

 

[bobhayes]

You need some overarching reason for these wrecks to accumulate in one place, or to keep happening in the same place.