From the Deep: A Coastal Horror

Homebrew Content Pack

Discoveries
Location: The Drownyard Cursed Treasure. The PCs find a locked treasure chest that
A ships' graveyard that stretches along the coast, a contains hundreds of gold and silver coins. Some or all of
drownyard is an isolated, dreary bay where the husks of these coins may be cursed.
galleons lie beside the corpses of their captains. The Gathering. The PCs observe a strange candle-lit
gathering of hooded individuals gathered in a circle on the
Details gravelly shore.
Climate. The skies are often overcast, with a cold and misty The Kraken. On a particular night of the month, a kraken
wind drifting in from the sea. It's not uncommon for clouds of surfaces in the bay to perform a particular ritual with its
thick fog to descend over the drownyard and the nearby tentacles or speak with a particular land-bound creature
coast, blanketing the earth and greatly limiting visibility. before sinking back beneath the waves.
Terrain. One or more half-sunken ships make for clear
landmarks at the center of the bay, while the wreckage of NPC: The Sleuth
smaller rowboats might drift toward the rocky shore.
Treacherous cliffs look out over the water, with spray-slick Concept. Gilliver "Gill" Moss is a young acolyte of a nearby
paths leading down to dozens of dark caves at—or, often, monastery. Despite his sacred occupation, he's also
below—sea level. Stony arches and sea stacks rise like fascinated by the occult, spending long periods of his free
solemn pillars above the bay, and pools of brine fill and drain time observing strange locations and recording his thoughts
with the cycle of the tides. Flotsam, jetsam, and seaweed are in a journal. However, he recently saw something he shouldn't
plentiful—though some treasures may be caught in the razor- have—and, despite his better instincts, is about to poke his
sharp reef that lurks below the surface of the water. nose where it doesn't belong.
Motivation. Gill has been scolded by the monks of his
Inhabitants monastery more than once to focus more on his studies and
Undead. The reanimated or ethereal remains of sailors or prayers, and had his collection of (useless) occult trinkets
murder victims may return to haunt the bay as ghosts, burned last year. (He's since worked to quietly and carefully
specters, or barnacle-covered zombies. curate a new one.) The third son of a pair of merchants, Gill
Beasts. Crabs (both ordinary and giant), quippers, and was sent to the monastery to grow closer to the gods. In
reef sharks can be found in the waters here. truth, he'd rather take after a famous explorer like Volothamp
Monstrosities. Coastal monsters such as harpies, "Volo" Geddarm. While he isn't particularly interested in
merrow, sahuagin, and sea hags are likely to dwell here. gaining magical power, he fantasizes about discovering lost
Dragons. Young or adult bronze dragons might make secrets and artifacts—and, of course, wouldn't mind finding a
their homes in large caverns in the cliffs overlooking the bay, bit of treasure.
while a young dragon turtle might lair in the belly of a Personality. Gill is a fast-talking, excitable young scholar,
drowned shipwreck. whose speech only grows faster and more erratic when he's
excited. He tends to gesture wildly with his hands while
Prompts talking, and has a bad habit of hiccuping when he's lying. He's
A Bobbing Light. A lonely lantern light beckons to the PCs good-natured and exceptionally trusting of others—which is,
from behind a veil of thick fog. If followed, the light—a will-o'- admittedly, somewhat surprising given the number of
wisp—attempts to lure the PCs into stepping off the edge of a conspiracies he believes in.
cliff to their deaths.
The Crow's Nest. A strange light or silhouette can be seen Encounter: The Diver
signaling or beckoning from the crow's nest of a half-sunken
ship. Prompt. The PCs observe bubbles and a strange, illuminated
The Sinker. A person shouts and gestures for help from silhouette moving underwater toward shore.
the bow of a sinking rowboat. Details. The silhouette is a mud-smeared copper-helmet
diving suit, with an air hose that vanishes underwater.
Developments Glowing blue barnacles cover the suit's arms and chest.
Whirlpool! A swimming or rowing character suddenly finds Face. The suit is the remnant of a diver who was lost at
themselves caught up in a swirling whirlpool that threatens sea, animated by the spirit of a murder victim or a sailor who
to dash them against the rocks on the bottom of the bay. drowned during a shipwreck.
Forgotten Sailors. Characters investigating a shipwreck Developments. The suit offers the PCs an item, such as a
are surprised when old, barnacle-encrusted undead peel map in a bottle, a strange sigil, or a waterlogged diary.
themselves from the ship's hull and attack.
Discoveries. If the mud across the helmet's visor is cleared Its efforts, however, proved largely unsuccessful—until a
away, the PCs can see that the interior contains an unmoving, stormy shipwreck against a nearby reef delivered an
barnacle-covered, brine-preserved corpse stuck inside the opportunity: a young woman named Morgan, fighting for
suit. breath as the waters rose around her.
Challenge. The suit is nonvocal and communicates only by The aboleth reached out to Morgan's desperate mind and
blinking its barnacles. offered a dark bargain: It would save her life and return her
Hook. The item that the PCs receive is a clue that, if to the shore—and, in return, she would become its slave,
deciphered, can lead them to a secret. body, mind, and soul. Delirious from drowning, and unwilling
yet to die, Morgan accepted—and became a deep scion
Encounter: The Cave under the aboleth's command.
Since then, Morgan has worked tirelessly to widen the
Prompt. The PCs observe a line of cloaked figures cracks in the aboleth's prison. Day by day, her master's
descending a treacherous gravel path hugging the cliffs, influence has grown—both psychically and environmentally.
illuminated by a hooded lantern carried by the twin leaders of Its miasma has poisoned the nearby waters, fouling
the procession and candles carried by each figure behind freshwater springs and spreading disease through the coastal
them. sea.
Details. The figures include assorted humanoids of However, so long as the sea elves' seal stood, Morgan's lone
various ages from the nearby settlement, including thirteen efforts could only go so far. Fortunately for her master,
cultists and two cult fanatics. The group descends to a dark Morgan was the apprentice of a scholar of oceanography—an
sea cave just above sea level, which contains a waterfall-fed absent-minded man named Marcus. Searching through
rock-ringed pool and a creek that runs into the sea outside. Marcus's library, Morgan soon found an ancient tome that
Face. The gathering is met inside the cave by a kraken carried the secret to unbinding her master from beneath the
priest (see VGM p. 215), an arrogant yet fiercely intelligent waves: a ritual of blood and salt.
cult leader, and two merrow. With her master's guidance, Morgan has lured and
Developments. The priest commands the merrow to kidnapped nearly a dozen residents away from the nearby
produce a large wooden chest from a cache deeper in the fishing village of Saltcrest. The aboleth has enslaved them in
cave. The chest is opened to reveal a large, tied burlap sack turn, dominating their minds and preparing them for the
with a wriggling, grunting person tied up inside of it. The night of the ritual.
priest directs the cultists to circle around the pool and begin Two nights past, Morgan grew bolder, luring a young man
an incantation as he readies a jagged obsidian knife, named Roland (lawful good veteran) to the aboleth's lair. Like
preparing to "spill blood and salt upon the rocks." If allowed the others, he was successfully bound to the aboleth's will—
to complete the sacrifice, the priest tears open the sack and but unlike the others, his family decided to recruit a team of
slits the victim's throat, allowing the blood to flow into the adventurers to investigate his disappearance.
pool and down the creek into the sea.
Discoveries. The priest has features resembling those of a Act One
leader of a nearby settlement. Additionally, a bloodthirsty The adventure begins when the PCs are invited to Saltcrest
water weird loyal to the cultists lurks in the pool. to meet with a woman named Maria, who hopes to hire them
Challenge. If the PCs attempt to interrupt the ritual, the to investigate a series of disappearances in the area.
priest attempts to lure them toward the pool before attacking. Upon arrival in Saltcrest, the PCs can easily receive
Hook. If the tide of battle turns in the PCs' favor, the priest directions to Maria's home, a small, ramshackle cottage
flees up a secret staircase concealed by moss and hanging toward the edge of the village.
weeds, collapsing it behind him.
Scene One: Maria's Home
Quest: Blood and Salt In this scene, the PCs are met by Maria (lawful good human
In this quest for five 4th-level characters, the PCs must commoner), a seamstress who lives with her father-in-law, an
investigate a series of mysterious disappearances from a old, blind fisherman named Hector.
quiet coastal village. In the process, they'll encounter hostile Maria greets the PCs with obvious delight, welcoming
creatures of the deep—from a warband of sahuagin to a them to her home and doing all she can to keep them
nefarious deep scion (VGM p. 165)—and a dark conspiracy comfortable while attending to Hector's occasional rasping
to unleash a long-sealed aboleth upon the nearby seas. demands (such as being moved closer to or further from the
This adventure can take place in any coastal location fireplace). It's clear that not all of Hector's mind is still there—
within a fantasy-inspired campaign. Feel free to change the he repeatedly asks when lunch will be (despite Maria
names of people and places to fit your campaign as reassuring him that he's already had it) and when his son,
necessary. Roland (Maria's husband) will be home from his fishing trip.
As soon as she's able to move Hector into his bedroom for
Background a nap, Maria shares with the PCs the following information:
Long ago, a nameless aboleth was sealed by a holy order of For the past month, Saltcrest has been plagued by a series
sea elves in a chasm beneath a coastal bay. For millenia, it of mysterious disappearances. In total, eleven people have
slumbered and fumed, slowly working to widen the cracks in vanished so far, all under different circumstances.
its underwater prison.
 Four days ago, Maria's husband—and Hector's son— Conversation with Varaia can reveal the following
Roland disappeared while going to fetch fresh water from information:
the nearby hills. (The town's well has been mysteriously
fouled ever since the disappearances started, forcing the Varaia is the priestess of a nearby underwater settlement
townsfolk to go afield for water. Maria isn't sure if the two of sahuagin. Recently, the sea in which they dwell has
things are connected.) become befouled with a strange poison that has begun to
Other strange things have been happening as well— kill of schools of the fish that they keep.
several species of fish have been found dying of an Due to a prior encounter with Marcus—in which the
unknown sickness, and that strange creatures have been scholar persuaded them not to kill him in exchange for
rumored to be seen from the shore. (Maria doesn't know information about a strange series of earthquakes that
anything beyond the rumors.) were plaguing their territory—the sahuagin believed that
Marcus, a local scholar who studies the history of the Marcus might be able to identify the cause, and have
local seas and the marine wildlife that dwell in it, has been spoken with him twice so far, but have grown more
looking into the disappearances as a side project. He lives impatient with his failures to identify a cause.
in an old lighthouse called the Overlook, and would be a Yesterday, Marcus sent word that he had a working theory
good place to start to ask about clues. regarding the cause of the befouled water. The sahuagin
arrived today to meet with him—but no one answered the
Maria does all she can to prevent Hector from learning of door when they arrived. Concerned, they broke in, and
Roland's disappearance. His entire family—his wife, his two found Marcus missing.
other children, and his grandchild—died in a shipwreck six
years prior. Losing Roland would shatter him. Varaia recognizes Morgan, and dismisses her as a creature
Maria offers to pay the PCs two hundred gold pieces from of little importance if Morgan tries to pipe up or is otherwise
Roland's soldier's pension for returning him safely home—or, referenced in conversation.
if they can't, for returning his body home. (She can't quite get Throughout the conversation, one of Varaia's guards—a
the words out, but her meaning is clear.) paranoid and bitter sahuagin named Skeg—eagerly tries to
persuade her that the PCs are suspects of Marcus's
Act Two disappearance, and must therefore be killed or taken captive.
(In truth, Skeg is an enthralled slave of the aboleth's will—a
Scene Three: Approaching the Overlook fact that Morgan, is aware of, but not Varaia.)
The Overlook is an old wooden lighthouse perched If the PCs successfully convince Varaia that they are
precariously on the edge of a misted, rocky cliff with sparse investigating Marcus's disappearance in good faith, Varaia
vegetation and lichen-covered rocks. tells them that Marcus was reportedly collecting his
As the PCs approach it by the main path, they encounter observations in a journal of some kind, which the sahuagin
Morgan (chaotic evil deep scion) approaching from a gravel have been unable to find following a brief search of the
trail that appears to lead down toward the surf. Morgan's hair lighthouse. She notes that she must withdraw to report
and clothes are damp with sea spray, and she greets the Marcus's disappearance to the rest of her settlement, and
characters cheerily and introduces herself as Marcus's part- coldly wishes the PCs luck in their own efforts.
time apprentice, hoping to learn what has brought them to Varaia cares nothing for the disappearing villagers, and will
the lighthouse. do nothing to aid the PCs if asked. However, in a gesture of
If the characters ask, Morgan claims to have spent the past goodwill, she does give the PCs a note that she found on
two hours studying a reclusive breed of mollusk that lives in Marcus's desk: a hastily-scrawled piece of parchment that
the tidal pools beneath the bayside cliffs. (This is a lie, but reads only "THE CAVE."
one that Morgan attempts to disguise through a deluge of Morgan can excitedly inform the PCs that Marcus was
nerdy enthusiasm and esoteric facts about mollusks. In truth, recently investigating a particular system of caves on the
Morgan has just returned from disposing of Marcus's corpse shore nearby, no more than a mile's walk from the lighthouse.
in the sea at the foot of the lighthouse cliffs.) (This is a lie—Marcus was investigating a cave, but it wasn't
Morgan is friendly and helpful, but claims complete the one that Morgan is referring to.) Morgan offers to show
ignorance as to the cause of the disappearances and befouled the PCs way there, but warns them that she's heard it to be
water. She does, however, offer to let the PCs into the infested with monsters, hence its name: "Devil's Lair."
Overlook and introduce them to Marcus for further
conversation. Scene Five: Into Devil's Lair
The entrance to Devil's Lair is a sea cave whose mouth rests
Scene Four: The Overlook fifteen feet above sea level, adjacent to a rocky, gravelly shore.
When the PCs round the Overlook to find its cliff-facing front If the characters are concerned about flooding, Morgan
entrance, they find that the door has been forced open, with reassures them that the water can't reach the cave's mouth. If
wet, slimy, webbed footprints leading through the interior. they're still uncomfortable, she reassures them that it's
Investigation of the footprints leads up the stairs to a large currently high tide anyway. (This is a lie; a DC 10 Intelligence
library with a loft and portholes overlooking the ocean. (Nature) check reveals that it's currently low tide.)
If the PCs enter, they are ambushed and confronted by As the characters delve into Devil's Lair, they encounter the
Varaia (chaotic evil sahuagin priestess) and her band of following chambers in order:
three sahuagin. Varaia doesn't attack the PCs, but she does
challenge them to justify their presence—lest she and her
warriors kill them.
 a tight, claustrophic entrance that requires the characters If the characters attempt to escape the flooding tunnels by
to squeeze through three feet of slimy stone before swimming through them, they encounter the following
entering, obstacles:
a wide antechamber filled with shallow, stagnant pools
and moss, three swarms of quippers that attack the PCs as they
a tunnel that slopes gently up for ten feet before plunging swim through their waters, and
downward for twenty feet, a section of the tunnel containing four bloodthorn plants
a half-flooded chamber with waist-deep saltwater (vine blights)—thorned, rust-colored plants that, when
inhabited by seven territorial giant crabs, which attack on submerged in water, exude long, animate tendrils that
sight and retreat into small submerged tunnels when four attempt to grapple and slash nearby creatures.
or more are slain,
a long, winding, three-hundred-foot tunnel that passes Note: Morgan's Duplicity
several mounds of rust-colored plant matter clumped
against the walls and ceiling, slopes up for five feet, and If the PCs aren't fooled by Morgan's lies and
then winds another two hundred feet, and instead capture or interrogate her, Morgan
a cramped dark room with a low ceiling and a ten-foot- attempts to escape, diving into the sea to evade
wide flooded hole whose rocky sides glitter with her captors. Whether she's successful or not, the
crystalline light. PCs can find Marcus's journal on her person or find
it dropped in her haste to get away.
(The giant crabs' tunnels connect to the ocean, allowing The most recent entry in Marcus's journal details
seawater to slowly fill the caverns as the tide comes in.) his belief that an aboleth is somehow responsible
The flooded hole is filled with saltwater, and the light it for the fouled water, and that a cavern near a
illuminates is a natural phenomenon caused by certain natural formation called "the Jagged Teeth" might
minerals undergoing chemical reactions. It is inhabited by a hold more secrets. It also discusses Marcus's
water weird that is bound to guard the system of saltwater findings regarding the history of an ancient tribe
tunnels that lie beneath Devil's Lair. The hole descends for sea elves, their historic conflict with an aboleth,
the means by which it was sealed, and additional,
twenty feet, then bends to the side out of sight. A golden light basic information about aboleths and their
can be seen glittering faintly at the bottom, largely obscured capabilities.
by the silt. (This is a single gold piece.) Marcus's journal also details a legend that the
If the characters are skeptical of the hole, Morgan (if sea elves marked the aboleth's prison with a
present) encourages them to investigate it, suggesting that it magical saltwater spring, whose waters drain into
might hold some clue to the mystery of Marcus's the sea above its chasm. According to legend, a
disappearance. creature whose head and heart are covered in water
A character who watches the flooded hole for multiple from the spring is freed from the aboleth's
minutes can see the water level slowly rising. (This is caused telepathic control.
by the rising tide of the ocean outside.) A character that
enters the flooded hole is immediately attacked by the water
weird, which attacks with its constrict ability and attempts to Act Three
drown restrained targets by pulling them deeper into the
tunnels below. Scene Seven: The Reef
Scene Six: The Rising Tides
Upon their return to town or Marcus's lighthouse, the
characters can easily learn that the Jagged Teeth (and the
If the characters spend ten or more minutes in the water nearby cavern) can't be reached by land—the nearby cliffs are
weird's chamber, the tide continues to come in, fully far too treacherous and slick, and no roads go there. Instead,
submerging the three-hundred-foot tunnel below. When this the best way to reach the Teeth is sailing across the bay.
occurs, if she is still with the PCs, Morgan finds the first The characters can retain a local fisherman to take them
excuse she can to retreat to the tunnels below. If allowed to easily enough—or, if they think of it, ask Maria to take her
leave or sneak away, she abandons the PCs to their fate, father's boat across the bay. In the former case, though,
using her amphibious hybrid form to keep from drowning. (In they'll need to pay a premium: a coral reef covers the half of
her haste to get away, she drops Marcus's journal by the the bay surrounding the Teeth, and many boats have been
entrance to the cavern, leaving it soaking in a tide pool that known to run aground there.
the PCs can easily observe. See below for more information As the characters sail across the reef to the Jagged Teeth, if
on Marcus's journal.) the sahuagin Skeg survived the lighthouse encounter, he
If the characters spend thirty or more minutes in the water attacks their boat alongside a pair of reef sharks under his
weird's chamber, the tide continues to creep upward until it is control, aiming to capsize it—and leave them for the sharks.
fully visible from the water weird's chamber. (Assume the ship has AC 15 and 36 hit points, and that it
After one hour, the rising tide has filled the water weird's begins to sink if reduced to 18 hit points or fewer.) If Skeg is
chamber to a depth of three feet—with no indication of killed, the sharks leave without issue.
stopping. It becomes rapidly clear that if the characters A character without a swim speed that enters or begins
remain in the cave as the tide comes in, they'll drown before their turn in the waters near the reef must make a DC 10
the water level descends. Dexterity saving throw or take 1d4 slashing damage from the
razor-sharp corals.
Scene Eight: The Jagged Teeth
If the characters arrive at their destination, they find the
Jagged Teeth—a series of six jagged stone pillars with sharp
points sticking up from the surface of the water—surrounding
a gravel seaside path that leads up to a black obsidian ledge
overlooking the water. A small cavern mouth with a stream of
water flows across the ledge and into the sea below. (The
stream of water is from the sea elves' saltwater spring, which
flows from a small opening in the far wall inside the cavern,
cascading down into a shallow pool at the bottom of the
cavern before flowing out across the ledge and down into the
bay.)
Within the cavern, Roland, a veteran enthralled by the
aboleth, stands guard over a group of enthralled villagers
waiting to be sacrificed. He is joined by a pair of silent sea
spawn (VGM p. 189) loyal to the aboleth. If she successfully
escaped Devil's Lair, Morgan is here as well.
The aboleth—using Morgan to carry it out, or Roland if
Morgan is indisposed—plans to sacrifice the enthralled
villagers on the edge of the stony ledge, allowing their blood
to mix with the sea elves' saltwater stream. By doing so, the
aboleth believes that the seal upon its prison will be broken
and it will be set free.
As Marcus's journal suggests, the characters can free
Roland and the villagers from the aboleth's control by
splashing them with water from the saltwater spring.
Throughout the encounter, Morgan—if present—taunts the
PCs with the specter of their "inevitable failure." If Morgan
isn't present, the aboleth projects an illusory image of itself
inside of the cavern to taunt the PCs instead.
Scene Nine: A Messenger
If the PCs successfully defeat the aboleth's slaves and prevent
the ritual, Maria is overjoyed to be reunited with Roland. The
two happily pay the PCs their reward. The village further
celebrates upon learning that their well is no longer unsafe to
drink.
That night, the PCs observe a strange apparition
beckoning them toward the sea. If they follow it, it introduces
itself as Llyran (LEE-ran), the ghost of a sea elf that led the
aboleth's sealing long ago. With the prison weakening, Llyran
was unable to manifest and warn the villagers of the danger—
but with the prison restored, Llyran thanks the PCs for their
efforts and offers them a gift as a reward: a collection of five
whalesarks, magic cloaks that, once per day, allows their
wearers to magically polymorph into killer whales. (This
transformation lasts for up to one hour, and ends when a
wearer becomes unconscious or ends it as a bonus action.)