It is day 9 of month 6, 1042, in Grit Harbour on Kettle. Two pirate havens on Skerry are close to war over a lost ship full of Dominion gold. Tonight their captains meet in the deep pool of the Scald Baths to try to stop it. They are Rhea Delane of Gannet Rock and Quade Morrin of Hookrock.
Marius Penrose, a Dominion navy agent in a hooded coat, wants that war. He paid Sukie Pennick's bath boy 5 Crowns to leave the sea door open at 22:00. He also pays Vane Scully, boss of the wreckers at Wreckers Point, in Dominion Crowns. After Quade leaves, her deck boss and two wreckers will come in through the sea door and kill Rhea Delane in the water. They will leave a knife with the Hookrock crew mark beside her.
The wreckers carry new pistols stolen from Tobin Kerr's gun sheds. The thief is Davin Kerr, the harbour master's nephew and tally clerk, who pays a dice debt to the wreckers in pistols. A wrecker boat picks up a crate under shed four at 02:00 every few nights.
Vane also has a list of ships to wreck. The next one is the Fair Share, Rasko Fenn's hauler. She is due to sail on day 12 with guns for the Compact, past Wreckers Point.
Tobin Kerr (about 50), harbour master. He wants the thief found quietly. He does not know it is his nephew.
Davin Kerr (19), the harbour master's nephew. He wants out of his debt and is too scared to stop.
Rhea Delane (about 25), captain of Gannet Rock. She wants proof that Hookrock stole the gold, and she wants it fast.
Quade Morrin (about 55), captain of Hookrock. He knows the gold ship is a wreck near the Frozen Barge with a husk crew standing on deck. He hides it, because the feud keeps his crews loyal.
Vane Scully (about 35), boss of Wreckers Point. She fears the hooded man who pays her. She might trade his list for a Compact pardon.
Marius Penrose (about 40), the hooded man. He stays out of sight at an inn on the waterfront and leaves Kettle on day 10.
The player characters are the Seraphine crew, a bounty posse. Rhian Garth leads the posse and grew up on these docks. Anvar Holmgren is a grafted Grund miner who stands at the front. Gabriel Sautel lays wire traps and picks locks. Elowen Tavarre is a dismissed Order knight who once pulled Rhea Delane out of a burning ship. They live on the Seraphine, a fast courier at the north dock. Rhea hired them as quiet guards for tonight. The player runs one of them. The GM runs the other three as companions.
Rasko Fenn, who is loading the Fair Share, Wendel Hoskins, who sells helm crystal and bathes at the Scald Baths, and Sukie Pennick, who runs the Scald Baths, are NPCs now.
Stat blocks. Vane Scully and her deck boss use the Raid Chief stat block. Wreckers use Tangle Boarder, Compact Raider and Swivel Gunner, and the ones on Rush use Rush Brute. The men who row the pickup boat use Smuggler Deckhand. Rhea Delane's guards use Compact Raider.
The waterfront, 08:00. At Grit Harbour, Kerr finds another crate of pistols gone from shed four. He offers 120 Crowns to anyone who finds the thief without a public fuss. Rhian Garth worked these docks for years and knows the Kerr family.
A DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check on the shed shows the lock was opened with a key. The tally book shows every short count on a night shift marked with the same initials, D.K.
A DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check on Davin Kerr shows he is sick with fear when the sheds are mentioned. A DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, made in private, gets him to confess the debt and the 02:00 boat. He begs them not to tell his uncle yet.
The Scald Baths, afternoon. Sukie's bath boy is a scared lad of fourteen. He says the man who paid him wore a hooded coat and spoke with a Bright Core accent. The Crowns are Dominion coins. The baths have a front door, a sea door at the bottom of the steps and three pools. The deep pool is screened by woven reed walls. The baths are neutral ground, and guests leave their weapons at the front desk. Gabriel Sautel can rig a wire alarm on the sea door in a minute.
The captains, 20:45 to 22:00. Rhea Delane and Quade Morrin each come with 2 guards. The guards leave their guns at the desk and wait in the front room. The talk in the deep pool goes badly. A DC 18 Wisdom (Insight) check shows Quade is hiding something about the gold ship. Pressed with a DC 19 Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) check, he admits what his scouts found near the Frozen Barge. That alone can end the feud.
The sea door, 22:05. Quade leaves at 22:00. Five minutes later the sea door opens. Vane's deck boss, 2 Rush Brute, 2 Swivel Gunner and 2 Tangle Boarder come up the steps with new pistols and knives. They go for Rhea Delane in the deep pool.
Fight. Steam makes the pools lightly obscured. The pools are difficult terrain, and anyone who dashes on the wet walkways makes a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or falls prone. Rhea fights with her bare hands. Her guards arrive from the front room in round 3.
Encounter math. Four level 8 characters, Low 4,000, Moderate 6,800, High 8,400. Raid Chief (1,800), 2 Rush Brute (2,200), 2 Swivel Gunner (900) and 2 Tangle Boarder (200) make 5,100 XP, Moderate. The wreckers run back to the sea door when the deck boss falls.
If the sea door is locked, the wreckers wait on the black sand for 20 minutes, then leave by boat.
A captured wrecker talks on a DC 15 Charisma (Intimidation) check. He names Vane Scully, the 02:00 pickup at shed four and the hooded man's list, with the Fair Share on it. His pistol carries the shed four stamp.
Shed four, 02:00 on day 10. If Davin was not caught, he opens the shed. A rowboat with 3 Smuggler Deckhand slides in under the pier. They run if anyone draws a gun. Encounter math. 75 XP, trivial. Caught here, Davin gives up at once. Kerr takes it hard. He asks the crew to keep it quiet and to help him make it right.
The hooded man, day 10. Marius Penrose has a room at an inn on the waterfront. He leaves on a Dominion cutter at noon on day 10. A DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check spots him on the quay at 11:00. Without proof he cannot be held. With the bath boy and a captured wrecker, Kerr's dock guards will arrest him.
Wreckers Point, day 11. It is a half day's sail south. In her cave, Vane Scully keeps the list in a tin box. She will trade it and the hooded man's name for a Compact pardon. A word from Rhea Delane or Kerr counts as one. A DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check closes the deal.
If it comes to a fight, Vane uses the Raid Chief stat block with 3 Rush Brute, 4 Swivel Gunner and 6 Compact Raider. Encounter math. High 8,400. 1,800 + 3,300 + 1,800 + 1,200 make 8,100 XP, High. The wreckers run for their boats when Vane goes down.
The Fair Share, day 12. If the wreckers still plan the job, the false lamps burn on the cape after dark. A ship that sails south must make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to see that the lamps are wrong, or run onto the rocks.
Day 9, 22:10. Rhea Delane is killed in the deep pool. A Hookrock knife lies beside her.
Day 10, 02:00. Another crate of pistols leaves shed four.
Day 10, noon. Marius Penrose sails away on the Dominion cutter.
Day 11. Gannet Rock attacks Hookrock ships on Skerry. Wendel Hoskins's rock lies between the two havens.
Day 12, night. The Fair Share runs onto the rocks at Wreckers Point. Her crew is held for ransom.
Month 7. The dock crews learn about Davin and vote Kerr out.
Good. Rhea lives, the feud ends, the thefts stop and the list or Marius Penrose is in Compact hands. The Fair Share sails safely.
Mixed. Rhea lives but the war comes anyway, or the feud ends but the Fair Share is wrecked.
Bad. Rhea dies in the baths, Skerry goes to war and Wreckers Point keeps its list.
Kerr pays 120 Crowns for the thief and asks the crew to keep his nephew's name out of the dock talk.
Rhea Delane pays 180 Crowns to each member of the crew who saved her and offers the Lost Crew Rescue gig from Skerry.
The Compact bounty on Vane Scully is 450 Crowns, or a pardon deal in its place.
Sukie's baths are free to the crew for life.
Kerr gives each member of the crew a Rune Pistol from the recovered crates.
Heroic Inspiration for saving Rhea Delane or the Fair Share at real risk.
The gold ship. Quade Morrin's scouts found the lost ship near the Frozen Barge with its crew standing silent on deck. Someone must go and look.
Cold Vent. Wendel Hoskins sells black crystal from a shaft on Skerry. Ulla Varga, the Order knight at Cold Vent, wants to see where it comes from.
The hooded man. Marius Penrose has a second list for the Tangle. Other Dominion agents work the same way on other worlds.