It is day 13 of month 4, 1042, on Skerry. Last month the Kestrel, a raider from Gannet Rock, took a Dominion treasury ship near Deepfall. Before her prize crew got it home, the Osprey from Hookrock caught them. The Osprey's crew took the 4 crates of gold, worth about 3,000 Crowns, and set the Kestrel's men adrift in a boat. Quade Morrin then sent the Osprey into Deepfall to hide the gold in a cave, out of Gannet Rock's reach. She passed Tollgate Arch on day 24 of month 3 at 18:00 and never came back out.
In Deepfall the Osprey met the Frozen Barge, the Union cargo ship that drifted in from the Dark Rim with a husk crew. Two Vhal Stalkers crossed from the barge to the Osprey, and her crew became husks. Now the Osprey hangs beside the Frozen Barge, tied to it by a boarding line. Her helm is dead, her crew stands silent at their posts and the gold is still in her hold.
Quade's scouts found her on day 2 of this month. Quade hid the news and blamed Gannet Rock for taking the gold back. A war with Gannet Rock keeps his crews loyal and his vote safe.
Both havens hold half the truth. Hookrock did steal the Kestrel's prize. Gannet Rock did not take it back. Tonight at 23:00 the Kestrel's crew raids Hookrock's inner dock to take the Curlew, which they think holds the gold. On day 15 at 12:00 the captains meet at Flag Hall to share out the new crystal find in the Split, and both havens will hide guns in the crowd.
Quade Morrin (55), captain of Hookrock. He wants to keep his vote. He pays 100 Crowns each to anyone who keeps the Osprey quiet. He fights only through his crews.
Rhea Delane (25), captain of Gannet Rock. She wants proof, and she wants it fast. She has not stopped the Kestrel's crew.
Dane Corwin (36), captain of the Kestrel. He wants his crew's prize back. He is proud and honest, and his men are not killers.
The crew is Rosalind Kerrigan, a young captain from Gannet Rock who knows the Kestrel's crew, Declan Kerrigan, her older brother and one of Quade's dock crew bosses, Wenna Pottinger, the ship's Pellin first mate and salvager, and Mardek Solun, the old Order priest who raised the two siblings. They fly the cutter Mary Kerrigan. The player runs one of them. The GM runs the other three as companions.
Sarduk Amari is the keeper of Flag Hall, and both havens know his face. Hrok Bayle is a raider captain from Lucrece who knows treasury ships and gold runs. Nim Rask leads the Crooked Nail crew at Tollgate Arch. Her toll book shows every ship that went into Deepfall. All three are NPCs who follow their description.
Stat blocks. Dane Corwin uses the Smuggler Skipper stat block. His crew uses the Swivel Gunner, Compact Raider and Tangle Boarder stat blocks. The Osprey's captain is now a Husk Captain, and her crew are Hook Husks. All the raiders are men.
The inner dock, 09:00. At Hookrock, Quade Morrin hires gunners for the coming war. A DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check shows he hides something when the Osprey is named. The Crooked Nail toll book shows the Osprey went into Deepfall on day 24 of month 3 and never paid to come out. A treasury ship from Coin Isle carries its gold in sealed crates stamped with the Dominion crown, and anyone who has robbed one knows the count. Quade's scouts drink at the dock. One of them tells the truth for 10 Crowns and a promise to keep his name out of it, or after a DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check. Declan Kerrigan drinks with these scouts, and the check has advantage for him.
The Kestrel's raid, 23:00. About 20 men in 3 boats come into the inner dock cave behind smoke canisters and go for the Curlew at the left dock. Dane Corwin, 1 Swivel Gunner, 2 Compact Raiders and 2 Tangle Boarders face the crew. The rest fight Hookrock's dock crews in the background by the Crew Fights rules. If a Kestrel man dies, Gannet Rock calls it war. Dane stops the raid when he sees proof or hears the toll book read out, or after a DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check. A crew that learns of the raid early can meet Dane at Gannet Rock before he sails. Rosalind Kerrigan knows Dane and his men, and they will hear her out.
Into Deepfall. A small ship takes about 3 hours from Hookrock to Tollgate Arch, where the Crooked Nail crew lets it pass. From there it is 1 more hour into Deepfall. Deepfall's gravity pulls ships off course. Each hour of flying needs a DC 15 helm check from whoever holds the helm, usually Rosalind Kerrigan, and a failure deals 2d10 bludgeoning damage to the ship. On a failure, 1 Cold Drifter also settles on the deck.
The Osprey. The Osprey hangs dark beside the Frozen Barge. Her helm is dead, so her air is stale and very cold. She is a Strong Vhal site (DC 13). The Husk Captain stands at the helm, and 2 Hook Husks stand at the rails. The rest of her crew stand frozen at their posts below and do not move. 1 Vhal Stalker waits in the dark hold beside the 4 gold crates. A DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check spots it before it strikes. Mardek Solun has buried husks before and knows how to put them down for good. The Osprey's log lies in the captain's cabin. It records the attack on the Kestrel's prize crew, Quade's order to hide the gold and the last night aboard.
The Frozen Barge (optional). The barge has no air bubble. Anyone who crosses needs an Air Bubble Charm or must hold their breath. 2 Crawling Husks wait above the hatch. 1 Black Crystal Brute sleeps on the black crystals in the hold below. It is too strong for this crew to fight. It wakes only if someone goes down into the hold or touches the crystals, and it never leaves the barge. The logbook on the bridge shows the barge came from Rim Gate Seven.
Flag Hall, day 15, 12:00. At Flag Hall, about 200 people from both havens and the Split crowd the benches. Anyone who draws a weapon inside is thrown off the rock. 3 Hookrock gunners with swivel guns hide in the high gallery, and a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check finds them. With the log or the gold, a DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) check makes the hall hear the truth out. If Rosalind and Declan Kerrigan speak together, one from each haven, the check has advantage. Without proof the meeting ends in shouting, and Rhea walks out. Quade calls the log a lie. Once it is read, his own crews start to talk of a new vote.
The judgement. Under the Drift Charter, a fair ruling gives half the gold to the Kestrel's crew, who took the prize, and half to Hookrock, less a tenth for the crew that brought it home. Sarduk Amari, the keeper of Flag Hall, gives such a ruling if the crew asks him. Both captains accept it after a DC 13 Charisma (Persuasion) check. Mardek Solun's word carries weight with both havens here.
Encounter math (a crew of four level 4 characters, Low 1,000, Moderate 1,500, High 2,000). The raid is 1 Smuggler Skipper (Dane Corwin), 1 Swivel Gunner, 2 Compact Raiders and 2 Tangle Boarders, 1,500 XP, Moderate (budget 1,500), and the smoke and the crowd make it harder. The Osprey is 1 Husk Captain, 2 Hook Husks and 1 Vhal Stalker, 2,000 XP, High (budget 2,000). The Frozen Barge's 2 Crawling Husks are 900 XP, Low (budget 1,000). Its Black Crystal Brute alone is 2,300 XP, above High, so the crew should take the logbook and leave it sleeping. A Cold Drifter is 700 XP, Low.
Day 13, 23:00. The Kestrel's raid kills 4 men, 2 of them from Gannet Rock. Rhea Delane declares a feud.
Day 15, 12:00. A hidden gun goes off at Flag Hall, and the meeting breaks apart. Nobody gets the Split.
Day 16 onward. Boats from both havens fight in the gaps between the rocks. The Dominion buyer at the Split takes the new seam while the havens fight.
Day 25. A Hookrock salvage crew tries for the Osprey on its own and does not come back.
Good. The truth comes out at Flag Hall, the gold is shared, nobody dies in the raid and the havens step back from war.
Mixed. The war is stopped but men died in the raid, or the gold stays in Deepfall.
Bad. The havens go to war, or the crew is lost in Deepfall.
A fair ruling gives the crew a tenth of the gold, 300 Crowns, which is 75 Crowns each.
Rhea Delane gives each of them a Jump Pack from Gannet Rock's stores.
The Frozen Barge's logbook is worth 100 Crowns to the Order of the Last Light.
Dane Corwin vouches for the crew on the lanes. Use the Freighter Escort to the Tangle job file, since that lane runs past Skerry and Gannet Rock's raiders now leave their convoys alone.
Heroic Inspiration for stopping the raid without a death.
From the Dark Rim. The Frozen Barge came from Rim Gate Seven, and its black crystals turn any crystal near them cold. The Order of the Last Light needs to know.
A new vote. Hookrock's crews want a new vote for captain. Quade Morrin will fight to keep his seat, and someone has to stand against him.
The Dominion buyer. A Dominion buyer at the Split is paying for the new seam, which breaks Compact law. Both havens now want him gone.