Brazen Wolfe Tabletop

Claw – Challenge on word adventure

Plot:

At the edge of the emerald sea there lies a string of villagers, towns and cities that all have been encountering members of the “Worshipers of the clawed god”. These zealots are fanatical in their belief that a great beast, a forgotten deity resides within the large underwater sink hole that lies off the coast. Those who have been captured and questioned claim to have been chosen by this deity to spread their word whilst travelling by ship or boat on the sea.

What has brought this to the attention of the local power and authority is that each report has no ties to the other. However, each one of them make the exact same claim to be chosen. They have reached out to see if they can understand what is going on by seeking assistance from adventurers of some renown.

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Causation –

The cult, the Worshippers of the clawed god have all been exposed to a Huge crab. However this crab is far from ordinary as it has ingested flesh of a dying aboleth that had fallen prey to hunting ships. When ingesting the flesh of this sunken aberration the crab obtained some of its psionic powers. As the crab was consuming the flesh the aboleth was using the last of its psionics to corrupt the mind of the crab, in an attempt to enslave it. However the aboleth was just too weak.

The result was a highly intelligent crab with mild psionic powers who had received its hate for humans and ships from the dying creature. In fact the creature now seeks to get its servants, the worshippers of the clawed god, to bring all the ships of the emerald coast to its lair, the Emerald Coast sink hole.

Main NPC:

However, it is not the authorities, the Sea Watch who has reached out to the adventurers. Jess ‘Ironsails’ Smith is the financer of the endeavour to route out the cult and understand what is going on. Jess is the inheritor by mirth of the Ironsun trading company. The Ironsun trading company operation was born out of Wavecrest, the largest city on the Emerald coast, and they started small. A few ships and just as few crew would run trade goods from the Emerald coast down to the Thruul jungles.

However Jess, after protecting the vessels from pirates, took it one step forward and began bringing goods, rare spices, herbs and other trade items from the jungles of Thruul back to Wavecrest. This saw the companies profit increase threefold and through her actions the company expanded. It now has a place in each port along the coat and, in its own right, becoming the largest power in the southern jungles.

Jess is a middle-aged woman who was born on the sea, literally born in a boat. In fact so close is her bond to the sea that she forsake her parents forges to quench her fire for good. However she is a stubborn as raw iron and as honed as steel.

Secondary Hook:

After talking about the job with Jess the party go to leave, a man attempts to push past them, dropping a long blade that thuds into the wood below. The blade is serrated and curved with the cross guard curving towards the blade itself to look like a claw. The man looks nervously between the party, Jess and the blade. However, seeing the party notice the blade the man attacks them, pulling a secondary blade in the process. After the brief but vicious fight the man is identified by Jess as one of the deck hands for her ship, the Wave Blade.

Jess asks the party to investigate the ship first in case there are other members there who have fallen for the uprising cult.

Area for Combat:

The hallway is thin and cluttered with tables, portraits and displays of wealth. The Ironsun trading company came from nearly nothing but apparently now has no qualms with displaying their wealth. However despite the art, fine silver and portraits that line the walls everything displayed has a purpose.

Swords, daggers, spy glasses, everything that is here is a tribute to someone in the portrait. In fact the only thing that is on display that doesn’t have a corresponding portrait is a worn anvil next to Jess’s door.

The floor is well maintained and sturdy. However the creak of wood and smell of salt water underneath the boards gives away the buildings location. Built on stilts on the beach and stretching out across the dock the Ironsun’s office is build into the docks. In fact despite the wood being durable it is also prone to damage. The salt and water has weakened sections that could cause it to fall through.

Creatures for combat:

Giant Psionic Crab

Clawed God Cult members & Enslaved crew members

Sharks

Eels

Resolution:

The party take a single ship to the Sink hole and fight the crab. The weak psionic powers don’t have much affect on the party who are experienced combatants however some of the ships crew may become enslaved. Once the crab is killed the other sea creatures and enslaved crew and cult members are released from the psionic slavery. However, they will suffer for a few days as they regain their sense of self.

Thoughts and notes: