Cthulhu's Terror Nights

A Mythos Horror Mystery Campaign

CTHULHU'S TERROR NIGHTS

Act I Adventure Book

"THE STARS ARE RIGHT"

~ ✦ ~

"The sea is awakening. The stars align. And something ancient stirs beneath the waves."

~ ✦ ~

For 3–6 Players  |  Levels 1–5  |  A Mythos Horror Mystery Campaign

By Cesar Zaldivar

Preface: How to Use This Book

Cthulhu's Terror Nights: Act I — "The Stars Are Right" is a complete horror-mystery adventure designed for the D&D 5e 2024 rules system. This book contains everything you need to run the first act of a multi-act Mythos campaign: two fully designed sessions with scene-by-scene structure, complete skill challenges, a player options chapter (Passions, Dreadful Insights, Backgrounds, and Origin Feats), an NPC database, a Monster Index, DM cheat sheets, player handouts, and DM prompt templates.

The tone of this campaign is cosmic horror, mystery, investigation, and survival. The players are not superheroes facing evil they can punch away — they are ordinary people who have stumbled into a conspiracy older than recorded history.

Safety Tools — Read Before Play

  • X-Card: Any player may tap the X-Card (or say "X") to skip or edit content immediately, no questions asked.
  • Lines & Veils: Before Session 1, establish Lines (content that never appears) and Veils (content that happens off-screen).
  • Open-Door Policy: Any player may step away from the table at any time without explanation.

Part One

Lore Codex

What Is the Cthulhu Mythos?

Beneath recorded history lie the Great Old Ones — entities of incomprehensible power who are not dead but dreaming. In this campaign the Mythos is not religion or myth — it is fact hidden behind the veneer of history. The Great Old Ones are real. This is not a campaign about heroes defeating evil. It is about people who discover the truth about reality — and choose, in spite of that truth, to resist.

The Stars Are Right

Once per millennium, a celestial phenomenon called The Alignment creates resonance between the physical world and the prison-dimensions where the Great Old Ones slumber. The current alignment is in progress — it began three weeks before the campaign opens. The party has roughly four weeks before the window closes.

The Sea Awakens

As the alignment deepens, the influence of sleeping Mythos entities bleeds into the physical world through the ocean. Strange weather, unprecedented whirlpools, ship disappearances, and bizarre sea creature behavior are the first signs. The entity known as The Dreaming Thing — a manifestation of Cthulhu — stirs in its deep-ocean prison.

Campaign Overview

ActTitleLevelsSummary
Act I"The Stars Are Right"1–5The players are drawn into the conspiracy aboard the Unsinkable III. They survive a catastrophic storm, protect two mysterious children called Resonants, and wash ashore on a fog-shrouded island that should not exist.
Act II"Waterdeep Underbelly"5–9Rescued and brought to Waterdeep, the party discovers the Cult of the Drowned God has deep roots in the city — among merchants, city officials, and the city guard.
Act III"The Ritual Site"9–15The trail leads to a remote volcanic island where the summoning will take place. The party must reach it and confront the High Apostle before the alignment window closes.

Factions

The Cult of the Drowned God

Fanatical worshippers of Cthulhu who believe the Resonant children are ritual keys. They operate in secret across port cities, embedded in merchant guilds, shipping companies, and dockworker unions.

The Wardens of the Veil

A secret society of investigators, scholars, and warriors. Criella, the tiefling ranger, is a senior Warden. Most long-serving Wardens carry multiple Dreadful Insights.

The Sapphire Mystic

A neutral magical order based in Waterdeep. They possess texts crucial to understanding the ritual. Whether they become allies or obstacles depends on how the party approaches them.

Key Locations

1. The "Unsinkable III"

A three-masted merchant vessel ~200 feet long. Decks: Main Deck (rigging), Galley/Dining Level, Below-Deck Passenger Quarters, Cargo Hold, Captain's Quarters.

2. The Open Sea

Three to four days from Waterdeep. The horizon featureless, vast, humbling. 4,000 feet deep beneath the hull.

3. The Dreaming Stone (Remote Island)

A volcanic, fog-shrouded island ~300 miles from any charted landmass. Dense jungle, wrong sounds. Ancient stone structures at its center carved with elder signs.

Part Two

Player Options

Chapter 1 — Passions and Dreadful Insights

What is a Passion?

A Passion is a belief that shapes your character's actions. It might send you into danger, but it also offers benefits.

Using Passions

Invoking a Passion

When you make a d20 Test, add +5 if the GM agrees the roll relates to your Passion. Declare before rolling. Once used, cannot gain this benefit again until you Embrace your Passion.

Following a Passion (Embrace)

Follow GM's suggestion aligned to Passion → gain Heroic Inspiration + Temporary HP equal to 5 + your level. Resets your Invoke.

Denying a Passion

Roll d20. 10+: resist freely. 9 or lower: cannot gain or use Heroic Inspiration until Long Rest.

Example Passions

Alignmentd4Passion
Chaos1–4Haunted, Insatiable Curiosity, Seeker of Forbidden Truths, Thirst for Vengeance
Evil1–4Arcane Hunger, Haunted, Wealth at Any Cost, Hatred
Good1–4Haunted, Survivor's Guilt, Justice for All, Loyalty
Lawful1–4Haunted, Heroic Impulse, Skeptical to a Fault, Devoted Faith

Passion Descriptions

Arcane Hunger: You crave arcane power. Where others see lines not to cross, you see invitation. Anything, even your life, is worth risking to uncover the arcane.
Devoted Faith: Ardent supporter of a deity whose ethos overrides all other concerns. You'd sacrifice yourself rather than give an inch.
Hatred: Deep overwhelming hatred for a person, faction, creature, or deity. You'd die happy to destroy the object of your hatred.
Haunted: Vague memories of a strange event compel you to investigate places, sounds, or scents that tug at that memory.
Heroic Impulse: Deep selflessness drives you to confront evil. Your sense of self-preservation rarely factors in.
Insatiable Curiosity: Driven to uncover secrets regardless of danger. Bad habit of listening in and poking into warned-off places.
Justice for All: Can't abide bullies or tyrants. Known to punch a guard for a two-week dungeon stay — worth it.
Loyalty: Loyal to a group, nation, or ideal. Its needs stand above yours in almost every situation.
Seeker of Forbidden Truths: The world is more dangerous than anyone admits. You seek to expose the fraud of current tradition.
Skeptical to a Fault: The Mythos? Clearly a folktale. You investigate to dispel nonsense about strange phenomena.
Survivor's Guilt: You survived a terrible incident. Driven by near-self-destructive urge to ensure it never happens again.
Thirst for Vengeance: Someone wronged you. You will even the score at any cost. Tunnel vision. Smash your enemies.
Wealth at Any Cost: You want wealth. Offers of riches tug at your mind, making them impossible to resist.

Dreadful Insights

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster." — Nietzsche

Gaining a Dreadful Insight

Some creatures trigger this. Make a Wisdom saving throw. Succeed: no Insight gained. Fail: you gain a Dreadful Insight — a new Passion.

Using a Dreadful Insight

Works like any other Passion with full Invoke and Follow mechanics. Tends to pull you along a self-destructive path.

Losing a Dreadful Insight

Resolved when its goal is achieved. Each Insight describes how to lose it specifically.

InsightWis Save DCEffect as PassionHow to Lose It
The Stars Are Alive13–14Embrace: Advantage on Arcana checks about Mythos. Deny: Involuntarily speak a forbidden star-name.Destroy or banish a Star-Spawn.
We Are Not Alone12–13Embrace: Sense Mythos creature within 60 ft (no action). Deny: Disadvantage on Charisma checks until next rest.Survive a full session without a Mythos encounter.
The Veil Is Thin14Embrace: Perceive invisible Ethereal creatures until end of scene. Deny: Incapacitated 1 round (DC 13 Con save ends).Lay to rest a creature between planes.
Nothing Matters15Embrace: Immune to Frightened 1 hour. Deny: Cannot receive Heroic Inspiration until next Passion Embrace.Perform a selfless act that directly costs you something significant.
The Ritual Words13Embrace: Speak memorized phrase — creatures within 10 ft make DC 13 Wis save or Stunned (1/Long Rest). Deny: 1d6 psychic damage.Refuse to speak the words even when doing so would save your life.

Chapter 2 — Backgrounds and Feats

The Mythos Investigator Background

FeatureDetail
Ability ScoresIncrease one by 2 and another by 1, OR three different by 1 (none exceed 20)
FeatChoose any Origin Feat
Skill ProficienciesChoose any two skills
Tool ProficiencyChoose any one tool
Equipment50 gp

New Investigator Tools

Fingerprint Kit (25 gp)  |  Intelligence  |  1 lb

Reveal fingerprints on objects. Utilize: Reveal and sketch (DC 20), or match against humanoid (DC 15).

Witchboard (15 gp)  |  Charisma  |  1 lb

Contact Ethereal creatures. Utilize: Exchange messages up to 10 words with Ethereal creature within 30 ft (DC 15).

Origin Feats

I Fought, I Lived (Origin Feat)

You confronted a horror and it learned its mistake.

  • Defiant Strike: While Bloodied and hit, treat damage as maximum (1/long rest).
  • Indomitable Heart: If Frightened at start of turn, roll d20. 10+: lose condition.

I Hid from the Terror (Origin Feat)

You hid where it couldn't reach.

  • Shadowed Strike: Attack and keep Invisible condition (proficiency bonus uses/long rest).
  • Beneath Notice: Can hide if lightly obscured or 30+ ft from larger creature.
  • Merge into Shadows: Perception checks against you while Invisible have Disadvantage.

I Pierced the Illusion (Origin Feat)

You saw through their disguise.

  • Clear Senses: If Charmed at start of turn, d20 — 10+ lose condition.
  • Ear for Falsehood: Detect a knowing lie (proficiency bonus uses/long rest).
  • Subtle Interrogation: Advantage on Insight vs. creatures you speak with.

I Opened the Gate (Origin Feat)

You didn't mean for this to happen.

  • Delver into Forgotten Lore: Learn three languages.
  • Foul Arcana: Grant spell +2 to save DC but you are Paralyzed until start of next turn (proficiency bonus uses/long rest).

I Survived to Tell the Tale (Origin Feat)

Quick feet and survival instinct.

  • Instinct to Survive: When reduced to 0 HP, regain HP equal to level (1/long rest).
  • Superior Speed: +10 to speed.
  • Wriggle Free: If Grappled, d20 — 10+: avoid condition.

Part Three

The Adventure — Act I

Two complete sessions: scene by scene, skill challenge by skill challenge.

Session One

"A Boat and the Old Man's Tales"

Recommended Party Level: 1–3  |  Session Length: 3–4 Hours  |  Themes: Mystery, Social Intrigue, Survival, First Encounter with the Mythos

DM Introduction

"This session is a slow burn. Resist the urge to reveal the cult too quickly. The horror of Act I is that the party suspects something is wrong before they can name it. Let the skill challenge drive discovery. The storm that ends the session should feel sudden and inevitable."

"The night is silent, the night sky with all its stars blends with the sea in a mirroring image. One looking out in the distance can get lost in trying to find the horizon. A light breeze comes through and keeps the headwind on the sails — a pleasant and calm night indeed.

The ship 'Unsinkable III' is heading into deep water. Sailors keep watch and secure all the sails. In the galley, passengers gather for dinner. Four tables are scattered around: one large table for eight, two small ones for two, and one medium table for four.

An old sailor sits at the medium table, eating ale-sunken bread, telling sea stories to a young woman in a dark ranger-green cloak and two younglings — a half-orc girl and a human boy — who sit enraptured by his tales."

Scene 1 — The Galley (Opening)

"The cook emerges from the kitchen, wiping his hands on an apron. 'Please excuse the old man. Our captain insisted on letting him sail with the Unsinkable III... thus far this one has managed to do just that.' He pauses for the joke to land. 'What can I get you?'"

Available options: Ale, mead, sunken bread, plain bread.

DM Note

The cook is on his first voyage — DC 10 Insight/Intimidation reveals this.

Key NPCs Present

Elias Cobb — The Old Sailor
Criella — Tiefling Ranger
Mira — Half-orc girl, age 10 (The First Key)
Tobias — Human boy, age 9 (The Second Key)
Two Skeptical Passengers — (secretly Cult spies)
Two Quiet Figures — (Cult enforcers)
Bartholomew "Barts" Fenwick — The Cook

Passion Moment — Scene 1

Look for opportunities to challenge Passions here. A character with Insatiable Curiosity might feel compelled to eavesdrop on the two quiet figures. A character with Heroic Impulse may feel pulled to step between the younglings and whoever is watching them. A character with Haunted might catch a scent or sound that tugs at their buried memory.

Scene 2 — Gathering Information

The players have free time to explore the ship and interact with passengers.

Skill Challenge: Identifying the Spies

Stakes: Can the party identify the cultists before the storm hits?

SkillDCProgressWhat Is Revealed
Insight121The skeptical passengers' drunken mockery feels rehearsed, not genuine.
Perception141The quiet figures are watching the younglings, not the old sailor.
Investigation151Search of passenger quarters: strange symbols carved inside a trunk.
Persuasion/Deception131Get the old sailor talking about who came aboard at the last port.
History202Recognize the symbols as Cult of the Drowned God iconography.

Warning Twist

End of Round 1 — One quiet figure notices the party's investigation. From this point on, Insight and Persuasion DCs against crew members increase by 2.

Results

ResultProgress (Party of 4)Outcome
Success6+Party identifies both spies and both enforcers before the storm.
Partial Success3–5Party identifies either spies OR enforcers, not both.
Failure2 or fewerParty is unaware of the full threat when the storm hits.

If a Cultist Is Captured

Run a Social Skill Challenge to extract information. They reveal the younglings are believed to be "the Keys."

Passion Moment — Scene 2

Any character whose Passion relates to uncovering truth may add +5 to one relevant d20 Test. A character with Justice for All faces a Follow moment if they witness intimidation of a passenger.

Scene 3 — The Storm

"Without warning, the ship lurches. The calm evening sky is swallowed by a roiling mass of black clouds that seemingly appeared from nowhere. The deck tilts. Through the porthole you see the sea transformed — mountains of dark water surging against the hull. A loud scream can be heard outside the galley. Men are falling — or being thrown — overboard."

Skill Challenge: Surviving the Deck

Stakes: Can the party stay aboard and reach the younglings before the cultists?

SkillDCProgressAction
Athletics141Maintain footing on the heaving deck without falling.
Acrobatics131Move across rain-slicked planking at full speed.
Strength (Save)151Grab a rope or rail as the ship pitches violently.
Perception121Spot a cult enforcer moving toward the younglings' cabin.
Arcana142Recognize that the storm is not natural — it arrived too fast and too precisely.

Results

ResultProgressOutcome
Success6+Party reaches the younglings before the cult enforcer.
Partial3–5Party arrives simultaneously — combat initiative is rolled.
Failure2 or fewerCult enforcer reaches the younglings first — forced combat at disadvantage due to slick deck.

Session 1 Ending

However the Skill Challenge resolves, the storm culminates in catastrophe. The ship breaks apart. The Read-Aloud for the sinking should be visceral and fast — no time to process, only react. Each character must make a DC 13 Athletics or Strength save to stay conscious in the water. Those who fail are pulled under — unconscious but alive, caught on debris. End session here.

Part Four

NPC Database

Elias Cobb — "The Old Sailor"

Role: Recurring Ally, Source of Lore

Description: A weathered sailor in his 70s. Crinkled blue eyes that have seen too much ocean. He knows more about the sea's strangeness than he lets on — and far more about the cult than anyone suspects. He is not a cultist. He is something stranger: a man who looked into the Mythos decades ago and chose to keep living anyway.

Personality: Warm, deflective, storytelling. Never directly warns the party — always implies.

Secret: He has seen the Alignment happen once before. He knows what it means. He is on this ship deliberately.

Key Information He Can Share: The children are special — "the sea knows their names." Strange things follow ships carrying cargo with deep-ocean origin. The storm is not weather. "When the sky and the sea stop being different things, run."

Mechanics: DC 15 Persuasion or Insight to get Elias to speak plainly. On a success, he reveals one of his secrets. On a failure, he tells another sea story.

Criella — "The Tiefling Ranger"

Role: Warden of the Veil, Potential Patron

Description: Tall, with dark violet skin and filed-down horns worn as a statement of identity rather than concealment. She wears practical ranger clothing in hunter-green with silver Warden insignia hidden beneath a lapel. Her eyes are pale gold and unsettlingly direct.

Personality: Precise, guarded, mission-focused. Warms slowly. Does not waste words.

Secret: She has been tracking this specific cult cell for eight months. The children are her primary objective — she will not sacrifice them for any other goal.

Key Information: The children are Resonants — a rare condition that makes them attuned to the frequency of the Great Old Ones' prison. The cult needs them alive and unharmed for the ritual to work. Criella knows where the Ritual Site is, but not how to stop the ritual once begun.

Mechanics: DC 14 Persuasion to get Criella to share her mission. She will not share everything at once. She evaluates the party's competence across Session 1 before trusting them.

Mira — "The First Key"

Role: Resonant Child, Charge

Description: Half-orc, age 10. Taller than Tobias, quieter. Dark green skin, sharp tusks she has learned to speak around. Large grey eyes that seem to look slightly past whatever they're focused on. She draws the same spiral pattern repeatedly when given paper.

Personality: Calm beyond her years. Not emotionally cold — emotionally deep. She does not panic. She also does not explain things clearly, because she does not experience the world clearly.

Secret: She can hear the Dreaming Thing when the alignment is strong. Not words — feelings. Vast, indifferent feelings. She is not frightened by this, which is perhaps the most frightening thing about her.

Mechanics: DC 12 Insight reveals that Mira is tracking something invisible to everyone else. DC 16 Persuasion or Arcana to get her to describe what she hears.

Tobias — "The Second Key"

Role: Resonant Child, Charge

Description: Human, age 9. Smaller than he looks from a distance — thin, with shadows under his eyes from too-short sleep. He carries a small leather journal he does not let anyone read.

Personality: Watchful, anxious, loyal to Mira. He is the one who asks practical questions, keeps track of time, worries about food. He is, in many ways, the more vulnerable of the two — he knows something is wrong and is frightened by it, which makes him more relatable and harder to watch.

Secret: The journal contains star charts he has drawn in his sleep. He does not remember drawing them. They are accurate.

Mechanics: DC 10 Persuasion makes Tobias talkative. He knows the cult is following them — he has seen the marks. DC 14 Insight reveals he is hiding the journal intentionally.

Bartholomew "Barts" Fenwick — "The Cook"

Role: Comic Relief, Unwitting Information Source

Description: Portly, perpetually damp with perspiration, enthusiastic about cooking and catastrophically naive about everything else. This is his first sea voyage. He agreed to it for the money.

Personality: Cheerful, oblivious, talkative. He will tell the party everything he knows, which is very little and mostly wrong, but occasionally correct by accident.

Mechanics: DC 10 Persuasion gets Barts talking about any topic. He accidentally reveals useful information on a DC 15 Investigation check to parse what's actually true in what he's saying.

Part Five

Monster Index

Encounter Scaling Table

Party SizeEasyMediumHardDeadly
3 playersCR 1/4CR 1/2CR 1CR 2
4 playersCR 1/2CR 1CR 2CR 3
5 playersCR 1CR 2CR 3CR 4
6 playersCR 2CR 3CR 4CR 5

Cult Fanatic

Medium Humanoid (Any Race), CR 2

AC: 13 (leather armor)  |  HP: 33 (6d8+6)  |  Speed: 30 ft.

11STR (+0)
14DEX (+2)
12CON (+1)
10INT (+0)
13WIS (+1)
14CHA (+2)

Skills: Deception +4, Persuasion +4, Religion +2

Senses: Passive Perception 11  |  Languages: Any one language

Dark Devotion. Advantage on saves against Charmed and Frightened.

Spellcasting (Wis, DC 11). Cantrips: light, sacred flame, thaumaturgy. 1st (4 slots): command, inflict wounds, shield of faith. 2nd (3 slots): hold person, spiritual weapon.

Actions

Multiattack. Two melee attacks.

Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d4+2 piercing damage.

Cult Enforcer

Medium Humanoid (Any Race), CR 3

AC: 16 (chain mail)  |  HP: 52 (8d8+16)  |  Speed: 30 ft.

16STR (+3)
12DEX (+1)
14CON (+2)
10INT (+0)
11WIS (+0)
10CHA (+0)

Skills: Athletics +5, Intimidation +2

Senses: Passive Perception 10  |  Languages: Common + one cult dialect

Brine-Soaked Blade. On hit with melee weapon, target makes DC 12 Con save or is Poisoned until end of its next turn.

Actions

Multiattack. Two attacks with shortsword.

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6+3 piercing damage.

Bonus Actions

Shove. Push one creature within 5 ft. DC 13 Strength save or pushed 10 ft. and prone.

Drowned Shade

Medium Undead, CR 2 (Mythos-adjacent)

AC: 11  |  HP: 26 (4d8+8)  |  Speed: 0 ft., swim 40 ft.

7STR (-2)
13DEX (+1)
14CON (+2)
6INT (-2)
10WIS (+0)
8CHA (-1)

Damage Resistances: Acid, Fire, Lightning, Thunder; Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities: Cold, Necrotic, Poison

Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained

Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 10

Incorporeal Movement. Can move through other creatures and objects as difficult terrain. Takes 5 force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Water Bound. Outside of water or within 5 ft. of a large body of water, the Shade has disadvantage on attack rolls.

Actions

Drowning Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2d6 cold damage + target makes DC 12 Strength save or is Restrained (pulled toward water if applicable). Restrained target repeats save at start of each turn, ending effect on success.

Dreadful Insight Trigger. A creature that sees a Drowned Shade rise from deep water for the first time must make a DC 12 Wisdom save or gain the "We Are Not Alone" Dreadful Insight.

Part Six

Skill Challenges: Complete Rules Module

A Skill Challenge is a structured scene of escalating tension where the party must achieve a set number of successes before accumulating too many failures. It is not a combat encounter — it is a dramatic scene with mechanical stakes.

Components

Goal: What the party is trying to accomplish.
Stakes: What changes based on success or failure.
Progress Needed: Number of successes required (typically 6 for a party of 4).
Failure Threshold: Number of failures that trigger failure outcome (typically 3).
DCs: Vary by skill — common DC 12–14, specialized DC 15–18, rare knowledge DC 18–20.
Twists: Mid-challenge complications that change the rules.

Order of Play

  1. DM announces the Skill Challenge and describes the stakes.
  2. Each player describes their character's approach and names a skill.
  3. DM sets the DC based on approach quality and skill appropriateness.
  4. Player rolls. Success adds 1 (or 2 for exceptional approaches). Failure adds 1 to the failure count.
  5. After each full round, DM may introduce a Twist.
  6. Challenge ends when successes OR failures reach their threshold.

Stakes Table

SuccessesFailuresOutcome
6+0–1Full Success: Best possible outcome, bonus reward.
6+2Partial Success: Goal achieved with a cost or complication.
4–52Mixed: Partial goal achieved, significant complication.
3 or fewer3Failure: Goal not achieved, consequences applied.

DM Guidance

"Never let a Skill Challenge feel like a series of dice rolls. Each roll should describe something happening in the scene. A failed Athletics check isn't just a minus to progress — a rope snaps, a grip slips, someone goes over the railing. The fiction drives the stakes, not the numbers."

Part Seven

Quest Tracker: Act I

Main Quests

QuestStatusSourceReward
Protect the ResonantsActiveCriellaWarden contact, information
Survive the SeaActiveThe SituationExperience, shelter
Find the Island's SecretActiveThe IslandCult intelligence

Side Quests

QuestStatusSourceReward
Elias's WarningAvailableElias CobbHidden knowledge, Passion trigger
The Cook's SecretAvailableBartsUseful item, comic relief
Recover the JournalAvailableTobiasStar charts, Insight trigger

Character Quests

QuestStatusSourceReward
Unlock Your BackgroundActiveCharacter CreationFeat ability
First Dreadful InsightLockedMythos EncounterDreadful Insight

Exploration / Mystery Quests

QuestStatusSourceReward
The Cargo Hold's SecretAvailableInvestigationCult intelligence, item
What Criella Won't SayAvailableObservationWarden trust, information

Part Eight

DM Cheat Sheets

Session 1 Quick DC Reference

CheckDCReveals
Insight vs. Skeptical Passengers12Mockery feels rehearsed
Perception vs. Quiet Figures14Watching younglings, not Elias
Investigation — Passenger Quarters15Cult symbols in trunk
Persuasion vs. Elias15One secret of your choice
History — Cult Symbols20Cult of the Drowned God confirmed
Athletics — Storm Deck14Progress in Skill Challenge
Wisdom Save — Drowned Shade12"We Are Not Alone" Insight

Monster Quick Reference

MonsterACHPKey AttackSpecial
Cult Fanatic1333Dagger +4 (1d4+2)Spellcasting, Dark Devotion
Cult Enforcer1652Shortsword +5 (1d6+3)Brine-Soaked Blade, Shove
Drowned Shade1126Drowning Touch +3 (2d6 cold)Incorporeal, Insight Trigger

Pacing Notes

Session 1 runs approximately 3–4 hours.

  • Scene 1 (Galley): 30–45 min
  • Scene 2 (Investigation Skill Challenge): 45–60 min
  • Scene 3 (Storm Skill Challenge): 30–45 min
  • Resolution/Cliffhanger: 15 min

Part Nine

Player Handouts

Print or display these to the players at the appropriate moment.

Handout 1 — The Journal

Give to players when Tobias's journal is discovered.

Port Ancora, 14th of Deepwater. We left again. Criella says we will be safe on the water. I don't think the water is safe anymore. I drew the stars again last night. I don't remember drawing them but they were there in the morning. Mira says they are a map. I don't know what they are mapping.

The men in grey came to the last inn. Criella saw them first. We left through the kitchen. I didn't finish my food.

The spiral is the sign of where He sleeps. I know this the same way I know my name. I don't know how I know it.

Handout 2 — Elias's Warnings

Give when Elias speaks plainly — DC 15 Persuasion success.

You want to know what I know? Fine. I'll tell you one thing.

I was on a ship in waters like these, thirty years ago. We saw something come up from below. Not a creature. Not a whale. Something that should not have a shape — but did. Just long enough for us to see it. Three men went mad. One jumped. I did not sleep properly for two years.

The stars were the same that night as they are tonight. You understand what I'm telling you?

Get those children off this ship. Get them away from the water. Don't let anyone in grey near them. And when the storm comes — and it will come — stay together.

That's all I'll say.

Handout 3 — Signal Mirror

Physical item; give to party after investigating cargo hold.

A small brass mirror, palm-sized, with a series of scratches on the back. On examination (DC 12 Investigation): the scratches form a pattern — four long marks, two short, one diagonal. A sailor (DC 14 History) recognizes it as a Warden communication code: "Extraction required. Cargo is live. Do not engage until signal." The mirror has never been used. Whoever left it was never able to send the signal.

Part Ten

DM Prompt Templates

These prompts are designed to help the DM quickly generate scene descriptions, NPC dialogue, and atmospheric details using AI assistance or as improvisational springboards.

Prompt 1 — Opening Scene Atmosphere

Describe a calm night at sea aboard a merchant vessel called the Unsinkable III. The sea is mirror-flat. Stars are reflected perfectly in the water, making the horizon invisible. Players are in the ship's galley for dinner. The tone should feel peaceful but with a subtle wrongness — the kind of calm that feels watched. Avoid explicit horror. Use sensory detail: sounds, smells, the quality of light from oil lamps. About 150 words.

Prompt 2 — Elias Cobb Dialogue

Write dialogue for an old sailor named Elias Cobb, age 70s, who is telling sea stories to a group of adventurers. He is wise, warm, and deliberately vague about his deeper knowledge. He knows the sea is dangerous in a Lovecraftian way — ancient things stir beneath it — but he speaks only in metaphor and implication. The topic is: [INSERT TOPIC]. Keep it to 100 words, first-person, folksy but intelligent.

Prompt 3 — Storm Narration

Narrate a sudden and violent storm hitting a merchant sailing ship at night on the open sea. The storm arrives impossibly fast — in seconds, not minutes. The calm becomes chaos. Masts creak, ropes snap, sailors scream. The players are on deck. Emphasize disorientation: up and down are unreliable. The sea is trying to take them. About 100 words, present tense, second-person plural ('you see... you feel...').

Prompt 4 — Cult Enforcer Confrontation

Write a short menacing speech (50-75 words) for a Cult of the Drowned God enforcer confronting the players on a rain-soaked ship deck. He is not angry — he is calm. He believes completely in what he's doing. He views the players as obstacles in a sacred mission, not as enemies. He wants the children. He would prefer not to fight. But he will.

Prompt 5 — Island Discovery

Describe a volcanic island that appears out of nowhere from dense ocean fog. It should not be where it is — 300 miles from any charted land. The island is small, jungle-covered, and built over ancient stone ruins. Strange sounds emerge from the jungle. The air smells of salt and something older. The party has washed ashore in wreckage. About 150 words, atmospheric, emphasizing wrongness and age.

Prompt 6 — Mira (Resonant Child) Speaking

Write a short (50-75 word) moment of dialogue from Mira, a 10-year-old half-orc girl who can partially sense the dreams of an ancient sleeping entity. She does not have the vocabulary for what she experiences. She should sound like a child — not cryptic by intention, but by limitation. She is describing what she senses from the ocean. Keep it grounded, a little heartbreaking, and quietly unsettling.