Session 12: The Lazy Current
Dragonspine River — Heading North
TONE: River adventure. Chaotic and fun, with a growing sense that
Sable is more than she appears.
Captain Windreaver and
the Lazy Current
The Lazy Current is a sleek river skiff — fast, cramped, and
expensive. Captain Orlenna Windreaver is a half-elf who has been running
this river for thirty years and has zero patience for nonsense, which
means she has approximately zero patience for this party. She is gruff,
professional, and secretly excellent.
| NPC | Description |
|---|---|
| Capt. Windreaver | Half-elf, 50s, weather-beaten. Runs the ship alone with two crew. Does not explain herself. Will respect the party if they pull weight; will despise them if they don’t. |
| Sable | Traveling as a ward of the diplomats. Confides in a party member she trusts within the first day: ‘I don’t want to go home. My mother has plans for me that I don’t like.’ Will not elaborate. Watches everything. |
| Dame Aelbright | Germonian ambassador — formal, worried, following protocols she doesn’t fully understand. Treats Sable as luggage. |
Encounters on the River
The Soggy Bottom Gang
River pirates who board the ship claiming the party owes them money
over a ‘ship’s extended warranty’ — a protection racket with absurd
paperwork. They are not particularly skilled fighters but there are
eight of them and they have a battering ram made from a tree trunk.
COMBAT: Soggy Bottom Gang (8 Bandits, MM p.343) — AC 12, HP 11 each.
Their leader, Captain Gumbo, has 22 HP and a blunderbuss (2d8 piercing,
range 30/60, one shot then must reload). Tactics: board, overwhelm,
steal, leave. They are not trying to kill anyone. If their leader is
incapacitated, the rest surrender.
Tick Tock the Crocodile
A large crocodile with a clock visible in its midsection (it
swallowed a watchmaker years ago) surfaces alongside the ship. It is
curious, not hungry. Any party member who takes a patient, gentle
approach will find it responds well — it can be befriended with food and
calm energy. If befriended, it will follow the ship for three days,
which deters a second pirate attack.
The Bard-Off
The diplomats challenge the party to a musical competition. Whoever
among the party has the highest Performance or Charisma wins handily.
The prize is a bottle of Germonian spirits and the undying resentment of
the diplomat who thought he was the best bard on the river.
Sable Goes Missing
At the day’s end, Dame Aelbright runs in with the news: Sable is not
on the ship. She was on the ship. Now she isn’t.
DM NOTE: End the session here on the missing-Sable hook. This is a
good session-end cliffhanger — not dangerous yet, but urgent.
-
Defeating the Soggy Bottom Gang: 350 XP
-
Befriending Tick Tock: 150 XP
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Winning the bard-off: 100 XP
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