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Boat like platforms in a malestrom. players need to gather items using skill checks impeded by sea monsters, puzzles and traps in order to collect items that will allow them to dive under the waves to face a massive creature and its minions · Medium · Medium

Maelstrom Chainwreck

Chains, storms, and sacrificial decks hold back the thing below, if only for a little longer.
Rooms
7
Foes
12, CR 1/2 to 8
Traps
6
Treasure
1,030 gp
1234567Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. Storm-Raft Landing

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

An abyssal leviathan has learned to pulse through the whirlpool from below, sending serpents, drowned dead, and crushing pressure up into the platform maze.

Wandering monsters (1d4)

  1. 1

    1d4× Drowned StragglersCR 1/2

    When: Whenever the party lingers in a corridor or makes loud noise on the decks.Salt-crazed sailors with water in their lungs drift between decks, moaning warnings and attacking anything that smells alive.
  2. 2

    1d2× Storm EelCR 2

    When: After characters cross rope bridges or spill blood near open water.A sleek eel-like horror slips through flooded seams and snaps at exposed limbs before vanishing into the spray.
  3. 3

    1d2× Chain Cult SentinelsCR 3

    When: If the party defeats a guardian or opens a sealed room.Barnacle-armored cult remnants patrol in pairs, searching for relics and trying to raise alarms with shell whistles.
  4. 4

    Hull-SkulkerCR 4

    When: When the party uses thunder, explosions, or heavy metal armor on unstable decks.A smaller abyss spawn hunts by vibration, slithering along the underside of platforms and striking from below.

Rooms

7
1

Storm-Raft Landing

2 foestreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A storm-lashed raft of lashed planks and half a prow bobs at the edge of the maelstrom. The only safe landing is a narrow winch platform, and every wave threatens to fling intruders back into the sea.

Features

  • Tie-off cleats slick with spray
  • A creaking winch used to haul gear onto the first deck
  • A painted warning sigil half-scrubbed away by salt

What the GM knows

Monsters

2× Drowned DeckhandsCR 1/2

Ragged drowned deckhands claw at the raft, trying to drag newcomers overboard before the platform can be secured.Tactics. They strike weakly, then grab and shove targets toward the waterline and the unstable edge.

Treasure

Harbor Kit45 gp

A coil of good line, grapnel hooks, and a storm lamp protected by red wax.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

Use this room to establish the dangerous movement and the need for caution. A successful check can secure the raft, reducing danger from later retreats.

3 doors: N (locked), E (locked), W (secret)

The place

What it is

This dungeon is a shattered chain of boat-like platforms circling a roaring maelstrom, built from wrecked hulls, temple timbers, and stolen naval rigging.

Atmosphere

The air is wet with salt, blood, and ozone.

The threat

An abyssal leviathan has learned to pulse through the whirlpool from below, sending serpents, drowned dead, and crushing pressure up into the platform maze.

History

Long ago, a naval outpost and tide-temple were fused onto a wreck-strewn ring of hulls to monitor a sea route cursed by disappearances.

Rumors

1d5
Roll a rumor

  1. 1The whirlpool was once a holy gate, and the crew chained themselves here so something below would not escape.
  2. 2A drowned priest still rings a bell in the storm, and anyone who hears it too clearly is marked for the deep.
  3. 3Two relics are said to be needed to open the way under the waves, one from a captain and one from a shrine.
  4. 4Fishermen swear the broken decks move at night, retying their own ropes to lure new victims.
  5. 5The creature beneath the maelstrom is not sleeping, only waiting for the right sacrifice.

Plot hooks

4
Rescue and recoveryThe Missing FleetA coastal town's fishing fleet vanished after following a lantern signal found drifting from the whirlpool, and the families pay for answers or survivors.From: Harbor Master VessaReward: 200 gp and a blessing charm that grants advantage on one sea crossing or swim check
Lore recoveryProof Beneath the WavesA temple archivist needs relic rubbings from the drowned chapel to prove the Black Chain once bound an abyssal entity rather than worshipped it.From: Archivist PellReward: A rare spell scroll and temple favor
Treasure huntThe Opened VortexSailors whisper that the maelstrom opens briefly each night and reveals a route to a submerged vault if someone can survive the decks long enough to dive.From: Dockside fortune-teller MaraReward: One magic item from the vault and a cache of pearls
SabotageBreak the ChainA rival crew wants the central anchor-stone destroyed before it draws something worse from the deep.From: Captain Orin BaleReward: 300 gp and a share in salvage rights

Corridors

4

  • Between rooms 1 and 2, and again on the path to room 4.

    Rope bridges sway between hull-sections, each one slick with spray and patched with old netting.

  • Outer corridors and narrow deck spans.

    Barnacle-crusted chain rails run along the outer edges, keeping the platforms from being dragged into the vortex by anchoring them to a hidden central keel.

  • Near the flooded chapel and the approach to room 6.

    Broken prayer bells hung from mast fragments ring whenever a heavy step lands, alerting nearby guardians.

  • Lower passages near room 5 and room 6.

    Pressure-release grates vent cold seawater in sudden bursts, briefly revealing submerged carvings and hidden markings on the floorboards.

Connections

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