The Measure of the Tide
The Measure of the Tide
Read aloud
At The Salt Measure, the brass cup above the bar tips over by itself, spilling a measure of black water across the counter. Mara Venn catches your eye and says, “The tide is coming in wrong, and someone has locked the floodgate from the inside. Help me before the lower streets are under water.”
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Discover why the tide is behaving strangely and locate the old floodgate.
- 2Enter the flooded works and find out who is interfering with the gate.
- 3Prevent the spring tide from flooding the town.
- 4Expose the family secret behind the sealed floodgate.Optional
The clock
The spring tide reaches its peak at dawn. After each major delay or failed attempt to operate the gate, increase the visible flooding and reduce safe routes through the works.
Scenes
- 0:00Black Water on the Bar
- 0:45Where the Water Went
- 1:45A Door Kept Shut
- 2:45The Measure of the Tide
- 4:15Who Owns the Water
Cast
- Mara VennQuestgiver and keeper of The Salt Measure
- Tovin RuskAlly and apprentice lock-keeper
- Edda SornAntagonist and respected salt-house factor
- Nell PikeWitness and retired net-mender
The hook
Set the scene
The party arrives at The Salt Measure as the evening tide draws back from the quay, leaving boats tilted in the mud. The tavern is crowded with uneasy waterfront workers. A brass cup above the bar has just tipped over, though no one touched it, and black water is spreading across the counter. Mara Venn quietly hires the party while Nell Pike insists she heard singing below the lock-house.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara approaches the party at the bar after the strange spill, offering a modest advance and access to her back room, where she keeps old waterfront maps.
She avoids making promises on behalf of the town council, which has not yet been told how serious the danger is.
Rumours
Scenes
about 5 hours0:00
45 min
socialThe table is here
1. Black Water on the Bar
The crowded common room and wet back steps of The Salt Measure.
The tide behaves impossibly, Mara makes her request, and the party can choose whom to question first. Nell's account and Tovin's absence point toward the old works.
NextMara gives the party a tide-token and directs them to the quay, where fresh tool marks lead toward the maintenance channel.
0:45
60 min
exploration
2. Where the Water Went
The exposed mudflats, slippery maintenance channel, and the outer face of the old floodworks.
The party searches the inlet for a safe route and encounters scavengers disturbed by the tide. Clues in the channel reveal that the gate has been worked on recently.
The Silt ChannelNextA narrow stair reaches the lock-house. The sound of a turning wheel and a struggle comes from below.
1:45
60 min
social
3. A Door Kept Shut
A cramped lock-house chamber filling with water, with the tide ledger and control wheel in reach.
The party reaches Tovin and confronts Edda's lockhands. They can rescue him, save records from the rising water, and decide whether to bargain with Edda or force the issue.
The Lock-House StandoffNextThe ledger, Tovin's testimony, or the damaged mechanism points to a deeper chamber beneath the inlet where the gate must be addressed.
2:45
90 min
skill
4. The Measure of the Tide
The vaulted chamber below the quay, where narrow walkways ring the gate mechanism.
The gate chamber reveals an active diversion and a damaged guardian responding to rising pressure. The party must make a practical choice under a worsening flood threat, with Edda's role now clear if they have gathered evidence.
The Old FloodgateNextOnce the pressure is relieved or the chamber is lost, survivors return to The Salt Measure to witness the town's verdict and claim their reward.
4:15
30 min
social
5. Who Owns the Water
The Salt Measure after dawn, with the tide-token and any recovered records laid on the bar.
Mara, Tovin, Edda, and the waterfront residents argue over what the party found. The party can reveal evidence, bargain for a compromise, or let the town decide without the full story.
NextThe outcome establishes who will control the repairs and opens future leads tied to the old diversion.
Behind it
What people believe
The waterfront town of Brackwater faces an imminent flood after its old inlet gate jams during an unnatural tide.
Keeper Mara Venn hires the party to investigate the flooded works, rescue a missing apprentice, and find a way to protect the lower streets before the spring tide arrives. Rumors point to dangerous creatures in the channels and a dispute among the salt-house families, but no one can explain the black water or the sounds beneath the quay.
Background
The Salt Measure stands above a brackish inlet where river barges meet the tide.
Its brass measuring cup, mounted over the bar, is said to have settled a century-old dispute between the town's first fishers and salt merchants. The inlet's old floodgates have been neglected, and recent low tides have exposed stonework that most residents believed had collapsed beneath the mud.
The stakes
If the party fails to address the failing gate before the spring tide, Brackwater's lower streets flood.
If they succeed without revealing the diversion, the town may survive while the cause remains active and the salt houses keep their power.
Encounters
3The Silt Channel
Combat or hazardous traversal
A half-flooded maintenance channel with slippery stone, knee-deep water, hanging chains, and a raised inspection ledge.
Foes
Brineback scavengers
A territorial mud-eel
ComplicationRising water gradually narrows safe footing. Loud fighting risks drawing more scavengers from the culvert.
ScalingFor a smaller or less capable party, use only the scavengers and provide a dry ledge for retreat. For a larger or more capable party, add a second mud-eel or make the current divide the battlefield.
The Lock-House Standoff
Social confrontation that can become combat
A cramped stone chamber with a waist-high flood, iron wheel, narrow stair, hanging tools, and a barred side door.
Foes
Edda Sorn's two hired lockhands
ComplicationThe lock-house is filling with water, and evidence can be saved only by splitting attention between the ledger, a jammed wheel, and the trapped apprentice.
ScalingFor a lower-pressure version, the lockhands flee when challenged. For a tougher version, add a third lockhand and have Edda arrive with a credible threat to expose the party as trespassers.
The Old Floodgate
Combat, negotiation, or dangerous skill challenge
A vaulted chamber beneath the inlet, with a massive corroded gate, narrow walkways, chest-deep channels, and a central wheel exposed to surging water.
Foes
Edda Sorn, if negotiations have failed
A floodgate guardian of barnacled stone and chain
ComplicationThe final mechanism is unstable. Each failed attempt to operate it increases the water pressure and makes the next attempt more dangerous.
ScalingFor a smaller party, the guardian is slow and can be distracted by the mechanism. For a stronger party, add flooding hazards and have Edda use the gate controls rather than fight directly.
Cast
4Mara Venn
QuestgiverQuestgiver and keeper of The Salt Measure
WantsKeep the town safe and prevent panic while the floodgate crisis is investigated.
“I need the night bell rung before the next spring tide. If the gate stays shut, the lower streets will drown.”
Tovin Rusk
Ally and apprentice lock-keeper
WantsFind her missing brother and prove that someone is sabotaging the floodworks.
“People keep blaming the water. Water does not leave fresh tool marks on a locked door.”
Edda Sorn
Antagonist and respected salt-house factor
WantsKeep the floodgate shut and preserve a secret that could destroy her family's standing.
“The gate was sealed for good reason. You cannot pry open a promise just because the tide has turned.”
Nell Pike
Witness and retired net-mender
WantsWarn the town about what she witnessed and persuade people to leave the waterfront.
“I heard singing under the boards, and then the tide went out without taking the boats with it.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A waterproof map of the inlet tunnels
A brass tide-token that grants access to the lock-house
A coil of fine harbor rope and a hooded lantern
On a win
The party prevents the worst of the flooding by opening, stabilizing, or safely redirecting the inlet.
Tovin and any rescued workers can testify about what happened. If the party uncovers the diversion, Brackwater must decide whether to prosecute Edda, demand restitution, or preserve the salt trade at the cost of public trust.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to open a safe channel or otherwise reduce the pressure before the spring tide peaks.
- The lower waterfront floods, destroying boats, stores, and several homes. Survivors blame the party if they ignored warnings or withheld evidence.
- The party accuses Edda without securing convincing evidence or witnesses.
- Edda's account becomes the town's accepted version of events, and the party loses access to the salt houses and their records.
- The party abandons the lock-house crisis without getting Tovin to safety.
- Tovin is injured or taken by the rising water, and the old gate remains unstable even if the town avoids immediate flooding.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sudden ebb exposes a slick channel through the mud. Anyone crossing without a rope or guide risks being cut off by returning water.
- 2A barge crew mistakes the party for floodgate thieves and blocks the quay until someone explains their purpose or wins the crew's trust.
- 3A rusted warning bell rings beneath the inlet, drawing curious townsfolk toward unsafe waterfront steps.
- 4A store of lamp oil spills across the lock-house floor. Open flame could start a fast-moving fire.
- 5Edda's hired hands arrive early to remove a ledger from the lock-house, forcing the party to decide whether to pursue them or protect their evidence.
- 6A trapped floodgate releases a hard surge through the lower culvert, separating the group or sweeping loose gear into the water.
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