On the Sea of Swords: a 5th Level Pirate Adventure

High Seas Adventure: Play as pirates on a mission of redemption and freedom! This adventure was written to make PCs important members of their very own pirate crew. You'll capture merchant vessles and fend off ruthless pirates, sail the iconic Sea of Swords. This adventure is a perfect starting point for a 2nd-tier seafaring campaign! 

Room to Improvise: Many DMs, myself included, do not enjoy running written adventures that spell out every step. Like my other products, this adventure is written as a foundation for you to build upon, but it also works as-written for those of you that need it. Allowing the Players to fill key roles within the workings of a pirate vessel instantly gives them agency in the story and the world at-large.  

Concise and Open: This adventure was written for 2-3 hours of play, with plenty of room for roleplay and important PC desisions. However, this two-page adventure can easily be tooled to span three sepearate 2-3 hour sessions; life aboard a pirate ship is rarely ever dull. 

Brutal or Cake-Walk, You Decide: Combat is a centerpiece to Dungeons and Dragons, but many adventures pit the PCs against overwhelmingly powerful foes or cardboard cutouts of enemies that fall over far too easily. This adventure, each time it has been playtested, has been met with overwhelming praise for the combat difficulty. A host of NPCs availible give newer DMs a huge safety net if lethatilty is unwanted, while a large host of enemies allow DMs who wish to run a "meat grinder" can easily do so! A great starting point for anyone. 

One of a Kind Magic Item and Loot Galore: What's a pirate adventure without some cool loot? Investigate to find hidden riches, hold rare books hostage, and pit your players against the ever-useful Eye of Ko!  

I would like to thank my playtesters Jess (@TwiliHero on twitter), Eleanor (@spinningdust on twitter), and Wolfe (of Wolfe fame) for helping me make every word in this, my first ever published adventure, have weight. So many cool memories in just 3 hours!