Scenario #5: Slave Raiders!

This is a short scenario for a party of characters of levels 3-5 and could be a prelude to either X1: The Isle of Dread or X6: Quagmire. If the PCs play this right, they could end up with a large sailing ship. 

The pirate raiders of the port city of Nula in Ierendi are known to occasionally raid coastal communities for plunder and food. However, recently they have found a sinister and lucrative trade in slaves, joining up with slave traders of Thyatis, many of whom are not fussy about where the stock comes from. 

The PCs are in a coastal village, probably Sulescu Village in southern Karameikos though other places will work as well. A ship appears on the sea, heading straight for the village, and it does not look like a typical merchant cog - more like a warship. It is the Ocean Manticore, the ship of Vladivar Carriolis, a banished Karameikian nobleman turned pirate, and he and his crew are looking for slaves and plunder. 

The PCs could quite easily abandon the villagers to their terrible fate. But it might be worth reminding the PCs that pirates may well have already gathered treasure on their ship, and no-one else would object if the PCs plundered the plunderers. 

Sulescu village has a population of 950 and does not need much of a militia. Being far from the humanoid tribes that usually raid from the hinterlands and relatively close to Specularum the village has only wooden palisades and a squad of 20 militia men (all F1, 4 hp each, leather armour, spears & shortbows). Vladivar Carriolis has decided to attack during daytime as he remembers rumours that the mysterious Lord Zemiros Sulescu dislikes sunlight and is often asleep during the day. 

The Ocean Manticore has 3 longboats (usually stored on the top deck). However,  since the village has a pier going out into deep water, the pirates will dock at the pier and come ashore that way. 

There are 4 teams of pirates each led by a pirate slaver, who spread out into the village, causing havoc and capturing as many villagers as possible, as well as grabbing obvious valuable loot.  

Team #1 has 5 pirate raiders, 1 pirate slaver & 2 bugbears

Team #2 has 3 pirate raiders, 1 pirate slaver & 1 bugbear

Team #3 has 4 pirate raiders, 1 pirate slaver & 2 bugbears

 Team #4 has 3 pirate raiders, 1 pirate slaver & 2 bugbears

Pirate raider: AC 6, Mv 120', HD Ftr3 (hp 15 each), Att 1 cutlass (sword) for 1d8, Ml 8, Al Chaotic, XP 50, equipment: leather armour, cutlass (as sword), dagger, manacles, 2d10gp

Pirate slaver: AC 6, Mv 120' HD Ftr4 (hp 20 each), Att 1 cutlass (sword) for 1d8 or 1 bolas (special) or 1 net (special), Ml 9, Al Chaotic, XP 125, equipment: leather armour, cutlass (as sword), dagger,either bolas or net (see Companion Rules for both items), manacles, 3d10gp

Bugbear: AC 5, Mv 90', HD 3+1 (hp 14 each), Att 1 club for 2d4, Ml 9, Al Chaotic, XP 50, equipment: piecemeal armour, spiked club, 2d4gp

They are overseen on the pier by the Master Slaver Jeremmius (AC 4, Mv 90', HD Ftr5, Att 1 sword+1 for 1d8+2 or bullwhip (1d4 or entanglement), Ml 9, Al Chaotic, XP 225, equipment: Chain mail, Sword +1, bullwhip (see Companion Rules), manacles, 34gp) who is accompanied by 2 bugbears as assistants and bodyguards.

If the PCs get onto the Ocean Manticore as it sits at the village pier, this scenario turns from a wide-ranging battle into more of a dungeon crawl (albeit a wooden dungeon on water). The plan above shows the main interiors, except for the two open decks on top of the foc'sle (top front of the ship) and quarterdeck (top rear of the ship). Note that as this is a wooden ship, widespread use of fire as a weapon could set the ship aflame with disastrous consequences. Fireballs and flasks of flaming oil are a bad idea here. Similarly anything that could punch through the hull below the waterline is very dangerous for all onboard.

1. Open mid-deck - 3 pirate raiders + Captain Vladivar Carriolis: AC 4, Mv 90', HD Ftr 6, Att 1 sword+1 for 1d8+2 or crossbow for 1d6, Ml 10, Al Chaotic, XP 350, Equipment: Chain mail, Sword +1, crossbow, 20 bolts, potion of water breathing, 25gp on person key to treasure chest (see also area 7)
2. Bugbear quarters - 1 bugbear + 10 oversized hammocks
3. Bugbear chief (AC 5, Mv 90', HD 5+5, hp 35, Att 1 club for 2d4+1, Ml 10, Al Chaotic, XP 225) who has a chest containing 1200gp, 3500sp and 10 gems (3 x 100gp, 5 x 50gp, 2 x 10gp)
4. passageway
5. Bo'sun's quarters: Bo'sun Melloch (AC 5, Mv 90' HD Ftr5, hp 25, Att 1 sword +1 for 1d8+2, Ml 9, Al Chaotic, XP 225, equipment: chain mail, Sword +1, dagger, 25gp)
6. MidDeck passageway 
7. Captain's quarters - Vladivar Carriolis is found on the open deck (#1) but his belongings are here, including the main treasure chest. Vladivar has the key on him (see area 1). Inside is 2540gp, 11,600sp, 420pp and 6 gems (3 x100gp, 3x300gp). If the chest is forced or broken open, a mechanism releases poison gas (all in 10' radius save vs poison or die in 1d4 rounds), A thief trying to pick the lock has a normal chance of finding and disabling this trap.  
8. Master Slaver's quarters - Jeremmius has joined the raid on the village. His sea chest is here and underneath some rather smelly clothes is a silk sack with 430gp and a pair of silver and amber bracers worth 300gp. 
9. Pirate Slavers's quarters - 1 pirate slaver + 4 hammocks
10. Ship's cook: Swealter is a wereboar: AC 4, Mv 150', HD 4+1* (hp 20), Att 1 gore for 2d6, Ml 9, Al Neutral, XP 200. As a lycanthrope, Swealter is immune to normal weapons and gets +2 to hit due to his wereboar berserk rage, and can infect humans with wereboar lycanthropy. He has been a wereboar long enough that he has some control over it (though the captain locks him up in his quarters on a full moon). He will transform as soon as combat starts. This room also acts a a basic ship's galley with wood stove and kitchen utensils (pots, pans, spoons, knives etc).  Underneath the clothes in his chest is a leather purse with 34gp +12pp.
11. Pirate raiders' quarters, empty as they are all either in the raid on the village or on the top deck.
12. Ship's stores, including food, water and rum on the starboard side and on the port side things like rope, canvas for patching sails, spare timber, a spare anchor and pitch.  
13. Armoury: In here on various racks and shelves are 10 suits of human-sized leather armour, 2 suits of human-sized chain mail, 10 cutlasses (swords), 3 bugbear clubs (treat as maces in the hands of humans) 4 crossbows, 100 quarrels, 10 sets of manacles, 2 bolas, 2 bullwhips, 4 nets and 6 polearms.  
14. Additional crew quarters: 1 pirate slaver is in here
15. Ship's Chaplain Vortiganna (AC 4, Mv 90', HD Cl 4, Att 1 mace (1d6+1) or 1 spell (special), Ml 12, Al Chaotic, XP 125, Equipment: Chain mail, Mace, shield, Unholy Symbol of Chaos, Spells: Hold Person, Cure Light Wounds x 2). In her sea chest she has her own treasure stash of 300gp & 2400sp and a scroll of 3 clerical spells: Speak with Animals, Locate Object and Silence 15' radius. 
16. Guard quarters: Here are 3 bugbears on guard. 
17. First slave hold: 3 halflings (captured from the Shires) + 2 human fishermen (normal men from Karameikos) + Oberwald Merrion, (Ftr2/Mer4, Al Neutral) a Darokinian merchant with important connections in Athenos. The pirates were going to just enslave him but they are now thinking about holding him for ransom. 
18. Second slave hold:  Currently empty (but may be occupied if the Sulescu villagers are captured). 

Note that if the PCs successfully defeat the pirates on the ship, they will have inadvertently acquired a galleon (large sailing ship according to B/X rules). They could sell it to ship merchants for half price (10,000gp - quite a lot of money!) or use it themselves for expeditions to far-off lands like the Thanegoth Archipelago (X1: Isle of Dread) or Serpent Peninsula (X6: Quagmire).