Appendix A: Of Ships and the Sea - Ghosts of Saltmarsh

Appendix A: Of Ships and the Sea. The ocean is a vast and dangerous place, ripe with adventure both above and below the waves. This appendix expands the material available in the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, providing further resources for waterborne adventures. Ship Stat Blocks Officers and Crew Superior Ship Upgrades Ships in Combat Travel at Sea Ocean Environs Encounters at Sea Random Ships Mysterious Islands Underwater Locations The underwater locations in this section can be used for single-session adventures or as side treks to help you fill out the story of Saltmarsh. Each location includes a map, a description, story hooks, and encounters. You can place these locations anywhere near Saltmarsh or off distant shores of your choosing. Cove Reef Near the shore of a cove, a coral reef built around an alien idol teems with life. Long ago the reef was the home of merfolk enslaved by an aboleth named Ogrorlo. Lenth, a merfolk cleric of the ocean deity Eadro, killed Ogrorlo and freed the merfolk, but the influence of the aberration still lingers around the reef and in a nearby gorge that descends into darkness. Cove Reef Features The cove reef has the following features: Depth. The reef and the area around it are 50 feet below the surface of the water. The depths of the rock formations around the reef are noted on map A.5. Light. Unless otherwise noted in an area's description, the cove is brightly lit by the sun during the day and dimly lit by the moon at night. Cove Reef Areas The following areas are keyed to map A.5. C1. Blood Hawk Roost Twelve Blood Hawk hunt fish in the cove and roost in six nests atop a rock formation that peeks above the surface of the water. The blood hawks attack any creature that approaches within 10 feet of the nests, fighting to the death to defend their eggs. Slippery Rock Algae, ocean spray, and blood hawk waste make the rock formation slippery. Moving on the rock requires a successful 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check...