Exploring Marwater Cavern

Time to return to a Jackson Map for a bit of a seagoing adventure. This map was languishing in my 'project' file for quite some time until I had the correct inspiration to pull it out and populate the space.

Today's adventure brought to you by Cochinita Fluffy Tacos and Pilsner

So yes, another great space, where I was just having a challenge getting that first idea down on paper. A pirates' den was a good starting point, and, like many maps, there were just enough features depicted to help direct creating themes and filling the spaces with encounters, interesting items, and history. 

After getting the rooms roughed out, my primary challenge was getting the boats/ships in and out of that narrow passageway. Which after some thought (and recollection of multiple literature courses), was aided by a magic item inspired by the Odyssey's bag of winds. And there are a couple of low-powered or curiosity magic items, as well...

Progress!

Of course, rooting out pirates may create a number of options for seeds:

1. The PCs have been tasked by a patron to bring the pirates to justice, or barring that, cause them enough harm to hinder their actions and allow for a more conventional force to apprehend them.
2. The PCs either know, or have been assigned to retrieve the sage Bruno Poropat, who has been waylaid by the pirates.
3. The PCs' ship was attacked by the pirates, and they seek to retrieve goods and valuables (or a captured comrade).
4. The Marwater Cavern pirates are a rival band of privateers.
5. Etc.

The treasure may seem a bit light for a "Type A" hoard for a pirate crew. But don't forget to add one or two small ships to the total haul... (if the PCs do crime in the correct ways).

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Click here for smooth sailing into Marwater Cavern