gistfile1.txt

Chapter 6: Grave Alliance
After acquiring a Wildspace orrery at Topolah’s tower, the characters fought a void scavver named Big Momma. After that battle, Topolah mentioned a possible ally in the fight against the Xaryxian Empire: a pirate named Grimzod Gargenhale. Amid a cosmic storm, the characters laid eyes on Gargenhale’s flagship and its vampirate crew!

In this chapter, the characters come to terms with Captain Grimzod Gargenhale, who confesses that Xaryxian vessels have all but destroyed his fleet. His badly damaged flagship, the Last Breath, is all that remains after multiple engagements with the astral elves. The vampirate captain nevertheless still vows to destroy the Xaryxian Empire, but unbeknownst to him, his crew is on the verge of mutiny after their latest defeat.

Ship of the Dead
The Last Breath is a space galleon that has been reduced to 90 hit points. Unless the characters take defensive measures, the galleon comes close enough for its captain, Grimzod Gargenhale, to be heard. Gargenhale is a chaotic neutral vampirate captain (see Boo’s Astral Menagerie). He strikes a dramatic pose as he addresses Krux and the characters, toward whom he is friendly:

DISPLAY IN VTT
The undead captain places his boot on the rail along the deck of his creaky galleon and leans over the bow. His disembodied hand perches on his shoulder, and lightning from the cosmic storm flashes behind him.

Gargenhale’s tone of voice is inviting, but his dead-black eyes glint with malice. “It’s dangerous out here. That menace from Xaryxis, Commander Vael, keeps sending ships to our system, but we do our part to thin the astral elves’ ranks. You’re obviously not with them. Care to identify yourselves?”

Gargenhale lost his left hand in a sword fight years ago. The hand, which Gargenhale calls “Lefty,” was later animated as a crawling claw. The disembodied hand can play instruments and communicate using simple gestures.

If Topolah is in sight, Captain Gargenhale’s posture briefly slumps like that of a wounded animal. He then puffs out his chest, raises an eyebrow in her direction, and adds the following:

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“Do my lifeless eyes deceive me? Topolah, my darling, what a surprise! If you’ve come to drive a stake through my heart, you’ll have to return it first.”

After making introductions, the vampirate captain confesses that his flagship and its crew are all that remains of his fleet. The rest fell prey to ships under the command of Vael, whom Gargenhale calls the scourge of pirates, raiders, and anyone else who refuses to bow to the might of Xaryxis. Despite these cautionary words, Gargenhale tells any belligerent or opportunistic characters that his crew has already died once—and they won’t hesitate to do so again in defense of their ship.

In conversation, Gargenhale is placid and convincing, but his words carry the bite of a vampire scorned. He warms quickly to characters who echo his distaste for the Xaryxian Empire.


GRIMZOD GARGENHALE
Parleying with Gargenhale
Gargenhale wants to see the Xaryxian Empire crumble, but he’s wary of embarking on a voyage to Doomspace alongside a bunch of nobodies. He requests permission to discuss terms in private, either aboard the characters’ ship or, if the Second Wind was lost, on Topolah’s rickety dock.

Once Gargenhale is off his ship, one or more characters can try to coax the vampirate captain into joining their cause. If one character does all the talking, have that character make a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check; otherwise, have all participating characters make a DC 13 Charisma (Persuasion) group check. If Topolah is present, characters have advantage on this check.

On a successful check, Gargenhale pledges to help the characters save their world from destruction, asking for nothing in return. On a failed check, Gargenhale won’t agree to an alliance unless Krux and the characters join his fleet, adhere to the Pirate Code (see the “Pirate Code” sidebar), and call him Admiral Gargenhale.

As the captain of the Second Wind, Krux refuses to bend his knee to a vampirate, but a character can convince the giff to swallow his pride and yield to Gargenhale’s authority by succeeding on a DC 16 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check. If no one succeeds on this check, Krux ends the impasse by offering to step down as captain of the Second Wind for the remainder of the mission, yielding command to any character who can tolerate undead allies better than he can.

When the two parties come to an agreement, Gargenhale bows deeply and invites the characters aboard his ship to celebrate their alliance with a bottle of Champagne du le Stomp. But before the characters can take him up on his offer, Gargenhale is betrayed (see “Mutiny” below).

PIRATE CODE

Grimzod Gargenhale expects those under his command to abide by the following rules:

Article 1: Don’t Eat Each Other. No crew member shall partake of another crew member’s flesh or drink their blood.

Article 2: No Hymns. Many crew members’ ears are sensitive to holy praise. While aboard the ship, bards and other musicians are allowed to play only secular tunes.

Article 3: Coward’s Consequence. Those who abandon their post or shirk their duty shall be marooned.

Article 4: No Shipboard Conflicts. All disputes shall be settled on land.

At your discretion, Captain Gargenhale’s code can include additional rules, perhaps of your own design or as suggested by the characters.

Crew of the Last Breath
The crew of the Last Breath includes eight vampirates, a vampirate mage named Rutledge Wynn (who is seated in the ship’s spelljamming helm), a dead-eyed ogre zombie, and a tiefling ghost named Agony; see Boo’s Astral Menagerie for vampirate stat blocks.

The following rules apply to Agony the ghost:

As long as the Last Breath has at least 1 hit point, the ghost can’t be permanently slain. If the ghost is reduced to 0 hit points and the ship has at least 1 hit point, the ghost re-forms 24 hours later in the ship’s cargo hold with all its hit points.
If it moves more than 100 feet from the Last Breath, the ghost disappears and instantly reappears in the ship’s cargo hold.
While away from the Last Breath, the ghost can use a bonus action to magically teleport back to the ship, either to the lower cargo hold (area 13 on the space galleon deck plans) or a location it can see.
Mutiny

THE LAST BREATH
After negotiations with Gargenhale conclude, but before he can return to his ship, read:

DISPLAY IN VTT
The Last Breath turns tail and flees, leaving its captain behind. Gargenhale’s dark eyes widen, then narrow. “What’s this foul treachery?” he hisses.

Unbeknownst to anyone aboard the Second Wind, Agony the ghost has taken possession of Flinch. Before the players roll initiative for their characters, read or paraphrase the following boxed text to them:

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As Gargenhale bellows a curse at the dwindling stern of his ship, Flinch approaches the vampirate captain with glazed eyes and a dreamy smile. In a voice dripping with sarcasm, Flinch says, “Captain Gargenhale! Your command of the Last Breath is at an end. We’ve had enough ‘victory’ at your hands to last ten lifetimes.” The hadozee then shudders as a horned ghost vacates his body, cackles, and disappears. Flinch blinks his eyes back into focus, then says in his normal voice, “Do I smell smoke?”

Flinch remembers nothing of what has transpired. Agony the ghost took possession of him long enough to deliver its rebuke, then vanished and took refuge in the Last Breath’s cargo hold.

Gargenhale encourages the characters to give chase, saying, “Aboard my ship is a weapon you can use against the Xaryxian Empire! Help me retake the Last Breath, and the weapon is yours!” He refuses to elaborate until his mutinous crew is disposed of.

Giving Chase
If the Second Wind was destroyed earlier in the adventure, continue with “Shipless Pursuit” below. Otherwise, skip ahead to “Aboard the Second Wind.”

Shipless Pursuit
Without the Second Wind, characters must use their own magic to pursue the Last Breath before it disappears inside the cosmic storm.

If the characters have no such magic but Topolah is present, she casts a fly spell on Gargenhale. Once a rope is tied around him, he can pull the characters behind him as he, with a flying speed of 60 feet, catches up to the Last Breath, which has a flying speed of 35 feet. Characters pulled behind Gargenhale must hold their breath for the short time they spend in the airless void of Wildspace.

Aboard the Second Wind
Characters aboard the Second Wind can use this ship to pursue the Last Breath, which disappears in the cosmic storm. As soon as he can, Gargenhale gives the Second Wind an edge in the hunt:

DISPLAY IN VTT
The vampirate captain drops to his knees and traces a pattern on the deck with his right hand. A shimmering wave of magical energy washes over the ship. Gargenhale then cackles in triumph, “We are invisible! They won’t see us coming until it’s too bloody late!”

Gargenhale has used his Ship Invisibility action to conceal the Second Wind, although the effect is not readily apparent to anyone aboard the vessel.

To pursue the fleeing mutineers, the Second Wind must search the storm clouds in which the Last Breath is attempting to hide. The spelljammer of the Second Wind must make a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check, with advantage if one or more characters are serving as lookouts. The check can be repeated every 10 minutes until it succeeds. On a successful check, the Second Wind finds the Last Breath when the two vessels are 2d6 × 10 feet apart. Since no one aboard the Last Breath can see the invisible Second Wind or its crew, the characters can close the remaining distance and climb aboard the space galleon, becoming visible only after they leave the Second Wind.

Gargenhale insists on joining the boarding party to retake his ship. If the characters allow him to do so, the invisibility effect on the Second Wind ends as soon as Gargenhale leaves that ship.

Firing on the Last Breath
If the characters seem determined to fire on the Last Breath from a distance, Gargenhale discourages this course of action:

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“My ship is badly damaged and brimming with alchemist’s fire. One well-aimed shot could cause her to explode. Better to slip aboard and dispatch the mutineers in close combat.”

Gargenhale is not lying about the danger posed by the alchemist’s fire, which is described in the next section.

Boarding the Last Breath
The following locations are depicted on the space galleon deck plans in the Astral Adventurer’s Guide. Locations that are not described below are assumed to contain nothing of interest.


SPACE GALLEON DECK PLANS
VIEW UNLABELED VERSION
Forecastle
Six vampirates (see Boo’s Astral Menagerie) are here, waiting to repel boarders. They fight until destroyed, knowing Gargenhale will show them no mercy if they’re captured.

Sterncastle
The ogre zombie and two vampirates (see Boo’s Astral Menagerie) are here, waiting to repel boarders. Like the vampirates on the forecastle, these creatures fight until destroyed.

5: Spelljamming Helm
Rutledge Wynn, the vampirate mage, is here. If Rutledge is reduced to 20 hit points or fewer, he casts dimension door and transports himself 500 feet into Wildspace, then casts fly on himself and flees.

Spelljamming Helm. The ship’s spelljamming helm looks like a black, tall-backed, legless wooden chair with shackles bolted to its armrests. Red crystals sprouting from the chair’s underside project a red pentagon on the floor that stabilizes the helm while allowing it to swivel.

13: Lower Cargo Hold
This area contains twenty earth-filled coffins, ten wooden kegs painted red that contain gunpowder (see “Explosives” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide), and ten wooden kegs of alchemist’s fire (each marked with a stenciled green flame).

A keg of alchemist’s fire lobbed at a creature or an object deals 21 (6d6) fire damage on a hit. Further, the target is set ablaze and takes the damage again every round (in the case of a creature, at the start of each of its turns) until the fire is put out. A creature within reach of the blaze can take an action to smother the flames using a blanket or carpet, reducing the fire damage by 2d6. Three such actions are needed to fully put out the fire.

Agony, the tiefling ghost, hides here. If it hears the characters approach or open the door to the brig (area 14), the ghost tries to possess one of them. It uses its host to smash one of the kegs of alchemist’s fire, starting a blaze in the cargo hold. If this fire is allowed to burn for 1 minute, it ignites the other kegs and blows the Last Breath to flinders. Anyone and anything within 100 feet of the exploding ship takes 110 (20d10) fire damage.

14: Brig
The door to this compartment is barred from the outside and has a tiny shuttered window built into it. Characters who peer through the window or open the door see the following:

DISPLAY IN VTT
An elf lies unconscious on a cot. She is clad in an ornate black dress accented with silver and gold. A high collar rises behind her head.

If he’s present, Gargenhale says, “Here’s the weapon I promised you. I liberated her from a star moth we destroyed a few days ago.”

The unconscious prisoner is an astral elf aristocrat (see Boo’s Astral Menagerie) named Xedalli. She has 0 hit points and is stable. If the unconscious elf receives any amount of magical healing, she regains consciousness but remains groggy and unable to think clearly or take actions until she is aboard the characters’ ship or otherwise safe.

Look, a Princess!
If the prisoner hasn’t already been roused to consciousness using magic, she awakens with 1 hit point after 1 hour. Once she is awake and somewhere safe, read:

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The elf’s gold pupils twinkle as she speaks in a superior tone. “I am Princess Xedalli, daughter of Emperor Xavan and heir to the throne of Xaryxis.”

Here ends part 2 of the adventure. Each character should gain a level before the next session.