TL2 Nightmare Voyager

[toddlyons]

Download at: https://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html#tl2

Description:
"For as long as anyone can remember, the Nightmare Voyager has been hailed as the warship that braves the most tumultuous seas, ever ready to rescue those who have lost all hope. Lauded for its nearly-impenetrable hull and ability to move without wind, the vessel’s legend is spread in whispers across the ports of every kingdom—a bastion against evil for some, a menace upon the waters for others. Under the command of the enigmatic Captain Edric Headleye, the ship is rumoured to haunt the high seas with an unsettling aura that only the wicked need fear.

"But in the wake of a series of shocking abductions, when skilled labourers and brilliant minds vanish into servitude for a hidden island nation, the crew prepares once again for a daring rescue mission. With sails set and courage braced, they board the Nightmare Voyager, bound for heroism… but the sea is vast, the ship’s shadow is deep, and some legends are not what they seem.

"For brave adventurers, a voyage awaits—but perhaps not the one they’re expecting."

About:
This design is a departure from TL1 in that it's more of a situational toolkit than a straight narrative.

There is a 30 day sketch of events by time, punctuated by a lot of random events from Mother Nature and the NPCs, including the main antagonist. The relationships that the NPCs have with each other and with the players can also greatly steer the adventure. I have no idea how this will play out, but then that was the whole point.

If you playtest this adventure, please leave comments and suggestions in this thread.

[toddlyons]

Here's the ship I'm envisioning, but I can't use this picture and there's no maps for it yet.

venetian_carrack_cutaway.jpg (189.38 KiB) Viewed 1844 times

[1] Sheet boom of the bonaventure mizzen sail [2] Bonaventure mizzen mast [3] Mizzen mast [4] Main mast [5] Fore mast [6] Bowsprit [7] Poop deck with tent [8] Quarterdeck with cannons mounted on supports [9] Post with pulleys to lift the main yard (it is possible that two posts were placed transversally) [10] Hatch [11] Main deck [12] Lower deck [13] Mast's socket [14] Hold

In my ship, the Lower Deck [12] is separated fore and aft by a wall, and the Cargo Hold [14] is only accessible from a spiral staircase descending from the aft section of the Lower Deck.

[toddlyons]

Release 4 contains some more corrections and revisions, plus more art from M. W. Byouk. His timing is perfect!

[toddlyons]

Release 5 contains background information on the (optional) City of Ebor, a monochrome map of Ebor (it was sepia), a basic Ship-to-Ship combat system for pirate encounters (optional), plus minor corrections.

[toddlyons]

Release 6 contains one new NPC crewman, plot tweaks, rewording for clarity, and more exploration of the antagonist's psychology as explanation for strategies and unexpected behaviour. And another piece of art (last page).

[toddlyons]

Release 7 has a new section -- Mission-based Experience Adjustments. These are suggested XP bonuses and penalties to ensure that players are rewarded for strategic decisions, risk-taking, and prioritizing rescues while balancing the potential consequences of incomplete success. More details about captives and lifeboat capacity. There's also a new piece of art (p. 25).

[chiisu81]

[toddlyons]

I'm nearly done. I just want to add a few more pieces of art as placeholders to get the text-to-picture balance better, then... I'll stop. I promise.

[toddlyons]

So, with my 1,000th post I present: The Lucky 8 release of Nightmare Voyager. It has a bit of new art and received a very thorough read-though to catch previously uncaught typos and such. Zero changes to the plot and no new appendices. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and am ready to move onto other things now.

Have fun. (I hope.)

[toddlyons]

I've just noticed that the high-numbered page styles (sections) in the design template set the page number in a Soutane font. I needed sections at the end for New Monsters, Maps, and Supplements, and I think two of those were made by using ADV Part 09 and 10.

[Solomoriah]

Need to post this in the Adventure & Supplement Templates thread to remind Chi or I to fix it.

[toddlyons]

Done.