Nanfield

A pirate village with a mystery, usable as an interlude or location for any campaign

by Bryce, aka AuthorDM

 Introduction
Nanfield is an island village of over 50 NPCs with
mysteries plaguing both its present and its past. It contains
a unique ecosystem and economy, and a ship full of friendly
pirates that will invite you by for dinner. It can be inserted
into any campaign, though best suits a party of characters
between level 4 and 8.
The Hook
The party is attacked by a pirate ship, The Blighted Road,
while sailing to another location. After a short fight, the
outmatched pirates will call for a truce, apologize, and say
that they only attack targets from a nearby evil empire or
business, and simply mistook the party's ship. They'll invite
the party around to their place for dinner, offer some free
repairs of the party's ship, and a little mystery.
The Plot
Nanfield is an old town with a history of rebellion and
heresy that most of its residence only know the simplest
version of. Empires and conquerors have briefly held the
far-flung island and attempted to impose their religion over
Nanfield's ancient, shamanic religion. Nanfield is officially
part of a nearby empire or country of the DM's choice, but
has not seen a tax collector or other representative in
several generations so rules itself autonomously. The
sudden arrival of a strange creature has reawakened the
old shamanism in some of the population, and that
creature has set herself up as a goddess in the village.
Some herald this as a return to the old ways and
reconnecting with history; others in the village see only a
creature exploiting the superstitions of their people. The
captain of the Blighted Road invites the party to his village
not only to apologize for attacking them, but in the hope
that they can dispel this myth about the godhood of his
unwelcome visitor. It is up to the party to decide who to
believe and how to resolve this conflict.
For the DM
Nanfield is a fully built village of over 50 NPCs, a unique
economy and ecosystem, and a pirate ship manned by
these villagers. The adventure will challenge your party to
interact with various NPCs who all have their own stories
and agendas, drawing them into the close web of village
life. It will confront your players with the consequences of
their actions and provide a moral struggle to determine
whether and how the party should engage with the
problems facing this small village. It can become a base of
operations, a frequent stop-over for a party which travels
constantly to provide some continuity and recurring NPCs,
or serve as a standalone encounter.
Adapting Nanfield
As presented here, Nanfield is an island village
that can be placed along any sea route, preferably
a less travelled one. Alternatively, your party can
be blown off course to find the village. Nanfield
can be also placed inland with few complications,
the pirates turned into brigands who rob passing
caravans. The entire encounter with the pirates
could also be removed and the village placed in
normal society and presented as any regular
village with a unique problem and quest.
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Part One: Pirate Attack!
This section is highly dependent on DM discretion and
willingness to implement additional rules for naval combat.
This module will only suggest published options and offer
multiple methods to handle the pirate attack, and not
attempt to create a system of naval combat.
The Pirates
The crew of The Blighted Road consists of thirteen Halfling
pirates; the captain Norman Galloway and his dozen crew.
The crew can all use the Scout stat bloc from Monster
Manual page 349. The stat bloc for Captain Norman
Galloway is provided on the next page. For additional fun,
add the druid power of Wildshape to Norman's stat bloc.
You can adjust the pirates, but leave them likely to perish
from the party's attacks. Meeting the surviving families is a
moral quandary and a key aspect of this adventure. Full
descriptions of the crew are provided in Part Two.
Norman Galloway - captain of the ship, a pleasant Halfling
with a friendly disposition that cares very much for his crew
and has strict scruples against attacking defenceless or
innocent ships.
Hubert Riswell - first mate, husband to Georgina
Georgina Riswell - veteran sailor, wife to Hubert
William Wells - veteran sailor
Corrie Farrell - young sailor, wife to Cyrus
Cyrus Farrell - young sailor, husband to Corrie
Finlay Hughes - young sailor
June Powell - young sailor
Ronald Bowditch - veteran sailor
Dulcie Bowditch - young sailor, Ronald's daughter
Brooks Stanton - veteran sailor
Ira Gleeson - young sailor
Solomon Tucker - young sailor
If the party kills any of the pirates during the encounter, roll
a d12 to determine who dies, rerolling repeats. Each death
will affect the village, as described in Part Two.
The pirates will surrender as soon as they incur more
than four losses, or after several rounds as the crew
realizes that this ship is not a preferred target.
The Blighted Road
The Blighted Road is the ship which Norman Galloway and
his crew use to raid the seas in the area. The pirates are a
good bunch though, not quite Robin Hood, but they only
attack the ships of a nearby evil empire or business; use a
group which your group is familiar with and already
dislikes for maximum effect. The piracy not only is a form
of resistance against this evil entity, but also serves to keep
Nanfield fed and economically viable. The ship takes down
its skull and bones flag and becomes a trading vessel when
necessary, since it is the only major vessel in Nanfield.
However, the ship is larger than the one your party is on
and built for piracy first and foremost.
The Blighted Road can be outfitted in several different
ways, depending on the encounter option you as DM prefer.
Encounter Option A will use available mechanics to run a
ship battle. It suits a party full of ranged attacks, or a DM
willing to run with alternative rules and improvise
mechanics based on the actions of the PCs. Encounter
Option B consists of a boarding party and can be run as
nearly any normal encounter.

Norman Galloway
Small humanoid, chaotic neutral
Armor Class 17
Hit Points 35(4d8 + 8)
Speed 25ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
8 (-1) 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 10 (0) 17 (+3) 12 (+1)
Senses passive Perception 15
Languages Halfling, common
Challenge 4 (1000 XP)
Lucky. When you roll a 1 on an attack roll, ability
check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and
must use the new roll.
Spellcasting. Norman Galloway is a 4th level
spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is Wisdom (DC
13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). He has the
following druid spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): Thorn Whip, Resistance,
Guidance
1st Level (4 Slots): Cure Wounds, Jump, Fog
Cloud, Thunderwave
2nd Level (3 Slots): Gust of Wind, Heat Metal,
Moonbeam
Actions
Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
5ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d6 + 3)
Encounter Option A
This short module cannot in its space possibly present a
ship battle encounter with the requisite depth of mechanics
to cover all possibilities. Nor does it aim to; the bulk of
adventure occurs after the pirate encounter. A full set of
mechanics should be developed as part of a sea-based
campaign, not an interlude such as this one; the campaign
and the DM of a sea-based campaign is recommended to
consult other sources to develop these mechanics. This
Encounter Option offers the basics to present a unique
encounter without adding too many extra rules to keep
track of.
For the statistics of your two ships -- The Blighted Road
and the ship your party is sailing on -- refer to DMG page
119 for ship statistics. The important mechanics are the
Damage Threshold -- the amount of damage that must be
done in a single hit before the ship loses HP, and the other
mechanical necessities such as AC and HP. Regardless of
which models you use, The Blighted Road will be faster
than your party's ship to allow for this confrontation,
particularly if Captain Norman Galloway uses Gust of Wind
to speed his ship into firing range.
For battle mechanics, refer to DMG page 255-6 for siege
weapons. The Blighted Road should be equipped with one
or more of these weapons, such as a Ballista, Mangonel,
Trebuchet, or even Cannon if your world allows for it. The
13-man crew of The Blighted Road allows for these
weapons to be loaded, aimed, and fired each round.
This option suits a ranged party, whether martial or
magic. Melee based characters will likely have little to do in
this situation; consider then adding one small siege
weapon, such as a Ballista, to the party's ship, something
clearly less powerful than the weapons of The Blighted
Road but still useful and which allows all party members to
play a role.
Captain Norman Galloway will attempt to ambush your
party's ship by hiding his ship behind a small island, or
using Fog Cloud to obscure his ship and move it into
ambush position. Allow your players to make a Wisdom
(Perception) check DC 18 to see the ambush; they cannot
avoid the battle, but can avoid a surprise round.
Regardless of the surprise round, his crew is ready and
waiting by their siege weapons to begin firing and will open
fire on your party's ship. The battle should be a ranged one,
with the crew of The Blighted Road attempting to disable
your party's ship through major damage.
Your party, likewise, can fire back and attempt to damage
the opposition ship or crew. Allow for creative attacks and
be prepared to improvise for your party's responses.
The battle should last no more than a few rounds until
Captain Norman Galloway recognizes that the party's ship
is not actually a preferred target. He will also attempt to
surrender if he loses four or more crewmen.
Encounter Option B
The easiest option, from a rules sense, is to have the
pirates attempt to board your party's ship.
Captain Norman Galloway will attempt to ambush your
party's ship by hiding his ship behind a small island, or
using Fog Cloud to obscure his ship and move it into
ambush position. Allow your players to make a Wisdom
(Perception) check DC 18 to see the ambush; they cannot
avoid the battle, but can avoid being boarded immediately
and sneak in a few ranged rounds before The Blighted
Road can get in range to board.
The crew of The Blighted Road should have longbows
and be able to pepper the party from a distance as they
close in. In lieu of any siege engines or ship battle
mechanics, equip The Blighted Road with boarding
bridges; long planks attached on hinges to the ship with
hooks on the end that can serve as 3/4 cover for archers as
the ship approaches, and then come crashing down on the
target ship and provide bridges to board with. The battle
can then proceed as any normal battle, with the added
difficult terrain of swaying ships, bridges, and characters
able to be pushed into the water and neutralized.
The battle should last no more than a few rounds until
Captain Norman Galloway recognizes that the party's ship
is not actually a preferred target. He will also attempt to
surrender if he loses four or more crewmen.
Surrender
Regardless of the encounter you choose to run, your party
will likely outmatch the crew of The Blighted Road. Even if
they don't, Captain Norman Galloway will call off the fight
in a few rounds as he realizes that the ship he is attacking
is not one of his preferred targets.
Captain Norman Galloway will apologize profusely and
offer to have them over to Nanfield to feed them, let them
rest, and repair their ship free of charge to make up for his
mistake. He will explain that he only attacks certain ships
from that evil empire or entity, hopefully garnering
sympathy for his cause.
2
 Part Two: Nanfield
This section will provide a description of the town and all
of the NPCs within it. It serves more as a reference section
for the rest of the adventure. It is important to keep track of
which sailors on The Blighted Road perished in the fight,
because the losses will add the complexity of interactions
to the town and the party's investigations.
Geography
Nanfield is a small community built on a series of islands.
During low tide, some of these islands merge into each
other. Villagers generally reach each of the islands by small
rowboats. The main island in the middle is where most of
the village is located, with a few islands nearby containing
single houses reachable during low tide or by a very short
swim or rowboat ride. The village's shops and industry are
built on a second island to the south of the main village
island. Further flung islands contain the various small plots
of vegetable farms and other livestock and produce, as will
be described in the Environment and Economy section
below. Taken together, the island chain forms the rough
outline of a bird-like figure, much like a constellation. The
village island serves as the head, the south island as torso,
and the far flung islands as legs and wings.
At the far left of the wing is the exposed caldera of an old
volcano, long since inactive. The walls of the caldera are
still quite high, 100 feet or so, and are steep and
treacherous, pockmarked with a latticework of caves from
the igneous rock. There is one opening into the caldera,
one not immediately obvious from most perspectives, that
can be sailed into. The village hides The Blighted Road in
this caldera so as to stop any suspicion of their pirate ways.
Environment and Economy
Nanfield is uniquely isolated from much of the world, and
has a strange environment that only the most experienced
traveller would recognize.
The main vegetation on the island is actually a rare
species of massive mushrooms which grow like bamboo.
When picked while small, the mushrooms can be eaten and
the main staple food of the village. Once they grow large,
they become far too fibrous to eat and can be used like
wood to build ships or houses. The fibrous mushrooms can
be torn into long strands and woven into rope, which is one
of the only processed products made by the island. The
mushroom rope is one of the few valuable exports made
here, and also is used aboard The Blighted Road. The
mushroom 'wood' is not quite as solid as hard wood from
trees, and therefore not adequate for large ships, but is
suitable for small houses or repairs.
The other unique aspect is the sheep-bats that live in the
small caves of the caldera of the old volcano. These bats
are massive, for bats anyway, and are covered in a thick
wool. During the nights the bats fly long distances to feast
on fruits and bugs growing on distant, uninhabited islands,
then return to sleep overnight in their caves. The bats are
rather docile while asleep and can be shorn without waking
them. The wool is of the same quality and consistency as
sheep's wool. The villagers use this wool for clothing and
sails. The workshop which processes the wool is on the
torso island. Very little of it is exported, as it is too valuable
for use in clothing and sales, and the bats do not produce at
the same rate as sheep.
Other than the rope and wool, there is also an imported
foods store and a carpenter on the torso island.
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Your Campaign
By no means do you have to introduce this
ecosystem to your campaign. It particularly
would not fit your world should you place
Nanfield into an in-land setting. Truthfully, none
of it is terribly important, just a set of interesting
thoughts that add fantasy and otherworldliness
to your setting, it is your choice if you want that!
The industry should be barely self-sufficient,
leading to the choice for the village to engage in
piracy/banditry. The few processed goods should
focus on outfitting the pirates, which is why they
focus on ropes, sails, and carpentry. An
alternative could be a primitive mining operation
and blacksmith, or a fletcher, or even
leatherworking.
Locations
Ironwood Tree - the islands are mostly covered in huts,
large mushrooms, vegetable patches, or are unusable like
the caldera, leaving little vegetation. However, in the center
of the village island, with all the houses circled around it, is
the old Ironwood tree. It was planted at a site where
heretics were once burned, and the faces of those killed can
be seen in the bark of the tree. The villagers barely
remember who they were or what the nature of their
heresy was, but know that their ancient religion was
pronounced a heresy by the latest empire to attempt to
exert any control over the islands. The tree is stronger than
steel, making harvesting its useful parts a difficult endeavor,
and not one that the locals would appreciate.
Village Island - serving as the head in the constellation
of islands, this is where the all of the villagers make their
home. A few of the islands encompassing the right wing are
accessible during low tide, but are cut off by water during
high tide. Several other homes were built on these islands.
The island is ringed with tiny docks holding rowboats
which take the villages to their fields and workplaces on
other islands across the archipelago.
Docks for the Blighted Road - hidden inside the caldera
of an ancient volcano at the far end of the right wing of the
archipelago are the secret docks of the Blighted Road. The
entrance is invisible from the village and from most entry
points into the islands, making few realize what is hidden
inside. Your party's ship can dock here as well. The walls of
the caldera are full of tiny caves providing homes for the
sheep-bats, which anyone sailing into the caldera will
immediately notice.
Torso Island - the industry and shops of the island, as
well as the official, public docks for potential visitors, are on
this large southern island. The shops include: the imported
foods store, which doubles as the store selling the island's
exports to passer-by merchants; a carpenter's workshop
specializing in using the hardened mushroom wood, but
also engages in some distant forestry for harder woods; the
weaver's mill which processes the sheep-bat wool and turns
it into useful cloth; and finally, the rope factory which
produces exceptionally strong rope from mushroom fiber.
Nanfield NPCs
The NPCs will be grouped by family and dwelling, starting
from the most important figures, then working around the
village island to the outlying islands.
Key NPCs
Galloway Family: Captain Norman Galloway, his husband
Jackson Skinner, and their adopted Children Randy and Ewan
Turner live in a modest house on one of the islands just off
the village island which is reachable depending on the tide.
Norman is the de-facto headman of the island. He is an
older Halfling starting to go grey in the hair, scarred by
multiple battles. He favors law and kindness and only
engages in piracy to keep his island village safe and fed. He
knowingly engages only armed targets from the evil
empire/entity because of his preference to not harm
innocents. He is friendly, amicable, and a born leader.
Jackson Skinner is a quiet man who delights in family life
and cooks the best mushroom stew in town. He does not
like meeting outsiders, particularly ones who killed his
friends and endangered his husband, but he puts on a brave
face and trust's his husband's judgement. The boys Randy
(17) and Ewan (13) are nearly of age and looking to find
their niche in life. They are the sons of two sailors killed in
the same attack over ten years ago. Randy would rather learn
farming and settle down, since he remembers his parents
and wishes to avoid their fate, while Ewan looks to become
the sailor after his parents, both biological and adopted.
Jorarae: Jorarae is the name of the spirit of these islands, a
barely remembered name from an older time said to take
the form of a bird woman. When an injured and unconscious
harpy (MM 181) washed up on the shores, some mistook
the harpy for the avatar of Jorarae, recalling the half-
remembered stories of their youth. The harpy has seized on
this opportunity to be treated like a goddess, and lives in the
largest and nicest house in town, right on the village island,
which she took over from Layla Baxter who has since been
forced to live in her imported food shop on the torso island.
Your Campaign
This adventure module can also serve as a
resource for finding and placing NPCs into any
setting. If you have other plans and no place for
Nanfield in your setting, then simply use this
section of NPCs to add in developed NPCs to any
other village or town. It could even work like a
random table; when your party is passing through
a village you did not expect them to stop in and
they ask who the farmers are, just pull out a few
of these names and personalities.
Similarly, there is no reason that you cannot
expand the village into a town, using these NPCs
as the core of a larger town. The environment
does not have to be entirely unique to this set of
islands either; after introducing my party to
Nanfield, mushrooms of all sorts, large and small,
have become a major part of my setting's
ecology, and one player invented a whole
mushroom-based philosophy for his character to
believe in.
Village Island NPCs
The Wells: Emilia and William Wells, with their daughter Faye
(11) live on the village island in a small hut. Emilia works a
nearby vegetable patch while William crews the Blighted
Road. Emilia is a widow who re-married the younger William,
who has taken on Faye like his own daughter.
The Farrells: Cyrus and Corrie are sailors on the Blighted
Road. They are hoping to retire from the ship soon to start a
family. They are superstitious, but not believers in Jorarae.
The Archers: Denis and Luisa Archer form the core of this
older family with a herd of children; Carl (4), Edna (9), Ivah
(10), Lea (14) and Janette (15). The four girls all work with
Layla Baxter in spinning and weaving the wool into usable
cloth, and Lea in particular has shown some excellence in
design and fashion, which most in the village do not have.
Denis and Luisa are both boisterous people who laugh loud
and have sunny dispositions on life, even in the face of
death. They remember some of the old religion and stories
best, and firmly support Jorarae's divinity.
The Bowditchs: Ronald and Vallie Bowditch have three
children, Benton (12), Merle (15), and Dulcie (19). Ronald is
a veteran of many storms and battles, but prefers not to talk
much about it. He would spend all his time aboard ship if he
could. His daughter Dulcie has picked up the family trade;
the two are thick as thieves on-board. Vallie works with the
bats, and is somewhat estranged from her husband, living in
a separate room. They are split on the issue of Jorarae.
The Stantons: Brooks Stanton is strongly attached to the
village he has lived in his whole life, and a bit of an elder. His
wife Georgia works with the bats, as do her grown children
Arnold (14) and Polly (18). Brooks mostly supports Jorarae,
but is also keenly aware of her excesses.
The Gleasons: Ira Gleason is a sailor and son of Clinton and
Lottie Gleason, his aging parents who still live in the home.
They were both sailors until age forced them to retire. As
the oldest members of the village, they are important links
to the past, worshipers of Jorarae, and a true annoyance to
Ira who they ask each day if he has found a partner yet.
The Tuckers: Mark and Iris Tucker are an old couple who
have never entirely agreed with the piracy of Norman
Galloway and crew, despite recognizing its benefits.
Solomon Tucker is a rookie sailor on the ship, while his twin
Palmer works the family mushroom plot. The family does
not approve of Solomon's choice to sail, and they will cause
a proper riot if anything happens to him. Their daughter
Grace (12) is split between her brothers and has
alternatively tried to stow away or remain filial.
Anita and Fabio: Anita and Fabio, no family name, are elves
and recent arrivals who washed up from a shipwreck some
years ago. They were fisher people before and have been
welcomed into the community for their skills, which were
lacking previously. Since the islands are mostly Halfling, they
are still a curiosity among some of the children.
The Dwarves: Gatie and Meytel are also recent arrivals.
Their daughters Tair (1), Liad (7), Tamari (8), and Noga (12)
and son Ozer (5) have recently arrived. They are skilled
caprenters and shipbuilders, and have made improvements
to the ship of late, earning their welcome.
4
 Off-island NPCs
The Hales: Lews and Corda Hale and their daughter Jessica
(15) are farmers here and live in a small house on one of the
islands just off village island. They firmly support Jorarae and
now spend quite a bit of their time hunting and fishing,
something they are not good at, to provide meat for Jorarae.
The distant voyages in ill-equipped canoes put them into
frequent danger. They are the most vocal in support of
Jorarae, but this covers up the fact that they could be most
easily swayed from that support if confronted with probing
questions about their safety and ability to keep feeding her.
The Bradshaws: Miles and Daisy Bradshaw live on a small
island just off the Torso Island with their children Lydia (9),
Chloe (5) and Mia (1). Both parents, and now Lydia, work in
the rope factory. Miles sells very high quality rope made
from the fibres of the massive mushrooms. Daisy retired
from sailing to raise her family and join Miles in the shop
not so long ago. They will always stand with Norman.
The Hughes: Finlay Hughes Jr. lives with Finlay Sr., his
widowed, elderly father. Finlay Jr. is a good looking young
Halfling man and a very capable sailor, despite his relative
youth; he is a hot commodity among the of-age girls in the
village. Finlay Sr. is on the fence about Jorarae but will follow
the majority, and Jr. will go with him whichever way he falls.
June Powell: June is a middle-age, lifelong bachelorette
with no interest in changing that status. On board she is a
skilled commander, fighter, and sailor, drawing admiration
from even the most grizzled sailors; she would likely be next
in line for first mate. At home, though, she is quiet, keeps to
herself, and assumes that she is socially awkward. She is very
opposed to Jorarae, but does not think her words would
mean much. The village, in fact, really looks up to her.
The Risewells: Hubert and Georgiana Risewell are both
sailors on board the ship, and are the main faces of the
island whenever they borrow the ship to make runs to
another city to sell or buy goods. Their sons Jacob (6) and
Isaiah (7) often accompany their parents on these runs and
look to become sailors in the future.
Layla Baxter: Layla used to live on the Village Island, but
her house was taken over by Jorarae and now she sleeps on
a cot in her tailor's workshop. Her husband was a sailor who
died in combat days after their marriage, and she has never
sought to remarry, carrying his last name still. She follows
the majority on Jorarae.
Your Party
Mystery arcs can be difficult, and this
investigation of Jorarae to turn the town against
her could be difficult for a party which is not
especially self-guided and innovative. If you are
worried about your party's interactions with this
village, then one excuse to bring the entire
village together and gossiping would be to have a
feast and ceremony planned for the marriage of
Finlay Hughes Jr. and Polly Stanton. There should
be enough reason for the village to come
together, with the deaths of several of the
pirates, but this option allows for a setting which
is not entirely against the party.
5
Interconnected Nanfield
The real trick to making this adventure come to life and
force the party to feel the consequences of killing any of the
pirates from The Blighted Road is to focus on the web of
relationships which has just been fractured.
Everyone in the village, aside from the Elves, Anita and
Fabio, and the Dwarven family, have spent their entire lives
in this village and grew up with everyone else. Every sailor
that dies is somebody else's lifelong friend, husband, wife,
son, daughter, or possibly rival. Even the Elven and
Dwarven outsiders, however, have a vital social role to play
in this village. Everyone is connected somehow. A good way
to show this is to show your party how the rest of the
village has stories and feelings about the deceased pirates.
For example, if Finlay Hughes Jr. dies in battle, the young
ladies and their parents will be especially distressed. A
generic story will be for villagers similar in age to the
deceased to remember how they used to climb up the
Ironwood tree to watch for the ship coming home, and they
once broke their leg in a fall. Another might remember that
they would make up stories about the faces in the Ironwood
tree, who they were in life and what they used to do.
Perhaps one of the departed sailors felt very strongly about
the need to never attempt to harvest or use the tree;
another might have made it their pet project to use parts of
the tree responsibly to create usable tools, or similar. Use a
story of you and your friends growing up; the more
heartfelt, the better. Another possibly heart wrenching
consideration is the possibly orphaned children; Norman
will be willing to take them in, but they will naturally be
distraught.
Another consideration is that the village is barely self-
sufficient as is; no manpower can be wasted as it takes
everybody to farm, harvest wool from the sheep-bats, and
tend to the large mushrooms from which they make their
rope. The passing of any sailors means less hands available
to help around the island; it may mean that a few of the
younger children will want to express their independence
and join the crew, taking them away from their current
occupations. This will make certain people in the village
resent the party, no matter their actions afterwards, but it
will mean a reorganisation of the village that some will
benefit from, even while they are sad for the passing of
their friends.
After ending the Pirate attack in Part Two and before
starting in on Part Three, below, take a moment to consider
the web of relations that have been fractured and how they
might begin to repair themselves based on which pirates
perished during the battle. If you need a breather to
consider this, ask your party to take 15 minutes for a break.
It would be a good time to bring the food out, if relevant.
This web and how the party fits into it will be crucial in
determining the outcome of Part Three.

Part Three: The Mystery
of Jorarae
Captain Norman Galloway does not just invite your party
over as an apology; he also asks the group to see what they
can do about a little problem of his.
As they travel to Nanfield, Norman tells them his story.
The village is a quiet one that works hard and is careful to
protect the secret of their piracy. They generally all agree
on the necessity to supplement their incomes to keep
themselves all fed and comfortable, but also that they
should only target armed ships from the evil empire/entity
despite the danger that brings. The ship is old, but well
kept, and the village has historically shifted in and out of
piracy (not always with the current morals and preferred
targets) depending on the harvest. The village was once,
long ago, conquered by a now extinct empire that enforced
a new religion on the island. The new religion did not stick,
but enough elders and old knowledge that the old religion
has been largely forgotten. Only a few old stories remain.
One of those stories has become all too real recently.
Norman points out the islands as he sails in, and tells the
party that they should be able to vaguely see that the
islands look a little bird-like. The old religion worshipped a
goddess called Jorarae, the avatar of which was a bird-
person. Norman does not put much stock into it, but
recently a bird-person washed up on their shores, and
many in the town took this as a sign of the revival of their
ancient beliefs. This bird-person, which everyone calls
Jorarae, is a nuisance to Norman. She eats everything,
demands servitude from the villagers, puts many into
danger by forcing them to cater to her needs and appetites,
and generally irritating Norman by challenging his
leadership.
Norman doubts Jorarae's divinity. He is vaguely confident
that he and a few of his closest friends could defeat Jorarae,
but he cannot create that sort of division within his village.
Just killing her would cause more than half the village that
still does believe in Jorarae to revolt. Norman needs the
party to help convince his village that Jorarae is not only not
divine, but actively exploiting their beliefs for her own
benefit.
Neither Norman nor any of the villagers have heard of
nor recognize Jorarae as a Harpy. It is obvious that Jorarae
is not like them, but consider that to be a mark of divinity,
not a curse. Other methods will be needed to convince any
of them to abandon their faith in Jorarae and sway the
village.
Your Campaign
This section will outline a few possible ways that
your party could solve this problem and turn the
village against Jorarae, or not, and what outcomes
might result from these attempts. Without
knowing what your players will do, and which
pirates are still alive after the encounter, it is too
hard to predict all possibilities. The best advice is
to remember the interconnectedness of village
life and imagine how plucking one string of a
relationship can cause so many others to vibrate.
The Direct Option
Your party might see a Harpy and just attack. It is a
reasonable response for a party used to fighting as a
method to solve all their problems. If you suspect that your
group might do this, there are a few things you can do to
stall them and make them consider their options.
First off, make them face the rest of the village first,
before they ever meet Jorarae. Jorarae herself might be
elsewhere, hunting or just conveniently absent, if they insist
on kicking down her door. Have them confront the village at
a gathering of the entire population who have come out to
pay their respects to the dead and celebrate life with a
feast. They can see how their actions have affected this
village and see who and how many support Jorarae during
this scene, even if they do not want to engage in talk with
the villagers.
Second, if even after the prior scene they prefer the direct
attack on Jorarae, let it be known that these people are not
blind. The aggressive posturing of the party has not gone
unnoticed, and the village is on their guard. Those that
really believe in Jorarae see her as a goddess, and are likely
to fight to protect her. Go so far as to clearly suggest that
they could make this fight smaller by dealing with the
village first.
If they still insist on fighting, then run the fight! Jorarae
would be likely to use her Luring Song to call all possible
support to her, and many of the Halflings will come
willingly. They will not be difficult challenges, most of them
are not adventurers after all, but the sheer number will
make the fight a much more dangerous one. Most will have
short bows and use hit-and-run tactics to pepper and
distract the party while Jorarae uses her flying speed to stay
out of harm's way. Those that do not appreciate Jorarae,
like Captain Norman, will likely sit the fight out so long as
the party primarily targets Jorarae; if the party starts
targeting the other Halflings, more will join the fight to
protect their friends. This could turn the fight deadly, and
will provide the sort of tactical challenge that players
looking for fights will appreciate.
The Investigation
Another option your party might pursue is to research how
to turn the village against Jorarae. This is what Captain
Norman would suggest to them anyway; he knows that the
village is divided and that the whole village could turn
against her with a few key conversions.
Like the last option, Jorarae should not be immediately
apparent to them; she should be holed up inside her home
during any of the memorial feasts for the deceased pirates,
or conveniently missing to prevent any early fights. Instead,
let them interact with the village to investigate who they
can turn against Jorarae.
If they ask about what Jorarae really is, let them roll an
Intelligence (Arcana or History) check DC 18 to piece
together information that has been given to them to realize
that Jorarae is a Harpy.
What they really need to do is convince enough people to
stop supporting Jorarae that the majority of the village is
against her. Given the social pressure and
interconnectedness of village life, even die-hard supporters
will abandon her if it seems like most of the village has.
With a mix of insight, persuasion, history or arcana on
knowledge of Harpies, and possibly intimidation, they can
bring around enough people to create a majority, meaning
that they should turn 3-4 families.
6
 That can include turning people opposed but keeping quiet A Challenge
into vocal opposition, such as June Powell. It can include A mix of the two options would be to do a little
turning wavering support, such as the Stantons, against her investigation and preparation in the village to force Jorarae
with persuasion and reason. It can include turning the into a confrontation with you to maintain her wavering
Hales against her by arguing for their own safety. Keep in flock.
mind the motivations, beliefs, and especially relationships If you think that the group has persuaded too few people
to any deceased pirates in determining who the party can to turn the village against Jorarae, but not enough to make
target to convert, and how difficult that will be. a clear majority, and the game is bogging down, then have
Once they have turned enough families around, then it Jorarae make an appearance. She will fly around, use luring
should be clear from the sentiment in the village that the song, or other innate magics to convince the people of her
tides have turned. At this point, you can bring out Jorarae, divinity.
who will (ineffectively) try to convince them to keep The players will likely challenge her claims to divinity,
worshiping her and catering to her every need. So long as knowing her real nature. With some good persuasion,
you decided they have turned enough of the villagers either role played or as a check, she can be convinced to
around, they will sit out on any fight. duel the party, or possibly one individual, to prove herself.
The Conclusion
However, they defeated Jorarae, so long as the entire village is not killed in the process, Norman will be glad for their
assistance and offer to repair their ship overnight, offer a small sum of gold, outfit them with some preserved mushrooms to
feed them on their way and maybe some good rope, and thank them for their help. If dealt with extraordinarily well, Captain
Norman may even have a magic item for them, at the DM's discretion. Moderate any of these offers of help depending on how
they took down Jorarae; the more villagers caught in the crossfire, or the more that were not convinced of her true nature
before taking her down, the less help the village is willing to offer here in the conclusion, or into the future.
Moving in to the future, Nanfield can be a place that your party returns to on occasion to see how everyone is doing. If you
players ever want to make a base for themselves, the islands may serve as an interesting point to do so. If your party sails
frequently, they might bump into The Blighted Road again, or hear rumors of it in port. The more of a connection the party
had with this village, the more you can remind them of these rumors and make Captain Norman and crew a recurring NPC
group. That would make it all the more interesting when you hear of their deaths or defeat and capture by the evil
empire/entity should you want to make your party fight against it. Really, the options are endless, and entirely up to you the
DM.

Acknowledgements
Thanks first to NaturalCrit and the Homebrewery for making this pretty.
Thanks to /r/DnDBehindTheScreen community of subs and users for their constant encouragement, material, and advice,
in both this and all my other D&D endeavors, published and otherwise.
Thanks as well to my players who play tested this and put up with me every week.
All donations go to charitable causes and organizations that I think do good in the world.