Massacre on the Moonleaf Express
Adventure Overview
The Shattered Moon has recently opened up to non Vindicator traffic. You have secured passage on the "Moonleaf Express", a commercial Telperion Skyship, to be one of the few to fly to the oldest moon for a visit.
You are a few hours into the three-day passage from Menelost Telperion to Lokorn on the Barrow Shard. A scream rings out from the front of the ship.
You and the other passengers arrive at the command deck to find the captain and soulforged co-pilot dead. The mechanical man's chassis is torn open and the hex crystal that held their soul removed. The signature mark of the killer known as "The Can Opener."
Embarking on the Moonleaf
You and the other members of your party are traveling to the Shattered Moon. Perhaps you have been contracted to fight with abominations with the Vindicators. Maybe you have won a contest to ride the Cloud Warren with Ambrosia the Shard Drifter. Or you could just be going to vist the wonders of the Shards of Thaya.
You have met most of the crew and have explored the areas of the ship that you have access to. Just as you've settled in and met the other passengers, there is turmoil on the Helm Deck.
Dramatis Personae
Crew
An experienced skypilot and veteran of the Abomination wars. After their honorable discharge, they are greatly enjoying their time as a merchant pilot.
The navigator and co-pilot has been Captain Goldie's right hand for decades. This old soulforged is quietly competent and the glue that keeps the crew together.
Bingo has just been assigned to the Moonleaf as helm to learn the art of skypiloting. Extremely excited for his first "official" trip, he barely knows the basics of sky piloting.
Crewmembers
The entire crew and all officers, except Bingo, have a variety of tattoos on them: turtles, moons, suns, and other symbols meaningful to them. The 10 remaining crew members are typical non-mage deckhands and porters.
Crew Names If Needed
Aidaweiss, Buck, and Crew
Lulara, Zayne, Rubarae, and Jandar
Barton, Salvotore, and Helga the Cook
Passengers
The Nobles
These nobles have paid a lot of money for exclusive hunting licenses on the moon. They expect first class treatment from everyone around them.
A haughty hunter and gourmand, Sir Odert hungers for experiences. He sees everyone on board as lessers. A coward at heart, he hides from any danger and betrays anyone to survive.
Sir Odert's current mistress is a charming socialite who sees him as her ticket to rising in society. She has an empty head and an annoying giggle.
The Guards
These two soulforged were hired by the two nobles to keep the front cargo hold secure. They only allow their employers and crewmembers through the door they guard.
Muncher loves to grind things in his mechancial jaws. This bad tempered construct answers in grunts and with as few words as possible.
Brander is more polite than his partner, but just as devoted to doing his job. He's a loyal and honorable soldier.
The Tinkers
These gnomes have secured passage by agreeing to work in the engine room. They have replaced the normal mechanics who never showed up for duty.
A shy unassuming gnome getting passage to the moon to work with a group of gnomes from another world.
This one-shot adventure was designed to be played with the 5E D&D ruleset. It's meant for a group of 4-6 3rd level characters, but can be easily adapted for higher level characters or other RPG systems. It takes place on a Telperion Skyship taking the three-day journey from Menelost Telperion in the Zone to Lokorn on the Shattered Moon.
Plot Synopsis for the GM
- The party embarks on the skyship Moonleaf Express from the Zone to the Shattered Moon.
- They meet the crew and other passengers when an alarm rings out. The Captain and Navigator have been murdered.
- The killer is The Can Opener, an infamous killer of mechanical men.
- They investigate the ship and the rest of the crew.
- More passengers and crewmembers are killed as they investigate.
- At some point they discover that barrels in the forward hold contains enormous crab eggs, the Spawn of Tambanokano threaten to devour the moon.
- The party is attacked by the warlock coven that controls the Can Opener.
- The dead begin to rise as zombies. The party realizes that all of the eggs must be destroyed or they will infect the moon.
- The party and coven vie for control of the ship. The elven navy will destroy them unless the warlocks and spawn are destroyed.
Pregen Characters
Players may use their own character or pick a pregenerated character. Their character sheets are at the bottom of their articles.
The Moonleaf Express
The Moonleaf Express is a mid-sized Ionite Frigate that has been retrofitted for civilian use. It maintains its own air envelope and normal gravity according to 5E spelljamming rules.
The reinforced doors have an AC of 16 and 27hp each. The wood and steel walls have an AC of 19 and 54 hp per 5ft. section.
Helm Deck
Located on top of the stern half deck and open to the air. The spelldriving helm that powers the ship is here. It is manned at all times with two guards and a spell pilot.
Top Deck
The top deck has a pair of ballista mounted at the front of the ship and at the back. The front half is exposed to the elements. On this trip, it's used for storing crates of vegetables.
The stern half deck is divided into three rooms mostly used for meals and recreation.
Greatroom
The back of the stern half deck is a great cabin with the best views. The captain sold their berth to the noble passengers for a large sum.
Mess Hall
The crew and passengers take their meals in the mess hall. It has doors leading directly out to the top deck and to the Greatroom.
Storage Chamber
This portion of the stern deck serves as a gathering area and storage. It has a door out to the open top deck and a hatch down to the Cargo Deck.
Cargo Deck
The lower deck is 15 ft. tall with walls of reinforced wood. It's lit by magical lamps controlled by the crewmembers.
Forward Cargo Hold
The forward hold is under constant guard by the vigilant soulforged guards Muncher and Brander. It is full of crates and five barrels of unknown liquid. These all belong to the nobles Sir Odert and Lady Evelina.
Storage Hall
The hatch from the Top Deck leads into this storage area. The doors to all the other rooms in the deck are contained here.
Greatroom
This room serves as the quarters for the crew and as additional storage. It's a large area as big as the forward cargo hold.
Private Chamber
Passengers who have paid extra are given this small 15'x20' room. The party is quartered here.
Engine Room
The Maharlitech engines are in this room. The two gnome passengers maintain the engines in exchange for their passage. They are quartered here.
What's Really Happening
The Can Opener
Homebrew
The Can Opener CR: 4
STR
18 +4
DEX
10 +0
CON
18 +4
INT
10 +0
WIS
14 +2
CHA
12 +1
Athletics +7, Perception +5, Survival +5
Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 15
Actions
Multiattack. The Can Opener makes two opening claw attacks.
Opening Claw. Melee Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (1d12+4) slashing damage plus 3 (1d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it suffers a lingering wound that causes 5 (2d4) necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns. Each time the Can Opener hits the wounded target with this attack, the damage dealt by the wound increases by 2 (1d4). The wound ends if the target regains hit points or if a creature uses an action to stanch the wound, which requires a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Medicine) check.
Legendary Actions
The Can Opener can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a ime and only at the end of another creature's turn. The slasher regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Claw Slice. Melee Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (1d12+4) slashing damage.
Vanishing Slice (Costs 3 Actions). The Can Opener makes one Opening Claw attack. After the attack hits or misses, the slasher can teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.
The Can Opener is a notorious killer that specializes in hunting sentient mechanical beings. It is actually a summoned fiend that embodies the anger and spite of the moon-eating kaiju crab known as the Tambanokano
Members of the cult can summon it through a tattoo of a fiendish crab somewhere on their body. It can be summoned for 1 minute every 1d10 hours.
When the Can Opener is killed, it leaves no corpse behind, instead fading away as if it never existed.
Siege Monster. The Can Opener has advantage on attacks against and does double damage to objects and structures.
The Can Opener is actually a fiend that is summoned by one of three members of the Cult of Tambanokano. These worshippers of the moon-eating kaiju crab have pooled their resources to bring the Spawn of Tambanokano to the moon. They hope to infect the shards with his spawn and summon their master to eat the moon and rise to his glory.
Each of the cultists can be identified by a crab tattoo somewhere upon their person. They use the tattoo to summon the Can Opener for one minute. Afterwards, the magic fades and they have to wait 1d10 hours to summon him again.
They have murdered the Captain and Navigator as their opening salvo. Evelina summoned it from the room beneath the Helm Deck, placing it on the railing above the Greatroom in her line of sight. As it began it's attack she began "distracting" Sir Odert.
They hope to eventually kill everyone else on board and pilot the Moonleaf to another unsettled shard. There they hope to raise enough Spawn to summon their master. Between summonings, they create as much chaos and misdirection as possible to confuse any investigation.
Each member has been cultivating their traveling companion for a grisly end. Once they arrive on the moon, they will offer their companion as a sacrifice to Tambanokano that will accellerate the growth of the Spawn.
The Coven of Tambanokano
Muncher #31,316, duergar screamer stats
The leader of the coven Muncher is a soulforged who remembers his previous lives. Originally a human cannibal and serial killer, he killed in the name of the Celestial Gluttons, the Moon Eaters. He sought out undeath and purposefully became a ghast lord. He was incinerated in the Disintegration of Kirinal.
He lives again as a soulforged who has regained his memories as a killer and an undead. He has taken up his old ways, this time specialized in hunting mechanical folk and consuming what makes them unique.
Lady Evelina, yuan-ti mind whisperer
This cold-blooded killer masquerades as a dilletante and socialite. She specializes in luring rich old men into relationships, killing them, and escaping with their fortunes. She then creates a new identity and does it again.
For amusement between husbands, she loves hunting sentient mechani-kin. She talked Sir Odert into going to the moon to hunt lycans infected with Hidden Moon Frenzy.
She uses her telepathy to keep the Coven in constant contact. They use their collective knowledge to stymie the investigation and coordinate attacks around the ship.
Hortix the Tinker, deathlock stats, not undead
The gnome Hortix has an all-consuming curiosity about the inner workings of soulforged and other mechani-kin. He believes that their sentience is artificial and he believes he can prove it with his experiments.
The alien autognome, Otto, has recruited him to come to his colony of outworld automatons. He doesn't realize that Hortix really wants to take them apart one by one to prove that they're not really alive and are fooling everyone, including themselves.
The Ticking Clock
Roll a 1d10 (in front of the players or behind the screen, your preference) to determine how many hours pass between the Can Opener's first attack and the next. As the players investigate, keep track of the time. Make sure you note to the characters that you're keeping track of the time.
- Investigating a room takes 10 minutes.
- Investigating the crew takes 20 minutes total.
- Talking to the passengers and investigating them takes 10 minutes each.
When the time that you rolled has passed, any surviving Cult Members summon the Can Opener. They prefer to attack the crew in an area where the party is not. The cult can summon the fiend with an action to an area that they can see. The tattoos on all of the Cult members visibly fade. The tattoo gets sharper as the time to the next summons ticks off.
Feel free to change the timeline of the next attack as you wish! Every table is different and your pace may vary!
Paralytic Poison
The cultists have the poison known as "Essence of Esther" (5E DMG, pg 257) on their person at all times. Hortix and Muncher have 2 doses each. Evelina has 1, having used the other to paralyze the murder victims before the Can Openers attack. It has been specially altered to ignore the poison resistance of constructs. They intend to use this on their companions in the final hours before they land on the moon. They try not to use them for as long as possible.
Moonleaf Murders
The Crime Scene
The bodies of the Captain and the Navigator remain on the Helm Deck along with the remains of the two guards, a soulforged and a rabbitfolk, who watched over them. They've all been cut apart with what appear to be enormous scissors.
The soulforged guard's chassis has also been cracked open and their motivating hex crystal has also been removed. The rabbitfolk guard and the captain were just killed. Their bodies weren't mutilated.
You and the rest of your party have gathered on the top deck of the Moonleaf Express and asked to account for your whereabouts. The Captain and the Navigator were the highest authorities on the ship. As semi-experienced adventurers, the party may take over the investigation. Everyone else accounts for their whereabouts as follows.
Crime Scene Clues
DC 10 Investigation or Survial Check: The killer was large, bigger than a human, the cuts were made by enormous pincers.
DC 12 Investigation or Survial Check: The killer took extra time to open up the two soulforged before leaving. Only the soulforged guard appears to have fought back. The other three were killed with no struggle.
DC 15 Investigation or Survial Check: The killer's footsteps seem to just stop at the stairs down to the deck. Despite stepping in blood, they do not continue onto the steps. The air smells slightly of the ocean and brimstone.
DC 18 Investigation or Survial Check: You discover a residue of the poison known as "Essence of Ether" around the captain, navigator, and rabbit guard. They were all within 5 feet of each other.
The Crew
Two of the crewmembers were on the Helm Deck and slaughtered with the Captain and Navigator.
Four were on the Top Deck, two on the front of the ship, one in the Storage Chamber, and the rabbitfolk cook in the Mess Hall, preparing a meal.
Four were in the Cargo Deck, three in the Greatroom waiting for their shift and one in the Storage Hall arranging cargo.
The two crewmembers at the front of the ship heard shouts, and the sounds of combat from the Helm Deck. When they arrived they found the four dead bodies and only the killer's unnatural footprints in the spilled blood.
Crew Clues
When interviewed, the soulforged and mechani-kin crewmembers are extremely rattled. They tell the story of the Can Opener, a serial killer that hunts mechanical men of all kinds and eats their souls. It normally operates in the Cannery section of Aurumopolis. The sentient constructs on the crew all have the frightened status effect on them for this entire adventure.
DC 14 Religion or History: The Can Opener is associated with the Cult of Tambanokano. These cultists worship a moon-eating kaiju crab that is one of the five legendary celestial eaters of mythology.
The Passengers
The Nobles
The two nobles were in their room, and come out adjusting their clothing. They refuse to answer any questions from their lessers. A player with a noble background, a cleric, or paladin, can get information from Sir Odert.
He tells them that he and his assistant were "Going over their accounts". He is insulted that anyone could insinuate that he was responsible for anything such as murder.
Noble Clues
DC 14 Insight: Lady Evelina doesn't seem to be surprised or concerned by anything taking place here. Maybe she's just empty headed?
DC 16 Investigation: There's a torn open packet with a chemical smell on the desk.
DC 18 Investigation: Lady Evelina has a tattoo of a faded crab at the nape of her neck, hidden by her long hair.
The Guards
Even though they were summoned, the guards remain at their stations. They have not and do not plan to move until they arrive on the moon. They refuse to allow anyone in the Forward Cargo Hold unless they are a crewmember or they are bringing bodies in or out.
Of the two, Brander is more sociable. He doesn't know much about his employers. He took the job at the urging of his partner Muncher. Muncher seems interested in any interesting magic items that they players have. He would like to nibble on them.
Guard Clues
The two guards have been partners for less than a year.
DC 14 Insight or Perception: Unlike the other mechani-kin on board, Muncher is completely unafraid.
DC 18 Investigation or Perception: Muncher has a tattoo of a faded crab on his chest, peeking out from under his tunic.
The Mechanics
The two gnome mechanics were in the Engine Room familiarizing themselves with the engine during the murder. They are both experienced skyship mechanics hired for this one trip last minute when the other mechanics failed to show up. Otto is visibly excited and curious about the players' gear and equipment. They have just met a few days before.
After any amount of conversation, Otto eagerly reveals himself as an autognome. A sentient construct from another crystal sphere. He and some of his fellows have taken up residence on the moon. They have sought out a flesh-gnome to come to their colony to help them with maintenance. He found Hortix and is eager for him to come work with them.
Mechanic Clues
DC 14 Insight: Horix doesn't seem to be surprised or concerned by the murders.
DC 16 Insight or Investigation: Whenever Otto looks away, Hortix glances at him with eyes full of curiousity and... hunger.
DC 18 Investigation or Perception: Hortix has a tattoo of a faded crab on his arm. It's normally covered by his sleeve.
Uncovering the Coven
Once the initial investigation is complete, Bingo says that, according to protocol, the bodies should be placed in the Forward Cargo Hold to preserve them for investigation. All of the other crewmembers confirm this. He has to pilot the ship to the Moon by himself, without a break. He asks for at least one party member to remain with him at all times.
Regardless of the party's decision, one crewmember remains with Bingo until the journey ends. Without him, or someone else trained in spelldriving, the ship will not function.
Once the Can Opener is killed or the duration of its summoning ends, roll a 1d10 to determine how many hours pass before it can be summoned again. The cultists do not force a confrontation until they outnumber the other crew and passengers. They summon the Can Opener to pick off two to three victims at a time.
They kill their companions as a last resort. They plan to sacrifice them in a ritual to invigorate the Spawn of Tambanokano. Killing their chosen companion allows them to summon the Can Opener immediately, even if the recharge time has not passed.
The Spawn of Tambanokano
The Forward Cargo Hold contains four sealed barrels with Sir Odert's seal on them. They are full of green glowing crab eggs the size of a human fist. These eggs contain the Spawn of Tambanokano, each one capable of growing into a kaiju-sized crab. The Cult hopes to populate their chosen Shard with them. Eventually the crabs will metastasize on the moon, summoning their progenitor to devour a lunar feast.
The barrels are warded, preventing them from being detected by magic. However, if anyone opens them, the stink of infernal energy becomes immediately apparent to anyone with divine or magical powers.
If someone opens a barrel, a swarm of crabs (swarm of scarabs stats) manifests, attempting to deflesh any mortals in the room.
Any dead bodies in the presence of the barrels for more than 2 hours become zombies under the control of the Crab Coven. The Coven plans to turn all of the crew and passengers into their zombie servants.
If the eggs are discovered, Muncher immediately attacks and Brander joins him. A DC 15 Persuasion check along with proof of the coven's existence can convince Brander to side with the party.
If Muncher is losing, or Brander turns on him, he attempts to kill his companion. This summons the Can Opener to fight with him and the crab swarm.
Moving the Plot Forward
The Cult has three days to kill the rest of the crew and the players. They hide their true nature and their agenda for as long as possible. They are in constant telepathic communication through Evelina. They summon the Can Opener as soon as they can to kill as many players or crewmembers as possible.
Once they and their zombies outnumber the players and crew, they use the "ether" poison to incapacitate their companions and as many crew and players as possible. They kill crewmembers immediately. They bind their companions and players (DC 15 Str or Dex to escape) as a sacrifice to the Spawn for when they arrive.
At first the ship's crew obeys Bingo's or the party's orders. They have little interest in the investigation. They simply want to survive the trip and get off of the ship. When there's a confrontation with a cultist, or another attack from the Can Opener, the surviving crew retreat to the Helm Deck or barricade themselves in the Greatroom.
They can be convinced to join the fight or investigation with a DC 16 Persuasion check. For every confrontation or attack that happens afterwards, add 1 to the DC.
Confronting the Crabs
A confrontation with the Crab Coven takes place on the last day of travel, whenever the Coven has killed more than half of the crew or passengers, or when the party discovers their existence and attacks them.
If the party discovers one member, the other two hold off and allow that member to confront them on their own. When there are only two left, and if one is discovered, the other coven member immediately comes to their aid as quickly as possible. They summon as many zombies as possible to follow them and summon the Can Opener, even killing their companion, if necessary.
If possible, they leave Bingo alone to pilot the ship until the last day. They do not want to have one of their number at the helm piloting until then. At that time, they need to kill or paralyze him to change their destination and bring them to their actual destination.
They summon the Can Opener as often as they can. They use it's claws to tear through doors, and even walls as necessary to attack the players and crew.
They also protect the barrels in the Front Cargo Hold for as long as possible. If all else fails, they will hide away a barrel and jump off the ship as they approach the Barrow Shard. They will spend all of their resources, and their lives, to protect the Spawn of their patron.
Ending the Adventure
Complete Success
The party manages to find and kill all of the warlocks and destroy all of the barrels. The crew and any surviving passengers ensure that the elves on the Barrow Shard are informed of what happened.
They are each awarded an uncommon magic item. If Sir Odert survives, he gifts each character a 250gp piece of jewelry in exchange for a promise not to mention any of this to his wife.
Partial Success
If they defeat the coven, but a warlock escapes or a barrel survives, they are taken in by the Barrow Shard authorities for questioning. After intense questioning, they are thanked for their service and given a common magic item.
The escaped warlock declares a vendetta against the party, vowing to hunt them down and kill them one by one. Any barrels that escape destruction eventually hatch 2d10 monsters as powerful as the Can Opener that become a future problem for the party and the denizens of the moon.
Partial Failure
If at least two warlocks survive and the barrels aren't all destroyed, the party experiences a partial failure. They have probably reached an impasse with the warlocks and they're both encamped at two ends of the ship. Any surviving crew or Bingo communicate with the Barrow Shard by Ident-a-hedron.
Upon being informed of the situation, the Thayan Armada has two warships waiting for the Moonleaf Express. If Bingo is alive, they board the ship only to discover that the warlocks and the barrels have mysteriously disappeared.
If Bingo is dead, they bombard the ship from afar, destroying it and everyone aboard it from afar.
Complete Failure
The entire crew is killed and party is killed or captured by the warlocks. The zombie crew runs the ship for the Coven. As they enter the Shattered Moon's atmosphere, they veer away from the Barrow Shard. They land on the Swarming Shard and any surviving party members or companions are brought into a roughly constructed temple to Tambanokano.
The surviving characters watch in horror as the companions are sacrificed and bled out over the barrels. The Spawn rise up to devour the flesh and metal of the sacrifices. Your realise with horror that each little crab is a miniature version of the Can Opener. Your screams ring out in the unforgiving jungle as you are eaten alive.
This has expanded so much since I last checked in. You continue to do wonderful work in both Hero Forge and Dungeon Alchemist. Great work overall, I will definitely have to see if I can work this into a campaign, or maybe use it in one of the off weeks when i am feeling lazy.
Thanks for the comment! I'm making a concerted effort to finish it off this week!
For your consideration, my submissions for the WorldAnvil Worldbuilding Awards 2024. (I've also included some of my favorites other worldbuilders.)