Welcoming Committee
The bay’s waters are calm, with only a gentle rocking of the ship’s boat. The shore is approximately three hundred feet to the east, where a lonely dock is built off a sandy beach.
This encounter uses very simplified rules for navigating to shore. The ship’s boat has a maximum speed of 30 feet per round and requires two characters to row. In this instance, vehicle acceleration is not used, and due to the simplicity of the boat and relative calm of the water, no skill checks are required to propel the boat while out of combat. Creatures: Two grindylows from the Shellcracker tribe watched the Peregrine enter the bay from below the water’s surface. These goblin-octopus hybrids recall the original colonists who arrived months earlier, but never had the courage to raid them due to the colonist’s numbers and more dangerous predators nearby. Not wishing to be deprived a second time, the gridylows attack somewhat recklessly once the small boat is approximately 250 feet away from the main ship and near the shore. The attack takes place over a sandbar where the depth of the water is only 5 feet deep. For the purposes of this encounter, they surface adjacent to the ship’s boat and may attack adjacent squares by stabbing with their spears or reaching with tentacles. The sides of the ship’s boat prevent the grindylows from making bite attacks unless an enemy is in the water, or if the grindylow climbs into the boat (which requires a move action on its part). Fighting the grindylows from inside the boat is challenging. PCs who remain seated take a –2 penalty on attack rolls. A character can negate this penalty by standing up and attacking, but anyone standing in the boat must attempt a DC 10 Acrobatics check each round in which they attack. Success means they remain standing until they attack again (or another effect threatens their balance, such as a trip attack by way of the grindylow’s tentacles). A PC who fails must attempt a DC 10 Reflex save. If successful, the PC immediately sits back down as a free action (standing back up is a move action, as normal), but a PC who fails this save falls overboard into an adjacent square. PCs fighting in the water follow the normal rules for aquatic combat. The seawater is murky from the vantage point of the boat’s passengers. This permits the grindylows to attempt opposed Stealth checks against the PCs, which they exploit to obtain a surprise round if possible. The creatures flee if reduced to 1 hit point; otherwise, they fight to the death. Once the battle begins, the sailors and passengers aboard the Peregrine observe the PCs’ struggle and are not indifferent. There are shouts of concern and even cries for the captain to sail closer in order to help them. A few colonists might shoot a few arrows toward the creatures, but stop once it becomes clear they might hit the PCs instead. These reactions are intended to create drama and tension, and convey to the PCs that their shipmates care about their welfare, but they do not actually alter the fight. Once the grindylows are defeated, a rousing cheer comes from the deck of the Peregrine.
This encounter uses very simplified rules for navigating to shore. The ship’s boat has a maximum speed of 30 feet per round and requires two characters to row. In this instance, vehicle acceleration is not used, and due to the simplicity of the boat and relative calm of the water, no skill checks are required to propel the boat while out of combat. Creatures: Two grindylows from the Shellcracker tribe watched the Peregrine enter the bay from below the water’s surface. These goblin-octopus hybrids recall the original colonists who arrived months earlier, but never had the courage to raid them due to the colonist’s numbers and more dangerous predators nearby. Not wishing to be deprived a second time, the gridylows attack somewhat recklessly once the small boat is approximately 250 feet away from the main ship and near the shore. The attack takes place over a sandbar where the depth of the water is only 5 feet deep. For the purposes of this encounter, they surface adjacent to the ship’s boat and may attack adjacent squares by stabbing with their spears or reaching with tentacles. The sides of the ship’s boat prevent the grindylows from making bite attacks unless an enemy is in the water, or if the grindylow climbs into the boat (which requires a move action on its part). Fighting the grindylows from inside the boat is challenging. PCs who remain seated take a –2 penalty on attack rolls. A character can negate this penalty by standing up and attacking, but anyone standing in the boat must attempt a DC 10 Acrobatics check each round in which they attack. Success means they remain standing until they attack again (or another effect threatens their balance, such as a trip attack by way of the grindylow’s tentacles). A PC who fails must attempt a DC 10 Reflex save. If successful, the PC immediately sits back down as a free action (standing back up is a move action, as normal), but a PC who fails this save falls overboard into an adjacent square. PCs fighting in the water follow the normal rules for aquatic combat. The seawater is murky from the vantage point of the boat’s passengers. This permits the grindylows to attempt opposed Stealth checks against the PCs, which they exploit to obtain a surprise round if possible. The creatures flee if reduced to 1 hit point; otherwise, they fight to the death. Once the battle begins, the sailors and passengers aboard the Peregrine observe the PCs’ struggle and are not indifferent. There are shouts of concern and even cries for the captain to sail closer in order to help them. A few colonists might shoot a few arrows toward the creatures, but stop once it becomes clear they might hit the PCs instead. These reactions are intended to create drama and tension, and convey to the PCs that their shipmates care about their welfare, but they do not actually alter the fight. Once the grindylows are defeated, a rousing cheer comes from the deck of the Peregrine.
Grindylow - Creature 0
CE Small Aberration Amphibious
Senses Perception +5; darkvision
Languages Aquan
Skills Athletics +5, Stealth +7, Survival +5
Str +1, Dex +3, Con +2, Int -1, Wis +3, Cha +0
Items spear
AC 15; Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5
HP 14
Attack of Opportunity [reaction] A grindylow gains 1 extra reaction at the start of each of its turns that it can use only to make an Attack of Opportunity with a tentacle. It can’t use more than one Attack of Opportunity triggered by the same choice.
Speed 10 feet, swim 25 feet
Melee 1a bite +7 (finesse), Damage 1d6+1 piercing
Melee 1a tentacle +7 (agile, finesse, trip), Damage 1d4+1 bludgeoning plus Grab
Melee 1a spear +5, Damage 1d6+1 piercing
Ranged 1a spear +7 (thrown 20 feet), Damage 1d6+1 piercing
Clinging Suckers When a grindylow Grabs a creature larger than itself, it attaches to that creature. The grabbed creature is not immobilized, but if it moves, the grindylow moves with it. If the creature is Medium or smaller, it takes a -5-foot status penalty to its Speeds while the grindylow is attached. The grindylow is flat-footed while it is attached to a creature.
Jet [two-actions] (move) The grindylow moves up to 60 feet in a straight line through the water without triggering reactions.
CE Small Aberration Amphibious
Senses Perception +5; darkvision
Languages Aquan
Skills Athletics +5, Stealth +7, Survival +5
Str +1, Dex +3, Con +2, Int -1, Wis +3, Cha +0
Items spear
AC 15; Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5
HP 14
Attack of Opportunity [reaction] A grindylow gains 1 extra reaction at the start of each of its turns that it can use only to make an Attack of Opportunity with a tentacle. It can’t use more than one Attack of Opportunity triggered by the same choice.
Speed 10 feet, swim 25 feet
Melee 1a bite +7 (finesse), Damage 1d6+1 piercing
Melee 1a tentacle +7 (agile, finesse, trip), Damage 1d4+1 bludgeoning plus Grab
Melee 1a spear +5, Damage 1d6+1 piercing
Ranged 1a spear +7 (thrown 20 feet), Damage 1d6+1 piercing
Clinging Suckers When a grindylow Grabs a creature larger than itself, it attaches to that creature. The grabbed creature is not immobilized, but if it moves, the grindylow moves with it. If the creature is Medium or smaller, it takes a -5-foot status penalty to its Speeds while the grindylow is attached. The grindylow is flat-footed while it is attached to a creature.
Jet [two-actions] (move) The grindylow moves up to 60 feet in a straight line through the water without triggering reactions.
