Three Days of

Black Blood
T
hree Days
of Black
Blood is an
adventure
for 1st-level
characters.
The player characters stumble
upon the fishing village
of Fairshell and find out it
is going to be attacked by
the Black Blood pirates in
three days’ time. Can the
adventurers protect the
fishermen and their families
from the attack, Seven
Samurai-style?

Writing Thiago Rosa

Color Art Mark Bulahao
Editing Felipe Real
Layout Xanditz
 Getting the Party Involved in conversations with the fishermen, they
soon notice a split in opinion: around half the
The easiest way to get the players involved
fishermen think Duke Montenegro is a tyrant
in this adventure is having them be natives to
who is ripping them off by taking their fish and
Fairshell. They might be childhood friends raised
the other half think pleasing the benevolent Duke
in the village who left it to pursue the training
is their only chance at making the village more
who made them adventurers. When they return
relevant and therefore richer.
home, they find out their skills are going to be
Halfway through the discussion, a raven arrives,
needed to protect their home from invaders.
flapping its wings and screaming. “Galuni is on fire!
Another possible hook is that they were sent
The Black Blood pirates attacked Galuni! They will be
by Duke Montenegro to pick up fresh cod for his
here in two days! Let’s drive them back!”
weekly piccata. This way, if they want to get paid
The PCs might manage to calm down the
for their troubles, they need to stay and help the
raven or the fishermen with interaction skills
fishermen deal with the pirates.
(DC 15). A success gives them 1 fortification
A final possibility is that they just stumble
point. What they can gather from raven and
upon Fairshell in its hour of need. Brought there
from the fishermen is that Galuni is a nearby
by fate, the only reason they have to help the
town, a lot bigger than Fairshell, but still small
fishermen is the goodness of their hearts—or
(around 100 inhabitants). The raven is called
perhaps a personal fondness for fresh cod.
Nino; he was the familiar to a wizard and he
Fortification Points insists the pirates are coming this way and will
Three Days of Black Blood

arrive in around two days. The fishermen agree

EN World TRAILSeeker

During the first two days of the adventure,

with him and any divination magic used with
they players are supposed to take actions to
these intentions will prove him correct.
fortify Fairshell’s defenses. When they succeed in
these efforts, they get fortification points. The fishermen are not warriors. Without
the PCs’ help they are all going to die. There is
These points are going to determine the
not enough time to get help from any nearby
modifier players will roll against the pirates when
community. Nino offers to help in the upcoming
they finally attack in order to save Fairshell.
battle, but it becomes clear very quickly that he is
not much of a help.
First Day:
Dark Wings, Dark Words Second Day:
Fairshell is just a small fishermen village with A Fighting Chance
around 30 inhabitants. It is not close to important
During the second day, the PCs will get a
roads or urban centers; its fish are not especially
chance to help the fishermen defend themselves.
rare or tasty; its land is not featured in any
This could take the form of training, building
legends; and it is not home to a powerful hero.
fortifications or encouraging them. Basically, they
Fairshell is really nothing more than an average
players can use their skills or Perception to help,
village, home to hardworking folk that have lived
as long as they can explain how that is going to
a peaceful life up to now.
work.
When the PCs arrive at Fairshell, they
Possibilities include:
will probably be looking for a tavern or inn.
There is no such thing in the village, but many  Showing the fishermen good hiding spots
fishermen are at the bay, either getting ready to (Stealth),
fish or coming back from work, depending on
 Building barricades (Crafting),
when the PCs arrive. When they start engaging
2
 Rallying them for battle (Performance or
Diplomacy),
 Teaching them about fight formations (Mili-
tary Lore),
 Taking advantage of terrain (Nature),
 Intimidating cowardly folk into fighting
(Intimidation),
 Finding good supplies (Survival) or
 Pointing out what are the best spots to place
barricades (Perception).
The DC is typically going to be 15; a critical
success grants 2 fortification points, a success
grants 1 fortification point, and a critical failure
causes them to lose 1 fortification point. Allow one
check per player, but if they have a very good idea
for a second check you might allow that player to
spend a Hero Point to make another check.
Third Day: Black Blood
As the third day dawns, the PCs can see a
sloop approaching. They only have a couple of
hours to make their last arrangements: orcs are
about to attack.
The first wave of attack is a group of 6x orc
brutes followed by Nandra from behind. She stays
within 60 ft. of her men, but only attacks with
her hand crossbow, assessing the threats before
engaging in melee. Keep count of how many
fortification points the players have amassed. Use
this as the modifier for a check against DC 15.
 On a critical failure, the players hindered
more than they helped. Their advice put the
fishermen in harm’s way and the barricades
they built blocked their escape. 2d10 fish-
ermen die at the first wave and the player
characters have to fight all the orcs.
 On a failure, the players’ efforts did not
improve the fishermen’s chances. 2d6 fisher-
men die during the first attack wave and the
player characters have to fight all the orcs.
 On a success, the players’ efforts slowed the
pirates down considerably. Only 1d6 fish-
ermen die during the first attack wave and
they manage to take down 1d6 orcs as well.
 On a critical success, the players’ efforts man-
aged to hold the pirates back completely. No
fishermen dies in the attack and they kill the
attacking pirates (except for Nandra) as well.
After the first attack wave is defeated (or if
someone attacks Nandra in melee) she calls 2x
orc warriors and 6x orc brutes for another attack
while she retreats to her ship.
The final battle is against Nandra and the
remaining pirates. If the players follow her into
the ship, remember that Nandra and the Black
Blood pirates are used to the sway, but the PCs are
not! Movement requires an Acrobatics check for
Balance (DC 10).
Aftermath
If the player characters defeated the pirates
without burning the ship, the biggest possible reward
is the ship itself. Moving it from Fairshell might
prove difficult without knowledge or supplies, but it
Three Days of Black Blood
EN World TRAILSeeker
could at the very least be sold at the closet port.
Aside from the pirates’ equipment (including
Nandra’s magic weapon), the Black Blood treasure
includes 2d10 x 10 sp, and might include a hook
to your next adventure.
Nino could travel with the characters for a while
if they have fun with him. Otherwise, you could
have his master arrive to take him back. Looks like
he survived the attacked and took his time getting to
Fairshell. Nino is not going to be happy with that.
If the characters were hired by Duke
Montenegro and explain what happened, even
the peculiar noble understands how important the
PCs’ actions were. He pays them 100 gp beyond
whatever they had discussed before the adventure.
NPCs
Nino
Back in Galuni, Nino was a familiar to small
town wizard named Serge. Unlike most familiars,
he is incredibly outspoken and more than a little
inclined to joining fights. Since he is no better at
fighting than any other raven, he just flies away
3
 as soon as he notices he is in over his head. He
wanted to be familiar to a battle mage of some
sort, but liked Serge’s company better.
Duke Montenegro
Nobility usually holds itself to very high
standards. That’s probably why Duke Ferdinand
Montenegro is despised by pretty much everyone
else. Ruling over lands so unimportant even his
castle would be considered a backwater, Montenegro
doesn’t really care about much. He indulges in
luxury as much as he can, doesn’t do much for his
people but doesn’t do much against them as well.
Many people under Montenegro’s rule don’t even
notice they are under his so called protection.
Among Montenegro’s luxuries, however,
there is one he simply can’t do without. On the
first day of every week, the duke eats a fancy cod
piccata with his guests. However, someone from
his household has been stealing from the pantry.
Montenegro doesn’t really care about finding the
Three Days of Black Blood
EN World TRAILSeeker
thief, but what he really wants is his fresh cod. That
might make him hire the adventurers to secure it
from Fairshell, a village that sits in his domains.
Duke Montenegro probably won’t feature
directly into the story much, even if he hired the
PCs. He has no plans to leave his castle or visit
Fairshell. The village, however, is divided precisely
because of their opinion about him. If the PCs have
been sent by Montenegro, they will be able to tell
the locals that he is not what either group thinks.
Black Blood Pirates
The Black Blood Pirates are a band of sixteen
orcs bent on plundering. They have set sail a few
months ago, after Nandra took part of the Black
Blood tribe with her. The small town of Galuni
was their first victim.
Twelve of them are orc brutes and four of them
are orc warriors. The difference is that they are used
to life on the sea and don’t have to make Acrobatics
checks to keep their balance on the ship.
Captain Nandra
Vicious, cunning, and completely ruthless.
Nandra is the nightmare of most human
realms—a pragmatic orc. She cares only about
money and gathering treasure.
Born in the Black Blood tribe, Nandra never
wanted to spend her life in the mountains.
She longed for the wealth of human lands, but
dared not march against well-defended human
communities.
Nandra’s life changed forever when a small
sloop grounded on the beach next to her clan’s
lands. Her chief took the treasure within after
killing the crew, but she saw the ship as the
biggest treasure possible. She convinced some
of her tribe mates to follow her and took to the
seas, now able to attack defenseless human
communities with low risk and high rewards.
Captain Nandra Creature 2
[CE] [MEDIUM] [HUMANOID] [ORC]
Perception +11; darkvision
Languages Common, Orc
Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +6, Survival +5
Str +4, Dex +2, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +2
Items +1 orc necksplitter, hide armor, hand
crossbow, 10 bolts
AC 19; Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +7
HP 32
Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Ferocity [reaction]
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] +1 orc necksplitter +11 (forceful, sweep),
Damage 1d8+5 slashing
Melee [one-action] fist +10 (nonlethal), Damage 1d4+4
bludgeoning
Ranged [one-action] hand crossbow +8 (60 feet), Damage
1d6 piercing
Battle Cry [one-action] (auditory, concentrate, emotion,
mental) Bellowing mightily, Nandra gives
herself and all the Black Blood pirates within 60
feet a +1 status bonus to attack and damage rolls
until the start of her next turn.
Sea Legs Nandra does not need to make
Acrobatics checks to keep her balance aboard
her ship, since she is used to the sway.