LegendThe Island of Captain Morgraeve
Cursed gold, a dead crew, and a treasure that refuses to be forgotten.
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Gold Curse. As long as Captain Morgraeve carries stolen gold, he cannot be permanently destroyed: at 0 hit points he collapses into bones and rises again after 24 hours, unless all of his cursed gold is returned to its rightful owners or their heirs.
Crew's Flight. As a bonus action, Morgraeve can summon 1d4 skeleton crew members in unoccupied spaces within 20 ft. (use the statistics of a common skeleton warrior, if available; otherwise treat as an attack assistant with a +4 attack bonus, 1d6+2 damage).
Cursed Resilience. Morgraeve has advantage on saving throws against being charmed and paralyzed.
Multiattack. Morgraeve attacks three times with his ghost blade.
Ghost Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +7, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.
Cursed Cannon Volley (Recharge 5-6). Morgraeve unleashes ghostly cannons in a line 60 feet long and 5 feet wide. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) necrotic damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
The Story
The full moon turns the sea to silver, and where yesterday there was nothing, an island rises from the mist: palms, white sand, and ships' masts jutting from the beach like grave markers. Every ship that lands here returns as a ghost ship, and on the shore, figures move that cast no shadow.
The curse began with stolen gold. The crew that took it still walks, dead but restless, and Captain Morgraeve is chained to the island until someone else takes up his burden. The treasure refuses to be forgotten: it draws ships in, swallows their crews, and feeds the curse with every new soul that moors.
You search the wreck-strewn beach and the trap-laden jungle, strike an uneasy alliance with a weathered ghost captain who wants the curse broken, and follow the clues to the buried treasure through caves full of dead pirates. Along the way you must decide who to trust, for everyone on this island wants to buy their own escape with yours.
At the treasure chamber waits Captain Morgraeve, the Gold-Cursed, now a walking skeleton who keeps the stolen gold together and will not walk into his grave until another inherits the curse. Break the curse at its source and the island sinks and the souls find rest; fail, and tomorrow you sail as the new ghost crew, waiting for the next ship in the mist.
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