# The Gods Must Be

##### In a town ravaged by tragedy, the true menace lurks below.

*A 2-4 hour horror adventure for characters of levels 6 and 7.*

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## .phb{ background : white;} .phb img{ display : none;} .phb hr+blockquote{background : white;} Table Of Contents - **[1 The Gods Must Be](#p1)** - [1.1 Background](#p3) - [1.2 Overview](#p3) - **[2 Waulk](#p4)** - [2.1 ](#p4) - [2.1.1 Town Background](#p4) - [2.1.2 Beginning the Adventure](#p4) - [2.1.3 Areas of Interest](#p4) - **[3 *The Tub*](#p7)** - [3.1 ](#p7) - [3.1.1 Area information](#p7) - **[4 After *The Tub*](#p10)** - [4.1 Aftermath](#p10) - [4.2 This is the End](#p10)

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## Background This adventure takes place in the seaside village of Waulk. Once known for its bustling streets, exotic visitors, and the finest seafood in the region, the town used to be a highly valued travel hub, as well as a tourist destination in its own right. Sadly, this is no longer the case. Over the course of the past month, many of the town's children have gone missing, causing most of its inhabitants to go mad from rage, depression, and grief. The town's fishing and hospitality industries have ground to a halt as the citizenry has succumbed to to inner conflict, determined to uncover the forces responsible for the apparent kidnappings. As a result, the townsfolk have been increasingly suspicious of foreigners of any kind, as well as those of their own whose families remain intact. The reason for these disappearances is far more sinister than they realize. A tribe of kua-toa living in the caverns below the town has recently come under the sway of an archpriest named Volgolgilol. Along with this this transfer of power came the mandated worship of a new goddess of his own making: Barshtodolbleem, a bloodthirsty wraith fashioned from the doll of a drowned half-orc child. In the night she lures children away from their homes, where they are eaten, sacrificed, and enslaved. ## Overview This adventure is the first part of a longer series of adventures. It is written for a part of 4 to 6 characters of levels 6 through 7. In short, the adventure begins with the adventurers arriving outside the hastily erected gates of Waulk. They're met with immediate suspicion and nearly turned away, but before the guards get the chance to chase them out of town, a commotion arrises nearby as a mob of angry townsfolk chase a woman and her child through the streets. Should the adventurers choose to help her, she introduces herself as Trude Dunwin, the widow of Waulk's most successful fisherman. Her son, Dovel, is one of only a handful left in the town, and many of the townsfolk have accused her of being behind the kidnappings. She begs the adventurers to protect her son and find the real culprit. In return, she offers her husband's fishing vessel, which he lovingly nicknamed *The Tub*. Trude recommends they scan the coast. In order to do so, however, they'll need a boat, and *The Tub* is far too large and has been neglected for far too long to be ready to set sail anytime soon. She offers them one of the life vessels left on the ship, assuming any are still intact. The characters explore the ship, finding the lifeboat as well as several bloodthirsty beasts. As they leave the ship, they see Dovel on the shore, accompanied by a young girl, make his way out into the waves. She is none other than the newly annointed kua-toa goddess, Barshtodolbleem. After a fight, the party either rescues Dovel or they don't. Either way, they now know what they're up against, and what they'll have to do to stop her. \page

# Waulk The adventure begins in Waulk, a small fishing village home to a modest population of 2,000. It is a popular tourist destination as well as a common port of departure in this part of the realm. It is assumed that this adventure begins outside the gates of Waulk, but at the end of the day it can begin in any way you choose. ### Town Background Most of the Waulk’s income is derived from its fishing and tourist industries, which feed off of each other.
There are 9 major fishing outfits, each employing 30-50 fishermen, captains, and shipwrights. *The Tub*, the flagship vessel of the now-defunct 10th outfit, has sat dormant in the harbor gathering barnacles and algae since the death of its captain, Dale Dunwin.
The town is also supported by a network of 7 or 8 family farms. There are two small collections of restaurants and taverns in the town, both strategically positioned to catch the attention of the optimal number of visitors and passers-by. Though culinary tourism is far from prevalent in these parts of the world, the kinds of clientele who engage in it normally bring more than enough wealth in the town to justify the industry.
During the off-season, Waulk also doubles as a harbor where travelers of all kinds can book passage overseas.
Because so much of the town’s industry comes from fishing and maritime trade, its government is run by delegates from each of the 9 fishing outfits, as well as 2 impartial “Artisans” representing the interests of the city. This obviously leads to a great deal of political imbalance, especially when the interests of the fisherman come into conflict with the interests of the rest of the town. As a result, the town must often identify crucial wedge issues to divide the fishing industry against itself.
A half-mile away from the town is a forest, which has been ravaged over time as the town has taken its wood to build more and more fishing vessels. Though the recent events in town have brought the fishing trade to a halt, the wood from the forest has been repurposed to erect walls outside of the town. ### Beginning the Adventure The adventure begins with the party arriving outside Waulk. They may not be a party at this point; have the players decide amongst themselves if any of them know each other from previous adventures. If not, give each character a chance to boast about a previous accomplishment (this can be an actual in-game accomplishment from a previous session of play or one they've made up on the spot) and to share what's brought them to town. Are they looking for passage across the sea? Maybe they're settling down for a well-deserved vacation. Regardless of what they choose, this should be a time for the characters to become familiar with one another. Once Waulk is in view, it becomes clear even from a distance that something is amiss. The center of the town has been surrounded by hastily constructed barricades made from - well, whatever they could find. Parts of homes, carts, old boats, they've all been shoved into a series of piles spaced at uneven intervals. Any gap between barricades larger than 10 feet is watched by a tired-looking sailor (**bandit** statistics, MM pg. 343). The main road is flanked on either side by the two largest of these barricades. If the party chooses to enter through a different space, they will be accosted by one sailor instead of two, but all Charisma (Persuasion or Deception) checks will be made with disadvantage. ### Areas of Interest #### 1. Main Gate The main entrance to the town is surrounded by two large piles of broken wood. It is apparent that at one point they were meant to be walls, but any attempt toward structuring them as such seems to have been abandoned halfway through. Anyone attempting to pass through this area on the main road is confronted by two sailors (**bandit** statistics, MM pg. 343) acting as guards named Hodum Sloat and Leppik Allerrein. They tell any foreigners coming through that visitors aren't welcome at this time. They can be convinced otherwise with a bribe of 10 gp per character or with a DC 15 Charmisa (Persuasion or Deception) check. If questioned, the sailors tell the characters that the town is going through a troubling time, and adding more people to the mix isn't going to help them sort things out. Both sailors know that children have been disappearing for quite some time, but they do not divulge this information willingly. Once the party makes it through this gate, they see a mob chasing a woman and a child through the streets. The woman and child are named Trude and Dovel Dunwin, respectively. Curses and accusations - "She's the one behind this!" - can be heard emanating from the mob. Trude and Dovel make it to their home (Area 2) and lock the door behind them with or without the players' help, but the mob continues to rage outside once they do. After about 20 minutes of this, 10 weary sailors convince the mob to dissipate. ___ #### 2. Dunwin Estate A massive house stands west of the town, overlooking the docks below. This is the home of of Trude and Dovel Dunwin, and other than the lighthouse (Area 5) it is the single largest structure in town. Any characters who helped Trude and Dovel escape the mob are invited inside of the house. If they did not help, they can attempt to request entry by knocking on the door, but they must succeed on a DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check in order to be allowed inside. Trude Dunwin (NG female human **commoner**) is in her early 30s, but the stress of living in the town and the apparent lack of sleep has aged her to the point where she looks at least 10 years older. \page

If asked, she reveals the following: - Her husband, Dale Dunwin, was the head of the largest fishing outfit in Waulk. He was killed at sea over a year ago when a poorly rigged beam struck him in the head. Many citizens of the town resented the Dunwins for their wealth and success, and none were sad to see his outfit crumble following his death. - For the past few months, children in the town have been disappearing. As a result, the townsfolk have grown angry and distrustful of one another, and especially outsiders. Additionally, the fishing industry has ground to a halt, as many of the sailors who work for the trade are so wracked with grief that they can a barely leave their homes, let alone work. - Trude's son, Dovel, is one of the few children left in town. She's unsure of how many children are left, since few are allowed to leave their homes. However, many of the townsfolk suspect that Trude has something to do with the disappearances, as her child is one of the few who has been spared. Trude asks the party to protect Dovel and to uncover the culprit behind the kidnappings so that she can sleep soundly once again. If they are successful, she tells thems, she will give them anything she can - even her husband's old fishing boat, which he jokingly named *The Tub*. If asked where they should begin their search, Trude recommends that they begin by searching the coastline. While *The Tub* is not currently seaworthy (and, even if it were, would require a crew far larger than 4 to 6 to operate), the group is welcome to take one of the rowboats from inside in order to begin their search. ___ #### 3. The Whining Boar Situated along the main thoroughfare in Waulk is *The Whining Boar*, one of the few tavens still in operation. A drunken musician struggles to play the same repetitive song on an out-of-tune lute. No matter what time of day it is, as least a handful of sailors can be found here drowning their sorrows. Reliably among them is a half-orc named Lark (N **sailor**). Lark is thoroughly in his cups at any given time of day, but when he sees the new faces of the characters he beelines towards them, asking "Have you seen her?" If asked to elucidate further he laughs it off and apologizes. \page

Getting information out of Lark isn't easy, though this is hardly intentional on his party. He'll often change the subject without realizing he's done so. The characters can roleplay to extract information from him or buy him some food (by contrast, buying him another drink does NOT help matters). Over time, he reveals the following: - He used to be a fisherman with one of the outfits in town - not Dale Dunwin's - but that all ended about 5 years ago. He took his daughter, Balann, on a trip out to sea, and she drowned. Her body was never recovered. Lark's been drinking ever since. At this point he's worked for and been fired by every outfit in town. He still goes out to sea every once in awhile to fish on his own, but he mainly does it to feed himself, not to make any kind of profit. - About a week ago, Lark saw a girl in town that he'd never seen before. She looked just like Balann. But she disappeared before he even got a chance to call out to her. He's pretty sure it was just a hallucination, but can't shake the idea that it might not be. - Lark thinks the key to ending the kidnappings might be out at sea. He doesn't want to believe Balann is behind it, but can't think of another reason why he'd have seen her. - Lark is in no state to pilot a ship. But he can give coordinates to where Balann was lost if the party can find themselves a boat. - Most of the townsfolk are untrustworthy enough of outsiders that they aren't likely to lend the part a boat. But *The Tub*, that large ship at the end of the long dock, has been abandoned for over a year. They might be able to find a rowboat or two in there. ___ #### 4. The Docks At the bottom of a cliff about 100 feet below the town are the docks where all the ships are kept. There are 4 docks, each extending up to 100 feet into the ocean. Fishing boats of various sizes are moored to the docks. At the end of the furthest dock is the largest ship of them all, which is none other than *The Tub*. ___ #### 5. Lighthouse The lighthouse is fairly unremarkable, save for the fact that the light isn't lit. The door to the lighthouse has been nailed shut. ___ #### 6 & 7. Abandoned Restaurants Several once-elegant restaurants line the main road in Waulk. Nearly all of them are locked and some are boarded up. The ones that are unlocked are not currently open for business. Anyone attempting entry who is not native to the town is turned away. ___ #### 8. Forest To the east of Waulk lies a forest, fairly dense and about a mile thick. Several lumber mills sit outside its border. The forest is not feature in this adventure, but is prominently featured in Part 2 . \page

# *The Tub* Moored at the end of the longest pier in Waulk's dock sits *The Tub*, the flagship vessel of Dale Dunwin's now-defunct fishing outfit. For over a year it's floated at the edge of the sea, unused, though with the recent depression that's spread throughout the town, the rest of the ships at the dock don't seem to be faring much better. ___ *The Tub* is a **sailing ship** (DMG pg. 119) with 200 remaining hit points. Its rear mast has broken off, and at least 50 hit points must be restored to the ship before it can be considered seaworthy. ___ If the adventurers choose to investigate this ship, they're met with no resistance from the townsfolk unless the townsfolk are already hostile towards them. ### Area information ***Dimenions and Terrain:*** *The Tub* is 100 feet long and 30 feet wide at its widest point. It has three levels: a main deck, below deck, and a cargo hold.
***Unruly Sea:*** Roll 1d20 every 1d10+4 minutes that the part spends exploring *The Tub*. On a result of 5 or lower, the ship lurches unexpectedly. All creatures in contact with any surface of the ship must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be forced to move 10 feet in a random direction. All creatures who fail simultaneously must move in the same direction.
***Lighting:*** The lighting of the main deck will correspond to the time of day. There are windows in areas 2 through 5, granting dim lighting if it is daytime. The cargo hold is completely dark regardless of the time of day.
***Dock:*** The ship floats 15 feet away from a long dock extending 100 feet from shore. It is connected to the dock by several heavy ropes, each of which can be used to climb to the main deck of the ship with a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If a characters fails this check twice in a row or fails by 5 or more, they fall into the water. From the water, the side of the ship can be scaled with a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.
___ #### 1. Main Deck The main deck is decrepit from over a year of neglect, but the damage is mostly costmetic.
***Mast***: The rear mast has broken off in several places, but remains are nowhere to be seen. A character with Passive Investigation score of 15 or higher remembers that many of the barriers erected outside of Waulk were made from parts taken from old ship parts.
***Wheel:*** The wheel used to steer the ship is missing, as is the upper half of the structure it was once mounted upon.
***Stairs:*** There are two sets of stairs each from the fore and aft of the ship leading to midship, 5 feet below. From the middle of the ship, there are two wooden doors, both unlocked, with stairs leading below deck. ***Grate:*** A removable grate, 40 feet by 30 feet, dominates the center of the middle of the ship. From above, the characters can peer into area 2. Any Dexterity saving throws made while standing on this grate are made with disadvantage. This grate can be lifted with a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. It has an AC of 10 and 25 hit points. ___ #### 2. Below Deck Two sets of stairs at the fore and the aft lead below deck. The area smells of rotting wood and dead fish.
***Area and Dimensions:*** This area is 55 feet long and 30 feet wide. The ceiling is 10 feet high, with 15 ft by 20 ft in the center taken up by the grate from area 1. There is a door at the fore and a short hallway with two additional doors at the aft.
***Lighting:*** There are 3 portholes built into each of the walls, but they've become covered in a film of salt and grime. If it is daytime, the area underneath the grate is considered bright light, but everything else is dim light. If it is nighttime, the entire area is shrouded in darkness. ***Rowboats:*** This ship once had 4 **rowboats** (DMG pg. 119), but only two remain and one of them has been smashed to bits. The one that remains intact could still be used as a sea vehicle, but is too large to fit through the doors and would need to be removed from the ship via the hole covered by the grate.
***Doors:*** The door are the fore of the ship leads to area 3. It is wooden and unlocked. The doors at the aft of the ship face each other across a narrow hallway. The door leading into area 4 is wooden and currently unlocked, but the lock can be engaged by a creature with the key. The door leading into area 5 is wooden and unlocked, but it is currently barricaded shut, requiring a DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check to open.
***Stairs:*** Two sets of stairs lead to the main deck, and a third set of stairs leads to the cargo deck below. ___ Three **meazels** (MToF pg. 214) named Belvyn, Terryx, and Lode lurk below deck. They attempt to remain hidden, garroting one party member at a time once they enter areas of dim light and using their Shadow Teleport ability to take them to areas 3, 4, and 5. Lode possesses the key to area 4, and will attempt to lock the door once she's taken a victim there. ___ #### 3. Crew Quarters Three rows of triple-stacked bunkbeds line the walls of this room at the fore of the ship. Dead fish lay strewn about the floor of the room. A DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that three creatures (the meazels) have been sleeping in the three topmost bunks. There are 3 open footlockers that were ransacked months ago, but their only remaining contents are shredded, decaying bedsheets. ___ #### 4. Captain's Quarters Dale Dunwin once occupied this room, but no longer. The room contains a bed, desk, and footlocker, all of which have been ransacked. Half of a torn map of the coast remains nailed to the wall. The door can be locked or unlocked using a key, which Lode possesses. \page

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#### 5. First Mate's Cabin This room contains a bed and a footlocker, both of which have been pushed against the door. There is also a corpse of a sailor with deep gashes across his chest and several puncture woods in his neck. A DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that this sailor has been dead for less than a week, and that while his death was certainly hastened by his wounds, the main culprit was poison. ___ #### 6. Cargo Hold This area is littered with scatter cargo and permeated by the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh.
***Area and Dimensions:*** In total, this area is 30 feet by 95 feet, but the 20 feet closest to the aft is domination by a pile of rotting corpses, human and sealife alike. The ceiling is 7 feet high.
***Lighting:*** This area is shrouded in complete darkness. ***Stench:*** The stench in this area is overwhelming. Any creature not immune to poison entering it for the first time must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for one minute. Any creature who succeeds on this saving throw is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours.
***Dead Sailor:*** The corpse of a dead female human sailor lies halfway up the stairs leading into the cargo hold. Parts of her body have been eaten. Her cloak, a *clock of the manta ray*, is completely intact but has been caught on a nail at the bottom of the stairs. This corpse animates as a **seaspawn** if the cloak is removed or if the party reaches the bottom of the stairs, whichever happens first. The corpse cannot benefit from the effects of the cloak and cannot move more than 10 feet in any direction from the bottom of the stairs.
***Pile of Corpses:*** The pile of corpses dominating the aft of the ship has been piled up by the meazels from the level above. It mostly contains rotting fish and other marine life, with the corpse of a human intruder thrown in here or there. All corpses are adult and all have wounds on their necks that indicate that they've been garrotted to death.
Digging through the pile takes 2 hours. Any creature deciding to do so must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or suffer a form of short-term madness (DMG pg. 259). Any creature failing this check by 5 or more contracts a form of long-term madness (DMG pg. 260) instead.
The pile contains 11 unimpressive, filthy gemstones worth about 10 gp each. The very back of the pile, a secret hatch in the floorboards can be found with a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check. It is locked, but can be opened with the key that Lode possesses or with a DC 17 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check. The hatch opens to reveal a small compartment containing a *folding boat*. ___ Once the characters enter the cargo hold, several bodies from the pile animate and 6 **seaspawn** (Volo's pg. 189), including the corpse of the female sailor on the staircase, attack. After the first round, 3 more **seaspawn** from the front of the room animate as well. \page

# After *The Tub* When the party leaves *The Tub*, whether they were successful in finding a boat or not, they see two small figures strolling down the path from Waulk to the docks. As the figures grow closer, it becomes clear that one is a child - more specifically, Dovel. The other figure appears to be a young girl of no more than twelve wearing a dripping wet dress. Her movement is unearthly - each of her steps seems to carry her further than they should be able to. Her long hair is wet, knotted with shells and seaweed. Her eyes are milky white and her skin is pale and pruny, but she has the facial structure of a half-orc. The players don't know it yet, but this is Barshtodolbleem (. If the characters do nothing, Dovel and Barthtodolbleem walk out into the ocean without stopping. Dovel disappears in 30 seconds and Barshtodolbleem follows directly afterwards. If the characters do interfere, Barshtodolbleem does not respond with words. She merely gazes at them and lets Dovel do the talking. Dovel (NG **commoner** with 2 hit points instead of 4) is currently charmed by her and is convinced that she is his best friend. He will do anything to go with her, up to and including attacking the adventurers. If the characters do not relent, Barshtodolbleem attacks. She goes straight for the characters and does not intentionally harm Dovel. Her Wail attack does not affect Dovel normally, but does free him from the charmed condition. If Barshtodolbleem is reduced to 20 or fewer hit points, she attempts to charm Dovel one last time and convince him to follow her into the waves. Unless he is kept from doing so, he moves into the water on his next turn and disappears one round later. ___ ## Aftermath If the characters are unsuccesful in stopping Barshtodolbleem from kidnapping Dovel, they lose the support of Trude Dunwin and gain the enmity of the town. Their only hope at gaining the trust of the town once again will be to rescue Dovel. If the characters successfully save Dovel, Trude thanks them profusely and promises that, in addition to giving then *The Tub*, she will also cover the costs of repairing it once the sailors and shipwrights in town go back to work. But in order for that to happen, the group will need to figure out what happened to the rest of Waulk's children. Regardless of the outcome, if the characters tell Lark about their encounter with Barshtodolbleem and convince him that she might be the ghost of Balann, he pledges to help in whatever way he can. ## This is the End This conludes Part 1 of *The Gods Must Be*. If you and your party enjoyed this adventure, please consider playing through Part 2, available soon! ___ > ##### Barshtodolbleem Barshtodolbleem is a **banshee** (MM pg. 23) with the following changes: - Her armor class is 15 instead of 12 - She has 90 hit points instead of 58 - She is not resistant to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons. Instead, she is immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical weapons that aren't silvered. - She does not speak Elvish or Common but does have access to telepathy up to 120 ft. - Every time she uses her Horrifying Visage action, she can choose to charm or frighten the creatures affected. - She is able to use the Legendary Resistance reaction 3 times per day.

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