The Missing Misty Mermaid 

 
 
 
A Saltmarsh adventure for 3-4 players of the world’s greatest role playing 
game. 

   
  
Introduction 
 
In the coastal city of Saltmarsh, many make a living from working on fishing vessels. 
The city is located on the coast of the Azure Sea. The coastline is spotted with small, 
uncharted islands, many inhabited by uncontacted tribes.  
 
In this one-shot, players will be hired by the town council of Saltmarsh to investigate 
the disappearance of some local fishermen who worked on the well-known vessel, The 
Misty Mermaid. The Misty Mermaid went missing a few days ago during a storm and 
has not been seen since.  
 
Players will discover the ship has wrecked on the coast of a small jungle island. 
Players will quickly realize the island is not a friendly place, as the fishermen have 
been struggling to survive, hiding from hostile tribal warriors and dangerous 
environmental threats!  
 
It is recommended that you run this adventure for players that are third level.  
 

Part 1: The Missing of The Misty Mermaid 

 
Read the following: 
 
You find yourself sitting in a small beer hall, meeting with the town council of 
Saltmarsh. You have been summoned by the council to investigate the whereabouts 
of a missing fishing vessel and its crew. A ferocious storm rolled through the coastal 
city a few days ago. While the city works on repairing the damage sustained during 
the storm, the council is preoccupied with maintaining the local economy which 
relies very heavily on fishing.  
 
You are tasked with finding the vessel, The Misty Mermaid, and its crew of six. You 
are supplied with a Keelboat to carry out your voyage, and paid an advance of 200 
gold for your adventuring contract. Upon your return with the crew, or evidence of 
the crews demise, you will be paid an additional 200 gold.  
 
 
 

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara

  
Note to DM: The town council will supply reasonable gear to the party in order to 
carry out their objective. Use your best judgement in what the town council has 
available or is willing to give them. 
 
● The Keelboat is waiting at the docks for the party. It is tied down and secure. It 
did not sustain damage from the storm. 
● The Keelboat does not come with a crew. The party can elect to pilot the 
vessel themselves, or hire a more experienced crew.  
○ If they pilot the vessel themselves it takes one extra day to reach the 
island.  
● Several sailors named Salty Beard, Black Dog, and Poor Devil can be found at 
the docks. They can be hired for 2 gold per day. They will not fight. 
 

Part 2: Sailing to the Island 

 
Once players set sail, with or without the crew, they find it quite easy to navigate the 
open water. There are no storms, and there is a light breeze which makes sailing 
much easier. Depending on what players decided with respect to hiring a crew, run 
one to two random encounters. If the players hired a crew, run one encounter. If the 
players did not hire a crew, it takes them longer to find the shipwreck, so run two 
encounters as they sail around in search of the vessel.  
 
Open Water Encounters 

1 ​giant octopus 

1 ​reef shark 

Players roll initiative. The lowest player gets scurvy and takes 1d4 poison damage. 

1 ​swarm of quippers 

Players get sea sick and lose 1 point of constitution for an hour. 

A small row boat with 3 ​bandits​ attempts to board the vessel. 

 
After players have navigated the encounters, they easily find the island and 
shipwreck. Depending on how the encounters went, you may want to give players 
time to rest before finding the island in order to recoup some health. Use your best 
judgement. 

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara

  
Part 3: Shipwreck Ahead! 
 
Read the following: 
 
After a very short and eventful time spent at sea, on the horizon appears a small 
island. As you move closer, you notice the coastline is dotted with jagged rocks, and 
behind those rocks lies a thick jungle. You do not recognize the island and it does 
not appear on any maps. The island is likely uncharted. Any number of threats could 
lie beyond the shoreline. 
 
Option 1​: (Insert party member name) sees this and yells, “Shipwreck ahead!”  
Option 2​: The crew start to prepare to take the vessel in and Salty Beard, the 
captain, turns to you and says, “There be the shipwreck! Looks like they took a 
helluva beating.” 
 
You decide to find a place to drop anchor off the coast. The shipwreck looks very 
recent. It is apparent to you that the ship and crew went through quite an ordeal. 
The hull is caved in, the ship is split in half. The masthead is leaning against a 
boulder, and pieces of wood are floating around you in the water. 
 
Once players get to the shoreline they do not find any immediate signs of life. With a 
DC13 perception check, players are able to notice small footprints in the sand that 
lead into a clearing in the thick jungle wall.  
 
If players investigate the shipwreck they find one fisherman lying dead near the 
shoreline with several small arrows sticking out of his back. There is nothing of value 
left on the parts of the boat which can be accessed. 
 

Part 4: Welcome to The Jungle 

 
At this point, players are likely to make a plan to enter the jungle in search of the 
remaining five crew from The Misty Mermaid. If they do, consult the map in Appendix 
1 to guide players through the jungle. 
 
If players attempt to leave the island and return to Saltmarsh without attempting to 
rescue the crew, they can certainly do this. However, that would go against the spirit 
of why they were hired. Recall that they were hired to bring the crew back, or bring 

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara

  
evidence of their demise. If they do leave the island without evidence, they are not 
paid the remaining gold owed to them as they did not complete their assigned tasks. 
 
If players do decide to leave the island prematurely, they are ambushed by 6 ​tribal 
warriors ​as they attempt to leave. 
 
Exploring the Island 
 
As the players explore the island, reference the map in Appendix 1. Each area of the 
map will have a potential trap or encounter for the players to navigate. As players 
explore the island they will locate two camps. One is rather small, made for a 
scouting party. The other is a large camp home to the rest of the tribe. 
 
In addition to the camps, the players will find a large stone pyramid on the far 
eastern side of the camp. This is where the tribal priest and the rest of the warriors 
will be preparing the captured crew for sacrifice to the gods. 
 
The island can best be described as a thick jungle. Large trees with giant leaves and 
vines take up virtually every area the players can look. Wildlife is very active. Colorful 
birds fly around, and monkeys jump from tree to tree. Insects are active, especially 
when the sun goes down. Along the coastline there are large boulders. A relatively 
small jungle mountain is also found on the Northeast corner of the island.  
 
Don’t worry too much about describing each new area the players enter. Instead focus 
on what hazards exist. If you choose, give players a copy of the map found in 
Appendix 2. This way players can keep track of each area of they explore. You may 
choose to cover the parts of the island they have not explored. 
 
Area 1: Falling Net 
 
Players find a falling net trap which has already been activated. The net lies on the 
ground with nothing trapped beneath. 
 
Area A: Scouting Camp 
 
Players encounter 1d4 ​tribal warriors​ at a small campsite. 
 
 
 

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara

  
Area 2: Spiders Nest 
 
Players encounter 1 ​giant spider​. Players movement halved due to spider webs. 
 
Area 3: Quicksand 
 
In this area is a large patch of quicksand. It requires a DC15 Athletics check to swim 
out. Failed checks result in the player sinking into the sand. 
 
Area B: Large Tribal Camp 
 
In this area is a large tribal camp. There are 2d12 inhabitants here, a mixture of 
women and some children. They are certainly hostile. There are several large tents, 
fires, and a much larger tent in the middle of the camp. Inside the tents are various 
tools and weapons. In the largest tent players find some potions. A quick inspection 
reveals them to be: snake antivenom, and two (2) potions of healing. There are 
paintings all around the tent of the sun and planets. There are also small wooden 
figures that resemble the tribesmen and women. 
 
Area 4: Spiked Pit Trap 
 
There is a large pit in this area. Players must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, or 
they fall 20 feet into the spiked pit. They take 1d6 fall damage, and 1d4 piercing 
damage from the spikes at the bottom. 
 
Area 5 and 6: Treacherous Coastline 
 
This area is very rocky and does not have much vegetation. Players walking in this 
area must be very careful. Have each player make a DC15 Dexterity check. Otherwise, 
they lose their footing and fall between rocks, taking 1d6 fall damage. 
 
Area C: Stone Temple 
 
In this area, players will find a large stone template in a clearing in the jungle. At the 
top of the temple are the five (5) remaining crew members from The Misty Mermaid, 
one (1) ​tribal shaman,​ and six (6) ​tribal warriors.​ This area is where players will have 
to make a rescue attempt. 
 
 

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara

  
 
Area 7: Jungle Mountains 
 
There is a relatively small mountain located in this area. If players climb the 
mountain they find nothing of note, but run the risk of falling down and taking serious 
damage. As players climb have them periodically make DC15 Dexterity checks. On 
failed checks, players fall back to the level they were previously at. 
 
Area 8: Tar Pit 
 
Players encounter a tar pit. It functions as quicksand but is also highly flammable.  
 

Part 5: Back to Saltmarsh 

 
Depending on how the rescue attempt goes, players will have some crew members to 
take back to Saltmarsh. If the party is unable to rescue any of the crew, make sure 
the players are able to have some evidence of their journey and discoveries. This 
could be a map of the island, a journal or sketches detailing their adventure, or even 
artifacts from the shipwreck of tribal camps.  
 
Whatever the case may be, the return voyage home is uneventful. When players 
return, if they are able to rescue the crew, or prove their whereabouts, they are 
rewarded with the remaining 200 gold from the town council.  
 
 
   

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara

  
Appendix 1 - Map of the Island (DM Copy) 
 

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara

  
Appendix 2 - Map of the Island (Player Copy) 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Adventure and Art Work by: z3stycapybara