Adventure Summary: A one-session horror adventure for four to five 5th-level characters. When a barnacled abbey bell rises from Blackwater Lagoon with a fisher trapped beside it, the party must cross a storm-lashed village, rescue the survivor, and silence the bell before its third toll calls the dead ashore.
Drowned Bell Saga: Part 1 of 4. This adventure stands alone. The saga continues with Pilgrims of the Salt Road.
Overview
Blackwater’s warning horn sounds during a midnight squall. Jory Salt, a young net-mender, is stranded in a skiff beside an enormous bell that should lie beneath the ruins of Saint Orra’s abbey. Every wave carries whispers from villagers lost at sea.
Track Toll from zero to three. Add one when the party fails a major crossing, lets the bell’s rope touch the lagoon, or spends twenty minutes without changing the scene. At Toll 3, the Bellwarden rings once and all Lagoon Dead gain 10 temporary hit points. The rescue and sealing ritual remain possible at every Toll.
Background
A century ago, Saint Orra’s abbey sank after its clergy tried to bind a predatory sea-spirit inside the chapter bell. Smugglers recently cut the three chains that held the bell below, hoping to reach an old crypt. Their work released the Bellwarden, a drowned custodian that mistakes every living voice for part of its lost choir.
Standalone hook: Reeve Mara Vell offers 600 gp and a family relic to anyone who brings Jory home and stops the dead from reaching the village. No prior saga knowledge is needed.
Characters
- Mara Vell: Blackwater’s practical reeve. She knows the lagoon channels and admits her brother led the smuggling crew if confronted with the cut chain.
- Jory Salt: A frightened fisher who climbed onto the bell cradle after his skiff snagged the toll rope. He can identify the safest approach once rescued.
- The Bellwarden: A drowned abbey custodian that obeys ritual gestures, fears silence, and can be defeated, dismissed, or convinced that the party has completed its final service.
Setting
The labeled map connects Netmaker’s Pier, Bellwatch Ruin, the rescue skiff, the Sunken Steps, the Bell Cradle, and a smuggler tunnel. Crossing open water takes one round by boat or two rounds by swimming in the storm.
Any creature entering the lagoon must succeed on a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check or move 15 feet toward the bell. A secured rope, water vehicle proficiency, or a spell that controls water grants advantage.
Plot Outline
The party gathers testimony at Netmaker’s Pier, crosses the storm lagoon, rescues Jory, explores the Sunken Steps for the lost sealing verse, confronts the Bellwarden at the Bell Cradle, and resolves the night’s threat by cutting, consecrating, or rebinding the toll rope.
1. Names in the Rain
Mara provides a skiff, two coils of rope, and the lagoon map. A DC 13 Investigation or Survival check finds bronze filings on the pier and proves that the bell was raised deliberately. Failure still reveals the smuggler tunnel, but Toll increases by one as the bell turns toward the village.
2. The Rescue Skiff
Three Lagoon Dead climb the skiff while Jory hangs from its stern. A character can reach him with a DC 14 Athletics check, pull him aboard with an action, or draw the dead away with a loud spell or object. If Jory falls, he floats for three rounds before sinking; he is conscious and can follow one shouted instruction each round.
3. The Sunken Verse
At the Sunken Steps, six bronze tiles carry a sealing prayer. Three DC 14 Religion, History, or Investigation successes reconstruct the order: name the drowned, lower the rope, then deny the final toll. Each failure deals 1d6 psychic damage from borrowed memories but also reveals one correct tile.
4. Bell Cradle
The Bellwarden rises with two Lagoon Dead. The party wins by reducing it to 0 hit points, earning three DC 15 Persuasion or Religion successes while performing the verse, or severing the AC 15 rope, which has 25 hit points and immunity to psychic and poison damage. Each round at initiative 20, a wave forces a DC 14 Dexterity save or knocks creatures prone.
5. A Quiet Shore
Once the rope is cut or rebound, the bell sinks and the dead collapse into clean seawater. Jory reaches shore alive even if the party retreats after the ritual. Mara pays the reward, closes the smuggler tunnel, and asks no further service. A salt-white road appears beyond Bellwatch Ruin, offering a lead into the saga without leaving this adventure unresolved.
NPCs and Monsters
| NPC or Monster | Statistics | Key Abilities and Table Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mara Vell | Medium humanoid; AC 12, HP 22. | Persuasion +4, Survival +5. She supplies a skiff and cancels one failed navigation check if the party follows her channel marks. |
| Jory Salt | Medium humanoid; AC 11, HP 9. | Athletics +3, vehicles (water). While aboard a boat, he grants advantage on one check to escape the bell’s current. |
| Bellwarden | Medium undead; AC 16, HP 78. | Cold iron crook +6, 2d8 + 3 cold. It is weakened by a round of complete silence and yields when the sealing verse is completed. |
Rewards
- 600 gp from Blackwater’s emergency treasury.
- Bellglass Charm: While worn, this uncommon charm grants advantage on one saving throw against being frightened per long rest. Once per dawn, its bearer can silence one nonmagical bell or gong within 60 feet for one minute.
Scaling the Adventure
For 4th level, use 60 hit points for the Bellwarden and two Lagoon Dead. For 6th level, give it 95 hit points and let Toll of Want recharge on 4-6. For a two-hour session, begin at the rescue skiff with the first sealing tile already in Jory’s pocket. For groups avoiding drowning peril, a failed swim check washes a character onto a nearby platform instead of submerging them.
Coastal Horror-Themed Table Gear
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- Coastal rowboat miniatures. Make the rescue skiff, boarding routes, and forced movement easy to track.
- Bronze nautical handbell. Use it to mark Toll advances and give the silence mechanic a physical cue.
- Ocean-wave battle mat. Supports the skiff rescue, bell cradle, and shifting current hazards.