Coast Trip Autumn ’25: Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv, Pt. 1

The Freebooters woke on a surf‑lashed shore with sand in their teeth and a wrecked merchantman grinding itself apart on the reefs. The Genevieve’s crew were gone, but five fellow passengers lay scattered nearby; the Varisian scholar Iyana was missing, and Jask, a priest of Salu, still wore shackles. Drag marks and boat‑shoe prints ringed the campsite, and a wary coconut crab skittered off as they gathered their wits.

Following the tracks toward the wreck, Pacifica slipped into the sea and found a sea‑scorpion battering a flooded storeroom door below decks. With rope and hook the others climbed aboard, netted the creature, and brought it down. Inside they discovered the first mate’s body savaged by blades and venom, a dead cook swollen with twin puncture wounds, and a cache of supplies: lanterns, oil, rope, nets, and a lifeboat still secured to the bow. In Captain Kovac’s ransacked cabin, a ship‑in‑bottle sat beside a brandy decanter and a coffer of coins. His log curdled into obsession, love poems to Iyana, jealousy of his first mate Alton, a change of course to Smuggler’s Shiv at Iyana’s urging, and a final note about “doing something” about the crew.

From a locked footlocker they recovered Jask’s holy symbol and keys. Back on the beach, a desperate attempt to free him ended in Ishirou accidentally hacking off Jask’s thumb before the keys were found and the shackles removed. They raised crude shelters and a fire, hid salvaged rations, and learned Eris Movado’s hands shook for want of drink. Pacifica shared the brandy and promised to hunt for viper nettles to ease her.

Night brought feather‑fletched arrows and whooping cries. One cannibal drowned in Pacifica’s net, two more were taken in their sleep after Yuna’s bold charge into the treeline, and Dewberry felled another with thunder and flame. Relocating by dinghy to a safer islet, the Freebooters crossed Desperation Bay to an abandoned lean‑to camp littered with broken sawtooth sabers. They claimed a single sound blade and a fine dagger etched with crossing mantis claws, then pushed inland.

A jungle snare slammed Pacifica into a spike‑studded tree. Mending wounds, they fell back to the huts, where a second night assault met nets, steel, and powder. One survivor spat defiance and devotion to a “Red Devil” until the sand took him. Morning found the camp intact, their prisoner dead, and the island’s secrets pressing in from the green.

OUTLINE:

Shipwreck at Dawn, Missing Scholar, and a Shackled Priest

• The Freebooters awoke on a beach beside the wreck of the Genevieve; crew missing, five passengers present.
• Iyana, an Aruxian scholar, was missing; Jask, a priest of Salu, remained shackled.
• Drag marks and boat‑shoe prints surrounded their gear; a large crab skittered off.

Assault on the Wreck and Captain’s Dark Log

• Pacifica swam to the broken hull and spotted a sea‑scorpion battering a flooded door.
• With rope and hook, they boarded, netted the creature, and killed it, harvesting rations.
• In the supply room and larder they found the first mate and cook dead from blades and venom.
• They recovered lanterns, oil, rope, nets, block and tackle, shovels, and a dinghy.
• In Kovac’s cabin they found a brandy decanter, ship‑in‑a‑bottle, coin coffer, map, and a log revealing his obsession with Iyana, jealousy of his first mate Alton, a course change to Smuggler’s Shiv, and threats against the crew.
• From a footlocker they retrieved Jask’s holy symbol and keys, plus spare gear.

Camp, a Botched Rescue, and First Night Ambush

• Ishirou’s attempt to free Jask with a blade severed the priest’s thumb; keys later opened the shackles.
• They built huts, hid rations, and learned Eris battled the shakes; Pacifica shared brandy and promised to find viper nettles.
• Night attack: feather‑fletched arrows from cannibals; Dewberry shot one, Yuna slept two, Pacifica drowned one; Tick died.
• They relocated by dinghy to a nearby islet for safety.

Abandoned Lean‑to Camp and Mantis‑Etched Dagger

• Crossed Desperation Bay to an abandoned camp strewn with broken sawtooth sabers and daggers.
• Recovered one intact saber and a masterwork dagger etched with crossing mantis claws.
• Pushed inland toward the mountain seeking viper nettles; Pacifica triggered a spike snare and was injured.

Second Night Raid and Grim Interrogation

• Back at the huts, four cannibals scuttled in; Pacifica netted two, Dewberry’s shot blew one’s head back, the last fell to steel.
• A captured survivor spat devotion to a Red Devil and refused to speak; he was executed and buried.
• Dawn found the camp intact, and the party set their sights on exploring further inland and finding Iyana.

NPCs:

• Cannibal Raiders: Degenerate islanders with filed teeth, crude bows, and hide shields who scuttle from the treeline. They whoop, set snares, and mutter prayers to a Red Devil.
• Captain Kovac: Master of the Genevieve whose log slid from precise notes into obsession with Iyana. He changed course to Smuggler’s Shiv and hinted at violence toward his crew before the wreck.
• Eris Movado: A trim, sharp‑tongued half‑elf in leather and a tricorn who kept the captain at arm’s length. She battles the shakes, took the brandy gratefully, and hopes for viper nettles to help her quit.
• First Mate Alton Devers: Found dead in a supply room with sword gashes and venom‑swollen limbs, the focus of Kovac’s jealous rants.
• Gelik: A foppish gnome with ink‑stained fingers, forever drafting the great Golarion novel and offering color to the campfires.
• Ishirou: A private, road‑weary wanderer with a bastard sword. Pressed to help, he botched a rescue and took Jask’s thumb, then kept to hauling and guard work.
• Iyana (the scholar): An Aruxian scholar whose presence consumed Kovac’s thoughts. Missing since the wreck and at the heart of the island’s mystery.
• Jask Derindi (before joining): Shackled priest of Salu, thrown in the hold and wrongfully accused. Freed with the captain’s keys; now a full companion after Tick’s death.
• Sasha Nevia: An impulsive red‑haired gambler missing her left pinky who invokes her family’s name like a threat.
• The Cook of the Genevieve: Found purpled and stiff in the larder, body marked by paired punctures that matched the first mate’s venom wounds.

ITEMS:

• Arquebus: Dewberry’s thunderstick, a lifesaver from a foxhole more than once.
• Block and Tackle: Muscle on a rope, for hauling hull or hut alike.
• Captain’s Brandy Decanter: A bracing mercy for Eris and a reminder of better salons.
• Coffer of Coins (35 gp): Hard currency with no markets, but worth its weight in resolve.
• Grappling Hook and Rope: The line that made the wreck climbable and future climbs possible.
• Healing Salve: Minted balm that knits flesh when the night gets ugly.
• Jask’s Holy Symbol of Salu: Returned from the captain’s footlocker, faith in hand again.
• Lanterns and Oil: Hard light in a dark jungle, pulled from the Genevieve’s stores.
• Lifeboat: The dinghy that ferries hope between shores and into danger.
• Masterwork Mantis‑Etched Dagger: A keen blade marked with crossing praying mantis claws, taken from the abandoned camp.
• Pacifica’s Net and Trident: A gladiator’s pairing turned survival kit; it hauls dinner and drags nightmares under the surf.
• Sawtooth Saber (Intact): One sound blade among many shattered; cruelly serrated and serviceable.
• Ship‑in‑a‑Bottle: A dark‑wood model of the Genevieve sealed in glass; a fragile memento of the voyage.
• Shovels: For camp, graves, and foxholes as the nights demand.
• Vitus Tincture (x2): A clear tonic to mend flagging constitutions.
• Witches’ Brew (x2): A foul draught that briefly regrows what the jungle takes away.

LOCATIONS:

• Abandoned Lean‑to Camp: Collapsed palm‑frond shelters strewn with broken sawtooth sabers and a single fine dagger with mantis etching.
• Captain’s Cabin: Maps, a brandy decanter, a ship‑in‑a‑bottle, and a logbook that charted a descent into obsession.
• Desperation Bay: The broad, sheltered inlet where the Genevieve broke and the Freebooters first came ashore.
• Jungle Interior Trails: Animal paths and snare‑lines winding toward the mountain, alive with birds and ambushes.
• North Cove Beach: The initial makeshift camp of sand, driftwood and shock, ringed by tracks and crab sign.
• Offshore Islet Camp: A safer base reached by dinghy, where the survivors rebuilt their fire ring and regrouped.
• Smuggler’s Shiv: A jagged, jungle‑choked island ringed by wrecks and whispering with old trails and newer traps. A volcanic peak broods over the interior.
• Supply Room and Larder: Stores of lanterns, rope, nets, and the dead—first mate and cook, both marked by paired punctures.
• The Genevieve (Wreck): A Sargavan trader split on the reefs. Her bow and stern still clung to the rocks long enough to be stripped of supplies and secrets.
• Volcanic Peak: The mountain that crowns the Shiv, a looming landmark drawing eyes and questions.

FACTIONS:

• Cannibal Tribe of the Shiv: Degenerate islanders with filed teeth, hide shields, and a taste for man‑flesh who mutter about a Red Devil.
• Mantis‑Marked Unknowns: Whoever carried sawtooth sabers and a dagger etched with praying mantis claws left their mark at the abandoned camp.
• Sargavan Government: Traders, magistrates, and their ships crossing to and from Garund. Jask claims its courts jailed him on false charges.
• Shackles Pirates: The freebooting menace of the coasts, long fingers in too many purses and ports.

QUESTS:

• Aid Eris’s Withdrawal: Locate viper nettles to help Eris steady her hands and head.
• Confront the Cannibal Threat: Survive night raids, learn their patterns, and decide their fate.
• Explore the Wreck: Board the Genevieve, defeat what lairs within, and salvage what can be saved.
• Find the Missing Scholar Iyana: Track down the Aruxian scholar whose absence haunts the captain’s final log.
• Free Jask from Shackles: Return the priest’s freedom and symbol, and give him a place among the survivors.
• Investigate Other Wrecks and Camps: Follow the coast and trails to old hulks and abandoned shelters for clues and supplies.
• Survive Smuggler’s Shiv: Secure shelter, food, and a defensible base while the island tests every weakness.
• Uncover What Happened to the Genevieve: Follow Kovac’s unraveling and the fate of his crew from logbook to shoreline.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Dewberry “Puffy” McFrizzin: A wry, foxhole‑digging gnome who keeps his powder dry and his eyes sharper. He favors careful setup, sudden thunder, and practical salvage, and twice turned the tide with a well‑placed shot. Under fire, he is stubbornly unflappable.
• Jask Derindi: A Garundi priest of Salu, wrongfully imprisoned and now freed—short a thumb but not his principles. Honest to a fault and stubbornly hopeful, he tends wounds, keeps the light of learning, and steps forward as a companion after Tick’s death.
• Pacifica: An undine with sea‑green hair and webbed hands who moves like water and hunts like it too. She wields net and trident with gladiator grace, drags foes under the surf, and shoulders the group’s survival chores with quiet resolve. Compassionate with friends, she can be merciless to threats.
• Tick: A lizardfolk arcanist with a jaunty cap and a fragile streak of luck. Eager and curious, Tick probed for magic and tried to steady frayed nerves, but fell in the first night’s arrow storm. His gear and lessons now bolster the survivors.
• Yuna: A Suli nun of the Light who wraps her vows in ringing boasts and battlefield hymns. She charges when others balk, bolsters allies with bright courage, and is quick to sprint into the dark when a decisive act is needed.