The Ferry Overfull
For 6 level 10 PCs, 3 to 3.5 hours, 3 encounters. Charon is not a kill target.
📜 Session Summary
| Style Underworld disaster escort where the hardest fight is keeping order on a boat that must not sink. |
| Win Condition The living are turned back or delivered lawfully, Charon's ferry stays balanced, and the dead keep their road. |
| Loss Condition The barge capsizes into Styx; living names wash from memory while undead opportunists steal the crossing. |
| Setting Bank of the Styx at the crossing dock → midstream on Charon's long black barge → the wake behind the ferry where the Fare-Thief waits |
| Atmosphere Underworld bureaucracy under siege · ancient law vs. desperate grief · the river that remembers every name ever drowned in it |
| Materials Black river water, damp reed-paper fares, coin-bright thread, loose ferry planks, pale lantern oil, ash-bleached bone oar |
| Tone Mythic underworld procedural — the greatest danger is a barge that tips, not a monster that charges |
| Players 6 × Level 10 · 3–3.5 hrs · 3 encounters |
| Key Ally Myrto with the Blue Lantern (recruit Enc. Enc. 1 or Enc. 2) · Maguffin: Balanced Obol Ledger |
Description
The party arrives at the Styx crossing dock to find Charon, Overworked Boatman standing at the gangplank with a manifest in one hand and a look of bureaucratic exhaustion in the other. The queue behind the party extends further than the eye can follow into the underworld dark. Something has gone wrong: someone has been forging return fares — living people with stolen dead-names, trying to cross back — and the manifest is now dangerously overloaded with living weight. The Balanced Obol Ledger he presses into the party's hands is the only tool that can identify which fares are genuine and which are lies in wet ink.
The barge cannot capsize. The dead cannot lose their road. Charon cannot be a kill target — if attacked he stops rowing, the barge drifts into the river's grip, and the Styx does the rest. The party's job is not to fight the problem but to manage it: sort the living from the dead at the dock, hold the balance in midstream against boarders and river creatures, and expose the undead smuggler who has been running the forgery operation from the barge's wake. The hardest encounters happen when a player tries to simplify by doing violence to someone who needs to be persuaded.
Somewhere in the queue is Myrto with the Blue Lantern — a dead guide whose name-token was stolen by one of the living forgers. Recovering it and giving it back is the simplest recruitment in the entire crossing.
Act 1 (Dock Triage): The ledger auto-identifies forged fares when opened near someone holding one — a faint golden glow outlines the page where the lie sits. DC 10 Arcana or Religion (passive Perception 14 also works) to notice. Each identification counts as a free success in the 5-success triage challenge, no action required. Myrto's name-token is also findable this way: the ledger glows when held near the living petitioner who stole it.
Act 2 (Midstream): Opening the ledger on the balance rail (Action) calms the most agitated passenger group immediately — they become docile until attacked or the barge lists severely (DC 16 Con save required). Also identifies the direction the Coin-Drowned boarders are coming from, granting Advantage on Perception checks to spot swimmers in the fog. DC 14 History to realize the Coin-Drowned are carrying the very obol coins that were forged — they're the previous victims of the forgery scheme.
Act 3 (Boss Fight): Placed on the prow ledger-stand (Action, requires nobody attacking the character placing it), the ledger illuminates the Fare-Thief fully for 1 round — it cannot benefit from its Fog Form trait (half-cover from river-mist) or its Name-Theft Gaze while illuminated. Additionally, the ledger automatically absorbs the names of any passengers who fall overboard during the fight, preventing the Styx memory-wash — they are recoverable after the fight with a DC 12 Religion check.
Handout — The Balanced Obol Ledger
Charon presses a slim black ledger into a player's hands — black reed-paper pages sewn with coin-bright thread, damp from the river air, each page stamped with a balanced coin. On the inside cover, in the ferryman's minimal script: "One fare, one name, one shore. Cross out a lie before it learns to row." See Balanced Obol Ledger for full card.
Key NPCs
Charon, Overworked Boatman — Quest Giver · Neutral
Charon is not a villain and not an obstacle — he is infrastructure with a personality. He speaks in the clipped, procedural cadences of someone who has processed sixty thousand crossings and is not surprised by anything a mortal can do, only occasionally inconvenienced. He will not help fight because he is currently rowing. He will help with exactly one lawful administrative decision per encounter — no more, no less. He is not unkind; he is simply calibrated to a job that predates kindness. Secret: he knows who is forging the fares — a drowned name-thief in his own wake — but cannot leave the oar long enough to do anything about it. The Balanced Obol Ledger was his own tool, which he deliberately gives to the party as his one legal exception. RP hook: A player who asks Charon for help directly (DC 14 Persuasion) gets exactly one sentence of useful information. A player who asks him about the forged fares gets a 3-second pause and the words: "Someone in the wake knows my books better than I'd like." DC 17 Insight to recognize this as alarm, not mere complaint.
Myrto with the Blue Lantern — Potential Ally · Neutral
Myrto is a dead shade who has been in the queue for three days because her name-token was taken by a living petitioner using it as false fare. She carries a blue lantern that belongs to the living world — she died carrying it home for a child who needed it — and it has not gone out. She does not know why. She speaks carefully, as people do who have recently had a lot of time to think, and she is quietly furious in the way that only a polite person held in a wrong place can be. Secret: her blue lantern, still burning with living fire, is one of the things keeping the Styx memory-eels from the surface near the barge — the eels hate living light. If she boards and holds the lantern over the rail, the eels will not surface within 30 ft. She does not know this yet. RP hook: Recovering her name-token is the simplest path to recruitment (Balanced Ledger identifies it automatically; DC 13 Persuasion to take it back from the living petitioner without a fight). On recruitment, she immediately raises the lantern over the rail and the water calms — players can make DC 14 Arcana or Nature to identify why.
Lysander the Living — Minor NPC · Chaotic Neutral
Lysander is a living man in the crossing queue, carrying a forged return fare and Myrto's name-token. He is not malicious — his daughter is on the far shore (she died six months ago; he has not recovered) and he acquired the forgeries from someone who told him he could bring her back. He cannot. He does not know this yet. He is armed and scared and has nothing to lose. Secret: the forgeries he carries were sold to him by the Fare-Thief, who is harvesting the desperation of grieving living people to fund its operation. Lysander's fare is actually a real ticket — the Fare-Thief included one genuine document as proof of concept. If the party finds this, they can use it as evidence against the boss. RP hook: DC 14 Insight to identify that he is terrified rather than malicious; DC 15 Persuasion to convince him that his daughter would not want him to erase his own name crossing illegally. On persuasion, he hands over the name-token and the forged fare voluntarily. On failure, he surges for the gangplank, worsening the Balance clock by 1.
Major Beats
- The Crossing Queue. Party arrives to find the queue backed up with too many living faces. Charon presses the Balanced Obol Ledger into a player's hands without ceremony. DC 13 Religion: the ledger is a divine administrative tool; its light identifies forgeries automatically. DC 14 History: return fares from the underworld have not been issued in living memory — any "return fare" is almost certainly forged.
- Encounter 1 — The Queue That Should Not Breathe. Dock triage against Desperate Living Petitioners and Coin-Drowned Dead. Skill challenge 5/3. Lysander the Living holds Myrto's name-token. The Balanced Ledger auto-identifies 3 of the 5 forged fares; the party must find the other two. Hard ~10,350 XP.
- Midstream Passage. Barge pushes off from the dock with the sorted passengers — but the Balance clock carries over any failures from Enc. 1. The fog thickens as the river current changes direction without visible cause.
- Encounter 2 — Midstream Weight. 3 Coin-Drowned Dead board from the water + 1 Styx Memory-Eel surfaces. Balance clock mechanic and passenger protection. Myrto's lantern suppresses eel surfacing within 30 ft if she's been recruited. Hard ~11,550 XP.
- Encounter 3 — Too Many Names in the Wake. The Fare-Thief surfaces behind the barge, dragging 2 Memory-Eels and 2 Coin-Drowned as cover. Ferry event table at initiative 20. Balanced Ledger placed on prow exposes the Fare-Thief for 1 round (no Fog Form). Deadly ~21,150 XP.
- Resolution. Fare-Thief destroyed or driven off. Charon notes the party's names in a second manifest — one that, unlike the first, has a return column. He does not explain further. The barge continues without incident.
Session Rewards
Keepable prizes earned by completing (or excelling at) this session. One character claims each reward unless noted. Full cards are under Reward Cards.
| Reward | Description | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Balanced Obol Ledger | Ledger that weighs living souls and calms one undead fare dispute. | Hold Charon's barge steady without making the ferryman a kill target. |
Creature / Enemy List
| Creature | Easy | Med | Hard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desperate Living Petitioners | — | med | hard | CR 4 · Crowd hazard |
| Coin-Drowned Dead | — | med | hard | CR 5 · Boarding undead |
| Styx Memory-Eel | — | med | hard | CR 6 · River control monster |
| The Fare-Thief in the Wake | — | med | hard | CR 10 · Boss, undead smuggler |
| Myrto with the Blue Lantern | — | 1 | 1 | Recruit Enc. Enc. 1 or Enc. 2 |
Encounter 1 — The Queue That Should Not Breathe
The dock at the crossing is a long stone pier that disappears into the dark in both directions. The queue should be all grey-faced dead — it is not. Warm-skinned, breathing people are distributed throughout the line, their living weight tilting the manifest's numbers visibly. Charon stands at the boarding gate, manifest open, refusing to process a single passenger until the numbers resolve. The black water below the loose dock planks is already disturbed — Coin-Drowned Dead are circling, attracted by the heat of living blood. If the balance clock reaches 3 before the party resolves the triage, they surface.
Overview
Sort the living from the dead, spot forged fares, and keep panic from rushing the gangplank. The Balanced Obol Ledger auto-identifies 3 of the 5 forged fares; the party must identify the remaining 2 through skill checks or role-play.
APL10 Hard Composition (if clock reaches 3): 3× Desperate Living Petitioners (CR4 · 1,100 XP each = 3,300) + 2× Coin-Drowned Dead (CR5 · 1,800 XP each = 3,600) = 6,900 base × multiplier 1.5 ≈ 10,350 XP — Hard. If the party resolves the triage without reaching clock 3, this becomes a pure skill challenge with no combat.
Hard Additions already included: Balance Clock carries into Encounter 2 (each unresolved failure = +1 to Encounter 2 starting clock); Lysander the Living surges for the gangplank on a failed persuasion check (clock +1 and Coin-Drowned surface early).
🗺 Terrain & Features
Rope Lanes (×3): Keep the queue organized. Each lane can be monitored by one PC; failing to monitor a lane = 1 automatic failure per round in that lane.
Obol Booth: Where fares are presented. The Balanced Ledger glows golden at the booth when a forged fare is submitted — no check required to notice, but the forger may notice the glow and bolt (DC 14 Perception).
Shade Benches (×4): Where the verified dead wait. Myrto sits here; her name-token is visibly missing from her neck — DC 14 Perception to notice; ledger auto-confirms.
Loose Planks: Anyone who runs across them makes DC 13 Dexterity or falls through into the river (Styx water = DC 14 Wisdom save or lose one memory, −2 to a chosen skill for 1 hour).
River Below: Coin-Drowned Dead surface here when clock reaches 3. They grapple anyone who falls in.
Non-Combat Options
- Ledger Identification (automatic, 3 fares): The ledger glows at the obol booth for each forged fare. The party needs to identify 2 more manually — the forgeries that have not yet been presented.
- DC 14 Insight (identify living-among-dead): Breathing, warm skin, blinking rate, unbleached clothes — a living petitioner attempting to pass as dead. On success, one forged fare identified without confrontation. On failure, the petitioner notices and becomes defensive (+2 to their Deception).
- DC 15 Persuasion (convince Lysander to give up the name-token): Uses the angle that his daughter would not want him erased. On success: name-token returned; Lysander departs peacefully; Myrto recruited immediately. On failure: clock +1; Lysander surges.
- DC 13 Persuasion (Myrto to speak for frightened shades): Once her name-token is returned, Myrto can address the other dead passengers — on success, all dead passengers become calm for the rest of Enc. 1 and count as one success in the triage challenge.
- Full Non-Combat Success (5/3 triage): Coin-Drowned Dead do not surface; Balance Clock at 0 entering Enc. 2; Lysander gives a genuine ticket as evidence against the Fare-Thief.
Mechanics
- Run triage as 5 successes before 3 failures. Skills: Insight DC 14, Persuasion DC 15, Religion DC 13, Medicine DC 14, Intimidation DC 16, Investigation DC 14.
- Each failure adds 1 to the Balance Clock; at 3, Coin-Drowned Dead surface from under the dock.
- The Balanced Ledger reveals forged fares automatically (3 of 5) and identifies Myrto's stolen name-token.
- Myrto recruited by recovering her name-token (via Ledger identification + DC 13 Persuasion of Lysander or DC 14 Sleight of Hand to recover it discreetly).
Creature Cards
Charon, Overworked Boatman
Unique undead ferryman, neutral keeper of passage
Motivation. Keep the crossing lawful, paid, and afloat despite living petitioners forcing their way aboard.
Secret. Someone forged return fares with ink made from stolen memories.
Hard rule. He will not abandon the dead, waive the oldest laws, or let the party kill passengers to simplify the load.
Balanced Obol Ledger
Underworld manifest, lawful counterweight
Appearance: Black reed-paper pages sewn with coin-bright thread and damp thumbprints.
Handout. "One fare, one name, one shore. Cross out a lie before it learns to row."
Enc. 1–2. Identifies forged fares, calms one passenger group, or reveals who belongs on the return shore.
Enc. 3. Balanced on the prow, it stabilizes the barge and exposes the undead smuggler boss for 1 round.
Myrto with the Blue Lantern
Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
AC 13 | HP 55 | Speed 30 ft.
Role: Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
RECRUITMENT (Enc. Enc. 1 or Enc. 2). Find her missing name-token, defend her place in line, or let her speak for frightened shades.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Strike. Lantern flare +6 to hit, 10 radiant to undead; grants advantage on one social check with dead passengers.
Desperate Living Petitioners
Medium Creature · CR 4 · Crowd hazard
AC 12 | HP 90 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Should be persuaded, restrained, or redirected; do not frame them as kill fodder.
Attack. Surge, DC 15 Strength or Charisma save or 16 bludgeoning and the Balance clock worsens.
Encounter 2 — Midstream Weight
The barge pushes off into the river. The fog comes up immediately — not weather, but the Styx breathing. The passengers arrange themselves with the peculiar politeness of the recently dead, except for the living ones who are still arguing quietly and one woman who has found a way to hang her legs over the side and is being told, firmly and repeatedly, to stop. Charon rows without looking at any of it. Then the barge lists. Not much — an inch — but on a river that measures weight by souls, an inch is a declaration. Something is climbing the far side.
Overview
Keep Charon's barge balanced while the Coin-Drowned Dead board from the water and a Styx Memory-Eel disrupts the fog banks. The Balance Clock (carrying over from Enc. 1) determines the starting list — if it is at 2 or higher, the barge is already visibly tilted and passengers take 1 damage per round from sliding unless secured.
APL10 Hard Composition: 3× Coin-Drowned Dead (CR5 · 1,800 XP each = 5,400) + 1× Styx Memory-Eel (CR6 · 2,300 XP) = 7,700 base × multiplier 1.5 ≈ 11,550 XP — Hard.
Hard Additions: Myrto's blue lantern suppresses Memory-Eel surfacing within 30 ft (eel must stay outside lantern range); if Myrto was not recruited, add +1 to Balance Clock at the start of the encounter. Coin-Drowned Dead carry the very obol coins from forged fares — exposing this grants Advantage on the next Persuasion check against a living petitioner still aboard.
🗺 Terrain & Features
Pole Lanes (×2): A PC manning a pole (Athletics DC 14) counteracts one point of Balance Clock shift that round — essentially treading water for the barge's stability.
Passenger Benches: Persuasion DC 13 to seat an agitated passenger properly; seated passengers do not contribute to list. Failure: passenger stands up, steps to the wrong side, clock +1.
Coin Brazier (center): Burning a forged fare here in a naming ceremony (Religion DC 14 + must name the thief aloud) reduces clock by 1 and calms all dead passengers for that round. Burning without naming triggers Coin-Drowned boarding (they were holding those coins).
Fog Banks: Memory-Eel hides in fog banks between attacks; Perception DC 15 to identify position. Myrto's lantern (if aboard) automatically negates fog within 30 ft of her.
Rails: Being bull-rushed to the rail requires DC 15 Athletics or Dexterity to avoid going over; Styx water = DC 14 Wisdom or lose a memory.
Non-Combat Options
- Pole Work (Athletics DC 14): Counteracts one clock shift per round. Two PCs at poles simultaneously reduces shift by 2. Does not work if both rails are occupied by Coin-Drowned boarders.
- Fare-Burning Ceremony (Religion DC 14): Must name the Fare-Thief specifically (evidence from Enc. 1 reduces DC to 12). Success: clock −1, all dead passengers calm for 1 round. Failure without naming: 2 additional Coin-Drowned board.
- Myrto's Lantern: Extending the lantern over the rail as a Bonus Action (Myrto or a player holding it) suppresses Memory-Eel surfacing within 30 ft. The eel will not approach the light; it can be kited away from the barge by a player who jumps into a curragh-dinghy tied to the stern (DC 14 Athletics to row the dinghy; eel follows the light if nothing else is closer).
- Identifying Coin-Drowned Origins (DC 14 History after observing coins): Reveals they were victims of the same forgery scheme. This information can be presented to any remaining living petitioners as evidence — DC 13 Persuasion to make them sit down and stop contributing to the list.
Mechanics
- Balance clock carries from Enc. 1; if at 2+, barge lists and passengers slide (1 damage/round unless seated).
- At initiative 20 each round, roll d6: 1–2 clock +1 (list); 3–4 fog thickens (Perception DC +2); 5 passenger falls (DC 14 Athletics or they go over); 6 no event.
- Myrto's lantern suppresses eel within 30 ft; Coin-Drowned board on far rail away from lantern.
- Coin-Drowned Dead board if any fare is burned without naming the thief; Religion DC 14 + name = controlled burn.
Creature Cards
Charon, Overworked Boatman
Unique undead ferryman, neutral keeper of passage
Motivation. Keep the crossing lawful, paid, and afloat despite living petitioners forcing their way aboard.
Secret. Someone forged return fares with ink made from stolen memories.
Hard rule. He will not abandon the dead, waive the oldest laws, or let the party kill passengers to simplify the load.
Balanced Obol Ledger
Underworld manifest, lawful counterweight
Appearance: Black reed-paper pages sewn with coin-bright thread and damp thumbprints.
Handout. "One fare, one name, one shore. Cross out a lie before it learns to row."
Enc. 1–2. Identifies forged fares, calms one passenger group, or reveals who belongs on the return shore.
Enc. 3. Balanced on the prow, it stabilizes the barge and exposes the undead smuggler boss for 1 round.
Myrto with the Blue Lantern
Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
AC 13 | HP 55 | Speed 30 ft.
Role: Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
RECRUITMENT (Enc. Enc. 1 or Enc. 2). Find her missing name-token, defend her place in line, or let her speak for frightened shades.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Strike. Lantern flare +6 to hit, 10 radiant to undead; grants advantage on one social check with dead passengers.
Coin-Drowned Dead
Medium Creature · CR 5 · Boarding undead
AC 15 | HP 98 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Climb over the sides when forged fares are exposed.
Attack. Cold hands +7 to hit, 13 necrotic; stolen obol forces DC 15 Wisdom or frightened.
Encounter 3 — Too Many Names in the Wake
The far shore is visible — a grey smear against deeper grey, close enough to smell the dust. Then the barge slows. Not from current but from weight. The wake behind them is occupied. Something large is riding it, using the barge's own displacement as cover, and the Coin-Drowned in the water are moving in formation now, not swarming. The Fare-Thief in the Wake surfaces on the starboard quarter like an oil slick gaining structure — bones wrapped in fog and forged fares, hooks where hands should be, a ledger of stolen names hanging from its ribs like a second spine. It has been here since the beginning. It has been the beginning.
Overview
Fight the Fare-Thief and its escorts while holding the ferry steady and protecting passengers. The Fare-Thief uses Fog Form to maintain half-cover from the river mist; the Balanced Ledger placed on the prow strips this for 1 full round and exposes it to direct attacks. Charon rows through the entire fight — he cannot be damaged without stopping the barge, and a stopped barge on the Styx mid-crossing is a capsize within 3 rounds.
APL10 Deadly Composition: The Fare-Thief in the Wake (CR10 · 5,900 XP) + 2× Styx Memory-Eels (CR6 · 2,300 XP each = 4,600) + 2× Coin-Drowned Dead (CR5 · 1,800 XP each = 3,600) = 14,100 base × multiplier 1.5 ≈ 21,150 XP — Deadly.
Deadly Additions: Fare-Thief has Fog Form (half-cover unless Ledger placed on prow); Name-Theft Gaze (DC 16 Charisma or lose reactions + identity cues for 2 rounds); Legendary Action Name-Drain (steals a passenger overboard, adding them to its ledger — passenger is lost unless party retrieves them with a DC 14 Athletics + DC 12 Religion to re-record their name).
🗺 Terrain & Features
Prow Ledger Stand: Placing the Balanced Ledger here (Action, uninterrupted) strips Fare-Thief's Fog Form for 1 round and reveals all Coin-Drowned positions. The ledger also absorbs fallen-overboard names automatically while placed here (no action required to preserve them).
Tilting Deck: At initiative 20, roll the ferry event table (d6: 1–2 list, clock +1; 3 passenger falls overboard; 4 fog wall blocks half the deck, Perception DC 16; 5 Styx surge pushes barge 10 ft off course, one PC at pole must DC 14 Athletics; 6 no event).
Stern Bell: Ringing it (Action) signals the far shore; in 3 rounds, two dead shore-guards arrive to help stabilize passengers (not fight). They cannot harm the Fare-Thief.
Side Rails: Fare-Thief can attack from the water (oar-hook reach 15 ft through rail). A fallen PC is grappled by Coin-Drowned and dragged to DC 16 Athletics or Strength save to escape.
Charon's Oar: Cannot be targeted by players. If the Fare-Thief succeeds a Name-Drain on Charon's manifest, the barge slows; a player who makes DC 16 Arcana can manually row one section as a Bonus Action to compensate.
Mechanics
- At initiative 20, roll ferry event (d6): 1–2 list/clock+1; 3 passenger overboard; 4 fog wall; 5 Styx surge (DC 14 Athletics at pole); 6 no event.
- Stabilize barge (Action): DC 14 Athletics; counteracts one clock shift this round.
- Rescue passenger (Action): DC 13 Athletics (in water) or DC 12 Persuasion (on deck panicking).
- Ledger on prow (Action): strips Fog Form from Fare-Thief for 1 round; exposes all Coin-Drowned; auto-absorbs overboard names.
- Charon cannot be targeted; attacking him stops all rowing and triggers capsize in 3 rounds.
Creature Cards
Charon, Overworked Boatman
Unique undead ferryman, neutral keeper of passage
Motivation. Keep the crossing lawful, paid, and afloat despite living petitioners forcing their way aboard.
Secret. Someone forged return fares with ink made from stolen memories.
Hard rule. He will not abandon the dead, waive the oldest laws, or let the party kill passengers to simplify the load.
Balanced Obol Ledger
Underworld manifest, lawful counterweight
Appearance: Black reed-paper pages sewn with coin-bright thread and damp thumbprints.
Handout. "One fare, one name, one shore. Cross out a lie before it learns to row."
Enc. 1–2. Identifies forged fares, calms one passenger group, or reveals who belongs on the return shore.
Enc. 3. Balanced on the prow, it stabilizes the barge and exposes the undead smuggler boss for 1 round.
Styx Memory-Eel
Medium Creature · CR 6 · River control monster
AC 16 | HP 121 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Targets anyone overboard or leaning over the rail with the ledger.
Attack. Bite +8 to hit, 16 piercing plus 10 psychic; memory shock recharges on 5-6.
The Fare-Thief in the Wake
Large Creature · CR 10 · Boss, undead smuggler · Boss
AC 17 | HP 184 | Speed 40 ft.
Role: Boss, undead smuggler
Note. Boss last. It forges living passages to overload Charon's law and steal the wreckage.
Hard encounter focus. Win condition may be steal, escape, disable, or drive-off — not always kill.
Multiattack / Assault. Oar-hook +8 to hit, 18 necrotic; name-theft gaze DC 16 Charisma or lose reactions and identity cues.
Advance (1). Move up to half Speed.
Strike (1). One attack from Assault.
⚖️ Difficulty Scaling
As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 10
- Baseline for this guide. Encounters 1–2 are Hard (~10,350 and ~11,550 XP respectively); Encounter 3 is Deadly (~21,150 XP).
- XP budgets (6×L10 thresholds): Hard ≈ 10,800 · Deadly ≈ 16,800. The Balance Clock and ferry-event table add resource pressure beyond raw XP; budget for 25% more resource drain in Enc. 3.
- Skill DCs: 13–16 across all encounters. Charon can never be a kill target regardless of difficulty.
Library Standard — 6 Players, Average Level 8
- Enc. 1: Ledger auto-identifies 4 fares; clock threshold = 4. Enc. 2: 2× Coin-Drowned, no eel unless clock ≥ 3. Enc. 3: remove 1 Eel; no Name-Drain LA; Fog Form stripped automatically on Ledger placement. All DCs −1.
Easier (APL 8–9)
- Apply Library Standard adjustments. Myrto is already aboard when party arrives (skip name-token recovery); Ledger auto-identifies all 5 forged fares; ferry-event table triggers on 1–2 only.
Harder (APL 11–12)
- Enc. 1: Ledger auto-identifies 2 fares; 3 additional Coin-Drowned from start; Lysander has 2 accomplices. Enc. 2: 5× Coin-Drowned; Eel has Water Grasp (DC 16 grapple); clock starts at 1. Enc. 3: +2 Coin-Drowned; Fare-Thief gains Styx Capsize (once/combat, clock +3); Eels gain Pack Tactics. All DCs +1.
📋 Appendix — Cards
Charon, Overworked Boatman
Unique undead ferryman, neutral keeper of passage
Motivation. Keep the crossing lawful, paid, and afloat despite living petitioners forcing their way aboard.
Secret. Someone forged return fares with ink made from stolen memories.
Hard rule. He will not abandon the dead, waive the oldest laws, or let the party kill passengers to simplify the load.
Balanced Obol Ledger
Underworld manifest, lawful counterweight
Appearance: Black reed-paper pages sewn with coin-bright thread and damp thumbprints.
Handout. "One fare, one name, one shore. Cross out a lie before it learns to row."
Enc. 1–2. Identifies forged fares, calms one passenger group, or reveals who belongs on the return shore.
Enc. 3. Balanced on the prow, it stabilizes the barge and exposes the undead smuggler boss for 1 round.
Myrto with the Blue Lantern
Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
AC 13 | HP 55 | Speed 30 ft.
Role: Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
RECRUITMENT (Enc. Enc. 1 or Enc. 2). Find her missing name-token, defend her place in line, or let her speak for frightened shades.
Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.
Strike. Lantern flare +6 to hit, 10 radiant to undead; grants advantage on one social check with dead passengers.
Desperate Living Petitioners
Medium Creature · CR 4 · Crowd hazard
AC 12 | HP 90 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Should be persuaded, restrained, or redirected; do not frame them as kill fodder.
Attack. Surge, DC 15 Strength or Charisma save or 16 bludgeoning and the Balance clock worsens.
Coin-Drowned Dead
Medium Creature · CR 5 · Boarding undead
AC 15 | HP 98 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Climb over the sides when forged fares are exposed.
Attack. Cold hands +7 to hit, 13 necrotic; stolen obol forces DC 15 Wisdom or frightened.
Styx Memory-Eel
Medium Creature · CR 6 · River control monster
AC 16 | HP 121 | Speed 30 ft.
Note. Targets anyone overboard or leaning over the rail with the ledger.
Attack. Bite +8 to hit, 16 piercing plus 10 psychic; memory shock recharges on 5-6.
The Fare-Thief in the Wake
Large Creature · CR 10 · Boss, undead smuggler · Boss
AC 17 | HP 184 | Speed 40 ft.
Role: Boss, undead smuggler
Note. Boss last. It forges living passages to overload Charon's law and steal the wreckage.
Hard encounter focus. Win condition may be steal, escape, disable, or drive-off — not always kill.
Multiattack / Assault. Oar-hook +8 to hit, 18 necrotic; name-theft gaze DC 16 Charisma or lose reactions and identity cues.
Advance (1). Move up to half Speed.
Strike (1). One attack from Assault.
Reward Cards
Post-session keepables. Reward is the first tag. Mechanics below are for ongoing use after this oneshot.
Balanced Obol Ledger
Reward · Wondrous · 1/Short Rest
Mechanics. Once per short rest, as an action, open the ledger toward one undead or one creature attempting to cross a threshold, ferry, or portal within 30 feet. It must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or end its turn without attacking and without forcing a boarding or crossing. Once per long rest, you can name up to six creatures; for 10 minutes they count as having paid a mundane ferry or gate toll to guardians that respect such payment.
Appearance. A slim black ledger bound in ferry-rope, each page stamped with a single balanced obol.
Lore. Charon's quiet thanks for mortals who counted living souls instead of adding to the queue.
Quote. "One coin, one crossing — and no more living feet than the barge will bear." — Charon
Earn when: Hold Charon's barge steady without making the ferryman a kill target.