The Ferry Overfull

Major Beats

1. A living mother offers Charon every coin she has and the name of her last enemy.
2. The dead mutter that the living always think grief is a ticket.
3. The barge tilts when someone lies about who belongs aboard.
4. A stolen name drips from the boss's hook like black ink.

Difficulty

Creature / Enemy List

DM Tips

• As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 8: Baseline for this guide. Numbers, DCs, and win tracks assume six PCs at average level 8.
• Easier: APL 4–6: reduce minion counts ~30%; DCs −2; boss loses one recharge or legendary option.
• Harder: APL 10–12: boss HP +25–35%; +1 legendary action; add a lieutenant or extra wave.

Ally snapshot

Encounter 1 — The Queue That Should Not Breathe

• Run triage as 5 successes before 3 failures using Insight, Persuasion, Religion, Medicine, or Intimidation.
• Each failure adds 1 to the Overfull clock; at 3, passengers surge onto the barge.
• The Balanced Ledger reveals one forged fare or rightful return with each strong clue.
• Recruit Myrto by recovering her name-token from a living petitioner using it as false fare.
• Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
• Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Enc. 1 or Enc. 2). Find her missing name-token, defend her place in line, or let her speak for frightened shades.
• Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

Encounter 2 — Midstream Weight

• Balance clock starts at 0; failures move it toward capsize, successes move passengers to lawful places.
• Useful checks include Athletics at the pole, Persuasion at the benches, Religion with rites, and Perception in fog.
• Charon rows and judges; he helps clear one lawful order but never becomes a damage solution.
• Coin-Drowned Dead board if forged fares are burned without naming the thief first.
• Tip: Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness
• Tip: RECRUITMENT (Enc. Enc. 1 or Enc. 2). Find her missing name-token, defend her place in line, or let her speak for frightened shades.
• Tip: Aid. Acts on party initiative when recruited; prefers nonlethal when asked.

Encounter 3 — Too Many Names in the Wake

• At initiative 20, roll a ferry event: list, passenger fall, fog wall, or Styx surge.
• A PC can spend an action to stabilize the barge, rescue a passenger, or command a lawful seating shift.
• Maguffin payoff: place the Balanced Ledger on the prow to reveal the Fare-Thief and reset the Balance clock once.
• Charon cannot be killed for victory; if attacked, he stops rowing and the river becomes the real disaster.

DM Callouts

• Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · 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.
• Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Dead guide, crowd mediator, and honest witness

Extra Encounter Detail (from session guide)

• Tip: Keep page-3 creature AC/HP lines visible while resolving Enc. 3.
• Tip: Favor non-combat paths in Enc. 1–2; Enc. 3 should still feel Hard.

Quick combat reference

• Myrto with the Blue Lantern — AC 13 | HP 55 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Dead guide, cr
• Desperate Living Petitioners — AC 12 | HP 90 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Creature · CR 4 · Crowd hazard
• Coin-Drowned Dead — AC 15 | HP 98 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Creature · CR 5 · Boarding undead
• Styx Memory-Eel — AC 16 | HP 121 | Speed 30 ft. · Medium Creature · CR 6 · River control monster
• The Fare-Thief in the Wake — AC 17 | HP 184 | Speed 40 ft. · Large Creature · CR 10 · Boss, undead smuggler · Boss

Additional DM notes

• 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.
• 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.
• 12 (+1)**STR**14 (+2)**DEX**12 (+1)**CON**12 (+1)**INT**14 (+2)**WIS**16 (+3)**CHA
• 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.

Pacing helpers

• Enc 1: End by ~45–50 min; if stuck, telegraph the non-combat path once.
• Enc 2: Spend recruitment / maguffin early so Enc 3 is not a blank check.
• Enc 3: Keep Hard, not Deadly — drop a minion wave before a TPK spiral.
• Table tip: Restate win condition when HP dips; players often forget the maguffin.

STAT BLOCKS

Session reminders

• Default: 6 PCs level 8; 3 encounters; 3 to 3.5 hours.
• Enc. 1/2 are social triage and escort skill challenges.
• Charon is not a kill target; keep the ferry lawful and afloat.
• Living petitioners are hazards and moral pressure, not monsters to slaughter.
• Maguffin payoff stabilizes the barge and exposes the boss in Enc. 3.

Maguffin

NPC / ALLY

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