Sinbad and the Roc of Serendib
One-Shot · 6 PCs Lvl 10 · ~3–3.5 hrs · Greek–Arabian crossover · Sinbad ally · Three-phase Roc finale
Style: Quick Cyclops toll (RP) → Valley Fork (branch) → Roc: nest → descent → ship |
Win: Extract crew; end the Roc's pursuit at sea — Diamond mercy (preferred) or 0 HP (downed, staged)
Guest: Sinbad the Sailor · Maguffin: Serendib Noon-Diamond · Pacing: Enc. 1 ~20 min · Enc. 2 ~45 min · Enc. 3 ~90–105 min (half the session).
DM SECRET — do not leak: the egg in the nest is a poachers' decoy (carved cliff-stone, hollow; the real egg was stolen). Nobody knows — not even Sinbad, who believes it's a dud that must be removed so the Roc will leave. Reveal ONLY in Enc. 3: destroy/roll the egg (auto), Investigation DC 18 mid-fight, or the Phase 3 finale.
"When the mountain-bird stoops for its stolen moon, flash Serendib’s noon — nest remembers sky, and sky remembers mercy." — Serendib Noon-Diamond
Major Beats
- Mist → crossover shore; meet Sinbad; Noon-Diamond. Insight DC 15: he wants the egg gone as much as the crew ("It's a dud — she'll never leave while it sits there").
- Enc. 1 (quick, RP): Valley Cyclops toll — gift / riddle / story / flash. Combat discouraged; ~20 min.
- Enc. 2 (branch): Rim Path (Proteus ride + recruit; free Layla) or Gorge Floor (1–3 scorpions + 1–4 serpents; no recruitment). Converge at cliff base; Short Rest.
- Enc. 3 (3 phases, ~half the session): P1 nest (Roc grounded, free crew) → P2 flight + vultures + egg decision + descent → P3 trireme pursuit; 0 HP or 5–6 rounds → Diamond finale + reveal.
Creature List
| Creature | E/M/H | Mythos / Where |
|---|
| Valley Cyclops | 1 (RP) | Greek + Sinbad · Enc. 1 |
| Proteus (Old Man) | 1 | Fey/Fiendish Druid · Wild Shape · Rim |
| Giant Scorpion | 1/2/3 | Gorge floor |
| Diamond Serpent | 1/2–3/4 | Gorge floor (giant snakes) |
| Ghul (opt) | 0/0–1/2 | Arabian · Gorge |
| Giant Vulture | 1/2/3 | Enc. 3 P2 nest guards |
| Roc of Serendib | 1 | Rukh / sky-terror · 3 phases |
Difficulty
| Tier | Adjust |
|---|
| As Written ★ | 6 PCs · APL 10 — Enc. 1 RP scene; Enc. 2 Hard either branch; Enc. 3 Deadly, three phases. |
| Easier | APL 8–9: 1 scorpion + 1 serpent; 1 vulture; Roc HP −20%; DCs −1. |
| Harder | APL 11–12: 3 scorpions + 4 serpents; 3–4 vultures; Roc +1 pass per 2 rounds in P3; DCs +1. |
Misthaven’s mist opens onto a black-sand shore where wine-dark water meets spice-wind surf — a “crossover islet” the charts refuse to name. Sinbad the Sailor is already waiting, bruised and grinning, with a diamond that burns like noon. His crew was taken toward a cliff nest; a one-eyed giant tolls the valley; and above it all, a rukh the size of a sky-mountain guards an egg that will not hatch.
DM Tips
- Reveal discipline: describe the egg as cold and strangely still; never call it false. Layla and Sinbad cannot identify it — they sell the mystery.
- Enc. 1 pacing: if weapons come out, telegraph cost (138 HP of wasted daylight; Roc shadow passes). Cyclops fights to drive off, retreats after 2 rounds.
- Enc. 3 clock: one 198 HP pool across all three phases — track continuously. Free the crew in P1 or there's no ship in P3 (Sinbad prioritizes it).
Encounter 1 — The One-Eyed Toll (Quick · RP · ~20 min)
🗺 Terrain Valley mouth · 50×40 ft · boulder cover · cliff walls (climb DC 15). Cyclops in a 10-ft choke. · A Valley Cyclops tolls the only path — same breed Sinbad fled on another voyage. Roleplay scene; combat discouraged.
- Paths (pick any, one check max): Guest-gift 25+ gp (no check) · riddle contest (group Int/Perf DC 14, 3-before-3; win = learn both Enc. 2 branches) · swap stories about "the cousin" (Perf/Persuasion DC 13, Sinbad Helps) · diamond flash + sprint (Ath DC 13; burns flash, no toll reward).
- If they fight anyway: Cyclops drives off, not kills; retreats to cave after 2 rounds and hurls rocks. Narrate the sun moving; no reinforcements.
- Toll reward (any peaceful path): road-marker (+1 Navigation up the cliff) + warning: "Mind the little ones on the floor. Mind the old man on the rim. Mind the bird everywhere."
- Peaceful passage → Short Rest available. No Long Rest this session — say so.
Encounter 2 — The Valley Fork (Hard · ~45 min · branch)
🗺 Valley floor 80×40 + rim ledge (10 ft wide, 15 ft up) · diamond difficult terrain · dens/burrows (Gorge) · poacher camp with Layla staked (Rim). Party picks: Rim Path (social, allies) or Gorge Floor (combat, no recruitment). Both converge at cliff base → Short Rest.
- RIM: Proteus drops on a PC — Riding Burden (restrained, half speed, 2d6 psychic/turn). End: Ath contest DC 15 / wine+Perf DC 14 / diamond flash. Wild Shapes ≥1×. Recruit: Persuasion/Insight DC 14 after clean ride-end → joins Enc. 3.
- RIM: Free Layla (Ath DC 12) at poacher camp → joins Enc. 3 with Help. She says: "They spent two nights up there and left heavier than they came." She does NOT know about the decoy.
- RIM hazard: ledge narrows ×2 — Acro/Ath DC 12 or slide to floor (2d6, prone, one serpent stirs).
- GORGE: 1–3 Giant Scorpions + 1–4 Diamond Serpents (E 1+1 / M 2+2 / H 3+4), two waves. Group Stealth/Survival DC 14 crosses quietly (mixed = scorpions only). Dash on diamonds: Dex DC 12 or prone. Optional +1–2 Ghuls. Faster route, zero allies.
Encounter 3 — The Roc of Serendib (Deadly · 3 phases · ~90–105 min)
🗺 P1–2: nest ledge 30×40 · 40-ft drop (4d6, Ath DC 14) · egg center (AC 12/HP 20) · pillars AC 14/HP 25 (crew penned behind) · rope-ladder south. Descent: skill challenge. P3: trireme deck 20×60 · mast AC 14/HP 50 · hull AC 15/HP 80. One 198 HP pool across all phases.
- P1 Nest (rd 1–3): Roc grounded, defends egg — Beak/Talons/Snatch/Nest Quake. FREE THE CREW (Ath DC 12 vs pen) — they ready the ship; Sinbad prioritizes if players don't. End rd 2–3: she launches (Str DC 13 or prone).
- P2 Flight: Roc passes every 2 rounds (one flyby: Beak+Talons or Snatch, then out of reach). 1–3 Giant Vultures drop and guard the egg (disadv. on checks vs egg within 5 ft of one). Then the egg decision: TAKE (Str 13+/two hands; carrier descends at disadv.; P3 = she wants the egg) · LEAVE (2 free descent rounds; P3 = revenge) · DESTROY = REVEAL (shatters like a statue — carved stone, hollow; Layla: "Someone carved this." Sinbad: "…Then where is her egg?") · ROLL DOWN (Ath DC 13; bursts below = same reveal at distance; she dives after it — 2 free rounds).
- Descent: each PC 2 checks (Surv/Ath/Acro DC 13; road-marker +1; egg carrier disadv.). Fail = 2d6; two fails = start P3 prone.
- P3 Ship (rd 1–6): egg aboard → she hunts the carrier; else revenge. Talons hit: Str DC 17 or overboard (reboard: Ath DC 13 + rope). Siege Beak ×2 dmg vs mast/hull. Perch (1/2 rds, mast or bow-post): Wing Gale — deck Str DC 15 or pushed 10 ft + prone; at rail, second Str DC 13 or overboard. Perched = meleeable via rigging.
- Finale: Roc to 0 HP (downed on bow, NOT dead) or party survives 5–6 rounds → Diamond solution: flash auto-succeeds; if reveal hasn't landed, egg cracks in her talon now. Read handout; she departs. Executing her = pyrrhic; either way Sinbad finds the poachers' trail (real egg stolen — sequel hook).
DM Callouts
- THE SECRET: egg = poachers' stone decoy; real egg stolen. Nobody knows, incl. Sinbad (he thinks "dud"). Reveal only in Enc. 3 (destroy/roll auto · Investigation DC 18 · P3 finale).
- Sinbad: frees crew, rope rescues, helms ship in P3. Layla: Help + hauls swimmers. Proteus (if recruited): Wild Shapes — shark form in P3.
- On any Enc. 3 success: Proteus pledges a future call. Persistence: no gods die.
KEY ITEM / NPCS
Serendib Noon-Diamond
- 1/SR: flash ≤30 ft Dex DC 13 blind 1 rd (Enc. 1–2; works in Enc. 3 P1–2 vs Roc: Con DC 15, no Snatch/Quake that rd).
- Diamond solution (P3): triggers at Roc 0 HP or after 5–6 survived rounds — flash auto-succeeds; egg cracks in her talon (reveal, if not yet landed); read handout; she departs.
Sinbad the Sailor
- Motivation: Recover crew — and remove the egg. He's sure it's a dud ("should have hatched two seasons ago") and that she'll never leave while it sits there.
- What he doesn't know: the egg is a poachers' decoy. He learns at the reveal like everyone else; his beat: "…Then where is her egg?"
- Roleplay: Boastful, generous, allergic to hopelessness; quotes both wine-dark and spice-wind seas.
Layla of Basra
- Rim Path only: free (Ath DC 12) → Help in Enc. 3; hauls swimmers in P3.
- Knows the poachers "left heavier than they came" — does not know about the decoy.
Crossover Reminder
- Cyclops & vultures = shared skies · Proteus = Wild Shape druid (recruitable, Rim only) · Roc outcomes seed Victory (poachers have the real egg — chase hook / Roc-mount seed).
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