Pirate-style Treasure Hunt - any advice?

[Ze]

Hi all,

I am currently running a D&D pirates campaign in the Realms, most of the players being rogues, bards or swashbucklers, all 2nd level.
A lot of plot hooks are on the table already, but some players have hinted they would like to go for a proper treasure hunt.

Now, given that the job and family leave me little time to write up every detail of the adventures, I have gotten into the habit of adapting published modules to my campaign, going through heavy modifications (for instance, the Sih'hel from Sinister Secret of Whiterock have become Locathah, the Oracle leagues with the Red Wizards, and so on...).

So, do you have any advice about good treasure-hunt modules or resources from which I could pick what fits in my campaign?

Thanks!
Ze

 

[SiderisAnon]

I've rather enjoyed Goodman Games' "Dungeon Crawl Classics #46 - The Book of Treasure Maps". It has six treasure map type adventures that run from 3rd to 16th. I've used both "Secrets of the Blue Moon" and "Fane of the First Spell" to good effect in my campaign. I haven't actually read the other four yet, so I have no educated opinion.

Keep in mind that if you have any adventure module that involves a hidden temple, lost citadel, buried cave, or whatever out of the way place, you can just find some map on the web, drop it on an NPC body, claim the map leads to the adventure, have a few encounters along the way, and run the adventure. Instant treasure hunt.

 

[Ze]

Thanks for the info, I'll take a look at DCC #46!

Keep in mind that if you have any adventure module that involves a hidden temple, lost citadel, buried cave, or whatever out of the way place, you can just find some map on the web, drop it on an NPC body, claim the map leads to the adventure, have a few encounters along the way, and run the adventure. Instant treasure hunt.

You are so right, but I fear my players expect a little more than that.
You know, they want to find clues pointing at other clues, pointing at people who will speak of other people, and so on. Complete with red herrings, maps, riddles, lateral thinking, etc.
Lots of DM work, that is.

 

[blargney the second]

If you have access to old Dungeon magazines, issue #9 had The Plight of Sirria, an adventure with a neat take on a treasure map. It's a strip of symbols that correspond to landmarks that the players must interpret properly to navigate.

Anything that requires some player ingenuity is a good thing.
-blarg

 

[Pell-Mell]

I've had good luck with The Orb of the Mad Mage. It is an AD&D 2nd edition adventure for level 1-3 PCs, so it will require converting. It has pirates, a lot of odd monsters, an alien orb, and one very creepy wizard's tower.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Pirates guide to Freeport.

 

[Wycen]

Thanks for the info, I'll take a look at DCC #46!



You are so right, but I fear my players expect a little more than that.
You know, they want to find clues pointing at other clues, pointing at people who will speak of other people, and so on. Complete with red herrings, maps, riddles, lateral thinking, etc.
Lots of DM work, that is.

Ah, so you mean like National Treasure or The Da Vinci Code My experience trying to do this has been mostly bad. You think you've got an easy clue and the player jump to a completely wrong conclusion and suddenly you are sitting on a unused dungeon and fumbling to get the train back on track.

 

[Ze]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Ah, so you mean like National Treasure or The Da Vinci Code My experience trying to do this has been mostly bad. You think you've got an easy clue and the player jump to a completely wrong conclusion and suddenly you are sitting on a unused dungeon and fumbling to get the train back on track.

Eh. I know what you mean.
I must say that I am usually good at avoid such dead-end situations, either by giving the players multiple clues or - if it works fine - by adapting my plot to their intuitions. And that unused dungeon can easily become the next dungeon they will meet.
I firmly believe that the players' satisfaction matters more than adhering to the plot I planned. But that is just my opinion...

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I ran a Pirates game last year using Skull & Bones and set in the Caribbean which featured four map pieces the PCs needed to find to track down Black Bellamy's treasure. There's a link in my sig to the story hour for this -- happy to send you my notes if you like the look of it but I did use bits from Adamant's Buccaneers & Bokor.

Someone suggested Freeport: there is a good traditional pirate treasure hunt as part of Madness in Freeport too.

Cheers


Richard

 

[Ze]

happy to send you my notes if you like the look of it but I did use bits from Adamant's Buccaneers & Bokor.

Rich, your notes would be very appreciated!
Please, e-mail them at ze dot 1 at libero dot it

Thanks!!
Ze