One-Shot: The Grand Regatta - DM edition
System: DnD 5.5 (2024 rules edition; DND-OGL)
Theme: Airships, sky pirates
Conflict: Protect the Regatta from sky pirates
Level: 3
Number of player(s): 3 to 6 players
Alignment: Any
Starting equipment: Standard kit according to the Player's Handbook) including an Uncommon item. (Flintlock) Pistols and Muskets are allowed.
Character options: All species, all classes and backgrounds available in the Free rules/Player's Handbook 2024 including the species listed in the Heroes of Faerun and Forge of the Artificer rule books. Backgrounds can be customized. Custom backgrounds are subject to review and you may be asked to alter parts by the DM.
Airship stations: Choose a role on the Airship: Pilot, Engineer, Comms Officer, Commander or Gunner. More information here: The Midnight Drift - Airship sheet
Attribute Scores: Standard array or Point Buy
Hit Points: Average fixed
World background information: Iperborea - Land of Dragon Riders
Nykkeltörva
Nykkeltörva is the largest island territory of the Kingdom of Iperborea—a gleaming crucible of arcane invention, ancient gnomish tradition, and layered cultural fusion. Also known as the Isles of Brass and Echoes, it is ruled by the eccentric yet ingenious House Longdusk, a gnomish noble line famed for their mastery of siegecraft and arcano-mechanical engineering. The county blends Iperborean Law with Old Gnomish Law, creating a semi-autonomous realm where invention is sacred, governance is mechanical, and harmony is built through elegant precision.
Nykkeltörva joined Iperborea not through conquest, but through political divergence—severing ties with the City States of Atheleia in pursuit of gnomish sovereignty under the Queen’s shield.
While the cities of Nykkeltörva gleam with immaculate brass towers and hum with the quiet rhythm of harmonic governance, the wilderness tells a different story. The county’s founding principle of continuous experimentation has left behind countless abandoned devices, failed constructs, unstable spell-engines, and hazardous scrap zones. Over generations, entire subcultures have grown out of this arcane detritus: scavenger-engineers who build strange contraptions from salvage, rogue experiments that have gained independence, nomadic leyline-tracing tinkers, and even criminal enclaves exploiting forgotten tech. Meanwhile, a few gnomish communities have rejected modern invention altogether, choosing instead to live in harmony with nature, practicing the old ways of tinkering with wood, wind, and soil.
This contrast—between the pristine order of the cities and the chaotic wilds shaped by forgotten ideas—defines the soul of Nykkeltörva.
Introduction
Huzzah, Sky Captain! You've entered your Airship into the Grand Regatta, sponsored by our esteemed Lady Dain, and can display the splendor and magnificent of our flying machines! We make our way from the Sky Spire District in Glimmerhold to the docks in Velmira and back again... Of course, you are not an usual entry but our special guard against the pirates! They have been raiding our ships for a long time and what better way to draw them out is to dangle a fat price in front of their faces!
Organisations
The Dain Family - Organizers of the Grand Regatta and one of the wealthiest families of the city.
Gnome Aeronauts - The Gnomish inventors of Glimmerhold. They use technological wonders that enable flight such as balloons, dirigibles, ornithopters, mechanical dragons and other wonderous machines.
Sky Pirates - Desperados and criminals who’ve seized derelict airships. They raid supply convoys, smuggle contraband, and sell their loot to gangs and organized crime families of the city.
Scenes
With a suggested maximum time for planning a 4 hour session.Scene 1: The Grand Regatta (max. 1 hours)
Scene 2: Broken Wings! (max. 1 hours)
Scene 3: Battle in the Skies! (max. 1 hour)
Scene 4: Race for the walls! (max. 1 hour)
Scene 1: The Grand Regatta
Welcome, welcome brave sky sailors and captains! You've entered your ship The Midnight Drift into the Regatta... What most of the captains don't know is that you are our last line of defense! An innocent looking dirigible but secretly armed to the teeth with the latest guns and armor plating! Those dastardly pirates won't know what hit them hahaha! So you know your mission.. Be the hound that hides amongst the sheep and once you see the wolves approach, leap into action and close the jaws of steel!
1.1 Amongst the airships
The party has command of the airship The Midnight Drift, an armed warship in disguise, they sail among the regatta on the lookout for trouble. They need to maneuver among the airships and will meet some other sky captains and explore the landscape. As well as the crew on board the ship. They will slowly move over the crowd below at applause and adulation. Here we can introduce the players and see what they are doing. Explain the properties of the airship and what they can do when battle erupts.
In case there are some vacancies in the crew:
- Race: Human
- Role: Captain / "The Mercenary"
- Appearance: A large man with a long curly beard wears a tricorn hat, a black and red longcoat. Wields a pistol.
- Personality: Gruff, commanding, greedy
- Quote: "For honour, glory and most importantly for gold!"
- Race: High Elf
- Role: Pilot / Fighter pilot
- Appearance: A tall, slender Elf woman with long brown hair dressed in a pilots suit. She has a pistol on her hip.
- Personality: Bubbly, positive, high energy
- Quote: "Nobody can steer this old rustbucket as well as me! But you are pretty good."
- Race: Dwarf
- Role: Engineer / "Hammer Dwarf"
- Appearance: A bulky Dwarf man with a long braided beard, brown hair dressed in an leather apron with a tool belt.
- Personality: Gruff, serious, dilligent
- Quote: "Keep that engine running, our lives depend on it!"
1.2 Moving out of the city
They move over the city walls out into the wide country side drifting calmly on the winds. One of the airships at the front starts to veer off-course and breaks with the Regatta seemingly damaged or having trouble with one of the engines.
Scene 2: Broken Wings
A large airship in the front of the Regatta, a cruiser brightly coloured in shades of red and purple with a butterfly wings made from a gossamer fabric, veers off to starboard seemingly damaged with smoke coming from one of its engines. The radio lights up: "Mayday! Mayday! Engines failing! Send assistance immediately! We're holding one with three engines but they're overloading! We're going to crash!"
They have to save the Morning Glory, a large ornithopter with engine trouble. You either board the vessel and save the crew or manage to the fix the engines.
- Piloting Check (or use Athletics or Acrobatics): maneuver to the vessel to render aid, dock or help it descend. DC14 to move alongside, DC16 to dock and DC18 to connect cables.
- Engineer Check: Once onboard, an engineer can attempt to fix the engines. DC14 to buy a few turns, DC16 to fix the engine to enable it to return to port, DC18 to fix it to return to the Regatta.
The airship in trouble needs to be saved or the crew needs to be recovered. If they manage to save the vessel it will aid them in fights by firing its ballista at enemies.
Battle in the Skies
The Morning Glory survived: The Regatta has moved on towards the distant city of Draken's Port and can be seen on the distant horizon. You fire up the engines and start to maneuver back in line of the rest of the fleet. A ship dives out of the cloud cover and starts descending upon the Morning Glory. It flies a black flag with a winged skull. Pirates! Going for the limping ship like a bird of prey.
Morning Glory crashed: The Regatta has moved on towards the distant city of Draken's Port and can be seen on the distant horizon. You fire up the engines and start to maneuver back in line of the rest of the fleet. A ship dives out of the cloud cover and starts descending upon you and fires its cannons! It flies a black flag with a winged skull. Pirates! Descending on you like a bird of prey, the alarm is sounded and call for battlestations is made!The four resolutions to the encounter are:
- Destroy the pirate ship
- Board and capture the ship
- Force them to surrender
- Flee the scene
- Race: Human
- Role: Captain / "The Gentle Captain"
- Appearance: A richly dressed woman in an impractical purple dress for onboard a vessel. She wields a rapier and pistol.
- Personality: Soft-spoken, commanding, snobbish
- Quote: "My lordships, we shall have tea and biscuits when this is over."
Scene 4: Race to the walls!
A fleet of pirate Airships are on route to attack the Regatta and they must run interference until they reach the walls where the defensive guns and warships will drive off the pirates. When they reach the regatta they see that the main vessel has been boarded by the pirates and they receive short-range radio communications calling for help. They say the pirate captain Bruce "The Peglegged Mech" Armstrong is trying to kidnap Lady Cassia Dain.
They must board the vessel and fight the pirates and save the lady. Afterwards they escort the vessels into the docks at Drakkens Port and they get much praise and rewards.
- Race: Human
- Role: Captain / "Barrel chested mech"
- Appearance: It was a crude mechanical build, consisting of a large, round barrel, steel mechanical legs, and robotic arms ending in sharp claws. After blowing most of his lower body off in an accident involving a powder keg and his pipe, he was rescued by a ship surgeon who attached his head to a loader automaton. A ship's surgeon managed to save him by attaching his head to a loader automaton.
- Personality: Greedy, boisterous and criminal. Will do anything for gold and runs the pirates outside of Glimmerhold.
- Quote: "Landlubbers don't have the stomach for the skies!"
Appendix 1: Statblocks
Homebrew
| MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 14 | +2 | +4 |
| DEX | 16 | +3 | +5 |
| CON | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| MOD | SAVE | ||
| INT | 10 | +0 | +0 |
| WIS | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| CHA | 8 | -1 | -1 |
Traits
Sky Legs. Can make Acrobatics Checks with Advantage when onboard an Airship.
Actions
Make one attack from below, choose a pistol or scattershot for the creature:
Scimitar. To hit: Melee Attack 5ft, 1d20+5 , on hit 1d6+2 slashing damage.
Snaplock pistol. To hit: Ranged Attack 30/90ft, 1d20+5 , on hit 1d10+3 piercing/bludgeoning damage, Fatal shot on critical 1d12+15
1/Use: Nailbomb Throwing Weapon 20/60 ft, 1d20+5 , DC15 every -5 moves the grenade 5 ft in a random direction. Hail of Nails: 20 ft Cube, all creatures make a Dexterity Saving Throw DC12, on failure 2d8+2 piercing damage, on success they take half damage. Roll the damage once and apply to all creatures.
Bonus Actions
Reload. Reload a firearm.
Homebrew
| MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 14 | +2 | +4 |
| DEX | 16 | +3 | +5 |
| CON | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| MOD | SAVE | ||
| INT | 10 | +0 | +0 |
| WIS | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| CHA | 8 | -1 | -1 |
Traits
Sky Legs. Can make Acrobatics Checks with Advantage when onboard an Airship.
Actions
Make one attack from below, choose a pistol or scattershot for the creature:
Scimitar. To hit: Melee Attack 5ft, 1d20+5 , on hit 1d6+2 slashing damage.
Scattershot (Solid Slug). To hit: Ranged Attack 30/90ft, 1d20+5 , on hit 1d12+4 piercing/bludgeoning damage, Fatal shot on critical 1d20+25
Scattershot (Pellets). To hit: Ranged Attack 20 ft Cone, Dexterity Saving Throw DC13, on failure they take 1d12+4 piercing/bludgeoning damage, on success takes half damage when they succeed +10 on the Save they take no damage. Roll the damage once and apply to all affected creatures.
Scattershot (Peppershot). To hit: Ranged Attack 15 ft Cone, Constitution Saving Throw DC13, on failure a creature gets the Blinded condition until the end of its next turn, on success they are unaffected.
Bonus Actions
Reload. Reload a firearm.
Homebrew
| MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 14 | +2 | +4 |
| DEX | 16 | +3 | +5 |
| CON | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| MOD | SAVE | ||
| INT | 10 | +0 | +0 |
| WIS | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| CHA | 8 | -1 | -1 |
Traits
Sky Legs. Can make Acrobatics Checks with Advantage when onboard an Airship.
Actions
Make one attack from below, choose a pistol or scattershot for the creature:
Scimitar. To hit: Melee Attack 5ft, 1d20+5 , on hit 1d6+2 slashing damage.
Snaplock Musket. To hit: Ranged Attack 90/600ft, 1d20+5 , on hit 1d12+4 piercing/bludgeoning damage, Fatal shot on critical 1d20+25
Sneak Attack. When an ally is within 5 ft. or they have Advantage on the Attack Roll add 2d6 damage.
1/Use: Smoke Bomb Throwing Weapon 20/60 ft, 1d20+5 , DC15 every -5 moves the grenade 5 ft in a random direction. Smoke Screen: 20 ft Radius sphere becomes Heavily Obscured and creatures inside the smoke receive the Blinded condition.
Bonus Actions
Reload. Reload a firearm.
Homebrew
A steam-powered wooden suit resembling a large barrel on six wooden legs, two claw like arms and a glass dome on top containing the pirate captain. Standing 2,5 meters tall and wide it clunks around with surprising speed and dexterity. It has weapons mounted on its arms.
It's piloted by a small or medium creature. It uses the Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma of the rider.
| MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 18 | +4 | +7 |
| DEX | 12 | +1 | +1 |
| CON | 18 | +4 | +7 |
| MOD | SAVE | ||
| INT | 10 | +0 | +0 |
| WIS | 10 | +0 | +0 |
| CHA | 10 | +0 | +0 |
Traits
Sensor. The suits instruments increase the passive perception of the rider with +7 and grants 60 ft. blind sight and 200 ft. dark vision.
Heavy armor plating. The Warsuits heavy armor grants a Damage Threshold 5.
Reactive armor. set it as a free action on the start of the creatures turn:
- 1d8 and subtract this number from all damage
- Reroll Saving Throws and take the higher result even when you have advantage
- +2 AC
Actions
Multi attack. It makes 2 attacks from below:
Rocket Claws. Range 20ft, 1d20+7 , on hit 1d12+8 Slashing damage, Strength Saving Throw DC14, on failure the creature is Grappled and pulled 10 ft towards the mech. The creature can attempt to break free with an Athletics or Acrobatics Check DC14.
Net gun. Range 120/300 ft, 1d20+7 , on hit the target creature is Restrained and cannot move until it succeeds an Athletics or Acrobatics Check DC14 or cuts through the net with a sharp instrument doing at least 5 points of damage.
Kick. 1d20+7 , on hit 1d8+4 bludgeoning damage, Strength Saving Throw DC14 or get knocked Prone.
Bonus Actions
Retract Chain. When a creature is Grappled by the Rocket Claw the Mech can use a Bonus Action to retract the chain. The creature makes a Strength Saving Throw DC14 or is moved 10 ft towards the mech.
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