Easter Egg in Bullywug Gambit?

[cthulhudarren]

One of the ship name placks in the caves is "T_M_AUT", is this a reference I should know about?

Just curious,

[Zaister]

It's a reference to the Tammeraut from the adventure "Tammeraut's Fate" from Dungeon #106, by Greg A. Vaughan.

[cthulhudarren]

Zaister wrote:

It's a reference to the Tammeraut from the adventure "Tammeraut's Fate" from Dungeon #106, by Greg A. Vaughan.

Ah... Mr. Logue and Mr. Vaughan must be closer than I thought.

Thank you, sir!

Know any other good name drops for ships that olde schoole players might catch?

[Luna eladrin]

It is not the only easter egg either. The name "Samod's hope" refers to the adventure "Strike on the rabid dawn" (dungeon 111).
There was another thread about this subject a while ago.

I have actually added Tammeraut's fate to the STAP. It was a blast.

[Matthew Vincent]

Luna eladrin wrote:

I have actually added Tammeraut's fate to the STAP. It was a blast.

I ran Tammeraut's fate in the campaign prior to STAP. As part of that adventure, Captain Syrgaul came to haunt a ship the PC's had captured (and became a recurring villain). They eventually left the haunted ship frozen in a mountain lake.

By coincidence, the STAP PC's later recovered this same ship and used it throughout the STAP campaign (in place of the Sea Wyvern). Syrgaul eventually commandeered the ship (renaming it Tammeraut) and became a recurring encounter.

IMC to this day the ghost captain still roams the seas around the Isle Dread, pirating the natives (who only have fish to give him). The local Olmans tolerate this as they consider it a minor tribute, and they are fond of undead anyway.

[James Jacobs]

There's several easter eggs in that encounter area. Apart from the two that have been mentioned, the last thing in the room is a ship's bell bearing the name "Sea Ghost." This was a key ship in the old classic adventure "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh."

An even more obscure easter egg in there, one that only I probably get a kick out of. The "Wavereaper" was a demon ship from an old unpublished adventure of mine I wrote back in late high school.

[cthulhudarren]

Matthew Vincent wrote:

Luna eladrin wrote:

I have actually added Tammeraut's fate to the STAP. It was a blast.

I ran Tammeraut's fate in the campaign prior to STAP. As part of that adventure, Captain Syrgaul came to haunt a ship the PC's had captured (and became a recurring villain). They eventually left the haunted ship frozen in a mountain lake.

By coincidence, the STAP PC's later recovered this same ship and used it throughout the STAP campaign (in place of the Sea Wyvern). Syrgaul eventually commandeered the ship (renaming it Tammeraut) and became a recurring encounter.

IMC to this day the ghost captain still roams the seas around the Isle Dread, pirating the natives (who only have fish to give him). The local Olmans tolerate this as they consider it a minor tribute, and they are fond of undead anyway.

I need to get a hold of that adventure!

[Luna eladrin]

Matthew Vincent wrote:

IMC to this day the ghost captain still roams the seas around the Isle Dread, pirating the natives (who only have fish to give him). The local Olmans tolerate this as they consider it a minor tribute, and they are fond of undead anyway.

Nice touch! Sounds a lot like the Flying Dutchman.

I added a ghost ship to the Savage Tide, except it is not a real ghost ship. These are pirates using all kinds of clever magic in order to pretend they are a ghost ship.

[Matthew Vincent]

Luna eladrin wrote:

Nice touch! Sounds a lot like the Flying Dutchman.

Indeed, I used the Flying Dutchman model (here) to represent it during combats. Syrgaul had an evil cleric raise it from the briny depths and permanently animate it (along with a skeleton crew)... the 'mouth' seen on the prow of the Flying Dutchman model actually bit some PC's.

Syrgaul's spells also had ghostly side-effects: his magic-missiles looked like the firing of a black-powder pistol, and his fireballs appeared as if ghost cannons on his ship were firing (not that these things were even available in Greyhawk).

Luna eladrin wrote:

I added a ghost ship to the Savage Tide, except it is not a real ghost ship. These are pirates using all kinds of clever magic in order to pretend they are a ghost ship.

... and they would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those meddling adventurers.

[Luna eladrin]

Yes, that is the fate of all good DM ideas :-)