Something in the Water: A Nautical Horror Campaign for D&D!

Something is following the Unsinkable II.

What should be a routine twelve-day crossing becomes a fight for survival as passengers vanish, pale creatures climb aboard, and an unseen force drives the ship toward an island missing from every chart.

Shipwrecked far from any known route, the adventurers must protect the survivors, explore the ruins of a vanished civilization, and find a way back to sea. Yet escaping the island only carries them into new dangers, from black-sailed pirates to a flooded temple where the truth behind the attacks waits beneath the waves.

Something in the Water is a complete four-session campaign for characters from 3rd to 7th level. It combines nautical horror, survival, exploration, naval combat, piracy, and an underwater finale in one connected adventure.

One Campaign, Four Sessions

Each session follows a different stage of the journey, carrying the adventurers from an ordinary passenger voyage to the depths of a forgotten temple beneath the sea.

Session 1: Something in the Water

The campaign begins aboard the Unsinkable II, a passenger and merchant vessel making what should be an uneventful twelve-day crossing. The characters meet its crew and passengers before small problems begin to accumulate: rats in the provisions, shared nightmares, strange voices, missing sailors, and something searching through the cargo below deck.

When a violent storm engulfs the vessel, creatures climb aboard from every side. The adventurers must defend the ship, protect its passengers, and survive whatever is striking the hull from beneath. The voyage ends upon the shore of an island absent from every modern chart.

Session 2: The Island

The survivors gather what they can from the wreck while the adventurers search for food, fresh water, and a way to escape. Beyond the beach, the island appears wild and untouched, but overgrown roads, weathered statues, and abandoned structures reveal that others once lived here.

The party must explore the remains of a vanished civilization, survive what still prowls among its ruins, and uncover the first clues connecting the island to the creatures that attacked their ship.

Session 3: Black Sails

Escaping the island does not mean getting home.

When the survivors encounter another vessel, they initially believe that rescue has finally arrived. Only after the ship draws close do they discover that it belongs to pirates, leaving the adventurers to face capture or fight their way free.

The conflict develops into a full battle between ships, with boarding actions, fighting across cramped decks, swinging between vessels, protecting the helm, cutting rigging, and confronting the pirate captain. During the chaos, signs of the original horror begin to return. Something is still following them, and the pirates may know more about these waters than they first admit.

Session 4: Beneath the Waves

Information discovered during the conflict with the pirates points the adventurers toward an ancient structure that becomes accessible at low tide.

Inside, the party descends through flooded chambers and encounters the aquatic creatures once again. As they explore the ruins, they uncover the history of the vanished civilization, learn why their ship was attacked, and discover why the creatures have continued to pursue them.

Their discoveries lead to the campaign’s final confrontation, where the adventurers must face the force behind the attacks and find a way to end the pursuit once and for all.

Inside the Book

The book includes everything needed to run the complete adventure:

• A four-session story for levels 3–7
• GM tips and notes
• Full-color Inkarnate battlemaps, with GM and player versions
• Easy-to-follow rules for naval travel and combat
• Ready-to-run encounters and traps
• Treasures and rewards
• An appendix featuring monsters and NPCs with 5e stat blocks

Stretch Goals

Something in the Water is already a complete, ready-to-run campaign, so we did not want to expand it unnecessarily through stretch goals. Instead, we decided to take a different approach: each stretch goal unlocks a short standalone adventure inspired by the campaign’s aquatic theme, giving you even more adventures to bring to your table.

• €4,000 — The Bell Beneath the Bay

Add-ons

Looking to expand your library of adventures and supplements? You can enhance your pledge with any of our previous projects listed below! Each add-on is delivered in PDF format with POD options available and is fully compatible with 5e:

• Ferryman’s Guide to the Underworld: A supplement that transforms death from a single moment into an entire realm of adventure. Explore the journey of the soul, stand before the Triad of Judges, uncover relics forged from memory and regret, and face the creatures that dwell beyond the veil.
• Guide to Ethelon: A supplement that expands the world of Ethelon with a detailed world map, 33 settlements, unique subclasses and races, relics, original monsters, and new backgrounds and feats, everything you need to bring Ethelon (or your own world) to life.
• Storms & Sorcery:  A 90-page deep-dive into aquatic adventures, featuring 29 new spells, 6 aquatic races, 3 subclasses, 35 relics, and 25 monsters from the deep, plus mechanics for ship travel, boarding actions, and aquatic vessels! Perfect for seafaring campaigns.
• Guilds of Ethelon: An illustrated 120-page world supplement, featuring 20 Original Guilds, 20 Player Backgrounds, 6 Cults, 5 Guild Hideout Maps, and a plethora of artifacts and guild-related monsters and sentinels.
• D&D 5e One Shots Vol 4 - Underwater Adventures is one of our oldest projects, but it shares many themes with this campaign. It features four standalone adventures set beneath and around the sea, making it a perfect companion for anyone looking for more water-themed adventures.

The PDF and POD bundles include all the add-ons listed above, along with several more of our previous projects:

• Pantheon of Ethelon: An illustrated 136-page Godly supplement, featuring 40 Gods, 40 Subclasses, 40+ Legendary Artifacts and 4 Demi-Gods!
• The Ethelon Campaign Trilogy is a three-part 5E adventure that takes characters from level 1 to 12, though each part can also be played on its own. In The Mind Oracle’s Scheme (levels 1–4), players follow the trail of a dark cult, uncovering its secrets, tracking down former members, and ultimately facing its sinister leader across four gripping acts. The Codex of Secrets (levels 5–8) throws them into the clutches of a shadowy organization, forcing them to survive betrayal, imprisonment, and a daring escape before confronting a powerful Guild Leader and the hidden threat behind it all. Finally, Apocalypse from the Depths (levels 9–12) leads adventurers into the divine domain of the Goddess of Water, where they must free her from corruption and stop an ancient aboleth’s apocalyptic plan in a climactic final battle.
• One-Shots of Ethelon (Volumes 1 to 7): Standalone adventures spanning mountains, forests, frozen expeditions, ancient temples, and epic tales of the past. Perfect for dropping into any campaign. Each volume contains 4 one-shots for a total of 28 one-shots and can be placed in the world of Ethelon (locations of each volume in the map below!). You can get them as a Kickstarter special bundle for a 12% off bundle price!

Fulfillment & POD Additional Costs

You’ll receive both the digital products and Print-on-Demand (POD) links via email. This email will provide links directing you to DriveThruRPG, where you can claim your rewards. Once redeemed, the products will be linked to your account, ensuring lifetime access and automatic updates.

When the campaign concludes, we’ll send out a survey to confirm your preferred email address for delivery. Please note that POD links will require an additional fee through DriveThruRPG’s Print-On-Demand service at the time of redemption.

Disclaimer: We do not receive part of any of these costs; these costs are strictly for printing and shipping according to the manufacturer's prices.

Shipping Costs

It depends on your country of choice! Please check DrivethruRPG.com for more information on the topic. Buying all the purchased PODs in a single order will help you save on shipping costs!

Something in the Water Printing Cost

The exact cost will depend on the final number of pages, which is estimated to be around 80-90. According to DrivethruRPG, the printing cost should be approximately $7.50 for the Softcover and $13.00 for the Hardcover.

Add-Ons Printing Cost

Approximation as of September 2026 (costs are subject to change):
• Ferryman’s Guide to the Underworld (Hardcover): $14.00
• Guide to Ethelon (Hardcover): $14.50
• Guilds of Ethelon (Softcover): $9.90
• Storms & Sorcery (Hardcover): $13.50
• NPCs & Villains of Ethelon (Hardcover): $12.20
• Pantheon of Ethelon (Softcover): $11.00
• Apocalypse from the Depths (Hardcover): $12.95
• The Codex of Secrets (Hardcover): $11.90
• The Mind Oracle's Scheme (Hardcover): $11.60
• Adventures of Ethelon  (Softcover): Each collection spans approximately 110 pages. Based on current estimates, printing costs should be around $9.20 per book.

A Big Thank You!

In our previous campaign, we sent out surveys, and while the response rates already gave us a good picture, it’s your unwavering support that truly drives us to keep creating and aiming higher. We loved your feedback, and comments like these mean the world to us:

• "Loved your previous project and the premise of this one"
• "I've backed some of your other projects and I have liked them. I also like the ideas in this project."
• "I love the content from Adventure Ripples and the theme of this new adventure definitely interests me."
• "I've backed all your stuff."
• "I like your products"
• "Have backed you before and am always impressed"
• "I love your previous work! Just keep the same drive for quality."
• "Backed previously and I liked the product."

Even the short and simple notes: “Backed previous projects,” or “Backed you before”, speak volumes. They reassure us that we’re on the right path, and that what we create truly resonates with you!

About Us

Welcome to our Kickstarter! We are a passionate team of seasoned tabletop RPG enthusiasts, driven by a love for immersive storytelling and collaborative gameplay. 

Our journey began on Dmsguild.com in March 2016, right around its inception, with some of our creations even achieving Gold Seller status!

In January of 2023, we set out on an ambitious quest to craft a comprehensive Dungeons & Dragons setting called Ethelon. Through a series of projects, we gradually expanded and completed that world. With Ethelon now fully realized, we have turned our attention to new settings, stories, and adventures.