DISCOVERING THE DROW
Any character who spends l hour observing a ship's
crew can make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check.
With a successful check, the character notices that most
crew members speak Common with an Elvish accent
and exchange hand signals when they think no one is
looking. A drow character recognizes the hand signals
as Drow Sign Language.
The changes wrought by the magic of the ships' figure-
heads (see areaj8) fail to hold up to physical inspection,
meaning that characters who interact with crew mem-
bers have a chance to notice the illusion. For example, a
character who grabs one of the sailors by the ear would
quickly realize by touch that the ear is pointed. not
rounded as it appears. Additionally, any drow character
who boards one of these ships instantly takes on the
illusory form of a human of the same gender, height, and
weight, because of the magic of the ship's figurehead.SHI P FEATUR ES
Each ship has the statistics of a sailing ship (see the
Airborne and Waterborne Vehicles table in chapter 5 of
the Dungeon Master's Guide) as well as the features de-
scribed in the following s ubsections.ALARMS
If intruders are detected or a fight breaks out on one
of the ships, the entire crew (one drow mage captain,
three drow elite warriors, and seventeen drow) mo-
bilizes to combat the threat. The drow prefer to take
captives or render enemies unconscious rather than kill
them. Captives are thrown in the brig (area]15) until
]arlaxle decides what to do with them, and their gear is
stowed in the armory (area]l6).CElLINGS
Cabins, holds, and passageways have 8-foot-high ceil-
ings with 6-foot-high doorways connecting them.DOORS
Unless otherwise noted, doors are made of wood. A
door's lock can be picked by a character who makes a
successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools,
or a door can be forced open by a character who makes
a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check. A ship's
captain has keys to all locked doors aboard his vessel.ELEVATOR PLATFORMS
Each s hip is equipped with a n elevator platform that can
be lowe red and raised with a lever to make loading and
unloading cargo easier. When not in use, this platform
stays in the lowest cargo hold of each ship. See the de-
scriptions of the cargo holds for more information.LIGHTING
Areas belowdecks are brightly lit by hanging lanterns.RIGGING
Rigging can be climbed without an ability check.CHAPTER 7 I MAESTRO'S FALL