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The Curse of the Crimson Pirate

A Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay adventure by Simon Crowe

Plot Summary: The people of Halpstadt live in fear.

A few weeks ago the ghost of Valamir the Crimson,

an evil pirate burned in the village many years ago,

returned and began haunting the lands around the

village. However when the PCs investigate they will

find that the haunting never really took place, it was

all a trick designed by the local landlords to keep the

villagers from investigating a slaver band operating

in the area.

To the north the land becomes more hilly and

rocky.

• Trades: Most of Halpstadt has little to offer

an adventurer. There is no blacksmith or

general trader. The few shops all are used to

sell food to the other villagers. A few fields

grow crops and hold livestock, and men fish

from nearby streams. The only place to drink

and stay in the village is the inn, The

Burning Man.

• Buildings: Around 40, mostly houses with a

few shops and an inn. A few farm buildings

are scatted around. Half the buildings in the

village are run down with broken roofs,

rotting wood and other signs of being poorly

maintained. Easily notable in the village is a

two-story mansion, larger than any other

building in Halpstadt, though it is also in

similarly bad shape. This is owned by the

Stotter brothers who own a lot of the land

and buildings in and around the village.

• Religion: There is a shrine to Sigmar in the

centre of the village but no temples or

priests.

• Government: No-one is formally in charge of

Halpstadt, the village has no Mayor or

leader. Any matters of law are settled by

travelling judges or priests.

• Healing: Frida, one of the elder women in

the village is willing to offer healing to

travellers for a few coins (treat this as Int 35

with Heal (+10%), and access to Healing

Poultices for 1 silver)

GM’s Introduction

The following adventure is designed to be fitted in to

most campaigns, of any level of PC. The adventure is

set in the village of Halpstadt which for the purpose

of this write up is located in the Empire not far from

Altdorf. However it is simple for the GM to set the

adventure in villages elsewhere in the Empire and the

wider Old World with a few simple changes to place

names.

The style of the adventure is gothic horror. The sun

shines weakly in the clouded sky, at night Morrslieb

grins down at the PCs. Villagers huddle in their

homes scared of ghostly happenings. In the forests

strange sounds echo through the trees. The GM is

encouraged to add as much gothic detail as he can to

enhance the dark mood of the adventure.

Generally PCs will be travelling by road. The PCs

enter Halpstadt in the evening, making is impractical

to travel any further or be forced to travel through the

night. The adventure therefore begins when the PCs

decide to stay in the village.

Arrival

Halpstadt is very quiet as the PCs enter. A few locals

are around, but most seem to be moving rapidly to

their homes, glancing around fearfully. A few pause

as they catch sight of the PCs, but then hurry on after

a second. The village seems fairly run down. Quite a

few of the buildings are in various states of disrepair,

and one small home appears to have collapsed

completely. Many of those that are in better shape

Halpstadt

• Population: Approx 150

• Location: A few days north-East of Altdorf.

• Surrounding area: Halpstadt sits in the

Drakwald, close to Altdorf.. Around the

village the few fields give way to the forest.

Page 1

also have planks of wood nailed over the windows.

Most have symbols scratched or painted on their

doors.

breakfast of bread and cheese is 1p. If any cooking is

to be done Heinrich will shout to Rosemary in the

kitchen.

An easy (+20%) Common Knowledge (Empire or

Religion) can be made. Those that pass identify the

symbols as Sigmarite marks, which are painted on

doors to ward off evil.

Currently few people in the village like to be out late

so the inn is fairly empty. Heinrich will therefore be

as accommodating as he can to the PCs if only to get

some pennies off them.

At this point, if the PCs try talking to the villagers

anyone they approach quickly disappears into their

home and shuts the door. Attempts at talk are quickly

rebutted.

If asked about why the bar is empty, or where the

people look so afraid Heinrich will clam up and

mutter that he ‘ain’t seen nothing’. Others have seen

things, but not him. He will gesture to the inn’s

current patrons as though the PCs should ask them.

The PCs will be looking for somewhere to stay, and

will easily come across the village inn at the centre of

the village. Lights shine from frosted windows but it

sounds fairly quiet inside. A sign above the doorway

creaks in the wind, the image upon it of a man being

burned at the stake. Beneath this image, in peeling

paint, are the words ‘The Burning Man’.

The Rumours

The inn patrons, all local villagers, are initially

unwilling to discuss what they have seen. They will

try and change the subject very quickly to the

horrible weather they’re having or other such small

talk. A hard (-20%) fellowship test is required. Each

level of charm or gossip (use the highest) that a

character holds adds +10%. Each drink that a PC

buys for a particular villager adds +10%, to a

maximum of 2 drinks per villager (too many more

than that just gets them drunk).

Upon opening the door all talk and movement inside

the inn cease. If the PCs enter the few men inside

appear to be frozen, staring at the doorway with fear

on their faces. Then they seem relieved, and go back

to hushed conversations or their drinks. A tall, gaunt

looking man nods at the PCs from behind the bar.

The Burning Man Inn

Once a test has been passed the villager questioned

will down his pint slam it on the table and announce

in a despairing voice. “The Crimson Pirate has

returned, and he’s here to take our souls!”

The Burning Man is run by Heinrich Kohl and his

wife Rosemary and is also staffed by their 13 year

old son Hans. Heinrich is a tall, thin man who mans

the bar whilst the plumper Rosemary cooks in the

kitchen and sots out the rooms above. Hans helps out

his mother and also tends to horses and the stables

around back. The Inn is named after the famous

burning of the pirate Valamir the Crimson in the

village (though Heinrich initially will not reveal this

if asked).

Once this announcement is made it is though a flood

gate has been opened and all the other inn patrons

become willing to talk, and most of them want to

make sure what they know is heard. Therefore once

the PCs ask the villager who made the announcement

for more information the others will all join in with

various comments. In addition should the PCs

mention the Crimson Pirate to any other villagers

they will immediately have a comment on the

subject, even the previously quiet Heinrich.

The inn has a common room which can be slept in

for 4p per night per person, and two small, currently

empty, private rooms which can each fit one person

for 5s for the night. Lodging is of average quality. If

the PCs need horses stabled then this will cost 2p per

horse, and Heinrich will despatch his son Hans. The

Burning Man mostly sells local ale for 2p per pint but

also has a handful of wines and spirits for 2s per

bottle. A tasty rabbit pie is on offer for dinner for 3p,

The trouble for the PCs is that whilst every man in

the villager has a grasp of the very basics of what is

happening and how it relates to events that happened

many years ago they do not know all the facts and

are all taken with adding wild exaggerations and

embellishments to the tale. As no villagers were alive

when the events in question happened none are in

Page 2

full possession of the facts. All villagers know the

following (which is true):

disturbed the mine, and that’s why the

Crimson Pirate walks the lands again.”

• “His crew used to capture villagers and use

them in blasphemous rituals for a dark god!

He took ‘em into the hills but you could still

hear the screams from the village.”

• “He had knives instead of fingers. Cut up a

man as soon as look at him.”

• “When a murderous thug joined Valamir’s

crew he would eat one of their eyeballs.

Gave him magical powers.”

• “Valamir was known as the Scourge of the

Sea of Claws. It was there that he used to

terrorise traders. He would attack ships just

for the joy of killing.”

• “The Crimson Pirate he was called, ‘cause

fresh red blood constantly dripped from his

jaws.”

• “He filed his teeth to points and would bite

into a man and taste his blood. All in the

name of an evil god.”

• “His dark god gave him evil powers. He

could stare at a man and make his blood boil.

He could command swarms of rats to attack

and devour men.”

• “When the witch hunters caught him and

burned him the smoke turned crimson, and

those watching were filled with horrible

visions of murder and death. It’s said a few

of them went mad after watching that.”

• “The pirate’s been sent by Sigmar to punish

us for our sins! Woe is Halpstadt. Woe is us

that have angered the gods so.”

“Seventy years ago a dreaded pirate known as

Valamir the Crimson sailed up river with his

murderous crew and found himself deep in the heart

of the Empire. He came across Halpstadt and

terrorised us! When the witch hunters caught and

burned him he cursed our village, claiming he would

return to claim our souls for his evil god. Now his

ghost has been seen stalking the fields. Two of our

folk have disappeared already and now we all live in

fear.”

In addition most villagers will know a few other

facts, which they will tell the PCs if they ask.

• The ghost was first seen two weeks ago, and

since then has been spotted most nights.

• It only appears at night, and currently has not

been seen in the villager itself only the

surrounding fields and hills.

• The two villagers missing are Cedrid, a

woodcutter and Orwin Steiner, a farmer.

Both went missing last week.

• Most people are now too scared to be out

their homes after dark.

One of the patrons in the inn, and a number of other

people round the village will have actually seen the

ghost (at a distance). They will describe it along the

following lines:

“Terrifying it was to look at! It seemed to shimmer

with a dark red aura as it stalked through the field.

Bigger than a normal man, it swung a vicious cutlass

through the air. When it turned its head to look at me

its eyes burned with fire. I could not stand to be in its

evil presence and fled, not looking back. I’ve never

seen anything so frightening.”

Of course should the PCs ask if any of the rumour

mongers were alive at the time they will say no, but

they heard it from their cousin’s friend’s father who

was around then. If ask if anyone in the village was

actually alive one NPC will mention Old Jeb Baer.

However in addition to the facts each villager has a

number of other thoughts on the matter. Some are

true, some are embellishments to make the story

sound for more frightening and some are just wild

figments of the villagers’ imaginations. Select these

from the list below as appropriate (or make up some

wild rumours of your own).

Jeb Baer’s Tale

Any villager can point out in which house the Baer

family live. Mathias Baer, a poultry farmer, lives

with his old father Jeb and young daughter Herwig.

Mathias lives in fear of the nights now Valamir’s

ghost has been seen. He believes the ghost will come

for his family, since his father is the only one still

alive at the time of the pirate’s burning.

• “Valamir and his crew hid out in an old

mine, somewhere north of here. That’s where

they hid their treasure. I reckon someone’s

Page 3

When the PCs knock they will hear movement inside

the house through the boarded up windows. After a

few seconds will come a muffled cry of “Who’s

there?” After the PCs persuade a frightened Mathias

that they are not ghostly pirates they will hear the

sound of heavy bars being moved from behind the

door. A nervous looking man will open the door and

usher the PCs quickly in, before quickly slamming

the door and throwing the bars back down.

the villagers went to the mine in search of the

treasure. None of them returned.”

Jeb has nothing more to say to the PCs that could be

useful. He will deny most of the villagers’ wilder

tales, such as Valamir having daggers for fingers,

commanding swarms of rats or constantly dripping

blood. Still he will make sure the PCs realise that the

pirate was still an intently evil man who found

enjoyment in murder, rape and pillage.

The Baers live in a small two room house. In the

main room old Jeb Baer sits in a rocking chair, young

Herwig playing with a doll at his feet. Jeb will take

little persuading to relate his story. Mathias looks

nervous throughout, as though talking about Valamir

will attract the pirate’s attention. Hedwig meanwhile

is rapt and wide eyed.

When they leave the Baer home they can hear the

sound of a heavy bar securing the door behind them.

Other Leads

“Seventy years ago, it was, when the dread pirate

Valamir the Crimson, Scourge of the Sea of Claws,

sailed up river with his crew into the Empire.

Escaping pursuing witch hunters they came upon our

quiet village. They terrorised us for a month, stealing

away men, women and children and taking them up

into the hills. Sold his soul to a dark god, they say,

and the prisoners were used in horrifying rituals. We

hid in our homes and hoped the pirates wouldn’t

claim us.

The PCs may wish to search the areas where the

pirate was seen. These areas are in the fields and

forest edge to the north and east of Halpstadt. Have

them make search or follow trail rolls, but there is

nothing to find. The ghost leaves no footprints or any

other trace. If you wish to delay the PCs have them

find tracks a few days old leading in and out of the

woods which they can follow for five minutes before

reaching a small clearing of chopped trees. This is

simply an area used for chopping up firewood,

nothing supernatural.

Finally the witch hunters caught up with him and

dragged Valamir and his crew into the square. The

crew were hung on makeshift gibbets but Valamir

was tied to a stake. I was but a boy then but I still

remember the wicked grin on his face as the men

piled wood beneath him. As the fire started he

laughed loud and roared a curse at the crowd, that he

would return to claim us.

The PCs may inquire further about the missing

villagers, Cedrid and Orwin. Cedrid was a

woodcutter with no family who lived in a small

shack on the edge of the forest. He often wandered

into the woods, but has not returned for over a week

which is unusual for him. A search of his shack

reveals nothing except for a mattress, an axe and a

few eating utensils.

And now he is back.”

Orwin Steiner was married to the now distraught Elsa

Steiner. She weeps and begs for the PCs to find her

husband. She offers no clues other than to say her

husband chased a runaway pig into the woods five

days ago and was never seen again.

If asked for any further details, old Jeb will try and

recollect anything that may be useful. He will recall

the following:

“The pirates hid out in an old silver mine, to the

north, north-east of here. It was there that they took

back those they captured, used them in terrifying

rituals. Sometimes you could hear the screams at

night. It also where they kept their treasure, a great

fortune they brought with them. Many years after

Valamir was burned, when I was a teenager, a few of

Once the PCs have exhausted any other leads they

should try and find the mine where Valamir and his

pirates were based. If the PCs are not picking up on

this lead make sure gossiping villagers mention the

mine and their theory that the mine must have been

disturbed and Valamir’s ghost is angry.

Page 4

PC fails a test due to seeing a frightening sight (such

as the skeleton pirates) then they will attempt to back

away. Every round thereafter they must make a WP

test or continue to back away from the source. If this

results in the PC being alone (the definition of which

is up to the GMs discretion) then they must continue

their WP tests each round as strange sounds, screams

and whispers seem to close in around them. A failed

test results in an insanity point. The character will

stop hearing the noises as soon as a test is passed or

another PC comes to help them.

The Mine

The PCs can get directions to the mine from Jeb or

any other villager. A successful routine (+10%)

Follow Trail or Outdoor Survival test means the

journey takes 30 minutes. Failure means the journey

takes an additional D10 x 5 minutes. If the PCs have

decided to try and find the mine without any

directions then it takes them D5 hours.

In addition so fused is the mine with dark magic that

it has an affect on spellcasting. Any spells cast whilst

inside the mine will suffer automatic failure if all the

D10s rolled on a Casting Roll are 1 and/or 2 (rather

than just all 1’s). If this is the case the caster must

make a WP test or gain an insanity point.

The entrance to the mine is in the side of a cliff face,

in a quiet clearing in a forested area of the hills. Once

the entrance was boarded up, but now the planks

have rotted away. Rails, on which once a mine cart

would have moved, run out the entrance rusted and

overgrown. No noise comes from the entrance other

than the occasional drip of water. Peering inside, all

the PCs can see is darkness.

Also note that a lot of tests are required in the mine,

from leaping over pits to avoiding the touch of

ghosts. If a PC comes up with a good idea to help

him (or a particularly bad one to hinder him) the GM

should apply modifiers as he sees fit.

If the PCs decide to check the clearing for any tracks

a straightforward (+10%) follow trail test is required.

If successful tracks can be found in the mud, human

footprints a few days old entering into the mine,

though none come out the entrance. Attempts to

follow the footprints back are unsuccessful after a

minute of following, the trail lost on an area of rocky

ground. The footprints belong to Ferdinand

Viermann, who belongs to a group of local slavers.

He heard that treasure was to be found in the mine

and sought it out. Using his quick wits he managed to

make it deep into the mine, but not all the way to the

treasure.

A - As the PCs enter the mine they are hit by a

sudden wave of emotion. Their heads are filled with

visions of blood and thoughts of murder. Each PC

must make a Will Power test. Any that fail are so

shaken by the images that they are at a -5% to all

tests for the remainder of their time in the mine. In

addition each PC who failed must make another Will

Power test when they enter Valamir’s sacrifice

chamber (Room I). If they fail this test as well they

receive 1 Insanity Point.

See Appendix 2, Fig. 1 for the mine layout. The

following paragraphs refer to the lettered areas on the

mine.

The mine tunnel slopes downwards. No light sources

are around, and it seems almost that the PCs torches

don’t penetrate the darkness as far as they should.

The cart rails run on into the oppressive darkness.

GMs Notes: Deep into the mine is where Valamir

performed vile rituals to Khaine, god of murder. The

tunnel network became seeped in evil magic, and this

still lingers today. The PCs will hear faint screams

and whispering, have flashes of horrific images of

death and see shadowy figures out of the corners of

their eyes. The GM should drop such strange

happenings into the adventure as much as he feels is

required.

B - The side chamber was once used by the mine

foremen in charge of operations, now the tables and

chairs are nothing more than piles of rotted wood and

the chamber is full of bats. However these bats have

been roosting in the mine for so long they have been

affected by the presence of evil and now hunger for

blood. When the PCs enter the bats will attack,

swirling around the PCs attempting to bite them.

In fact the dark energies of the mine play upon the

minds of the PCs, magnifying their fear. Whenever a

Each PC has 10 bats attacking them, though the GM

shouldn’t inform the players of this exact number,

Page 5

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