Crimson Abyss

Crimson Abyss
General Information
Type	Shipping vessel
Location	Shattered Teeth
Captain	Urlu Novos
Notable crew	Woedders Cyrillia Kyle Graz'tchar
Affiliation	Bane

The Crimson Abyss is a boat owned by the now undead Captain Urlu Novos, a feared privateer of Wildemount. Due to the nature of its Captain's curse, the ship itself is also ghostly.

Appearance

The ship looks weathered, with tattered sails, damaged parts, and covered in pale moss and mold that makes it look like it shouldn't be able to sail... But so it does, on its own. Even though it keeps most of its appearance, the vessel seems to have some magic that allows it to repair more recent damages. The lower deck is noticeably colder. The lanterns of the boat used to be blue, but after Cyrillia shared her warmth with the captain, the flames became more reddish.

Crew

Fan art of a ghost pirate learning Rollies, by TheFakeNerdGirl.

All members of the crew are skeleton-like undead, although they keep some semblance of their original appearance and clothing. With the exception of Captain Novos, all of them seem to become expectant until some command gives them new purpose. When they sleep their skeletons seem to disassemble.

• Urlu Novos: Captain, originally a dwarven man
• Woedders: First mate
• Cyrillia: Navigator, originally a fire genasi
• Sanjay: Originally of elven blood, plays the violin and has henna tattoos on his bones
• Vendallo: Originally of orcish blood, knows how to organize card games, including Fork of the Storm
• Whitts twins: Originally two halfling siblings, they like to play cards
• Kyle: A forgettable crew member, despite having been on the ghost ship as long as the rest
• Odo: A tall and thin crew member
• Jamal: A crew member who would like to meet new ghosts
• Bruda: An intense crew member who likes to play Rollies and was allergic to cats when she was alive
• Peters
• Carmilla

History

Around 743 PD, during a storm, Urlu, who had been worried about his enemies allying with each other, struck some sort of dark deal with Bane, the Strife Emperor that caused him to be struck in the forehead by a bolt, falling onto the deck, smiling. After that, he and the Crimson Abyss became a ghostly apparition in the archipelago, and the captain would often seek treasure, claiming anything of interest that would touch the waves, his vessel appearing suddenly when summoned.

Fan art of Laudna and the captain, by Cha Cha Rae.

In 843 PD, after some bargaining, Bells Hells managed to convince the captain of the ship to take them to the island of Kalutha on a three-day journey. During the time the adventurers spent on board the crew grew fond of them, although Cyrillia was initially very suspicious, especially when Fearne started spending time with the captain. After Fearne encouraged her to get closer to Novos, the mood of the boat and its physical appearance improved. Bells Hells decorated it for a farewell party on their last day on board, and since Captain Novos liked the event, he kept some of the ornamentation.

Trivia

• The crew mentioned that they were from the islands of Wildemount, so it's very likely that they were originally from the Menagerie Coast.
• The captain collectively refers to the crew as "bones and ghouls".
• Captain Novos has theorized that his chosen curse will last until he finds all his treasure, so it is possible that the ghost ship will cease existing as such when that happens.
• According to Urlu, it is possible to kill people in the vessel and reanimate them as part of the cursed crew.

References

Art: