The Galleon of Black Pete

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The Galleon of Black Pete


“The Widow’s Grin”
Colossal Vehicle (Galleon), Chaotic Evil

Overview

The Widow’s Grin is a massive, three-masted war galleon that sails without wind, crewed by the tireless dead. Its hull is blackened by salt, rot, and something far worse - streaks of old blood that never quite wash away. Lanterns burn with dim, guttering light, and its sails hang slack even as it cuts through the water at unnatural speed.

The ship does not creak like a normal vessel - it groans, as though something inside its timbers is still alive.

Ship Statistics (D&D 3.5 Style)

Colossal Vehicle (Galleon)
Size: Colossal
Length: 120 ft.
Beam: 35 ft.

  • AC: 3 (–8 size, +1 Dex)
  • Hardness: 8 (rotted but unnaturally reinforced timbers)
  • hp: 450
  • Break DC: 42
  • Speed: 30 ft. (average maneuverability), unaffected by wind
  • Profession (Sailor) DC: 10 (reduced to 5 with undead crew - see below)

Crew

Minimum Crew: 40
Typical Crew: 120 undead
Maximum Capacity: 400+

The Widow’s Grin is crewed by intelligent undead bound to the ship, requiring no food, sleep, or morale.

Crew Composition

  • 40–60 Human Warrior Skeletons (Skeleton template, CR 1/3–1)
  • 30–50 Human Zombie Sailors (fast zombies recommended)
  • 10–20 Drowned Ones (zombie variants with swim speed)
  • 4–6 Undead Bosuns (Skeleton or Zombie Fighters, CR 2–3)

Special Rule – Tireless Crew:
The undead crew automatically succeeds on routine ship tasks and grants a +4 bonus on Profession (sailor) checks to control the vessel.

Special Rule – Unfeeling Discipline:
The ship suffers no penalties from crew losses unless reduced below 20 undead.

Ship Weapons

  • 4 Heavy Ballistae (2 port, 2 starboard)
    Attack +6 ranged, damage 3d8
  • 2 Heavy Catapults (fore and aft)
    Attack +2 ranged (indirect), damage 6d6
  • Boarding Hooks & Chains:
    Grant a +4 bonus on boarding checks

Supernatural Traits

Unnatural Momentum (Su)

The Widow’s Grin ignores wind conditions and moves at full speed even in dead calm.

Hull of the Damned (Su)

The ship is partially sustained by necromantic energy.

  • Gains fast healing 5 while at least 20 undead crew remain
  • If reduced to 0 hp, it begins sinking but takes 15 minutes to fully submerge
  • While below 100 hp, fast healing is reduced to 2 (the magic begins to fail)

Call of the Deep Crew (Su)

Once per encounter, the ship summons 2d6 zombie sailors from the surrounding water. These undead immediately attempt to board nearby vessels.

Aura of Dread (Su)

Living creatures within 60 ft. must succeed on a DC 16 Will save or become shaken.

  • Creatures aboard the ship take a –2 penalty on saves against fear

Black Pete’s Presence

Black Pete’s essence remains tied to the ship.

If Black Pete’s Scimitar is aboard:

  • All undead gain +2 to attack and damage rolls
  • Aura of Dread increases to DC 18
  • The ship gains +15 hp per Hit Die of the wielder (increased to scale with higher base HP)

If Black Pete manifests (DM discretion):

  • Treat as a wraith or dread wraith variant with pirate flavor

Boarding Actions (Simplified 3.5)

When boarding occurs, resolve 3 rounds of opposed checks:

  • Living crew: Profession (sailor) or base attack bonus + crew modifier
  • Widow’s Grin: Treated as having maximum crew efficiency

If the undead win:

  • Boarding forces are overwhelmed as additional undead join the fight each round

Environmental Features (On Deck)

  • Slick Decks: Balance DC 10 or fall prone
  • Rotted Railings: Break DC 15
  • Rigging: Provides cover and swing movement (Tumble DC 10)
  • Lighting: Dim illumination with heavy shadow

Lore

The Widow’s Grin was once a feared war galleon, long before its name became a curse. Under Black Pete’s command, it carved a path of slaughter across the seas, leaving no survivors and no witnesses willing to speak. Its decks ran red so often that sailors claimed the wood itself had turned dark from the blood it drank.

When the storm finally came, it was no natural disaster. The sea rose against the ship, the wind howled without direction, and lightning struck again and again as though guided by a hateful will. By dawn, the ship and all aboard had vanished without a trace.

Now it sails once more.

The Widow’s Grin appears in fog, in still water, or in the dead of night, moving without wind and crewed by the silent dead. At its helm stands Black Pete himself, his flayed visage grinning beneath a weather-worn hat, his hollow eyes fixed on the living. He does not hunt treasure, nor territory - only slaughter. Where the ship is sighted, blood follows, and those who glimpse its black sails know with certainty that the dead have come ashore.

Kelwyn’s Notes…

…yes.

I have seen it.

Once was sufficient.

There are many things in this world that pretend at horror - elaborate hauntings, theatrical curses, restless spirits bound to places or objects that can, with enough patience, be understood, negotiated with, or… resolved. The Widow’s Grin is not one of those things. It does not haunt. It does not linger. It arrives.

And when it does, the world feels… incorrect.

The water stills in a way that has nothing to do with calm. Sound seems to hesitate, as though uncertain whether it should continue. Even the air carries a kind of pressure - not oppressive, not overwhelming… simply wrong. And then, through that stillness, it comes into view. Not emerging, not revealed - just suddenly there, as though it had always occupied that space and you had only just been permitted to notice.

I did not stay to observe.

Understand this: I am not prone to retreat. Curiosity has led me into situations far more dangerous than wisdom would recommend, and I have, on occasion, chosen to remain when departure would have been the more sensible course. This was not such a moment. There was no question, no deliberation. Only the immediate and absolute certainty that nothing to be gained from that encounter would justify what it might take in return.

There are forces that can be studied. There are entities that can be bargained with. There are horrors that can, with sufficient insight, be unraveled.

This is none of those.

If you see it - if you so much as glimpse the shape of black sails where none should be - you leave. You do not investigate. You do not linger. You do not indulge the fatal little thought that you might be the exception.

You are not.

And it does not care.

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