Floating Carcass: Aboleth's Echoes
The corpse of some titanic underwater creature floats to the surface, its bulk a fleshy mass that drifts in the current. It is swarmed by creatures hoping to make a meal of it.
The crew’s dreams are haunted by the memories of a dead aboleth as they travel near the floating carcass. On a Critical Failure, all adventurers roll on the Short-Term Mental Stress Effects table, in addition to all other effects.
Feeding Frenzy. Creatures feeding on the dead creature are in a feeding frenzy, and though they may be willing to talk if one uses speak with animals , they won’t give up on their opportunity to feed in order to help the party.
Foul Rot. The combined stench of the carcass and the collected animals is intense. Each creature aboard must make a Constitution saving throw . On a failure, it is poisoned until it takes a long rest . A creature that is immune to poison damage or does not need to breath automatically succeeds on this save.
Sign of Land. Sea birds, fish, and other life from the ocean swarm around the corpse, picking at it for food. If within the flight range of local coastal birds (about 20 miles at the most for sea gulls), adventurers can make a Nature or Survival check to determine if the coast is nearby and its approximate distance, though not its direction.
A group Nature check can be used to identify the creature and make determinations about its biology, ensuring the adventurers can navigate around it without incident. Alternately, a group water vehicles check can navigate the ship skillfully around the carcass.
Critical Failure. The ship and its crew strain against the press of creatures, forcing its progress to a halt. The adventurers lose and you have to wait until the frenzy ends. The party loses 3 (1d6) days of travel time and each adventurer loses 8 (2d6 + 1) Supply to the equal opportunity predations of the scavengers.
Failure. The adventurers lose 1 day of travel.
Success. The party is able to make their way around the corpse without incident.
Critical Success. The adventurers spot something stuck in the hide of the dead creature. Roll on the Boons and Discoveries table.
Leave it Be
Bypassing the precarious area is possible, but takes a great deal of time—safely traveling around it costs an extra 2 (1d4) days of travel time.