A fight in a wave hammered half submerged temple while trying to get a McGuffin from a safe.
Encounter Practice The Backstory They go to the Eldeen Bay in northern Aundair to explore a ruined structure that has fallen into the sea outside of Whispering Rock cove and deal with 2nd level encounters. There was a church built on a cliff over looking the ocean. The cliff crumbled and the structure slide into the ocean below.
The PCs need to get to get the McGuffin from a partially submerged safe in the alter, while dealing with monsters and waves. Will the PCs be able get the McGuffin from the locked safe?
--- Opening Description: Due to very rare confluence of moon tides, the sea claimed structure is mostly exposed. It is a stone structure with no roof, just walls covered in kelp and sea life with deep channels and pools of water running through the room and it's rubble. The ocean is about 2-3 foot deep but strong waves are surging in ever other turn. ---
The water is difficult terrain. Every other turn, waves rolls in and slams into the PCs. If they fail a Fort save, they are pushed 10 feet. This will disrupt combat, searching, lock picking, and or breaking in.
They will need to search the rubble for the alter safe.
Grindylow will leap out of the trenches and attack the PCs, all the time they will be constantly screaming in Thalassic to "leave their god alone." Grindylow will attack until they get to 4 hp or less and then each will fall back and scream from a distance and throw rocks.
It will take three pick lock successes to get into the safe. If you go the destroy route, it has a hardness of 5 (ignores the first 5 pts of damage from each attack), and will take 10 points to open, and 20 to obliterate. House Cannith makes some quality safes, that open even after being submerged for years, with barnacles and sponges growing on it. Breaking open the safe will also destroy the sponge. Unless PCs roll a special success, the secondary treasure will be destroyed if they break into it.
If players carefully pull the sponge loose, 1 person making a Nature vs DC 20, and move it to where the Gindylow can take it, they will stop attacking and leave.
If the sponge is destroyed, the Gindylow will fight to the death.
NPCs and Monsters stats:
Grindylow (4) https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=3038
The Grindylow barbarians have a shrine on top of the alter safe. Out of the water, it looks like a deflated blue green and magenta sea sponge. Make a Nature Check vs DC 15 to notice it's the only one in the ruins of that color.
Make a perception Occult check vs DC 20 when it's underwater from a wave to see it perk up and glow.
Make a society check at DC 15 to notice that the shells and rocks around the sponge look like a shrine.
Treasure and Experience:
The McGuffin in the rusted water logged safe will further the plot of the adventure. The other plot item is a 3rd level breakable waterproof consumable, probably an Oil of Potency.