X7: The War Rafts of Kron

X7 "The War Rafts of Kron" (1984) by Bruce Nesmith is a D&D adventure for character levels 9-12, set beneath the fearsome Sea of Dread.

Module X7 "The War Rafts of Kron" (1984) by Bruce Nesmith.  Cover illustration by Larry Elmore.

While frequently criticized for its paper-thin plot, the module can serve as an underwater sandbox and useful companion to X1 "The Isle of Dread".

Underwater Adventures:

There are rules for underwater adventuring, including new magic items (potion of swimming, potion of water breathing, ring of water adaption, undersea boat, returning spear)*

*underwater adventures were also covered in the Blackmoor supplement

The Sea of Dread "Underwater Map", from module X7 "The War Rafts of Kron" (1984) by Bruce Nesmith (the volcano indicates the location of "Burning Mountain" from XSOLO "Lathan's Gold")

Minrothad:

The isle of Minrothad is divided into many small baronies.  The baronies form trading guilds, each having its own plot of land.  The family-owned guilds have much vicious political dissension among them.  The city of Minrothad is a neutral territory where the guilds can meet and trade.

The War Rafts of Kron (pg. 4)

Suthus:

Suthus is the city of the tritons, a city made entirely from dead coral cut from distant reefs.  Prompted by their love of beauty and music, the tritons made the entire city a natural musical instrument.  As the water currents flow through the coral of the city, they create a complex rhythm that can be heard twelve miles away.

The War Rafts of Kron (pg. 7)

Tritons were introduced in the Greyhawk supplement and further described in the AD&D 1e Monster Manual, where they were "rumoured to be creatures from the elemental plane of water".

The underwater city of Suthus may be used as a starting point for any number of underwater adventures, unrelated to the module.

Kron:

The city of Kron is built on rafts.  It consists of 14 large rafts which range from 200 feet to 400 feet across.  These large rafts are surrounded by almost a hundred small rafts.  The large rafts are connected by flexible wooden bridges.  The small rafts have only mooring lines that attach them to Kron.

The War Rafts of Kron (pg. 11)

Possibly inspired by the Raft People in "The Farthest Shore" by Ursula K. Le Guin, the throne of Kron is an artifact shaped after the hand of a sea god, which prevents the city from sinking.

Given its mobile nature, the raft city of Kron may serve as a self-contained encounter, anywhere upon the Sea of Dread, or beyond.

Colhador:

The city of Colhador was once populated by airbreathing people.  A catastrophe many centuries ago caused it to sink to the ocean floor.  Among the tritons there are rumors of other cities of the same people, now lying on the ocean floor.

The War Rafts of Kron (pg. 19)

Shark attack, featuring the sunken city of Colhador in the background.  Illustration by Jeff Butler.

Colhador is rumoured to harbor a centuries-old evil.  Given its proximity to Ierendi, it can serve as the objective of a self-contained adventure.

The Well of Hador, within the sunken city, appears to be some kind of portal to the elemental plane of water

New Monsters:

Dolphin,** Dragon Turtle,* Eel (Electric, Giant**), Gargantua,**** Sea Horse,** Giant Jellyfish (Marauder, Man-O-War**), Manta Ray (Normal, Giant**), Giant Octopus,* Sea Serpent (Lesser,* Greater), Shark (Bull, Mako, Great White),* Giant Squid,* Triton,*** Velya, Whale (Killer, Narwhal, Sperm)*

*appeared in Cook/Marsh Expert, but omitted from Mentzer Expert

**appeared in the Blackmoor supplement

***appeared in the Greyhawk supplement

****perhaps modelled after the Giant Gar in 1e Monster Manual

Horn of the Sea God:

Triton sounding a conch shell.

The "mythical Horn of the Sea God" (mentioned on pg. 4) is a likely allusion to the conch shell of Triton, the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite:

Triton in later times became associated with possessing a conch shell, which he blew like a trumpet to calm or raise the waves.  He was "trumpeter and bugler" to Oceanus and Poseidon.  Its sound was so cacophonous that when loudly blown, it put the giants to flight, who imagined it to be the roar of a dark wild beast.

Source: wikipedia