I am starting a naval themed campaign and I have a few questions. Firstly, what are some creative ocean encounters to engage players? Also, what are the rules to captaining ships? Are there certain guidelines to follow while engaging in ship-to-ship combat? I'm a relatively new DM so anything helps!
Otherwise, just depends on where you want the party to be. If your intent is ship bound for any extended period of time, especially multiple sessions, it'll be important to keep the players engaged in doing 'stuff' all the time. crap happens, oil lamps break in rough seas, how to put out the fire? how's crew morale now? The food and water suddenly spoils in Necrotic fog? Uh oh.
If you haven't already picked it up, Ghosts of Saltmarsh is an excellent adventure/source book for your general questions. It goes far in developing good specific guidelines for crew positions/responsibilities, ship to ship guidance, HP for hull/sails/helm.
I am about to start session 2 in my own mini naval excursion, and found Ghosts of Saltmarsh an excellent starting point. My homebrew storyline literally took to the high seas as soon as it was released, who knows when they'll step on dry land again.
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Hi there!
I am starting a naval themed campaign and I have a few questions. Firstly, what are some creative ocean encounters to engage players? Also, what are the rules to captaining ships? Are there certain guidelines to follow while engaging in ship-to-ship combat? I'm a relatively new DM so anything helps!
Thanks!
This encounter table gave me a lot of great ideas: http://dndspeak.com/2017/12/100-sea-travel-events/
Otherwise, just depends on where you want the party to be. If your intent is ship bound for any extended period of time, especially multiple sessions, it'll be important to keep the players engaged in doing 'stuff' all the time. crap happens, oil lamps break in rough seas, how to put out the fire? how's crew morale now? The food and water suddenly spoils in Necrotic fog? Uh oh.
If you haven't already picked it up, Ghosts of Saltmarsh is an excellent adventure/source book for your general questions. It goes far in developing good specific guidelines for crew positions/responsibilities, ship to ship guidance, HP for hull/sails/helm.
I am about to start session 2 in my own mini naval excursion, and found Ghosts of Saltmarsh an excellent starting point. My homebrew storyline literally took to the high seas as soon as it was released, who knows when they'll step on dry land again.
Boldly go