Page 118 - Dungeon Master's Guide

the direction and distance of the ship's travel) or the sun RANDOM ENCOUNTERS AT SEA
and the stars.
dl2 + d8 Encounter
Use the Wilderness Navigation table earlier in this
2 Ghost ship
chapter to determine whether a ship veers off course.
3 Friendly and curious bronze dragon
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS AT SEA 4 Whirlpool (25 percent chance that the whirlpool is
You can check for random encounters at sea as often a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water)
as you would check for them on land (see chapter 3 for 5 Merfolk traders
more information). The Random Encounters at Sea 6 Passing warship (friendly or hostile)
table presents a number of options and ideas. 7-8 Pirate ship (hostile)
9-10 Passing merchant ship (galley or sailing ship)
SHIPWRECKS 11-12 Killer whale sighting
A shipwreck is a plot device that can be used sparingly to 13-14 Floating debris
great effect, particularly if you want the characters to be 15 Longship crewed by hostile berserkers
washed ashore on some monster-infested island or (in the
16 Hostile griffons or harpies
case of an airship) dropped in the middle of some exotic
17 Iceberg (easily avoided if seen from a distance)
land. There aren't rules for determining when a shipwreck
happens; it happens when you want or need it to happen. 18 Sahuagin boarding party
Even the strongest seafaring ship can founder in a storm, 19 NPC in the water (clinging to floating debris)
run aground on rocks or reefs, sink during a pirate attack, or 20 Sea monster (such as a dragon turtle or kraken)
be dragged underwater by a sea monster. A storm orhungry
dragon can lay waste to an airship just as easily. A shipwreck
WEATHER AT S EA
has the potential to change the direction of a campaign. It
isn't, however, a particularly good way to kill off characters or Use the Weather table earlier in this chapter when
end a campaign . checking for weather at sea.
If you and your campaign conspire to wreck a ship on If weather conditions indicate both a strong wind
which the characters are traveling, it is assumed that the and heavy rain, they combine to create a storm with
characters survive with the equipment they were wearing or high waves. A crew caught in a storm loses sight of all
carrying still in their possession. The fate of any N PCs and landmarks (unless there's a lighthouse or other bright
cargo aboard the wrecked ship is entirely up to you. feature), and ability checks made to navigate during the
storm have disadvantage.

CHAPTER 5 I ADVENTURE ENVIRONMENTS