Adventure at sea! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Adventure at sea! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
LookIAmNick
03-30-08, 12:09 PM I plan on taking my PCs on a 9 day back and forth journey at sea by Caravel! I recently bought the Stormwrack book and I'm very excited. This will be my first time doing so, what are some tips and advice from you DMs that have done a sea adventure?
Shaggy_Shaggs
03-30-08, 12:12 PM Explain to your players that charging is a bad idea in ship-to-ship combat. I've seen a paladin in half plate try to charge at a pirate that was on another ship 200 yards away. :nonono:

It didn't end well.
Ariakus
03-30-08, 12:23 PM Have at least one salt 'o the sea on board, because navigation is tough if you don't have landmarks to watch to know where you are going. And if you run out of food, he's going to have to have a good survival skill to fish enough to feed the crew and the party. Food is a problem on long voyages, there has to be a storeroom big enough to feed the party and crew for the 9 day journey or everyone will need to bring their fishing rods :)
Etarnon
03-30-08, 12:47 PM Don't fight in armor. You go over, or are tossed over the side in armor, you are done.

Dex fighters, finesse fighter rule the planks.

The most dangerous thing aboard a ship isn't enemies...it's fire.

Your guys on the ship are the only fire department. A fire doesn't get put out, it's a swim with the sharks.

Stop in every port you can for fresh water kegs, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Ariakus
03-30-08, 12:54 PM Yes, I forgot about the armor thing... sink like a rock comes to mind :) I had a Bronze Dragon Shaman that had full plate armor in a seagoing adventure, but he had the Ex ability of Water Breathing, so he went to the bottom and walked from boat to shore :) Luckily the DM did not send sharks or anything else for that matter, at me.
farmboy3400
03-30-08, 11:25 PM We're having a blast with a Stormwrack campaign.

Some random tips:
Encounters tend to be stand alone with time to rest in between, so you may want to up the EL a bit.

Provide some water breathing options for the PCs--potions, spells, etc. Somebody's eventually going under.

Sites along the way can be encounter sources: such as a wizard island, a sargasso sea, a not so dormant volcano, an undead infested coral reef covered with shipwrecks, etc.

A storm blowing the characters off course...

If the EL is correct the Sable Drake in the back of Stormwrack is really cool--the night time attack was quite a challenge (One of my favorite quotes of the session, "How can they keep attacking when we doused all the lights?") My party loved it and now has their own brig.
GoriceXII
03-31-08, 01:27 AM I found watching a couple of good sea movies helped a lot--even clips of them can be good. Some of these are:
Master and Commander
The Bounty
1492: The Conquest of Paradise

Also a caravel doesn't have very expansive quarters--emphasize the need to duck under beams when below decks, dodge deckhands as their scrambling to raise sail or scrub decks. Have them have to move through rows of hammocks with sleeping sailors at night. If the pcs are in staterooms they are probably surrounded by their gear unless everyone has a bag of holding or something. And then there's livestock--they may have had to make special arrangements to transport any that they have.
MrWildman
03-31-08, 01:30 AM A friend and I rolled up some characters for seagoing adventures just a while back. I made a Hadozee (is that right? the monkey-men) Duskblade.

Bits I've noticed:

If your adventure is going to faithfully simulate being at sea then Balance checks will lurk around every corner. The ship pitches, it's wet, there's coils of rope and elaborate webs of rigging everywhere. Forcing movement into hampered squares and interrupting moving opponents yields big rewards.

The Climb skill is your friend, and Rope Use drops by to say hello, too. See 'rigging', above. :)

Most ships are narrow enough that throwing improvised objects becomes a viable option. And the cramped space is a Small-sized characters dream! As the Sable Drake ably shows. Similarly, the darkness of the interiors for those with low-light or darkvision.

Somewhere, it might have been a Goodman Games book, I saw a feat that described that 'ripping the sail and riding you dagger down' maneuver. That's so cool!

Also, the winds play havoc with projectiles and certain spell effects (Whoosh!), as can the ever-present rigging.

You have to, at least once, swing a yardarm into a foe's unsuspecting back!

Out of random bits. Peace.
BenGregor
07-17-08, 07:45 PM I'm still working with 3.5 because I can't afford to update to 4.0 (and I will probably never have the funds to do so). But if you're looking to have some fun with you PCs, to make their tasks more difficult, or if you just want to have some laughs at their expense then you could try to modify the rules I'm working on writing for sea sickness here (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=16376236#post16376236)
Nerdicus
07-18-08, 11:51 AM If you are going to have a captain as the NPC make him this guy:

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/House_Boro/pirate01x400.jpg

Call him Blackbrains the Pirate. Give him a monkey familiar who takes care of his handy needs.

In our current campaign, which myself and another guy are co dming(though he is dming the campaign out because I don't want to run 3.5 anymore) used this guy and he rules! Enchanted peglegs, hooks for hands, eyepatches that grant sight, and an enchanted coinpurse that is forever dropping coins( though many of the 'coins' are actually wooden chips and beans).

Seriously though, just remember that ship to ship combat is slow moving. It takes a few rounds for a ship to turn around or to change course. And storms mixed in with Sahuagin fights are incredibly fun and challenging.
Arcane Guyver
07-18-08, 02:49 PM As others have said, emphasize the circumstantial importance of certain skills prior to playing. Balance, Climb, Profession (sailor), Swim, Use Rope, perhaps even Concentration. There's a good chance your PCs won't have many of those skills, otherwise.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
LookIAmNick 03-30-08, 12:09 PM	I plan on taking my PCs on a 9 day back and forth journey at sea by Caravel! I recently bought the Stormwrack book and I'm very excited. This will be my first time doing so, what are some tips and advice from you DMs that have done a sea adventure?
Shaggy_Shaggs 03-30-08, 12:12 PM	Explain to your players that charging is a bad idea in ship-to-ship combat. I've seen a paladin in half plate try to charge at a pirate that was on another ship 200 yards away. :nonono: It didn't end well.
Ariakus 03-30-08, 12:23 PM	Have at least one salt 'o the sea on board, because navigation is tough if you don't have landmarks to watch to know where you are going. And if you run out of food, he's going to have to have a good survival skill to fish enough to feed the crew and the party. Food is a problem on long voyages, there has to be a storeroom big enough to feed the party and crew for the 9 day journey or everyone will need to bring their fishing rods :)
Etarnon 03-30-08, 12:47 PM	Don't fight in armor. You go over, or are tossed over the side in armor, you are done. Dex fighters, finesse fighter rule the planks. The most dangerous thing aboard a ship isn't enemies...it's fire. Your guys on the ship are the only fire department. A fire doesn't get put out, it's a swim with the sharks. Stop in every port you can for fresh water kegs, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Ariakus 03-30-08, 12:54 PM	Yes, I forgot about the armor thing... sink like a rock comes to mind :) I had a Bronze Dragon Shaman that had full plate armor in a seagoing adventure, but he had the Ex ability of Water Breathing, so he went to the bottom and walked from boat to shore :) Luckily the DM did not send sharks or anything else for that matter, at me.
farmboy3400 03-30-08, 11:25 PM	We're having a blast with a Stormwrack campaign. Some random tips: Encounters tend to be stand alone with time to rest in between, so you may want to up the EL a bit. Provide some water breathing options for the PCs--potions, spells, etc. Somebody's eventually going under. Sites along the way can be encounter sources: such as a wizard island, a sargasso sea, a not so dormant volcano, an undead infested coral reef covered with shipwrecks, etc. A storm blowing the characters off course... If the EL is correct the Sable Drake in the back of Stormwrack is really cool--the night time attack was quite a challenge (One of my favorite quotes of the session, "How can they keep attacking when we doused all the lights?") My party loved it and now has their own brig.
GoriceXII 03-31-08, 01:27 AM	I found watching a couple of good sea movies helped a lot--even clips of them can be good. Some of these are: Master and Commander The Bounty 1492: The Conquest of Paradise Also a caravel doesn't have very expansive quarters--emphasize the need to duck under beams when below decks, dodge deckhands as their scrambling to raise sail or scrub decks. Have them have to move through rows of hammocks with sleeping sailors at night. If the pcs are in staterooms they are probably surrounded by their gear unless everyone has a bag of holding or something. And then there's livestock--they may have had to make special arrangements to transport any that they have.
MrWildman 03-31-08, 01:30 AM	A friend and I rolled up some characters for seagoing adventures just a while back. I made a Hadozee (is that right? the monkey-men) Duskblade. Bits I've noticed: If your adventure is going to faithfully simulate being at sea then Balance checks will lurk around every corner. The ship pitches, it's wet, there's coils of rope and elaborate webs of rigging everywhere. Forcing movement into hampered squares and interrupting moving opponents yields big rewards. The Climb skill is your friend, and Rope Use drops by to say hello, too. See 'rigging', above. :) Most ships are narrow enough that throwing improvised objects becomes a viable option. And the cramped space is a Small-sized characters dream! As the Sable Drake ably shows. Similarly, the darkness of the interiors for those with low-light or darkvision. Somewhere, it might have been a Goodman Games book, I saw a feat that described that 'ripping the sail and riding you dagger down' maneuver. That's so cool! Also, the winds play havoc with projectiles and certain spell effects (Whoosh!), as can the ever-present rigging. You have to, at least once, swing a yardarm into a foe's unsuspecting back! Out of random bits. Peace.
BenGregor 07-17-08, 07:45 PM	I'm still working with 3.5 because I can't afford to update to 4.0 (and I will probably never have the funds to do so). But if you're looking to have some fun with you PCs, to make their tasks more difficult, or if you just want to have some laughs at their expense then you could try to modify the rules I'm working on writing for sea sickness here (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?p=16376236#post16376236)
Nerdicus 07-18-08, 11:51 AM	If you are going to have a captain as the NPC make him this guy: http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/House_Boro/pirate01x400.jpg Call him Blackbrains the Pirate. Give him a monkey familiar who takes care of his handy needs. In our current campaign, which myself and another guy are co dming(though he is dming the campaign out because I don't want to run 3.5 anymore) used this guy and he rules! Enchanted peglegs, hooks for hands, eyepatches that grant sight, and an enchanted coinpurse that is forever dropping coins( though many of the 'coins' are actually wooden chips and beans). Seriously though, just remember that ship to ship combat is slow moving. It takes a few rounds for a ship to turn around or to change course. And storms mixed in with Sahuagin fights are incredibly fun and challenging.
Arcane Guyver 07-18-08, 02:49 PM	As others have said, emphasize the circumstantial importance of certain skills prior to playing. Balance, Climb, Profession (sailor), Swim, Use Rope, perhaps even Concentration. There's a good chance your PCs won't have many of those skills, otherwise.