" a ship of smugglers is surrounded by many harmless glowing birds. The ship is a new sailing ship with an npc aboard, known to the characters..."
Simple encounter tables for mountains in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Open Sea Encounters, Open Sea Encounter Details and Ship Encounters.
Fantasy Sea - all | trinkets | coastal encs | island encs | open sea encs | port encs | underwater encs
[photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash]
Fantasy Open Sea Encounters
The open seas are the places beyond the coasts, where land may be out of site. Crossing tempestuous channels, tropical seas and endless oceans. Abandoned fishing boats overcome by disease, a sea drake in the sky near an island with a sea temple, or a huge fiendish turtle circling a cargo crate in the water
It's also a place of rafts, sailors, seagulls, sea monsters, sharks, pirates, whales and sea gods.
There is a fantasy sea encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Open Sea Encounters.
Open Sea Combined Encounters
These reference Open Sea tables for Encounter Prompts, Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | Open Sea Combined Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1 | a damaged sailing ship, which warns group of pirates or roll on Ships |
| 2 | something in the sky, a (or an) ... d10 (1-2. flock of birds 3. sky spirit 4. sea drake 5. griffon 6. albatross 7. mass of seagulls 8. sea eagle 9. weird ship 10. flying mount & rider ) |
| 3 | a heartbroken bard in a stolen skiff, totally lost or roll on NPCs |
| 4 | a ship (or boat) of ... d10 (1-2. traders 3. fisherfolk 4. soldiers 5. pirates 6. goblinoids 7. smugglers 8. raiders 9. undead sailors 10. outcasts) |
| 5 | phantom spirits, following in the sea; or roll on Unique Encounters |
| 6 | from the depths emerges a (or an) ... d10 (1-2. sea sprite 3. sealion 4. elf spirit 5. giant seahorse with rider 6. injured walrus 7. hippocampus 8. whale 9. sea troll 10. talking fish) |
| 7 | a flashing beacon in the mist (or underwater); or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | several (or a pair of) ... d10 (1-2. merfolk 3. giant seahorses 4. sharkfolk 5. dolphins 6. sea cows 7. sharks 8. sea elves 9. eels 10. merrow) |
| 9 | a well-armed scout ship making charts of the area or roll on Ships |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. serpent 3. seaweed golem 4. huge fiendish turtle 5. storm giant 6. swarm of carnivorous flying fish 7. water genie 8. giant octopus 9. sea dragon 10. undead whale) |
Open Sea Encounter Details
Use 1d6 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | lying still (or frolicking) in the water; or curious about a ship |
| 2 | circling something drifting in the water, ... d10 (1-2. a capsized boat 3. mapcase 4. bottles of rum 5. cargo crate 6. debris 7. a raft 8. a cursed item 9. a body 10. a magical boat) |
| 3 | surrounded by many harmless glowing fish (or birds) |
| 4 | marked by (or displaying) the symbol of a sea deity (or port city) |
| 5 | near an island (or large rock) with a (or an)... d10 (1-2. mass of seaweed 3. ancient structure 4. golem 5. coral arch 6. magical tower 7. sea temple 8. shipwreck 9. forest 10. tall statue ) |
| 6 | following (or being followed by) something |
| 7 | watching or talking to an inquisitive sea monster, a (or an) ... d10 (1-2. giant fish 3. dragon turtle 4. sea god avatar 5. sentient island 6. kraken 7. flying whale 8. giant crab 9. huge lizard 10. leviathan) |
| 8 | patrolling for threats (or victims) or fishing |
| 9 | repairing something or getting ready to descend below the water |
| 10 | talking to a curious sea monster or trying to get help |
Ship Encounters
| 1d10 | ship descriptor | ship type | with... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | old or ceremonial | merchant (or war) | a veteran (or angry) crew |
| 2 | strange or blessed | galley or caravel | circling sharks (or birds) |
| 3 | new or pristine | barge or yacht | magical defences (or sails) |
| 4 | damaged or jolly | raft or catamaran | valuable (or toxic) cargo |
| 5 | sleek or armoured | skiff or dragonship | allied beasts (or monsters) |
| 6 | abandoned or swift | sailing (or pirate) | a feared (or dying) captain |
| 7 | overloaded or huge | fishing boat or cog | disease (or discord) aboard |
| 8 | fine or dwarven | open canoe or junk | raiders or smugglers |
| 9 | magical or elven | longboat or dhow | an npc known to the group |
| 10 | battered or ghostly | hulk or coaster | an important passenger |
More Encounters
There is a fantasy sea encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Open Sea Encounters.
If you liked these there are Generators at Chaos Gen and a monthly random tools Newsletter. Or find us on the Rand Roll Discord or an instagram of Random Tables.
