" A few dockworkers stand at a slipway in front of a dockside tavern. They are watching a floating crate in the water, discussing where it might be from..."
Simple encounter tables for ports and docks in any fantasy setting. Tables for Combined Port Encounters, Port Encounter Details and Port Encounter Locations.
Fantasy Sea - all | trinkets | coastal encs | island encs | open sea encs | port encs | underwater encs
Fantasy City - all | trinkets | cemetery encs | market encs | port encs | ruins encs | sewer encs | street encs | tavern encs | crowds
[art by Henrik Karppinen]
Fantasy Port and Docks Encounters
Ports are the home of ships, either for a few days or whenever they come back from a journey. Wharves of wagons being loaded, full warehouses, slippery walkways and fish markets. Sailors from a merchant vessels, a monkey stealing fish or a bitter rival of a character, making offerings to the sea.
It's also a place of barrels, boats, gulls, thugs, dockworkers, sea captains and slipways.
There is a fantasy sea encounter generator at ChaosGen. There is also a pdf of these and more tables at the DriveThruRPG as Port Encounters.
Port Combined Encounters
These reference Port tables for Encounter Prompts, Hazards and NPCs
| 1d10 | Port Combined Encounters |
|---|---|
| 1 | a crowd watching a lifeless sea serpent (or whale); or roll on Hazards |
| 2 | an aggressive (or scavenging)... d10 (1-2. street trader 3. feral hound 4. drunk sailor 5. sea eagle 6. vagabond 7. urchin 8. monkey 9. large seabird 10. seal) |
| 3 | a scarred mercenary who has just missed their ship or roll on NPCs |
| 4 | several (or a pair of)... d10 (1-2. sailors 3. dockworkers 4. fishers 5. pirates (or smugglers) 6. travellers 7. thugs 8. labourers 9. soldiers 10. aquatic humanoids) |
| 5 | rowdy sailors heckling a busking musician or roll on Enc. Descriptions |
| 6 | someone disembarking (or searching for) a vessel, a(n)... d10 (1-2. spy 3. celebrity 4. adventuring group 5. diplomat and guards 6. messenger 7. merchant 8. port inspector 9. friendly ally 10. noble) |
| 7 | an animated rope trying to grab something or roll on Hazards |
| 8 | someone approaching (or following) a character, a(n)... d10 (1-2. injured sailor 3. mercenary 4. envoy from the sea 5. guide 6. prostitute 7. tavern tout 8. ship captain 9. fishmonger 10. guard) |
| 9 | a desperate carpenter with a request for the group or roll on NPCs |
| 10 | a potential (or signs of a) danger, a(n)... d10 (1-2. bitter rival 3. mass of seagulls 4. giant tentacle 5. press gang 6. doppelganger 7. few footpads 8. sea drake 9. local gang 10. thief ) |
Port Encounter Details
Use 1d6 for beasts or non-sentient creatures.
| 1d10 | They are... (or one is...) |
|---|---|
| 1 | eating (or stealing) fish; or sitting on the dock of the bay |
| 2 | currently... d10 (1-2. being noisy 3. being lazy 4. watching a ship 5. curious 6. hungry 7. exhausted 8. panicked 9. thirsty 10. washing ) |
| 3 | in the water or more dangerous than they seem |
| 4 | watching (or waiting for) something in the water, a(n) ... d10 (1-2. predator 3. swimmer 4. incoming ship 5. advertisement 6. rowboat 7. floating crate 8. body 9. strange fish 10. whale) |
| 5 | looking for passage on a ship or on a quest for a sea god |
| 6 | associated with (or watching) a nearby ship, a(n)... d10 (1-2. merchant ship 3. galley 4. fishing boat 5. local vessel 6. warship 7. barge 8. pleasure craft 9. hulk 10. skiff) |
| 7 | singing a sea shanty or making offerings to the sea |
| 8 | carrying... d10 (1-2. fragile cargo 3. documents 4. important news 5. a barrel 6. a heavy burden 7. a chair 8. a crying child 9. a coffin 10. lots of guilt) |
| 9 | arguing with someone; or looking for a character |
| 10 | talking about a sea monster sighting or studying a map |
Port Encounter Locations
| 1d10 | Area, a(n)... | Feature, a(n)... |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | wharf full of wagons (or crates) | wooden crane or small jetty |
| 2 | dockside tavern (or market) | stack of barrels (or rusty anchors) |
| 3 | ramshackle (or floating) pier | overturned boat (or wagon) |
| 4 | large (or rotten) warehouse | small jetty or balcony with a rope |
| 5 | slippery slope or large bridge | steps down to water or line of flags |
| 6 | fish market or tattoo parlor | mound of rope (or rotting waste) |
| 7 | stinking canal or bunt-out hull | cart of fish (or caged animals) |
| 8 | walkway to an island (or jetty) | slipway or cauldron of fish soup |
| 9 | ship (or street) with scaffolding | shrine (or statue) of a sea god |
| 10 | sandy (or rocky) beach | basket of lobsters or ballista |
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 Port 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.
