Could use some game advice...

[EZ_Kanaellars]

First I will tell you what has happened so far...

The characters (2 of them) both began as orphens, taken in by a powerful (but totally insane) magus. They attended school at the Academy of Boccob, an interplanar school of the 'arts'.

The characters have since graduated the Academy and have decided to set out of thier own. Leaving from thier 'fathers' home, the took out a map and randomly decided they would find a boat to take them to the 'Orient'.

On thier way to the port city they ended up in Toren, arriving the day before the goblin horde that barricaded and besiged the city. After being assisted out of the city by one of the local mages, the group makes a journey to Manifest, the city of the dead, to find the one man who knows (knew) the secret of a weapon within the city that could save it. The two of them assist this walking spirit in the ritual required to activate this device, and they wake up 4 months later.

After these events, they began thier overland travel towards the port city again. They have fought trolls, goblins, hobgoblins, large animals, a basilisk, a band of elves angry at them for killing the basilisk, a giant, an ettin, and a pack of ethereal mauraders).

Finally they arrived in the port city, only to find that of the 3 ships in dock only one will accept passengers, and that the captain of that ship is a known swindler and pirate.

They decided the wait in two and ended up watching as the pirates ship was destroyed by an angry female mage (missed story hook, they were suposed to be on board, lol).

Almost 3 weeks later they finally manage to aquire passage to the east on board an oriental ship. They have a four month journey ahead of them, then they reach the orient.

I am looking for a few ideas of boat type encounters, either eastern or western, as well as some possible encounters once they reach the other side.

I have a main plot in store for them, but I need some 'filler' for the random travel.

The characters have MUCH above average intellegence. One character is a Human Fighter/Wizard/Psion (4/4/4) and the other is a Githyanki Cleric/Wizard/Psion (4/4/4).
Kanaellars HatesSoul - 64 High PriestIf you are offended by anything I say, let me know. kanaellars@hotmail.com

[EZ_Zibik Quickfingers]

Seamonsters, Pirates, Storms, Sea sickness, rats on board, murder mystery on board and sabatoge to the ship are a few that I can come up with off the top of my head. Veteran Zibik Quickfingers
Gnomish Defender & Deciever of Decade
Hunter of Peace, Servant of Hope
Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding.
Impossible to Maneuver. Situation Excellent. I am attacking.
- Fredinand Rock at the Battle of the Marne

[EZ_Swipey]

I had a party go on a long sea voyage once. You should have heard their whimpers and seen the looks on their faces when, 3 months out, the two navigators they had with them started arguing and pointing different directions.

They eventually made landfall (at the wrong place) and vowed to always bring an ODD number of navigators in the future. (I was looking forward to having a three way/three direction navigator argument, but it didnt come up...)

[Nenjin]

You could always pull the Odysessus on them. A combination of plot elements, the storm, crew members gone mad, can lead up to an entirely different plot line than they imply(an island where a beautiful enchantress wants to turn you and your men into pigs?!?!).

The whole point of the Odysessus plot line is that it takes the players away from their initial destination, and into a new adventure, all with the focus of returning to their original path of travel. It doesn't have to be cliche' like the storm that ship wrecks you on the mysterious island, it can be something like, the PCs cross a space of open water that is "soft", meaning the prime material plane, and say the ethereal, the astral, one of the other planes of existance, mesh, and you start in one plane, and end up in a totally different one. You can do the strange mist that usually takes people to Ravenloft(dead sea pirates!), or you can have it take them to a place of your own design.

It's really a matter of, do you want the ship encounters to be just that, encounters, or do you want them to branch off into a sub-plot, that could keep your players busy and entertained for a while.

[EZ_Hindraak]

The captain of the ship is in league with the Sea Trolls (not sure if that's their proper name). That'd be interesting.

[EZ_Kanaellars]

Quote:It's really a matter of, do you want the ship encounters to be just that, encounters, or do you want them to branch off into a sub-plot, that could keep your players busy and entertained for a while.

Well... my main plot takes place in the Orient, but it does not have a timetable, so diversions would work... but only if they have a way to get back on track after... lol Edited by: Kanaellars at: 11/15/03 2:06 pm

[EZ_LordOfChains]

One word:

Ninjas.


Your problem is solved. 'Cuz I'm Psycho Like That...

[Llabak Tharr]

You could always have the arrive at their destination, but 100 years in the future (or past).

They get there with the widget to defeat the foozle, but the foozle won years ago, and now they have to retool the widget or develop a different plan.

[EZ_Arafain]

Can't go wrong with Ravenloft.

Just make sure you have the source material. -- Marauder Arafain Entreri, 65 Deceiver
-- Arafein Soulstriker, 54 Champion Relic (deceased)
-- Arafax Kokorozan, 20 Monk Giantfriend (missing)
-- Formerly of Requiem of Souls and Crusaders of Plilo
-- Formerly of The Rathe Server, now of Zebuxoruk
-- My ghetto gear
"Once, in the old west, a gentleman shot a professional gunfighter in the back. When asked why he didn't give the other chap a chance to draw, he replied, 'Well, he's dead and I'm alive and that's how I wanted it to be." -- from Red Planet, Robert A. Heinlein

[EZ_Prenn]

Quote:meaning the prime material plane, and say the ethereal, the astral, one of the other planes of existance, mesh, and you start in one plane, and end up in a totally different one.

Hey, she's got a boat and a gith - how low can you limbo? Sensei Pren{Dragon Army}[Tribunal Server]
So I take shelter in tomorrow
Tomorrow will bring a brand new day
Think I can make it right tomorrow,
Think I need more sleep today...

[EZ_Kanaellars]

Quote:Hey, she's got a boat and a gith - how low can you limbo

she....

SHE???

/hits Prenn over the head with a rubber i-beam

he. Edited by: Kanaellars at: 11/15/03 2:06 pm

[EZ_LordOfChains]

Ya know, I was just thinking...

I remember something from my Alternity "Tangents" sourcebook that could prolly be used with only slight modifications. The gist is as follows:

Lake Tranquility

(call it a sea if ya want, what-EVER)

Basically its a very calm body of water that seems to be enshrouded in a perpetual cloud of horrendously thick mist. People on the shore watching somebody canoe into the mist simply see the boater vanish in the mist. The boater, however, keeps going for about 500 yards before coming upon a small island with a relatively small but well appointed town by the shoreline.

The people in this town are nice enough, but rather suspicious of newcomers. They also benefit from indoor plumbing and a working elecric system.

The biggest building in town is a rather large trading house with good selection of EVERY DANG THING YOU COULD IMAGINE, from slinkies to cowtapults, and a proprietor who's more suspicious of newcomers than all the others combined.

Investigation into the island's nature reveal that it is a sort of interdimensional nexus. A person from one dimension enters the nexus, then simply leaves through another direction to enter into a completely different reality. This helps explain why the locals have such nice gadgets and gizmos lying around.

Turns out the guy who runs the tradehouse is an interdimensional smuggler, and he has a good racket going. He ferries weapons, food, people, animals, chia pets, flying pigs, and other miscellaneous necessities throughout a multitude of realities. His work doesn't hurt anybody unless it needs to, and he REALLY hates it when people try to get into his business. Particularly when somebody gets some ideas about trying to take over the island for his or her own purposes... its HIS dangit! He found it first! Nobody gets that island!

He has several REALLY advanced weapons in his arsenal, stuff he appropriated from various dimensions, this may even include a greater artifact or two, GM's discretion.

I was thinking it would prolly be a cool idea to be able to check out dimensions, meet kewl new critters, prolly even try high tech stuff with D&D rules, and so on and so forth.

Could prolly even shipwreck the PCs on the island (curse that mist!) and have a small adventure of them trying to get a ship in order to get the heck out.

It would also be a good way to switch campaigns every now and then. 'Cuz I'm Psycho Like That...

[Jem]

Mutiny.

Sailors overthrow/kill the captain and refuse to take the ship to its original destination for fear of being killed for mutiny. They decide, tenatively, that the passengers can go along with them or walk the plank. Now, chances are good that the characters could kill all the sailors without much trouble, but ahh, could they sail to their destination afterward? Game is forced into an effort in diplomacy in the middle of a chaotic situation. Wraine aka "The Spine Tickler!"
Moderator O'Dethe
"It has.. It has a meter that is tricky. A little wicky wacky wicky..."

[EZ_Kanaellars]

I dont think mutiny would work on this ship. They have already been shown as an honorable group. They follow orders without question and are very structured.



EDIT: please only post sig once per thread. Also, sig images need to be <15k on the SH. -Wraine Edited by: Wraine at: 11/24/03 7:55 pm

[EZ_Prenn]

Sorry, the androgynous drow in your sig looked more female the last time I saw him.

[EZ_Swipey]

You could have the disciplined and honorable crew mutiny and/or go crazy after some months at sea anyway, but instead of it being entirely their own idea, it could be the result of something as simple (and insidious) as unintentionally and unknowingly contaminated drinking water or rations.

Kinda like the Franklin Expedition of the 1840s.

In this case, the captian could have laid in new barrels for the storage of the drinking water, not knowing that they had been used to hold something unpleasant before. Or they could be made of some exotic wood that leaks contaminants into the water over time. Slow poisoning with a psychoactive drug could come across as a souring of mood among the officers and crew...

[EZ_Urusai]

How about a brain worm?

One of the crew is infected with the parasite and it is using the crew as a breeding ground during the trip. Its plan is to direct the ship to somewhere else as well. The group will have to get rid of the parasites without killing the crew, or find a way to sail the ship themselves. If they are a good aligned group they will be opposed to killing the apperently good crew. But then the question comes to how are they going to get rid of the psychic parasites.

[Llabak Tharr]

Or you could always leave them on an ice planet, burried alive....burried alive...

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN!!!11! Edited by: Llabak Tharr at: 11/24/03 3:34 pm

[Jem]

Scurvy