Waterborne Encounters, Part 1

Random encounters are common in overland travel, but less common are sea encounters. Let's take a look at some in Dragonlance. Buy DL12 Dragons of Faith: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17388/dl12-dragons-of-faith-1e?affiliate_id=50797 

https://youtu.be/OOjTFxtObQw

Transcript

Cold Open

Beware of these areas, lest you happen upon these encounters…

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about waterborne Encounters in Dragonlance. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing DL12 Dragons of Faith, and The Atlas of the Dragonlance World. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

A Dungeon Master often has a vast array of random monster encounters filtered by region, terrain, etc in their sourcebooks and modules. It is more rare to run into sea random encounters, as most campaigns take place on or under land. But the sea is just as dangerous as land. Perhaps more so due to the restrictions a hero or party has on defending themselves on a ship. Dragonlance features lands ripe for adventure and for some, conquest, and rather than presenting a random sea encounter chart, let's take a look at the Random Events appendix of DL12 Dragons of Faith, and go over a handful of sea encounters adventurers may stumble into, broken down by bodies of water!

Now we should recognize that the term encounter does not mean a battle is going to break out, and the encounter table in DL 12 does a great job presenting random events that begin as uneventful, encounters, events and even omens. Even if you run into an encounter, it isn’t necessarily hostile. The outcome has a lot to do with NPC and PC reactions to each other. Always remind your players that not every PC is a hammer and not every NPC is a nail. So, let’s begin with the Khurman Sea. This is a popular trade location, so you will find merchant carracks bound for Khur. The sea is ripe with schools of salmon. The Bay of Balifor features playful otters who swim off the coast. Unknown to most residents, is that there is a small Dimernesti colony which resides here as well. Gulls circle its skies and green wood floats in its waters. The Maw is known for its reddish frothy flow which stems from the mouth of the gullet. Sailors should be careful, as at low tide, they may find themselves run aground. There is also a sea serpent which frequents these waters. Skirting the coast is Habbakuk’s Necklace. The sea is abundant with salmon and swordfish here. Under the surface Kelp beds grow a mile from the shore, and Sea Otters and Dimernesti may be found among the kelp. Barracuda also hunt these waters. The Restless Waters features a long line of breakers across a deep reef. There is a Vodyanoi lair there. Turning north is the Churning Reach. This is a long line of breakers, with sand bars that stand 500 yards out from the beach, and it is littered with debris. A giant manta Ray frequents this stretch. The vast Southern Courrain Ocean typically features large swells with an abundance of fish and dolphins. Be aware of its frequent sea squalls when sailing this ocean.

No Port Stretch features coastal waters fronted with sheer high cliffs. Koalinth and barracuda inhabit these waters. The Neck consists of surprisingly clear waters where one can view colorful reefs and oddly carved sunken ruins.