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
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. It is dangerous to navigate however, due to a swift current and strong winds. Jellyfish frequent these waters. The Crown featured equally deep water channels edged with sharp reefs. Along these reefs in the shallow anchorage grow Giant Anemones while Giant Eels hide within its crannies. The Gnashing Teeth are known for their treacherous reefs and numerous sunken wrecks. The current picks up significantly, carrying the unwary directly into the reefs. Mistelstrait is a narrow run avoided by all but the veteran sailor. It has frequent squalls and has been known to dash ships against the islands’ cliffs. Jellyfish are abundant in the deceptively delightful waters and a clan of Kapoacinth have a lair near the cliffs. The aptly named Choppy Waters have frequent white caps dancing offshore. Over a hundred Lacedons also dwell in small lairs and caves along the coast. Last Watch showcases the ancient ruins of Blood Watch high on a cliff. It is said on some evenings wraiths may be seen congregating here. The Coast of Goodlund surprisingly has charming and deep blue waters. However, just off the coast, there is a clan of Sirines who frequent tidal caves on the shore to comb their long green locks and sing to those lost at sea. These sirens know full well what is about to take place in the Sunken Realms in the War of the Lance era. A brave hero may be propositioned to aid her. Having come full circle now, we find ourselves at Blood Bay. This bay is frequented by pirate ships waiting to waylay fat merchant ships. The waters are filled with salmon, dolphins, barracuda and jellyfish.
Heading further north to the Rugged Coast, sailors will find wind tossing the sea, creating choppy waters. There are three separate mermen villages under the waters off the coast. Reavers Bay leads into the heart of the ogrelands. These waters are choppy and are home to two clans of Lapoacinth who lair here with a monstrous undead whale! The Southern Blood Sea has deep waters that merchants and pirates frequent. Dolphins range the waters and Dargonesti live below them. The Eastern Blood Sea is equally deep and frequented by warring pirate and minotaur ships. Dolphins frequent the waters, and deep down dwell Ghaggler’s which attempt to waylay ships. The Outer Reach of the Blood Sea sees the waters heaving into giant swells. A strong current will carry ships deeper into the heart of the crimson sea. Storm clouds will marshal in the sky above, and below the sea is dyed rust red from the red sands which are stirred up from the bottom of the sea. Sea Dragons have been sighted here. The Tightening Ring of the Blood Sea has the skies above erupting with thunder and lightning which throws icy rain. Only the most rugged helmsman can hold the ship, paralleling the heart of the storm. And finally The Nightmare Ring of the Blood Sea is where the storm unleashes its full fury. Only the best helmsman can prevent their ship from breaking apart. At night sailors may hear terrible sounds of screaming and cackling on the wind, and grinning faces, clawed hands and wicked horns in the waves, driving them to hysteria. Imps will form from the mist and tear apart the ship. To add even more horror, you may be unlucky enough to see the King of the Deep here!
While this may appear to be the most dangerous region to sail on Krynn, you might be surprised with what the rest of the waters on this planet have to offer! We will explore more of these areas in future episodes.
Outro
But for now that is all I have to say about Waterborne Encounters, in this part one. What do you think of the encounters presented? Do you have a favorite region of Krynn to sail through? And finally, would you ever dare to sail close to the Blood Sea? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
The worst that can happen is that skeletal hands will reach up out of the ground and try to grab our ankles and drag us under the dirt, where we’ll die in terrible agony.
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