A giant undead whale telepathically demands the group follow it to a nearby island, or it will devour them.
Simple encounter tables for sea and ocean in any fantasy setting. Tables for Open Sea Encounter Prompts, Open Sea Hazards & Distractions and Open Sea Quick NPCs.
Fantasy Sea - trinkets | coastal encs | open sea encs | port encs | underwater encs | all
[photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash]
Fantasy Open Sea Encounters
Open sea encounters might be a longboat of lizardfolk going to a race, a merfolk aquamancer hungry for news or playful seals. There might be a voice calling from the sea or a floating bottle with a glowing wisp inside.
A place of roiling waves, deserted islands, and incoming storms. A place for a merfolk aquamancer with a pet seal, a reckless explorer on a flying mount or an undead pirate looking for a legendary island.
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 Encounter Prompts
| 1d10 | 10 Open Sea Encounter Prompts |
|---|---|
| 1 | A large trading vessel, is doing an inventory, looking to get rid of some weight. Offer the group a variety of heavy cargo at good prices. |
| 2 | A group of merfolk (or sea elf) emissaries from an underwater city seek aid against sea devils (or a sea monster) threatening them. |
| 3 | A giant undead whale telepathically demands the group follow it to a nearby island, or it will devour them. |
| 4 | A sleek longboat (or yacht) of lizardfolk (or dwarves) are experienced seafarers. Going to a race and and invite group along. |
| 5 | A giant sea turtle carries a colony of opportunistic goblins, who worship it as a sea god and invite the group to their village for a feast. |
| 6 | A few elementals are causing whirlpools in the water. Offer to send group anywhere on the seas, for a worthy offering to a sea deity. |
| 7 | Light is being emitted from a starfish covered in sigils. Reality and time are unstable around it and it acts as a magical beacon. |
| 8 | A necromantic pirate ship is a reanimated vessel with parts of bone. A captain's spirit controls it, and asks group to join a fledgling nation. |
| 9 | A cunning brine fiend is parts fish, lobster and demon. It uses illusions and promises of wealth to try and lure the group below the waves. |
| 10 | A group of seals who wants to play a game with them. One is sentient. |
Open Sea Hazards and Distractions
| 1d10 | There is (or are)... | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | adverse weather, ... d10 (1-2. an ominous thick mist 3. continuous rain 4. no wind 5. an incoming storm 6. shimmering fog 7. magical cold and ice 8. shifting winds 9. a hailstorm 10. strong winds ) | |
| 2 | a ship on fire coming out of the mist or a portal to a plane of water | |
| 3 | a whirlpool in the water or weird clouds in the sky | |
| 4 | something in the water, ... d10 (1-2. a sandbank 3. a pillar of writing 4. reef riddled with tunnels 5. wooden debris with shipworms 6. many dead fish 7. sharp rocks 8. ruins raised from the sea bottom 9. many wrecks 10. an iceberg) | |
| 5 | an approaching huge wave or burning ash falling from the sky | |
| 6 | a voice calling from the sea or a friendly sea monster | |
| 7 | something on board ship (or on an abandoned ship), ... d10 (1-2. stowaways 3. diseased rats 4. a magical door 5. several eggs 6. a corpse 7. a lack of food 8. omens of doom 9. a leak 10. poison) | |
| 8 | a crate with wooden parts that can be assembled as a boat (or hut) | |
| 9 | a mass of shipwrecks or many flourescent fish following them | |
| 10 | a floating bottle (or wooden chest) with a (or an) d10 (1-2. message 3. pouch of pearls 4. sea spirit 5. a crab 6. alcohol 7. glowing wisp 8. tiny ship 9. collection of shells 10. magical flag) |
Quick Port NPCs
| 1d10 | Descriptor | Profession | who... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wary or were-shark | sailor | looking for a legendary island |
| 2 | merfolk or marooned | witch | with an item of waterbreathing |
| 3 | reckless or minotaur | explorer | looking for a person (or city) |
| 4 | birdfolk or tattooed | beast friend | with a lover from below the sea |
| 5 | superstitious or dwarf | fisher | having dreams of underwater |
| 6 | elf or swashbuckling | pirate | with same destination as group |
| 7 | singing or triton | aquamancer | with a pet seal (or seagull) |
| 8 | lizardfolk or grizzled | captain | hungry for news (or fresh food) |
| 9 | muscular or turtle-kin | carpenter | on an aquatic (or flying) mount |
| 10 | undead or glistening | warrior | accompanied by sailors (or kin) |
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 Fantasy Generators at Chaos Gen, a monthly random tools Newsletter and an instagram of Random Tables.
