So I had another week of unexpected low turnout. How did I cope? Well, I picked up my phone, pulled up some content and randomly rolled some events.
Afterwards, I realised the general structure of the session mirrored the last one somewhat, but I think we pulled it off.
So, using this handy list of ideas, as well as a few others centred on the world, I pulled out a d100 and made a few rolls. We ended up rolling a lot of the same things (it’s probably the dice), so I started amalgamating a few together to see what would happen.
There was an ominous eclipse of the moon, leaving it blood red and brooding. In the morning, a dead seagull is found in the middle of the deck. The night watch claim it wasn’t there only a bell earlier.
Half the crew develops a mysterious rash, that also involves a lot of sloughed skin and painful welts. And then the wind picks up and it’s all hands on deck – cue a few lost hitpoints!
One another day, after a cry of all hands on deck, more than half of the crew is found still asleep in their quarters or at their posts, and none of them can be roused for over an hour. Those left awake have to make do.
A rain of jellyfish, a cloud of insects, a current pulling the ship backwards despite full sails.
The players start to get the feeling there might be a curse of some kind affecting the ship!
Eventually, they come across a sinking boat, it’s tail pointing out of the water as it slowly sinks, red sails floating on the surface. Amidst the wreckage are crates, bodies and (because the Ranger can sense them) sharks beneath the water’s surface.
Red sails are associated strongly with the Burh of Baochuan, so this was probably one of their vessels.
Investigating in a small boat, the bodies are mostly well dressed in long silk robes, though many are badly burned, and plenty are half eaten by wildlife.
Investigating the wreckage, the Ranger decides to investigate the ship, and swims beneath the surface. He finds a large hole in the side of the ship, with planks apparently exploded outwards from within the ship itself.
There’s a lot of fire damage, but he manages to find some kegs of blue powder, and what looks like a throwing star.
Meanwhile, the Tabaxi also swims over, but investigates a hatch on the main deck. Prying it open, he inadvertently causes the ship to sink faster.
Inside the hatch he finds one crate with a few different items inside, but little time to decide.
A sack that sells like flowers, bolts of silk cloth, a bundle of silk clothing, a carpet, some jars of various animal body parts (eyes, pickled tongues, powdered bones), and a velvet pouch.
In the end he picks the sack of flowery something and the velvet pouch.
The sharks have gotten hungry and come to investigate, and somehow end up attacking the Ranger and he escapes (“I can communicate with beasts using simple gestures. I shake my fist at them angrily!”)
The whole group is involved in fighting them off, but not before the Ranger gets munched on a good bit.
The Tabaxi discovers the sack is filled with some kind of poppy (uh oh) and the velvet pouch is filled with ten black coins – which actually brings his collection up to twelve.
After the ship sank, they managed to haul aboard a couple of other crates of supplies that the entire crew will divvy up, and then onward they went, eventually spotting land.
Next time, Yonaguni!
jot jot ïota 