Encounter Tables (OSS)

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: However, if sail you must, take my advice: never trust all you possess on board of a ship. Leave the greater part at home, and freight your vessels with the lesser part only. For I say again it's a terrible thing to perish at sea.
: -Hesiod, Works and Days
Historically, early sea travel often ended in tragedy, and only the bravest or most desperate of men ever chanced the "salt-road." The dangers inherent in nautical travel are, of course, enhanced in a medieval fantasy world where sea serpents, giant squid, and ships manned by hordes of undead sailors await the hapless traveler.
The following chapter details some of these dangers by presenting encounter tables designed to enhance a nautical campaign or adventure. Through the use of these tables, DMs can present interesting encounters that add to the "flavor" of a seaborne adventure.
Alternatively, some of these encounters can easily lead to sidetreks or even entire adventures-the possibilities are limited only by the imagination of the Dungeon Master.
==Encounter Tables==
The encounter tables listed below are divided into three separate areas: Inhabited Coastline, Uninhabited Coastline, and Open Sea. In addition, the Natural Phenomena table details a number of naturally occurring encounters. The tables are suitable for tropical, subtropical, temperate, and subarctic areas.
Dungeon Masters should modify these tables according to the realities of their own campaign worlds. For example, in one world, piracy may be fairly common. The DM running such a "lawless" world will need to move the Pirate or Privateer encounter from Rare to Common on his encounter table (see Chapter 11 and Table 54 in the DUNGEON MASTER® Guide). In all cases, DMs should reroll any random encounter that does not fit in with the current adventure.
===Encounter Distance===
The open sea offers a broad field of vision, and encounter distances usually depend solely on visibility. Encounters with ships or creatures traveling on or above the surface usually take place at Spotted range (see Table 6: Visibility). Creatures traveling below the surface generally come within 1d10x10 feet before PCs spot them. Creatures making a stealthy approach might literally climb aboard a party's ship before anyone notices them. Likewise, a pirate ship hidden behind a headland might pounce on the party's vessel and appear at very short range indeed.
===Inhabited Coastline===
Inhabited coastlines refer to any area within 10 miles of a coastline inhabited by humans, demihumans, or intelligent humanoids. DMS should check for possible encounters three times per day. Encounters occur on a roll of 1 or 2 on a six-sided die.
 Table 7: Inhabited Coastline Encounters (d8, d12)
2 	Riptide (see page 29)
3 	Sirine
4 	Natural Phenomenon (roll on Table 10)
5 	Merman/Seawolf, lesser
6 	Pirates/Buccaneers
7 	Locathah/Scrag
8 	Dolphins
9 	Fishing Boat
10	Shallows (see page 29)
11	Trading Vessel
12	Sand Bar (see page 29)
13	Floating Seaweed (see page 29)
14	Reef (see page 29)
15	Sahuagin/Seawolf, greater
16	Privateer
17	Harpies
18	Rocky Shoals (see page 29)
19	Giant
20	Albatross
===Uninhabited Coastline===
Uninhabited Coastlines refer to any area within 10 miles of a wild or untamed coastline-that is, any shore not settled by humans, intelligent humanoids, or demihumans. DMs should check for encounters twice daily. Encounters occur on a roll of 1 on a six-sided die.
 Table 8: Uninhabited Coastline Encounters (d8, d12)
2 	Riptide (see page 29)
3 	Shipwreck
4 	Sahuagin/Seawolf, greater
5 	Merman/Seawolf, lesser
6 	Natural Phenomenon (roll on Table 10)
7 	Shark (5-6 HD)
8 	Sand Bar (see page 29)
9 	Dolphin/Narwhal
10	Shallows (see page 29)
11	Sea Lion
12	Reef (see page 29)
13	Floating Seaweed (see page 29)
14	Giant
15	Pirate/Buccaneer
16	Sprite, sea
17	Rocky Shoals (see page 29)
18	Scrag
19	Elf, sea/Selkie
20	Albatross
===Open Sea===
The open sea refers to any area at least 11 miles away from any coastline. Ships in the open sea are more likely to encounter giant sea creatures and deadly monsters than anywhere else. PCs planning on open sea travel should prepare themselves accordingly.
DMs should check for encounters three times a day. Encounters occur on a 1 on a six-sided die.
 Table 9: Open Sea Encounters (d12, d8)
2 	Squid, Giant
3 	Pirate/Buccaneer
4 	Whale, Giant
5 	Shark (7-8 HD)
6 	Natural Phenomenon (roll on Table 10)
7 	Shark (5-6 HD)
8 	Island/Atoll (see page 29)
9 	Whale, common
10	Dolphin/Narwhal
11	Shark (3-4 HD)
12	Foating Seaweed (see page 29)
13	Dolphin/Narwhal
14	Whale, killer
15	Reef (see page 29)
16	Trading Ship
17	Octopus, giant
18	Sahuagin/Seawolf, greater
19	Dragon Turtle
20	Maelstrom (page 29)
==Encounter Descriptions==
Several encounter types need further description, as noted below. In cases where an encounter lists two creatures separated by a slash, the actual creature encountered will depend on the climate or a die roll, also as noted below:
Albatross: Sailors revere this rare bird as an omen of exceptionally good luck. Anyone who sees an albatross receives +5 on any morale checks and +1 on all saving throws for twenty-four hours.
Conversely, anyone unlucky enough to kill an albatross suffers a -5 penalty on all morale checks and a -1 penalty to all saving throws for twenty-four hours. In addition, sailors will shun anyone known to have killed or harmed an albatross in any way. Sometimes, exceptionally superstitious sailors will toss anyone who harms an albatross overboard, as they do not wish for that person's ill-luck to rub off.
Dolphin/Narwhal: Dolphins often follow in the wake of large ships or swim alongside sea vessels. Most sailors consider the presence of dolphins as a good omen. As a result, DMs should add 5 to all morale checks made by those sailors who actually see dolphins. This morale bonus lasts for a period of 24 hours after the dolphin sighting.
Dolphins shun very cold (arctic or subarctic) waters. In these areas, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-4, no encounter occurs. On a roll of 4-6, a narwhal appears instead of dolphins.
Elf, Sea/Selkie: Sea elves are found only in temperate, subtropical, and tropical waters. Selkies are found only in colder waters.
Fishing Boat: This boat contains several 0-level fishermen (human or demihuman) plying their trade. Depending on the actions of the PCs, these fishermen may divulge important information or share some much-needed supplies.
Giant: The encounter might be with a storm giant, reef giant, or titan at the DM's option. Reef giants dwell only in warm waters. Storm giants and titans generally live only in warm or temperate waters, but might visit cooler waters to hunt or gather treasure.
Harpies: These foul creatures nest in the cliffs and rocks of coastal areas and roam in search of food and treasure. Harpies will attempt to charm the sailors on larger ships and cause them to jump overboard or steer the ship into rocks or shallows. Harpies will directly attack smaller fishing boats and carry their victims back to their coastal lairs.
Locathah/Scrag: In tropical or subtropical waters, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-3 the encounter is with locathah. On a roll of 4-6 scrags appear instead. Locathah are not found in cooler waters.
Merman/Seawolf, lesser: In temperate waters, roll 1d6; on a roll of 1-3 the encounter is with mermen. On a roll of 4-6 lesser seawolves appear instead. Mermen are not found in cold waters, and seawolves are not found in warm waters.
Pirates/Buccaneers: These seaborne thieves (50% chance for each type) appear aboard a vessel of the DM's choice. They attempt to board and rob the PCs' vessel of all treasure. There is also a 30% chance that these scalawags will attempt to capture the PCs and sell them as forced labor to a nearby naval fleet.
There is a 25% chance that an evil wizard accompanies the pirates or buccaneers and a 15% chance that an evil cleric (or a specialty priest of a god of thieves) is present. Only in rare cases should DMs allow a wizard and cleric to work together on a pirate or buccaneer ship.
Privateer: Privateers are basically pirates who have legal sanction from the ruling power of a particular country to capture "enemy" vessels and collect "tribute." More often than not, a large part of this tribute stays with the privateers and never makes it to the ruling power.
Privateers will stop any ship regardless of what flag it sports. It is not uncommon for them to stop even ships from their own countries and collect tribute. Depending on how the PCs role-play this encounter, the privateers may attempt to "impress" the party into service on their ship. It is important to note, however, that anyone actually attacking or sinking a privateer ship has committed a crime against the privateer's sponsoring country, and retribution may come swiftly.
Sahuagin/Seawolf, greater: In temperate waters, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-3, the encounter is with sahuagin; on a roll of 4-6, greater seawolves appear instead. Sahuagin are not found in cold waters and seawolves are not found in warm waters.
Shipwreck: This is the remains of an unlucky ship that crashed against the rocks or grounded on a reef or in the shallows. Shipwrecks are marvelous opportunities for sidetrek adventures. DMs can populate the wreck with a crew of undead sailors, intelligent marine humanoids (such as scrags, locathah, and sahuagin) and a host of traps and tricks.
Likewise, shipwrecks can contain any number of interesting treasures-including ancient maps, long- forgotten weapons or magical items, and ancient riddles.
The important thing to remember is not to overuse shipwrecks. An occasional shipwreck becomes an opportunity for memorable exploration and tense adventuring. Encountering a shipwreck every day, or even every week, dulls the excitement. Instead of offering a doorway to the unknown, they become merely half-floating treasure chests.
Sirine: This lone creature sits among jagged rocks hoping to lure sailors to their doom. If the captain or pilot of a ship does not resist her charming song, he will steer the ship into the jagged rocks, necessitating a Seaworthiness check with a -5 penalty. Failure indicates that the ship smashes against the rocks and sinks within 1d4 hours.
The sirine will then collect any treasure and store it within her lair, which is usually located somewhere near the jagged rocks.
Trading Vessel: 80% of these vessels are transporting goods to a trade city; 20% have no cargo and are bound for some port where they can "load up" with goods.
Merchant captains maintain a constant watch for pirates and react coldly or cautiously toward any overture of friendship. Once the PCs allay these suspicions, most vessels will stop (albeit briefly) for a gam or social visit. More elaborate gams consist of all parties sharing food, dancing, and gambling. Brief gams may only last long enough to exchange relevant information and rest a bit.
If the DM wishes, PCs may trade or purchase goods on merchant ships. The prices, however, will be roughly twice that found in the Player's Handbook.
===Natural Phenomena===
Natural Phenomena refers to any naturally occurring encounters. Although not combat-oriented, PCs will find these encounters potentially deadly. Table 10 provides a listing of encounter types by frequency. However, DMs should feel free to include them whenever appropriate for their particular adventures.
Because several of the natural encounters have conditions (fog can only occur during a calm or days with light wind, for example) DMs should remain aware of the prevailing wind strength and weather conditions before rolling on this table.
 Table 10: Natural Phenomena (d12, d8)
2 	Maelstrom
3 	Squalls
4 	Omen
5 	Favorable Wind (coast)/Riptide (sea)
6 	Favorable Wind
7 	Fog
8 	Riptide (coastline)/Fog (sea)
9 	Floating Seaweed
10	Light Rain
11	Wind Change
12	Sand Bar (coastline) or Wind Change (sea)
13	Rocky Shoals (coastline) or Choppy Seas
14	Shallows (coastline) or Light Rain (sea)
15	Reef
16	Calm
17	Island
18	Squalls
19	Omen
20	Maelstrom
Notes: Occasionally, two encounters appear under a single die roll. DMs should use the encounter appropriate for the surrounding area (coastline or open sea).
For example, an adventuring party sails on the open sea. The DM checks for encounters and receives a "roll on Table 10" result. He then rolls a 5 on the appropriate dice and refers to Table 10. If the party had sailed along the coast, the DM would use the Favorable Wind encounter. However, the party's location-the open sea-tells the Dungeon Master that he should use the Riptide encounter.
Whenever a natural encounter cannot happen because of outside conditions (a wind change during a calm, for example) DMs should reroll the dice and check Table 10 again.
Calm: A calm is simply the absence of any wind. Sailing vessels have an effective movement rate of 0 in a calm. Calms last 1d6 hours and supersede all wind strength results on Table 4: Wind Strength except storms and gales.
Choppy Seas: Occasionally, the surface of the ocean becomes wild and turbulent. During these times, all ship movement slows by one third of the base rate. In addition, Small ships must make Seaworthiness checks with a -1 penalty or founder in the rough ocean. Medium-sized ships should make a normal Seaworthiness check to determine if they founder under the stress of the turbulent sea. Large and Very Large ships need not check Seaworthiness. See the Foundering rules in Chapter 2 for details.
Favorable Wind: This is a strong wind that blows in the direction of a ship's destination. Vessels enjoying a favorable wind travel as if sailing with a strong wind (see Table 3: Sailing Movement and Winds for details) regardless of previous movement.
For example, a ship sailing across a strong wind enjoys a % bonus to its movement rate. If the DM determines that a favorable wind blows in, that same ship suddenly moves as if sailing with a strong wind, at double the normal rate.
If a ship already sails with a strong wind when the DM rolls this encounter, the vessel moves at triple the base rate.
Favorable winds last 1d12 hours and supersede all strength categories in Table 4: Wind Strength except storms and gales.
Floating Seaweed: This is nothing more than a thick patch of seaweed which has broken off from the sea bottom. Sailing ships need not worry about such masses. However, oared ships that encounter these move at their normal movement rate, as the seaweed wraps around oars and entangles them. It takes 1d6 rounds to clear away all seaweed from the oars.
Fog: Fog only occurs during periods of calm or with light wind. This thick blanket of condensation lasts 2d6 hours, covering an area 1d10 miles square and 50-300 (5d6x10) feet high. Fog obscures vision as noted on Table 6: Visibility Ranges (dense fog).
Ships traveling near a coastline must take great care that they do not run aground of shoals or sand bars. The captains of these vessels must make Seamanship proficiency checks (or Navigation proficiency checks- whichever is higher) with a -3 penalty each hour to see if they run aground on rocky shoals or dangerous shallows.
Ships on the open sea can easily lose their bearings inside a fog bank. Captains or pilots must make Navigation proficiency checks to remain on course. Failure indicates that the ship sails in a random direction until free of the thick fog.
Island: The ship encounters an uncharted (or at least unexpected) island. The DM should consider the area directly around the island as a reef. Thus, ships approaching uncharted islands need to make successful Seaworthiness checks or run aground. However, imaginative Dungeon Masters can stock these islands with just about anything-including a band of audacious pirates.
Light Rain: This is nothing more than a gentle rainstorm. Light rains actually benefit sailors by refilling depleted water supplies, though they also reduce visibility (see Table 6).
Maelstrom: A maelstrom is a giant whirlpool that inexorably draws submerged and floating objects towards itself. Any ship within 3 miles of the whirlpool becomes caught in the maelstrom's grip unless its movement rate is 18 or higher. These ships will enter the deadly vortex in 1d4 turns.
Captains or helmsmen can attempt Seamanship proficiency checks every turn to escape the maelstrom's deadly pull-though only one attempt can be made per ship per turn. The force of the maelstrom is so strong that these hapless sailors suffer a -4 penalty on each check.
Ships that do not escape the maelstrom break apart in 1d6 rounds. The ships spin around the vortex, and their captains can make another Seamanship proficiency attempt each round to escape. Because these ships are nearing the center of the maelstrom, however, they suffer an additional cumulative -1 penalty per round to their base penalty of -4. The checks continue until the ship breaks apart or sails free of the vortex.
For example, the Sea Gryphon, a cog with a movement rate of 9, encounters a maelstrom. Unfortunately, the captain (a sailor with a Seamanship proficiency of 15) does not make any of his initial proficiency checks and the Gryphon is pulled into the maelstrom. The DM rolls 1d6 and gets a 5, indicating that the Sea Gryphon will break apart in five rounds.
The cog fails its first Seaworthiness check (its Seaworthiness is 13) and thus circles around the vortex. Now, the captain of the hapless ship makes another attempt to break free. He suffers the base -4 penalty plus the additional -1 penalty for being closer to the center of the vortex (for a total penalty of -5). If the ship does not break free, it must make another Seaworthiness check in the next round. If that fails, the captain can make yet another attempt with a-6 penalty (-4 base plus a -2 penalty for nearing the center of the vortex). The process continues until the ship breaks up or escapes.
Omen: Sailors are a superstitious lot and often read supernatural significance into everyday events. A phrase like "red skies at night, sailor's delight," the appearance of an albatross, or even the spotting of a dolphin's fin are all examples of omens.
Half of all omens are good, and half are bad. A good omen adds 5 to the morale rating of a ship's crew. Likewise, a bad omen subtracts 5 from the crew's morale rating. Omens are a great way to increase the level of tension during gameplay. However, it is important that Dungeon Masters use them sparingly, else they lose their mystery and wonder.
Examples of bad omens include: a bloody sea (caused by clouds of red plankton or some magical effect), a wounded or dead albatross, the sighting of "phantom" ships, and cloud formations shaped like certain sea-monsters.
Riptide: Riptides are strong cross-currents that form in areas with irregular underwater formations. They appear most often near coastlines, but some form in the open sea. Riptides slow ship movement by half the current rate (rounding down any fractions) and last 1d4 turns.
Reef: A reef is a strip or ridge of rocks, sand, or coral that rises near the water's surface. Ships encountering a reef must make successful Seaworthiness checks or run aground (see the Grounding rules in Chapter 2: Nautical Travel for the damaging effects of running aground).
Rocky Shoals: Rocky shoals are large, shallow areas heavily filled with sharp rocks and other stone obstructions. Ships encountering rocky shoals must make successful Seaworthiness checks with a -1 penalty or smash apart on the rocks. Smashed ships sink (see page 25).
Sand Bar: A sand bar is a shallow area with a sandy bottom. It is effectively an isolated, but soft, shoal that appears most often near coastlines. Ships that strike a sand bar must make Seaworthiness checks to avoid running aground (see the Grounding rules in Chapter 2 for details).
Squalls: This natural occurrence functions exactly like the storms detailed under Table 4: Wind Strength except that squalls don't last quite as long. However, the squalls on this table supersede all wind strength categories. Thus, squalls can blow in even during a calm or light wind day, but they blow themselves out in only 1d3 days.
Shallows: Shallows appear mostly near coastlines and are very dangerous to ships. Those vessels possessing a draft greater than 1% feet (see Table 1) must make successful Seaworthiness checks or run aground. Sailors can repair grounded ships in 1d6 days, provided the surrounding sea bottom consists of sand or some other soft material. Ships grounded on rocky shallows cannot be repaired (see the Grounding rules in Chapter 2 for details).
Wind Change: DMs should reroll once on Table 5: Wind Direction and determine the new direction of the wind when this phenomenon occurs. A wind change usually is nothing more than a minor annoyance-although it could be hazardous to sailing ships involved in ship-to- ship combat.
===Arctic Encounters===
Any area heavily covered with snow and ice for most of the year is considered arctic terrain. Examples include frozen tundras and steppes, plus lakes, rivers, and even large sections of ocean covered with ice floes. The temperature in many of these areas rarely goes above freezing.
Because of the high occurrence of thick ice, aquatic encounters in arctic terrain are rare. (Ships will most likely run aground in such ice-covered places.) In areas of heavy ice, DMs can use land-based encounters. Otherwise, the following creatures can appear in an arctic aquatic environment: eye of the deep, hippocampus, lacedon, margoyle, narwhal, and any type of whale.