1d12.12 Things that washed up on the shore

1.1 Globster
1.2 Seaweed
1.3 Whale (beached, alive)
1.4 Whale carcass
1.5 Giant squid
1.6 Colossal squid
1.7 Pod of dolphins
1.8 Airplane
1.9 Airplane debris
1.10 Rowboat
1.11 Yacht
1.12 Container ship
2.1 Seafloor mine
2.2 Submersible (3-person)
2.3 Submersible (crushed)
2.4 Submarine (nuclear)
2.5 Shipping container
2.6 Crates
2.7 Styrofoam cooler (empty)
2.8 Styrofoam cooler (full of beer)
2.9 Styrofoam cooler (organ transplant transport)
2.10 Nets
2.11 Fishing floats
2.12 Crab pots
3.1 Kayak
3.2 Driftwood
3.3 Beer cans
3.4 Plastic bottles
3.5 Glass bottles
3.6 Pool noodle
3.7 Plastic trash
3.8 Plastic bags
3.9 Bottle caps
3.10 Pill bottles
3.11 First aid kit
3.12 Foil emergency blanket
4.1 Flare gun
4.2 Flares
4.3 Flare gun and flares
4.4 Signaling lantern
4.5 Compass
4.6 Shark
4.7 Shells
4.8 Nautiluses
4.9 Alewife die-off
4.10 Oar
4.11 Anchor
4.12 Shipwreck planks
5.1 Rope
5.2 Tarp
5.3 Life jacket
5.4 Life ring
5.5 Life boat (occupied)
5.6 Inflatable raft (intact)
5.7 Inflatable boat (deflated)
5.8 Captain's log
5.9 Sea charts
5.10 Map
5.11 Treasure map
5.12 Shortwave radio
6.1 Coconuts
6.2 Fish (hundreds)
6.3 Eels
6.4 Jellyfish
6.5 Coral
6.6 Conesnail
6.7 Starfish
6.8 Crabs (thousands)
6.9 Crab (giant)
6.10 Swordfish
6.11 Oarfish
6.12 Anglerfish
7.1 Sea serpent
7.2 Nessie
7.3 Kraken
7.4 Cursed idol
7.5 Ship's safe
7.6 Strongbox
7.7 Suitcase
7.8 Sea chest
7.9 Emergency beacon
7.10 Vessel's black box
7.11 Rusted hulk
7.12 Galleon
8.1 Tanker ship
8.2 Oil barrel(s)
8.3 Fresh water barrel
8.4 Gas can
8.5 Surf board
8.6 Flip-flops/sandals
8.7 Sneakers
8.8 Boots
8.9 Clothes
8.10 A body
8.11 A head
8.12 Body parts
9.1 Coffin (empty)
9.2 Coffin (sealed and chained)
9.3 Sarcophagus
9.4 Survivors/castaways
9.5 Ship'scat
9.6 Dog (terrier, stubborn)
9.7 Pig
9.8 Giant tortoise
9.9 Albatross
9.10 Penguins
9.11 Seagulls (parts)
9.12 Oysters/clams (with pearls)
10.1 Smooth rocks
10.2 Seaglass
10.3 Ship in a bottle
10.4 Toy boat
10.5 Kite
10.6 Beach ball
10.7 Plastic bucket
10.8 Doll
10.9 Rubber duckies (12d12+10d100 over 1d30 days)
10.10 Banjo
10.11 Towel
10.12 Bucket hat
11.1 Tricorn hat
11.2 Trucker's cap
11.3 Broken spectacles
11.4 Binoculars
11.5 Telescope/spyglass
11.6 Syringes
11.7 Fishhooks
11.8 Lures
11.9 Bobbers
11.10 Fishing line
11.11 Sailcloth
11.12 Log raft
12.1 Ledger
12.2 Journal/travelogue
12.3 Grimoire
12.4 Demon-controlling bracelet
12.5 Sword
12.6 Treasure chest
12.7 Coins
12.8 Gym/duffle bag full of cash
12.9 Bales/bricks of contrband
12.10 Bathysphere (empty)
12.11 Satellite/re-entry capsule
12.12 Cruise ship (abandoned)

1d12.12 Ships

1.1 Sea Witch
1.2 Mother's Pride
1.3 Golden Girl
1.4 Serendipity
1.5 Zemblanity
1.6 Meteor
1.7 Seaborne
1.8 Coral
1.9 Hurricane
1.10 Typhoon
1.11 Blizzard
1.12 Witch of November
2.1 Bluewater Maid
2.2 Reef Queen
2.3 Waverunner
2.4 Albatross
2.5 Marmalade
2.6 Bravely Forth
2.7 Pickle
2.8 Carrion Crow
2.9 Cat's Cradle
2.10 Rat's Cradle
2.11 Crayfish
2.12 Sound Investment
3.1 Enterprise
3.2 Urchin
3.3 Full Moon
3.4 Cloudless Sky
3.5 Dark of Night
3.6 Fortress
3.7 Pangolin
3.8 Lost Soul
3.9 Three Sisters
3.10 Stray
3.11 Northwind
3.12 Survivor
4.1 Adventure
4.2 Endeavor
4.3 Manatee
4.4 Barnacle
4.5 Profitable Venture
4.6 Righteous Fury
4.7 Just Rewards
4.8 Dutiful Son
4.9 Beluga
4.10 Red Sky Morning
4.11 Coconut Crab
4.12 Flying Fish
5.1 Marlin
5.2 Dependable
5.3 Summer's day
5.4 Beagle
5.5 Thresher
5.6 Argo
5.7 Infallible
5.8 Curiosity
5.9 Inquiry
5.10 Right Hand
5.11 Bardiche
5.12 Halberd
6.1 Phantom
6.2 Charybdis
6.3 Harborless
6.4 Our Lady's word
6.5 Far Shore
6.6 Bannockburn
6.7 Safe Return
6.8 Sparrowhawk
6.9 Polychrome
6.10 Capybara
6.11 Nautilus
6.12 Narwhal
7.1 Wolf's Mother
7.2 Bookkeeper
7.3 Queen Conch
7.4 Amnesty
7.5 Yarrow
7.6 Brother Jerome
7.7 Time Enough
7.8 Valet
7.9 Kilgore
7.10 Relentless
7.11 Nail
7.12 Minnow
8.1 Vengeful Daughter
8.2 Conscience
8.3 Eclipse
8.4 Stargazer
8.5 Bountiful Maiden
8.6 Majesty
8.7 Discovery
8.8 Endurance
8.9 Cedar
8.10 True North
8.11 Ironton
8.12 Fitzgerald
9.1 Water Witch
9.2 Grape Shot
9.3 Meridian
9.4 Phoenix
9.5 Success
9.6 Lake Serpent
9.7 Morning Star
9.8 Vermilion
9.9 Sand Merchant
9.10 Waterlily
9.11 Iron Mountain
9.12 Sea Bird
10.1 Hope
10.2 Resolve
10.3 Victory
10.4 Mystic
10.5 Flamingo
10.6 Iris
10.7 Monarch
10.8 Oxford
10.9 Cormorant
10.10 Kildeer
10.11 Bastard
10.12 Amity
11.1 Atlas
11.2 Bradbury
11.3 Lichen
11.4 Wonder
11.5 Petroglyph
11.6 Ambassador
11.7 Fossil
11.8 Sincerity
11.9 Tenacity
11.10 Generosity
11.11 Goblin
11.12 Prudence
12.1 Patience
12.2 Audacity
12.3 Grizzly
12.4 Big Sky
12.5 Puck
12.6 Delta
12.7 Huntsman
12.8 Hare
12.9 Vision
12.10 Curmudgeon
12.11 Caballero
12.12 Jerboa

Things to do at sea

Back in 2019 I was running a campaign that involved a lot of traveling. It wasn't a full-blown hexcrawl, but tracking time and managing supplies while on the road was an important element of the game. Eventually the party ended up on the coast. And went to sea.

One of the common problems of trying to run a game on the ocean is that there's not much to do aboard a sailing ship. There'll be external events like encounters and occasionally places to go ashore, but on the ship itself? Not as much. It's just you on your little boat, isolated in the vast expanse of water.

You could handwave the days and weeks of sea travel by saying the party boards a ship in port A then land two weeks later in port B and never actually interact with the ocean at all, but if you want there to be some adventuring done at sea then dealing with the shipboard downtime can be tough. I wanted to try it, so I came up with this subsystem to handle the lulls between bouts of extreme aquatic danger and mystery:

Each player can pick 3 things to do each normal, uneventful day.

They can't pick an activity more than once in the same day.

Doing something once gains them a little insight and grants a small, one-time bonus to a related task later.

Doing the same thing 3 times or more counts as light training and gains them a permanent bonus or specialty to the related skill.


Things to do aboard ship

• Mend sails/ropes and repair the ship: Hone crafting skills, learn about ship construction.
• Practice tying knots: Bonuses to using ropes and rigging.
• Whittle or scrimshaw: Hone crafting skills, specialty in jewelry/sculpting/decorative details. Might end up with something you can sell.
• Fish: Get food, learn about ocean creatures and marine survival skills.
• Gamble: Build ties with the crew, no gambling for money at sea.
• Tell stories: Build ties with the crew. Hear rumor, gossip, and legends about the sea.
• Practice sparring: Get better at fighting on moving and uncertain footing.
• Climb around in the rigging: Hone climbing skills, acrobatic or athletic. Get a head for heights.
• Hang out with the Navigator: Learn to read maps, predict the weather, and interpret the stars.
• Help in the galley: Build ties with the crew, hone cooking skills.
• Befriend the ship's cat, teach it tricks: Adorable. Hone skill with animals.
• Wakeboard behind the ship (tied on so you won't be left if you fall): Because.