Kid Charlemagne said:
How about the PC's ship spots some pirates before being spotted themselves, or is forced to play a bit of a cat-and-mouse game amongst an archipelago of islands, finally finding a nice hidden sheltering bay. The pirates stay watching the area for a while, and the PC's have to go ashore to forage for food/water, and in the process stumble upon the dungeon entrance...
I like that idea, thanks. I was thinking about it last night as well, and I came up with a couple things myself. I'd be interested to know what people think...
A) The PCs land in the city sucessfully. They have no where to go and as this wasn't their intended destination, so nothing really to do. After wandering around the docks for a bit, they are approached by a dirty goblin, who asks for their help getting into the dungeon, so he can worship at a forgotten temple there...
B) The captain blames the PCs for the various misfortunes that have befallen the ship and crew. He's a kind man, but very superstitious, and so he puts the PCs on a small boat within sight of shore, and wishes them good riddance. They land in the wilderness, and spot the smoke from previously mentioned goblin's campfire...
C) (alteration of Kid Charlemagne's idea) The captain decides the remaining water supply won't last until they reach City. So he asks the PCs to row ashore and find some fresh water. The PCs go ashore and after some hours of searching, find the water. As they return to the rowboat, they see the anchored ship in flames and sinking into the bay, apparently the work of pirates. They are forced to strike out on their own along the coast, and they run into said goblin a few days later.
So which one is best?