In my pirate campaign the players were attacked by a living ship. They felt outgunned, and instead of fighting it, they fled. As a DM I had prepared all the stats of the living ship, in case it came to combat. But I was also prepared with additional material, in case the players did something unexpected. As the players circled the Island of Chattering Gull, I rolled for random encounters along the coast.
The players stumbled upon a sleeping giant (a rare encounter), resting along the coast of the island. They decided to ask him for help, and they succeeded on their diplomacy. While the giant was too big to understand why a tiny little ship was talking to him, he didn't like the idea of an evil ship chasing them (which is what they told him). With his massive hand he scooped up the living ship, and threw it onto the island. The players had survived the encounter, but they knew that the living ship was still somewhere on the island... and this choice could come back to haunt them.
Hundreds of sessions later, the players return to Chattering Gull Island, and see smoke in the distance near Port Freedom. As they arrive at the town plaza, they realize that a massive battle took place here while they were away. The charred corpse of the living ship, or what was left of it, lies dead on the plaza. Several houses are in ruins, and it seems like everyone in town gathered to fight this beast. Many sailors have been removing bits and pieces of the charred corpse, to hang as decorations above their shops. Their favored weapon smith, Oslo, is now without a place to work. His smithy lies in ruins. The towns people speak of how Oslo stood his ground, and fired every gun and cannon in his store at the creature. After a long battle, the creature finally collapsed on the plaza, and was defeated. Oslo is now the hero of the town... but he is a hero without a home.
And thus, the players decide to offer the brave weapon smith a job... and the story continues.
