Encounter Help

[Alt.AirborneRanger]

Hello,

I have been laying out an idea for an encounter and was hoping I could get some help on it from fellow boardmembers.

Basically the encounter is having the PCs on a ship down in the hold somehow confined- either by ropes or in a jail cell of some sort.

The encounter is set on a ship heading down a river for a rather large waterfall- one that will surely kill them all if they do not get off in time.

The PCs will not have any type of flight capabilities (low level magic users and no clerics)

I want to give them some options on getting off of the ship before the ship goes over the waterfall. I want the options to be set up in a way where the PCs have to assemble things- or at least it would take time for them to get off the ship. I intend on inckuding some left behind guards who will give them a fight- and maybe lead to a situation where half the party has to fight and the other half has to make a plan to get off the boat - and then execute it.

Right now the best idea I have is a ballistae (spelling right on that?) on board that is used for whaling- the characters could attach a rope and shoot the ballistae's quarrel (that right?) into a tree or something and then they could get off the ship that way.

Well, I've gone on too long- now I'm hoping I can get some good ideas from you readers.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Alt.AirborneRanger]

Oh, and the PCs will not have any chance in swimming against the current if they should just jump off of the ship (at least not those that don't have 15 ranks in swim!)

Or is that too unrealistic?

 

[wolfpunk]

Ok swimming against the current probably not, but if they jumped off and swam diagonally with the current they might be able to reach shore if they had enough river length to swim in before the waterfall.

Also, if you want to make it so that the river is deadly to the pcs, make sure you explain to them in very certain terms how dangerous it is.

"the water about the boat is swirling madly, frothing like an exhausted horse, the crests of water smash into the sharp jagged edges of portruding rocks sending sprays of water high into the air, much like the blood spray from a mortal wound."

a description like that should keep most pcs from thinking the water is safe.

 

[Chimera]

Swirling black and white water. Dangerous creatures. If they still don't get it, have an NPC fall or dive into the water and be sucked under and carried away almost immediately.

Big Rocks on one side of the river that they can stear into? (will that stop us or break us into a million pieces?). Large overhanging tree branches that can be snagged with a grappling hook. The ballista is a good idea. (Will the rope hold? Will the ship swamp and flounder as it swings around after the rope catches?)

Heck, here's an idea. If they fail to get off the ship and you want to give them more time. The ship gets 'caught' at the edge of the falls, running aground. However, with each person who gets off (to where? Rocks in the middle? Something else?), the ship lurches and threatens to go over...

 

[glaucon]

Greetings,

How big is the ship?
Usually, large vessels would have smaller size craft for going ashore....
What kind of cargo is on the ship?
Perhaps the PC's, once freed, could simply use some barrels as flotation devices to get to shore....

 

[Alt.AirborneRanger]

Thanks for the feedback so far, some good ideas out there.

I especially liked the idea of the option of running the ship into rocks. I was thinking of maybe having the steering wheel (what is it called on a ship?) being disabled since the ones that captured the PCs and locked them up on the boat don't want them to live.

That being said, I was also thinking of taking off the anchor and or any lifeboats on board.

The cargo (empty barrels or barrels that need to be emtied) is a good idea for letting them get off. I'm really looking for an option for the PCs that will require them to spend some time so as to increase the tension on the escape.

And thanks for the thought about what happens when the ballistae bolt catches onto whatever they shoot it at- I guess I should think that part out

Thanks again everyone, keep the ideas coming.

 

[wolfpunk]

It is a rudder

An interesting addition to the situation, perhaps give the players a set amount of real time in which to conduct their analysis and decision making choices.

It adds a sense of urgency to the situation when they cannot sit down and debate the merits of each of ten different options they discover, and they will discover stuff that you haven't planned on.