D&D 5E Random Encounter - River

[aco175]

Never leave the boat, freaking tigers!

If you can find the old Dungeon arc for Isle of Dread it has some good plot points. You can also throw in prospectors and strip mines looking for gold. They can be noble or thieves looking for a buck having enslaved the locals to blast the earth. River boat pirates and rope swinging savages. Figure out the problems with metal armor and how that would affect how the players want to play.

Rain, hot rain, and steamy misty rain.

 

[AnimeSniper]

For your savage halfling tribes may I suggest the ubiquitous blowgun loaded with little barbed darts laced with your choice of poison or disease. You could even have the party come under fire of twenty or so of them as they approach another derelict river vessel that has been beached upon the shore in a copse of tree roots... think mangrove tree roots.

How about the unique encounter of the players encountering a halfling hunter party with one riding/controlling an orc or other large plus creature.

Don't forget the possibility of other racial tribes... gnolls, gnomes, goblins, kobolds, and etcetera

On the note of derelict river vessels many let the player find the corpses of its former occupants in a nearby cave with one of them having a travel journal log of the adventure... the last entry is covered in dried blood spots.

 

[Lidgar]

If you have them, modules X1 (Isle of Dread), C1 (Hidden Shrine) and I1 (Dwellers of the Forbidden City) are excellent resources for jungle/river encounters.

Halfling cannibals, weretiger sorcerers and swarms of quippers all good fun in the jungle.

 

[NotActuallyTim]

1. The boat/raft just starts falling apart. Can the party repair it in time?

2. FIRE!

3. All the food is missing. And sometimes at night, the boat/raft rocks a little too much.

 

[rgoodbb]

I don't actually know what giving XP does on this forum, but you're all having some. Thank you.

.......Eventually.......

......After 300 seconds.......

.....per go.......

....Sorry need to go to work now......

 

[pemerton]

I don't actually know what giving XP does on this forum, but you're all having some. Thank you.

.......Eventually.......

......After 300 seconds.......

.....per go.......

If you refresh the page, you also reset the timer.

As far as the encounters go - if you are having river combat encounters, I recommend islets/sandbars, and also enemies on boats, to help encourage movement as part of the combat.

I also recommend looking at using one of the slower recovery options in the DMG that means that you don't need to cram too many encounters into a single day in order to get the short rest/long rest dynamic happening.

 

[rgoodbb]

I'm really getting immersed in this place with great help from you guys. Cheers.

My only wish is that when I DM this, my players get some sort of a feel for it too.

 

[AnimeSniper]

@pemerton add in some modified spiders, scorpions, or even enlarged crustaceans i.e. crabs/lobsters hiding underneath all that sand of your islet/sandbar and oh no the party is caught flat-footed while going ashore for the night... though if they survive the crustaceans they could have some good eating that night.

How about some elemental spirits/monsters to hinder the party's advance.

Or you could field test these out http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/5e_Hazards

 

[Plaguescarred]

What about natives riverfolk being taken by Hanushka the sea hag queen and transformed into sea troll.

Or a kuo-toa invasion from underground river source attacking river-side settlements

A conflict with not-so-good sea elves overprotecting river passage

Or a good old river poisoning investigation

 

[AnimeSniper]

Don't Rock the Boat...

As my title suggests the party's vessels has hit or been struck by something underwater and must make a Balance/acrobatics check to avoid being knocked to the deck rolling a 1d8 for the direction that they fall. If a player is near the railing then they could possibly fall overboard into the river and depending if they are wearing their armor will have to make encumbered swim checks to avoid drowning or swimming back to the ship. Swimming in Full Plate is dreadful...

Don't forget piranha or other aquatic baddies that could attack the overboard player/npc