Any encounter at sea or on water is dangerous. Several factors contribute to this and few are employed often enough to truly bring terror into the game. When dealing with aquatic encounters the focus should be on the very real potential of drowning, so make sure to check the rules for suffocation and underwater combat to understand the mechanics.
Another consideration is water tends to disrupt magic. Fire often fails, visibility is poor and verbal spells fail if the caster cannot breathe water.
Finally, when knocked off a ship there is a risk the ship sails on without noticing, missing the chance to stop and recover a lost companion. Swimming 30 miles to shore is nearly impossible. Once in the water, there are many, many monsters that can be seriously dangerous to one’s health.
What this allows for us to do is create a trifecta of terror: drowning, water issues and being lost at sea. This encounter is designed to play on all three, and demonstrates that level isn’t always useful in surviving an encounter with low level monsters.
Encounter Type: Combat and social
Map: Ship map
Lighting: Dynamic lighting
System: 5E
Length: One shot
Installation Type: Addon
License: Roll20 End User License Agreement
(Personal Use Only, Do Not Distribute)