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Voyage Interrupted (Above the Clouds part 1)

Overview:

We are doing something a little different this week. We are going to make several encounters strung together all taking place on an airship. This is the first of those encounters, and the next few articles should all continue this first encounter.

Initial Description:

Your party is getting closer to [destination, preferably a return trip, but could be an arrival]. The air is blowing and you've been enjoying the breeze. You look outward and being to hear faint buzzing noises. You look up and suddenly four ship, moving much more quickly then yours, descend upon your ship, one at each side. It looks like you should prepared to be boarded. Roll initiative.

Enemies: 

Sky Pirates - They work for a terrible enemy of the PCs. There primary goal is to kill the PCs, when the realize that won't be very easy they will try and do it indirectly by hurting the airship or the crew. Use bandit stats from the monster manual. They do not need to make any checks to get across the rope.

Cable Puller - A bigger stronger pirate. They are bringing a metal claw attached to a metal cable. They will move towards the cabin which should take 2 turns, unless they cannot move. In that case they will attempt to shove the weakest looking PC out of the way. Once he has attached the cable with the metal claw the PCs must attack that. It takes one full turn after it has been attached for it to rip off the cabin.

CABLE CARRIER
STR +3 DEX +2 CON +3 WIS +2 INT -2 CHA -2
HP 55 AC 18
Athletics + 10

METAL CLAW
HP 25 AC 20
Object - Is not affected by anything that would require the target to have a mind. 
 

NPCs:

Ship's Crew - The crew of the ship retreats to the pilots cabin or the deck below. They will help by keeping the airship going. If they get killed by the invaders the airship will stop and a PC may have to attempt to pilot the airship. 

Objectives:

Main:

Take em Down - Destroy the enemy airships.

Side Objectives:

Steady! - Don't let anything happen to the crew.
Keep em off! - Try to prevent the sky pirates from boarding.

Map:

Voyage Interrupted.jpg

Overview:

The key of this map is that the ships cover all 4 sides. Also there is no safe zone except in the cabin against the incoming arrows.

Key:

Red Numbers - The correlating area for the d4 roll (whether the roll is the arrows on the ship or where the cable carrier.
Blue Triangles - Canons
Light brown - PC Airship
Dark Brown - Pirate Airship
Dark Brown Box  - Pilots Cabin

Special Mechanics

Down, Down, Down - If the PCs fall off the airships then they hit free-fall. Short of a fly spell or some other safe way to fall they die. Give them 2-3 saves before they fall, unless they put themselves in a situation where it would be impossible for them to have more than one save (i.e. jumping straight from one ship to another or crawling along the bottom of the ship), in which case tell them the stakes if they start to make this choice.

Get those ships! - Each ship can take 3 hits from the onboard canons. Whoever is firing the cannons needs one of the sides of the ship pointed towards their target and needs to make a successful DC 17 DEX check (No proficiency unless the character somehow has proficiency in gunnery or cannons). While the canons are the most obvious way to take down a ship, if the ship is light on fire from a fireball spell or in some other fashion it will begin to crash in three turns. Killing the pilots will also begin a 3 turn count for the ships to start falling.

Rain Arrows upon them!  - Roll 1d4 to determine which section of the boat comes under a rain of arrows (1 bow, 2 port, 3 starboard, 4 stern). Anyone in that area (Sky Pirates, NPCs, PCs) must make a DC 14 DEX saving throw or take 2d6 damage. No damage is taken on a successful save.

Prepare for boarding - Each ship spawns 1d6 sky pirates and each turn 1d4 ropes are thrown from each ship. These ropes take one turn to cross. A rope can only have one pirate cross it on each turn.
1d4 is also determined to see where the "cable carrier" spawns. Their job is to get a heavy metal cable latched onto the ship's cabin. It takes them two turns to get to the cabin from their spawn point and If they do that they can rip off the top of the ship which makes the pilot susceptible to crossbow fire.

Extras:

Easy Re-skins -  Could also be on a boat or a space ship, but airship will probably be the most exciting bit.

Inspirations, Shoutouts, and Thanks -  Particularly a combination of the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron and an Adventure Zone episode made me think up these encounters.

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