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View Full Version : stranded on an island, need encounters!



Choco
2009-06-16, 07:22 PM
So last session the ship the PC's were on got attacked and boarded, and while it was not sunk OR captured, it was in no condition to continue sailing for long. The ship made it to an uncharted island. They will be settling down on the island for now while repairs on the ship are done, which may take a few weeks. I have already decided that the island is uninhabited by any intelligent beings, but a day or so after they make it onto the island some of the hobgoblins they fought off may also find their way there, probably on the other side of the island, having the same idea (camp there while they make repairs). Another potential problem is that the ship has to be anchored off the island, as it cannot enter the shallow waters surrounding it.

Basically what they gotta do is set up a temporary encampment, get some food because the stores wont last forever, and of course get materials to repair the ship and get out of there. The PC's, still at lvl 1, are nowhere near in charge, though the Captain was a friend of their father's (2 PC's, homebrew monk and a bard, they are brothers). They were just passengers on the ship.

So yeah, I think that is all the relevant info, now I need some combat encounter ideas for them :smalltongue:

So far all I got is some scuffles with the animals, possibly some animated plants, and of course the hobgoblins...

Babale
2009-06-16, 07:24 PM
Try semi-aquatic humanoids out on raids.

Lycanthromancer
2009-06-16, 07:30 PM
If their side of the island is considerably higher than that the hoblins [sic] are on, give them a clear vantage-point they can use to see the enemy ship and the preparations the hoblins are making on the other side of the island.

It's sabotage-time.

Also, toss a few intelligent animals on the island (birds and such), and have them in a panic. They tell the PCs that some dragons are eating their eggs and destroying their nesting areas, and ask for help.

Turns out they ARE dragons...Pseudodragons, to be precise.

If they take care of the problem, the birds, monkeys, and other animals can spy for them on the hoblins.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-06-16, 08:04 PM
Giant stone golems with enormous heads, who resemble Bernito Mussolini.

Shadowbane
2009-06-16, 08:08 PM
Go with semi-aquatic, or golems, or animals. Lots of animals.

Babale
2009-06-16, 08:10 PM
Have the goblins raise giant easter-island heads to stone giants.

TheThan
2009-06-16, 08:34 PM
On the opposite side of the island they should find a giant monkey head carved out of stone. Along the way they should also encounter cannibals and a strange hermit. Also they should get stuck in a deep crevice that’s difficult enough to get out of that they are forced to work together.

Other things to throw in:
Buried treasure
A vague map leading to something.
Dangerous tropical creatures
A ghost of a long dead pirate lord (probably protecting his buried treasure).

9mm
2009-06-16, 08:50 PM
in addition to TheThan's excellent suggestion (I loved that game); dinos, big hungry dinos.

that or awakened meatballs fighting for survival.

Human Paragon 3
2009-06-16, 09:07 PM
I had a whole campaign where the PCs were stranded on a far off continent. I had an npc (a sentient baboon star shaman) befriend them and help them complete their mission.

I'll outline my first adventure, the one that actually took place on an island for you here.

First, they shipwrecked. Almost without any equipment at all they were forced to defend themselves from giant ants that feed on the flotsam that washes ashore. There were rocks to pick up and throw, giant hard vines that could be improvised into spears, and other stuff like that. They then found some of their equipment washed onto shore, but a very sparse amount. For the most part they were finding and improvising tools, weapons, armor, spells, everything as they went along.

They met Chami, the baboon, who had learned to speak common from a missionary a year earlier (one of the people the PCs were trying to find).

Chami new there was some way off the island, but wasn't sure what it was. Since he was banished, he hadn't tried very hard to get home. However, there was an old spirit on the island called Papa Sisi who was very wise. Chami led the party to Papa Sisi, who was like a big Easter Island head that could talk.

Papa Sisi told them of another even older spirit called Nagumi who was strong enough to actually help them. He sang a song that contained a riddle, then fell back asleep. The song was a little long and had a repeated chorus, but the clues contained in it were these:

Follow the Macaw home
Follow the wind where it blows
Follow the rain where it flows

The players had to deduce (with Chami's help when needed) that 1. The Macaw came to this island to mate, then returned home to the mainland (WEST) 2. That the prevailing wind was southernly, and that 3. the rain flowed down. Then they went as far west as they could until they reached the shore, followed the wind southward, then climbed down steep cliff to find Nagumi's cave.

In the cave they found some useful gear. They then found Nagumi, who was a collection of faces on the walls of the cave who creepily talked in many languages at once. Nagumi was the spirit of the island (also called Nagumi) and was once extremely powerful, but after his/her worshipers died off he/she grew weaker and weaker.

Here I introduced the theme of bargaining into the campaign, one I would revisit again and again. Nagumi insisted on a trade. First she asked for "one face" to be added to her. This would mean a party member giving himself up to Nagumi. Obviously out of the question. When the party refused, he asked that one of them become a cleric of Nagumi. This would mean somebody had to change their class and alignment. Not as steep, but still out of the question as far as the party was concerned. The final offer she made was that each person she helped must tell one of her stories. Through the spread of her stories he would become strong once more.

This they agreed to. Nagumi then transported them off the island and to the continental main land where the rest of the campaign took place. As for the stories, I gave the players the option of either just saying they told the story, or actually telling it. I awarded ad hoc awards to those who made up a story, which then became cannon for the campaign.

Hope this tale helped!

Coidzor
2009-06-16, 09:39 PM
There's always taking a page from things and making a skill challenge for them to try to track down dinner.

Maybe come across a grotto with some clams they notice and want to see if there's any valuable pearls in 'em and get attacked by something in the water there...

Choco
2009-06-16, 09:48 PM
Sweet thanks guys, that gave me a lot to work with.

Aside from the usual hunting for food (I think ima award them some ranks in Survival by the time the island is done) I believe I will make things REALLY hard on them and use everything just mentioned in some way, just cause I am a jackass...

Hobgoblins will be the least of their worries, as some aquatic race takes out the ship while it is defenseless and broken half a mile off the coast of the island, GREATLY pissing off the captain cause it was heavily modified (think of it as the Millennium Falcon of sailing ships) and loaded with advanced tech. Then giant ants will steal their food. Of course that will lead them to hunt the wildlife, which the raptors inhabiting the island wont take to kindly to. Then they befriend some intelligent monkeys who lead them to the hidden ruins of some long-lost temple that will have key history information regarding the campaign world. In the temple will be a few cliche puzzles and stone golems... when they leave the temple, a giant easter island head turns out to be a colossal golem that was buried that they now gotta run from. They will be saved by a ghost of a pirate captain who agrees to summon his ghost ship to take them off the island if they drive off the hobgoblins that are looting his grave.

K maybe not all that, in that order, but im gonna throw most of that in...


Giant stone golems with enormous heads, who resemble Bernito Mussolini.

Ah yes! Those would be the PERFECT minions of the evil Dr. Hitler Clone, the BBEG!! I was looking for a way to use him in this campaign...