Ideas for a "Beach Episode"

[Draco_Lord]

So, during my last session I mentioned that the party needs to go to a shrine on the coast to collect their next magical gem, and straight away they started talking about making it into a beach episode, and stuff like that. Originally I had planned it to be more serious, and had some monsters to fight, stuff like that, and while I still plan to do that to a degree, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what I could do to make the first half a bit... well more fun/silly. Like figure out rules for a sand building contest, or something like that.

Any advice? Or should I just start watching as much anime as I can?

[Brookshw]

Thought you might want to take a look at this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?335192-Players-Want-A-Beach-Episode&highlight=beach)thread.

[Draco_Lord]

Thank you for the link! It certainly did help out.

[Psyren]

I'm suddenly envisioning a very fanservice-y session where the bikini-clad cast is replaced with neckbeards :smallbiggrin:

[Spore]

I'm suddenly envisioning a very fanservice-y session where the bikini-clad cast is replaced with neckbeards :smallbiggrin:

You, my dear sir, are the engineer of my nightmares.

[Psyren]

You, my dear sir, are the engineer of my nightmares.

"uwaaaaaa!~ Senpai, you're splashing me!"

[nedz]

You're having a nice time on the beach when ... Godzilla.

[Prime32]

There was some official designer who wrote rules for reducing the cost of magic items by having them take up multiple slots (two slots = half price and so on). I figure you could hand out cheap +Swim items (or even pearls of the sirines (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#pearloftheSirines)) that take up the shirt, armor and cloak slots, and fluff them as swimsuits. :smalltongue:

[ArqArturo]

"uwaaaaaa!~ Senpai, you're splashing me!"

Must... Unsee... Things... From... Brain!.


You're having a nice time on the beach when ... Godzilla.

Clerics are too cliche for villains.

[daremetoidareyo]

IDEA #1.) Just rip off the entire plot from the movie footloose.

Some young kid just wants to DANCE. Lawful neutral clerics of jfidjsoifjsj want no such nunpuckery to take place. Heroes gotta do the right thing. Add cleric ninjas as needed and end in a big danceoff celebration and you got yourself a Beach episode.

Might I suggest a game of chicken between riders of a giant crab and a giant land eel (...obviously the giant crabs natural nemesis)

IDEA #2.) Big Bads that the PCs hate show up to the beach, and want to humiliate the PCs at the big volleyball tournament.

Pause game: Remind your PCs that beach episode rules prohibit the outright killing of the bad guy, you must simply defeat them....EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE USE OF BEACH FESTIVITIES. magic enhanced Volley ball tournament. Competing for the affections of the coolest surfer girl. Surfing on more and more outlandish creatures. A straight up RACE.

[atemu1234]

Fanservice, rescues and pirates.

[Venger]

watch "the beach" episode of avatar: the last airbender. give your players a variety of fun things to do and trick them into developing their characters.

[Pex]

Presumably everyone is in bathing suits, underwear, or skinny dipping. If you do have a combat, the warriors will be at a disadvantage because they are not wearing armor, similar to a fight at night during a watch but the party is likely even less on guard. The opponents should not have so high an attack bonus they hit on a Natural 2. Even a Natural 5 could be problematic unless the damage is really low with no rider effect.

[Draco_Lord]

Just wanted to say thank you for the ideas, I ran the session and they liked it a lot!

[Venger]

Just wanted to say thank you for the ideas, I ran the session and they liked it a lot!

hey, that's great. what happened?

[Draco_Lord]

hey, that's great. what happened?

So my personal favourite was the idea of having the Big Bad show up, with his new group of perfectly trained beach warriors, to wreck the beach up. So I went with that as the base. Of course the moment he showed up everyone was ready to attack him, but a little out of character reminding about the beach rules, and him just walking through their spells, tossing the cleric to the side, and into a beach chair, made them realize that he is currently out of their league. Though the cleric has a crush on him now.

From there I had the beach warriors show up Ginyu Force style, each with a silly name and race to go with it, posing all throughout the volley ball tournament on the first day, with some made up rules on how the game worked, well with dice that is. Worked out well, turns out the PCs had some good stats for volley ball, well the cavalier and rogue did. They ended up winning.

Next was the sand castle building contest, which for some fun I had them draw out, they like a bit of mix up on how the game works, rather then just pure dice rolling. The Ginyu Force won that one though, making them all tied up, just in time for the final event. The massive race around the island!

The race was awesome, big thing, swimming from point to point, with things in the way, giant squids, rough water, a confused water elemental, and so on. The Ginyu Force cheated a bit, and the PCs cheated more, resulting in the PCs win, over coming them.

This also resulted in our witch, a bit of a self absorbed character, becoming Alpha Beach Girl, and ruling the beach with an iron fist, and the rogue scoring with a hot merman she had her eye on.

Then back to plot, they needed to get into the big shrine that holds that magical gem they need. Luckily there was a huge party, end of the beach festival, that celebrated it, and gave food to the sea god that protects the shrine. PCs managed to break into the shrine, after some use of an invisible floating cat, but the Ginyu Force charged in before them, causing the Sea God to start attacking the shrine as the PCs enter as well. Now they are trapped as the shrine is assaulted, slowly breaking apart, a full dungeon ahead of them to try and get the gem before it sinks. Of course, the shrine is probably going to sink, and they will need to figure a way out of the ocean floor.

[Venger]

sounds like a blast. underwater combat is very involved in this system, hope they've all read their stormwrack.

[TheCountAlucard]

...and the rogue scoring with a hot merman she had her eye on.Was his name Mermando? :smallamused:

[Darkweave31]

I'd say give them a nice beach, have several NPCs prepped for interactions, maybe a few contests, some activities, throw in a succubus or two for the fanservice/killing-the-party-slowly, and mostly just let them run with it. They want a beach episode so I'm guessing they already have a few ideas of what their characters will be doing. Let them lead and give the occasional nudge with an NPC/contest/activity if things get slow. They get to develop their beach episode and write the story themselves...

This is my default DM style and my players always love it.

[Venger]

I'd say give them a nice beach, have several NPCs prepped for interactions, maybe a few contests, some activities, throw in a succubus or two for the fanservice/killing-the-party-slowly, and mostly just let them run with it. They want a beach episode so I'm guessing they already have a few ideas of what their characters will be doing. Let them lead and give the occasional nudge with an NPC/contest/activity if things get slow. They get to develop their beach episode and write the story themselves...

This is my default DM style and my players always love it.

so you're saying to give them...

...a sandbox?

[Darkweave31]

so you're saying to give them...

...a sandbox?

2 snares and a cymbal roll off a cliff

[Brookshw]

Was his name Mermando? :smallamused:

Incoming retcon in 3,......2,.........

[Draco_Lord]

sounds like a blast. underwater combat is very involved in this system, hope they've all read their stormwrack.

If it is for something fun I just do easy rules, and don't worry so much about getting it right, so much as just everyone having a good time. So surface combat, and just slower movement speed for everyone, except the squids.


Was his name Mermando? :smallamused:

Funny story. Mermando is the name of the merman she fell in love with in a dungeon, but sadly he wasn't actually real, and the magic in the dungeon created him. This new one looks exactly like him, except isn't him. His name is not Mermando, sadly.

[daremetoidareyo]

So my personal favourite was the idea of having the Big Bad show up, with his new group of perfectly trained beach warriors, to wreck the beach up. So I went with that as the base. Of course the moment he showed up everyone was ready to attack him, but a little out of character reminding about the beach rules, and him just walking through their spells, tossing the cleric to the side, and into a beach chair, made them realize that he is currently out of their league. Though the cleric has a crush on him now.

From there I had the beach warriors show up Ginyu Force style, each with a silly name and race to go with it, posing all throughout the volley ball tournament on the first day, with some made up rules on how the game worked, well with dice that is. Worked out well, turns out the PCs had some good stats for volley ball, well the cavalier and rogue did. They ended up winning.

Next was the sand castle building contest, which for some fun I had them draw out, they like a bit of mix up on how the game works, rather then just pure dice rolling. The Ginyu Force won that one though, making them all tied up, just in time for the final event. The massive race around the island!

The race was awesome, big thing, swimming from point to point, with things in the way, giant squids, rough water, a confused water elemental, and so on. The Ginyu Force cheated a bit, and the PCs cheated more, resulting in the PCs win, over coming them.

This also resulted in our witch, a bit of a self absorbed character, becoming Alpha Beach Girl, and ruling the beach with an iron fist, and the rogue scoring with a hot merman she had her eye on.

Then back to plot, they needed to get into the big shrine that holds that magical gem they need. Luckily there was a huge party, end of the beach festival, that celebrated it, and gave food to the sea god that protects the shrine. PCs managed to break into the shrine, after some use of an invisible floating cat, but the Ginyu Force charged in before them, causing the Sea God to start attacking the shrine as the PCs enter as well. Now they are trapped as the shrine is assaulted, slowly breaking apart, a full dungeon ahead of them to try and get the gem before it sinks. Of course, the shrine is probably going to sink, and they will need to figure a way out of the ocean floor.

This sounds like a lot of fun. Congratulations on making it all work out, with nice seams between serious play and beach episode play. I particularly like the how the session ended, a nice segue to serious campaigning again.

[Venger]

If it is for something fun I just do easy rules, and don't worry so much about getting it right, so much as just everyone having a good time. So surface combat, and just slower movement speed for everyone, except the squids.

I was joking. the water rules are super horrible. no one actually uses them. glad you had a good time.