How do I make travel interesting

[Ivor_The_Mad]

Hello GitP. The next dungeon im running with my group has a fair bit of traveling specifically by boat and I would like to know if there is a way to make it more interesting. I mean I have random encounter tables set up but still days of traveling on a boat with the occasional encounter may not appeal to my party. I also don't want to just warp them there or say something like "you set off" "after days of travel you see the coast". What are your experiences with boat travel or how did you/your DM handle it. Any advice?

[smcmike]

Sometimes all you can do is warp. A little bit of narration can go a long way to disguise the transition - it’s a chance to describe the coastline, or the routine, or the crew.

There are two pitfalls to avoid - lengthy monologue and purposeless dialogue. The first is obvious - while a little narration is good, most people will tune out if the story goes on long enough, unless you are some sort of master storyteller (best to assume that you aren’t). The second is worse. Roleplaying travel scenes in which there are no interesting choices to be made can break immersion and fun.

So, narrate, but briefly. Throw in an encounter, and try to make it interesting. Narrate the results. Destination.

[hymer]

Just giving the players something to react to can go a long way. In the case of ship travels, a storm is the classical option. How do the PCs cope with the storm? The mariner PC may pitch in, keeping the vessel afloat. The wheezy scholar may be incapacitated by seasickness. The cleric may be holding an impromptu service for those not engaged in work, singing the local equivalent of Eternal Father Strong to Save. Start with a few NPC reactions, just to get the players going. If their favourite travelling musician panics at the thought of the storm, it gives them something to play off of.

[LeonBH]

Make the ship explorable, or hide secrets inside it. Make the ship an adventure in itself.

[JellyPooga]

Make the ship an adventure in itself.

This. Instead of just a series of inconsequential random encounters to fight through on the way to their destination, plan the journey out like a dungeon, except instead of a map of the physical landscape, you have a "map" of events over time.

The players have the opportunity to talk to the crew and deal with problems that might arise from them. One might think himself the big man and try starting a fight; do the players fight back, even kill him, or do they go on the defensive until the rest of the crew throw him in the brig? If they kill the crewman, they may find themselves at the ire ofnboth captain and crew, possibly even under trial and at risk of execution.

An unexpected sighting of land might breed a lack of faith in the navigator as much as it creates excitement of what might be ashore. What will the players do in the face of possible mutiny or desertion? Do they try to persuade the captain to make landfall, or press him to proceed to their destination?

Being captured by pirates takes the PCs to unexpected locations (i.e. another ship) and forces them to deal with different NPC's. Can they persuade (by whatever means) the pirates to take them to their original destination or will the pirates treat them like any other captive?

The problem with travel is that encounters along the way are pointless exercises in grinding for XP if they're no more than a random encounter. Weave the encounters into the plot of the campaign as much as you might in any dungeon or city and travel becomes part of the adventure as much as any other aspect of the game.

Dungeons aren't the only place you can find "secret doors" and treasure. Cities aren't the only place you might discover intrigue. The wilderness, whether on land or at sea, is as much an adventuring locale as any other place. "Skip to the end" is only valid while travelling if you want it to be, just as much as resting or spending time in town might be.

[mephnick]

Random travel encounters aren't supposed to be meaningless. They are supposed to come from a table populated by things that add atmosphere, world-building or drama to the region. The journey is part of the story, or it should be. I'll never understand why people think random encounters and travel are boring, unless they are extremely focused narrative players who dismiss anything but major story beats as part of the narrative or the DM lacks vision in designing encounter tables, in which case the encounters can seem meaningless. I'm not a fan to pre-planned "random" encounters over use of a table, but it's a middle ground some people enjoy.

[strangebloke]

Populate the ship with NPCs that you put a little thought into.

Maybe the captain is a piece of scum and has the cabin boy go around stealing from the PCs. They catch the kid, but then something still goes missing.

Maybe the shipmates are being really racist to one of the crew members, and will die in the first random encounter due to being abandoned by his crewmates unless the PCs step in to save him.

Maybe they have a fellow passnger who's a spy for *insert clandestine group here* and will serve as a future point of contact for later adventures.

Maybe the Captain is hilariously drunk during a storm and the PCs have to take control of the ship and restore order.

Maybe a recurring enemy attacks you on the ship and then the crew are suddenly very unfriendly to you all because you brought this trouble.

Maybe the crew is really superstitious. "We have a gnome on board. Thas bad luck."

Ask yourself: if this was a book, what would be something that could happen? 80% of LotR is just people overcoming travel hurdles, so that's a good place to get ideas.'

[Demonslayer666]

Glowing plankton, impressive landmarks, a large passive sea monster, dolphins, fishing, native tribe, sargasso sea, whirlpool, barnacles, message in a bottle, sunken treasure, merchant ship, discover new lands, iceberg, food shortage from rats, mutiny, crew shortage that requires new recruits...

an abandoned ship, stranded crew...

[Tiadoppler]

Will your party be using the same ship over and over again, or simply buying/earning passage on random ships?

Does your party have downtime activities that they do? Do your players (and their characters) like having social interactions with each other? Using the ship as a fairly peaceful break in adventuring can break up incessant battles (if your party's interested in taking a break).

Give 5-10 NPCs on the ship names, personality traits, a weird habit, or whatever.

Decide what kind of ship the party is on. D&D can be used for just about any travel plot. Make the ship part of the adventure.

Fishing boat: small, and slow, and you've got to catch fish to pay for your passage. Unfortunately, you just caught a dire shark, and it looks mad.

Smuggler: small and fast. Your name is something like the Centurion's Owl. Avoid customs patrols and you have to swim ashore at midnight because the ship isn't allowed in the harbor any more.

Freighter: big and slow. You're carrying something heavy and valuable. You might encounter pirates, or hijackers. Maybe the cargo starts to wake up...

Cruise Ship: big and slow. Expensive but well protected from external threats. An open bar, good food, soft beds, and a great setup for a murder mystery.

etc. etc. etc.

[Ivor_The_Mad]

Ok thanks I think I have an idea now of what ill do. I like the idea of making the ship like its own little adventure. I can add a few NPCs and jobs for them to do... Oh i know ill have them stop a mutiny or find a thief on the ship. I will make sure to make the scenery interesting.:smallsmile:

[Vogie]

To add to making the ship an interesting environment, if it's crewed by NPCs:

Mutiny - It could happen naturally, or it just so happens that the crew you hired were actually pirates, who will attempt to take over once you're far away in transit, usually after you've gotten some loot.
Gone Crewless - either because of a mutiny, as above, or some sort of disaster or encounter, there is either no crew, or not enough crew to keep sailing. This can give your characters a chance to learn new skills by taking control of the ship. You can then add nautical encounters down the line where keeping control of the boat is a mechanical part of the fight.

[LeonBH]

Ok thanks I think I have an idea now of what ill do. I like the idea of making the ship like its own little adventure. I can add a few NPCs and jobs for them to do... Oh i know ill have them stop a mutiny or find a thief on the ship. I will make sure to make the scenery interesting.:smallsmile:

Have the thief steal a not-so-important (but still useful) item from the players. That will get them really riled up. Leave clues behind of the crime so they have somewhere to trace it back to. A pack of kleptomaniac monkeys, maybe?

[Tiadoppler]

My latest at-seas adventure ended abruptly (and became a castaway adventure).


A small player-owned merchant ship was sailing along on a clear day. Perception checks were failed.

Grappling hooks came sailing out of the water from all sides of the ship, harpoons were stuck into the bottom of the ship, and merfolk started coming over the sides. The ropes on the grappling hooks and harpoons went taut, and the underwater merfolk castle began to pull the ship underwater. The party and ship's crew abandoned ship while engaging the mers instead of cutting away at the ropes to free the vessel. Several months later, they found their ship, repainted, resold and crewed by innocent sailors in a nearby port. The magistrates would not return the vessel to them.

They were unable to provide documentation of ownership (pun intended).

[smcmike]

My latest at-seas adventure ended abruptly (and became a castaway adventure).


A small player-owned merchant ship was sailing along on a clear day. Perception checks were failed.

Grappling hooks came sailing out of the water from all sides of the ship, harpoons were stuck into the bottom of the ship, and merfolk started coming over the sides. The ropes on the grappling hooks and harpoons went taut, and the underwater merfolk castle began to pull the ship underwater. The party and ship's crew abandoned ship while engaging the mers instead of cutting away at the ropes to free the vessel. Several months later, they found their ship, repainted, resold and crewed by innocent sailors in a nearby port. The magistrates would not return the vessel to them.

They were unable to provide documentation of ownership (pun intended).

Hmm. If I were a player I’d suggest that both sinking a ship via grappling hook and unsunking said ship are pretty monumental tasks. If I were a merperson, I would think that drilling holes in the bottom would be significant safer.

[Tiadoppler]

Hmm. If I were a player I’d suggest that both sinking a ship via grappling hook and unsunking said ship are pretty monumental tasks. If I were a merperson, I would think that drilling holes in the bottom would be significant safer.

The idea was that the ropes were all attached to large rock formations on the sea floor (with pulleys and drums). Slow, but very high torque. The (6) players had roughly 20 combat rounds before the deck of the ship went underwater. Once underwater, the mer took several weeks to fill air bladders throughout the ship to re-float it. The water was only about 80'-100' deep.

The plot was meant as an homage to the Firefly episode "Our Mrs Reynolds". A newly hired navigator sailed the ship purposefully over a trap designed to grab and sink ships.

[Davrix]

Here is something I did for my group just a few weeks ago sense you said you were traveling by boat.

I have one the table sized grid maps (which is worth its weight in gold)

What I did was I drew out a large section of ocean and island chains on it along with water currents for bonus or penalty to movement.

I had a encounter table set up for if and when they wanted to explore any of the small islands along the chain. Some might have pirate booty or a monster or two. Its up to the party if they want to explore or not though I did bait the carrot by letting them have a bit of treasure on the very first island they passed by and they were more than eager to explore a little after that.

Now you could just do this and see where the dice falls on the counter tables or you can also have a bit of a pirate battle with a pursing ship trying to sink yours it really depends on how complicated and long you want the journey to be.

[Specter]

A common element DMSs often forget: have a dialogue scene. In any movie/series, when the characters travel they use one or two scenes of conversation. I know many players who prefer roleplaying instead of encounters and such.