Timbers groan and the deck lurches. Salt spray mixes with driving snow. Thundering waves make the ship pitch and roll. On the howling wind comes snatches of raving, sobbing, or perhaps laughter. A ship in blizzard conditions sent from the abyss itself—what else could be gliding closer from the depths?
Today, I bring another [almost instant] encounter generator for gamemasters (GMs) in a hurry. Additionally, it also works well as fuel for inspiration for original ideas. As before, this approach gets much of its influence from Ben Milton’s Knave 2e and Kevin Crawford’s Without Number books. Incidentally, these are all great sources for both worldbuilding and adventure ideas!
How It Works
To start, GMs just need to get a d20, d12, d10, d8, d6, and a d4. Then, roll them all once, check the tables, and combine the results where it makes sense. The article flow goes from atmosphere (d4 weather, d6 aspects) to scene details (d10 features, d20 creatures). Lastly, there are the narrative hooks (d8 complications, d12 secrets).
GMs can roll on whichever tables they need in whatever order they want. Feel free to roll more than once for more complex results or simply pick what sounds fun. There’s no need to connect everything together. Occasionally, results will work better as separate stories.
This article’s track features Ship in Blizzard. It’s available on the MGS store here. Alternatively, it comes as part of the 50 track album RPG Ambiences Vol. 7 which you can find here.
Here are all the tables:
d4 – Ship in Blizzard Weather Tables
1. Freezing rain – ice forms on every surface. Rigging threatens to snap. The ship is becoming heavier, losing stability; it starts listing dangerously.
2. Thunder snow – lightning illuminates huge shapes in the water or in the distance. The thunder is all wrong—it comes before the flash, too late, or not at all. Reality is starting to thin.
3. Singing ice – the driving snow and pounding waves seem to create some primal rhythm. Crew start to hum along without realising; the melody is older than the sea.
4. Blinding squall – frozen spray coats eyes and skin with burning crystals. There is nothing beyond the cold, wet, pitch of the deck, and the howling wind.
d6 – Area Aspects
1. Isolated fury – the storm rages but the ship doesn’t seem to move. Compasses spin. Stars appear through breaks in the clouds, but they’re all wrong.
2. Raging tides – the ship is getting hit by rival tides, throwing it from side to side; the threats of capsizing or getting washed away are ever-present.
3. The deck breathes – the wood pulses and is warm to the touch, despite the cold. The ship seems aware of its passengers and their intentions.
4. Memory loops – crew repeat conversations and actions, unaware they’ve done so only moments or hours before.
5. Tidal surge – waves crash over the deck, but the water doesn’t drain away. Ankle-deep and rising, but the ship shows no sign of sinking.
6. The stars are right – despite the raging storm, breaks in the clouds show stars beyond counting. They glitter and shine, even as the void around them consumes.
d10 – Ship in Blizzard Features
1. The captain’s chair – lashed to the upper deck. Empty, but wet handprints appear on the armrests. Whispers are audible.
2. Frozen figurehead – ice covers the front of the ship. Trapped inside, a figure that wasn’t part of the original carving desperately pounds against the surface.
3. Cargo hatch – sealed and chained. Scratch marks cover the inside of the hatch. They’re fresh.
4. Mast shrine – built around the main mast with offerings and trinkets. Symbols and effigies are of no known deity. Its votive candles never go out.
5. Lifeboat – already loaded with supplies and covered. Inside are sets of clothes neatly folded; they match the party’s outfits.
6. Ship’s bell – cracked and silent for years. It rings on its own now, each pattern summoning something different.
7. Galley fire – burns without fuel, but gives off no heat. Shadows move independently here. Meals prepared here taste of memory and nostalgia.
8. Anchor chain – trails into the depths. Sometimes it goes taut. If pulled up, brings up something which should have stayed drowned.
9. Crow’s nest – always seems empty at a glance. A spyglass rests there that shows peaceful seas and alien stars.
10. Navigation table – all maps in here show the same island that wasn’t there before. It changes position and is getting closer to the ship.
d20 – The Creature(s)
1. Stowaway child – hiding; says they’re going home. Knows everyone’s name. Hungry.
2. Crewmate – scrubbing the deck. Insists been here for years. Needs to be believed. Increasingly panicked.
3. Storm caller – standing at the rail. Drinking in the worst weather. Forlorn.
4. Ship’s surgeon – operating on a crewmate. Patients always recover but remember their deaths. Methodical.
5. Drowned sailors – clambering aboard. Shivering, in pain, barnacle encrusted. Confused.
6. Merchant captain – swept aboard by a wave. Insists their ship is close and needs help. Frantic.
7. Cook – constantly offering bowls of boiling hot soup. Never discusses ingredients. Cheerful.
8. Rope daughter – relishing the storm. Made from rope and sailcloth, born from the ship itself. Curious.
9. Penitent navigator – chained to the wheel. Eyes filmy white. Chanting feverishly. Determined.
10. Fisher – sitting in a rowing boat, fishing pole cast into the sea. Trades fish for memories. Calm.
11. Cabin boy’s ghost – performing old duties. Trying to maintain normalcy. Terrified.
12. Smuggler – being hunted. Has cargo that whispers and weeps. Paranoid.
13. Sirens – singing harmonies affecting the storm. Attached to the hull. Beautiful and wrong. Convinced.
14. Ship’s cat – hissing at empty spaces. Watches everything. Stalks the ship. Protective.
15. Bound kraken – roped to the hull. Young, but growing quickly. Ship moving unnaturally fast. Someone aboard has made a deal. Ruthless.
16. Widow(er) – staring at the waves dressed in black.Sees things in the waters. Resigned.
17. Carpenter/shipwright – repairing damage. Never rests. Splinters become new fingers, becoming part of the ship. Absorbed.
18. Mutineers – plotting to seize the ship. Tired of the old ways. Idealistic.
19. Priest – anointing crew with sea water. The crew become very calm. Has gills. Passionate.
20. The previous captain – died at the wheel in this storm, at this spot. The ship remembers and won’t let them forget. Horrified.
d8 – Ship in Blizzard Complications
1. Hull breach. Water pours in. The ocean wants its own back.
2. Crew sickness. Eyes like mirrors. Work songs in unknown languages. It’s spreading.
3. Temporal echo. Trapped in a loop, the crew remember different things each time.
4. Magnetic storm. Iron fittings groan and bend. Weapons fly towards the mast. North is everywhere and nowhere.
5. Singing depths. Something calls from below. Missing crew, boots neatly lined by the railing.
6. Ice trap. The sea freezes around the ship. Immobile, battered, and vulnerable.
7. Stormborn. Lightning strikes the deck repeatedly. Charred figures rise up and wish to have the ship.
8. Ship’s wake. Turns luminous and sonorous sounds drone into the abyss. Things take notice, and they’re hungry.
d12 – The Secrets
1. Nailed to the mast, a journal written in blood. Has alchemical recipes from forgotten gods.
2. In a chest, a sextant made of onyx. Points to drowned cities.
3. Hidden in sailcloth, a wine bottle that never empties. Drinkers experience the final moments of drowned sailors. The visions repeat and do not fade.
4. Behind a false panel, the ship’s true logbook. Details a wondrous island with buried treasure to the south.
5. In a sealed barrel, a music box. When wound, the storm calms. The storm remembers every second it’s stopped and returns with a vengeance.
6. Wrapped in oilskin, a mirror that shows what will be.
7. Lashed under a bunk, a harpoon inlaid with jade, carved with names. Some are struck through.
8. In the bilge, a stone with a hole through it. Looking through the hole, reveals the cities and ruins beneath the waves.
9. Inside a hollow mast, letters to the drowned. Unopened responses are also here. The handwriting is waterlogged but legible.
10. Frozen in an ice block, an hourglass. When turned, it slows the snowfall and the waves.
11. Hidden in the crow’s nest, a seashell emitting soft singing. The singing grows louder as it gets closer to its enchanted home.
12. Beneath the anchor, a crown of coral and bone. Allows water-breathing, but slowly transforms the wearer. Previous wearers are still below, waiting.
Example Encounter for a Ship in Blizzard
Roll Results:
d4: 2 – Thunder snow
d6: 2 – Raging tides
d10: 6 – Ship’s bell
d20: 11 – Cabin boy’s ghost
d8: 3 – Temporal echo
d12: 4 – Ship’s true logbook
My Idea for the Encounter:
Timbers groan and the deck lurches. Salt spray mixes with driving snow. Thundering waves make the ship pitch and roll. There, on the howling wind comes snatches of raving, sobbing, or perhaps laughter. A ship in blizzard conditions sent from the abyss itself—what else glides closer from those depths?
The ship gets slammed across the bow by one wave, throwing people to the deck. No sooner do they pick themselves up does another massive wave crashes into the other side of the ship. Through the thunder and howling wind comes the tolling of the ship’s bell; silent for so many years, it now rings four times.
In the captain’s room, a ghostly apparition is furiously cleaning the table of a stain that isn’t there. When the boy looks at you, the pain and panic are plain in his eyes.
“You’re here again. Do you remember this time? Do you know what you must do to escape?”
If the party can locate the true ship’s log, the time loop will shatter. Consequently, the ghost will find peace and the party will be free to move on. Additionally, the party can now travel to the treasure island if they wish.
Tips for Using These Tables
Previously, I wrote some tips on using roll tables here. However, some important things to highlight:
– Don’t automatically awkward results. First, try thinking of ways to combine them before re-rolling. Sometimes, unusual combinations make the best stories because of the surprising links.
– Make the tables your own. Thus, freely change details, add to them, and mix them up. GMs will know what will work best for their own group.
Lastly, a note for the curious. There is actually an indoor variant of Ship in Blizzard (craftily called Ship in Blizzard (Inside) found here). However, this one isn’t available on an album; it’s a perk for MGS’s Patreon subscribers, Opus users, or anyone that buys it directly from the online shop. For GMs wanting an even more immersive soundscape, it might be worth checking out.
By no means is this necessary for the encounter. However, I know there are GMs out there who love to have everything. Incidentally, for anyone on the lookout for snowy encounter and a forest river encounter ideas, feel free to check out the articles, respectively, here and here.
Have a lovely day!
