Tooling around in a ship

[azato]

For our upcoming game I came up with this randomy thing....what are your thoughts?

I am thinking that after they roll 3d6 they follow up with a 1/2d6 to determine how many days that roll is good for.


Random Maritime Weather

3 - Pelor smiles upon you - Perfect weather complete - trip (in one direction) is completed in 80% of the normal amount of time. No further rolls needed.
4 - Favorable Winds - Ship moves 50% faster
5 - Favorable winds - Ship moves 25% faster (50% if make piloting)
6 - Rain with favorable winds
7 - Normal
8 - Normal
9 - Normal
10 - Normal
11 - Normal
12 - Normal
13 - No Wind - no movement for sailing ships
14 - Storm - Roll pilot -2 to keep from either (being blown horribly off course or ran aground). Can be mitigated with anchor
15 - Storm - Roll pilot -2 to keep from either (being blown horribly off course or ran aground)
16 - Bad storm - Roll pilot skill to keep ship from being sunk. If successful roll pilot -2 to keep from either (being blown horribly off course or ran aground)
17 - Terrible Storm - Roll pilot skill at -2 to keep ship from being sunk. If successful roll pilot -4 to keep from either (being blown horribly off course or ran aground)
18 - Hurricane or Cyclone - Catastrophic loss. The ship is destroyed. Each member of the crew makes a roll vs Dex to survive the storm.

[Nolgroth]

Interesting. I tend to go for a more narrative style of play, but this could help me before the voyage begins.

[Ian Mackinder]

Personally, I'm VERY leery of any random table that could kill partymembers on the basis of a single failed save (refer results for '18' - there is always gonna be somebody).

I would also suggest allowing for minor modifications of the rolls. For example, somebody with an acute weather sense might have a chance to bias the result so their ship skirts around the edge of a storm rather than ending up in the middle of it. Someone who "knows these waters well" might also have a chance. Someone with a curse or severe case of Unluck would bias results the other way. And so on.

Location and season should also be a significant factor. Some areas may be notorious for prolonged calms ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_latitudes ), others for bad weather at certain times of year ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane ) , and still others might be preferred sea-routes ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_route ).

[Escafarc]

I'm not a big fan of the whole random thing in general. I would pick the weather to fit the adventure. Though I did once created a monstosity(in all ways) of a dungeon using the random dungeon tables in the back of the 1E DMG.

[azato]

The rolls are not hard unchangable. I was looking for something that would be simple and pehaps add some flavor to a otherwise boring...you arrive.

I also thought about exploding dice for prolonged...perhaps if a 6 is rolled you add another dice...and if is 6 is rolled add yet another dice.

[azato]

I'm not a big fan of the whole random thing in general. I would pick the weather to fit the adventure. Though I did once created a monstosity(in all ways) of a dungeon using the random dungeon tables in the back of the 1E DMG.

This is just for flavor. Also I have a hard time just taking their ship away from them. There is risk in being naval merchant and it needs to be taken into account somehow. Now the dice can do the hard part. Plus it could make for a quick random change of pace (you are lost or are wrecked on a island.

[dmjalund]

making something random, makes bad things happening to the PCs seem less personal