d100 - “Bottle Episodes" - Seafaring Scenes & Situations

Long Journeys by Sea often differ from other types of Travel. Outside of Weather Changes, and the occasional Random Encounter, there is often very little to decorate them when compared to their Wilderness Exploration counterparts. The distances are vast, and often “empty” in the sense that there are few landmarks, features, or points of interest present.

To address this in my Wave Crawls, I often introduce “Bottle Episodes.” These are usually Shipbound Situations that develop among the Crew or on the Vessel itself and serve as a way to interject some vignettes that often can lead to Decisions and Choices for the Players. Occasionally they can lead in interesting directions or consume a portion of Play to resolve. Similar things often work well for Space Travel as well.

Here are a hundred ideas for these kinds of Nautical Events, tailored a bit to the typical “Sailing Ship” but I’m sure they can be whittled to fit other vessels without too much work.