Nautical Horizons (PDF)

“Two weeks later, you arrive.” I wanted more from the sea than that.

Nautical Horizons is a practical guide to building and running fantasy adventures at sea. Learn how the ship works, give the party a part in the voyage, and spend some time with the people they'll be living beside for the next several weeks.

Get to know the ship

The ship has many parts that are unfamiliar to landlubbers. What does this rope do? How does the ship move against the wind? Where does everyone sleep? Get to know the ship through the work the characters do aboard her.

What ship will you use in your campaign? This book has 16 different boats and ships to choose from, each with starting values for size, crew and cargo. A small crew means the characters have to do a lot of the work themselves. A large ship is a small community, with all sorts of people the characters haven't met yet.

Decks, cabins, sails, navigation, gear. Learn the ins and outs of the ship so you know where the characters are when something happens, and what they can reach from where they are.

Make the ship the characters' own. Repair and improve her at the shipyard or with magic. Follow the example of Nameless, a ship with the soul of a dragon and an elemental living in her boiler.

Build the water around the ship. Currents and tricky coasts, charts that leave things out and ports where the tide determines when the characters can leave.

There is plenty of room for pirates and sea monsters, but also for the sailor who teaches a character his first job, the cargo that somebody invested all their savings in and the argument that isn't over when everybody leaves the tavern. In four hours, you'll be on watch with the person you're angry at.

Give everyone a job aboard

The Watch Bill turns the work of the crew into part of the adventure. Players take stations, swap duties, and work to get the ship to its destination. Navigation brings them closer to port, while neglected repairs stick with them. Cooking counts, as does keeping the exhausted crew in good spirits.

Keep track of the ship, the crew, and progress on a voyage. Use skills from your game of choice, with sample starting values for d20 play included. Play a scene in a stretch of travel, handle what happens along the way, then move on to the next one when the familiar work doesn't warrant a scene anymore.

And in between those scenes, there's life on board. Meals, hobbies, beliefs, pay, who gets to give orders. A good cook might be beloved by the crew before ever drawing a weapon. After a couple of voyages, returning to the ship starts to feel like coming home.

Two d100 tables provide 200 sea events for mundane and supernatural waters. Some events are immediate trouble to deal with; others are simply left for the players to wonder at. There are events worth veering off-course for, things to bring on board, and dangers that make the crew question their course.

Across the rail and below the surface

Run a sea battle through the people fighting it. What does the gunner want to do to get a clear shot? How does the mage plan to get on board the other ship?

The book walks you through all the steps of a battle at sea: pursuit, cannon fire, boarding, magic, and dealing with the damage once the fight's done. It also offers an optional Hull system for how much punishment a ship can take, including rules for flooding and emergency repairs when the vessel starts taking water. If you prefer, you can also use your own game's ship hit points instead. There's material for blockades and privateering, too, with details on the business of selling a captured ship.

For adventures below the surface, you'll find advice on running wrecks and inhabited locations, how to flip a familiar deck plan on its side and figure out a way through, and how to use a visible air countdown as the party tries to decide how much longer to stay. Later chapters also include advice on running storms at sea, mysterious omens, marine life, and what happens after the party loses their ship.

A stretch of sea to start with

The Reach is a region for you to get started with: a working port, a paid cargo job, trouble waiting at the quay already, and an example crossing through the Watch Bill. What's the party going to do when their delivery run is over?

Two pages of sailors' commands and expressions give you words for the crew on the job and ashore, from "Stand by" to "Gentlemen of fortune". Whether you're looking for a guide to running a sea campaign or just want to flip to the section you need for the next crossing, you'll find something here. And if you're a writer or worldbuilder, the ship reference, the material on coastal trade, and the section on daily life at sea will give you plenty to work with.