Sean Does Games

Random Plot Generator Before COVID, shelter in place, and masks were household topics, I ran one-shot Dungeons and Dragons  adventures at my local comic book stores and for Time2Tabletop events. A one-shot, in case you haven't heard the term before, is a full story/adventure that can be completed in a single session of a few hours. Sometimes I show up to these events fully prepared. Other times, I end up running a game on the fly, either because no one else can or because I simply didn't prepare ahead of time. Luckily, many of these one-shots include players who have never picked up dice before let alone played Dungeons and Dragons , so while the players are creating their characters and I'm explaining the rules, I'm also working out the plot in my meat thinker. There are times when I am particularly inspired and the ideas flow. Other times, I struggle to find even a seed of an idea upon which to rest the session. It's at those dry times when I wished I had a cheat ...

In Session 12 of my Dungeons and Dragons home-brew campaign Skyfell the player characters acquired an airship. I've already written up quite a few rules regarding airships and the nature of air travel in Skyfell (see my Airships post ). That was good enough to explain a bit about ships for earlier sessions. I'm assuming, however, that the characters will be sailing the open skies more frequently now. That's the sort of freedom owning an airship grants. There is, of course, a potential for encountering new locales and new creatures as they travel. So, I put together this set of rules for random encounters in the Open Skies. Like all the material regarding Skyfell on this blog, I've posted this for my players. These rules will likely change as we use them in the campaign. That said, feel free to use and adapt for your own campaign. Also, if you’re interested, I have assembled a couple playlists of session music specifically for sailing the open skies. There is one su...