I am planning to relaunch the library Dungeons & Dragons program, but with all the lost time and ongoing uncertainty from COVID, I also plan to start from scratch with a basic scenario that can work as a one-off or become its own thing. So far, I have an outline for discussion with my players and the unimaginative title of...
SURVIVAL ISLAND!
Introduction
Player Characters (PCs) will begin the game on a ship. They may be a combination of passengers and hired crew, or shanghaied captives. The port the party left is irrelevant to this scenario, but could relate to another overarching adventure.
If the party has been shanghaied, they awaken in a dark hold. Players without the sailor background must pass a DC 10 constitution save or suffer 1 hour of seasickness, suffering disadvantage on all skill checks during that time. Possible story hooks include:
- Unscrupulous merchant: the party is ordered to work as sailors, filling gaps in the crew roster from desertion at the last port. Tool proficiencies and backgrounds affect posting. The quartermaster promises meagre pay at the end of the voyage as an incentive, and threatens beatings for any disobedience. PCs are dressed in common clothing, and all other possessions are held somewhere else.
- Pirate: if any party member is of noble background, the motive is ransom. PCs are held in the brig. Coin purses and gear not secured on their person is somewhere else. Did the rogue manage to keep a lockpick?
- Military vessel: There’s a war somewhere, and the PCs are conscripts en route to the war zone. PCs are held below decks and told to keep out of the way of the crew.
Chapter 1: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night
Waves taller than the mast threaten to overwhelm the ship, and the winds tear at what small sails remain aloft for navigating the storm. Water often sweeps across the deck, and anyone topside is tethered to avoid being swept overboard. Heavy rain obscures everything.
As the ship crests a wave, the sky is rent by lightning, and someone sights a large island nearby. The captain shouts, “If we can bring her into the lee, we may weather this storm. Keep a weather eye for rocks and reefs!” As he speaks, the ship impacts something. PCs below decks are soaked in seawater as planking splits and water begins to flow in.
Ask the players whether they wish to take steps to escape or aid in emergency repairs and navigation. If they are captives, this may create a series of challenges. If the party abandons ship, they roll a DC 15 group Constitution save and add their athletics or survival bonus to the roll. Group failure means washing ashore unconscious and separated with 1d6 crates of readily-accessed flotsam.
If players choose to aid the crew, assign each a DC 12 skill check and determine outcome as follows:
0 successes: the ship founders far from shore, and wreckage is scattered across the sea. PCs automatically suffer the same fate as a failed group survival check above.
1 success: the ship struggles closer to shore before foundering. 1d6+6 crates wash ashore and players roll a group Constitution save as above.
2 successes: the ship makes considerable progress before foundering. 1d8+10 crates wash ashore and PCs roll a DC 15 group Constitution save as above but with advantage.
3 or more successes: the ship breaks apart near shore, and PCs are able to reach shore relatively unscathed. They will be able to salvage useful cargo the ship previously held (at DM discretion) in addition to whatever the crates contain.
Chapter 2: Dawn On The Desert Island
The rising sun reveals the players stranded on a desert island. Calmer waters near shore suggest a reef offshore, and wreckage from the ship floats across the water. If the group succeeded three or more times in the survival check, the broken hull of the ship is also grounded on rocks within the barrier reef. At DM discretion, 1d10+3 crew survived, and can act as adversaries, allies, or neutral parties for social challenges.
Crates washed ashore may contain useful tools and supplies. If players did not have their starting equipment, each crate has a chance of containing the starting gear for the entire party. Roll 1d10 + the number of searched crates. On the first result of 10+, Their gear is found. Grant automatic success for the final crate if there were less than 10. Otherwise, choose from the table below or roll another d10.
- Waterlogged and broken, not salvageable.
- 100 lbs. of flour
- 20 yards of canvas sailcloth or 2d6+3 intact wine bottles
- 100 lbs. salt pork
- carpenter’s tools or leatherworker’s tools
- cook’s utensils or smith’s tools
- navigator’s tools and charts or various tools including shovels, hammers, axes, and pickaxes.
- 1d6+3 live chickens
- 50 ration packets or a cask of potable water
- treasure hoard! Roll on the table in the Dungeon Master's Guide on page 137. Will they survive long enough to spend any of it?
Chapter 3: Session Story and Victory Conditions
The island is large, several miles across at least. The first goals for the party will probably be food, water, and shelter. Encourage role-playing and offer survival skill checks. Encourage use of tool proficiencies and reward inspiration points for innovative use of resources.
Set challenges for players to either build a seaworthy craft to escape or construct a new settlement for a long-term stay. If they find navigation tools in a crate or on the ship, they can learn the island is not on any major trade route, or in enemy waters, or otherwise a challenge to escape. The island may also not be as uninhabited as it first appeared... Include a dungeon or two, and perhaps a boss monster to be defeated on land or at sea depending on the goal of settlement or escape.
Alternatively, a dungeon may contain enough to serve as an entire campaign. Use a megadungeon or a series of encounters at various landmarks on whatever map you create as they explore.
For combat roll once per day, or more when PCs explore, on a suitable encounter table. Xanathar's Guide to Everything includes the following.
Coastal: p. 93
Desert: p. 95
Forest: p. 97
Grassland: p. 100
Hill: p. 101
Mountain: p. 104
Swamp: p. 10
Re-roll encounters with hostile humanoids or use them to offer an adventure hook. Did these enemies arrive on another ship? Is it another group of survivors from their own wreck? Are they from a prior shipwreck elsewhere on the island? Is it a pirate crew burying or retrieving treasure? Any number of stories can spin off from this starting point. The island may even be home to a powerful potential benefactor similar to Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island.
If this event goes well, I have a book of encounters to use along with these basic ideas and tables. I designed this to be more open-ended, and hopefully the players take the ideas and run. If you have any suggestions for improvements, comment below!