Pirates are a different, but fun way to explore the world and mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons, especially because most adventures are land-locked. However, because pirates tend to stick on the ocean, it limits what you can do and threatens to cause disinterest if the game isn’t kept interesting and lively.
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It’s a thin line for Dungeon Masters to walk if they want to keep things interesting but still uniquely oceanic. However, the ocean’s murky waters hold far more secrets than it lets on and offers plenty of intrigue on its own if you utilize it right and have a good story.
9Flesh Out Port Cities
Be honest, in a pirate themed campaign there is going to be a very slim chance that you will venture beyond the ports and if you do, you betterbe prepared to improvise as a Dungeon Master. However, if there is one thing you want to make sure you have fleshed out thoroughly it’s the port cities, because your players are going to be visiting a lot of them.
Mark off whether these port cities would be adverse or friendly to pirates and how that would affect trying to dock. Are these port cities even aware that your party’s ship is composed of pirates or is there a way they can hide that fact? Regardless of the answer, It’s good to keep in mind.
8Plan Your Pirate Ship
This is where the main part of your campaign will take place, so it’s good to have it completely planned out. Or at least, almost completely.
You should still leave room for your players to customize the ship to their desires and build on top of that, whether that means that they change the sail and the image on it, the name of the ship, or add in several more canons than they actually need to sail the high seas.
Nonetheless, it would be worth tucking in hidden rooms and areas that your players can gradually uncover as they sail. Perhaps there is more to this ship than meets the eye, which will add additional intrigue to the same setting every day.
7Rations Actually Matter Here
When your players are adventuring on the land you might be able to get away without keeping track of rations, but here you will not meet the same fate. Rations are few and far between on the high seas, and you will regularly need to stop to refill them because what they purchase won’t last forever.
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It’s also important to keep in mind the weight of those rations because they will more than likely be buying their rations in bulk, and you can’t really shove a barrel full of dried food into a bag of holding.
6Every Day Is Travel Day
When every day is a travel day on the great blue seas you need tobe careful that your players aren’t becoming disinterested, so you should be aware of how to keep them engaged. One way to do this is to have a random encounter sheet where something new happens regularly.
This could be running into a merchant ship, a pirate ship, ocean creatures (whether good or evil), or simply a change in the weather. Perhaps something happens onboard with the other crew members that they need to take care of.
Whatever it is it doesn’t always need to result in a battle, and you can get creative with how you spice up your days.
5Be Aware Of Where You Are In The Ocean
Keep an eye on where your players are in the ocean because certain things just won’t happen when you’re not in the right spot. For example, a Kraken isn’t going to show up in the ocean isn’t super deep because there won’t be enough room for it to exist comfortably.
The closer you are to a port the more likely you and your party are going to be to run into merchant ships, however, it could end up being a military ship, especially if that port is close to an important city. Storms are going to be more bearable if they can pull into port quickly, but they’re going to be horrid if they’re in the middle of the sea.
4Have An End Goal In Sight
Now, a pirate-themed campaign probably wouldn’t work very well fora long-term storylineunless your players end up on the land at some point or turn out to be cosmic pirates. As such, you should keep in mind an end goal for this campaign, whether that be searching for treasure, defeating the legendary Kraken, awakening an eldritch beast from the depths of the seas, or anything else.
Guiding your players to this ending should be exceptionally easy considering that there’s only so far that they can go because they can’t explore all the mysteries of the continent. Whether they pick up their clues from ports or from a shipwreck they sail upon is totally up to you.
3Consider Shipwrecking Them
Yes, shipwrecking does sound significantly contradictory to a pirate campaign, but it adds something new to what would otherwise just be a lot of travel days. It forces your party into a new situation where they can either adapt and discover the secrets of an island and whatever treasure it holds.
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Or, they can build a raft and escape or wait for someone else to arrive. Whatever path they take it adds a way for your players to engage with something new and helps to shake things up a little bit more.
2Pirate Haven
As pirates, you probably won’t be warmly welcomed into most ports, so having somewhere players can go and lie low and feel like they’re not on the verge of arrest is important. Build your players a pirate haven.
This can be a land of debauchery and crime that is, shockingly, safer than most ports because there’s a strict rule that everybody keeps in check lest they be banished from the only safe place for them. Here your players can pick up missions or jobs, do detective work, uncover secrets, and maybe end up ruling if they play their cards right.
1Plane Shifting
Play into the fantasy aspect of Dungeons & Dragons more strongly by plane shifting. Perhaps your players accidentally move through a tear in the planes on the ocean or they have a way to purposefully transport their ship.
Regardless of what it is, letting them traverse the different planes can give them a new experience in different sessions, helping to generate intrigue and interest. Perhaps they’re tracking down an inter-planar treasure or trying to seal a cosmic beast that threatens to destroy the divisions between every plane of existence.
