>>52870955

1) Encounters should only be used at regularly timed intervals, such that the risk of an encounter represents a resource the group has to manage (in the same way they have to manage resources like spell slots, rations, clean water etc.)

2) Have some stuff which hints at the succubus before your planned reveal, such that player intrusion can possibly start the investigation earlier. Your players will appreciate the agency and fair handedness.

A Kraken

Have them every once in a while gam with another ship a la Moby Dick. Every once in a while they see another friendly (or unfriendly) vessel and they just sort of meet the crew. Always fun for a little variety. Maybe somebody from the other ship wants to stow away on yours. Maybe conditions on the other ship seem better so the PCs want to leave. Maybe the captain of your ship is an asshole and starts a fight. Maybe the other ship offers a dire warning about seas ahead which be unnatural rough.

Are the PCs piloting the ship themselves? They will have to make navigational skill checks to remain on course. Random doldrums can slow or stop progress, and storms will have to be avoided or risk damage to the ship. Too many delays or detours and the ship runs short of water and supplies. If the players spot an island, they will have to choose whether it's worth the time to investigate, since other hazards might be lurking and there might not even fresh water there.

I would suggest that random tables and ration tracking are more necessary for a nautical voyage than most other adventures, since survival most often comes down to luck and how far the players want to push it.

>>52870955

Protip: Not every sea voyage needs to involve a life-and-death struggle with storms, sea monsters, or pirates. If 50% of voyages involved a ship being sunk, then oceangoing ships wouldn't exist. Even a 5% chance would be more than enough to make sailing prohibitive.

Onboard intrigue (even without demons and killings) could be good enough.

It's also perfectly legitimate to say "Six weeks later you arrive in port."

In a narrative game, you can always go around the table asking each player what their most memorable experience during the voyage was, and then jump right into the current session.

They rescue a sailor stranded on wreckage. Before they die they pass on a map to the Isle of Dread. Run X1: The Isle of Dread if they follow the map.

>>52875522
>>52875824
to be fair though, this heavily depends

if the players were really exited at the prospect of starting on a ship it's just common decency to at least let them brawl with a bunch of pirates and slay a sea monster or oversized whale

if not then its okay to just have them arrive in the port

>>52875871

Of course, fighting pirates or whatever is fun. It just shouldn't be predictable or even remotely routine.

Idear:

If the ship is large enough to allow it: Passengers and crew (including possibly the players) have been having their possessions disappear, and nobody can find them.
-Initially, the crew and passengers blame some unpopular culprit onboard. The evidence, however, seems to indicate someone else.
-If the players chose to investigate (and succeed in their investigations) they will realize that this apparent culprit is not the thief.
-The actual "culprit" is less obvious, very likely bizarre, and will require more difficult investigations. (
-They will need to convince the crew and other passengers to not throw either of these two main suspects overboard. (if successful, EXP's)
-If they can discover the actual cause, PHAT EXP's.