The deck of a wrecked ship is likely in a serious state of disarray and chaos.

1. Rigging whips through the air, snapping in the wind and striking out at the characters. Unwary explorers may be hit by a swinging pulley or entangled in the many lengths of rope and nets.

2. A mast has snapped and collapsed onto the deck creating a tangled web of sails and rigging. Explorers traversing the mess may fall into the unsteady pile and be injured by the splintered bits of hull or fall through it all into the hold below.

3. Water that has splashed over the ship’s side pools at one end of the slanted deck. Silt, sand and debris fill the pool which may conceal an aquatic creature washed on board by the surging waters.

4. Cargo and splintered timbers have washed into a pile against the ship’s rail. Beneath the detritus lie the remains of two of the crew. (Maybe one is an important person, such as the quartermaster, who holds useful keys to the hold and various cabins below decks).

5. The wreck has split in two. The splintered parts have come to rest a short distance from each other. A tangled mess of rigging and splinters of shattered wood connect the two. One part of the wreck may be stable, stuck on rocks, while the other still floats in the turgid waters.

6. The ship lurches suddenly to one side throwing explorers about. This could happen due to sudden swells of water striking the wreck or the resting ship shifting on its precarious perch. The threat of the ship sinking further may add a sense of urgency and a time limit to the characters’ exploration.

7. One side of the hull was torn apart leaving open cabins exposed over several decks. Adventurers could climb down the open sides to reach the ship’s interior. The area may contain signs of creatures attacking the ship or the crew fleeing through the newly created holes.

8. A splintered fallen section of the main mast has pinned a crew member to the deck in a bloody mess. The blood-covered mast descends through all the decks and punctures the hull where blood leaks out into the surrounding water. The crew member could still be alive leaving the rescuers with a difficult decision to make.

9. Surges of water surging over the side may knock the characters over and wash unsteady explorers towards the open hatch of the slowly filling hold. The weight of the water filling the cabins speeds up the descent of the ship into its watery grave. Closing the hatches slows this process.

10. Trunks and crates thrown around by the impact of the crash and the steadily swelling waves smash into the explorers or surges through hatches and doorways hindering further exploration. More cargo is tied down around the ship but this may break free due to the repeated impact of the sea striking the wreck

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The material in this article appears in 20 Things #48: Wrecked Ship by Rikh Hart and Steve Hood.

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