Caravans¶
Caravans are groups traveling a route between settlements, by land or by water. Wagons or ships, drivers or sailors, guards and cargo bundled into a mobile community. Where Traders sit at their shops and Households live in their homes, Caravans move.
Theme: Merchant Caravan¶
Mercantile caravan. A Caravan Master owns or manages the outfit; Wagon Teams carry the goods; Guards escort. Buys at one settlement and sells at another along a regular Route.
Example names: the Martin Company, the Silver Road, the Long Wheel.
| Scale | Creatures | Features | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village | 1 Caravan Master, 1-2 Wagon Teams, 2 Guards (Military) | Trait: Personality, Route, Specialty, Trouble, Quests, Magic Items | Commerce: Depot |
| Town | 1 Caravan Master, 3-6 Wagon Teams, 1 Clerk (Rulers), 3-5 Guards (Military) | Trait: Personality, Route, Specialty, Trouble, Quests, Magic Items | Commerce: Depot |
| City | 1 Caravan Master, 6-12 Wagon Teams, 2-3 Clerks (Rulers), 6-10 Guards (Military) | Trait: Personality, Route, Specialty, Trouble, Quests, Magic Items | Commerce: Depot |
Theme: Merchant Ship¶
A mercantile ship or small fleet at sea or on a river. Buys at one port and sells at another along a regular Route.
Example names: House Vardan, the Northerly Line, Captain Sten's Fleet.
| Scale | Creatures | Features | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town | 1 Ship Captain, 1 Ship, 1 Clerk (Rulers), 2-4 Guards (Military) | Trait: Personality, Route, Specialty, Trouble, Quests, Magic Items | Commerce: Depot |
| City | 1 Ship Captain, 1-3 Ships, 1-2 Clerks (Rulers), 2-4 Guards (Military) per Ship | Trait: Personality, Route, Specialty, Trouble, Quests, Magic Items | Commerce: Depot |
At city scale, a Ship Captain operating more than one ship is typically a Merchant House; treat as a Noble.
Details¶
Creatures¶
Caravan Master. The trader who owns or manages the caravan. Professional with proficiencies in Insight, Persuasion, land vehicles, and one appropriate tool. In cities, the Caravan Master may be a Noble who runs multiple caravans. Loot: as stat block; signet or seal, ledger of the current run, purse (5d10 gp village, 5d10×10 gp town, 5d10×100 gp city); the caravan's charter and route contract; keys to the Depot.
Clerk. Records and paperwork; assists the Caravan Master or Ship Captain with ledgers, contracts, and customs papers. Professional. Loot: as stat block; ledger, ink, 1d10 gp coin purse.
Ship. The base unit of a water caravan. One vessel with crew. The DM picks the ship type based on the port and route, using the DMG vehicle stat blocks:
- Keelboat - river or short coastal work. 4 Sailors. Small hold, single mast, shallow draft. Fits a river town or a modest coastal port.
- Longship - northern short-haul or specialty coastal. ~20 Sailors. Oar-assisted, can beach, common in cold-water and raider-heritage cultures.
- Sailing ship - the classic deep-water merchantman. ~20 Sailors. Deep hold, two or three masts, the default for a proper port city and any long-haul route.
Sailors are Commoners with proficiency in water vehicles. On a longship or sailing ship, a Bosun (Professional or Veteran) serves as the master under the Captain. Ships tie up at the Depot's wharf or slip between voyages; Sailors sleep aboard or in dockside boarding houses. Loot: cargo keyed to Specialty and scaled by hold (1d100 gp keelboat, 5d100 gp longship, 10d100 gp sailing ship); the crew's kits (1d10 gp collective); the ship itself.
Ship Captain. The trader who owns or captains a merchant vessel. Professional with proficiencies in Insight, Persuasion, water vehicles, and navigator's tools. In cities, may be a Noble running a Merchant House with multiple ships. Loot: as stat block; signet or seal, ledger of the current voyage, purse (5d10x10 gp town, 5d10x100 gp city); the charter and route contract; keys to the Depot; a good coat.
Wagon Team. The base unit of a caravan. One covered wagon, 2 draft animals (draft horses or mules), and 1-2 Teamsters. Teamsters are Commoners. Wagons carry cargo; Teamsters sleep in or under the wagon when the caravan camps; the Wagon Teams follow in a train behind the lead. Loot: cargo (2d100 gp); the Teamster's kit (bedroll, tools, 1d10 gp); the wagon itself; the draft animals.
Features¶
Personality. The caravan's collective character. Roll d6 by theme.
Merchant Caravan:
| 1. Punctual (arrives on schedule; every stop on the route knows when to expect them). | 2. Reckless (risks storms, robbers, and shortcuts; occasionally legendary hauls, occasionally arrives empty). | 3. Diplomatic (courts local Rulers and Faithful; welcomed as a guest, not just a trader). |
| 4. Exclusive (elite clientele, exotic goods, hard to source, high margins). | 5. Struggling (last few runs went badly; short on wagons, guards, or supplies). | 6. Corrupt (partners with smugglers or bandits; safer routes for a cut). |
Merchant Ship:
| 1. Punctual (arrives on schedule; every port on the route knows when to expect them). | 2. Reckless (risks storms, pirates, and shortcuts; occasionally legendary hauls, occasionally arrives empty). | 3. Diplomatic (courts harbor authorities and port Guilds; welcomed as a guest, not just a trader). |
| 4. Exclusive (elite clientele, exotic goods from far ports, high margins). | 5. Struggling (last few voyages went badly; short on hands, guards, or repairs). | 6. Corrupt (partners with pirates or smugglers; safer passage for a cut). |
Route. The caravan's regular circuit. Includes at least two settlements, travel days between each (typically about a week per stage), stopover time at each (2-3 days normally, longer at major markets or holy sites), and seasonality (some routes close in winter, others open only in dry season). Roll d6.
| 1. Short circuit (2-3 nearby settlements; runs every 2-3 weeks). | 2. Regional (5-8 settlements across a region; runs every 2-3 months). | 3. Seasonal (opens spring or summer; over winter the wagons and Teamsters winter over). |
| 4. Dangerous (crosses hostile terrain; premium goods, premium guards, high loss). | 5. Exclusive (long-haul; only a few crews can make the trip; annual or biannual). | 6. Dying (route once great, now thin; the caravan is looking for a new circuit). |
Specialty. What the caravan carries. Roll d6 by theme.
Merchant Caravan:
| 1. Ore and metals (iron, copper, silver, gems). | 2. Grain, salt, and preserved food. | 3. Wool, hide, and cloth. |
| 4. Wine, oil, and spices. | 5. Luxury goods (silks, exotic timber, art). | 6. General (whatever pays best on the route). |
Merchant Ship:
| 1. Fish, salt, and coastal short-haul. | 2. Grain, oil, and preserved goods. | 3. Wool, hide, and cloth. |
| 4. Wine, spices, and perfumed woods. | 5. Luxury goods (silks, exotic timber, art from far ports). | 6. General (whatever pays best in the ports of call). |
Trouble. Roll d6 or choose by theme.
Merchant Caravan:
| 1. A wagon that ran ahead has not returned; scouts are overdue. | 2. A toll baron or tax collector on the route is demanding a new levy. | 3. A rival caravan is racing to reach the market first. |
| 4. A key Teamster or guard is quietly deserting. | 5. A shipment turned out to be contraband; the Caravan Master didn't know when he loaded. | 6. The road ahead is closed by weather, a landslide, or a bandit hold. |
Merchant Ship:
| 1. A storm is on the horizon and the Captain is being pushed to sail anyway. | 2. A crew member has fallen ill with something the ship's cook is calling plague. | 3. A pirate crew is known to be watching the shipping lane ahead. |
| 4. The Captain's charter is up for renewal and a rival port authority is lobbying against. | 5. A prized cargo is short on the manifest; the Captain suspects a mutinous hand aboard. | 6. A hostile port has closed to the ship's flag; an alternate market must be found before the goods spoil. |
Quests. typically offered. Roll or pick, per theme.
Merchant Caravan. Roll a d6.
| d6 | Quest |
|---|---|
| 1 | Escort a shipment through a stretch that has grown dangerous. |
| 2 | Retrieve a shipment robbed on a previous run: bring back the goods or the coin from the raiders' camp. |
| 3 | Investigate what happened to a wagon that never arrived. |
| 4 | Deliver a small parcel ahead of the main caravan to a specific buyer. |
| 5 | Explore a new stretch of road or a rumored shortcut. |
| 6 | Rescue caravan crew taken captive by raiders and return them home. |
Merchant Ship. Roll a d6.
| d6 | Quest |
|---|---|
| 1 | Escort a merchant ship through pirate waters or a hostile blockade. |
| 2 | Retrieve a lost cargo: dive for a wreck, hunt the pirates who took it, or buy it back from a rival port. |
| 3 | Investigate a ship that never made port. |
| 4 | Assault a pirate or rival vessel at sea: board her, take her, or send her to the bottom. |
| 5 | Explore uncharted waters or a rumored isle: chart the passage, find the wreck, take the map back to the harbor master. |
| 6 | Rescue sailors held for ransom by pirates or shipwrecked on a hostile coast. |
Magic Items. Roll d6: on a 1-3, none; on a 4-5, one item; on a 6, two items. For each item, roll another d6 for the source: on 1-3, roll on Magic Item Table A; on 4-5, Table B; on 6, Table C.
Locations¶
Depot. The caravan's home base at the settlement where its route starts and ends. Located in the caravan's home commercial district (Trade, Craft, Mining, Logging, Fishing). For a land caravan, a warehouse for goods, a barn or paddock for the draft animals, a small office for the Caravan Master and Clerks, and sleeping quarters for Teamsters. For a water caravan, a wharf-side or riverside warehouse, a mooring, slip, or berth sized to the ship type, and shore quarters for Sailors between voyages. Loot: goods in the warehouse keyed to the Specialty; the Master's or Captain's strongbox (5d10 gp for a small village depot, 5d10x10 gp town, 5d10x100 gp city); records of the caravan's routes and clients; the draft animals in the barn or the ship at the wharf.