|
| Rampant Speculation for Next Design |
« View previous topic :: View next topic » |
| Choose your favorite for the next Open Design! |
| Angels of Our Better Nature |
|
21% |
[ 28 ] |
| Court of the Shadow Fey |
|
12% |
[ 17 ] |
| Kobold Bestiary |
|
12% |
[ 16 ] |
| Lost Lords of Arbonesse |
|
38% |
[ 51 ] |
| Slaves of the Red Goddess |
|
14% |
[ 19 ] |
|
| Total Votes : 131 |
|
| Author |
Message
|
| Aeolius |
 Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
Patron
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
Posts: 53
Location: NC
|
| Wolfgang wrote: |
| I tried to do a little more for aquatic adventuring for Sinister Adventures, with the Indulgence called Death Beneath the Waves. But there's a lot more that could be done with it. |
Now that I've had a chance to peruse the Indulgence in question, I agree; there's a lot more that could be done with it. Granted, I've been devising undersea encounters and beasties since 1998, when I started "Beneath the Pinnacles of Azor'alq".
I did take issue with one issue, though, the notion that, without the challenge of managing undersea magics, liquid space is “just another type of scenery”. I realize this was expressed with the understanding that typical undersea adventures are made by air-breathing core races invading subaqueous realms. In that light, Wolfgang’s following statement “Underwater is a hostile terrain...” is particularly applicable.
One reason I set my current campaigns beneath the surface of the sea is the sense of wonder that ensues, when players are removed from traditional dungeons and the creatures which inhabit them.
Spells, most notably fire-based spells, become either useless or altered in result. Characters must cope with movement and combat in a realm of liquid space; foes may approach from above and below. Players may find themselves unable to traverse the darkest depths without adaptive magics, just as they may be thankful that other creatures may not follow them into the shallows.
Terrains may seem both familiar and foreign; fields of sea grass, living sea star brambles, deserts of sea urchin barrens, forests of mangrove roots or jungles of kelp host a multitude of creatures benign and hostile. The majesty of hydrothermal vents and the mystery of cold seeps, undersea lakes of heavily-salted water, lure undersea races into terrain as hostile as any encountered by the drylanders above. Unpredictable shifting currents, the deadly effects of red tide or “dead water”, swarms of venomous jellyfish, and the occasional maelstrom serve to keep characters on their guard.
I begin with the stipulation that characters must have a natural swim speed and be able to breathe underwater without the use of magic, with the goal of preventing players from taking the "core race with water breathing magics" approach. There are a host of options to explore, from the traditional sea elf, locathah, or merfolk to the less common awakened fish, tauric octofolk, or emancipated sea ghoul.
The result, with luck, is both strange and inviting, foreign yet familiar, enticing but terrifying. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|
|
