Getting Your Comrade's Body from the Ocean Floor

[Arkhandus]

I'd suggest using Lesser Planar Ally to call a Large Water Elemental or an Adult Tojanida. Both have a 90 foot swim speed, and can take run actions underwater, so they can move 360 feet per round when going straight. I figure this may be increased by gravity and pressure when descending, and similarly reduced by those factors when ascending, but nonetheless it's better than what a Kraken can do even with its Jet ability. The water elemental will be practically invisible underwater (I don't think it'd be visible except at extremely close range, since all it really is is living water). The tojanida can produce an ink cloud similar to a kraken's, which could obscure the krakens' vision long enough for the tojanida to swim past, snatch up the corpse, and swim back up. It might even go around a little ways after picking up the corpse, then head upwards while the krakens may expect it to try passing through the ink cloud again.

 

[Storyteller01]

Is it just me, but don't human bodies usually float?

Depends on what depth the kraken released the body. Even a gallon milk jug full of air sinks after a given depth is reached.


Another detail to think about: what other critters are in the area? Odds are, if the kraken dropped the body, it'll be picked clean within a few days (if not hours) or will be found and drug to a more imntelligent critters lair (icy cold salt water makes for a great preservative... ).

 

[Storyteller01]

Polymorph into a kraken? Breathes water, can dive to 2000' pretty well, has limbs so it can pick up the corpse, and best of all the other kraken probably won't attack you even if they do see you (unless they are intelligent and magic using kraken).

Charm a kraken to bring the body up with Charm Monster?

Krakens have an Int of 21 and home 'pool' advantage. Depends on how evil the DM is.

 

[Storyteller01]

I know dolphins dont have hands, so you wouldnt be able to carry the drowned PC back up. Just saying that polymorph could be used to take you down there. Then it is up to you to become creature. Think of the Super Twins from the old JLA. =P One becomes a dolphin, the other an octopus. Or you can do like in the cartoon and transform into a Mammooth and a bucket of water. They seemed to solve everything that way.

Sperm whale may be a better choice. Not sure how dolphins hold up to pressure, but the S. whales can go one or two miles on one breathe.

One mile = 5280 feet, so pressure isn't an issue. They have to have some means of sensing underwater, since they hunt at these depths.

 

[lukelightning]

Sperm whale may be a better choice. Not sure how dolphins hold up to pressure, but the S. whales can go one or two miles on one breathe.

One mile = 5280 feet, so pressure isn't an issue. They have to have some means of sensing underwater, since they hunt at these depths.

Regardless, the polymorph spell or wildshape will not give you the ability to hold your breath in whale form, nor the senses of the animal, so you wouldn't be able to see and you'd drown.

 

[Agback]

Odds are, if the kraken dropped the body, it'll be picked clean within a few days (if not hours)

Good point. But if they can just get one little piece of it (and get their cleric's level back within 130 years) they are good for a Resurrection.

One possible approach might be to summon a creature that has eaten part of the body, kill it, retrive a scrap of flesh from its gut,, preserve the same in brandy for a few days. Tomorrow the cleric Restores him/herself. The next day he/she Resurrects his/her fallen comrade.

 

[Agback]

Is it just me, but don't human bodies usually float?

That depends. First of all, on how much weight they are strapped to. Second, on whether the lungs are full of air. Third, on how advanced decomposition is. Fourth, on how deep they are.

A fairly typical course for a person who has had a lungful of water is to sink until decomposition fills the abdomen with bouyant gases, then bob back to the surface. But if the water is deep enough those gases will be compressed by water pressure, and the corpse will not float.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I'd second the suggestion that you first find out if the DM is using damage rules for pressure. I've seen them somewhere (maybe Stormwrack or on the WotC site) and IIRC they're pretty significant - especially at those depths. But I think there were spells in the same source that protected against pressure damage.

 

[fusangite]

Are you sure the ocean has a floor? That might be worth checking before you head down there.

 

[Chimera]

One possible approach might be to summon a creature that has eaten part of the body, kill it, retrive a scrap of flesh from its gut,, preserve the same in brandy for a few days. Tomorrow the cleric Restores him/herself. The next day he/she Resurrects his/her fallen comrade.

Now that might be funny.

Retrieve a few scraps of flesh. Sort out one believed to be the victim. Cast Resurrect on it.

Find you just resurrected a tuna.

Console yourself with a tuna sandwich.