Ah well, thank you for the complement, and I am confident it will give you many years of undersea adventury goodness. We will have many small (and uber-affordable) supplements to support this setting, as well, so the book will stay nice and fresh.
Ideas for an Underwater Campaign Setting
- Thread starter Benthicus
- Start date
Ah well, thank you for the complement, and I am confident it will give you many years of undersea adventury goodness. We will have many small (and uber-affordable) supplements to support this setting, as well, so the book will stay nice and fresh.
Aeolius
Adventurer
I'm tapped out fund-wise as well, but downloaded Cerulean Seas tonight nonetheless. My first impression is that 1) "drylander" seems to be more universal than I thought and 2) if "The Deep" had used that particular image of a selkie on their cover they'd have sold a few more copies.
So, how do we keep the passion for undersea games alive, with supplements such as this? Facebook groups, message boards, second life sims? All of the above?
Oh, that would be SO GREAT! Honestly, I think if people just had an interesting, well-supported setting, undersea D&D could really catch on, for a little while at least. I haven't read through the setting chapter in Cerulean Seas yet, and it seems pretty skimpy, so more setting supplements would be perfect. I'm not complaining of course, I think the book is still one of the best toolkits for an underwater game that has ever been written (on a par with The Deep, if not better).
I remember reading something about an upcoming supplement on polar oceans and selkies on RPGNet, was that right?
I think just letting people know about the stuff that's out there right now could potentially hook new players. Can anyone write reviews on RPGNet? Or is there some kind of process for setting that up?
There are a couple of great Cerulean Seas supplements on the way for early next year:
1. "Indigo Ice" Which details the legendary Selkie homeland Rekailoch and life under the ice. (new races, new class, complete rules for aquatic artic)
2. "Waves of Thought" which will bring psionics to the Undersea Setting.
3. "Tides and Times" which is a very small supplement that includes a full tide-based fantasy calender complete with holidays, annual celestial and oceanic events, and an astrological system based on the nine elements of the Cerulean Seas setting.
Others coming soon:
Adventure Modules
Waterscape (inner and outer planer manual, credit to Aeolius for the name
)Devonian Deep (deep sea realm full of prehistoric-type water creatures)
Individual Race Manuals
Much More!
I'm drooling. And what I'm really excited about is that these books (from what I can tell) will still be useful as toolkits for people who are still interested in designing their own settings (like me).
Something I'd be interested to see would be a city-book, that details the major factions and personalities in a major underwater metropolis (like Corallis or Dar Elestri).
Something I'd be interested to see would be a city-book, that details the major factions and personalities in a major underwater metropolis (like Corallis or Dar Elestri).
Aeolius
Adventurer
I posted a bit about aquatic “holidays”, migrations, algal blooms, etc, in this thread . As for Waterscape, I game that one some thought over here .
When it comes to undersea psionics, I devised a few beasties like the migraine haddock, limpet minds, and ectoplankton as well as the ephyra .
As Benthicus conjectured earlier in this thread, a prehistoric sea supplement would be absolutely stunning, conjuring images from the likes of Nation Geographic’s Sea Monsters
When I wrote of undersea settings, I tend to think in terms of terrain that is more familiar to the masses. Thus discussing fields of sea grass, brambles of living sea stars, dead coral deserts and urchin barrens, jungles of floating sargassum, and forests of kelp seem a little more accessible. As you mentioned with an arctic supplement, this also leaves open the doorway to countless adventures. Adventures set in polar regions amidst ancient blue icebergs, abyssal depths more expansive than the Mariana Trench, massive coral reefs that would put the Great Barrier Reef to shame, and more.
And then there is matter of unique magics, as I discussed in this thread over at Canonfire. Envision the Nacremancer, harnessing the unique abilities of Plane of Pearl.
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Wow, I've never actually visited your blog before Aeolius, it's pretty sweet. The jellyfish thing is actually really helpful, because I'm thinking about expanding my setting into the Underdeep (the Abyssal zone), and a psionic jellyfish race fits perfectly. I would think that psionics would be more prevalent in deep-sea communities, as the living coral that is essential for storing spells can't survive that deep. I guess I should finish figuring out the more shallows part of the setting, but I can't resist.
Some ideas for core races I had include -
Albino Crabfolk, blind but extremely sensitive and bound spiritually to hydrothermal vents.
Bioluminescent Merfolk, these guys would look weird and semi-translucent, they travel in nomadic tribes, going for weeks without food.
Some Kind of Glowy Fey People, not elves necessarily, but shy, mysterious people with strong powers of telepathy.
Jellyfish Folk, I imagined them being the true masters of psionics in Pelagia, with their own deep-water monasteries and such.
An Odd Race of Scavenging Muck People, all the detritus and decaying bio-matter of the sea floor comes to life somehow in these affable muck-men.
Escaped Slaves of the Aboleth, not Skum necessarily, but odd conglomerations of tentacles, eyeballs and suckers that hunger for freedom and acceptance from the rest of the world.
Most societies are based around vent communities, seamounts, mid-ocean ridges, or the carcasses of colossal sea-beasts. Any place where there is heat, the potential for food, and some kind of natural protection make great settlements. The natural environment is very inhospitable by Shallow standards, but the different races of the Underdeep have adapted nicely. It is the fragility of deep water ecosystems that can make life hard, not to mention the numerous monsters and aberrations that make the Underdeep their home. A game in Pelagia's Underdeep is more about mystery, survival, maybe a little bit of horror as the players stumble across the Ancient Evil Thingies that sleep in the darkness.
Some ideas for core races I had include -
Albino Crabfolk, blind but extremely sensitive and bound spiritually to hydrothermal vents.
Bioluminescent Merfolk, these guys would look weird and semi-translucent, they travel in nomadic tribes, going for weeks without food.
Some Kind of Glowy Fey People, not elves necessarily, but shy, mysterious people with strong powers of telepathy.
Jellyfish Folk, I imagined them being the true masters of psionics in Pelagia, with their own deep-water monasteries and such.
An Odd Race of Scavenging Muck People, all the detritus and decaying bio-matter of the sea floor comes to life somehow in these affable muck-men.
Escaped Slaves of the Aboleth, not Skum necessarily, but odd conglomerations of tentacles, eyeballs and suckers that hunger for freedom and acceptance from the rest of the world.
Most societies are based around vent communities, seamounts, mid-ocean ridges, or the carcasses of colossal sea-beasts. Any place where there is heat, the potential for food, and some kind of natural protection make great settlements. The natural environment is very inhospitable by Shallow standards, but the different races of the Underdeep have adapted nicely. It is the fragility of deep water ecosystems that can make life hard, not to mention the numerous monsters and aberrations that make the Underdeep their home. A game in Pelagia's Underdeep is more about mystery, survival, maybe a little bit of horror as the players stumble across the Ancient Evil Thingies that sleep in the darkness.
I also thought I should mention that I've now successfully worked in all of the new Seafolk and Feykith races into the Sea of Pelagia. The anthromorphs didn't quite fit unfortunately (or they were already there, Crabfolk and Locathah).
The Nommo are proud refugees from the distant Sea of Okouri, driven from their homes by Song Dragons.
The Cindarians live exclusively in the Southern Reach of Pelagia, close to Varuni Reef, a massive city-state that is controlled by the Marid. They fight the invaders to free their homeland and their lost reef.
The Nixies are actually another race of planar immigrants who serve the opposite role of the Tritons. They are wandering vagabonds who are devoted to making change and spreading chaos.
The Viridian Naiads are, like many of these other people, outsiders in Pelagia, hailing from the Sea of Bathyr, beyond the Southern Reach. They serve and worship powerful plant-creatures with god-like powers that rule vast swaths of kelp forest. The Naiads come to Pelagia as ambassadors and explorers.
The Kai-Lios and the Selkies are basically the same, simple clan-based societies, very nomadic.
Cerulean Seas in general has helped me to realize that an underwater setting needs LOTS of diversity. And while I think it's good to have core races with lots of depth and history, players will always want more options, so to that end I've been thinking of some other racial variations based on environment or social standing.
The Nommo are proud refugees from the distant Sea of Okouri, driven from their homes by Song Dragons.
The Cindarians live exclusively in the Southern Reach of Pelagia, close to Varuni Reef, a massive city-state that is controlled by the Marid. They fight the invaders to free their homeland and their lost reef.
The Nixies are actually another race of planar immigrants who serve the opposite role of the Tritons. They are wandering vagabonds who are devoted to making change and spreading chaos.
The Viridian Naiads are, like many of these other people, outsiders in Pelagia, hailing from the Sea of Bathyr, beyond the Southern Reach. They serve and worship powerful plant-creatures with god-like powers that rule vast swaths of kelp forest. The Naiads come to Pelagia as ambassadors and explorers.
The Kai-Lios and the Selkies are basically the same, simple clan-based societies, very nomadic.
Cerulean Seas in general has helped me to realize that an underwater setting needs LOTS of diversity. And while I think it's good to have core races with lots of depth and history, players will always want more options, so to that end I've been thinking of some other racial variations based on environment or social standing.
New review of Cerulean Seas is up on YouTube:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N07BLXWJ_l4]YouTube - Cerulean Seas Gaming Book Review[/ame]
Note: There will be a revised copy of Cerulean Seas available in mid-January that will:
1) Incorporate Pathfinder Bestiary 2
2) Fix minor errata that popped up since its release
3) Address some of the concerns raised in the review above (and future reviews). So keep up the feedback! It will make this book even better.
The revised copy (as well as future revisions) will be available for free for all who downloaded the original product.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N07BLXWJ_l4]YouTube - Cerulean Seas Gaming Book Review[/ame]
Note: There will be a revised copy of Cerulean Seas available in mid-January that will:
1) Incorporate Pathfinder Bestiary 2
2) Fix minor errata that popped up since its release
3) Address some of the concerns raised in the review above (and future reviews). So keep up the feedback! It will make this book even better.
The revised copy (as well as future revisions) will be available for free for all who downloaded the original product.
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