Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tovec" data-source="post: 6228636" data-attributes="member: 95493">With greater reliance on coral and bone, I think I remember seeing something like this ... was it in one of the campaign guides? I think there is definitely room for more of an (deep) undersea civilization dwelling merfolk. I however also think that the article got it not terribly far from the mark either. Having an undersea society wouldn't be impossible. But it would be hard to have one that air breathers could understand. No libraries, but some form of magic likely exists anyway, just in a different form, stuff like that. No fires which means steel is impossible to produce, but they can still use coral and grow it to GREAT effect - which was already eluded to. They likely have little use for a centralized city, farming doesn't work as well as fishing/nomadic lifestyle in the wide oceans and it is hard to set up stalls for a more traditional trade-city even. Also, if they are deep-sea dwellers then there is less reasons for interactions with those above the waves - which means less use in adventuring. And I like the idea of them trading for goods from the surface - how traditional magical weapons and maybe spells would be prized. But dealing with such people is dangerous too - they want to capture you and use you for their own goals; perhaps spell components or maybe even just as a rare prize.Agreed. But for the record, I kind of want them to revisit ogres - or just in some way give me the tools to get a good grasp on them and a few other "big dumb brutes". All I really know is that they are big dumb brutes but nothing else. I'm not looking for shakespeare or a society of any kind but just some more general notes for an ecology would be nice. The same goes for Merrow. Like I said, they're twisted ogres - how does that help us? How are they any different from any other larger (than me) aquatic creature - or really any aquatic creature at all. It still wants to eat me or drown me. How does knowing they were altered by Marid's wishes help in adventure building? Is it some kind of key weakness? One that they share with ogres? If so that seems more like a setting thing. Having merrow be affected by ogre-bane weapons is great but hardly the end all of usefulness.I missed this the first time though (before my first post on this thread) but yes. I think this is key. I do agree that they are the terrible abominations of the deep. I don't mind them also having delusions of warlordism (I said warlordship last time and I feel like there should be a term for this but my spellcheck likes neither) but I think it is key to go back to, "no dealing with them," like how you can't deal with a tarrasque. And less, "they'll betray you," of dealing with a dragon. Although, that said (and as I did last time), I think there is definitely room for supernatural powers. I think that being able to control storms and fish and generally give sailing vessels a bad time - outside of just tearing the boat apart with their bare tentacles, is an interesting take. I'm just curious HOW they plan on doing it and how they make sure NOT to turn it into spellcasting kracken (3e dragons I'm looking at you), and more of warping the sea around them kracken (actually kind of looking at you 5e dragons.. sort of).</blockquote>

Verification