I have been running undersea D&D campaigns since 1998; first with “Beneath the Pinnacles of Azor’alq” (play-by-post) followed by “Heirs of Turucambi” (chat-based). The campaigns draw from my interests in marine biology and my hobby of keeping saltwater aquariums, coupled with my fascination with various mythological creatures such as hags, dragons, and demons. I started my current game 3 years ago. While I have a stable following of devoted players (thank you, folks!), I occasionally get the urge to step back, look at my game from a distance, and reinvent my approach as Master Storyteller for my players.
Good on you, sadly I do this too often and never get anything done!
If your current DM approached you with the idea of starting a new campaign set primarily beneath the surface of the sea, what would be your first reaction? Suppose the “core races” were replaced with the likes of sea elves, locathah, and merfolk (or any race that that has a swim speed and the aquatic subtype). Would that be enough to alienate you?
As long as I could play a squid/octopus man/woman I would be happy. Honestly I love fantastical races even if they're portrayed as "normal", to me, it adds whole new dimensions to the RP experience. What does my character worry about below the belt if not pants and shoes, how does the geometry of swimming(essentially flying) differ from running or walking, ect...
I set my games on Oerth, the world of Greyhawk. Prior knowledge of the campaign setting is not required. I also tend to scale back on the use of dragons, while overpopulating the world with hags. Again, this is simply my personal signature in my games. Is that the killing blow that distances potential players?
To me, a little bit, partially because as above, I do not view hags as such fantastical creatures. They're mythology is based in the mundane of reality, that is, old women who lived in the woods whose husbands were dead. It doesn't excite me very much.
My games tend to be role-play heavy and combat light. Rolling lots of dice tends to break my “willing suspension of disbelief”. Spending hours speaking in character as a room full of NPCs is my bread and butter. Again, I know this does not appeal to everyone.
I agree that too many d20 rolls break suspension of disbelief, but for me, this is mainly for checks. I enjoy combat and I think the fun of 3D undersea combat(since your enemy could attack from above as well as below) would be just too much for me not to want to do it all the time.
I am aware that life underwater has its limitations; typical potions are all but impossible to imbibe, paper scrolls will quickly disintegrate, and typical metal items are subject to corrosion. Many typical spells may not suitable for underwater casting. Treasure may be similarly altered, as many undersea races value rare corals, pearls, and shells far more than coins and gemstones. This is one of my most enjoyable aspects of the game - creation.
If you can reasonably make me believe that my shell-mail is of similar function to scale-mail, then I really don't care. Again, I enjoy the fantastic and despise the literal.
With that in mind, what are your preferences, for such an adventure? What would you expect to see, in an undersea game? What would make the campaign memorable, enjoyable, and enduring? What would make you want to spend years exploring the realm of liquid space?
I would want to explore everything that "normal" races cannot do, such as 3-dimensional combat, the effects of swimming vs walking to locations, "sleep" underwater, the variety of races the sea can produce without going into the alien(ie: outer-planar races often used to expand traditional land races). I admit I'm more combat oriented, and less of RP-oriented, but that's generally because I find most fantasy worlds so
normal
Your ideas sound impressive and very cool, and while I wouldn't play online(simply because I don't enjoy it), I would love to try it in person.
