Underwater dwellers and pressure damage

[Aeolius]

These rules concerning "pressure damage" are ludicrous at best.

So is the notion of pretending to be a sea elf, for that matter.

Adding varying tiers, such as shallows, median waters, and depths, adds flavor to my undersea campaign. Some creatures are more comfortable in the darkness of the depths, while others prefer the sunlit shallows. At least in my campaign, which centers around two hundred massive towers that stretch from the ocean floor and ascend a thousand feet above the waves, this allows for a more heavily populated ocean. A community of sea elves might be living on the same spire as a gathering of morkoth - separated by a distance of two hundred fathoms.

 

[green slime]

So is the notion of pretending to be a sea elf, for that matter.

Adding varying tiers, such as shallows, median waters, and depths, adds flavor to my undersea campaign. Some creatures are more comfortable in the darkness of the depths, while others prefer the sunlit shallows. At least in my campaign, which centers around two hundred massive towers that stretch from the ocean floor and ascend a thousand feet above the waves, this allows for a more heavily populated ocean. A community of sea elves might be living on the same spire as a gathering of morkoth - separated by a distance of two hundred fathoms.

I meant no ill about your campaign, I was talking about the idea in general. Even without pressure you can quite easily accomodate various liveforms living at a variety of depths: Adaptation to light, different food sources, salination variation, tidal flows that vary in strength and direction over depth, and being able to cope with the chilling cold found at great depth. Mix these factors together and you have enough to explain the layering of habitats.

 

[Aeolius]

No offense taken. As a marine aquarist, I know there are several deepwater corals and fish that I can keep safely in an aquarium, as they have been acclimated over time to reduced water pressure. Still I can't help but envision "Poor great uncle Gunkygills, who swam up towards the light and burst like a blowfish."