Underwater D&D

[Zolkabro]

I've played D&D quite a lot, but I've never done, or helped, with a homebrew. But now I've had so much fun helping Omegonthesane with his homebrew, http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119533, that I've decided to make my own.

Every setting of D&D has been on land. It's always in the place that humans find themselves most familiar. So I've decided to make a homebrew set underwater. I've got some of the gods and some of the races in mind, but everything is still incomplete. So any ideas will be welcomed.

[Serpentine]

I made an underwater city. Some things to think about:
How is building different where up-down travel is about as easy as left-right and forward-back?
What happens to waste?
What's eaten? Is anything cooked? If so, how?
What are building materials are used?
Is there any interaction with land creatures? If so, how? Does land have any influence on the underwater economy?

[AstralFire]

Is this a setting in water, or with airtight cities underwater?

[ninja_penguin]

If this is D&D 3.5, you may want to take a look at Stormwrack, it's an ocean-based book, and may have a few random things inside of it that could help you.

[Jair Barik]

Page 244 of the Dracomnicom has a diagram of a Gold dragons underwater lair. Depending on the style you want to go for I'd check it out. Its Air tight underwater as opposed to exposed.

You may also want to check out the stuff about underwater Aboleth cities found in Lords of Madness

[Zolkabro]

I have answers to your questions, Serpentine.

Building is still on the seabed, upright like our buildings. However the architects have more freedom, for instance an entrance could lead to a tiny ground floor, which could widen out to the width of house on the next floor, and the house would still support it's weight perfectly.

Waste biodegrades naturally in the water

Underwater plants are eaten. There is no need to cook with flames. Or I could make a cooking skill in druid's abilities, and then a prestige class specialising in cooking.

Rock and coral are used for houses.

The world on land is completely unknown.

There are no humans in this setting, AstralFire. All races are aquatic creatures that breathe underwater. There are no airtight bubbles or anything like that.

How would I get hold of Stormwrack?

Are you sure it's page 244? All I can find there is Tiamat.

Gods

Here are the gods, so far. When I think of more I will edit this post to include them.

Raphite
Raphite is the god of coral. His territory is the Reef Sea, a sea where everything is made of coral. All his worshippers are utterly devoted to him, for he uses his unique powers to help them, no matter what their alignment is. These unique powers shape rock and water. Most of the gods have control over water, but Raphite can shape water however he wants, turn water to stone, and stone to water. All of his followers have protection from harm, for their very few forces that can break through solid rock. Raphite is a a conciousness pulsing inside coral, he has no body.
True Neutral Diety. Domains: Coral, rock, water, protection.

Aksékhasdos
Aquatic beings are gifted with racial memories due to what? It is a question Land creatures have often puzzled over. Few know that it is all due to the kindness of Aksékhasdos, god of memories. He is the oldest of the gods, he sees all, he remembers all. And worthy beings are granted this extraordinary ability, so that they can learn the lessons their ancestors learnt, and become the wisest of fishes. His power is such that he has followers in every region of the oceans. Aksékhasdos takes the form of an enormous turtle.
Lawful Good Overdiety. Domains: Mind, wisdom, memories, knowledge.

Aemorkrust
Aemorkrust is one of several Evil gods, but none strike fear into the heart like he does. He is the god of the hunt, but he does not care any mortal being. He regards them as prey waiting to be hunted, as a foxhunter would regard a fox. He does not hunt because he needs the meat to live on, but for the enjoyment. His favourite part is when he has his prey cornered, when he can hear it's heart, beating in terror, when he can smell it's fear. And he loves the bloodlust it gives him. Aemorkrust takes the form of of a black and silver shark, with eight crocodile legs.
Lawful Evil Diety. Domains: Blood, fear, hunting.

Plocamix
Plocamix is the god of chaos, for that is all he is himself. He has no care for anything, he just wants to have fun. He is like a spoilt child. He does not torment or annoy others out of spite, but simply to give amuesment. He is like a toddler, who has not yet learnt right from wrong, but just wants to enjoy himself. His domain is a land of toys, it is like a child's toybox, only extradimensional, to provide Plocamix with fun. He takes the form of a ball the size of a man's head, with thousands of tentacles coming out.
Chaotic Neutral Diety. Domains: fun, madness, chaos.

Kraken
Nobody has seen the Kraken's entire form and lived to tell the tale, but from the accounts of distant sightings people have managed to put together a probable account of the Kraken. Covered in green-blue iridescent scales, the Kraken is a huge sea serpent, with tentacles coming out of it's tail, and dozens of heads at the other end. The tentacles have suckers so powerful they can suck a creatures head off. Some say the Kraken has tentacles dotted all over it's body, but this is disputed and nobody really knows for sure.
Chaotic Evil Diety.

Kragani
Malicous god of bad weather, who delights in rustling up the fiercest tempests to cause chaos. He has power over every aspect of the weather tha makes things difficult. With a wave of his hand he can cause turmoil in the deep, as he creates gales, thunder, lightning, and rain. He rarely manifests, but when he does you will always know, for everything goes dark, and then a lightning strike will appear under water where he is, and stay there, crackling with thunder. Because of this blinding lightning nobody knows his true form except his Neutral Good twin, Nragaki.
Neutral Evil Diety. Domains: Storms, lightning, rain, wind.

Nragaki
Kind god of good weather, who delights in making beautiful sunny days. He has power over every aspect of the weather that people enjoy. With a wave of his hand he can cause laughter in the deep, as he creates sunshine, a pleasent breeze, and lights up the oceans. He rarely manifests, but when he does you will always know for everything goes dark, and then a shaft of light will appear underwater where he is. Because of this blinding sunlight nobody knows his true form except his Neutral Evil twin, Kragani.
Neutral Good Diety. Domains: Light, the sun, wind


I will do the races as soon as possible.

[Limos]

Well for races I would recommend Kuo-toa and Sahuagin for your basic adversaries. The orcs of the sea as it were.

A form of aquatic Illithids would also be quite successful. I've been kicking around ideas for a race somewhat similar to a Halfling Illithid that is based on the Cuttlefish rather than the Octopus.

Cuttlefish have a natural ability to change the color and texture of their skin, so a race based on them would have some sort of racial blending power. They also have W shaped pupils, which I find hilarious.

Anyway a true Octopi Illithid race (As in not an abberation brain eater) could take the role of the intellectual that the elf usually covers. My cuttlefish guys for the quick sneaky race. Merlfolk can come in somewhere too I guess.


I guess if you want to get all lame you could put in some of those... sea elves... but in all seriousness. If you want to make an undersea setting I would just stick with actual aquatic races rather than transferring a bunch of land races into the setting and slapping the word Sea on the front.


What system are you planning to use? I've done a bit of homebrew in 4e, so if you are using that I could help.

[imp_fireball]

I made an underwater city. Some things to think about:
1. How is building different where up-down travel is about as easy as left-right and forward-back?
2. What happens to waste?
3. What's eaten? Is anything cooked? If so, how?
4. What are building materials are used?
5. Is there any interaction with land creatures? If so, how? Does land have any influence on the underwater economy?

1. Cheaper labor?

2. Pipe networks. There's still gravity after all. Otherwise it's dumped into crevasses that are dug, just like the middle ages on land.

3. Probably magically. Or there might be a whole culture revolving around the consumption of raw food. A superior water dwelling race may have a lot of natural immunities and is (of course) sapient.

4. Most likely coral (the economical equivalent of wood on land) or metal (just like land... mining operations can still take place). Chemical mixtures and production are contained in isolated spaces like silos or simply barren areas.

5. See Little Mermaid. Or create a military sci-fi scenario similar to 'humans encounter aliens' where either the land lubbers venture deep in submarines or the water dwellers venture to land in pressure suits. No different from a wizard investigating another plane of existence or whatever.

Hope you appreciate the suggestions.

[Zolkabro]

I currently have two races, but I hope to have more shortly. Also, underwater beings do not speak Common. Their equivalent of Common is Aquatic.

Mind Flayer
Mind Flayers are tentacular beings, who are slightly humaniod, however they are more far fish than human. A Mind Flayer has no lips, simply a hole for a mouth. However surrounding the mouth are many hidious tentacles. Mind Flayers live on brains. Their tentacle's sharp points pierce their prey's skull, and the poor victim's brains are sucked out by the Mind Flayer's mouth. With short tentacles for fingers, webbed feet, and sealable eyelids, these creatures thrive in water. Their swimming can reach amazing speeds, and even if you were fast enough they would be extremely difficult to catch. For despite their lack of eyesight their tentacles can sense the tiniest vibrations in water.

Medium size
+2 dexterity, +2 intelligence, -2 constitution
60 movement
+6 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks when in water. A Mind Flayer who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if s/he were actively looking for it.
Automatic Languages: Squid, Aquatic


Nix
Nixes are sometimes mischevious, sometimes kind, but they are fiercely territorial, and if anything ventures into a Nix's waters without permission the Nix will make sure they never come out alive again. A Nix can assume any form they wish, but rumour has it that their true form resembles a fully grown man the size of a baby, with a sea green, long, salty beard. Their skin is a paler, yellowish, peaceful green. But their eyes are always a piercing shade of electric green. Some Nixes look just like as described, only blue where others are green. All Nixes love music.

Small size
+2 dexterity, +2 intelligence, -2 strength
30 movement
Nearly always True Nuetral
Racial ability: Nixes can appear the same race as someone else.
+8 to hide checks
Automatic Languages: Nixish, Aquatic


I've been thinking of getting rid of Nix, I'm wondering if it's too humanlike. I've also thought of the idea that hippocampi are the underwater equivelant of horses.
If you could give me more detailed descriptions of the races you suggested, I'd be very grateful.
Keeping to aquatic races was something I already planned to be very strict about.

When recomending books to me, please keep in mind that all my books are fourth edition.

[Limos]

I haven't thought of a name for the cuttlefish guys but let's give it a go.

[[INSERT NAME]]

The diminutive [[INSERT NAME]] are thought to be distantly related to the Mind Flayers, which while they do look alike is completely untrue. The facial tentacles of the [[INSERT NAME]] are vestigial and much shorter than those of a Mind Flayer. Most curiously their skin is capable of rapidly changing color and texture to blend in with their surroundings.


Small Size: As a Small creature, a [[INSERT NAME]] gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –4 size penalty on grappling checks, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but uses smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are one-half of those of a Medium character.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Strength
40 movement
May camouflage as a move action and gains concealment against enemies more than 5 feet away.
Automatic Languages: Squid, Aquatic



Sahuagin +2 LA
• +2 Strength.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, sahuagin have no special modifiers due to their size.
• Sahuagin swim speed is 60 feet. They can use the run action while swimming, provided they swim in a straight line.
• Sahuagin base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision (Ex): Sahuagin can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but is otherwise like normal sight, and sahuagin can function just fine with no light at all.
• Gills: Sahuagin can survive out of the water for 1 hour for every 2 points of Constitution. After that time, refer to the suffocation rules.
• Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d4) and bite (1d4).
• Rake: A sahuagin gains extra natural attacks when it grapples its foe. Normally, a monster can attack with only one of its natural weapons while grappling, but a sahuagin gains two additional claw attacks that it can use only against a grappled foe. Rake attacks are not subject to the usual -4 penalty for attacking with a natural weapon in a grapple. A sahuagin must begin its turn grappling to use its rake attack; it can’t begin a grapple and rake in the same turn.
• +4 racial bonus on Handle Animal checks when working with sharks.
• +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. A sahuagin can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered.
• Freshwater Sensitivity: A sahuagin fully immersed in fresh water must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or become fatigued. Even on a success, he must repeat the save attempt every 10 minutes he remains immersed.
• Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds sahuagin for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled while operating in bright light.
• Automatic Languages: Sahuagin. Bonus Languages: Aquan, Common.
• Favoured Class: Barbarian. A multiclass sahuagin’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.


I can't seem to find racial traits for Kuo-toa. 3.5 isn't really my strong suit.

[Rutskarn]

I recommend scuba tanks, some automated dice rollers, and laminated character sheets.

Oh. Wait.

Anyway.

I would take advantage of the setting's novelty and create several of your own races--that way, the world at the bottom of the ocean will seem that much more exotic and inscrutable to the players.

[Jair Barik]

page 244 Draconomicon the book of dragons 3.5e.
Most likely you are using an earlier edition.
One I have is by Andy Collins, Skip Williams and James Wyatt

[Zolkabro]

I'm getting a bit annoyed now, because most of you are replying without reading previous posts. Here is replies to everyone.

imp fireball: I answered Serpentine's questions in my post about gods.

Limos: Those are great, but there is no contact with land or the surface, so I'm going to have to cut some of Sahuagin. Perhaps call the cuttlefish Sepia. Sepia's camoflage should be a racial ability, like the Nix.
I also checked your races thread, and I'm wondering: did you do the art for the races your self? Because if so, I'd like to hire you as the artist. I'll loosely describe pictures, you do the art. When all this is finished I'm planning to put all the information and guides on a website, and I'll make sure you get the full credit for all art if you agree.

Rustkarn: I'm already doing that.

Jair Barik: I've said already that all my books are fourth edition.


For those of you who don't know, hippocampi (which I mentioned earlier) are mythological creatures, half dolphin half horse.
I'm also planning on adding the Kraken as a Lesser Diety.

I'm teeming with ideas for races, but we really need more gods. So please give brief ideas, and I'll fix up their descriptons.

Thanks.

EDIT: I have now added two more gods, and the kraken.

[Zolkabro]

Here are some more races, including a partial rewrite of your suggestions, Limos.

Kokrulis
Peaceful, old, and wise before their time, the Kokrulis are the wisest race in the oceans. They see mysteries where others see normality, they solve puzzles which have perplexed generations, and they rarely speak, but when they do they speak wise words, and you would do well to listen. Aksékhasdos has, in return for their eternal faith, granted them the gift of eternal memory. They never forget anything in their long, long lives. They have six legs, covered thick, scaly, tortiose shell pattern skin, with hard turtle shell in some places in their body. They have shells on their back like a turtle, shells on their head like a helmet, and shells on their knees and elbows.

Medium size
+3 wisdom, +3 intelligence, -2 dexterity
30 movement
+4 natural armour
Usually worship Aksékhasdos
+10 maximum HP
Darkvision
+4 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks when in water. A Kokrulis who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if s/he were actively looking for it.
Automatic languages: Kokrulish, Turtle, Aquatic


Krazanio
Closely related to the Xizanio, and yet on the other side of the oceans, Krazanio are a dangerous, warlike species, well known for their tactics of pulverizing first, and asking the corpses questions later. They have huge, bulky bodies, and their skin is made of kelp and seaweed. They make themselves armour out of shellfish; with limpet shell chainmail; oyster helmets, kneecaps, and elbowcaps; and the rich make armour from Saepia shells.

Large size
+3 strength, +3 constitution, -3 dexterity, -3 intelligence
30 movement, despite large size
+4 to armour checks
+2 Craft (armour)
+4 to attack rolls
Weapon Proficiency: Trident, club
Automatic languages: Zanio, Aquatic


Xizanio
Closely related to the Krazanio, and yet on the other side of the oceans, Xizanio are a sly, sneaky species, well known for their tactics of assassinating enemy leaders. They have slight, nimble bodies, and their skin is made out of kelp and seaweed. Their dextrous swimming, flawless aquabatics, and their effortless speed, make them extremely versatile, good in battle, travelling, peace, dancing, and showbiz.

Small size
60 movement
+3 dexterity, +3 intelligence, -3 strength, -3 constitution
+4 to dodge checks
+8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. A Xizanio can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered.
+4 to reflex saves
Weapon proficiency: Trident, dagger
Automatic Languages: Zanio, Aquatic


Saepia
Saepia are odd combinations of shellfish and octopi, resulting in a cuttlefish like creature. The diminutive Saepia are thought to be distantly related to the Mind Flayers, which while they do look alike is completely untrue. The facial tentacles of the Saepia are vestigial and much shorter than those of a Mind Flayer. Most curiously their skin is capable of rapidly changing color and texture to blend in with their surroundings. Saepia also have the ability to shoot ink at other creatures

Small size
+2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Strength
40 movement
Racial ability: May camouflage as a move action and gains concealment against enemies more than 5 feet away.
Racial attack: Can shoot ink, blinding opponents.
Automatic Languages: Squid, Aquatic


Sahuagin
The barbaric Sahaguin are a mistrustful race, due to their dark and bloody history. They have suffered many unfair wrongs, but their suffering drove them insane. Losing sight of their benelovent orogins, the Sahaguin turned on those who had betrayed them, and destroyed them. Since then Sahaguin have become a force to be feared in the world. Their four legs and four arms make them fearsome in battle, for they can parry and attack at the same time, making them the bane of even the fiercest warriors, Their snakelike head is full of sharp teeth, and their humaniod body is covered in green and yellow scaly skin.

Medium size
30 movement
+2 strength, +2 constitution, -2 charisma
Darkvision
Can wield two weapons at the same time.
Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d4) and bite (1d4).
Rake: A sahuagin gains extra natural attacks when it grapples its foe. Normally, a monster can attack with only one of its natural weapons while grappling, but a sahuagin gains two additional claw attacks that it can use only against a grappled foe. Rake attacks are not subject to the usual -4 penalty for attacking with a natural weapon in a grapple. A sahuagin must begin its turn grappling to use its rake attack; it can’t begin a grapple and rake in the same turn.
+8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. A sahuagin can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered.
Automatic Languages: Sahuagin, Aquatic
Favoured Class: Barbarian. A multiclass sahuagin’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

[Caen'ir]

I'm very interested to see where this goes. I'd really love to try and play in an aquatic campaign sometime, but I don't see it as something any of the DMs I know will really go for. :(

Also, I noticed a minor confusion of alignments for the twin deities Kragani and Nragaki... (bolded and underlined what I'm talking about)



Kragani
...
Because of this blinding lightning nobody knows his true form except his Lawful Good twin, Nragaki.
Neutral Evil Diety. Domains: Storms, lightning, rain, wind.

Nragaki
...
Because of this blinding sunlight nobody knows his true form except his Chaotic Evil twin, Kragani.
Neutral Good Diety. Domains: Light, the sun, wind

Just seem to have mixed up the alignments. :) Sorry if I'm being too nitpicky, just thought I'd let you know.

Anyways, I hope this topic stays alive, I want to see more. <3

[Zolkabro]

Thanks.
At first those two were Chaotic Evil and Lawful Good, but when I changed it to Neutral Evil and Neutral Good I forgot to change both of them. That mistake has now been corrected.
This topic is dying, so you could help by posting ideas yourself.
And that goes for everyone else who sees this.

I'd also like suggestions the god's domains, so that they each have a region of the oceans to rule over.

[Thrax]

Well, didn't DnD have already enough rules for underwater variants? Like all the aquatic variant races and monsters. At least in SRD I've seen a tone of all strange combination, from aquatic elves to aquatic dwarves even.

[An Enemy Spy]

About your sig, the cat's name is mister scruffy.

[Voshkod]

A cuttlefish's 'W' shaped eyes allow them to see the polarization of light, a huge advantage underwater.

A thought about growing buildings - instead of using blocks of coral, what if you build a framework for the building and encouraged the living coral to grow up the framework? Perhaps a druid spell that sped up coral growth. So the walls would be of living coral, not cut coral, which would also help with the waste disposal problem.

[Icewalker]

Thing is, you probably want to slightly adapt the entire combat system for use underwater. It changes a lot. I don't know if you've ever been diving, but there's many complexities which are easy to miss. For most creatures (but not all, some beings are built to avoid this) moving up or down too quickly screws with pressure and will really throw off internal things. In humans it can ruin your lungs, but in sealife I think it's mostly just pain and probably slight injury and balance issues if it's bad enough.

Vision: in the BEST visibility (which you may find, rarely, in some tropical places) you aren't really going to get better than about 200 feet. It can range anywhere from there to 5 ft visibility if the conditions are bad enough. 100 ft., which is what I had when I was diving in Hawaii, is really good. This lack of sight is worth including.

Ranged weapons: don't work, of course, with the increased friction of water. There's other things as well, but nothing comes immediately to mind, I may return with other notes.

[hamishspence]

Might be interesting to see a guide to underwater warfare in D&D.

Important features-

vision: low visual range, and darkness past a certain depth, which means anything without low-light vision will be in trouble in the deep. Also, long-ranged spells can have trouble if targets are hard to see.

3-dimensional environment- fights in open water might mean that attacks from directly below can be very disorientating for the victims. Also, if a creature's space is treated as a cube, a lot more creatures can charge Huge to Gargantuan creatures, than could on a flat plane.

Some of the battles in Ender's Game/Ender's Snadow take advantage of 3D tactics.

Speed- Megalodons are much faster than practically anything else- base speed 120 ft- make perfect mounts for undersea giants, or transports for smaller races.

These are a few of the things I thought offhand.

[Iferus]

Thing is, you probably want to slightly adapt the entire combat system for use underwater. It changes a lot. I don't know if you've ever been diving, but there's many complexities which are easy to miss. For most creatures (but not all, some beings are built to avoid this) moving up or down too quickly screws with pressure and will really throw off internal things. In humans it can ruin your lungs, but in sealife I think it's mostly just pain and probably slight injury and balance issues if it's bad enough.

Vision: in the BEST visibility (which you may find, rarely, in some tropical places) you aren't really going to get better than about 200 feet. It can range anywhere from there to 5 ft visibility if the conditions are bad enough. 100 ft., which is what I had when I was diving in Hawaii, is really good. This lack of sight is worth including.

Ranged weapons: don't work, of course, with the increased friction of water. There's other things as well, but nothing comes immediately to mind, I may return with other notes.

There are rules for underwater combat in the DMG, page 92/93.

[Limos]

Limos: Those are great, but there is no contact with land or the surface, so I'm going to have to cut some of Sahuagin. Perhaps call the cuttlefish Sepia. Sepia's camoflage should be a racial ability, like the Nix.
I also checked your races thread, and I'm wondering: did you do the art for the races your self? Because if so, I'd like to hire you as the artist. I'll loosely describe pictures, you do the art. When all this is finished I'm planning to put all the information and guides on a website, and I'll make sure you get the full credit for all art if you agree.


I didn't do the art in my Homebrew Races thread, those are the accompanying portraits for that races Monster Manual entry. I'm really not very good in any artistic medium. I'm more of a mechanics and numbers kind of guy.

[hamishspence]

Underwater combat rules are useful, but there are probably a few things that might need houseruling. Can a person be tripped underwater, if they aren't on the bottom? If so, what happens.

And there are the various logistical things- do races work with metals, and if so, what do they use- magic, or special open-air furnaces?

One might list all the well-known underwater races, and what type of habitat they live in (though I suspect most races inhabit the continental shelf- the abyssal plain, and the trenches, would be more sparsely populated.)

[Voshkod]

Underwater combat rules are useful, but

And there are the various logistical things- do races work with metals, and if so, what do they use- magic, or special open-air furnaces?



Perhaps a combination of magic and deep undersea vents and volcanos. Due to their rarity, such natural sources of heat are greatly contested.

[hamishspence]

main problem is heat- hot air around a lava vent is bad enough on the surface- hot water around a lava vent will be very unpleasant long before you get anywhere near it.

I can see these vents being contested though- maybe the homes of deep sea creatures, mineral-heavy, a valuable resource.

the anguillans in Stormwrack (deep sea eel-men) seem just right for inhabitants of black smoker regions.

Might be interesting to see just how much resources there are down there to work with- could a "sea economy" be bigger and richer than a surface one, with the undersea races in a fantasy setting actually being commoner than the surface dwellers?

[Voshkod]

main problem is heat- hot air around a lava vent is bad enough on the surface- hot water around a lava vent will be very unpleasant long before you get anywhere near it.

I can see these vents being contested though- maybe the homes of deep sea creatures, mineral-heavy, a valuable resource.

That's where the magic comes in - heat resistance, etc. Just a thought at using one of the more unique underwater environments.

[Zolkabro]

I'm going to have to make several posts now, because I can't quote twice in one post.



A thought about growing buildings - instead of using blocks of coral, what if you build a framework for the building and encouraged the living coral to grow up the framework? Perhaps a druid spell that sped up coral growth. So the walls would be of living coral, not cut coral, which would also help with the waste disposal problem.

I never considered coral blocks, I was thinking of Raphite granting spells that affect coral, but I like the druid idea as well. Also, I was thinking of not houses like ours, but coral growing in weird and wonderful shapes that people live in.

[Cieyrin]

I'm so confuseled right now, is this in 3.5 or 4E?

Storywise, I could see a city built around hot vents for warmth in the often freezing oceans depths, as well as for crafting and cooking purposes. Given the prevalence of sand and whatnot, a city could be built around being expert glassblowers and producing special glass types suitable for armor and weaponry, like glassteel, even perhaps making things like artificial obsidian, which may be easier made and worked in the depths then metals would.

[Zolkabro]

main problem is heat- hot air around a lava vent is bad enough on the surface- hot water around a lava vent will be very unpleasant long before you get anywhere near it.

I can see these vents being contested though- maybe the homes of deep sea creatures, mineral-heavy, a valuable resource.

the anguillans in Stormwrack (deep sea eel-men) seem just right for inhabitants of black smoker regions.

Might be interesting to see just how much resources there are down there to work with- could a "sea economy" be bigger and richer than a surface one, with the undersea races in a fantasy setting actually being commoner than the surface dwellers?

I've been planning a high level adventure area to do with underwater volcanoes.
This has given me some fun ideas for races. Also, people keep talking about Stormwrack, but I don't have it.
I hadn't really considered the economy, so thanks for mentioning that. I'll give your ideas some thought.

[Zolkabro]

I'm so confuseled right now, is this in 3.5 or 4E?

Storywise, I could see a city built around hot vents for warmth in the often freezing oceans depths, as well as for crafting and cooking purposes. Given the prevalence of sand and whatnot, a city could be built around being expert glassblowers and producing special glass types suitable for armor and weaponry, like glassteel, even perhaps making things like artificial obsidian, which may be easier made and worked in the depths then metals would.


I just LOVE the glass idea. I'm definately going to make a city like that, maybe even a whole sea or ocean.

As for whether it's 3.5 or 4, I haven't decided, because while all my books are 4, they changed some things in 4 that I wish they had kept the same, like the alignments.

[Zolkabro]

I'm getting a bit depressed now. Does ANYBODY want to contribute?
:frown:

As well as ideas, if there is somebody who is very good at computor art, who reads this, don't just sit there! Say, because I need someone to do the art for this thing.

Hopefully I'll have city descriptions of a coral city, a glass city, and an obsidian city very soon.