[Pathfinder] Brainstorming things to put Under The Sea

[Akeii]

I've toyed with the idea of DMing an aquatic Pathfinder campaign for some time, now. In the constant search for inspiration for cool stuff to actually employ (and also from a little laziness), I've always wanted to harness the awesome thinktank that comprises the folks at this forum.

Sooo... what would be some interesting

1) NPCs
2) settings
3) races, items
4) sourcebooks
5) "Stuff" of any other kind you would want to add into something like this?

Pathfinder and 3.5-specific material is encouraged but not necessary. 'Tis a brainstorm, so list stuff from any other systems if it interests you.

Several thoughtful words, sentences, or even paragraphs per post will all be greatly appreciated; thanks! In fact, you can have a virtual cookie from yours truly for saying anything at all. :smallbiggrin:

[Macbubble]

I would suggest building an adventure based around the Aboleth, and their plans for world domination.

Aboleth: (Dungeons & Dragons) The lovecraftian influence is strong here, but still it's a unique creature created for Dungeons & Dragons, that somehow has remained so and to my knowledge never has appeared anywhere else. Aboleths are six meter long fish with three eyes lined up in a vertical row on its head and with four long tentacles in place of front fins. But most important is their extremely high intelligence and perfect memory. Not only do they have all the knowledge their parents had, they can also gain new knowledge by eating the brains of people it kills. Also, they have very strong psychic powers which allow them to bend the minds of others to their will and create many kinds of illusions. In addition, they secrete a substance into the water that turn air-breathing creatures into aquatic ones that can serve the aboleth as slaves. And for long term use, they turn their slaves permanently into fish people. Living in deep trenches of the oceans and in flooded caves that connect to the oceans, they are rarely encountered on land, but very great danger to anyone who explores these hidden places. [1], [2] BY Yora http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249522

You could use any setting you want, and you can either use aquatic races or regular ones.

[North_Ranger]

If memory serves, PF Bestiaries II and III have some pretty nifty underwater monstes, as does Isles of the Shackles. You might want to take a peek at those.

Besides those... well, Shackles is a good place to dig around for voodoo/pirate treasure/eldritch horror plots under the sea, and to go deeper in the suggested aboleth-adventure, you have the Gillmen who at least in Inner Sea World Guide have been suggested to be Azlanti survivors shaped by the aboleths. Other aquatic environs possibly worth checking might be Magnimar, Absalom and naturally the Sodden Lands. And let's not forget that a goodly chunk of land once ruled by ancient empires - Thassilon and Azlant in the north, the cyclopes Ghol-Gan civilization in the Eye of Abendego - are now underwater.

[a_humble_lich]

Things to put Under the Sea?

Singing Calypso Crabs

[Calinar]

Sahuagin from dnd's Monster Manual 1 would be a personal favorite of mine (fish men with a reptilian cast to them), there is also some extra stuff for them in the second Monster Manual, mostly just a mount but there are a few other interesting aquatic creatures in it if I remember right. They are a fairly adaptable, cunning, and malicious race that basically wants to eliminate every sentient aquatic race that is not Sahuagin from the sea.

Locathah, also from MM1, may be a good choice as I don't think many people really use them or know about them.

[Togath]

Bestiary 3 has a lot of interestign sea creatures, including a interesting variations on the common theme of some sort of mer-folk(such as shark people, salamander people, or octopus people)

[Manly Man]

You could have an aspect of Dagon, from Fiendish Codex I, be the campaign boss. He's just about Lovecraft-grade freakiness.

[Scarlet-Devil]

I heartily second Aboleths, and maybe Dagon to boot. You could have enormous, horrific metropolises of eldritch architecture built into the deepest oceanic trenches where few things can survive, and where even fewer sane beings would choose to travel. Cities built during an age before elves and dragons; the home of a society utterly alien and perverse by the standards of the modern races. The oldest surviving aboleth cities might even be home to aboleth sages with minds like gods, creatures who were alive in a time before men and their deities, and who hold nothing but cold contempt for the humanoid races.

I've been wanting for a while to use such an aboleth paragon as the ultimate villain for a campaign. According to Lords of Madness, aboleths never really stop growing, and they subsume some of the thoughts and memories of the beings they eat. You could do a campaign centering around the beginnings of a queer new cult spreading among the various aquatic races; the cultists would claim to worship a new god, their minds secretly seeded with thoughts and images Cthulhu-style by the colossal, god-like aboleth.

[Machinekng]

You take a look at the ol' Infinite Ocean (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196720) project. There might be a good few ideas that might interest you.

[Deploy]

If aboleths gain the memories of whoever they eat, what if an insanely powerful one managed to eat a god? Imagine the sort of knowledge and memories an omnipotent being that has been around since creation would possess.

Also when dealing with underwater races and society don't just make aquatic versions of things on land, think of how an underwater race would solve their problems and what they made to do it. Potions could be stored in sponges that are then sucked, scrolls could be tablets of stone, what weapons would you use?

Also include races that aren't humanoid. The bipedal, upright, grasping handed model may work on land, but even with webbed digits do you think they could possibly compete with creatures naturally evolved for underwater life? A race of awakened octopus or some other sort of cephalopod would be cool. Grasping tentacles to hold things, natural camouflage and the ability to fit into any space bigger than their beak makes them ideal thieves, spies, and assassins.

In nature fish often hide in tunnels within coral to avoid large predators. Imagine a giant network of large tunnels that functions as a city, nothing really gets built but occasionally underwater Druids will shape the coral to their liking. But rather than buildings certain caves are hangouts for certain characters, and others can be found regularly in the same general area. And roads arent needed when the coral naturally forms highways and back paths. Within the coral live many non sentient fish species who live alongside with the sentient races and other than an occasional scuffle with a shark they largely do their own thing. Outside of the tunnels colossal beasts swim about eating any life they see this is why so many flock to the safety of the coral, however it's not as safe as it seems. As you travel deeper into the tunnels many of the caverns are home to aboleths and other aquatic abberations who are none to friendly. The sahuagin technically own the city, but outside of their network of tunnels their is little regulation as their leaders ate on the verge of a civil war.

Just some random ideas I had, hope they help

[Silus]

If you wanna get real exotic, have it take place in the Sightless Sea. Then you can throw just about anything you want. Ships captained by Denizens of Leng, huge Shoggoths, swarms of Aboleths and all manner of nightmarish things that live in the deep dark waters of the biggest underground sea on Golarion.

[Kurald Galain]

Things to put Under the Sea?

Singing Calypso Crabs

Yes, and mermaids with packrat mentality :smallamused:

[Eldan]

Since some recent studies seem to suggest that much of the deepest sea water is basically a slurry of bacteria thick as jelly, I suggest oozes. Gigantic, gigantic oozes.

And Aboleths. They are cool too.