DM Help Strong Good Underwater Race/Civilization [Archive]

View Full Version : DM Help Strong Good Underwater Race/Civilization

kalos72

2016-12-21, 08:40 PM

Venger

2016-12-21, 09:09 PM

I am searching for your thoughts regarding the strongest underwater race or civilization to use as a foundation for an underwater campaign in FR.

I am open to any books/games really, I just want something more "rare / unique" then Sea Elves really. I know they have a strong presence in the Sea of Fallen Stars and was hoping to keep away from the "stereotype".

And possibly, any animals/mounts/companions they might have...

Thoughts?

I don't know about strongest (that would be aquatic human, aventi, or aquatic water orc) but one interesting race is stormwrack's darfellan. they swim, breathe underwater, and have a bite attack, which is otherwise annoying to come by.

Coidzor

2016-12-21, 09:47 PM

IIRC, hippocampi or some monster in that vein can be taken as mounts by aquatic paladins.

Technetium43

2016-12-21, 09:49 PM

IIRC, hippocampi or some monster in that vein can be taken as mounts by aquatic paladins.

I mean there's always this. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0479.html) :smallamused:

kalos72

2016-12-21, 10:03 PM

I hadn't thought about Stormwrack, I like those options.

Any other monster race/civilization that might be cool?

Echch

2016-12-21, 10:05 PM

Use the 3.0 Kuo Toas. I think these guys could shoot lightning and had electricity res 30 back then.

digiman619

2016-12-21, 10:21 PM

I think you'd be interested in the Cerulean Sea Campaign Setting (https://rpggeek.com/rpgitemversion/147519/pdf-version). Even if you don't use the fluff, there's a lot good rules support for underwater campaigns.

barakaka

2016-12-21, 10:26 PM

Pretty sure Sahuagin try to eat the brains of powerful foes in hopes to gain their strength. That's pretty damned awesome. They're also everywhere underwater as far as I know, and persecute sea elves.

daremetoidareyo

2016-12-21, 10:31 PM

Yurians from fiend folio! They are aquatic fiddler crabs. They would be such a fun culture to make.

Here is a tidbit from wikipedia:

This Link (http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/westmeadow/fiddler.html) is Better
Fiddler crabs live rather brief lives of no more than two years (up to three years in captivity). Male fiddler crabs use the major claw to perform a waving display as a form of female courtship. Females choose their mate based on claw size and also quality of the waving display. In many fiddler crab species, the female occupies the burrow of their mate while she lays her clutch of eggs. Research shows that the male major claw size is also correlated with burrow width; the width of the burrow influences incubation temperature. Therefore, the female will choose a male mate whose claw size indicates the best burrow environment for her clutch of eggs. The waving display is also thought to indicate to females the overall healthiness of the male; a more vigorous display is more difficult to do and thus requires the male to be in prime health condition, which suggests that the male will help produce viable offspring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B3LVe7GtvI

I mean that is a great basis to build a culture. And naturally they would come into conflict with ixitachil (MM2). Stingrays love shellfish! That's why stingrays taste like a steak made out of Scallops. (Little known fact, some shady purveyors of seafood will take sharpened circular cookie cutters and make fake scallops out of stingray wings)

If I were an underwater regenerating crab and I was looking for a mount, I'd want something that I could fight with my one big claw upon. I'm thinking Huge spiders with the diving spider template. I'd also consider making a weird ranger or paladin based prestige class where they can use a reekmurk (a smelly ink of black ooze from FF) as a mount by covering up their antennae.

kalos72

2016-12-22, 12:52 AM

Good as in alignment... :)

Sea dwarves from the Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting look cool. I have to read up on them...

Thurbane

2016-12-22, 01:54 AM

As well as Aventi, there are also Sea Kin (Races of Destiny), another form of aquatic humans.

Aventi: Humanoid, Aquatic, Amphibious, Swim 30 ft, Water Spell Power, Human Blood
Sea Kin: Humanoid (human), Swim 30 ft, Low Light Vision, extra skill points (as human), +2 on Escape Artist, Hold Breath, treat nets and tridents as simple weapons, Water Dependency

Kelb_Panthera

2016-12-22, 03:30 AM

I hadn't thought about Stormwrack, I like those options.

Okay, gotta give you a -little- bit of crap for stormwrack not being the first thing that leaps to mind when you think about anything aquatic.

I believe tritons are good aligned by default. Got a couple racial HD though.

kalos72

2016-12-22, 11:32 AM

Okay, gotta give you a -little- bit of crap for stormwrack not being the first thing that leaps to mind when you think about anything aquatic.

I believe tritons are good aligned by default. Got a couple racial HD though.

Yeah I know, I usually run straight FR stuff so these off shoots, even thought I own most of them, aren't the first thing that comes to mind. Besides, the Giant Community as a whole will almost always have more insight to these things then me alone. :)

I check out the Sea Kin, thanks. I love Tritons but they are "common" I think...

So far the Aventi and those sea dorfs look like good candidates. Although the kingdom these guys are founding is Avanti so...not sure might need a new name for the race. :P

Thurbane

2016-12-22, 06:57 PM

Sea Kin seem to be slightly mechanically stronger than Aventi (unless you are someone who casts a lot of Water spells), although they are not a true "water breathing" race as such...

kalos72

2016-12-22, 09:09 PM

In my campaign, Forgotten Realms, there was a kingdom of seafaring dwarves that lived In the region I play in, Neverwinter.

I am sure with some good roleplay/history work I can justify an aquatic race of dwarves from that kingdom. Something like they were besieged in the deepest mines of their kingdom for 200 years by drow (there are drow cities in the region) but they had access to underwater tunnels directly to the Sword Coast and over time developed true aquatic traits like the austorian dwarves perhaps, with some of my customization.

What other skills/traits would be useful for a truly aquatic race of dwarves?