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Kafana
2017-07-19, 01:00 AM
Hey guys,

My next sessions is going to take place in an underwater city of the aventi race (Stormwrack, 3.5). I've read and re-read all the lore related to the aventi race described in Stormwrack, but I really want to create an atmosphere of an alien underwater world.

While I already have some ideas about what to present to the players, I was wondering if there is any additional lore or perhaps some stories/modules which are placed in the setting of an underwater (but not underwater dome) city?

Khedrac
2017-07-19, 12:10 PM
If you can find a copy of PC3: The Sea People (an old BECMI D&D supplement which I believe is available as pdf) it describes an entire undersea civilization and might prove useful.

KillianHawkeye
2017-07-22, 03:49 PM
It's basically the D&D version of the lost city of Atlantis, only the people became aquatic instead of just disappearing.

Between the aventi, merfolk, the aquatic elves, sahuagin, and all the other kinds of undersea civilizations in D&D, there's already a good amount to go on, but for simplicity's sake I would just say to imagine everything more or less the same as a normal place but at the bottom of the ocean. So for example, you'd still have a castle, and it would look just like a normal castle, you just replace the ground with the sea bed and replace the sky with water. Same goes for other buildings. This is especially true for the aventi, who actually used to be surface dwellers before their civilization sank beneath the waves. They're not the ones to have a strange and different environment. Their story is literally that they kept doing whatever they were doing, only under water now.

TheYell
2017-07-22, 04:48 PM
I see a city of open domes on the seafloor, with rooms on the inner and outer surfaces of the domes, because the residents can swim in three dimensions.

The seafloor is reserved for freight hauling by tamed sea creatures.

The city is lit at night by luminous fishes that are trained to orbit sticks of dried fish food, so they stay in one place.

Among the domes are faceted globes of coral, like giant D20s. These are the castles of the city, containing the warriors and the guards. Their fortresses have negative buoyancy and are lightly anchored to the seafloor, but can be dragged out of position to answer an alarm.

goto124
2017-07-23, 01:23 AM
Where's the guy who's deathly afraid of water?

Garimeth
2017-07-24, 10:00 AM
In our Stormwrack game I made a city that had above and below water dwellings and accommodations. The city was full of canals, and there were streetside stores and inns that had portions of their businesses underwater for underwater patrons. My players though that was a neat touch.

I think some of the main things to think about are:

1. Politics and race relations of your various underwater people.

2. Depth of the city, and the amount of light they have.

3. If the water is shallow and clear enough for natural illumination, how does their architecture help for natural illumination, if not, what do they use for light?

4. Economy of metal. All metal objects have to be made in a special area that has air that does not get consumed by the fire, or must come from the surface.

5. Food. Do they use fish farms in giant net pens? What about farming kelp and other underwater plants?

I think if you just focus on logistics and economy you eventually come up with a bizarre society, add into that if you start coloring things with their traditions, government, and religion and you can build a very well-thought out society.

FreddyNoNose
2017-07-24, 03:31 PM
How about a social schism of peoples who live at different depths underwater. Those who have adapted to deeper water and the associated pressure vs those who have to be in relatively shallower water. You could add adaption to lower levels of light as a factor too.