Undersea Adventures: Comments, Concerns, & Concepts

[akma]

I made the giant frog. I would have made a seperate thread, but I think I`ll get more feedback here.

**************

How I would describe the frog to players:
Infornt of you a giant frog appears, it`s skin shining bright green.
The giant frog opens his mouth, and from which many tounges come out and attack you. The tounges slap some, and wrap around the others. Besides the crushing pain of the tounge slaps and wrapings, you feel an acidic burn.

Those frogs are the product of a simple question.
How could a frog be used?

There is a god called Ranvar, god of exploitation (Usage would actully be more accurate, but will make him sound less evil). He and his clerics believe that anything is a resource that can be used – that includes people. His clerics use him for power, while he uses them to expand his faith and therefore gain more power.

One day while a cleric of exploitation guided initiates, one of them doubted the fact that anything can be used. As an exemple, he asked the cleric how a frog that passed by could be used. The cleric answered that even that he can`t find a use for the frog, he might simply not be able to think about one, or maybe he will find one in the future.

But the question bugged him. How could a frog be used?
After much thought, he had to go to a battle. During that battle, he realised the answer, and afterwards captured a frog. After some failed attempts, he managed to create the frog stated here, and after a few years those frogs became common among clerics of exploitation. To add to their motivation to fight, they eat people.

Eventully, other magic users found out how to make and control such frogs.

Large magical beast
Hit Dice: 8d10+48 (56-92-128)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares); same underwater and on ground
Armor Class: 13 (+5 dex, -3 size), touch 13, flat-footed 10
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+16
Attack: Tounge slap 1d8 +4 crushing damage +1d6 acid +13 to attack damage crit X2
Full Attack: Up to 10 Tounge slaps 1d8 +4 crushing damage +1d6 acid +13 to attack damage crit X2, can`t use two or more tounge attacks against the same target.
Space/Reach: 10/40
Special Attacks: Tounge push, tounge grapple.
Special Qualities: Amphibious, immunity to acid.
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +6
Abilities Str 18, Dex 20, Con 22, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills: Jump +23 (+8 raciel).
Feats: I got no idea what to put here.
Environment: Around freshwater sources.
Organization: Solitary, solitary with a level 5+ cleric or druid.
Challenge Rating: I don`t know.
Treasure: None.
Alignment: Netural.
Advancement: By size, I don`t realy remmember the rules for that.
Level Adjustment: -

Combat
The giant frogs slap quickely everyone. If the battle is hard, the frog will grapple those who do the most damage to it.
If ordered, the frog could fight diffrently.

Ability descriptions
Amphibious: They can breathe underwater as well as in the air.
Tounge push: They can use their tounges to push creatures aside. The attack deals damage normally and can move the target up to 20 feet. If the attack hits, then to avoid being pushed an opposed strength check must be won.
Tounge grapple: The frog takes -5 to hit, but if the attack hits the tounge wraps around the target and grapples it, as long as the target is no more then 30 feet from the frog. For each round the creature is held (=fails an opposed grapple check), it takes damage as if it was slapped. The frog can`t tounge grapple creatures who are size big or bigger.

Things you can do with it
1. The frog is called, then jumps out of a lake, catch with it`s tounges as many player characters as possible, then jumps back to the water to drown them. Much more deadly if you replace lake with an acid container.
2. Frog riders. Possibly frog-men riding giant frogs with frogs familiers.

[Debihuman]

Does this creature have a name or is it just a Man-eating frog.

Usually advancement is a creature increases in size when it double its hit points.

It needs skills and feats. Only mindless creatures don't get skills and feats. Creatures with Int 2 get them normally.


Debby

[akma]

Does this creature have a name or is it just a Man-eating frog.

I thought for a second to call it frog of exploitation, but it`s abilities don`t got anything to do with exploitation. I`ll call them simply giant frogs, as I am not planing on making more giant frog monsters anyways. Since I like that monster (becuse of the tounges gimmick) I`ll do a proper introduction to make it seem cooler then it is.

The man eating is a last second addition. It could also add problams when the corpses of enemies won`t be enough to feed the frogs, with some effort I think I could base an adventure on that (defending a village against clerics riding frogs).

It needs skills and feats. Only mindless creatures don't get skills and feats. Creatures with Int 2 get them normally.

Then I`ll guess I`ll increase the int to 3 and work on it tommorow.

[Aeolius]

I posted last week's recap in this thread , for a bit of variety.

[Aeolius]

I just noticed that Cerulean Seas now has s a softcover print-to-order option, over at RPGNow; $20 for the PDF, $40 for the hardcopy, $50 for both.

[Aeolius]

It's been awhile since I posted a recap of a Game Session.

In the last session (03/20) the party spoke with Scia, the elderly shaman who seemed to lead the remaining slaves abandoned by the kraken Mikros, in a subterranean passage deep within the Sinking Isle itself. Concerned by the appearance of the child Reiko and her well-being in the face of the grafts she unwillingly received, Scia slowly approached the girl and revealed grafts of her own.

"These..." she touched the green scaly skin around her gills "Were once part of Shulshalus, a mighty sahuagin warrior. He speaks to me, from time to time." she smiled "At first I was afraid. But soon I understood that I honored him, by keeping even this small part of him alive."

In time, Scia led the party to a rectangular chamber filled with massive intersecting metal pipes. Between the pipes, hammocks fashioned of netting and seaweed were seen. Along the wall, enormous barnacle shells seemed to grow in a cluster.

As the shaman continued to interrogate the party, regarding their knowledge of the sea hag fleshwarper Purl, NeeKaa recalled the words of the hivemind witch known as Guri. "Purl's weakness is blackwater, as I have told your companion." she had spoken "Aiptasia is a seahorse of a different color. In her madness, she fears her own reflection". The topic turned to talks of the unliving hag Diadema and the mysterious substance known as Blackwater. When NeeKaa revealed what she had learned, Scia’s interest was obviously piqued.

"Covey?" Scia questioned "Purl spoke of a Blue Coven, when she thought she was alone. Three hags in the service of Olhydra. I believe she worshipped them. Does this help, in any way?"

When reprimanded by Xaetra, for mentioning the name of the Elemental Princess aloud, Scia shrugged off the warning.

"Did you ever wonder, eidolon?" Scia turned to face the ambergris hag "Why? Why does she seek to drain the sea? Malice? Chaos? A dire untoward plan? What does she stand to gain?"

This spurred Xaetra into further debate.

"And you, druidess." Xaetra retorted "What do you stand to gain, waiting here countless centuries? Aye. I can sense both your time upon this Oerth and your calling."

"I... I cannot leave." Scia stammered "To leave is certain death. The forge forestalls aging, but its effects do not carry beyond these walls. Suffice to say that the Hearth of Hearts has prolonged our lives, here. But if we leave these caves, our years return." slowly, Scia added "I admit that I am over three hundred years of age."

Leaving the party to their rest and slumber, Scia returned to her people. Those who slept once again found themselves sharing a communal dreamscape. Emerging within a dimly-lit oubliette, each party member beheld phosphorescent etchings depicting several sea creatures commonly found in the shallows. Those who had visited the spherical chamber once before recalled the tattoos, bearing the likeness of a single etching they had chosen on their prior journey, now illustrated upon their skin.

Within the tide pool, Xaetra appeared as a hagfish, Jaena manifest as a silver shelled hermit crab with Jariah fastened to her shell as a barnacle. The reef hag Ciliaris emerged as a blue-eyed scallop, while Meir had chosen a humble chiton. Beside the sea urchin Reiko, a sea snake, puffer fish, and striped shrimp manifested.

"Do you remember me, young one?" the sea snake asked "I am Jade."
"And I am Pin'clarr" the puffer added
"What... what is this place?" the shrimp asked with the voice of Scia "Am I dreaming?"

"Scia, is it?" Meir asked "What do you know of this Blue Coven? What do you know of the Princess of Elemental Evil... Olhydra?"

The naming of the Elemental Princess invoked a trance within the shellycoat.

"The elemental princess bore the offspring of the demon lord."Meir began, her voice monotonous and distant. "Twin daughters ostracized by their father. Imprisoned, in distant lakes, far from impending waters."

Aware that Eyebite, the hag’s tooth artifact seemingly responsible for both her unliving animation and her unbidden prophesies, had spoken through her once more Meir recalled the second artifact, a hag’s tooth, was now in the possession of the insane shellycoat Aiptasia.

[Aeolius]

My game has been between session for a few weeks, which leads my mind to wander...

Secure in the knowledge that her companions were safe, Xaetra took a moment to herself, before the hours of slumber marked the time of dreams. Unrolling her burlap apothecary, the medicine bag that had stayed with her even beyond death itself, she inspected the hundreds of small pockets sewn into its surface. Shards of stone, dried herbs, and stoppered vials all seemed in order.

Turning the unrolled bundle, the ambergris eidolon exposed the crudely-stitched door upon the opposite side. Knocking gently in a deliberate pattern, she steadied herself against the flow of warm waters as the apothecary stiffened and and the door slowly opened.

Swimming swiftly beyond the doorway, Xaetra emerged into a water-filled stairwell. Along the stone walls of the passage grew a variety of corals and seaweed. Several small wooden traps held crabs which seem to be unmoving. The mortar between the stones illuminated the stairwell with a pale blue phosphorescence.

Slowly drifting past traps of wood and wire which held their captives in unwaking sleep, the hag encountered the barrier of shimmering mucus which divided the stairwell. Xaetra steadied herself, as she entered the portion of her root cellar filled with breathable air. Shielding her eyes from the golden light cast by the stones set in the ceiling above, she inspected the growth of her garden. An abundance of tubers; potatoes, carrots, turnips, and radishes grew within decorative urns, while flowering vines clung to the walls themselves.

Walking further upward, Xaetra felt the vines beneath her toes as pumpkins, melons, and gourds enveloped the stairs below. Clinging to trellises secured to the stonework walls, herbs and spices filled the air with a cacophony of pungent aromas. An earthen layer upon the stairwell served to nourish a variety of vegetables, while fruit trees grew within soil prepared with care within receptacles seemingly shaped in the likeness of massive conch shells, skulls, and geodes.

Pausing by an an unassuming section of stone, Xaetra traced her fingertip in a peculiar pattern atop the mortar. In response, a hidden chamber was revealed. In the passage beyond, resting upon a bed of ferns and wildflowers, Anasta slept. The alu-demon, restored by a single drop of blood protected by her sacred amulet, silently awaited the time of awakening.

Glaucus held the key. The scarab beetle, seemingly fashioned of glass and roughly the size of a man’s fist, had once served as Anasta’s own amulet, the sanctuary for her soul. Having attained sentience after the demon’s death, Glaucus now served as caretaker for Xaetra’s magical cellar.

“Greetings, my granddaughter.” she whispered in quiet reverence “Our last story explored the origins of the Devils’ Purse; the shard of the sea between Turucambi Reef, the Sinking Isle, and the Jungle of Lost Ships. Marked by ancient altars, each capable of unleashing maelstroms of unfathomable strength, the angles of the Devils’ Purse should be well remembered, as they define the birthplace of the Leviathan - guardian of the Solnor.

But one Leviathan may dwell within the waters of the Solnor, though many have assumed the mantle of power granted by the Devils’ Purse. In bygone ages, the Leviathan was borne from the stock of a nautilus and zaratan. Aye, the Chamber of Reflection within Turucambi Reef marks the remains of the nautilus. The hollow shell of the zaratan is ensnared in the waters to the north. The last Leviathan was fashioned from the form of a kraken.

Do not say it aloud. I know what you must be thinking. In life, the spectral kraken known as Mikros served as the Leviathan.

Within the currents of current days, the hydrimera retains the right to the title of Leviathan. Once banished from the Solnor into the Dramidj Ocean in western waters, the beast was fated to return to the Devils’ Purse.

I am loathe to speak of this to the others, but I bear responsibility for the beast’s return. My beloved Zander, in what surely must have been an epic battle, captured the hydrimera and imprisoned it within a magical pearl. The beast had vexed me in days long passed, so he wished to assure that such tidings would never again come to fruition.

It was this pearl that brought life to the iron hag, the construct I once called Grandmother Clock. It was this pearl, which Jaenan inadvertently carried through the Underflow, when the construct was destroyed. It was this pearl, which Jaenan unintentionally awakened, to avoid capture by Tempest and Salkt.

The rebirth of the hydrimera marked the deaths of the blood hag Tempest and salt hag Salkt, though heralding the birth of the blackwater hag Diadema. Their fates are intertwined in a manner I cannot fully fathom.

Of one thing am I certain. The Leviathan of future days will arise from the form of the amphisbaena.”

Silently, Glaucus crept from the concealed chamber, up the stairwell, and out of the magical root cellar. Without remorse, he shared the secret knowledge of Xaetra’s confession with all who would listen.

[Aeolius]

A recap of last week's game, to tide you over, as there is no game this week.

In the last session (07/03/11) the party*explored the site of a seeming cemetery; a bed of giant clams arranged conspicuously in rows. Their appearance not unlike unkempt tombstones, the clams held a sinister secret. Each contained a blackwater wraith, a spirit given substance by the unnatural waters below. As the party noted the wraiths’ affinity for the sea elf Sakura and her blackwater-infused weaponry and cape, a school of bony blackskates formed overhead.

One wraith in particular seemed most interested in Sakura, pointing to her with a whiplike arm before retreating within the clam shell from which he arose. As he did so, the blackskates above formed into a larger amalgamated shape, that of a manta ray. Sakura discovered, within the clam, a massive black pearl etched with golden runes. As the pearl grew inexplicably larger, the blackskates formed into the likeness of a massive jellyfish.

Drawing closer, Sakura watched as the golden runes lifted from the black pearl. As they slowly swirled, they approached the cautious sea elf. Two writhing black tentacles rose from nearby clams and seemed to attack the drifting runes; tearing them to shreds and reforming the wayward light into words familiar to all.

“Free us;” the words read, as they drifted freely in the surrounding sea “the pearl is our prison. Our ship, entrapped above. Our lives, forfeit. We are the Pirates of the Black Tide, held fast to our graves by the power of the pearl placed here by one who dwells below.

The Pearl steals from us. It grows stronger. We do not. The Pirates of the Black Tide must endure!”

Grasping the pearl, Sakura flinched as the golden runes exploded in a shower of sparks. The blackwater, freed from its bond, flowed over Sakura's hands and seemed to disappear beneath her skin. The pearl that remains does not resemble the one first seen. It now appeared as a crystalline egg of azure hue, etched with a delicate spiral encircling its surface. Sakura was similarly affected, for the darkness of her eyes now swirled with the essence of blackwater.

As if summoned, the massive bone jellyfish rose slightly, before moving to the north. There it began to sink into the depths. Acting on impulse, the triton called Current swam swiftly to the surface of Synsaal, the Barrier Between Worlds. There he searched for the ship mentioned by the umbral wraiths, yet he found only overgrown mounds of seaweed, writhing vines that moved of their own accord, and groves of trees growing upon the mats of seaweed that comprised the Weed-Sea.

The aventi Noie was the first to see the approaching form to the north. Humanoid in form and stature, the creature seemed to be made of stone entrusted with coralline algae, soft corals, and sponges. Sea fans, stony corals, barnacles, and seaweed grew upon its stout frame, like badges of honor upon a tattered uniform.

"You have destroyed the pearl. Why?" it asked, a crimson-hued crab crawling from between its lips as it spoke. "Now the cloud pearl is exposed. Now they will return for it, the storm hags, as they seek control of Cloudsea.

The covey wreaks havoc upon the waters of the Devil's Purse." the form continued “ for they control terrible waterspouts, but do not yet control the cloud itself. The pearl must be concealed. It must be contained within a natural sheath, or one of magical origins, to mask its location."

When the party retold the events leading to the cloud pearl’s exposure, the man of liverock seemed unconcerned.

"Unfortunate... and unintentional." it began "Many pirates have met their fate in the weed-sea, it is said. Pirates, treasure fleets, fishermen, and crafts from unknown waters.

The pearl gathered blackwater. I assumed it was from a natural source. Rest assured if the blackwater nacre is gone, the souls will be as they were.

How do you intend to cloak the pearl? If they sense it, if they scry it, they will come."

After a brief exchange, the ambergris hag Xaetra procured her daughter Jariah from within her magical apothecary. Conceived from the stuff of dreams while the hag was imprisoned within Dream Lake, Jariah appeared as a human infant with skin of pearlescent hue. When the stone-man saw Jariah, he held his arms across his chest.

"A child? A child of pearl?" he stammered “They will want to know. The whitebeards are the keepers of the forges. They tell of one with skin of pearl."

As the party spoke with the unnamed newcomer, they sensed movement in the waters above. An unmoving form, entangled in a fishing net, fell from the shallows. Several small sharks, their underbellies glowing with bioluminescence, took advantage of easy prey, ripping bits of flesh from the body.

The corpse appeared to be that of the lizardman Rikas, the lycanthrope who had assisted them upon their arrival to the Jungle of Lost Ships.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Aeolius, do you have chat transcripts from these?

[Aeolius]

Aeolius, do you have chat transcripts from these?

recaps are at http://web.mac.com/aeolius/turucambi/Blog/Blog.html ... for now

[Aeolius]

a recap of last week's game session:

In the last session (10/16/11) the party found themselves within the rusted remains of a metal ship. The iron vessel, wedged within the Weed-Sea, was home to a company of sea ghouls and their captive yet reluctant guardian, the pink coral princess Millepora.

Once they had deciphered the means to free Millepora, the party looked to the metal ship made of metal, with no mast or oars. The third of three “twice-named” ships, the Enora Norray reportedly held the final volumes of the Dreamer’s Journal and the Tome of Apotheosis. With the first, the oceanid NeeKaa hoped to hone her skills as Oneiromancer and strengthen her hold upon the Region of Dreams. With the latter, the party hoped to restore the spirit hag Xaetra to life and thus either weaken or destroy their nemesis, the blackwater hag Diadema, by severing her bond with Xaeta’s unliving corpse.

Diadema, an undead amalgamation of three hags reanimated by the mysterious powers of blackwater, sought to awaken three magical maelstroms. In so doing, the waters of the Solnor Ocean would be siphoned through a planar portal into the hollowed caverns of the lesser moon Celene. There, the twin daughters of the demon lord Dagon and elemental princess Olhydra were imprisoned in separate cells by their father. Diadema, instructed by the hags known as the Blue Coven who in turn were directed by Olhydra, sought to free the sisters from their father’s tyrannical imprisonment.

Two of the portals, one within Turucambi Reef and the other beneath the Sinking Isle, had been found by the party. The third, they had learned, rested atop an undersea mountain beneath the Jungle of Lost Ships. The portal, awaked through the act of sacrifice upon an alter ringed by stone monoliths, was guarded by a being known as the Olio.

Through their council with a circle of fey, the party had learned there were two ways to defeat the Olio.

“What do you know of the Olio?” the sirene Gemmifera had spoken “The Olio is a monstrous creature composed of the dead. Perhaps you are familiar with salp, massive rope-like creatures made from masses of jellyfish? Together, they act as one. Such a creature now envelops the ruins below. It grows stronger, from the offerings of the dead. The golden jellies, fashioned from the flesh of the dead, all find their way to the Olio.”
*
“The prophesy and omen pertain to the means by which the Olio might be destroyed, freeing these waters from its grasp.” the nereid Coerulea continued “By the prophesy of the Leviathan, the Olio will meet its end in a battle of beasts. By the omen of euphony, the Olio will be broken like the links of a rusted chain, bested by fugitives imprisoned unjustly, now acting as one. We no not which path will come to pass.”

Once they had freed a metal-skinned captive from beneath coils of rusted anchor chain, the party examined a metal chest filled with silver coins, the spoils of their combat with two lacedon sentries.

The aventi Noi, in pursuit of the lone sea ghoul which fled the scene of melee, discovered that the door through which the undead creature had found egress now warmed the surrounding waters and clouded his vision with boiling bubbles.

His attention drawn to the silver treasure, the viletooth lizardman Dorman was taken aback, when he found that many of the coins became incorporeal, slipping through his fingertips.Those coins that remained held an electrical charge. The shock was uncomfortable, but did no apparent damage. Examining the chest in closer detail, Dorman found a false bottom concealing a pair of gloves, some scraps of parchment, and an unusual metal wand.

“Seek the golden tome and the pouch shaped in the form of a hand” the undead shrunken head Meir had whispered, echoing the words of the coral princess.

Both gloves, NeeKaa discovered, were fashioned of pale skin and contained drawstrings in the manner of a pouch. Within one glove, an assortment of glass tiles were found. Each tile was colored either red, yellow, or blue and held a unique rune. Touching but a single tile, NeeKaa knew the tiles, used together, comprised the third Dreamer’s Journal.

Biding his time as NeeKaa examined the tiles, Noi examined six glass globes floating in a darkened corner of the rust-streaked chamber. The glass globes appear mundane in nature, save for one which seemed hollow and held a sprig of seaweed and a small red shrimp within crystal waters.

Without warning, a lone lacedon entered through the sole metal door, which Sakura noticed no longer radiated heat. Without speaking a word and uninterested in the party, the sea ghoul made fast for the pile of silver coins. Grasping a handful of coins in its withered grip, the creature vanished without a trace.

As if prompted by the strange disappearance, dozens of golden jellyfish swarmed through the open hatchway, forcing the party to retreat into the second chamber. The ephyra Phreb found their melodious droning made concentration difficult. When a single jellyfish brushed against him, the jellyfish merman heard their shared song, saw the image of a city with towering spires in his mind, and felt a warmth within.

Unleashing her blackwater weaponry, the sea elf ninja Sakura was satisfied when the blackskate chain whip responded eagerly. At that moment a voice audible to only Sakura and Neekaa whispered "Find me”. Sakura felt the disorienting pull of blackwater towards the center of the vessel.

The second chamber was rectangular in shape and roughly half the size of the previous room. There were several white fish, here, each with a whip-like tail. Serpent sea stars clung to the rusted walls. Bits of metal littered the floor. There are doors on either side of the far walls. A rectangular section, also holding a door, protruded from the far wall.