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Cerulean Seas Adventure Under the Waves

ALP-CS01:

Role Playing Game Supplement New Undersea Campaign Guide for use with the Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game

Written by Emily Kubisz, J. Matthew Kubisz, Matthew Cicci, & Sam G. Hing

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Cerulean Seas © 2010 Alluria Publishing. All rights reserved.

Compatibility with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game requires the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLC. See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, LLC does not guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this product.

Pathfinder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License. See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/compatibility for more information on the compatibility license.

OPEN GAME LICENSE v 1.0a. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENT. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams,

based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. PATHFINDER RPG CORE RULEBOOK, PATHFINDER RPG BESTIARY, PATHFINDER RPG BESTIARY 2, & PATHFINDER ADVANCED PLAYER’S

GUIDE. Copyright 2009-2010 Paizo Publishing, LLC; Lead Designer: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.

THE BOOK OF EXPERIMENTAL MIGHT. Copyright 2008, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved. THE DEEP. Copyright 2003, Mystic Eye Games, LLC; Authors: Becky Glenn, Stefon Mears, Susannah Redelfs, and Robin Wise. TOME OF HORRORS. Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin

Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from TSR.

Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content are not included in this declaration.)

Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Alluria Publishing game product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Gaming License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.

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Authors

Sam G. Hing

Matthew Cicci

Emily Ember Kubisz

Cover Artist

Dean Spencer

Interior Artists

Dean Spencer

Eugene Jaworski

Vasilis Zikos

Benjamin R. Barnes

Editors Stephanie D. Schubert Paul Klein

Rules Consultant Matthew Jacobs

Peter Killian

Layout & Design Tim Adams Rogue Agent Solutions

Special Thanks to: Ofelia J. Kubisz Jim Clunie

EN World Team Draconis

Credits

Lead Designer: J. Matthew Kubisz

Design Consultant: Tim Adams

Authors: Emily Ember Kubisz, J. Matthew Kubisz, Matthew A. Cicci, & Sam G. Hing

Cover Artist: Dean Spencer

Interior Artists: Tim Adams, Andrew K. Barlow, Kevin Bedan, Black Cardinal Comics,

Sandeson N. Gonzaga, Mary Graham, Natalia Ponce Gutiérrez, Jim Healy, J. Matthew Kubisz,

David LaRocca, Emile Noordeloos, Agnieszka Osiwała, Randall Powell, Raul Gonzalez Serrano, Dean Spencer,

Colby Stevenson, Peter Szmer, Lotta Tjernström, Daryl Toh Liem Zhan & Vasilis Zikos

Editor-in-Chief: J. Matthew Kubisz

Editing and Development: Peter Killian, A. L. Maturin, & Stephanie Dawn Schubert-Kubisz

Editorial Assistance: Paul Klein

Art Director: Emily E. Kubisz

Alluria Publishing CEO: J. Matthew Kubisz

Vice President of Operations: Stephanie Dawn Schubert-Kubisz

Legal Consultant: Jack Benson

Official Playtesters: Sherri G. Bickerton, Steven Carabello, Heather Carvell, Larry Colwell,

Dan Forest, Bill Giffen, Dave Johnson, Nicole Mailman, Shawn Malott, Brett McConnel,

Stephanie Dawn Schubert-Kubisz, Ron Spreckels, Wendy Spreckels, Team Draconis,

Jason Ungart & Jasen Ward

Special Thanks: Jim Clunie, Team Draconis, Matthew Jacobs, & Ofelia Jean Kubisz

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Chapter 1: Undersea Basics 4 Preface ........................................................... 5

Introduction .................................................. 6

Common Terms ............................................ 7

Using this book ............................................. 7

Environmental Basics.................................... 8

Aquatic Combat ............................................ 24

Chapter 2: Undersea Races 26 Anthromorphs............................................... 27

Karkanaks ................................................ 28

Mogogols ................................................. 29

Pisceans ................................................... 30

Sebek-kas ................................................. 31

Feykith ........................................................... 32

Elves, Sea ................................................. 33

Naiads, viridian....................................... 34

Nixies, deepwater ................................... 35

Selkies, lochgelly ..................................... 36

Merfolk .......................................................... 37

Cindarians ............................................... 38

Kai-lios ..................................................... 39

Nommos .................................................. 40

Seafolk ..................................................... 41

Merfolk half-races ......................................... 42

Vital Statistics ................................................ 45

Chapter 3: Undersea Classes 46 Adapting Existing Classes ............................ 47

New Classes ................................................. 56

Kahuna .................................................... 56

Mariner .................................................... 63

Siren ......................................................... 66

Prestige classes .............................................. 72

Chapter 4: Aquatic Skills & Feats 80 Skills............................................................... 81

Feats ............................................................... 86

Chapter 5: Money & Equipment 94 Aquatic Currency .......................................... 95

New Aquatic Materials ................................. 96

Weapons ........................................................ 97

Armor of the Sea ........................................... 103

Ships .............................................................. 105

Aquatic Goods............................................... 108

Chapter 6: Magic of the Sea 114 Notable Exceptions to Spell Rules ................ 115

Aquatic Material Components ..................... 116

Aquatic Equivalents of Existing Spells ........ 117

Undersea Spell Lists ...................................... 118

New Undersea Spells ................................... 127

Aquatic Magic Items ................................... 154

Chapter 7: The Cerulean Seas 158 The Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting .......... 159

Racial Histories ............................................. 159

Other Races of the Sea................................... 164

Aquatic Languages ....................................... 167

Religion in the Cerulean Seas ....................... 168

Cities of the Cerulean Seas ........................... 178

Current Events .............................................. 183

Chapter 8: Mastering the Sea 184 Gamemastering Under the Sea ..................... 185

Converting Existing Material ....................... 185

Using the Battle-mat ..................................... 187

Running a Three-Dimensional Game .......... 191

Unfamiliar Waters ......................................... 192

Far Away Realms .................................... 192

Inner Planes ............................................ 193

Extraplanar Seas ...................................... 193

Chapter 9: Cerulean Seas Bestiary 194 Introduction to Sea Monsters ....................... 195

Creature Glyphs ............................................ 195

New Sea Monsters ........................................ 196

Simple Templates .......................................... 267

Uncharacteristic Aquatics ............................. 267

Appendix 1: List of Aquatic Monsters ......... 268

Appendix 2: Pronunciation Guide ............... 270

Appendix 3: Index of Tables ......................... 270

Appendix 4: Art Index .................................. 271

Open Game License ...................................... 273

Character Sheet ............................................. 274

Cardstock Minis ............................................ 276

Tracker Tree Template .................................. 280

Depth Cubes .................................................. 282

Map ................................................................ 283 Index .............................................................. 284

Contents

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Chapter 1:

Undersea Basics

Dead men tell no tales

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The Legend of the Drylanders Ages ago, when dry land was bountiful, the drylanders flourished. There were many races that never needed to feel the waves’ caress, nor longed to. There were drylander elves that lived in forests of dry wood which were almost as large as the kelp forests of today. In large cities there were humans, who looked much like seafolk, except with elf-like legs and feet instead of fins. Even deep

in the dry earth there was life; dwarves and gnomes lived there, who were said to look like stout, hairy nixies. For the most part, the drylanders were a peaceful lot; preferring to avoid war whenever they could.

While evil did exist on dry land, as it does in the sea, there was no shortage of heroes to keep the peace. Much like us, they had warriors, though their weapon of choice was neither trident, nor spear, but instead a long and broad sword — much too unwieldy for the water. There were wizards, too, who, instead of scalding steam, could wield great billowing flares of bright-hot fire. They even had kahunas that were called druids that held dominion over the nature that was once plentiful above the waves.

During our bloodiest times, when the sahuagin filled the seas and war was rampant, the drylanders had formed a vast empire. It was ruled by a wise council in a spectacular city that floated in the sky like a raft on the waves. This Cloud City could move wherever it was needed, and its armies kept evil at bay. After five centuries, the world of land had known only peace, and the world of sea had known only war. Each nearly forgot the other had existed. Sunken into a struggle against extinction, the denizens of the oceans became myths to the land-folk, who rarely encountered them or lived to tell the tale if they did.

It would seem that this rift would last forever, if it were not for one catastrophic event that would change everything. The great Cloud City, its council, and its armies of good, suddenly and inexplicably fell from the sky. The flying metropolis that maintained peace in all countries on dry land for half a millennium, fell from its lofty perch in the heavens, and sank into the depths of the sea. It landed in the Bay of Cerule, a region of sea that was surrounded by dry land on three sides.

Along with the Cloud City sank the faith of the land-folk, who placed blame on the heavens themselves, vowing to destroy all ties to the divine. In their haste to shut out the sky, they closed the Portals of Oblivion, which manifested as permanent whirlpools in each of the seven seas. What they did not know, is that the portals maintained the balance of land and ocean, and without them in place, the land was soon swallowed by a thirsty sea. The great flood began and the age of land had ended. Most of the land was swallowed in one tide cycle.

All the while, the great Bloody War saw an end in the ever increasing Bay of Cerule. The heart of the cloud city had sunk into the depths of the crumbling merfolk empire of the nommo, the most ancient race of the sea. Miraculously, the heart was still vital and rebuilt itself, aided by the magic which created it. Instead of calling the sky its home, it resided in the depths of the sea, and became a powerful ally to the good creatures under the waves.

As the water rose, the land was drowned. The ocean folk sought shallower depths, and the Bay of Cerule became the Cerulean Seas. This was the epicenter for a turn in the war which brought upon the Sahuagin what they wished to bring upon all others - utter annihilation. Within a hundred years, the sea-devils were brought to the brink of extinction.

Centuries have passed since a sea dweller has seen a drylander or sahuagin settlement. They have long passed into the realm of myth and legend, and are known commonly only by their ruins and treasures. The fate of the world is now ruled by the sea, and the battle of good versus evil still rages on under the ocean’ s waves. The world goes on, much the same as always.

Great wizards still cast their spells, tridents have replaced swords, and kahunas still maintain the balance of nature. In the center of where it all began, heroes will still rise up to save the day, and fight for the splendor of the Cerulean Seas.

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Introduction

The design of this tome began nearly a decade

ago during the prime of 3rd edition Dungeons and

Dragons. The complexity of undersea adventuring

proved to be daunting. Years of play-testing and

rules revisions spanned through 3.5 and all the

way to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. We are

finally very satisfied with the final product and

hope you will be too.

In the Cerulean Seas Campaign setting, the

world’s surface is covered with ninety-nine percent

ocean due to a great flood that took place centuries

ago. While most of the world is a vast, fathomless,

unexplored, and unlivable sea, the game takes place

in a shallower region known as the Cerulean Seas.

Adventurers take on the role of undersea fantasy

races; including merfolk and sea elves.

Cerulean Seas adds a new dimension to fantasy

roleplaying; one that not only explores the mysteries

of an alien – yet familiar world, but allows for

challenges rarely seen in typical campaign settings.

For example, nearly all combat under the waves

takes place on a three-dimensional battlefield. Even

a first level warrior has the luxury of swimming up

or down, where this was only possible before with

high-level aerial combat aided by powerful flying

mounts or advanced magic. This provides challenges

for both players and Gamemasters to think in

different ways and come up with new solutions.

This setting purposefully departs from the

realms of dry land. The land-folk, or drylanders,

have gone extinct, mostly due to a catastrophic

flood, but also likely due to extensive genocide

and other circumstances. Non-aquatic land does

exist, as many races still depend on it for

reproductive purposes, but the proportion of land

to sea is much less than in other campaign worlds.

As expected, the shift from a land-based to a

water-based world requires many alterations to

the rules, entirely new rules, and makes some

rules unnecessary. This book addresses these

concerns.

Although the setting is quite different, the game

is essentially the same. This book utilizes the

core of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, which is

required to run a game in this setting. Cerulean Seas

offers the opportunity of playing in a world that is

vastly different without having to learn an entirely

new set of rules. This book provides all the

additional rules for undersea heroes; including

twelve new races, three new classes, class revisions,

new prestige classes, and mechanics for pressure,

buoyancy, drag and other sea-based challenges.

Despite being a comprehensive guide to

undersea roleplaying, this book is not intended to

stand alone. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

core books are both necessary and complementary.

This book does not reiterate rules that do not

change because of the setting. The majority of the

mechanics of combat, for example, still run in

basically the same way, and are therefore not

covered by this tome. Likewise, aquatic monsters

that appear in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

bestiaries are not contained here.

While the Cerulean Seas Campaign setting is a

comprehensive guide to a specific new undersea

realm, it can also be used as a guidebook for both

other undersea campaign settings and any aquatic

adventuring. This book details one region of an

entire flooded world where pockets of civilization

cling to isolated island chains and reefs. This

setting is intended to be incomplete; ripe with

unsolved mysteries and the known world being a

shallow speck isolated by countless fathoms of

water, beyond which only the imagination of the

Gamemaster can fill. Plot and setting hooks

abound as well. From the mystery of the

drylanders’ genocide to the uncharted polar

homeland of the selkies, there is much for any

campaign designer to consider.

Even if the setting itself is not used at all, the

book serves as an excellent reference for undersea

adventure, including new races, rules, and monsters

that can spice up any game. If your campaign has an

ocean, there will certainly be something this book

can offer it. It is even possible for the catastrophic

flood to be a localized phenomenon in your existing

campaign world, where neither the flooded location

nor the rest of the world know each other exists.

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Using This Book

This book is divided into 9 chapters with

several helpful appendices. The first five chapters

contain the basic rules of undersea adventuring.

In chapter one, an introduction is followed by

guidelines for environmental basics including

rules for buoyancy, pressure, drag, and aquatic

terrain. Chapter two describes three new

humanoid subclasses (anthromorph, feykith, and

merfolk) and twelve new races (cindarian, sea elf,

kai-lio, karkanak, mogogol, naiad, nixie, nommo,

piscean, seafolk, sebek-ka, and selkie). Chapter three

examines how existing classes fit into an aquatic

world and presents three new classes: the kahuna,

mariner, and siren. New and existing skills, feats,

equipment and spells are fathomed in chapters four

through six. Chapter seven details the campaign

setting itself, including a world map, history, and

other setting specific information. The last

chapters are for the Gamemaster, and include

everything from 3D combat to a complete bestiary.

Common Terms

Words listed below are often referred to

throughout the Cerulean Seas campaign and are

defined here for clarification. More advanced

definitions can be found in other sections.

Anthromorph: A humanoid sea animal.

Mogogols, sebek-ka, pisceans, slurgs, and

karkanaks are anthromorphs.

The Bloody War: A war that ended over 400

years ago between sahuagin and the good

denizens of the sea. The sahuagin lost and were

hunted to near extinction.

Brill: An extremely rare and ancient glowing

stone that is actually a magically transformed elf.

Brill come in blue, green, and red. Only the blue

ones can be successfully transformed back into an

elf (a sea elf with memories of times long before

the Bloody War). Green brillstones turn into

surface elves and red into surface drow. It is

considered evil to release an elf from a green or

red stone, as they have no place to go.

Buoyancy Units (bu.): These reflect an item’s

buoyancy, and are described later in this chapter.

Cerulean Current: An Antarctic water current

that bisects the Cerulean Seas and changes

direction annually.

Cerulean Seas: The known world that is

divided into 9 sections (or seas) by location.

Depth Tolerance: The maximum depth a

creature can safely traverse. This is detailed in the

section on pressure later in this chapter.

Feykith: Any variety of water fey descendants,

including nixies, sea-elves, naiads, selkies, deep

drow, and nucklavee.

The Great Flood: A catastrophe that raised the

ocean level several hundred feet, drowning most

of the land and those that inhabited it. This

happened 522 years ago.

Glimmerkeepers: An organized crime faction

run by the notorious Flickersnitch, a nixie rogue

whose exploits are legendary.

Kahuna: An undersea class that replaces the

druid’s niche in the Cerulean Seas campaign

setting. Kahunas call on spirits of the sea to bless

their allies in battle.

Leviathan: Any sea creature of at least

Colossal size, usually solitary and aggressive.

Mariner: An undersea class that replaces the

ranger’s niche in the Cerulean Seas campaign

setting. While they are quite skilled in combat,

their focus on movement and speed is what sets

them apart.

Merfolk: A creature with a humanoid torso

and fish-like lower half. Cindarians, seafolk,

boggers, nommo, and kailio are all merfolk.

Merped: A creature with the upper body of a

quadruped and the lower body of a fish. Sea cats

and hippocampi are merpeds. Merpeds are often

used as mounts.

Planar: A humanoid with heritage from the

elemental plane of water, including genai and

tritons.

Remora Imp: A tiny imp-like creature that

bonds to any creature that can speak pelagic.

They are detailed in Chapter 9: An Undersea

Bestiary.

Siren: An undersea class that replaces the

bard’s niche in the Cerulean Seas campaign

setting. Sirens are masters of enchantment who

muddle their foes’ hearts and minds with a

simple song.

Trueform: An intelligent species of non-

humanoid form. Carchardians, delphins, ixarcs,

and squibbon are trueforms. While not standard

PC races, they do contribute to the overall

society of the campaign setting.

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Environmental Basics

Light Zones

The ocean can be divided from its surface to its

depth into three zones based on the amount of

light received. They are:

Sunlit Zone: This is the top layer, nearest the

surface. Here there is enough light penetrating the

water to support photosynthesis. More than

ninety percent of all marine life lives in the sunlit

zone. The sunlit zone goes down about 600 feet.

Most fish and other sentient races live in this

zone.

Twilight Zone: Only a small amount of light

can penetrate the water at this depth. As the water

becomes deeper, the pressure also increases.

Plants do not grow here. Only animals that have

adapted to low light survive. The nommo and the

Cerulean nixie call this zone home. This gloomy

part of the ocean begins at about 600 feet under

the water and extends to the darkest part, which

begins about 3000 feet down. Bioluminescent

creatures abound in this zone.

Midnight Zone: Ninety percent of the ocean is

in the midnight zone. It is oppressively dark, the

water pressure is extreme, and the temperature is

near freezing. Living creatures found here live

close to cracks in the planet's crust. These cracks

give off mineral-rich materials that nourish

bacteria, which form the bottom of the food chain

here, much like plankton does in the waters

above. Deep drow, the aquatic equivalent of the

surface dark elves, claim this realm as their own.

Table 1-0: SUNLIGHT AS A LIGHT SOURCE Depth Bright* Shadowy*

60 ft. or less 100 ft. 200 ft.

61-120 ft. 60 ft. 120 ft. 121-240 ft. 30 ft. 60 ft.

241-360 ft. 20 ft. 40 ft.

361-400 ft. 10 ft. 20 ft.

401-600 ft. — 10 ft.

601 ft. or more — —

*Creatures with low-light vision can see objects twice as far away as the given distance.

Topography

The ocean floor is not as flat and sandy as their

more-familiar beaches, nor quite so predictable. In

addition to the aquatic mountains, valleys,

deserts, and plains, there are features that are

foreign to those that live solely on land.

As the land descends beneath the sea, there are

drastic changes in the planet's geology. This

transitional area, known as the continental

margin, includes both the continental shelf and

the continental slope. As dry-land fades from

sight, the heavy and thick continental granite

gives way to a thinner layer of basalt.

The continental shelf normally contains water

that is only a couple of hundred feet deep. The

neritic zone is located here. The width of the

continental shelf varies greatly depending on

location. At the edge of the continental shelf, the

ocean floor begins a steep descent known as the

continental slope. This area is often pervaded by

fathomless submarine canyons.

The slope levels out at the ocean basin, which

also has some interesting features. Perhaps the

most unusual are the abyssal plains which are

large, flat areas on the ocean floor covered with a

thick layer of sediment and decomposing organic

ooze. Large, undersea volcanoes called seamounts

occasionally rise from these depths. Sometimes

the peaks of these giant underwater volcanoes

reach to the surface to form volcanic islands.

Ocean trenches are found along the edge of

ocean basins. These trenches contain the deepest

parts of the ocean, and therefore, the deepest

parts of the world. They can go down several

miles, and are known to harbor the most terrible

abominations that one could imagine.

Tides

Tides are the periodic rising and falling of

large bodies of water. The gravitational attraction

of the moon causes the oceans to bulge out in the

direction of the moon. Another bulge occurs on

the opposite side, since the planet is also being

pulled toward the moon (and away from the

water on the far side). Ocean levels fluctuate daily

as the sun, moon and planet interact. As the moon

travels around the planet and as they, together,

travel around the sun, the combined gravitational

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