Everyone requests a thing, we shuffle the requests around, and everyone fulfils one of them as a Christmas Santicorn gift! How wholesome!
I got this one from Wizzzargh:
"Dungeon room fills, be they tricks, traps, treasure, or monsters, for a dungeon regularly flooded by seawater at high tide. Bonus points for fills that require very different approaches at different water levels"
So here goes!
The Tide-Flooded Caverns
The smell of salt and smoke. Rumours of smugglers and sea-witches. Warnings of a rising tide that claims all who enter. Everyone in the village built on the bluffs above knows of the caves, and all are wise enough not to explore them.
At low tide the seawater slides around the cave mouths like a lover's tongue, sloshing over the slick sand and sucking mud and shifting stones of a treacherous beach.
At low tide the seawater slides around the cave mouths like a lover's tongue, sloshing over the slick sand and sucking mud and shifting stones of a treacherous beach.
The tide turns and waves of cold scummy seawater gush into the waiting mouths, pouring in through the twisting passages and wider caverns that honeycomb the headland.
Exploring the caves is dangerous, the rising tides changing the nature of the chambers inside, but there are stories of vast treasures and strange creatures within...
How to Use
There are 20 caverns detailed below, each with a description for Low, Mid and High Tide.
There are also 10 treasures to spice up a chamber, or maybe to find if they loot a room.
There are also 10 treasures to spice up a chamber, or maybe to find if they loot a room.
Finally, 6 random encounters because of course.
Do whatever you feel like with them!
Do whatever you feel like with them!
You could roll randomly as PCs travel through the caves (maybe 1d20 for chamber and 1d20 for treasure, where treasure results 11-20 are "nothing extra"), or pre-build the cavern complex.
If you do the latter I suggest room 9 (Gillifier) be placed fairly deep in the caves, since it's a gimmick room that reverses whether you breathe air or water and it might be fun to recontextualise all the other chambers they've been in already.
Room 10 (Lamprey Witch) contains a powerful foe so could be used as a boss room if that's something you like doing.
Room 6 (Cork Golem) would make a good guard fairly close to the entrance, especially since the poor chap becomes a bit useless when the water level rises!
Room 10 (Lamprey Witch) contains a powerful foe so could be used as a boss room if that's something you like doing.
Room 6 (Cork Golem) would make a good guard fairly close to the entrance, especially since the poor chap becomes a bit useless when the water level rises!
Either way the routes between the chambers are up to you. I envisage twisty slippery seaweedy passages that fill up at high tide.
Tracking the Tide
Time from Low to High tide is apparently 6 hours, which is a lot for your average delve, but whatever. Hopefully they get a bit trapped by the time Mid Tide rolls around and have to make some hard decisions.
I suggest having a row of six boxes like so:
☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Low | Mid | High
I suggest having a row of six boxes like so:
☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Low | Mid | High
Use an Overloaded Encounter Die and have result 3 say "Tide rises - Check off a tide box". That should mean you get about one box ticked off per hour.
Result 4 could even be something like "Freak Surge - treat as next Tide in cycle for next 10 minutes" to add some more watery unpredictability!
Result 4 could even be something like "Freak Surge - treat as next Tide in cycle for next 10 minutes" to add some more watery unpredictability!
Drowning
You might have drowning rules already, but if you don't here's how I do it -
If you get a chance to take a deep breath before diving, you can hold your breath for 5 rounds +/- your Constitution modifier.
If you don't get to take a breath first, you have 1d6-1 rounds of air left, also +/- Con Mod
Once you run out of air you take 1d6 damage per round until you can breathe again.
If you get a chance to take a deep breath before diving, you can hold your breath for 5 rounds +/- your Constitution modifier.
If you don't get to take a breath first, you have 1d6-1 rounds of air left, also +/- Con Mod
Once you run out of air you take 1d6 damage per round until you can breathe again.
The Chambers
1. Aqua-Pause Pillar
Any Tide:
A chamber with water seemingly frozen in time, forming a bowl-shape around a vibrating glass-and-stone pillar. The pillar is honeycombed with glass panels revealing the glowing bubbling blue liquid within. Smash the pillar and a ripple shudders through the water. Hit hard enough, the vibration stops all the water within a mile in place! It still feels like water, but it doesn't move or ripple or pour. The effect lasts for an hour, after which the water suddenly springs back to where it should have been.
A chamber with water seemingly frozen in time, forming a bowl-shape around a vibrating glass-and-stone pillar. The pillar is honeycombed with glass panels revealing the glowing bubbling blue liquid within. Smash the pillar and a ripple shudders through the water. Hit hard enough, the vibration stops all the water within a mile in place! It still feels like water, but it doesn't move or ripple or pour. The effect lasts for an hour, after which the water suddenly springs back to where it should have been.
2. Barnacle Spear
Any Tide:On a raised barnacle-encrusted dais in the middle of this frieze-carved chamber is a long tool with a rusty barnacle-scraping edge filed to a point on the end. Water rushes down the holes at the foot of the dais, keeping the water in this chamber knee-high.
The Barnacle Spear counts as an ordinary spear when nowhere near the sea. When it's near the sea it's a spear with powers based on the tide.
Low Tide: Ebb - on hit, get a free move and disengage backwards.
Mid Tide: Splash Zone - on hit, push everyone in front of you 20' away.
High Tide: Surge - On hit, pierce through and hit another target behind the first. This can combo indefinitely until you run out of targets. You can move up to 20' forwards between strikes.
3. Bastard Seagulls
Low Tide: Seagulls fly into this guano-covered chamber through the many small holes in the ceiling. They are fiercely territorial and massive bastards who will flock and kill in a barrage of savage pecks.
Mid Tide: Seagulls float happily on the surface of the chest-high water in this chamber, occasionally flying in and out of the many small holes in the ceiling. They are fiercely territorial and will swarm anyone who enters above the water, but won't attack anyone swimming below.
High Tide: A few seagulls bob on the surface of the neck-high water in this chamber. There's not much room though, so most of them have already flown out to the outside world through the small holes in the ceiling. Anybody with their head above the water will be attacked by the seagulls who paddle over to peck at their face - there's not enough room to swoop.
-
Bastard Seagulls
HD1 AC unarmoured ML9
Attacks: 1d2 Peck or 1d4 flyby swoop attack
Abilities: At will, a seagull can detect the distance and direction of hot potato chips within a half mile radius.
Attitude: Extremely bad-tempered. Swoop if there's room, peck if there isn't, squawk no matter what.
4. Bluebottles
Low Tide:
The slimy, lumpy floor of this chamber is covered with small pale blue pear-shaped balloons and tangles of bright royal blue tendrils. Touching a tendril brings hot red whip-like marks on the flesh and extreme agony.
The slimy, lumpy floor of this chamber is covered with small pale blue pear-shaped balloons and tangles of bright royal blue tendrils. Touching a tendril brings hot red whip-like marks on the flesh and extreme agony.
Mid Tide:
The waist-high water in this chamber has many small pale blue pear-shaped balloons bobbing about in it. Their bright blue tendrils drift about beneath the water. Wading or swimming through the water inevitably leads to these stinging tendrils drifting into you and bringing up incredibly painful whip-like welts on any body parts which went beneath the water - legs if wading, pretty much all of you if swimming.
The waist-high water in this chamber has many small pale blue pear-shaped balloons bobbing about in it. Their bright blue tendrils drift about beneath the water. Wading or swimming through the water inevitably leads to these stinging tendrils drifting into you and bringing up incredibly painful whip-like welts on any body parts which went beneath the water - legs if wading, pretty much all of you if swimming.
High Tide:
Pretty blue strings drift about in the currents of this water-filled chamber, seemingly hanging from the ceiling above. If you swim through this room you are beset by the agonising stings of the tendrils and risk death by drowning.
Pretty blue strings drift about in the currents of this water-filled chamber, seemingly hanging from the ceiling above. If you swim through this room you are beset by the agonising stings of the tendrils and risk death by drowning.
-
Bluebottles (Hazard)
Effect:
Their tendrils bring great pain through a powerful venom.
If touched by a tendril (even through cloth), Save vs Stun or keel over prone from the pain - you can Save again each round to recover. You take 1d4 damage each round you have clothing touching the affected body parts for the next 10 minutes. Additionally, for small areas (a hand, a foot), that body part becomes useless for the next hour. For larger areas (torso, multiple limbs), you count as having 1HP for the next hour until the pain fades away.
Main Danger:
Keeling over from the pain on land likely makes you fall onto more of them. Doing it in water risks stinging more and more of you as you stir up the water (and tendrils) in your agony, leading to your inevitable drowning.
5. Chasing Crab
Low Tide:
This crab is big and hungry and now it wants to eat YOU. It scuttles sideways at twice human speed across the wet floor of this chamber, claws bared, ready to PINCH! It will chase you until you either kill it, or get two chambers ahead of it at which point it gives up.
This crab is big and hungry and now it wants to eat YOU. It scuttles sideways at twice human speed across the wet floor of this chamber, claws bared, ready to PINCH! It will chase you until you either kill it, or get two chambers ahead of it at which point it gives up.
Mid Tide:
This crab is big and hungry and ANNOYING SLOW IN WATER! It scuttles sideways through the waist-high water at human unencumbered speed, claws bared, ready to CLAMP! It will chase you until you either kill it, or get two chambers ahead of it at which point it gives up.
This crab is big and hungry and ANNOYING SLOW IN WATER! It scuttles sideways through the waist-high water at human unencumbered speed, claws bared, ready to CLAMP! It will chase you until you either kill it, or get two chambers ahead of it at which point it gives up.
High Tide:
This crab is big and hungry and AGONISINGLY SLOW SUBMERGED. It scuttles sideways under the water at a quarter human speed, claws bared, extremely FRUSTRATED! It will chase you until you either kill it, or get two chambers ahead of it at which point it gives up.
This crab is big and hungry and AGONISINGLY SLOW SUBMERGED. It scuttles sideways under the water at a quarter human speed, claws bared, extremely FRUSTRATED! It will chase you until you either kill it, or get two chambers ahead of it at which point it gives up.
-
Chasing Crab
HD8 AC plate ML10
Attacks: 2 Pincer attacks for 1d10 each. If both hit, dents your armour giving you -1 AC until you get it repaired.
Abilities: Fast on land, slow in water. Max speed on land is twice human. Max speed submerged is quarter human.
Attitude: Chase down victims, but try to keep on land where it's fast!
6. Cork Golem
Low Tide: A huge golem made of cork stomps around this slippery chamber floored with black cave-kelp, guarding the way deeper into the complex.
Mid Tide:
A huge golem made of cork bobs around in the chest-high water in this chamber, flailing around because of how floaty it is. It's slow but powerful. Black cave-kelp waves on the floor.
High Tide:
A chamber filled completely with water, black cave-kelp waves in the water below. A huge golem made of cork is pinned to the ceiling by the water.
A chamber filled completely with water, black cave-kelp waves in the water below. A huge golem made of cork is pinned to the ceiling by the water.
-
Cork Golem
HD10 AC leather ML12
Attacks: Powerful punch deals 1d12 damage and blasts victim back and prone - hitting a wall or other creature deals an extra 1d6 damage to both.
Abilities: Floats, immune to fire when wet (always in here), 1 damage per die from bashing attacks.
Attitude: Stomp around, punch people into other people, stomp on people while they're lying on the floor!
7. Dehydrated Ooze
Any Tide:
The passage slopes up to a small cave above the waterline. Inside is a crusty aquamarine bulge with gold coins glimmering under the hardened candy-like shell.
Pour a bunch of water on the lump and it rehydrates into a massive absorbent Aquamarine Goop! Run! Or kill it somehow to claim the treasure...
-
Aquamarine Goop
12HD AC leather ML12
Attacks: 1d8 Dehydrating Slap - On hit, Save vs Doom or lose 1d4 Strength from sudden dehydration!
Abilities: If hit by a water or ice-based attack, gets an immediate free turn. If hit by a fire-based attack, stunned for a round as it loses moisture.
Attitude: Schlorp after the juiciest foe and steal all their juices!
8. Eel Pit
Low Tide: The way out of this chamber is on the other side of a 50' deep pit with a shallow pool of water at the bottom. Electric eels hide at the sandy bottom of the pit, but won't attack when the water is this shallow. How come this pit isn't just a permanent deep pool? - The water in the pit drains away slowly through narrow shafts beneath the sand.
Mid Tide: The way out of this chamber is on the other side of a deep pit with a 20' deep pool of water 30' down. Electric eels hide at the sandy bottom of the pit, and will swarm out at anyone who jumps into the water.
High Tide: The way out of this chamber is on the other side of a 50' deep pool of water. The water is infested with electric eels which will swarm out at anyone who gets into the water.
-
Electric Eel
1HD AC unarmoured ML6
Attacks: 1d4 bite deals double damage vs metal armour - On hit, zap makes target drop whatever they're holding
Abilities: Electric bite
Attitude: Swarm anything that moves, zapping them so they drop their stuff and have to jump in to get it back.
9. Gillifier
Low Tide:
This damp stone chamber smells of salt and earth and wet metal, small fish flop industriously around the room. The walls are lined with nooks that shimmer with layers of with valuable mother-of-pearl, and a squid peers curiously down from one of these nooks. This room reverses whether you breathe air or water for 24 hours. Anyone who spends a minute or so in this room finds it hard to breathe, and soon they discover that they have grown gills and can no longer breathe air! They begin to suffocate immediately.
This damp stone chamber smells of salt and earth and wet metal, small fish flop industriously around the room. The walls are lined with nooks that shimmer with layers of with valuable mother-of-pearl, and a squid peers curiously down from one of these nooks. This room reverses whether you breathe air or water for 24 hours. Anyone who spends a minute or so in this room finds it hard to breathe, and soon they discover that they have grown gills and can no longer breathe air! They begin to suffocate immediately.
Mid Tide: This stone chamber with knee-high water smells of salt and earth and wet metal. Small fish float about with their faces on the surface, gulping down air. The walls are lined with nooks that shimmer with layers of with valuable mother-of-pearl. This room reverses whether you breathe air or water for 24 hours. Anyone who spends a minute or so in this room finds it hard to breathe, and soon they discover that they have grown gills and can no longer breathe air! They must go on their hands and knees to dip their newfound gills into the low water, else begin to suffocate.
High Tide: This stone chamber with chest-high water smells of salt and earth and wet metal. Small fish float about with their faces on the surface, gulping down air. The walls are lined with nooks that shimmer with layers of with valuable mother-of-pearl. This room reverses whether you breathe air or water for 24 hours. Anyone who spends a minute or so in this room finds it hard to breathe, and soon they discover that they have grown gills and can no longer breathe air! They begin to suffocate unless they submerge themselves into the water.
10. Lamprey Witch
Low Tide: A smoky chamber with shallow pits filled with water and black oily shapes - lampreys. A smoky blue driftwood fire is in the centre of the chamber, surrounded by stones. Hiding in one of the pits during the low tide is the Lamprey Witch - an emaciated old woman with lampreys latched onto every piece of her. She always seeks more food for her children and will strike from the smoke!
Mid Tide:
A hazy chamber that smells of salt and woodsmoke. Oily black shapes writhe and twist through the knee-high water- lampreys! They wriggle through the water towards you, awful mouths wide! If you turn back you see a horrible writhing figure, a human form with lampreys latched onto every inch - the Lamprey Witch is behind you already!
A hazy chamber that smells of salt and woodsmoke. Oily black shapes writhe and twist through the knee-high water- lampreys! They wriggle through the water towards you, awful mouths wide! If you turn back you see a horrible writhing figure, a human form with lampreys latched onto every inch - the Lamprey Witch is behind you already!
High Tide: The water surges behind you, barrelling you from the tunnel into this chamber of neck-high water. When you manage to catch a breath the air smells like woodsmoke. Black oily shapes writhe towards you in the water - lampreys! They're all around you, and you hear a choking laugh as a mass of lampreys bursts from the water - a mass of lampreys in human shape - the Lamprey Witch!
-
Lamprey Witch
HD8 AC chain ML10
Attacks: Lamprey Toss - throw lampreys at a target, 50' range - 1d6 damage and the target gains attached lampreys equal to damage.
Lamprey Surge - AoE lamprey attack - all foes in 20' Save vs Blast or take 1d4 damage and gain attached lampreys equal to damage.
Abilities: Can breathe underwater, never takes damage from lampreys, breeds lampreys rapidly.
Attitude: Wants to find food for her babies! Main technique is to hang back and lob lampreys from afar, then use Lamprey Surge if she starts to get surrounded. Optimally foes will be so busy trying to get the lampreys off themselves that they can't concentrate on her!
Jumping Lamprey
HD0 (1HP) AC unarmoured ML5
Attack: Leaps up to 30' and latches on with its horrifying bloodsucking mouth! Each attached lamprey deals 1 point of damage per round. An attached lamprey can be pulled off as an Action (occupying your hand) or attacked with a weapon. If attacking, roll to hit vs AC 10. On hit, it's dead. On miss, it's dead and you deal weapon damage to the person it was latched onto.
Attitude: Swim or jump in, latch onto flesh, suck the blood!"
11. Octopus in a Hole
Low Tide: A fairly large cavern with slippery kelp floor and a pool of black murky water at the side of the room. A giant octopus lives here, and anyone touching the water will be grabbed by the octopus within and dragged down into its lair below!
Mid Tide: A fairly large cavern filled with sloshing knee-high water. The water gets blacker and murkier towards one side. A giant octopus lives here, flattening itself beneath the water. It will try to grab anybody who separates from the party and drag them to its lair, although its big body will be visible above the water as it does so!
High Tide: A fairly large cavern filled with rolling neck-deep water. The water is murky, but swimmable. A giant octopus lives here, and it will drag anyone it likes beneath the water and drag them to its lair. Anyone who seems hurt or vulnerable is a prime target!
-
Giant Octopus
HD7 AC leather ML7.
Attacks: On hit, Grapples for 1d6 choking damage per round, preferably dragging into water where you'll drown. Can move while grappling no problem.
Abilities: Ink cloud - Cloud of ink obscures the area. Squeeze - can squeeze through pretty much any crack.
Attitude: Smart but alien ambush predator who wants to pick off one person and devour them. Grabs, drags into water, leaves an ink cloud behind to obscure where it's going.
12. Oysters
Low Tide:
Shallow, warm, knee-high water in a fairly flat sandy chamber. Huge oysters tower out of the water, tightly shut. Their shells are hard as rocks.
Mid-Tide:
Tepid chest-high water in a flat, sandy chamber. The lips of huge oysters stick about a foot out of the water. They are slightly open and frilled with strange flesh, but will suck it in and slam shut if disturbed.
High Tide:
Cool water fills this flat, sandy chamber. Huge oysters lazily open and close under the water. Several of them have valuable pearls within! They snap shut if you touch them and their shells are hard as rocks, so it might take some doing to claim the pearls.
13. Reversible Merman
Low Tide:
There is a horrifying creature in this damp chamber. Human legs from the waist down and a monstrous anglerfish head and body where the torso should be! It runs, warbling, seeking to rip gobbets of warm flesh from live prey.
Mid Tide:
A handsome merman swims below the surface of the waist-high water in this chamber. He mimes a warning not to get too close. If you approach, he emerges from the water and shifts into a horrifying creature with human legs and an angelerfish top half which seeks to devour you!
High Tide:
A handsome merman swims below the surface of the water that fills this chamber. He's quite pleasant if you can find a way to speak to him, but he has a horrible curse that turns him into a monster if he ever comes above water.
-
Merman: Horror Form
HD9 AC leather ML12
Attacks: 1d10 monstrous bite or 1d6 Anglerfish electric lamp-slap targets all in front of him.
Abilities: Horrifyingly fast. Changes back into a merman if completely submerged in water.
Attitude: Chase down and FEAST. Big bite on lone targets, lamp-slap on two or more in melee.
Merman: Handsome Form
HD9 AC leather ML6
Attacks: None. Unarmed attack at best.
Abilities: Fast in water. Changes into Horror Form if any part of him touches air.
Attitude: Prevent himself from going above water and becoming the Horror!
14. Safe Cave
Low Tide: An easy climb upwards towards a flat sandy cave. Small crabs scatter as you approach.
Mid Tide: Splash through knee-high water towards an easy climb upwards towards a flat sandy cave. Small crabs flee to plop into the water below as you approach.
High Tide: Though it seems to be filled with water, swim through and upwards from the entrance and you'll find yourself in an air pocket with a flat, dry sandy cave to rest in. Little crabs live here, and flee if you approach!
15. Sea Anemones
Low Tide:
Thin downward-sloping chamber scattered with closed-up wrinkled lumps the size of beach balls. Knee-high water at the lower end.
Thin downward-sloping chamber scattered with closed-up wrinkled lumps the size of beach balls. Knee-high water at the lower end.
Mid Tide:
Thin downward-sloping chamber with colourful tendrils waving beneath the water that comes halfway up the chamber. Travel through the lower waterlogged half of the chamber and you'll be attacked by the giant sea anemones!
Thin downward-sloping chamber with colourful tendrils waving beneath the water that comes halfway up the chamber. Travel through the lower waterlogged half of the chamber and you'll be attacked by the giant sea anemones!
High Tide:
Thin downward-sloping chamber filled with water. Colourful tendrils wave beneath the surface. Swim through here and you'll be attacked by the giant sea anemones!"
-
Giant Sea Anemone
3HD AC plate (closed) or leather (opened) ML12
Attacks: Grapples with its sticky tendrils - on success deals 2d6 damage and paralyzes for 10 minutes if you fail a Save vs Stun.
Abilities: Closes up outside of water, gaining armour but becoming useless. If killed in its closed state, gets one last attack as its tendrils burst out and flail around.
Attitude: Just wait around for something to come close, then sting the fuck out of them. Especially hates people who can't say "anemone" - an em oh nee.
16. Smuggler's Elevator
Low Tide:
A steep high chamber that rises diagonally from the entrance below to another entrance above. Five rough-looking men loading crates onto a large sodden wooden platform resting on the floor of the chamber, connected by a damp rope to a trapdoor on the ceiling. Two more men shout encouragement and crude insults from above. The water is ankle-height. The trapdoor is a secret entrance to a hidden basement under the smuggler's fish-smoking hut above. The crates contain valuable contraband.
A steep high chamber that rises diagonally from the entrance below to another entrance above. Five rough-looking men loading crates onto a large sodden wooden platform resting on the floor of the chamber, connected by a damp rope to a trapdoor on the ceiling. Two more men shout encouragement and crude insults from above. The water is ankle-height. The trapdoor is a secret entrance to a hidden basement under the smuggler's fish-smoking hut above. The crates contain valuable contraband.
Mid Tide:
A steep, high chamber with neck-high water that rises diagonally from the entrance below to another entrance above. Faint voices can be heard. There is a large wooden platform stacked with crates floating in the neck-high water, connected by a rope to an open trapdoor on the ceiling. The trapdoor is a secret entrance to a hidden basement under the smuggler's fish-smoking hut above, where seven smugglers toast to their recent haul.
High Tide:
A steep, high, water-filled chamber that rises diagonally from the entrance below to another entrance above. Voices can be heard chatting amongst the echoing sounds of wood being moved. Two rough-looking men on a large floating wooden platform pass crates up through a trapdoor to their five smuggler friends above.
-
Smugglers
1HD AC unarmoured ML5
Attacks: Knives and long hooked poles
Attitude: Defend selves foremost, extort tribute from weaker groups if possible, pay stronger groups for their silence.
17. Toxic Scum
Low Tide: A virulent green scum coats the damp floor of this chamber. Touching it with bare flesh means your flesh starts to melt away! Each round you're touching it, Save vs Doom or take 1d4 Con damage.
Mid Tide: A virulent green scum floats on the waist-high water in this chamber. Touching it with bare flesh means your flesh starts to melt away! Each round you're touching it, Save vs Doom or take 1d4 Con damage.
High Tide: A virulent green scum coats the ceiling of this water-filled chamber. Touching it with bare flesh means your flesh starts to melt away! Each round you're touching it, Save vs Doom or take 1d4 Con damage.
18. Trapdoor Crabs
Low Tide:
A large sandy cavern with obvious circular sandy manhole-sized discs scattered around the place. Trapdoor Crabs hide beneath, and if you get close they burst from their trapdoors and try to drag you into their burrows!
Mid Tide:
A large, sandy cavern with knee-high water. Trapdoor crabs hide under their trapdoors beneath the sand, and will burst out to drag you into their burrows if you get close!
High Tide:
A large, sandy cavern with chest-high water. Trapdoor crabs hide under their trapdoors beneath the sand, but won't attack unless you really fuck with them.
-
Trapdoor Crab
HD4 AC chain ML7
Attacks: 2 Pincer attacks for 1d6 each. If both hit, drags you wherever it wants.
Abilities: Trapdoor - gets a surprise round when it bursts out of its trapdoor
Attitude: Burst out, grab a victim, and drag them into the burrow where it can't fight back easily in the confined space.
19. Vertical Chamber
Low Tide:
The tunnel dips down into the bottom of a tall, narrow chamber with thigh-height water and a ledge high above. Mussels and hanging strands of seaweed dangle from the walls.
Mid Tide:
A waterlogged tunnel dips down into the bottom of a tall, narrow chamber. Dive in and you can get into the air pocket inside the chamber. A ledge is within reach above. Mussels and hanging strands of seaweed wave in the water, attached to the walls.
High Tide:
A waterlogged tunnel dips down into a tall, narrow chamber filled with water. Dive in and you can get to the small air pocket and ledge at the top of the chamber. Mussels and hanging strands of seaweed wave in the water, attached to the walls.
20. Whirlpool
Low Tide:A low chamber with a hole in the middle of it. Water slowly rises out of the hole until it reaches ankle height, then gets sucked back down the hole. This repeats every few minutes.
Mid Tide:
A low chamber with waist-high water getting sucked towards a whirlpool in the middle of the chamber. Get close and Save vs Stun or be drawn down the funnel and stuck where the hole narrows.
A low chamber with waist-high water getting sucked towards a whirlpool in the middle of the chamber. Get close and Save vs Stun or be drawn down the funnel and stuck where the hole narrows.
High Tide: A low chamber with shoulder-height water surging towards a whirlpool in the middle of the chamber. Entering the chamber risks getting sucked in - Save vs Stun or be drawn down the funnel and stuck where the hole narrows.
Random Encounters
Roll 1d6
- 2d4 Smugglers
- Giant Coneshell
- 2d6 Bastard Seagulls
- 1d6 Kleptomorphic Nudibranchs
- 1d6 Stoneshell Crabs
- 1d20 Jumping Lampreys
1. Smugglers
1HD AC unarmoured ML5
Attacks: Knives and long hooked poles
Attitude: Low or Mid Tide - Follow quietly until the party is in trouble, then extort or kill them. High Tide - they've been caught out in the todal surge and will work with anyone if they can escape!
2. Giant Coneshell
HD6 AC plate ML9
Attacks: Neurotoxin Harpoon - Reach weapon deals 1d6 damage and Save vs Stun or fall unconscious for 10 minutes.
Gulp - Swallow a victim whole, dealing 1d10 damage per round as they're smothered.
Abilities: Insulin Cloud - Once per day while in water, ejects weaponised insulin into the surrounding water. Anyone in the cloud must Save vs Stun every round or lose their turn. Water-breathing creatures get no save.
Attitude: A chest-high conical shell containing an ambush predator mollusk. Waits in ambush then harpoons a victim in the ankle and engulfs them. Much more dangerous in water since its weaponised insulin cloud can prevent others fighting back. Not fast, but good at burrowing into sand and gravel.
3. Bastard Seagulls
HD1 AC unarmoured ML9
Attacks: 1d2 Peck or 1d4 flyby swoop attack
Abilities: At will, a seagull can detect the distance and direction of hot potato chips within a half mile radius.
Attitude: Extremely bad-tempered. Swoop if there's room, peck if there isn't, squawk no matter what.
4. Kleptomorphic Nudibranch
HD1 AC leather ML5
Attacks: Whatever their target is using!
Abilities: Morph Mucus - At will, exudes a massive amount of mucus in the form a nearby creature and pilots it from inside the chest! It has all the physical attacks of the target, but none of the magic or armour etc. The mimic has 1 HP for every HD of the target, and when it is destroyed the whole thing sucks back into the nudibranch's mouth ready to be re-exuded on their next turn.
Attitude: Create mucus mimic of whatever looks most threatening, recreate the mimic any time it's destroyed to defend core body.
5. Stoneshell Crab
HD2 AC plate ML5
Attacks: 1d6 pincer - On hit, grapples.
Attitude: Grapple foes and pinch them to death! Their stone shell gives them powerful armour, but once one is killed their crappy morale will send them packing.
6. Jumping Lamprey
HD0 (1HP) AC unarmoured ML5
Attack: Leaps up to 30' and latches on with its horrifying bloodsucking mouth! Each attached lamprey deals 1 point of damage per round. An attached lamprey can be pulled off as an Action (occupying your hand) or attacked with a weapon. If attacking, roll to hit vs AC 10. On hit, it's dead. On miss, it's dead and you deal weapon damage to the person it was latched onto.
Attitude: Swim or jump in, latch onto flesh, suck the blood!
HD0 (1HP) AC unarmoured ML5
Attack: Leaps up to 30' and latches on with its horrifying bloodsucking mouth! Each attached lamprey deals 1 point of damage per round. An attached lamprey can be pulled off as an Action (occupying your hand) or attacked with a weapon. If attacking, roll to hit vs AC 10. On hit, it's dead. On miss, it's dead and you deal weapon damage to the person it was latched onto.
Attitude: Swim or jump in, latch onto flesh, suck the blood!
Treasures
Roll 1d10:
- A silver locket with a severe woman's face in profile
- A tarnished silver crown, studded with black gems
- Golden sand dollars
- Hyper-umami kelp, valuable to specialist chefs
- Long boxes containing strange ornamental harpoons carved with grotesque frogs
- Proper pirate treasure chest
- A set of fishbone cutlery
- An iron-bound narwhal horn
- A cask of well-aged rum
- An overstuffed walrus taxidermy sealed in a glass box.
