Down in the Deep Blue Sea
Summary
GM: Jacqui
Season: Spring 824 WK
Night: Tuesday
Location: Online
Level: Highish
- Party
- Employer
- Pay
Scribe Notes
Prologue
Following a meeting at the Guild, Aqualina returned to her home in Pasifika, where she was immediately approached by worried locals. Known for her reputation as a skilled adventurer, they requested her help in investigating the mysterious disappearances of several villagers.
Adventurers Assemble
Returning to Seagate, Aqualina had the Guild put out a call for assistance, and a group of talented and skilled adventurers quickly assembled to aid her on this urgent mission. With limited information about the abductions, the party needed to travel to Pasifika to gather more details from a local contact, Bob.
Before setting off, the party filled out the necessary Guild paperwork. During this time, the group unanimously agreed that no one else possessed the unique blend of brilliance, charisma, and vision quite like Sabastian. His unparalleled ability to lead and navigate complexities, which would baffle the average mind, made him the obvious choice. Initially, Sabastian modestly declined the position, but after much pleading from the group, he graciously accepted, which was met with spontaneous applause. As true Renaissance hobbit, he humbly took on the additional roles of military strategist and scribe.
Discussion then turned to how to best reach Pasifika. Mayhem suggested using his shadow points for travel, but none were conveniently located near Pasifika. It was agreed that the party would travel via the portal situated in the Sea of Grass, near a creepy, undead-infested lake. Aqualina generously offered to fund Greater Enchantments for the journey, and fortunately, Aaron was available at the Guild to provide them. The party then dispersed to finalize their preparations, agreeing to reconvene at dawn the following day.
Getting there
At dawn, the party set off and spent most of the day flying to the Sea of Grass, arriving just before sunset. Once there, Mayhem established a new shadow point, and the group passed through the portal to Pasifika. Although it was still daylight upon arrival, the next leg of the journey would take most of a day. Opting for a night's rest, the party stayed at the Trading Post. Sabastian and Mayhem, ever the responsible ones, retired early, while others stayed up late, enjoying fancy drinks. Lim boasted that he could make similar drinks, though they often lacked the characteristic fruit chunks and umbrellas. Aqualina chose to stay with her family for the night.
Crabs
The following morning, after a refreshing breakfast, the party cast their protective spells and began a long, cautious flight over the island. Some hours later they land on the sandy beach and are promptly greeted by one of Professor Henneberg’s staff, who welcomes us with enthusiasm. We’re led off the beach, through a grove of palm trees, and towards a magnificent building where the Professor awaits. Upon arrival, introductions are made, and the Professor begins explaining the nature of his team’s work. They have been collaborating with the Fey to study and restore the ancient ruins of Apaloni. However, he reveals a troubling issue: several villagers have mysteriously disappeared over the past month.
Midway through the Professor's explanation, Sebastian suddenly interrupts, his senses alert to innocent lives in peril. Without hesitation, he rallies the party, and they sprint toward the beach, where the distant cries for help grow ever louder. Upon arrival, they find chaos—giant crabs are crawling out of the ocean, their massive claws snapping as terrified locals scatter in all directions.
Sebastian quickly takes command, issuing military orders with precision. Under his guidance, the children are safely ushered away from danger, while Aqualina, Mayhem, and Vargr rush forward to confront the monstrous creatures.
The crabs deliver deadly blows with their powerful claws, but Sebastian’s masterful tactical instructions allow the party to outmaneuver the beasts. Mayhem disappears due to a contingency. In the midst of battle, Lim spots figures fleeing into the sea and summons a mighty waterspout that tears them apart. Venturing out to investigate, the party discovers the bodies of Sahuagin—fiendish creatures believed to have been driven out years ago, now seemingly returned.
Revelations
With the threat neutralized, the locals begin harvesting an enormous amount of crab meat from the beach, and a grand feast is held that evening in the party’s honor. The townsfolk praise Sebastian and his group for their bravery in defeating such a deadly foe. As the celebration continues, messengers from neighbouring islands arrive with news of similar attacks, reporting that some islanders were taken captive.
Aqualina shares the local history of the Sahuagin, recounting how these creatures once inhabited the region and the great battles that drove them away. Resolving to investigate further, the party plans to search the old Sahuagin bases the following day.
Ambush
The party sets off the next morning, energized by a hearty breakfast. After several relaxing hours flying along the coast and venturing out over the sea, north of Calydon, and overfly the general area where the old base once stood. Sabastian uses the power of Visitation to search miles of ocean until he finally spots some ancient ruins and notices a strange light in the distance.
The party descends through the shifting, azure waters to the ocean floor, where a strange and mesmerizing glow beckons them forward. The adventurers proceed with care, their instincts sharp—yet danger strikes with no warning. From the murky depths surge undead Sahuagin, accompanied by skeletal sharks that prowl like silent sentinels of death.
Sabastian holds firm on the flank, locking in mortal combat with a monstrous skeletal shark, while battling nearly a dozen undead at once. His resilience buys time as the rest of the party fights fiercely on the opposite side. Aqualina stands at the heart of the chaos, her hands weaving through the water as she unleashes devastating bolts of energy. With every spell, enemies dissolve into bursts of sea-foam and bone fragments. Before long, the eerie battlefield is silent once more. Victory is swift, leaving the water thick with the remnants of the undead horde.
A Pillar of Mystery and Lost Souls
Exploring the aftermath, the adventurers search the fallen creatures, finding nothing but mundane remains. They press on toward the source of the glow, discovering two concentric stone rings embedded in the seafloor. At their centre stands a weathered pillar, inscribed with ancient symbols worn down by time. The water within the rings is curiously pristine, clearer than the surrounding ocean.
With practiced precision, Sabastian sketches the carvings and inscriptions for later study. A divination spell reveals the true nature of the pillar—it is an ancient artifact dedicated to Apollo, its enchantments worn but still faintly pulsing with divine purpose. The ancient magic cleanses the surrounding water and serves as a gateway, although its power has long since waned.
In the silt around the rings, the party uncovers two long-forgotten bodies. Their tattered clothing bears the marks of adventurers from Greyhawk—victims who ventured through the portal decades earlier and met a tragic fate. Among their mundane belongings are two items of note: an amulet bearing the symbol of St. Cuthbert and a pair of enchanted backpacks.
Sailing into the Deep: A Deadly Game Begins
At dawn, the party embarks on their journey, their vessel conjured by Aqualina’s formidable magic. Disguised with cunning precision, they sail silently across the bay, biding their time and awaiting the moment their prey will strike. The tension builds as the sun rises higher, the ocean’s stillness broken only by the gentle creak of the ship.
By mid-afternoon, danger erupts from beneath the waves. A massive octopus surges from the depths, clouding the water with ink as a host of Sahuagin swarm the ship. The battle is fierce, but Sebastian's masterful strategy turns the tide. Most of the Sahuagin are slain, and two manage to flee, both marked with Sebastian’s soul-binding magic to ensure they can be tracked.
The Underwater Temple: Deciphering the Glyphs
Following the marked Sahuagin leads the party to a submerged temple of eerie grandeur. Its entrance is sealed by a complex array of glowing glyphs, pulsing faintly in the deep blue light. The glyphs resist immediate understanding, prompting a brief detour to consult the enigmatic Professor. With their expertise, the glyphs are deciphered, revealing the means to infiltrate the temple.
Hours later, the party returns to the temple, slipping past its defences with stealth and precision. Within its dark halls, they are met with fierce resistance: waves of Sahuagin warriors and a monstrous tentacled beast that lashes out from the shadows. The battle is brutal but decisive, with the adventurers emerging victorious.
A Prisoner and the Crystal Animation
Deeper within the temple, the party encounters a strange crystalline construct, its jagged form animated by an ancient magic. The battle is intense, the construct’s attacks precise and relentless, but the party quickly defeat it.
Beyond the remains of the crystal animation, they discover a lone prisoner. He is bound not by chains but by some unseen compulsion, unable to leave the temple. Attempts to communicate are met with frustration—he cannot speak, nor can he write. The compulsion renders him almost entirely mute, leaving the party with only fragments of his story.
Exploring the Depths
Leaving the prisoner behind, we delve deeper into the complex and discover an area free of water. Passing through a serene aquatic garden, we come across two rooms blocked by rubble. Using magical transparency, we observe the contents of each: one room holds a chest, while the other contains a shadowy creature of unknown power. Deciding to leave these chambers for now, we proceed down a third corridor.
The corridor opens into a massive chamber, mostly submerged in water, with a central statue that suggests this may be a temple. The eerie silence is shattered by a colossal chaos creature—a horrifying mass of writhing tentacles, unblinking eyes, and grotesque mouths. Its mere presence instills horror and confusion, though most of the party manages to resist its maddening influence.
The Battle: Chaos Unleashed
The creature attacks with relentless ferocity. Aqualina takes a ranged approach, unleashing multiple rounds of devastating water bolts. Meanwhile, Vargr and Lim courageously engage the monstrosity in close combat, fighting against its shifting mass of tentacles and gaping maws.
The creature’s mind-affecting spells are a constant threat, but Lizette’s expert counterspells neutralize many of them, protecting the party from debilitating effects. Sabastian, the real hero of the story, skilfully coordinates the fight, helping to clear the party’s minds when confusion threatens to overwhelm them. He provides crucial healing to the wounded, ensuring no one falters during the intense battle. The gibbering creature slain, the body consumes itself leaving nothing but a few items remaining.
Rescue
After thorough exploration of the remaining chambers within the complex, we uncovered the fate of the missing villagers. They were found alive but in a dire state—their minds drained, leaving them bewildered and confused. The creature responsible for their suffering had sapped their mental strength, rendering them shadows of their former selves.
Returning to the once-muted prisoner, we discovered that he had regained his ability to speak. He introduced himself as an air mage from a Destinian ship, which had fallen victim to the same creature. The mage revealed that he had been using his abilities to generate air within the complex, presumably for survival. In our search, we came across a chest containing valuables and a chamber housing a massive translocation device. Recognizing the danger it posed, we determined that destroying it would obliterate the entire temple—and us along with it. Instead, we placed wards around the device. With the villagers and the air mage safely in tow, we set sail for the island. Upon our return, the villagers greeted us with overwhelming relief and joy, their celebrations lasting through the night.
We stayed a few days longer to debrief with the Professor, sharing detailed accounts and illustrations of the temple and its sinister secrets. Finally, the time came to bid farewell. There were heartfelt goodbyes, with many villages shedding tears that Sabastian is departing, setting course for Seagate once more.
People and Places
- Blue arrow - Professor Henneberg is living here, researching old ruins with the locals
- Red Circle - old Sahuagin bases
Missing people
- Reported by Professor Henneberg
- A month ago - Two people went out fishing and didn’t come back. Their bodies were not found, however their waka washed up.
- A few weeks ago - Ranganui went out fishing and went missing. Neither the body or boat were located.
- One week ago - Two more went missing on the beach. Their bodies were not located.
Loot and Expenses
From bodies at ancient pillar
- Sahuagin trident – 3 repairable – bone. Formerly living. Not magical. High chance of getting infected.
- Backpacks - magical – dimensional weaving
Buffs & Mil Sci
Vision
- Aqualina
- Lizette
- Vargr
- Sabastian; R18 Nightvision (230ft), Hobbit infravision 100ft, Witchsight R6/R20
Buffs and Abilities
| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Duration | Aq | Li | Va | Sa | Ma | Lim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linking Lifeforce (Sa) | 4 | This ritual allows the Adept to bind an object to the life-force of an entity. The object will reflect the entity’s physical condition if they are within 500m | Permanent |
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| Lesser Enchantment (Va) | 6/12 | 2w/3m |
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| Shadowform(Sa) | 9/15 | +20/32% defence meele/ranged and 10/15% in close | 5/8h |
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Nighttime. | |||
| Coruscade (Lim) | 12/18 | +26/38% defence melee/ranged and 13/19% in close | 6.5/9.5h |
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| Heat Shield (Lim) | 11/16 | 48 / 68 protection against cold/ice. | 12h / 18h |
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| Healing Shade | 12 | 3 healing shadows, requires a Pass Action, heals 4 damage, acts as Rk 2 Healer | 6.5 hrs |
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| Strength of Stone (Va) | 8/14 | The target of this spell has their Physical Strength or Endurance (Adept’s choice) increased by 8/14 points | 9/15h | EN | EN | EN | EN | EN | |
| Witchsight (Sa) | 20 | see objects or entities which are invisible. see in the dark as a Human does on a cloudy day, with an effective range of vision of 150 feet under the open sky, and 75 feet elsewhere. | 10.5h |
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| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Duration | Aq | Li | Va | Sa | Ma | Lim |
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| Blending (Sa) | 10/16 | While remaining still the target is not able to be seen by non-magical means (i.e. as for invisibility). | 11/17h |
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| Walking Unseen(Sa) | 6/12 | The target of this spell may move unnoticed, not invisible. Although the target is not invisible, it may be detected using any magical means for detecting invisible entities (e.g. witchsight). If the target of the spell, or the target’s possessions, are touched by another entity, or that entity’s possessions, then the spell is broken. | 7/13h |
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| Quietness | 12 | +17% to Stealth | 6.5 H | ||||||
| Shadow Wings(Sa) | 14/20 | Travel between 16-44mph/10-60mph. Can change speed as magical action | 7.5/10.5h |
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| Strength of Darkness(Sa) | 13/19 | +8/11PS | 140/200m | ||||||
| Creating Rune Weapon (Va) | 9 | The Adept may create a magically poisoned weapon by inscribing a Rune of Acid on a weapon. If at least one point of effective damage is inflicted on a target, they will take [D - 5] +3 damage per pulse for D10 pulses. | 14m |
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| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Duration | Aq | Li | Va | Sa | Ma | Lim |
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| Charismatic Aura | 20 | +25% to reaction rolls (conditional) | 105m |
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| Heroism | 15 | +15% to fear checks for friendlies in line of sight. | Permanent |
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| Shadowform* | 16 | +26 Def, +17 Stealth, reduces non-silver, non-magical damage by 4 | 9 hrs |
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| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Duration | Aq | Li | Va | Sa | Ma | Lim |
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| Infravision | 10 | - | |||||||
| See Invis (Rk) | Effective rank for seeing invisible | 20 | |||||||
| Nightvision | 15 | 290ft | 110ft | ||||||
| Stealth (%) | 0 | Std / Ranger Outdoors | 210% | 205% | |||||
| Danger Sense / Sixth Sense | Chance of getting alerted before danger/ambush/stepping on trap/discovery. Penalties may apply. | 116% | |||||||
| Tracking | Tracking chances. | 76% |
| Magic (caster) | Rk | Effects | Duration | Aq | Li | Va | Sa | Ma | Lim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water Breathing (Aqualina / Lim) | 20 | Gills | Lots |
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| Buoyancy (Aqualina / Lim) | ?? | 5+2*Rank up/down. | Some hours. |
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| Water Proofing (Aqualina / Lim) | ?? | Ignore harmful effects of water. | Lots of hours. |
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| Cold Resistance (Aqualina / Lim) | ?? | Handle cold temperatures and reduce all cold damage by X. (X = 1 + 1/5 ranks) | Lots of hours. |
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- Other
Wand(Sa) - can increase all aspects of a spell/talent, except BC, by 6 ranks. Prevents doubles, triples. Only for the colleges; Earth, Water, Celestial (star, light, dark), Solar, Air, Life (i.e., wiccan), Rune, Fire. Fiddly to use
- Greater Enchantment
- +18% all areas. Provided by Aaron.
- Mil Sci Raise Morale
- +1 WP
Watch Order
| Hour: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Std Watch | Sabastian | Lizette | Vargr | |||||||||
| Std Watch | Lim | Aqualina | ||||||||||
Marching Order
| Skirmish Formations (Front) | ||
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| Double File
Vargr Aqualina |
Single File
Vargr | |
Calendar
| Spring: Thaw 824 (10) | ||||||||||||||
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| Moonday | Duesday | W'ansday | Th'rsday | Frysday | Reapsday | Sunday | ||||||||
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Candlemansa | 1 | Guild Meeting | 2 | Party assemble | 3 | Fly to Sea of Grass, through portal and stay at Trading Post | 4 | Fly to Professor's. Fight crabs. Feast. | 5 | Search for old base. Shark attack. Underwater temple. Return prisoners. | 6 | Celebrations and debrief | |
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7 | Celebrations and debrief | 8 | Celebrations and debrief | 9 | Celebrations and debrief | 10 | Celebrations and debrief | 11 | Celebrations and debrief | 12 | Celebrations and debrief | 13 | Return to Seagate |
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14 | Return to Seagate | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ||||||
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21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | |||||||
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28 | 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| Spring: Seedtime 824 (11) | ||||||||||||||
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5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rites of Thunor | 9 | 10 | 11 | ||||||
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12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Equinox | 16 | 17 | Eostre | 18 | |||||
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19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | |||||||
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26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| Spring: Blossom 824 (12) | ||||||||||||||
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3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |||||||
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10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |||||||
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17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Floralia | 22 | 23 | ||||||
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24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Walpurgisnacht | ||||||
