Now what I mean by gimmick is something like the mists of ravenloft, the blood sea of the scarred lands, the shadowlands in Legend of the five rings, the flying castles of god-only-knows how many settings: a cool fantastic element that I can build the setting around, something that pervades the culture and flavor of the place. Going back to the blood sea example, this is a setup where a titan lies chained and bleeding at the bottom of the ocean, his blood polluting the water for miles around, mutating the creatures and serving as a risky magical resource to the communities around it. That's fun and a great idea to build around, but a little too "been there done that" for me.
Can anyone suggest a similar gimmick I could work with? I'm pretty sure I want the main community to be a dwarven town if that helps.
1) The party, travelling along a inner coastline, come across a group of blue-skinned warrior maidens under ambush by a move heavily armed squadron of similar appearing blue-skinned warrior women.
2) The party come to the aid of the out-numbered women (pick a reason) and realizing they are now out numbered, the former attackers flee the encounter by jumping over the cliff into the waters below. You notice a school of sharks approaching. However, rather than becoming victims of a horrible shark attack, you notice that these women mount the sharks like horses and escape out into the watery depths.
3) Now that the party is alone with the female defenders, you learn that one of them is Dione, the former Queen of the Amazons, a race of amphibious humanoids that live under water but can also breathe on land. They take the party to their secret rebel stronghold to tell their story.
4) The stronghold is hidden deep within a mountain carved with statuesque markings. While there, the party learns that the underwater city of the amazons is now controlled by Stria, an evil shark-like witch who banished the former queen and seeks to dominate all life under the sea and along the coastline. The former queen, and those few amazons that have remained loyal to her, have formed a minor rebellion in an attempt to retake their lost kingdom and destroy the evil witch. They ask your party to help in the rebellion.
5) The rebels make an attempt at a direct assault on the underwater kingdom but during the attack, the party discovers that the Witch-Queen Stria has other allies including a mutant octopus-like creature called the Krayken. The Krayken takes several of the attackers prisoner and flees back to the witch undercover of a magical cloud of darkness. The rebels must escape as more of Stria's army arrives to defend the kingdom.
6) While held prisoner by Stria, the party members are interrogated in an attempt to uncover the location of the rebel base. Hopefully the party refuses. During their captivity however Stria boasts to them that her soldiers recently uncovered the location of a powerful ancient weapon that will turn the tide to her favor and allow her to wipe out all surface land in the area thus ensuring the rebels are destroyed no matter where they are. Shortly after learning this, a slip up in the guards (or any other reason) allow the party to escape.
7) Upon returning to the rebel base, the reunited party discusses with the former queen this ancient weapon. You all conclude that YOU must obtain the weapon first before the witch can get it and so you venture forth to an old abandoned underwater military base. Upon entering a large hanger that has formed an underwater air bubble, you find a huge nuclear missile! The hanger however is now the lair of a giant spider. The party must defeat the spider in order to get the missile back to the rebel base.
8) After killing the spider (hopefully) and returning with the missile to the rebel base, you soon learn you fell for the old "Trojan Horse" gambit for the missile is actually hollow and contains the witch Stria's army inside. They emerge within the rebel base and attack!
9) This final battle between Stria and her forces against you and the rebels will decide the fate of the amazons!
Would make for lots of people out on the ocean hunting, and all sorts of moral dilemna, especially if the side effects are mostly unknown.
Maybe a world where eating mermaid flesh makes one immortal? With the side effect that, after a century or so, the immortal person starts to warp into some sort of hybrid aquatic thing.
Would make for lots of people out on the ocean hunting, and all sorts of moral dilemna, especially if the side effects are mostly unknown.
That bit's from an anime, isn't it? Yeah, it's cool, but I'd really rather not plagiarize too directly from a source many of my geeky players are likely to recognize and draw annoying comparisons to.
Rhineglade_'s suggestion sounds more like a full fledged adventure rather than a thematic centerpiece to a campaign setting. I already have adventure ideas in mind, I'm just looking for something to spice them up. As for the cartoon it's from... erm... Pirates of Blackwater? Star Trek the Animated Series? Duck Tales? I'm sorry, I have no clue...
That bit's from an anime, isn't it? Yeah, it's cool, but I'd really rather not plagiarize too directly from a source many of my geeky players are likely to recognize and draw annoying comparisons to.
I'm not sure, actually.
The idea is still solid, even if you change mermaid to sahaugin or were-manatee or whatever. :P
Aquatic golems that swim around and will perform underwater chores for people or act as platforms for floating communities.
Colossal mangrove trees growing out of the sea act as islands.
Extensive, ancient, underwater structures, built in the shallows, that trap air and allow land dwellers to live underwater. (Note: This isn't the same as a "lost city underwater" because these structures would be all over the place, easily seen and found, and still in use, though not by the people who built them. Nor do the current inhabitants know how to build, and possibly even maintain, them.)
So for your aquatic gimmick i would do global warming/mass flooding. Start of normal, and slowly increase the amount of water, then you can bring creatures up from under ground, or getting the party trapped on a sinking island, ect...
1. Drastically changing ocean levels. Perhaps a significant rise in ocean levels explains how a dwarven mining village in the mountains became a port. Or a decrease in ocean level occurs when an entity on another plane tries to steal the water.
2. The salt content in the ocean is steadily increasing. The cause: a divinely horrific act has driven one deity to boundless sadness. In isolation on a solitary island, this gods tears are altering the composition of the oceans.
3. The balance between the four elemental gods has been disrupted. Air, Earth and Fire have become horribly jealous of Water. Air, Earth and Fire are invading the oceans, resulting in unusual patches of mixed elements. Fiery water roils and boils; geysers, waterspouts and hurricanes increase; muddy and stagnating water slows ocean traffic in certain trade corridors.
4. The diety of storms has been exiled from the heavens. Setting up home in the heart of this worlds ocean, she has created a region of highly unstable weather. In addition, she is altering the creatures that live within this region to better suit her nature.
5. Creatures of the far realms or other distant existances (aboleth or illithid) have conquered a segment of this worlds ocean. Their presence pollutes the waters and corrupts the creatures there. They are creating legions of sharks with tentacles and amphibious octopods.
6. Perhaps a segment of the ocean that is like the Bermuda Triangle.
7. This section of the sea is thick with kelp and other vegetation. The vegetation is so thick that it can be walked upon. It snags sea going vessels. Unfortunately, its location is not stable and flows along the currents of the ocean, swallowing vessels unfortunately caught in its path.
8. This island nation (a large island perhaps like Greenland) is submersible. Are the citizens amphibious or does it form a protective pocket of air when it submerges?
Name that cartoon and you win a bozo button:
Thundarr the Barbarian
Of course from the deeper places stories emerge. Talk of twisted monsters rising from the depths.
Marshlands abound, home to mysterious races. Home to amphibious monsters.
The pure, clear waters of the shallow seas are filled with coral... And dangerous sea-beasts who sometimes stalk onto the land or attack passing vessels.
In a remote region of the islands they say a frog-like race lives, however none have ever returned.
They say there was once many gods, but now the only god that can be found is the Water God. And he seems to be intent on swallowing the world in rising tides.
Landwalkers are a dying breed, not so long from now there will no longer be any but those who were born from the waters.
Though you coul always take the best parts of everything.
9. Imagine a massive depression separated from the ocean by a narrow rock barrier. Perched on this rock barrier is your dwarf town. This town was built upon a citadel to protect this narrow isthmus. Several forces from under the ocean have devoted themselves to breaking that barrier and flooding the massive depression beyond, expanding their dominion. To give a better sense, imagine if the Mediterranean Sea was a massive depression separated from the ocean by a narrow barrier at the strait of gibralter.
10. This world is divided into two parallel planes. The Ocean exists in one of those parallel planes and the land exists in the other. Although there are scattered small seas in the land plane and islands in the ocean plane, the majority of those planes is devoted to their respective property. Cities in the land plane have built massive portals into the ocean plane, turning them into functioning ports. Weather systems in the land plane draw energy across both parallel planes. Some powerful forces in the Ocean plane are resentful of this relationship between the two planes. They feel that the land plane is a parasite sucking resources from their plane. They are working to sever the connections between the two planes. This has resulted in a steadily increasing drought in the land plane.
11. In this world, the interior of the world is water. The continents float above this interior water core. Magical technological advancement has led to the creation of various submersible vehicles.
12. The Lady of Winter, a deity of ice and cold, has made a home in the tropical oceans of this world. Her presence has led to the creation of a massive iceberg. She has turned many creatures to her frigid will, altering their forms and abilities.This massive iceberg is honeycombed with tunnels leading deep into its heart and the Lady of Winter's throne room.
13. To pass on to the afterlife, all spirits must cross the ocean. Something has shattered the spirit paths used by the deceased to reach their final resting place. This has resulted in an increase in trapped spirits, haunted ships and incorporeal entities desparate to reach the other side.
14. An entity responsible for ocean travel is exceptionally demanding of tribute. Those that fail to provide the proper sacrifices may find themselves lost at sea for years. It also demands such tribute from coastal towns and cities. It is a hungry and vindictive, caring little for other sentient life.
Thanks everyone, I think I have enough pieces to combine into an interesting whole now.
Good luck!
Make it a primordial of some kind(earth I guess). A large Island was placed atop him to endsure his imprisonment for his ancient crimes, but his rest is uneasy and whenever he moves tremors shake the land above. Eventually sinking the island(mountainous ideally). The island was home to a large clan of dwarves, who built many mines and honeycombed passageways through out the island, many still contain air and thus dwarves; unwilling to leave the mineral weath behind.