The Lady's Dark Sea

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Gerzel's picture
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The Lady's Dark Sea

The Lady's Dark Sea

I tell you cutter, there is more to the Cage than most bloods, even the most canny of em, know. For instance, what if I were to tell yeh, that there was a series of huge flooded caverns down below the streets we're standing on? I'd tell you true mate; there is! It is nearly a half of a mile down but it is there and it isn't any sodding odd water either, not styx, not oceanus, not ..well not entirely polluted with all the refuse and runoff from the berks above but normal relatively clean water. There are even caverns large enough to hold an entire sea, fishes and all. …I can show you, for a price of course.
--Alric Jinkbiter just before he was laughed out of the tavern.

The Lady's Dark Sea lies deep under Sigils streets held in a maze of caverns connected to underground rivers that seem to run the full circumference of the ring. Those few who seem to know of it call it the "Dark" sea as a play on the word with both of its meanings, dark to mean with little light and the planar vernacular dark to mean secret, applying equally well to the sea. In depth, length and breadth from what I, Jamus Metrice II exploration expert working with the Sigil Chapter of the Fraternity of Order's IX-34b Mapping Initiative, have seen the water-filled caverns are truly worthy of being classified as a sea. However, like much else in Sigil the exact layout of the caverns does not seem to remain constant. Thankfully the six largest of them seem to be constant and stable; although the smaller ones I have found to be there one day and gone the next, shifting in a similar way that the buildings of upper Sigil seem to. With such conditions an exact survey of the underground area would be relatively futile. --Guvner's Report most of which has been lost.

Begining Darks:
The Lady's Dark Sea is held inside several major caverns, depending on your source of information up to six primary caverns and uncountable secondary chambers, that lie spaced evenly below Sigil's streets. Each cavern theoretically is connected with the next, but the connections are at best a maze of smaller submerged caverns, often filled with dangerous underwater flora and fauna as well as deadly strong and fast currents. These currents made many times more dangerous with the plethora of jagged, sharp corals, kelps and sea grasses that seem to thrive in the depths. If anyone has managed to navigate through the caverns for the circumference of Sigil's ring then they either died long ago or haven't told anyone. The main reason that most scholars and loreweavers believe that the caverns are connected and do in fact ring the City of Doors is the evidence given by their constant tides. In all of the major caverns the water flows predominantly from one direction to the other and the tide rises and falls on a regular cycle on the surface. The deeper portions of each cavern are more stagnant with fewer currents and different dangers all their own.

This is just a start. An idea I'm throwing out partly to look for feedback and critism. Questions to are welcome.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

I'd be interested to know exactly why it is referred to as the "Lady's" Dark Sea?

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The Lady's Dark Sea

So named probably because only the Lady knows the dark of it. Gerzel, if you're familiar with Planescape Torment, you should add mention of the Weeping Stone Catacombs and the Drowned Nations to this.

This certainly gives Sigil a more ecological flavour, with cool underground venues to explore. It's too bad the PS authors rejected dungeoneering so much that they neglected to flesh out Sigil's underground, but I think Torment did a great job in filling that hole.

It's a good start to an interesting topic. Now we need to flesh out some specific locations and perhaps encounters within these unlighted watery depths. Aquatic dabus, anyone? Eye-wink

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The Lady's Dark Sea

"Krypter" wrote:
It's a good start to an interesting topic. Now we need to flesh out some specific locations and perhaps encounters within these unlighted watery depths.
Hmmm... We know that some undergound rivers erode portions of underlying rock and stone by mechanical abrasion, forming caves or larger caverns.

The question is, can such erosion of the unknown undersurface material in Sigil lead to the same effects?

Quote:
Aquatic dabus, anyone? Eye-wink
Now how might that go?

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The Lady's Dark Sea

"Fell" wrote:
"Krypter" wrote:
It's a good start to an interesting topic. Now we need to flesh out some specific locations and perhaps encounters within these unlighted watery depths.
Hmmm... We know that some undergound rivers erode portions of underlying rock and stone by mechanical abrasion, forming caves or larger caverns.

The question is, can such erosion of the unknown undersurface material in Sigil lead to the same effects?

Quote:
Aquatic dabus, anyone? Eye-wink
Now how might that go?

Well, I doubt that the Lady would allow the caverns to erode to a point that they'd cave in and make a sinkhole that would reach the surface. Then again she might not care. Would be an interesting campaigne idea. Cagequake and then the Lady's ward falls down into a biig hole. Mabey that would explain some quakes.

Actually I do have an idea for one of the seas being a two layered sea one where the water flows in and then trickles down through the old razor-coral seabed. The lower level is thus in a constant dripping torrent of water from the coral ceiling above slowly filling when the tide comes in untill the water comes back up over the level of the coral.

I dunno, just an idea.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

Of note, in my conception of the seas some of them are much wider than the city above. There again for a torus this makes sense.

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"Gerzel" wrote:
Of note, in my conception of the seas some of them are much wider than the city above. There again for a torus this makes sense.

Sigil isn't really a torus - it's shaped like the inside of a tire. The city curves upward in every direction.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

Hm, Sigil's buildings change, and the corridors of water change?
I wonder, maybe this is to keep the Torus balanced?
Think about it, a marble dome is replaced by a vacant lot during the night, but way down below that spot, a cavern of water takes up the weight, keeping Sigil balanced.

Not exactly sure why it would NEED to be balanced. Maybe so it doesnt fall off the spire?

By the way, does Sigil spin? Because one of my players was wondering about that.
Because if Sigil spins, then what works like gravity is centrifugal force. But its not really gravity. So a reverse gravity spell would send someone tumbleing down the sideway until they hit the inside wall of the torus.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

I've got the feeling it's more like the way a demi-plane has it's localized gravity - not so much a spinning effect. That it's not a centrifical force.

But that outer side of a torus being larger actually does make sense for why a sea would be larger. If you skinned the inside and the outside of a tire of the first layer of rubber... the outside would be wider when laid out flat. Sounding good so far. Smiling

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"Fidrikon" wrote:
By the way, does Sigil spin? Because one of my players was wondering about that. Because if Sigil spins, then what works like gravity is centrifugal force. But its not really gravity. So a reverse gravity spell would send someone tumbleing down the sideway until they hit the inside wall of the torus.
I don't think it is actually mentioned in any PS product that the Cage actually spins.

As I recall, Sigil isn't a perfect ring. The inside of it is curved somewhat, so the "sides" of the city are higher than the "center" of it. If gravity was due to spin, this would mean that those on the sides would feel like they were standing on a hill, which I've never heard mentioned anywhere either.

However I think that, to a degree, the relative spin of the City of Doors would need to be measured in order to ascertain whether or not it does spin. And with nothingness being the 'only' thing that lays beyond the limits of Sigil, measuring spin relative to a background is near impossible. No, it is impossible.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

Centrifugal force wouldn't work, since Sigil isn't a "flat" ring. Or, rather, it would only work in the center of the city. Those near the edge would fall in whatever direction "true down" turned out to be.

The Coriolis effect would also cause problems. Much simpler to just say it's magic and leave it at that.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

Here is a compilation of all my other sea threads.

The Deepwell Sea
The Deepwell is named after its only known direct connection with the surface a water well located in the Hive. The well may or may not still exist as it was originally in the Prime ward of the city and has seen many centuries at the least of disuse. Still the Deepwell is one of the calmest of Sigil's cavern seas with the tidal currents flowing smoothly from one end of the cavern to the other. The cavern's shape above water is similar to that of an oyster shell with the water flowing from the point to the hinge. Below it widens out and deepens considerably. Thus there is almost no natural shoreline around the rim of the Deepwell. There are however hundreds of thousands of crevices and terraces carved into the shoreline and ceiling extending back to form places for land-loving creatures to live. The water is fresh and below the tidal currents it has a constant haze of silt and sooty particles suspended in the still waters. The particles thicken as the depth increases and as well they also grow far colder.
Unlike the other cavern seas of sigil the Deepwell is thankfully pure of the razor corals and kelps that choke others. It is also one of the most active seas with several portals to various primeworld underdarks so that it is not uncommon to see barges and slave galleys plying the dark waters laden with goods from one carved outpost to another. With all this trade also comes piracy, and pirates can come at ships from below the surface, from ships, or from above either on the air or from the ceiling. Resistance is mounting and it is rumored that an Illithid empire is bringing ships over plank by plank breaking down and reassembling an entire armada to try and stamp out the pirate menace and in the process take control of the waters.

Cranium Eels
One of the dominant life forms in the depths of the Deepwell and throughout Sigil's underseas are the cranium eels. They do not appear to be actually related to cranium rats at all, but simply another species that uses similar survival techniques. Like the rats the eels do form gestalt consciousnesses, intelligences, and psionic abilities as they congregate but there the similarities seem to end. The eels do not seem to live in a true hive mind as when they congregate the greater mind formed is never just a single personality, but instead seems to be made up of many personalities sharing the greater whole. As one sage pointed out "The eels will very often speak for themselves using the word "I" and I've never heard of the rats even using that word."
Eels appear similar to normal primeworld freshwater and sea eels with long bodies, pointed snouts and two fins running the length of their bodies. The major difference is a soft sparkling bioluminescence that will ripple down their lengths depending on their moods. Other than that they range in colors and coloration from mottled greys and greens to blacks and even blues, and deep reds. Some have been seen with their bodies marked with tattoos going down their sides. They range in size from tiny ones measuring to just a few inches to gigantic ones that are many yards long. There is a very real possibility that even larger ones lurk in the deepest parts of the waters. Eels grow in intellect and mental abilities as they grow in size. Those of a length that is less than a three feet are no more intelligent than common eels, and are dominated by the larger eels when the congregate. At around three feet the eels begin to develop their individual personalities and points of view and are herded in schools by larger caretaker eels. Eels between three and five feet are almost never seen alone or unaccompanied by larger eels by outsiders; if they are seen at all they are in schools of at least five eels of their size with one eel several feet longer than them. At six feet the eels are more or less "adults" with slightly lower intelligence than the average berk.
Eel society is extremely hierarchical with the smaller eels being dominated by the larger older ones. Unlike their rat "cousins" the eels will regularly speak with outsiders if they are large enough or able to congregate to form telepathic speech and are known to trade for food (live slaves and meats mostly, though fruits have been accepted), the occasional item of magical or psionic power, and information. In return they trade services like bringing up items that have sunken into the deeps, or allowing visitors to dive down into their deep territories, or they trade giving information.
Cranium Eels worship the male of a species of fire-fish holding them sacred. Fire-fish males can grow to very large sizes but most have bodies about the size of the average dwarf. The males sport long flowing fins of bold bright colors that glow softly most times and can burst into flaming bright hues of color when the fish is excited, fighting or mating. Males fight each other on sight and these fights are considered by the eels to be sacred events the outcomes of which shape the future. Juvinile and non-dominant males fins are held back with dimmed colors and keep to small schools away from the prime breeding areas. Females are small and dull colored and collect around the large males in harems or form small roving schools. They move off alone to lay eggs and the eels do not consider them especially sacred.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

Here are some starting stats for creatures mentioned in this thread. I would like some help with CRs and psi abilities. Also suggestions and comments are very much welcome.

Name: Cranium Eel (Juvenile)
Size - Type: Small Abberation
HP: 2d8
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0ft. swim 60ft.
AC: 11
Attacks: bite +1 melee
Damage: bite 1d6 piercing/slashing/bludgeoning
Face/Reach: 3ft by 6ft/5ft
Special Attacks: Telepathic Slam 4/day
Special Qualities: Telepathic Bond
Saves: fort +0, refl +1, will +1
Abilities: str 8, con 11, dex 13, int 8, wis 8, cha 8
Skills: concentration +2, knowledge(local) +2, knowledge(religion) +3, swim +11, wilderness lore +2
Feats: Weapon Finesse (Bite)
Climate/Terrain: Cold Aquatic
Organization: school(4-12 juvenile, plus 1 adult)
Challenge Rating: ???
Alignment: NE

The juvenile cranium eel is the first stage in the eel's development where the individuals start to possess true intelligence. Most all of what they know is either learned from hunting from younger stages of their life cycles and knowledge skills telepathically instilled to them by the older adult instructor eel that accompanies and dominates every school of juveniles.

Telepathic Slam (su) - As a full attack action the eel may make a ranged attack (range 20) dealing 2d6 points of damage. This is a force effect.

Telepathic Bond (su) - Juvenile Eels communicate with other eels through a special telepathic link. This link also allows them to be dominated by their older brethren. This link does not extend to other species.

NOTE: I do not know the 3rd ed psi system very well and thus the eels are built without it. If someone does know it and is willing to make a psionic version of the eels I'd be much obliged.

Name: Deepwell Fire-Fish (Great Male)
Size - Type: Huge - Magical Beast (Aquatic)
HP: 10d10 +80
Initiative: +8
Speed: 0ft. swim: 50ft.
AC: 22 (+2 dex, +10 natural armor)
Attacks: bite +22/+17 melee, slam +20 melee
Damage: bite 2d8+24 piercing/slashing/bludgeoning, slam 1d8+12 bludgeoning
Face/Reach: 10ft. by 20ft./10ft.
Special Attacks: none
Special Qualities: Glow(ex)
Saves: fort: +15, refl: +11, will +4
Abilities: str 35, dex 19, con 26, int 3, wis 12, cha 14
Skills: intimidate +5, spot +11, swim +25
Feats: Improved Initiative, Multi-Attack, Power Attack
Climate/Terrain: Aquatic
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: ???(need help on this one)
Alignment: TN

This is the largest size of Deepwell Fire-Fish before the Cranium Eel priesthood recognizes the creature as a living god. The eels still consider these fish sacred and there is always a 50% chance that there will be at least one acolyte eel (medium sized cranium eel/cleric 1) will be following and watching the fish at any time.
During this time in the fishs' lives the longer glowing fins that are used to attract a harem of females as well as for challenging other males.

Glow(ex) - As a free action scales along the sides and over the fish's body light up with a variety of colors in a brilliant display that is visible for miles if the fish is close to the water's surface. Below it is visible for up to half a mile in clear conditions. The glow varies in intensity and colors as the fish's mood and excitement changes, quickly fading when the fish is defeated in battle.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

Here I go again adding more stuff, another cavern sea

The Slog or the Sea of Sludge and Fog

The slog was most likely at one point as clear and open as the other great cavern seas. However over the millennia it has filled with silt, ash and other rotting matter that most of the surface is a thick sludgy quagmire ranging in consistency from watery quicksands to thick harder sedimentary clays. The only real bodies of open water are the three largest channels that wind their way through the muck where the tidal currents are enough to flush out the silt and keep the channels clear.
The slog has one of the most active ecologies of the Lady's dark seas with groves of mangro-like fungi taking root in the sludge which is also home to bactiria and algeas of all kinds on which larger animals survive. The dense fog for which the sea is named is formed of the massive amount of spores and watervapor filling the air. Some scolars who have studied the area have suggested that it may be warmed from below, either geolocially, if such a thing as geology exists in Sigil or through some other means such as magic or simply the Lady's grace. Others suggest that the heat and bubbles that are constantly coming up from the Slog are the result of thousands of years of decaying plant and animal matter.
The exact location of the Slog in relation to the upper City of Doors is unknown but many believe it to be either below the great foundry or the mortuary due to the great amount of soot and ash that appears to have drifted down through cracks and passages in the rock, many still visible in the sea's ceiling choked and caked shut through the passage of time. The Slog even seems to have a small bubble of the ethereal plane surrounding it, but that bubble seems to always end at the cavern walls. As such the swampy underground sea boasts its share of both corporeal and incorporeal undead, some of species unrecognizable to the greybeards.
The Slog also boasts several stone ruins still with their tallest stones above the level of the muck. Upon some excavation most of these ruins are found to be the tops of ruined towers, and some theorize that the cavern may have once been home to a cabal of mages or necromancers.
Other than the undead, the fungi (some of which is mildly intelligent), the ever present cranium eels and a odor that would put the foulest parts of the hive to shame the only other major species that is often seen in the slog are the fish and frog like creatures called slog-hounds. They are about the size of a large dog with bulbous eyes on either side of a large round head that tapers back into a slightly stubby fish body ending in a short powerful tailfin. Two strong stubby flippers are on the creatures side with two more smaller fins on their bellies down near their tail. Finally the only bit of color besides the greenish grey mottled muck color that covers their bodies is on their large dorsal fin that is kept folded on their backs for most of the time used for swimming in deeper waters and for signaling to mates. The sloghounds are amphibious and make their burrows in the muck, besides the tidal currents they are the only other major source for creating clear water in the slog.

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Here are more eels, as well as a semi-final version of the juvenile eels.

Name: Cranium Eel (Juvenile)
Size - Type: Small Aberration Psionic
HP: 2d8
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0ft. swim 60ft.
AC: 11
Attacks: bite +2 melee
Damage: bite 1d6 -1
Face/Reach: 3ft by 6ft/5ft
Special Attacks: Concussion blast 1/day
Special Qualities: Blind Sight (Sonar, water only, 60ft.), Dark vision (20ft.), Domination Reception, telepathy (100 ft.)
Saves: fort +0, refl +1, will +1
Abilities: str 8, con 11, dex 13, int 8, wis 8, cha 8
Skills: concentration +2, knowledge(local) +2, knowledge(religion) +3, swim +11, wilderness lore +2
Feats: Weapon Finesse (Bite)
Climate/Terrain: Cold Aquatic
Organization: school(4-12 juvenile, plus 1 adult)
Challenge Rating: 3/4
Alignment: NE

The juvenile cranium eel is the first stage in the eel's development where the individuals start to possess true intelligence. Most all of what they know is either learned from hunting from younger stages of their life cycles and knowledge skills telepathically instilled to them by the older adult instructor eel that accompanies and dominates every school of juveniles.

Concussion Blast (ps) - As the psionic ability deals 1d6 points of damage. The eel may choose to deal non-lethal damage instead. Range is 140ft.

Domination Reception (ps) - The juvenile eels may not resist attempts by older eels to be dominated. They may resist being dominated by other creatures however.

Name: Cranium Eel (Young Adult)
Size - Type: Small Aberration Psionic
HP: 3d8
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0ft. swim 60ft.
AC: 11
Attacks: bite +2 melee
Damage: bite 1d6 -1
Face/Reach: 3ft by 6ft/5ft
Special Attacks: Concussion blast 4/day
Special Qualities: Blind Sight (Sonar, water only, 60ft.), Dark vision (20ft.), telepathy (100 ft.)
Saves: fort +0, refl +1, will +3
Abilities: str 9, con 11, dex 13, int 10, wis 10, cha 8
Skills: concentration +4, knowledge(local) +3, knowledge(religion) +4, swim +11, wilderness lore +3
Feats: Weapon Finesse (Bite)
Climate/Terrain: Cold Aquatic
Organization: school (4-8 young adult)
Challenge Rating: 1.25
Alignment: NE

The younger adult cranium eels are still mostly dominated by their elders and keep to the larger deeper schools where they focus on learning new skills. In many respects this stage of an eel's life is similar to a human going through an apprenticeship or studying at a collage or trade school. This is also the first stage where eels might gain class levels, though only a few ever do. The eel's favored class is always the first class they gain through training with older eels with that class. Most eels with class levels have clerical levels. Young adults have not gained the ability to dominate other eels but do have the ability to resist being dominated.

Concentration Bonus (ex) - Due to their psionic nature cranium eels have a natural ability to focus and concentrate adding their wisdom bonus along with their constitution bonus to their concentration skill.

Concussion Blast (ps) - As the psionic ability deals 1d6 points of damage. The eel may choose to deal non-lethal damage instead. Range is 140ft.

Name: Cranium Eel (Adult)
Size - Type: Small Aberration Psionic
HP: 4d8
Initiative: +1
Speed: 0ft. swim 60ft.
AC: 11
Attacks: bite +2 melee
Damage: bite 1d6
Face/Reach: 3ft by 6ft/5ft
Special Attacks: Concussion blast 4/day
Special Qualities: Blind Sight (Sonar, water only, 60ft.), Dark vision (20ft.), Dominate cranium eel (120ft.), telepathy (120 ft.)
Saves: fort +2, refl +3, will +3
Abilities: str 10, con 12, dex 14, int 10, wis 11, cha 9
Skills: concentration +5, knowledge(local) +3, knowledge(religion) +4, swim +11, wilderness lore +4
Feats: Weapon Finesse (Bite), Weapon Focus (Bite)
Climate/Terrain: Cold Aquatic
Organization: single, or school (4-6 adult)
Challenge Rating: 2
Alignment: NE

Adult cranium eels are considered to be fully independent of one another and are able to make their own descriptions in the eel's society. They are the most common type of eel that outsiders will deal with, and the only kind that most will ever see up close. Larger older eels tend to keep away from outsiders and also keep to the deeper colder waters. About a fourth of all adult cranium eels will also possess one or more class levels in addition to their racial abilities. About half of those eels that have class levels will be experts with the rest having levels in the various PC classes, especially priests, and other magical and psionic casting classes.

Concentration Bonus (ex) - Due to their psionic nature cranium eels have a natural ability to focus and concentrate adding their wisdom bonus along with their constitution bonus to their concentration skill.

Concussion Blast (ps) - As the psionic ability deals 2d6 points of damage. The eel may choose to deal non-lethal damage instead. Range is 200ft.

Dominate Eels - (ps) - As a single attack action the eel may dominate another eel of fewer hit dice. This is as dominate person except it is only able to target other cranium eels of lesser HD and may be used to dominate a number of eels up to twice the larger eel's hit dice. A Will save DC 20 negates. Range is 120ft.

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The Lady's Dark Sea

I think that the NE alingment makes them too similar to the caranium rats make them tn or something else for a change

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