The extent of civilizations beneath the ocean is often startling to flatlanders. Most of them are aware of life undersea only by hearsay, or by the occasional encounter with a group of mer-folk or sea elves trailing after a ship or engag-ing in trade at a port town. The fact that there are cities and empires vaster and older than anything of the surface is unknown to all but a few scholars. And yet, even they do not know the whole of it. For example, while a few sages know of the dark elves, and a few beyond that are aware of their underground cities, it is unlikely anyone on the surface is aware that the
sea elves have their own dark reflections, and that, in the deepest part of the Underdeep, they have made their homes.
The full extent of deep drow civilization is unknown; few who encounter it return, and none who encounter it are in a position to do much touring. The deep drow keep their exis-tence as secret as they can—they prefer to be the whisper of a legend. Their origin is unknown; they may be aquatic offshoots of the drow, or they might be the evil cousins of aquatic elves. No one has asked them, and it is not clear if they even know.
Deep drow are identical to aquatic elves, except for the following.
• Spell resistance 11 + class level
• +2 racial bonus on Will saves against spells and spell-like abilities
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day dancing lights, darkness, and faerie fire. These abilities are as the spells cast by a sorcerer of the drow’s char-acter level.
• Darkvision up to 120 feet. This replaces elven low-light vision.
• Light Blindness (Ex): Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds drow for one round. In addition, they suffer a –1 circumstance penalty on all attack rolls, saves, and checks while operating in bright light.
• Pressure Sensitivity (Ex): Deep drow are highly adapted to life in the deepest parts of the ocean. If they ascend to within 200 feet of the surface, they must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) every 15 minutes or take 1d6 points of pressure damage.
Characters may encounter deep drow outposts or colonies anywhere in the Underdeep, but it is unlikely they will simply stumble upon them.
The communities are well hidden and well defended. It is much more likely that they will be stalked and hunted by a small band of deep drow far from the nearest base, looking for slaves or simply a chance to kill. Assuming the PCs survive, they can begin the hunt for their attackers’ homeland.
89
Deep drow worship a chaotic evil goddess who takes the form of an immense hybrid drow-crab. This is known only because a few deep drow killed outside their hidden realms have carried icons depicting this being. Very little else is known of their culture or society, or how closely, if at all, it resembles traditional drow culture. What is known is that deep drow are bloodthirsty, sadistic, and extremely patient.
They do not act in haste or out of blind rage, but plot carefully, often taking months to fully envision and execute a plan.
They seem to be engaging in a long, slow takeover of the Underdeep. Each century, the territory they hold expands, and now their newest settlements are getting close to the ocean floor, at least in the deeper reaches of the sea. How long will it be before they spill out in an open assault on the other races? Those few among the merfolk who know of the problem fear that it will not be long.
Adventure Hooks
Communities at the edge of a mighty merfolk kingdom are being destroyed. Entire villages disappear in a single night, leaving no sur-vivors. The PCs are asked to investigate, or perhaps a relative or close friend of one of the characters was lost in one of the raids. At first, sahuagin are suspected, but the precision and thoroughness makes that seem unlikely (not to mention the lack of partially eaten bodies). The only clue is a small piece of jewelry depicting a half-crab/half-elven monstrosity. Sea elf sages may recognize the symbol and point the PCs towards the regions of the Underdeep leading to rumored deep drow settlements.
If flatlander PCs have battled drow in the past, let them encounter something new the next time they face a drow raiding party deep in the underground caverns: One of the drow killed has webbed fingers and greenish hair, and his garments and weapons are made of unknown materials. Further investigation reveals that the nearest drow city rests on the shore of a great underwater lake, but the water in the lake is salty, and beneath the lake is a passage that leads to a cave system that extends under the ocean. This is also a good way to lead surface PCs into the Underdeep in general.
Silentdark
Gorathal looked at the odd being in front of him. “You have the pearls?”
“Yes,” said the being, his face hidden by spell.
He held one out, a perfect sphere shimmering in every color that could be named. “You have my payment?”
“Not here. I would not carry such as you demand this far. Bring your pearls to Silentdark, and there you shall have your pay-ment. Don’t worry—he’ll still be alive when you get there.”
Wherever there is civilization, there is trade.
The Underdeep is sparsely populated compared to the surface or the ocean floor, but it still depends on trade. Given the vast distances and equally vast hostility between many of the cul-tures of the Underdeep, it is hardly surprising a neutral ground has emerged at a nexus of many different cavern systems. Silentdark is a trading town built into a single large cavern about two miles across and a quarter mile high. Some have said it is the economic heart of the Underdeep, with the blood of commerce pump-ing in and out of the dozens of tunnels leadpump-ing into the city from elsewhere.
There are two main sections of Silentdark, downtown and uptown. Downtown spreads along the bottom of the cavern, while uptown is built into the ceiling. Downtown is the first stop for travelers and traders, while uptown is for residents. A continual flow of goods and beings fills the space between. Most buildings in downtown are accessed via their roofs, while the uptown buildings typically feature portals built into their floors. The buildings in uptown are generally made of light material, such as coral and pumice harvested from undersea vol-canoes. A surprising amount of construction features wood; shipwrecks are often carved up and brought here, the contents sold in down-town and the structure alchemically processed and used for building.
Law in Silentdark is simple. Anyone doing something that might harm the town’s neutrali-ty or reputation as a safe haven is expelled or killed as the situation warrants: One passage from Silentdark leads to the Drowning Pit.
Anyone who is free when they enter Silentdark shall leave it free; anyone enslaved when they
CHAPTER THREE: Undersea Adventures
90
CHAPTER THREE: Undersea Adventures enter is expected to leave it enslaved. Vendettas
end at the borders of the town.
A mayor always rules Silentdark. Sometimes the most powerful residents choose the mayor;
other times he simply seizes power. Either way, the mayor rules because having a mayor helps keep order and maintain profitability. If a mayor does not serve these ends, his career and life quickly end. The current mayor is Nerrith Darkreef, a merfolk (Pal6/Bl10/Ftr1, AL LE) who rules with rigid discipline and a touch of creative sadism. Under his reign, Silentdark has become a somewhat grimmer place, but the residents accept that he keeps order and that is all that matters.
Since most beings who venture to Silentdark have low-light vision or darkvision, the cavern is kept only dimly lit, in deference to those vis-itors who are sensitive to light. Individual buildings may be lit more brightly on the inside, or they may be shielded against all light.
Survival in Silentdark is not cheap—double all prices for standard food and lodging expenses, even in the cheapest parts of town. Nearly all goods and services are at least 10 to 40 percent more expensive in the town.
Points of Interest
The Bazaar: Located in the center of down-town, this is a region perhaps half a mile across that is perennially packed with itinerant traders.
This is where anyone with something to sell and no fixed abode sets up shop. Most trading stalls are weighted to the sea floor, with large signs and displays on the tops, so that those swimming overhead can quickly find the goods they seek. The most popular stalls are often surrounded by a sphere of eager customers try-ing to squeeze past each other.
The Fish Market: Crudely and sadistically named, this is one of the most infamous parts of downtown. The Fish Market is the place of business for slave traders and buyers. Slave trading has always been legal in Silentdark, but it has been encouraged or discouraged to vari-ous degrees, and it has never been as popular as now, under the rule of Nerrith. Security in this area is extremely tight, and many of the buyers are of races rarely seen elsewhere in the Underdeep. These include magically protected air-breathing races, such as mind flayers and beholders seeking the most exotic specimens for reasons dark and arcane.
91
Illanial’s Symposium: This large structure in uptown is run by Illanial, an aquatic elf (Wiz14, N), as a center for all beings to meet for the peaceful exchange of knowledge.
Illanial believes that knowledge is the ultimate good, transcending all other values, so he con-structed his symposium in Silentdark to have access to the learning of deep drow, sahuagin, and others. A good being at heart, he has become concerned at how far Nerrith is tilting the balance in Silentdark and has started mak-ing plans for change. Because he is an elf, these plans might not unfold for a long time.
Flatland Hostel: Built into the highest parts of uptown, this three-story structure immediately catches the eye of any surface dwellers who make it to Silentdark, as it is built to resemble a common inn in any large seaport. This is a bit of a deception: The front door is decorative only, for example, and the smoke from the chimney is a simple illusion. The intent is to make it clear to visitors from the surface that this is a home away from home. Entry is actu-ally through the floor, passing through a magi-cal portal that keeps the water out. Inside is an air-filled inn, three stories tall, with a large common room, a fire roaring in the fireplace (actually a small bound fire elemental), and other accoutrements familiar to landfolk but utterly alien to the rest of the populace.
The owner is Roy Garindson (Ftr 8/Rg 6, CN), a retired adventurer, who decided to settle in Silentdark for reasons he will not discuss. Once here, he took advantage of the fortune he had earned adventuring to procure the magic neces-sary to build the inn. His customers are about 50 percent surface dwellers and 50 percent inhabitants of the Underdeep who want an
“exotic experience.” Surface food—beef, bread, beer, and so on—is available at outra-geous prices (about 10 times list price), but the most popular items are native seafoods pre-pared “flatlander style.” Cooked fish is an acquired taste for many, but it is considered a sign of sophistication.
Rennial’s Fortress: Aquatic elves live a long time, and can pursue their passions, whatever they may be, for centuries. There are some, though, for whom even the lifespan of an elf is not enough. Rennial, called the Rift Lich, is one such. His original desire, to know all that could be known about magic, consumed him utterly. With each answer he found, he
found two new questions. With no way to com-plete his quest in life, he chose unlife. Five cen-turies ago, he turned his back on both life and death, becoming one of those trapped between them. Driven out of his homeland, he wandered far until he found a canyon perhaps two miles deep. At the very base of the canyon was a deep drow fortress. Without hesitation, he slew the inhabitants, taking the castle for himself.
Over time, he has expanded on the original fortress, burrowing deeper into the rock below, reaching new regions of the Underdeep. Every so often, a group of deep drow attempt to seize the fortress, but they have yet to prove a match for his power. Centuries of plotting have given Rennial a hold on countless events in the Underdeep, all mostly without anyone suspect-ing he is behind them. He is the power behind Nerrith of Silentdark, for example, and intends to ultimately turn the town from a neutral ground to a city that serves only him. His agents are everywhere, and many do not know whom they truly serve. If a group of eager young merfolk is offered an outrageous sum to return a “trivial” item from a shipwreck, the odds are good it will ultimately end up in the hands of the Rift Lich.
The area surrounding the fortress is well patrolled. Water elementals, sharks, and lesser undead of all sorts fill the region. No area with-in a mile is safe from Rennial’s scrywith-ing devices, and the caverns below the fortress are likewise patrolled and secured. It is always possible, of course, that there is a forgotten pas-sage or lost tunnel somewhere that connects directly to the fortress, but it’s not likely and there is no way to count the fools who have tried to find one.
One of the most interesting features of the rift surrounding the fortress is the incredible abun-dance of shipwrecks. Rennial feels he owns the terrain “clear to the sky,” and he uses his pow-ers and his followpow-ers to destroy any ship that passes over the castle. The seas surrounding his castle are thought to be haunted or cursed, and wise sailors take the long way around, rather than tempt the “ghosts of the sea.”
Rennial’s fortress is best suited as the climax of a long campaign, either by surface-dwelling PCs or aquatic ones. (Rennial has powers in the surface world as well; his reach extends far.) After a long quest to find the mastermind
CHAPTER THREE: Undersea Adventures
92
CHAPTER THREE: Undersea Adventures behind their troubles, the characters will
ulti-mately reach this place. A frontal assault would be monstrously stupid, but maybe that unknown passage really does exist, or maybe there is a way to trick their way in.
Elemental Vortices: Pressure transforms coal into diamonds. It can also strain the substance of creation, warping and twisting reality itself.
In the most isolated parts of the Underdeep, where the full weight of the world’s oceans crushes down, rents open in space. Usually microscopic and transient, they can be abruptly enlarged by a sudden release of energy surging through them.
At any point in the Underdeep (except the Drowning Pit and other air-filled spaces), it is possible to accidentally open a rift to the Elemental Plane of Water. There is a chance of this happening whenever an arcane spell that involves water or ice is cast (water breathing, control water, and wall of ice are all good examples of this type of magic). A Spellcraft check (DC15) is needed to avoid this outcome.
A roll of 1 is always a failure: The spellcaster has gathered a bit too much power or channeled it incorrectly, and has possibly forced open a gate. The base chance on a roll to open a gate is equal to the level of the spell, modified as follows.
Area Modification
Tight corridor or passage –10%*
Small cavern (<100 ft. across) –5%
Large cavern (100 to 1,000 ft. across) — Huge cavern (>1,000 ft. across) +5%
Civilized region** –3%
Caster is aquatic native*** –4%
* This may make it seem impossible to open a gate at all in a tight passage. True, it is rare.
However, there are legends of spells beyond 9th level that truly epic heroes may wield, and such mighty sorceries can have many odd effects.
** Cities, outposts, fortresses, tribal gathering places—anyplace where beings regularly meet tends to be a bit more stable. Vortices usually open only in distant places.
*** If the caster is deliberately trying to open a vortex (see below), this modifier may be ignored.
Once a vortex has opened, roll on the following table to determine its size.
Roll Size
The size of the vortex is the maximum possible creature size that can pass through it, from either side. The duration of a vortex is 2d4 rounds.
Example
Thrug, a half-orc sorcerer of some power but not much intellect, has managed to make his way to the Underdeep. Pursued by some deep drow, he swims into a large cavern and tries to seal off a passage with a wall of ice. He fails his Spellcraft check, and the DM rolls to see if he has accidentally opened a vortex. He cast a 4th-level spell, so there is a base 4 percent chance. Thrug has cast the spell from within a large cavern, and is far from a civilized region, so there are no modifiers. The DM rolls a 2 and the water near Thrug begins to ripple and dis-tort. Two more rolls reveal a Medium-size vor-tex that lasts for 5 rounds. Demonstrating the intelligence and forethought for which he is known, Thrug decides to take his chances on the Plane of Water rather than deal with the drow, and enters the vortex.
While a vortex is open, there is a base 15 per-cent chance per round of something coming out. This can be any elemental entity of the appropriate size. It may be friendly, hostile, or curious; the DM should make a judgment based on the situation. Likewise, PCs may enter the vortex and journey to the Elemental Plane of Water. If the DM does not wish this to happen, he can rule that the vortex is one-way only.
Elemental vortices add another element of uncertainty and randomness to adventuring in the Underdeep. However, the DM should mod-erate their use if they start showing up too often. On the other hand, the DM may permit arcane casters to deliberately forego the ini-tial Spellcraft check in an effort to force a vortex open. In any case, the DM is well
93
within his rights to make sure something suit-ably interesting is waiting for the PCs.
The Burning Caves: Centuries ago, a young black dragon named Denorro fled from a group
The Burning Caves: Centuries ago, a young black dragon named Denorro fled from a group