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Journeyman Greytalker
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Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:27 pm
Solnor "Mysterious Places": Turucambi, Sinking Isl
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I am in the process of revising my information regarding the regions of Turucambi, the Sinking Isle, and the Jungle of Lost Ships - from a purely undersea perspective. My party may be leaving Turucambi reef to journey to the Sinking Isle, soon, so I thought the time was right.
I am linking the three with a similar central altar, the presence of Oerthblood, and the notable inclusion of undersea humans "created" from drowned sailors; each speaks an ancient tongue, shares a racial memory, and has no recollection of their former life.
What might you add, if given the chance?
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From: Ullinois
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Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:31 pm
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Looking back at Return of the Eight first:
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The Endless Well can draw up a molten, dark red, ferrous metal that, when cooled, is black, dense, easily enchanted and nearly impervious to damage. This substance is called oethblood and from it several famous artifacts were made, such as Heward's Mystical Organ and parts for the infamous Machine of Lum the Mad (both described in the Book of artifacts accessory).
Oerthblood is dangerous to handle, and much of the work involved in tapping it, pouring it into sheets or molds, working it and finishing it is done by golems and automatons that can withstand the molten substance's unpredictable radiation, as well as the local heat and poisonous gases. |
So if such things are found below sea level in Tenser's Castle so could they be in other parts. In the context of your campaign I am mainly intrigued by the last sentence. Heat vents, undersea gas pockets and radiations off the oerthblood that can do unpredictable things to marine life. Hmm.
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:27 am
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| mortellan wrote: |
| In the context of your campaign I am mainly intrigued by the last sentence. Heat vents, undersea gas pockets and radiations off the oerthblood that can do unpredictable things to marine life. Hmm. |
From the Turucambi entry in Greyhawk Adventures:
"Some of the lakes will be very warm, above human body temperature. (Use or create game rules for heat exhaustion if these lakes are explored.) Other lakes are filled with poisonous dissolved gases below a certain level (treat this as a <cloudkill> spell). Such deadly waters will have a pungent smell characters are not likely to mistake more than once."
So we have the heat and poisonous gasses covered in a canon reference. As for the radiation, one could always use Taint as a guideline.
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Grandmaster Greytalker
Joined: Nov 07, 2004
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From: Mt. Smolderac
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Tue Jun 23, 2009 8:33 pm
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Crazy, tainted giant tube-worms clustered around Oerthblood black smokers?
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:39 am
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Since The Sinking Isle is known to have kraken and sahuagin encounters, I may work in a blurb I wrote more than a year ago...
"The item is guarded by ten mermaids whose lower torsos resemble a single tentacle. Each was a merfolk slave to a kraken and was mortally wounded, before being “saved” by a sea hag fleshwarper (Lords of Madness) who grafted each of the kraken’s tentacles onto the unwilling mermaids after the beast was slain. Now the mermaids have begun to exhibit the kraken’s powers and share its memories."
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:48 am
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From the Sinking Isle entry in Greyhawk Adventures:
"... perhaps it is the same restlessness that on occasion raises it again into the air. Local mariners hold that while these movements are never predictable, they are at times presaged by tremors and a boiling and bubbling that stirs dark mud from the bottom and releases bubbles of foul-smelling gas."
Another canon reference to heat and gasses.
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:29 am
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Brainstorming bits about the Sinking Isle:
"The city is not of sahuagin manufacture, but it would not be amiss to suggest that the builders were the once-human ancestors of the sahuagin themselves. They were in any case an evil race toward the end." (Greyhawk Adventures)
"It is suggested that they were created from a nation of particularly evil humans by the most powerful of lawful evil gods... (The tritons) stated that sahuagin are distantly related to the sea elves, claiming that the drow spawned the sahuagin." (1e MM)
and of course this: War-Gods of the Deep
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GreySage
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Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:49 am
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That "War Gods of the Deep" was quaint. Its been awhile since I've heard Tab Hunter's name. 
Thinking of using something similar for your Sinking Isles story? Sounds pretty good. 
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CF Admin
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Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:20 pm
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Don't forget the Isle of Lost Souls---plenty of evil aquatic warpage available there, and perhaps even some Oerthblood too....
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 12:05 pm
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In regards to the Jungle of Lost Ships: ...a great mass of incredibly dense and tangles seaweed... derelict ships... Lost Treasure Fleet of the Sea Princes... seaweed jungle at the center of a giant, slow, whirling pool of ocean currents...
Who would have guessed there was a natural precedent with Seamounts , Guyots, Eddies, and Upwellings .
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GreySage
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Fri Dec 31, 2010 6:11 pm
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All nice links, Aeolius. Glad to see you're still researching your favorite subject -- the undersea world of Greyhawk!
Keep 'em coming, my friend. 
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Sat Jan 01, 2011 4:54 pm
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While we're at it: tussocks , pumice rafts , and the Uros people might all lend inspiration to the Jungle of Lost Ships.
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GreySage
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Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:35 pm
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All of those are nice, but I think the tussocks are my favorite.
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:48 pm
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Regarding the lesser moon Celene: “Ruins of its civilization can still be found by those who use magic to explore the surface: awe-inspiring castles, delicate towers, and enigmatic temples. The builders must have been of roughly human shape and size...”
Regarding the ruins on the Sinking Isle: “...spiky and highly decorated ruins... The ruins are reminiscent of Gothic architecture, with much decoration and many high pointed arches.”
Hrmmm....
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GreySage
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Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:52 pm
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"Cousins?" 
Hmmm. 
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Journeyman Greytalker
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Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:01 pm
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Hmmmm.... indeed. There were multiple gates through which the Kule survivors escaped. Perhaps there is one such gate somewhere on/in/under the Sinking Isle.
BTW, I absolutely love the line on the Florida tussock info page that says "A floating island attacks parking lot". That is one huge hit-diced shambling mound!!!!
Denis, aka Maldin
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness... maps, mysteries, magic, mechanics, and more!
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