Waterborne Encounters, Part 2

The waters and coasts of Eastern Ansalon are teeming with potential danger and adventure. Let’s continue our series and see what they have to offer an adventurous party. Buy DL12 Dragons of Faith: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17388/dl12-dragons-of-faith-1e?affiliate_id=50797 

https://youtu.be/Mjyp6hgb6ak

Transcript

Cold Open

We left off with The Nightmare Ring, but the Blood Sea actually gets worse!

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to continue talking about Waterborne Encounters in Dragonlance. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing DL12 Dragons of Faith, and The Atlas of the Dragonlance World. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

Taking your adventures to the sea can be a refreshing change from dungeon crawling or overland adventuring, but it’s not without its own set of challenges. We have covered waterborne ships, vernacular and south eastern waters, let's continue with the rest of Eastern Ansalon’s coasts. It’s traditionally common for an adventuring party to hire a ship for passage, and then deal with what comes. But what if your party prefers more episodic adventuring? You could easily be the crew of your own ship, sailing the seas of Krynn for your own fame or fortune, having encounters around every port or passenger which could be a campaign of its own, wholly isolated from the War of the Lance, but still feeling its effects tangentially as you struggle for independence and adventure.

We left off in the first part of this series at The Nightmare Ring of the Blood Sea of Istar, and while that is truly nightmarish, it’s the Heart of Darkness that you would be wise to fear even more. This is the very center of the Blood Sea, where the mighty maelstrom swirls, sucking all down though its ferocious maw. Less than 20% of the best helmsman are capable of turning their ships abroad to escape its velocity. Lurking in this region is a mighty dragon who may act to take down the ship for its own amusement, and for those unlucky enough to be pulled into the maelstrom, a drowning death awaits you as your body slowly sinks to the ruins of mighty Istar at the bottom of the sea, assuming the denizens of the deep don’t pick our bones clean first. 

Continuing our exploration of the outer Blood Sea, Razor’s Edge hides many reefs and obstacles. While under the surface lies the sunken horrors which did not survive, there are actually two separate villages of mermen who dwell here. The Western Blood Sea is a vast area dabbled with patches of azure where crops of seaweed float. The waters are also occupied by Dolphins and Dargonesti including the shy monster Pricklebacks. The Northern Blood Sea waters are much darker and roll endlessly onward. It’s frequented by pirate and minotaur ships. Under the waves are swordfish and bull sharks in addition to entire colonies of Lacedon which have been known to waylay ships at night. The Firewater seas glow crimson at sunrise and sunset. It is a common site for pirate and minotaur battles, and at times you may come across a burnt hulk drifting. The coastal waters of Kothas are known as Pirates Run. There are two varieties of barracuda, the fish and the pirates. Neither offers quarters to those outside their kind.

Slim Chance is a rocky coast off Mithas.