Z o b e c k G az etteer IV

S unken E m pi r es
S unken Empires is a treasure trove for anyone
fascinated with lost civilizations and
ancient magic: from GMs who want to add
the technology of lost civilizations, run astonishing
new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game class options, spells
for casters, and gear both magical and mundane.
Sunken Empires supports aboleth-centric, Atlantean,
and similar adventures with technology and lore for
undersea adventures, expand their aboleth lore—to any civilization, lost or otherwise, and with inventive
those who just want to sink an inconvenient continent. creatures from the Underdeep that creep ashore.
And Sunken Empires is packed with options for players: It’s time to go beneath the surface!

• Introduction by the creator of the aboleths, D&D designer David “Zeb” Cook
• Weapons and technology of lost empires, from lightning spears to mind probes
• Complete ecology of the aboleth
• New PC race and class options, including net fighting and oceanic bloodlines
• 30+ new spells and magic of the sea, including new domains
• More than 10 new creatures, including coral drakes, drowned maidens, and goblin sharks
by

• GM tools and adventure hooks

B ran don H od ge

Designed by Brandon Hodge and Open Design patrons with frequent review, ISBN 978-0-9843159-6-3
playtest, and feedback to maximize playability. 51895 > ™

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 Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 1: Lost Cities of Myth & Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 3: Aquatic Equipment & Lost Technology . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 4: Spells and Magic Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 5: The Sunken Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 6: Creatures of the Deep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Credits
Design Brandon Hodge Editing Scott Gable
Additional Design Wolfgang Baur, Bill Collins, Adam Daigle, Graphic Design Crystal Frasier
Richard Flanagan, Mike Franke, Jim Groves, Clare Jones,
Jonathan McAnulty, Eric Miller, Jan Rodewald, Karl Rodriguez, Cover Art Malcolm McClinton
Jason Sonia, Christian Sturke, Stefen Styrsky, Ian Turner, Mike
Welham Interior Art Thomas Cole, Brandon Hodge, Pat Loboyko,
Hugo Solis
Special Thanks to Stefen Styrsky for his incredible and
copious design collaborations and contributions to this project Cartography Jonathan Roberts

Special Thanks to our Patrons: Jason Alexander, George Andrews, Joel Arellano, Kenneth Austin, Andrew Baggott, Michael Baker, Dennis Baker, Stefan
Beate, Mark Bibler, Richard Blair, Alain Bourgeois, Terrance Bowlby, Sean Bradley, Leslie David Brown, Daniel Brumme, Jesse Butler, Jason Carl, Tom
Carpenter, Christopher Carrig, Nathaniel Chaddock, Michael Chambers, Jeremy Coffey, Bill Collins, Bradley Colver, Alex Coyner, Daniel Craig, Patrick Curtin,
Matthew C. Cutter, Adam Daigle, Mark Daymude, David DeRocha, Rob Doran, Matthias Drexler, Andrew Eakett, Nikolaus Ehm, Simon English, Duncan
Eshelman, Jarrod Farquhar-Nicol, Richard Flanagan, Gary Francisco, Mike Franke, Dale Friesen, Scott Gable, Mark Gedak, Thilo Graf, Jim Groves, Brian
Guerrero, Patrick Halverson, Günther Hamprecht, Geraint Harries, Geoffrey Hart, [FAO] Louise Hayes, Lyle Hayhurst, Issak Haywood, Brandon Hodge, Lutz
Hofmann, Ronald Hopkins, Keil Hubert, Phillip Ives, Laurent Jeanmeure, Craig Johnston, Clare Jones, Jay Joyner, Stavros Kalenteridis, Patrick Kelly, Philip
Kendall, Brian Koonce, Jason Kramer, David Lai, Troy Larson, DeWitt Latimer, Steven Lau, Kevin Lawrence, Samuel Leming, Kevin Levingston, Michael
Machado, Clay Mahaffey, Bridget Mahoney, William Maranto, Emiliano Marchetti, Jonathan McAnulty, Ben McFarland, Francois Michel, Eric Miller, Steven
Milner, Olivier Miralles, Paul Mollard, Sean Molley, Matthew Monteiro, Mark Moreland, Matthew Morris, Chris Mortika, Paul Munson, Charles Myers, Daniel
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Georg Roesel, Toby Rogers, Roy Sachleben, Jose Auriel Montero Sanchez, Michael Schell, Eddy Schmidt, Benjamin Sennitt, Craig Shackleton, Sean Silva-
Miramon, Warren Sistrom, Gavin Smith, Joe Smith, Burt Smith, Jared Smith, Hugo Solis, Jason Sonia, Marzio Spairani, Jeff Spencer, Christian Spies, Trevor
Stamper, Joshua Stevens, Christina Stiles, Christian Sturke, Stefen Styrsky, Brian Suskind, Scott Sutherland, John Tanzini, Constantin Terton, Jefferson Thacker,
Ian Turner, Keith Unger, Giorgio Vergani, Oliver von Spreckelsen, Jani Waara, Stephen Wark, Justin Webb, Oliver Weigel, Michael Welham, Joe Wells, Donald
Wheeler, Michael White, Mike Wilson, Christian Wilson, Adam Windsor, Paul Woods, Nathan Wormer, Matt Zander

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 I ntroduction
A H istory of
A is for Aboleth
And all things wet...
—Derro nursery rhyme
is for astounding. Who would have thought that nearly
A 30 years after their first appearance in Dwellers of the
Forbidden City, I’d be sitting down to write about a
creature as strange as the aboleth? That somehow a mucus-
secreting, lamprey-mouthed quasi-amphibian managed to
develop a following is... astounding.
I would love to write that the creation of the aboleth was all part
of some great plan, that its role in the cosmology and ecology of
fantasy RPGs had been thought through and plotted out; that, in
short, I had a greater picture in mind when I set them to paper. I
would love to claim that, but it wouldn’t be true. The aboleth, after
all, had a minor guest shot in one module, floundered its way into
a Monster Manual, and then quietly sank out of sight. Little did I
know that it hadn’t disappeared but had simply retreated, patiently
lurking beneath the surface for the time when it would rise again. In
short, it was living up to its description.
So where the hell did I come up with the aboleth and what
was I thinking? In all the years since, I cannot say that’s a
question I’ve pondered, so bear with some fuzzy and rambling
2
the A boleth
—by David “Zeb” Cook
recollections of an old game designer lost on Memory Lane as I
reconstruct their creation.
The aboleth made its first appearance in Dwellers, but it wasn’t
part of the initial design. The core of that module was the city—
the tasloi and the yuan-ti—while the sole aboleth encounter was
a precursor to the main show. Now the source of the adventure
had been my original writing sample when I applied to TSR, but at
thirteen or so typewritten pages, it was far too short for publication.
When the time came to turn that sketch into a module, it was clear
more material was needed. That meant creating a whole city, a
framing story to get you there, and some adventures on the way. So
began the first steps toward the aboleth.
The second step involved conventions and tournament play.
Ignoring the odd idea of roleplaying as competitive play, game
conventions wanted tournament adventures, and for a time,
TSR was willing to supply them. From our side, it seemed like
good marketing—supporting the fan base and adding another
bullet point to the back of the module. After all, we were going
to create these adventures anyway, so why not make the little
extra effort? On the convention side, it gave them something
theoretically professional and tested.
Of course, the problem was that tournaments were linear and
didn’t really lend themselves to roleplaying. Instead, they were a
race to see how quickly and efficiently each team could get through
a series of obstacles. So, for Dwellers, a sprawling city full of

Introduction: A History
problems wasn’t a good choice. Caves, though, are always nice
and linear. Plus, we had done this a few times and had a
simple formula for setting up the encounters—one basic
monster, one trap, one basic monster with trap, one
basic monster with allies, a boss monster, and,
of course, a brand new monster. This latter
was the aboleth’s role, to be the new guy
on the block, the thing no player, no
matter how good, had ever seen. Plus,
it didn’t hurt that with its illusions, the
aboleth was also a good trap. So I had
the need for an cave-dwelling thing that
could be part of a trap and was something no
player had ever seen before.
The tournament’s laundry list of needs,
though, was a far cry from the mucus-spewing
antediluvian thing that is an aboleth. For that,

of the
I can only blame the setting and
some warped personal preference.
Dwellers was an stab at creating a setting
with a particular tone—a mashup of jungle adventure tales,
Conan-esque fantasy (particularly Red Nails), the lost worlds of

Tarzan stories, and a bit of weird horror. I was a fan of 1920’s
and 30’s pulps at the time and made no apologies for it, so if
I was going to have a cave-dwelling critter, it needed to fit the
theme. Seeing as the module already had yuan-ti (Conan-style
snake-men), mongrelmen (the degenerate men of Opar), and
tasloi (little forest fiends of jungle tales), it made sense for the
aboleth to be weird horror. The aboleth was a nod to things
Lovecraftian, an unspeakable horror silently dreaming of ancient
secrets more terrible than man can bear.
Of course, Lovecraft and other weird tale writers had it easy
(comparatively so). It was enough for them to write the thing
was horrible, its appearance unfathomable by man, and its
nature utterly evil. Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for a
roleplaying game. Tournament GMs wouldn’t let me get away
with that. They needed to know what it looked like and how to
kill it. Regrettably, answering those questions would certainly
take away from the drama. The only solution was to make the
aboleth as freakishly bizarre as possible, so it was completely
unlike anything else the players had encountered.
Frankly, I don’t know exactly where the look of the aboleth
came from. Making them cephalic was already out—mindflayers
had already conquered that fantasy niche. Bugs were too cliché
(and I don’t find them particularly horrible), and spiders were
dridered to death already. That left something like the leeches
I’d tangled with in childhood—soft, wet, slimy with little
bloodsucking jaws—fused with photos of lampreys and remoras.
Of course, tentacles are always good, but the whole three eye
thing? Not a clue. I wanted the aboleth to be disgusting because
that made its intelligence and mind-control all the better. Who
Aboleth
wants to be coated in slime and forced to serve a
giant leech that’s the smartest thing in the pool after all?
Statting monsters is another unfortunate side effect of
roleplaying. Sure it may be necessary for play, but it strips away
the mystery surrounding things that should not be. Once the players
knew the powers and the numbers behind the aboleth, it became
just another problem, another thing to kill. The only solution was
to hint there was more to know, that the aboleth had secrets we
weren’t telling you. Hinting is also convenient because I meant I
didn’t have to make it up. It’s always easier—and often better—to
suggest there’s more to the story and leave the rest to the
imaginations of others. I think that, ultimately, it was this image
of the aboleth that accounts for its appeal. Here is a thing you can
kill, but it is still more powerful, more sinister, and more damned
in ways you can ever imagine.
The obscene horrors lurk at the bottom of the pool, whispering dark secrets into
the minds of the greedy and depraved. Many an ambitious wizard has found the
traces and hints, the crazed writings and ancient texts, and tracked them into the
darkness. Drawn by promises they search out the waters only to be betrayed and
enslaved by their new masters. Where they go and what the creatures do with them
no one knows for sure. Some say they are consumed, their memories eaten slowly
over centuries. Others tell of slime-coated souls found years later; men with soft,
porous flesh and soulless eyes who splutter of twisting secrets s and horrid cities no
man has ever built. “Master,” they sadly burble as their bodies sag into lifeless sacs,
finally releasing an ebon runestone clutched in their hands. Or so the stories say.
Now, if that’s not an adventure hook for an ambitious GM,
then I should just give up the business.

3
 C hapter 1
L ost C ities of M yth & L egend
Beneath every deep, a vaster deep unfolds.
—Jacques-Yves Cousteau
tlantis. Lemuria. Mu. The legends of superior ancient
A societies lost to the sea have lured many with buried
secrets for thousands of years. Such stories always
begin, and end, with water. The deluge of floods in river
valleys, prehistoric tsunamis caused by erupting volcanoes,
shifting tectonic plates, meteor impacts, and riverbed shifts all
contributed to catastrophes and to lands disappearing.
The collective human experience absorbed such events
and stories, remembering that some shining mountaintop
was lost and that where humans had once prospered,
only fish now swam. What darkness entices us—even in
an enlightened and modern age—to search for legendary
lost worlds and mythical knowledge of the ancients? More
importantly, how can we, as players and designers, take
best advantage of this fascination to bring the wonder and
intrigue of such legends to our gaming tables?
Sunken Empires is not a guide for underwater campaigns in
which characters are denizens of the sea, although it may serve
very well for that purpose. Rather, this book best serves those
who wish to lure their players into new and unexpected realms by
taking their adventures below the sea to explore what lies beyond
4
the shore. The lure for such adventures is the concept of sunken
cities. Few players can resist a ruined city or dungeon, and the
concept here is no different. In fact, you can start your PCs above
the water, in seaside ruins and crumbling towers, and slowly guide
them toward deeper and darker secrets that await them below.
When GMs employ such hooks, they are tapping into a collective
wonder that has aroused curiosity in mankind since the age of
stone tools.
This chapter offers you an overview of the lost cities and
sunken ruins of our own world, from the original tales of
Atlantis to the strange theories of Mu and Lemuria. Then,
an original sunken city illustrates how stories from our real
world can inspire grand adventures and mysterious settings.
Later chapters open the doors to class options for characters
who wish to make careers out of exploring ruins, as well as
discovering the lost technology, spells, and magic items of these
cultures, not to mention finding the monsters that lurk in the
darkness of ruins left behind.
As fantasy gamers, we have the unique opportunity to take
such adventures and explore these realms, and Sunken Empires is
your guide to that which lurks beneath the waves.
A tlantis
But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods;
and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men
in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like
manner disappeared in the depths of the sea.
—Plato, Critias
The most famous of all sunken empires is the lost city of
Atlantis. First described by Plato in his dialogue Timaeus
in approximately 360 BCE, Atlantis is the archetypal lost
city, an unprecedented naval power led by a confederation
of wise kings. Atlantis was a canal-filled city of amazing
architecture and technology with gleaming concentric walls of
gold, copper, and the mythical metal orichalcum. Graciously
flowing fountains and aqueducts fed magnificent baths and
natatoriums, and stadiums for bull fighting and horseracing
abounded. The island was rich in plants and animals—even
elephants—and the bedrock brimmed with veins of gold and
silver ore.
This utopia, however, was punished when human
nature—avarice, pride, greed—arose in the hearts and minds
of the people, and they became debased and corrupt. In a
cataclysmic end, an earthquake shook the continent as giant
waves crashed against the golden walls, and the island was
dragged beneath the waves “in a single day and night of
misfortune” by gods angered at the city’s disobedience. All
was destroyed.
If the tale had ended there, Atlantis might not have
held our attention the way it does. Rather, later writers
contributed more to the legend and brought it fresh life. In
particular, the theories put forth by Ignatius L. Donnelly
in Atlantis: the Antediluvian World, published in 1882,
proved enormously popular. His proposals definemany
modern-day concepts of the lost city, including theories
about its advanced technology and the origin of classical
civilizations after the flood. Donnelly revealed that Atlantis
was a great technological power, and that Atlanteans
invented gunpowder, advanced optics for astronomical
calculations, magnetic compasses, the use of salt, a highly
developed alphabet, animal husbandry, and horticulture,
all thousands of years before humans elsewhere had
discovered written language.
One year later, Frederick Spencer Oliver, then only 17,
revealed more when he began involuntarily channeling—he
claimed—the spirit of a former resident of Atlantis named
Phylos. Possessed by the spirit, he produced reams of
automatic writing, later published posthumously by his mother
as A Dweller on Two Planets. The city he described was one
of graceful spires and tall towers joined by arches and flying
buttresses. Everywhere, intricately wrought staircases wound
to the sky; palaces and temples radiated from the city’s center
like the spokes of a wheel, wide streets separating palatial
tenements and incredible manufacturing districts.
Oliver’s fantastic accounts assign a staggering array of
Design Ideas from Atlantis
If you want to create ancient empires for your own worlds,
Chapter 1: Lost Cities
Atlantis is the place to start. From an architecture and
engineering standpoint, the claimed wonders of Atlantis
typically outweigh the average cities of even high-fantasy
campaign worlds. Spiraling towers that reach toward the
clouds, massive monuments, and walls of precious metals
all point to a society much more advanced magically and
culturally than any other ever known. The concept of public
transportation opens avenues for exploration, just as the
possibility of tunnels crisscrossing the bowels of ancient
ruins gives a nice alternative to sewer adventures.
World builders may want to take advantage of certain
concepts, like organically grown buildings, orbiting platforms,
and even massive aqueducts to add new environments and
flavor to their lost cities. Try to imagine this society at the
apex of civilization, centuries ahead of the current state
of your world, then slowly deconstruct it, stripping away
of
aspects of your design to turn what you know existed into
a mystery for your players. You may realize that the strange,
Myth & Legend
twisting tunnel with strange metal rails that electrify PCs who
wander too close is an Atlantean version of a subway tunnel,
but properly used, PCs will keep wondering what fantastic
environment they have discovered and what secrets lie
within.
The same holds true for treasure and technology. Magic
may take on unusual forms, allowing you to introduce radical
new concepts in spells and magic items. Even equipment
that was mundane to the ancients can seem marvelous and
even magical in the hands of characters who have never seen
its like (see Chapter 3 for examples). Consider what led to
the destruction of the first settlers of the city. Was it merely
“avarice” or hubris that brought these people down, or did they
somehow threaten the gods themselves? If so, how will the
gods now react to PCs poking around sunken ruins that might
still contain these lost secrets?
advanced technologies to the Atlanteans, including electro-
magnetic rifles, anti-gravity submersible vessels, magnetically
propelled public transportation carriages, video conference
screens, and phrenological reprogramming machines. His
detailed writings are fertile ground for planting the seeds of
any fantasy exploration campaign.
Another early proponent that gives rise to our modern
versions of Atlantis is the psychic healer and clairvoyant
Edgar Cayce, who first mentioned Atlantis during a
self-induced trance in 1923. Cayce claimed Atlanteans
possessed a highly evolved civilization and advanced
technology, including ocean vessels and even aircraft
powered by esoteric crystals of energy called firestones.
According to him, the ancient society had suffered three
great destructions, the final being the deluge, and its cause
was a group he called the “Sons of Belial.” Their efforts to
5

Design Ideas from Lemuria
If Plato provided us with the template for the city and later
writers gave us the amazing technology and advanced
cultural aspects of the Atlanteans, the Theosophist theories
on the nature of the inhabitants of the lost continent
of Lemuria is rich fodder for inspiring your imagination.
When building a sunken empire of your own, consider the
inhabitants. Were they early men, raised to civilization by
strange creatures or spirits in a time when other tribes
were still discovering fire and inventing stone tools? Were
they elves, taking their first steps from primitive woodland
fey to civilized creatures with mysterious cities shrouded
in illusion? Or were they something entirely unknown, the
precursors to an unexpected race that has since changed
radically and seeks to conceal their secret origins? Did these
people undergo some curse by the creatures that built up
their civilization, taking the half-form of fish and fleeing
beneath the waves to start their civilization anew? Perhaps
they were like men but with subtle, slightly disturbing
differences in form reflected in murals and hieroglyphs.
And what is the mysterious power vril? Perhaps it is
simply the first form of magic in a time before schools gave
labels to the various shapes spells could take. It could serve
as the introduction of psionics into your game world with
the rediscovery of old mental disciplines opening up unique
avenues of power. Or perhaps this form of magic is now
lost, wielded only by sorcerer-kings more powerful than
character comprehension, which have since ascended into
godhood, taking the secrets of the substance with them.
Indeed, it may be the substance of divinity itself. Perhaps
when the blood of these precursors runs strong in a family
line, vril-powered sorcerers are born (See Chapter 2 for
bloodlines and magic, Chapter 4 and 6 for spells and items
inspired by vril magic).
And who were the mysterious creatures or spirits
that raised man up from barbarism and savagery into this
new and powerful culture? Has this race vanished into
the planes, or do they still wander the lands or swim the
world’s oceans? Aboleths are certainly popular contenders,
and similar creatures even spring up in real-like creation
myths. Perhaps these creatures were the proto-gods of
your world or have since fled to the bowels of the earth or
the ocean’s deepest trenches.
subvert and exploit creatures known only as Things, a sort
of subhuman race with limited intelligence and animal-
like appendages was part of the problem. Apparently, the
efforts of a good, opposing group disrupted a powerful
crystal energy source and released a massive explosion,
destroying the island and sinking the city. Such accounts of
conflicting cults, world-shattering cataclysms, and bizarre
technology are fertile ground indeed to cultivate the game
writer’s imagination.
6
Lemuria
They were the Lemuro-Atlanteans… who had assumed bodies
to rule over them, and who, in their turn, instructed them in arts
and sciences. Only, as they were rupa or material Spirits, these
Dhyanis were not always good. Their King Thevetata was one of
the latter, and it is under the evil influence of this King-Demon
that the Atlantis-race became a nation of wicked magicians.
—Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine
The existence of Lemuria was proposed by the geologist
Philip Sclater in 1864 to explain the similarities between
fauna, particularly lemurs, in India and Madagascar before an
understanding of plate tectonics. What began as a moderately
sound theory for scientists at the time was quickly taken over
by crackpot philosophers, and the scientifically supported
lost continent was suddenly attributed, beginning with James
Churchward in the 1870s, as the birthplace of an advanced
human civilization.
Churchward proposed that Lemurians lived for hundreds of
years, and were capable of telepathy, teleportation, and astral
projection. Within a decade both theories had been taken over
by the Theosophists, who believed that man had progressed
through the ages in precise stages of physical and mental
enlightenment, evolving in various spiritual and physical forms
toward an eventual perfect state. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
examined these beliefs thoroughly in her seminal work The Secret
Doctrine, where she claimed to have learned of Lemuria through
study of an Atlantean book known as The Book of Dzyan.
These people, claimed Blavatsky, were the third incarnation
of humankind in a series of seven “root races” that composed
human existence. Their descriptions vary but seem to have
generally been giants at approximately 20 ft. tall, with a third
eye on the back of their heads. Others claim that they were
cyclopean and that the creatures had four arms, dark-yellow
skin, and distinctly more ape-like than man. As a race, they were
not overtly wise or intelligent, but their development was guided
by a group of spiritual beings who could instill full human
consciousness on selected individuals, which would then guide
others of their kind to build a magnificent culture.
At first, the creatures reproduced hermaphroditically in an
unusual manner—by “sweating” an ooze-like perspiration that
coalesced into eggs from which new Lemurians were born.
But later generations began to develop sexual organs and use
language, and with these developments came the downfall of
their civilization as their telepathic powers atrophied and sexual
intercourse corrupted their physical form.
Other writers extrapolated on these proposals, claiming the
Lemurians had hard, stone-like skin and that they inherited
their forebear’s memories at birth through psychic means.
The founder of the Anthroposophical Movement, Rudolf
Steiner, proposed that they lacked reason or calculation but
had infallible memory, and as the creatures evolved, they could
control a life force or energy known as vril—a substance first
proposed in 1871 in the science fiction novel The Coming Race.
This mysterious power, taken literally by Steiner and described
as the “aether of life,” derived from plants and was a powerful
force for both healing and destruction. Those able to wield such
power through specialized staffs had incredible telekinetic gifts
and the psychic ability to transfer thoughts and control those
of others; they could focus this force into psychic “grains” that
could be used as weapons.
The Lemurians fought with classical weapons such as spears,
bows, and swords, but they also employed gas bombs and flying
ships powered by this psychic energy. Wielding such power,
the Lemurians eventually succumbed to the corruption of
the physical world despite the efforts of their spirit handlers.
Their creators destroyed the Lemurian continent in a sudden
cataclysm that left only a handful of these creatures alive. The
survivors settled on a small sliver of remaining island and
eventually evolved into the next root race—the Atlanteans.
Mu
In our journey westward across the Atlantic we shall pass in
sight of that spot where once existed the pride and life of the
ocean, the Land of Mu, which, at the epoch that we have been
considering, had not yet been visited by the wrath of Homen,
that lord of volcanic fires to whose fury it afterward fell a victim.
—Augustus Le Plongeon
The name Mu originated from the Atlantean scholar Brasseur
de Bourbourg, who attempted a somewhat dubious translation
of Mayan glyphs and hieroglyphics found in the Troano Codex,
an exceptionally rare, folding bark-paper book of records and
history created by the Maya, all but four of which the Spanish
destroyed during their conquest of the Yucatan. Though
Bishop Diego de Landa Calderón, a priest of the Inquisition,
subjugated and even tortured the Mayan subjects in his diocese,
he also recorded fragments of their language. While this “de
Landa alphabet” would later be discovered, and become the
key to translating Mayan glyphs, de Bourbourg misinterpreted
as syllabic, rather than symbolic. His efforts produced a rough,
exceptionally imaginative translation of the Troano Codex, which
he claimed detailed the sunken utopia of Mu.
The French amateur archaeologist, photographer, and
Freemason Augustus le Plongeon expounded on these
initial “discoveries” to propagate the myth of Mu, claiming
that refugees from the submerged city were responsible for
advanced culture of both the Maya and the Egyptians. Later,
James Churchward published a series of popular books on the
subject after claiming to have witnessed a collection of sun
burnt clay tablets in a long-lost “Naga-Maya” language—the
original tongue of all mankind, a dead language he claimed to
have learned.
The stones, along with references to the Ramayana, the ruins
on Easter Island, and the Niven cache—an excavation of 2,600
somewhat dubious stone effigies and stelae—all supposedly
gave vivid descriptions of the continent of Mu, which was
“broken up by earthquakes and sank into a fiery abyss” in
Design Ideas from Mu
Mu is especially important to the gaming world because
Chapter 1: Lost Cities
of the importance of language, translation, and linguistics
in its discovery. When developing lost cities and sunken
civilizations in a fantasy world where even amateur
arcanists can decipher centuries-old texts with simple
divinations, you face the challenge of preserving the
allure and secrets of these ancient civilizations without
discouraging their rediscovery by curious, determined
characters.
The breadcrumb trails followed by early researchers
into the lost continent serve as exceptional examples of an
effective carrot-and-stick design, with the constant allure
of further rewards as characters undergo more in-depth
research. Finding information becomes the object of
adventures into drowned temples and sunken streets, and
PCs who finally uncover one secret might find one question
answered, but dozens more raised.
of
The language, too, offers fresh avenues of rewards in
games. PCs should not be allowed to learn a language that
Myth & Legend
not even aged scholars can yet interpret, but the clever
use of spells and liberal assignments of Linguistics ranks
should eventually pay off. Furthermore, the language itself
and the secrets it holds can become not only a source of
information, but a tool, a plot device, a valuable treasure,
a character—even a weapon. If these ancient civilizations
did not take their language lightly, then it only makes sense
that they would have gone through great pains to disguise
it from those who might attempt translation.
For example, explosive runes and glyphs of warding can
warn characters away or destroy knowledge you wish to
conceal before characters can discern it. Secret runes may
animate nearby objects to protect the ancient stelae on
which they are written, or the writing may vanish or react
in unusual ways when read. Churchward’s Sacred Symbols
of Mu has hundreds of intriguing illustrations of real-world
glyphs of power, and the article “The Ecstasy of Ink” (see
Kobold Quarterly #8) and its new school of glyph magic, are
both invaluable resources for exploring magical texts.
a single night. These people of this continent, the Nacaal,
worshiped the Seven-Headed Serpent, Narayana, the divine
creator of all things, who was worshiped in “great carved stone
temples without roofs” to permit the sun’s rays to fall on the
supplicants within.
The enlightened inhabitants—with pale skin, black hair,
and large eyes—built magnificent cities that served as seats of
religion and science. Churchward claimed they had a telegraph
system and electricity, and he even alleged the discovery of
Mayan glyphs that broadcast etheric vibrations in a sort of
pest control system. Even H.P. Lovecraft contributed to
the mythology of Mu, claiming it as the birthplace of the
human race and their worship of Cthulhu, among others,
7
 as the impetus for their downfall, as described in the Zanthu
Tablets. In all versions, the idyllic Mu succumbed to a series of
catastrophes in the form of volcanic eruptions and cataclysmic
waves before fires burst from underneath the land and lightning
descended from the heavens, sinking the land of Mu below
waves of seething, boiling waters.
Creating the Lost City
of A nkeshel
Ankeshel is influenced primarily by the Atlantis legends
but takes elements of Muvian symbolism and glyphwork,
Theosophist theories of human evolution and concepts of vril,
and, of course, classic elements of fantasy races and tropes
from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
The city was the major port and urban center of a long-
deceased civilization, a city predating all other known sites by
several centuries. Scholars speculate that the inhabitants were
early humans, although murals depict the citizens as much taller
and lither than modern-day man, reaching average heights of
7 ft., with oblong craniums, perhaps due to the widespread
practice of cradle binding, as well as the absence of a single
digit on their left hands.
The city once stood along a rich river delta, and the citizens
grew crops when other human races were still living in caves
and discovering the use of fire. At some point, the civilization
took gigantic leaps forward. Hieroglyphic evidence uncovered
by scholars points to a race of primordial, fish-like beings that
emerged from the waves to teach the secrets of civilization
and magic: based on tomb murals depicting these tentacled,
three-eyed creatures, scholars have identified them as most
likely aboleths.
These creatures shared numbers, geometry, and advanced
astrological concepts with the early humans, whose hunger for
knowledge was only matched by their enthusiasm for progress.
Those who had first welcomed the aboleths exchanged their
homage and worship for the promise of immortality and the
knowledge of the first forms of magic—which they called
vril—and these men were raised above all others as holy priest-
kings who promised a new utopian society. Those who had once
cultivated crops now cultivated stone and metal, and using this
new magic, massive stepped temples arose along the shore to
welcome their saviors and the kings they supposedly served.
Tall, concentric walls surrounded the city’s towering spires.
Enormous canals, requiring impossible labor and seemingly dug
overnight, allowed the creatures into the inner city. This city
became a great center of learning, and as secrets of the universe
laid bare by long centuries of study and meditation, the people
became wise and powerful. Beautiful courtyards and gardens,
civic centers, observatories, tiled public baths and natatoriums,
and fantastic buildings floated in gentle orbits above the city
streets. Orbiting lenses heated the waters of their bathhouses
and provided protection from encroaching savages by focusing
searing rays of sunlight.
8
But just as the leaders of Ankeshel requested more
knowledge, their aquatic advisors had mysterious needs of
their own. Armies gathered under the presumption of sharing
the knowledge gained with the primitive tribes surrounding
Ankeshel. However, the conquered tribesmen typically sacrificed
in secret to the aboleths—pulled into the sea to unknown
fates—in exchange for powerful secrets.
For unrecorded centuries, this civilization flourished,
with advances in technology, alchemy, magic, and science,
progressing exponentially with each passing year. But a
kernel of discontent was taking root. As inquisitive scholars
turned to other sources for knowledge and inspiration,
they questioned the teachings of the elder beings who
had first granted them wisdom and devoted themselves
to more spiritual gods. What seems to have inspired these
philosophers was the spark of true divine magic, and with
its discovery, they suspected that the powers and abilities
that aboleths granted were but thinly veiled arcane abilities
or vril manipulations.
These priests spread the gospel of new deities with human
forms, flaws, and foibles—folk tales that appealed to a citizenry
bored by the ever-slowing dissemination of new knowledge
from rulers now more concerned with territorial acquisition.
The priests began to preach messages of peace, and an inspired
populace began to openly question the judgment of their
immortal philosopher-kings and their amphibious “advisors.”
When some key citizens of this resistance found their skin
transformed into slimy membranes, forced to take to the sea in
respite, priests of the new gods made the horrific discovery that
the public baths had been poisoned by the aboleths. With this
revelation, the population rose in revolt.
The city stripped the corrupted leaders of power: their moist
skin clearly betraying their true allegiance to those monstrosities
they worshiped. With the fires of conviction growing strong,
the rebellion execrated the captured supplicants of the aboleths,
decreeing that if their loyalty were to fish, then the form of fish
they should carry. The citizens cast their cursed bodies down
the steps of the grand temples and into the sea, their new forms
leading to the first merfolk.
The citizens remaining in Ankeshel sheathed their walls in
orichalcum, which the aboleths could not tolerate, and barred
the old ceremonial gates that once acted as a promenade
for the emergence of the creatures from the sea. The
Ankeshelians girded for war, using their arcane knowledge to
formulate new weapons powered by batteries of orichalcum
and vril, and master artisans are rediscovering these powerful
weapons, often wholly ignorant of their original purpose.(see
Chapter 3: Lost Technology).
Despite losing control of the Ankeshelians, the aboleths
simply dominated new supplicants; their newest weapons
were the magically transformed savages once sacrificed to
the aboleths. They rose from the sea as ulat-kini, emerging
from the waves and leaping over the orichalcum walls of the
city. For months, the aboleth-led skum laid siege to the city,
but eventually, the fantastic technology of the Ankeshelians
repulsed even them. The city’s vril-powered craft bombarded
their enemies from the air and electrocuted their enemies
in the sea. When they turned their sun-lenses on the cursed
fish folk, the Ankeshelians drove them back into the depths
for good.
The victory was short-lived. Faded murals depicting this
victory are among the city’s last remains, for shortly after, the
aboleths gained control of an incredible force of destruction—
the creature known as the Isonade. The powerful beast attacked
the city’s bedrock on the edge of the ocean and brought the city
low in one day and one night of terrible cataclysm, sundering its
walls and sinking the idyllic city beneath the waves.
The Twin Cities
of C assadega
Since the cataclysm that destroyed Ankeshel, entire
civilizations have risen and fallen, new races emerged and
waged war across the world, and less fortunate species have
gone extinct. The technology of man has receded back to
stone tools before advancing again to sharp steel weapons and
armor. Man rediscovered magic, progressing from primitive
shamanistic rituals to intricate arcane and divine spellcraft.
And, finally, the aboleths and their ulat-kini minions have been
driven to the furthest reaches of the Underdeep.
The undersea ruins of Ankeshel have waited, inhabited
only by sharks and crabs, for thousands of years. Over
time, sections of the once-great city have been exposed
like bleached bone along the cliffs of a recessed cove. The
sprawling ruins along the coast originally attracted scholars
and archaeologists, who came to study the seemingly
anachronistic buildings that were far older than previously
known civilizations. The sages stayed to study the secrets
locked within, and their families settled among the old walls
of the city, building new homes and structures among the old.
The resulting town is called Cassadega.
Some 80 years ago, a startling discovery brought new
attention to the slowly growing town. The submerged tomb
of the priest-king Thalassos IV was uncovered, and though
plundered in antiquity, the body long gone, many tantalizing
artifacts remained. The riches gave rise to the first wealthy
aristocrats of the region, but a terrible curse suffused the
ruins. Since that time, explorers and adventurers have swarmed
Cassadega in search of new riches, and the small group of
scholars exploded from a sleepy village into a bustling city
practically overnight, funded by a booming salvage trade. The
plunder filled the Cassadega archives with priceless specimens,
attracting scholars from the far corners of the world.
No longer able to escape notice off the coast, the merfolk
revealed their presence in the ruins, sabotaging expeditions
that dared to dredge secrets from the depths. Eventually,
however, many merfolk—their origins largely unknown to even
themselves—also succumbed to the lure of riches, breaking
Lost Languages & Secret Sigils
Language can be a complex problem. Even 1st-level casters
Chapter 1: Lost Cities
can decipher pretty much anything written with a simple
comprehend languages spell, and before too long, any
characters with enough ranks in Linguistics stand a good
chance of figuring out the meaning of even the most
obscure texts. How is a GM who wants to present the
mystery of language but preserve the allure supposed to
proceed?
Luckily, the DCs of Linguistics checks are set by the
GM, and comprehend languages does provide you with
some respite as well. The spell “does not necessarily
impart insight into the material, merely its literal meaning,”
allowing you to determine exactly what the “literal
meaning” is, and it should certainly raise as many questions
as it answers. Responsible GMs should also make sure
these frustrations have payoff with ultimate revelations of
meanings important to the adventures at hand.
of
The language of Ankeshel was a strange mix of
calligraphic hieroglyphics of incredible pictorial and symbolic
Myth & Legend
complexity and of raised and lowered dots, interspersed with
non-Euclidean symbols whose meanings seem to change
depending on their appearance as either raised or lowered
reliefs. As a result, only the literal meaning of the sporadic
syllable markings can be interpreted, and mortal magics
cannot easily translate the symbols.
The snail’s pace of progress in deciphering the language
poses a danger to aspiring linguist and language experts,
for the glyphs and symbols often carry with them unusual,
undetectable glyph magics that are triggered when the
writing is properly pronounced. Such effects range from
identifiable effects, such as explosive runes or various
glyphs of warding, but others carry more incomprehensible
mysticism, and scholars have been discovered struck dumb
among ruins, afflicted with unusual transmutations or the
transference of glowing runes to their bodies that no magic
can remove. Let the reader beware.
ancient traditions by settling among the sunken buildings near
the coast. Eventually, humans and merfolk established basic
trade with one another along the shore, and the city became
known for its populations both above and below the water,
divided into Upper Cassadega, for the land bound settlements,
and Lower Cassadega, for the submerged buildings off the
coast that hosted merfolk families.
Among the finds of the tomb of Thalassos IV was a
fully charged and functional vril battery, and after decades
of research, scholars finally unlocked its secrets. With
this power source, they could study and restore the many
incomplete remains of ancient weapons and technology that
explorers had previously recovered. A few family learned
that the quaint and common curiosities decorating their
mantles were extremely valuable power sources, and their
9
10
sale has enriched many a pauper.
Perhaps the most tantalizing treasure that eludes
researchers is an intact mummy or corpse of an ancient
Ankeshelian. Most speculate that the key to decoding their
language lies in the spoken form of it, and the bounty on a
corpse complete enough to facilitate a speak with dead spell
may indeed be the most valuable commodity an adventuring
party could discover.
Secrets await the bold. The code of the Ankeshelian
language has yet to be broken, and the vivid murals that
survive paint an incomplete picture of Ankeshel. More than
one noble family has taken up the worship of the dead gods
of the ancient city-state, or worse, aligned themselves with
the aboleths who guard the secrets of the sunken city. The
minions of both roam the streets of Cassadega, and mystery
and intrigue abound. Some merfolk see the shore-dwellers
as trespassers on their ancient heritage and birthright, while
scholars in turn question these claims with sideways glances
and pursed lips, wondering why it is that some merfolk seem
Other Lost Cities
Atlantis, Lemuria, and Mu are the most famous of the sunken
cities, but their legends either inspired, or were themselves
inspired, by hundreds of mythic accounts and tales of flooded
cities, lost isles, and supernaturally cursed communities.
Ys: The Bretons had tales of the wondrous sunken city of
Ys. Numerous variations exist, but most seem to agree that a
noble king, seduced by a fey witch, was cursed with a wicked
daughter, Dahut. In his love for the child, he built for her a
fantastic walled city below sea level; the tides kept at bay by
a high-walled dike and magnificent gates to which the king
had the only key. His lustful daughter, seduced by the devil,
stole this key and opened the gates during high tide, dooming
all within. The king escaped with his daughter on his magical
horse that could travel over the sea, but when he discovered
Dahut’s deed, he flung her from the steed and into the
churning sea, where she became the first mermaid. Others
claim she was transformed into a morgen—water sprites that
drown men and cause floods that destroy villages. Perhaps
such stories reveal the true origin of nixies, faege, or drowned
maidens from Chapter 7, or could explain the creation of
merfolk and maereans, as introduced in Chapter 2.
Cantre’r Gwaelod: The Welsh have a parallel stories in
Cantre’r Gwaelod, a mythic sunken kingdom whose high
walls and impenetrable gates were breached in much the
same way as Ys, although it was then a drunken prince or
gate captain responsible for the destruction. The church bells
of these cities are said to still ring out from calm seas, an
eternal reminder of the price of sin and betrayal. The biblical
accounts of Sodom and Gomorah are famous examples of
to care so much for their intrusions into what they can only
determine is an early human city.
Merfolk also warn that just a few miles off the coast, the
Chapter 1: Lost Cities
continental shelf plunges into a dangerously deep trench
known as the “Brink,” and reconstructed maps of the city place
some of the most important structures—the original temple,
library, palaces, and civic centers in the bottom of the trench,
thousands of feet below the surface.
Merfolk explorers report strange monuments that rise
up from the depths, dangerous paralyzing glyphs glowing
from their surface, and explosive sigils that have taken the
lives of merfolk who dare dive so deep. The merfolk report
strange, guttural calls echoing below the waves, too low for
human aural comprehension but carrying the signature of
some gigantic aquatic beast larger than anything known.
Thus, stories of the Isonade persist, where many expect
the creature to again bring low the city with swipes of its
enormous tail when the scholars of the city get too close to
the secrets they seek.
of
Myth & Legend
the wrath of a vengeful god whose people have turned from
his worship, and the morally corrupt cities were destroyed in
a rain of fire from heaven. In the Baltic Sea around the 11th
century, there were stories of Vineta, the most powerful port
in the region that boasted 12 ship gates, but is also said to
have been destroyed due to the sinfulness of its inhabitants.
And there are many, many others, as it seems each culture
had its own version of the Atlantis myth.
Later fantasy writer absorbed such myths and put them
into the common parlance of our modern fantasy roleplaying
games that took their cue from them. The legends inspired
Fritz Leiber’s Simorgya, and Robert E. Howard’s sets his
Conan and Kull stories in his versions of Atlantis, Lemuria
and Mu. Tolkien’s mythology included great Númenor, an
apex of man’s civilization that would never been seen again
on Middle Earth, and Micahel Moorcock’s highly decadent
Melnibonéans are reminiscent of legendary Atlanteans, who
lived in the Dreaming City of Imrryr before its fall.
Lovecraft, of course introduced the fictional sunken city
of R’lyeh in “The Call of Cthulhu,” where “dead Cthulhu
waits dreaming.” A city of bizarre architecture and non-
Euclidean geometry, Lovecraft described the city as built
in “vast angles and stone surfaces” and described it as
“too great to belong to anything right and proper for this
earth, and impious with horrible images and disturbing
hieroglyphs.” All of these stories serve as excellent
springboards and strong foundations for the construction of
new sunken cities unique to your game world that cater to
your game’s style of play.
11
 C hapter 2
P elagic C haracters
We always had our suspicions about that sorcerer Brev. Sure, he had a way
with folks, but he was just so strange and unsettling most of the time. We
couldn’t understand why people took to him as well as they did because he
sure didn’t seem to get along with us all that well. But when those cnidari
came pouring out of those ruins, and I couldn’t get my sword out before
Naskil and the cleric fell, I was sure glad to have him on my side. He just
blinked and gestured, and the whole pack of those jellyfish started obeying
him like they were old friends. He always claimed it was “in his blood.”
I’m just glad it isn’t in mine.
Underwater Races
Sunken Empires presents players and GMs alike with the tools
necessary to bring ancient secrets lost below the waves back
to the surface. However you choose to utilize lost cultures and
undersea environments in your campaigns, these rules can help
adapt existing character classes to underwater exploration.
Maerean (Half-Merfolk)
Sailors and sea folk have always longed for the embrace of the
charismatic sirens that swim beneath the waves, and while such
unions are rare, they have been known to bear offspring on
12
occasion. Such children tend to be rejected by both societies,
viewed as illegitimate bastards at best, but such children usually
grow into strong, charismatic adults that carry the mystery of
their heritage with them.
Physical Description: Maereans are as tall as humans are,
though leaner and lither with attractive features and glass-green
eyes. They typically have pale complexions with black hair
that seems to have a greenish, oily sheen to it when viewed in
bright light. Their ears have a pronounced, sharp point with
small serrations along the outer edge, and their fingers and toes
display half-formed webs between the digits. Some maereans
have isolated patches of iridescent scales and small, finned
spines along their forearms or small of their back, and all have
small gill slits that run along their neck from their collarbone.
Society: The rejection maereans encounter from birth
forces them to adapt quickly to situations and imparts an
innate strength when faced with adversity. While attractive and
charismatic, maereans rarely fit in with human society, finding
themselves mostly outcast and scorned. The elusive and aloof
merfolk rarely accept such half-breeds into their societies at all,
considering them somewhat of an abomination and unfitting
for the dark secrets merfolk are thought to carry. This isolation
 Maerean Racial Traits
• +2 to One Ability Score: You gain a +2 bonus to one ability score of your choice at creation.

Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters

• Medium: You are Medium and have no bonuses or penalties due to your size.
• Normal Speed: You have base land and swim speed of 30 ft.
• Low-Light Vision: You can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
• Keen Senses: You receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
• Merfolk Blood: You count as both merfolk and human for any effect related
to race.
• Multitalented: You choose two favored classes at first level and gain +1 hp or
+1 skill point whenever you take a level in either one of those classes.
• Aquatic: You are aquatic and can breathe water. You are also amphibious,
capable of living on land but prefer coastal environments, keeping you
close to the sea.
• Languages: You begin play speaking Common and Aquan. Your bonus
languages are Aboleth, Aklo, Draconic, Elven, Sahuagin, and Sylvan.

Maerean Characters
Maerean characters provide players with an immediate link to the world beneath
the waves. These characters can be the last scions of a lost race, the desperate
remnants of a dying people, or even specially bred creations of aboleths or
scheming merfolk who wish to intrude on the surface world. If merfolk are the only
surviving example of ancient cultures lost below the waves, such characters can display unusual characteristics
beyond that displayed by the base racial features—distorted oblong skulls, fewer digits than normal for
humans—any traits assigned by old murals, hieroglyphics, and illuminated dusty tomes attributed to ancient,
near-human cultures thought long lost.
In campaigns focusing on the rediscovery of these destroyed cultures, the characters, whether aware of the
implications of their own heritage or not, can provide tangible evidence of secrets thought forever gone and
open avenues for intriguing discoveries not only of the character’s
background, but also in the campaign world as a whole.

can be hard to accept for many maereans, but it also instills a
certain strength of will and adaptability.
Relations: Maerean characters are often lonely individuals
aware of their outsider status and find it difficult forming
lasting bonds and alliances with other races. They carry an air of
suspicion about all others, a trait inherited from their merfolk
forebears. Once such bonds are forged, however, maereans
are trustworthy and steadfastly loyal although still somewhat
secretive and aloof.
Alignment and Religion: Living long lives filled with
rejection and suspicion, maereans’ personalities ebb and
flow with the tides, allowing them to foster both great evil
and incredible goodness within their hearts. Most tend to be
introspective and neutral, and while less likely to turn to religion,
tend to favor gods of the seas and waves, which never seem to
relinquish their hold on Maerean hearts.
Adventurers: Maereans tend to wander, often disguising
their true natures to work ships or docks along coastal regions
or to travel up and down the coast from village to village
looking for work that keeps them near the sea. They are valued
explorers and divers, and their desire to prove their worth to
communities suspicious of them drives many of them into lives
of daring adventure.
Underwater Classes
Pelagic classes are intended to augment
existing classes. In some cases, the
modifications are minor and allow characters easier access
to essential skills for underwater exploration. In other cases,
characters have access to a wide range of domains, schools, and
bloodlines inspired by the sea, whether through an interchange
of cultures along the shore or out of necessity to survive the
harsh environment.
General Class Adjustments
For characters with coastal backgrounds, you may make Swim a
class skill for all classes to reflect familiarity with the water. For
characters who intend to spend time adventuring underwater,
putting ranks into it regularly can mean the difference between
life and death when facing vicious riptides.
In addition, characters exploring undersea ruins should pay
particular attention to their early weapon choices. Most weapons,
including longswords and bows, are severely hindered underwater.
Even at higher levels, adventurers will find that all of their feats and
special abilities mean little against a massive dunkleosteus if their
crossbows won’t fire effectively. Piercing weapons are preferred for
underwater environments, and players should choose their weapons

13
 and armor with this in mind. (See Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
Chapter 13 for rules on underwater combat.)
Barbarian
Pelagic barbarians hail from primitive shore-side communities
or feral islands cut off from the mainland where their cultures
revolve around whaling, pearl diving, or spear fishing. Such
characters may carry the blood of merfolk or maereans or may
simply be well versed in survival along the coast and attuned
to life among the waves. If barbarians begin play with a natural
swim speed, they may replace land-bound movement abilities
with water-based powers so that such class abilities apply to
their natural environment:
Rapid Swimming (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, your natural
swim speed increases by +10 ft. This benefit applies only when
wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor, and not when
carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the
speed because of any load carried or armor worn. This bonus
stacks with any other bonuses to swimming speed. This feature
replaces the fast movement ability.
Rage Powers (Ex): In addition to the typical range of rage
abilities, add the following:
Whale’s Breath (Ex)—You do not count rounds raging against
the total rounds you could normally hold your breath.
Kraken Grapple (Ex)—While raging, you roll twice for all
grapple checks and take the best result.
Shark’s Stare (Ex)—While raging, you add your class level
to all Intimidate skill checks made against creatures with the
aquatic subtype. You must have intimidating glare as a rage
power to select this rage power.
Swift Fins (Ex)—You gain a 5-ft. enhancement bonus to your
swim speed. This increase is always active while raging. You can
select this rage power up to three times; its effects stack.
Taste of Blood (Ex)—While underwater, you gain the keen
scent ability of a shark.
Thrashing Bite (Ex)—When you hit a grappled opponent with
a bite attack, you can latch onto the target, dealing automatic
damage to your opponent each round equal to your bite attack
damage plus Strength modifier until the grapple ends.
Tremor Sense (Ex)—You become sensitive to the movement
of water across your skin. While raging in water, you gain
blindsense 30 ft.
Bard
Bards who wish to be effective underwater must learn a special
set of abilities. While water does carry sound better than air,
characters who cannot breathe underwater cannot effectively sing
and must add 5 to the DC of all bardic performance checks that
involve song or speech while underwater.
In addition, most air and string instruments simply will not
function underwater. Such hindrances might influence early
choices for Perform skills, and bards who anticipate adventuring
underwater would do well to concentrate on visual Perform
skills that are not hindered by the underwater environment,
14
including pantomime and dance, or audible Perform skills that
use instruments usable in water, including most percussion
instruments. The effectiveness of instruments is subject to GM
approval, and spells that negate the environment, such as freedom
of movement, allow bards the full range of instrument use.
Bardic Performance: Due to the sound-carrying properties
of water, all bardic performances with audible components that
do work underwater double their effective range. The following
bardic performances can be added to your list of available
abilities, subject to the GM’s discretion:
Befriend the Natives (Su)—At 1st level, you can use your talent to
demonstrate to other intelligent creatures your peaceful intentions.
You must perform for 1 round using your bardic performance
after which you makes a Perform check in place of a Diplomacy
check to alter creatures’ attitudes. The targets of this performance
do not need to be able to understand you but must be within 30
ft. and able to see or hear the performance. The performance
includes audible and visual components. Any obvious threat, such
as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a weapon
at the targets, automatically breaks the effect.
Song of the Shark (Su)—At 3rd level and higher, your bardic
performance can instill an ally with mindless ferocity. To be
affected, an ally must hear or see your performance. An affected
ally receives a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against charm
and fear effects and a +2 competence bonus on attack and
weapon damage rolls. The ally can also remain fighting when
reduced to 0 hp. However, the ally is still staggered, loses 1 hp
each round, and dies when reduced in hp to a negative value
equal to Constitution.
Song of the shark is a mind-affecting ability and uses audible
or visual components. You must choose which component to
use when starting the performance.
Lamprey’s Lament (Su)—At 8th level and higher, your bardic
performance can drain an opponent of strength and endurance
in the same way a lamprey sucks the life from a victim. The
affected creature takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving
throws, skill checks, and ability checks. Each round you play, the
penalty increases by 2, to a maximum penalty of -8.
To be affected, an enemy must be within 30 ft. and able to see
and hear your performance. The effect persists for as long as the
enemy is within 30 ft. and you continue your performance. This
ability can affect only one target at a time and does not stack with
other bardic performances. Lamprey’s lament is a mind-affecting
fear effect, and it relies on audible and visual components.
Cleric
For centuries, mortals have stood in awe of the gods of the
sea, the domain of elemental power where the wind meets the
ever-changing waves. Some creation myths give credit to the sea
gods for raising the land from beneath the waves that creatures
may walk the earth, and others attribute them with wanton
destruction and the slow erosion of all life to inevitable entropy,
returning to the primordial chaos from which all life arose.
Clerics of such deities are often powerful figureheads
among coastal communities and usually act as emissaries with
nearby merfolk or, more disturbingly, work as agents for less
benevolent forces of the sea.
Domains: The following domains may be available to you
if you worship sea deities or the forgotten, fallen gods of lost
undersea cultures. (New spells are designated by a superscript
“N” and are detailed in Chapter 4.)
Deep Domain
Granted Powers: You control the freezing powers of the deep
ocean and command creatures of water.
Freezing Grasp (Su)—At 1st level, you can make a freezing
touch attack as a standard action that deals 1d4 Strength damage
+1 for every 2 cleric levels you have; the effects last for 1 round.
You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 +
your Wisdom modifier. This ability does not stack with itself.
Cold Resistance (Ex)—At 6th level, you gain resist cold 10.
This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, you
gain immunity to cold.
Domain Spells: 1st—endure elements, 2nd—chill metal, 3rd—
sleet storm, 4th—wall of ice, 5th—cone of cold, 6th—freezing sphere,
7th—crushing depthsN, 8th—polar ray, 9th—elemental swarm
Glyph Domain
Granted Powers: You manipulate the ancient magic of sigils
and the meanings of esoteric symbols. You gain Scribe Scroll as
a bonus feat.
Append Glyph (Sp)—Starting at first level, whenever you cast a
spell that deals hp damage and has a single creature as a target,
you can change the damage type to acid, cold, electricity, fire, or
sonic when you cast the spell. You can use this ability a number
of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Protecting Glyph (Su)—Starting at 8th level, you can etch onto
yourself a glyph that grants you protection from elements.
The glyph lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom
modifier and grants you resist 10 to one energy type (acid,
cold, electricity, fire, or sonic). At 14th level, this resistance
increase to 20. You can use this ability a number of times per
day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Domain Spells:  1st—arcane mark, 2nd—defending glyphN,
3rd—glyph of warding, 4th—dispelling glyphN, 5th—symbol of pain,
6th—greater glyph of warding, 7th—symbol of weakness, 8th—symbol
of death, 9th—mage’s disjunction
Fish Domain
Granted Powers: You are friend to sea life and adapt easily to
underwater habitats.
Ichthyic Bond (Sp)—At 1st level, you gain an arcane bond with
an aquatic familiar (see page 68) as if you were a wizard equal to
your cleric level.
Speak with Fish (Sp)—At 4th level, you can communicate
telepathically with aquatic animals and magical beasts to a range
of 100 ft. for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric
level, which need not be consecutive. You add your cleric level to
Pelagic Classes
What are pelagic classes? In short, these options are
Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters
for players and GMs who wish to have characters with
an affinity for the water, making undersea explorations
easier. GMs might allow these options for the low cost
of a trait or feat selection or simply require that players
have backgrounds from a coastal town or oceanic culture.
Alternately, GMs may require that characters have natural
swim speeds, or at least 5 ranks in Swim, to account for
their ease in navigating underwater environments. In any
case, many of these options allow characters to use abilities
otherwise restricted to land bound use under the waves
while others open up new avenues and abilities that take
advantage of the unique aquatic environment.
any Diplomacy skill checks you make when communicating with
aquatic animals and magical beasts.
Domain Spells: 1st—summon nature’s ally I, 2nd—animal
messenger , 3rd—water breathing (or land walkerN), 4th—repel vermin,
5th—animal growth, 6th—antilife shell, 7th—repulsion, 8th—animal
shapes, 9th—shape change
Ocean Domain
Granted Powers: You invoke the powers of salt and sea—the
fountain of life—in all its chaotic glory.
Anarchic Touch (Ex)—At 1st level, you can imbue a creature
with the primordial chaos of the ocean as a touch attack. The
target is sickened for a number of rounds equal to half your
cleric level. You can use this ability a number of times per day
equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Water Wall (Sp)—Starting at 8th level, you can create a wall of
water (as the spell) for a number of rounds per day equal to your
cleric level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Domain Spells: 1st—riptideN, 2nd—watery sphereN, 3rd—water
walk, 4th—control water, 5th—elemental body II, 6th—animate
waterN, 7th—crushing depthsN, 8th—tidal waveN, 9th—freedom
Sea Monster Domain
Granted Powers: The primordial firmament, the ocean, birthed
the world’s first terrors. You invoke the mother-womb of
creation to summon beasts and control the leviathans living in
the sightless depths.
Kin of Monsters (Ex)—Starting at 1st level, you can grow a
giant maw and fangs as a free action. This mouth is considered a
natural weapon, allowing you to make a bite attack as a standard
action using your full base attack bonus. This attack deals 1d6
damage + your Strength modifier damage (or 1d4 if you are
small). You can use your bite attack for a number of rounds
equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. These rounds do not need
to be consecutive.
Brood Spawn (Su)—Starting at 8th level, when you summon a
creature with the aquatic subtype using a summon monster spell, you
summon one additional monster of the same type. At 14th level,
15
 any summon monster spell you use to summon a creature with the
aquatic subtype lasts 1 additional round for every 2 cleric levels
you have. This does not stack with the Extend Spell feat.
Domain Spells: 1st—summon monster I, 2nd—bear’s endurance,
3rd—dominate animal, 4th—divine power, 5th—animal growth,
6th—summon monster VI, 7th—beast shape IV, 8th—mass charm
monster, 9th—summon monster IX
Druid
Perhaps no other character class coexists with the primordial
seas as well as the druid. This character class is a capable
survivor and, through their natural bond ability, can tie
themselves close to the world’s oceans either through expertise
in water-based cleric domains or through the close bond
with one of the sea’s creatures. Druids are naturally adept at
communicating with aquatic animals and, as they increase in
levels, can even take the forms of such creatures in a powerful
display of nature’s fury. A druid’s spell selection is unparalleled
in its ability to manipulate water and the natural environment.
While druids are already among the most useful classes for
exploring underwater, some changes can be made for those who
wish to further adapt their druids to life in or near the sea.
Druids who choose to take an animal companion have more
choices available to them than those found in the standard
animal companion list. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game opens
up a wide range of options for druids who wish more variety
in their choices for a suitable aquatic companion. The list of
available animal companions already includes appropriate
options in birds (which can include gulls and albatrosses),
fish (such as sharks), and reptiles (such as saltwater varieties
of crocodiles and snakes). The Pathfinder Bestiary expands this
list with dolphins, electric eels (can be electric rays in marine
environments), moray eel, octopus, orcas, and squid. Such
creatures, and many more, also make excellent forms for wild-
shaping druids to assume when exploring sunken ruins and
coral reefs. For druids who choose instead to take domains as
their nature bond option, the GM should also allow them access
to the Deep, Fish, Ocean, and Sea Monster cleric domains.
In addition to these options, consider the following alternate
class features for coastal or aquatic druids:
Rapid Swimming (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, your natural
swimming speed increases by +10 ft., and you receive a +4
bonus to all Swim checks. These benefits apply only when
you are wearing no armor, light armor, or medium armor, and
you are not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before
modifying your speed because of any load carried or armor
worn. This bonus stacks with any other bonuses to swim speed
and replaces woodland stride.
Fighter
Fighters take to water more naturally than most. With their high
Strength and Constitution scores, they are strong swimmers
and capable divers, able to hold their breath longer than most
other characters and navigate high tides and water hazards more
16
effectively. However, one of the greatest assets of fighters can
also become their greatest hindrance: armor. New equipment for
fighters can be found in Chapters 3: Equipment and Chapter 6:
Magic Items.
Underwater Armor Training (Ex): Trained to wear armor
underwater, you maneuver easily when encumbered in aquatic
environments. Starting at 3rd level, when wearing armor
underwater, you are treated as 4 levels higher for purposes of
armor training. In addition, you can move at your normal swim
speed while wearing medium armor. At 7th level, you can move
at your normal swim speed while wearing heavy armor.
Fighters who take underwater armor training do not replace
their regular armor training but, rather, are considered 4 levels lower
for calculating the benefits of their normal armor training ability.
Waterborne (Ex): Starting at 1st level, you gain a +4 bonus
to all Swim skill checks. Once you have 10 or more ranks in
Swim, the bonus increases to +6. This ability replaces bravery.
Aquatic Weapon Training (Ex): Starting at 5th level, you
can add the aquatic weapons group to the list of weapon groups
you can select, as noted below. Whenever you attack with a
weapon from this group, you gain a +1 bonus on attack and
damage rolls.
Aquatic Weapons—This group consists of dagger, gaff hook,
harpoon, longspear, merfolk polespear, net (all types), ranseur,
spear, stingray barb, trident.
Monk
Monks gravitate toward undersea ruins, drawn by the promise
of lost knowledge and paths of enlightenment cultivated by
ancient civilizations. Many seek buried or sunken monasteries
for lost clues and secret inscriptions to confirm beliefs passed
down from the first ages of man. Well-versed in unarmored
fighting, monks can be extremely effective fighters underwater,
especially once they overcome the natural hindrances the
underwater environment imposes on their unarmed strikes.
The following abilities may be taught by coastal monasteries or
learned after spending significant time in the sea.
Ki Pool (Ex): In addition to the standard ki powers, you can
activate the following as swift actions. By spending 1 point from
your ki pool, you can make a single attack as a standard action
to drive the air from the lungs of creatures holding their breath.
The victims of such attacks lose a number of rounds of breath
from their total equal to the damage dealt by the monk.
You may also spend a single point of ki to focus your strikes,
negating the penalties for fighting underwater for a number of
rounds equal to your Wisdom bonus.
Fast Swimming (Ex): At 3rd level, you gain an
enhancement bonus to your swimming speed equal to the bonus
you would normally be granted from the fast movement ability.
While in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load, you lose
this extra speed. This feature replaces the bonus granted to land
speed by fast movement.
Presence of Still Water (Su): At 3rd level, an aquatic animal
or magical beast cannot attack you unless it makes a Will save
(DC 10 + 1/2 your monk level + your Wisdom modifier). A Ranger
creature that saves against this effect is immune to it for 24 Like druids, rangers who choose aquatic environments as their
hours. This effect is negated if the monk attacks the creature. favored terrain make exceptional guides among sunken ruins

Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters

At 4th level, you may expend a ki point to increase the save and lost cities. Such characters are able to quickly recognize
by +2 for a number of rounds equal to his Wisdom modifier. the inherent dangers of the sea, such as poisonous coral and
This may be done as an immediate or swift action. This ability entangling kelp beds, making them naturally adapted to lives
replaces still mind. spent exploring the waves. Such characters also learn to use the
Slow Metabolism (Ex): At 4th level or higher, by slowing sea to their best advantage, and rangers who finally achieve the
your metabolism and breathing, you can spend a single ki camouflage special ability gain a deadly advantage that not even
point to gain a number of rounds of held breath equal to your the most effective of undersea predators can manage.
Constitution. This ability replaces slow fall. Pelagic rangers have the same animal companion options
Focused Swimmer (Ex): At 5th level, you add your level to available to them as pelagic druids. Rangers skilled at two-
all Swim checks. In addition, by spending 1 point of ki as a swift weapon fighting often choose effective net and trident
action, you gain a +20 bonus on Swim checks for 1 round. This combinations, and GMs might allow pelagic rangers to include
ability replaces high jump. nets on their weapon proficiency list.
Wave Step (Sp): At 5th level, you can water walk as the spell Combat Style Feat (Ex): At 2nd level, you may add net-and-
as long as your movement begins and ends on land (CL equals trident fighting style to your list of combat styles to pursue. Your
class level). This ability replaces high jump. expertise manifests in the form of bonus feats at 2nd, 6th, 10th,
Body of Water (Su): At 9th level, you can spend a ki point 14th, and 18th level. You can choose feats from this combat style,
as an immediate or swift action to turn your body into water. even if you do not have the normal prerequisites.
You gain DR 5/bludgeoning for a number of rounds equal to If you select net-and-trident style, you can choose from
your Wisdom modifier. While this ability is active, your unarmed the following list whenever you gain a combat style feat: Net
strikes deal +1d6 damage to creatures with the fire subtype. Fighter, Point Blank Shot, Quick Brace, Quick Fold, and Two-
This ability replaces improved evasion. Weapon Fighting. At 6th level, you
add Improved Two-Weapon
Paladin Fighting, Lunge, Improved
Like fighters, paladins’ greatest strength can turn into their Net Fighter, and Two-
largest hindrance below the waves. A heavily armored paladin Weapon Defense to the list.
swinging a holy broadsword is easy prey for deadly sharks and
eels if not properly prepared for underwater adventure. Some
paladin orders claim origins in the temples and societies of the
first age of man, and many seek lost relics and other remains of
their order in sunken cities.
Lay on Hands (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, you can use your
Lay on Hands ability once per day to restore vitality to a creature
holding its breath, granting the subject a number of rounds of held
breath equal to your Charisma score. Using this ability is a standard
action, unless you target yourself, in which case it is a swift action.
Using it in this fashion restores no hp. Despite the name of this
ability, you only need one free hand to use it.
Divine Bond (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, you are
divinely bonded to a celestial spirit and may call on it to add the
wavesplitting weapon property to your chosen weapon at the cost
of a +1 bonus (in addition to the standard options). If you
choose to bond with a loyal steed, you may select a dolphin
with the giant simple template added (for a Medium paladin)
or a standard dolphin (for a Small paladin).
Alternately, you may choose a seahorse with stats identical
to either a heavy horse (for a Medium paladin) or a pony (for
a Small paladin) although with darkvision 60 ft., swim speeds
in place of land speeds, and hoof attacks replaced with slam
attacks. Such mounts function as a druid’s animal companion,
using your paladin level as your effective druid level. Bonded
mounts have an Intelligence of at least 6.

17
 At 10th level, you add Greater Two-Weapon Fighting and Strike
Back to the list.
The benefits of your chosen style feats apply only when you
wear light, medium, or no armor. You lose all benefits of your
combat style feats when wearing heavy armor. Once you select a
combat style, it cannot be changed.
Aquatic Hunter (Ex): You develop knowledge of foes
you encounter in your native environment and specialize in
exploiting the weaknesses of all aquatic creatures rather than
a specific creature. If you select this class ability, you do not
gain a favored enemy at 1st level or subsequent levels. Instead,
you gain a +1 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense
Motive, and Survival checks against all creatures with the aquatic
subtype. Likewise, you gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage
rolls against them. These bonuses increase by +1 whenever
you would normally gain a new favored enemy. You may make
Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify
aquatic creatures.
Littoral Movement (Ex): Starting at 7th level, you may
move through any sort of coastal or aquatic terrain (such
as loose sand, urchin aggregations, and similar terrain) at
your normal speed and without taking damage or suffering
impairment. In addition, you receive a +4 bonus to Swim
checks. This ability replaces woodland stride.
Scent (Ex): Beginning at 8th level, you can follow creatures by
smell underwater and gain the scent ability while in your favored
environment. This ability replaces swift tracker.
Rogue
Rogues, with their vast reservoir of skills, are likely the most
versatile of explorers and guides for undersea ruins, and they
often command high wages from archaeological and exploratory
teams who need skilled linguists to interpret dead languages,
keen eyes to spot ancient traps, and sharp blades to combat
lurking horrors. Talented rogues are natural treasure seekers,
drawn by the allure of ancient artifacts and valuable salvage.
Rogue Talents: You may add the following abilities to the
list of rogue talents. You cannot select an individual talent more
than once. Talents marked with an asterisk add effects to a
rogue’s sneak attack. Only one of these talents can be applied to
an individual attack and the decision must be made before the
attack roll is made.
Agile Swimmer (Ex)—This talent allows you to add your
Dexterity modifier to all Swim skill checks.
Breathtaker (Ex)—Opponents holding their breath lose a
number of rounds of breath equal to your Dexterity modifier
when damaged by your sneak attack.
Breathstealer (Ex)—Opponent holding their breath must
immediately begin making Constitution checks to continue
holding their breath when damaged by your sneak attack. You
must have the breathtaker talent before choosing breathstealer.
Deep Breath (Ex)—You can hold your breath an extra number
of rounds per day equal to your rogue level. You also gain a +2
bonus to Constitution checks to avoid drowning.
18
Floater (Ex)—You gain a +8 bonus to Swim checks to stay
afloat as long as you do not move.
Slippery Body (Ex)—You can roll twice for Escape Artist skill
checks and take the best result. Also, you can use your Escape
Artist skill in place of your CMD.
Advanced Talents: At 10th level and every 2 levels
thereafter, you can choose one of the following advanced
talents in place of a rogue talent:
Jet (Ex)—You can move backward 1/round as a full-round
action at double your speed. You must move in a straight line; you
do not provoke attacks of opportunity while doing so.
Punish Landlubber (Ex)— You can make an attack of
opportunity 1/round against an opponent that does not
possess a natural swim speed. This attack counts as an attack
of opportunity for that round. Even a rogue with the Combat
Reflexes feat can’t use the punish landlubber ability more than
1/round.
Taken to Water (Ex)—Once you have 10 ranks in Swim, you are
considered to have a natural swim speed equal to your land speed.
Sorcerer
Sorcerers carry their power in their veins, and those raised
along the shore or near the sea naturally have a tendency to
carry some trace of the ocean’s salty brine in their blood. The
powerful ebb and flow of the tides crash through their bodies.
For some, it is granted as a gift; for others, it is an ancient and
powerful ancestry; for a few, it is a dark bargain with creatures
of the sea, waiting patiently to collect the harrowing price.
Sorcerers raised along the coast have options available to
them beyond those of their inland brethren. For those taking
the arcane bloodline, they may choose among the new aquatic
familiars options available to wizards. In addition, several new
bloodlines become available.
Oceanic Sorcerer Bloodlines: The power of the sea is such
that all creatures hear its siren call. Your blood resonates not
only with the rush of the waves, but with their power as well.
Aboleth
The star-spawned aberrations are constantly experimenting
with fleshwarping other creatures. You, or an ancestor, were the
subject of such a process before escaping the malignant clutches
of the aboleth. Or perhaps the foul taint of a nearby aboleth city
has infused your body with aberrant power.
Class Skill: Knowledge (arcana)
Bonus Spells: hypnotism (3rd), minor image (5th), major image
(7th), hallucinatory terrain (9th), dominate person (11th), programmed
image (13th), project image (15th), screen (17th), dominate monster
(19th)
Bonus Feats: Blind-fight, Combat Casting, Improved Disarm,
Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Iron Will, Spell
Penetration, Skill Focus (Knowledge [dungeoneering])
Bloodline Arcana: You add your Charisma modifier to all
Will saves instead of your Wisdom modifier.
Bloodline Powers: A dire and evil intelligence permeates
your mind. Even if you are not evil, you cannot help but feel
other creatures are but pests.
Slime Glob (Sp)—At 1st level, you can hurl a glob of acidic
slime as a standard action, targeting any foe within 30 ft. as a
ranged touch attack. The glob deals 1d4 acid damage +1 for
every 2 sorcerer levels you possess and 1 point splash damage
for every 2 sorcerer levels you possess. You may use this ability
a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.
Alien Presence (Ex)—At 3rd level, your aberrant taint becomes
more obvious. You gain a +2 inherent bonus to Intimidate skill
checks. Animals will not attack you unless they succeed on a
Will save (DC = 10 + 1/2 your level + your Charisma modifier).
At 11th level, your bonus to Intimidate checks increases to +4
and to +6 at 17th level.
Malign Intelligence (Ex)—At 9th level, you gain a +2 inherent
bonus to your Intelligence, and you add your Intelligence
modifier to all Intimidate skill checks. Your bonus to
Intelligence increases to +4 at 13th level and to +6 at 17th level.
Tentacles (Su)—At 15th level, you can deploy up to four
otherwise hidden tentacles with a reach of 15 ft. Each tentacle
can make a melee touch attack that deals 1d6 acid damage/
sorcerer level but do not otherwise increase your threatened area.
Attacking with more than one tentacle in a round is considered
a full-attack action. You may use these tentacles for a number of
rounds per day equal to your Charisma modifier. These rounds do
not need to be consecutive.
Skum Lord (Ex)—At 20th level, your aberrant heritage is
made plain to everyone: your eyes grow larger, your gills are
visible, and so forth. You can breathe underwater, and you gain
blindsight with a range of 60 ft. Your strange anatomy grants
you DR 5/— and a 25% chance critical hits and sneak attacks
fail against you. Any foe you successfully demoralize in combat
is frightened instead of shaken.
Ocean
Your blood runs with the primordial, chaotic power of the sea.
You might possess an ocean-deity ancestor or somehow channel
the power of tide and wave itself.
Class Skill: Escape Artist
Bonus Spells: endure elements (3rd), water walk (5th), water
breathing (7th), freedom of movement (9th), rusting grasp (11th), control
water (13th), elemental body IV (15th), polymorph any object (17th),
shape change (19th)
Bonus Feats: Brew Potion, Craft Rod, Craft Wondrous
Item, Empower Spell, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Skill Focus
(Knowledge [nature]), Widen Spell
Bloodline Arcana: When you cast a spell with the water or cold
descriptor, its duration increases by 50% (minimum 1 round).
Bloodline Powers: Your powers are more than just the
ability to control water. This energy inside you runs with the
protean element that gave birth to the land, the sky, and the
gods. You channel the formless and vast nature of water.
Dissolving Touch (Sp)—At 1st level, you can deliver a melee
touch attack that infuses a creature’s flesh with the chaos of the
primordial ocean. You inflict 1d6 damage +1 for every 2 sorcerer
levels you possess. At 7th level, the touched creature is also
slowed for 1 round. At 11th level, the damage increases by one
Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters
step to 1d8. This damage bypasses damage reduction as untyped
energy damage. You may use this ability a number of times per
day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.
Formless (Ex)—At 3rd level, you gain a bonus to your CMD
equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. You also gain a +4 bonus to
resist polymorph and petrification effects. At 9th level, if you fail
a save against a petrification or polymorph effect, you revert to
your normal form after 1 round.
Hydromancer (Ex)—Starting at 9th level, you may cast a spell
with the Silent Spell metamagic feat without increasing its level
or casting time 1/day. You may use this ability 2/day at 13th
level, and 3/day at 17th level.
Protean Shape (Sp)—At 15th level, you can change into a watery
version of yourself. This affects you as if you had cast liquid form.
You can do this a number of rounds per day equal to your sorcerer
level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Ocean Lord (Ex)—At 20th level, you are immune to critical
hits, sneak attacks, and sonic damage. You cannot drown, and
you automatically succeed on all Swim skill checks.
Vril
You carry the heritage of Ankeshel, passed down from
survivors of an ancient cataclysm. Your parents nurtured these
innate abilities with head binding to optimize the shape of your
skull. You can control the powerful life force known to your
ancestors as vril.
Class Skill: Knowledge (history)
Bonus Spells: hypnotism (3rd), levitate (5th), suggestion (7th),
confusion (9th), telekinesis (11th), mass suggestion (13th), grasping hand
(15th), clenched fist (17th), crushing hand (19th)
Bonus Feats: Combat Casting, Persuasive, Iron Will, Skill
Focus (Knowledge [arcana]), Silent Spell, Spell Penetration, Still
Spell
Bloodline Arcana: Whenever you cast a spell of the
compulsion subschool, increase the spell’s DC by +2.
Bloodline Powers: While your oblong skull gives you an
unusual appearance, you can draw power from the world around
you to manipulate the actions of others and move objects and
creatures with the power of your mind.
Mind Shield (Su)—Starting at 1st level, you generate a mental
shield around your body that protects you from physical attack.
As an immediate or swift action, you gain a +1 deflection bonus
to AC for 1 round. This increases by +1 for every 5 sorcerer
levels you possess, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. You may
do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma
modifier.
Telepathy (Su)—Starting at 3rd level, you can communicate
telepathically with any creature within a range of 30 ft. This range
increases by 10 ft. every 3 levels to a maximum range of 180 ft.
at 18th level. You can use this ability a number of rounds per day
equal to your level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
19
 Invisible Hand (Su)—At 9th level, you can project a 30-ft. cone
of force as a standard action as a ranged touch attack, striking
creatures in the cone as the violent thrust option of the telekinesis
spell. Spell resistance does not apply against this ability. You may
do this 2/day at 13th level and 3/day at 17th level.
Imposition of Will (Sp)—At 15th level, if you still have an
uncast spell of at least 5th level you may give up that spell to
cast dominate person instead. At 19th level, you may give up an
uncast spell of 8th level or higher to cast dominate monster.
Dominator (Su)—At 20th level, your mental powers reach their
zenith. You can cast any spell you know using the Silent Spell and
Still Spell feats without increasing its caster level 1/day. Also, you
gain a +4 racial bonus to resist enchantments and mind-affecting
effects, and when you cast a spell from the compulsion subschool,
you increase its DC by a total of +4.
Wizard
The promise of forgotten arcane secrets and undiscovered
magics draws wizards to explore old ruins and lost cities, the
remains of civilizations thought to have tapped into primordial
forms of magic. The inquisitive and power-hungry seek control
of these forgotten arts.
For wizards in coastal regions both above and below the
water, a wide range of new familiars becomes available. Hawks
and ravens can substitute for albatrosses and seagulls, lizards can
serve as iguanas, and vipers as sea snakes; 14 additional familiars
for spellcasters in aquatic areas are described in Chapter 7.
In addition, those who spend their time chasing the waves
have developed new schools of magic, known as the glyph and
water schools, to manipulate their chosen environment and tap
into the power of runes and sigils.
Glyph School
Glyph wielders use the magic contained in esoteric symbols to
manipulate reality, harm foes, and enhance allies. Glyph-crafters
believe it was the first school of magic—protean and basic—
scribed in the language of creation.
A Thousand Tiles (Su)—Starting at 1st level, you can scribe a
number of small tiles or other small items (such as a piece of
cloth) equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier times 1/4 your
Wizard level (minimum 1). Each tile grants a +1 bonus to one
attack roll, save, or skill check or caster level check, the type of
which is chosen when you prepare your spells. You may use
a tile as a swift or immediate action to grant yourself a bonus
on the chosen roll, after which the tile must be reinscribed the
next day to grant further benefit. You must use a tile before the
result of the roll is known. At 4th level, you can divide the total
number of +1 bonuses among any number of tiles, though a
single tile cannot confer a bonus of greater than +5.
Indelible Glyph (Su)—Whenever you cast a spell of the glyph
school, increase the duration by a number of rounds equal
to 1/2 your wizard level (minimum 1). At 20th level, you can
change the duration of all glyph spells to permanent. You can
have no more than one glyph spell made permanent in this way
20
at one time. If you designate another glyph spell as permanent,
the previous spell immediately ends.
Rapid Scriber (Ex)—At 8th level, you can cast one prepared
glyph spell as a swift action without increasing the spell’s level
or casting time. You may do this 1/day at 8th level, and an
additional 1/day/4 wizard levels after 8th.
Glyph School Spells
The spells a glyph wizard normally learns are listed below in the
spell list. You can choose any of these spells as your bonus spell
when able to cast spells of that level. (New spells are designated
by a superscript “N” and are detailed in Chapter 4.)
0—arcane mark, read magic, resistance
1st—erase, magic weapon, mark of ThalassosN, protection from good/evil
2nd—defending glyphN, elemental glyphsN, hypnotic pattern
3rd—explosive runes, glyph of warding, illusory script, magic circle,
scrivener glyphN, sepia snake sigil, Tezum’s glyphN
4th—dispelling glyphN, greater magic weapon, illusory script, Nal-
Vaskin’s glyphN, secret page, touch of CallimachusN
5th—shrieking glyphN, symbol of sleep, symbol of pain
6th—greater glyph of warding, symbol of persuasion, symbol of fear
7th—animate glyphsN, instant summons, symbol of stunning, symbol
of weakness
8th—binding, scintillating pattern, symbol of death, symbol of insanity
9th—gate, soul bind, teleportation circle
Water School
Hydromancers use water’s powers of creation and destruction
to bolster allies and crush foes. This school is generally
unknown except in areas near the ocean, inland seas, or massive
lakes, where its power is the strongest.
Sodden (Su)—Your flesh is briny, moist, and cold. You gain
resist fire 5 at 1st level. This resistance increases by 1 point for
every 2 wizard levels you possess. At 20th level, you are immune
to mundane fire and gain SR 10 + your wizard level against all
spells with the fire descriptor.
Briny Spray (Sp)—As a standard action, you can coat any foe
within 30 ft. with a stinging caustic spray as a ranged touch
attack. The spray does 1d4 acid damage +1 for every 2 wizard
levels you possess. The spray also partially blinds creatures. A
sighted target hit with the spray treats all other creatures as if
those creatures had concealment. This effect lasts for 1 round.
You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 +
your Intelligence modifier.
Water Walk (Su)—At 8th level, you can water walk for a
number of rounds equal to your wizard level. These rounds do
not need to be consecutive.
Water School Spells
The spells that water wizards normally learn are listed below in
the spell list. You can choose any of these spells as your bonus
spell when able to cast spells of that level. (New spells are
designated by a superscript “N” and are detailed in Chapter 4.
Douse can be found in Kobold Quarterly #3.)
0—create water, douse (see Kobold Quarterly #3), locate waterN, sea legsN
1st—aspect of the dolphinN, full lungN, grease, ink cloudN, obscuring
mist, mark of ThalassosN
2nd—acid arrow, fog cloud, tempestN
3rd—land walkerN, Neptune’s steedN, puddle jumpN, quench, water
breathing, water walk
4th—elemental body I, shape waterN, solid fog, wall of waterN
5th—cone of cold, elemental body II, rusting grasp, transmute rock to mud
6th—animate waterN, calm the wavesN, control water, elemental body III
7th—acid fog, elemental body IV, whirlpoolN
8th—horrid wilting, tidal waveN
9th—dominate monster, elemental swarm
Underwater Feats
Feats are summarized on Table 2-1 Feats. The prerequisites and
benefits of the feats on the table are abbreviated for ease of
reference. See the feats description for full details.
Aboleth Spawn
Your ancestry is polluted with the taint of the aboleth.
Prerequisite: Must be taken a 1st level
Benefit: You can use acid splash as a spell-like ability a number of
times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
Agile Netter (Combat)
You are an expert at entangling opponents with nets.
Prerequisite: Improved Net Fighter, Net Fighter, proficiency in
net, base attack bonus +6
Benefit: When you have an opponent entangled by a net you’ve
thrown and you control the trailing rope, you can make an
opposed Strength check to consider the opponent flat-footed to
you for 1 round.
Antiquarian Tinkerer
You know how the ancients thought and can more easily understand
their technology.
Prerequisite: Disable Device 5 ranks
Benefit: You can use a Disable Device skill check instead of
the Craft (lost technology) skill to repair and operate ancient
weapons and devices.
Aqualung
You can hold your breath better than most land dwellers.
Benefit: You can hold your breath for 4 rounds/point of
Constitution. You can also take a standard action without
reducing your time by 1 round.
Normal: You can only hold your breath for 2 rounds/point of
Constitution and taking a standard action reduces your time by
1 round.
Special: Water breathing creatures can take this feat to spend
more time on land.
Artifact Hunter
You are trained to recognize the value of ancient items.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Appraise and Knowledge
(history) skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of
these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters
Bioluminescent
An aquatic ancestor has gifted you with the ability to make your body glow
in bewildering patterns.
Benefit: You can cast hypnotism as a spell-like ability 2/day.
Blind creatures and creatures that cannot see you are immune
to this ability.
Born to the Water
You are a strong and confident swimmer.
Prerequisite: Swim 2 ranks
Benefit: You can swim your speed as a full-round action or
half your speed as a move action. You gain a +2 bonus to
Constitution checks to avoid drowning.
Call Leviathan
The sea creatures you summon are giants of their kind.
Prerequisite: Conjuration school or Ocean, Sea Monster, or
Water Domain
Benefit: When you summon a creature with the aquatic
subtype, you can choose to apply the giant creature simple
template to that creature. If the creature is already Colossal, it
instead gains a +4 bonus to Strength and Constitution.
Castaway
You survived a shipwreck or were once marooned on a deserted isle.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Knowledge (nature) and
Survival skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of
these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Cranial Manipulation
You have forcibly deformed your skull to mimic the oblong shape of the
ancient vril masters, granting yourself increased mental powers.
Benefit: Whenever you cast a spell of the enchantment school
that affects a number of creature HD, you add +4 to the total
number of creature HD you can affect. However, you take a -1
penalty to all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Disguise skill checks.
Deep Diver
You are resistant to the cold and pressure of deep water.
Benefit: When you take damage from cold or pressure due to
increased depth, reduce that damage by an amount per die equal
to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). This cannot reduce
the damage below 1.
Normal: Without special equipment or spells, you experience
the effects of the depth zone you visit.
Depth Affinity
You suffer no adverse effects from deep water.
Prerequisite: Aquatic subtype
Benefit: You are immune to damage and other adverse effects
caused by the pressure and cold of deep water.
21
 Table 2-1: Underwater Feats
Feat Prerequisite Benefit
Aboleth Spawn Must be 1st level Use acid splash as a spell-like ability
Antiquarian Tinkerer Disable Device 5 ranks Use Disable Device to operate ancient technology
Aqualung — Hold breath for extended duration
Artifact Hunter — +2 bonus on Appraise and Knowledge (history) checks
Bioluminescence — Use hypnotism as a spell-like ability
Born to the Water Swim 2 ranks Increased swim speed; +2 to Con checks
Call Leviathan Conjuration school; or relevant Add template to summoned aquatic creature
domain (Ocean, Sea Monster, or Water)
Castaway — +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks
Cranial Manipulation — Increase number of Hit Dice affected by enchantment spell
Deep Diver — Decrease damage from cold and pressure
Depth Affinity Aquatic subtype Immune to cold/pressure damage
Elemental Connection Water School; or Water Domain Spells cast in water are more powerful
Fisherman’s Eye Perception 1 rank, Profession (sailor or +4 bonus on Perception checks underwater
fisherman) 1 rank; or Aquatic subtype
Fish Skin Must be 1st level Heal at double rate when in water
Glyph Familiar Wizard level 5th, possess familiar Your familiar also benefits from personal spells
Glyph Reader Knowledge (history) 2 ranks; or +4 bonus to operate ancient technology and magic
Linguistics 2 ranks
Hydromancer Wizard level 3rd, Water school Add water descriptor to prepared spell
Improved Net Fighter Net Fighter, net proficiency, base Control entangle opponent as a move action
attack bonus +1
Agile Netter Improved Net Fighter Opponents in net are flat-footed
Ioun Stone Bond Wizard level 12th, arcane bond choose ioun stone as your bonded item
Leviathan Slayer Base attack bonus +1 +2 to attack/damage against Large aquatic creatures
Like an Eel — Make Acrobatics checks instead of Swim checks
Long Distance Swimmer Con 13, Swim 2 ranks +4 bonus to avoid non-lethal damage when swimming
Merchant Adventurer — +2 bonus on Appraise, Diplomacy and Linguistics checks
Net Fighter Base attack bonus +1, net proficiency +2 to DC of check made while entangled

Elemental Connection Prerequisite: Must be 1st level

The physical presence of water makes your spells last longer.
Prerequisite: Water school or Water domain
Benefit: When you cast a water spell while standing in water
at least waist deep, the spell’s duration increases by 50%
(minimum 1 round). This does not stack with the Extend Spell
feat. However, in dry areas such as desert, water spells you cast
have their duration halved, but cannot last less than 1 round.
Englyph Spell (Metamagic)
The glyphs of lost Ankeshel enable you to manipulate and enhance your spells.
Benefit: You can combine another spell with a glyph spell and
cast both as a single prepared spell. Both spells must be of a
level you can cast, and the second spell must target one or more
creatures. Both spells affect the target of the glyph spell. An
englyphed spell uses up a spell slot four levels higher than the
higher of the two.
Fish Skin
Your marine heritage grants you faster healing when in the water.
Benefit: You heal at twice the normal rate if you spend at least
4 hours a day submerged in water.
Special: You cannot take this feat if you have the aquatic subtype.
Fisherman’s Eye
You are adept in seeing what’s going on under the waves.
Prerequisites: Perception 1 rank, Profession (Sailor or
Fisherman) 1 rank, or swim speed
Benefit: You get a +4 bonus to Perception skill checks to notice
things underwater (or above the water, if you are underwater).
Glyph Familiar
A tattooed glyph on your familiar increases the arcane bond you have with it.
Prerequisite: 5th level, glyph school, arcane bond class ability
Benefit: When you cast on yourself a spell with a target
of “you,” your familiar also gains the benefits of that spell
as long as the spell is active and you are within 1 mile of
your familiar.
Special: A wizard may select this feat as a wizard bonus feat.

22
 Feat Prerequisite Benefit

Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters

Pattern Glyph — +1 to DC of pattern spells
Quick Brace Base attack bonus +1, wielding a Brace weapon as immediate or swift action
weapon with the brace quality
Quick Fold Base attack bonus +1, Quick Draw, net Fold a net as a move action
proficiency
Rebuke Sea Creatures Channel positive energy, relevant domain Channel energy can be used to make aquatic creatures flee
(Ocean, Sea Life, Sea Monster, or Water)
Roil Water Channel energy class feature, relevant Channel energy can be used to create area
domain (Ocean or Water) of turbulent water
Rigging Monkey — +2 bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks
Sea Dog — +2 bonus on Knowledge (geography) and
Profession (sailor) checks
Strong Swimmer Swim 1 rank Bonus to Swim speed.
Swim-by Attack Swim speed
attack while swimming
Underwater Caster — +4 on concentration checks to cast spells underwater
Unhampered Casting — Bonus to cast spells underwater without components
Vril Heritage Must be 1st level Use mage hand as a spell-like ability
Water Fighter Base attack bonus +1 No penalty to attack with selected weapon underwater
Waterstep Speed 50 ft., Acrobatics 8 ranks Briefly walk on water
Waterwise — +2 bonus to Knowledge (nature) and Perception checks
Wave Fighter Swim 5 ranks (or swim speed), Ignore underwater fighting penalties for one
base attack bonus +1 weapon group
Will to Live — Use Will save instead of Constitution check to avoiddrowning

Metamagic
Englyph Spell — Add glyph spell to other spell
Shielded Spell — No concentration check to cast spell underwater

Glyph Reader
You are learned in the ways and writing of lost Ankeshel.
Prerequisite: Knowledge (history) 2 ranks, Linguistics 2 ranks
Benefit: You gain a +4 insight bonus to Craft (lost technology)
and Use Magic Device checks when attempting to operate or
restore Ankeshelian magic items or technology.
Hydromancer
Your skill with spellcasting allows you to weave your favored element into
any spell you know.
Prerequisite: Wizard 3rd level, water school
Benefit: You can add the water descriptor to any spell you
prepare at the time you prepare it. You cannot change this
descriptor once the spell is prepared. You can have a number
of non-water spells prepared with the water descriptor equal to
your Intelligence modifier.
Improved Net Fighter
You are skilled at controlling opponents caught in your net.
Prerequisites: Net fighter, proficiency net, base attack +1
Benefit: When you have an opponent entangled in a net you
can make an opposed Strength check as a move action to
control the trailing rope.
Normal: Making an opposed Strength check to control a net’s
trailing rope is a standard action.
Ioun Stone Bond
You can focus arcane energy through an ioun stone.
Prerequisite: Wizard 12th level, arcane bond class feature
Benefit: You can choose an ioun stone as your bonded
item after completing a ritual to replace your current
bonded item.
Leviathan Slayer (Combat)
You are skilled at killing the monsters of the deep.
Prerequisite: Base attack +1
Benefit: You gain a +2 insight bonus on attack and
damage rolls against Large size or larger creatures with
the aquatic subtype. This insight bonus increases to +4 at
11th level.

23
 Like an Eel
You take to water and swimming as if you were a fish.
Benefit: You can make Acrobatics skill checks whenever you
would normally make a Swim skill check.
Long Distance Swimmer
You can swim much longer and farther than most other people.
Prerequisite: Swim 2 ranks, Constitution 13
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Constitution checks to avoid
taking non-lethal damage after 1 hour of swimming.
Merchant Adventurer
You once traveled the world in search of exotic items to buy and sell.
Prerequisite: Must be taken at 1st level
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Appraise, Diplomacy, and
Linguistics skill checks.
24
Net Fighter (Combat)
You are an expert at entangling opponents with nets.
Prerequisite: Base attack +1, proficiency net
Benefit: Opponents entangled by you with a net attack add +2
to the DC of their Escape Artist attempts and Strength checks
to escape, and entangled spellcasters add +2 to the DC of their
concentration checks to cast spells.
Pattern Glyph
You weave powerful, mind-affecting glyphs from lost Ankeshel into some of
your illusion spells.
Benefit: When you cast a spell of the pattern sub-school,
increase the save DC by +1. This stacks with the Spell Focus
and Greater Spell Focus feats.
Quick Brace (Combat)
You can quickly set your weapon to receive an opponent’s charge.
Prerequisite: Base attack +1, wielding a brace weapon
Benefit: As an immediate or swift action, you can brace your
weapon against an opponent making a charge attack against you.
You can do this 1/round.
Normal: Bracing a weapon against a charge requires a readied action.
Quick Fold (Combat)
You can fold nets quickly and efficiently in combat.
Prerequisite: Base attack +4, Quick Draw, proficiency in net
Benefit: You can fold a net as a move action in combat.
Normal: Folding a net takes 2 rounds for a proficient user, or 4
rounds for a nonproficient user.
Special: You can gain Quick Fold multiple times. Each time you
take the feat, it applies to a new type of net.
Rebuke Sea Creatures
Calling on the ocean powers you worship, you cause sea creatures to flee
from the might of your divine energy.
Prerequisites: Channel energy class feature, Ocean, Sea
Monster, or Water Domain
Benefit: As a standard action, you can use one of your
uses of channel energy to cause all animals and magical
beasts with the aquatic subtype within 30 ft. of you to
flee, as if panicked. Magical beasts receive a Will save to
negate the effect. The DC for this Will save is equal to 10
+ ½ your cleric level + your Charisma modifier. Aquatic
creatures that fail their save flee for 1 minute. Magical
beasts with Intelligence greater than 3 receive a new saving
throw each round to end the effect. If you use channel
energy in this way, it has no other effect (it does not heal or
harm nearby creatures).
Rigging Monkey
You once spent time on a large ship, working the sails.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Acrobatics and Climb skill
checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the
bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Roil Water
Invoking the gods of water and seas, you cause the water around you to
churn with divine might.
Prerequisites: Channel energy class feature, Ocean Domain or
Water Domain.
Benefit: As a standard action, you can spend one of your uses
of channel energy to make the water in a 30-ft. radius around you
rough and choppy for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom
modifier. The Swim DC in this area increases to 10 + ½ your
cleric level + your Charisma modifier. Creatures with a Swim
speed in this area take 1d4 bludgeoning damage for every 2 cleric
levels you possess. If you use channel energy in this way, it has no
other effect (it does not heal or harm nearby creatures).
Sea Dog
You are an old hand on the ships.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Knowledge (geography) and
Profession (sailor) skill checks. If you have 10 or more ranks
in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Servants of the Deep
Denizens of the underwater realms are particularly susceptible to your call.
Benefit: Against creatures with the aquatic subtype, charm and
compulsion spells you cast gain a +2 bonus to their DC. This
feat stacks with the Spell Focus feat.
Shielded Spell (Metamagic)
You can cast spells that ignore environmental effects.
Benefit: A spell adversely affected by the environment can be
cast without negative effect. For example, a spellcaster using a
spell with the fire descriptor underwater will not require a caster
level check. A spell that would normally be dispersed by wind
will instead persist for the duration. A shielded spell uses up a
spell slot 1 level higher than the spell’s actual level.
Strong Swimmer
You have a naturally powerful stroke.
Prerequisite: Swim 1 rank
Benefit: You add 10 ft. to your base speed when calculating
your swim speed.
Swim-by Attack
This creature can make an attack before and after it moves while swimming.
Prerequisite: Swim speed
Benefit: When swimming, the creature can take a move action
and another standard action at any point during the move. The
creature cannot take a second move action during a round when
it makes a swim-by attack.
Normal: Without this feat, the creature takes a standard action
either before or after its move.
Underwater Caster
You are practiced at casting spells while submerged.
Benefit: If you cannot breathe underwater, you gain a +4
competence bonus to concentration checks to cast a spell
while underwater.
Chapter 2: Pelagic Characters
Unhampered Casting
Spells you cast without verbal or somatic components are easier to cast
underwater.
Benefit: When you cast a spell without verbal or somatic
components while underwater, you gain a +4 bonus to
concentration checks to cast the spell. If a spell you cast
underwater has neither verbal nor somatic components, you add
a +8 bonus to the concentration check to cast that spell.
Vril Heritage
You possess some of the mental powers of the people from lost Ankeshel.
Benefit: You can use mage hand as a spell-like ability a number of
times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
Water Fighter (Combat)
You know to jab with your weapon when fighting in the water.
Prerequisite: Base attack +1
Benefit: Choose one slashing or bludgeoning weapon with which
you are proficient. If you are not off balance when attacking with
this weapon while in the water, you suffer no attack or damage
penalties for using a slashing or bludgeoning weapon in water.
Normal: Slashing and bludgeoning weapons suffer a -2 penalty
to attack rolls and deal only half damage if used underwater.
Waterstep
You can run over water for short distances.
Prerequisites: Speed 50+, Acrobatics 8 ranks
Benefit: You can, by using two move actions in a round, jump
on water and then jump off it as if on dry land. This is handled
like two normal running jumps.
Waterwise
You are more aware of dangers that lurk in the water.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Knowledge (nature) and
Perception skill checks while in or on a body of water. If you
have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases
to +4 for that skill.
Wave Fighter (Combat)
You’ve learned to adapt your attacks to full effect in underwater environs.
Prerequisites: Swim 5 ranks or natural swim speed, base attack
bonus +1.
Benefit: Select any melee weapon group for which you have chosen
weapon training. When using weapons from this chosen group, you
ignore any attack or damage penalties for fighting underwater.
Will to Live
For you, holding your breath is an act of will that can overcome the limits
of your body.
Benefit: When you must make a Constitution check to avoid
drowning you can instead roll a Will save.
25
 C hapter 3
A quatic E quipment &
L ost T echnology
As usual, Callimachus ran ahead of the rest of us, unable to
contain his excitement at the Ankeshelian murals and glyphs
that covered the wall of that tomb. We must have let our guard
down, and maybe Hendrick didn’t inspect that brackish pool
as well as he could have because, before we knew it, those skum
were all over the place.
Once they got behind me, they threw those damn nets over us,
and those hooks buried deep, I tell you! We were trapped, and
the way they pushed and pulled us all over that chamber, taking
most of our group out with their tridents while we were helplessly
entangled, you’d have thought they were children playing with rag
dolls. I was lucky to swim out of there alive...
T
he docks and streets of Cassadega sprawl among the
towering ruins of old Ankeshel, and many an entrepreneur
has set up some ramshackle shop or another, hoping to
make their fortune when naïve adventurers pawn off valuable,
barnacle-encrusted artifacts that seemingly have little or no
intrinsic value but are in fact priceless artifacts of a lost culture.
The following weapons have come to common use in and
26
around the coastal areas of Cassadega and have begun to see
more widespread use. Some were developed by merfolk in
antiquity for the hunting of large aquatic beasts, while others are
common fishing tackle put to nefarious means.
Barbed Net: Typically, creatures use these nets to catch
fish and other prey along the coast. Skum have put them to
more nefarious use, favoring them as weapons. Barbed nets
incorporate dozens of hooks of various sizes that entangle and
damage enemies. Unlike normal nets, barbed nets deal damage
to entangled opponents at the rate of 2 piercing damage/round.
Due to the cruel barbs, these nets are difficult to break or
escape, requiring a full-round action (DC 25 Escape Artist
check; 6 hp, break DC 25); such attempts deal an additional 1d4
piercing damage, whether successful or not. A Heal check (DC
15) successfully removes the hooks without further damage ,
requiring 10 minutes.
Barbed nets are useful only against creatures within 1 size
category of the user and follow all rules for normal nets.
Gaff Hook: A gaff hook is a short, 5-ft. long wood pole topped
with a large hook. The barbed hook is typically used for snaring
caught fish and dragging them aboard a boat but can also make
for an effective weapon. On a successful hit, the target is hooked
(Reflex DC equals 10 + damage dealt). You can limit a hooked
creature’s movement by succeeding on an opposed Strength check
while holding it, and the hooked creature can move only within
the limits that the weapon’s length allows (typically only squares
adjacent to you). Spellcasting is also limited (concentration DC
equals 15 + spell level). The weapon deals 1 hp damage/round to
hooked creatures. The gaff hook can be removed with a full round
action and deals 1 hp damage on withdrawal (Heal check DC 15
avoids). Gaff hooks can be used to make trip attempts.
Harpoon: Large spears specially constructed to lodge into
opponents, hunters use harpoons against whales and other large
aquatic creatures. A 50-ft. rope attached to the butt of the spear
allows for retrieving prey. On a critical hit, the harpoon lodges in
the target in addition to dealing additional damage.
Harpooned creatures are restricted to 1/2 speed and cannot
run or charge. You control the trailing rope by succeeding on
an opposed Strength check while holding it, and the harpooned
creature can move only within the limits that the length of
the rope allows. Spellcasting is also limited (concentration DC
equals 15 + spell level). The harpoon can be removed as a full
round action but deals normal damage when taken out (Heal
check DC 15 avoids).
Merfolk Polespear: Specialized shortspears developed by
merfolk for spear fishing, these weapons hide a deadly surprise
for those not familiar with them. From the butt of the spear
dangles a loop of elastic catgut, usually grasped by the user.
The loop prevents the spear from being an effective ranged
weapon, but as a move action that does not provoke attacks
of opportunity, proficient users can draw the elastic loop
forward with the crook of their thumb, drawing the catgut tight
and retaining tension by grasping the weapon’s shaft. Once
“cocked,” the spear’s shaft is released, and the tension propels
the spear forward at a deadly velocity. Using the spear this way
increases the melee reach of the weapon to 10 ft. for one attack
and imposes a -2 penalty on subsequent attacks that round.
Oar: Used to propel rowboats and other small craft, oars make
effective and simple to use bludgeoning weapons in a pinch.
Sawfish Sword: These cruelly barbed shortswords are
harvested from the long, saw-like snouts of the elusive sawfish
and are regularly traded by goblin sharks along dockside
communities. Fitted with crudely decorated bone hilts, most
warriors see the items as more fit as decoration on the walls of
seaside restaurants and taverns, for a roll of a natural 1 when
using the sawfish sword breaks the weapon. Masterwork and
magical examples of this weapon do not have this flaw, and
it has never bothered goblin sharks, who have gained a cruel
reputation with their use.
Shark Jaw Helmet: Inspired by the voracious maws of the
sea’s most ferocious predators, these helmets are constructed with
the real jaws of sharks mounted onto a spring-loaded, protective
iron framework. When the mechanism is set as a move action, the
helmet grants the user the equivalent of a bite attack that deals
1d6 piercing damage. The helmet is considered a martial weapon.
Once the mechanism is tripped, the closed jaws of the helmet
impose a -4 penalty to Perception checks until the jaws are reset.
Chapter 3: Aquatic Equipment & Lost Technology
On an attack roll of a natural 1, the jaws become stuck in this
position (Craft [armorsmithing] DC 10 unlocks).
Sinker Net: A weighted net has heavier than normal
metal sinkers. It functions identically to a normal net, but
entangled creatures take an additional -4 penalty to all Swim
checks while entangled.
Spear Sling: These unusual items were developed by skin
divers to hunt large fish in shallow waters. Similar to a slingshot
for javelin ammunition, the device consists of a wood handle
attached to a Y-shaped frame that houses a round wooden
chamber with a single recessed hole to fit a javelin shaft. A
loop of elastic catgut with a small pocket flanks each side of
the device. You insert the butt of a javelin into the hole of the
chamber and draw back with the elastic catgut, waiting to launch
underwater. Such javelins have an underwater range increment
of 10 ft. and do not suffer the -2 penalty/5 ft.
Springcaster: These specialized, aquatic light crossbows do
not have the distinctive arms of those weapons but, rather, a
taut, elastic catgut running the length of the weapon’s body that
is used to propel bolts. Specially designed for use underwater,
springcasters are not subject to the -2 penalty/5 ft. of distance
fired for ranged attacks. Springcasters use their normal range
increment both underwater and above, and they fire standard
crossbow bolts.
Stingray Barb: A natural resource put to use by goblin
sharks, giant stingray barbs are mounted on wood handles
similar to shortspears. The weapon’s barbed stinger has two
grooves that run its length that retain a dose of poison when
properly cured, even underwater. Such spears are often made
with elastic catgut loops, and in these cases can perform the
special reach maneuver of a merfolk polespear.
Armor & Shields
Typically frowned on by aquatic explorers who cannot afford
magical enhancements to make armor less cumbersome and
restrictive, coastal communities like Cassadega have nevertheless
developed adequate protection for divers and adventurers who
might face dangerous creatures below the waves.
Barnacle Armor: This leather armor is left to cure along
guarded coastal shallows in specially crafted molds. The curing
solution attracts barnacles that attach themselves to the leather
permanently, and the suits are then harvested and allowed
to dry. The hard crust of barnacles improves the protective
qualities of normal leather and acts as armor spikes. You gain a
+4 circumstance bonus to Escape Artist checks if bound with
rope or similar soft bindings.
Coin Armor: Coin armor is composed of leather thread strung
through punched coins to form armor much like a chain shirt.
Coin Armor is normally found among barter societies without
sophisticated metalworking techniques and is typically discovered in
27
 chests of buried treasure or wrecked merchant ships. Adventuring Gear
Diving Suit: This thick, airtight oiled-leather suit comes with
heavy iron boots, a weighted belt, and a large copper helmet with Many shops specialize in offering equipment to adventurers to
several glass portholes. The helmet has connections for a stout air get them below the waves and often negotiate steep discounts
hose, and if connected to a manned air pump, the user can stay for groups who agree to deals of first refusal on recovered
underwater, walking along the sea floor, for hours. If the hose is items and to splitting salvage rights.
severed (see “Air Hose” on this page the helmet retains 10 rounds Air Hose: This pliable, oiled-leather hose provides air to pearl
worth of breathable air before users must begin holding their breath. and sponge divers and diving suit wearers when connected to an
Dunkleosteus Scale: This lightweight scale armor consists air pump or powered by a small summoned air elemental. The
of dozens of hard yet flexible overlapping scales from the hose is available in 50-ft. sections, and multiple hoses can be
prehistoric fish dunkleosteus. The suit includes gauntlets. connected end-to-end. Severed hoses become a serious liability
Orca Suit: This padded armor, crafted by merfolk who attack to air breathers too far below the surface to reach adequate air
ships at sea, displays the distinctive two-tone coloration that many supply. If attacked in any square adjacent to you, the hose has
aquatic species use as underwater camouflage and provides a +4 an AC equal to your touch AC, with a hardness 2 and 6 hp. If
bonus to Stealth checks while the wearer is submerged. attacked at any unprotected portion of its length, it has AC 5.
Seashell Armor: This cheap alternative to heavier armors is Air Pump: This large pump contraption incorporates two
made of seashells sewn onto a leather shirt, and it is typically large belt-driven bellows, operated with a pivoting, seesaw-
worn by thugs or laborers expecting trouble in warehouse raids like foot pedal by a single user. The bellows provide a fresh
or territorial dock disputes. While effective protection against air supply to divers via a connected air hose. The air supply
most weapons, each successful hit with a bludgeoning weapon continues for 1 additional minute after pumping stops.
against seashell armor crushes the shells and drives them into Some magically inclined users put an unseen servant to
the flesh of the wearer, inflicting 1 extra work on their pumps while they dive.
damage. Automatic Air Pump: This noisy contraption
Shark Jaw Helmet: Constructed with real is similar to a manual air pump but has a belt-
shark jaws, these special helmets may be driven bellows powered by a small engine.
added to any suit of armor. The helmet is The air provided by this pump is warmer and
considered a martial weapon. (See above for weapon tends to fog up diving helmets, imposing a -2
description.) to all Perception checks. The pump runs
Sharkskin Armor: This specially for 2 hours on 10 pints of lantern oil.
cured and extremely pliable Beach Glass: This jar full of fragments
leather armor is made from of colorful glass reflects and refracts light. When
the skins of dangerous used as a gift to undersea folk with Intelligence
tiger or great white sharks. scores of 3 or greater, it enhances your
The rough, sandpaper-like reputation immensely, allowing you to re-roll one
surface provides a +2 failed Charisma-based check in the encounter after
circumstance bonus to the gift is presented.
Escape Artist checks if the Deck Wax: Deck wax is
wearer is bound with rope or composed of a mixture of paraffin
similar soft bindings and beeswax. This wax is rubbed
Shield, Snapping: onto oar handles, dock planks, and
This masterwork heavy ship’s decks to minimize slipping. One
spiked steel shield is soap-like bar treats a 10-ft.-by-10-ft. area,
fashioned to appear as removing the penalty imposed on Acrobatics
the gaping jaws of a snapping checks by the slippery condition.
turtle skull. Used as an off-hand Deep Compass: Inside the small glass
weapon, it can make shield globe, a brass arrow floats in a clear liquid.
bash attacks. With a successful The needle always points up, regardless
shield bash attack, when the of location or depth.
mechanism is set (a move Diving Barrel: An unusual personal
action), the jaws snap shut on diving apparatus for medium creatures, the
the opponent like a steel trap, diving barrel is literally a watertight, ironbound
dealing 2d4 piercing damage reinforced oak barrel, complete with brass
in addition to the base 1d6 portholes, a reserve air bladder, and two
of the bash. watertight, gloved “sleeves” that allow for the

28
Table 3-1: Aquatic Weapons
Simple Weapons Cost Dmg (S) Dmg (M) Critical Range Increment Weight Type Special

Chapter 3: Aquatic Equipment & Lost Technology

Light Melee Weapons
Stingray Barb 4 gp 1d4 1d6 ×2 20 ft. 2 lb. P
One-Handed Melee Weapons
Oar 1 gp 1d4 1d6 ×2 — 4 lb. B
Two-Handed Melee Weapons
Gaff Hook 2 gp 1d3 1d4 ×2 — 15 lb. P trip, hook
Ranged Weapons
Spear Sling 2 gp 1d4 1d6 ×2 10 ft. 2 lb. P
Springcaster 40 gp 1d6 1d8 19-20/x2 10 ft. 4 lb. P

Martial Weapons Cost Dmg (S) Dmg (M) Critical Range Increment Weight Type Special
Light Melee Weapons
Sawfish Sword 6 gp 1d4 1d6 19–20/×2 — 1 lb. P or S
Sharkjaw Helmet 80 gp 1d4 1d6 x2 — 5 lb. P
Two-Handed Melee Weapons
Harpoon 18 gp 1d8 1d10 x4 20 ft. 15 lb. P lodge

Exotic Weapons Cost Dmg (S) Dmg (M) Critical Range Increment Weight Type Special
One-Handed Melee Weapons
Merfolk Polespear 4 gp 1d4 1d6 ×2 — 4 lb. P reach
Ranged Weapons
Barbed Net 25 gp 2/1d4 2/1d4 ×2 10 ft. 7 lb. P
Sinker Net 25 gp — — — 10 ft. 12 lb. —

clumsy manipulation of objects outside the contraption. Used
independently of air-hose support and lowered from a ship or
dock, a diving barrel holds enough air for a 1/2 hour dive. With
an air pump or summoned air elemental connected via a hose,
you can safely explore indefinitely at depths up to 60 ft. You
receive a -8 armor check penalty and a -4 penalty to all attack rolls,
but you have total cover. The barrel has hardness 6 and 40 hp.
Hand Fins: Hand fins add +5 ft. to your speed while
swimming. When worn, the use of weapons or shields is
impossible, as is the casting of spells with somatic components.
Hook Pole: These wooden poles are available in 5 and 10-ft.
lengths. They are alchemically treated to prevent decay and
swelling when used underwater and have a curved brass
hook attached to one end. The hook allows you
to secure alchemical items that are normally
thrown above water—such as aboleth acid,
alchemist fire, blast coral, corrosive oil,
holy water, sahuagin fire, and
thunderstones—and
use them for an
attack underwater.
You can make as a touch
attack to deliver
the alchemical
payload at a distance
without suffering
injury. The 10-ft. variety provides reach.
Rescue Compass: Although resembling an ordinary deep
compass, the liquid-encased brass arrow always points to the
nearest source of fresh air.
Snorkel: This hollowed out wooden tube or hollow reed,
rigged with a mouthpiece, can be used to stay underwater
without need to surface. It is only 1 ft. long, so you must
keep close to the surface but can retain the benefits of being
submerged underwater (total cover) from attacks from land.
Special Substances
and Items
The following items are manufactured in reeking
shops and labs all over Cassadega. In some
cases, the items are new inventions, while in
others, mystic formulas have been deciphered
from ancient texts and reconstructed by
modern craftsmen.
Aboleth Acid: Rumored
to be harvested from a
hibernating aboleth long ago trapped
in a basement flooded at high tide,
flasks of this caustic fluid are
potent missiles. You can
throw a flask of aboleth acid

29
 Weapons Dealers, Blacksmiths, &
Armorers of Cassadega
Amaldricius’ Aquatic Accessories & Equipment Emporium:
This cluttered shop along the westward docks is stuffed to
the gills with oars, fish scale armor, tide charts, alchemical
concoctions, and all manner of maritime equipment for
the discerning deckhand. The proprietor, Amaldricius, is a
rumored assassin for hire and is known to carry more illicit
goods, like various poisons, in the back room.
Relics & Reliquaries: This shop specializes in holy antiquities
and rarities. Holy symbols, special sacrificial materials,
decorative favored weapons of various deities, minor relics,
religious texts, rare steles, and idols of gods both living and
dead can all be found within the establishment. The building
sits along a crumbling ruined wall carved with murals of
religious significance to Ankeshel, and the proprietor spends his
spare minutes researching the esoteric texts he has spent the
last 9 years deciphering. When not pontificating on his crackpot
theories to the origin of the hieroglyphs, he can be found
manufacturing divine potions and scrolls for sale in his shop.
Wrickwram’s Wrecks: Wrickwram, a grizzled sea dog of a
human, runs this dockside warehouse where shoppers can
purchase all manner of flotsam and jetsam that Wrickwram
has accumulated through the right of salvage. Occasionally,
strange and wondrous goods appear in the inventory,
including minor magic items and lost relics of an ancient age
that his crews dredge from the sunken ruins. Wrickwram
knows the best places to find wrecked ships smashed on
the local reefs and always seems to be the first on the scene
to claim salvage rights. He’s always looking for adventurers
to help him in this work, either as guards, divers, scouts, or
haulers.
The Sunken Market: This half-submerged, broken-topped
spire juts from the waves of the bay, surrounding a central
flooded open area overseen by the distractingly beautiful
mermaid proprietor, who sells an assortment of alchemical
gear designed to work underwater, at a significant markup
from list price. A ferry regularly arrives on the 1/2 hour,
where purchased items are delivered to the waiting
customers by special poles.
as a splash weapon, treated as a ranged touch attack with
a range increment of 10 ft. A creature directly hit by the
broken flask takes 1d6 acid damage for 2 rounds. Creatures
caught in the substance’s splash take 2 damage for 2 rounds.
Water immediately neutralizes aboleth slime.
Blast Coral: These sharp coral polyps are cultivated under
high pressure and are typically thrust upon foes from the end of
long hooked poles so the user can stay out of the range of their
effects. When these 3-inch chunks of coral strike a hard surface
(or are struck hard) with a successful touch attack, they create
a deafening bang that is treated as a sonic attack and sends
needle-sharp shards in all directions.
30
When used underwater, each creature within a 5-ft. radius from
the point of impact is dazed for 1 round and deafened for 1 hour
(Fortitude DC 15 avoids) and takes 2d4 piercing damage from the
exploding shards of stinging coral (Reflex DC 15 avoids).
If used above water, blast coral can be lobbed as a ranged
touch attack with a range increment of 20 ft. where it creates a
deafening bang that is treated as a sonic attack. Each creature
within a 10-ft. radius is deafened for 1 hour (Fortitude DC
15 avoids) and takes 2d4 piercing damage from the exploding
shards of stinging coral (Reflex DC 15 avoids).
Corrosive Oil: This alchemical acid has been congealed
into a clinging semi-solid mass, so it may be administered to a
target underwater. As the acid dissolves into the surrounding
water, the acid retains a “splash” effect. The acidic gel must
be administered by hand (Reflex DC 15 avoids taking equal
damage as the target) or via a special pole. If used out of water,
corrosive oil has a secondary effect similar to that of alchemist’s
fire, dealing 1d4 acid damage during the subsequent round
(Reflex DC 15 avoids), but it has no splash effect.
Essence of Ulat-kini: This black, tar-like, and potentially
lethal substance is stored in wax-sealed, clay jars. A pregnant
woman who imbibes the contents and survives the poison
ensures her unborn child will inherit the characteristics of a
skum. This essence is highly prized by aboleth worshippers and
deranged descendants of fallen sea kings; both groups use it to
grant their children the heritage they believe they deserve.
Hard Air: This alchemical substance sold by the pound in
packets of small bluish cubes made from a firm, gelatinous
material. When chewed and mixed with saliva, these cubes
produce breathable air and can be used to breathe underwater.
A single cube provides a minute of breathable air and can be
administered as a standard action that provokes attacks of
opportunity. A 1-lb. bag contains 20 cubes.
Hard Water: These chewy, small gelatinous cubes are sold
in packets of 20 and have a greenish coloration. When chewed
and mixed with saliva, these cubes produce oxygen-rich water
that can be passed over gills by water-breathing creatures to
breath above the surface. A single cube provides 1 minute of
oxygenated water and can be administered as a standard action
that provokes attacks of opportunity.
Magnesium Torch: These carved wooden rods are tipped
with heads of magnesium-impregnated pitch. Once lit, the torch
sheds a bright white light in a 30-ft. radius and increases the
light level by one step for an additional 30 ft. beyond that area
(darkness becomes dim light and dim light becomes normal
light) but does not increase the light level in normal light or
bright light.
A magnesium torch burns even underwater with no
reduction in its range of illumination. It burns quickly,
however, and lasts for only 1 hour before extinguishing. It can
be used just as a torch in combat but deals 2 hp fire damage
on a successful hit.
Sahuagin Fire: This gelatinous mixture functions as
Table 3-2: Aquatic Armor
Armor Maximum Armor Arcane Spell —Speed—

Chapter 3: Aquatic Equipment & Lost Technology

Armor Cost Bonus Dex Bonus Check Penalty Failure Chance 30 ft. 20 ft. Weight
Light Armor
Barnacle 75 gp +3 +4 -1 20% 30 ft. 20 ft. 30 lb.
Coin 50 gp +4 +3 -2 20% 30 ft. 20 ft. 25 lb.
Dunkleosteus Scale 50 gp +4 +4 -3 15% 30 ft. 20 ft. 20 lb.
Orca Suit 700 gp +1 +6 0 10% 30 ft. 20 ft. 5 lb.
Sharkskin 300 gp +2 +5 -1 15% 30 ft. 20 ft. 15 lb.
Medium Armor
Seashell Suit 15 gp +5 +2 -5 35% 20 ft. 15 ft. 40 lb.
Heavy Armor
Diving Suit 800 gp +5 +1 -6 35% 20 ft. 15 ft. 40 lb.
Shields
Snapping Shield 300 gp +2 — -1 15% — — 15 lb.
Extras
Sharkjaw Helmet 80 gp — — -1 5% — — +5 lb.

alchemist’s fire but burns even underwater. It has no splash
damage and must be administered by hand (Reflex DC 15
avoids taking equal damage as the target) or via a special hooked
pole. If used above water, it is treated as normal alchemist fire
but flares out quickly, failing to produce a second round of
effect or a splash radius.
Sahuagin Raiding Oil: This oil was invented by sahuagin
to prevent their bodies from drying on land while raiding the
inhabitants of the coastline. It is used and created by other
aquatic races as well, but the name stuck. It doubles the time an
aquatic and water dependent creature can move in hot and dry
climates before adverse effects set in.
Sea Rot: A reddish powder that when flung onto an item
or creature made of steel or iron causes 1d6+1 damage for
3 rounds, ignoring hardness. If another metal or steel object
touches an area of active sea rot, that object also takes 1d6+1
damage (ignoring hardness) for 3 rounds. Oil neutralizes sea
rot. Anything destroyed by sea rot becomes useless and rusted
beyond repair.
Shoggoth Polyp: This squirming, giant tadpole is the proto-
spawn of a shoggoth. Ingesting a shoggoth polyp causes you
to sprout lidless eyes across the surface of your body for 1d6
hours. While the eyes are manifested, you gain a +4 bonus to
Perception skill checks and cannot be flanked. However, you
take 1 Constitution damage/hour as the polyp writhes in your
guts, causing intense pain and internal damage. A remove disease
spell kills the polyp and ends the effect.
Squid Ink Vial: This alchemically treated liquid is harvested
from giant squid and instantly disperses to a great volume of
murk when the bottle is uncorked underwater. The ink fills a 10-
ft. cube (treat the effect as obscuring mist, except that high tide or
rougher current dissipates the solution in 1 round) and the black
ink dissipates naturally after 1 minute.
Swimmer’s Salve: This salve insulates your body and
doubles the time between saving throws against hypothermia
or similar cold effects for up to 6 hours. In hot environments,
however, you must make saving throws against overheating in
half the usual time.
Vril Cream: This paste is found in small, opaque jars that
are frequently covered in strange, dimly lit runes. When the
single application within is applied, you instantly mend open
wounds, healing 2d8+2 damage. (Only intelligent humanoid
targets are affected.)
The target can resist (Fortitutde DC 15 negates). If you
accept the healing or fail the save, you suffer a -4 penalty to Will
saves to resist spells and effects with the charm descriptor. This
effect lasts for 24 hours.
Special Materials
Orichalcum: This mystical metal is mentioned by several
ancient writers, most notably Plato. In his accounts of
Atlantis, he described the material as “being more precious
in those days than anything except gold.” The laws of the
city were said to be carved on a pure pillar of the metal and
buildings, temples, and richly adorned walls flashed with the
“red light” of the precious substance. For game purposes,
orichalcum is a lighter-than-steel, durable, copper-gold alloy
with a reddish-gold tint used in the manufacture of armor,
weapons, and valuable art objects.
In your campaign, you may want to unlock its secrets
to a few talented blacksmiths who have discovered the
metallurgy behind this “mountain copper” or to keep the
secret of its manufacture lost with the metal only available
when salvaged from priceless antiquities and melted down
to be reworked into extraordinary items. Ancient treasure
caches undoubtedly contain orichalcum coins, which are
equivalent in value to gold but weigh half as much (100 to

31
 Table 3-3: Adventuring Gear
Item Cost Weight Craft DC
Air Hose, 50 ft. 50 gp 100 lb.
Air Pump, Automatic 2,000 gp 300 lb.
Air Pump, Manual 400 gp 200 lb.
Beach Glass 5 sp ½ lb.
Deck Wax 2 cp ½ lb.
Deep Compass 40 gp 1 lb.
Diving Barrel 200 gp 350 lb.
Hand Fins 5 sp 1 lb.
Hook Pole 3 gp 4 lb.
Rescue Compass 200 gp 1 lb.
Snorkel 5 sp —
Special Substances and Items
Aboleth Acid 25 gp 1 lb. 25
Blast Coral 30 gp 1 lb. 25
Corrosive Oil 20 gp 1 lb. 20
Essence of Ulat-kini 1,500 gp 1 lb. 15
Hard Air 200 gp 1 lb. 25
Hard Water 200 gp 1 lb. 25
Magnesium Torch 1 gp 1 lb. 25
Sahuagin Fire 20 gp 1 lb. 20
Sahuagin Raiding Oil 2 gp ½ lb. 20
Sea Rot 30 gp ½ lb. 20
Shoggoth Polyp 500 gp 1 lb. 25
Squid Ink Vial 20 gp ½ lb. 20
Swimmer’s Oil 1 gp ½ lb. 15
Vril Cream 200 gp ½ lb. 20
the pound). You may want to make certain creatures and
monsters of your campaign vulnerable to orichalcum or to
replace other special materials in a creature’s DR to reflect
some ancient enmity. Perhaps merfolk, like fey to cold
iron, have an aversion to the metal due to some lingering
racial memory, or perhaps aboleths avoid structures made
of the metal, explaining why the ancients covered the
walls of their cities with the substance (see Orichalcum
Warding, page ##).
Armors made of orichalcum are comfortable and lighter
than their steel counterparts. Ancient armors of this material
are always breastplates and shields, but blacksmiths can
work salvaged orichalcum into modern forms. Spell failure
chances for armors and shields made from orichalcum are
decreased by 5%, maximum Dexterity bonuses are increased
by 1, and armor check penalties are decreased by 2 (to a
minimum of 0).
An item made from orichalcum weighs half as much as the same
item made from other metals. In the case of weapons, this lighter
weight does not change a weapon’s size category or the ease with
which it can be wielded (whether it is light, one-handed, or two-
handed). Items not primarily of metal are not meaningfully affected
by being partially made of orichalcum. (A longsword can be an
orichalcum weapon while a quarterstaff cannot.)
32
Weapons or armors fashioned from orichalcum are always
masterwork items as well; the masterwork cost is included in the
prices given below. Orichalcum has 30 hp/inch of thickness and
hardness 10.
Orichalcum Item Item Cost Modifier
Light Armor +800 gp
Medium Armor +3,000 gp
Heavy Armor +7,000 gp
Shield +800 gp
Other items +300 gp/lb.
Lost Technology
First, Joseffy wasn’t even sure what he’d found. Hell—I could
hardly tell myself, as barnacle encrusted as it was, but it was the
length of a javelin, and had a shine of metal to it once you got
through enough dirt, and a lot of old seawater poured out of
its hollow tube. Once we got the thing cleaned off, we could see
some old coppery coils around one end, and there seemed to be a
whole lot of it missing—maybe where wood parts used to be that
the sea worms got to. When Joseffy cleaned off those two knobs,
though, and got the idea of hooking up one of those vril batteries
to it, well, that’s when things got a little crazy. Damn thing blew
a hole in the wall big enough to crawl through, and it was a
crying shame what happened to the cat. Joseffy’s wife wouldn’t let
us in the house with any of those old things after that.
—Balsamo, of Wrickam’s Wreck & Salvage
It wasn’t long after their arrival when the early scholars and
explorers of Ankeshel began discovering unrecognizable
devices and wondrous artifacts washed ashore or among
the ruins of the old city. The sites of old aboleth sieges
typically resulted in the biggest finds, and the corroded
items were eventually correlated with murals and
hieroglyphs depicting the battles of the final days against
the aboleths. Before long, a whole cottage industry of
curators and craftsmen began restoring the items for
display—considered at the time to be items that focused the
vril-powered of the city’s old inhabitants, similar to staffs.
Surely, the scholars mused, no normal item could contain
the powers displayed in the murals.
They were wrong. When the tomb of Thalassos IV was
discovered, one of the most exciting finds among the treasures
within was apparently a commonplace item at the time of
his burial—a vril battery. Even more exciting was that this
powerful reservoir was still fully charged, and it wasn’t long
before scholars discovered that it was the battery—not the
arcane might of the bearers of the weapons previously
discovered, that powered the devices they had found strewn
across ancient battle sites and armories. Meticulously restored
items could be powered by the devices, and it wasn’t long
before the decorative museum pieces and curiosities began
disappearing from collections and winding up in less-than-
reputable shops or in the hands of adventurers. The devices
found below have one thing in common—they are all powered
with vril batteries, but their individual effects are as varied as
those that carry such weapons.
Some devices have recessed protective containers for the
vril batteries, while others are connected to their batteries
via thick, insulated copper wires. These wires have an AC
equal to the user’s touch AC with hardness 4, 8 hp, and DR
10/slashing. If severed by a metal weapon, the attacker
immediately takes 1d6 electricity damage from the exposed
wires. Additionally, the live wires deal 1d6 electricity damage
to the wearer each round the battery is worn. Each such shock
drains one charge from the battery. The cell pack can be
removed as a full round action.
Ankeshelian Vril Weapons
Ankeshelian hoplite warriors girded for war against the
aboleths with an amazing array of weapons and armor,
including charged spears, vril-powered armor, and icy
firearms. The arts of making these weapons has largely
been lost.
Ankeshelian Charged Spear: These ancient spears are
occasionally recovered deep within sunken armories of lost
empires. Once their rotted shafts and corroded terminals
are replaced, these spears can be connected to vril batteries
via thick, insulated copper coils. When the barbed spears
deal damage in combat, they also release a pulse of electrical
energy into the target, dealing an additional 1d6 damage and
draining 1 charge from the attached battery.
Ankeshelian Eel Net: These copper wire nets are
thought to have been used as submission weapons in ancient
Ankeshelian gladiatorial pits. Their thin, flexible wires
resemble normal nets and require the same proficiency to
use without penalty. Their connection to vril batteries allows
them to emit a stunning charge to those creatures entangled
within them.
When powered by a battery connected via a 10-ft. length
of thick, insulated copper coils, the net drains 2 charges each
round that a creature is entangled, dealing 2d6 nonlethal damage
and stunning for 1 round (Fortitude DC 13 negates stun; DC
increases by +1 each round target is entangled).
Ankeshelian Submission Trident: Two large, wicked looking
barbs top this copper-infused wooden trident. At its base, a long,
cloth covered cable attaches to a vril battery, powering it, while
a single button, midway along the trident, activates the device.
The weapon can be used as a normal trident in combat, but the
barbed head of the weapon can also be fired at creatures with a
range increment of 10 ft. as a standard action. The action requires
two ranged touch attacks.
If either barb hits the target, the stored energy released deals
3d4 nonlethal damage and stuns for 1 round (Fortitude DC 16
halves damage and negates stun). If both barbs hit, the weapon
deals 6d4 nonlethal and stuns for 2 rounds (Fortitude DC 18
halves damage and negates stun).
Designing Lost Technology
This chapter presents a fascinating array of lost technology
Chapter 3: Aquatic Equipment & Lost Technology
to insert into your campaign world. Careful consideration
was given to striking a delicate balance between equipment
normally available to adventurers and spells and magical
weapons, in particular with regard to pricing. Since most
of these items use charges, wand creation was used as a
model for cost. A 1st-level wand of shocking grasp costs
750 gp, which equates to 15 gp/charge, each of which deals
1d6 electricity damage, or twice that for a wand that does
2d6 damage. So, the lost technology design, primarily using
vril batteries as the power source, have a baseline equal to
roughly 20 gp/charge with each charge spent equivalent to
a value of either 1d6 or a +1 bonus for a limited duration,
typically 1d6 rounds.
Furthermore, restored technological items are a large
investment, even at mid-levels, and characters wishing to
take advantage of these devices will not be able to do so
cheaply, helping to maintain balance of your game world.
These items should be novel and interesting, not game
breaking. Using these values and ideas as rough guidelines,
you can create all manner of new technology to take
advantage of lost secrets developed by the ancients. You
may also allow players to assign ranks to a new Craft (lost
technology) skill to let them take advantage of the vril
power source and invent new variations of their own from
salvaged secrets found in the sunken ruins they explore.
Cassadegan Weapons
These rebuilt weapons are always a mixture of ancient and
modern elements.
Cassadegan Coil Rifle: Exceedingly rare, these mystical
devices are typically found in ancient caches in advanced stages
of corrosion. As a result, it often takes over a dozen specimens
to reconstruct a single operational rifle. Partial specimens can
sometimes wait for months for the discovery of the necessary
components because craftsmen cannot currently duplicate their
forgotten metallurgy.
Once restored, these powerful ranged weapons can be plugged
into vril batteries, which provide a pulse of electromagnetic
energy to the propulsion coils, accelerating a special ferromagnetic
projectile to deadly speeds. Rifles without a power source are
inert and cannot fire. The weapons are breech-loaded, with a
falling block action operated by a lever as a move action, and their
unusual segmented barrels extend up to 5 ft. long.
Cassadegan Rail Revolver: Perhaps the rarest of
Ankeshelian artifacts, only a few examples of this technology
are known, discovered in what has come to be known as the
Donnelesh Cache. Operating in a similar manner to other
magnetically charged, battery-powered firearms of this type,
the rail revolvers have an extended capacity, allowing for a more
rapid fire than their more primitively designed cousins.
A special revolving cylinder holds 7 ferromagnetic
33
 Table 3-4: Vril Weapons
Exotic Weapons Cost Dmg (S) Dmg (M) Critical Range Increment Weight Type Special
One-Handed Melee Weapons
Charged Spear 1,500 gp 1d6 1d8 x3 — 10 lb. Piercing vril
Submission Trident 1,750 gp 1d6 1d8 x2 10 ft. 11 lb. Piercing vril
Ranged Weapons
Eel Net 1,500 gp — — — 10 ft 8 lb. — vril

projectiles. A hand-cocked lever below the trigger cycles this
cylinder and advances the spent chamber as a free action,
aligning a new projectile with the breech and charging the
chamber and coils. The complicated mechanism misfires on a
natural 1, 2, or 3 on attack rolls. The firearm can be fired only
as many times as you can attack in a round, and it takes a move
action to reload a single chamber. With the Rapid Reload feat,
one chamber/round may be reloaded as a swift action.
Cryothermic Firearms: Unlike the usual weapons restored
by Cassadegan craftsmen, cryothermic firearms discharge
various states of specially prepared vril water. The weapons
contain a special recess that allows pint-sized glass jars of
the substance to be screwed into their breech; the water is
consumed over the course of repeatedly firing the weapon.
They also require the use of a vril battery. Normal water has no
effect if used in the weapons.
Cryothermic Pacifier: This complicated firearm requires a
curious mix of cobalt and copper and feels cold to the touch.
Used primarily for crowd control, the funnel-shaped barrel
discharges a 20-ft. cone of freezing air that drains vitality from
those in its path (Reflex DC 12 halves). The freezing vapor may
be fired 1/round as a standard action that drains 4 charges from
a connected vril battery, and the weapon requires a full vril water
container. A single pint of vril water produces 4 shots from the
weapon, and the jars may be replaced as a full round action.
Cryothermic Rifle: This long-barreled firearm is similar in
appearance to a coil rifle with the exception of several tubes
that pump vril water through the breech of the mechanism.
When properly prepared with both a jar of vril water and the
connection of a vril battery, the device creates and discharges
a razor-sharp sliver of vril ice. A single cock of a lever refills
the breech with vril water, and a single pint jar holds enough
water for 20 shots. Cocking the lever and refilling the chamber
is a move action; with Rapid Reload, it may be cocked as a free
action and fired as many times per round as you have attacks.
The weapon requires a filled vril water container, and the jars
may be replaced as a full round action. Firing the weapon
consumes 2 charges from a vril battery. Immunity or resistance
to cold offers no protection from this ice bullet because it deals
bludgeoning and piercing damage, not cold.
Ferromagnetic Projectiles: These round balls are crafted
with a secret formula of specially charged iron that reacts to the
vril-powered propulsive force of the firearm’s battery pack.
Mining Blunderbuss: To those familiar with other
Ankeshelian weapons, this device resembles a coil rifle with a
flaring, funnel-like muzzle. However, this miner’s rifle was not
designed for use as a weapon, but as a mining tool. When the
trigger is pressed, the device emits energy in a 20-ft. cone. If
held on a target for a full round (requiring a full-round action),
the rifle’s energy deals 8d6 damage to anything in the area.
However, the rifle only affects materials equal to or less
than the density of stone. If used as a standard action, the rifle
deals 4d6 damage (Reflex DC 16 halves; DC 12 if you are not
proficient). You can use the miner’s rifle as a full round action to
cut a 5-ft. wide tunnel through dirt or rock. Using a miner’s rifle
for a full round uses 4 battery charges, while using it as a standard
action consumes 2 battery charges.
Vril Water: These oblong, pint-sized jars screw into a
special recess on cryothermic weapons. Specially prepared
by alchemists, the water contains heavy concentrations of

34
Table 3-5: Exotic Weapons
Exotic Weapons Cost Dmg (S) Dmg (M) Critical Range Capacity Charge Weight Type

Chapter 3: Aquatic Equipment & Lost Technology

Ranged Weapons
Coil Rifle 3,000 gp 1d6 1d8 19-20/×3 200 ft. 1 1 10 lb. B&P
Cryothermic Pacifier 4,000 gp 4d6 4d6 — 20 ft. 5 4 25 lb. cold
Cryothermic Rifle 4,500 gp 2d6 2d6 x2 60 ft. 20 2 15 lb. B&P
Vril Water, pint 20 gp — — — — — — 1 lb.
Miner’s Blunderbuss 5,000 gp special special x2 20 ft. — 2 or 4 25 lb.
Rail Revolver 5,000 gp 1d4 1d6 x2 60 ft. 7 1 7 lb. B&P
Ferromagnetic Bullets (10) 10 gp — — — — — — 1 lb.

Table 3-6: Ankeshelian Armor

Armor Max Armor Arcane Spell —Speed—
Armor Cost Bonus Dex Bonus Check Penalty Failure Chance 30 ft. 20 ft. Weight
Medium Armor
Charged Armor 1,500 gp +5 +4 -4 25% 20 ft. 15 ft. 40 lb.
Exploration Suit 12,000 gp +2 +3 -3 20% 20 ft. 15 ft. 15 lb.
Shields
Hoplite Shield 1,000 gp +2 — -2 15% — — 12 lb.

a dissolved ferrous iron, allowing cryothermic firearms to
properly propel the vril-powered water. The craft DC to
produce vril water is 25.
Ankeshelian Armor
The requirements of seaborne and Underdeep exploration gave
rise to the creation of specialized armors in Ankeshel. Some used
the same vril power sources as weapons of the period.
Charged Armor: These barnacle-encrusted breastplates are
sometimes salvaged from the deep sea floor sands of ancient
battle sites. Once these intricately filigreed bronze breastplates
are cleaned and restored, they can be plugged into orichalcum
cell batteries and realize their full, terrifying potential. Insulated
copper coils radiate from the back of the breastplate, and the
protection includes a special armored compartment on the
back to hold the fragile batteries. Once every 3 rounds, as a
move action, you can emit a pulse of electricity that effects all
adjacent opponents, dealing 2d6 electricity damage and draining
2 charges from the battery.
Hoplite Shield: Sporting ancient, wasp-waisted designs and
thin, nearly imperceptible swirling glyphs, these orichalcum
heavy dipylon shields seemed to have survived the centuries
in more common numbers than other martial equipment of
the era. Once heavy oxidation and sea floor encrustations are
removed and their straps replaced, the shields make for fairly
light, functional protection.
The shields have a recessed compartment for an orichalcum
cell battery as well as two terminals for connecting the power
supply. The shield can be activated as a move action, and the
swirling glyphs that cover the shield’s face glow with a faint blue
light as a slight repulsive force is enabled, turning away enemy
blades. Up to three charges can be drained from the battery per
use, and the shield increases its shield bonus by +1 for each
charge spent in this manner. A +1 bonus lasts for 6 rounds, a
+2 bonus lasts for 3 rounds, and a +3 bonus lasts for 1 round.
A sundered shield presents somewhat of a liability, for you
take an automatic 2d6 electricity damage/round while remaining
in contact with the shield, draining 2 charges from the battery
and dealing this damage to anyone touching the shield each
round until the battery drains fully.
Exploration Suit: This suit is crafted from a strange metallic
cloth with intricate copper bands defining the neck, wrists, and
ankles. A small, copper box on the back accepts a vril battery.
The suit easily fits over normal clothing but is far too restrictive
to be worn over armor or other, bulkier gear. When donned,
the suit provides a +2 bonus to saving throws against acid, cold,
and fire effects. The suit can be activated in 1 hour increments,
expending 2 charges/hour. In addition, a heavy charge can be
applied, enveloping you in a shimmering field of energy to.
This field protects you from gases, provides fresh air regardless
of the outside environment, and provides a +5 competence
bonus to saving throws against fire, acid, and cold effects. This
consumes 1 charge/round.
Other Lost Technology
Many other devices and mechanisms of lost Ankeshelian
technology surface all the time. Many of these items are named
for the noble families who discovered the first specimens of
these items.
Ankeshelian Arc Light: Wondrously wrought contraptions

35
 Table 3-7: Lost Technology Gear
Item Cost Weight
Ankeshelian Arc Light 500 gp 7 lb.
Dimension Disruptor 4,000 gp 18 lb.
Ferromagnetic Gauntlet 4,000 gp 9 lb.
Vril Battery 1,500 gp 8 lb.
Vril Coil 800 gp 12 lb.
built of watered black bronze and orichalcum, it is thought
that these devices once served as exploratory lighting for noble
visitors to orichalcum mines. Something of an intricate metal
torch, the arc light’s fluted body flares at the end and is topped
with a grapefruit-sized glass globe flanked by two entwined
copper terminals. The device is connected to a vril battery
near its base and can be activated as a move action, draining 5
charges from the battery.
When activated, the glass globe spins rapidly and flares into a
blinding white light, charging the air around it with the smell of
ozone. The arc light burns for 1 hour when activated, shedding
bright light in a 40-foot radius and increasing the light level
by 1 step for an additional 40 feet beyond that area (darkness
becomes dim light and dim light becomes normal light). If an
arc light is used in combat, treat it as a one-handed improvised
weapon that deals 1d3 bludgeoning damage, plus 1d6 points of
electricity damage.
Dimensional Disruptor: This squat, 2-ft.-tall
cylinder rests on three metal legs. A stack of charged
electrical disks hover intermittently over a central
core shaft of orichalcum. When
activated the device emits an energy
field in a 30-ft. radius that negates
all invisibility, making any creatures
under spell effects or supernatural
abilities that grant invisibility visible. In
addition, all ethereal creatures that enter
a dimensional viewer’s energy field are
forced onto the Material Plane (Will
DC 18 negates). This save must be
rolled each round an ethereal
creature remains in the area
even if a previous save was
successful. The device runs
for 10 minutes once activated
and drains 5 charges/10-minute interval.
Ferromagnetic Gauntlet: This
large, oversized gauntlet of darkly
patinated, overlapping iron plates with
various terminals and condenser coils
reveals an interesting property once
properly connected to a charged
vril battery. The gauntlet can
be activated as a move action to
develop an intense magnetic charge. Up to
36
3 charges can be drained from the battery per attempt. If you
wear metal armor while wearing this gauntlet, you suffer a -1
penalty to AC/charge drained as your armor becomes rigid
and restrained by the powerful electromagnetic force, and if
you wield metal weapons, you take a cumulative -1 penalty to
attack and damage rolls/charge spent. This condition lasts 2d4
rounds regardless of charges expended. As a touch attack, this
restricting electromagnetic force can be transferred to another
creature, who then suffers the AC, attack, and damage penalties
for the remainder of the duration. Such gauntlets, curiously,
have only been discovered to fit the left hand.
Vril Battery: These long, cylindrical glass jars contain
alternating discs of copper and orichalcum suspended in a
briny alchemical solution. The jars are sealed with filigreed
brass end caps with short terminals and thumbscrews that
allow for the attachment of all manner of devices for which
this battery powers. Newly charged batteries contain 50 charges
and attached devices consume this power at different rates, as
described in those devices. The containers are rare, and despite
their non-magical nature, efforts to reproduce them result in
failure. The metal plates and solution can be replaced at the cost
of 1,000 gp, recharging the battery to 50 charges.
Vril Coil: This hollow, glyph-covered copper sphere is 12
inches in diameter and mounted on an elaborate tripod, which
contains terminals for vril battery connection. It is theorized
that the device is a sort of ancient perimeter defense, perhaps
against aboleths, for the glyphs resemble writhing primitive
forms of those tentacled aberrations.
The device can be activated as a standard
action, after 1 round, the copper sphere
levitates slightly from the tripod and begins
spinning rapidly, arcs of lighting-like plasma
discharging from its surface. In this standby
mode, the device consumes 1 charge for every 10
minutes of operation, and produces a charged field
in a 20-ft. radius, centered on the device. Creatures
entering this radius immediately take 1d6 electricity
damage for every 5 ft. traveled closer to the source,
to a maximum of 4d6 electricity damage
within 5 ft. of the device. These discharges
consume 1 charge from the battery for
every die of damage dealt/creature/round.
For example, if two ogres charged the
device and made it to the squares adjacent to
the contraption, each would take a total of 10d6
damage from the device, draining 20 charges
from the vril battery, 10 for each creature. The
globe has AC 5, hardness 10, and 10 hp. Means
of turning off the device remotely have never
been discovered, and many take to tying a long
string to a loose terminal connection, so the battery
can be disconnected at a distance with a gentle tug.

While technically ancient Ankeshelian
creations, these weapons are usually referred to
as Cassadegan firearms; the craftsmen of Cassadega are
responsible for their rediscovery and reconstruction, not
invention. Incredibly deadly weapons, ancient firearms
are thankfully rare, owing to the scarcity of their discovery
and the inevitable corrosion and degradation of their
component alloys by salt water.
Though they are found as little more than
barnacle-encrusted barrels and heavily oxidized
breech mechanisms, specialized craftsmen rebuild
missing wood components in the stock and forearm
and replace the copper acceleration coils. While these
craftsmen reconstructing their appearance from old
hieroglyphs, they often adding a few artistic additions and
modifications of their own. The firearms are as unique as
those wealthy enough to carry them and generally work
as any other weapon, except where noted.
These weapons fire special ferromagnetic
ammunition, one of the few items modern craftsmen
have been able to replicate although they are still
prohibitively expensive for most. A single projectile costs
as much as a good day’s meal.
Firearm Proficiency: The Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat
grants proficiency in any single firearm listed here. Non-
proficient characters attack with the standard -4 penalty
to attack rolls but suffer twice the normal miss chance for
misfires (see below).
Attacks of Opportunity: Attacking with a firearm
provokes attacks of opportunity.
Capacity: This entry details the number of
projectiles—either ferromagnetic or vril—a weapon can
hold. You may still only fire as many times per round as
you have attacks, up to this number. Some firearms are
limited in the number of shots that may be taken due to
their need to recharge. See individual firearms listings for
details. Cassadegan firearms are breech loaded, with a
chamber door unlocked and pivoted away from the rear
of the barrel, where the projectile is then inserted. Once
closed, the gun begins building a charge in preparation for
firing.
• Reloading a Cassadegan coil rifle or miner’s
blunderbuss requires 1 round; the Rapid Reload feat
reduces this to a move action.
• Reloading a single round in a Cassadegan rail
revolver requires 1 move action; the Rapid Reload
feat reduces this to a swift action.
Chapter 3: Aquatic Equipment & Lost Technology
Cassadegan Firearms
• Replacing the vril water jar on a cryothermic firearm
is 1 full round action; the Rapid Reload feat does not
reduce this on cryothermic pacifiers, but does reduce
reload time on cryothermic rifles to a swift action.
Charges: This entry details the number of charges
from a vril battery the firearm drains per use. Firearms
not attached to such a battery are non-functioning. The
biggest liability of the firearms are their exposed power
cables, which can be severed. The cable has an AC equal
to the user’s touch AC with hardness 4, 8 hp, and DR
10/slashing.
If severed by a metal weapon, the attacker
immediately takes 1d6 electricity damage from the
exposed wires. Additionally, the live wires deal 1d6
electricity damage to the wearer each round the battery
is worn. Each such shock drains one charge from the
battery, and the cell pack can be removed as a full round
action. Cryothermic weapons require an additional
accessory—the vril water jar—and their use drains an
appropriate amount of the liquid as explained in each
weapon’s description.
Damage: The ferromagnetic ammunition of
Cassadegan firearms deals both bludgeoning and piercing
damage due to the kinetic forces of their propulsion.
Firearm Options
Additional Damage Dice: Whenever you roll maximum
damage on any firearm attack, reroll that die and add
the resulting damage to the total. If you again roll
maximum damage, you may reroll again, repeating
this exponential damaging property for each maximum
damage die you roll.
Misfire: Whenever you roll a natural 1 on an attack,
the firearm misfires. You roll a 1d20. A 1 results in the
firearm releasing a pulse of electromagnetic energy,
dealing 2d6 electricity damage to you, draining 2 charges
from the battery, and damaging the weapon’s conduction
coil 1 day to repair (Craft [gunsmithing] check DC 25),
plus requiring rare parts that may be hard to come
by. A 2-10 results in 1d6 electricity damage to you, a
single charge drained, and damage to the transformer,
requiring 1 hour to repair (Craft [gunsmithing] check DC
20). An 11-18 results in jammed ammunition and a single
charge drained. The ammunition takes 1 full round action
to clear. The result of a 19-20 is simply a drained charge
misfire, and the weapon can be charged and fired again
normally as if just reloaded.
37
 C hapter 4
Spells and
Magic Items
The wizard traced her hand lightly over the subtle curves of the
ancient arcane glyphs that covered the walls of the ancient tomb.
“They seem to be a record of the reign of the Priest-King…”
she stopped short as one of the glyphs pulsed with the briefest
glimmer of sentience, writhing around her outstretched fingers
like a living thing. Her companions recoiled slightly, waiting to
see what effect the triggered rune might produce. The spellcaster
pulled back and rubbed her brow slightly, smiling at her
concerned companions. “I’m OK. It was nothing. Dead magic.”
And so the great Priest-King Nal-Vashkin found himself set
loose again upon the world.

Bard Spells
0-Level Bard Spells
Sea Legs: You ignore violent motion while casting spells.

1st-Level Bard Spells

Mark of Thalassos: Glyph grants bonuses to Bluff,
Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks against aquatic creatures.

2nd-Level Bard Spells

Freeze: Icy sheath solidifies and encapsulates target.

3rd-Level Bard Spells

Horrors of the Deep: Target suffers drowning sensation
and suffers escalating nonlethal damage.
Liquid Form: You transform into living water.
Tezum’s Glyph: Glyph provides blindsight while
underwater.

5th-Level Bard Spells

Shrieking Glyph: Subject produces sonic cones of
discordant noise.

Cleric Spells
0-Level Cleric Spells
Waterskin: Extends length of time water-dwelling creatures
can stay out of water.

2nd-Level Cleric Spells

Defending Glyph: Orbiting glyph absorbs damage.
 Defy Depth: Protects creatures from cold water and depth Ranger Spells
pressure damage in deep seas.
Freeze: Icy sheath solidifies and encapsulates target.

Chapter 4: Spells
1st-Level Ranger Spells
3rd-Level Cleric Spells Waterskin: Helps water-dwelling creatures stay out of water.
Land Walker: Water-breathing subjects able to breathe air
and negate effects for being out of water. 4th-Level Ranger Spells
Tezum’s Glyph: Glyph provides blindsight while
6th-Level Cleric Spells underwater.
Calm the Waves: Area of rough water becomes calm.

9th-Level Cleric Spells Sorcerer/Wizard Spells

Sink Land: Destroys land and structures in 500-ft. radius.
0-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Universal
Druid Spells Sea Legs: You ignore violent motion while casting spells.

and
0-Level Druid Spells 1st-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Waterskin: Helps water-dwelling creatures stay out of water. Abjuration
Mark of Thalassos: Subjects granted bonuses to Bluff,

Magic Items
1st-Level Druid Spells Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks against aquatic creatures.
Aspect of the Dolphin: You gain swim speed and bonus to Waterskin: Extends length of time water-dwelling creatures
Swim checks. can stay out of water.
Locate Water: Detects direction and distance to bodies of water.
Riptide: Generates a tide-like wave of force. Conjuration
Ink Cloud: Cloud of ink obscures you.
2nd-Level Druid Spells
Defy Depth: Protects creatures from cold water and depth Divination
pressure damage in deep seas. Locate Water: Detects direction and distance to bodies
Watery Sphere: Rolling globe of water quenches fire and of water.
ensnares creatures. Seeing Stones: Empowers ioun stones to provide all-around vision.

3rd-Level Druid Spells Transmutation

Barnacle Armor: Barnacles grows to provide protection.
Land Walker: Water-breathing subjects able to breathe air
and negate effects for being out of water.
Liquid Form: You transform into living water.
Shape Water: You shape water into useful solid objects.
5th-Level Druid Spells
Wall of Water: Creates an opaque wall of water.
6th-Level Druid Spells
Animate Water: Transforms water into animated construct
under your control.
Calm the Waves: Area of rough water becomes calm.
8th-Level Druid Spells
Tidal Wave: Creates massive tidal wave that floods area,
damaging creatures and dragging them to sea.
9th-Level Druid Spells
Sink Land: Massive destruction of land and structures in
500-ft. radius.
Aspect of the Dolphin: You gain swim speed and a Swim
check bonus.
Full Lung: You can hold your breath longer.
2nd-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Abjuration
Defending Glyph: Orbiting glyph absorbs damage.
Evocation
Elemental Glyphs: Swirling glyphs deal energy damage as
ranged touch attacks.
Riptide: Generates a tide-like wave of force.
Transmutation
Bulwark of Blades: Orbiting blades take attacks of
opportunity, make ranged attacks.
Defy Depth: Protect creatures from cold water and depth
pressure damage in deep seas.
Tempest: Roiling water in area hampers movement and
hinders Swim checks.
Water Hammer: Globes of freezing water damage targets

39
 3rd-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells level damage and knocks enemies prone.
Conjuration
Barnacle Armor: Barnacles grow to provide protection. Transmutation
Puddle Jump: You teleport between bodies of water. Animate Glyphs: Your glyphs animate and deal energy damage.

Divination 8th-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells

Ocularum: Inscribed glyph allows you to scry on area from afar.
Evocation
Watery Sphere: Rolling globe of water quenches fire and
ensnares creatures.
Transmutation
Freeze: Icy sheath solidifies and encapsulates target.
Ioun Storm: Burnt-out ioun stones become construct swarm.
Land Walker: Water-breathing subjects breathe air and
survive out of water.
Liquid Form: You transform into living water.
Scrivener Glyph: Thrown glyph rewrites mundane and
magical writing into its own form.
Tezum’s Glyph: Glyph provides blindsight while underwater.
4th-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Abjuration
Dispelling Glyph: Protective glyphs intercept and dispel
incoming magics.
Nal-Vaskin’s Glyph: Protective glyph damages melee attackers.
Enchantment
Touch of Callimachus: Touched subject becomes more
susceptible your spells.
Evocation
Wall of Water: Creates an opaque wall of water.
Necromancy
Horrors of the Deep: Target suffers drowning sensation
and suffers escalating nonlethal damage.
Transmutation
Shape Water: You shape water into useful solid objects.
5th-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Evocation
Shrieking Glyph: Subject produces sonic cones of discordant noise.
6th-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Transmutation
Animate Water: Water becomes construct under your control.
Calm the Waves: Area of rough water becomes calm.
7th-Level Sorcerer/Wizard Spells
Evocation
Crushing Depths: Waves of pressurized water deals 1d6/
Transmutation
Tidal Wave: Creates massive tidal wave that floods area,
damaging creatures and dragging them to sea.
Spells
Animate Glyphs
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 7
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target one Small glyph/caster level
Duration 1 hour/level or until expended (see text) (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
You may trace a number of glyphs equal to your level, each
corresponding in size to a Small object. As you increase in
levels, you may inscribe larger glyphs as follows: a Medium
glyph counts as two Small glyphs, a Large glyph as four, and a
Huge glyph as eight.
Once the glyph or glyphs are complete, they remain
immaterial and adjacent to you, floating silently until activated
as a move action. When so activated, they spring to life as
animated objects (see Pathfinder Bestiary) appropriate to the size
of the glyph or glyphs traced. These animated glyphs remain for
1 round/level or until destroyed.
Glyphs created by this spell have hp equal to half that of an
animated object of their size category, and the animated glyphs
have a touch attack that deals acid, cold, fire, electricity, or
sonic damage (caster’s choice at time of casting). The damage
depends on the size of glyph; Small glyphs deal 2d8 damage,
and each successively larger glyph deals 1d8 more damage. Spell
resistance applies to this damage.
Animate Water
School transmutation; Level druid 6, sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target a body of water equal in volume to a Small creature/
caster level; see text
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You imbue a certain amount of water with cohesiveness,
giving it a humanoid shape and a semblance of life. The volume
of water determines the size of the creature you create. You
can animate an amount of water equal to the size and mass of
a Small or smaller creature. You can animate a larger amount

40
of water based on the following: a Medium creation counts as
two Small or smaller creatures, a Large creation as four, a Huge
creation as eight, a Gargantuan creation as 16, and a Colossal
creation as 32. You can change the size and number of the
creations as a move action, as if directing an active spell.
The creations have the statistics of animated objects as
described in the Pathfinder Bestiary with the following difference:
instead of hardness the animated water has DR 10/magic and
takes half damage from piercing and slashing weapons.
This spell cannot affect any liquids carried by a creature.
Animate water can be made permanent with a permanency spell.
Aspect of the Dolphin
School transmutation; Level druid 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 10 min./level
Saving Throw yes (harmless); Spell Resistance yes
You imbue yourself with the speed and hydrodynamics of a
dolphin. You gain a swim speed equal to your land speed (including
the +8 bonus to Swim checks granted to all creatures with a swim
speed). You can choose to take 10 on a Swim check even if you
are endangered or distracted. This spell grants no ability to breathe
water but doubles the duration you can hold your breath.
Barnacle Armor
School conjuration; Level druid 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a small barnacle shell)
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 10 min./level or until discharged
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
The subject creature grows a colony of encrusting barnacles
that provide protection from cuts and slashes. The subject gains
DR 5/bludgeoning. You ignore the first 5 damage each time
you take damage from a weapon although bludgeoning weapons
bypass the reduction. Once the spell has prevented a total of 5
damage/caster level (maximum 50 points), it is discharged and
the encrustation crumbles off.
In addition, the sharp barnacles allow you to deal an extra 1d6
piercing damage on a successful grapple attack. You can also make
a regular melee attack (or off-hand attack) with the barnacles, and
they count as a light simple weapon in this case, although you can’t
also make an attack with them if you have already made an attack
with another off-hand weapon, and vice versa.
The barnacles provide a +5 to Escape Artist checks to escape
soft bonds that can be cut, such as ropes.
Bulwark of Blades
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (one dagger)
Range personal
Target you
Chapter 4: Spells
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You hold up a single dagger sized for you; it vanishes and
is replaced by 1 dagger/caster level that orbit your body,
remaining within your space but in no way impeding your
actions. Each of these magically created daggers is composed
of the same material as the original and of the same quality
(although all other features such as magical enhancements or
poison coatings are lost).
Any person provoking an attack of opportunity from you
will also suffer a single attack from one of these daggers.
The daggers strike with a BAB equal to your caster level, and
they are treated as if you had Strength and Dexterity scores
and
equal to your primary spellcasting attribute (Intelligence for
a wizard, Charisma for a sorcerer). No more than one dagger
will retaliate against any one action that provokes an attack
of opportunity from you, but several of them can make these
Magic Items
attacks in a single round, and a single creature may provoke
multiple attacks of opportunity if it takes multiple actions that
provoke them.
As a move-equivalent action, you can order any one
of these daggers to strike at a single target within melee
range, or even to hurl itself at a foe at range. Daggers that
are hurled at a distant foe vanish at the end of that round,
whether a hit or miss, but those that do not leave your
personal space remain available to retaliate against those who
impose upon your personal space for the full duration.
Calm the Waves
School transmutation; Level cleric 6, druid 6, sor/wizard 6
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a fish scale)
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area 20 ft./level radius sphere
Duration 30 min./level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell reduces the size and strength of waves in a body
of water, making it easier to swim or sail through the affected
area. Stormy or rough water conditions, including tides and
undertows, whether above the surface or below, immediately
become calm for the duration of the spell, requiring DC 10
Swim checks to move through.
Crushing Depths
School evocation; Level sorcerer/wizard 7
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range 60 ft.
Area cone-shaped burst
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude half, see text; Spell Resistance yes
41
 With a grand gesture, you send a rippling wave of crushing
You trace a glowing, animated glyph in the air before you
pressure toward your enemies. This creates a line that deals
that hovers near your body and intercedes against physical
1d6 bludgeoning damage/level to anyone in the area (max
attacks. This esoteric symbol grants you damage reduction 5/
20d6). If cast above ground, any creature that fails the
piercing. Once the glyph has prevented a total of 5 damage/
Fortitude save must also make a Reflex save to avoid being
caster level (maximum 50 points), it fades away and the spell
knocked down. If cast underwater, any creature that fails the
is discharged.
Fortitude save must also make an additional Fortitude save or
become fatigued.
Defy Depth
School transmutation; Level cleric 2, druid 2, sor/wiz 2
Defending Glyph
Casting Time 1 standard action
School abjuration; Level cleric 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Components V, S, M (a preserved and atrophied male angler fish)
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range touch
Components V, S
Target one creature/2 levels
Range personal
Duration 1 hour/level
Target you
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance
Duration 1 hour/level or until discharged
yes (harmless)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell grants protection from the crushing pressure
and cold temperatures of the deep ocean. Targets and their
equipment are immune to the cold environment of the deep seas
and from all depth pressure damage.

Dispelling Glyph
School abjuration; Level sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 full round action
Components S, M
Range personal
Effect one or more dispelling glyphs
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You call forth a writhing, inky glyph of dark force for every 4
caster levels you possess. These slithering inscriptions orbit your
person to intercept hostile magics. Each glyph counters a single
spell, treated as a targeted dispel magic at your caster level.
No more than one glyph can trigger in a single round, and a
glyph that attempts to counter a spell is expended whether
it succeeds or fails on the dispel check. At 14th level, the
glyphs are treated as greater dispel magic for the purposes of
countering spells.

Elemental Glyphs
School evocation [see text]; Level sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 full round action
Components S, M (phosphorescent inks worth 30 gp), F
(copper plaque)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect one or more elemental glyphs
Duration 1 round/caster level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
You call forth a brightly glowing glyph of white energy, plus
one additional glyph for every 4 levels beyond 3rd. The glyphs
orbit your body in a dazzling display for 1 round/level. As a
standard action 1/round, you can send a single glyph streaking
forth as a ranged touch attack to target a foe within range,

42
dealing 3d6 damage of either acid, cold, electricity, fire, or
sonic damage, chosen as you unleash the glyph. Once either all
of the glyphs are expelled in this manner, or the duration ends,
the spell is ended.
The material component for this spell is a copper plaque
focus etched with acidic, phosphorescent inks, which rise to
become the swirling glyphs of power. These special inks cost a
total of 30 gp/casting.
Freeze
School transmutation; Level bard 2, cleric 2, sor/wiz 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a piece of beach glass), DF
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Fortitude negates; Spell Resistance yes
A blast of cold air billows around your target, causing water
or moisture to solidify around it and freeze it in place. It is
aware and breathes normally but cannot take any actions, even
speech. Each round on its turn, the subject may attempt a new
saving throw to end the effect as a full-round action that does
not provoke attacks of opportunity.
The subject may also substitute an Escape Artist check with
a DC equal to the spell’s save DC + 5 to break free of its icy
sheath. A frozen winged creature cannot flap its wings and
falls. A swimmer cannot swim and may drown. A subject that
successfully escapes still loses its next move action.
Full Lung
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance
yes (harmless)
You grant one touched creature the ability to hold its breath
longer than normal. The spell’s recipient instantly resets
the duration it can hold its breath underwater and gains an
additional number of rounds equal to your Intelligence modifier
(minimum 1). The subject also gains +4 bonus to Constitution
checks to avoid drowning.
Horrors of the Deep
School necromancy [fear; mind-affecting]; level bard 3,
sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one intelligent creature
Duration 1 round/level (see below)
Saving Throw Will partial; Spell Resistance yes
The horrors of the deep physically engulf your target, coating
it in grim, slithering, twitching fluid and subjecting it to the
Chapter 4: Spells
horrible despair of a drowned man. This inflicts 1d6 nonlethal
damage/round on a failed save.
A successful Will save negates the damage for that round but
does not end the effect. Instead, each successful save escalates
the fear effect, forcing it to end sooner but potentially causing
more damage. If a target saves against this spell once, reduce
the remaining duration by half and increase the nonlethal
damage/round to 2d6. If the target successfully saves a
second time, reduce the duration again by half and increase
the nonlethal damage/round to 4d6. Three successful saves
completely resists the spell.
Ink Cloud
and
School conjuration [creation]; Level sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components S, M (squid or octopus head)
Magic Items
Range 20 ft.
Effect Ink spreads in 20-ft. radius from you, 20 ft. high
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
A cloud of ink billows outward from you. The ink
obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 ft. A
creature within 5 ft. has concealment. Creatures farther
away have total concealment. A moderate current (11+
mph) disperses the ink in 4 rounds; a strong current (21+
mph) disperses the ink in 1 round. This spell only functions
underwater or in other liquid.
Ioun Storm
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 full round action
Components V, S, F (six dull gray ioun stones)
Range touch
Effect one 10-ft. swarm of burnt ioun stones
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
Using six dull gray ioun stones (25 gp each) as a focus, you
can tap into the dim residual energies of the stones and magnify
them greatly. The stones buzz forth as a deadly bludgeoning
swarm 10 ft. square. The focus stones appear to multiply six
fold, and swarm in a dizzying flurry, striking any creature within
the area with bruising force.
Treat the swarm of ioun stones as a wasp swarm (see
Pathfinder Bestiary) with these exceptions: construct and swarm
traits instead of vermin and swarm traits; all damage is treated
as bludgeoning; and the swarm has no poison ability. The ioun
swarm moves as long as you actively direct it mentally (a move
action); otherwise, it remains stationary.
When the spell ends, the original six dull gray ioun stones
return to orbit the caster’s head (unless the swarm has been
43
 destroyed, in which case they are simply lost), and all of the
temporary duplicates vanish. This spell has no effect on ioun
stones that are not burnt out.
Land Walker
School transmutation; Level cleric 3, druid 3, sor/wiz 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (dried fish gills)
Range touch
Target living creatures touched
Duration 2 hours/level (see text)
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance
yes (harmless)
The spell’s recipient can breathe air if it normally can only
breathe underwater. The affected creature also suffers no damage
if it normally takes damage for being out of the water, effectively
gaining the amphibious special quality for the duration of the spell.
Divide the duration evenly among all the creatures you touch. The
spell does not make creatures unable to breathe underwater.
Liquid Form
School transmutation; Level bard 3, druid 3, sor/wiz 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components S, M/DF (a mouthful of water and a sieve)
Range touch
Target willing corporeal creature touched
Duration 2 min./level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
The subject and all its gear become liquid and translucent.
Its material armor (including natural armor) becomes
worthless, though its size, Dexterity, deflection bonuses, and
armor bonuses from force effects still apply. The subject
gains DR 10/magic, takes half damage from falling and
from piercing and slashing weapons, and becomes immune
to sonic damage, sneak attacks, and critical hits. It cannot
attack or cast spells with verbal, somatic, material, or focus
components while in liquid form. It can use certain spells
that it may have prepared using the feats Silent Spell,
Still Spell, and Eschew Materials. The subject also loses
supernatural abilities while in liquid form. If it has a touch
spell ready to use, that spell is discharged harmlessly when
the liquid form spell takes effect.
A liquid creature cannot run, but it can move across
horizontal surfaces at a speed of 10 ft., or 20 ft. on a down
slope. It can enter water and has a swim speed of 10 ft. It can
pass through small holes or narrow openings, even cracks,
with all was wearing or holding in its hands as long as the spell
persists. It cannot manipulate objects or activate items, even
those carried along with its liquid form. Continuously active
items remain active. While underwater in this form, the subject is
invisible. Unlike normal invisibility that displaces water and leaves
a visible, body-shaped “bubble,” the subject blends in perfectly,
and gains total concealment (50% miss chance).
44
Locate Water
School divination; Level druid 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, M/DF (a forked twig or plumb bob)
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area circle with a radius of 400 ft. + 40 ft./level, centered on you
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You sense the direction and distance of a body of water such
as a lake, stream, or ocean even if it is underground or beyond
your sight. This spell cannot be used to sense the presence of
water in a creature’s body or small amounts of water such as
that contained in a flask, cup or barrel. This spell is blocked by
even a thin sheet of lead, but it will pierce illusions.
Mark of Thalassos
School abjuration; Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target one creature/2 caster levels
Duration 1 hour/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance
yes (harmless)
You inscribe the touched creature with a magic rune
recognizable to all sea creatures as the mark of the Drowned
King. This rune’s inherent power grants the spell’s recipient a
+4 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made
against creatures with the aquatic subtype. In addition, creatures
with the aquatic subtype take a -2 penalty on attack and damage
rolls against the targeted creature while the spell is in effect.
Nal-Vaskin’s Glyph
School abjuration; Level sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 round/level (D)
You trace a protective esoteric glyph on your body that damages
creatures that attack you in melee. The glyph grants you a +2
deflection bonus to AC, and any creature hits you in melee takes 1d6
sonic damage +1 damage/caster level (maximum +15) as arcane
feedback. If the attacker has spell resistance, it applies to this effect.
Ocularum
School divination; Level sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 minute
Components S, M (ocular fluid from living creature)
Range touch
Effect one scrying symbol
Duration 24 hours
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
 You can paint a glyph with the clear fluids extracted from the
eye of any living creature, creating a potent scrying tool. As a
full-round action at any time during the spell’s duration, you can
attune yourself to any such glyph you have created that is within
a range of 1 mile/caster level and see out of that glyph as if you
were physically present at that location, including any enhanced
vision such as darkvision and see invisibility. You cannot use any
sense other than vision through the ocularum.
The glyph is nearly imperceptible and requires a DC 20
Perception check to locate. It has 1 hp, and if the glyph is
destroyed during any round you are actively looking through
it, you are immediately and permanently blinded. While
actively viewing another area through the glyph, you become
unaware of your own surroundings, receiving a -10 penalty to
all Perception checks in your actual location. This spell only
functions on the plane of existence you are currently occupying.
Puddle Jump
School conjuration [teleportation]; Level sor/wiz 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V
Range personal
Target you
Duration instantaneous
You move from one body of water directly to another within
medium range (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) and within line of sight,
without passing through the intervening space. Each body of
water must have a surface area large enough to accommodate
the passage of your body. (You cannot move between a glass of
water and a dewdrop, for example.)
After making a puddle jump, you can’t take any actions until your
next turn. You can bring along objects as long as their weight doesn’t
exceed your maximum load. Your familiar is the only creature you
can bring along with you. In an ocean or large lake, the same body
of water can serve as both the origin and destination of the spell.
Riptide
School evocation [force]; Level druid 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components S, M (pint of seawater)
Range 15 ft.
Area cone-shaped burst
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw special (see text); Spell Resistance yes
You create a wave of blue-green force that sweeps all in the
affected area from their feet. All creatures in the area of effect
are subject to a trip attempt. If the DC of the spell exceeds
the target’s CMD, the target is knocked prone. If the target
has more than two legs, increase the creature’s CMD by +2 for
each additional leg it has. Creatures that cannot be tripped, such
as oozes, creatures without legs, and flying creatures, cannot
be affected by this spell. Subjects affected by this spell do not
gain an attack of opportunity to trip the caster if they succeed
in retaining their footing, although the spellcasting itself may
provoke a standard attack of opportunity normally.
Chapter 4: Spells
Scrivener Glyph
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one or more written works within 5 ft. of each other
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Reflex negates(object); Spell Resistance
no (see text)
You trace a wildly animated glyph in the air and make a
ranged touch attack to strike your target. If the attack misses,
use the misdirected thrown splash weapon rules (see Pathfinder
Roleplaying Game) to determine where the glyph lands. On
and
a successful attack, the glyph attaches itself to a randomly
determined written work on the target (or the nearest target
from where the glyph lands) and replaces every word with non-
Magic Items
magical copies of itself in one full round.
If another unaffected written work is within 5 ft. of its first target,
the glyph will jump to that work to begin anew. If no unaffected work
remains within range, or any target successfully saves, the spell ends.
The glyph only affects mundane works or magic items with a
maximum CL of 4th. The maximum CL affected increases to 8th at
CL 9th, to 12th at CL 13th, and to 16th at CL 17th. For the purposes
of this spell, a spellbook is considered to have a CL equal to the
minimum caster level necessary to cast the highest-level spell in it.
Sea Legs
School universal; Level bard 0, sorcerer/wizard 0
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level
You grant yourself the ability to ignore violent motion while
casting spells. You gain a +4 bonus to Concentration checks
when casting spells while under vigorous or violent motion.
Seeing Stones
School divination; Level sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 full round action
Components V, S, F (ioun stone)
Range touch
Target one or more ioun stones
Duration 10 min./level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell empowers one or more ioun stones, including
burned-out, dull gray stones, and links them with your visual
senses. The stones temporarily change to the same color as
your irises, and for the duration of the effect, you can see in all
directions around yourself through the orbiting stones, gaining a
+5 to Perception checks and rendering you immune to flanking.
45
 Shape Water
School transmutation; Level druid 3, sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (the water to be shaped)
Range touch
Target water, up to 10 cu. ft. + 1 cu. ft./level
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You can shape water into any hard object that suits your purpose.
The object is solid but fine details aren’t possible. There is a 30%
chance that any shape including moving parts simply doesn’t work.
Aquatic spellcasters use this spell to construct items not easily
fashioned underwater such as doors, walls, chests, bottles, cups,
and coffins. The items are translucent and have a hard, glass-like
consistency, with hardness 5 and 5 hp/inch of thickness.
Shrieking Glyph
School evocation [sonic]; Level bard 5, sorcerer/wizard 5
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 hour/level or until expended (see text) (D)
Saving Throw Fortitude partial; Spell Resistance no
You trace a glyph resembling discordant musical notes on the
subject’s face, granting them the ability to emit a 30-ft.-cone of
sound as a standard action. Creatures in the area take 7d6 sonic
damage and are deafened for 3d6 rounds unless they make a
successful save, which negates the deafness and reduces the
damage by half. Once the subject uses this ability 3 times, the
spell is expended.
Sink Land
School evocation [water]; Level cleric 9, druid 9
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (isonade heartblood worth
5,000 gp), DF
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area 500-ft.-radius spread (S)
Duration 3 rounds
Saving Throw see text; Spell Resistance no
When you cast sink land, the earth around you sinks and the
water table rises. This creates a powerful shockwave and tidal
rush and permanently alters the terrain near you. The sinking
effect lasts for 3 rounds, during which time creatures on the
ground can’t move or attack. In the first and second rounds,
the land sinks and movement and attacks are hampered; in the
third round, water rushes into the area of the spell and speech,
movement, and attacks are all prevented. Starting in the fourth
round, creatures can move and act normally.
Spellcasters on the ground must make a concentration check
(DC 20 + spell level) or lose any spells they try to cast. Being
underwater in the 3rd round, spellcasters must follow the rules
for underwater spellcasting (see Pathfinder Roleplaying Game)
46
and must also make the same concentration check for verbal
components as in previous rounds.
The sinking land affects all terrain, vegetation, structures,
and creatures in the area. The specific effect of a sink land spell
depends on the nature of the terrain where it is cast:
Cave, Cavern, or Tunnel—The roof collapses, dealing 8d8
damage to any creature caught under the cave-in (Reflex DC 16
for half) and pinning that creature under the rubble (see below).
Water floods the cavern or tunnel; creatures unable to breathe
water must hold their breath until freed or drown.
Cliffs, Hills, and Mountains—Sink land crumbles cliffs and
lowers mountains by up to 10 ft./caster level. This creates a
landslide or mudslide that travels 40 ft. for every 10 ft. it falls
vertically. Any creature in the path takes 8d8 bludgeoning
damage (Reflex DC 16 for half) and is pinned under the rubble
(see below). In addition, springs and melting snow or ice water
spring forth from the hillside, turning the terrain to mud. The
affected area slumps down and may form an alpine lake, ice
field, or tarn if surrounded by higher terrain.
Open Ground—Each creature standing in the area must
make a DC 16 Reflex save to successfully take a breath before
plunging underwater to prevent drowning; creatures that fail
drop held items. The sinking creates a large lake or waterhole
in even the driest region. The lake is 10 ft. deep/caster level in
marsh, swamp, plains, or urban terrain; 5 ft. deep/caster level
in forests or jungle; and 5 ft. deep/2 caster levels in snowy
tundra. In a desert, the sinking creates a marsh 5 ft. deep
regardless of caster level and affects half the usual radius. If
cast along a shoreline or coast, the lake merges with the nearby
body of water.
Structures—Any structure on open ground takes 100 damage
from sinking foundations and rushing floodwaters. This
collapses a typical wooden or masonry building but not a
structure of stone or reinforced masonry. Hardness does not
reduce this damage, nor is it halved as damage dealt to objects
normally is. Any creature inside a collapsing structure takes
8d6 bludgeoning damage (Reflex DC 16 for half) and is pinned
beneath the rubble (see below) below water level and may be
subject to drowning.
Pinned Under Rubble—Any creature pinned beneath rubble
takes 1d6 nonlethal damage/minute while pinned. If a pinned
character falls unconscious, he or she must make a DC 15
Constitution check or take 1d6 lethal damage each minute
thereafter until freed or dead.
Tempest
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (a miniature paddle or fan of coral)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./1 level)
Target an area of water of 10 ft. radius (+ 5ft./2 levels) and
5 ft. deep (+5 ft./2 levels)
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw none (see text); Spell Resistance none
 You make the water churn and roil, increasing the DC of
Swim checks and hampering the movement of creatures within.
The DC to swim in the affected area is equal to the spell’s
DC and must be made each round the creature is in the area.
Creatures who fail their Swim check are pulled underwater 5
ft. and take 1d4 bludgeoning damage/2 caster levels from the
churning water. Attacks made through or into the area of rough
water suffer a 20% miss chance.
Tezum’s Glyph
School transmutation; Level bard 3, ranger 4, sor/wiz 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (eye of sightless fish)
Range touch
Target creature touched
Duration 1 hour/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance
yes (harmless)
You swallow this spell’s material component and trace the rune
of the Lord of the Sightless Depths on the target’s skin. The subject
gains blindsight 60 ft. for the duration of the spell while underwater.
Tidal Wave
School transmutation; Level druid 8, sorcerer/wizard 8
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M
Range long (400 ft. + 50 ft./level)
Area 50 ft. long +10 ft./level line of water 200 ft. wide
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Reflex partial, see text; Spell Resistance no
When you cast this spell, you call a massive wave from the
nearby ocean to crash on land. The wave is 200 ft. wide and
inundates an area inland within 50 ft. plus 5 ft./level of the shore.
Creatures caught in the wave take 1d6 bludgeoning damage/caster
level (maximum 20d6) at the moment of impact and must make
a Swim check each round the spell lasts equal to the spell’s saving
throw DC to stay above water.
At the end of the spell, unsecured objects and creatures caught
in the wave are pulled back out to sea to a distance equal to half the
distance the wave came inland unless they succeed on a Reflex save.
Buildings and objects caught in the wave take 100 damage at
the moment of impact.
Touch of Callimachus
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range Touch
Target creature touched
Duration 10 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
Your touch evokes a raised, bluish glyph on the subject. The
target is more susceptible to your spells and takes a -2 penalty
to all saves against spells you cast with the penalty increasing
by 1/4 caster levels to a total of -6 at 20th level. In addition,
you gain a +2 bonus to caster checks to overcome the affected
creature’s spell resistance, if any.
Chapter 4: Spells
Wall of Water
School evocation; Level druid 5, sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a handful of water)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect opaque sheet of water up to 20 ft. long/level or a
ring of water with a radius of up to 5 ft./2 levels; either
form 20 ft. high
Duration concentration +1 round/level
Saving Throw Reflex partial, see text; Spell Resistance yes
You create an opaque, upward rushing wall of water that
blocks vision. Creatures trying to pass through the wall take 2d6
and
bludgeoning damage +1 damage/caster level (maximum +20)
and must make a Reflex save or be pushed back 5 ft. The wall
deals double damage to creatures with the fire subtype.
Magic Items
If you evoke the wall so that it appears where creatures
are, each creature takes damage as if trying to pass through
the wall (half damage on a successful Reflex save) and is
pushed into a square of the creature’s choice adjacent to the
area occupied by the wall. If any 5-ft. length of wall takes
20 damage or more of magical fire damage in 1 round, that
length evaporates.
Wall of water can be made permanent with a permanency spell. A
permanent wall of water suppressed with fire becomes inactive for
10 minutes, then reforms at normal strength.
Water Hammer
School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels plus the area)
Area one 5-ft. square/2 levels; max 4 squares
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance No
You create a small globe of freezing water around your fist
and send it hurtling out. The sudden blast of water affects
anything within the target squares. The spell does 1d6 cold
damage plus +1 /2 levels (max 1d6+5). For every 2 caster levels,
you may affect another square, to a maximum of four squares at
9th level. Each square must be adjacent to another square.
Waterskin
School abjuration; Level cleric 0, druid 0, rang 1, sor/wiz 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Target one creature
Duration 1 hour/level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance no
Soothing liquid bathes the subject’s skin and constantly
47
 refreshes it. At the time you cast the spell, choose whether it is
fresh or salt (or more exotic) water. Water dwellers subject to
this spell gain a +4 bonus to resist the environmental effects
of being out of the water on dry land or in air for extended
periods of time. If they attempt to resist a fire-based spell
while under the effect of waterskin, they may choose to end
waterskin to gain a +1 bonus to the saving throw.
Watery Sphere
School water (evocation); Level druid 2, sorcerer/wizard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M/DF (a bit of shell)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect 5-ft.-diameter sphere
Duration concentration
Saving Throw Reflex to negate; Spell Resistance no
A globe of water moves and rolls in whatever direction you
point, up to 30 ft./round. As part of this movement, it can
climb or jump up to 30 ft. to strike an object. It quenches fires
and can entangle one creature of Medium sized or smaller.
When the sphere enters the space of a target, it can be avoided
with a successful Reflex save. On a failed save, the target is
entangled by the sphere; it is immediately considered submerged
and must hold its breath to avoid drowning if it cannot breathe
water. Once the watery sphere has entangled a creature, it moves
with them. The entangled creature can attempt to break free of
the sphere as a move action, making a Strength or Escape Artist
check with a DC to escape equal to the DC of the spell.
48
Magic Items
Benthis had been staring at that copper plate we found sticking
out of the sea floor for too long. We’d already faced a ruin full
of bone crabs and fought off half a dozen goblin sharks, yet
he was just distracted by that thing and wouldn’t take his eyes
off it. Ruffulo got the bright idea of snatching it away from
him, thinking maybe it was cursed or something, but when he
did, the two just started playing tug-o’-war, and Benthis got
pretty upset.
He blurted out some sort of mystic syllable, and the
plate broke apart. I don’t mean that they broke it, mind
you—I mean the thing fell apart like a puzzle, and all the
pieces started floating around Benthis, zapping poor Ruffulo
until he stepped back. Benthis had never looked so proud.
The possibility of magic surviving the fall of lost
civilizations brims with adventure hooks, and the forms the
magic items of these ancient people took should be a source
of intrigue and mystery to PCs. The GM should always
experiment with form and consider what shape—what
approach—the ancients might have taken that differs from
the magic items of a campaign’s current era. Weapons and
armor, certainly, should be more primitive, with bronze
breastplates, short swords and spear being the norm, but
when awarding players new items, consider presentation and
flavor, and even jaded players might find themselves stumped
by a simple scroll of magic missile, even if only inscribed on a
copper tube.
Magic Armor Special
Ability Descriptions
Magic armor and shields can have one or more of the special
abilities detailed below. Armor or shields with a special ability
must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus.
Benthic: Benthic armor allows you to breathe water and exist in
the cold waters and crushing pressures of the deep ocean, granting
immunity to damage from cold water and all depth pressure damage.
Minor transmutation; CL 5th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor,
water breathing, depth defy; Price +1 bonus
Eelskin: Eelskin armor can only be constructed from non-
metallic armors such as leather and hide. This dark, glistening
armor absorbs the first 5 electricity damage/attack that the
wearer would normally take, provides a +5 bonus to Escape
Artist checks (like slick armor), and 3/day can shock attackers
who hit the wearer with metallic weapons for 5 damage as a
swift action.
Minor transmutation; CL 3rd; Craft Magic Arms and Armor,
grease, resist energy, shocking grasp; Price +11,500 gp
Swimming: Swimming armor seems to glisten like fish scales
when worn. It provides a +5 competence bonus on its wearer’s
Swim checks, and the wearer is considered unarmored for the
purposes of these checks.
Faint conjuration; CL 4th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor,
freedom of movement; Price +3,750 gp
Specific Armors
Dunkleosteus Breastplate
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 10th
Slot armor; Price 12,000 gp; Weight 30 lb.
Description
This dark iron +1 breastplate is fashioned in the form of a
gaping-jawed dunkleosteus skull. Whenever you are grappled
or pinned, the jaws animate and snap shut as a free action,
automatically dealing 2d6 piercing damage each round to your
opponent on your turn.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, summon nature’s
ally IV; Cost 6,000 gp
Cephalopod Breastplate
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 1st
Slot armor; Price 3,250 gp; Weight 30 lb.
Description
This bronze +1 breastplate depicts two krakens fighting. You can
command the armor to release a billowing cloud of black mist
in a 20-ft. radius 3/day. This inky miasma acts as obscuring mist
when above water and ink cloud when underwater.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, ink cloud, obscuring
mist; Cost 1,625 gp
Table 6-1 Armor
Special A b i l i t i e s
Chapter 4: Spells
Special Ability Base Price Modifier
Benthic +1 bonus
Eelskin +11,500 gp
Swimming +3.750 gp
Table 6-2 Specific Armors
Specific Armor Market Price
Cephalopod breastplate 3,250 gp
Dunkleosteus breastplate 12,000 gp
Liquid mithral shirt 10,500 gp
and
T able 6-3 S pecific S hields
Magic Items
Specific Shield Market Price
Orichalcum heavy shield 820 gp
Snapping shield 9,170 gp
Tentacled shield 9,559 gp
Liquid Mithral Shirt
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 5th
Slot armor; Price 10,500 gp; Weight 10 lb.
Description
At first glance, this glistening +2 mithral shirt seems
fashioned from hardened water and always appears slightly
wet. When wearing it, you can assume liquid form 1/day for
up to 10 minutes.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, liquid form; Cost
5,250 gp
Specific Shields
Orichalcum Shield
Aura no aura (nonmagical); CL —
Slot shield; Price 820 gp; Weight 7.5 lb.
Description
This heavy shield is constructed in an ancient wasp-
waisted style and is much lighter than shields made of
other materials. It has a 10% arcane spell failure chance,
a maximum Dexterity bonus of +3, and no armor check
penalties. Scholars speculate such shields were used in
ancient wars to ward against the approach of aboleths.
(See “Orichalcum Warding,” page 76, for more on aboleth
revulsion to this precious material.)
49
 Snapping Shield
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 10th
Slot shield; Price 9,170 gp; Weight 15 lb.
Description
This +2 heavy steel shield is sculpted in the form
of a snapping turtle skull. As a free action
3/day, you can command the jaws of the
turtle to snap shut and attack (independently
of the shield wearer), biting with your
BAB (including multiple attacks, if
you have them) and dealing 2d6
damage. This attack does not
count against your own.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms
and Armor, summon nature’s
ally IV; Cost 4,670 gp
Tentacled Shield
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 10th
Slot shield; Price 9,559 gp; Weight
15 lb.
Description
This +2 heavy steel shield is sculpted in
the form of a writhing cephalopod. As a free
action 3/day, the jointed tentacles of the squid
can be animated in a disarm attempt (independently of your
actions), striking with a +2 bonus to your CMB on the disarm
attempt. This attack does not count against your own.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, summon nature’s
ally IV; Cost 4,780 gp
Weapons
Aquaphobic: Aquaphobic weapons are cold and moist to
the touch, and they deal an extra 1d6 cold damage on a hit.
Additionally, on a confirmed critical hit, the target is filled
with the terror of drowning in deep waters and becomes
panicked as if by a fear spell (Will DC 14 partial). Those
who fail their save take -2 on saving throws, skill checks and
ability checks, drop anything held, and flee away from you at
top speed. If the save succeeds, the creature is only shaken
for 1 round.
Moderate necromancy; CL 10th; Craft Magic Arms and
Armor, fear; Price +2 bonus
Forgefire: A forgefire weapon glows red hot on command
and deals an extra 1d6 fire damage on a hit. Additionally,
on a confirmed critical hit, a forgefire weapon causes metal
equipment worn by the target to become red-hot, as the
heat metal spell. Magic items must make a DC 14 Will save
to negate.
Strong evocation; CL 12th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor,
flame strike, fireball, or heat metal; Price +2 bonus
50
Wavesplitting: Wavesplitting weapons
slice through liquid, negating any penalties
for fighting underwater. You also ignore
all cover when making attacks against
targets in the water, but you still have
to aim the weapon at the right square.
Thrown and ranged weapons with
this quality do not suffer penalties
for underwater use.
Strong divination; CL 12th; Craft
Magic Arms and Armor, freedom of
movement; Price +1 bonus
Specific
Weapons
Hammer of the Sea Forge
Aura strong evocation; CL 12th
Slot none; Price 23,812 gp; Weight 5 lb.
Description
This +1 adamantine forgefire warhammer
has additional properties in the hands of
a blacksmith. The weapon can be used as an
artisan tool for the purposes of crafting metal
arms and armor. The heat generated from it negates the
need of a forge to heat metal before shaping and tempering,
even underwater, although you still require an anvil. The
hammer grants no additional properties to the materials
worked but conveys a +5 competence bonus on Craft checks
to work metal items.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, flame strike, fireball,
or heat metal, creator must have 5 ranks of a smith-related
Craft skill; Cost 11,906 gp
Sharktooth Dagger
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 10th
Slot none; Price 20,000 gp; Weight 6 lb.
Description
Crudely constructed from a jagged tooth of a megalodon
with a sharkskin-covered hilt, this dagger acts as a +1 dagger
of wounding. On a successful critical when underwater,
the blood of the wounded enemy attracts 1d3 sharks if
any are within 400 ft. For each 50-ft. distance the sharks
have to travel, there is a 1-round delay, and they attack the
wounded creature. If the bleeding damage is healed before
the arrival of the sharks, they still arrive in the area and are
instead treated as a random encounter in which all present
are fair game.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, bleed, summon
nature’s ally IV; Cost 10,000 gp
Spear of the Narwhal T able 6-4 W eapon
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 10th S pecial A b i l i t i e s

Chapter 4: Spells
Slot none; Price 32,302 gp; Weight 6 lb.
Special Ability Base Price Modifier
Description Aquaphobic +2 bonus
Fashioned from narwhal tusk and whale bone, this spear
Forgefire +2 bonus
acts as a +1 wavesplitting spear of wounding. Due to the
Wavesplitting +1 bonus
wavesplitting property, when thrown underwater, you do
not suffer the normal attack penalty for ranged
underwater combat. Table 6-5 Specific Weapons
Construction Specific Weapon Market Price
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, bleed, freedom of
Hammer of the Sea Forge 23,812 gp
movement; Cost 16,151 gp
Sharktooth Dagger 20,000 gp
Spear of the Narwhal 32, 302 gp
Stingray Whip Stingray Whip 4,301 gp
Aura faint necromancy; CL 5th
Trident of the Vortex 170,000 gp
Slot none; Price 8,301 gp; Weight 2 lb.

and
Description
The handle of this +1 whip resembles a conch shell, and the
tough, leathery thong of the weapon ends in a serrated barb.
TABLE 6-6: Potions
Potion Market Price

Magic Items
Unlike normal whips, the presence of the barb allows the
Barnacle armor 750 gp
whip to deal lethal damage. Additionally, the whip allows
Defy depth 300 gp
you to use a poison effect (as the spell, save DC 14) upon a
Full lung 50 gp
creature struck by the weapon 1/day. You can decide to use
Land walker 750 gp
the power after you have struck. Doing so is a free action,
Liquid form 750 gp
but the poison effect must be invoked in the same round that
Mark of Thalassos 50 gp
the barb strikes.
Tezum’s glyph 750 gp
Construction Waterskin 50 gp
Requirements Craft Magic Arms & Armor, poison;
Cost 4,301 gp
TABLE 6-7: Staves
Trident of the Vortex Staff Market Price
Aura moderate conjuration; CL 10th
Vril 15,800 gp
Slot none; Price 170,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
Description
This copper trident has a shaft of inlaid blue pearl and is slightly Staves
heavy for its size. It functions as a +2 trident. When underwater
2/day, you can summon a large whirlpool (as whirlwind,
Vril Staff
Aura moderate transmutation, faint enchantment; CL 9th
underwater only; see Chapter 10 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying
Slot none; Price 15,800 gp; Weight 5 lb.
Game) 15 ft. tall to instantly form centered on yourself.
The whirlpool is identical to that of a Large water elemental Description
This staff seems to be a silver, hollow tube of metal capped at
(see Pathfinder Bestiary; DC 19, slam 1d8+5) and lasts for 10
either end with copper plates and etched with indecipherable
rounds or until dismissed. You are unaffected by the whirlpool,
glyphs. Small keys, like those of a flute, cover the length of the
and it moves with you.
staff and are manipulated by you to control its power. It allows
Construction the use of the following spells:
Requirements Craft Magic Arms or Armor, summon nature’s ally
● mage hand (1 charge)
V; Cost 85,000 gp
● charm person (1 charge)
● telekinesis (2 charges)
Potions Additionally, in the hands of a wizard or creature with at least a
15 Intelligence, the vril staff grants you a +4 competence bonus
Table 6-6 outlines the new spells in this book that are
to all Bluff and Intimidate skill checks.
appropriate for potion brewing. See Chapter 15 of the Pathfinder
Roleplaying Game for full details on making potions and other Construction
Requirements Craft Staff, charm person, eagle’s splendor, mage
use-activated magic items.
hand, telekinesis; Cost 7,900 gp

51
 Wondrous Items
Bosun’s Plank
Aura faint transmutation; CL 3rd
Slot —; Price 300 gp; Weight 4 lb.
Description
This ordinary looking, 4-ft. long board bears an arcane brand at
one end. When placed over a hole or a damaged portion of a
ship’s deck, the board expands to close any gap 10-ft. square or
smaller and repairs 4d6 damage to the craft.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, make whole; Cost 150 gp
Bottled Boat
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th
Slot —; Price 300 gp; Weight 2 lb.
Description
This clear glass bottle contains a tiny replica of a wooden rowboat
down to the smallest detail, including two stout oars, a miniature
coil of hemp rope, a fishing net, and a small cask. When the bottle
is smashed, the rowboat and all of the items emerge as full sized,
normal, and permanent items of their type: including 50 ft. of
hemp rope, a cask containing 20 gallons of fresh water, two oars,
and a 12-ft.-long rowboat, which holds three Medium passengers.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, shrink item; Cost 150 gp
Buoyant Chest
Aura faint transmutation; CL 3rd
Slot —; Price 15,000 gp; Weight 25 lb.
Description
This appears to be a common sea chest capable of holding
approximately 12 cubic ft. of material. In underwater environments,
a command word will cause the closed chest to float upward
through water at a rate of 20 ft./round, regardless of the weight
within. The chest is capable of lifting an extra 300 lb. of weight
outside of it, in addition to whatever weight is inside. The chest will
move with any currents or tides, and offers no resistance to outside
forces, nor will the chest move through solid objects it cannot lift.
Once the chest reaches the surface of any body of water, it floats
until retrieved. A second command word will cause the chest to
lose its buoyant quality and sink if unsupported.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, levitate; Cost 7,500 gp
Conch of Ice
Aura moderate evocation; CL 9th
Slot —; Price 38,000 gp; Weight 7 lb.
Description
This large conch shell has been fashioned into a horn and attached
to a leather strap. It radiates a chilling aura and is cold to the touch.
Anyone within 5 ft. of the conch of ice can comfortably exist in
hot temperatures as if under the affects of endure elements. When
blown 1/day, the conch of ice can unleash a cone of cold.
52
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, cone of cold; Cost 19,000 gp
Dominator’s Bands
Aura moderate enchantment; CL 9th
Slot arms; Price 13,500; Weight 1 lb.
Description
This pair of steel bracers are carved with glyphs of old Ankeshel.
Originally meant to fit over the tips of aboleth tentacles, the
bands magically resize when placed around the arms of a
humanoid. The bracers grant you the ability to cast dominate
person a number of times per day equal to your Intelligence
modifier (to a maximum of 10/day). Since the aboleth sometimes
allowed skum overseers to wear these bands, they built in a fail-
safe mechanism. Any creature other than an aboleth using the
dominator’s bands suffer a -4 penalty to Will saves.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, dominate person; Cost 7,750 gp
Everbreath Mask
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th
Slot head; Price 7,500 gp; Weight 4 lb.
Description
A silver bottle attached to a belt and capped with a flexible
tube of gut, the breather is an adaptation of the bottle of air. By
attaching the belt to your waist and placing the end of the tube
in your mouth, you can breathe freely, whether underwater or in
other environments lacking good air. Using the everbreath mask
is a free action, but you cannot use the item and cast spells that
require verbal components.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, water breathing; Cost 3,750 gp
Feather Tokens
Aura strong conjuration; CL 12th
Slot —; Price 450 gp (beacon), 500 gp (coral), 750 gp (doubloon),
300 gp (knot), 50 gp (spar), 600 gp (toothsome); Weight
Description
Each of these items is a small feather that has a power to suit
a special need. The kinds of tokens are described below. Each
token is usable once. A particular feather token has no specific
features to identify it unless its magic aura is viewed—even tokens
with identical powers can be wildly different in appearance.
Beacon—This token transforms into a 25-ft.-tall stilt
platform with a ladder, a large mirror atop it, and a reservoir of
oil that will burn for up to 24 hours. The platform disappears
once the oil burns out.
Coral—This token causes a large mass of coral to
spring into being (10 ft. in diameter and 20 ft. high). This is an
instantaneous effect.
Doubloon—This small copper coin bears an engraving
of a stylized human eye on one side and a mouth on the other.
If placed beneath the tongue of a corpse, the user may question
the dead creature as if it were under the effect of a speak with dead
spell. The coin reverts to a normal copper piece once it is used.
Knot—This sailor’s knot of ship’s rope releases a gust
of wind spell under the direction of the user with a firm yank
on both ends. Once untied the rope reverts to a normal rope
about 1 ft. long.
Spar—This token creates a large pointed wooden beam,
giving a +2 bonus on Swim checks to remain afloat as long as
someone clings to it. The spar lasts for 12 hours. An hour before it
vanishes, it falls into smaller and smaller pieces. Unlike most feather
tokens, this token activates after immersion in water for 1 minute.
Toothsome—This token is a 6-inch string of tiny shark
teeth. It can be used once to summon biting needlefish swarm
(see “Aquatic Variants” in Chapter 7). This swarm lasts 4 rounds
and attacks at your mental command. If any creature within 30
ft. are suffering bleed damage, they disregard you and attack the
bleeding individual in a frenzy (Charisma check DC 12 reasserts
your control, free action each round), inflicting a further 2d6
damage/round. Once control is lost, it cannot be regained. The
toothsome token will not operate out of water.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, major creation; Cost 225 gp
(beacon), 250 gp (coral), 375 gp (doubloon), 150 gp (knot),
25 gp (spar), 300 gp (toothsome)
Glyph Plaque
Aura strong varied; CL 12th
Slot —; Price 20,000 gp (defending), 20,000 gp (dispelling),
10,000 gp (opportunistic); Weight 1 lb.
Description
These thin sheets of beaten metal are embossed
with arcane sigils and glyphs. Once held
and released, the stamped metal symbols
separate into half a dozen individual glyphs
that orbit 1d3 ft. from your body. The metallic
glyphs are elusive and have AC 25, 10 hp, and
hardness 10.
Each plate’s powers vary depending on the
plaque’s substance and the arcane formula
inscribed thereon. You, as the glyph plaque’s
owner, can easily grasp the nearest orbiting
symbol at which point all other glyphs
rejoin into the embossed metal plaque.
Defending—This burnished bronze plaque
discorporates into half a dozen defending
glyphs that intervene on attacks against you,
granting DR 2/—.
Dispelling—This silver plaque discorporates
around you into 10 individual sigils. The
orbiting glyphs absorb spells of 4th level
or lower, and for every 2 spell levels so
absorbed, a single glyph crumbles. Once the
glyphs have absorbed a combined total of
20 spell levels, none remain.
Opportunistic—This cold iron plaque
TABLE 6-8: Wondrous Items
Item Market Price
Chapter 4: Spells
Minor
Bosun’s plank 300 gp
Bottled boat 300 gp
Everbreath mask 7,500 gp
Feather token, beacon 450 gp
Feather token, coral 500 gp
Feather token, doubloon 750 gp
Feather token, knot 300 gp
Feather token, spar 50 gp
Feather token, toothsome 600 gp
Island bell 1,600 gp
Obscuring sand 300 gp
Protective porcupinefish 600 gp
and
Moderate
Buoyant chest 15,000 gp
Dominator’s bands 13,500 gp
Glyph plaque, defending 20,000 gp
Magic Items
Glyph plaque, dispelling 20,000 gp
Glyph plaque,opportunistic 10,000 gp
Octopus bracers 12,600 gp
Thrall collar 14,000 gp
Wreck finder 20,000 gp
Major
Conch of ice 38,000 gp
Squid gloves 70,000 gp
discorporates into 4 sharp-edged glyphs.
Any creature provoking an attack of
opportunity from you also provokes
an attack from a glyph, which strike
with your BAB with a +2 bonus.
The glyphs deal 1d4+2 damage on a
successful hit, and they are considered
magic weapons for purposes of DR.
Each glyph may make only one attack/
round. A single creature may still provoke
multiple attacks of opportunity if it takes
multiple actions that provoke them and
there is a glyph available to strike.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, creator
must be 12th level; Cost 10,000 gp (defending),
10,000 gp (dispelling), 5,000 gp (opportunistic)
Island Bell
Aura faint divination; CL 5th
Slot —; Price 1,600 gp; Weight 2 lb.
Description
This ornate, gold and pearl bell sounds like crashing wave when
struck. When struck underwater 1/day, the bell produces a faint
53
 hum that enables you to speak with fish and other aquatic animals as
if under the effect of speak with animals spell for 1 minute.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, speak with animals; Cost 800 gp
Obscuring Sand
Aura faint conjuration; CL 3rd
Slot —; Price 300 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
This small pouch of sand, when released into a body of water,
will dirty and cloud a sphere of water in a 20-ft.
radius. The sand obscures vision, including
darkvision, beyond 5 ft. Within
the cloud, a target 5 ft. away has
concealment, and beyond that, a
target has total concealment.
The effect of obscuring sand lasts
for 3 rounds or until swept away
by a moving current of water.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous
Item, obscuring mist; Cost 150 gp.
Octopus Bracers
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 7th
Slot wrists; Price 12,600 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
These bronze bracers, etched with depictions
of frolicking octopuses, allow you to transform
your arms into tentacles, extending your reach by 5 ft. as an
immediate action. The tentacles act as natural weapons, doing
1d3 damage, and grant the grab ability (see Pathfinder Bestiary).
You may wield weapons with the tentacles, but all weapons
wielded this way are considered improvised weapons. Monks
may substitute their unarmed damage for the tentacle damage.
The bracers may be used for 10 rounds/day, and the rounds
need not be consecutive.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, beast shape II; Cost 6,300 gp
Protective Porcupinefish
Aura faint abjuration; CL 6th
Slot —; Price 600 gp; Weight 2 lb.
Description
You activate this small, dried blowfish and release it as a
standard action. It puffs up like a spiky, bony ball and hovers
in mid air around your body for 1 minute. During this time, it
intercepts attacks against you, granting DR 5/bludgeoning. In
addition, any creature striking you with a natural weapon or
unarmed strike takes 1d6 piercing damage from the fish. Once
the dried porcupine fish has prevented a total of 30 damage or
the duration expires, it crumbles to dust.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, defending glyph; Cost 300 gp
54
Squid Gloves
Aura moderate transmutation; CL 5th
Slot hands; Price 70,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
These webbed, leather gloves have a strange texture and are
a creamy white color with large violet speckles. Wearing them
grants you a natural swim speed of 20 ft. and the ability to
breathe underwater. In addition, you can jet through water
in a straight line for 240 ft. 3/day. This movement is a full
round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity,
but if you jet into a wall or similar object, you take 3d6
damage from the impact. When the jet ability
is used, the gloves expel a cloud of dark
ink at your starting location, identical
to an ink cloud spell. The gloves only
function underwater.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item,
beast shape I, ink cloud, fly; Cost
35,000 gp
Thrall Collar
Aura faint transmutation; CL 3rd
Slot neck; Price 14,000 gp Weight 1/2 lb.
Description
This necklace of linked copper glyph-
plates fits snugly around your neck and
fastens at the back with a lock. The thrall collar was
designed to keep slaves of Ankeshel passive but also to
increase their hardiness and enable them to work longer and
in harsher environments. You gain a +2 inherent bonus to
Constitution but come under the effects of calm emotions. The
lock can be opened with a DC 25 Disable Device check.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item; bear’s endurance, calm
emotions; Cost 7,000 gp
Wreck Finder
Aura moderate divination; CL 5th
Slot —; Price 20,000 gp; Weight 5 lb.
Description
Made of tarnished brass, this compass-like device contains
a numerical counter, adjustment dials, and three hands of
varying lengths. When immersed in seawater 1/day, the wreck
finder will locate the closest submerged cache of treasure
within a 5-mile radius. Adjusting the counter allows you to
eliminate treasures worth less than a given amount in 100 gp
increments. If a treasure cache is located, the hands of the
wreck finder will indicate the direction, distance, and depth
of the treasure. If the treasure is within 60 ft. of the wreck
finder, the face of the device will glow, shedding light in a
30-ft. radius.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, locate object; Cost 10,000 gp
 C hapter 5
T he S unken E nvironment
It was tough for a surface dweller underwater. It was cold. And
dark. And if it wasn’t for half a dozen spells from the wizard,
they would have been crushed by the pressure, lost, and drowned
long before now. But the clock was ticking, and it was a long way
to the surface.
Half the party was missing. No one saw what
happened to the rogue. One minute he was swimming along
beside them, slashing through a kelp grove, and the next—just
gone. The wizard was next. As the group swam through a
maze of coral, something started to eat away at their minds,
and by the time they realized the source as a brain-shaped
polyp, the spellcaster was missing. They kept going deeper, but
realizing they would never reach the sunken ruins in time, they
stopped. Surrounded only by the darkness, they feared going
deeper, but they knew they could never reach the surface before
their waterbreathing ran out.
All around, the brief flashes of bioluminescent fish
glowed like stars but blinked silently back to darkness as a low,
audible hum began to reverberate through the depths. Something
was swimming toward them. And it was massive.  the shore, to the darkest depths where unspeakable horrors lurk,
Underwater Adventuring
dventurers are most comfortable when their feet are
A on solid ground. Goblin dens, reeking dungeons, and
trapped lairs hardly rate a second thought or sideways
glance before adventurers charge headlong into the darkness to
face an array of traps, creatures, and cultists. But even tempted
with incredible treasures and lost secrets, once the barrier
becomes lapping waves rather than dry, dusty stairs leading into
darkness, even the stoutest of fighters or the wiliest of rogues
let forth a collective gulp at the prospect of getting their feet
wet. And who can blame them—the sea is a dangerous place!
Luckily for adventurers, the dangers of the sea can be
overcome, even for amateur dungeon-delvers just starting
out on the road to fame and riches. Equipment, magic items,
spells, and abilities can all overcome the dangers of the sea, and
as the higher adventurers rise in experience, the deeper they
can explore. Opening up this new world for exploration can
invigorate campaigns and fire the imagination of even the most
jaded players. From the edge of the sea where the water meets
55
 life below the waves is fraught with dangers. (See the Pathfinder
Roleplaying Game for details on the dangers of water, especially
drowning, and the intricacies of underwater combat.)
Levels 1-4
At these low levels, GMs should promote underwater explorations
in shallow water along the coast or in partially sunken ruins off the
coast that allow for a mix of above and below water adventuring.
Land or boats should always be in easy reach, and the surface
should never be too far away for PCs to replenish their breath.
Of course, adventurers have many tools at their disposal
to survive underwater, and magic can alleviate many of these
dangers. As they begin their careers, characters are better off
avoiding deeper water, but submerged explorations near the
coast among submerged ruins and sunken dungeons are entirely
feasible. Characters can pool their resources for transportation,
such as a rowboat, and can make short dives seeking adventure
and treasure, perhaps as pearl divers or salvagers.
Low-level spells such as full lung extend the duration
characters can hold their breath underwater, and while it does
not grant the ability to breathe water, aspect of the dolphin grants
casters a swim speed and bonuses to Swim checks, allowing
them to make better use of their time in the seas with a full
range of movement. By 3rd level, defy depth provides protection
from the cold and crushing pressures of the Underdeep, and
characters become limited only by the fear of what they might
face on such deep dives. Scrolls and potions of these spells can
be found in shops along busy docks and are within the cost
range of beginning adventurers.
Mundane equipment such as diving bells and suits are also
well within reach of a low-level party’s resources, and benefactors
may even loan magical everbreath masks for short excursions in
exchange for a cut of treasure. Resourceful characters might even
learn secrets of their environment, such as stealing air from kelp
fronds to extend their stay in sunken ruins. Druids can provide
some protection from roving predators in the form of hide from
animals, and the obscuring sand magic item gives a cheap option for
eluding pursuers. Spells such as summon monster and summon nature’s
ally have aquatic options for casters, and toothsome tokens, island bells,
and spar tokens are all easily obtainable and useful magic items to
have at these levels.
Nixies (see Pathfinder Bonus Bestiary) can provide a party of four
with 6 hours of water breathing, and by 3rd level, GMs may allow
PCs to summon these diminutive sprites with summon monster
II or summon nature’s ally II. This boon, coupled with potions of
aspect of the dolphin, makes underwater adventures, provided the
party does not stray too deep for too long, entirely feasible even
at this low level. Elixirs of swimming are affordable and can aid
characters in their travels. Spells like mark of Thalassos can also aid
in negotiations with underwater inhabitants, and rings of swimming
become acquirable after a few levels.
Levels 5-8
By 5th level, clerics, druids, sorcerers, and wizards can provide
56
water breathing to the party themselves, and at this point, an average
adventuring party of four characters can spend about 2-1/2 hours
below the surface before they must emerge or recast the spell.
This makes them valuable to salvage companies and sages seeking
lost artifacts and knowledge hidden in coastal ruins.
Some characters may even assume the forms of local fauna
with beast shape or elemental body, and control water provides some
battlefield control in the open seas. Spells such as Tezum’s glyph and
liquid form can enhance senses underwater or provide concealment
from the senses of others. At this level, clerics also have water walk
available, enabling adventures to abandon boats and vessels and
make their way quickly to offshore islands and half-submerged
ruins by traveling over the waves by foot, although this also makes
them tempting targets for sharks and orcas.
Perhaps the most important of spells now available that
adventurers will rely on, along with water breathing, is freedom
of movement, which allows them to most closely approximate
their land-bound abilities under the seas and function more
naturally after several levels of fighting the environment as well
as hungry monsters. Several important magic items come into
play around these levels: cloaks of the manta ray, sharkskin vests,
gloves of swimming, and bottles of air are all well within grasp of a
party’s resources by this point in their adventuring career, not to
mention potions and wands of key spells that could allow PCs
extensive time underwater as well. The swimming armor quality
can help fighters who are hesitant to give up their precious
protection, and wavesplitting weapons negate the penalties
normally incurred for fighting underwater.
Levels 9-12
By 9th level, characters should have most of the means at their
disposal to be effective and deadly underwater adventurers, even in
the deeper zones. Swim skills should be able to withstand all but the
most dangerous of riptides and rogue currents, and spells such as
calm the waves can neutralize them when they don’t. Magic items,
spells, and feats should all contribute toward incredible capabilities
of those born on land to now be at home in the seas.
Many characters will be able to assume other forms with
ease, whether they be druids or under the effects of powerful
spells such as polymorph, upper level beast shape and elemental
body, or even in the guise of mighty dragons through form of
dragon spell at 11th level (allowing casters to choose from an
array of chromatic and metallic dragons with swim speeds and
underwater versatility). Magic items like rings of improved swimming
and iridescent ioun stones make travel and breathing easy, and the
crown jewels of underwater adventuring, in one case literally,
become available at this level in the form of helms of underwater
action and plate armor of the deep.
13 and beyond
By 13th level, most adventurers will have little hesitation to brave
the open sea and probe the mysteries that lay hidden in deep
channels and sunken ruins thousands of feet below the waves.
Valuable magic items such as gloves of the squid, the ever-desirable
ring of freedom of movement and even rings of elemental command (water)
become realities in a PCs inventory. Even the enigmatic apparatus
of the crab can aid in deep-sea explorations down to 900 ft.
Druids can transform entire parties into powerful aquatic
creatures with animal shapes at 15th level, and by 17th level,
druids, sorcerers and wizards can assume the form of even
more deadly and fearsome beasts of the waves with shapechange.
Environmental Zones
As the ocean descends, sages and scholars have given names to
the zones where certain phenomenon occur, and each is detailed
here, along with the depth pressure and cold damage one
might expect, inhabitants and lurking creatures of the area, and
hazards and terrain unique to each zone.
Coastal Zone
Waves crash violently against tall, rocky cliffs or lap gently
along a serene, sandy beach. Tides rise and fall in a perpetual
struggle of reclamation and relinquishment. Here, villages come
and go, drawn by the bounty of the sea, and the secrets that
submerged ruins conceal slowly give themselves up to inevitable
and irreversible erosion. This is the intertidal zone—the long
stretches of beach exposed during low tide and reclaimed by the
rough surf when tides are high.
In these shallow waters, the enemy is more often than not
the environment itself—waves and currents that can drag the
unaware under before nearby companions even realize. Where
the ruins emerge from the waves and into the salty air, cnidari
find purchase on the eroded sills and parapets of ancient
civilizations, their keen senses scanning for wayward fishermen
who do not take precautions against them. Below, scrags and
goblin sharks feast on their castoff meals, and sea hags join with
their sisters, speaking to the stones of sunken civilizations to
pry from them some bizarre esoterica.
Beaches
Beach terrain includes the gently sloping dunes of sandy beaches
and the ragged, wave-beaten cliffs and crags of rocky shorelines.
Chapter 5: The Sunken Environment
Cliffs: Rocky beach terrain typically alternates between high
cliffs and rocky eroded inlets and coves. Such seaside cliffs are
typically 2d6 × 10 ft. tall (Climb check DC 15). Cliff slopes
aren’t perfectly vertical, and they take up 5-ft. squares if less
than 30 ft. tall, or 10-ft. squares if 30 ft. or taller. Cliffs that
exceed 80 ft. take up 20 ft. of horizontal space.
Driftwood: Washed up palms and other organic debris
provide the only cover on otherwise open coastline between
the water and the dunes. Squares containing driftwood cost
2 squares of movement to enter and provide cover against
attackers within 30 ft. on the other side of the driftwood as long
as the target is closer to the driftwood than the attacker is.
Dunes: Created by the build-up of sand trapped in marsh
grass and the constant reshaping by strong coastal winds, dunes
are considered hills, although the topography is always shifting
and changing, as storms and tides perpetually reshape the
shoreline. Dunes extend from the water line and far inland and
always have a gentle slope, facing the shore. This incline does
not affect movement, but characters gain a +1 bonus on melee
attacks against downhill foes.
The backside of dunes, facing inland, is more difficult to
navigate and is always steeply sloped, and characters must spend
2 squares of movement to enter each square of this side of
the dune. Characters running or charging downhill (moving to
an adjacent square of lower elevation) must succeed on a DC
10 Acrobatics check (or DC 10 Ride check if mounted) upon
entering the first steep slope square. Characters who fail this
check stumble and must end their movement 1d2 × 5 ft. later.
Characters who fail by 5 or more fall prone in the square where
they end their movement. A steep slope increases the DC of
Acrobatics checks by 2.
Rocky Beach: Coves and inlets along rocky shores are
covered in rocks of all shapes and sizes, from small pebbles
57
 to gigantic stones from collapsed cliffs. Such areas are either
light or dense rubble. Light rubble does not affect movement
but increases the DC of Acrobatics checks by 2. Dense rubble
includes larger rocks, and it costs 2 squares of movement to
enter such squares with the DC of acrobatics checks increasing
by 5 and the DC of Stealth checks increasing by 2.
Sand: Sand along coastal shorelines is either dry sand that
impedes movement or moist sand wet from recent tidal activity.
Wet sand, including that along the sea floor, does not inhibit
movement, but dry sand hinders movement significantly, costing
2 squares of movement to enter such a square.
Sea Grass: These thick, heavy grasses are specially adapted
to grow in the harsh environment of the shifting dunes. Such
patches of this grass can be considered either light or heavy
undergrowth. Light undergrowth costs 2 squares of movement
to move into, provides concealment, and increases the DC
of Acrobatics and Stealth checks by 2. Heavy undergrowth is
more difficult to navigate: running and charging are impossible,
it costs 4 squares of movement to move into, it provides
concealment with a 30% miss chance (instead of the usual
20%), the DC of Acrobatics checks increases by 5, and it grants
a +5 circumstance bonus on Stealth checks.
Sea Stack: Sea stacks are massive columns of rock formed by
erosion from the wind and waves. A typical sea stack is 1d6 x 5
ft. tall, covers 1d8 squares, and is considered unworked stone for
Climb checks (DC 15). Such rocks are usually very slippery with
accumulations of barnacles and other sea life near the water line.
Portions of such boulders that see regular water coverage are
considered slippery for purposes of movement and climb checks.
Tidal Pools: Tidal pools are accumulated water left behind in
shallow depressions after high tide. If a square is part of a tidal
pool, it has wet sand and standing seawater about 1 ft. in depth.
It costs 2 squares of movement to move into a square with a tidal
pool, and the DC of Acrobatics and Stealth checks in such a square
increases by 2. Such depressions can be a source of salvageable
food since animals often become trapped with the outgoing tide.
The presence of such pools after high tide provides a +5 bonus
to Survival checks to acquire food along coastal environments.
(Some GMs might consider some pools to have the property of
quicksand, as detailed in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.)
Stealth and Detection in Coastal Regions: Long stretches of
clear coastlines have little undergrowth and only sporadic patches of
driftwood and occasional debris to provide cover or concealment
for Stealth checks, so spotting creatures is limited only by line of
sight in the area. Once characters get more than a stone’s throw
away from the waterline, however, the presence of dunes makes
spotting more difficult, and line of sight is limited to 6d6 × 10 ft.
Tides
More often than not, the waters of the intertidal zone present
as much of a danger as the creatures that lurk in these waters.
Tides ebb and flow; riptides draw weak swimmers out into
deeper waters to succumb to the mercy of the waves; and
stronger undertows can pull even the strong under to drown.
58
Sea levels rise and fall due to planetary motion and the exertion
of the gravitational forces of a world’s moons.
Most coastal areas have two high tides and two low tides
in a 24 hour period, and while the tide tables drift forward by
approximately 10 minutes/day, a GM can assume that low tides
occur at approximately 6 am and 6 pm, while high tides occur
at noon and midnight, adjusting as necessary for the campaigns.
Characters can make a DC 12 Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge
(local) check to determine when the tides will occur.
High Tide: The breaking waves of high tide create rough
water about 5 ft. deep that costs 4 squares of movement for
wading characters, although they can also swim the heavy surf
at normal speed with a DC 15 Swim check. In addition, wading
characters are smashed by the pounding waves and must make a
DC 12 Acrobatics check to avoid falling prone.
Characters falling prone or failing their Swim check by 5 or more
take 1d3 nonlethal damage/round or 1d6 lethal damage among
sharp reefs, coastal rocks, wooden docks or sunken ruins. Large and
medium creatures in an area of high tide are granted concealment
by the churning, foaming water, while smaller creatures gain cover.
Low Tide: The same stretch of coast covered by churning,
chest-deep breaking waves during high tide is reduced to ankle-
deep, gently lapping waves during low tide. Each square costs
wading characters 2 squares of movement to enter, and the DC of
Acrobatics checks are increased by 5. The water is considered calm,
and characters can make DC 10 Swim checks to navigate the area
once they move into water appropriately deep for their size.
Riptide: Riptides are not actual tides but, rather, incredibly
strong currents flowing from the shoreline and back out to sea.
A DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check can identify these breaks
in the surf. For those unlucky enough to be caught in such a
current, the consequences can be deadly.
Riptides are typically 1d6 x 50 ft. across and extend 1d4 x 100 ft.
from the shore into much deeper water. If caught in the current,
you are swept away from the shore by the force of rushing water
unless you succeed on a DC 15 Strength check (if on the sea floor)
or a DC 25 Swim check if swimming. These checks are modified
by your special size modifier (see Pathfinder Roleplaying Game).
Failing these checks, you are knocked prone and swept away
from the shore at 1d6 × 10 ft./round, taking 1d4 nonlethal
damage/10 ft. traveled due to the rough battering and fatigue. A
successful Swim check each round negates the damage and allows
you to move at your normal rate toward the edge of the current.
Creatures often survive the journey to the end of the riptide, but
often too fatigued to return to shore, they drown in deep water.
Sunlit (Epipelagic) Zone
The sunlit or epipelagic zone is the uppermost zone of the ocean
that extends from the surface to a depth of approximately 700
ft. The most accessible of sunken ruins are easily reached at the
upper depths of this level, some reachable by talented skin divers
or snorkelers. Close to shore, the terrain resembles beach, only
underwater. The seafloor is either wet sand or rubble of varying
densities, and there are sheer ledges and even cliffs.
 Once below the choppier waters of the surface, navigation
below the waves at this level is somewhat easy and the water—
aside from hazardous areas and heavy storms on the surface—is
considered calm. Once beyond the depths that host most
coral reefs, however, damage from water pressure becomes
increasingly dangerous and the creatures become bigger.
Giant Kelp: Perhaps the most important vegetation dotting
the terrain of the sunlit shallows is kelp. Analogous to terrestrial
trees, massive growths of giant kelp flourish along the ocean
floor in shallower regions. These huge weeds are firmly
anchored to the seafloor and grow upward to a sunlit canopy
in leafy vertical fronds. The plants grow at an amazing rate,
and a strand can grow the length of a man’s arm in a single
day, ultimately reaching heights of up to 250 ft. A creature
swimming in the same square as a giant kelp growth gains
partial cover (+2 AC, +1 Reflex saves); the presence of the kelp
doesn’t otherwise affect the creature’s fighting space because it’s
assumed that the creature is using it to their advantage.
To maintain an upright position, most kelp species have
gas-filled bladders called pneumatocysts near the base of their
stalks that provide buoyancy. Air-breathing swimmers can locate
and obtain air from a frond with a DC 10 Survival check. A
successful check provides an additional round of breath plus an
additional round of breath for every point the check exceeds
the DC. Extracting breath from kelp fronds is a standard action.
Giant kelp fronds have AC 3 and 6 hp.
Kelp Beds: Small patches of anchored kelp are known as
kelp beds and typically cover 1d4 contiguous squares. Spaces
covered in light kelp beds cost 2 squares of movement to move
into and provide concealment. The DC of Acrobatics, Stealth,
and Swim checks increase by 2 due to the heavy strands of
kelp. Heavier kelp beds also exist, covering 2d4 contiguous
squares. Movement within these spaces costs 4 squares of
movement and provides concealment with a 30% miss chance.
The DC of Acrobatics and Swim checks increase by 5, but a +5
circumstance bonus is awarded the Stealth checks of creatures
attempting to hide within these dense beds. Taking run actions
or charging while swimming are impossible.
Kelp Forest: In favorable environments, dense aggregations
of kelp grow in massive forests along the ocean floor,
sometimes stretching 5 miles on the side. In such forests, any
given square is considered to contain a light kelp growth bed,
with a 50% chance that the square is a heavy kelp bed instead.
Pathways through these forests are occasionally created by
passing large predators or merfolk harvesters, and urchin
infestations can create barren fields. Such areas allow normal
movement and provide no cover or concealment.
Coral Reef: Coral beds thrive in the sunlit zone and are
rarely found below 200 ft., although some deep-sea exceptions
do exist that live via stinging cells rather than the photosynthetic
relationship with symbiotic algae. Coral reefs are incredible
accumulations of the exoskeletal material of the tiny colonial
marine organisms that live within.
Walking along a coral reef can be a treacherous affair, and
Table 5-1 CR 5 Coastal Encounters
d% Encounter Avg. CR
Chapter 5: The Sunken Environment
1-4 1 crocodile, saltwater 2
5-14 1 giant crab 2
15-19 1 rat swarm 2
20-23 1 strangleweed 3
24-31 1 water mephit 3
32-36 1d6 water elemental (small) 4
37-38 1d4 sahuagin 4
39-42 1 wharfling swarm* 4
43-50 2d6 zombies 4
51-60 1 cnidari 4
61-66 2d6 wharflings* 4
67-71 1 sea hag 4
72-77 1 crab swarm 4
78-79 1d6 skum 5
80-81 1d4 ooze mephit 5
82-83 1d6 bone crabs* 5
84-85 1 scrag 5
86-91 1d6 goblin sharks* 6
92-93 1 will-o’-wisp 6
94-95 1 drowned maiden* 7
96-97 1 chuul 7
98 1 slick 7
99 1 dire crocodile 9
100 1 doldrum* 9
The creatures marked with an asterisk (*) may be found in
Chapter 6.
it costs 2 squares of movement to enter a square with coral.
Travel across coral adds 5 to the DC of Acrobatics checks and
adds 2 to the DC of Stealth checks. Creatures moving along
this surface without an armor or natural armor bonus take 1d2
damage/round from the sharp coral.
Urchin Aggregation: Urchins are slow moving, spiny
echinoderms that eat kelp and algae. Urchin roe are a delicacy
among merfolk and discriminating land walkers, but urchins are
considered a pest due to their voracious appetites and frequent
decimation of kelp forests. The spines of these tiny creatures
cause painful wounds when trampled. For adventurers walking
the sea floor, they can be quite a nuisance. A single 5-ft. square
contains dozens of urchins, and creatures walking underwater
through such an area run the risk of injury.
If you move at greater than ½ speed, you must succeed on a
DC 12 Reflex save or you step on an urchin and take 1 damage.
(Footwear provides a +2 bonus to this save.) Land-based
movement is reduced by half due to this injury, and the penalty
lasts for 24 hours or until you receive magical healing or a DC
15 Heal check.
Stealth and Detection in the Sunlit Zone: Sunlight
increasingly fades the deeper you travel, and visibility is poor
even in clear water with creatures able to see only 4d8 × 10 ft.;
this is reduced to 1d8 × 10 ft. in murky or turbid water.
59

Sunken Ruins
The sunken remains of ancient buildings that lay submerged
off coastal regions reflect lost traditions and possibly even
lost architectural arts that have yet to be rediscovered. In our
world, Romans discovered the secrets of concrete by mixing
ash, pumice, and quicklime, and built incredible structures
that still hold us in awe today. But, when the empire fell,
the secrets of concrete were lost for 13 centuries until the
formula was reconstructed in the 17th century.
Sunken ruins, even in whatever abysmal state they
may currently exist, could reflect such feats of engineering
and display impossible spires and feats of architecture
otherwise unknown in your campaign world. Such walls
should be considered superior masonry at the very least,
but time and erosion may have worn them enough in some
cases to be considered unworked stone. If doors still exist,
they are stone, and old warding spells such as arcane lock,
sepia snake sigil, glyph of warding, and various symbol
spells may still protect these portals.
Alternatively, such buildings may be magically treated,
and have withstood the test of time virtually untouched
and free from erosion although finding lost contents will
undoubtedly still be a challenge after centuries of wave
action. Or these buildings could be even more fantastic,
organically grown from magic-infused coral, as taught to
these early civilizations by aboleth architects (see Chapter
7). In addition, such buildings could harbor deadly traps.
Perhaps the most effective devices that fall into this
category were not originally intended as such, but with
the slow erosion of years, their meaning and purpose has
become lost, and the ancient technology may still function
as originally intended, but without the knowledge of how
or why, shifting walls and flooding chambers can present a
potentially life-threatening challenge.
Hazards
The sunlit area of the sea teems with life, perhaps more than
anywhere else in the world. The rich diversity of flora and fauna
includes those both beautiful and benign, loathsome and deadly.
Algal Bloom (CR 5): This mass of green algae floats on the
water’s surface. While not dangerous, it strips the surrounding
water of oxygen. A water-breathing creature adjacent to any
5-ft. square containing an algal bloom must make a successful
DC 10 Constitution check or begin drowning. This includes
air-breathing creatures under the effects of a spell or effect that
grants water breathing.
Since this effect is invisible, a creature cannot choose to hold its
breath before entering an affected square unless it recognizes the
algal bloom with a successful DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check.
Massive blooms have been known to cover areas up to a mile across
with the drowning effect extending 1/3 this distance in all directions.
Blood Kelp (CR 5): These thick fronds of kelp are nearly
indistinguishable from benign species, among which they grow, but
60
the strands possess small barbs along their length that cause them
to wrap around the limbs of creatures moving through its area.
If you enter a square containing blood kelp, you become
entangled (Reflex DC 13 to avoid; Escape Artist check DC 15
or Strength check DC 20 to escape, full-round action). The
strands constrict tightly when agitated, and for each failed check,
the DC to escape or cast spells while entangled increases by +1,
to a maximum of +5. You can also cut yourself free by dealing
10 damage to the tangling weeds with a slashing weapon; hitting
the kelp is automatic. Creatures of Tiny size and smaller are not
subject to the entangling affect.
In addition, the kelp exudes a blood-like substance when
disturbed that attracts aquatic predators. This substance attracts
1d3 sharks if any are within 400 ft. For each 50-ft. distance the
sharks have to travel, there is a 1-round delay, and they attack
creatures in the area immediately on arrival.
Fire Coral (CR 4): Fire coral is a beautiful coral-like creature
that grows in a half circle like an open fan. Its color ranges from
orange to deep red. Despite its benign appearance, it secretes
a caustic toxin that damages unprotected skin. Any creature
coming in contact with fire coral is exposed to its poison.
Creatures with a natural armor bonus (or those adapted to the
environment) are immune to fire coral. An affected creature’s
skin burns as if exposed to a small flame, swelling in a painful
red rash. The area swells and turns red.
Fire coral poison—contact; save Fortitude DC 14; frequency 1/
minute for 5 minutes; effect 1d3 Cha; cure 1 save
Red Tide (CR 8): Another type of algal bloom, this reddish
plankton strips the water of oxygen (see algal bloom, above) and
also produces a neurotoxin as a by-product. In addition to any
effects of reduced oxygen, you are exposed to red tide poison.
Red tide poison—contact; save Fortitude DC 15; frequency 1/
minute for 6 minutes; effect 1d3 Con damage and 1d3 Dex
damage; cure 1 save
Jellyfish Bloom (CR 4): Poisonous invertebrates that roam
the oceans in swarms of thousands, large jellyfish blooms
can clog coastlines and shipping lanes and threaten creatures
due to their stinging, paralytic poison. On any round that you
enter a square containing a jellyfish bloom, you are exposed to
jellyfish poison.
Jellyfish poison—contact; save Fortitude DC 15; frequency
1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Strength damage; cure 2
consecutive saves
The Underdeep
Sages and scholars assign all manner of academic names to the
deep seas, labeling them with obscure names according to depth
and temperature, but ask any adventurer, and they’ll say “it gets
deep and just goes deeper.” At some point, the differentiation
of these zones becomes an academic exercise, but for those
facing the terrors this deep below the surface—beyond 700
ft.—there are only 3 of vital note: impenetrable darkness,
unforgiving cold, and incredible pressures that can implode
magical full plate like a pie tin. Once the last dusky haze of
sunlight fades from the level above and adventurers pass the
thermocline border into the bitter-cold depths, you are entering
the area adventurers call the Underdeep.
Many fish thrive in these dark recesses by making their own
light: bioluminescence. The ocean floor is universally barren,
punctuated only by fields of black smokers, whale carcasses
and the occasional sick glow of an aboleth stronghold. Out
of the reach of the warming rays of the sun, the temperature
drops rapidly to near freezing at the lower reaches of the
Underdeep, and hypothermia is a real risk for unprotected
creatures, dealing 1d6 cold damage/minute of exposure.
Depth pressure is crushing at this level, dealing 1d6 damage/
minute/100 ft. of depth to unprotected creatures. (Adapted
aquatic creatures, especially those found on the random
encounter table for this depth, are immune to this damage,
and for others, the Depth Affinity feat from page 21 is
available for others.)
Near the twin cities of Cassadega, the continental shelf
plunges deeply only a short boat ride from shore, about 5
miles from the coast on a jagged ledge known to local as
“the Brink.” Here, the water drops from an average depth of
200 ft. to a staggering 10,000 ft. Powerful magic is needed
to explore these depths, which include the final remnants
of Ankeshel, now dominated by aboleths and their deep-
dwelling slaves.
Hazards
While these depths appear barren, life does exist. The
blinking lights of bioluminescence break the black monotony,
and stranger, darker things roam in these deep waters.
Black Smoker: These hydrothermal vents are found in
scattered fields along the ocean floor. A single black smoker
emits a column of acrid, superheated water containing
dissolved minerals harmful to creatures not specially adapted
to their environment. Creatures within a 10-ft. radius of these
dangerous vents take 10d6 fire damage/round. The thick cloud
of minerals around a black smoker spreads in a 20-ft. radius
from the vent and obscures all sight, including darkvision,
granting concealment (20% miss chance) to characters within it.
In addition, the vapors are highly acidic, and deal 2d6 acid
damage to creatures within them. Water-breathing creatures
who breathe the heavy smoke, including those under the
effects of a water breathing spell, become nauseated each round
spent within the effect (Fortitude DC 15+1/previous check).
If you’re nauseated for 2 consecutive rounds, you take 1d6
nonlethal damage.
Brain Coral (CR 8): Named for its effects and not for its
appearance, although some versions resemble bleached brains
of large creatures, scholars attribute brain coral’s origins to
aboleth experiments, leftover magic from an extinct underwater
civilization or alchemical surface runoff. This deep-water coral
has learned to feed in the absence of sunlight by emitting a 60-
ft. psionic blast (directed as a sphere around the coral) whenever
a creature comes within 30 ft.
Table 5-2: CR 9
Underdeep Encounters
Chapter 5: The Sunken Environment
d% Encounter Avg. CR
1-4 2d6 giant trilobites 4
5-14 1 jellyfish bloom 4
15-19 2d6 merfolk 4
20-23 1d6 squid 4
24-31 1 hagfish swarm 4
32-36 1d6 sahuagin 5
37-38 1 giant angler fish 5
39-42 1d4 cnidari 6
43-50 1d6 ooze mephits 6
51-60 2d6 sahaugin 8
61-66 1d6 deep cloakers 8
67-71 2d6 skum 8
72-77 1d4 bore worms 9
78-79 1 spirit naga 9
80-81 1 giant squid 9
82-83 2d4 giant moray eels 9
84-85 1 doldrum 9
86-91 1d4 aboleths 9
92-93 1 water elemental (elder) 11
94-95 1 sea serpent 12
96-97 1 purple worm 12
98 1 isonade 16
99 1 kraken 18
100 1 shoggoth 19
If caught in this blast, you are stunned for 3d4 rounds (Will
DC 18 avoids). If you succeed on the save, you are simply
confused for 1 round. A brain coral can emit a blast every 10
minutes. Intelligent creatures often lurk down current from
brain coral and devour the stunned victims who float nearby; the
nutrients released from this feeding are absorbed by the coral.
Dead Zone (CR 6): These large clouds of oxygen-deprived
seawater are a threat to all creatures who breathe water. Often
60 ft. in radius, but known to grow, much, much larger, these
zones force all water-breathing creatures, including those who
do so magically, to hold their breath, for they cannot take air
from the water of a dead zone. Creatures that run out of breath
in the zone begin to drown.
Rot Worms (CR 5) Related to rot grubs but adapted to a
marine environment, rot worms look like small white threads.
They drift through the oceans in great undulating white clouds
seeking sustenance. When they encounter life, they swarm
around it and burrow into flesh to lay their eggs.
Fortunately, rot worms have a short life cycle, most clouds
living just long enough to find one victim and begin the cycle
anew. Creatures swarmed by rot worms take 1d4 Constitution
damage/round until dead after which the worms lay eggs in
the carcass and expire, having completed their life. Rot worm
swarms can be killed with energy attacks of any sort that deal at
least 1 damage but are immune to physical weapons.
61
 C hapter 6
C reatures of the D eep
“Nothing yet! The water is still as a stone!” Vandrin and his companions had been exploring stone wells within a ruined temple complex,
moving heavy diving equipment from room to room in search of glorious treasure they hoped had been dumped here in sacrifice long ago. So
far, they had only wet clothes and sore hands to show for their trouble. Perhaps the ancients weren’t a particularly generous lot when it came to
venerating their gods.
A single bubble broke the surface of the nearby well, and Vandrin looked at the dark water, puzzled, drawing nearer to investigate as he
slowly drew his sword from his waist. Then, what seemed like hundreds of slimy tentacles burst from the surface, and a mind-peircing cry echoed
throughout the room. Unable to move, unable to breath, Vandrin disappeared beneath the surface, the water settling into silence again, still as a stone.

Bone Crab
A cracked skull arises among discarded bones and skeletal Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +2
remains, scurrying forward on the bone-white legs of a large DR 5/bludgeoning
crustacean that makes the cranium its home. Offense
Voracious scavengers, bone crabs live in seaside crags and coves Speed 20 ft., swim 10 ft.
near coastal communities where they use their specialized chelae Melee 2 claws +4 (1d4 plus disease)
to crack open the skulls of washed-up bodies and feast on the Special Attacks disease, leap (2 claws +4, 1d4)
decaying brains within. Centuries of such feeding have given Statistics
them a collective intelligence. Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 4
Much like an enormous hermit crab, bone crabs inhabit the Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 13 (29 vs. trip)
salvaged skulls of humanoids, and they hide among discarded Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw)
skeletons and washed up bones along the coast where their spiny, Skills Perception +2, Stealth +8 (+16 among bones), Swim +11;
ivory-white legs blend in perfectly with the surrounding detritus. Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth (among bones), +8 Swim
Because of a bone crab’s specialized diet of decayed humanoid Ecology
flesh, it carries a dangerous disease, as many an unfortunate and Environment any aquatic
hungry sailor has discovered. Victims typically suffer high fevers, Organization solitary or cast (2–12)
consumption, and delirium; those desperate sailors and dockside Treasure standard
scavengers who manage to stomach a bone crab’s unwholesome, Special Abilities
rotten flesh are lucky if they live to regret it. Disease (Ex) White ghost shivers—injury, ingested; save Fort DC
Served by their hive mind, bone crabs hunt in clever, wolf-like 13 (Constitution-based); onset 1d3 days; frequency 1/day;
packs and grab smaller vulnerable prey in tidal pools, stranded effect 1d3 Con damage and 1d3 Wis damage; cure 2
by the outflowing tide. The bone crabs drag such prey out consecutive saves.
above the high tide line and leave them to fester in the day’s Leap (Ex) Bone crabs have incredibly powerful legs and can
hot sun before the feast. They pick corpses clean in a few leap up to 10 ft. straight ahead or backwards as a move
hours, and areas infested with bone crabs are littered action. This counts as a charge attack.
with cracked bone and sun-bleached skeletal Hive Mind (Ex) All bone
remains—the perfect hiding place for these crabs within 100 ft. of
littoral predators. one another can
communicate perfectly.
Bone Crab CR 2 If one is aware of
600 XP danger, they all
N Small vermin (aquatic) are. If one in a
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 particular group
ft.; Perception +2 is not flat-footed,
Defense none of them are flat-
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed footed. No bone crab
16 (+2 Dex, +5 natural, in such a group is
+1 size) considered flanked
hp 19 (3d8+6) unless all are.

62
Bore Worm 15/slashing, 18 AC), but the nematocyst can be yanked
A stony shell of hard overlapping plates snaps open like
free (Strength check DC 20). Creatures speared in this
a sprouting artichoke, revealing a tough tube of sinewy

Chapter 6: Creatures
way are numbed and weakened, suffering 1d4 Strength
muscle topped with a lamprey-like mouth ringed in razor-
damage (Fort DC 19, Constitution-based). The bore
sharp teeth.
worm does not gain the grappled condition while using
These seafloor dwelling, predatory vermin infest sunken
its filament in this manner and can only have one active
ruins and deep reefs, shooting their nematocysts at all
filament at a time.
approaching creatures in hopes of snaring a meal. They are
Retract into Carapace (Ex) A bore worm can spring from its
similar to overgrown barnacles, growing stony, shell-like
carapace as a free action, and retract again as a move
encrustations for protection, and typically root themselves
action (or as part of a move action). When retracted, the
to hard surfaces on the ocean surfaces near fertile feeding
bore worm’s shell encrustation gives it a +5 armor bonus. It
grounds; however, a snail-like foot allows them limited
cannot use its bite attack while retracted, but it can continue
locomotion. Sensing nearby prey, bore worms strike from
to reel in any prey stuck to its nematocyst.
ambush with their barbed filaments, reeling in weakened
victims and voraciously boring into the flesh with a circular,
Variant Bore Worms
lamprey-like mouth. When threatened, bore worms retract
Bore worms grow in kelp forests, near important gates, or even
defensively into their rock-hard shells.
within sunken chests as traps. The most dangerous are the acid
bore worms; these excrete a weak acid to carve tunnels from
Bore Worm CR 7
coral, limestone, and even armor. Their bite attack adds +1d6
XP 3,200

of the
acid damage and destroys armor on a critical hit; a DC 19
N Medium vermin (aquatic)
Fortitude saving throw is required to keep the armor or shield
Init +3; Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception +0
intact (this is a Con-based attack).
Defense
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +8 natural)
hp 85 (9d8+45)

Deep
Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +3
Defensive Abilities retract into carapace; Immune mind-
affecting effects
Offense
Speed 10 ft.
Melee bite +11 (1d6+7 plus grab)
Ranged nematocyst filament +9 (1d4 plus pull)
Special Attacks ambush, bore (2d6+10), nematocyst filament,
pull (nematocyst, 10 ft.)
Statistics
Str 20, Dex 17, Con 20, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 1
Base Atk +6; CMB +11 (+19 grapple); CMD 24 (can’t be tripped)
Skills Stealth +7; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth
Ecology
Environment any ocean
Organization solitary or nest (5–10)
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Ambush (Ex) A bore worm that attacks from ambush in a
surprise round can take a full round of actions.
Bore (Ex) The bore ability is identical to the constrict
ability except the damage is piercing and it gains an
additional +4 bonus to grapple.
Nematocyst (Ex) Tethered to its body by fine
filament, a bore worm can fire barbed
nematocysts to a range of 40 ft.: this is a
ranged touch attack with no range increment.
The nematocyst embeds within the flesh of any
creature hit. The filament is quite strong (5 hp, DR

63
 Cnidari
A large, jellyfish-like creature emerges from the waves and hovers
above the sands of the shore, its tentacles whipping wildly in the
air as a sharp proboscis stabs the air around it.
Cnidari are highly advanced invertebrates that emerge from the
waves to hunt the dunes and ruins of shore side communities.
Cnidari look like large, hyper-evolved jellyfish. Hardened
transparent plates protect their soft inner flesh; their organs and
a spongy, brain-like nerve center are visible within. Dozens of
specialized tentacles dangle from the floating creature and are able
to fire all manner of specialized nematocysts. A sharp, mosquito-
like proboscis and a pair of segmented eyes protrude from the
creature’s hard carapace. The creatures communicate in a shrill,
shrieking form of Aquan.
Cunning and intelligent, the cnidari are an ancient race.
Evidence exists of a once wide-ranging, advanced civilization,
but the creatures now encountered display a somewhat savage
disposition. Rumors persist that the cnidari who hunt the shore
are merely a lower caste of hunters, sent to propagate their
species and that more advanced cnidari able to wield arcane
power exist somewhere beneath the waves.
Cnidari CR 4
XP 1200
CE Medium aberration (aquatic)
Init +3; Senses blindsight 40 ft., darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Defense
AC 19; touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)
hp 32 (5d8+10)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4
DR 5/slashing
Offense
Speed fly 40 ft. (average), swim 30 ft.
Melee bite +6 (1d6+2 plus proboscis), 4 tentacles +4 (1d4+1
plus grab)
Special Attacks arcanocysts, constrict (1d4+2), proboscis,
sonar blast
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 11, Cha 9
Base Atk +3; CMB +5 (+9 grapple); CMD 18 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Flyby Attack, Multiattack, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +11, Bluff +3, Escape Artist +10, Fly +10,
Intimidate +6, Knowledge (arcana) +5, Knowledge (history)
+4, Perception +4, Stealth +11, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers
+8 Swim
Languages Aquan
SQ amphibious, invertebrate empathy (jellyfish)
Ecology
Environment any ocean, coastal region
Organization solitary, pair, or family (3-5)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Arcanocysts (Ex) Cnidari produce a variety of specialized
64
nematocysts. The creatures fire these tiny, crystal-like barbs
from their tentacles as a standard action, with one of three
effects. A creature that successfully saves against an effect
from a cnidari’s arcanocysts cannot be affected by that same
effect from that cnidari for 24 hours. The saves for these
effects are Constitution-based:
Brain Barbs—Tiny fibers burst from the cnidari and inject
a mind-altering substance into affected creatures. All
creatures in a 20-ft. radius are confused for 1d4 rounds
(Will DC 14 negates).
Glass Lung—A single creature within 10 ft. is targeted with
a fine spray of inhaled barbs, and suffers 1d6 bleed for
1d4+1 rounds (Fort DC 14 negates). This internal bleeding
cannot be halted by a Heal check.
Infectious Burst—All creatures in a 10-ft. radius take
1d6 damage from inhaling cnidocyte spores (Fort DC
14 negates). An affected victim begins exhaling mature
cnidocyte spores 1d3 days later, forcing all creatures
within 10 ft. of it to make a Fortitude save as above each
round to avoid taking 1d6 damage and contracting the
spores. A creature slain while infected hatches a cnidari
1d2 days later.
Proboscis (Ex) If the cnidari establishes or maintains a pin, it
plunges a barbed proboscis into the grappled target’s flesh
and deals 1d2 Constitution damage/round. The cnidari can
also constrict this victim each round and does not gain the
grappled condition when feeding.
Sonar Blast (Ex) The cnidari can emit a sharp, piercing sonic blast.
This blast affects a 40-ft. radius and stuns creatures
for 1d4 rounds (Will DC 14,
Constitution-based).
A cnidari can use
its sonar blast
1/1d4+1 rounds.
Coral Drake Swim-By Attack
Skills Bluff +14, Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +14, Knowledge
Swimming upright, this creature seemingly peels itself from the

Chapter 6: Creatures
(nature) +8, Perception +15, Stealth +16, Survival +9, Swim
vibrant seascape before striking with needle-thin claws, shredding
+21; Racial Modifiers +12 Stealth, +8 Swim
teeth, and a wickedly curved stinger.
Languages Aquan, Common, Draconic
Like a piece of moving coral, this drake’s coloration and scale
SQ camouflage
patterns change to match nearby anemones, corals, seaweed,
and urchins. This adaptation allows the creature considerable Ecology
Environment warm oceans
stealth in its natural habitat. Long separated spines stretch from
Organization solitary
the coral drake’s body waving in brilliant colors against a blue
Treasure double
sea. The creature’s long snout stretches out from its narrow face
and is crowned with an array of spikes and slender protrusions. Special Abilities
Breath Weapon (Su) Coral drakes nurture their offspring in
Inside the mouth, serrated teeth form multiple ringed ridges.
specialized throat sacks, and they can pressurize this sack
Needle thin talons spring from finned appendages, and a stinger
to spew forth a 15-ft. cone of its spawn. Any creatures in
frilled with tiny barbs curves at the end of its slender tail. A
this area take 6d4 damage from thousands of tiny bites. In
coral drake measures 7 ft. from the tip of its snout to its barbed
addition, all creatures in the area become nauseated for 1
stinging tail. Thin and agile, the beast weighs less than 100 lb.
round (Fort DC 19, Constitution-based). A coral drake can use
Both male and female coral drakes gestate their delicate
its breath weapon every 1d4 rounds since the creature must
eggs inside sacks within their mouths and throats. This oral
siphon its young back into its throat sack before expelling
incubation protects the vulnerable eggs, but even still, only

of the
them again.
a handful of these creatures ever reach maturity since their
Camouflage (Su) A coral drake’s coloration and shape lends
parents use the ravenous spawn for defense when faced with
to its stealth. For 10 rounds/day, a coral drake can shift its
dangerous enemies.
coloration, granting the benefit of 20% concealment. These
Coral drakes live in warm waters near great coral reefs. Many
rounds need not be consecutive.
of these creatures hollow out small lairs in these reefs and
Poison (Ex) Coral drake venom—injury; save DC 19 (Constitution-

Deep
protect their meager hoards with the aid of the area’s natural
based); frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d4 Str and
inhabitants. Taking advantage of its natural immunity to poison,
1d4 Wis damage; cure 2 consecutive saves.
coral drakes often choose lairs nestled in forests of poisonous
urchins, stinging anemones, and toxic corals.

Coral Drake CR 8
XP 4,800
NE Medium dragon (aquatic)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15
Defense
AC 22, touch 13, flat-footed 19; (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +9 natural)
hp 115 (11d12+44)

Fort +11, Ref +9, Will +8

Defensive abilities camouflage; Immune paralysis, poison,
sleep; Resist cold 10
Offense
Speed 30 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +15 (1d6+4), 2 claws +15
(1d4+4), sting +15 (1d4+4 plus
poison)
Special Attacks breath weapon, poison
Statistics
Str 19, Dex 15, Con 18, Int
10, Wis 13, Cha 10
Base Atk +11; CMB +15; CMD 27
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge,
Improved Initiative,
Lunge, Power Attack,

65
 Doldrum
An amorphous cloud writhes beneath the waves, struggling in its
watery prison as claws of translucent mist coalesce from the surf.
Imprisoned below the waves in a time long before man
for unknown crimes against elemental lords, doldrums are
air elementals now eternally bound to the sea. For reasons
unknown to scholars, doldrums are only able to subsist on
the exhalations of other creatures and, thus, are the scourge
of sailors. Some speculate that there is but one unique entity
known as the Doldrum, while others think they were a group
of fallen, treacherous elementals banished by their lord to the
Material Plane. Whatever the case may be, captains and their
crews keep a sharp eye out for these dangerous creatures, and
merfolk avoid areas known to host the foul elementals.
Doldrum CR 8
XP 1,600
NE Large outsider (air, aquatic, elemental, extraplanar)
Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10
Defense
AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 15 (+7 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural, -1
size)
hp 85 (9d10+36)
Fort +10, Ref +13, Will +4
DR 5/magic; Immune elemental traits; SR 20
Offense
Speed fly 60 ft. (good), swim 60 ft.
Melee 2 slams +15 (2d6+4 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks engulf ship, steal breath
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th)
3/day—control winds (DC 16), fog cloud
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 13
Base Atk +9; CMB +14 (+18 grapple); CMD 31
Feats Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Weapon
Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +15, Bluff +8, Escape Artist +13, Fly
+17,Knowledge (planes) +11, Perception +10, Sense Motive
+10, Stealth +14, Swim +20; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim
Languages Aquan, Auran
SQ wave imprisonment
Ecology
Environment any ocean
Organization solitary, plus 2-5 water mephit tormentors
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Engulf Ship (Su) Doldrums can discorporate their bodies, settling
over ships as a Colossal translucent mist and robbing sailors
of air. This ability is similar to the effects of gaseous form
and creates an area of dead calm 80 ft. in diameter: the
doldrum loses its natural armor bonus and suffers -8 size
penalty to AC, its DR becomes 10/—, it gains immunity to
66
sneak attacks and critical hits, and it is unable to use its
physical attacks and supernatural abilities. Creatures within
this area gain concealment but take 1d6 nonlethal damage
every 15 minutes. Once victims fall unconscious through
the accumulation of nonlethal damage, they must make a
Constitution check (DC 18, Constitution-based) every 15
minutes or begin to take lethal damage at the same rate. The
doldrum can maintain this form for 6 hours/day.
Steal Breath (Su) Doldrums derive great pleasure in stealing the
air from the lungs of living creatures. If the doldrum begins
its turn successfully grappling an opponent, it can make a
combat maneuver check (as though attempting to pin the
foe) to force part of itself into the victim’s lungs to steal its
breath. If it succeeds, the victim is nauseated and suffers 1d2
Constitution damage each round (Fort DC 18, Constitution-
based). The doldrum gains a +4 bonus to slam the engulfed
creature and does not gain the grappled condition when
engulfing. If a creature is under the effects of water
breathing or similar magic, the doldrum’s attack reduces the
spell’s duration by 10 rounds for each round the victim is
engulfed, regardless of the result of the save.
Wave Imprisonment (Su) The doldrum is mystically bound to the
sea, and cannot stray more than 30 ft. from it. Any attempts
at magical containment or teleportation automatically fail.
Doldrums who emerge onto ship decks or along the shore to
attack pull water with them like molasses, the ocean refusing
to relinquish its grip. Squares through which the creature
moves may become slippery as a result.
Any attempt to interfere with the ancient pacts that bind a
doldrum using dismissal, banishment, or similar magics that
might free the doldrum from its imprisonment, intentionally
or not, immediately set off protective wards. The doldrum is
not affected by the spell immediately. Instead, on the same
round as the dismissal attempts and for 2 rounds following
the first, a summon nature’s ally VI spell generates 1d4+1
air mephits that arrive to fight the spellcaster. Only once the
chain of mephit guardians that arrive have been defeated
will the doldrum be released from the Material Plane.
Drowned Maiden Special Attacks constrict (2d4+2), kiss, pull (hair, 10 ft.), tresses
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th)
Surrounded in utter silence, the woman whose visage was that of

Chapter 6: Creatures
At will—disguise self (DC 16), silence (DC 17)
inconsolable sorrow only moments before glowers in rage, her hair
snaking through the water toward you. Statistics
Str 15, Dex 16, Con —, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 20
Drowned maidens are piteous but terrifying undead created
Base Atk +7; CMB +9; CMD 22
when a woman meets her end in water due to a doomed romance,
Feats Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon
whether from a quiet suicide over unrequited love or the violent
Finesse, Weapon Focus (hair)
hands of a philandering lover. Either way, the drowned maiden
Skills Bluff +15, Disguise +14, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (History)
awakens from death enraged and desiring vengeance on all those
+3, Perception +14, Sense Motive +5, Stealth +18, Swim +13;
who might have the life that she was denied. The maiden lurks
Racial Modifiers +8 Swim
in the silent depths where she died, usually long deserted docks,
Languages Common
bridges, or coastal cliffs, forever waiting to pull the living to the
same watery grave in which she is now condemned. Ecology
Environment any aquatic
A drowned maiden uses her disguise self ability to appear as in
Organization solitary
life. Surrounding herself in silence, she beckons victims from afar
Treasure incidental
as if in distress or in danger of drowning. When within range,
the maiden uses her hair to pull her victim close enough to kiss it. Special Abilities
Kiss (Ex) If a drowned maiden successfully pins an opponent up
If forced to defend herself, the maiden will physically attack, but
to Large size that is grappled in her tresses, she can embrace
she is loath to otherwise engage in combat. Desperate individuals

of the
it to deadly effect. On each round that the drowned maiden
are said to be able to bargain with drowned maidens, and it is
embraces a creature in this manner, she will kiss it. Victims
rumored they will agree to release pleading victims who promise
kissed by a drowned maiden take 1d4 Strength drain (Fort DC
to return to their lair with the person who caused the maiden’s
20, Charisma-based).
passing. Doing so will release the maiden from her curse of
Tresses (Ex) At will, a drowned maiden can cause her hair to
undeath, although the fate of her beloved is another story.
extend to great lengths or retract with great speed. Her hair

Deep
is prehensile and capable of attacking and is considered a
Drowned Maiden CR 7
primary attack (break DC 25; AC 17, touch 15; 10 hp; DR 15/
XP 3,200
slashing). On a successful attack, it can grab a target, who is
NE Medium undead (aquatic)
then pulled to the maiden. Only one target can be grappled
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14
at a time, and during that time, the hair cannot be used
Defense to attack. A drowned maiden does not gain the grappled
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +5 natural)
condition while using her hair in this manner.
hp 95 (10d8+50)
Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +10
Defensive Abilities undead traits
Offense
Speed 30 ft., swim 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +10 (1d4+2), hair +11 (2d4+2 plus grab)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (20 ft. with hair)

67
 Familiar
Presented here are the base animal descriptions for common
aquatic familiars, but they can be used for normal animals of
this type as well. Tiny animals like these use Dexterity to modify
Climb and Swim checks.
Arthropod
Arthropods are a diverse phylum of creatures that includes
crustaceans. These marine invertebrates have hard chitinous
exoskeletons and segmented bodies. They vary greatly in form,
and for the purposes of vermin familiars, this listing includes such
crustaceans as crabs and barnacle colonies, plus the prehistoric
trilobites. Arthropods that undergo the ritual of binding to casters
as familiars gain a single point of Intelligence, in addition to the
other changes the creature undergoes as part of the binding ritual.
This grants them a single feat (typically Weapon Finesse) and a
single skill point to either Stealth or Perception.
Arthropod CR 1/3
135 XP
N Tiny vermin (aquatic)
Init +1; Senses darkvision; Perception +1
Defense
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, +2 size)
hp 4 (1d8)
Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +1
Offense
Speed 15 ft., swim 10 ft.
Melee claw -1 (1d3-3)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Statistics
Str 4, Dex 13, Con 10, Int —, Wis 12, Cha 2
Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 6 (22 vs. trip)
Skills Swim +12, Stealth +9; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim (modified
by Dex)
Ecology
Environment any marine
Organization solitary or cast (2–20)
Treasure none
Arthropod Variants
The following marine arthropods are suitable for aquatic
familiars if the GM allows for vermin. These are only a few
examples of thousands of species that exist, and their granted
abilities are included here.
Crabs: Varieties of crabs, such as blue crab, fiddler crab, and
ghost crab, are appropriate as Tiny familiars. Such creatures have
powerful pincers for their size and gain the attach ability to their
claw attack. Casters who choose a crab familiar gain +3 hp.
Attach (Ex)—When a crab hits with a claw attack, it
automatically grapples its foe, inflicting automatic damage each
round.
Barnacles: These stats represent a small colony of barnacles.
A caster choosing a barnacle familiar grows a small colony on
68
his chest or shoulder. Barnacles have no attack or movement,
but they grant the caster a +2 natural armor bonus to AC.
Horseshoe Crab: These primitive arthropods are not
true crabs and are more closely related to spiders. They have
nine eyes covering their tough exoskeleton, with other visual
receptors along their tail spine, so they grant their masters a +3
bonus on Perception checks. The claw attack listed is replaced
with a tail spine attack. Horseshoe crabs slowly regenerate lost
limbs over time.
Trilobite: These prehistoric seabed predators have tough,
segmented exoskeletons. They have no attack but gain an
additional +1 natural armor bonus. As familiars, they provide a
+3 bonus to Survival checks made by their master.
Cephalopod
Cephalopods include squids, octopuses, cuttlefish, and the
shelled nautilus, all of which have highly evolved vision and a
playful intelligence. While some species of these creatures can
grow to dangerous sizes, these stats represent tiny versions
suitable for aquatic spellcasters to take as familiars.
Cephalopod CR 1/3
135 XP
N Tiny animal (aquatic)
Init +3; Senses low light vision; Perception +5
Defense
AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size)
hp 4 (1d8)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1
Offense
Speed swim 40 ft.
Melee bite +5 (1d3-3), tentacle +0 (1d2-3 plus grab)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Statistics
Str 4, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2
Base Atk +0; CMB +1 (+5 grapple); CMD 8 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Perception +5, Stealth +11, Swim +14; Racial Modifiers +8
Swim (modified by Dex)
Ecology
Environment any marine
Organization solitary or cast (2–20)
Treasure none
Cephalopod Variants
Thousands of species of cephalopods exist, and the most
common among these are included below.
Blue-Ringed Octopus: These tiny octopuses are known for
possessing not only a cunning intelligence, but also a poisonous
bite. Casters who choose a blue-ringed octopus gain a +2 bonus
to Fortitude saves.
Poison (Ex)—Blue-ringed octopus poison (bite)—injury; save Fort
DC 10 (Constitution-based); frequency 1/round for 6 rounds;
effect 1d2 Con; cure 2 saves.
 Cuttlefish: Among the most intelligent invertebrates, and many casters carry one of these invertebrates as well to
cuttlefish are effective, stealthy hunters, using their color-shifting give their familiars comfort. The playful clown fish adds +3 on
bodies to communicate and stalk prey. Their masters gain a +3 all Diplomacy checks when a caster chooses one at his familiar.

bonus to Stealth checks.
Nautilus: Similar in form to a tiger-striped, spiral-shelled
squid, these creatures are not fast swimmers, and reduce their
swim speed to 10 ft. Casters who choose a nautilus as a familiar
gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Squid: While squid can grow to legendary size, including the
extremely dangerous kraken, these stats represent a tiny squid
suitable for a familiar. These creatures grant a +2 bonus to their
master’s CMB for grapple checks only.
Fish
Untold varieties of fish swim in the world’s oceans, lakes, rivers,
and seas. These stats refer to tiny aquatic vertebrates such as
clown fish, lionfish, sea dragons, and others appropriate as
familiars for aquatic casters.
Chapter 6: Creatures
These stats are also appropriate for other reef fish.
Gar: These aggressive, prehistoric-looking fish are covered in
thick, hard scales that act as armor. Casters who take them on as
familiars gain a +1 natural armor bonus to AC. The bite attack
of gars is somewhat more impressive than other fish of their
size, dealing 1d6-4 damage.
Ray: This ancient order of fish includes stingrays, skates, and
sawfish. Presented here is a stingray, which replaces the listed
bite attack with a venomous barbed spine attack. Casters paired
with rays gain a +3 bonus to all Swim checks.
Poison (Ex)—Stingray venom (spine)—injury; save Fort DC 9
(Constitution-based); frequency 1/round for 3 rounds; effect 1d2
Dex; cure 1 save.
Sea Horse: These brilliantly finned fish include sea dragons
and pipefish, and they are adept at hiding among coral reefs,
kelp beds, and mangroves, where they camouflage themselves

of the
Fish CR 1/3 by changing color. Sea horses and sea dragons (but not pipefish)
135 XP only have a swim speed of 5 ft. and no bite attack and, rather,
N Tiny animal (aquatic) cling to caster with whom they are paired. These small fish add
Init +2; Senses low light vision; Perception +6 +3 to a caster’s Stealth checks.
Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)

Deep
hp 3 (1d8-1)
Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +2
Offense
Speed swim 50 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d3-2)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Statistics
Str 2, Dex 15, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 6 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Finesse
Skills Perception +6, Stealth +10, Swim +13; Racial
Modifiers +8 Swim (modified by Dex)
Ecology
Environment any marine
Organization solitary or school (2–20)
Treasure none
Fish Variants
Fish exist in a multitude of shapes and variations. Listed below
are only a few distinctive varieties and their corresponding
abilities when used as familiars. Countless others could exist.
Chimaeras: These distinctive cartilaginous, deep-water fish
are among the oldest orders in the world and are universally
strange, enigmatic, and wholly prehistoric in appearance. The
order includes ghost sharks, ratfish, long-nosed chimaeras,
wobbegongs, and cookie-cutter sharks. Typically bottom feeders
and ambushers, they grant +3 to Perception checks to casters
who bind them as familiars.
Clown Fish: Bright orange with white stripes, these beautiful
fish normally have a symbiotic relationship with sea anemones,

69
 Fish, Dunkleosteus Fish, Giant Angler
This great fish moves methodically through the dark water, From the dark murk of the Underdeep, the faint glow of a
hunting for prey with which to carve between its cleaver-like jaws. potion bottle emerges like discarded magical flotsam. Deeper
The dunkleosteus is a gigantic primordial predator that still is the gaping, toothy maw that awaits, consuming those who
undersea explorers pray they never encounter. Heavily would pursue such treasure.
armored with thick bone and scales, these fish have no natural With hundreds of sharp teeth in its gaping maw, the giant
enemies except their cannibalistic kin, and they can slaughter anglerfish’s head makes up half of its body. A typical giant
all but the largest of whales. Rather than teeth, the bony anglerfish is 8 ft. long and weighs 200 lb. It resembles its smaller
mouth of the dunkleosteus has two gnathal plates that form cousin and uses the same method to draw prey to its waiting
a sharp beak, and it is capable of rapidly opening its jaws to mouth. The giant anglerfish has a taste for intelligent creatures
create an incredibly powerful suction to pull prey toward its and has an evolved a lure that looks like a glowing potion bottle
mouth. Schools of dunkleosteus maraud the oceans and, in to more effectively draw in prey.
large enough numbers, will attack even galleons or dragon
turtles without hesitation. Giant Angler CR 5
XP 1,600
Dunkleosteus CR 7 N Large animal (aquatic)
XP 3,200 Init +5; Senses low-light vision; Perception +6
N Huge animal (aquatic) Defense
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +15 AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +7 natural, -1 size)
Defense hp 52 (7d8+21)
AC 22, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+2 Dex, +12 natural, -2 size) Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +3
hp 104 (11d8+55) Offense
Fort +11, Ref +9, Will +5 Speed swim 40 ft.
Offense Melee bite +10 (2d8+7)
Speed swim 50 ft. Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Melee bite +15 (4d6+12/19-20 plus grab) Special Attacks lure
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Statistics
Special Attacks pull (bite, 10 ft.), swallow whole (4d6+12 Str 20, Dex 12, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 12
bludgeoning damage, AC 16, 9 hp) Base Atk +5; CMB +11; CMD 22 (can’t be tripped)
Statistics Feats Ability Focus (lure), Improved Initiative, Skill
Str 26, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 1, Wis 15, Cha 10 Focus (Stealth), Weapon Focus (bite)
Base Atk +8; CMB +18; CMD 30 (can’t be tripped) Skills Perception +6, Stealth + 12, Swim +16 Racial
Feats Dazzling Display, Improved Critical, Modifiers +4 Stealth, +8 Swim
Intimidating Prowess, Skill Focus (Perception), Ecology
Toughness, Weapon Environment any ocean
Focus (bite) Organization solitary
Skills Intimidate Treasure none
+4, Perception Special Abilities
+15, Swim Lure (Ex) Giant anglerfish draw
+19; Racial prey with a bioluminescent lure.
Modifiers +8 Swim Creatures within 30 ft. become
Ecology captivated (Will DC 16, Con-based). A
Environment any ocean creature that saves is not subject to the same
Organization solitary or fish’s lure for 24 hours. Lured victims move
pack (3–18) toward the creature using the most direct
Treasure none means available. If the path leads a victim
through a dangerous area such as thermal
vents or dangerous coral, that creature gains
a second save to end the effect. Captivated
creatures can take only defensive actions.
A victim within 5 ft. of the fish offers no
resistance to the initial attack. The effect
ends as soon as the victim takes damage.

70
Goblin Shark
A 4-ft.-tall goblin emerges from the waves and crawls along the
shore, shedding its shark-like form and grinning with an impossibly
wide mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth.
Incredibly ugly and unnerving, these gilled goblins are
somewhat larger and leaner than their terrestrial cousins and
possess a protruding shelf of a nose overhanging an incredibly
wide mouth filled with multiple rows of sharp, triangular teeth.
Their large noses are a hard, thick protuberance that grants
them a keen sense of smell. Able to take the shape of equally
ugly shark-like creatures, packs of goblin sharks patrol shallow
coral reefs in search of food while terrorizing fishermen and
merchant ships. Entire tribes dwell in caves carved from dead
reefs or within the sunken ruins of forgotten empires, and areas
that host such a tribe are typically filthy and polluted.
Like their land-bound cousins, goblin sharks are quite
superstitious, and make use of all manner of flotsam to create
primitive weapons, clothes, and tools. Less scrupulous men
in dockside communities often form partnerships with rogue
packs of young goblin sharks, taking advantage of their ability
to consume and regurgitate small items to bypass port fees and
taxes on items they do not wish to declare to authorities.
Goblin Shark CR 3
XP 800
NE Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic,
goblinoid,shapechanger)
Init +2; Senses blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft., keen scent;
Perception +8
Defense
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14; (+2 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 30 (4d10+8)
Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +5
Offense
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee short sword +6 (1d6+2/19-20), bite +2 (1d8+1);
as shark, bite +7 (1d8+3)
Special Attacks wounding
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 18
Chapter 6: Creatures
Feats Improved Natural Attack (bite), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Bluff +6, Perception +8, Stealth +13, Swim +17 Racial
Modifiers +4 Bluff, +4 Stealth, +8 Swim
Languages Aquan, Common, Goblin
SQ amphibious, change shape (goblin or shark, polymorph)
Ecology
Environment any ocean
Organization pack (4–9), warband (10–16 with 6 sharks), or
tribe(more than 17 plus 100% noncombatants; 1 sergeant
of 3rd level/20 adults; 1 or 2 lieutenants of 4th–5th level; 1
leader of 6th–8th level; and 10–40 sharks)
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Keen Scent (Ex) In either form, a goblin shark can notice
creatures by scent in a 180-ft. radius underwater and can
detect blood in the water a range of up to 1 mile. Above
water, this ability acts as scent.
of the
Smuggler’s Pouch (Ex) Goblin sharks raise their young in
specially evolved incubation pouches. Wily goblin sharks
distend their massive jaws to swallow and hide objects up to
size Tiny (or two Fine objects and so on) within this pouch.
Swallowing or disgorging an object in this manner takes a full
Deep
round action. Once in the pouch, objects cannot be targeted
by effects or attacks that require line of sight or line of effect.
Wounding (Ex) Any living creature damaged by a goblin shark’s
voracious bite in either shark or goblin form continues to
bleed, losing 1 hp/round thereafter. Multiple wounds do
not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be
stopped by a Heal check (DC 10) or by the application of a
cure spell or similar healing magic.
71
 Isonade
A gargantuan thrashing tail lined with cruelly hooked barbs shoots
high into the air from beneath the waves, smashing all in its path
as shoreline cities crumble around it.
Not merely a predator seeking the savory taste of blood, the
isonade is a beast of destruction, an agent of aggressive erosion.
The isonade wrecks seaside communities with battering winds
and carves coastlines from below with its powerful magic.
Though not very intelligent, sometimes the beast singles out
a community and tries to lure residents into the waves with its
whispering wind ability, sending confused riddles, grand promises,
and eerie noises to the unsuspecting townsfolk.
Anytime the hardy citizens of afflicted coastal communities
met the foul fates of a hurricane or tsunami, they fell back on
folklore and blamed the stirrings of the dreaded isonade. To some,
appeasement seems the only route to surviving when fraught with a
leviathan such as this, and whispers of cults surround this monster.
Most of the tales claim that a degenerate group seeks to draw the
beast forth, sailing from sight of land and dumping a long chain of
bound and screaming sacrifices into the lightless depths of the sea.
Most common citizens learning of this practice rarely speak out
against it, putting a little faith in the practice and more than a
little blood on their hands. Not immune to its destruction,
few of these scattered cultists live to describe their
terrible idol. Their claims tell of the creature
weighing over 3 tons and reaching upwards of
45 ft. from its gaping maw to the hooked fins
of its wicked tail, responsible for half of
its length. The beast’s age is unknown,
as it seems every culture throughout
history maintained some variation
of the legend.
72
Isonade CR 16
XP 76,800
CN Gargantuan magical beast (aquatic)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 90 ft., low-light vision, scent;
Perception +23
Defense
AC 24, touch 8, flat-footed 20; (+2 Dex, +16 natural, -4 size)
hp 319 (22d10+198)
Fort +21, Ref +15, Will +13
Immune ability damage, atmospheric immunity; SR 27
Offense
Speed swim 100 ft.
Melee bite +28 (2d10+10/19-20 plus grab), tail slap +23
(2d8+5/19-20 plus grab)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (20 ft. with tail)
Special Attacks swallow whole (4d8+10 damage, AC 18, 21 hp),
tail sweep
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th; concentration +22)
At will—whispering wind
3/day—earthquake
1/day—control water, control winds (DC 19),
sink land (see page 46), tidal wave (see page 47),
transmute rock to mud (DC 19)
Statistics
Str 31, Dex 14, Con 26, Int 6, Wis 18, Cha 8
Base Atk +22; CMB +36 (+40 grapple); CMD 48 (can’t be
tripped)
Feats Bleeding Critical, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus,
Improved Critical (bite), Improved Critical (tail slap), Improved
Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack, Stunning Critical, Toughness
Skills Perception +23, Swim +27; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim
Languages Aklo, Aquan
Ecology
Environment any ocean
Organization unique
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Atmospheric Immunity (Ex) The isonade can comfortably exist
at any level of the sea and suffers no penalties at any depth.
Barbed Tail (Ex) The hooked protrusions and sharp barbed
growths allowing the isonade’s tail attacks to do
bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. The isonade
can also grab opponents with its barbed tail just before
swallowing them whole.
Tail Sweep (Ex) The isonade can sweep its tail as standard
action. The sweep affects a half-circle area with a radius of
30 ft. extending from an intersection on the edge of its
space in any direction. Creatures within the swept area
are affected if they are four or more size categories
smaller than the isonade. A tail sweep automatically
deals the indicated damage plus 1.5 times the isonade’s
Strength bonus (Reflex DC 25 halves, Wis-based).
Wharfling Wharfling Swarm
Water drips from the hairless skin of this ugly creature, dimly The mass of hairless bodies writhes together as it moves along

reflecting the moonlight. It gives the fish dangling in its large jaws
one final shake and scampers down the beach on webbed feet.
Though often assumed some sort of hairless dire rat, wharflings
are more closely related to raccoons. Growing up to 2 ft. in
length, wharflings have large, webbed hands and feet and
oversized mouths. Those who have suffered its bite rightly fear
the needle-like teeth, but most coastal communities hate the
animal more for its propensity for theft.
An adept fish catcher, wharflings typically make their dens
near the shores of oceans, lakes, and rivers. Whether in burrows
or hollow logs, though, they invariably fill their lairs with small
metal trinkets confiscated during their nocturnal ramblings.
(A wharfling taken as a familiar adds a +3 bonus to Sleight of
Hand checks made by its master.)
Wharfling CR ½
200 XP
Chapter 6: Creatures
the coast in the moonlight. Squeals mingle with the screams of
the occasional unfortunate fisherman caught in its path.
Periodically, wharflings congregate in huge numbers and tear
along the shoreline for miles until finally dispersing back to
their dens. Whether they do this for pleasure or for some other
reason is unknown, but most locals know to avoid the shores on
these nights.
Wharfling Swarm CR 4
1,200 XP
N Tiny animal (swarm)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8
Defense
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 size)
hp 45 (10d8)
Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +6
Defensive Abilities swarm traits

of the
N Tiny animal Weaknesses swarm traits
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +1 Offense
Defense Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 20 ft.
AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 size) Melee swarm (2d6 plus bleed and grab)
hp 3 (1d8-1) Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.

Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +1
Offense
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +5 (1d4-3 plus bleed and grab)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks bleed (1), locking bite (1d4-3)
Statistics
Str 4, Dex 16, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 8 (+12 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Climb +14, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +14, Swim +14;
Racial Modifiers +8 Climb (modified by Dex), +8 Swim
(modified by Dex)
Ecology
Environment any temperate shores
Organization solitary or pack (2-20)
Treasure standard (in lair only; all metallic)
Special Abilities
Locking Bite (Ex) A wharfling that hits with its bite
attack automatically grapples its foe, inflicting
automatic bite damage each round.
Pilfer (Ex) A wharfling that has entered an opponent’s
space can make a Sleight of Hand attempt as a free
action against its opponent’s CMD. If successful,
the wharfling successfully steals some small
metallic object. A wharfling that has
successfully pilfered will try to flee the
combat with its treasure. Sleight of
Hand is a class skill for wharflings.
Deep
Special Attacks bleed (1), distraction (DC 14), locking bite (2d6)
Statistics
Str 4, Dex 16, Con 8, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +7; CMB 8, CMD 15 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus
(Perception), Toughness
Skills Climb +14, Perception +8, Sleight of Hand +15, Stealth +14,
Swim +14; Racial Modifers +8 Climb (modified by Dex), +8
Swim (modified by Dex)
Ecology
Environment any temperate shores
Organization solitary or pack (2-5 swarms)
Treasure standard (in lair only; all metallic)
Special Abilities
Locking Bite (Ex) Opponents that leave a
wharfling swarm do so with 1d3 wharflings
attached to them. These wharflings inflict
1d4-3 damage and 1 bleeding damage each
round thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in
cumulative bleeding loss. A wharfling attached
in this way gains a +8 to its CMD versus
attempts to dislodge it.
Pilfer (Ex) A wharfling swarm makes
2d4 Sleight of Hand checks each round
against any opponent within the swarm.
These checks are opposed by CMD. Each
successful attempt represents 1 small
metallic object that has
been lifted from the victim.

73
 Aquatic variants
The seas and oceans contain a vast variety of dangerous flora
and fauna to challenge PCs. The Pathfinder Bestiary lists over 20
suitable creatures, and that’s not counting the creatures that
thrive along coastal areas; Sunken Empires adds an exciting new
batch of thrilling monsters for PCs to encounter.
But GMs need not stop there. Dozens of new creatures
await with simple modifications to existing monsters—just
add the new aquatic simple template. This template turns
land-bound creatures aquatic, granting them water breathing
and a swim speed. In some cases, like aquatic cloakers, the
variant may be somewhat familiar. In others, such as swarm
conversions, simple creatures such as bat swarms take on a
whole new life under the waves with a reimagining of their
given abilities.
Aquatic Creature (CR +0) Aquatic creatures dwell in
water, whether in lakes and streams, beneath the ocean,
or along coastal regions. If the creature dwells exclusively
underwater, it gains the aquatic subtype and replaces its land
speed with an identical swim speed. If the creature is able to
also travel on land, it also gains the amphibious special quality,
reduces its land speed by 10 ft., and acquires a swim speed
equal to its original land speed plus 10 ft. An aquatic creature
also gains low-light vision 60 ft.
Barracuda Battery (CR 5) Army ant swarm variant—
Voracious, dangerous predatory fish that congregate
in swarms known as batteries when they are half-grown,
barracudas present a dangerous threat to swimmers and
other sea life when hungry. Such batteries can strip a much
larger fish clean in a matter of minutes, reducing it to little
more than a skeleton, slowly descending toward the benthic
layer. These batteries use the statistics for army ant swarms
with the aquatic simple template, replacing all land speeds
with a swim speed.
Deep Cloaker (CR 5) Cloaker variant—Cloakers resemble
evolved manta rays for a reason—they owe their origins to the
sea. Below the waves, cloakers serve aboleth masters to achieve
sinister goals, and scrag cults collaborate with the creatures,
wearing them as cloaks in some bizarre symbiotic relationship.
They use the stats of their terrestrial counterparts, replacing
their fly speed with a swim speed. In addition, water amplifies
and carries their moan abilities, and this ability is treated as if
under the effects of the Enlarge Spell metamagic feat.
Electric Ray (CR 2) Electric ray variant—Electric eels are
freshwater creatures, but saltwater varieties of rays do exist,
exhibiting the same abilities. They use their electric discharges
to stun and incapacitate prey or threats. Such creatures use the
same stats as electric rays.
Giant Trilobite (CR 1/2) Giant centipede variant—These
armored arthropods are dangerous seabed predators. Covered
in a tough, segmented exoskeleton, they often attack larger
prey, and have developed a poison that slowly paralyzes their
victims. These creatures use the stats for giant centipedes with
74
the aquatic template applied, and gain a +2 bonus to their
natural armor.
Hagfish Swarm (CR 4) Wasp swarm variant—Hagfish
are among the foulest creatures of the deep sea, scavengers
that feast on the decaying carcasses of whales and produce a
thick, gelatinous slime as a defensive mechanism. Although
their slow metabolism allows them to go for months without
feeding, large swarms have been known to congregate to
devour a new carcass, twisting and writhing in knot-like
patterns and tearing out huge hunks of flesh.
Such swarms apply the aquatic template to wasp swarms.
Hagfish swarms have no poison, but creatures who fail their
save against the swarm’s distraction ability can no longer
breathe the water due to the thick build-up of hagfish slime
and must hold their breath while the swarm occupies their
space, in addition to the other effects of the distraction ability.
Jellyfish Bloom (CR 4) Centipede swarm variant—These
swarms are composed of large, dangerous jellyfish, such as
the box jellyfish. Use the stats for centipede swarms, including
poison, with the aquatic simple template applied.
Needlefish Swarm (CR 2) Bat swarm variant—These
predatory fish are too small to be individually harmful to
larger creatures, but when they school together, they attack
much larger prey, inflicting painful wounds with long,
narrow jaws filled with sharp teeth, which often break off in
their victims and cause profuse bleeding. Needlefish swarms
apply the aquatic simple template to bat swarms, granting
them a swim speed of 40 ft. and retaining their wounding
special ability.
Slick (CR 7) Black pudding variant—At first sight, these
creatures are usually confused with large shoreline tar
deposits, and beachcombers who happen upon such oozes
are lucky to get away with their lives. These aquatic black
pudding variants replace their climb speed with a swim
speed, retaining their land speed and gaining the amphibious
special quality.
They are typically encountered dragging themselves from
the shallows, when currents or wave action disturbs them in
their Underdeep nest. Other scholars believe that all black
puddings have their origins in the ocean’s depths and that
this migration to land is but an early part of the pudding life
cycle. Whatever the case may be, swimmers, explorers and
adventurers should learn to avoid such slicks.
Strangleweed (CR 3) Assassin vine variant—This
deadly, animated seaweed is thought to wash up from the
Underdeep, where it has evolved its specialized diet away
from the life-giving rays of the sun that other plants rely on.
Whether this aquatic assassin vine evolved from the land-
based variety and moved into the sea or the Underdeep was
the first home of this terror, scholars can only speculate.
Strangleweed can also be found in the sunlit zones and along
coastal areas, where it uproots from the depths in search of
more abundant prey.
The Ecology of the Aboleth Aboleths who find themselves in dry locales undergo a
physiological change in which they attempt to bury themselves
They never forgive, they never forget, and they never die. while secreting specialized mucus that dries into a watertight

—Knavaar Albertus
Of the races that lurk below the waves, perhaps none are
so reviled or feared as aboleths. A race that does not seem
of this world or time, aboleths hearken from strange realms
beyond mortal comprehension and think and act in alien ways,
viewing their place in the world as absolutely dominant and
on a geographical scale. Sages endlessly dispute the origins of
the creatures, some claiming they were the first intelligence
to clamber out of primordial cesspools. Others believe they
slipped between the barrier between our world and the dark
behind the stars, while still others claim they are the first true
gods, and gifted early man with the tools to build civilization.
Whatever their origin, aboleths are a foul, despicable race,
but in that nightmarish reality lies a subtle beauty in their deadly
effectiveness, in their eternal machinations and intricately-
wrought schemes that can carry over for long generations
of mankind while seemingly being but an eye’s blink for the
Chapter 6: Creatures
cocoon to prevent desiccation. Known as aboleth estivation, the
immortal aboleths can stay in this state of dormancy, a type of
suspended animation, indefinitely. It can take an aboleth weeks
or even months to emerge from this listless stupor, and the
creature sheds layers of sloughed, desiccated skin until a moist
layer is finally revealed when the aboleth emerges, cicada-like,
from the remains of its desiccated tissues. The presence of
water accelerates this process, and the experience is one of
the few true fears aboleths have, for they can remain in this
immobile state for centuries, an experience that can drive even
the most clever and diabolical aboleths insane.
Aboleth Culture & Cities
Aboleths lurk in grotesque, organic cities hidden in the depths
of the Underdeep. Towering spires and magnificent
domes of bizarre geometry warp and twist beneath
the waves, composing alien avenues, strange

of the
immortal creatures.

Aboleth Physiognomy
Aboleths are enormous creatures with most mature
specimens growing up to 25 ft. and exceeding 3 tons.

Deep
Like gigantic prehistoric monstrosities, they have three
massive and cat-like eyes, a mucus-covered body without
scales, powerful tentacles, and sharp spines and fins over
the length of their body. They
are hermaphroditic and
immortal with young
specimens almost
unheard of, and elder
specimens rumored
but rarely encountered.
The mucus secretions
grant two distinct abilities. Aboleths
can exude clouds of this viscous material
in a manner similar to hagfish. Creatures
exposed to it can lose their ability to
breathe air, instead breathing only water.
Aboleths take advantage of this property
to enslave creatures by making them
dependent on the mucus to survive in
depths beyond their capacity to escape.
Their tentacles exude a modified form of
this slime that further traps creatures, and direct
applications of the substance by an
aboleth’s attack causes a creature’s
flesh to transform in ways that
make survival outside of aquatic
domains unlikely at best, further
hindering escape from the clutches of
the creatures.

75
 Optional Rule: Orichalcum Warding
The entire circuit of the wall they covered with a coating of
brass, and the circuit of the next wall they coated with tin,
and the third, which encompassed the citadel, flashed with
the red light of orichalcum.
—Plato, Critias
To emphasize the cultural war between the ancient
Ankeshelians and the aboleths, you may want to implement
the optional rule that aboleths recoil at the presentation
of orichalcum or shun structures or area with high
concentrations of the previous metal.
Orichalcum Weakness (Su) Aboleths cannot tolerate
the presence of orichalcum and will not enter areas bearing
strong concentrations of it. The substance does not harm
aboleths, but it can hold them at bay. Aboleths will not
approach within 5 ft. of an object or creature bearing at least
4 lb. of orichalcum, whether the object is an orichalcum-
coated wall or a warrior brandishing a longsword of the
metal. The creature recoils from the object and refrains from
any melee or touch attacks against the warded creature or
area (Will DC 25 negates, each round).
habitations, and unusual structures specially suited to aboleths
and their slaves. Enormous bathhouses serve as social gathering
places for the creatures, the buildings grown around naturally
occurring thermal vents and black smokers that clean parasites
from the flesh of aboleths and provide them with needed
nutrients in the depths of the sea. Within these vast chambers,
aboleths gather in their councils, where they plot events to
a miniscule level that may seem almost insignificant to the
uninitiated, but which serve their ultimate goals.
Their cities are grown from deep-water coral such as
lophelia pertusa, which aboleth architects control through the
use of specialized mucus that accelerates the growth of the
reefs, influencing these tiny creatures to grow in accordance
to their alien, non-Euclidean designs. Such cities often have
an extended territory well beyond their walls, protected by
guardian slaves and beasts, as well as hidden glyph-stones
and other magical barriers to bar passage for those who
would intrude on these secret cities. Reality around the
cities seems to warp, with time shifting in their proximity in
unusual ways. Neighboring merfolk are usually give them and
their territories wide berth.
Near the coast of Cassadega, the continental shelf plunges
some 12,000 ft. below the water’s surface, and here, among the
deeply sunken ruins of the ancient city center of Ankeshel,
the aboleths swim lazily in the old avenues of the empire they
once inspired, meticulously salvaging the ruins for shared
secrets they too have lost, in some bizarre approximation of
the humans and merfolk activities closer to the coast with
which they war.
76
Scholarly Speculation
Scholars speculate that the highly efficient aboleths are
much too far advanced along evolutionary lines to have
developed into their present forms. As the fossil record
shows, they remain unchanged, like sharks and cockroaches,
after millions of years. Since aboleths make no claim of a
creator, and none has ever been discovered that the creatures
credit for their existence, these same scholars speculate that
the creatures instead represent the apex of evolution, and
are from a time not out of the primordial past but, rather,
far in the future. Here, the cyclic cataclysms of their race
come to an end in a final planetary apocalypse long after all
other races have perished, either at the end of all days or
the death throes of the sun. According to these theories,
the creatures have plans along geological timescales that will
finally see fruition and come to intrude on the natural order
of the world by violating the distant past, using their vast
accumulated knowledge and powerful magics to start the
cycle anew by tearing open the fabric of some alien realm,
reestablishing their perpetual civilization at the birth of our
world before even the gods awaken.
If this hypothesis is true, it would go far toward explaining
the incredibly complex thought processes of aboleths,
considered beyond strange and alien to humanoid mindsets.
Even long-lived elves have problems comprehending the truly
ancient mental pathways of aboleths. If aboleths truly live
in such a cyclical, never-ending loop of existence in which
they are living out fates of which they are aware, acting only
according to dictated events they already know are going to
happen, then their actions and machinations ultimately make
sense. Other scholars refute such claims, and claim a parallel
theory that aboleths instead perceive an additional dimension,
and with proper concentration are able to perceive the past,
present, and future. This leads to an acute fatalism in which
aboleths know and accept their overall fate in the grand
scheme of the universe.
Variant Aboleths
The stratified urban society in aboleth cities gives rise to a
number of fascinating aboleth variants.
Aboleth Architects: Aboleth architects are responsible
for the construction of aboleth cities. Well-versed non-
Euclidean geometric principles that reflect the otherworldly
nature of their kind, these specialized aboleths use specially
evolved mucus clouds and their dominate monster ability to
enslave seabed microorganisms to grow in accordance to
their grotesque designs. Even the mindless organisms that
create coral bend to their will, and aboleth mucus accelerates
the growth of these minuscule creatures, creating ornate
spires of coral that grow in strange fractal patterns. The
creatures also retrain their natural spell-like abilities to
manipulate earth and stone, replacing the abilities with the
following list:
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th)
At will—arcane mark, explosive runes, magic circle against
good, soften earth and stone
3/day—dominate monster (DC 22), move earth, stone shape
1/day—greater glyph of warding (DC 20), guards and wards
(DC 20), transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud
In addition, aboleth architects replace their normal slime ability
with the following variant:
Temporal Slime (Ex) Aboleth architects have developed a
specialized slime to promote the rapid growth of deep-
water coral for the structures they build, but it may also
be used as a deadly weapon. A creature hit by an aboleth
architect’s tentacle begins to age unnaturally, aging 3
years each round over the course of 1d4 rounds (Fortitude
DC 20 negates, Constitution-based). Characters suffer
aging effects based on their race, including the decrease
in ability scores (to a minimum of 1), but do not gain the
increase in mental ability scores. These aging effects are
cumulative, and creatures immune to magical aging are
immune to this effect. Additional hits add 1d4 to the
duration of the effect.
Aboleth Mnemonists: These specialized aboleths are
lethargic, hulking, immobile beasts whose minds wander
uncontrollably in four dimensions; as extreme specimens
of their kind, they are both empowered and somewhat lost
in the non-Euclidean mnemonic structures of the aboleth
brain. In practical terms, the mnemonists are incapable of
distinguishing between the past, present, and future, and
they collectively share the experiences of all aboleths. As a
result, the mnemonists are incredible fonts of knowledge
and half-lost in a dreamworld at the best of times. In their
somnambulist state, they are consulted by other aboleths
who do not wish to untangle their own memories as oracles,
prophets, and seers.
This immediate access to knowledge comes at a price, as
mnemonists have so much trouble distinguishing between
their mental timeframes that they often fail to react if
attacked. In this sluggish state, the mnemonists are considered
fascinated, and the condition is broken only when they take
damage and succeed on a DC 25 Will save. This saving throw
must be made each round they receive damage for them to
realize that the events are taking place in the present.
Mnemonists are physically indistinguishable from normal
aboleths, with the exception of their excessive bulk due to their
extreme lethargy. Aboleth mnemonists replace the normal spell-
like abilities with the following list:
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th)
At will—locate creature, locate object, telepathic bond, tongues
3/day—legend lore, prying eyes, true seeing
1/day—foresight, moment of prescience, vision
In their listless state, aboleth mnemonists are incredibly
docile, and characters able to communicate with the
Using Aboleths
It can be a bit tricky, playing a super-intelligent creature
Chapter 6: Creatures
that has perfect recall of everything that has ever
happened to it and that has been planning the demise of
the PCs in a clever scheme started when their ancestors
were still banging rocks together to create fire. However,
clever GMs can confound players and really display the
nearly unaccountable scheming of the race with a little
preparation.
Like an aboleth, you might pull the strings a little bit.
Aboleths have slaves and minions infiltrating every aspect
of society, and it might be OK to bend the rules a little bit,
reacting to PC plans in the most efficient and beneficial
means possible. In such circumstances, you may even
employ what has become known as the Xanatos Gambit
in which even an aboleth’s defeat serves to further its
own foul deeds. Such actions can be attributed to the
exceedingly careful planning of aboleths, but you should
not overuse such techniques or you may face frustrated
of the
players. But, PCs who experience the secret manipulations
and schemes of aboleths, if played correctly and with a little
help of “foresight” from the GM, will be in for some very
memorable games indeed
Deep
mnemonists can usually consult the creature for information.
Mnemonists have an Intelligence score of 30 and make all
Knowledge skill checks as if trained.
Wild rumors persist of an estivating aboleth mnemonist
confined in an orichalcum chamber below a Cassadegan
gambling house, which the owners consult to fix betting
results and numbers. If this is true, of course, they have little
conception of the value the creature would fetch to noble
Cassadegan linguists, and thus, the rumors are usually dismissed
as bitter complaints by those that have lost wagers.
Aboleth Scriveners: Merfolk tell of powerful runes and
explosive symbols guarding the forbidden borders of aboleth
realms, some persisting despite their host stone having long
since eroded away. The stories of other deep races confirm
these tales of grotesque, glowing emblems, yet most aboleths
encountered have no such power to scribe such powerful
magics. These powerful symbols are the work of aboleth glyph
crafters, the deep masters of inscribed arcane glyphs and
wards. While the creatures themselves are rarely encountered,
their handiwork is a testament to the power they wield and
serve as true warnings against those who might trespass on the
sites they protect.
Indeed, the only notable difference between the glyph
casters and their kin are the subtly glowing runes orbiting their
bodies, or the high concentration of slaves capable of wielding
arcane magic. Glyph crafters are often well versed in sorcery
themselves, and augment their glyphs with powerful evocation
and necromantic spells. These specialized aboleths substitute
77
 1/day—greater glyph of warding (DC 20), guards and wards
Nommos & Oannes (DC 20), mage’s private sanctum, permanency
This monster dwelt by day with men, but took no food;
Divine Siphoners: The superior mentality of the aboleth
he gave them knowledge of letters, arts, and sciences; he
mindset makes no concession for devotion to higher powers,
taught them to build towers and temples; and to establish
and aboleths, as a rule, are mentally and biologically incapable
laws; he instructed them in the principles of geometry;
of even feigning worship convincingly enough to solicit divine
taught them to sow, and to gather the fruits of the earth;
power from deities they universally disdain. At the same time,
in short, whatever could contribute to polish and civilize
aboleths crave mystic power in all its forms and thirst for the
their manners. At sunset, he retired to the sea, in which he
divine spark that deific fealty provides.
passed the night in the deep, for he was amphibious. There
Eons of biological experimentation eventually resulted
appeared likewise others of the same species.
in a small sect of aboleths who trained their minds and
—Berossus, from ancient fragments
bodies to siphon divine power for their own use without
the inconvenience of actual worship, perverting the natural
Mythologies of our own world contain disturbing
order of divine law. Such aboleths gain cleric levels, domains
fragments of knowledge that might make you think twice
(typically Knowledge, Magic, Rune, or Trickery) and the ability
about Mr. Cook’s obviously tenuous claims to cloud the true
to channel energy, but without worship. They have no deity to
influence of aboleths in our history. An ancient Babylonian
grant them spell slots, so these wily blasphemers steal magic
account of Mesopotamian history in the 3rd century BCE
from beneath the noses of divinity with their siphoning mucus
tells of the Oannes, a race of aboleth-like, amphibious
cloud, harvesting divine spell slots from captured clerics and
beings who nurtured knowledge and civilization in mankind,
divine magic items and putting them to their own foul, twisted
raising them from savagery and barbarism into an age of
use. In addition, these aboleths grant these harvested slots
reason and prosperity.
to worshipers in a mockery of divine order, and cults and
The creatures are said to have risen from the waters of
churches dedicated to these false idols have long been the
the Red Sea after coming to the world in a “great egg,” and
source of inquisitions and religious scourges. Divine siphoner
possessed the form of an amphibious fish, but with human-
aboleths use the standard creature statblocks but have cleric
like features as well, including an articulate human voice.
levels and two additional alternate abilities: siphoning mucus
These beings, having names like Annedotus and Odacon,
and divine slime.
would occasionally rise from the Persian Gulf to advise great
Siphoning Mucus (Ex) A divine siphon aboleth can exude an
kings, imparting in them advanced knowledge and tales of the
alternate cloud of transparent slime. Divine spellcasters
history of a time when all was but “darkness and an abyss of
adjacent to the aboleth are drained of any unused spell slots
waters.” The reign of these great kings came to an end, no less,
for the day to power the aboleth’s divine abilities (Will DC
in a great cataclysmic flood.
20 negates, each round). Memorized spells are considered
A similar legend appears among the Dogon people
unused spell slots for this purpose, but previously cast spells
of Mali, who claim a race of sentient, hermaphroditic,
or used slots are not.
amphibious beings with an unusual amalgamation of fish
If the captured cleric has higher-level slots available than
and man came from a distant star, descending from the
the aboleth itself can access, those slots can be used to
sky in a fiery vessel. This craft subsequently landed in the
power lower-level spells as normal. The slots are retained
water, and the Nommos—also called the “teachers,” the
indefinitely until used, although the aboleth cannot exceed
“monitors,” and “masters of the water”—emerged to teach
its normal spells/day allotment based on its cleric level.
the Dogon civilization. Indeed, the Dogon possess advanced
Divine magic items are also vulnerable to this effect and are
astronomical knowledge that scholars would not discover
permanently drained of all magic with the aboleth gaining
for centuries after these legends appear, such as the rings of
spell slots as if it had drained slots from a cleric of the item’s
Saturn and the presence of unobservable stars orbiting Sirius,
CL (Will DC 20 negates, each round using better of item’s and
a disconcerting acquired knowledge that modern scholars
wielder’s save, Constitution-based). The aboleth can Switch
have been unable to dismiss. Sometimes, truth is stranger
slime types as a standard action.
than fiction.
Divine Slime (Ex) As a standard action, divine siphon aboleths
can grant spell slots to divine spellcasters already under
their Iron Will feat with Spell Focus (abjuration) and replace
the effect of their regular slime ability, infusing the mucus
their normal spell-like abilities with the following array:
membrane with spell slots. These slots are deducted from
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th)
the aboleth’s own spell slot allotment absorbed through
At will—alarm, arcane mark, explosive runes, magic circle
its siphoning mucus, and it may grant as many slots as it
against good
deems the servant worthy, perpetuating its role as a god
3/day—dominate monster (DC 22), explosive runes (DC 17),
worthy of homage.
glyph of warding (DC 17)

78
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”).
All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 6: Creatures
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System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based
on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet,
Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
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Sunken Empires. Copyright 2010, Open Design, LLC; Authors: Brandon Hodge, David “Zeb” Cook, and Stefen Styrsky.
www.koboldquarterly.com

79

S unken Empires is a treasure trove for anyone
fascinated with lost civilizations and
ancient magic: from GMs who want to add
the technology of lost civilizations, run astonishing
undersea adventures, expand their aboleth lore—to
those who just want to sink an inconvenient continent.
And Sunken Empires is packed with options for players:
Z o b e c k G az etteer IV
S unken E m pi r es
new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game class options, spells
for casters, and gear both magical and mundane.
Sunken Empires supports aboleth-centric, Atlantean,
and similar adventures with technology and lore for
any civilization, lost or otherwise, and with inventive
creatures from the Underdeep that creep ashore.
It’s time to go beneath the surface!

• Introduction by the creator of the aboleths, D&D designer David “Zeb” Cook
• Weapons and technology of lost empires, from lightning spears to mind probes
• Complete ecology of the aboleth
• New PC race and class options, including net fighting and oceanic bloodlines
• 30+ new spells and magic of the sea, including new domains
• More than 10 new creatures, including coral drakes, drowned maidens, and goblin sharks
by

• GM tools and adventure hooks

B ran don H od ge

Designed by Brandon Hodge and Open Design patrons with frequent review, ISBN 978-0-9843159-6-3
playtest, and feedback to maximize playability. 51895 > ™

™
9 780984 315963
The Open Design logo is a trademark of Open Design LLC. All rights reserved