The Old Tales:
When you see the writing figures, chanting and cavorting below the waves, with teeth all too sharp and eyes all too human, let it steel your heart to know these were once goodly folk like you and I. They lived in the empire of Mermerus, now below the waves, and like specters their half-fish forms writhe in the depths, colonizers of and strangers within the homes they once lived and loved in. What warped their flesh and sunk their cities is yet a mystery, but there are…
Three Explanations for Mermerus:
Professor Emeritus Dogo of Runehold holds firm that Mermerus was a terrestrial empire that bridged the Tarnished Coast and the distant shores beyond. However, an emperor by the name of Ariachles turned the merchant class against the priest class through propaganda depicting the Archpraetor as a dragon-like figure, hoarding wealth and behaving with reptilian cruelty. The subsequent spiritual revolt turned the nation to the idolatric worship of an unknown oceanic demon. A mass suicide ritual caused the tides to drown the empire so they may join with their fiendish overlord, explaining the empire’s sudden collapse below the waves. His colleague, Reverend-Doctor Dillamor, argues that the keystone of the tomb of Ariachles’s entryway was marked with a serpent bearing the head of a man, the symbol that Dogo believes to represent the Archpraetor- why would he be buried under the symbol of his hated rival?
Mysteriarch Patriventi concurs with Dogo’s theory that idolatry was the reason for Mermerus’s aqueous collapse, but instead claims that before it sunk, Mermerus was a theocracy that practiced an unrefined and barbaric form of Unitism. That would reframe Ariachles as an iconoclastic Archpraetor who upended the orthodoxy in favor of demon-worship, though Patraventi had to go to lengths to explain how it was not Ariachles’s autarchy that led to the sumberging but his corruption in order to avoid being blacklisted by the Mistress or worse. Patraventi’s rival, Mysteriarch Relsath, published their objections in a book known as “the Secrets of Mermerus: Ten Theses”, but every known copy was burned shortly after their disappearance.
The Threefold Eye, sybil from the Gauntforgfes known for their retrocognition, saw a vivisected piscine mutant when they touched a rusted chestplate, a bubble bursting when they touched a detached machicolation, and a beached whale being hit by lightning when they touched a spear found in Ariachles’ crypt. Tillimar the Frail, a Glanodeli doctoral student, writes in her thesis that these imply not an idolatry-induced natural disaster, but hints that instead Mermerus was first erected subnautically by land-folk, and that a civil war resulted in the collapse of the sphere. Evidence for magic strong enough to create a habitable environment on the ocean floor is yet undiscovered, she claims, but is surely out there.
Of course, not everyone can be correct. The ruins hold many secrets, if one may circumvent the terrors of the depths and its potentially even more spine-chilling inhabitants…
Contemporaries of Mermurus:
Despite the warped citizens of Mermerus (or “Mer-maids”, the nomenclature resulting from the more frequent sightings of females) having a proclivity for foul and sacrificial magics, they are not malicious to land-dwellers, instead seeking solace amongst small tribes of their own in the secluded ruins of their lost empire. When their territories are disturbed or a demagogue whips them into a bloodthirst, however, they are quick to take up arms both mundane and arcane. Their most powerful casters are Sacrificiants, followed by Elementalists, followed by Invokers, and finally the non-magical Myrmidons.
MERMAID SACRIFICIANT N 3 H 10 A Mermaid, 3 SPELLS (Thassilic, any type), Sanguine Cycling (WOUNDS taken in the last ROUND can be used as STRESS for casting), Aquatic Arcana (SPELLS that effect a body of water take place NEAR you when submerged, and you are immune to these effects) I To rekindle the old ways
MERMAID ELEMENTALIST N 3 H 7 A Mermaid, 2 SPELLS (Thassilic, 1 Ash 2 Moon 3 Raven 4 Glass), Elemental Immunity (Ash = heat, Moon = cold, Raven = piercing, Glass = slashing), Aquatic Arcana I To unite with the universe
MERMAID INVOKER N 2 H 5 A Mermaid, 1 SPELL (50% Thassilic), Aquatic Arcana I To learn secrets
MERMAID MYRMIDON N 1 H 4 A Mermaid, Defensive Instincts (Take 1 less WOUND when protecting something) I To protect the tribe
To generate a tribe of standard size, assign it a leader and roll 2d6 to see how many non-combatants are affiliated. A bellicose leader will have a tribe of 2d6 Myrmidons, 1d4 Invokers, and an Elementalist as their acharya. A spiritual leader will have a Sacrificiant advisor, with d4 Elementalists and Invokers serving as clergy, the non-combatants guarded by d6 Myrmidons. A meek or pacificstic leader usually leads a council of d4 Invokers and Myrmidons, with an extra d6 non-combatants. Tribes who delve too deep may have mutants or demons among their ranks.
THASSILIC ARCANA:
1 IGNEOUS RIFT (A). For a ROUND, you can run your hand along the ground to create a foot-deep fissure that oozes pyroclasm. (A scourge with obsidian studs)
2 BOIL UNTIL RUFESCENT (A). Touch water to boil it, metal to heat it red-hot, or a creature to scald it for 2 WOUNDS. (A bellyful of well-done lobster)
3 BARNACLEIZE (A). Touch something; barnacles will instantaneously grow across it, eroding it. If allowed to sit for a week, the barnacles will hatch into water fairies. (Chunk of living coral)
4 RED TIDE (M). Any water you touch for a TURN becomes acidic. (Inverted seagull)
5 BLACK TIDE (M). You can control the agitation of water FAR from you for a TURN. (Tentacle)
6 GOLDEN TIDE (M). Any body of water you look in will contain some sunken treasure for a TURN. (Treasure chest loaded with booty)
7 KELP’S EMBRACE (R). Wet ropes bind a FAR target for d4 ROUNDS. It requires a STR roll or a sharp blade to break free; anything bound for the full duration becomes edible. (Soda ash)
8 DEEP LITHE (R). You can swim at twice your walking speed and spray octopus ink for a TURN. (Fish head with a diamond for a brain)
9 COMMUNION AURA (R). You can speak to all beasts for a TURN, and with a CHA roll can make one your familiar or mount. (A speck of animal food)
10 FROST BRIDGE (G). Your body becomes deathly cold, instantly freezing any liquid you come in contact with. If cast underwater, it instead creates a rime plate, which you can walk through to any other unmelted or otherwise intact rime plate you’ve cast. (Child-size silver ring)
11 LACERATION WHIRLWIND (G). Spinning blades of jagged ice explode in a cone in front of you, dealing 2 WOUNDS and immobilizing anyone NEAR you for d4 ROUNDS. (Oroborus eel)
12 SHARP EYES (G). For a TURN, your vision cannot be impaired by darkness, magic, obfuscation, or any other interference, and you can see auras. (A glass eye)
[For those not familiar with MARROW, there are four types of magic.]
One down, umpteen to go. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.
No comments:
Post a Comment