94828-2 RAA Outer Seas TEXT R1 Proof

The Outer Seas

INTRODUCTION The Outer Seas is a strange place where many traditional fantasy elements are missing, changed, or wildly unlike what you may have experienced or read about in other works. If you’ve come to Val Carter’s Guide to Merfolk from an Outer Seas adventure (such as The Clawing Chaos), you’re already familiar with this water-covered world, with its gods—both living and dead—and the ruins beneath the waves. You’ve seen a wandering island that lives on the back of a massive leviathan, flying manta rays, and tree octopuses. (Octopi? Perhaps Val Carter knows which plural works best!) If you’re new to the Outer Seas, know that this is a world of endless ocean, where resources are scarce. And yet, people build cities and settlements on the strangest of places: natural islands, yes, but also floating shanty towns, fleet cities, multileveled eyries inhabited by bird people, and underwater wonders where sharkfolk known as Hakarl reside. It is in these underwater realms, beneath the surface of what the air-breathers see, where much of this zine takes place. And once your appetite is whet—join us on these waters again. We have many adventures to come. USING THIS ZINE The Outer Seas is a hydropunk fantasy setting designed with the ruleset for the world’s most popular role-playing game in mind. However as we are lovers of homebrewers and rule-breakers, we understand that the mechanical rules presented in this book do not have to be nailed down to a single system. If you enjoy the setting but the rules do not fit the system your table is using, take the ideas presented here and apply your own rules to them. Twist the math and metrics in a way that best fits your table; ultimately we just hope you enjoy the setting and that it serves you in having a good time with your friends and loved ones. After all, that is why the Storyteller tells stories in the first place. Some suggested rule sets are D&D 5e, the default for this Zine, or D&D 3.0/3.5, Pathfinder 1, Pathfinder 2, and Symbaroum which can be applied with some homebrew work on your Storytellers end. All that being said, Welcome to the Outer Seas.

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