The Azure Sea
Harvester the 18th, AtD 5786
Scope
The motivation behind building The Azure Sea
The Azure Sea is a playground for epic sea-based adventures. Designed to be a sandbox, there is a campaign through-line up to around level 8. After that what happens will depend on what the players do.
The goal of the project
Swashbuckling. Pirating. Smuggling. Joining the Imperial Navy. Exploring hidden reefs. Having fun!
The Azure Sea's Unique Selling point
The idea is to be able to head in any direction and do whatever you want to do as a player.
Do you want to infiltrate the Hold of the Sea Princes and become a legendary pirate? Foil a band of smugglers and slavers? Get involved in the intricate politics of Keymouth? Visit the ancient elven city of Antaros and head into the Drowned Jungle to explore moss strewn pyramids where strange dinosaurs abide? Head deep under the ocean surface and uncover the mystery of Golgur's Pit? Explore the deepest reaches of the Fearwyd Weald and uncover the secrets of Granny Nightshade? Sail the seas as a merchant captain in charge of your own ship? The possibilities are endless.
Initially finding yourself in the large fishing town of Saltmarsh, it will make a good base for adventure. A loose campaign through-line will lead you up to around level 8 in The Western Commonlands, the region around Saltmarsh. Where you head then, and what you do, is up to you! Only know that your exploits will influence and change the shape of the world, whilst other factions work towards their own ends.
Theme
Genre
The world is based around a huge sea bounded by strips of land. A few areas are civilised, but the majority of the world is wild, untamed and unexplored.
The world will have a pulpy flavour reminiscent of the Conan books by Robert E. Howard. Full of swashbuckling, derring-do, ancient evils, lost temples, pirates and thieves.
The general tone will be low fantasy. Non-human races are generally uncommon and magic is rarer than usual and darker in tone. The Azure Sea is a violent place. The world does not care about you, and you will have to rely on your wits to survive.
Reader Experience
The world should feel wild and dangerous. Mystery should lurk at every corner, but the promise of great treasures (or great, ancient magics to the more easily corruptible) should be hard to overcome.
Reader Tone
Pulpy, low fantasy. Violent. Sexy. Scary.
Recurring Themes
Themes:
Exploration. The characters will go to places unexplored for centuries, whether on land, or on (or under) the sea will be up to them.
Danger. It doesn't matter whether the party is infiltrating the lair of an ancient vampire prince or attending a dinner hosted by the Cerulean Emperor, danger will follow them everywhere. The world is a violent place, and failure will be rewarded with harsh consequence.
Ancient Evil. A staple of many D&D campaigns. In The Azure Sea there are many dark and ancient forces at work.
Character Agency
This is a sandbox world, so character agency is paramount, within the bounds and rules of the world. The idea is to have a slight campaign through-road for the first 8 levels, to root the characters in the world, before opening up to let them do as they wish.
This won't stop the machinations of other powerful organizations and factions in the world trying to achieve their ends, but it will be up to the players how much they get involved in that (though no matter how reluctant, they may see the world change around them as a result).
Focus
Drama
Five areas of drama at the start of the campaign.
1. Expanding Empire The Cerulean Empire, having recovered from the recent wars, is again looking to expand it's area of influence. This is being done under the remit of offering security and protection to those living in the wild lands, but many see it as interference in traditional ways of life and an increase in control.
2. Piratical Princes
The Hold of the Sea Princes is gaining in confidence and recent raids on the shipping lanes have been brazen in their nature. Whilst many turn a blind eye to raids on Imperial shipping, the increase in attacks on small merchants and fisherfolk is causing anger, and there are worrying rumours of the involvement of the Sea Princes in a new slave trade.
3. Moradin's Miners
The recent discovery of silver veins within The Copperlocks Mine has raised both excitement and concern amongst the citizens of Saltmarsh. Some believe the discovery will bring prosperity and security to the town. Others believe the influx of Dwarves will attract the attention of the Cerulean Empire and undermine the traditional way of life in the town.
4. Elvish Esteem
The Elvish tribes are scattered and broken. Only the ancient city of Antaros remains as a beacon of their ancient culture. Elsewhere the Grugach are fighting a dark force within the deepest regions of the Fearwyd Weald, and the Alugach have withdrawn into the secret parts of the seas.
5. Deep Dispatches
Rumours of a terrible and dangerous new power lurking between the waves have got the populace concerned. A few missing ships are nothing unusual, but the utter lack of wreckage or survivors from some vessels has lead to more people than usual offering prayers at Procan's shrines.
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
About the Artwork.
Whilst I am responsible for some of the artwork on this website (mainly some symbols and many of the maps), I can take no credit for the majority of the splendid art to be found here. Where possible I have credited the relevant artists. However, despite diligent searches it has not been possible to find the original artists for many pieces. If you recognise any of the art here and it is uncredited please contact me and I will rectify the situation.