New Player Primer

Updated: 26 September 2021

Welcome to the world of the Azure Sea!

Ghosts from the Deep is a homebrew campaign for 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. The world in which it is set, commonly referred to as The Known World, or The Azure Sea, is quite a different place to traditional D&D campaigns. This short primer will get you oriented so that you can start to think about your character and how they will fit into the world. It contains basic information about the world, the rules and the flavour of the campaign, along with several useful links.

What is the Azure Sea?

Ghosts from the Deep by Grzegorz Rutkowski

The lands encompassing The Azure Sea are a wild and dangerous place. Islands of civilisation offer some protection from the wildlands, but most of the continent remains unexplored and maps show only the most basic information. The trade routes of The Azure Sea offer freedom, wealth and opportunity and control of them is the primary driving factor behind the politics and diplomacy of the lands.

The Azure Sea has long been a turbulent body of water in every sense. Its storms have sent countless ships to their doom, and warfare of one sort of another is conducted across its surface all the time.

Pirates affiliated with the Hold of the Sea Princes, along with independent marauders, prey on ships that attempt to cross the ocean, the various kingdoms and empires of the lands only offering limited protection. Strange monsters, including vicious dinosaurs from the Drowned Jungle in the far east, emerge from below from time to time, and rumours of the great kraken Slarkrethel continue to worry captain and pirate alike.

The only outlets from the Sea are either through the Kraken Straits or the Calacian Maw, both incredibly dangerous bodies of water. What lies beyond The Great Deep that surrounds the Azure Sea remains only the stuff of myth and legend.

Despite the myriad dangers, the many opportunities for wealth, exploration and knowledge have lead many to pick up a sword and strike out in search of adventure...

— Senia Kiren

Ghosts from the Deep was designed to have strong sandbox elements, which means past a certain point the world opens up and your characters are free to go and do whatever they like. It takes place in a wild and dangerous land full of pirates, ancient powers and political machinations. The world has a dark and violent tone.
Magic is a powerful, but mysterious and rare force in the land. Magical items are rarely seen, and mages are viewed with great suspicion.
Material wealth lies in the hands of the few, and the vast majority of the populace eek out a living as best they may. Gold is a very rare sight. A silver piece in this world is worth as much as a gold piece in regular D&D settings. Gunpowder (called Blackpowder) is a rare and highly treasured resource.
Many of the potential adventures in the world of The Azure Sea will take you out into the ocean itself, both above and below the waves.
Have a look at the World Meta if you are interested in finding out more about the philosophy and world behind the campaign.

Trigger Warning

The world of the Azure Sea is a violent and unforgiving place, in the style of the pulp fantasy stories of the early 20th Century. The campaigns set here will likely include the following potentially sensitive topics, and possibly others.

• slavery
• abductions
• torture
• horrific scenes
• madness and insanity
• cosmic horror
• serial killing
• dark ritualistic magic
• explicit sexual content

A Recent History of the Azure Sea

The Great Deluge by Katatonia82

Rumours of an ancient race of Antediluvians have persisted through all cultures. Indeed, there are many unexplained ancient ruins to be found across the lands and under the seas. But since the The Great Deluge  civilisations have risen and fallen.
Five thousand years ago all of the elf tribes were united under the banner of the Antarian Federation. Based in the ancient conclave of Antaros, the Elves traded and mixed freely with the other peoples of the world.
Eventually, coming under pressure from the expanding human armies of the Cerulean Empire, the The Great Pelagic War  broke out.
The magic and diversity of the Elves won out however, and the Cerulean Empire was thrown back right unto the very furthest western shores of The Azure Sea. Just as victory seemed inevitable something terrible happened.
A Great Schism occurred between the races of Elves. None know for sure what caused it, and each elven race has it's own version of the tale. The strongest rumours suggest the Schism began in the Fearwyd Weald. Whatever the reason, the Schism had a devastating effect on the Elves, and the tribes were sundered.
Over 130 years have passed since the War. The Cerulean Empire has rebuilt its forces and looks to expand again. The Elves remain apart from the other races, their thoughts troubled. The great gates of Koldor's Hold have opened, and the Dwarves have once again rejoined the surface world. And in the south and east the Hold of the Sea Princes grows bolder, their pirate raids becoming more brazen.
For more information you can read the full History of the Known World timeline.

New Races

Races of the Azure Sea by Tyler Jacobson

The world of The Azure Sea offers the opportunity to play some new races, unique and diverse. Many of them will not find a friendly welcome amongst the folk of the lands however.
As well as choosing from the character races offered in the D&D Player's Handbook, you may choose to play one of the following races.

• Carcharion - huge shark-like humanoids that live in underwater cities made of coral and other underwater structures.
• Alugach - aquatic elves, who fell in love with the wild beauty of the ocean in the earliest days of the multiverse.
• Grugach - wild elves, who shun others and live in secret in the wilder places of the world.
• Tritons - ancient protectors of the ocean depths.

For more information see the section on Playable Races.

New Rules, Backgrounds, Class Archetypes and Feats

Meta/OOC by Unknown

In line with the violent and dangerous themes of the campaign, there are several Homebrew rules that we will be using. Many of these make life as an adventurer harder than is usual in a D&D setting, so be sure to read about them all in the Homebrew Rules section.
Combat in the campaign is a dangerous affair, and can be much more deadly than normal, with rules for Lingering Wounds, Cleaving and Firearms. The relative lack of magic means Healing can be more difficult, and the world can be such a scary place that rules for Sanity apply. And last but not least there is a large section on the rules for Naval Combat.
Not only new character races, but new backgrounds and character archetypes also await you in the world of The Azure Sea. Most of these have a maritime flavour, as befits a campaign world set around a huge sea.
The following new character backgrounds are available.

• Fisher - You have spent your life aboard fishing vessels or combing the shallows for the bounty of the ocean.
• Marine - You were trained for battle on sandy beaches and rocky shores. You have launched midnight raids from swift ships whose names evoke terror in the hearts of your adversaries.
• Shipwright - You have sailed into war on the decks of great ships, patching their hulls with soup bowls and prayers.
• Smuggler - On a rickety barge, you carried a hundred longswords in fish barrels right past the dock master's oblivious lackeys. You have paddled a riverboat filled with stolen elven wine under the gaze of the moon and sold it for twice its value in the morning.

For more details see the New Character Backgrounds section.
The following new class archetypes are available.

• Circle of the Deeps - This circle of druids are the ocean's protectors and guardians.
• Corsair - A Martial Archetype for fighters who've learned how to fight in the close-quarters of a ship's deck – fast, messy, and ultimately lethal.
• College of Skull and Bone - A bard college that utilises knowledge from the raw experience of a perilous life at sea.
• Gunslinger - This archetype of the Fighter class uses firearms and blackpowder to become a deadly ranged attacker.
• Hydromancer - A wizard school that shapes water, the elemental force that all life contains.
• Oath of Freedom - A Sacred Oath sworn by paladins who value freedom – their own and others – above all else, allowing them and their allies to break chains, while moving swiftly and freely.
• Reaver - Rogues born to the seas, who use terror and cruel efficiency to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.
• Shark Totem Barbarian - A Primal Path option that infuses a barbarian with a shark's ruthless bloodthirst and near-supernatural ability to stalk wounded prey.
• Sea Sorcerer - Touched by the elemental power of water, these sorcerers have a heritage derived from ancient sea beings.
• Tidal Hunter - Rangers who've learned to hunt on – and in – the seas, granting them the ability to move and fight like an unstoppable tide.
• Vodun - This Warlock archetype has made a deal with the spirit of a long dead sailor for protection and aid, and specialises in the use of totems and blood magic.
• Water Domain Cleric - Priests whose domain covers oceanic life, healing waters, flowing rivers, and the blessings of rain.
• Way of the Kraken - A Monastic Tradition that teaches dutiful students to fight like the mythical kraken, grasping and smothering foes in an unbreakable grasp.

For more details see the New Class Archetypes section.
As your characters progress they can learn many new Feats, as well as those detailed in the official sourcebooks. Many of these have a maritime flavour. There are too many to list here, so please take a look at the New Character Feats section for details.

Session Zero

Roll to Hit by chanley012

The campaign will start with a session zero, in which you will be introduced to all the new rules and you will create your characters and be given some background story hooks.
You will be asked to come up the three following things for your character; someone or something you fear, someone or something you hate, and someone or something you love.
You will also be asked to think about (up to) three things that you would like your character to deal with during the campaign. Perhaps you would like to discover some ancient and powerful magical item. Perhaps you would like to become embroiled in some great romantic subplot, or uncover some great mystery of the world. It's up to you. There is no guarantee that these things will occur but they will help the DM create the campaign storylines as you progress.

World Anvil

The World of the Azure Sea by Neil Taylor

This website will be used to track the campaign, and the World Codex contains a huge amount of information and detail about the lands in which you will be travelling.
This codex will be updated after each session to serve as a record of major characters you meet and places you visit.