Seamount
An underwater peak rising thousands of feet off the floor without breaking the surface. Current running over it is forced upward and brings nutrients with it, so a seamount concentrates life from miles around into one column of water. It is the only feature in the open ocean that a navigator can fix on, and predators gather there for the same reason.
Crossing it
- Navigate
- DC 10
- Forage
- DC 8
- Notice
- DC 12
The only navigational fix in open water, and predators use it too.
In play
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Upwelling
Current over the summit is forced up at 1d4 x 5 feet per round. A creature holding station there swims at half speed.
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Aggregation
Roll encounters at twice the usual rate within 500 feet of the summit, because life from the surrounding water gathers there.
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Landmark
A seamount is a navigational fix. Navigation within sonar range of one is DC 5, and a pursuer can meet a party there instead of following it.
Variations
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Shallow summit
Within diving range, lit and reefed, and suitable for a mooring.
-
Deep summit
Thousands of feet down. Aggregation without light, and a hull to reach it.
Worlds it occurs on
- Aquan A world that is liquid down to the core, with no land, no shelf and no solid surface to stand on.
- Terran (Oceanic) A world of ocean from pole to pole, with land only where a volcano has kept up.
- Terran (Verdant) A rocky world with liquid water, breathable air and a magnetic field to protect them, rare and the cause of most wars.
