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[any D&D] Good location-based aquatic dungeons?

Started by Shipyard Locked, August 22, 2014, 12:13:43 PM

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Shipyard Locked

August 22, 2014, 12:13:43 PM
My last dungeon search thread got very useful results, so now I'm asking about aquatic dungeons (anything partly or fully submerged). What are the best ones out there in any format?

Beagle

#1
August 22, 2014, 12:25:38 PM
I don't feel confident to make statements about the overall quality of it, but there was a Sahuagin-focused campaign for 2nd edition AD&D, which featured several underwater caves and underwater exploration (and a ghost ship). I really enjoyed that campaign.

Exploderwizard

#2
August 22, 2014, 12:44:35 PM
U3 The Final Enemy

X6 Quagmire

X7 War rafts of Kron
Quote from: JonWakeGamers, as a whole, are much like primitive cavemen when confronted with a new game. Rather than \'oh, neat, what\'s this do?\', the reaction is to decide if it\'s a sex hole, then hit it with a rock.

Quote from: Old Geezer;724252At some point it seems like D&D is going to disappear up its own ass.

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Larsdangly

#3
August 22, 2014, 01:37:47 PM
White Plume Mountain might be the first and most classic. It isn't fully submerged, but has knee deep water throughout much of it, several places where you stumble into deeper water, and (spoiler alert) a spot where a stupid person could drown/cook/smash the whole party with 100' of boiling water.

Bill

#4
August 22, 2014, 01:47:55 PM
The Shrine of the Kuo Toa is a classic from 1E.

daniel_ream

#5
August 22, 2014, 02:41:34 PM
Quote from: Exploderwizard;781910U3 The Final Enemy

Seconded, and include U2 as well (much of the lizard man lair is submerged).

U1-U3 is one of the best module series I've seen, even if the tone isn't really very D&D.  It's much more sword & sorcery/dark fantasy in feel and some of the magic feels badly out of place. But if you're looking for a good aquatic adventure series, I highly recommend it.

One caveat about U2, though: if the players are thinking and paying attention at all and don't treat the location as a Diablo-esque XP farm, there's an excellent chance they'll short-circuit the entire module. That makes for a better experience, but you end up paying for a module you never get to use most of.
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Exploderwizard

#6
August 22, 2014, 03:01:21 PM
Quote from: daniel_ream;781939One caveat about U2, though: if the players are thinking and paying attention at all and don't treat the location as a Diablo-esque XP farm, there's an excellent chance they'll short-circuit the entire module. That makes for a better experience, but you end up paying for a module you never get to use most of.

It depends on what you mean by "getting to use".

Players keen on investigation skills will get to explore & piece together clues. Really savvy players will convince the lizard men tribe to join them in the battle against the sahuagin.
Quote from: JonWakeGamers, as a whole, are much like primitive cavemen when confronted with a new game. Rather than \'oh, neat, what\'s this do?\', the reaction is to decide if it\'s a sex hole, then hit it with a rock.

Quote from: Old Geezer;724252At some point it seems like D&D is going to disappear up its own ass.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;766997In the randomness of the dice lies the seed for the great oak of creativity and fun. The great virtue of the dice is that they come without boxed text.

Saladman

#7
August 22, 2014, 03:15:12 PM
The Blowhole Caverns are submerged at high tide and come with barnacle men and attack shrimp.

daniel_ream

#8
August 22, 2014, 05:13:32 PM
Quote from: Exploderwizard;781947It depends on what you mean by "getting to use".

Like most TSR modules of the time, the bulk of the module is a room-by-room description of the lair (and it's one of the most complete and natural lairs I've ever seen, no zoo dungeons here).  If the PCs are smart and don't treat it as a sweep and clear, they'll never get to see 90% of the page count.  That's money spent on a dungeon I likely can't use again.
 
QuotePlayers keen on investigation skills will get to explore & piece together clues. Really savvy players will convince the lizard men tribe to join them in the battle against the sahuagin.

Yes, they will.  But then they won't get to see most of the dungeon.  It's not 1982 any more, I and my group have Shit to Do and time/money spent on a setpiece locale that never gets used is wasted.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr

Just Another Snake Cult

#9
August 22, 2014, 06:22:46 PM
Quote from: daniel_ream;781939U1-U3 is one of the best module series I've seen, even if the tone isn't really very D&D.  It's much more sword & sorcery/dark fantasy in feel and some of the magic feels badly out of place. But if you're looking for a good aquatic adventure series, I highly recommend it.

Yes. The Saltmarsh Trilogy is a masterpiece and stands tall as one of the best TSR-era adventures. It's still "D&D" but has a very British feel and lot of investigation, atmosphere, and social interaction that make it feel like a sort of prototype for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Ignore the nitpickers.
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Skyrock

#10
August 22, 2014, 07:09:09 PM
Not exactly D&D, but close enough to adopt it easily: The Lost Lair of Laodice for Mazes&Minotaurs.

I have run it as a convention demo for M&M (expanding it a bit with some preliminary combat, wilderness and riddling stuff to ease the players into the system and provide are more well-rounded experience) and had a blast with it.
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Omega

#11
August 22, 2014, 11:10:35 PM
PC 3: The Sea People for BECMI/Cyclopedia D&D but still viable.

The whole thing is about detailing undersea adventuring, societies, cultures and PC races - and then some adventures to take advantage of it all.

In another thread I pointed out an adventure taking place on the ocean and featuring a gigantic seashell as a tower. Think that was also BECMI D&D.

Shipyard Locked

#12
August 23, 2014, 11:08:11 AM
Pretty good. So what about Dragon/Dungeon magazine and that series about the sahuagin in 2e?
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