The Thaw of Fantasy: Water

I spend as much time in water as I can. Even when fantasy role-playing, I will drag every party I can into some underwater adventure for a couple sessions and the long term players will think to themselves ‘Here we go again. I wonder what fine point he wants to stress this time.’ Usually that point is that being underwater/amphibian/deep sea should be a lot more alien than say thinking in terms of PCs having to take a pill and breath underwater for a length of time.

On the surface level the GM has to think about why are the players around or on the water. An astute person will know that 99.9% of human history is either being seafaring or living around the nearest water source, but in popular media, where most gamers get their misconceptions about reality as well fantasy you wouldn't know it. Dragons live on mountain tops, where I suppose they eat snow cones sweetened with dwarf blood for sustenance. Giants might live in clouds eating fairy folk fluttering on the air. All the while farmers in Alpine valleys produce enough corn syrup and hamburgers in cold climates to sustain empires-worth of castles, bars, and temples, while orks threaten their drive-thrus every winter. Armies of paladins of multiple gods would be appalled that medieval Europe ate fish soup and oats more often than roast beef and potatoes for all of its  

history.

 

Players don't have to be Sinbad the sailor. They can be Josephus the boat-fixer. Alongside with the fisherman,  Harsdrubal, the Adventurous, and Grappo, the Tough, an accomplished net-knitter, our boy, or gal, Joe, is staring at a world of the unexplained and unexplored every time they go to the docks.  Heck go burlap caps and wool shirts into the medieval times and make them Yurk, the Yam Man, Harold, the Viking, and Gregory, the Grab-Ass, under the rule Richard the Upteenth on the fair Island Kingdom of Boar/Eagle/Lion/Rhino/Platypus Heraldry. Now throw in seals, the animal, that can transform into humans given the right moon. You are now 100% trans-Tolkien based fantasy and you haven't even started the adventure. 

Want to do a story-arc of character in about two sessions? Have the land-lubber Characters have to get underwater. Hopefully the GM doesn't mind watching a PC's player work through some of his/her childhood hang ups (IE swimming lessons) because, you're going to get that. Then work into the magic and its restrictions, the wizard is thinking at a 10th level level while still at 3rd when it comes to good old magical creativity. 

Water being a different world than that of the surface just ask the GM to explain places adventurers want to go. And don't even bring up the difference between fresh water, where I live, and salt water, where no one (human) lives including the surfers. Speaking of surfers, the GM/author has a whole unexplored Character Class just waiting 10 pages and 1,678 charts right there waiting to happen if you're OGL.

The hard work comes when you're in over your head, out of your depth, so to speak. Outside of places like Atlantis, there is no reason for "30'x40' rectangular rooms" off of 10'x10' corridors running east to west from the "locked, oaken door." That wooden door was fish food about ten months ago already while silt and corral aren't prone to right angles. While the landlubber GM is having a time explaining her pit-trap with spikes because every one is swimming, the submariner GM already has a moray eel hiding spot. Oh and torches never work, now its time to watch PC development begin the second phase of the story-arc from cardboard to RPG characters-- it tends to be amazing. 

Despite my usual sardonic tone, underwater role-playing is quite the place to be. I challenge any GM to prove me wrong here.