Long ago, the god of the seas, Oceanus, commanded a great following on Rûl, but as new religions appeared, offering less violent and destructive paths to salvation, the Sea God lost favor and faded from the land until just a few temples still stood. On the Pirate Isles and on the Kingdom of Sails, Oceanus maintains a greater following, since people there depend on the sea for their livelihood and fear the god’s wrath if he’s not appeased.
Reminding the ordinary people of Oceanus’s power are the drowned ones, a cabal of priests every bit as dour and frightful as the god they serve.
As the greatest of Oceanus’s priests, the drowned ones receive power from their god after having proven their loyalty and devotion by surviving the rite of passage. In this cruel ceremony, candidates are brought out into the waters and, after extensive prayers and chanting, held under the water until they drown. Once their struggling ceases, the drowned ones pull the acolytes out and attempt to restore them to life. Those who waken join the esteemed ranks, and those who don’t are discarded.
Drowned ones do not exist in great numbers, for their god has largely fallen out of favor, and thus the priesthood finds it difficult to recruit new members. Because of the barbarous initiation ceremony, few find themselves moved to risk their lives to serve such a cruel deity. The ones who find a place in the Sea God’s cult, however, receive respect and deference from anyone who sails the seas—for to offend a drowned one is to offend a god.
Level 3 Drowned One
Attributes. Increase two by 1
Characteristics. Health +4, Power +1
Languages and Professions You speak an additional language or add sailor, pirate, navigator, or marine to your list of professions.
Magic You either discover the Destruction, Storm, or Water tradition, or you learn a spell from one of these traditions.
Swimmer You ignore the effects of difficult terrain when you swim.
Water Stride You can move across liquids as if they were solid ground. If you end your movement on a liquid surface, you sink as normal.
Level 6 Drowned One
Characteristics. Health +4
Magic You learn one spell.
Tidal Waves At the end of each round, you can choose to roll a d6. If you roll a 1, indicating low tide, your power recedes; for the next round, when you cast an attack spell, you make the attack roll with 1 bane and you grant 1 boon to creatures making challenge rolls to resist your spell. If you roll a 6, indicating high tide, your power is at full force; for the next round, when you cast an attack spell, you make the attack roll with 2 boons and you impose 2 banes on creatures making challenge rolls to resist your spell.
Level 9 Master Drowned One
Characteristics. Health +4, Power +1
Magic You learn one spell.
Blessing of the Sea God You can breathe water and air. In addition, when you would heal damage while submerged in water, you heal twice as much damage.